Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 132 Lazy Politics
Soon, this thick memorial was in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands again.

When he opened it and took a look, he was stunned for a moment.

In the memorial, there are titles, introductions, and even page numbers, etc., which are really similar to a book.

You can tell at a glance that the font is written by Jing Jing.However, the content, that is, the way of expression, is completely Zhang Yifan's style.

It is written in vernacular and easy to understand, and there are even explanations for some uncommon words.At least at first glance, it seems that it is not difficult to read. Compared with Ru Taisu, although both have more words, they are written in two completely different ways.

The subtitle of the first paragraph reads "The Essence of Money."It mainly discusses that money is the equivalent of commodities, which can be banknotes or precious metals, such as gold, silver, copper, etc.

Regarding this, Zhu Yuanzhang had heard Zhang Yifan talk about it before, and he probably understood it.

Then, the second paragraph talks about the advantages and history of paper money.Mainly starting from the inevitability of the emergence of paper money, the history from the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty is narrated.

The third paragraph describes the two methods of issuing banknotes, namely the precious metal-based issuance system and the court's reputation system.Both the Song and Yuan Dynasties were based on precious metal standards. However, in the later period, problems such as excessive issuance of banknotes destroyed the precious metal-based issuance system and led to the collapse of banknotes.

In the fourth paragraph, Zhang Yifan focused on explaining the issuance method of the imperial court's credibility endorsement and how it worked, which took up most of the memorial.

Among them, Zhang Yifan, or to be precise, Zhu Jingjing also drew pictures to express the logical relationships described in the text.

Zhu Yuanzhang read all the contents in one breath, then raised his head with doubts on his face and asked Zhu Biao: "Is this really written by Yifan?"

From the moment he read the memorial with all his attention, and read it page by page, Zhu Biao knew that Yifan's memorial was definitely very valuable. The emperor was already planning to hit someone with a stick.

At this time, when he heard Zhu Yuanzhang asking him something, he quickly replied: "It should be so. He spent more than a month writing it. When he agreed at the time, he said there would be more content."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.He also has his own channels and knows what Zhang Yifan is busy with on weekdays.

Just seeing this memorial, I felt a little incredible, so I couldn't help but ask my son.

At this time, after hearing Zhu Biao's answer, he asked the eunuch to hand the memorial to Zhu Biao, and at the same time ordered: "You should also take a look."

Later, when he saw Zhu Biao starting to read the memorial, he closed his eyes to rest.Obviously, he was also recalling and thinking about the contents of the memorial in his mind.

After a long while, Zhu Yuanzhang heard the noise and opened his eyes to see that it was Zhu Biao who had finished reading.

So he asked, "What do you think?"

After hearing this, Zhu Biao hesitated, and after a while he replied: "It sounds reasonable, but it involves too much, involving multiple yamen of the imperial court, and national policies that have been promulgated before, so we should be cautious! "

Zhu Yuanzhang listened, nodded slightly, and then gestured with his hand: "Tell me in detail!"

"Yes, Father!" Zhu Biao agreed after hearing this. After thinking for a moment, he began to comment.

"The treasures of the Ming Dynasty must be refined, not just rely on the law to prohibit counterfeiting. This is no problem. Money moves people's hearts. Even if they kill the whole family, some people will indeed take risks."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened and nodded, indicating to continue.

"The Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are money. If they can be exchanged for anything, then in turn, anything can be exchanged for the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. For example, if you use the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes to exchange gold and silver from the court, it is possible and easy to do if the court allows it. Including taxes and other matters, Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes must be allowed to be collected, regardless of whether they are old or new. I think that what Yifan said is to increase the credibility of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, and there is no problem."

Zhu Yuanzhang did not nod when he heard this, but just raised his hand to indicate to continue.

"There is also the recycling of old Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. Unless more than half of them are damaged and multiple copies are spliced ​​together by trimming, otherwise ordinary depreciation and damage affect the use, the court must unconditionally replace them with new ones. Yifan said that this is the cost of the work Fei Lai endorses the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, so that the old Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes will not be discounted, and my ministers also agree. Doing this is just a matter of words."

Zhu Yuanzhang listened, nodded slightly this time, and then motioned to continue.

"The issuance of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes will be determined based on how much value is produced nationwide each year. This is easy to say, but too difficult to do. Yifan said that Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes can be issued and the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes can be adjusted based on monitoring prices in various places. The circulation of treasure banknotes. Maybe it is possible, but I don’t think very clearly.”

"Yifan said that it would be best to set up a special yamen to take care of this matter. You can lend money to the people through this yamen, or increase the interest rate, let the people lend money to the yamen, regulate the amount of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes among the people, and control Regarding the value of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, Erchen was a little confused. Why did the court borrow money from the people? It was more like keeping the money for the people so that it would not be stolen or anything else. The court did not charge a storage fee. Is everything settled?"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang also frowned. Apparently he also had some doubts about this, at least he didn't understand it.

