I, Zhu Youjian: the first prodigal son of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 24 Silver is used to save

"Long Live Lord, I don't quite understand what you mean..." Wei Zhongxian said honestly.

"Zhongxian, you will understand," Zhu Youjian said with a smile, "I ask you a question, what do you think the money is for?"

Wei Zhongxian almost couldn't help but spit out the idiot emperor's face.

What is silver used for?It must be used for flowers!

"Long live, silver is naturally used for circulation." Wei Zhongxian replied a little speechlessly.

"Wrong, silver is not for circulation, but for storage!" Zhu Youjian shook his head and smiled bitterly, "You, everything is good, but you are too uneducated."

"Then do you know, where is the main source of our Ming Dynasty's silver? Not to mention the old silver mines in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan. After so many years of mining, they are almost exhausted.

Moreover, even if they can continue to be dug out, the annual amount of less than 30 taels of silver is useless! "

Wei Zhongxian was "fooled" by the emperor, and felt that his brain was not enough.

Isn’t the source of silver the silver ore dug out of the silver mine and obtained after smelting?
"Actually, as the great eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, you, Wei Zhongxian, should know the source of the money the most!"

Zhu Youjian kicked Wei Zhongxian unceremoniously, and scolded with a smile: "Don't be unconvinced, you just forgot your roots."

"The great eunuchs of the Yongle Dynasty, Zheng and Zheng Sanbao are the ancestors of your eunuchs, right? Let me tell you Wei Zhongxian, the main source of money in the Ming Dynasty is related to that Zheng Sanbao."

Having said this, Wei Zhongxian suddenly realized, and said in surprise: "Could it be that the main source of money in the Ming Dynasty is from overseas?"

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, and said with a smile: "It's okay, not too stupid!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Youjian told Wei Zhongxian some "knowledge" he knew in his previous life, and the eunuch admired him.

Speaking of it, the silver of the Ming Dynasty was really mainly imported from overseas trade.

Among them, in the early years of trading with Japanese pirates, imports accounted for about one-tenth of the total; the total amount of silver mined and smelted by the Ming Dynasty itself can basically be ignored, and it is less than [-]%.

The rest of the large amount of silver was mainly exchanged from Manila through porcelain, tea, silk, grain, etc.

The origin of silver obtained from overseas trade is South America.

It is estimated that the total amount of silver imported into Daming through overseas trade is nearly [-] tons!

This number shocked Wei Zhongxian a lot.

Regarding Zheng Sanbao, the great eunuch during the Yongle period, the Ming court has always remained silent, especially regarding overseas trade since the Wanli Dynasty, so it is not surprising that Wei Zhongxian did not know about it.

"There is no problem with using silver as currency, but if the source of silver is cut off, it will be fatal to my Ming Dynasty!"

When Zhu Youjian thought of the lack of money in the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't be a happy prodigal, so his face was naturally ugly.

"Similarly, Zhongxian, do you know that if there is too much silver, it will actually be disastrous..."

In a word, Wei Zhongxian understands.

Moreover, I understand very well.

Isn't Daming Treasure Banknote a living example!
At the beginning, Taizu found that the amount of silver in circulation in the Ming Dynasty was limited and could not meet the demand for currency in circulation at all, so he began to issue "Daming Treasure Banknotes".

At the beginning, it was really easy to use, light and easy to carry, which greatly promoted the commercial circulation of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the unlimited printing and distribution eventually led to serious consequences. The "Da Ming Treasure Banknote" with a denomination of one tael of silver could not even be exchanged for two copper coins...

"Long Live Lord, what do you mean... to re-issue the Daming Banknotes?"

Wei Zhongxian asked with some concern.

Zhu Youjian nodded, then shook his head and said with a smile, "I haven't considered it yet."

What quickly flashed through his mind were those colorful banknotes, which made him feel comfortable thinking about them.

However, for Zhu Youjian, the idiot emperor who knows nothing about finance, he only has a general idea. As for how to issue banknotes, it seems unrealistic in the current situation.

After all, whether it is the court or the people, the trust and obsession with silver is difficult to properly resolve in a short period of time...

……

It was a dull morning that day.

