Zhao Tuo was very happy to see Li Dan, but as a monarch it was difficult to express too much in front of everyone. At the beginning of the meeting, Chief Assistant Han Wei first mentioned that the currency situation in Shaanxi was in chaos and had reached a point where it could no longer be improved.
Shaanxi has belonged to four dynasties successively, with Xixia and Tubo coming and going in between. The result of regime changes over the past two hundred years is that there are constantly new systems, new laws and new currencies.
For a period of time, the people simply returned to the era of barter for goods. The regional industry and commerce were greatly affected. The early years of this dynasty can be described as desolate.
In the past two decades, the war has been basically fought in Shanxi, Hebei and Liaodong, and Shaanxi has gained some peace.
In addition, in the last years of Renzong, the Qinghai Qiang people had to annex under the attack of Tubo. The imperial court established the Haixi Protectorate in Xining. With this barrier, the Guanzhong area finally stabilized.
Recently, the Wula and Huifa divisions have been attached, the Hanhai Protectorate has been established, and Yeerqiang has become more honest, so the merchants in the Jingzhao area are starting to make moves.
But they soon discovered that they were facing a serious problem: seventeen kinds of banknotes were currently in circulation in Shaanxi and Gansu, and copper coins from seven dynasties were mixed in. It was simply the master of banknote problems!
In the past, the contradiction of commercial silence was not prominent, but now it is that if it is not resolved, goods from inside will not be able to leave, and goods from outside will not be able to come in!
For example, a businessman from Shangjing will never accept Xixia banknotes. He can't even recognize the characters on them, and they will be useless except as antiques!
Another serious phenomenon is that the stock of banknotes in Shaanxi seriously exceeds the amount of precious metals held by residents. Even a Huizi issued during the reign of Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty can only be exchanged for 730 yuan!
This price is not the lowest in the country, it is probably the only one.
Zhao Tuo frowned when he heard this situation, but when he looked at Li Dan, he saw a confident smile in his eyes. "Does Li Sanlang have any way to solve the problem?
Yes, he definitely wants to take the opportunity to try out the new banknote law and bank school there. But if I show my support for him too early, I'm afraid it will be counterproductive! " Zhao Tuo thought of this and first signaled Xia Shu to serve him some tea again, and then asked Han Wei:
"Ai Qing thinks the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu is very serious? But I am very concerned about the southeast. Isn't the issue of banknotes the earliest and loudest in Jiangnan?"
When the emperor said this, Xie Minhong nodded immediately.
But he didn't say anything. The Jiangnan clique had been in a state of decline since Er Yang stepped down, and several major cases were related to Jiangnan. Therefore, he remained reserved and tried not to stand out or show off, so as not to be hit by the emperor.
But now His Majesty suddenly mentioned Jiangnan, which made him a little happy unexpectedly. Could it be that the wind is changing?
"Your Majesty, it is clear to you that the conflict between banknotes and coins was indeed brought up by Jiangnan first." Han Wei seemed to have expected that the emperor would do this, and replied with a smile:
"However, I thought that Kerge would be crowned by Khan, and the four Monan tribes surrendered. Seven counties had been established in the two tribes of Ula and Huifa. After Yanlie Khan came to power, he actively pursued pro-Han policies.
These changes made Ye Erqiang feel uneasy, so he could send an envoy to recruit him. If Ye'erqiang surrenders, the road to Yilibury can be opened, and the day when Your Majesty will restore the Tang Dynasty's Western Region Protectorate is not far away. This is a once-in-a-century opportunity! "
"Oh!" Zhao Tuo nodded: "You are thinking that the starting point to the Western Region is Shaanxi-Gansu, Jingzhao, and Xi'an Prefecture, right? So for the Western Region, we should implement the strategy of first west and then east?"
"My Holy Emperor!"
"Well, from now on, you should go straight to the point when you reply, and don't go around in such big circles!"
