The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 323 Issuing Paper Money?

After the meeting, Li Zicheng and several other military generals were all eager to prepare their plans for advancing into Yunnan.

Zhao Sheng was about to leave, but Jiang Han called him back in time, and Li Xinghuai, who was standing next to him, was also kept behind.

"Manager Zhao, Manager Li, please wait a moment."

Upon hearing this, the two paused, a hint of doubt creeping into their hearts.

Jiang Han waved, gesturing for the two to come closer:

"I have important matters to discuss with you two."

"As you can see from the weather lately, the sun is blazing and there hasn't been any rain for a long time, which makes me very uneasy."

"Right now is the time when rice seedlings are growing and developing ears, and they need rain the most."

"If the drought continues like this, I'm afraid this year's harvest will be greatly reduced, and it may even lead to widespread crop failure!"

He paused, then turned his gaze to Li Xinghuai:

"The weather is unpredictable. We can't just sit and wait for God to give us a handout. We must take some preventative measures and plan ahead."

"Director Li, how is the disaster prevention and water conservancy project that I previously asked the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry to lead progressing?"

This was the most important matter of the year, and Li Xinghuai, after only a moment's thought, replied clearly and logically:
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Works have never slackened in their efforts to prevent disasters."

“Since last year, in accordance with your instruction to ‘dig deep ponds and store more water,’ we have vigorously constructed and renovated a number of ponds and canals in various prefectures and counties of Sichuan, especially in the hilly areas of eastern Sichuan.”

"Specifically, around Chengdu Prefecture, we mainly relied on the Dujiangyan system to systematically dredge and widen many long-neglected irrigation canals."

"Furthermore, we have built and repaired no fewer than a hundred sluice gates in order to make the water flow distribution more rational and efficient."

“In Baoning Prefecture, Tongchuan Prefecture and other places, we guided the villagers to dig and deepen many ponds and water cellars in low-lying areas or downstream of mountain streams to store rainwater and mountain springs.”

“From last winter to this summer, these projects have been completed one after another, and currently the water volume is about 70 to 80 percent.”

"According to my estimation, if it is just a normal drought, these ponds and water cellars should be able to last for one or two months without any major problems."

Jiang Han listened attentively, nodding occasionally, and affirmed Li Xinghuai's work:

"Yeah, well done."

"But the problem is that the current situation is not optimistic, and I suspect that a severe drought may be coming soon."

"Faced with a severe drought that has lasted for months, this amount of water is probably just a drop in the ocean and will soon run out."

Li Xinghuai's expression hardened, and he quickly bowed to ask for guidance:

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

Jiang Han stood up, walked to the map, pointed to the various prefectures and counties in eastern Sichuan, and said in a deep voice:

“I’m not too worried about the area near Chengdu, since it has a well-developed water system.”

"But I'm worried about those terraced fields between the hills. If there's a severe drought, these hilly areas will be the first to suffer."

"My idea is to take advantage of the fact that the weather is not too hot now and the river channels and groundwater have not completely dried up, and immediately mobilize the people to dig a batch of larger and deeper ponds!"

“We can organize villages into groups of twenty or thirty households to work together to dig a large public pond.”

“These public ponds need to be large enough and deep enough to store more stream and river water.”

"Don't we still have several batches of cement in the warehouse? We should move them all out and prioritize their use for reinforcing these public ponds and preventing seepage at the bottom."

"If there isn't enough cement, tell the Ministry of Works to speed up production!"

After quickly calculating the available manpower and resources in his mind, Li Xinghuai nodded:
"understood."

"Upon returning, I will immediately draft the regulations and issue them to the prefectures and counties in eastern Sichuan to organize the people for implementation as soon as possible."

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. Make sure you get it done quickly."

Jiang Han gave a word of advice, then turned his gaze to Zhao Sheng, who was standing to the side.

"How is the Ever-Normal Granary, which your Ministry of Revenue was responsible for building, doing now? How much grain is stored there?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng took out his booklet from his pocket and replied:
"Your Majesty, the construction of the Ever-Normal Granary is currently mainly concentrated in important towns at the prefecture and state levels."

“Large-scale official granaries have been built and put into use in places such as Baoning Prefecture, Chongqing Prefecture, Xuzhou Prefecture, and Luzhou.”

"Taking Chongqing Prefecture, a hub in eastern Sichuan, as an example, thanks to the benefits of the Yangtze River waterway and the prosperity of the surrounding area, there are currently nearly 200,000 shi of grain stored in the granary."

“The scale of the state-level granaries is relatively small. For example, Jianzhou currently has about 80,000 shi of grain stored in it.”

He paused and added:

"Thanks to the king's great fortune, last year in Sichuan, the weather was generally favorable and the harvest was good."

