Changing the Yuan Dynasty was a normal operation for emperors. It was not until almost a thousand years later that the ritual system was clearly stipulated that one emperor should have one Yuan.
Some emperors especially like to change the reign name. Whenever there is a major event, they will change the reign name.
For example, during the reign of Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the former Han Dynasty, many major events occurred.
Although later people thought that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a rare wise king, in fact, the government and the public at that time were in great turmoil during his reign, whether politically, economically, or militarily.
Liu Chexiong was a man of great talent, wanted to do many things, and issued many reform measures. In the end, he exhausted the country's power and launched a war to annihilate the Xiongnu.
Although he achieved great feats, he also exhausted the country's power, leaving the people in the country in dire straits and causing constant rebellions.
In other words, when you encounter a monarch with great talents and strategies, the people may not necessarily be able to live a good life. The only people who praise him are the nobles who benefited, and it is the later generations, because what they saw is different from what the people experienced at that time.
A look.
There is no need to go into details about the merits and demerits of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. I just want to say that this emperor changed his reign name eleven times. He reigned for more than fifty years and changed his title once every five years on average. Anyone who reads history knows how annoying this is.
Li Po has been on the throne for six years now, and has made great achievements over the years. During this period, the most important and consistent task of the court is to stop the chaos.
The world has now settled down, so in the eyes of some courtiers, changing the Yuan Dynasty is a matter of course.
It was just that Li Po had previously issued an edict to change the way the chronological history books were written, which had the implication of being consistent. The ministers did not dare to easily submit a letter to suggest changing the Yuan Dynasty, so they wanted to use another way to remind the emperor and wait and see.
.
Li Po has his own plans.
Minting new coins came second. Previously, copper treasures and silver treasures were circulated in the Tang Dynasty. To this day, the effect seems to be pretty good.
Especially since the construction of infrastructure projects in the Tang Dynasty, coupled with various military expenditures, various expenditures of the imperial government, the sale of land, etc., the circulation of money has become faster and faster.
Li Po knew what this meant, which meant that transactions increased and business began to flourish.
This is just the beginning. The war in the East China Sea is coming to an end. To attack Liaodong? It seems that it is not necessary yet.
He had been to Liaodong and walked back and forth there. How should I put it, it was different from the convenient transportation and smooth road later. At this time, Liaodong was very vicious.
The mountains and forests are all over the place, and wild beasts are rampant. The savage tribes in the northeast are one of the biggest dangers. It is not an exaggeration to describe the mountains and rivers as barren.
Goguryeo has invaded and occupied Liaodong for some years, and has built many forts there. It looks okay, but in fact the Goguryeo people have very weak control there.
Even though it was once the place where the Fuyu people started, most of them now exist as a strategic buffer zone with the Turks and the Central Plains dynasties.
Not to mention the national power of Goguryeo, even the powerful Sui Dynasty was unable to develop Liaodong, let alone the current Tang Dynasty.
In Li Po's opinion, Liaodong will be a good place for the Hu people to establish their country for a long time.
The Central Plains occasionally raised troops and brought them under their rule, but they could not last long... On the contrary, the place close to Youzhou, where the Khitan people and the Xi tribe lived, if captured, could form another barrier in northern Hebei.
In other words, by immigrating, building roads, searching for the tribes in eastern Liaoning, expelling them, or simply killing them all, Liaodong will truly become the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty.
But those prerequisites are almost impossible to accomplish given the current national strength.
This is very similar to the Western Regions, Tubo, and Southeast Asia. They are all within the sphere of influence of the Central Plains Dynasty, but it is just a sphere of influence and cannot carry out truly effective rule.
Once there is an ambition to expand, while squeezing national power, the price may be unbearable for any cold weapon dynasty in the Central Plains.
…………
Therefore, when the war in the East China Sea is over, the focus is not on Liaodong. Haiyi will be the future direction.
What's on the sea now? It's hard to say, because sea goods are not available and transportation is not easy...but sea salt will be a very important thing, and the art of drying sea salt is also very simple.
After drying, impurities are removed with plant ash, and it can be eaten after several filtrations.
The main purpose of making sea salt at this time is not to replace lake salt, well salt, and rock salt, but to bring salted seafood to the inland for sale, which can supplement people's food sources.
Food is the most important thing for the people. Only when there is enough food can the population grow rapidly.
Of course, the salt sold by the government is very expensive nowadays and has always been a controlled substance. Even the Turks in the north want to buy it, but only their nobles can afford it.
After sea salt technology matures, salt, a daily necessity, will no longer be so valuable.
Even people who are familiar with economics know how the fluctuation in the prices of daily necessities, that is, basic materials, will have an impact on society.
Salt, tea, cotton, and cloth were still in the ascendant industries in the Central Plains, and they would become powerful tools for the Tang Dynasty. By the way, they would also spread the culture, coins, and other things of the Central Plains to further places.
Well, in general, under the current conditions, it is not easy to make a fortune from the sea, but it is still easy to find some good things.
