Cheating Kangxi Chapter 572 Here comes the troublemaker
The old emperor deliberately used the military power in the northwest to dangle everyone. Those who are ambitious will definitely be tempted.
However, these have nothing to do with Yuzhu.
Yuzhu was very busy every day. After attending the imperial court in the palace, he returned to the Ministry of Revenue to fight with various officials about money and food.
Today's Ministry of Household Affairs, in terms of financial resources, has always been the land tax paid by each province, followed by the head tax. Commercial taxes, which should have been large, are ranked very low.
This is mainly the result of unreasonable taxation.
Although this dynasty focused on agriculture and suppressed business, the commercial tax rate was only one-twentieth.
In addition, due to the existence of unscrupulous officials and subordinate officials, it is actually difficult to collect taxes from profiteers.
Since Qin Shihuang, rulers of all dynasties have attached great importance to making money.
The Kangxi Tongbao of this dynasty was cast separately by the Ministry of Household Affairs and each province according to the ratio of six copper to four lead.
Because transporting copper materials and other materials over long distances will definitely result in serious losses.
The imperial court set up the Qianfa Hall in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and under the Qianfa Hall was the Baoquan Bureau. This Baoquan Bureau was the Mint Bureau.
Then, each province also has money-making agencies. The money-making yamen in Zhejiang is called Baozhe Bureau, and the money-making yamen in Shanxi is called Baojin Bureau.
When making money, copper coins with square holes are all made.
Yuzhu had complete household information at hand. After more than a month of careful research, he found that due to the imbalance of trade, a large amount of silver flowed in from overseas trade, while copper coins were used less and less.
Well, due to the colonization of America, the mining of large silver mines in Bohemia and the influx of American gold and silver into Europe, the actual value of silver depreciated significantly.
In this era, that is, between the 17th century and the end of the 18th century, the major imperialist countries in the world all adopted a monetary system in which silver coins were the mainstay and gold coins were supplemented.
By the end of the 19th century, the great powers all adopted the gold standard system, and the main currency was gold coins.
According to Alice, the current currency system in the UK is mainly shillings and pennies. Generally speaking, the currency value of the pound is too high and it only exists as a unit for taxation.
Among them, the largest unit of gold coins is the royal rose, 1 royal rose = 2 pounds = 40 shillings
Among silver coins, 1 pound = 20 shillings, 1 crown = 5 shillings, and 1 shilling = 20 pence.
As for France, among the silver coins, 1 livre = 1 franc = 20 sous, and 1 piastre = 16 sous.
The situation in Europe mainly depends on the situation of these two old imperialisms, which can be used as a reference.
The overseas trade between the Qing Dynasty and foreigners mainly involved foreigners bringing silver in exchange for silk, tea, porcelain and other goods from the Qing Dynasty.
Over time, the Qing Dynasty was definitely a country with a trade surplus, while Western countries generally had a trade deficit.
However, the Qing Dynasty was not a country rich in copper resources, and its main currency was actually copper, which led to an extremely serious situation.
As soon as the newly issued copper coins appear, they will be snatched up by unscrupulous officials and profiteers.
After these people melted the copper coins and used the extracted copper materials to make copperware, they could make huge profits of more than ten times or even dozens of times by changing hands.
Before the gold standard, the silver in the Qing Dynasty actually overflowed, and inflation was very serious.
In today's market, one tael of silver can be exchanged for 650 copper coins at most.
Such a huge empire, but its financial system was extremely outdated, and it didn't even know how to collect seigniorage. How could such a great Qing Dynasty not fall to the hands of the great powers?
On the surface, the Qing Dynasty fell at the hands of Yuan Xiangcheng.
In fact, Yuan Datou would not have been able to succeed if the Western powers had not continued to undermine the prestige and strength of the Qing Dynasty.
There is going to be a big war in the northwest, and it will last for several years. The old emperor will definitely be short of money.
At this juncture, if Yuzhu proposes to mint silver coins, the hope of success is very high.
Moreover, it is enough to bring pounds, shillings and pence from Takukou, as well as French livres and sous as necessary references.
Yuzhu wanted to accomplish great things, so he always looked for the right time, that is, when the old emperor was in urgent need of money or troops, he would come up with his golden ideas.
After Yuzhu entered the palace, he took the complete coin minting plan and explained it to the old emperor in detail.
It must be admitted that the old emperor was very smart. After listening carefully, he immediately grasped the key points.
"Zhu'er, according to you, after the current ten taels of silver were minted into silver coins, it actually cost only five taels of silver?" The old emperor was very interested and stared at Yuzhu and asked.
Yuzhu smiled and said: "Khan Ama Shengming." It is impossible to promote the reform of the monetary system without letting the old emperor take advantage.
At this time, the bureaucrats of the Qing Dynasty were all looking at the sky from a well, and no one understood what the world monetary system was.
According to Yuzhu's plan, it is simply a good thing to gradually replace the copper coins that continue to make the court lose money with silver coins.
In terms of financial management, in the entire Qing bureaucracy, Yuzhu ranked second. Who dared to be first?
If you want to spend money, look for Yuzhu. It has become a conditioned reflex for the old emperor.
"Okay, you go ahead and make arrangements to trial-produce some new silver coins." The old emperor agreed to Yuzhu's proposal without consulting anyone.
After Yuzhu returned, he wrote a letter to Alice and asked her to contact European mints, mainly "Baroque" mints, to try to introduce a full set of manufacturing processes and equipment.
In this era of old Europe, there is no complete patent principle. As long as you are willing to pay foreigners, let alone a spiral coin minting machine, even your own mother will dare to sell it to you.
