Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 518

Zhao Xing didn't know all this. He was furious at the morning court. In addition to expressing his attitude, he was also really angry at those officials.

Those officials knew that counterfeiting was a serious crime, so they did not dare to plead for those people, but tried their best to stop it.

Of course, those officials are not that thin-skinned.

Given the nature of the civil servants in the Song Dynasty, even those officials who colluded with the rebels and sent money and food to the rebels could plead for them.

How could they not dare to directly plead for those arrested officials just because they were worried about affecting their own reputation?

They want to plead for mercy, and they have plenty of reasons.

What is the law that does not hold everyone responsible? What is the law that does not hold everyone responsible?

Doesn't it seem that he cares about the country and the people and is selfless?

The real reason why this was not done was that the son-in-law Li Jie was also arrested.

If Zhao Xing didn't arrest Li Jie, they could plead for mercy, but Zhao Xing was so ruthless and impartial, how could they plead for mercy?

However, Zhao Xing also knew that this was only temporary. If he punished Li Jie too lightly, those officials would definitely cause trouble.

"Your Majesty, Vice-President Sheng Jian requests to see you!" An eunuch walked into the hall and saluted.

"Pass it on!" Zhao Xing came back to his senses and said.

"Yes!"

The eunuch went out and Sheng Wei came in soon.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Sheng Wei bowed.

"No need for formality!" Zhao Xing waved his hand.

Zhao Xing handed the task of setting up a money shop to Sheng Wei, and then transferred him to the Ministry of Finance to serve as deputy director.

The Qianjian was the institution responsible for minting and managing coins in the Song Dynasty.

"Your Majesty, the money houses in various places are ready. I wonder when they can be officially operated?" Sheng Wei asked.

"Has the new currency arrived?" Zhao Xing asked.

"A total of 10 million copper coins and 2 million silver coins were minted for the new currency. They have all been delivered to various banks," said Sheng Wei.

Zhao Xing thought about it when he heard this. Although he had recast the copper coins, he did not change the original style.

Almost all ancient copper coins have a square hole in the middle, representing a round outside and a square inside.

Although it has certain meaning, its main purpose is to string things together conveniently.

Zhao Xing did not make any changes to this, but only improved the casting process.

Hundreds of skilled craftsmen worked together to develop and cast the copper coins, which are very exquisite.

Although this increases the casting cost, it can effectively prevent counterfeiting.

Only if the imperial court could mobilize so many skilled craftsmen and mint coins in large quantities could it ensure that minting coins was profitable.

If someone mints counterfeit coins in the future and wants to make them look real, the cost of minting alone will be more than that of copper coins.

Since we are fighting against counterfeiting, we must also carry out anti-counterfeiting. Only in this way can we avoid the emergence of counterfeit currency.

The reason why counterfeit currency is rampant is that, apart from the developed commerce, a large amount of money flows into other countries.

The biggest factor is the low cost of casting.

After all, the reason why copper was used as currency in ancient times was not because copper was scarce.

Cultural factors also played an important role. Ancient currency originated in the late Bronze Age. Bronze ware enjoyed a high status and had the functions of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, worshipping ghosts and gods, and releasing royal power. It was a symbol of status at the time.

Bronze ware is not only used to make ritual objects, weapons, musical instruments, etc., but also carries cultural significance such as social ideology, etiquette culture, and rules and regulations. Therefore, bronze is widely used in economic activities such as contributions, rewards, taxes, fines, salaries, and payments, becoming a wealth generally recognized by people.

However, the value of copper itself is not equal to its value after being cast into coins.

Otherwise the court could not afford it.

Therefore, for the imperial court, minting coins itself was a way to make money.

Therefore, the technology used in minting coins cannot be said to be top-notch, but it is definitely not the best.

The actual cost of casting copper coins may be only 20% to 30%. If the craftsmanship is top-notch, the cost will increase, which means "losing money" for the court.

Because the craftsmanship is not the best, it gives counterfeiters an opportunity to take advantage.

Although they did not have to mint coins according to the court's standards, at least they had to look like the real thing.

As their skills lagged behind those of the imperial court and the amount of counterfeit coins they minted could not match that of the imperial court, although the counterfeit coins they minted were not as exquisite as those of the imperial court, their costs were higher than those of the imperial court.

In order to prevent the emergence of counterfeit coins, Zhao Xing strengthened the technology so that the cost of minting counterfeit coins would be higher than the actual value of the coins minted.

Otherwise, the coins minted will be fake at first glance.

This way counterfeit money will not appear.

"It's not enough. We need to continue to increase the minting of silver coins. We will officially open for business only after we have minted tens of millions of silver coins!" said Zhao Xing.