"I'm scared, I'll be careful in the future."
Zhao Tuo pondered for a moment: "First west and then east. Is this the strategy locked by the cabinet, or is it your own opinion?"
"Well, I have communicated with the cabinet and the ministers of the six ministries, and most of us agree with this proposal."
"Then there are still different opinions?" The emperor smiled and gestured for him to sit down first, and then scanned the audience: "I want to hear, who has a different opinion?"
"I have different opinions!" Xie Minhong couldn't help but raise his hand, stood up after receiving permission, saluted first, and then said: "Your Majesty, I was born in Jiangnan, and I have personal experience of the voices of the people in the south, so I hope to speak on their behalf in front of His Majesty. "
"Okay, I just want to hear the opinions from the south. Please speak up boldly!" Zhao Tuo actually encouraged him, and several officials from Jinghu, Sichuan, Sichuan, and Shaanxi-Gansu present had surprised looks on their faces.
Xie Minhong was encouraged, thought for a moment, and said: "The south has been suffering from currency chaos for a long time! There has been no governance since the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. I don't think the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu should be ignored, but it is correct to first go to the southeast and then the northwest.
There are three reasons: First of all, the southeast is a prosperous and fundamental place for national taxation. However, banknotes are chaotic, banknotes are popular among the people, and everyone hides gold, silver, copper and other precious metals, resulting in a shortage of currency metals.
If the banknote chaos is brought under control and the gold hidden among the people is released, then the shortage of precious metals will be alleviated and circulation will be improved, which will be of great benefit to the country.
Secondly, releasing precious metals to the market can accelerate production and trade, making Jiangnan more prosperous. At the same time, the remaining population that can be reproduced will have more opportunities to engage in work, reduce refugees, and prevent unrest.
Thirdly, sea trade in the south of the Yangtze River was developed, but now sea trade mostly relies on precious metals, and more banknotes and less currency hinder the development of sea trade.
I saw a report from Fujian that the number of new sea-going ships in the shipbuilding industry this year has only increased by 10%. Of course, this is because the last typhoon destroyed the ships and dampened the enthusiasm of sea trade merchants. At the same time, there is also a reason why there is too little metal currency to facilitate smooth transactions. .
Half of the people on the sea now rely on barter, but the losses are too great. Businessmen can do it occasionally, but it is difficult to persist in the long term.
The minister speculates that the customs tax on shipping bills received by the Ministry of Revenue last year is likely to have dropped. I don't know if this is correct or not? "
"Ministry of Revenue, come on," the emperor called his name, and Zheng Shou stood up hurriedly: "Does the Shipping Department have the figures for last year's sea trade banknotes? Also, from the perspective of the Ministry of Revenue, how much metal currency do you currently lack?"
"I have the numbers. Your Majesty will wait a moment." Zheng Shou hurriedly took out a booklet from his pocket, opened the page held by a pencil, looked at it, and replied loudly:
"Your Majesty, the taxation on sea trade reported by the customs is about three percent lower than last year. As for metal currency, the deficit in the Ministry of Revenue is 1,117,000 jins of copper!" There was a commotion below.
However, several officials from the Ministry of Industry did not participate or say anything. Last year, the country produced 1.7 million kilograms of copper, and 60% of it was used to cast new cannons and muskets. So where could there be so much copper to cast money?
Zhao Tuo himself also understood the main reason for the shortage of copper. The new army reorganization he was promoting required the use of a large amount of copper, such as vehicle components, artillery and muskets.
Each new military division has one hundred four-horse-drawn thousand-pound cannons, which are the improved general's blunderbuss. If Li Dan hadn't made his pockets bulging, he would really not be able to afford the equipment. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile.
"You are indeed an old household official, and the figures are very clear." He complimented Zheng Shou, and then asked: "Then, do you have any solution to the money shortage?"
