Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 450 Waste Recycling

After the New Year, no old minister rejected the emperor's kindness or disobeyed his order.

Anyway, most of them came from side branches, and everyone knew that the emperor's main purpose was just to get money.

But the truth is indeed this: since the emperor has helped them earn money over the years, it is not that he does not give them corresponding returns.

But Zhu Changluo didn't just want money, he had other purposes.

"Royal family, noble relatives, Huizhou merchants, Shanxi merchants, Guangdong merchants, Fujian and Zhejiang merchants, border troops..." On the ninth day of the first lunar month, another banquet was held in the Qianqing Palace. Zhu Changluo looked at them and said with satisfaction, "Since you are all looking forward to the benefits in the future, most of the money shops, banks and banks in the world can be gathered together."

Many officials suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if they had fallen into a pit.

Zhu Changluo stood up and paced, slowly walking to each table. Wherever he went, he would pat two people on the shoulders and say a few words in a friendly manner. What he said was thrilling.

"Although the Grandfather Shimiao had banned the minting of private coins, since it was needed for circulation among the people, it was useless to ban it. In the past, money houses and money shops had made private agreements and closed their money markets, causing prices to soar. Later, they just turned a blind eye."

"Since I ascended the throne, I have been strengthening military preparations and casting more cannons. Copper materials are in short supply. We also need to do private money business, so only the sea trade and the southwestern border market can find ways to import some copper materials."

"Those with such connections naturally have someone to protect them. Since I have allowed you to be rich, I have turned a blind eye to it all these years. I turned a blind eye because I want to encourage industry and commerce, and the people need enough money to stabilize prices. I turned a blind eye because I wanted to watch this industry evolve slowly, and gradually concentrate it in your hands and in the hands of the big merchants. The reason for this is today."

"Ruoyu, come here, bring the silver coins and minted coins that have been trial-made."

"Yes."

After Zhu Changluo finished this conversation, the Qianqing Palace was already quite a commotion.

At this time Liu Ruoyu waved his hand again, and a dozen young eunuchs came out one after another, each holding a plate, and placed one on each table for them to see.

The ministers' hearts were beating fast as they looked at the things on the table.

What the emperor said was very straightforward.

The Ming Dynasty had its own laws based on money, but it had a huge problem from the very beginning.

The Baochao was abolished, and the government could not use silver as the main currency, which would make it difficult for ordinary people to survive. As for copper coins, the Ming Dynasty was short of copper. Although a lot of official coins were minted, since the Ming Dynasty settled down and prospered, the amount of coinage could not keep up with market demand.

This gave rise to a huge interest: minting private money.

In the current market, copper coins include ancient coins, official coins, and private coins. Just like gold and silver, since they are physical currencies, in the end, it all depends on their size, weight, and copper content.

Until now, official coins have been maintained at a relatively good level, weighing more than one coin and containing 60% to 70% copper.

The size, weight and copper content of private money are naturally lower, and the workmanship and appearance are also poor. Experienced people can see its poor quality, so it is called "Shar", "Big-eyed Thief", "Short-lived Official", "Crooked Neck", "Pointy Feet" and "Fat Head".

Even if private money was heavier than official money, its copper content was generally less than 50%. In Jiangnan, there was even a kind of thin coin that was only half the weight of official money or even less, and its copper content was less than 30%.

Compared with the copper content of official money, it is clear how high the profit margin of private money is.

However, according to statistics made by the imperial court, the circulation ratio of private money among copper coins has exceeded 60%. There are nearly a hundred kinds of copper coins circulating on the market, and the exchange rate between each kind and official silver is different.

If one wants to unify the monetary system, one must first deal with the recycling costs of inferior copper coins that account for more than half of the market, and secondly, one must deal with the price shock caused by the sudden large-scale reduction in the amount of currency in circulation.

In comparison, the interest groups behind this private money seem like a small problem.

Now Zhu Changluo has to find a way to solve these problems smoothly: through the people in front of him.

"Take a look." Zhu Changluo waved his hand. "These are the silver coins that the court will mint. I have prepared a set for each of you. After you take them back, let your knowledgeable shopkeepers take a look at their quality."

They are already watching.

There is only one silver dollar, no more silver ingots.

This silver dollar is certainly not pure silver, otherwise wouldn’t this round little silver cake be easily broken?

Someone took the silver dollar and weighed it. Judging from experience, it seemed to be much lighter than one or two taels of silver.

"Ninety percent silver." Zhu Changluo introduced, "According to the currency system still in use today, it is about five cents of silver. When it comes to minting coins, ten fifty-cent coins are exactly equivalent to one silver dollar."

Everyone looked at the row of coins again.

In this row of coins, the one-cent, two-cent, and five-cent coins are naturally larger, and still have square holes in the middle. But the ten-cent, twenty-cent, and fifty-cent coins have no square holes, and are larger and more exquisite.

These three large copper coins have the sun, moon and stars in the middle.

Of course, both sides of the coin are like the gold-backed coins cast in the early Wanli period, especially the triangular star rays on the outer periphery of the sun, moon and stars, which are bright yellow and look very exquisite.

