I'm really not doing business

Chapter 608: Take the path that the humble scholar wants to take, leaving the humble scholar with no way to go

Zhang Juzheng was a Legalist at heart, and he probably read a lot of Legalist masterpieces such as "Han Feizi" and "Shang Yangshu" in his daily life. He reminded Your Majesty that some people were waiting for the emperor to blow his trumpet too hastily, and were waiting for the emperor to escalate the matter out of anger, anxiety, panic and other emotions.

Once the door to expansion was opened, it was no longer something that could be stopped by human power. Not Zhang Juzheng, not Wang Chonggu, and not the emperor. As the prime minister and imperial tutor, Zhang Juzheng knew very well that the emperor was only a human being, not an omniscient and omnipotent god.

What kind of bad consequences will it bring if it is magnified?
The Shame of Jingkang.

Zhang Juzheng believed that the Jingkang Incident occurred mainly due to the incompetence of the ruling class. The ancestral law of emphasizing culture over military affairs led to the weakening of military force and armaments, the strategic mistake of allying with Jin to destroy Liao, financial shortages and many other reasons combined, but none of them was as important as the incompetence of the ruling class.

The dispute between reforming the old and establishing the new and between ancestral laws lasted for 300 years during the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. However, as the emperor and the final decision-maker, he never tried to curb the increasingly fierce party struggles. Instead, he deliberately provoked and intensified the factional struggles, and stirred up internal and external conflicts, fearing that the court officials would not fight fiercely. Sima Guang summarized this in "Zizhi Tongjian" and called it the art of emperorship.

It is better not to learn this imperial technique of sending people into the enemy camp to lead sheep.

The factional struggles in the court were so serious that the army that was sent to support the king was disbanded amid the quarrel, Taiyuan was lost in the quarrel over whether to support Taiyuan or not, the peace and war factions fought each other and shirked responsibility, the emperor Huizong and Qinzong Zhao Huan fought fiercely over the throne, and when Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Zongmou led the Jin soldiers to break through Taiyuan and besiege Kaifeng Prefecture, there were still factional struggles in the court.

Zhang Juzheng reminded His Majesty that some people are waiting for His Majesty to exaggerate the policy. After the policy is exaggerated, those who have a way out will take risks, those who originally supported the new policy will have doubts, and those who have no way out will become the most determined diehards, eventually causing a catastrophe. At the very least, the new policy will fail, and at worst, the court will be filled with factions and people will fight for the sake of fighting.

"When the day comes when the Party Factions and Bans become rampant, we can declare the New Deal a failure." Zhang Juzheng ended his advice today.

"Sir, you are a man of great talent. I will gladly accept your instruction." Zhu Yijun also stood up to return the greeting. This was also a lecture.

"Sir, I have a miscellaneous newspaper here, which is quite interesting." Zhu Yijun picked up a miscellaneous newspaper, handed it to Zhang Juzheng, and said with a smile: "Sir, take a look."

Zhang Juzheng opened the magazine, frowned at first, and then couldn't help laughing.

This magazine is called "Xiao Lin Ji" and it is dedicated to telling jokes.

Joke collections have a long history in the Central Plains and have become a very common literary genre since the Three Kingdoms period, such as Handan Chun's "Xiao Lin", the Sui Dynasty's "Qi Yan Lu", the Song Dynasty's "Tiao Abun", "Shi Lin Guang Ji" and "Fu Zhang Lu".

The Ming Dynasty also had a large number of joke collections, such as "Ya Ru", "Xiao Zan", "Xiao Fu", "Guang Xiao Fu", "Gu Jin Xiao Tan", etc.

The miscellaneous newspaper in Zhang Juzheng's hand tells jokes in a question-and-answer style that was common in the Ming Dynasty, similar to the questions and answers in "The Analects of Confucius" and "Yangming's Philosophy of Mind". Li Zhi also liked to use this style.

"This book is worth reading." After reading it, Zhang Juzheng thought it was very valuable and a kind of historical prophecy.

For example, this issue is "Why Sima and the Two Jin Dynasties admired Zhuge Kongming."

The respect for Zhuge Liang began with the mortal enemy Jin Dynasty, and it was extremely strong.

Zhuge Liang defeated Sima Yi, the ancestor of the Sima family, to the point where he had to wear women's clothes. Even after Sima Yi had completed his old age and was still a veteran, he still highly respected Zhuge Liang. When it came to the generation of Sima Zhao and Sima Yan, Zhuge Liang was even deified. The Sima family has been elevating Zhuge Liang infinitely.