After settling the important matter, Yuzhu was in a good mood and called Zhou Quan over to have tea and chat together.
However, not long after I had been relaxing, something happened in the Hubu Yamen.
"Reporting to the Zhongtang, Nan Xincang outside Chaoyang Gate, something big happened..."
Yuzhu listened carefully and found out that it was the disciples of the Eight Banners who, when they went to collect their rations, probably because they disliked Chen Mi, they deliberately made trouble and beat up the Cangchang doctor.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After the grain from the south is transported to the capital, it is concentrated in major granaries in the Gyeonggi area and is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The Ministry of Household Affairs appointed a minister to take charge of this matter, called the Cangchang Minister.
The Cangchang Shilang is fully responsible for the arrival, acceptance, transportation, storage and distribution of grain. He is stationed in Tongzhou New City and has a Langzhong, a Yuanwailang and various warehouse supervisors.
The warehouse minister is a super fat position. The entire warehouse system is very independent and a system of its own.
If we have to make an analogy, the Minister of Cangchang is equivalent to the Deputy Minister of Finance and Director of the Central Grain Reserve Bureau of the former Soviet Union.
In order to fear that the disciples of the Eight Banners would despise the distance to Tongzhou and deliberately cause trouble, Tongzhou's Cangchang specially set up Nanxincang outside Chaoyang Gate.
Nanxincang has only one function, which is to distribute rations for one of the two core crops of the Eight Banners disciples.
As for the money from the other hard-core crops, you have to go to the Eight Banners Salary Office in the Hubu Yamen.
There are jade pillars in the Hubu Yamen, so no one dares to make trouble.
However, Nan Xincang was different. It is said that Liu Beizi, who was the leader of the trouble, actually threatened to beat up the Cangchang doctor of Nan Xincang.
"Brother Zhusheng, what do you think?" Yuzhu did not get angry, but asked Zhou Quan slowly.
Zhou Quan shook his folding fan and said with a smile: "When Dong Weng first took charge of the household department, there were people who dared to make trouble. This obviously did not take you seriously. However, the student thought that Dong Weng, you can just wait and see what happens."
"
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
"Oh, why?" Yuzhu asked Zhou Quan staring at him to see what explanation he would give.
Zhou Quan said confidently: "As the saying goes, if a dog bites a dog, it will be a hairy mouth. Let them make a big fuss and alert the emperor. Hehe, it is the time to use troops and food in the northwest. Only when the emperor is angry can you take action to squeeze him out.
Pussy!"
Yuzhu nodded. Zhou Quan's view was quite in line with the current situation of the Qing Dynasty's officialdom.
To put it bluntly, even if Yuzhu is the top leader of the household department, it is not convenient for him to check the accounts and grain storage of Tongzhou warehouse just after taking office.
Since ancient times, those who have achieved great things have been good at following the trend rather than working hard against it.
In the afternoon, after going to the Yamen, Yuzhu went to the Tong family's old house.
Tong Guowei insisted that Longkoduo and Yuzhu must return home every ten days to have meals with the old man.
When Yuzhu arrived, Tong Guoweizheng and Yuzhu's fifth uncle Qingyuan were talking in the room.
Longkodo hadn't arrived yet. After Yuzhu entered the room to greet him, Tong Guowei twirled his beard and said with a smile: "Zhu'er, you are already in the middle hall, and your fifth uncle is still a young minister of Guanglu Temple. How embarrassing is it to say that?"
As soon as Yuzhu heard this, he knew that the old man's old habit of loving his son had happened again.
In Lao Tong's family, the children of Tong Guowei's lineage, except for the third child Longkodo, the seventh child Qingfu, the eighth child Qingtai, and Yuzhu, the rest are basically eating and waiting to die.
The old emperor was very particular about the balance of power. Longkodo's title of Grand Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion was just an additional title.
In layman's terms, today's Longkodo is actually an admiral of the Nine Sects with a bachelor's salary.
This is the same as the fact that almost all the governors in various places have the title of Minister of War, but they are not the official Minister of War.
However, Yuzhu was different. He was a serious scholar of Dongge University, and he was also the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
As we all know, the Shangshu of the Household Department who is appointed by the banner nobles is the top leader of the Household Department who holds the real power.
"Mafa, it's not convenient for me, a junior, to interrupt in matters concerning the elders, right?" Yuzhu deliberately reminded Tong Guowei that there had been deep grudges between his fifth uncle Qingyuan and Longkodo.
Of course Tong Guowei knew the inside story, but Qingyuan had just given him a green agate snuff bottle, so he agreed to help clear it up as soon as his mind was turned on, and he was too embarrassed to go back on his word on the spot.
"Haha, Zhu'er, in your capacity, can't you just say a word to your fifth uncle in private without letting your Ama know?" Tong Guowei was acting like a hooligan.
Yuzhu said calmly: "Mafa, there is no airtight wall in the world."
Tong Guowei smiled awkwardly and was about to comfort the disappointed Qingyuan when he heard a noise coming from outside the door, "Please be safe, Mr. Third."
Hey, Longkodo is here.
Tong Guowei sighed and stared at the jade pillar.
However, Yuzhu deliberately lowered his head and refused to look at Tong Guowei.
Well, as an elderly person at home, seeing the misfortune of the third child’s family, it’s inevitable that they would want to help the weak. In fact, it’s completely understandable.
However, if Yuzhu promotes Qingyuan, Long Keduo will definitely be very unhappy. This is a small gain but a big gain!
(PS: The second update is here. The monthly tickets are pitifully small. Please give me the motivation for the third update. Amen!)