Ordinary people used the most copper coins, while the really rich people hoarded the most gold, silver and land in their homes.

After all, one string of copper coins is worth a thousand wen, which makes it very troublesome to store and count.

The cost of minting copper coins is already high, and if they are exchanged one for one, there is almost no profit.

But if the fire consumption increases, the people will suffer.

Therefore, Zhao Xing did not think about making money from copper coins.

What he wanted to do was to make money on copper coins. As long as he issued an edict prohibiting direct transactions with gold and silver, those who had gold and silver would have to exchange them.

Although they can trade with each other secretly, this requires a certain level of trust.

Otherwise, what if someone reports you?
Zhao Xing didn't think that everyone would exchange the silver into silver coins, only a part of it would be enough.

By that time, the fire consumption, plus the one or two taels of silver coins minted, which did not use one or two taels of silver itself, would be enough for the court to make a fortune.

"Yes!" Sheng Wei replied.

"In addition, although copper coins can be exchanged one for one, each person can only exchange one hundred coins. If it exceeds one hundred coins, a 10% charge will be made as fire consumption. If it exceeds one hundred strings of coins, an additional 20% will be charged!" Zhao Xing said.

"This requires checking household registration, cooperation from local authorities, and is very manpower-intensive," Sheng Wei said hesitantly.

"It doesn't matter. It's worth it." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

The increase in fire consumption is naturally aimed at the rich.

Each person gets 100 wen, and an average family has seven or eight people, which means they have a free exchange quota of 700 to 800 wen.

Can ordinary people have so much savings?
Those who exceed this amount are considered "rich people", and those who exceed one hundred strings of cash are wealthy people.

If we don’t exploit the rich, will we still exploit the common people?

However, to do so, you must check the household registration and make sure it is registered properly, otherwise there will be loopholes.

The household registration system in ancient times was rather troublesome to verify, unlike the later generations where it could be verified with just a scan.

But there are also advantages to doing so. On the one hand, the imperial court can gain benefits, and secondly, it can force out some of the people who are illegal residents.

Population and taxation are directly linked. No matter how prosperous the ancient times were, there would always be unregistered residents.

Although there are still loopholes to be exploited by doing this.

For example, let the poor people exchange money on behalf of the rich, as long as the price is lower than the fire consumption collected by the court.

But the exchange limit is only 100 coins per person. For those wealthy families, how long will it take to exchange all their coins?

Zhao Xing will also impose some restrictions on the exchange time of new and old coins.

In this way, only those who have a little money can find someone to help them exchange it. It is simply not practical for really rich people to do so.

In addition, you can bribe people and manipulate the exchange.

This kind of thing is inevitable, we can only do a good job of supervision and do as little as possible. "Your Majesty, this is not just a human problem. To do this kind of thing requires scholars, ordinary people can't do it at all." Sheng Wei reminded.

"It doesn't matter!"

Zhao Xing said nonchalantly, "There are many idle officials in the court. I will assign you some manpower. After these ten money houses are opened, you will have to work harder. I request that money houses be opened in all counties and prefectures of the Song Dynasty within three years. After all copper coins are exchanged, the remaining copper coins will be regarded as counterfeit and prohibited from circulation."

The idle officials he referred to were those who were only given honorary positions after passing the imperial examination.

These people have been supported by the court for so many years, it's time for them to do some work.

"Yes." Sheng Wei said hesitantly.

"My dear, just say whatever you want to say." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, there are too many hidden dangers in exchanging new currency, for example..."

Sheng Wei mentioned some potential risks and said, "This is what I can think of now. Once the exchange starts, more problems may arise."

"The most troublesome thing is that the Song Dynasty is too big and has a vast territory. Although there are three years, the exchange time varies from place to place, and the old currency is still in circulation. Some places that have exchanged for new copper coins will naturally not recognize the old currency."

Although ordinary people have an exchange quota, it is based on their local household registration.

According to what Zhao Xing said, people can only exchange it in the prefecture or county where their household registration is located.

Although the Song Dynasty did not restrict the movement of people, only a small number of people left their homeland, and most of them had certain status and assets.

The identity of such a person is easy to verify and has little impact.

But the mobility of the people is not large, so the circulation of currency is large.

In some places where exchange has already started, people do not recognize the old currency.

However, those common people who came here to do business or pass through could not exchange the currency due to their household registration, and could only use the old currency.

It is precisely because of the existence of various problems that although copper coins have been minted in all dynasties, in fact, the types of copper coins used by the people are very diverse.

Because the imperial court was unable to completely take back the old currency.