A asked: Why did the huge Jin Dynasty respect the prime minister of the enemy country so much? Could it be that it accepted 500,000 pieces of Shu brocade from the Shu Kingdom?
B’s answer: No, no, Emperor Gaozu Sima Yi made the Luoshui Alliance and seized power at Gaoping Mausoleum with 3,000 loyal soldiers; Emperor Taizu Sima Zhao stabbed the emperor and the sword came out of his back; if you were the emperor, what would you do?

Even people with cerebral palsy know how to choose.

As the emperor, Sima Yan did not choose Zhuge Liang, who devoted his life to the country until his death. Could he choose Sima Yi or Sima Zhao? Wouldn't that encourage ministers to usurp the throne? If Sima Yi, Sima Zhao, and Zhuge Liang were put together, even if it was Sima Zhong, the Jin Hui Emperor who wanted to eat meat, he could not have made a wrong choice.

Sima Zhong was born stupid.

A asked again: In such a big country like Jin, can’t we choose one?

B answered again: Those who are relied upon as confidants are all traitors, such as Liu Fang, the confidant of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, who secretly colluded with Sima Yi. If Sima Yi succeeds, he will become a loyal minister.

The fact that all the ministers who followed the emperor were traitors was the biggest problem facing the Sima family in founding the country.

In this issue of Xiaolin Collection, 87 ministers of the early Western Jin Dynasty are collected in a variety of ways. These 87 ministers are carefully selected, and each of them is a joke. Looking at them, it is simply unbearable to watch. They are either traitors, relatives, or corrupt officials.

The ministers in the early Western Jin Dynasty were a moral desert, as there was not even a single anthropomorphic creature, let alone one who could match Zhuge Liang.

Zhu Yijun looked at the long list and then at their deeds. Let alone court discussions, this was simply a journey into the Valley of Evil!
This is both a joke and a story of history. Using bronze as a mirror, one can adjust one's attire; using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of nations.

"This is a miscellaneous newspaper sponsored by Lord Wan." Zhu Yijun did not hide anything and directly told Zhang Juzheng that this was produced by the Ministry of Rites and was considered a semi-official newspaper.

"In order to compile the Collection of Philosophers?" Zhang Juzheng immediately understood Wan Shihe's intention.

Since the rise of Zhu Xi and Cheng Yixue, not reading history has become extremely common. After all, Zhu Xi said that there is no great meaning after the Spring and Autumn Period, only records of events. The trend of not reading history is very rampant, and Wan Shihe made this collection of jokes to destroy the invincible image of Confucianism.

Since ancient times, no attempt has been made to restrain meat eaters through morality. This is direct evidence that Confucianism is a scam.

"Lord Wan really lives up to the title of leader of the imperial party." Zhang Juzheng praised Wan Shihe, saying that Wan Shihe was invincible on the battlefield of etiquette and law.

It was Zhang Juzheng who recommended Wan Shihe to compile the "Compilation of Philosophers". Now it seems that this important personnel appointment was quite reliable and correct.

The Ming Dynasty court has now put aside its condescending attitude. This method, which is almost like a "demon book", has been repeatedly used by the Ming Dynasty court to control public opinion, and the effect is outstanding. It has largely achieved one effect, which is to take the path that the inferior Confucian scholars want to take and leave them with no way to go.

Zhang Juzheng completed his admonition. The Qu family, the Qu family account books, and the 140 officials of the Southern Court were all the perpetrators of the arson at the Songjiang Shipyard and the Qu family's bribery case. Zhu Yijun issued a special decree to explain the situation to all levels of government offices, and then advised the other officials of the Southern Court to do their work carefully and not to panic.

The first person in the case was beheaded, and the rest were exiled to remote areas, mainly to Java.

Zhu Yijun was an emperor in the Northern Court. He had no idea of ​​the impact of his edict that there was no need to panic. The most direct impact was that the two governors, Li Le and Shen Shixing, immediately became the majority in the Southern Court. Decrees such as land survey, population census, abolition of slavery, and the Single Whip Law were further implemented.

Your Majesty's credibility of not punishing the same offense twice has been widely recognized. Since you have issued an edict of leniency, it means that as long as the offense does not occur again, no old accusations will be brought up.