"This..." Zheng Shou was stuck: "I'm good at managing money. I'm afraid I have to ask the Ministry of Industry for matters related to industry and mining." He kicked the ball out. However, the three top officials of the Ministry of Industry, Liu Fangpin and Yang Zhisu Tan, did not dare to accept the offer, and instead kicked it to the cabinet.
The emperor finally got fed up: "Well, let me ask another question: Which dear friend can explain the reasons and solutions to the shortage of money in Jiangnan?"
"Your Majesty, Li Zedong implemented the new banknote law and banking law in Liaoning, and it seems to be quite effective. Why don't you ask him to talk about it?" Han Wei suddenly realized when he saw Zheng Shou's moving lips, and immediately suggested to the emperor. Zhao Tuo was happy to play.
Li Dan stood up and first introduced to everyone the implementation of new banknotes and the establishment of banks in Liaoning, as well as the current circulation and use of new banknotes. Then he bowed his hands to the emperor and said:
"Although it has achieved results in Liaoning, I believe that this method cannot yet be promoted to the southeast. At least the economic and trade development and population density of the southeast are not comparable to Liaoning."
"Oh?" The emperor looked at the embarrassed officials: "Do you think that what you can do successfully in Liaoning can't be repeated in the southeast?"
“Your Majesty clearly knows that Liaoning implemented the new banknote and banking laws against the background that Liaoning is a vast and sparsely populated country with a population of only a few hundred thousand, does not have a large amount of overseas trade, and has very little internal currency expenditure.
The economy and finance were originally decided by the military, with military priority. As long as national defense can be consolidated and public demand and economic and trade activities are kept to a minimum. So think of it as a blank sheet of paper, and you can draw whatever you want.
But this is definitely not the case in the Southeast. Its size, population, and industry diversity are far from those of Liaoning, and are relatively more complex. Therefore, Liaoning’s experience cannot be copied and applied in the Southeast, it can only serve as a reference. "
Li Danwan looked at the people at the meeting: "Actually, Mr. Xie just talked about the appearance of Southeast Asia's emphasis on money but not on banknotes, but did not talk about the root cause of this contradiction."
"What do you think the reason is?" the emperor asked immediately.
In the previous life, in the early Ming Dynasty, there was also the problem of paying more attention to money than banknotes in the southeast. It was because of poor management by the government, which reduced the credibility of banknotes and was resisted.
The situation in this dynasty was slightly different. Emperor Taizu of the Zhao family, who was born as a merchant, paid much more attention to banknotes than Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, who was born as a farmer, and did not excessively suppress or belittle the Jianghuai merchant group like he did.
The two dynasties of Taizu and Taizong adopted relatively mild and strict commercial tax and banknote customs systems, using inspection departments to combat smuggling, and strictly legalizing deed taxes and invoice taxes to encourage legal operations and severely crack down on illegal merchants.
But one thing they have in common is that due to historical limitations, they have not recognized the role and essence of currency.
"Currency can be used to exchange goods because it has its own value, so it is used for equal exchange. Whether the currency is gold, silver, copper, or shells, ivory, or paper, it must be scarce and everyone wants to own it."
Li Dan told everyone: "If the material as currency does not have its own original value to represent a certain scarcity, then the government and the royal family need to use their own credibility as a guarantee."
He held up a piece of Liao coin: "The face value of this Liao coin is one dime, and its value converted into mainland banknotes is fifty cents. But why is this piece of paper worth so much?
Not only because of its watermark, printing and special paper, but also because of the government guarantee. You see, there are the words "Royal First Bank of Liaoning" and "Liaoning Chief Envoy Secretary" on it.
Therefore, the Chief Envoy of Liaoning must try his best to maintain his credibility and let the users of this banknote continue to think that it has the value of fifty coins.
In the market, a sheep is worth fifty coins. The buyer can use this banknote to give it to the owner of the sheep and take the sheep of his choice from him. "
Li Danwan held up a fifty cent note issued by the Jiangnan Taxation Bureau: "This is also fifty cents, but it can't buy a sheep in Jiangnan. If you can only buy a leg of lamb in Huzhou," everyone said. Let out a chuckle.
