New Year's Day.
The square in front of Fengtian Temple.
Daming Company has reached its annual year-end bonus event again, and the officials are naturally enthusiastic and came to the square early, all with happy faces.
In order to avoid confusing others, Li Qing came very early this time, and the wait was very boring.
It was not until half noon that Zhu Yuanzhang finished his New Year greetings to his children and grandchildren, and he was late.
Next, it’s the same as last year: summarizing the past and looking forward to the future!
After drawing the cakes and giving out the red envelopes, all the officials shouted long live and went home full of joy to celebrate the New Year.
…
"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"After the New Year, we will prepare for the Northern Expedition. Do you, the supervisor, have any clues?"
Li Qing scratched his head and said, "Your Majesty, I don't understand military affairs. As for the accusation... it is indeed not true. How about you replace me with someone else?"
"Asshole!"
"...I am aware of my guilt!"
"You..." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his sleeves depressedly, "Can't you see that we are training you?"
I can't finish it, I can't finish it at all. I really can't finish the cake you drew, Lao Zhu... Li Qing said tiredly:
"Your Majesty, you have also seen that there has been a lot of anger among the officials in the past few days, and they have all started fighting with the Jin Yiwei. The cause is me, the Marquis of Yongqing. If this continues, I will be killed sooner or later."
"Why are you panicking?" Zhu Yuanzhang glared, "We are here, and you are here."
What if you are no longer here? Li Qing couldn't explain clearly, so he said, "Your Majesty, I have few talents and little knowledge. I really don't deserve to be cultivated like this."
"Okay, we know you are capable, and we also understand what you are afraid of." Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Aren't you just afraid that if we die, we will be liquidated?"
As long as you know... Li Qing cupped his hands and said, "Long live the Emperor."
"Don't do this." Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands angrily, "Don't worry, since we plan to train you, we will definitely make arrangements for you before we die."
After a pause, he said: "What we like is that you dare to fight hard and be honest with us without hiding anything. If you can't keep your innocence, then there is no need for us to keep you."
"...I understand."
"As long as you understand." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Just remember, the less you are afraid of death, the less likely you are to die. But if you are hesitant and timid, then you really won't live long."
This is what you said... Li Qing cupped his hands and said, "I have something to say, and it feels like it's stuck in my throat, and I won't be happy if I don't spit it out!"
"explain!"
"Your Majesty, the one million taels of treasure banknotes you rewarded His Highness King Yan, as well as the usual rewards to ministers, including this red envelope, were they all printed extra?" Li Qing asked.
He had wanted to ask this question for a long time, but had never had the right opportunity.
"That's what you said, where can the treasure banknotes come from without printing them?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked puzzled.
"No, what I mean is that all the money was printed before the emperor decided to reward people?"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "Any questions?"
Li Qing secretly thought that it was true, and sighed softly: "Your Majesty, on what basis do you print money?"
"What is the basis for printing money?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked puzzledly.
"..." Li Qing was completely speechless.
This Lao Zhu... really doesn't understand economics!
"Your Majesty, excessive currency issuance will cause inflation, and the consequences will be extremely serious." Li Qing looked serious. "At the least, the credibility of the court will be reduced, and at the worst... the country will be unstable!"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the last four words, he instinctively wanted to get angry, but seeing Li Qing's serious face, he held back and asked, "What is inflation?"
Li Qing thought for a while, "Your Majesty, let's find a secluded place and I can explain it to you, okay?"
"Well... let's go to the nave!"
…
In the middle hall, as soon as the two arrived, the palace maid quickly served hot tea. Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, and they immediately left.
"Can we talk now?"
Li Qing nodded, "Inflation is rising prices."
"This won't happen." Zhu Yuanzhang said in a very firm tone, "If you always pay one stone of rice, we will be determined to death. Anyone who dares to increase the price will be cut off."
"..." Li Qing finally realized what it meant: When a scholar meets a soldier, it is hard to explain why.
After pondering for a moment, he asked: "Your Majesty, if you can print one million treasure notes, can you make the Ming Dynasty produce one million more shi of food out of thin air?"
"Aren't you talking nonsense? We are not gods?"
"That's it." Li Qing asked, "Since the emperor can't let the Ming Dynasty produce one million more grains, why do you print one million taels of banknotes?"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned deeply, as if he suddenly understood something, but the aura disappeared instantly, and he could not catch it. He hesitated and asked: "Is there an inevitable connection between them?"
"Of course."
