The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Liu Sheng asked the Secret Mining Bureau to study a coin-minting machine powered by a steam engine based on the information he provided, in order to improve the official coin-minting capabilities.

After the inspection and understanding of some related issues of the coin minting machine, Liu Sheng expressed satisfaction.

The production capacity of this coin minting machine of the Secret Mining Bureau is more than ten times that of the minting equipment used in the previous Ming Dynasty!
The only thing that limits its production capacity is raw materials.

"Since there is no problem with the machine, it should be handed over to the Ministry of Finance and Mint as soon as possible."

"Yes." The promotion officer responded respectfully.

The Secret Mining Bureau is the organization responsible for developing various machines and even weapons according to Liu Sheng's instructions, while the Mint is the organization responsible for casting coins in Da'ei.

Liu Sheng added, "In addition, you ask the craftsmen who are studying the coin-minting machines to prepare. In a few days, I will have people send you some information about printing silver notes and treasure banknotes."

"When the time comes, you can develop a machine for printing banknotes according to my requirements."

After hearing these words, the Tiju officer couldn't help but twitch his right eyelid.

He never expected that Liu Sheng was going to print treasure banknotes.

In the past Ming Dynasty, treasure money was issued excessively and was eventually reduced to worthless, but the lesson is not far away.

If Damei also prints and issues treasure banknotes, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the officials and the people to accept it.

He could hardly resist the urge to remonstrate.

Then he thought that Liu Sheng was quite taboo about officials dictating matters that were unexpected due to their duties.

In addition, he felt that the ministers in the court should also know about the disaster of Bao Chao. If they learned about it, they would definitely advise Liu Sheng.

So, he swallowed the words that came to his mouth and just said "yes".

in the afternoon.

Liu Sheng summoned several military ministers and officials above the rank of Langzhong of the Ministry of Finance to the Wenhua Hall for a meeting.

"Gentlemen, please see, this is the coin minted by the steam-powered minting machine developed by the Bureau of Secret Mining."

At Liu Sheng's signal.

Several eunuchs came to the palace carrying trays.

Show Li Changwen and other ministers several coins that Liu Sheng brought back from the Secret Making Bureau.

This look.

Some officials couldn't help but admire in a low voice:
“It’s so exquisite.”

"Let's not talk about gold coins and silver coins. Although this copper coin is simple in design, it is also exquisite. It is really rare."

"However, it is not a good thing that copper coins are made so well."

This was a small meeting, not many ministers came, and it was all finished quickly.

Immediately, Ni Sihui, the left minister of the Ministry of Finance, gave his advice.

"Your Majesty, there has always been a phenomenon of bad coins driving out good coins in the coin industry. The Song and Ming dynasties have learned from this."

"This copper coin is too delicately minted, not to mention the high cost and reduction of the profits the court can make from it."

"Even if it is released to the public, I am afraid it will be collected by others and decrease rapidly."

"There will even be people who are greedy for profit and will collect new money and melt it to mint low-quality private coins and make huge profits."

Ni Sihui stopped here.

He felt that the truth was explained very clearly, and Liu Sheng should be able to understand it.

Liu Sheng said: "I have long known the phenomenon that Ni Qing mentioned that bad coins drive out good coins. But does it mean that just because of this phenomenon, the imperial court has to make low-quality coins?"

"In the late Ming Dynasty, the government and the private sector competed to mint bad coins. As a result, bad coins became popular on the market."

"Not only did the people suffer a loss, but in the end, the credibility of the copper coins collapsed and almost no one used them."

Ni Sihui said: "Your Majesty clearly knows that I am not suggesting that the court mint bad coins, but I feel that there should be a balance between good and bad coins."

Liu Sheng smiled and asked, "Does Ni Qing know why bad money drives out good money?"

Ni Sihui was already a capable minister in Qianming, otherwise he would not have been appointed by Liu Sheng.

Having been in Lei for more than two years, he knew that Liu Sheng attached great importance to the "professional ability" of officials.

