British Gong Chai Rong's life was relatively tough. At least, after Emperor Liu came to visit him in person, he did not die of illness quickly. Although he did not get better, he still hung on to his life on the bed.
However, after the visit, a happy event also ushered in for the Chai family. Liu Jian, the second daughter of the emperor, married Chai Zongxun, the fourth son of Chai Rong, and the wedding was completed on a selected date.
Compared to the eldest princess Liu Jia, who has a straightforward personality, unique charm, and a kind of heroic spirit, the second princess has a quiet personality, knows books and etiquette, has been obedient since she was a child, and has no objections to Emperor Liu's choice of husband. Let it be.
Of course, Emperor Liu was not a random couple. He had already thought about getting married to Chai Rong. Although it was also a political marriage, he had also considered Chai Zongxun.
Among Chai Rong's sons, the fourth son is the most suitable in age. Moreover, although Chai Zongxun did not show any extraordinary talent or talent, and was even a bit mediocre, he had a gentle personality and was polite to others. He often entered the palace in the past, but he became the second princess. In other words, he is a good match.
As for this marriage, the Chai family is naturally grateful. As Liu Jian's biological mother, Concubine Gao, she is also satisfied. Although she put most of her energy into the education and training of Liu Xi in the past, she still loved her daughter. of. The imperial concubine has a very high vision. After so many meritorious officials, few can catch her eye, but she has no objection to Chai Jiazi.
Perhaps, in Concubine Gao's view, marrying into the Chai family would bring a lot of benefits to Liu Xi. In the palace, it would also help him get closer to Concubine Guo Ning and get a helping hand.
The fact that the second princess had a surname also made other nobles feel a pity. Emperor Liu's children were all stared at. After the eldest princess came out of the cabinet, Liu Jian was the most remembered among the princesses.
I never thought that this delicate flower of the royal family would be picked by Chai Zongxun in the end, but there was nothing that could be done. Even if Emperor Liu did not appoint it, how many nobles in the dynasty could compete with the British government.
...
"Is this the newly minted silver coin?" In the Chui Gong Hall, Wang Pu and Shen Yilun showed great interest in the minted silver presented to them.
"Back to Your Majesty, this is a new coin cast by Qian Jian. He wants to promote it among the people and facilitate circulation. I specially submit it to Your Majesty for review. If there is no doubt, you can increase the size of the coin!" Wang Pu said.
This is another measure taken to improve finances. Of course, the imperial court has already had the idea, but it has just come up with it now.
At present, the legal currency of the Han Dynasty is nothing more than money and silk. The most widely circulated in the market is copper coins. In large-scale private trade, silk is still used as payment for transactions. It must be said that with the rapid development of the commodity economy, it has It has caused certain obstacles to the development of commercial trade, and some of them cannot keep up with the times.
Although precious metals such as gold and silver also played the role of currency in actual use, they were mostly circulated among nobles and were mostly used to make gold and silver jewelry and utensils. The imperial court set up some silver inspections in various places to excavate and smelt them. , but most of them were supplied to the palace, and some of them were used by Emperor Liu as rewards to the palace and ministers.
This time, the imperial court intended to formally determine the currency status of silver to put it into the market, speed up the circulation of goods, and facilitate transactions. Of course, you can also harvest a wave of leeks by casting silver. The profit from casting money is obviously considerable, and there is also a certain amount of silver reserves in the national treasury. As long as it is implemented, it can immediately bring back a wave of blood to the court.
Emperor Liu looked delighted, picked up one of the samples, estimated it to be ten taels of silver, and played with it. The shape is similar to the ingot in Emperor Liu's memory, but it is more square. It is made very delicately, smooth and bright, and has engravings and inscriptions. It is obvious that a lot of effort was spent on casting this silver coin.
"What Qian Jian made this time is divided into five taels, twelve taels, twenty, and fifty, a total of four categories!" Finance envoy Shen Yilun explained: "This is enough for use!"
Emperor Liu asked: "Is this pure silver?"
Shen Yilun said: "This is for donation. If it is officially cast, it should be mixed with lead!"
Emperor Liu nodded and picked up a few other items to look at. They were all of the same style and extremely delicate. After a long time, he finally raised his head and commented: "This item is too exquisite. It doesn't look like money, but more like silverware!"
Although his attitude was very peaceful, it could be heard that Emperor Liu was not very satisfied with this silver casting. Wang Pu and Shen Yilun looked at each other, and Wang Pu asked: "Please give me your instructions!"
