Five years as county magistrate, hundreds of millions of kilograms of grain shocked Li Shimin Chapter 357 Fang Yuan was finally promoted to Minister of Household Affairs
Chapter 357 Fang Yuan was finally promoted to Minister of Household Affairs
Wang Gui’s idea is a good one.
But his ideas lacked consideration of reality.
Once people are in panic, whether it is seven-star banknotes or Tang treasure banknotes, they will become useless paper in their eyes.
At this time, only copper coins can provide comfort.
But after a large number of people exchange copper coins, the copper coins of Huaxia Bank will be wiped out, and the coinage will not be able to keep up.
"Your Majesty, Minister Fang is unwilling to exchange the copper coins for exchange!"
Wang Gui complained to Li Shimin.
After learning that all the copper coins in Huaxia Bank had been exchanged, he approached Fang Yuan.
In the previous process of exchanging copper coins for banknotes at Huaxia Bank, part of it was stored in the treasury and part of it was stored in Fang Yuan's place.
Moreover, Fang Yuan is also rich, and all the investment fees of major families are in Fang Yuan's hands. Although most of them are banknotes, some also give copper coins.
But Fang Yuan was unwilling to give it, so Wang Gui could only complain to Li Shimin.
"The imperial announcement has only been released for an hour, so why is Huaxia Bank running out of money?"
Li Shimin did not take the initiative to respond to Wang Gui.
He paid attention to the reactions of the people in Chang'an City.
It had only been an hour, but Huaxia Bank had already exchanged all the Tang Dynasty banknotes and copper coins, leaving only the useless seven-star banknotes.
At such a fast speed, how much money does the imperial court have to print and how many copper coins are made to fill the holes left by the Five Surnames and Qiwang?
"Your Majesty, I think Huaxia Bank deliberately refused to exchange money."
"How come all the Tang treasure banknotes and copper coins were exchanged in just one hour?"
Wang Gui said in a deep voice.
He doesn't believe it, he doesn't believe that Huaxia Bank is so weak.
"Pass on Fang Yuan!"
Li Shimin was confused and could only summon Fang Yuan.
"It's not like I, Fang Yuan, alone makes the decision at Hua Xia Bank."
"Your Majesty summoned the people in Huaxia Bank to know whether Huaxia Bank did it on purpose."
Fang Yuan’s brows were frivolous.
Feeling dissatisfied with Wang Gui and Li Shimin's suspicion.
Now there are tens of thousands of people waiting in line at Huaxia Bank, and a riot may break out at any time.
Deliberately not exchanging money at this time will cause things to escalate, and the people in panic are no joke.
"It's not that I don't believe you, I'm just disappointed with the actual situation."
"Fang Yuan, please take out the stored Tang Dynasty treasure notes and copper coins first, emergency!"
Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
At present, we can only take out our old capital and work harder on printing banknotes and making copper coins.
"Your Majesty, in order to promote Huaxia Bank not long ago, I have almost no Tang treasure notes or copper coins in my hands."
"And I am still full of doubts about the methods of the Prime Minister. Please take out the Tang Dynasty banknotes and copper coins from the treasury first. The money I have there will be reserved for special circumstances."
Fang Yuan said in a deep voice.
Judging from the current exchange situation, Wang Gui's method is not feasible.
Therefore, Fang Yuan was unwilling to take out the money and thought about dealing with the special situation in the future.
"Coping with special circumstances?"
"Money from the treasury can also be used to meet special circumstances."
"Shilang Fang, not only do you think the prime minister's plan is not good, but you also refuse to cooperate with the court's orders. What do you want to do?"
Wang Gui stared at Fang Yuan with dissatisfaction and said in a deep voice.
Fang Yuan frowned and did not answer Wang Gui's question.
When Wang Gui saw this, he felt that he was being ignored and looked even more dissatisfied.
"Okay, let's withdraw the money from the treasury first."
Li Shimin stopped Wang Gui, who was about to become furious.
Fang Yuan knows a lot about the economy, so it’s okay to keep his money first.
"Yes!"
Wang Gui looked at Fang Yuan dissatisfied and said respectfully.
Then he left, and Fang Yuan was left behind by Li Shimin.
"Fang Yuan, tell me honestly, does Wang Gui's method work?"
Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
I am eager to know whether the paper money problem can be solved.
According to intelligence sent back from Qingzhou, Henan Road has almost fallen and is controlled by rebels.
Now, the rebels are likely to control Henan Province, thus facing the world and causing greater unrest.
"Isn't Your Majesty watching?"
"Useful, but not very useful."
"Don't look at me, I don't have a good solution at the moment."
Fang Yuan shook his head and said.
From the current point of view, there is no chaos in Chang'an City, which shows that the method is effective.
But as time goes by, and whether there is chaos outside Chang'an City, it is temporarily impossible to determine.
