() In the past, we discussed the role of banknotes and the general method of issuance. Therefore, when this topic was mentioned now, Wen Tiren, who participated in the discussion of banknotes, directly asked the initiator: "Uncle Zhongxing, you said that we should use the reserve system to issue banknotes.
, I don’t know how to operate it specifically?”
Zhong Jinwei looked at Emperor Chongzhen who was already sitting on the throne and found that he was also looking at him expectantly.
"Your Majesty, I have considered this matter before, but now that cement and other things have come out, I have a better idea." Zhong Jinwei said directly without hesitation.
"Master Zhong, come quickly."
"Your Majesty, I believe that the process of banknotes, in principle, is to receive silver coins and then print the corresponding amount of banknotes and send them out. However, there are differences between theory and practice. This can be done."
Zhong Jinwei stretched out his left hand, clenched it into a fist and stretched out one finger. This seemed to be organized and professional: "First, the Ministry of Finance will print some banknotes and put them out for later use."
"Second, the banknotes are handed over to the issuing agency. This issuing agency must follow the basic principles, that is, accept the physical objects and issue banknotes; accept the banknotes and return the physical objects. Specifically, we can start with the official's salary, which is all detained in this issuing agency, and the issuing agency
Give them the banknotes. If they don't trust the banknotes in their hands, or if they can't use the banknotes in their hands, they can come to the issuing institution to exchange them for cash. It's all voluntary." Zhong Jinwei said while holding out his second finger.
"Master Zhong, if this is the case, if they all exchange it for cash, wouldn't the banknotes be printed in vain?" Emperor Chongzhen didn't understand very well. Although he had said it once before, when it was implemented, Zhong Jinwei also said this. Emperor Chongzhen
So I asked again.
"Your Majesty, this is to establish the credibility of the court. If there is no trust, there will be no establishment. This is also the same reason for the court. This is to let them understand that this banknote is equivalent to cash. In this way, even if the banknotes are used a few times in the first time,
All of them must be exchanged for cash. Once they believe in the credibility of the court, they will naturally not come back to exchange for cash. After all, it is too convenient to use banknotes."
Zhong Jinwei was convinced that as long as the credibility of the court was restored, the trend of paper money replacing physical currency would be unstoppable.
"Oh, I understand, Master Zhong continued."
Zhong Jinwei extended a third finger: "Third, the imperial court has stated that all taxes can be paid with paper money, and paper money is used first."
This was easy to understand and no one raised any doubts.
"Fourth, the issuing agency opens the window so that people can use their home silver coins to exchange for banknotes. This may not be much at first, but there will definitely be demand for it in the future."
"Uncle Zhongxing, if all these people come to exchange for one-cent banknotes, the court will suffer losses. How should we deal with this?" Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Household Affairs, interrupted and asked.
"Of course we can't let them change it like this. Various denominations are matched, and the combination depends on the inventory of the issuing agency at the time." Zhong Jinwei said without hesitation.
Suddenly, he remembered that in later generations, when he went to the bank to exchange low-denomination currency during the Chinese New Year, he often failed to exchange it. He wondered if this was also the reason.
Zhong Jinwei waited for a while, and when he didn't hear anyone else ask any more questions, he continued to hold out his fifth finger and said: "Fifth, the state-owned enterprises will issue as many banknotes as they have profits. This will speed up the circulation of banknotes."
"How do you say this?" Wen Tiren also joined in and asked the question.
"The money earned by state-owned enterprises belongs to the court, and the silver earned is deposited in the banknote issuing agency. Then the court can take the corresponding amount of banknotes from the issuing agency and use it. If the person receiving the banknotes does not believe in the banknotes, they can issue them
The institution exchanges it back for cash, and once it has gained credibility, fewer people will come to exchange cash, and the banknotes will naturally circulate outside." Zhong Jinwei turned to Wen Tiren and explained, looking very confident.
"Haha, what Mr. Zhongxing means is that the more state-owned enterprises make, the faster banknotes will be issued and the faster the silver currency will be replaced!" Wen Tiren stroked his long beard and concluded with a smile.
"Yes, that's it. Moreover, you can also conduct promotions to make people choose to use banknotes more." Zhong Jinwei came up with another method.
"What is promotion?" Bi Ziyan asked now.
"For example, cement, which was originally purchased with one cent of cash, can now be purchased with banknotes for nine cents." Zhong Jinwei directly gave an example, which is easy to understand.
"Then the imperial court is missing something?" Bi Ziyan felt a little distressed when he heard this, and asked quickly.
