Outside the palace.
Luo Jing took a deep breath of fresh air, and a group of pretty palace maids walked past him. All the anxiety he had just been in the palace seemed to have disappeared.
There was a faint voice coming from the palace, proving that the debate had not stopped yet. Luo Jing couldn't help but think of what his father said before his death.
“In national affairs, there is never anything that is both beneficial and harmful. The people in power, when implementing every policy, are choosing to get what is most needed at the moment.
For example, the imperial court needed a sufficient amount of high-quality copper coins, so it allowed private coinage to exist.
If one day the court needs other things, it will be time to take back the right to mint coins.
You can take this book and read it, but remember, just read it a little, and don’t be trapped by the core of the thoughts. There are some bad things in it. Your child is not talented in this area and will be easily misled. "
Thinking of this, Luo Jing took a deep breath and returned to the palace, where the debate was still going on.
Luo Jing returned to the seat and sat down. When Liu Heng saw him coming back, he nodded with a smile. Then he saw Luo Jing walking into the main hall in the eyes of everyone and bowed to Liu Heng.
"Your Majesty, I have a few words to say to all the ministers."
Liu Heng was a little surprised, but he still waved his hand and said: "You can do what you want!"
Luo Jing turned around and took two steps above the main hall. He was still a young man, so he seemed very awkward among such a group of middle-aged people. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to speak.
Recalling what his father had said, Luo Jing slowly said: "I heard all the previous arguments between the two parties.
A doctor once said: If you buy good products, you will lose money if you buy them!
Does this make sense?
have!
But people have good and evil qualities, and so do kings.
If you encounter a stupid and tyrannical king, even if you allow private minting of copper coins, there are so many methods of extortion and extortion, can you still prohibit them one by one?
Hunters will not give up hunting in the mountains just because there are wild beasts there.
Fishermen will not give up going out of the boat just because of danger at sea.
There is no reason in this world to go hungry just because you are worried about choking.
Your Majesty is a wise king. There may be some treacherous people who take back the coins, which will slightly reduce the quality of the copper coins. However, as long as the court strictly supervises and severely punishes those illegal tyrants who deliberately mint small coins, it can be completely controlled. .
But if private coinage continues to be allowed, I ask all ministers to think carefully about the rebellion of King Wu in the past. Why did he dare to defy the imperial court? It was because he accumulated a large amount of wealth through private coinage, even to the point where he did not need to collect taxes. He is so wealthy that he ranks first among all the kings. When he has wealth, he accumulates armor and soldiers, so he does not pay attention to the court.
I think you are all very aware of how much harm war has done to the world.
If government orders cannot be consistent and the world cannot obey the emperor's orders, ambitious people will definitely think of rebellion or seeking interests.
It was my father who promoted the idea of allowing private coinage in the past, but gentlemen, only change in this world is permanent. Does the five-level nobility enfeoffment established by King Su in the past still exist now?
Before my father died, he told me and Your Majesty that allowing private coinage was an expedient measure. It was a policy implemented because the people had just experienced the chaos of the late Qin Dynasty and the people could no longer withstand any harm.
My father is very clear about the benefits and drawbacks of this policy.
Taking back the power to mint coins may cause small money to run rampant, but if it is not taken back, the local area will definitely grow bigger, and the court will lose the sword to check and balance the local area, and then it will have to use troops, causing greater chaos.
Now I want to ask you a question, which is more important for the stability of the world, the consistency of government orders or the quality of copper coins? "
Which is more important, Tianxiaruyi or the currency market?
Luo Jing finally asked everyone the last question of the book, a question that Luo Xin did not give an answer to.
There is not much difference between these two choices for the people. Whether their lives will be affected depends on whether the court will make great efforts to manage it.
Just like how Luo Xin dealt with those who used small money to forcefully buy and sell, this established the logic of good money driving out bad money.
Luo Jing directly bypassed the moral issues debated by both sides and directly extracted the real core of the argument.
Everyone was silent at this moment. They were all courtiers, ministers of the Chang'an court, not of the vassal kingdoms. Except for a few officials who came from wealthy families, most of them naturally sided with the court in this regard.
Liu Heng looked at Luo Jing with a smile on his face.
Jia Yi looked at Luo Jing with an expression of admiration on his face. From these words, he seemed to have seen the regent who would never be confused.
In those years, the imperial court's annual income increased year by year, but the tax rates for the people all over the world dropped again and again, especially agricultural taxes. He still remembered what the prime minister said, "If one day the court can only collect taxes from farmers, If you have to impose heavy taxes to survive, then the court is not far away from death. If you can maintain the normal operation of the court under the conditions of low tax rates, the world will be prosperous."
