Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 198 Your Majesty, could you please lie down for a moment?

Spending money lavishly is only the first stage in solving the money shortage problem.

At this stage, everyone is happy, because the court is hosting a dinner for everyone.

Therefore, people were very willing to accept "paper money" - after all, it was free and could be used to exchange for food.

Even if it cannot be exchanged for food, paper is not a common item for ordinary people. It can be used to teach children to write and draw, and it can also be used to wipe one's butt.

At this stage, paper money was more like food stamps than money.

Of course, this big-pot situation cannot last forever.

According to Li Ming's plan, the cash shortage treatment will move to the second stage -

Let the people actively accept "paper money" as a means of payment for their commodity transactions and labor remuneration.

Let these colorful papers complete their second leap and become "general equivalents", achieving or even replacing the circulation function of currency.

This is the real key to solving this economic crisis.

It is also a difficult point.

Because from this moment on, ordinary people will really start to take risks——

The risk of default by the court.

To put it simply, if the imperial court turns against us, it may devalue or even deny the value of paper money.

Then the people’s hard work and even their savings would all be wasted.

To put it bluntly, whether the Tang Dynasty can survive this disaster depends on the "character" it has accumulated in daily life.

"To strengthen the confidence of ordinary people in the imperial court and government offices and to establish the credibility of currency, publicity is the key.

"It is better to tell stories than to explain the truth. Write more short essays, and focus on 'moving a tree to establish trust and keeping a promise is worth a thousand gold'."

At the Chang'an Newspaper, Li Ming was personally in charge of the command and was determined to prepare for this public opinion offensive.

All employees did not go out for interviews today. Instead, they all stayed in the office, writing furiously.

"Brother Ming, we can still make some efforts in Chang'an. But other states and counties don't have newspapers." Di Renjie said in a low voice.

As the name suggests, the coverage of Chang'an Newspaper is limited to Chang'an.

Although there were branches in Liaodong and Pyongyang, they only covered the two states of Liaodong and some towns in Goguryeo.

Due to the shortage of manpower and insufficient control, a blank area in the war of public opinion was formed in the vast hinterland of the Tang Dynasty.

"Then we can only rely on the imperial notice from the local government office."

Chang Sun Yan said this, and his choice of words and sentences inadvertently revealed his distrust of the Tang Dynasty system.

After driving BYD and then riding back to Yadi, there is a sense of gap.

Although the officials in Chang'an can make up for the shortcomings of the system with their personal abilities.

However, it remains to be seen how well it can be implemented in local areas, especially in remote counties and states.

“The purpose of this time is to solve the money shortage, not to reform the bureaucracy.” Li Ming reminded his friends who seemed a little too radical.

"Chang'an is the country's trading and commerce center. As long as the situation in Chang'an is under control, metal prices across the country will fall synchronously.

"By then, the national money shortage will be gradually alleviated."

One word, grind.

As long as Chang'an is controlled, Hayek's invisible hand will sooner or later adjust the prices of copper coins and other metals back to their original positions over time.

"If that's the case, then I have no other opinion."

Di Renjie said.

Li Ming patted his shoulder heavily:

"Good job."

After saying this, he left Xishi without stopping and returned to his loyal Shangshu Province.

"Your Highness."

At this time, Fang Xuanling's study was filled with many talented people and guests.

The middle and high-level officials from the three ministries, Menxia, ​​Zhongshu and Shangshu, gathered together, waiting for the order from His Excellency, Tongpingzhangshi and Canzhizhengshi.

Issue the most important, critical and difficult order in this cash shortage.

These high-ranking officials of the imperial court were like candidates who had just entered the imperial examination hall; they were all extremely nervous.

Fang Xuanling remained calm, just swallowed his saliva and said:

"Your Highness, give the order."

Seeing their cowardly looks, Li Ming couldn't help but want to laugh:
"What are you afraid of? What if I fail?
"At worst, I can go back to Zhongnan Mountain and fight guerrilla warfare."

All officials were horrified.

…………

The next day, a decree broke the peace in Chang'an City that had finally settled down.

Paper money, which was the "food exchange coupons" previously issued by the imperial court to relieve the hungry, officially became "money".

Specifically, paper money also became one of the so-called "legal tender" officially recognized by the imperial court. It can be used to purchase goods, pay wages, pay fines, etc., just like copper coins!

When the news came out, the people fell into collective confusion.

If these colorful papers were given to them for free, of course they would take them.

However, if they have to spend effort to "earn" those pieces of paper, that's another matter.

After all, compared to light paper, heavy and shiny precious metals make people feel more secure when holding them.

The Wuzhu coins passed down from the Han Dynasty could still circulate in the market during the Tang Dynasty.

