strictlysupreme Chapter 913: Cut off the tail to survive?
Chapter 913: Cut off the tail to survive?
Chapter 913: Cut off the tail to survive?
Han Ziren reported the problem he encountered to the government promptly. He felt that this phenomenon would not only occur in Yangzhou.
Yangzhou is very close to the capital, and if it is delivered urgently, the memorial will reach the palace in two or three days.
Zhu Houzhao looked very solemn after seeing this.
He summoned three members of the cabinet to the palace for a small-scale discussion.
This memorial was also shown to them.
"The root cause is the proliferation of private money, and private money has been made in various forms in the past, which is really difficult to ban. It has been circulating among the people for hundreds of years. Now that it is handed over to us, it involves a question: should we recognize it or not?"
This is a big problem.
The circulation of private money is itself a chronic disease.
Logically speaking, you shouldn't admit it. Should you admit it if it's a fact? Damn it, it's illegal for you to make money privately.
But such a decision would be costly and would likely cause considerable chaos.
Zhang Cong, who has always been tough, said: "I think it cannot be recognized! Minting private coins is against the law. If the court recognizes this exchange, it means it has tacitly approved this behavior. It will also encourage the trend of private coin minting in the future, which can be said to be endless troubles! Moreover, from the current point of view, if someone really has ill intentions and wants to make a profit from this, then even if the royal mint of the court works day and night, it will not be able to fill this bottomless pit! The currency reform can hardly be considered a success!"
Zhu Houzhao naturally understood this principle, but he was a little worried. "But the widespread circulation of private money is a common phenomenon in all places. Many people have this money in their hands. The imperial court directly emptied the wealth of countless people with a decree. This is too arbitrary and cruel."
Gu Renyi hesitated for a moment, and he also felt troubled. "This is a dilemma."
That’s right, and it is a dilemma that affects people all over the world.
Admit it, the people will benefit, but I don’t know how many people will profit from it.
If we don't recognize it, it will be very unfair to ordinary people who have private money.
Wang Tingxiang suggested: "Your Majesty, can we do this? When replacing the coins, the court should not blindly accept the old coins, but should still make a certain degree of distinction in their color and size to reduce the space for profit, which can also dispel the idea of some people."
Zhang Cong asked again, "Then do you recognize the treasure notes? If you do, the treasure notes are worthless, and many people have hidden several large boxes of them. If you don't recognize them, the treasure notes are also old money. Why don't you recognize them?"
Zhu Houzhao scratched his head. He was really troubled by this matter, but the currency reform had already begun and could not be delayed for long. "Let's draw a line. For example, the court will recognize old coins below 1,000 wen, no matter what kind of old coins they are, but will not recognize coins above 1,000 wen. In this way, the wealth of the poor people will be guaranteed, and those who seek profits will not get much benefit from it.
Of course, there will be people who exchange money in batches to circumvent the court's regulations. For such people, we must use punishment measures. This measure... in my opinion, it doesn't matter if it is a little severe. "
Generally speaking, there is also a rough and ruthless way to do it.
That is to pay more attention to the handling of privately minted coins.
Zhu Houzhao also adopted it. At this time, severe punishment must be used to calm the situation. In a word, private minting of money is prohibited among the people. Violators will be beheaded!
It is not just about regulations, but also about strict implementation.
This will work to some extent.
Zhang Cong, Gu Renyi and Wang Tingxiang were also moved after listening to this. The emperor's approach was to protect the people at the bottom of society, which was equivalent to a loss to the court.
If this line is finally drawn at one thousand wen, then many people whose assets are less than one thousand wen can find ways to get this much money.
Zhang Cong still felt bad. "Your Majesty, isn't this what is called inflation? If every household is given money, the currency will inevitably depreciate. Right now, the new currency has just been introduced. Once it starts to depreciate, it will affect the expectations of the people. This approach will cause endless troubles. I still say that, Your Majesty, please have the courage to cut off your tail and survive, and make a decision as soon as possible!"
"Your Majesty," Gu Renyi saw that the emperor was reluctant to let go of the common people, so he changed his tone and said, "Your Majesty, is this right? How about we send the Jinyiwei to conduct a secret investigation among the people first? The current memorial is still not detailed enough. If the court imposes severe punishments on its own, I am afraid there will be even greater trouble."