Everyone looked at Luo Jing, watching the young men with immature faces standing tall and tall in the hall, asking everyone loudly, "There are only two choices, which one do you want to choose?"
Which one to choose?
Which one can I choose?
Of course the world is unified!
The unification of the world is the consensus of almost all schools of thought. Even the Confucians who support the feudal system do so because the great Confucians believe that the loyalty of kings is more lasting than that of officials, and that kings are more stable than officials who rule the place.
The great Confucianists hoped to maintain the rule of the emperor through the enfeoffment system, rather than for the feudal monarch to threaten the emperor. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucian disciples died in countless ways in order to maintain the status of the monarch and the existence of the ritual system.
After the Qin Dynasty destroyed the Six Kingdoms, some great Confucianists came to Qin Shihuang to advise him, hoping to entrust the children of the heroes to the Shandong Kingdoms, calm the hearts of the people in Shandong, and calm the tyranny of the Six Kingdoms. At that time, they were criticized as corrupt Confucianism, but after the Qin Dynasty fell, From the current point of view, isn't it a word of loyalty?
Those courtiers who supported the withdrawal of the right to mint could not help but stand up from their seats and cheered loudly: "Cai!"
"What the servant said makes sense!"
"The king is a man of great talent. This is how you plan for your country."
When Luo Jing saw that no one was speaking, he looked at those who had spoken against before.
The previously impassioned doctor was born in Huang Lao and advocated small government, that is, the court should not interfere too much and let society operate according to spontaneously formed rules.
But when it comes to the unification of government orders in the world, even the Huang Lao people cannot say no.
Which one is more important between the two is not a question worthy of discussion at all. Facing Luo Jing's inquiry, the people who had previously opposed could only say in a deep voice: "What the servant said is reasonable. It is very important that the world's government orders are consistent." .
Your vision is all over the world, but my vision is limited to a corner of the world. This is probably the reason why you have thought of such far-reaching things, but I can only repeat some complicated words here.
My thoughts were inappropriate, and I should apologize to Your Majesty. I almost delayed the important affairs of the court. "
This debate should have ended here. Luo Jing's politically correct words directly killed all the reasons that could be thought of.
Luo Jing bowed to Liu Heng under everyone's gaze, then walked back to his seat and sat down.
When Liu Heng saw that no one was talking anymore, he smiled and said: "Today you all spoke freely, and I gained a lot from what you said. I should have no objections to what you have discussed today."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
The ministers bowed their heads and bowed their hands in salute, then left and walked out of the hall, leaving the palace under the guidance of the guards.
Luo Jing and Jia Yi walked slowly behind everyone. Jia Yi found that Luo Jing was a little silent, not at all like his usual high-spirited look, so he asked curiously: "Servant, what else is on your mind?" Do you have any concerns?"
Luo Jing sighed softly and said: "Jia Qing, after this edict is implemented, you will be busy. There are countless profit-seeking people in the world who dare to risk beheading and violate criminal laws by minting small coins. They will definitely not let go of profiteering industries. If they are not handled properly then, we will be sinners today.
To be honest, Jing always has an ominous premonition in his heart. It seems that what he did today will have irreparable consequences and become the source of cholera in the world in the future. But after thinking about it, the world today does need it. The imperial court took back the right to mint coins. "
Jia Yi was very smart. He immediately guessed what Luo Jing was worried about, which was the reasons of the previous opposition. Those reasons were really reasonable and not just made up.
Luo Jing was not a politician at all. He was born with the sentimentality of a literary man, and was much more emotional than Jia Yi's character. Naturally, he would unconsciously think about the shortcomings of these policies.
Jia Yi pondered for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, in this case, you might as well apply directly to His Majesty to monitor the feedback on this matter. As long as you ensure that it does not harm the people, it is enough."
Luo Jing's eyes lit up when he heard this and said, "What Jia Qing said makes sense. I will send this messenger when I see Your Majesty tomorrow."
————
Regarding the discussion of "coinage", both those in favor and those opposed listed different reasons, but what ultimately ended these debates was social stability and consistency in government orders that had nothing to do with the currency itself.
From these debates and the final results, we can see that the ruling class during the Han Dynasty had fully realized the distribution role of currency itself. It was not a medium of commercial exchange, but a stabilizer for regulating society.
We can also see the policy shift during the period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. That is, starting from the Liu Bang period, the decades of recuperation and recuperation were basically over. Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty began to build a real governance system that could rule the kingdoms of counties and counties in the world. Under this system, In the Han Dynasty, ensuring the stability of the world and establishing a peaceful order had become the first concern of the rulers of the Han Dynasty, while the continued barbaric growth and recovery of the economy took a secondary position. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of chapter)
