Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 199 Li Er: This is how to be an emperor. I will teach you.
Li Shimin's forehead soon became bulging with veins, and he asked the others harshly:
"What about the other government offices? Without the approval of the Ministry of Personnel, do you dare to carry out this absurd order?!"

After his blood pressure dropped dramatically due to a healthy diet, Mr. Li rarely gets angry like this anymore.

Or at least he rarely gets so angry in public like court meetings.

This time he couldn't help it.

Because of Li Ming's nonsense, he had two weak spots at the same time:

First, the army was in arrears of pay.

Second, the civil service is out of control.

Damn it, he is not good at both civil and military affairs, what kind of emperor is he?
Li Shimin felt that while he was having a good sleep, his youngest son quietly promoted him in the middle of the night.

Promoted to emperor emeritus.

"Your Majesty, we really don't know."

Zhongshu Ling Yang Shidao and Shangshu Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling said at the same time that it was unbelievable that His Highness Li Ming, the co-prime minister, also bypassed them.

In the end, it was Hou Junji who participated in the incident and took the initiative to report it, so as not to be accused of "knowing about it but not reporting it":

"Your Majesty, the Minister of State personally visited every bank and gave the order to open the vaults and release the money to all the bank owners, which led to this."

Li Shimin's eyelids twitched when he heard this.

Skipping the civil service system and going directly to the grassroots level can be said to be quite "Li Ming".

There are no middlemen making the difference.

He seemed to lose all his energy all of a sudden, and he sat back heavily on his chair, praising weakly:

"Jun Ji, you are very good and you observe carefully..."

The Prime Minister was riding on the same horse as me, so how could I not observe carefully... Hou Junji exchanged glances with his accomplices Yang Shidao and Fang Xuanling, and retreated quietly.

Now that the matter has come to this, what should we do?
"The bank should be closed immediately and the exchange should be stopped!"

Cen Wenben was the first to step forward and offer advice.

Zhang Sun Wuji expressed his objection:

"It is difficult to reverse what has happened. What will the people think after all this? What if another civil uprising happens?
"We should use strategy and take our time!"

The two sides immediately started arguing fiercely.

Some people advocate closing down the banks immediately and cutting losses in a timely manner, while others advocate a gradual process and closing them one by one.

But the main point is the same - the government spends real money to exchange paper money in the hands of ordinary people, and this stupid behavior should be stopped.

As for Li Ming's fourteen traitors, they were surprisingly quiet and no one offered any advice.

Maybe I felt guilty too.

Li Shimin sat on the dragon couch, snapping his fingers anxiously.

He suddenly realized that he was in a difficult situation.

If the exchange is shut down, it would be tantamount to declaring a complete failure in dealing with the money shortage and the complete bankruptcy of the credit of paper currency. The previous series of performances were all performance art.

If the exchange is not shut down, the copper coins stored by the government will eventually run out, and the paper money will become waste paper.

Ultimately, the essence of paper money is to allow the people and the court to advance and retreat together.

How difficult this is!
Putting hope on this illusory ideal is like looking for fish in a tree!
"I'm so stupid, really...

"How could I hand over the power to that brat and let him take a gamble..."

Li Shimin regretted it so much that his intestines turned green.

It's not his fault that he's wavering.

Li Ming does often come up with surprising strategies, and they almost always produce miraculous results.

However, this time, Li Ming bet too big.

He is betting on the fate of the entire Tang Dynasty!
Before he intervened, the "economic crisis" was limited to Chang'an and other cities in the Tang Dynasty.

Although it was spread all over the country and had a loud voice, Li Shimin knew that it would not cause any serious damage.

Because the urban population accounts for less than 20% of the total population of the Tang Dynasty.

Most people in the country live in rural areas and are watching city dwellers perform performance art in confusion.

However, Li Ming's bold move cost him all the military pay.

This will shake the foundation of the country!

No matter how poor a country is, the army must not be poor. If all the military pay is thrown in, it will not make any splash and will not alleviate the cash shortage, which will lead to a mutiny in the army.

Then the Tang Dynasty is really doomed!
Damn it, that brat won’t destroy the country just to get angry with me!

"The mistake was in using the military pay. How could I make such a low-level mistake..."

Li Shimin was extremely regretful.

But there is no regret medicine in the world.

As the top leader, this is not the time to complain about everything.

Instead, make decisions quickly and solve the most pressing problems first.

