Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 355: Price
In the Ministry of Revenue, Liang Chaozhong looked at Chen Zheng who was angry, but he didn't care. Liang Chaozhong waved his hand and spoke softly again.

"Chen Yushi, please take these copper coins carefully. Don't exchange them for silver at the market price.

"The new coins issued by the court this time are the new coins with the word 'Gui' minted by the court. These three strings of new coins can be used to buy two dan of rice at the Risheng and Rongheng grain stores in the city."

"The court will issue new money next year. Information about the new money has been posted in the Ministry of Revenue. Censor Chen can go and check it out."

Chen Zheng was shocked when he heard this and was about to ask, but he heard a commotion outside the room. A group of officials were gathered in front of the notice board of the Ministry of Revenue, talking loudly.
Chen Zheng didn't care about Liang Chaozhong anymore. He walked out of the room and squeezed into the crowd. Chen Zheng took a look at the notice on the wooden board and found that the content was exactly as Liang Chaozhong said.
The reward silver issued by the court this time was the new Gui character money. The court set the exchange rate at one guan for one liang. After receiving the money, the officials in the court could buy grain at the price of 1,500 wen per dan at the two grain stations in the past.
At that time, the price of grain in the city was one tael and five coins of silver per stone. If one could really buy back two stones of rice as the notice said, then the three strings of copper coins issued by the court would indeed be worth three taels.

The content of the notice is basically consistent with what Liang Chaozhong said, but the most nervous thing is the announcement in the last line of the notice, that the court will officially implement the new currency starting next year.
Chen Zheng and other court officials who were very smart changed their expressions the moment they saw the announcement. They were afraid that they would be the first to be affected by the new money that the court would introduce next year.

Official salaries were converted into banknotes, sumac, and pepper. They had already seen all the tricks used by the court.
At this time, the imperial court wanted to force the expensive copper coins. What better channel could there be than official salaries? If the court used copper coins to purchase materials from the people, the people would certainly not easily accept it. However, if the court gave them official salaries, they would definitely accept it.
At this time, the imperial court still converted the treasure notes that had turned into paper into official salaries and distributed them as they pleased, not to mention the new money. Could it be that these officials still dared to bargain with the court?

The officials in the courtyard heard the discussion and reacted one after another. They looked anxious and wanted to go to the court to make suggestions, but after thinking for a while, everyone stood still with stunned expressions on their faces.
The court officials in the courtyard suddenly realized that they couldn't even make suggestions.
After the morning court session ended, all government offices were sealed and closed. Even the government offices were closed. Who could they find to submit memorials to?
Besides, what good would it do even if they could submit a petition? The court only said that the new currency would be introduced next year, but no specific method of implementation was mentioned.

Their worries about the deduction of official salaries were just their guesses. Even if they could submit a petition, they had no idea what to say. Could they stop the court from issuing new money?
When the ministers thought of this, they also looked bitter. They said that with His Highness the Regent's ruthless temper, why would he suddenly give them money? It turned out that he was waiting for them here.
If they had a choice, they would rather not have the three taels of reward money, and would never want their official salary to be converted into money next year.

The 29th day of the twelfth lunar month is New Year's Eve. The streets are crowded with people buying New Year's goods.

Merchants of all kinds sell New Year goods along the street. On the street stalls are red papers. An old scholar is standing at the table writing Spring Festival couplets. The stalls nearby are hanging woodcut door gods. Further away are people selling sausages and bacon.
A peddler pushed a cart through the crowd, with pots of narcissus and wintersweets on the cart, and the light fragrance of the flowers wafted through the city.
The streets are filled with various hawking and bargaining sounds, making the streets seem even more lively.

At the Risheng Grain Store in the north of the city, a servant in gray clothes put up a wooden sign as tall as a man at the door. On the sign were several large characters: New Year's Reward: 140 Coins for a Pound of Rice
The pedestrians on the street soon noticed the advertisement at the door of the grain store. Some illiterate people were still asking questions, while some literate people were delighted when they saw the words and hurried home.
The silver-to-copper ratio in Guangzhou is now as high as 1:3,000. This Rishenghao is selling a dou of rice for only 100 coins. What's the difference between this and giving money away?

There were many people on the street. After the news spread, a large number of people quickly flocked to the Risheng Grain Store.
A middle-aged man in black rushed to the front, entered the store, and shouted

"Shopkeeper, bring me three stones of grain quickly. I want to buy some."

The middle-aged man entered the grain shop and threw a heavy cloth bag directly on the table. The cloth bag hit the table with a dull thud.

The grain shop owner was not in a hurry. He just glanced at the bag and said directly:

"Our store only accepts new coins with the Chinese character 'Gui' minted by the imperial court. We do not accept any other copper coins. If you do not have new coins, we will only accept silver. We do not accept the old coins you brought."