Zhu Biao saw it, but he didn't ask him to stop, so he continued: "Yifan also said that restricting what the people can do is actually a big trap for the court. In addition to farming, farmers should do something during their spare time. It should be reasonable for small businesses to subsidize household income. It is also said that some farmers are not good at farming and may be better at carpentry. They can also be allowed to be carpenters, and vice versa. Artificial regulations are a step back in history... …”

At this point, not only did his voice become much lower, but he also secretly glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang's face, and found that there seemed to be no change, so he looked at the table of contents of the memorial again, and then continued.

"Farmers, military households, craftsmen households, etc. all have the same principle, and they do not necessarily inherit the father's business. Although doing so will indeed make the court management simpler, it is a kind of lazy government and will only hinder the power of the Ming Dynasty. But if foreign countries don't do this, one day in the future, when foreign countries are stronger than the Ming Dynasty, it will be the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's disaster. I think this is alarmist, but...but there seems to be some truth!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang finally said: "How can he be so sure that this is lazy government! Does he think it is so easy to govern the whole world? It is complicated and easy to make mistakes. He does not understand this principle at all!"

"Father, what he said makes sense." After hearing this, Zhu Biao quickly said good things to Zhang Yifan, "After all, he just came out of Liujiacun and has little experience. He can say whatever comes to mind and doesn't know the difficulties. It's understandable! "

After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he didn't say anything anymore, but just waved his hand to indicate for him to continue.

When Zhu Biao saw it, he continued: "Yifan said that money and commodities, and even other things, have their own laws and are not subject to human will. The simple thing is that everyone likes money, and the same items like low prices and high quality. Okay. The court should discover this law and make use of it, instead of ignoring the law or even destroying the law, which will only be counterproductive in the end. When issuing Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, we must also respect this law. Er Chen saw this paragraph , why do I feel like Yifan hasn’t finished speaking yet, there are still some words left to say!”

"That kid is itchy, he is blaming me." Zhu Yuanzhang replied angrily after hearing this.

When Zhu Biao heard this tone, he knew that his father was not really angry, so he continued: "He said that the practice of quotas is wrong. Society is developing, and today's quotas may be suitable, but they may not be suitable tomorrow. Say he What was going on in Liujia Village nine years ago, and how they talk about this matter now, illustrates that the issuance of Ming Dynasty Bao Banknotes must be adjusted according to local conditions and based on monitored prices."

"Hehe!" Zhu Yuanzhang sneered after hearing this, "This kid is just using the Daming treasure to say that there is a problem with the tax quotas I set for local businesses."

After Zhu Biao heard this, he said with a smile: "Yifan, this little naughty boy, can't escape the eyes of my father! I guessed what he said next. He is talking about tax collection."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say anything, he continued: "Don't do what you want to do, what the people want to do, what they can do, as long as they don't break the law, it will help the people increase their income and live a better life. The Ming Dynasty has enough food and clothing, and it can For a long time. I feel that if the people don't starve and suffer from cold, there will indeed be less trouble."

Zhu Yuanzhang actually felt very deeply about this.If he had been fed and clothed back then, he would not have raised his head to rebel.Therefore, when he heard this, he commented: "This guy is right about this. Perhaps some of the previous considerations and the previous approach were a little simpler."

Whether the Ming Dynasty is stable or not, and whether it lasts for a long time, this is what Zhu Yuanzhang is most concerned about.When Zhang Yifan mentions this, he will take it seriously if he thinks it makes sense.If it was just the rules mentioned above, he didn't pay attention at all.

It was not created by the Ming Dynasty to prescribe occupations and what people could only do.In fact, many laws from the official system to the court were inherited from the previous dynasty and passed down from generation to generation.

If Zhang Yifan said this to the emperor before Zhu Yuanzhang, probably not many people would want to hear it.However, Zhu Yuanzhang is different.He truly came from the common people at the bottom. Compared with other emperors, he was best able to understand the impact of the good or bad life of the people.

At this time, Zhu Biao heard that although his father did not agree, he praised this statement. This cheered him up and started to talk about the following things.

"Yifan also reminded that in this way, it is very likely that the rich will become richer. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the excessive gap between the rich and the poor in the Ming Dynasty. It is best to collect personal income tax. It is said that it is Individuals and families are the unit, restricted by rituals. In terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, they are distinguished by their fame, the amount of taxes paid, etc. Not to mention the fame, the amount of taxes paid every year can determine what kind of house you can live in. The better, the more taxes you collect, it seems. It’s a feasible approach!”

When Zhu Biao said this, he laughed and said: "I don't believe it either. There are people who have a lot of money, but only live in thatched houses and wear coarse linen shirts? If so, is there any point in making money?"

Zhu Yuanzhang listened but did not speak.Zhu Biao knew that his father was thinking.So, he stopped talking and waited for Zhu Yuanzhang to think about it first.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while, and suddenly found that there was no sound, so he looked at Zhu Biao and said, "Are you done?"

"There are some more!" Zhu Biao said quickly after hearing this.

"Then keep talking!" Zhu Yuanzhang ordered after hearing this.

In fact, he has already seen what is behind it, so he naturally knows it.Just asking Zhu Biao to talk about it is just cultivating Zhu Biao.