"Are there any extra copper in the treasuries across the country? Copper coins, copper ore, and copper utensils are all fine." Li Shimin interrupted the ministers' war of words.

No matter what, we must first replenish the military salaries and stabilize the army.

Minister of Civil Affairs Tang Jian replied:

"There are some. I have ordered warehouses in various places to count the copper and iron stocks, and at the same time ordered banks in Chang'an to count the copper coins every day."

Old Tang is reliable in his work, and he is worthy of being the capable minister who founded the East Turkic camp... Li Shimin felt relieved and asked:

"How many copper coins are left in Chang'an?"

Tang Jian pondered for a while:

"The inventory of copper coins from the previous day could not be counted and summarized until the next morning. I went to court early in the morning, and the report had not been submitted by then."

"It's okay." Li Shimin waved his hand:
"Send the eunuch to your study now to get it. I can wait."

The Secretariat was not far from the Liangyi Palace, and the inventory list was immediately brought over.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and asked as calmly as possible:
"As of the previous day, how many copper coins were left in the banks of Chang'an?"

This number is very important and is directly related to how much copper coins should be transported from where to the capital.

It also concerns how many days it will take for the people of Chang'an to explode.

He was afraid of hearing the bad news that "there is not much copper left in reserve".

The other ministers were equally nervous and listened attentively to Tang Jian's words.

It was as if he was the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, and was passing judgment on everyone present.

"There are still copper coins left in yesterday's inventory... huh?"

When Tang Jian saw the number, he couldn't help rubbing his eyes, squinting and looking at it carefully again and again.

"How much is left?"

Li Shimin couldn't help but lean forward slightly and held the armrest tightly.

"There's still..." Tang Jian licked his lips, as if he didn't quite believe this number:
"There are about 200,000 strings of cash left, 5,000 strings more than yesterday."

Five thousand more strings of cash, five thousand strings of cash, strings of cash...

Li Shimin's first reaction after hearing this was:
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
The exchange is open all day long, so why are the copper coins in stock increasing?

"Did we make a mistake in the inventory?" someone asked.

Tang Jian flipped through the account book, carefully checked the details, and shook his head:
"The inventory of most of the banks has increased compared to yesterday. There are only one or two banks that made mistakes. It's impossible for so many bankers to make mistakes, right?"

"Ahem." Fang Xuanling, who had been silent the whole time, reminded:
"Is it possible that ordinary people took out the copper coins hidden in their homes to exchange for paper money?"

Li Shimin's eyebrows were twisted into a "川" shape.

If this is true, doesn't it mean that the people have already recognized the circulation value of paper money and the money shortage has been largely solved?
Will this economic crisis be over as long as we wait for copper and iron prices to fall back to their original levels?

But how could there be such a counterintuitive thing in the world?
It has been liberalized, but people are not rushing to redeem them?

"Perhaps it was precisely because the imperial court showed an attitude of redeeming all that should be done that it won the trust of the people and truly established the currency credit."

Fang Xuanling stroked his goatee and said:
"If paper money had the same value as copper coins, people would definitely prefer paper money.

"After all, paper is so light."

Fang Xuanling and other members of the Fourteen Parties could naturally understand Li Ming's intention.

But a theory is a theory after all.

No one dared to say a word until the Minister of Civil Affairs Tang Jian provided data to support his argument.

Afraid of being slapped in the face.

Once there is data to support it, Fang Xuanling can feel free to come out and make his own decisions after the event.

"Can this still happen?"

Li Shimin felt that this was unexpected, but when he thought about it carefully, it was reasonable.

The fewer copper coins there are, the more the exchange of paper money for copper coins will be relaxed; the more the exchange is relaxed, the higher the people's confidence will be; the higher the confidence, the more copper coins will be exchanged for paper money; the more exchanges are made, the more copper coins there will be.

So the less copper coins you have, the more copper coins you get.

Well, that makes sense.

"What on earth is that guy's brain like..."

Li Shimin has a very magical realist feel.

He knew the complexity of human nature, so he was always cautious in his governance.

But I didn’t expect human nature to be so complex and counter-intuitive!

What is even more unexpected is that Li Ming could have such a thorough insight into human nature, and even use these characteristics to deceive... no, persuade people to regard paper as money!

What the ministers have to consider is much simpler.

They just need to be thankful.

Because they all see the hope of successfully resolving the economic crisis.

