If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 26 Plan to make an appointment?

"Yes, it is indeed inappropriate to look at this policy alone." Zhu Zhanquan did not refute what Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji said, but nodded affirmatively: "Official officials are as slippery as oil, officials are as evil as ghosts, and local governments rely on rural gentry and clans. To govern the local area, if the imperial court simply asks the government to come forward to collect grain, it will inevitably happen that substandard goods are passed off as good goods, buy low and sell high, or even collusion between officials and businessmen to profit from it and exploit the people."

Hearing what Zhu Zhanqun said, Xia Yuanji couldn't help but nodded, and said to Zhu Gaochi on the side: "His Royal Highness the Second Emperor is so understanding of the people's sentiments, and not just acting out of emotion. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, you have a good way of teaching your son!"

Xia Yuanji's praise was sincere. It was very difficult for Zhu Zhanchun to see these problems in Xia Yuanji's opinion.

After all, it is not easy for a teenage boy who has grown up in a palace since childhood to be able to explain all these problems clearly, let alone analyze and list all the impacts of these problems and come up with solutions. There's a solution.

But while Xia Yuanji was praising him, he still asked Zhu Zhanqun with a mentality of taking a test: "Has His Highness the Second Emperor Sun noticed other problems?"

Xia Yuanji was in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he naturally understood the shortcomings of this policy as soon as he heard it. Seeing that Zhu Zhanchun was able to talk about this issue in detail at such a young age, he hoped that he could answer it, and that the country would have a The royal family, who was well versed in government affairs, was also worried that he did not know the real disadvantages, so he tried to enlighten him.

However, Zhu Zhanchun did not let Xia Yuanji prompt him. Instead, he nodded affirmatively and asked a question that both Xia Yuanji and Zhu Gaochi had just thought of: "There are indeed other disadvantages, and that is the price of food itself."

Xia Yuanji and Zhu Gaochi both showed surprised expressions when they heard Zhu Zhanqun talking about food prices.

Zhu Gaochi knew that his son had an incredible adventure after sleeping for eight years, but Xia Yuanji didn't know much about it, so his surprise at Zhu Zhanchun was more of a wonder that "there are such talents in the world."

After all, Zhu Zhanchun was only a teenager, and it was rumored that he slept for eight years. Such a person would seem stupid or childlike to ordinary people.

Zhu Zhanjun did not pay attention to Xia Yuanji's surprise and continued: "The price of grain is not a stable number. It will change with different years of famine and good years, and it will also appear due to the process of spring planting and autumn harvest. Floating, if food prices are used as the basis for treasure banknotes, there will indeed be many disadvantages.

Especially when a certain place is hit by a disaster and the harvest this year is not good, if the local officials conceal the disaster and falsely report the disaster, and the court does not know the truth but still collects taxes according to the situation in previous years, it will cause a huge burden to the people and may even cause Famine produces refugees or civil unrest. "

Zhu Zhanjuan spoke in a leisurely manner. Although what he said were all problems, both Xia Yuanji and Zhu Gaochi understood that it would be very convenient and beneficial to allow the court to use treasure money to purchase grain and allow people to use treasure money to pay taxes. .

Just looking at this policy alone will have many disadvantages. If you want this policy to be truly implemented, other policies must be coordinated.

It is not difficult for Zhu Gaochi and Xia Yuanji, two experts in internal affairs, to come up with supporting policies to solve the shortcomings of "replacing cash with food". However, at this moment, both of them were thinking of taking the exam for Zhu Zhancheng, so they did not express their opinions. In his own opinion, Xia Yuanji asked Zhu Zhankun: "In that case, why do you still tell me, His Highness the Second Emperor, that this method can solve the dilemma of treasure money?" "Because this is the way to do it. The advantage is that the common people recognize the treasure banknotes. They know that the treasure banknotes can be used to pay taxes, so they will be willing to accept and use the treasure banknotes instead of treating them as waste paper." Faced with Xia Yuanji's inquiry about his intention to take the exam, Zhu Zhanqi He answered slowly and explained at the same time: "The biggest reason for the depreciation of treasure banknotes is that the treasure banknotes issued by our country since the founding of the People's Republic of China do not have a clear value anchor. All treasure banknotes only have the value specified by the court, and there is no clear value for the banknotes." It can't actually be equivalent to that much money.

Especially since the imperial court itself does not recognize the value of this thing, the common people will not recognize it, and if the common people do not recognize this thing, isn't it just a piece of waste paper?

When the treasure banknotes can be used to pay taxes, it is equivalent to the court recognizing that this thing is money, and it can offset the taxes that should have been paid. In this way, the treasure banknotes have a basic value in the hearts of the people, at least How much tax can it equate to.

And this also provides a bottom line for the treasure banknotes. No matter how much the value of the treasure banknotes falls, it will not fall below this bottom line. However, to stabilize the value of the treasure banknotes, silver is still needed, and a large amount of silver is required to ensure that the treasure banknotes will continue to rise. Banknotes can be exchanged for silver of equivalent value, which is the key to stabilizing banknotes. "

"This minister also knows, but our Ming Dynasty..." Xia Yuanji said this with a bitter smile on his face: "The Ming Dynasty is short of silver! The Ministry of Household Affairs can have 300 million taels of silver a year, which can be put into the national treasury. The Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs It was time to burn high incense. This amount of money was simply not enough to spend, and the court could not spare the money so that the treasure notes could be exchanged for silver. Otherwise, Emperor Hongwu would not have banned the private trade of gold, silver, and copper. Treasure notes have been issued.”

Xia Yuanji is right or not. The Ming Dynasty was indeed short of silver at this time. It can even be said that China was in a state of silver shortage during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was not until the middle and late Qing Dynasty that the problem of silver shortage was caused by hundreds of years of Time has absorbed at least [-] million taels of silver from around the world and improved.

However, there was an overall shortage of silver, but if the Ming court wanted to get millions or tens of millions of taels of silver, it was not impossible.

Because at this time, the entire Ming Dynasty was strong and the country was wealthy. During the Yongle era, the taxes that the court could collect were converted into tens of millions of taels of silver, but there was just not so much physical silver. .

And this is also the reason why the treasure banknotes issued by the imperial court can still be used. After all, the imperial court still has money at this time. Although the treasure banknotes issued will soon depreciate to less than a piece of paper, the new banknotes still have some value. of.

It was only with the migration of the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty to the north and the loss of control over the southern fiscal and taxation areas, coupled with the various drawbacks caused by the vassals and gentry, that the national finances in the middle and late Ming Dynasty deteriorated year by year. , it was not until Zhang Juzheng's reforms that this dilemma was reversed, allowing the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue to exceed 1000 million taels.

But at that time, what Zhang Juzheng received was real silver.

However, it is still the Yongle period. Without continuous absorption of large amounts of silver from Japan and Europe for hundreds of years in the future, it will be difficult for the court to obtain a large amount of silver at once.

"So the plan is out?" Xia Yuanji looked at Zhu Zhanchun and felt that the second emperor's grandson must have a way to get money.

(End of this chapter)