When the water was full, it overflowed. Zhu Hengjia was happy because of the increase in grain production, when he suddenly heard Wang Huacheng, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, say: "I am supervising the country, and I have investigated and dealt with a case of casting private money. The amount is huge, up to 150,000 yuan."<
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"What!"
Zhu Hengjia was furious. When he was in Guangxi, he cast a small batch of Jingjiang Tongbao, but later he felt it was inappropriate. After all, he still took Chongzhen as his reign name and started casting Chongzhen Tongbao. Soon he tasted the benefits of casting money.
, the profit is about doubled. In the past few years, 160,000 yuan has been minted every year to make up for the gap in military expenditure. Unexpectedly, these people who minted private money were so bold that the money they minted almost caught up with the money they minted in a year.
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Lawlessness must be severely punished!
"Wang Shangshu, how does the "Da Ming Code" punish privately minting money?"
"Reporting to the prison state, the "Da Ming Code" stipulates: 'Anyone who casts copper coins privately will be hanged, the craftsman will be guilty of the same crime, and those who are a follower and an envoy with knowledge will each be reduced by one grade, and the official who accuses the arrest will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver'".
"Okay, be strict and get the sentence quickly. You don't have to wait for the autumn verdict. When the report comes, just use the red pen to make the decision."
Jiang Wende, a doctor in the banknote lifting department, said hesitantly: "I am afraid that just killing the country will not solve the problem of making private money among the people."
"Oh, why is this?"
"Nothing else is sharp. The profit of making private money is too great! If the government makes money, the profit is doubled. If the money is minted by the people, the weight is insufficient, and the profit is even greater. For every hundred kilograms of copper material, you can get it after selling it.
Sixteen thousand coins are equivalent to twenty-three taels of silver, and the cost price of a hundred kilograms of copper is only ten taels of silver. Calculated in this way, the profit is as high as one and a half percent; if the money-caster is more evil-minded, he will cast inferior copper coins.
, then the profit can be as high as twice. Such a huge profit stimulates some people to take desperate risks. Since the founding of Taizu, more and more people have secretly minted coins. 'The daily report of capital crimes will never stop'!"
Zhu Hengjia frowned and was silent in thought. Suddenly he smiled happily, stared at Jiang Wende and said: "Qing Jiang is very familiar with money matters, and he must have some clever tricks to teach the orphans."
When Jiang Wende heard this, he couldn't help but secretly admire him. Nothing could be hidden from Jian Guo's old man's discernment. He did have a trick. He originally wanted to show it off later, but unexpectedly, Jian Guo ordered it directly.
"Supervising the country, I believe that in order to crack down on private money, two things must be done. First, instead of arresting those who mint private money, it is better to control gold, silver, copper, white lead and other metal minerals from the source. As long as the mineral source is controlled,
They want to cast it but they don’t have the raw materials to cast it."
Zhu Hengjia suddenly thought of the gold and silver mine in Mufu, Lijiang, and nodded, "It seems that we must intensify our efforts to crack down on private mining of precious metal mines. But Jiang Qing, why do we need to control even white lead mines?"
"The prisoner country does not know that silver can be extracted from white lead. The Huguang area is rich in white lead, and the price per load is only two taels of silver. It is shipped to Guangdong and sold to merchants who go overseas to do business, and each load can get six taels of silver.
"Sea ships transport the white lead to Japan, and each load of white lead can be smelted into eighteen taels of silver. The profit is greater than casting copper coins."
"It must be banned," Zhu Hengjia yelled, his face twisted with anger. He was frugal and frugal in order to save so much money. They both minted private money and sold white lead. They earned more than Gu.
,This is outrageous!
"Secondly, I think we need to work harder to prevent counterfeiting of copper coins."
"Oh, how to prevent counterfeiting?"