"In addition, when you became king, you exempted Sichuan from taxes for a year, so the people have a lot of grain stored in their homes."

"Taking advantage of the previous stable grain prices, the government purchased grain in large quantities in various places at a price of 2.5 qian per dou, slightly higher than the market price."

"Only then were the state-level granaries replenished."

Jiang Han nodded slightly after hearing this:

"Yes, Not Bad."

"Money is ultimately an inanimate object; it cannot be used to eat when hungry or to clothe when cold."

"Only food is the real hard currency, the cornerstone of maintaining people's hearts and ensuring stability. It is never too much to attach importance to it."

"The weather is unpredictable. If a drought really occurs, we can only rely on our savings to get through it."

He then changed the subject and pressed further:
"By the way, has the work of relocating people to Guizhou begun?"

“Newly reclaimed land should be filled in as soon as possible, which can also alleviate the conflict between people and land.”

Zhao Sheng flipped through a few pages of the booklet in his hand and replied:
"It's already started."

"The first batch of immigrants numbered about 30,000, mainly recruited from Xuzhou and Luzhou in southern Sichuan. They are estimated to have already arrived in Zunyi Prefecture."

"General Shao agreed to send troops to meet them and planned to settle them around Guiyang, with the focus on occupying and developing the fertile land in the Shuixi area."

"According to General Shao's survey, the Shuixi area alone can probably accommodate 100,000 to 150,000 Han people."

"And in Tongren, Bijie, Anshun, and other places, it is roughly estimated that about 200,000 to 300,000 Han people can be added."

"However, this matter cannot be rushed. Resettling immigrants, allocating land, and providing seeds and farming tools all take time."

"I estimate that it will take at least two to three years to gradually make use of the newly developed land."

Then, he changed the subject and mentioned some difficulties.
"However... it's hard to leave one's homeland. Some people in Sichuan are really unwilling to go to Guizhou, and they don't even want to go to the nearest Bozhou Pacification Commission."

"They generally believe that it is a barbarian land, so they would rather stay in their few acres of poor land than go to Guizhou to develop."

"In response, the government could not forcefully impose such levies; they could only patiently persuade the people and offer preferential policies to gradually work on their mindset."

Jiang Han also understood this:
"Guizhou is indeed a bit remote, especially with many uncivilized peoples, but the Ming court has managed Guizhou for over two hundred years, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"If you really start from scratch and start clearing land from a primeval forest, that's what's truly difficult."

"You all know Zheng Zhifeng, who came a few days ago, right?"

"The Zheng family went to great lengths to develop Dayuan Island; it was much more difficult for them than for us."

"Immigrants strengthen the borders, assimilate the barbarians into the Han people, and consolidate the territory. This is a task that benefits the present and future generations, and it must not be abandoned due to temporary difficulties."

"If done well, it will surely leave a mark on history." Zhao Sheng nodded vigorously upon hearing this.

Clearly, the words "to be remembered in history" were very appealing to him.

Jiang Han also offered words of comfort at the opportune moment:
"You've been working so hard lately, managing all this mess."

"As more and more talented people emerge in the future, you'll be able to relax."

Zhao Sheng was quite happy about this; he couldn't wait for the burden on his shoulders to become even heavier, considering it was just two provinces.

Even if he were to take control of the Central Plains in the future, he would still be able to manage the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the king agrees and gives him the opportunity.

However, Jiang Han didn't think that far ahead, and simply continued to ask:
"We have granaries at the prefectural level, but what about at the county and town levels?"

Do you think it's necessary to further decentralize reserves and establish ever-normal warehouses?

Zhao Sheng appeared somewhat cautious about this:

"This... I think we can plan it gradually, but it is not advisable to roll it out all at once immediately."

"We should be careful with the money in the treasury, in case of unforeseen circumstances."

"There are just too many places to spend money these days."

Jiang Han had no objections; one must take things one step at a time, and after all, military matters should be the priority right now.

Speaking of money, Jiang Han then asked a question:
"By the way, how much silver is left in the Ministry of Revenue's treasury?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng skillfully turned to the last page of the booklet in his hand and presented it to Jiang Han with both hands:
"Current inventory in the warehouse: 83,400 taels of gold and 3,570,000 taels of silver."

"In addition, there are 3,800 bolts of Shu brocade, 5,400 bolts of python-patterned brocade, tens of thousands of bolts of blue cloth and homespun cloth; as well as various antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and a number of precious jewelry."

"The detailed account books are in the Ministry of Revenue; this is just a rough estimate."

Jiang Han took the booklet and glanced at it, raising an eyebrow slightly in surprise:
"How come there's so little gold and silver left?"