The Tang Dynasty will be back on track.

"No, it's only been one day, so we can't jump to conclusions too early."

Li Shimin was still very cautious:
“We have to wait a few more days to see the results.

"Copper from other places must also continue to be transported to the capital to ensure the supply of military pay."

It's like a layer of insurance for his son's reckless behavior.

…………

The subsequent development was basically as Li Ming predicted.

Except for the panic buying in the first few days, after Li Ming's live performances back and forth, he demonstrated the court's ample ammunition.

The panic of the people gradually disappeared.

This method was promoted throughout the country without reservation by the imperial court and had almost miraculous therapeutic effects.

After the court showed enough sincerity, the people also showed enough trust in the court.

Not only did the run on copper coins stop, but many people even voluntarily handed in their copper coins and exchanged them for paper money to facilitate transactions.

In addition, under administrative orders, market vendors uniformly began to accept paper money for payment.

People's trust in these papers quickly accumulated.

With the development of commercial activities in the Tang Dynasty, paper money began to spread throughout the streets and alleys of the Tang Dynasty and was further promoted throughout the country.

As paper money becomes more and more used, the market demand for copper coins decreases.

The relative value of copper coins began to loosen, and if they were hoarded any further, it would be a loss.

As a result, people began to take out the copper coins they had hidden in their hands for trading, and they circulated and used them together with paper money.

The more copper coins there are on the market, the lower the price of copper will fall, and this will directly lead to a collapse in the prices of iron, tin, and even gold and silver.

Things have entered a virtuous circle, and everything is moving towards returning to normal.

…………

The Tang Dynasty entered September peacefully.

Autumn.

It was the day scheduled for the Northern Expedition against Xueyantuo.

"I didn't expect that opening up the exchange would yield such a miraculous effect..."

Lizheng Hall.

Li Shimin couldn't help but marvel at the gradually increasing copper coin stocks across the country.

Following the path designed by Li Ming, the money shortage crisis was actually successfully resolved after the autumn!
The prices of metals such as copper and iron steadily fell, food shortages in cities were basically eliminated, and social order returned to normal.

The Tang Dynasty once again presented a scene of thriving vitality and flourishing development.

"Has anyone caused trouble recently?" Li Shimin asked casually while flipping through the account book. Fang Xuanling answered familiarly:

"Except for sporadic mob uprisings in remote counties and cities, the situation in major cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang has completely returned to stability.

"People live and work in peace and contentment, commerce is thriving, prices are stable, and everything is back to normal."

As Li Ming's plan gradually succeeded, Fang Xuanling gradually became the most trusted civil official of the Emperor.

There is already a momentum of suppressing Changsun Wuji.

Li Shimin raised the corner of his mouth, then calmly smoothed it down, just nodded slightly, and said lightly:
"Your Excellency Tongpingzhangshi has made great contributions and deserves to be rewarded."

Fang Xuanling suppressed the curled corners of his mouth and nodded slightly:
"I will obey Jun's orders."

Then left.

Li Shimin sat on the dragon couch with an arrogant look, pretending to read a memorial with a serious face.

Until Li Ming's core old staff left and he was the only one left in the imperial study.

Huh... Li Shimin let out a long breath and couldn't help but stand up from the dragon bed, pacing back and forth excitedly.

Great!
This puzzling economic crisis has ended just like that!

Under the control of the helmsman Li Ming, the big ship of the country and the people actually survived this big wave without any danger!

What’s even more wonderful is that this big bomb was resolved just before the troops were sent to attack Xueyantuo!

Otherwise, when you are killing everyone in the northern grassland, the base will suddenly make trouble like this.

No one can stand this.

There is no guarantee that he will not repeat the mistakes of Brother Fu Jian.

"Alright, you're quite capable, brat!"

Li Shimin excitedly paced to the front of the map, his eyes fixed on it, but his mind was elsewhere.

What made him particularly happy was not that the Northern Expedition went smoothly, nor that the economic crisis was overcome without any major problems.

Rather, it is someone who has demonstrated outstanding, even a little outrageous, domestic affairs capabilities.

Not only did Li Ming solve the unprecedented economic problems with ease, but he also did so with ease.

Moreover, when he was stabbed in the back by his father, the emperor, he was able to handle Li Qianyou's corruption case relatively ideally and preserve his own prestige.

What is even more gratifying is that Li Ming did not take this opportunity to unite the party and attack dissidents and exclude dissidents.