When it comes to the twenty, in addition to being larger, there are additional spiral lines on the edge, and there are circles of lines and dots on the edges of the front and back. Most importantly, the crescent moon in the middle of the three stars is as bright as silver.

The fifty-yuan coin was changed. The whole coin looked like a silver dollar, but the color was different. In addition to the spiral lines and circular patterns, the three stars in the middle were the round sun and the stars, all of which were bright yellow.

"Does anyone know him?"

Zhu Changluo asked.

Of course, among those who had always used good things, someone asked uncertainly, "White copper?"

"Yes, but the important thing is the craftsmanship." Zhu Changluo nodded. "Do you see the words and patterns?"

Of course they saw it.

Both silver dollars and minted coins are more exquisite than in the past.

But since private coins were of such poor quality, they were still widely circulated. Why did the imperial court spend more money to cast these exquisite copper coins, and even use white copper?

This thing is even rarer. At present, it seems that there are only a few white copper mines in Yunnan and Sichuan.

It is very corrosion-resistant and has always been a luxurious toy. During the Tang Dynasty, only the first rank could ride in a white copper calf-decorated carriage.

Now white copper is used on copper coins?
Moreover, two different types of copper materials are used in one copper coin, but they are clearly distinguished from each other. The process must be more complicated and the cost is higher.

They already knew that the imperial court was determined to ban private money again. But looking at the coins in front of them…one-cent, two-cent, and five-cent coins were not so bad, as the weight was roughly proportional.

As for ten of them, although the weight is not ten times that of a penny, it is still acceptable.

However, the same is not true for pawning twenty or fifty. Even if some extra white copper was used, how could it be worth so many times more all of a sudden?

This is the key point: white copper is luxurious only because it is relatively rare, not because it is really many times more valuable than brass. In the past, coins were minted at most to ten pence. Now there are twenty pence and fifty pence...

Zhu Changluo knew what they were thinking, so he asked calmly: "If you think these twenty and fifty coins are not worth that much official money, then what about private money?"

Several people were startled and reacted.

Private money, of course, is completely different. The best private money, one tael of silver can only be exchanged for about 1,500 coins. The worst private money, one tael of silver can even be exchanged for thousands of coins.

If you look at it from this angle, it's completely different.

"Your Majesty, is it your will to allow the people to exchange their private money for these new twenty-pawn and fifty-pawn coins?"

"It's not the people, it's you."

Zhu Changluo corrected them, then looked around and slowly walked back to the throne.

After he sat down, he said, "Fifty coins is about one penny of silver. Ordinary people don't often need to use one penny of silver at a time, so they naturally use small coins more often and value those small coins more."

One penny of silver was almost the loose change they often gave out as rewards.

Today, the new standards of Ming Dynasty weights and measures have been promoted in many aspects, such as weight.

But all along, one catty is sixteen taels, so there is a saying that half a catty is eight taels. The decimal system still has a lot of advantages, but habits cannot be ignored.

Most importantly, the currency exchange system is chaotic. Copper coins can still be exchanged one coin at a time, but silver is still used by weight. Here, one tael of silver is the weight, which is about 37.4 grams. The next one is one qian of silver, which is one tenth of one tael of silver. Next, there are fen and li, which are also distinguished by weight.

In civilian use scenarios, there are a lot of weighing and cutting processes.

The purpose of the new currency law is, of course, to fix the currency and make it official. A silver dollar is half a tael of silver in the past, and the scattered parts are replaced by minted coins.

Among them, the rich are the most affected.

Because they were afraid of trouble. In the past, they just carried silver. When they needed change or paid, the shop would weigh and cut the coins, so they didn't have to carry different copper coins.

But after that, as long as the decree that "cutting silver dollars is illegal and the court will not accept damaged silver dollars or exchange them at a discount" was passed, the rich people had to bring more coins when they went out to spend money. Since they spent a lot, they naturally had to bring more large coins. Even if they had servants accompanying them, they couldn't let them carry jingling bells and clanging coins with them, right?

The poor don't have this problem, they are willing to be tired and willing to carry.

It's just small purchases in daily life.

Zhu Changluo said another purpose: "I grant you this grace. You are allowed to exchange all kinds of private money for new coins from me. The same applies to privately minted silver ingots. As for the exchange rate, you are all my right hand, just like these years, I will not treat you unfairly, and let you make a profit. However, no matter who is behind those private money houses and money shops, they can only recognize silver dollars and new coins in the future."

There was silence in the Qianqing Palace. The emperor was going to cut off one of their "sources of income".

How could it be so easy to open a money shop or bank? Behind them were usually important officials, noble relatives, or even princes.

Zhu Changluo said calmly, "This business can't be done. This winter is so cold, is there a shortage of coal in the capital? Since the steam engine is used well in the coal plant, it is far better than before. Can't it be used in other mines? Guns and equipment are getting better and better. The cost of minting and printing silver dollars and new coins is far more than before. Since the new official coins are more exquisite, the court will not lack silver or copper in the future. As many silver dollars and coins as the world needs, the court can mint them. Now I allow you to exchange first, which is more cost-effective than the later implementation of the currency system."