The news from Shanxi and Shaanxi quickly spread and fermented in the court.

The Qingliu faction of civil servants naturally advocated sending troops directly to conquer and suppress them, or reprimanded the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Hong Chengchou, to do everything possible to suppress the bandits, and killed the thirteen "rebels" such as Monk Wang and Gao Yingxiang on the spot.

On the contrary, it was Cui Chengxiu's faction of the Ministry of War, who strongly advocated appeasement, and even decided on the candidates for the appeasement envoy.

The two factions argued endlessly, and in the end, they almost fought.

In the end, there was really no way out, so Zhu Youjian, the idiot emperor, was asked to "arbitrarily decide what to do."

Zhu Youjian knew that it must be Wei Zhongxian's mediation, deliberately let Cui Chengxiu and the civil servants be the best, and pushed the final decision to the emperor.

This trick is insidious, but it also works.

If he wins this battle under the leadership of the emperor, in the eyes of the ministers, Zhu Youjian will naturally be tall and his position will be greatly stabilized.

But if they lose, although everyone is silent, the authority of the emperor will plummet.

Zhu Youjian didn't care about it at all.

He was just trying to find a way to prosper, and he didn't even bother to talk about whether he could completely solve the rebels.

It's a big deal, just throw your hands away to the civil and military men of the court, and let them toss around, it is probably better than pretending to understand, laymen guiding experts.

Commanding blindly is more terrifying than not commanding at all.

"My dear friends, you can't stop arguing. In my opinion, a few rebels are not worth fighting.

How about this, I will appoint Song Yingxing as the imperial envoy to take overall charge of this matter. "

After speaking, Wei Zhongxian was asked to draft an imperial decree on the spot to finalize the matter.

For a while, the officials were in an uproar.

Who is this Song Yingxing?Why never heard of it?
What is the appointment of the imperial envoy to do?Is it to appease or exterminate?

No one can tell.

Moreover, the imperial decree drafted by Wei Zhongxian was unreasonable and vague, and it was almost as if he hadn't said it.

The civil servants who had just had a good impression of the new emperor began to wonder which faction this seemingly shrewd but self-willed emperor was helping?
Qingliu, or eunuch?
No one can understand.

And this is exactly what Zhu Youjian wants to see most.

He just doesn't favor anyone, doesn't suppress anyone, whoever can make money is his own...

"Dear dears, let's deal with the small matter of rebels like this. I have one more matter that I need to discuss with you."

Zhu Youjian drank tea, sat slowly on the dragon chair, and said calmly: "It's still about the Daming Academy, I want to build a commercial block around the Xinwang Mansion to serve the daily necessities of tens of thousands of students.

In addition, I also want to build a living area for the diplomatic missions of the subordinate countries and the Chamber of Commerce of All Nations in this area..."

Zhu Youjian didn't say much, but the core idea is obvious, that is, from now on, the most prosperous area in the capital will be in the area of ​​Xinwang Mansion!
Those military officers who lead troops to fight have no interest in this.

But the civil servants, especially Qian Qianyi and other wealthy households in the south of the Yangtze River, immediately understood the way.

Tens of thousands of students' food and clothing expenses, accommodation and entertainment, coupled with the high-end consumption of the diplomatic corps, and the Chamber of Commerce of all nations, it is simply a cornucopia!
It's a pity that this business can only be seen as the pocket of the eunuchs...

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youjian's next words moved their hearts immediately.

"I originally wanted to let Wei Zhongxian handle this matter, prepare for the construction of the university hall and surrounding buildings, and take full responsibility for the management.

It's a pity that the national treasury and the internal treasury don't have that much money, so we have to find another way.

My preliminary idea is that the imperial court will take out that piece of land and sell it permanently, allowing capable operators in the world to independently develop and operate it.

Of course, it's not that you bought a piece of land and built it however you want, wouldn't that be a mess?

So, in the future, I will print some planning drawings, and manuals on land prices and other related matters..."

Before Zhu Youjian finished speaking, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty began to talk about it.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible!"

Suddenly, a minister appeared out of the crowd, and said angrily, "The shore of the land, is it the king's land, how can your majesty sell the land!"

(End of this chapter)