One thousand six hundred and fourteen chapters fifteen million
What Li Qi said was sonorous and powerful, but when everyone heard it, it was a mixture of joy and sorrow.
As Li Qi said, this currency crisis has plagued the Song Dynasty for decades. If it can be solved, it would be great. But the problem is that this is not a crisis that just appeared, but a crisis that lasted for decades.
During the crisis of 2008, the court did not fail to think of solutions, but every currency reform made the situation worse.
Once the situation becomes worse, the court can only harm the interests of the people in order to make up for the loss of the treasury. This is just like Jiaozi. The initial issuance of Jiaozi quickly alleviated the currency crisis. However, when the treasury faced a deficit crisis, the court
The large-scale issuance of Jiaozi caused the value of Jiaozi to plummet, and the wealth of the people disappeared.
This is also one of the reasons why Li Qi just said that Cai Jing's currency reform failed. Cai Jing's currency reform will face many tests, and there are many problems both externally and internally. On the one hand, he has to prevent the currency from leaking, and on the other hand, he has to collect money for the court. The people
It doesn't matter whether he makes money or not, but if the court suffers a loss, Cai Jing will be under great pressure, so he can only transfer the court's financial difficulties to the people.
Therefore, every time the imperial court implements currency reform, the people are frightened, and this time is no exception.
They originally thought that this was just a currency issuance meeting, but they didn't know that it also included currency reform. The atmosphere became very delicate, and everyone felt uneasy.
Li Qidu saw it in his eyes and expected it, saying: "I know you are worried about whether the same mistakes will happen again this time, but everyone should also understand that the emperor and I are not people who just sit back and wait for death. They know that they are sick.
But because he is afraid of the doctor's long needle, he does not treat the disease. That is definitely not what a wise man does. Since there is a disease, it should be treated. This is a matter of course. The stubborn diseases caused by money have reached an end.
If he is not cured and allowed to continue freely, then the emperor will be derelict in his duties. Ahem, it seems that speech is no longer a crime."
Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard the last sentence.
Indeed, it was a bit inappropriate to use the Emperor as a shield in front of so many people, but now it's okay, as everyone has said that they will not judge crimes based on their speech.
After the laughter dissipated, Li Qi continued: "Back to the topic, judging from what I just said, there are two main symptoms. First, there are too many types of currency, resulting in a situation where bad currency drives out good currency.
Second, a large amount of currency was lost abroad, resulting in a shortage of currency in the market and hindering economic development."
After a pause, he continued: "First of all, let's talk about the first symptom, bad money drives out good money. The reason for this situation, I have just stated, is that there are too many types of currencies. So how to solve it?
There is only one way, which is to unify the types of currencies and make only one currency the only universal currency in our country."
Uncle He Jiu suddenly said: "Could the imperial court want to eliminate iron money and tin money?"
Li Qi nodded.
Immediately there were whispers and whispers below.
Li Qi pressed his hands and said: "Everyone, be quiet first and listen to me." When everyone stopped, he said: "I know what everyone is worried about. If iron money and tin money are eliminated, it will be invisible.
It has exploited the interests of the people and everyone sitting here, which will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the people."
Everyone nodded.
Li Qi smiled and said: "But don't forget that iron and tin themselves have value. Whether they are currency or not, they can be sold for money."
Cai Jingdao: "But if iron money and tin money are abolished, then the value of iron and tin will definitely decline, because even if iron and tin themselves have value, they now exist in the form of currency. If they are in the form of goods,
If they are sold in the form, the recycler will get the iron, and the tin coins will have to be remanufactured, which will undoubtedly increase the cost, and the recycler will definitely take this cost into account."
Li Qi nodded and said: "What the Grand Master said is true, so the imperial court decided to take back all the iron and tin coins, and only keep the copper coins. As for the recycling price, it will be recycled at the current price of iron and tin."
"this moment?"
Fan Shaobai said: "Now that the currency has not been issued, the value of copper coins is still high. If it is recycled at this moment, the court will make a lot of money. It is best to compromise and share the losses equally with the court and the people.
"
Many people responded to Fan Shaobai.
These guys are really shrewd. Fortunately, I was prepared. Li Qi said: "You are right. If the price is recovered at this moment, the court will indeed make a small profit, but the people will not lose too much. After all,
The price of iron and tin itself is not low, and now the currency is increasing in value, and the iron and tin coins are also increasing, but not as fast as the copper coins. The imperial court also thought about sharing the losses equally, but the problem is that if it is shared equally, it will definitely
Affects the value of currency.
In fact, recycling iron money and tin money is also a way for the court to put money into the market. If the court recycles iron and tin at a high price, on the contrary, it will devalue the price of real money. In addition, this happens at the same time as currency issuance.
