Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 849
When Ye Chen said these words, he used several nouns from later generations, such as currency, links, equivalents, valued goods, and so on.Although the ministers sound weird, but the meaning is also simple and clear.

"Everyone knows that money is not round and square holes. During Zhou Dynasty, all countries minted coins, Qi minted sword coins, Chu minted ant noses, and Qin was half Liang, with different shapes. And as a currency, it is not only Bronze and iron coins, grain, silk, gold and silver can all be used. As far as I know, silk and silk in the Song Dynasty are still a currency that is no less popular than coins. It is expensive and light, and there are many merchants. Call it light cargo."

What Ye Chen said is true, and the examples he gave can be seen everywhere. Everyone has more or less seen or heard of the market in the countryside, and some even use eggs to weigh goods.It is very common to have three eggs in a comb and five eggs in a hairpin.

"Whether it is money or silk, why can it be used, because these goods have value in themselves, and they have been recognized by people, that is, people believe that the goods in hand are valuable. So the value of goods is The essence is faith. But the most common measure is money."

"If I remember correctly, the earliest money was shells. The reason for this is not that shells are valuable, but because they were very rare in ancient times. In ancient times, turtles were treasured and shells were used as coins. This is also the case in some ancient times. The reason why a lot of shells are sometimes unearthed in the tombs. It’s just that as the people of the coastal area collected a large number of shells with the help of geographical advantages, as more and more shells were collected, no one used them naturally. Then gold appeared. However, The earliest gold was the gold of hardware, gold, silver, copper, iron and tin. It is difficult to mine and cast, and it will not be cheap because of the abundance. Therefore, the use of copper coins has continued from Zhou Dynasty to today."

"However, since the Han Dynasty, whenever there is chaos, there will be a phenomenon that copper is expensive and money is cheap. The reason for this is that there are lawless people who melt money to take copper to cast bronze wares, cast copper coins privately, or the court In order to raise military funds, the wanton minting and issuance of currency led to soaring supplies. This incident just proved that the copper coin itself has nothing to do with the actual value, but only with credit. Otherwise, the price of the coin should not be lower than the same amount of copper. The imperial court minted coins , there is an obligation to maintain the credit of the currency.

"If there are rumors that the imperial court intends to abolish copper coins, even if this is false, as long as the rumor spreads, the price of goods in the market will inevitably rise, and no one will accept copper coins. But if the imperial court announces that it will never With the abolition of copper coins, copper coins will naturally resume normal use, and this process is actually equivalent to the restoration of the credit of copper coins by the imperial court."

When Ye Chen said this, he had all the arguments, arguments, and arguments, and the evidence came from the scenes around him everywhere. Even if Ye Chen's authority was removed, he couldn't help but convince all the officials.Because Ye Chen has explained the truth very clearly, and everyone has gradually understood the truth or the essence of money.

Han Xizai said with emotion: "What Your Majesty said, let the minister wait for enlightenment, it can be said that money is faith. The debate between righteousness and benefit can be stopped at this point."

Jia Xian sighed: "This time I completely understand that people cannot stand without trust, and a country cannot survive without trust. If the imperial court wantonly casts money to solve the financial crisis this time, it seems to have solved the urgent need. In fact, it will damage all The interests of the common people will invisibly shrink the assets and wealth of the common people, and what will be lost in this way is the credit of the imperial court. If this happens frequently and the credit is exhausted, how can the country survive?"

Everyone spoke one after another, and while flattering Ye Chen, their words of emotion were also very reasonable.While Ye Chen was enjoying the flattery of his ministers, he was also relieved that what he just said was not in vain.But immediately after Li Junhao said a word, the silence returned: "Your Majesty, how to solve the reward of 300 million taels of silver to the soldiers and rebels?"

The audience returned to silence again, Ye Chen frowned again, Han Xizai thought for a while, and said, "It's better to increase the tax, and set up more card points to collect taxes on official roads across the country. I think we can raise some money."

Ye Chen hesitated for a moment, then shook his head resolutely, and said: "I said at the beginning of the founding of the country that I will never increase taxes indiscriminately and burden the people."

Ma Wentao said: "Your Majesty, most of the peasants in the Northwest are poor, but the merchants are still relatively rich. It is better to increase the commercial tax, or increase some commercial taxes to improve the eyesight."

After pondering for a while, Ye Chen said: "In the past year, the business of our Xiangfu country has developed rapidly. The business tax can be increased appropriately, but it can't be increased arbitrarily, which will affect the business development. It's just waiting for some results, at least some Half a year later, the current financial crisis cannot wait."

Ma Wentao and Jia Xian respectfully said yes, and everyone looked sad.

Jia Xian added: "The 50 taels of silver allocated to Yinzhou and Fuzhou for post-war reconstruction should be recovered first."

Ye Chen shook his head and said: "No, in this war, in response to our strategy, the common people fortified the walls and cleared the country. Many families took the initiative to burn their own food, clothing materials, and clothes that were too late to take away. It must be difficult to survive, and countless people will starve to death and freeze to death. What's more, if this is the case, it will be difficult for the people to take the initiative to help the court resist foreign enemies next time when foreign enemies come."