Zhu Houzhao thought about it and agreed, "Okay."
……
……
In Yangzhou, ordinary people have also been affected by this wind.
After returning to her hometown and settling down, the former courtesan in the capital went to pay homage to her parents' tombs. For her, this was one of the few things she could find in her life.
Her former good friend Xue Yin, whom she called sister, came with her.
We are all wanderers in this world, with nowhere to go. It is better for us to stay together and take care of each other.
Like other people, they also received news from the government that they had to exchange all the copper coins, silver ingots and gold ingots they used to use for newly issued coins by the court.
However, Xue Yin went out today and returned empty-handed. After returning and taking a sip of tea, he said, "I failed to exchange money today."
Lin Qingyun opened the bamboo curtain and walked out, crossing her hands in front of her belly, "Why?"
"There are too many people, and the new money has been exchanged. It's not your turn."
I thought it was a big problem.
Hearing that it was just like that, Lin Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief and said something heartwarming, "I will go with my sister tomorrow."
Xue Yin pretended to act like a spoiled brat, "Ms. Lin, who never leaves the house, has finally decided to go out?"
"Sister, isn't this to save you trouble?"
"To be honest, my dear Miss Lin, Yangzhou is not like the capital. Even if people here know the name Lin Qingyun, you can always change your name and find a good family again."
"This matter..." Lin Qingyun didn't even have the interest to continue discussing it, "Let's not talk about it anymore."
Xue Yin was helpless about this.
Since she was not allowed to talk about this, she turned around and talked about what happened to her today, "By the way, sister, there is something I really need to discuss with you."
"Sister, please tell me."
Xue Yin took out a copper coin with a round outer surface and a square inner surface from his sleeve. "This thing is old money. But when I was queuing today, I heard someone say that the government accepts all kinds of old money, so..."
She looked both ways warily and blinked.
Lin Qingyun was stunned. "There's no one else here."
"Stupid. What I mean is, if the government recognizes this, we can find someone to melt these copper coins and cast some old coins with different colors. Wouldn't we be able to exchange them for more new coins?"
Lin Qingyun also opened her big, blinking eyes.
"Sister, I'm not kidding." Xue Yin combed the black hair on her shoulders with both hands. "We two are miserable people. We don't want to use the skills we learned in our lives anymore. We will rely on these little boxes in the future. Every bit counts."
Lin Qingyun frowned secretly.
Xue Yin looked up and found that she was in a daze, "Sister, did you listen to me? This is a big deal!"
"Oh," Lin Qingyun stood up, walked around the room, and then said worriedly, "If this is the case, then what is the intention of the court?"
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, if we can all simply get more money from the government, then most people can do it. Isn't it reasonable for the court to do this? Besides, this approach won't work to the end and will fail in the end."
"What?" Xue Yin was confused by her words. "My dear Miss Lin, why are you so worried? Let's take care of ourselves first."
"Sister, I'm just taking care of myself. There are too many things involved in exchanging money. If it doesn't work out, the court will eventually have to give up the new money. Then you've exchanged so much, won't you end up with nothing left?"
This stunned Xue Yin. She turned pale and said in horror, "No way?"
Lin Qingyun took the opportunity to continue, "So we should be more obedient and not take advantage of this loophole."
This was her purpose, she didn't want this.
It feels like taking advantage of the emperor.
The next day, she still persuaded Xue Yin to queue up with him to exchange money. However, just as she had worried before, exchanging money was not annoying, but the people she met were annoying, especially since there were so many people of all kinds on the street these days.
People like her are bound to attract the attention of one or two people.
As a result, these people from all walks of life sent people to follow her and were always able to find her residence.
When I went to visit them, I scared them both.
Sometimes, the reason why a story is so cliché is because it does have a logic behind it. Being remembered is logical for her, and being rescued is something that only happens in rare circumstances.
However, there was no more clichéd plot like a hero saving a beauty. Instead, it was Song Jiuniang, a woman from the Jinyiwei, who scared those people away.
But Jiu Niang didn't say much, she just silently sent away the flies that came to the door.
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The book will be finished in late March or early April.
There is still a month left, and I will fill in the gaps I think of. If you have any concerns, please leave a message here to remind me.
(End of this chapter)