Li Qing nodded solemnly and took out five oranges from the fruit plate. "I will give you an example. If our Ming Dynasty has a total of five oranges and five guan notes, then it is reasonable to buy one orange with one guan note, right?"
"Ang." Zhu Yuanzhang still didn't understand, "So?"
Li Qing continued, "What if there are still five oranges, but the treasure notes become ten, or even a hundred?"
"What you said is wrong." Zhu Yuanzhang said stubbornly, "As I said, no one dares to raise prices arbitrarily if we always pay for one stone of grain."
Why don't you just say you don't listen... Li Qing was so angry that he changed his explanation: "Your Majesty, will the Ming Dynasty's treasure money eventually flow into the hands of the people?"
"Isn't this nonsense?" Zhu Yuanzhang said speechlessly, "If it cannot be circulated across the country, is it still called the Ming Dynasty treasure banknote?"
"Okay, based on the original basis, let's give an example." Li Qing said, "If the Ming Dynasty had a total of five oranges, five banknotes, and five people,
Each person always pays an orange, and they usually trade with each other to get what they need.
At this time, the treasure banknotes increased to one hundred guan. How much would each person get? "
Zhu Yuanzhang was very good at calculating accounts, and he answered instantly: "Twenty strings."
After a pause, he seemed to understand, but he still said stubbornly: "Who dares not to listen to the prices we set?"
"Of course I don't dare." Li Qing followed his words and said, "Suppose I am one of the five common people, and I have twenty oranges in my hand. What if I want to buy all five oranges?"
Zhu Yuanzhang became angry when he heard this, "Mother, you bought them all, what will they eat?"
"I have money!" Li Qing said arrogantly, "I am happy."
"You..." Zhu Yuanzhang quit, "You can't buy them all."
"Why not?" Li Qing finally caught him, but he was not willing to give up. "Can't Ming Dynasty treasure money buy things?"
"You can buy it, but if you do this, will others survive?"
"The money is in my hands, I can spend it however I want."
Zhu Yuanzhang scolded: "Have you finished eating?"
"Finish eating." Li Qing nodded, "Your Majesty, I will perform for you~"
As he spoke, he peeled the oranges, and in less than half an hour, he had eaten five oranges.
Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded. He was stunned for a long time, and then suddenly became furious: "We only have five oranges in Ming Dynasty. You are the one who made them all. I will chop you up."
Lao Zhu, you are too involved... Li Qing was startled and said quickly, "I just gave an example. Now the emperor should understand the dangers of excessive currency issuance, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was startled and slowly calmed down.
Li Qing said seriously, "If the currency is over-issued, prices will rise. If the currency is over-issued and the court forcibly suppresses prices, the consequences will be even more serious!"
He smashed and smashed, "For example, the five oranges just now."
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent. He tried to defeat Li Qing's remarks, but failed in the end.
After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed heavily and said bitterly: "According to your statement, if we print one million taels, it is equivalent to robbing one million from the people. We... we have become the biggest robber in the world."
"Uh... almost... ahem." Li Qing smiled dryly and breathed a sigh of relief. Lao Zhu finally understood.
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent again, and after a while, he asked: "If you look at it this way... the imperial court will not be able to print money in the future?"
"Not really." Li Qing shook his head, "One orange, one banknote. Ming Dynasty will print as many banknotes as there are oranges. This is the basic principle."
Seeing that Lao Zhu was in a low mood, he comforted him and said: "Under the emperor's wise governance, there will be more and more oranges in the Ming Dynasty in the future. In order to ensure currency circulation, more treasure banknotes will naturally be printed. Of course, the principles must still be followed."
"Um."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, his face looked much better, and at the same time, the look in his eyes towards Li Qing also changed.
Now that he has fully understood it, he can feel the importance of Li Qing's remarks more and more.
Thinking again about what Li Qing said before, 'at the least, the credibility of the court will be reduced, and at the most, the country will be unstable', it is really not an exaggeration at all.
well! After all, we have become the person we hate most and the biggest corrupt official in the world... Zhu Yuanzhang thought sadly.
"Your Majesty...are you okay?"
"Nothing." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed quietly, then patted Li Qing on the shoulder, not concealing his admiration, "Your talk is worth tens of millions of gold."
Li Qing's face lit up with joy, "So...the emperor plans to reward me with gold?"
"..." Zhu Yuanzhang coughed twice and began to draw cakes: "Don't worry, as long as you work hard, we will not treat you badly."
Li Qing has long been immune to any intrusion, and even drew a picture for Lao Zhu:
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will do my job well."
