Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 680: Coinage Unification

"It's smaller, the layout is smaller."

Zhu Youxiao read the memorial and frowned after seeing some specific matters mentioned in it. He said, "The regulations drawn up by the Shaofu are limited to satisfying the currency circulation in Northern Zhili. Although they involve areas outside Northern Zhili, they are very limited. Could it be that the expansion of the Mint and the Qingli Division is limited to Northern Zhili in the plan for the third year of Tianqi?"

After listening to what the emperor said, Sun Guozhen, Yu Yinggui and other high-ranking officials of the Shaofu looked at each other with different expressions on their faces.

"Your Majesty, ever since the currency reform was proposed, it has been controversial both in the government and the public." Yu Yinggui hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Highnesses also know that this charter covers too small a field, but the currency system is different from other systems. Seeking breakthroughs too quickly and too aggressively can increase the scale of new currency in circulation, but this will have too much impact on the local area."

"After all, the main groups circulating in Northern Zhili at the moment are the imperial guards, the emperor's personal troops, the Beijing camp, the security garrison troops, and the retired groups under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu, etc."

"Yes, the new currency is currently related to the tax reform led by the Ministry of Revenue, which will be linked to the salt reform in the future. However, if we want to see real results from these, it will take time to test and settle."

Lu Guanxiang followed closely and said: "Currency reform is fundamentally different from other policies. If there are any risks and hidden dangers in this matter, and the court fails to control it well, the harm and impact will be immeasurable."

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

Sun Guozhen, Shao Jiechun and others came forward to second the motion.

It's not that they are timid. Among the many regulations drafted and promoted by the Shaofu, they have taken great steps, such as expanding production in various industries, emerging high-demand industries, promoting water conservancy construction, and accelerating coastal shipbuilding... There are too many areas that have been leveraged.

In order to ensure that all of the above tasks can be done well, the scale of bonds issued and sold by the Shaofu has reached a new height. These are all done by Sun Guozhen and others.

Allowing the Shaofu to run a deficit was what Zhu Youxiao proposed. The Shaofu had to accomplish the task of continuously absorbing gold and silver from the private sector to push forward the implementation of various deployments in order to speed up the construction of the core of Northern Zhili.

During the construction period, the private sector can also earn development dividends, which will continue to increase the size of a group of emerging vested interest groups.

Reforms and changes are not something that can be launched in a big way just because the top leaders give the go-ahead.

Aren’t there enough new laws, reforms, and innovations throughout the dynasties?
But how many of them are truly successful?
Why did most of them end in failure? Even though they had a strong momentum in the early and middle stages, and even brought significant changes to the country!

According to Zhu Youxiao's summary, the new vested interest groups have not been able to truly eliminate the old interest groups, while the new ones have quickly leaned towards the side of the old ones.

New and old are never quantitative and unchanging. They will change with the passage of time and the evolution of the overall situation.

Therefore, if we want to keep the reform going in the Ming Dynasty, we must constantly cultivate new vested interest groups in each cycle and let them gain interests and benefits within the cycle. Only in this way can the foothold be firm and the struggle between the old and the new can continue.

This is equivalent to creating a situation to promote the progress of reform.

If the reform is promoted, supported and advanced only by political schemes, no matter how many remarkable results are achieved in the beginning, once there is a sign of weakness or a key person leaves, it will lead to a total collapse!
"Has the person who will contact Qian Fa arrived?"

After hearing what Yu Yinggui and the others said, Zhu Youxiao did not say anything directly, but looked at the ministers in front of him and said calmly.

"Chen is here!"

Jiang Chen was a little nervous. Being pointed out by the emperor in such an occasion made him, who had just entered the official career, very nervous and excited.

After the palace examination in the second year of the Tianqi reign was over, the group of Jinshi who ranked first and second were arranged to be tempered and tested in various fields.

As for the group of people Zhu Youxiao knew, he knew that the palace examination in the second year of Tianqi was undoubtedly of high value, and many people who left their names in history had their life trajectories changed.

Among this group of new scholars who passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Tianqi reign, some have been tempered and battled through hardships, and will in the future step onto the path directly to various government officials at the central level. They are a new group.

In the following several palace examinations, there would be more similar batches of new Jinshi, until all those that Zhu Youxiao knew entered the official career.

This is the construction of a talent echelon.

Although Zhu Youxiao knew that the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty had reached a dead end and had a tendency to restrict thought, Zhu Youxiao would not carry out reforms of the imperial examination system in a vigorous manner. Instead, he would choose a subtle way, making changes and adjustments bit by bit over a period of several years.