Even in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Kaiyuan Tong Bao coins of the Tang Dynasty were still circulated among the people.

It's just a matter of quantity.

He also saw the newly minted copper coins by the court, and found that the difference was huge compared to all previous coins.

Once the imperial court stipulates that old currency is not allowed to circulate, the impact will be too great.

"This is not a big problem. Ordinary people mostly use copper coins. Although this will have a certain impact, those vendors can exchange them for silver coins. There is no restriction on the exchange of silver coins." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

Copper coins were mostly used by ordinary people. Because of the distance between merchants, it was inconvenient to carry them, so gold and silver were more commonly used.

This is actually beneficial as it can force the wealthy to exchange their coins for silver.

Of course, this cannot completely solve the problem and will definitely bring inconvenience to some people.

But everything has its pros and cons, and we can't give up on something just because of fear.

In addition, there are also certain influences on maritime merchants who trade with the Song Dynasty.

However, they mostly bartered, and even if they exchanged money, they received money from the Song Dynasty.

They would not directly use Song Dynasty's copper coins to buy things in Song Dynasty.

"As for other problems, you can find more people, pool your wisdom, try to identify the problems as much as possible, and come up with appropriate solutions. In any case, the new currency must be exchanged within three years," said Zhao Xing.

"Yes!" Sheng Wei replied.

"Go ahead." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

"I resign!"

…………

Over the following period of time, the Imperial City Bureau was dispatched everywhere, and many wealthy businessmen and officials were arrested and sent to Bianliang.

Every day, troops from all over the country poured into Bian Jing like snowflakes.

Even the officials in the court who had calmed down because of Zhao Xing's rage became active again.

This time they have a basis for impeachment.

The Imperial City Bureau was arresting people everywhere, and there were always some greedy people who accepted bribes when arresting officials and wealthy businessmen who were involved in minting counterfeit coins.

Some people, when they were arresting others, saw that their wives and concubines were beautiful and took them for themselves.

There were even people who accepted bribes and let some businessmen and officials go.

This gave the officials in the court an opportunity. They demanded a strict investigation of the Imperial City Bureau and that the arrest and interrogation of those officials and businessmen should be handed over to the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate for joint trial.

Zhao Xing naturally could not agree to this, but he ordered the Censorate and the Southern Imperial City Administration to conduct a thorough investigation into the impeachment of all officials.

"I am guilty, Your Majesty, please punish me!" Yin Hanzhang bowed.

"Of course you are guilty. How have you been managing the Imperial City Bureau for so long? Even if some of the things that the officials have impeached you for are false, even if only one tenth of them are true, you, the Inspector of the Imperial City Bureau, cannot escape blame!" Zhao Xing said coldly.

"I am guilty of death!" Yin Hanzhang knelt down.

Zhao Xing laughed angrily, stood up, stepped forward and kicked him, saying, "Death penalty, death penalty! What can I do if I kill you?"

Yin Hanzhang got up and knelt on the ground again.

Zhao Xing said coldly: "Just do what you should do. I have already asked someone to investigate this matter. It's best if it has nothing to do with you! Get lost!"

"Yes!"

Yin Hanzhang stood up and retreated.

Zhao Xing had just returned to the dragon throne and sat down when a eunuch walked in.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Xing asked coldly.

"Your Majesty, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites requests an audience!"

The eunuch was startled and bowed quickly.

"pass!"

"Yes!"

The eunuch left, and soon the Minister of the Honglu Temple came in and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

"My dear, what is the matter that you want to see me about?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Your Majesty, Liang Yimai, the Xixia envoy who was previously sent to the Song Dynasty, suddenly came to the Honglu Temple and said that he had an important matter to discuss with Your Majesty. I dare not make a decision on my own, so I have come to report this to Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to make the decision!" said the Minister of the Honglu Temple.

"Liang Yi is here?"

Zhao Xing was startled and asked, "Are you here for Queen Liang?"

"That's right. He said he would use Lingzhou City and several nearby cities to redeem Queen Liang!"

"Ah."

Zhao Xing sneered when he heard this: "You are really willing to do so!"

Liang Yimai's arrival was both unexpected and reasonable.

Since no news was received in advance, it means he came here secretly.

But he directly told the Minister of the Ministry of Rites that Western Xia wanted to exchange Lingzhou City and several nearby cities for Queen Liang.

It was obvious that he wanted to let the officials of the Song Dynasty know through the mouth of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Zhao Xing knew the ministers in the court too well. He was able to get back several cities, especially important ones like Lingzhou City, without sacrificing a single soldier.

The ministers in the court could not withstand such temptation.

(End of this chapter)