Chapter 100 The problem of money and food cannot be avoided
"Back to Your Majesty, according to the statistics of the ministers, there are still more than 46,200 stones of grain, more than 136.7 million yuan of money, and 5,000 pieces of silk in the warehouses in Tokyo..."
This small amount of food and money, not only to pay salaries to officials, but also to pay salaries to the imperial guards, could not last long. His big man was so poor that Liu Chengyou tried his best to maintain his demeanor. It can be seen from his complexion that his mood was not the same. not good.
Probably knowing what Liu Chengyou was worried about, Wang Zhang followed up and reported: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, after the chaos in the river is calmed down, the world will be solemn, and the court will not have huge expenditures in a short period of time. At present, the autumn grain harvest in various places will be completed, and the autumn taxes will be collected." It will also be put into the warehouse, which will be enough to alleviate the country's poverty. On the Tokyo market, private businessmen and merchants have already put food in it to alleviate the food shortage and supply the capital..."
Listening to Wang Zhang's narration, Liu Chengyou's expression obviously softened. After thinking about it, he couldn't help but say: "Tokyo has insufficient storage and is still in danger of food shortage. However, the market price of food is still high, and the people may not be able to afford it. I often hear that in the city, The poor will starve to death! It is my opinion that the government should set prices and suppress the price of food!"
Liu Chengyou is bringing up old matters again.
Hearing this, Wang Zhang's face suddenly showed an anxious look, and he quickly clasped his hands and admonished: "Since we are in danger of lack of food, this strategy must not be adopted! Although the price of food is high, it has improved greatly compared to the early days of the country. Grain merchants from all over the country can only rush to transport grain when they hear that it is profitable. Otherwise, without foreign grain entering Beijing, it is really difficult to support the consumption of hundreds of thousands of officials, soldiers and civilians in Tokyo with only official reserves!"
Faced with Liu Chengyou's "misfortune", Wang Zhang seemed a little anxious.
"The foundation of a country is to have enough food. If the people cannot eat enough, how can I feel so embarrassed!" Liu Chengyou suddenly said angrily.
If Liu Chengyou's words were taken seriously, he would have lost. When the country was extremely poor, and he had to pay six to seven hundred dollars for a bucket of rice, he was not so excited. He encouraged the war without blinking an eye...
"Your Majesty! I think what Mr. Wang said is reasonable!" After hearing the questions from the king and his ministers, Yang Bin couldn't help but speak up and supported Wang Zhang: "On the matter of food prices, just let the people do what they want. Merchants can make a profit. , the rice from all over the world comes to the capital, and the food is abundant but the price is low. Your Majesty is worried that the capital is short of food, and also lowers the price of rice. Is there any way to have both worlds?"
Yang Bin's style was still so direct and his words were unceremonious. Liu Chengyou only glanced at him briefly and thought about it secretly.
What Wang Zhang and Yang Bin said makes sense. Just like Liu Chengyou, who worked hard to crack down on inflated food prices shortly after entering Tokyo last year. When there is a shortage of food, it is necessary to forcefully suppress food prices. The national court does not have that strength. When the time comes, doing it by force is simply a joke.
Basically, as long as Liu Chengyou imposes a price limit on rice grains, you can be sure that the wealthy merchants who have been actively transporting grain to Tokyo to make huge profits during this period will definitely be deterred. Liu Chengyou has experienced this before.
It is true that Liu Chengyou is concerned about the food problem, but he does not necessarily need to use hard measures to limit food prices. He has often had this idea, but he just cannot bear the feeling of being controlled by others.
Thinking rationally, just like Yang and Wang's suggestions, it is more suitable to liberalize the food policy in a short period of time. As for the livelihood issues of the people in Tokyo that Liu Chengyou is worried about, Tokyo has been able to survive in extremely difficult times before. Nowadays, is Tokyo a place where ordinary people stay...
However, Liu Chengyou's concern for the people also comes from the bottom of his heart. After all, survival is only the most basic requirement, and it is impossible for him to get a group of people who are hungry to support his rule.
After thinking seriously for a while, Liu Chengyou's eyes gradually calmed down. It is inevitable to continue to relax food policies and open up food prices, but it does not mean letting things go. Food involves the survival of the people and the food prices in the capital and even the country must not be controlled. In the hands of a group of merchants, although they are still strong enough now.
