Chapter 287 The solution to the money shortage (Part 2)
"What the officials said is absolutely true." Fu Bi praised: "So if Dali really has an endless supply of copper mines, which can be continuously transported to our country in the Song Dynasty, solving the money shortage, revitalizing industry and commerce, and increasing taxes, this is a great kindness.
." He gave his attitude: "For this reason, it is worthwhile to send troops, recruit men, and garrison troops." After a pause, he said: "Of course, if everything goes well, everything will be great. But if the copper mine in Dali does not
There are so many things imagined, but either they exist but cannot be transported, or they encounter strong opposition from the local people, causing the court's plans to fail. This will not only damage the prestige of the Song Dynasty, but also waste military and financial resources."
"What do you think, Prime Minister?" Zhao Zhen asked when he saw Han Qi's disapproval.
"Even if we, the Song Dynasty, have prestige, it is just a false prestige and a bluff. If it is exposed, there will be no loss." Han Qi said solemnly: "As for the loss that the rich prime minister is worried about, Chen Ke actually only has 30,000 troops.
and several officials, if the imperial court is not even willing to pay this price, then it can only do nothing."
"I'm not saying it can't be done." Fu Bi smiled bitterly: "What I mean is that we should send an experienced and authoritative person to take the helm. If the situation is not good, he can call a halt in time and stop in time to avoid greater losses...
…Chen Ke is a thousand-mile horse, but he is still too young. He doesn’t know what he will do if he doesn’t put the bridle in.”
"Yeah." Han Qi nodded and said, "Wang Neihan is too soft and can't control Chen Ke."
"This is exactly the reason," Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Who should we send to take on this important task?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Fan Zhen is the best choice to make the imperial edict." Han Qi and Fu Bi looked at each other, and the former spoke first.
"Well." Zhao Zhen had long wanted to drive Fan Zhen out of the capital. Hearing this, he said with deep concern: "Just follow Mr. Han's wishes." He paused and said, "Besides, before the matter is completed, it is better to try not to make it public.
to reduce their stress.”
"The officials are wise." The ministers praised, but they said in their hearts that you were afraid that you would not be able to come to Taiwan... The next day, Chen Ke received the order and appointed him as the judge of the Guangnan West Road Transport Envoy and the deputy envoy of Yongzhou Tuanlian.
He was in charge of Gou's canal transportation of military supplies. After receiving the order, he set off south the next day without making any noise. The officials who came to convey the order asked him to make a list of the personnel to be recruited. They told him that those people would meet him in Yongzhou.
"The imperial court really trusts you and gives you the responsibility for everything." Liu Yue'e said after the official left.
"Stupid. I am a judge and a deputy envoy, so there must be a chief envoy. More importantly, I don't have an imperial edict in my hand." Chen Ke shook his head and said: "So the chief envoy is the imperial envoy, and I am just the one who works below.
"As he spoke, he sighed and said, "It allows me to take charge of the affairs, but also restricts me. Although it is the meaning of the question, it makes people feel suffocated."
"Who knows that you are young and have little qualifications," Liu Yue'e said with a gloating smile, "and you also have a bad habit of being daring."
"Hey..." Chen Ke lost his temper after being told by her, so he changed the subject and said: "But at least you don't have to be under house arrest anymore." He said softly: "Yue'e, go home, your grandpa is old.
You can’t always worry him…”
"I went back and watched it last night." Liu Yue'e said quietly, "My grandfather can still dance with an eighty-pound sword."
"Oh?" Chen Ke opened his mouth in shock. This is the palace. But Liu Yue'e can come and go when she wants, just like her own backyard. Isn't this too good? "The old man must be very happy when he sees you."
Are you happy?"
"I didn't want to go home yet, so I didn't show up." Liu Yue'e sneered: "You idiot, you still want to continue taking risks. How can you do it without bodyguards?"
"Haha..." Chen Ke smiled dryly and said, "Actually, I think so too, but I'm embarrassed to say it."
While the two were talking, Zhang Yu and Hou Yi came in.
"Nothing else, I'm going out first." Liu Yue'e said lightly and walked out.
Zhang Yu and Hou Yi came in and said to Chen Ke: "Sir, the people in the palace told us that we can leave."
"Well," Chen Ke nodded and said, "The imperial court has made up its mind to send troops to Dali."
"Then, what should we do?" the two said excitedly.
"The imperial court will use the rights to mine in Dali as collateral to borrow money from the Bianjing Bank for military expenses and dredging water and land transportation expenses," Chen Ke said.
"Can Bianjing Qianhao afford it?" Hou Yi is a small shareholder of Bianjing Qianhao. He knows that Qianhao is still in the stage of digesting the loan from Thirteenth Bank. In fact, even if there is no pressure from Thirteenth Bank, it still supports
I can't afford such a big stall.
"So do you want to subcontract?" Chen Ke looked at the two of them with a smile and said: "After the Bianjing Money Company has paid the first installment of five million yuan, it will divide the mining rights into several pieces and subcontract them to
Anyone interested in joining.”
"I have long made up my mind to invest in it even if I lose all my money." Hou Yi said with a smile: "With the Bianjing Money Company coming forward, and my old face, at least a dozen people can join."
"Sir, the Dali copper mine was discovered by our Sichuan merchants." Zhang Yu also said with a smile: "You can't just patronize the big houses in the capital! You have to keep half of it to buy copper in Chengdu!"
