Han Shizu

Chapter 1394 Cutting the Leeks

British Gong Chai Rong's life is relatively hard. At least, after Emperor Liu personally visited him, he did not die of illness quickly.

However, after the visit, there was also a happy event for the Chai family. The emperor's second daughter, Liu Jian, married Chai Rong's fourth son, Chai Zongxun, and they chose a date to get married.

Compared with Liu Jia, the eldest princess who is straightforward, charming, and heroic, the second princess is quiet, knowledgeable, and obedient since she was a child. Let it be arranged.

Of course, Emperor Liu didn't mess around with mandarin ducks. He had already thought about marrying Chai Rong. Although it was also a political marriage, he also had some research on Chai Zongxun.

Among Chai Rong's sons, the age of the fourth son is the most suitable, and although Chai Zongxun did not show any extraordinary talent and talent, even a little mediocre, but he has a docile personality and is polite to others. In the past, he often entered the palace. In other words, it is a good match.

As for this marriage, the Chai family is naturally grateful. As Liu Jian's biological mother, Gao Guifei, she is also satisfied. Although she put most of her energy in the education and training of Liu Xi in the past, she still loves her daughter. of.The imperial concubine has a very high vision, after so many meritorious officials, few can catch her eyes, but she has no opinion on Chai Jiazi.

Perhaps, in Concubine Gao's view, marrying into the Chai family will bring Liu Xi a lot of benefits. In the palace, it can also shorten the relationship with Concubine Guo Ning and get a helping hand.

And the fact that the second princess has a genus also made some other nobles feel a pity. The sons and daughters of Emperor Liu were all stared at. After the eldest princess came out of the cabinet, among the princesses, Liu Jian was the one who was missed the most.

I never thought about this delicate flower of the royal family. In the end, Chai Zongxun picked it, but there was no way. Even if there was no Emperor Liu's handpicking, how many nobles in the dynasty could compete with the British government.

"Is this the newly minted silver coin?" In the Chuigong Hall, Wang Pu and Shen Yilun expressed great interest in the minted silver presented to them during their meeting.

"Returning to Your Majesty, this is the new casting of the Qianjian by imperial edict. It wants to be promoted among the people for circulation. It is specially presented to His Majesty for review. If there is no doubt, the silver can be increased!" Wang Pu said.

This is another measure taken to improve finances. Of course, the imperial court has long thought about it, but it is only now.

At present, the legal currency of the Han Dynasty is nothing more than money and silk. The most widely circulated currency in the market is undoubtedly copper coins. In private bulk trade, silk is still used as transaction payment. It has to be said that at the moment when the commodity economy is developing rapidly, it has become It has formed a certain obstacle to the development of commercial trade, and some of them cannot keep up with the times.

Precious metals such as gold and silver, although they also play the role of currency in actual use, are mostly circulated among nobles, and are mostly used to make gold and silver jewelry and utensils. , but most of them were supplied to the court, and some of them were used by Emperor Liu as rewards to the court and his ministers.

This time, the imperial court deliberately determined the currency status of silver, and used it to put it into the market to speed up the circulation of commodities and facilitate transactions.Of course, it is also possible to harvest a wave of leeks by casting silver. The profit of casting money is obviously considerable, and there is also a certain amount of silver reserves in the treasury. As long as it is implemented, it will immediately return a wave of blood to the court.

On the other hand, Emperor Liu looked delighted to see the hunting, picked up one of the ingot samples, guessed it was ten taels of silver, and played with it.The shape is similar to the ingot in Emperor Liu's memory, but it is more square. It is very delicate, smooth and bright, with carved patterns and engraved characters. Obviously, it took a lot of effort to cast this silver coin.

"Qian Jian's casts are divided into five liang, ten liang, twenty, and fifty, a total of four categories!" Shen Yilun, the financial envoy, explained: "In this way, it is enough for use!"

Emperor Liu said: "Is this fine silver?"

Shen Yilun said: "This is for Jinxian. If it is officially cast, it should be mixed with lead!"

Emperor Liu nodded, and picked up the other items to enjoy. They were all of the same style, very delicate. After a long time, he finally raised his head and commented: "This item is too exquisite, not like silver money, but more like silverware!"