Therefore, after serving as the left minister of the Ministry of Finance, he worked hard to understand financial affairs.

Currency is an important matter of finance. Although he does not understand it deeply, he has done some research and will not be unable to answer the question.

Hearing this, he said: "The actual value of bad coins is low, while the actual value of good coins is high."

“Therefore, if people get good coins, they will hide them; if they get bad coins, they will use them as soon as possible.”

"As time goes by, there will be fewer and fewer good coins on the market, and the market will be filled with bad coins!"

There is some truth to what Ni Sihui said.

Liu Sheng nodded first, expecting him to say more.

As a result, Ni Sihui stopped talking here.

This made Liu Sheng look disappointed.

"Have Ni Qing ever thought about why bad coins appear?"

Ni Sihui replied: "Of course there are people who are obsessed with profit - it is difficult for this generation to stop it, so it is difficult to stop bad coins."

"Therefore, if you use good money, you will be driven away by bad money. Please think twice, Your Majesty!"

Ni Sihui spoke sincerely.

Liu Sheng was unmoved.

He said: "As far as I know, although there were unscrupulous folk minting bad coins in the early Ming Dynasty, they were not on a large scale due to the severe crackdowns by local governments, and it was even more difficult to drive away good coins."

"It was only later that the former Ming government took the lead in casting copper coins with worse quality in order to gain profits."

"At the end of Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen years, there was a strange phenomenon that the quality of copper coins minted by the government was worse than private coins."

"As for the local government's efforts to crack down on private coins, it has been reduced again and again due to various reasons until there is nothing they can do about private coins."

"In this case, wouldn't bad coins and private coins become popular?"

Ni Sihui was stunned for a moment when he heard this. He didn't expect that Liu Sheng knew more about the past minting of coins in the former Ming Dynasty than he did.

Other officials were also surprised.

Liu Sheng continued: "In addition, there was a money shortage in both the Song and Yuan Dynasties and the early and mid-Ming dynasties."

"Even if there is a lack of enough copper coins, this is why private coins are given the opportunity to enter the market."

"That's why I asked the Secret Mining Bureau to develop a steam coin minting machine - its production capacity is more than ten times that of the previous Ming Dynasty, and the minted coins are extremely difficult for the private sector to imitate."

"It is even more obviously different from the private coins and bad coins of the previous Ming Dynasty, and it is easy to distinguish them."

"In addition, although this copper coin looks exquisite and has a rich copper color, the actual copper material used is only 60%."

"The imperial court used steam coinage to mint large quantities of coins. The cost was very low and the profits were high. It was not afraid of competing with private coins."

"As the left minister of the Ministry of Finance, Ni Qing rushed to deny the new money without fully understanding these things. Isn't it a bit arbitrary?"

Ni Sihui's face turned red with embarrassment. He couldn't help but knelt down in the middle of the hall and said, "I have neglected my duty. Please plead guilty to your Majesty."

"Get up, I don't like to kneel down." Liu Sheng slowed down his tone, "Ni Qing is not in charge of the affairs of the Currency Department in the Ministry of Finance, so it is not a dereliction of duty if he has a poor understanding. However, in the future, don't do it before you understand the facts clearly. It’s finalized.”

"Please keep this in mind."

But Ni Sihui is very stubborn, or in other words, he really cares about Damei.

After being "forgiven" by Liu Sheng, he raised another question.

"Your Majesty, there is no problem with new money, but now the market is full of bad money. We must find a way to solve it so that new money can circulate smoothly."

Liu Sheng said, "I have convened a meeting with you all today to discuss a solution."

"We must pave the way for the issuance of new money and not allow it to go too far and hurt the people or even cause civil unrest."

"Can you tell me what you think of this?"

The ministers thought for a while.

Military Minister Li Banghua was the first to say: "I believe that first of all, we should not directly ban former Ming officials from smuggling copper coins."

"It's okay to say that big families store more gold and silver, but small people mostly have copper coins."

"If our government directly bans copper coins, I am afraid that many ordinary people will be impoverished overnight. In this case, civil strife will inevitably occur." Liu Sheng and other ministers nodded in agreement.