Facing Wang Zhang, Liu Chengyou said directly: "Opening up does not mean laissez-faire. As for the Third Division, we must constantly monitor grain prices in Tokyo. Regarding the autumn harvest, I issued an order in Zhengzhou and worked hard to promote and implement it. The imperial court In Tokyo, a new Changping Warehouse was established to temporarily collect the grain collected by the people from the autumn tax and store it as official storage. In the future, Changping Warehouse should also be re-established in various state capitals..."
Grain reserves must be carried out vigorously.
"Yes!" At a very fast speed, Wang Zhang understood Liu Chengyou's purpose of setting up Chang Pingcang, and he agreed simply.
In Wang Zhang's view, the little emperor was indeed arrogant, but he was still calm and did not let him spend his hidden wealth to buy grain to replenish the warehouse...
At this time, Liu Chengyou nodded with satisfaction, let out a breath, and casually asked something a little happier: "I heard that new money has been developed?"
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"I'm about to report to Your Majesty!" Wang Zhang held up his official robe a little, took out two new yellow coins from his sleeves, and asked someone to present them to Liu Chengyou: "This is the mother coin cast by the money-casting supervisor using the same method. , the materials are copper, tin, and lead, with a three-dimensional ratio. The mold has been made, and we only need to wait for His Majesty’s approval before we can start the formal casting and promotion!”
Liu Chengyou picked up two mother coins and weighed them in his hands. They were very light and had no special style. The holes were square and the circumference was round, but the quality was good, the craftsmanship was quite exquisite, and the handwriting was relatively clear. Qianyu Tongbao.
From Liu Chengyou's point of view, he was quite satisfied. The message was passed on, and the ministers took over the observations one by one. When it was Su Yugui's turn, he saw a smile on his old face and said to Liu Chengyou: "In terms of casting technology, I have nothing to do with it." Those who are picky are just those with minor flaws..."
"Su Qing, just speak up!" Seeing that the old man wanted to talk in circles again, Liu Chengyou waved his hand.
"Back to Your Majesty, there is still room for improvement in the writing, characters, and patterns on the coins. Your Majesty can invite calligraphers and painters to redo the layout!" Su Yugui said.
For Liu Chengyou, this was just a trivial matter. Noticing Su Yugui's expectant eyes, Liu Chengyou ordered: "The bachelors, doctors, and those who are good at calligraphy and painting from the three libraries should each submit their calligraphy and painting samples in preparation for selection. This matter will be handed over to Liu Chengyou." Su Qing will be in charge and cooperate with the Money Making Supervisor."
Su Yugui: "Yes!"
"Over there at the money casting supervisor, the officials in charge of casting and the craftsmen who develop casting techniques should be rewarded!" Liu Chengyou looked at Wang Zhang again.
Wang Zhang said: "I have already dealt with it."
"How much copper material does the imperial court have in reserve for making coins?" Liu Chengyou asked what he was most concerned about.
"So far, the Money Making Supervisor has collected more than two million jins of copper, including more than 100,000 jins of copper..."
"How few!" Liu Chengyou rubbed his forehead and couldn't help but take a breath.
For the entire country, this small amount of copper material is really shabby, and it took more than a year to collect it.
"I brought back the bronzes of Buddha statues from the river, and used them as casting materials for the money-casting supervisors. There are already mines, and we will increase the smelting, mining and transportation of ores and import them to Tokyo." After thinking for a while, Liu Chengyou said directly: "There are many folk bronzes, three The Secretary can discuss a collection law to solve the copper shortage."
If Liu Chengyou's original style was followed, he would have issued an edict directly and unconditionally collected private bronzes. This was inevitable. If the imperial court paid for the redemption, he could directly declare bankruptcy. Therefore, the only way to do it was to force it, as if it was already brewing. Just like destroying the Buddha, he directly plundered. This kind of offending and highly criticized work, Liu Chengyou decided that as an emperor, he had better not be at the forefront of everything...
"In addition, continue to develop and improve the technology of the gall copper method to increase production!" Liu Chengyou added.
The gall copper method is the wet method of copper smelting. Simply put, iron is used to replace copper. This is the development and progress of copper smelting technology.