Although the attitude was very peaceful, it could be heard that Emperor Liu was not very satisfied with the casting of silver. Wang Pu and Shen Yilun looked at each other, and Wang Pu asked, "Please give me instructions, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Liu directly instructed: "Since the promotion of folk circulation is for the convenience of the people, it should be pragmatic and simple. These patterns and patterns can be discarded, and the year of the stem and branch and the mark of supervision can be left! "

After saying that, Emperor Liu went back to the case, picked up the imperial pen, and on the spread white paper, simply outlined the shape of the ingot in his mind, and handed it to Wang Pu: "Just follow this pattern, and cast some samples to see the effect! "

When the emperor spoke, the two could only accept it happily, and responded in unison: "Yes!"

"According to the Financial Secretary's plan, how much copper can be exchanged for one tael of silver?" Emperor Liu asked again.

Shen Yilun replied: "According to the various calculations of the Ministry of Household Affairs, I think it is more appropriate to exchange one tael for [-] yuan!"

"So much?" Emperor Liu was a little surprised, he subconsciously wondered if this was too hard a cut.

In his perception, one or two for one thousand to one thousand one hundred dollars is already considered expensive, and one or two for more than two hundred dollars may be more ruthless than robbery.However, considering that it is now the Han Dynasty and the situation is different, it is not good to make rash suggestions.

Sensing the emperor's question, Shen Yilun said: "Your Majesty, silver is precious money, and it is recognized in the world that this price was negotiated by a secretary after careful planning!"

Emperor Liu pondered for a while and said: "If the price of silver is too high, will it make silver expensive and money cheap? If so, it will not be so friendly to the common people!"

This point also made Wang Pu and Shen Yilun think deeply, or Wang Pu said: "Your Majesty, the issuance of silver coins is only a trial implementation. After that, the Financial Secretary will pay attention to the specific results. If there is any problem at that time, adjustments can be made in order to obtain the best results! "

"En!" Emperor Liu nodded his head: "The imperial court casts silver and distributes it to the world. It is for the benefit of the country and the people. You should be cautious and think about it. You must think about the possible consequences and influences and be prepared! However, the matter of money and money is imperative, so please take care of yourself!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty!" Wang and Shen said.

"What are the difficulties?" Emperor Liu asked again.

Wang Pu said: "If it is difficult, it is only at present that the imperial court has too little silver reserves, and the silver deposits in the treasury are less than 12 catties. It is necessary to conduct prospecting and excavation and increase silver production throughout the country! Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve the effect of passing through the whole country. !"

Even if it is only 12 catties, according to the plan of the Financial Secretary, if it is cast into silver coins, it will be worth more than 150 million coins, which is not a small sum.

"At the beginning, Liu Xi came back to Beijing from an inspection tour on Jingnan Road. He said that there are many silver pits in Hunan, and many miners have been out of service, so many silver mines have been shut down!" Emperor Liu said leisurely: "Now it seems that we have to restart. Old things, increase mining efforts."

"Mining is dangerous and labor-intensive. For local mine supervisors, some regulations should be issued to strengthen the management of mining matters!" Emperor Liu added, never forgetting to show his compassion for the people.

"Yes!"

It is conceivable that after this policy is implemented, mine supervisors in various places will have a headache again for the problem of mining labor.Of course, it may not be so troublesome, the court is sympathetic to the people, but outside of the big man, there may be fewer scruples.The development and strength of the empire will inevitably squeeze blood and sweat, and there will always be a need for the exploited.

"In addition, there are still a lot of donations in the internal funds, some of which are reserved for the imperial use, and the rest will be transferred to you first, and the money affairs will be implemented first!" Emperor Liu said again.

"Thank you Your Majesty for your support!" Wang and Shen were overjoyed and thanked quickly.

It can be said that the big Han has a large proportion of gold, silver and precious metals, which are lying in Emperor Liu's internal funds. Wang Pu and the others also know how rich the royal family is, and Emperor Liu is willing to support them, which will also ease their pressure.

"This is a temporary loan, you have to pay it back!" Seeing the expression on the second minister, Emperor Liu chuckled lightly.

"Yes!"

Counting the previous loan, Emperor Liu has now become the biggest creditor of the Han court, which made his internal funds inevitably empty. You must know that the huge Han court has a lot of expenses. For the sake of the Han, Emperor Liu also It's generous.

Of course, the emperor is rich all over the world. From some perspectives, it is not necessary to distinguish it so clearly. What's more, the current financial difficulties of the big man are rooted in Emperor Liu's "great promise", and it is the entire empire's subjects who are making decisions for him. Pay the bill.

(End of this chapter)