The Great Han Dynasty: From Feng Lang Juxu to the Eternal Emperor

Chapter 356 Currency Collapse

Early the next morning, Wei Ning went to Weiyang Palace and heard Emperor Wu of Han reprimanding him in the palace.

The Minister of the Ministry of Finance was scolded.

Sang Hongyang stood in the main hall fearfully, not daring to breathe, and allowed Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to scold him.

"I gave you a month, and you earned me 300,000 yuan."

"I asked for three million yuan, but you reduced it ten times for me. Where is the money? Was it eaten by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Affairs?"

"What can three hundred thousand dollars be enough for? Ba Shang will have another earth dragon comeback. Not only is this money not enough, I have to put it in from the central government!"

"What do you cook for your household? If you can do it, do it. If you can't do it, just go back to your hometown and retire!"

Sang Hongyang felt bitter, but he did not dare to disobey Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, let alone follow Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. If he really wanted to resign, he would be challenging the emperor's authority!

Warriors who have dared to do such things since ancient times have not ended well in the end, not to mention that Sang Hongyang is facing the arbitrary Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty!

It was extremely difficult to earn three million in one month. The three hundred thousand was the commercial tax that the Ministry of Household Affairs asked private businessmen for.

If the other party is forced into a hurry, once the economy collapses, the court will not be able to get any money.

Moreover, the problems faced by private businesses are still very complex, and the Ministry of Household Affairs is currently in a state of distress.

Sang Hongyang did not dare to refute, and could only stand in the hall with a look of fear, listening to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's reprimand.

It wasn't until Wei Ning walked in that the atmosphere in the hall relaxed a little.

Weining poured a pot of tea for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and asked him to drink the tea first.

Sang Hongyang breathed a long sigh of relief. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had been getting more and more irritable recently, and only with the prince's arrival could these ministers feel better.

"Father, you are tired of scolding me. Let me scold you too."

Sang Hongyang: "..."

You father and son don't play like this, right?

Wei Ning said to Sang Hongyang with a straight face: "The imperial court allows you to be a high-ranking official and have a generous salary. If you eat the emperor's salary, you will share your worries!"

"Is it difficult to make three million dollars a month? Can't you charge more taxes on those businessmen? At most, the business order will collapse, so what? As long as you can make money for your father, why don't you care whether they live or die?"

"And those farmers, have the taxes been collected? If not, just add a 10% tax and collect more!"

"You, the household department, can't do this well?"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty still sounded like that at first, but the more he listened, the more unreliable he was. He glanced at Wei Ning and said angrily: "It's done! Don't sing along with him!"

"It's difficult, don't I know it's difficult for the Ministry of Household Affairs? Isn't it difficult for me? In such a big country, the Ministry of Household Affairs has no money in the treasury. Anything that happens in the second half of the year will be a disaster for the country!"

Wei Ning smiled and said, "I know."

"But you can't do anything too hastily. Being too hasty will lead to mistakes. Managing a big country is like cooking a small delicacy. Everything must be done step by step. You can't eat a fat man in one bite."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty smacked his mouth, but did not speak again, and just drank tea by himself.

Seeing that Emperor Wu of Han's temper was suppressed by Wei Ning, Sang Hongyang wiped the cold sweat from his head and glanced at Wei Ning gratefully.

Wei Ning asked Sang Hongyang with a serious look, "What's going on? It's impossible for the Han Dynasty to only have this little commercial tax revenue in a month."

Sang Hongyang cupped his fists and said, "Back to Your Highness, many profit-making industries such as wine, salt and iron are controlled by the imperial court."

"It is more difficult to collect taxes on private businesses, and there are still the most serious problems..."

Wei Ning said: "What?"

Sang Hongyang was silent for a moment, and then said worriedly: "Baliangqian is facing collapse. The currency credit of the court is getting weaker and weaker. There are more and more thieves who privately mint money. They have repeatedly banned it and taken risks, causing the currency to begin to overflow." The currency currently used by the Han Dynasty is still the Qin Banliang, which continued the Qin Dynasty. Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Empress Lu took charge of the government and has been organizing the currency reform system.

But with little success.

By the third year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the problem of privately minting money in various counties and counties became more and more serious.

Qin banliang coins have round holes and square holes. Some speculators cut the Qin banliang coins in half with scissors, and then used the two halves of bronze to continue making half liang coins to make huge profits.

As a result, the current economic order of the Han Dynasty has become increasingly collapsed, and the currency has begun to become unbalanced. A large amount of low-quality money has entered the market, causing inflation to become more and more severe.

It is normal for the Ministry of Accounts to be unable to collect any money.

When Sang Hongyang informed Weining of these problems, he cupped his fists and said, "Your Highness, we should also mint new coins to maintain market order, otherwise finance and taxation will be more troublesome in the future."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had been listening carefully to Sang Hongyang's words, but he did not expect that the currency of the Han Dynasty had collapsed to such an extent.

The monetary and economic order in Chang'an is relatively stable, but the situation is different in the local areas. It is worth mentioning that in the Han Dynasty, not only the central government had the right to mint currency, but also the prefectures and states were qualified to mint currency.

This will lead to coinage competition among various counties and private speculators. They do not understand the laws of economics, and a large number of half-liang coins will flood into the market. Eventually, Qin Banliang's currency and credit will soon collapse, and the market economy will be in chaos.

Most of the 300,000 yuan collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs was collected from Gyeonggi Province, and commercial taxes were basically not collected from other places.

When Wei Ning heard Sang Hongyang's analysis, he was shocked.

He envisioned many commercially rich countries, but never discovered any problems at the source.

Chang'an's economic order was normal, but he didn't know the location.

After Sang Hongyang said this, Wei Ning suddenly discovered that the coin market of the Han Dynasty had reached the point where it could not be cured without removing the bones!

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said earnestly: "It is indeed time to mint new coins."

Wei Ning interrupted Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and said: "Father, it is urgent to mint new coins, but if the fundamental problem is not solved before then, even if the new coins are minted, it will not help."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked in confusion: "What's the problem?"

Sang Hongyang also looked at Weining suspiciously.

Wei Ning said: "Take back the right to mint coins! The county is no longer qualified to mint coins!"

It was really difficult for him to understand the reason why the Han Dynasty allowed local governments to have the right to mint currency. Such an important matter could only be handled by the central government, which had the right to mint currency.

If the local government participates in coinage, these things will inevitably happen again. Even if new coins are minted, the credibility of the currency cannot be restored. So what is the meaning of the new coins minted? It's better to just use Qin Banliang.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty frowned slightly. This was an ancestral system. When Liu Bang aspired to become the world leader, he gave many preferential treatment to the kings and counties and used them to maintain the local rule of the central dynasty. If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abolished the coinage rights of the counties and counties, it would probably cause dissatisfaction among the counties and counties.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty could consider these issues, and so could Sang Hongyang, but they didn't tell Weining.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stared at Sang Hongyang and said, "Did you hear that? Go to the political affairs hall and tell the three provinces to issue decrees to the prefectures and take back their coinage rights!"

"Let the Ministry of War monitor the counties and states for me at any time. Anyone who is dissatisfied will be killed without mercy!"

Kill the chicken and the monkey!

As for the ancestral system, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't care. He was already notorious, and he didn't care about one more infamy for betraying his ancestors!

(End of this chapter)