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

Chapter 357 Minting New Coins

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

When Weining's request to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to mint new coins reached the ears of the senior officials of the three provinces and six ministries, it immediately aroused violent reactions.

At the Xiaochao meeting, Lu Chongguo, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, took the lead in objecting. Minting new coins is not a simple matter. The government's finances are not sufficient now, and the cost of minting new coins must be far greater than the value of the currency itself. .

The Ministry of Household Affairs is already short of money, and many of the country's major financial expenditures involve tightening the belt. If nothing else, the expenditure on the Jiangnan Water Conservancy Project alone is enough to drain the Ministry of Household Affairs.

The four major expenditures including education, water conservancy, military expenditures, and salaries are all stretched thin, and now new coins have to be minted.

If the country were richer, no one would object. The key is that the country is not rich now!

Not only did the Minister of Industry and Industry come out to object, but the Prime Minister Zhao Zhou also came out to object fiercely, hoping that Weining would stop the policy of minting new coins.

Only Sang Hongyang, the Minister of Household Affairs, did not speak or refute.

They don't know the huge difficulty of currency collapse that the country is facing now, but the Ministry of Revenue, the emperor, and the prince know nothing about it.

Nothing is more important than this.

The pressure Weining faced was not just the court itself. After the various counties learned that the crown prince proposed to mint new coins and withdraw their currency issuance rights, their rhetorical opposition became more intense.

"Your Highness, please think twice!" Zhao Zhou urged Wei Ning with his fists clasped.

"The cost of casting new coins is huge, and taking back the county's coinage rights goes against the ancestral system."

"Many of the country's major engineering projects have not yet been completed. The water conservancy projects in the south of the Yangtze River have not yet been fully constructed. The Yellow River is also under management, and each project is expensive."

"I know that Your Highness hopes to do something for the Han Dynasty, but everything needs to be done step by step and steadily. If the country is governed too hastily, the country will be in danger of collapse!"

Zhao Zhou thought that Weining was eager to make some political achievements and consolidate his position and reputation as crown prince.

Although Weining implemented many policies, such as education, imperial examinations, water conservancy, etc., none of these policy projects did not require large amounts of expenditure.

The national finances are already unable to make ends meet. If new coins are minted now, it will only make the Han Dynasty's finances even worse.

If the counties and counties continue to feel resentful and ignore the affairs of the counties and countries, it will be the common people who end up footing the bill.

The chiefs of the three provinces and six ministries were all looking at Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, hoping that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty would take back his life.

They all knew that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty favored Wei Ning to the point of perversion. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty unconditionally supported all policies initiated and implemented by Weining.

But governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. If the heat is too high, the food will change its taste and no one will have anything to eat.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty glanced at Wei Ning and motioned for you to tell them yourself.

Wei Ning thought for a moment, then walked to the stage and said to Zhao Zhou: "You issue an order to the three provinces to take back the coinage rights of the county."

"Gu Gu personally presided over the minting of new coins by the Ministry of Industry. This matter does not need to be discussed again!"

After hearing Weining Qiangang's arbitrary words, the hearts of all the ministers became cold.

I thought that Weining's temperament would be a little softer than that of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he would listen to his opinions, but who knew that father and son were cut from the same mold, both were so strong, and could not listen to any opinions at all! It's not that Weining can't listen to his opinions. If the minting of new coins is not promoted, once the market economy and currency credit collapse, the court will face more serious economic problems at that time.

Yes, of course Weining knows that the Ministry of Finance is difficult now, but he cannot stop doing things just because it is difficult, and minting money is still an important matter.

In the short term, it will put the court under huge economic pressure, but in the long term, Weining's decision is correct.

It's just that they don't understand Weining, but Weining doesn't need their understanding.

Wei Ning continued: "As for the prefectures and states having second thoughts, then ask the Yushitai to send supervisory censors to inspect various places. If it is found that the governance of the prefectures and states is not effective, then take advantage of this opportunity to take back their power to govern the country!"

Weining has long wanted to change the system of prefectures and states. There are several countries under one country. Is this nice to say?

Moreover, these county princes still have independent governance rights. Doesn't this mean that the central power is completely divided into pieces?

Although the order of favor has been issued, it will not be effective in the short term, and even in the future, the kings will still have independent military power and political power, which will still be a huge threat to the central government. If the kings of the county have different intentions this time, then Take their power back!

Now that the Han Dynasty has a strong national defense, the local princes are like meat on the chopping block. They only dare to make small moves at most. No prince will dare to rebel now.

If they don't do their best to govern the people, Weining will just have an excuse to take back their power, and the province will have to find other excuses.

It is only a matter of time before they take back their power. If they can take it back with the opportunity this time, why not do it?

After a moment of silence, Weining spoke again: "The Ministry of Revenue is facing a financial shortage. At the end of this year, officials across the country will receive part of their salary first, and the rest will be owed. The country will pay it when it has money. Please understand the country's difficulties."

Zhao Zhou cupped his fists and said, "But we shouldn't have this difficulty."

Before Wei Ning could speak, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said in a deep voice: "When I gave you money, you took care of the country one by one. If I give you less money, you won't be happy. How much have you been greedy in office? Do you think I can't do it?" Know?"

"You are all upright officials, you have the breeze on your sleeves, and you don't take a needle or a thread, right? Huh?"

Zhao Zhou: "..."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty continued: "Did he say he won't give you any money? Isn't it okay for the country to owe you some money when the country is in trouble?"

Zhao Zhou hurriedly said: "This...I don't dare. I don't mean that. I just think it is completely unnecessary to mint new coins."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sneered: "It's not necessary? You are the chief official. If you stay in the yamen for a long time, go out and see if it is necessary or not!"

"In accordance with the order of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince will lead the Ministry of Industry to produce new coins as soon as possible for me to see. If possible, mint new coins as soon as possible!"

All the officials had to clasp their fists and say: "I obey the order."

After he retired from the court, Zhao Zhou was still full of doubts. He took the initiative to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to find Sang Hongyang for advice.

He really didn't understand what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty meant by his last words, and why he said that minting new coins was forced by the situation and was a necessary move.

When Sang Hongyang revealed that the private currency system outside the capital was on the verge of collapse, and that prefectures and merchants secretly cut Qin banliang and then privately produced currency, Zhao Zhoucai was shocked.

As the chief official, he didn't know about these things, and he still contradicted the crown prince in the court, thinking that it was a great achievement for him to mint new coins.

Just thinking about it, Zhao Zhou felt ashamed. He really didn't know that private currency had developed to this extent!

Sang Hongyang reminded Zhao Zhou not to spread these things randomly to prevent them from spreading to the people and causing unnecessary panic.

(End of this chapter)