The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 519 Volume : General Cao Cao of the Han Dynasty!

The matter of establishing states and nations was something that everyone had already discussed.

But everyone thought that the emperor would not change Dong Zhuo's title.

Because "Duke" is already extremely noble, and there is an ancestral precept of Emperor Gaozu that "only the Liu family can be king"...

wait?

Who dares to say that Liu Wansheng is not a member of the Liu family?

Who dares to say that Liu Wansheng’s surname is not Liu?
hiss……

All the officials looked at each other.

There have always been different opinions in the streets and alleys of Chang'an about why Dong Zhuo's children took the emperor's surname Liu.

But what no one expected was that the emperor actually used Liu Wansheng's surname and easily violated the ancestral precepts of Emperor Gaozu.

For a moment, all the officials looked very strange.

Could it be that this was also planned by the emperor long ago?

When the Grand Tutor was still alive, the emperor had even begun planning to establish a state?
However, after a while of hesitation, the ministers had no choice but to accept this fact.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo was posthumously named king, which was beneficial to everyone in the world.

If nothing unexpected happens, Dong Zhuo will be the ceiling of the Han Dynasty's heroes.

If Dong Zhuo continued to hold the title of "Duke of the State", the most that everyone could compete for would be the title of Marquis.

The achievements of Jia Xu and Lu Bu are also beyond the reach of others. If they were marquises, others would only be earls or viscounts...

But now that Dong Zhuo has been crowned king, everyone can compete for the position of duke or marquis!
Therefore, with the idea that "their future titles might be raised to a higher level", many senior officials did not step forward to stop it.

Xun Yu wanted to come forward, but when he thought about the fact that he had already unconditionally agreed to support the emperor in implementing the national policy of "enfeoffment and establishment of states", he was too embarrassed to stand up and say anything.

What's more, Xun Yu himself is not a member of the Xiliang faction. If he speaks up, it is very likely to turn this matter into a party dispute.

For the sake of harmony in the Han Dynasty, Xun Yu turned a blind eye...

Since these bigwigs kept silent, the other officials dared not to speak either, and thus passed this national policy that violated ancestral teachings!

All beginnings are hard.

Once Liu Wansheng, the son of Dong Zhuo, establishes a fiefdom, then wouldn't it be within his control for the rest of the people to establish their own states?
At this moment, which one of the officials who can stand in the court of the Han Dynasty and participate in the grand court meeting is not a dragon and phoenix among men?
These officials of the Han Empire finally saw a second way out besides working hard to involute themselves.

Make meritorious service!

Then establish a state and become the founding father of a country!
Compared to the only way to climb onto the single-plank bridge that is above everyone else, establishing a state is simply the right path!

Thus, with the tacit agreement of all officials, the matter of establishing a state... was accomplished!

After Liu Xie finished speaking, he deliberately remained silent for a long time, waiting for his ministers to respond.

Liu Xie had previously guessed that someone would inevitably use the issue of Dong Zhuo being crowned king to dissuade him, so Liu Xie even went to review the Zhou rituals, thinking of having a court debate with the other party.

Unexpectedly, now everyone has agreed to this matter in such a tacit understanding?
Liu Xie smiled slightly.

Seeing how expansionist and utilitarian the Han officials were, he, as the emperor of the Han Dynasty, felt relieved!
He signaled with his eyes to the Minister of Revenue Zhang Ji, who immediately stepped out after receiving the signal from the emperor.

"I have this note!"

"Nowadays, merchants in the Han Dynasty are thriving, and they can exchange goods with each other. This is a blessing for the Han Dynasty."

If Zhang Ji said this in the court of the Early Han Dynasty or the Later Han Dynasty, he would most likely be scolded to death by the censor!
Dare to speak for merchants? Are you tired of living?
Your Majesty, this person must have accepted bribes from merchants. Please investigate thoroughly!
……

but now.

With the systematic overview of the Han Dynasty's financial report just now, all the ministers realized the importance of commercial taxes to the Han Dynasty.

Merchants may need supervision from the imperial court, but the imperial court must never kill them completely!
Otherwise, who would subsidize the annual income of millions of taels of gold?
Moreover, Zhang Ji had previously served as the Prefect of Jingzhao and was known for his integrity, so people did not believe that he would accept bribes.

Seeing that no one objected, Zhang Ji also told the emperor about his previous plan.

“But money is heavy, and it is actually very inconvenient for merchants to travel.”

"I request that the court establish a 'Gold Supervisory Office' to issue paper money at a fixed exchange rate with gold. In this way, merchants only need to carry paper money when they travel."

Paper money!

All the ministers felt a chill for no reason!
Like Zhang Ji, the first thing that everyone thought of was the "white deerskin coin"!
Could it be that the emperor is going to start forced buying and selling again in order to raise military funds?

That’s not right. According to the financial report just now, the Han Dynasty is not short of money now!

Many people also noticed what Zhang Ji said: "There is a fixed exchange rate between paper money and gold."

……

Zhang Ji continued, "The court can set the value of one pound of gold at 20,000 gold yuan. If someone takes gold yuan notes to the Gold Supervisory Office, they can exchange them for gold at any time. Similarly, if someone takes gold to the Gold Supervisory Office, they can also get the corresponding gold yuan."

These words were obviously not explained to the emperor, but to the officials.

When all the officials heard that it could be linked to gold, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Although I don’t know why the emperor wants to do this.