Do you really want to wait until the Heavenly Soldiers move south before you stop? His Majesty the Emperor is not going to give us a chance to live!

The boundless ocean, the tax of 6% of the hundred value, and the pioneering lordship are the exchange conditions given by His Majesty. This condition has never changed and has always been there. The Qu family, under the leadership of Grandpa Qu, has even completed the transformation and even become the representative of the transformation. If it weren't for arson and the insistence on killing the heavenly man Shen Shixing, how could they have ended up like this?
Zhu Yijun received a piece of news that Qu Hexing, a 70-year-old man, committed suicide in prison, giving himself the last bit of dignity.

When no one noticed, Yao Guangqi quietly completed the integration of the Shanghai County Government, and then, using his background, quickly promoted the establishment of the Tiema Factory, from factory building construction, incoming material industry chain, to production equipment such as boring machines, hydraulic parts, and most importantly, skilled craftsmen.

Wang Chonggu dispatched 170 skilled craftsmen, including two master craftsmen, and more than 70 general office and agent personnel to Shanghai County on the pretext of supporting the Songjiang Iron Horse Factory. This accelerated the establishment of the Iron Horse Factory. The factory was no longer a process of crossing the river by feeling the stones, but was striding forward under the leadership of skilled craftsmen.

This is the advantage of being a heavenly person. Yan Shixuan, who is also a member of the Jin Party, has some relationship with Wang Jiaping, but Wang Jiaping and Wang Chonggu do not get along. How much trouble would Yan Shixuan have to go through just to invite these people?

On the third day of April, at the new port dock of Songjiang Prefecture, a total of 120 ships were being towed away from the port by barges. The sea survey had been completed. The Youlong, ten five-masted ocean-going ships, more than eighty three-masted plywood ships, and some two-masted ships that were hitchhiking, which were returning from the old port of Xuanweisi, were loaded with cargo and headed to the Nagasaki Governor's Office to exchange the goods for silver.

There are 1,500 elite naval soldiers on the five-masted ocean-going ship Yulong, which will go to Osaka Bay, the headquarters of Nagasaki Gyodosu, to take up their posts, with a rotation period of three years.

Half of the 3,000-strong Nagasaki Gyodosu were from the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office, and the other half were from the Songjiang Navy. What is more interesting is that of the 1,500 foreign soldiers that Ling Yunyi sent from Shandong to Nagasaki, 800 were selected to guard the Osaka Bay Defense Thousand Households.

The Ming Dynasty’s guard in Japan - the Kyoto District Inspectorate’s Special Investigation Department in Japan, has been officially established!
The fleet set sail in early April. With the trade winds, it could reach the Nagasaki Governor's Office directly without passing through Ryukyu, and then return to Ryukyu by air ship, delivering Ryukyu specialties back to Ming Dynasty. Some ships would go south to Davao City on Mindanao Island in Luzon to sell the castrated Japanese slaves to farmers in the Founding Islands, and then return with rich plantation products.

"Second boss, the eldest boss is dying, please come back with me." Sun Hongming, the old housekeeper of Songjiang Sun family, said to Sun Keyi with an anxious look on his face.

Sun Keyi has been in Japan for almost nine years and has never been back. Now Sun Kehong is seriously ill and will not live long. He hopes that Sun Keyi can go back to see him for the last time.

"Can there be more tricks?" Sun Keyi said helplessly: "This is the twelfth different excuse to let me go back. I won't go back. My nephews are very good. It's good for them to inherit the family business. I like Yuanxu Islands more."

Sun Keyi had made it very clear when he left that everything at home belonged to his elder brother, and everything outside belonged to him, Sun Keyi. The family had already been divided, so why was he going back now? Was he going to compete with his elder brother for the family property and make a fool of himself in front of His Majesty?

The Sun family of Songjiang was rich enough to rival a country, really rich. Sun Keyi gave up all these properties and made bigger plans. What he wanted was to become the Lord of Kaituo.

If they could get a pioneering marquis, their family would be completely beyond the class of powerful and powerful people and break through to the class of hereditary officials, even if this hereditary official is an overseas lord who does not enjoy any extra-legal power in the hinterland. What does it matter if he is not a hinterland lord? As long as there is enough time, slowly, the Yuanxu Islands will become the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty. No one stipulates that the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty cannot be expanded. It will not take many years to reach the Yuanxu Islands from Luzon.