But from a long-term perspective, Fang Yuan still felt that Wang Gui's method was not effective and would have too great an impact.
"You go down first and think about it carefully to see if there is any good way."
Li Shimin waved his hands feebly and sighed.
He never wanted to break up with Wu Xing Qi Wang because the consequences would be serious.
And this is just the beginning, it will be more difficult in the future, and God knows how terrible things will happen.
"I resign!"
Fang Yuan nodded.
After Wang Gui left, he immediately ordered people to open the treasury.
It is a well-known fact that the treasury is out of money.
Only when Wang Gui opened the treasury did he understand the concept of having no money.
Poor!
I don’t know if this little money is enough to last for two days.
But the current situation is no longer about how many days it can last, but about ordering the two major institutions that print banknotes and make copper coins to move faster.
This day almost ended like this.
The next day, Huaxia Bank came to your door as usual and continued all business.
But when the door opened, the entrance of Huaxia Bank was filled with long queues, estimated to number ten thousand people.
The people at the front were holding bags of heavy seven-star banknotes, and in less than an hour they exchanged the Tang Dynasty banknotes from Huaxia Bank.
This is not serious. What is more serious is that those who exchanged banknotes handed over the Tang Dynasty treasure banknotes to the team that was exchanging copper coins, and exchanged the Tang Dynasty treasure banknotes for copper coins.
From the time Hua Xia Bank opened its doors to the time the money was exchanged, the entire process did not take more than two hours. It was incredibly fast, but the number of people who successfully exchanged the money did not exceed 200.
"What's going on? Are you treating us like monkeys?"
"The exchange has been completed just after opening the door. Will the court use that little money to play tricks on us?"
"Open the door, open the door, open the door for me, if you don't exchange it for me, I will burn your bank down!"
People were angry and shouted loudly.
I was queuing up today, and the person at the back didn’t even move, so he just said the money had been exchanged.
Isn’t this treating them like monkeys?
People were furious and almost started a fight in front of Huaxia Bank.
As banknotes are difficult to exchange for copper coins, the situation of shops in Chang'an City refusing to accept banknotes has become more serious.
Even though there are court restrictions and the Chang'an County Government is keeping an eye on it, many shops still don't accept banknotes.
But they did not say that they did not accept banknotes, but they suspected that the banknotes were fake and refused to accept them. The county government could not do anything to them.
This matter soon reached the ears of Wang Gui and others, and Wang Gui was so angry that he personally went to Huaxia Bank to check whether the bank's people were operating behind closed doors.
After reading the exchange records, Wang Gui knew something was wrong and Fang Yuan's worries were true. Qi Wang, the fifth surname, took out a large amount of money to exchange for Tang Dynasty treasure banknotes, and then exchanged them for copper coins.
As a result, the people in the queue at the back had no chance to redeem and were all redeemed by the people in front.
There was no other way. Seeing the crowd about to cause trouble, Wang Gui had no choice but to order someone to go to the treasury to transport a batch of banknotes and copper coins.
There is not much money in the treasury now, so Wang Gui divided it into five days to provide time for printing and creating money.
When another shipment of banknotes and copper coins arrived, people were no longer so noisy, and Wang Gui promised to personally watch and not exchange large amounts.
Wang Gui thought that as long as he stayed here and watched, Wu Xing Qi Wang would not dare to exchange large amounts.
But the idea is good, but the reality is cruel. There are still many people coming to exchange a large number of seven-star banknotes.
They are not people with the fifth surname and Qi Wang, but they are members of some top families, and they are all worthy of showing off.
Wang Gui could refuse one or two, but if he refused too many, he would feel embarrassed and worry about offending too many aristocratic families.
In this way, the banknotes and copper coins that had just arrived were all exchanged in less than three hours, even with Wang Gui watching.
Fortunately, it was getting dark, and no matter how unwilling the people in line were, after confirming that Huaxia Bank really had no money, they could only endure it and go back and wait in line again tomorrow.
After dark, Wang Gui entered the palace overnight.
"Your Majesty, I think I am incompetent!"
After only two days, Wang Gui was already panicking.
After seeing the number of people exchanging money today, he calculated the speed of printing banknotes and copper coins.
Unless people can slowly calm down, the number of people exchanging money every day can only be more, not less.
Today, many aristocratic families came to exchange them, which made Wang Gui realize that there were too many seven-star banknotes left by Qiwang of the Five Surnames, and it was difficult for the court to digest them in a short time.
The more important point is that Wang Gui is not sure whether Qiwang, the fifth surname, has taken action.
"Wang Gui, it's only been two days. Are you telling me that you are not up to the task?"
Li Shimin’s face turned dark.
During the meeting, I vowed to say yes.
It's only been two days now, and he already says it's hard to do the job.
This change makes this matter as serious as it is.
"Your Majesty, I originally allocated five shares of the treasury money, which means five days of exchange."
