The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 123: The law is not good in the eyes of the people

"Chenghui, 360 five cents... Sir, would you like to use treasure notes or copper coins?" the shopkeeper said politely.

Zhu Xiongying took out a five-hundred-wen treasure note: "The original price of the treasure note, right?"

Seeing the treasure banknotes, the shopkeeper's smile became brighter and he said hurriedly:

"The original price, whatever the denomination is, we will calculate it accordingly."

Zhu Xiongying nodded with satisfaction and slapped the banknotes on the table: "Okay, give me the change."

The shopkeeper seemed to be afraid that he would regret it, so he put away the treasure notes as if snatching them away, and quickly took out a bunch of copper coins:
"I'll give you 130 five cents, please keep it..."

Also handed over was a small, packaged wooden box containing the golden hairpin.

Zhu Xiongying frowned and said, "With so many copper coins, don't you have a hundred coins?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said: "Oh, Haihan, we really don't have a hundred Wenbao notes here."

Zhu Xiongying said unhappily: "But just now I clearly saw that there were a lot of treasure notes in the drawer."

The shopkeeper's expression did not change: "Sir, you must have read it wrong. We really don't have any money here."

Zhu Xiongying shook his head, put away the copper coins and gold hairpins and left without saying anything else.

Chen Jingke and Xu Yungong followed closely behind.

Walking to a place with few people, Zhu Xiongying said happily:

"Have you seen it? Every store now accepts treasure banknotes, and the price is still the same. Grandpa Huang's new policy has taken effect."

Chen Jingke shook his head and said: "That's because the salt merchants are making aggressive purchases. If the salt merchants stop purchasing, the price of Baobao will immediately drop."

"If you want to use treasure money to shop, I'm afraid the shopkeeper will have a different face."

Xu Yungong also nodded and said: "In order to compete for the treasure banknotes, the salt merchants have raised the price to [-]% of the face value."

"He would resell the five hundred Wenbao note for 550 Wen."

"That's why you asked him for a hundred cash notes just now, so he pretended that he didn't have it."

Zhu Xiongying's excitement disappeared and he sighed: "Can't you two make me happy for a while?"

"Haha." Both of them laughed.

Chen Jingke consoled him: "However, the New Deal has indeed changed people's views on treasure banknotes to a certain extent."

"When new banknotes are issued, trust will be established more quickly."

Zhu Xiongying nodded, and then asked doubtfully: "Why not issue new banknotes now, when people trust banknotes the most, instead of waiting until three months later?"

Xu Yungong looked at him in confusion, and most people in the Financial Bureau were also confused about this matter.

Chen Jingke explained: "If new banknotes are issued now, will salt merchants be allowed to use the new banknotes to purchase salt?"

"If this is allowed, there will be no point in issuing new banknotes."

"If it is not allowed, salt merchants will only buy old banknotes and not new banknotes. How will the people view the new banknotes?"

After Zhu Xiongying thought for a moment, they immediately understood the reason.

Salt merchants even paid a premium for treasure banknotes. If new banknotes were allowed to be used to buy salt, the amount would not be enough for them.

There is no point in issuing new banknotes.

If it is not allowed, then the salt merchants will only accept old banknotes and not new ones. Comparing the two, the people will think that the new banknotes are not good.

Issuing it in advance will only be counterproductive.

After both of them figured it out, Chen Jingke continued:

"New banknotes will be issued in three months, just in time to collect summer taxes. People can pay taxes directly with new banknotes."

"As long as the court collects new banknotes from the people according to the face value, it can initially establish credibility."

"With the cooperation of the warehouse built by the imperial court, the new banknotes can be circulated normally..."

"Once people get used to using treasure banknotes, credibility will naturally be established."

Zhu Xiongying nodded: "I see, I understand."

Chen Jingke took the opportunity to start teaching: "The implementation of the New Deal is a very complicated matter, and all aspects need to be considered."

"If the considerations are not in place and the implementation is not legal, good governance will also lead to bad results." "This is what Wang Anshi's reform was, and his original intention was good."

"But many of his policies were too idealistic and were not implemented legally, which ultimately caused heavy losses to the people."

"The same is true for new banknotes. If they are issued three months earlier and three months later, they will have two completely different results."

Zhu Xiongying looked like he had learned a lesson.

Chen Jingke added: "What's more, treasure money is not a good idea for the people."

"Ah?" Zhu Xiongying and Xu Yungong both exclaimed.

This is a bit treasonous.

The key point is that Chen Jingke himself has advocated the promotion of Baobao, so why would he say such a thing now?
Chen Jingke smiled and said, "You can't understand, right?"

Zhu Xiongying and Xu Yungong nodded at the same time, which was so incomprehensible.

Chen Jingke sighed and said, "Does it have any impact on the people if we have treasure banknotes?"

"There are no treasure notes or copper coins. Besides, the people are already very poor and don't have much money to use on weekdays."

"It doesn't have much impact if we don't have money. The worst we can do is exchange food and cloth for items."

Zhu Xiongying retorted: "The imperial court does not allow grain and cloth to be used as coins."

Without Chen Jingke having to say anything, Xu Yungong explained aloud:

"In fact, the people have always bartered, and the court has no control at all."

Seeing that Zhu Xiongying couldn't understand, he thought for a while and said:

"If people grow food and sell it for money, the price will be lowered by the grain merchants, and they will lose part of it in vain."

"So whatever they need, they directly exchange it with food."

"If you need iron tools, go to the blacksmith shop to exchange them for grains."

"If you need cloth, trade it with your neighbor who can weave..."

"The imperial court can't send people to the countryside to keep an eye on them from house to house, right?"

At this point, he suddenly stopped, a flash of light flashed in his mind, and he immediately understood what Chen Jingke meant.

Zhu Xiongying scratched his head, not expecting this to be the case in the countryside.

At the same time, he also vaguely understood the reality that the imperial court did not have strong control over the people.

But he didn't think much about it at this moment, but asked:

"But who did the treasure money go to?"

Chen Jingke said: "It's for people in the city."

"Only people living in cities have a greater need for money."

"The imperial court's ban really restrains them."

"But there are policies from above and countermeasures from below, and they also have many ways to avoid them."

"Without treasure money, they still have other ways to deal with it."

"At worst, shoddy private money is used. This has been the case since ancient times."

“And with treasure banknotes, they also bear the risk of depreciation.”

"That's why I said that for the common people, treasure money is not necessarily a good law."

Zhu Xiongying was silent. He understood, but he was not happy in his heart.

"Since treasure banknotes are not a good law, why does the court still issue treasure banknotes?"

Chen Jingke said: "Because treasure banknotes are beneficial to the court..."

"If the court's policies are correct, they can also benefit the people, but they are not so direct."

"This is a big topic, and it will be difficult for me to explain it clearly to you for a while."

"I'll explain it to you slowly when I get back."

(End of this chapter)