Ni Sihui said: "The imperial court may be able to recycle the former private copper coins at a certain price within a time limit. After the expiration date, the use of new coins will be prohibited."

"At the beginning, we may adopt a policy of strict arrest and light punishment - ordering officials in various localities to strictly arrest people who use old money, but after being caught, they will only be fined and light hard labor."

"Those who privately mint copper coins should be severely punished. Once discovered, they will be arrested immediately and may be exiled or executed according to law."

"Let the local governments publicize and explain the relevant policies and laws of the imperial court so that the people know them. If we persist for a few years, we may be able to replace the old money with new money."

As the left minister of the Ministry of Finance, Ni Sihui has some real qualities.

These suggestions made Liu Sheng nod his head and praised: "This is a good idea. We can discuss it in detail later."

after that.

Li Changwen also made suggestions.

"I believe that since the imperial court issues silver coins, it should also gradually ban private silver transactions."

"The amount of silver in my dynasty exceeded that of the previous Ming Dynasty, and silver coins and copper coins were circulated at the same time. The use of silver coins was gradually banned, which was also conducive to the circulation of copper coins."

The reason is obvious.

Because the reputation of copper coins collapsed in the late Ming Dynasty, people mostly used silver instead of money.

Therefore, even if we ignore the fact that Da'ei minted silver coins, in order to circulate new copper coins, we should suppress the phenomenon of directly using silver as currency.

Then, the ministers put forward some opinions on how to suppress the use of silver.

For example, if the government collects taxes and pays them in silver, many will have to pay an extra "minting fee."

Folks find that silver is used as a substitute for currency transactions, and there are rewards for reporting, and fines are imposed on both parties to the transaction, etc.

The meeting at the Da'ei court to pave the way for the new money lasted for three consecutive days before it was over.

Subsequently, the relevant ministries and departments started preparations for the issuance of new money.

For a time, the officials in these ministries and departments were busier than usual...

······
Nanjing.

Southern suburbs.

In a seemingly ordinary manor.

Three gentlemen-looking men were sipping tea.

It looks elegant, but what it talks about is something that smells like copper.

The middle-aged man with a mole on his face said: "I got the news that the imperial court is going to issue new money."

The fat man with a sinister look next to him said nonchalantly: "It's okay to pay for it. How can the new dynasty not give out new money? It's been three years now, and the court is only planning to do this. It's already too late."

The middle-aged man on the other side, who was lean and looked like a scholar, frowned and said, "Isn't it that simple?"

"That's right." The middle-aged man nodded, "According to the information I received, the imperial court has decided to severely crack down on private coins until the official and private copper coins of the former Ming Dynasty were finally banned."

"In the future, even silver will be banned?"

The fat man was stunned for a moment, and then he couldn't help but said: "Isn't the imperial court crazy when they ban silver?"

The middle-aged man said: "The imperial court is issuing new coins this time, not only copper coins, but also silver coins, similar to Western Yi silver coins."

The lean middle-aged man suddenly said, "That's no wonder - it's just like the imperial court issuing copper coins and cracking down on copper utensils used by the people. Since the new dynasty has decided to mint official silver coins, it is natural to crack down on silver."

Then the words changed.

"But the silver coin issue has nothing to do with us for the time being. However, the imperial court wants to ban copper coins from the previous dynasty, and our business will be over."

The fat man finally understood the seriousness of the matter and couldn't help but frown.

It turns out that the three people's families all regard minting private coins as their main business.

If this business fails, the annual income may be greatly reduced.

Although they are all quite large landowners and have some other businesses. Even if they give up the private currency business, they can still afford delicacies and raise upright officials, but they will not be as wealthy as they are now.

The lean middle-aged man pondered for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "We can't sit still and wait for death!"

The other two people looked over in surprise, with expectations in their eyes.

The lean middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I heard from an old man in the minting industry that during the Wanli period, the imperial court also wanted to crack down on private coins, but nothing happened."

"Oh?"