The copper coins in the middle-aged man's bag were dull in color, and there were a lot of black spots on the surface of the coins. These copper coins were the worst leather coins on the market at that time.
In the market, five thousand coins of this kind of inferior money might not even be exchanged for one or two taels of silver. Yet this man wanted to use this inferior money to buy food. Did he really think that he was opening a charity?

The middle-aged man was furious when he heard this.

"What new or old money? You wrote 140 coins per bushel. Now that we have the money, you won't sell it. Are you trying to make fun of us?"

"New money and old money are both money, what's the difference? If you don't give us an explanation today, our neighbors and villagers will never come to your Risheng Store to buy food again."

The people who followed the crowd in saw that the Risheng was unwilling to buy grain, and they immediately started to make a commotion. The grain shop owner saw that the people in the hall were making a commotion, but his expression remained unchanged. He shouted directly:
"What are you yelling about? Do you know who owns the Sunrise? I'll see who dares to cause trouble on the Sunrise!"

The grain store owner stopped everyone, took out a copper coin from his sleeve, and then took another coin from the cloth bag on the table, and said loudly:
"This one is a new coin minted by the court, and this one is the leather coin brought by this brother. Wait and see for yourself whether these two copper coins are the same thing."

Two copper coins were placed on the table. One was golden in color with smooth and round edges, while the other was dull in color with black spots all over it. The edges of the copper coin were roughly polished with convex and concave parts, and only a round shape could be vaguely seen.

The people looked at the two copper coins on the table and kept silent. It was obvious which of the two copper coins was better.

Although both coins were worth one penny, when it came time to use them, no one would consider them to be copper coins of equal value.

The eyes of the people in the store flickered slightly. At this time, the people who poured into the store brought almost all of this kind of low-quality leather money.
Even street vendors are reluctant to accept these low-quality coins. They bring these coins with them just to take advantage of others.

The people in the field were silent, but at this moment an old man in a black cotton jacket walked into the door of the grain shop.

The old man's cotton jacket was a little old, but it was washed clean. His hair was gray, but it was combed neatly.

The old man entered the palace gate and was not surprised to see the silent people in the palace shop. He walked up to the grain shop owner and said:

"Shopkeeper, you can buy food with copper coins in the shop."

"You can buy grain with money, but we only accept newly minted Gui coins. We don't accept the rest of the old coins."

The old man looked calm when he heard this and said

"This is 280 coins. Boss, take a look and see if you can buy two dou of grain."

The old man took out two strings of copper coins from his sleeve and placed them on the table. The grain shop owner took the two strings of copper coins from the table and took a look at them. He found that the copper color of these two strings of copper coins was very new.
The grain shop owner took another look at the old man in front of him, and a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes, but his expression became much more respectful.
The grain store owners had already received notice from their bosses that the new money from the imperial court had not yet been publicly issued, and those who could get the new money at this time were almost certainly officials in the imperial court.
The grain store owner clasped his hands and said, "It is indeed the new money from the court. Please wait a moment, old sir. I will get the grain for you now."

The grain shop owner quickly brought two buckets of grain, but the old man at the table did not look at the rice in the buckets. Instead, he asked

"Is there a limit on the amount of grain I can buy from your account with copper coins, or is there a time limit or something like that?"

"There is no limit. As long as it is new money, no matter how much you want to buy, our store can supply it at the price. If the purchase quantity is large, our store can also help deliver it to your home."

The old man nodded, and then he didn't care how much rice the shopkeeper brought. He poured the rice into the bag and turned away.
After the old man left, more people continued to come into the grain store to take out new money to buy grain.
These people were also strange. After arriving at the store, they only bought one or two buckets of grain, and then kept asking the shopkeeper about how to buy grain with copper coins. Some people even took out paper and pen on the spot to take notes while asking.
These people were just like the old man. After asking questions, they turned around and left without stopping, regardless of how much grain the shopkeeper took.

The people in the grain store looked at each other in bewilderment as they saw the endless stream of people coming to buy grain with new money. Finally, they left silently.

Others were using good money to buy grain. If they still insisted on using their bad money, once the grain store reported it to the police, they would definitely be arrested as troublemakers.
Guangzhou Chengdefang, Qu Mansion
Qu Shisi and Chen Zizhuang had already changed out of their court robes and were both wearing Taoist robes and Dongpo scarves. They were sitting in the hall.
Qu Shisi looked at the old servant in a black cotton jacket below and said

"How is it, can you buy food?"

"Reporting to the master, I have already bought it."

"According to the shop owner, there is no limit to the amount, time or location of copper coins used to buy grain. As long as it is new money, you can buy grain from the Risheng at any time."

The manager of the Qu family reported everything he had learned from the grain store, and then placed the rice and remaining copper coins on the table before leaving.

Chen Zizhuang looked at the copper coins and rice on the table, his eyes relaxed, and he said

"Your Highness will distribute the salaries of all officials in cash next year. As long as the new money can always be backed by rice, the value of the new money should be stable and will not cause too much unrest."