Until what he had in mind was completely established!
And when that day really comes, the Ming Dynasty will achieve a comprehensive reform of education and thought, will promote the comprehensive promotion of universal education, will establish a new number of higher education institutions in various fields, and will completely break the close relationship between the imperial examination system and privilege... Education is good.

The thought is good.

But once something is tainted with privilege, even the best will turn into something bad, and this is what Zhu Youxiao had to do ruthlessly. But how can we put it? If we want to improve the imperial examination system that has been passed down for thousands of years, it will not be achieved in just a year or two.

After all, this set of ideas is so deeply rooted in people's hearts and has won the support of too many people, not to mention that too many people have benefited from this system.

"Minister Qian Fa, how many money bureaus have you approved to be closed or merged?" Looking at Jiang Chen who was a little nervous, Zhu Youxiao didn't say anything else, but asked straight to the point.

People grow up little by little.

How can you talk about growth without going through some things?
Therefore, we must be patient and tolerant towards newcomers, and not put pressure on or grind them down all the time.

There are so many things involved in employing people. Even if you spend your entire life learning it, you will have different insights at different times and ages.

"Your Majesty."

Facing many gazes, Jiang Chen tried to calm his mind, then bowed and reported: "As of now, 47 money offices in Northern Zhili are to be closed. These money offices were added due to factors such as Liaodong and disasters. The original intention was to solve the cost of military pay and disaster relief, but in actual operation, there are many problems, and many even seek personal gain from it."

"There are 79 money bureaus that need to be merged, some of which were opened privately by local officials without the approval of the central government. For these money bureaus, the attitude of the Minister of Finance is to strictly investigate and hold them accountable. In addition to those in Northern Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Liaodong, etc...."

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Jiang Chen, who was originally nervous, was no longer as nervous as he explained each matter in detail. Especially when he talked about specific matters, Zhu Youxiao could see the confidence he showed.

Not bad.

In Zhu Youxiao's heart, there was a feeling of gratification and approval. This was why they should be promoted, because their lower limit was set, and their upper limit was expected.

After all, in the original timeline, most of these talents did not actually display their potential. This was due to the chaotic political situation and the turbulent situation. In short, because of the word chaos, many things changed.

And all the things Zhu Youxiao had been doing since he ascended the throne were actually to stabilize all parties, so that the Ming Dynasty would not fall into chaos and have the proper rhythm and state.

The Ming Dynasty had many accumulated problems and tumors, but these were not enough to bring it down. After all, the Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and its national heritage lasted for more than two hundred years. These were the advantages of the Ming Dynasty.

"Did you hear everything?"

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, Zhu Youxiao held up the memorial, looked at the ministers in front of him and said, "The old money system has so many problems and malpractices. You have all heard it just now. I have been saying that we must dare to think and dare to act. This is the reason."

"The old money system and the new currency system must be fully unified, so that they can become the new path of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to effectively promoting the circulation of the new currency at home, it must also gradually form advantages abroad."

"There is a grassland and Korea. In the future, new currency will be needed to build a stable trade system. How much new currency will be needed? Can the Minting and Cleaning Bureau in Beijing fully meet these needs?"

"Not to mention, I want the minting power of the money bureau to be gradually returned to the central government, and the local governments will no longer have this power, in order to put an end to the trend of indiscriminate and private minting. If we don't dare to think about it and dare to do it, then when will it be possible to achieve it? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?"

"I can afford to wait for these, but what about the Ming Dynasty? What about the country? What about the people? Can they all afford to wait? Have you ever thought about this?"

The expressions of Sun Guozhen, Yu Yinggui and others all changed.

"I have made up my mind."

In this atmosphere, Zhu Youxiao made the final decision: "The Mint Office must take responsibility and go to Liaodong, Northern Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, and Guizhou to explore new sites for the establishment of a branch mint in the future."

"Among them, mints in Liaodong and Shandong will be responsible for obtaining gold and silver from North Korea in the future. They must make every effort to ensure that the new Ming currency completely meets the circulation demand of North Korea's new currency!!"

this! ?

Sun Guozhen, Yu Yinggui and others were all shocked that the Ming Dynasty's currency circulation would actually include Korea as well. This was something they had never thought of before.

But just because they didn't expect it doesn't mean Zhu Youxiao didn't expect it. Korea was just the beginning. In the future, the Ming Dynasty would incorporate more regions to realize the dominant advantage of Ming currency. With the gold standard system, it would continue to collect seigniorage from various places, thereby accelerating the development of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, there are too many things to pay attention to, but we can't just not do it because there are too many problems. If we do that, what change can the Ming Dynasty talk about?
As long as there are people, there are always more solutions than problems. Zhu Youxiao does not think that the talents nurtured and cultivated by the Ming Dynasty cannot explore a completely new path under the general direction he has pointed out.

(End of this chapter)