As for these papers, it’s hard to say.

Who knows if the imperial court will go back on its word and turn its back on us after a while?
Or, more covertly, will they secretly print excessive amounts of banknotes to devalue them?
After all, after the baptism of "bad money" at the end of the Sui Dynasty, older city dwellers have some understanding of "inflation".

Even if the court’s credibility is trustworthy, what about the merchants?
If the vendor doesn’t recognize the banknote, it’s all in vain!
Then, the people saw the second clause of this decree:

Vendors in the East and West Markets had to accept paper money as payment without charge, otherwise the urban management officials - also known as the "market supervisors" - had the right to fine them.

Merchants had to admit it even if they didn't want to, which made the people feel relieved.

But the first key problem has not been solved yet.

What should I do if the imperial court refuses to recognize it?
Until they read the final catch-all clause:

The imperial court opened money shops in every neighborhood, allowing paper money and copper coins to be exchanged at a one-to-one ratio, with no restrictions on time or amount.

Everyone looked at each other, immediately picked up the remaining banknotes, and rushed to the bank.

It is necessary to exchange it quickly within the first few days after the imperial court issues the decree.

What if the copper reserves are used up in a few days, the court will not be able to come up with more copper coins even if it wants to exchange them!

Almost in an instant, long queues formed in front of every door in the 108 neighborhoods of Chang'an.

Without exception, they all had to use this thin paper money to exchange for the currently expensive and scarce copper coins.

Exchanging paper for copper is a very profitable business!
In the following days, as this decree spread along the highway to various states and counties, the same scene was played out in large, medium and small cities across the country.

However, those states and counties have not yet been infiltrated by Li Ming's newspaper, nor have they been psychologically massaged by the short essay.

Therefore, their rush to exchange copper goods was even more frantic, for fear that they would not be able to catch up with the hot shit.

At the same time, the imperial court also began to inject a large amount of liquidity into the market according to Li Ming's deployment.

In simple terms, it means issuing a large amount of paper money.

The paper money was distributed as quickly as possible through the forms of official salaries, official slaves' wages, craftsmen's wages, and court procurement expenses.

We strive to get this newly issued money into the market as quickly as possible to alleviate the most serious deflation first.

The effect of doing so is immediate.

There were long queues in front of every money house.

After receiving the banknotes, most people would immediately come to exchange the paper for copper coins, even if they had to queue for several hours.

After all, the court can still keep its promise today.

But when I open my eyes, what will happen tomorrow?
"Your Highness, the copper coin stocks in the treasuries of various prefectures and counties are already stretched to the limit, and even Chang'an is experiencing a shortage."

Tang Jian, the Minister of Civil Affairs, reported with great concern:
"If we don't suspend the exchange, the batch of copper that Li Shiji transferred from Jiangzhou will be sold out. We will have no copper to exchange!"

"Let's close these banks first and stop the exchange." Hou Junji said in a hoarse voice:
"Those fools are truly despicable. How could they not trust the imperial court?
"Anyone who dares to trade without using paper money will be punished by the law!"

He tried to use his visible hand to wrestle with the invisible hand of the market.

"Can you put all the people in the city in jail? It's only been a few days, and you want to destroy all the reputation that the court has accumulated?"

Fang Xuanling sneered at the reckless behavior of this rough man and came up with a more sinister idea:
“Your Highness, why don’t you reduce the number of clerks at the bank and only open one door, making the exchange procedures lengthy and complicated, and at the same time reducing the business hours.

"In this way, the queue will be very long, and even if you queue up, you may not get your turn. Impatient people will naturally disperse, and fewer people will come to squeeze in."

Li Ming crossed his arms, listened calmly to the advice from his right-hand men, and turned to ask his chief secretary:
"Chang Sunyan, what do you think we should do?"

"Me?" Chang Sunyan was a little stuck.

First, rule out Hou Junji’s answer.

As for Fang Xuanling's shady trick, it was indeed sinister enough that Chang Sun Yan always felt as if there was something wrong.

However, with the bank run trend still unabated and the court's copper reserves becoming increasingly stretched, there seems to be no better way.

"If it were in Liaodong, this would never have happened.

"Even if some individuals have doubts about the banknotes, we will try our best to convince them..."

Chang Sunyan said somewhat dejectedly.

It has only been half a month since he returned to Chang'an, but he already can't help but mention "I miss the days in Liaodong".

Li Ming patted him on the shoulder:

"Chang'an is not a small place like Pingzhou. With a population of one million, it is impossible for you to go door to door to persuade people.

"To solve this problem, you need to be clever..."

At this time, the eunuch from the palace came and presented a letter from His Majesty the Emperor.

These days, Li Ming is having a quarrel with His Majesty Li II.