"I remember that after the Shu Prince's Mansion and the wealthy gentry in various parts of Sichuan were confiscated, wasn't the treasury full of silver?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng smiled wryly:

"Your Majesty, more than 3.5 million taels is already quite a lot."

"Although we looted and seized a lot, our expenses were much greater."

"At its peak, the amount of silver stored was more than five million taels."

"But later, when you became king, you generously rewarded your army, extensively repaired granaries, and launched military campaigns against Guizhou..."

"These are all enormous expenses: provisions, weaponry, rewards, and pensions—each one a money-devouring beast?"

"These major expenditures have used up half of the treasury's funds."

"Of course, some of them are loans."

"For example, interest-free seed loans issued to poor farmers, and payments for renting cattle and farm tools... these initial investments have not yet been recovered."

"Your Majesty need not worry too much; you are truly enriching the people."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han suddenly realized:
"I see. Although the money was spent quickly, at least it was used wisely."

He kept stroking his chin with his left hand, seemingly lost in thought, and said:

What gold, silver, and copper mines are currently available for exploitation in Sichuan?

Zhao Sheng hadn't expected Jiang Han to ask this question. He racked his brains for a while before slowly speaking:
"Your Majesty, the mineral resources in this region have existed since ancient times."

"As far as I know, there should be quite a few copper mines in Hongya and Jiading areas of Meizhou and Jiading Prefecture."

“There are silver and copper mines in the Huichuanwei area of ​​Sichuan Xingdusi. Although they have been mined for a hundred years, the veins still exist. However, the area is remote and requires a lot of manpower and resources to recover.”

“There are many iron and coal mines in the mountainous areas surrounding Kuizhou Prefecture and Chongqing Prefecture in eastern Sichuan, but few silver mines and their output is extremely low.”

"We previously focused our main efforts on military, political, agricultural and sericulture affairs, and the mineral resources were simply taken over by the government and were not mined on a large scale."

Jiang Han nodded, as if he had remembered something:
"I remember that the Shuixi area in Guizhou should be quite rich in mineral resources, right?"
"It seems that Shao Yong mentioned it in his military report last time."

Zhao Sheng picked up the conversation:

"Your Majesty remembers correctly, there are indeed lead-tin mines in the Shuixi area, with silver also present."

"In addition, Tongren and other places in southeastern Guizhou have historically been famous for producing cinnabar, and there are also a small amount of copper mines."

"After General Shao pacified Guizhou, he incorporated the captured Yi soldiers and chieftains into the hard labor camps."

"Currently, they are engaged in manual labor such as repairing bridges and roads and excavating post roads, with only a small number being transferred to mining."

"Moreover, due to the rushed schedule, the mining and smelting systems have not yet been established, and the current output of gold and silver is very limited, which is like a drop in the ocean..."

Jiang Han waved his hand, interrupting Zhao Sheng:

"It's alright, starting is always difficult."

"Now that we have basically solved the problems of agriculture, sericulture and civil affairs, it is time to focus on the economy."

"My idea is to first mint a batch of coins, whether in copper or silver, to establish a monetary system."

"Given our current foundation and reputation, we should be able to consider issuing currency."

“There is still some gold and silver in the treasury. We can take some out and mint it into copper and silver coins.”

"It was mainly used for military merit rewards, the distribution of officials' salaries, and payments for some government procurements."

"In short, it should first circulate within the official and small-scale areas, and then gradually spread to the general population."

Jiang Han hadn't mentioned issuing coins before, mainly because he felt the timing wasn't right.

When Sichuan was first conquered, the primary task was to restore production and stabilize public morale.

Now, almost two years have passed, and seeing that the military, government, agriculture, and sericulture have all gotten on track, he is now preparing to gradually build his own economic system.

The most crucial aspect of this was minting and issuing coins.

Previously, under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, Sichuan had a lot of inferior copper coins and privately minted coins.

Li Liyuan, the official in charge of grain tax, complained more than once that many of the copper coins collected were worthless junk.

Each time taxes are levied, prices must be readjusted, which is very time-consuming.

If the currency system is unified, it will be much more convenient for private transactions and taxation in the future.

Moreover, the minting of coins itself is quite profitable and can supplement the government's revenue.

Items such as royal flags, official seals, and coins represent the authority and credibility of the regime, which can further enhance public recognition and consolidate rule.

If the issuance of currency can be well controlled, the circulation of goods can be better regulated and prices can be stabilized, which can be said to have many benefits.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng and Li Xinghuai, who were standing nearby, lit up and immediately chimed in:
"Your Majesty's suggestion is excellent."

They even came up with an even bolder idea.
"Besides minting metal coins, could we... perhaps consider printing some paper money?"

"I've heard that Sichuan was the first place to use paper money, so the people there must be quite familiar with it."

"I've already thought of a name: Han King's Precious Note!"

(End of this chapter)