"Why is this happening? Because the seller only thinks it is worth thirty cents!" Li Dan put down the banknotes: "The main reason why this happened is poor management.
Like Shaanxi and Gansu, there are also many old and dull banknotes in use in the Jiangnan market. Although they may be slightly better than those in the west, they do exist.
The existing management system does not stipulate which agency is responsible for dumping banknotes, so people do not like to collect them and are afraid of suffering losses if they do. Folks don't dare to use it, let alone sea trade?
Furthermore, every province has a banknote branch that prints banknotes. The printed banknotes come in all kinds of shapes, textures, colors, and ink colors. People can’t tell which banknotes are genuine and which are fake. This damages its credibility and people don’t like to use banknotes. one of the reasons.
Finally, the banknote denomination setting is unreasonable. Everyone only prints large denominations. Banknotes of ten, fifty, and one hundred coins are commonly used among the people. However, it is not easy to find such denominations. It is common to find banknotes of more than one denomination.
Large denominations are conducive to commercial activities, and denominations are conducive to common people's daily life. The design of banknote denomination should take both into account, otherwise it will lose some users' fans.
By the way, there is also a problem with the various units of banknotes, such as Guan, Liang, Yuan, Wen, Qian, etc., which are very inconvenient to use.
The above are all factors that affect the use of banknotes. It is not that there is a problem with the banknotes themselves, but that the people who designed them made mistakes. It is not that people do not want to use banknotes, but that the systems and measures related to banknotes are imperfect, and officials have biased or even superficial understandings. these issues.
These problems are not difficult to solve, but they will not be solved overnight. "
Li Dan gave everyone a new understanding of currency in their minds for more than half an hour, and then told everyone: "In view of the widespread contradiction between banknotes and currencies, I support the reform of the current currency.
But I object to copying and copying, and I don’t want the whole country to just follow a decree. Any successful reform must be behind a lot of investigation and preparation.
At the same time, one or two provinces should be used as special zones to carry out pilot experiments, gain experience and summarize it in a timely manner before expanding it to the whole country.
At the same time, this preparation and experiment time is also a preparation period for the nationwide promotion of the new currency system. We can use it to study better paper, printing, and anti-counterfeiting technologies to lay the foundation for national promotion. "He thought for a moment and then suggested:
"Xiaoguan suggested that the north and the south each choose a province for trial school. Xiaguan thought that the north could choose Shaanxi, and the south might as well choose Guangdong, the first stop for sea trade!"
"So, what does Li Qing think of Han Qing's proposal to open up the Western Region?" Zhao Tuo asked.
"I agree with Mr. Han that opening up the Western Region will allow us to export commodities to the west and continuously obtain commodities and minerals from the west. However, there are two points in Han Darao's plan that I would like to draw your attention to:
Tubo will not sit back and watch the influence and spread of the imperial power in the west, they will definitely do something. Therefore, military preparations are still necessary, and the cabinet must consider them!
Furthermore, if Yilibali agrees, if they do not agree to trade, or obstruct it, how should we respond? I also ask all the elders in the cabinet to make full plans. "
Li Danwan surrendered to the emperor: "I believe that diplomacy is a means, economy is the goal, and military is the backing. The three are interdependent and coexist.
Therefore, I boldly proposed that the imperial court should establish two new ministries of foreign affairs and commerce in addition to the six ministries. The current structure of the six divisions comes from the Sui and Tang dynasties, but as time has passed over hundreds of years, there should be some changes and adjustments.
Your Majesty is a wise and heroic ruler. I would like to ask you to decide to add two more departments to adapt to the development of the times and our country's grand strategy and pattern of trading all over the world and colonizing all countries with goods. This will be a great blessing to all the people! "