He used the excuse of going to work during the day and didn't go back to the palace. He had dinner next to his mother in Lide Hall and fell asleep right after dinner.

Don't give sister A Sizi the chance to carry him back to Lizheng Palace.

Emperor Li II, who felt that he had done something wrong, was too embarrassed to force his way into the Lide Hall, so he could only stroke his youngest son's hair and start a conversation with him through writing.

This letter to Li Ming was similar, asking about his recent work progress.

It was only in the penultimate paragraph of the letter that Emperor Li II mentioned that the soldiers' salaries had been in arrears for a month.

In the last paragraph, Li Shimin added that he had no intention of urging Li Ming to resolve the economic crisis quickly. He was just stating the current objective situation and advised not to disrupt the original policy plan.

"The emperor is also starting to get worried and is backing off."

Li Ming saw through the true meaning of Comrade Lao Li's letter at a glance.

It can be said that Li Shimin's character was evenly spread among his three legitimate sons.

Li Chengqian inherited his sentimentality, and Li Zhi inherited his worrying.

Li Tai inherited his roundabout and evasive way of speaking. Hearing His Majesty's attitude, Fang Xuanling inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief:

"Then, let's use the old minister's method and use soft restrictive measures to clamp down on the total amount of copper coins that the people can exchange?"

Hou Junji and Chang Sun Yan both nodded in agreement.

This seems to be the best solution under the current circumstances.

Li Ming crossed his arms but did not answer.

Fang Xuanling's eyebrows slightly wrinkled:
"What do you think, Your Highness?"

"Well, I have a different idea." Li Ming said.

The three of them were shocked.

When His Highness Li Ming has an idea, it can really solve the problem.

“Add more staff to the bank and work in three shifts.

"It is open at any time of the day or night, and is open to the public for redemption."

Listening to the ideas proposed by Liaodong Idea King, the three of them couldn't help but twitch their lips.

…………

On that day, when the new draft of the Prime Minister was presented, a very fierce argument broke out among the three provinces and six ministries.

The same quarrel spread to Taiji Palace.

This practice is really outrageous. Allowing people to exchange money, isn't this just a way of fearing that the national treasury will be empty?
Even if His Majesty delegates more power to His Highness Li Ming, officials with conscience will find it difficult to obey.

However, just when Emperor Li Shimin was unsure and was about to call little brother Li Ming into the palace for questioning.

Li Ming has gone to every money house talking to himself.

Passive waiting is not his style.

He planned to read the order to all the shopkeepers in person as the chief official, so as to "deliver the government order to the countryside."

There are 108 lifang in Chang'an City, which means there are 108 money houses.

He traveled light and accompanied by Hou Junji and Changsun Yan.

Without exception, there were long queues in front of these money houses.

In full view of everyone, Li Ming walked past everyone and swaggered into the money house.

Someone recognized him immediately:

"Li Ming! It's His Highness Li Ming!"

Li Ming's great achievements, after being praised by the Chang'an Express, have been deeply engraved in the DNA of every Chang'an citizen.

Plus, his appearance is so recognizable—a cocky kid with an overly mature demeanor.

It's hard not to know him.

The scene immediately became lively with thunderous cheers.

First, I finally got to see the legendary celebrity, and he was so approachable.

Second, they also knew that the person in charge of this relief effort was Li Ming.

Who doesn’t like a kind-hearted person who gives money to everyone?

In addition, there is the weird urban legend that he was almost a "living Buddha", which was left behind when he distributed porridge in Chang'an and came from Liaodong.

Let everyone trust him more than the imperial court.

"Put the money in the bank into a wooden basket and build a platform for me." Li Ming whispered to Chang Sun Yan.

The latter immediately found the owner of the money shop.

The shopkeeper had never heard such a strange request in his life.

The gaps between the wooden frames were large, but not enough to allow the strings of copper coins to leak out.

But there is no doubt that the temptation is too strong for the people who are queuing outside waiting to exchange their coins.

He was afraid that as soon as the copper coin appeared, it would be snatched away by the mob.

But the shopkeeper dared not disobey, so he stuffed most of the remaining copper coins in the bank into several wooden baskets and moved them all out.

Li Ming swaggered onto the platform built with money.

The copper coins shone through the wide gaps in the wooden strips, emitting an attractive orange-yellow color in the sunlight, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

A child standing on a pile of money.

Very visually stunning.

“Everyone didn’t trust paper money, didn’t trust the court, and didn’t trust me. They were afraid that the copper coins would be redeemed by others and they would be left behind. So they wanted to quickly exchange paper money for copper coins.

"I understand your concern."

Li Ming's voice was not loud, but everyone listened attentively.

