Chapter 415: The Necessity of the Central Bank of Ming Dynasty
Emperor Chongzhen did not immediately express his opinion after hearing this. This had never happened before and he had to think about it carefully.
After a while, Emperor Chongzhen said: "I remember that when we discussed this currency-related matter last time, the chief assistant was also there. How about I send him here and discuss it together?"
It is of course good to have the mature and prudent Wen Tiren to check things, so Zhong Jinwei naturally has no objection.
While waiting for Wen Tiren to come to the Wenhua Hall, Emperor Chongzhen said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, there are actually quite a few new yamen to be established recently. The restructuring of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Jinyiwei involves some functional changes, personnel deployment, and the establishment of new state-owned enterprises.
Oh, by the way, Master Zhong."
Zhong Jinwei looked at Emperor Chongzhen and seemed to have thought of something based on his tone.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw Zhong Jinwei looking at him, he smiled and said: "The revenue from the first sale of glass by a state-owned enterprise was beyond my expectation and the cabinet's expectations. Now someone has proposed to expand the scale of the state-owned enterprise. All six ministries have found reasons to want to go there."
There are people inserted inside. If my estimate is correct, there will be more such memorials when more sales are made in the next few months."
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he thought it was a good thing. He also responded to Emperor Chongzhen with a smile: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. It is a good thing that more and more yamen are paying attention to state-owned enterprises. It is best for them to participate. In this way, there will be resistance to the promotion of state-owned enterprises nationwide in the future."
It will be much less.”
Zhong Jinwei had analyzed this point with Emperor Chongzhen in the past and had discussed it in letters. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen just remembered this matter and happily told it to Zhong Jinwei.
Emperor Chongzhen still had a smile on his face. He nodded first to show that he knew the benefit, and then continued the topic: "In addition, the road office will be established soon, and the road construction matter needs to be discussed urgently. There are really many things. If the Ming Dynasty
If the Royal Bank ceases to do ordinary business and becomes a new government office, I am afraid that something will happen while busy."
Emperor Chongzhen would not let go of this ordinary business, because Zhong Jinwei had described to him the capital-free business of deposits and loans. But his worries were not unreasonable. The most important thing was that they had no knowledge of these new things.
It was something created by Zhong Jinwei.
Emperor Chongzhen and other leaders may have understood it after listening to Zhong Jinwei's explanation, but the people working below did not understand it. If all new things are rolled out at once, problems will easily arise.
When Zhong Jinwei heard what Emperor Chongzhen said, he felt that there were indeed many things going on. In fact, he had also been thinking about going home to sort out the things he had to do before, and it was also because of this worry.
It was just that when he heard the news about the ticket number on the road, he felt that this opportunity should be seized immediately. It was an urgent matter, so he immediately returned to the Forbidden City to ask for an audience with Emperor Chongzhen.
Wen Tiren was in the cabinet before he returned. When he heard the emperor's edict, he came over immediately. When he saw that there were only Emperor Chongzhen and Zhong Jinwei in the Wenhua Hall, he was obviously stunned.
He asked Zhong Jinwei: "But what is missing?"
Emperor Chongzhen heard Wen Tiren's question from above and knew that his chief minister had the same misunderstanding as himself, so he explained: "Master Zhong said something else. Master Zhong, please tell Wen Qing about this again."
So Zhong Jinwei told Wen Tiren again and reminded: "If we seize the current opportunity to implement this matter, we will get twice the result with half the effort."
Wen Tiren did not immediately think about the difficulty of implementation, but thought about the importance of this matter.
He thought for a while and asked Zhong Jinwei: "You said that this matter does not necessarily have to be split. The Ministry of Household Affairs can be responsible for unified management and coordination of the national bank accounts and banks. How about handing over the reserve funds to the Ministry of Household Affairs?
"
Wen Tiren was so busy that he was reluctant to go back to rest even if Emperor Chongzhen asked him to. Therefore, he thought that if there was another solution, it would be best to have one less new thing.
But Zhong Jinwei shook his head after hearing this and said: "Mr. Wen, if the Ministry of Household Affairs takes charge of this matter, who will take charge of it? Should the existing people take charge of it, or should a new office be established to take charge of it?"
Having said this, he turned to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Your Majesty, splitting up the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty is actually just to divide the powers more clearly. It has two additional advantages compared to having the Ministry of Accounts directly manage all currency-related institutions.
.”
"What two benefits?" Emperor Chongzhen asked with some anticipation.
Zhong Jinwei looked back at Wen Tiren and then said: "First, the new bank that was spun off from the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty has the same business and bank numbers as the bank, which can reflect fairness. This is what I just said; in addition,
Then you can allow other people and institutions to inject capital and attract more people with similar interests.”
"Second, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of money, grain and taxation across the country. If it is directly managed by the Ministry of Revenue and the reserve fund is also handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, it will make people wonder whether the reserve fund will be misappropriated by the Ministry of Revenue for other purposes and will no longer be repaid.
The loss of the original intention of reserve fund payment will lead to protests and boycotts by bank accounts and banks. Having a specialized agency to do this and study the relationship between currency and finance will be much better than the hodgepodge of the Ministry of Accounts.
"
Emperor Chongzhen vaguely understood the benefits Zhong Jinwei said. He thought for a moment and then asked: "Then who is in charge of the Ming Dynasty Royal Bank?"
Zhong Jinwei looked at Wen Tiren and said with a smile: "Since the Ministry of Household Affairs is not responsible for this matter, then of course it is under the direct control of the cabinet."
Upon hearing this, Wen Tiren turned to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "I think what Zhongxing Hou said is reasonable. This bank matter is too important. It is a safe move to submit its monetary strategy to the cabinet for approval and ultimately to your Majesty."
What Wen Tiren said before was just inertial thinking. After all, matters related to money are in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. But what Zhong Jinwei said is a good thing for him. He will be more powerful in the future. No one has this point.
There will be objections. What’s more, what Zhong Jinwei said is not unreasonable, so he agreed with it.
Emperor Chongzhen did not speak after hearing this, but carefully recalled the whole thing Zhong Jinwei said. Zhong Jinwei and Wen Tiren had no choice but to look at him and wait for his opinion.
Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was still silent, Zhong Jinwei spoke again: "Your Majesty, the promotion of banknotes is urgent, and silver coins must be replaced as soon as possible."
"Oh, why is this?" Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen paused his thoughts and asked Zhong Jinwei.
Wen Tiren on the side also looked at Zhong Jinwei curiously, wondering whether Zhongxing Hou would start making alarmist remarks just to get the emperor's consent.
Zhong Jinwei didn't know Wen Tiren's malicious speculation, and still said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, I have investigated the situation of bandits in Qin. One of the reasons that forced them to become thieves is related to silver coins."
"Oh, Master Zhong, please tell me." When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was very concerned and asked quickly.