The officials in the court only speculated that the court might convert part of their salaries into copper coins next year, but Chen Zizhuang and other cabinet ministers knew that this matter had already been decided.

According to the plan set by His Highness, next year the salaries of officials in the court will be converted half into silver and half into copper. As long as the new currency is successfully promoted, the salaries of all officials in the court will be converted into copper the year after next.
This was actually the official change of the main currency in circulation in the Ming Dynasty from silver to copper coins.

Chen Zizhuang looked at the new coin with the word "Gui" on it and said

"The imperial court is in a tight financial situation and the price of Japanese copper is low. It is profitable for the imperial court to mint new coins, and it is also a new source of income for the imperial court."

"I just don't know how much profit the court can make from minting coins at this time."

After hearing this, Qu Shixi thought for a moment and said

"The purchase of copper by Japan is handled by the Maritime Trade Department, and the minting of coins by the Hosen Bureau is also managed by the palace. I'm afraid only Your Highness knows the specific profit of minting coins."

"I heard that the palace sold this batch of new money to the Ministry of Revenue at 16 taels of silver for every 20 strings of silver. If the court can really stabilize the price of the new money this time, the Ministry of Revenue can make a profit of 80,000 taels of silver just from this batch of new money."

Although Zhu Lang transferred this batch of new money to the Ministry of Revenue, he did not give it out for free, but sold it to the Ministry of Revenue at the price of 20 strings of cash and 16 taels of silver.
This is only natural. As His Majesty the Regent, he is busy all the time, building ships and going out to sea. He is also responsible for minting new coins and stabilizing the price of coins. He can't be working in vain.
The Ministry of Revenue is running out of silver in its treasury and cannot use it to buy new money, but it doesn't matter, because His Royal Highness Gui Jianguo is so considerate.

After the Ministry of Revenue wrote the IOU with its seal, the Ming court owed the palace treasury a full 320,000 taels of silver.

Although in theory the silver in the Ministry of Revenue and the inner treasury belonged to Zhu Lang, there was still a big difference between the two. If possible, Zhu Lang would naturally prefer to keep all the silver in his own inner treasury.
Chen Zizhuang picked up the tea bowl on the table and took a sip, but suddenly sighed softly
"During the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, the government tried various means to raise funds but still could not make ends meet, so it had to levy additional taxes, causing resentment throughout the country."

"The Chongzhen reign was only a few years ago, and the price of Japanese copper should not have fluctuated too much. Japanese copper was cheap, and as long as it was traded overseas and minted, a large amount of income could be made. It's a pity that no one in the court thought of this at the time."

Upon hearing this, Qu Shisi shook his head and said

"Even if someone thought of it, what would it matter? Given the situation in the court at that time, even if someone brought it up, I'm afraid they would be impeached immediately by the court, and there would be no result in the end.
"The reason why the new currency system in the court can be implemented now is because His Majesty the Regent has been pushing for the tax-labor system to be converted into grain. This has allowed the court to stockpile a large amount of rice and grain to support the price of the currency."

"During the Chongzhen period, this alone would have been impossible. Taxes and labor service cut off the financial resources of so many people. If anyone dared to bring this up, they would have been attacked by everyone and ruined."

"How can the situation in the court in the past be changed by one or two good policies or one or two wise ministers?"

Chen Zizhuang was silent for a long time, and sighed. Not to mention the issue of taxation and labor service, if someone had dared to propose that the court organize official ships to go to Japan to buy copper, I am afraid that the officials and gentry in the court would immediately be accused of violating the ancestral system and causing chaos in the sea.

Although the court's maritime ban had been abolished by then, there were still many gentry families in Jiangnan, Fujian and Zhejiang who were personally engaged in maritime trade.

But what they can do is their business, and the imperial court must not do it. If the imperial court really lifts the maritime ban, how can they make money?
When His Majesty the Regent wanted to set up the Maritime Trade Department, many officials in the court petitioned to stop the court from opening the sea, but it was useless.
The court was able to open the sea at this time. On the one hand, no one in the court could stop His Royal Highness the Regent's actions. On the other hand, the biggest reason that the gentry used to oppose the opening of the sea no longer existed.
In the past, the gentry prevented the court from opening the sea. In addition to the ancestral system, the most powerful excuse was that opening the sea might lead to the Japanese invasion again.
But this reason is no longer valid after Jiashen. At that time, the Japanese invasion broke out in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but now even Jiangsu and Zhejiang are gone. What's the point of talking about the Japanese invasion?
The righteousness of the imperial court now is to march north and recover the homeland. To march north, money and food are needed. Maritime trade can earn money for the imperial court. This is the greatest righteousness at this time.
Zhu Lang suddenly launched a new currency before the New Year, which made the ministers who were preparing to celebrate the festival uneasy.
The court officials were discussing this, but Zhu Lang had already set his sights on Ryukyu.
(End of this chapter)