"This time it's true. The boss may really be in trouble." Sun Hongming even wiped out a few tears.

The more he wiped his tears, the more Sun Keyi didn't believe it. The head of the Sun family was his eldest brother Sun Kehong, and Sun Hongming was his eldest brother's direct descendant. If Xu Jie hadn't broken Sun Kehong's leg, Sun Keyi would not have been able to act as the head of the family. Now, he has been away from Songjiang Prefecture for more than eight years, and Sun Hongming's children and grandchildren can only be his eldest brother's people.

No one inside or outside the Songjiang Sun family wanted him, the more rebellious second master, to go back.

The more he cried, the more fake it seemed. When it comes to inheriting a larger family, interests tend to outweigh family ties. It was obvious that when Sun Hongming wiped away these tears, it was simply because Sun Kehong had given a death order.

"Uncle, I have a letter from my brother's chief physician. He is in good health! Can you find a better excuse to lie to me?" Sun Keyi produced evidence. It showed that there was no serious illness at all. It was just that Sun Kehong was suffering from paranoia.

Sun Kehong stubbornly believed that if Sun Keyi had not stepped forward to take charge of the situation after his leg was broken, the Sun family would have been ruined long ago, so he had to leave all the family property to Sun Keyi, which was why he kept asking Sun Keyi to go back.

"Then we have no choice but to invite you." Sun Hongming stopped pretending and several servants immediately surrounded him.

"Back off! Everyone, back off!" Sun Keyi held a musket in his hand, with a dozen guards behind him. He smiled and said, "Old man, this is the Nagasaki Governor's Office, it's my territory! You are a dragon that has crossed the river, you have already crossed the sea, and you still want to force me to take me back?"

"I am an official appointed by the imperial court! The Maritime Commissioner of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office. You are trying to hijack an official appointed by the imperial court. I will kill you. If I bring this to the attention of His Majesty, I will be in the right! Back off!"

After Sun Hongming sat down, Sun Keyi put away his musket and said, "Old man, it's not that I don't want to go back, it's that I can't go back. The Sun family must be divided. If the Songjiang Sun family doesn't split up, then your Majesty can only dismember them. They are already a wealthy and extravagant family, and with the addition of overseas lords, the court inside and outside can't help but ask, what do we want to do?"

"Your Majesty is tolerant, but our Sun family must also be more prudent. If I really return to Songjiang Prefecture to inherit the family business, in a few years, our Sun family will have to learn from the Qu family. Splitting the family is good for everyone. Big brother is a bit naive in this matter. You can ask everyone in the family to persuade him."

"The old man of the Qu family opened up 20,000 hectares of land in the Yuanxun Islands. Even if the Qu family cannot swallow up all of it, they can still take over more than 10,000 hectares."

Sun Keyi's words couldn't be clearer. Only by splitting up the family would they not be feared by the imperial court. If they didn't split up the family, their Sun family would be the next Qu family. If they got rich, they would be killed. Isn't that natural? Only by crossing this class and achieving class transition can there be some protection.

"Alas, we have said everything that can be said and cannot be said. The eldest boss still wants the second boss to go back." Sun Hongming looked at Huoqiang and sighed. He had advised him countless times. After Sun Kehong's leg was broken, he became extremely paranoid and would not listen to anyone. He would only listen to what Sun Keyi said.

"Uncle is visiting Nagasaki, I have something else to do." Sun Keyi really had something to do, and Governor Xu Wei asked him to come over to discuss something.

Commander Li Chengli, eunuch Wang Chao, inspector of the Maritime Customs, Luo Yinghe and others had already arrived. Sun Keyi was the last one to arrive. When someone came to one's family, one had to meet them first.

Xu Wei held up a newspaper and said, "There is a stubborn person among the nobles in Kyoto, Japan. His name is Shinichi Kanda. He is the Minister of Civil Affairs. He advocated printing his own money in the Japanese court, that is, using privately minted money to counter the imported money of the Ming Dynasty's overseas circulation treasure notes. He caused quite a stir, and even Oda Nobunaga went to listen to his talk."

"Kanda Shinichi said that as long as he is still alive, he will not allow Ming Dynasty banknotes to circulate in Japan."

"My opinion is that he should leave office and the Ministry of Civil Affairs can be replaced by a new minister, so that when he is gone, no one will break their promise."

