Gu Cheng, Hu Hengcai and others returned to Jurong.
Gu Zhengchen felt helpless secretly when he heard what Gu Cheng said.
Not only Lao Zhu is asking about the origin of his craftsmanship, but his mother Gu Shi and sister Gu Qingqing are also asking about it. But there was no way to explain this, so I had to pretend to be confused.
My mother told herself not to stand out, which was her wisdom.
Indeed, if you do something too out of the ordinary and appear stupid to others, you will be resented and punished.
It's just that Gu Zhengchen had no other choice. He came to Ming Dynasty without any golden fingers except his memory. There was no system that said he could get thousands of troops by calling in thousands of troops, and he didn't carry an arms warehouse to separate one side. , What else can be used to attract Zhu Yuanzhang's attention, what can be used to prove one's worth?
Apart from reasonable improvements, forward-looking vision, and insight into history, there is nothing else.
Standing out is the only way to get ahead.
There is no way, the sixth year of Hongwu is not the first year of Jianwen, there are too many monsters at this time.
The general stars are shining brightly. How many famous generals are still alive, such as Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Fu Youde, Lan Yu, etc. There are also many old foxes. Li Shanchang, Liu Ji, Hu Weiyong, who is not a human spirit?
What's more, Lao Zhu himself is a genius military strategist and a politician with an unstable personality.
In the early Ming Dynasty, when civil servants, military commanders and kings were all at their peak, how could I stand on the stage of history, how could I enter the court and influence the future of the Ming Empire?
There is no other way except to make yourself stand out and become valuable in the eyes of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.
The Ming Dynasty had no shortage of diligent civil servants.
The Ming Dynasty had no shortage of honest civil servants.
Lao Zhu is not necessarily rare for civil servants with integrity.
Taking the ordinary path may not necessarily lead to success.
Gu Zhengchen understands his mother's worries. After all, there is a saying that if a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it, and if the tree wants to be quiet, the wind will not stop. Now that he is staying in Jurong, the threat to others is still weak, and the wind is still smaller, but once he leaves Jurong Yes, the wind and waves may suddenly become stronger.
In the Jurong Trial, you must go all out to hone your abilities.
Winter is getting deeper and colder.
Gu Zhengchen's life became boring and regular. He would get up and practice swordplay for half an hour every day. After that, the county office would handle money, food, official affairs and other matters. When it was time to issue complaints, he would issue complaints and handle some cases.
There were no major cases in the winter, especially when the local chiefs and big households compensated the people with money, and those who deserved to be withdrawn were withdrawn, so the place seemed calm.
Some minor disputes, such as quarreling and scolding, whose land you took over, whose cabbage he stole, are usually dealt with by the village chief or the elderly, and usually will not be transferred to the county government unless the village chief is considered responsible. , the old man’s ruling was unfair and favored one side.
The most important thing is that there are few things to do in winter, the weather is cold and people are too lazy to move around.
Gu Zhengchen didn't want to move even if he had nothing to do. Don't think that Jiangnan is warm. The cold wind in winter is just as unbearable.
On this day, Hu Hengcai inquired about the news and whispered to Gu Zhengchen: "There is news from Jinling that Jiangxi Provincial Political Consultant Ban Yongji has been arrested, and Shandong Salt Transport Envoy Xia Li has taken over as Jiangxi Political Consultant."
Gu Zhengchen rubbed his hands, heated up the small stove, and said with a smile: "The emperor was patient this time. He spent so long investigating and didn't start until winter. Ban Xiu is just a small person in Yingtian Mansion. He can't bring a large number of Song Dynasty people into the country." If the money is transferred to the private sector, it would make sense if it were Ban Yongji."
Hu Hengcai nodded repeatedly. Just as he was about to ask if he would go to Jinling again before winter, Zhao Qian from the Chengfa House sent an official document.
Gu Zhengchen opened it and his eyes widened immediately.
The content of the official document was very simple, but it made Gu Zhengchen a little uneasy.
Zhang Yulin, Yin of Tianfu Prefecture, reported: Private transactions were mixed with privately minted copper coins, so the money law was unreasonable.
Zhang Yulin is right. The increase in the circulation of privately minted copper coins will inevitably squeeze out the market share of Hongwu Tongbao. It is impossible for Hongwu Tongbao to completely dominate the mainstream.
The problem did not lie with Zhang Yulin, but with Lao Zhu's edict.
When faced with privately minted copper coins, Lao Zhu showed great restraint and issued an edict: "From now on, if I encounter any privately minted copper coins, I promise to scrap the copper and send it to the official, and give the official one hundred and ninety cents per catty in compensation!"
Gu Zhengchen didn't know what Lao Zhu was thinking. This edict clearly recognized the "legitimacy" of privately minting copper coins. The clear meaning was that no copper coins were allowed to be minted privately and sent to the government for disposal as scrap copper.
But the reverie that gives people is:
There is nothing wrong with privately minting copper coins. If found, they will most likely be treated as scrap copper and sent to the government.
In addition, the repurchase of one hundred and ninety cents per catty is equivalent to the government directly recognizing the value of privately minted copper coins and the purchasing power of these privately minted copper coins.
This kind of operation made Gu Zhengchen dumbfounded.
For example, if someone in the future generations makes counterfeit money, if the leader stands up and speaks out, but encounters the counterfeit money, he will be allowed to make waste paper and send it to the bank, and how much will be paid per kilogram of waste paper to recycle.
Isn't this kind of operation a disguised form of encouragement for fraud?
Although waste paper is not copper money and has little value, the recycling price per kilogram gives it value and purchasing power. Naturally, people do not mind whether the money they use is real money or fake money!
Gu Zhengchen doesn't know what Lao Zhu thinks. You can acquiesce to the circulation and existence of privately minted copper coins. After all, the number of Hongwu Tongbao is not large, which is considered a compromise with the "market", but you should not directly admit the value of privately minted copper coins, let alone Call on the people to send privately minted copper coins to the government.
The common people are not fools. A pound of privately minted copper coins in their hands can buy four to five hundred coins, but when sent to the government, they can only get 190 coins. Who would do such a loss-making thing...
No one is willing to do it, but it will inspire private minting of copper coins!
Gu Zhengchen couldn't warm up the fire anymore and had to write a document to tell Lao Zhu. The consequences of doing so would be serious, but halfway through writing the document, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Lao Zhu is a smart man, and Hu Weiyong is an old fox. How could so many important officials in the court fail to see this hidden danger?
hundred times.
Gu Zhengchen put away his brush and pondered for a long time before he suddenly understood.
The six years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty were six years of recuperation and development. However, compared with the scale of development, the casting speed of copper coins has never been able to keep up. There is really no way. There are indeed not many copper mines in this land, and after all the previous With multi-dynasty mining, some easily mined copper deposits have either been exhausted or become more difficult to mine.
And this brings up an obvious problem:
Money shortage.
Under the background that the imperial court was unable to solve the copper coin shortage, it became inevitable to rely on privately minted copper coins to make up for it.
Gu Zhengchen threw the document on the stove and watched it burn to ashes bit by bit. He sighed: "Damn, these people are really old foxes. They will do whatever it takes to solve the problem. If they can't see through the problem behind it, I'm afraid they will It leaves me with a simple-minded impression..."
When looking at a problem, we cannot just look at the surface of the problem, we must think deeply about its motivation and essence.
And there are not a few people in the court who have mastered this skill!
