"This... my subordinates don't know. Anyway, there are no copper coins."
"Not to mention the merchants in the city doing business, even many people pay taxes with food."
Ma Su said with a wry smile.
After hearing what he said, Zhuge Liang, who was proficient in internal affairs, instantly realized the seriousness of the problem.
Once there is a shortage of copper coins, society will return to the backward transaction method of bartering.
Trading in barter is too cumbersome and cumbersome, and the circulation efficiency is too low!
Just like the Shu Han distributing salaries to the ministers of the imperial court, when copper coins were sufficient in the past, copper coins could be distributed.
The ministers took the copper coins and went directly to the market to buy the needed supplies.
But now that there is a shortage of copper coins, the court can only distribute grain and cloth directly to ministers.
As a result, a large amount of food and cloth must be prepared.
Not only that, a special house must be set aside for storage, and a dedicated person must be found to take care of and count the items.
After the ministers received the things, they had to go to the market to exchange the salt, vinegar and other supplies they needed.
It can be seen from this that the lack of copper coins is extremely troublesome!
"Have you ever reported this to His Majesty?"
Zhuge Liang asked in a deep voice.
"My subordinates submitted a letter to Your Majesty a few days ago, but Your Majesty..."
Seeing that Ma Su was about to speak but stopped, Zhuge Liang also understood.
After ascending the throne as emperor, coupled with Cao Wei's delay in attacking, Liu Bei seemed to be a little complacent.
Recently, I have been living in a dream in the palace every day.
Considering that the end of the year was approaching and it was time to relax and rest, Zhuge Liang did not advise Liu Bei.
But he didn't expect that Liu Bei would be so indulgent and didn't even read Ma Su's letter.
"Let's go, I'll take you into the palace to meet His Majesty!"
Zhuge Liang stood up, took Ma Su with him, and went straight to the palace.
After asking about Liu Bei's whereabouts, he and Ma Di had just walked outside the palace gate when they heard the sound of pipa, string and bamboo playing from inside.
Liu Bei was sitting in the high hall, drinking hot wine and enjoying the dancing of the singers in front of him.
Seeing the excitement, he clapped his hands and laughed, saying,
"If you dance well, you should be rewarded!"
"Come here, give each of this group of singers a thousand coins!"
As soon as Zhuge Liang and Ma Su came in, they almost felt heartbroken when they heard Liu Bei's words.
Now that the treasury is short of copper coins, Liu Bei directly gave a group of singers a thousand coins each. Isn't this too wasteful?
"Prime Minister, You Chang is here. Sit down quickly and enjoy the dance with me!"
The drunken Liu Bei greeted with a smile.
"Your Majesty has been too indulged in pleasure these days and has neglected political affairs!"
Zhuge Liang's face was straight and serious.
"Prime Minister, it's a little too serious. I just want to relax."
Liu Bei chuckled and didn't take Zhuge Liang's words to heart.
"But how is your majesty's drunkenness and dreaming different from that of Xia Jie and Shang Zhou in history?"
Zhuge Liang said without mercy.
Hearing him compare himself with the foolish kings in history, Liu Bei broke his defense instantly!
Liu Bei's face darkened and he shouted sternly,
"Presumptuous! I have been fighting for a lifetime, can't I enjoy it?"
"Get down here, everyone!"
Zhuge Liang scolded the singer on the side. After they all went down, he said seriously,
"Your Majesty probably doesn't know yet, but now our copper coins in Yizhou are almost gone!"
Liu Bei was stunned, frowned and said,
"What does the Prime Minister mean by this?"
"You Chang, tell His Majesty what you found!"
"Here!"
Ma Di stood up and told Liu Bei exactly how Yizhou's copper coins had been reduced to the point of bartering.
Although his internal affairs capabilities were far inferior to those of Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei realized the seriousness of the problem after hearing this.
He sobered up a little from his drunkenness, looked at Zhuge Liang and said,
"Prime Minister, do you know why this is?"
"I don't know yet, so why not get everyone together and discuss it together."
Zhuge Liang suggested.
"Okay, just as the Prime Minister said, Youchang, you go quickly and invite Da Sima and the others over."
Liu Bei ordered.
"I accept your order!"
Ma Su left quickly.
After he went out, Liu Bei said a little embarrassedly,
"My attitude just now was not good enough. I hope the Prime Minister will not take it seriously."
Liu Bei knew in his heart that his achievements today were inseparable from Zhuge Liang.
He had already driven away Yang Ziyi, but he could not drive away Zhuge Liang no matter what.
"How can I take it seriously? I just want to advise Your Majesty that it is not impossible to relax appropriately, but it must be done in moderation."
Zhuge Liang advised.
"I've written it down!"
Liu Bei nodded solemnly.
Not long after, Ma Su left and came back. Behind him were Fazheng, Zhang Song, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and others.
Before Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang could speak, they saw Fa Zheng's serious expression.
"Your Majesty, I recently inspected the surrounding areas of Chengdu and suddenly discovered something wrong!"
Liu Bei was stunned, temporarily putting the shortage of copper coins behind him, and asked,
"What's wrong?"
"In the fields around Chengdu, many people have given up sowing grain, and it's time to plant mulberry and hemp instead!"
"What? This...why is this?"
Liu Bei was slightly startled.
"After my inquiry, I found that someone offered a high price to induce them to give up farming and grow hemp."
Fa Zheng explained.
"These people are greedy and deceived. What do they have to worry about?"
Zhang Fei said disapprovingly.
"The general doesn't know. There are many people who have given up farming and growing hemp."
Fazheng smiled bitterly.
"A lot? How many can there be?"
Zhang Fei still didn't care.
“Just around Chengdu, more than 30% of the fields have been abandoned for cultivation of hemp.”
"I heard that the situation in other counties seems to be more serious!"
As soon as Fazheng's words came out, everyone present took a breath!
Although Yizhou is a land of abundance, most of it is mountainous and difficult to cultivate.
There is not much land that can be cultivated.
Thirty percent of the fields have been abandoned for cultivation of hemp, which means that the next year's grain harvest will be reduced by 30%!
This is a huge trouble for the Shu Han who are short of food!
"Why didn't the people below report such an important matter?"
Liu Bei was shocked and angry.
"Have you forgotten, Your Majesty, the officials below are all..."
Zhuge Liang coughed lightly and did not continue.
But everyone present today, except for Zhang Fei, were all smart people, and they immediately understood what he meant.
People like Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang are outsiders after all. Even if they are added to the Dongzhou sect such as Fazheng, they still appear to be weak.
Although they controlled the upper-level power in Yizhou, the power in counties and other places was still controlled by the local gentry in Yizhou.
The two sides have never dealt with each other, and the Yizhou gentry have always been disobedient.
If it weren't for Fazheng's inspection around Chengdu, I'm afraid Liu Bei would still be kept in the dark until now!
"No, how can someone who tempts people to give up farming and grow hemp get so much money?"
Zhuge Liang suddenly reacted and asked in a deep voice.