After Xu Wei finished speaking, everyone looked at each other with different expressions.

The inspector Luo Yinghe whispered, "Will Oda Nobunaga agree? This Kanda Shinichi is the Minister of Civil Affairs that Oda Nobunaga finally found. He is quite talented. Moreover, when he was the Minister of Finance, he was in charge of printing and minting money for more than ten years. Oda Nobunaga probably won't agree so easily."

Xu Wei said nonchalantly, "He'd better agree. If he doesn't agree, it doesn't matter. If he doesn't agree, just tell Mori Terumoto and ask him to kill Kanda Shinichi, just like he assassinated Oda Nobunaga. Mori Terumoto killed people, not us in the Ming Dynasty."

"We, the Nagasaki Governor's Office, are innocent and mourn the death of Shinichi Kanda."

"Oda Nobunaga will figure it out."

Xu Wei believed that Oda Nobunaga would make a clear choice. The circulation of Ming Dynasty banknotes in Japan was one of the important ropes that kept Ming Dynasty under control of Japan, and it must not be lost. Kanda Shinichi might be a hero to the Japanese, but he hindered the circulation of Ming Dynasty banknotes in Japan, so he had to leave office.

When Oda Nobunaga tried all kinds of methods, even sending his own sister, Oda Ichi, who was known as the most beautiful woman in the Warring States Period, to the Ming Dynasty, he finally got a chance to survive. However, since the Ming Dynasty put forward seventeen conditions, the survival of Oda Nobunaga's Azuchi shogunate had nothing to do with the Japanese.

The survival of Oda Nobunaga's Azuchi shogunate did not require the recognition of the Japanese people, but only required the recognition of the Ming Dynasty to ensure its existence. At this time, Oda Nobunaga could only make some decisions that went against the interests of Japan.

Being someone else's dog is like this, you have no control over your own behavior.

Being a dog of the Ming Dynasty was not like this. Korea had been a dog of the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, and the Ming Dynasty had never interfered in any affairs of Korea. Only during the Jingtai period, the Minister of Rites Hu Yi once required Korea to strictly implement the kneeling ceremony in the "Fanguo Yizhu" and must kneel to accept the Ming Dynasty's enthronement. This was the only requirement of the Ming Dynasty to Korea.

For the king of Korea, as long as he was willing to kowtow, he could get tribute and trade several times a year, and the position of the Joseon Dynasty would be as solid as a rock. This was a very cost-effective deal.

But when it was Japan's turn to be a dog, things changed. The Ming Dynasty wanted to reach almost every corner, even interfering in the appointment and dismissal of the ministers of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The Ming Dynasty had just emerged from the predicament of the Japanese invasion in the southeast, and Xu Wei was the person involved in the suppression of the Japanese. Talking to him about forgiveness would only result in an 18-jin cannon being stuffed in his mouth.

"As a regent, regent and minister of state, Oda Nobunaga wrote a letter saying that he wanted to implement the one official, two civilians policy throughout the country of Japan, abolish the complicated tax items in various localities, and replace them with a unified one official, two civilians." Xu Wei talked about the second thing, the tax reform of Japan.

Oda Nobunaga has now been granted the position of Regent by the Emperor of Japan. From an honorary position of Grand Minister, he has become the de facto head of the Azuchi Shogunate. He now holds administrative power and has begun to reform the overall tax system of Japan. This is an open conspiracy. Once this decree becomes known to everyone, the daimyo who does not implement it will lose the support of the people.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the old fox Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the repeatedly defeated Mori Terumoto, in fact, were not considered as tough men sent from heaven.

The phrase "a tough guy sent from heaven" is usually used to describe a powerful leader who appears when a country is in trouble. He is able to turn the tide and lead the country out of danger and towards revival. However, this type of people also have another common characteristic, which is that they end up miserably.

There is no doubt that Oda Nobunaga was a tough guy sent from heaven to Japan and was the luck of the Japanese people. At least Oda Nobunaga was still pursuing some fairness and justice and leading the Japanese civilians out of the hell of war.

"In conjunction with the policy of "one citizen, two civilians", the Sword Hunt Order was implemented, which confiscated weapons from the people and put them under the management of the Military Equipment Inspectorate. It also implemented the separation of farmers and soldiers, allowing the samurai to live in the city and the civilians to farm in the countryside. This was also what Oda Nobunaga had always advocated. He believed that the difficulties of Japan were all caused by the fierce fighting among the samurai. When the samurai were concentrated in the city, the disputes would naturally end." Xu Wei talked about the Sword Hunt Order, an important supporting policy for Japan's tax reform.