On Zhu Biao's side, he didn't know the meaning of this layer. He only knew that he would do what his father said.

So, he continued: "Yifan also cited the example of cement, saying that cement is a basic material that can be used by all people. However, the specifications for building houses can be distinguished. In this way, the people can also You can enjoy the benefits of cement, but at the same time allow the court to receive enough money. This should be done including other materials related to people's livelihood, such as salt and iron. Erchen thinks that this point is reasonable, but he also said Easy."

"That's right, talking about these things is just a matter of touching the upper lip with the lower lip, but it's not easy to do it?" Zhu Yuanzhang nodded after hearing this, and said, "This kid lacks experience and doesn't know the troubles of real work! "

Having said this, he showed a thoughtful expression, as if he had thought of something.

Zhu Biao saw him and waited for a while. When Zhu Yuanzhang didn't speak again, he continued: "Yifan also said that the Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and local people's sentiments varied greatly, so even when it comes to the use of Ming Dynasty treasures, they must be treated differently. It cannot be generalized. Even if a yamen is specially set up to issue and recover Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, the corresponding interest must be treated differently. Erchen believes that this is reasonable. Although Yifan used Liujiacun and surrounding villages as an explanation, this It makes sense to speculate from point to point."

Having said this, he paused, patted the thick memorial in his hand and said, "Father, that's all Yifan said."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang reached out his hand to signal that he was going to pass the memorial. After he opened it and flipped through it for a while, he looked up at Zhu Biao and asked, "What do you think this kid has said so much? useful?"

After Zhu Biao heard this, he was a little embarrassed and couldn't answer immediately. After thinking for a long time, he answered Zhu Yuanzhang: "Father, if you just read this memorial, I think...actually...it seems to make some sense." . But if we want to ensure that it is easy to do and less prone to errors, it is to change the method of reversing banknotes. Erchen feels that it is indeed appropriate for the court to bear the cost of new banknotes. As for the exchange of gold and silver, perhaps it is useful in the first place. Those who have exchanged their gold and silver for Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are allowed to exchange the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes for gold and silver. As for those who do not have it, they cannot exchange it."

At this point, seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang didn't speak, he thought for a moment and continued: "As for the other things, it involves too much. I think it would be a bit of a joke to do it just based on Yifan's words. Got it!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang showed a satisfied smile, nodded and said: "Yes, as a prince, you should be cautious. Unlike that boy, you can say whatever comes to mind without regard to the consequences!"

Zhu Biao's performance obviously satisfied him, which made Zhu Biao feel happy because he was affirmed by his father.

Zhu Yuanzhang then said to him: "Take gold and silver for example. If it really goes according to what Yifan said, the imperial court issued so many Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, all of which were exchanged for gold and silver. How could the imperial court have so much gold and silver to exchange for them? That boy, still I really dare to say it.”

If Zhang Yifan is not here, if he is, he may say that you have issued too many banknotes.

But to be honest, the Ming Dynasty Baobao has only been issued for a year. If you really want to say there are many, they are actually not many.It's just that when the Ming Empire was just founded, it started from poverty. All the money of the Yuan Dynasty was taken away by the Yuan Dynasty emperor, so there was not much gold and silver in the Ming Dynasty's treasury.

At this time, after Zhu Yuanzhang cited this example, he asked Zhu Biao: "I won't look for this guy for now. Go and talk to him, tell him your views, and see how he quibbles?"

Zhu Biao didn't understand. If the father went to Yifan directly, wouldn't it be more direct?If you have something to ask, you can ask directly.It's a bit troublesome to pour one hand in the middle.

Thinking like this, he replied: "Father, how about just sending Yifan over? Anyway, he is in the Prince Consort's Mansion now and has nothing to do!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "I still have a lot of things to do. You talk to him first. If it's useful and can be done, tell me, I don't have that much time to talk to him!"

When Zhu Biao heard this, he could only agree and then left.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his back and watched him disappear at the palace gate.

This son didn't know the painstaking efforts he put into doing this.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang agreed with many of Zhang Yifan's memorials, but he also had concerns.But these things are not urgent matters at the moment, so he intends to train Zhu Biao, let Zhu Biao communicate with Zhang Yifan, think about what he thinks, and then report to him to see how Zhu Biao handles it!
At this time, with Zhu Biao in literature and Zhu Di in military affairs, we can save a lot of worry.It was the other sons who made him worry!

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang began to drive to Wuying Palace and go to deal with government affairs with the courtiers.

What he didn't expect was that Zhu Biao would come back in the afternoon.

Zhu Yuanzhang just finished processing a bunch of memorials and transferred them all back to the prime minister for processing.

So, he asked Zhu Biao: "What does the boy say? These troublesome things may have a great impact. Is he able to answer them, or is he unable to answer them, admitting that his experience is limited, and talking nonsense?"

After a pause, he looked at Zhu Biao and asked again: "What do you think, don't let him talk nonsense, are you dumbfounded by him?"

After Zhu Biao heard this, he shook his head and said with a strange look on his face: "He didn't talk nonsense, he just replied to Er Chen with one sentence!"

　Ask for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)