A large amount of currency put into the market will inevitably cause the value of the currency to drop. In the case of this double decline, the currency may depreciate on a large scale. Once the currency depreciates, no matter how much currency the court issues, it will be in vain, because
The imperial court determines the quantity of currency issued based on its current value, but as soon as it is issued, the currency depreciates so much that the originally considerable quantity becomes dwarfed. The currency issued at this moment will of course be sold at the current price.
When recycling iron and tin, it’s not that the court doesn’t want to give benefits to the people, but that we must abide by the laws of economics, otherwise, we may lose a lot for a small amount.”
Iron and tin are both goods, and their influence is not small. Once you raise the prices of iron and tin, it will definitely cause an increase in commodity prices. The reason for the increase in iron and tin is precisely because of copper coins, so copper coins will definitely depreciate.
, then inflation will inevitably occur. Although inflation has always been accompanied by the issuance of currency, this is also a natural law, but if it passes, it will be too much.
This reason is not an excuse, but a necessary concern. Everyone has nothing to say. The depreciation of iron and tin means they only lose a little bit, but the depreciation of copper coins means that the loss is not a little bit. In addition, with the current trade
If it is developed, even if it drops by one centimeter, it will be very scary.
Li Qi said nothing, knowing that they had already bowed their heads and admitted their mistake, so he said: "From now on, our Song Dynasty has only one common currency, which is copper coins, and there is only one issuing agency, that is the Bureau of Commerce. If someone secretly
Once caught, the crime of minting money is not a small one. The imperial court also monitors the currency on the market at all times. In addition, any currency is not recognized by the imperial court and does not have legal protection. Everyone must remember it.
OK."
A woman suddenly stood up and said: "Currency is already very scarce now. If iron and tin coins are abolished, wouldn't it be even more scarce unless the court issues a large amount of currency?"
This woman is none other than Zhang Chuner.
"As expected of the owner of Jinlou, he really has foresight." Li Qi smiled and said: "This question is what I want to talk about next. How much currency can be issued to fill the vacancy in the market? After going through the Commerce Bureau
After a series of calculations, it was initially estimated that nearly 15 million strings would be needed."
Fifteen million dollars?
Everyone was shocked. What kind of concept is this? According to the treasury records, during the peak period of the Song Dynasty, about one million coins were issued every year. Even in the Xining period when the currency was the most chaotic, only six million coins were issued.
Currency, but these six million coins include a large amount of iron money, tin money, etc.
There are actually not many real copper coins.
It has been about five years since Zhao Kai took the throne. Counting the issuance of one million guan a year, he still owes 5 million guan to the market, which is equivalent to the issue of 10 million more guan.
This is the rhythm of dissipating all the wealth!
Although at the beginning of last year, the imperial treasury revenue reached 10 million guan, this 10 million guan was just an imaginary number. It was not a complete copper coin. Most of it was calculated in forms other than currency, including grain, salt and horses.
Including some goods, as well as the wealth gained during the Southern Expedition, the real pure monetary income is probably about 10 to 20 million guan, including iron money and tin money.
Add in the expenses of the past two years, wouldn’t this mean that all the family property has been dissipated?
Not to mention those businessmen, except for the third envoy Zheng Yi and the economic envoy Bai Qiannuo, the ministers including Qin Hui were shocked. Although this currency issuance was discussed many times, when it was actually issued, the emperor did not
It was formulated through discussions on government affairs, but directly with the Legislative Yuan, the Third Department, and the Commerce Bureau.
This large-scale issuance of currency is simply a self-destructive rhythm and is unreasonable!
This is what only wealthy people do!
As soon as this number came out, the entire audience was silent. As before, as long as Li Qi stood on top, there would definitely be such a look of astonishment below.
Fan Shaobai said: "Privy Envoy, I dare to ask, does the imperial court have so much currency now?"
Many people found it hard to believe it, and Uncle He Jiu also said: "Yes, isn't it just shoddy again?"
What he means is that copper coins are mixed with a large amount of other metals.
Facing everyone's questions, Li Qi smiled calmly and said: "I dare to guarantee with the heads on my neck that the currency issued this time is made of 99% pure copper. As for whether the imperial court has so much copper, if not,
What did the imperial court use to issue? In fact, due to the emergence of glass recently, there has been a sell-off of copperware in the market. The imperial court has been recycling copperware. Also, after the recapture of Jiaozhi and Dali, currency leakage has been improved to a certain extent.
The imperial court also obtained a lot of copper there, so fifteen million guan of currency is absolutely no problem for the imperial court. The imperial court will announce the specific amount of copper in stock later, so everyone can rest assured."
Cai Jingdao: "Even so, if so much currency is issued at once, as you said yourself, the value of the currency will definitely drop a lot."
Li Qi smiled and said: "The Grand Master is right, but I never said that fifteen million coins would be issued in one year, nor did I say that all of them would be issued in the form of copper coins. The imperial court planned to issue them in three years.
Fifteen million copper coins, of which 10 million will be issued in the form of currency, and the remaining five million will be issued in the form of money notes."