"First of all, we need to ask master calligraphers to write money inscriptions. Our calligraphy is difficult for those private money dealers to imitate. I think that He Wuzou, a great scholar, is a master of calligraphy and can take on this responsibility." Jiang Wende slapped He Wuzou in the face.
.
I was so happy that He Wuzou was twirling his beard and smiling. This guy knows how to be a good man. I must help him if I have the chance.
Zhu Hengjia said to He Wuzu: "He Qing has to work hard for this. He must use the most complicated fonts to write Qianwen, making it difficult for those thieves to imitate."
"I dare not obey my order," He Wuzou was so happy that his beard stood up. From now on, all the copper coins used in the world were engraved with the money inscriptions written by me, and my calligraphy was undoubtedly famous all over the world!
"Secondly, after strict control of mining sources, those who mint private money will not be able to get copper. They may grind off the edges of existing copper coins and use copper to cast coins. I think that a raised outer ring should be added around the coins.
The outline and the money inscriptions should also be close to the square hole in the center, so that those who mint private money cannot mint money with money."
"Accurate!"
The more Zhu Hengjia saw Jiang Wende, the more he liked him and defined him as a talent. Talents must be promoted.
"Jiang Qing, I have promoted you to be a member of the fifth-grade household department, Wailang, who is responsible for money affairs. You must give me a batch of fine workmanship that is difficult to imitate!"
"Thank you for overseeing the country, I will definitely do my best until I die!"
Jiang Wende suddenly stepped forward and knelt down in front of Zhu Hengjia: "I have the courage to ask the imperial court to no longer only collect taxes and corvees, but also collect both money and money."
During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the Ming Dynasty taxed wheat in the summer and rice in the autumn. During the Wanli period, Zhang Juzheng implemented the "One Whip Law" to combine various complex land tax levies and various types of corvee to collect silver; the force of the corvee was also changed.
In order to replace labor with silver, it facilitated collection and promoted the development of industry and commerce.
"Qing Jiang, why is this? In the past few decades, the Ming Dynasty has always collected taxes. Why should we change it to silver and collect both money?"
"Because the output of our Ming silver mines is not high, and the silver required for taxation is huge. I have made calculations. In the past few decades, the Ming Dynasty has imported more than 500,000 kilograms of silver from Japan and other Western countries every year. Once these countries
If the production of silver is reduced, there will be a "silver shortage" in our Ming Dynasty. How can a huge country leave its tax revenue in the hands of Japanese and barbarians? Moreover, these are troubled times. As long as people have extra silver, they keep it at home and are reluctant to spend it.
This reduces the amount of silver on the market. In recent years, the trend of expensive silver and cheap money has become more and more serious. Taxation only collects silver, which actually increases the burden on the people and makes them miserable! If the tax is changed to silver, copper coins
The combined collection will not only reduce the burden on the people, but also allow the new money minted by the court to circulate quickly in the market. It is really a great thing that benefits the country and the people!"
Zhu Hengjia was shocked and lost his mind for a moment. Is this Jiang Wende really an ancient person? He actually knows the financial knowledge of later generations!
In fact, many foreign scholars do not understand the Ming Dynasty's choice of silver as its main currency. A scholar named Ives once said bluntly: "It is a shame that a country that is not rich in silver actually chooses silver as its currency.
It’s a ridiculous thing to entrust your financial life to others."
Zhu Hengjia changed his view of Jiang Wende and upgraded him from a talent to a wizard. A wizard needs a bigger official title.
"Jiang Qing, I will promote you to the rank of fifth-grade doctor. You will not only cast exquisite copper coins for the Ming Dynasty, but also work out a suitable exchange ratio. In the future, when collecting taxes across the country, the people will be allowed to choose to use silver or silver coins.
It’s copper coins that pay taxes.”
Darling, I was promoted to two levels in one day! All the officials in the Liang Palace stared at Jiang Wende with envy. They all straightened their backs, hoping that Zhu Hengjia would quickly ask him questions.
This chapter has been completed!