People like Changsun Wuji and Cen Wenben, who were at odds with him, were still given important positions, and their achievements were also openly recognized.

This is the magnanimity of having the world in mind!

Both his strategic vision and tactical skills have reached the pinnacle.

"No one in the court or the world will dare to question his ability anymore."

Li Shimin looked at the sunset outside the window with a relaxed mood.

He felt that the future of the Tang Dynasty must be bright.

…………

As it turned out, Li Shimin was still conservative.

Through this bold move, Li Ming's reputation all over the world almost exploded.

Although there were many rumors about Li Ming in the past.

From saving the royal family to governing Liaodong, it has become the biggest topic of conversation in the Tang Dynasty during this period.

But then again, what does all this have to do with my monthly salary of 300 wen?

They were not meat eaters, not refugees receiving charity porridge, and not people from Liaodong. In most parts of China, ordinary people had never personally experienced Li Ming's abilities.

But nowadays, it’s different.

Every merchant who had been tortured by the money shortage and every citizen who had handled paper money were impressed by his genius ideas.

If the Tang Dynasty wanted to choose a new leader, the people would definitely choose Li Ming.

Because he can lead everyone to a well-off life.

Of course, the above discussion is limited to the public.

It is impossible for ordinary people to really choose the people in charge according to their own preferences.

All they had to do was to work hard and pay their rent and taxes.

The dignitaries in the court have a lot to consider.

His Highness Li Ming, Co-Prime Minister, Canzhi Zhengshi, and Jiedushi of Liaodong, has already proved his ability.

Regardless of party affiliation or stance, the officials have reached an unquestionable consensus:

Judging from his ability alone, Li Ming, the second-generation leader, will definitely be able to take over the Tang Dynasty in the future.

The problem is that choosing a crown prince or a new emperor is never just a matter of governing ability.

The biggest watershed in life is amniotic fluid, and this rule has always been valid.

The new emperor's background, personality, and even manipulability can all influence the ministers' choice of the next leader.

First of all, the staunch "legitimate son party" represented by Zhangsun Wuji would never fully accept Li Ming.

Moreover, for some ministers who wanted to "make trouble", Li Ming, the little prince who was extremely subjective and almost impossible to control, was obviously not their cup of tea.

In addition, Li Ming's policy of suppressing the gentry with an iron fist and abolishing the status of good and bad people was deeply disapproved by another group of bureaucrats.

Unlike ordinary people, these bureaucrats and the aristocratic families they represent can really interfere with the birth of the next crown prince.

At a time when the bureaucrats below were engaged in fierce ideological struggles and the court structure was brewing the next major reshuffle.

Li Ming is pushing forward another policy, a policy that makes many bureaucrats scream and scratch their heads.

…………

"Fuck, how did the imperial court become like this? Is Taiji Palace the lair of insects?"

As the sun set, Li Ming returned to Lide Hall where Yang lived, and hugged his mother's thigh and started complaining.

After uncovering the traitor Aunt Wang and executing her in public, he became more and more outspoken at home.

Yang stroked her son's hair kindly and said softly:
"Don't get too angry. You've been working too hard these days. Take a good rest."

Li Ming has indeed been very busy and tired during this period.

They were busy performing and "touring" various money houses to boost people's confidence in paper currency.

Although he verbally taught Chang Sun Yan not to "do everything himself".

However, there is no way.

The people of the Tang Dynasty recognize no one except him.

He could only run around the city to cheer up the people.

Alas, being too popular is also a trouble.

Li Ming lay on his mother's lap, still chattering:

“I asked the bank to record the data of large-scale currency exchanges.

"It was discovered that in the first few days, when everyone was rushing to exchange copper coins, many officials' servants came to exchange paper money worth far more than their masters' salaries for copper coins.

"Where did they get the paper money in their hands? How dare they use paper money of unknown origin to compete for the limited copper coin resources of the imperial court!
"Not only are they corrupt, they also undermine the imperial court, fan the flames of the rush to redeem, and openly defy the imperial court's policies!
"To put it more seriously, the safety cushion of the reserve fund was almost breached because of their greed, and the efforts to manage the economic crisis almost failed!"

Li Ming became angrier and angrier as he spoke, his lips puffed up with anger:

"This kind of insect is more abominable than corruption. I'll ask the Censorate to investigate it. What's the problem?!