Along the long coastline in the east, the horizons of the people of the Central Plains can be greatly expanded. In the transactions, the superior civilization will show a crushing attitude.
And Li Po also believed that good things that could feed the Central Plains would appear one after another. In fact, human trafficking alone could greatly increase the national power of the Tang Dynasty.
…………
"I heard that the Protectorate of the East China Sea discovered a mountain of silver in Fusang. I don't know if it is true or not. If this is true, I don't have to worry about it."
Wei Jie saw the emperor playing with the silver treasure. The silver coins were twirling between the emperor's fingers. They were so silky and smooth that it made people dizzy just looking at them. However, the emperor was a little lost in thought.
After waiting for a while, he didn't see the emperor speaking, so he asked.
Changsun Shunde suddenly found an opportunity to speak, and said with a smile: "Wei Shaofu didn't know something. This was reported in August, and the court immediately ordered people to review it. The details are not known yet, but it seems that it was reported.
Have to wait until next year.
But I think it must be true. Last year, when we sent the Japanese people to Tang Dynasty, I heard people say that the Japanese valued silverware, and indeed they found a lot of silverware from their houses.
From this, it is obvious that there must be a silver mine in Fusang, but I never thought that the deposit would be so huge that a silver mountain would be discovered. I think Wei Shaofu will really not have to worry about the mine in the future."
Wei Jie smiled warmly and said to himself that it all depends on the quality of the silver mine. It cannot be used. If the texture is mixed, no matter how abundant the silver mine is, what's the use?
He has been serving as the Shaofu Supervisor for three or four years, and he has become more and more proficient in business, which is not comparable to a government official like Changsun Shunde.
But he couldn't say that, so Wei Jie cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your words, Sir. Because silver treasures are easy to carry for long distances, people spend more and more on them, and because there are too few mines, there have been many problems in recent years." find it difficult to.
If Fusang can be mined in large quantities, it will indeed solve the imperial court's urgent needs."
Li Po looked at the two people talking warmly, put the silver treasure in his hand back into the box, and picked up a copper coin to look at.
The style is still the same, the sky is round and the place is square, there is nothing special about it, except that the surface is a bit smoother than the old money, with cloud patterns engraved on it, and the words Yuanzhen Tongbao are clearly visible, which is obviously more beautiful than the old money. Excellent.
Copper coins are made of alloy. The Tang Dynasty used copper-zinc alloy, which has a yellow color and is not easy to be damaged or rusted. It is basically out of the category of five-baht coins.
The same is true for silver treasures, which was a pioneering work in the Tang Dynasty. According to the established historical trajectory, the measurement unit of silver should be two.
But now the unit of measurement for the silver treasures issued by the Tang Dynasty is pieces, and the Tang government has even mandated the exchange unit. Everyone knows what this means, so there is no need to go into detail.
And now, a new variety has finally emerged, Jinbao.
One has the same style as a silver treasure, with mountain and water patterns printed on it, and the word Yuan Zhen on both sides, except that the front is in official script and the back is in small seal script.
In fact, before the Sui Dynasty, gold and silver could not really enter the field of currency circulation. Yinbao was minted by Li Po after he entered Jinyang in order to solve the problem of currency tightening.
Nowadays, gold treasures have appeared again. It’s not that there are not enough coins. Regardless of gold treasures or silver treasures, they are actually prepared for traveling in the Tang Dynasty.
Once gold and silver enter the monetary system in this way, they will also have attributes that are conducive to commercial transactions. They have one thing in common with later banknotes, such as being light and easy to carry.
Another common point is that the value is not equal to its own value and must be endorsed by the government, which means that the credit problem needs to be resolved.
Nowadays, it can only be used for trade within the Tang Dynasty, and foreigners will not recognize it, because in the eyes of others, the Tang Dynasty does not have that credibility.
Later, everyone knew the important position of credit in currency circulation.
The emergence of gold treasures and silver treasures has already possessed the nature of credit currency to a certain extent. To be recognized by foreign nations, it is very simple. This requires the Tang Dynasty to make a commitment with its own national strength.
Obviously this did not happen overnight. Ten or twenty years is nothing, decades is common sense.
…………
Li Po finally put down the coin and said with a satisfied smile: "Thank you Wei Qing for your hard work. The new coin is so beautifully made that you can't put it down."
Having said this, he pondered for a while and said: "Let's do this. Next year, the palace purchases will be paid for with new money. The young master must be prepared... The ugly thing is, if the new money is not as useful as the old money, I only ask the young master. .”
Wei Jie stood up and bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. If something goes wrong in such a big event, I will not be able to see you again."
Li Po nodded. If something like Daye Baiqian really happened, he was not Yang Guang and would definitely cut off a few heads.
"There is almost no doubt that the silver is made in Japan. Once the verification is clear, the Shaofu will send people to supervise the procurement. The journey is long. It is estimated that some transfer places will need to be built. Let the Ministry of Household Affairs handle this."