Some of the guys were still looking at the silver dollars and copper coins that others were playing with, while others were silently feeling the texture and quality of the silver dollars and new coins in their hands.

Since Zhu Changluo had already said this, his attitude was naturally firm.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to obey your Majesty's order..."

It has been nearly twenty years, and the imperial power is stable and the prestige is unparalleled. Everyone knows that this is a national policy that the emperor and the ministers of the court have probably been planning for a long time. How many people will be implicated by the major changes in the money law?
And now, they are given land and official positions in foreign vassal states, and they are allowed to exchange their private money for new money first. Who knows whether after the new currency law is officially implemented, only official money will be allowed to be exchanged for new money?

"Your Majesty... I dare to ask, how can we exchange private money and private silver of different purity for silver dollars and mint coins?"

"We still have two or three years to fight with Japan and Outer Yunnan, so we have plenty of time." Zhu Changluo looked at them, "Private silver is easy to deal with, and its quality is easy to identify. You can exchange it with me, and I will bear the cost."

He sold another good one.

A small amount of fire consumption is worth nothing compared to the significance of the court being able to concentrate as much silver as possible.

But everyone knows that the exchange of private money and new money may need to balance this part of the difference. After all, the difference between different private money is really big, and the difference between different batches of privately minted coins, even if they are produced by the same company, is probably not small.

As expected, the emperor said, "For each type of private money, there is a certain amount of silver that one tael of silver from the private sector should be exchanged for. The court has collected it back, and it costs a lot to purify and smelt so much private money. I can only allow you to not lose money. Each type of private money is only allowed to be exchanged at 90% of the market price. Among the new money exchanged, 60% is silver dollars, 30% is large coins worth more than 20 yuan, and the remaining 10% is small coins. Of course, another benefit is that private silver banks will not be allowed to open in the future, but under the Daming Silver Bank, Changming and Zongming banks can be allowed to open branches in local areas. This process will take at most two years to sort out."

Everyone was agitated.

This is certainly a crisis, but the benefit that the emperor mentioned is naturally that it will be formalized from now on.

After all, private money shops also have businesses such as issuing bills and lending money.

Firstly, after private banks were not allowed to exist, there was a process of mergers; secondly, since they had gained the upper hand, they could take over the monopoly business later; and finally, they successfully survived the "catastrophe" of the new currency system.

Although it is impossible for the imperial court to directly abolish all private money, after the new currency system is fully implemented, can the exchange rate still be 90% of the market price?

This ratio is not low. After all, the gross profit margin of privately minted copper coins is generally 30% or even 50%.

But now that you have heard of this national policy, would you dare to mint it privately in the future?
"Your Majesty, what about... the old official money?" someone else asked.

"Since the new money is still official money, the old official money can still be used. The court accepts both new and old official money. It's just that the taxes will be gradually replaced with new money after they are collected." Zhu Changluo said with a smile, "In short, this is a grace I give you. Take advantage of this period to exchange the private money you have, that will be the most cost-effective."

Then he smiled, then his expression turned cold: "I have granted you so many favors, and what I want is for you to serve the court and help the court recover the privately minted coins. Now that you are open and honest, the Metropolitan Supervisor and the Internal Inspection Office are watching! If you only hoard the official money of the people and redeem the private money that you really can't give away, then you can still be punished for privately minting copper coins according to the current laws!"

"I don't dare."

Suddenly, people in the Qianqing Palace came out and knelt down: Who are the money houses that only do circulation, and who have the connections to mint privately? Doesn’t the emperor know?
After Zhu Changluo's coercion, he finally said: "Similarly, the money you are willing to donate for the land and honor guards of the outer vassal states can also be offset with private money according to this rule. Do you understand?"

Everyone was delighted and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

If one could first collect as much private money as possible through various channels, such as lowering the price by 10% or even more when "purchasing goods", wouldn't that be equivalent to reducing the donation by 10% or 20%?
The emperor could have just robbed it, but he still thought of so many ways. He really...

"You must cooperate well in this matter!" Zhu Changluo nodded slowly. "The people are in short supply of copper coins for the time being. You must prepare enough official money and small change to distribute. By then, the money shops and banks of the local gentry and the taxes they have evaded for many years will all fall on this major event! I will personally watch over you. You cannot serve the country on the battlefield. This is the best opportunity for you to repay me with your hereditary titles and salaries!"

The reason why he was able to pressure his ministers to do this was simply this.

The final conclusion is nothing more than the last sentence: "After the matter is accomplished, I will have other rewards and punishments. Those who have made contributions will naturally be rewarded without being demoted or even promoted; those who take the opportunity to disrupt national policies and shake the country, don't blame me for not remembering the contributions of your ancestors when I judge you!"

Just like recycling private money, this is also the last chance for these "incompetent" old officials to truly make merit.

(End of this chapter)