Emperor Liu directly gave instructions: "We must promote private circulation for the convenience of the people. We should be pragmatic and make it simple. These patterns and patterns can be discarded, leaving only the year of the zodiac and the mark of the supervisor! "
With that said, Emperor Liu returned the case, picked up the imperial pen and simply sketched out the appearance of the ingot in his mind on the white paper, and handed it to Wang Pu: "Just follow this pattern and cast some more samples to see the effect! "
The emperor spoke, and the two could only accept it happily, and responded in unison: "Yes!"
"According to the Finance Secretary's plan, how many copper coins can be exchanged for one tael of silver?" Emperor Liu asked again.
Shen Yilun replied: "Based on various calculations by the Ministry of Household Affairs, we believe that it is more appropriate to exchange one tael for one thousand three hundred yuan!"
"So many?" Emperor Liu was a little surprised. He subconsciously felt that the cut was too harsh.
In his opinion, one tael for one thousand to one thousand one hundred dollars is already expensive. One tael for two hundred dollars more may be more serious than robbery. However, considering that it is the Han Dynasty now and the situation is different, it is not easy to make rash suggestions.
Sensing the emperor's question, Shen Yilun said: "Your Majesty, silver is expensive money. It is recognized by the world that this price was negotiated in detail by the Secretary!"
Emperor Liu pondered for a while and said: "If the price of silver is too high, will it make silver expensive and money cheap? If so, it will not be so friendly to the people!"
This point also made Wang Pu and Shen Yilun think deeply. It was Wang Pu who said: "Your Majesty, the issuance of money is only a trial. After that, the Financial Secretary will pay attention to the specific effects. If there are problems, adjustments can be made in order to obtain the best results! "
"Yes!" Emperor Liu nodded: "The imperial court casts silver and circulates it throughout the world for the benefit of the country and the people. We should be cautious, think more about it, think of the possible consequences and impacts, and be prepared! However, the matter of money must be done, thank you for your trouble!"
"Your Majesty, don't worry!" Wang and Shen said.
"What other difficulties are there?" Emperor Liu asked again.
Wang Pu said: "If we talk about difficulties, it is only at present. The imperial court has too little silver. There is less than 120,000 kilograms of silver in the national treasury. We still need to explore and dig across the country to increase silver production! Otherwise, it will be difficult to have a nationwide strategy. Effect!"
Even if it is only 120,000 kilograms, according to the Financial Secretary's plan, if it is minted into silver coins, it will be worth more than 1.5 million kilograms. This is not a small amount of money.
"When Liu Xi returned to Beijing from an inspection tour of Jinghu South Road, he said that there were many silver pits in Hunan and retired miners, so many silver mines were closed down!" Emperor Liu said leisurely: "Now it seems that we have to restart it. Old things, increase mining efforts.”
"Mining is dangerous and labor-intensive. Some regulations should be introduced for mine supervisors in various places to strengthen the management of mining matters!" Emperor Liu added, never forgetting to show his compassion for the people.
"yes!"
It is conceivable that after this policy is implemented, mine supervisors in various places will have a headache again with the issue of mining labor. Of course, it may not be that troublesome. The court is considerate of the people, but other than the big Han people, there may be less worries. As an empire develops and grows, it inevitably squeezes blood and sweat, and it always needs the exploited.
"In addition, there are still a lot of donations among the internal funds, part of which is reserved for the royal family, and the rest will be allocated to you first, so that the money matters can be fulfilled first!" Emperor Liu said again.
"Thank you for your support, Your Majesty!" Wang and Shen were overjoyed and quickly thanked them.
It can be said that the Han Dynasty has a huge proportion of gold, silver and precious metals, all of which are lying in Emperor Liu's internal funds. Wang Pu and others also know how rich the royal family is. Emperor Liu's willingness to support will also relieve their considerable pressure.
"This is a temporary loan, you have to pay it back!" Seeing the expressions of the two ministers, Emperor Liu chuckled.
"yes!"
Counting the previous loan, Emperor Liu could now become the biggest creditor of the Han Dynasty, which made his internal funds unavoidably empty. You know, the expenses of such a large Han Dynasty court were not small. For the sake of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Liu also That's pretty generous.
Of course, the emperor was rich all over the world. From some perspectives, it was not necessary to distinguish it so clearly. What's more, the current financial difficulties of the Han Dynasty were rooted in Emperor Liu's "promising". It was the subjects of the entire empire who were making decisions for him. Pay the bill.
