Zhang Mingwei heard Emperor Chongzhen ask and immediately replied: "Using face value currency means directly specifying the face value, rather than measuring it by weight, fineness, etc.!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately thought of something, smiled immediately, and then shook his head and said: "Sir, this has been done before, and the Ming Dynasty treasure banknote is it! Facts have proved that it is actually not feasible."
The Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were printed in the eighth year of Hongwu, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. Due to the lack of copper at the time, the "Banknote Law" was promulgated in the seventh year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, and a treasure banknote promotion department was established. Under it, there were two bureaus for papermaking and printing, and two treasuries for banknotes and banknotes. In the following year, Zhongshu was established Issued in the name of Nanjing Province.
However, by the Zhengde period, Baochao had actually been abolished. After that, the Ming Dynasty no longer issued banknotes.
Regarding this, Zhang Mingwei, who wrote the Ming Dynasty time travel article, of course knew about it, and immediately replied: "I know about the Ming Dynasty Baochao. This idea is right, but the approach is wrong, which is why this currency reform was not successful!"
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but stop, turned to look at Zhang Mingwei, and asked with great interest, "Sir, do you have a way to bring this Ming Dynasty treasure back to life?"
In the opinion of Emperor Chongzhen, if paper money can be brought back to life, then there will be no shortage of money in the future. He can just print it without thinking, and it will be too easy to get money. Of course he is very interested!
The senior officials of the Ming Dynasty who followed were also very interested in this topic. They immediately pricked their ears and listened attentively.
In their perception, it seems impossible to bring paper money back to life. However, Duke Xing Guo had done too many impossible things, which gave them confidence. They wanted to hear what secret strategy Duke Xing Guo had that could actually bring the Ming Dynasty Baochao that everyone despised back to life?
Just listen to Duke Xingguo's answer to Emperor Chongzhen: "It is impossible at least at this stage to bring the Ming Dynasty Baochao back to life, and it will take at least several decades!"
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was speechless upon hearing this. He couldn't bring himself back to life, so what else could he say?
However, he knew that Zhang Mingwei would not talk nonsense. That was because he had misunderstood and Zhang Mingwei meant something else.
He was still interested in this, so he immediately asked: "What do you mean, sir?"
When Zhang Mingwei heard the question, he glanced at Du Yinxi and others behind him, then turned back to Emperor Chongzhen, and said seriously: "The method of using copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins is still metal currency, but imitating the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. Print numerical values on these coins and use numerical values to measure value!”
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he frowned slightly. He felt that this was like taking off his pants and farting. Was it unnecessary?
But before he could speak, Zhang Mingwei explained in detail: "The value of this currency is actually to make the people believe that the value above is indeed worth the money. This stems from whether the people believe in the court, that is, the court's credibility. ! However, because there were Ming treasure banknotes before, the incorrect issuance mechanism led to excessive depreciation, which made the people of Ming Dynasty very resistant to the value of this currency!"
Having said this, he sighed. If there were no Ming Dynasty treasure notes, the currency reform would be much easier.
However, Zhang Mingwei immediately cheered up and continued to say to Emperor Chongzhen: "In the past, the imperial court had no credibility, and no matter what it did, the people would not believe it. However, in the past two years, the Ming Dynasty has regained peace and prosperity, and I believe that the people have restored their trust in the imperial court. I have gained some confidence. On this basis, we need to use some means, and I think we can try the currency reform again!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh in his heart. In the past, the wind and rain were misty, and the country of the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. It was really difficult for people to follow the decree and violate it.
Thinking of the huge changes in the past two years, it would be strange if he didn't sigh with emotion. Looking at Zhang Mingwei's eyes, he felt a little more grateful, and immediately said to Zhang Mingwei: "Sir, please continue!"
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei went on to explain to them in detail: "If this kind of currency value is actually carried by paper money, it is naturally the best, and the cost for the court is the lowest. But based on the example of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, it is estimated that it is impossible for the people to believe it. . Therefore, the court can take a step back and use metal instead. Print denominations of one, two, five, ten, twenty, fifty, and one hundred on gold, silver, and copper coins, corresponding to those containing gold, silver, and copper. The proportions are different. This has a certain degree of continuity with the current copper coins and silver, and it should be able to reduce the resistance of the people. This is one of them!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen felt that he had thought wrong before. This kind of approach could not be regarded as taking off his pants and farting. It was unnecessary.
So, he immediately asked again: "What about the second one?"
Zhang Mingwei listened and then replied: "Secondly, although the reputation of the imperial court has been restored a lot because of the peace in the world, it is about the money bag. If it only relies on this, I am afraid that it still cannot make the people believe in the coin. It is really worth the money. For this reason, the banknote law must be revised to improve people's trust in coins."
"Oh? Sir, what do you think should be done?" While Emperor Chongzhen asked, Du Yinxi and others also looked at Duke Xingguo with a little curiosity.