"But, as you can see, there are plenty of copper coins, and they are open for exchange."

Li Ming pointed to the shop front of the bank:

"Every day from morning till night, even at midnight, all the windows are open. If one bank is not enough, I will open another one.

"You can exchange as much as you want, and you should exchange as much as you want."

After speaking briefly, Li Ming climbed down from the pile of money and walked away.

The people in the queue looked at each other.

A voice seemed to ring in my heart: You idiot, why are you spending so much time and energy queuing here?

Just when they were hesitating, a woman dressed extravagantly with a string of copper coins around her waist came over, her throat booming:

"Shopkeeper! I want to exchange banknotes!"

The shopkeeper, the waiters, and the people queuing outside the door all looked at her as if she were an alien.

Everyone was exchanging paper for copper coins, so why did a fool come and exchange copper coins for paper?

“I’m doing big business, copper coins are too heavy!

"Since these banknotes can be used as money, you'd be a fool not to use them. Only a fool would carry a bunch of copper ingots around. It's inconvenient and easy to be robbed!"

The big sister muttered loudly, dropped the copper coins, and walked away.

Watching the woman's disappearing back, the people in the queue felt even more like idiots.

If paper money could really buy things.

If the imperial court really had countless copper coins, it would allow everyone to exchange them anytime and anywhere.

Then aren't these pieces of paper equivalent to real money?
Anyway, you can use it at will and purchase goods and services.

What’s the difference between it and copper coins, rice and cotton?
Isn’t it just a logo, a token?

"The line is so long, I'll come back tomorrow."

"That's right. Anyway, the bank still has so much money. One or two days won't hurt."

"I'll use the banknotes to buy vegetables at the market first. Anyway, the court has stipulated that they must be accepted. If there is any left, I can exchange them later."

"What are you exchanging for? Don't you think copper coins are too heavy? Paper is so light."

Suddenly, everyone lost the momentum and reason to rush to exchange copper coins.

After all, the court can choose not to believe it.

But everyone is still willing to believe what His Highness Li Ming says.

After realizing that the court had sufficient copper coins as preparation to meet everyone's exchange needs.

People's confidence in paper money naturally grew.

Once people have enough confidence and a sense of security, panic will naturally disappear and people will not want to exchange their currencies anymore.

Thus, to the astonishment of the money shop owner, the crowd queuing to exchange copper coins gradually dispersed.

…………

In a dark corner next to the money house.

"Your acting is still a bit exaggerated. Luckily, people don't notice you very often. They only see the few coins you have on your waist when you appear."

Li Ming started to criticize the woman who had just exchanged banknotes.

Although he is disguised, some clues can still be seen.

This woman who "actively responded to national policies" was Li Ming's trusted spy, Hu Sanniang.

Her role is very straightforward, she is here to act as a stand-in.

Hu Sanniang listened very attentively.

Hou Junji and Chang Sun Yan couldn't help but cover their faces.

When it comes to clever ideas, no one can compare to His Highness Li Ming.

Acting, speeches, and requests, all kinds of tricks were used.

The honest citizens of Chang'an have never seen this!
I was persuaded to quit after just a little deception.

Judging from the results, the effect is outstanding.

"Let's pack up and go to the next bank."

After Li Ming finished his comments, he instructed Hou Junji, Chang Sunyan and Hu Sanniang:

"Just follow the instructions and perform each one of them."

In the past few days, Li Ming and his entourage have been traveling non-stop between the 108 neighborhoods of Chang'an and the east and west cities.

The same drama was performed in front of every money house.

And every witness couldn't wait to share this scene with their relatives and friends.

Soon, the awareness that "paper money is also currency" quickly swept the entire Chang'an City.

And with the trade, it gradually spread throughout the Tang Dynasty.

…………

In the Liangyi Hall of Taiji Palace, Emperor Li II was almost driven crazy by anger when he heard the news.

"What?! Did Li Ming really do this?
"Are you really going to open up all the money houses, working day and night to take whatever the people ask for, and allow them to exchange precious copper coins at will?!"

Li Shimin almost slammed the table and stood up again during the small court meeting.

Grand Chancellor Changsun Wuji, who reported the incident, was also shocked by His Majesty's reaction. He lowered his head tremblingly and said:

"That's true..."

"But what about the Ministry of Personnel? Didn't the Ministry of Personnel reject this decree? Minister Liu!"

Li Shimin questioned Liu Li, the Imperial Court Minister:
"What are you doing? Why don't you stop Tong Pingzhangshi?!"

Liu Li looked confused:
"The Tongpingzhangshi did not issue this order to the Ministry of Personnel..."

"He bypassed the Menxia Province?!"

Li Shimin was stunned and murmured.

(End of this chapter)