After hearing this, both of them became excited and looked forward to it even more.

Because in their understanding, the prestige of the Ming court and government during the Wanli Year was still very high, and it was definitely not something that local powerful men and country gentry like them could contend with.

Nowadays, the Da'ei imperial court has only been established for two or three years, and its control over local areas may not be as strong as it was then.

Since something similar happened during the Wanli period, but the result was that the imperial court was defeated, they may not be unable to learn from the experience and wisdom of their predecessors.

"It is said that it happened in the thirty-ninth year of Wanli." The lean middle-aged man recounted what he knew.

"At that time, Wang Wanzuo, the censor of Jiangnan, reported to the court that official money in the Nanjing market was getting less and less, and private money was abundant."

"The imperial court ordered Si, the chief envoy of Southern Zhili, to mint official money to crack down on private money."

"As a result, before this matter was even carried out, under the planning of the seniors, rumors spread that the imperial court would completely ban copper coins."

"For a moment, the ordinary people in the city and the mud-legged people outside the city were panicked."

"The seniors secretly arranged for people to guide them, and these people gathered together to demonstrate in front of the Chief Envoy's Yamen and other government offices, and even attacked the government offices."

"Although the Ming government tried their best to control the situation and officials gave explanations, in the end a small-scale civil uprising was brewed."

"Afterwards, not only did the crackdown on private coins go away, but even the censor who reported the matter, as well as the then chief envoy and other officials were punished."

"Since then, no one in the Ming Dynasty has dared to speak out about cracking down on private coins!"

After listening to it, the middle-aged man and the fat man felt as if they had read a story with a strong sense of empathy.

The fat man couldn't help but clapped his hands and said: "How happy! The seniors are really amazing. They can make a high-ranking official like the Chief Envoy feel defeated and make the court stop. They are really role models for our generation!"

"Hahaha," the lean middle-aged man also laughed and said, "So, I think we can definitely learn from the experience of our predecessors."

"Of course, Damei is not Ming Dynasty. If we want to hinder this matter, we still need to plan the details."

The middle-aged man said, "Brother Wang, it's not easy to accomplish this with just the three of us. It's best to bring in more people."

"Not to mention other places, in Yingtian Mansion alone, we know of more than a dozen colleagues."

The lean middle-aged man nodded, "It is necessary to bring in people, but you can't bring in all the cats and dogs. You must have a certain level of strength and trustworthiness in order to conspire in this major matter."

As he said that, he looked at the middle-aged man again and said, "Brother Yang, I will give a big gift to your friends in the Yamen later. If there is any important news, be sure to inform us in time."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "This matter will be taken care of by me."

······
A few days later.

Outer city, Pingkangfang.

Although the name of this place has an ancient meaning from the Han and Tang Dynasties, the actual residents are ordinary people.

That evening, Hu Dazhuang came back from the dock. When he walked to the alley, he heard several familiar neighbors talking.

"Have you heard that the court is going to issue new money?"

"Just send it, what does it have to do with us?"

"Why doesn't it matter - we are all using copper coins from the former Ming Dynasty, but now we are the Da'ei imperial court. If new money is issued, can we still be allowed to use the money from the former Ming Dynasty?"

"Why don't you allow it? The copper coins in our hands are not fake."

"Isn't it fake? Do you dare to say how much of your family's money is official money? Besides, even if it is official money from the Qing Dynasty, it is bad money."

"I heard that all the money to be issued by the new dynasty is good money. In order to prevent us from collecting good money but not using it, we prohibit the use of old money."

"Ah? What should I do? I have seven or eight taels of copper coins at home! If the government refuses to recognize this, won't our family lose seven or eight taels of silver?!"

"Hey, your family only has seven or eight guans, but mine has more than ten. You didn't see it, but I'm getting angry."

Hearing this, Hu Dazhuang suddenly became anxious as he thought that his family had saved more than 20 copper coins for him to marry a wife.

He hurriedly came over and asked: "Second Uncle Li, Brother Wang, are what you said true?" (End of Chapter)