After hearing this, Zhang Mingwei continued to talk: "Let's correct the reasons for the failure of the issuance of Ming Bao banknotes! Previously, Ming Bao banknotes were issued with no banknotes and no limit. The Ming Bao banknotes were circulated and issued in large quantities, but few were returned. They were used by the imperial court. Banknotes were used to pay official salaries and military salaries, and to purchase things from the common people, but only a small amount of treasure banknotes were used to collect taxes, and they were not willing to collect faint banknotes in a timely manner. In addition, the production was crude and easy to forge, so the number of treasure banknotes on the market was too large, which greatly exceeded the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty. If the demand is large enough, it will damage the reputation of Ming Dynasty treasure money..."
Having said this, he paused to give Emperor Chongzhen and others time to think, and then continued: "In addition, the banknote law lacks the necessary stability and continuity. For example: at the beginning of the implementation of the banknote law, private use of gold was prohibited. In the second year of the silver trade, it was ordered that taxes and grains could be paid in silver. In the ninth year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that banknotes should be divided into one meter and one stone. In the eighteenth year, it was changed to one stone and one meter, two notes and five hundred coins. In the twenty-seventh year, it was forbidden to move money, and it was only used for special purposes. The banknotes were changed and the old law was implemented. After that, the ban on money was not lifted, and copper coins were minted again and again. Such reneges broke the people's trust, so the banknote law was ruined."
Ever since Zhang Mingwei saw the transaction was not smooth when he was shopping last time, he had people check relevant records based on his past life memories, so he could talk like this.
After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen, Du Yinxi and others fell into deep thought and seriously thought about the reasons for the failure of the issuance of Ming Bao banknotes.
This time, after a long while, Emperor Chongzhen raised his head, looked at Zhang Mingwei and asked: "So, the court must implement the banknote law and maintain stability. Regardless of issuing new coins or withdrawing new coins, the court must first Do you want to approve it yourself?”
"That's right!" When Zhang Mingwei heard this, he said with a smile, "That's what we have to do. Moreover, gold, silver and copper are used as carriers, so that the people will not be as distrustful as treasure banknotes. In the future, the people of the Ming Dynasty will really have confidence in the credibility of the court. When you have complete trust, you can switch to banknotes, which completes the transformation into a credit currency!"
At this point, he pointed to the steam locomotive not far away, and then continued to Emperor Chongzhen: "Nowadays, things that shock the world are happening one after another, which can also broaden the people's horizons and make them more confident that the imperial court can do what they want. Things that were previously thought to be impossible for the imperial court.”
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen looked up at the steam locomotive and nodded thoughtfully.
There had been rumors among the common people that they did not believe in new learning, things that were clairvoyant, had ears for the wind, and could travel thousands of miles in a day. But now, the advent of steam locomotives will definitely shock them. In their cognition, they can believe that the imperial court can indeed do things they can't think of, which increases their prestige.
Zhang Mingwei continued at this time: "Now that the steam engine has been built, it has provided a stable power. For metal currencies, new methods can be used to issue them, and counterfeiting can also be effectively eliminated, and all the issuance of coins can be recovered. The imperial court controls the number of coins of the Ming Dynasty, thereby controlling the stability of the currency value!"
Speaking of this, Zhang Mingwei said to Emperor Chongzhen very seriously: "Currency issuance is a very rigorous science. If done well, it will greatly improve the people's living and working in peace and contentment, and it will have an unimaginable positive effect on reviving the Ming Dynasty. And currency If there is a problem with the issuance, it will seriously affect the stability of Ming Dynasty!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he felt that it was a bit exaggerated. Others might hesitate, but Emperor Chongzhen was the least scrupulous. He immediately said to Zhang Mingwei: "Is what you said, sir, too exaggerated?"
"It's not an exaggeration at all!" Zhang Mingwei immediately said seriously after hearing this, "After the Ming Dynasty's One Whip Law, all taxes in the country were converted into silver and collected. Although this has great benefits, it is precisely this way, It became one of the reasons why the Ming Dynasty was so chaotic before!"
"Isn't it possible?" Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but be very surprised after hearing this.
This time, including the chief minister of the cabinet, Du Yinxi, also echoed: "The Duke's remarks are probably alarmist, right? It's just money, how can it be related to the chaos in the world?"
Although the others didn't speak, they were all nodding. Even Zhu Yulao frowned slightly, obviously unable to understand Zhang Mingwei's words.
Zhang Mingwei looked around them and felt deeply that there is still a long way to go to popularize economics.
So, he said seriously: "I'm not exaggerating at all. There is a lot of knowledge here. If I can explain it a little bit, you will probably understand it!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen still didn't believe it, but based on Zhang Mingwei's past, he said doubtfully: "Sir, please tell me!"
Others also pricked up their ears and listened attentively, wondering, how much knowledge can one have with just money?