"Haha, you can sell the cement by raising the price by one cent." Zhong Jinwei thought about the businessmen of the Ming Dynasty and wondered if they could do this.
Emperor Chongzhen laughed dumbly when he heard this, attracting the attention of several courtiers below. He pointed at Zhong Jinwei and said: "Master Zhong, you have so many clever ideas."
Wen Tiren and Bi Ziyan also laughed when they heard Emperor Chongzhen's comments.
Zhong Jinwei touched his nose in embarrassment, thinking that he had just borrowed the so-called promotional discount method from later generations. It is said that in later generations, many merchants would do this in promotions with four identical numbers.
"Master Zhong, is there anything else?" Emperor Chongzhen asked quickly when he saw that Zhong Jinwei had stopped talking.
Zhong Jinwei felt that there was little point in counting with his hands, so he put it down and stopped engaging in formalism. Then he asked Emperor Chongzhen: "I wonder how your majesty arranges this banknote issuance agency?"
"Did Master Zhong say where it was arranged?"
Zhong Jinwei nodded. He couldn't think of anything else for the time being. He still had some ideas about this office space and was ready to talk about it.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the Minister of Hubu, he should be in charge of this matter.
Bi Ziyan met Emperor Chongzhen's gaze and said: "Your Majesty, how about placing it in the side hall of the Hubu Yamen?"
"It's inappropriate, it's inappropriate." Wen Tiren shook his head and expressed his objection first.
"What's wrong?" Bi Ziyan didn't expect Wen Tiren to object first, so he looked at him and asked.
"According to Uncle Zhongxing's wishes, this banknote issuing institution must deposit silver reserves and banknotes. When people come and go, it will not only affect the office of the Ministry of Accounts, but also affect the issuance of banknotes. This is inappropriate!"
"This..., the lower officials can ask people to work in separate areas." Bi Ziyan came up with another countermeasure.
Wen Tiren still shook his head and disagreed.
"Master Zhong, what do you think?" Emperor Chongzhen saw that Wen Tiren and Bi Ziyan had different opinions, so he asked Zhong Jinwei who was watching the fun with a smile.
"Your Majesty, I have an idea. What this banknote issuing institution does has never happened before, and it will also be the first specialized financial institution in the future in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I think it would be better to build a new office."
After hearing Zhong Jinwei's speech, Wen Tiren and Bi Ziyan no longer looked at each other, but both looked at him to see what clever ideas this Uncle Zhong Xing had in mind.
"Master Zhong's words are reasonable, but the imperial court does not have enough money to build a new yamen." After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head slightly. It was difficult to do things without money. Zhongxing Bo's idea was good, but it was difficult to implement.
"Your Majesty, the money is worth spending, and it doesn't cost too much silver. I will explain it to you in detail." Emperor Chongzhen's difficulties did not faze Zhong Jinwei, and he immediately replied.
"Isn't it good to save a sum of money? It's not good for Uncle Zhongxing to spend an extra sum of money, no matter how much it is?" When Bi Ziyan heard that he wanted to use money, he expressed his dissatisfaction.
Zhong Jinwei smiled at Bi Ziyan, and then faced Emperor Chongzhen and explained: "Your Majesty, actually, this money really must be spent. Because according to the plan, there will be a lot of silver coins and banknotes stored in the banknote issuing institution. It is necessary to prevent
To steal, it must be fire-proof. It is specially designed to ensure its safety. Separate doors for collecting physical objects and issuing banknotes can also ensure that there is no confusion and improve work efficiency. It also shows that the court attaches great importance to banknotes, not just a temporary enthusiasm, but
It is planned to run for a long time, which will also help a lot to improve the credibility of the court."
"According to what Mr. Zhongxing said, this new government office is very big. How can it not require too much silver to build it?" Bi Ziyan objected from another angle.
Zhong Jinwei turned to Bi Ziyan, smiled slightly and said: "Master Bi, don't worry, I will tell you why you don't need too much silver."
Emperor Chongzhen also smiled and said: "Bi Qing, just listen to Master Zhong's explanation first, and then ask questions."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Now that Emperor Chongzhen had spoken, Bi Ziyan had no choice but to listen patiently. He was prepared in his heart. If Uncle Zhongxing said anything wrong, he would refute it. It would be best to dispel the feelings between the Emperor and Zhongxing.
Bo also had the idea of building a new yamen.
Zhong Jinwei didn't know Bi Ziyan's inner calculation at all, so he expressed the idea that he had previously considered to kill two birds with one stone.