"But Wei Ting rejected my request! He said there was insufficient evidence!"

Yang listened to her son's complaints and couldn't help but smile:
"Wei Ting and you are naturally opposed. It was only an accident that he helped you investigate the Li Qianyou case."

Li Ming was startled:
"Wei Ting and I are in opposition, but isn't he... Wei Daijia's father? Aren't we in the same group?"

Listening to her son's somewhat naive understanding, Yang patiently corrected him:
“Wei Ting is from the Jingzhao Wei family. It is impossible for such a large family to stand on one side completely, but to bet on multiple sides.

"This is their political wisdom that has lasted for thousands of years."

Unlike ordinary mothers who only know how to nag or give inspirational speeches, Yang really understands.

"Wei Daijia is only one of Wei Ting's sons. He has four other sons and a daughter, all of whom are capital for the Wei family to marry into other families. How could he be tied to you alone?
“Back then, when the Tang Dynasty was first established, Empress Wende had already married Your Majesty.

"And the uncle Gao Shilian who raised the queen did not surrender to the Tang Dynasty either. Instead, he devoted himself to the southern warlord Xiao Zhen and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty several years later."

Li Ming listened to his mother's story quietly, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

You aristocratic families are really good at playing games. Your social circles are really chaotic...

"In other words, I, the Jingzhao Wei family, only have one helper, Wei Daijia, and the others are just passers-by?" Li Ming asked.

Yang's eyes dimmed:
"More than just a passerby, because of the "Clan Records" incident, the Wei family and the Hedong Cui family are now at odds with each other, and you are a relative of the Cui family.

"It's good enough that the Wei family doesn't oppose you or try to trip you up in secret."

Politics is so complicated... Li Ming felt a little headache.

At this moment, he heard the palace maids outside the door standing up nervously, and heard them calling out respectfully:
His Majesty.

Before Li Ming could react, the door of Lide Hall was pushed open.

The orange light of the setting sun sprinkled on the man, leaving a long shadow.

Li Shimin is here.

…………

"You little brat, why have you been hiding from your grandfather all this time?"

Li Shimin sat at the dinner table carefree.

All in all, this was the first time the two had met since Li Qianyou’s corruption case.

Li Ming was picking up rice and mixing it with millet, mumbling:

"I can't stand being associated with corrupt officials... Ouch!"

My father slapped me on the head.

Yang looked at the pair of big darlings and sighed with amusement and helplessness.

Both of them are obviously people standing at the top of the world, and there are few rivals in terms of wisdom and strategy.

But as soon as these two meet, they become stupid boys.

They could fight for two months, and even though they were only separated by a wall, they refused to see each other and communicated through letters.

Yang couldn't tell which of the two was more childish.

“If you want to do great things, don’t limit your sights to small money and small things.”

Li Shimin stopped laughing and said seriously:

“Of course, the administration of officials needs to be rectified, but we need to set up laws and regulations instead of arresting people one by one. Otherwise, how long will it take to catch them?
“If you really want to target a certain minister, you can’t do it yourself.

"Instead, hint at your intention in the court and have your trusted men do it for you. This way, whether he is caught or not, you will have a way out.

“Advance and retreat freely, with ease.

"This is what is called the unpredictable divine will."

Li Ming replied with little interest:
"Oh."

I helped you solve the economic crisis, and you didn't even bother to thank me? Why did you start to criticize me right away? ...

Li Ming complained in his heart.

"During the process of dealing with the cash shortage this time, one of your problems was exposed."

Li Shimin continued to teach earnestly:
“You are too harsh on officials and too eager for success.

"Haste makes waste. You should speak and act more gently, at least on the surface, and give the officials some leeway."

Li Shimin imparted his personal experience to the audience wholeheartedly:
“After all, you are going to govern the country through officials.

"If we are too harsh and ungrateful, and make them resentful or even turn against the entire bureaucracy, it will be counterproductive."

"Oh, yes, yes... hm?" Li Ming listened with mixed feelings, gradually smelling something wrong.

He suddenly realized that the topic was beginning to take a strange turn.

Although he was still being scolded by his father the emperor.

But I don’t know if it’s an illusion.

Li Ming always felt that this was more than just a scolding.

It's more like a reward...

The huge one...

Yang was kneeling aside, trembling all over, with mixed emotions.

What Her Majesty taught her son was the way to govern a country and be an emperor!

(End of this chapter)