"However, today, tens of thousands of people queued up, but less than a thousand people exchanged them. Some big families held too many banknotes."
Wang Gui could only explain and exaggerate the matter.
It’s not that I am incompetent, it’s that the situation is not what I thought.
According to the current situation, I won't be able to stop myself in less than three days.
It's better to tell Li Shimin now to avoid reporting the problem three days later.
Li Shimin was speechless.
But apart from scolding Wang Gui a few times, I can't do anything to him.
Therefore, Li Shimin once again summoned Fang Yuan and others to discuss and come up with a better way.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Fang is more familiar with the paper currency economy than we are. Why don't we let Mr. Fang take charge of this matter?"
After discussion, everyone still could not find a better solution.
Therefore, Changsun Wuji suggested that Fang Yuan be responsible for the matter.
As soon as the words were spoken, Wang Gui agreed.
"Fang Yuan, what do you think?"
Li Shimin sighed in his heart, but he could only look at Fang Yuan.
He knew that it was just Changsun Wuji and Wang Gui who wanted Fang Yuan to take the blame.
But now Fang Yuan is more suitable and responsible, and Fang Yuan is his worthy minister.
Apart from Fang Yuan, I'm afraid no one else will come up with a better way.
"Your Majesty, the stall has been destroyed by the king. Can I sustain it if I continue to take responsibility?"
Fang Yuan said dissatisfied.
At first, he said he would discuss it carefully but refused.
Are you going to take the blame for the mess now?
"Shilang Fang, can you please not be so unpleasant when you speak?"
"I am very conscientious and do everything as discussed. Why did I collapse the stall?"
Wang Gui's face suddenly darkened.
His position is higher than Fang Yuan's. It's okay if Fang Yuan doesn't respect him, but he still doesn't give face like this, which makes him very angry.
"How did it happen that you didn't know what happened?"
Fang Yuan has not been going well recently and is not in a good mood.
Regarding these things in the court, I feel more and more like I want to escape.
"Tell me the truth clearly!"
Wang Gui was furious.
It feels like a big fight is about to happen.
"Okay!"
"Now is not the time for conflicts, now is the time for solving problems."
"Fang Yuan, you take over the banknote matter first. After things stabilize, I will promote you to the Minister of Household Affairs!"
Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
When everyone heard this, their faces changed.
They have been eyeing the position of Minister of Household Affairs.
"Your Majesty, I have no intention of being promoted to Minister of Household Affairs."
Fang Yuan shook his head and said.
I gave myself a bad chance last time, but now I want to write a bad check again.
And how long it will take to get this done, only God knows.
Don't ask me to do things that won't do any good by taking the blame.
"You don't believe me?"
Li Shimin said with a dark face.
He didn't believe Fang Yuan was not interested, he just felt that Fang Yuan didn't believe him.
Everyone looked at Fang Yuan with similar expressions, feeling that Fang Yuan did not believe Li Shimin.
After all, what happened not long ago is well known to everyone. Cui Zhentang was executed later, but Fang Yuan was still the Minister of Household Affairs.
Fang Yuan didn't say anything, but his meaning was obvious, that he didn't believe Li Shimin.
You bastard, Li Shimin cursed in his heart, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, I want to promote Fang Yuan to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and do my best to solve the problem of seven-star banknotes. What do you think?"
After saying this, everyone's expressions changed again.
To be promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue at such a young age is to envy the dead?
"Your Majesty, I have no objection, but if Minister Fang doesn't handle it well, I think he needs to be removed from his position as Minister!"
Changsun Wuji said in a deep voice.
"I second the proposal!"
Wang Gui seconded the motion.
Fang Xuanling and others looked at each other and followed suit.
It is possible to be promoted to Minister of Household Affairs, but you need to be really capable of solving problems.
If things are not done well later, the official position will have to be removed and the post of Minister of Household Affairs will be given up.
The position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is so important, second only to the Ministry of Personnel among the six departments, and it is a position that countless powerful people are eyeing.
"Fang Yuan, what do you think?"
Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
At the same time, he winked at Fang Yuan, telling him not to be ignorant.
"I am willing to give it a try!"
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice.
It would be a slap in Li Shimin’s face if he didn’t accept it at this time.
"Very good, I and you are looking forward to your performance."
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction.
He immediately asked the eunuch Wang De to arrive and issued the imperial decree.
Not long after, word spread that Fang Yuan was promoted to Minister of Household Affairs, and soon the dignitaries in Chang'an City knew about it.
Some people are happy and some are sad. That night, everyone including Fang Mansion and Du Mansion were singing and dancing, in a sea of joy.
Only then did Fang Yuan, deep in the ocean of happiness, realize that he had indeed risen, but it was not that easy to keep his position.
At dawn tomorrow, we will have to face tens of thousands of people exchanging banknotes and copper coins, which may even cause turmoil. It is really a headache.