When Jia Xian heard that it was so serious, he felt awe-inspiring. He pleaded guilty and stopped talking.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Chen suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "Jia Xian, Xiangfu Bank is currently only conducting mortgage lending business, but not depositing money and paying interest!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard the words, Jia Xian was the first to react, his eyes lit up, and he said anxiously: "Your Majesty's intention is to let people deposit money in Xiangfu Bank, and the bank will give corresponding interest to those who save money. The person can come to pick it up at any time, and we can even let him deposit it in Xiajing and pick it up at the branch of the bank in other prefectures and counties. In this way, the common people will not have the trouble of keeping their money, and the people who rush to transport money will not have the risk of losing their money. .”

Ye Chen smiled slightly and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I mean."

All the ministers are quick-witted people. Although Ye Chen's idea is unprecedented, it doesn't affect everyone's inference of the situation after the implementation of this method.

Han Xizai took the lead again and said: "Your Majesty's wisdom is truly No. 1 in the world throughout the ages. With the reputation of the imperial court, countless people will surely deposit their spare money in the Xiangfu Bank. From then on, the imperial court has no financial crisis. Things."

Ma Wentao also praised: "Your Majesty's method is indeed wonderful, but it relies heavily on the credibility of the imperial court."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, expressing his affirmation of everyone's words, and said: "Okay, this matter is settled like this. The Ministry of Households will formulate detailed rules for the plan and implement it as soon as possible."

Jia Xian said: "Follow Your Majesty's will."

After Jia Xian retreated, Ye Chen asked, "Where are the more than [-] people led by Yelu Hanye and Yelulu now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Yelu Hanye and Yelu Lu led more than [-] Liao people to successfully migrate to the Blue Mountain area in the northeast of the seven counties of Hetao. At present, tents and food for the winter have been distributed in place. Yelu Hanye and Yelu Lu also I will come to Xiajing to meet His Majesty before New Year's Day." Ma Wentao reported from work.

Ye Chen nodded slightly, and said: "After the beginning of spring, we will no longer distribute any food, grain and grass to these more than [-] people, and exchange their rewards for land reclamation, water conservancy construction, and city building. Allocate fields, farm tools, and help build houses. In short, we must coerce and lure these more than [-] people as soon as possible to return them to the land, register them, and become the citizens of our Xiangfu country."

Ma Wentao respectfully said yes, and then returned.

Yang Jiye came out of the class and said: "I would like to report to Your Majesty, I have something to ask for your permission."

Ye Chen said, "What's the matter?"

Yang Jiye said: "In several battles, the black cavalry lost nearly half, and Xia Jing only had 20 city defense troops. I think that the defense of Kyoto is too weak. Before that, my Xiangfu Kingdom did not have enough troops, and my request was rejected by Your Majesty. Xiangfu Kingdom already has seven major legions, plus the [-] bandits, some rebels, and Yelu Hanye and Yelu Lu's troops, the number is already nearly [-], so I request His Majesty to form another legion to be responsible for His Majesty and the capital. defensive."

As soon as the words fell, Han Xizai's eyes flickered, and he stepped forward and said, "The minister seconded the proposal."

Ma Wentao, Hu Sanguang, Li Junhao, Bai Canghai, Zhang Bo, and Xu Xuan followed closely behind Han Xizai, and said loudly, "Your ministers will second you."

The others scolded themselves for being unresponsive, and then said: "The minister waits for a second opinion."

Seeing this, Ye Chen nodded and said, "I will form the Heavenly Guard Corps according to the wishes of the ministers."

Yang Jiye immediately said: "I think that you should select elite soldiers from the seven major legions to form your Majesty's Tianwei Legion. Your Majesty will appoint the commander and deputy commander of the regiment."

Ye Chen thought for a while and said: "The affairs of the training department's teaching team have entered the formalities and procedures. The head of the training department, Hei Yue, has been reassigned as the head of the Tianwei Army. The candidate for the deputy head of the army is vacant. Another selection of personnel will be reported to me for approval."

Yang Jiye and Hei Yue came out of the class at the same time and respectfully said yes, the former said: "Your Majesty, the Xuanwu Legion has taken over the Daxia Pass. Please show your majesty how to deal with the thirty thousand bandits."

Ye Chen thought for a while and said: "This time, due to the lack of troops in our Xiangfu Kingdom in the battle with the Liao Army, the situation was extremely dangerous at the beginning, and even forced me to use myself as a bait. So except for the Tianwei Army In addition, I intend to form another legion to make up the number of the nine major legions of our Xiangfu Kingdom. Therefore, each of the seven major legions will send out an integral cavalry battalion and an infantry battalion to form a new legion. Choose from the rebel army. Name! To commemorate the feat of the people who actively participated in the rebel army during the battle with the Liao army, it was named the Volunteer Army. And this time, the five major armies of Xuanwu, Heilang, Zhelan, Suzaku, and Qinglong , as well as the loss of the Xiajing City Defense Force and the Black Cavalry, coupled with the vacancies of the Tianwei Legion and the Volunteer Legion, are enough to digest the [-] bandits."

(End of this chapter)