After the separation of farmers and soldiers, the daimyo could no longer mobilize large military forces. Every expedition would be extremely destructive to production. After the separation of farmers and soldiers, contradictions, conflicts and struggles would change from collective wars to internal strife between rulers. The daimyo could no longer coerce the largest number of farmers to participate in the war. In this way, the scale of the war would be much smaller, and basic production could be guaranteed.

"It can be seen that Oda Nobunaga really wanted to end the war in Japan. Even though he could not become the ruler of the world due to the strong interference of the Ming Dynasty and had to settle for becoming the shogun, he still wanted to end this mess and let the people of Japan breathe a sigh of relief." Sun Keyi said sincerely: "He is really a persistent guy."

If we use the standard of Hiroki, Oda Nobunaga still insisted on his own ideas in the face of life-and-death threats and after his son was assassinated. This is Hiroki. His ideas include not only the court nobles and daimyo of the province, but also the suffering civilians. This is Hiroki, who has the people in his heart.

Oda Nobunaga can definitely be called a gentleman.

"We should support his proposal." Xu Wei looked at everyone and said, "Whether it is the One Public and Two Citizens or the Sword Hunting Order, they will be widely opposed, the war will escalate further, and our Nagasaki Governor's Office can go even deeper."

"The Japanese have a population of nine million. If the Ming army were to kill them all, all their swords would be blunted and they would never be able to kill them all. But it doesn't matter. If they kill them themselves, it will be much faster."

"Ah, now it's only about eight million."

Behind Japan's hyper-prosperity is a rapid loss of population. The original contradiction between a large population and a small land area has been alleviated. As long as the killing continues, Japan will look even more prosperous. Once the Nagasaki Governor's Office, which controls the issuance of treasure notes, relaxes the restrictions on treasure notes, what kind of hell will Japan be in?
Xu Wei had a very clear plan to destroy the Japanese pirates. He was an extreme supporter of the idea of ​​destroying the Japanese pirates. Only dead Japanese pirates could make people feel at ease. If they were half dead, they must be dealt a heavy blow.

Everyone who is discussing the matter now is a lunatic. Who among those sitting here and the guards active in the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office doesn't have a blood feud in their family?
"We support his proposal, but we only provide all support except help." Sun Keyi once again elaborated on his point of view. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty would never fight for the Japanese. His Majesty once issued a clear decree that whoever makes the Ming people fight for the Japanese will be a sinner in history.

"This year's trade fair is about to begin again. As usual, we will not accept banknotes, but only cash. In particular, we must tell those merchants who are optimistic about our Ming Dynasty that banknotes are only accepted in Japan, and there is no possibility of redeeming them in the Ming Dynasty." Xu Wei rubbed his eyebrows, looking a little helpless.

Despite numerous warnings, the enthusiasm of Ming merchants for circulating treasure notes in Japan could not be stopped. This was caused by the Ming Dynasty's money shortage. Some people in the Ming Dynasty actually recognized these treasure notes, which made the Nagasaki Governor's Office quite helpless. Despite strict prohibitions, some treasure notes still flowed back to the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty would indeed not redeem the treasure notes that were circulated in Japan, but the daimyos of Japan controlled the silver mountains. They recognized the treasure notes that were circulated in Japan. As long as these treasure notes were taken to the territories of these daimyos, they could be redeemed. So in fact, the treasure notes that were circulated in Japan could be regarded as a kind of redeemable paper money. Gradually, naturally, people came to hold them.

"The Military Equipment Bureau promised that it will have the production capacity to print 650 million silver coins by the end of this year, and more than million by the end of next year. Will this alleviate the money shortage a little?" Luo Yinghe asked with a frown.

"No, the Ming Dynasty is now caught in a dilemma where the more silver coins there are, the less they have." Xu Wei leaned back in his chair and spread his hands, expressing his helplessness about this problem. The more silver coins there are, the less they have, this absurd conclusion is still taking effect and is getting worse.

The more silver coins there are, the more active the economy is. The more active the economy is, the more silver coins are needed. Compared with the total economic volume, the relative quantity and proportion of silver coins are smaller and cannot meet market demand.

(End of this chapter)