"There is no need to fight, everyone has a share." Chen Ke said with a smile: "I am also worried that those big investors will think that the copper mine is not profitable enough, and Dali is too far away, so they are not interested."
"Let me tell you something that adults don't like to hear." Zhang Yu said with a smile: "I just hope they are not interested, otherwise how can we eat meat?"
In fact, in the final analysis, copper is still a base metal. Once the cost of mining and transportation is too high, the profit will not be so eye-catching. However, the copper mines in Dongchuan are also accompanied by a large amount of gold and silver precious metals. Compared with the value of gold and silver, mining
The cost of transportation is not worth mentioning. However, the imperial court adopted a purchase policy and only collected 30 million kilograms of copper every year. As for the gold and silver mines produced, they all became the private property of the mine owners, which was definitely a huge profit.
Chen Ke has made this clear to the court, but if there is no huge profit, how can anyone be willing to go bankrupt and travel thousands of miles to take risks in the mountains? So this makes sense. However, the court is not stupid, and only allows the first ten years.
Allocate it this way and then redistribute it ten years later.
However, Chen Ke estimates that although there are huge profits, not many large investors will respond in the early stage. They will have to wait until the first batch of people to eat crabs make a lot of money before there will be a rush. So he does not recommend it.
The imperial court bought the money as soon as it came up. Instead, it was first contracted by the Bianjing Qianhao, and then slowly subcontracted out. This way, it could avoid the dilemma of having no one to support it and insufficient funds.
But sensible people like Hou Yi and Zhang Yu definitely wanted to join as soon as possible, so as soon as Chen Ke announced the policy, they hurried back, called on their friends to raise funds, and were extremely busy... Later that day
, someone from the palace came to summon him, Chen Ke quickly put on his court clothes and followed the eunuch to the Chui Gong Hall and the Imperial Hall.
I saw Zhao Zhen wearing a purple Taoist robe and silk shoes, sitting on the bed with a leisurely expression. When he saw Chen Ke coming in, he smiled and ordered someone to sit down, and also asked the palace people to fish for Xixia from the well.
Cut the melon into pieces and give them to Chen Ke to relieve the heat.
The atmosphere at this time was completely different from the intense pursuit and questioning in the Golden Palace yesterday.
After eating a piece of thin, sandy flesh, sweet and cold watermelon, Zhao Zhen wiped his hands. Seeing that Chen Ke also stopped, he stopped him with a smile: "I am old and can't be greedy. You are young and have strong firepower.
It’s okay to eat as much as you like, otherwise it will be a waste.”
Chen Ke thanked him and took a few more slices, then wiped his hands and sat upright.
After the people in the palace removed the melon dishes and replaced them with herbal tea, Zhao Zhencai smiled and said: "Tomorrow you will return to Guangxi and travel thousands of miles back and forth. Can your body handle it?"
"It's still bearable." Chen Ke replied with a wry smile: "It's all the humble ministers who brought it upon themselves, and they can't blame others."
"Your loyalty to the imperial court is very clear to me." Zhao Zhen said with approval in his eyes: "After you go to Guangxi, just do it boldly. If there is any conflict with Shangfeng, don't argue with him.
.I give you the right to directly report the secret. You tell me, and I will judge."
"It feels uncomfortable to be constrained," Zhao Zhen said with a faint smile: "I summoned your superior, Fan Zhigao, in the afternoon and told him to only focus on military affairs and leave other matters to you to plan. He can stop, but he cannot point fingers.
.”
Chen Ke quickly thanked him, but he still felt strange in his heart, why did this official change his gender again?
Zhao Zhen did not explain the reason for his transformation, but followed his own thoughts and said: "I came to you this time not only to say goodbye, but also to learn from you."
"Wei Chen dare not."
"Hey, is there a sequence of hearing?" Zhao Zhen shook his head and said with a smile: "Listening to what you said yesterday is better than ten years of reading. Your explanation of the money shortage is not superficial like others, but a thorough investigation.
The source is convincing. I would like to ask you, with Dian Copper, can the money shortage of the Song Dynasty really be completely solved?"
"Dian Copper only treats the symptoms, not the root cause." Chen Ke shook his head and said: "The problem still exists, but it will be greatly alleviated."
"I don't think it's that simple." Zhao Zhen nodded and asked, "Then do you have any way to cure the root cause?"
"The humble minister has a plan to offer to the officials." Chen Ke had already known it for a long time, and now he talked eloquently: "It's called 'reforming the currency system'. In fact, the money shortage was largely due to the fact that the Song Dynasty did not have a currency system.
I tried to ask businessmen from various Western countries, and found that none of their countries had money shortages. Why was the money shortage in our Song Dynasty so serious? I thought about this for a long time, and finally figured out that it turned out that my country in the Song Dynasty had not established a
Monetary System.”
"What is a monetary system?" Zhao Zhen asked with interest.
"The so-called currency system refers to the circulation of several levels of currency at the same time. The upper-level currency can be exchanged for several lower-level currencies. For example, many Western countries have a three-level currency system of gold coins, silver coins and copper coins. One gold coin can be exchanged for ten
One silver coin, one silver coin can be exchanged for one hundred copper plates. In this transaction, a large number of copper coins are replaced by silver coins, and copper coins become an auxiliary currency. Then will we still have a money shortage...divided... fainting
I fell asleep while writing this, feeling so ashamed that I can only apologize more today. (To be continued) rq
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