But as long as it’s not as rogue as the White Deerskin Coin, it’ll be fine.

And they are exchangeable with each other.

There is no such thing as during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, where you were given a deerskin and had to pay me 400,000 coins. If you dared to use the deerskin to ask the emperor for money, the emperor would cheat and refuse to acknowledge the debt.

At this moment, Lou Gui and Zhen Yao also stepped out.

Both of them are now extremely wealthy in Chang'an City!
Thanks to the construction of Chang'an New City, their brick and stone business has become bigger and stronger!

Not to mention that he also has dividends from the East and West Markets of Chang'an. He is a man who can drop a few five-zhu coins just by shaking his body. The two gods of wealth bowed to the emperor and said, "What Minister Zhang said is indeed a policy that benefits the country and the people!"

"Copper coins are too heavy and not very valuable. Often you have to carry a lot when you travel, and the cost is even greater when the journey is long!"

"Gold is too expensive, and it's obviously not very convenient for small-volume business."

"If we can exchange it for paper money and gold yuan, it will definitely facilitate trade!"

Seeing that these two people began to give their full support, all officials became more convinced that the emperor was not trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, but really wanted to implement good governance.

At this moment, Zhang Ji presented another gold dollar.

It was twenty inches long and fifteen inches wide, with some extremely complex patterns painted on it.

"The paper money is made from the bark of the paper mulberry tree, which is different from ordinary paper."

"The calligraphy and paintings above are all made with a special small brush, and the patterns are different from those of other brushes."

“The pigment is also extracted from special minerals, which are not easily available to the public.”

"In addition, there are anti-counterfeiting marks such as seals and fingerprints. It is impossible for anyone to forge them!"

The biggest fear with paper money is the appearance of counterfeit money.

However, the highly centralized system of the Han Dynasty could obviously increase the cost of paper money without limit, while monopolizing the raw materials.

If someone wants to forge it in the future, the cost might be higher than the face value of the banknote...

As for the exchange rate with gold, Zhang Ji and Zhuge Liang also set it according to the purchasing power of the current Han currency, which was one catty of gold equal to 15,000 gold yuan.

The largest denomination of gold yuan issued was 500 yuan.

In other words, one pound of gold can now be replaced by the weight of only thirty banknotes, which can greatly reduce the transportation costs for merchants.

Once the cost is lowered, trade will become more prosperous, and more places will be able to share what they have.

Therefore, Zhang Ji has already explained that the "Great Han Gold Yuan" to be issued and the "White Deerskin Paper" of Emperor Wu of Han are really not the same thing!
The officials' resistance to the "Han Gold Yuan" disappeared in an instant.

As long as it’s not a forced sale.

Moreover, the emperor never said from beginning to end that he would forcibly promote the "Han Gold Yuan" and abolish other currencies.

In this case, the right to choose lies with the merchants and every citizen who spends money, so there will be no resistance at all.

"good!"

After hearing this, Liu Xie gave Zhang Ji a high evaluation.

"I request that we first set up gold supervisory offices in Chang'an and Luoyang as a pilot project!"

"allow!"

Chang'an controls Guanzhong, and Luoyang controls Guandong.

Pilot projects will be carried out in the two places first, which will also help to make the people trust the government, and only then will it be possible to proceed gradually.

Liu Xie was not in the least bit anxious about the development of the Jinjiansi.

He was confident that once the Han people got used to the thin paper money, they would definitely say no to the heavy Wuzhu coins.

Moreover, the place where the Gold Supervisory Office was established was not for the general public, but for the convenience of long-distance merchants. Therefore, Liu Xie was not anxious. He just planted a seed and watched it sprout slowly.

The Han Dynasty's golden circle was completed.

The agenda of the grand court meeting in the ninth year of Jian'an soon only had one last topic left:

"I have already sent a letter to Shule to question him, but Shule has not made any move until today. It is obvious that they do not repent."

Liu Xie's eyes wandered among the officials, obviously looking for something.

"King Hede of Shule killed his nephew and established himself as king. His rule is not righteous."

"Meng Ta, the former governor of Liangzhou, led an expedition but failed to capture the city of Zhenzhong. The King of Shule, He De, became even more rampant and even instigated the people of Khotan to besiege the Han envoys. This is truly appalling!"

Liu Xie took a deep breath and finally said the words he had always wanted to say since he became the emperor of the Han Dynasty, but never had the chance to say them.

"Anyone who openly offends the Han will be punished no matter how far away they are!"

"We must send troops to attack this time, destroy the country and get rid of the heirs, to deter all the enemies!"

Although it is far away, it will be punishable!

The Han Dynasty's sharp sword has not been used for many years. Now is the time to let the sword shine through the nine provinces!
During the grand court meeting, Cao Cao, who had been waiting for an opportunity, suddenly stood up!

All the ministers looked at this treacherous hero in troubled times, and they all knew the mission that the emperor had given to Cao Cao.

"Your servant Cao Cao requests to lead the army to attack Shule and will not return until it is conquered!"

"it is good!"

Liu Xie agreed immediately.

"Order Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Yu Jin and others to follow you into battle!"

"We must win the battle and spread the might of the Han Dynasty!"

"Here!"

As Cao Cao looked excited and hopeful, the emperor finally issued an edict:

"Because the scoundrels are rampant, I now appoint Cao Cao as the Great Han General of the Western Expedition to conquer Shule and rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate!"

(End of this chapter)