The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Shandai, apart from Yi Delivery, what else can be improved by the Department of Revenue."

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng also asked following Feng Bao's words.

"In the Ministry of Accounts, the Baochao Lisu Department can be abolished or do other things."

Wei Guangde said without thinking, maybe he really drank too much today, and usually he would think more before answering.

"Bao Chao Li Si?"

Hearing Wei Guangde say the name of this yamen, Zhang Juzheng felt strange.

There is a treasure bank in the inner court, which is one of the twenty-four yamen, but the job of this yamen is to provide toilet paper to the palace.

The toilet paper produced by Baochao Division is also divided into thick and fine, and there are also printed and spiced ones, anyway, it is fun.

However, the office that Wei Guangde mentioned was not responsible for this. It was the yamen that belonged to the Ministry of Household Affairs and was responsible for printing the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes.

Although the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are now worse than toilet paper, the court has not abolished the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes legally, so this yamen still exists. This is where local officials make money these days.

A small proportion of the tax money paid every year can be replaced with treasure banknotes. There are also some treasure banknotes stored in various government treasuries, but there are actually no treasure banknotes circulating in the market.

It is impossible for officials to collect treasure money to offset taxes, so there is still money to be made here.

So until now, although the treasure banknotes have been deprecated, no one has reported this matter.

"No, no."

Zhang Juzheng shook his head at this time and answered Wei Guangde's words.

"Haha, it's very troublesome to abolish the treasure banknote thing. After all, it's related to the ancestral system."

Feng Bao also found it funny and interrupted, "Let's consider doing something else. What should we do?"

Feng Bao just continued what he said, but when he said it, he realized that Wei Guangde must have thought about it.

"What to do? Haha"

Wei Guangde was so drunk that he laughed twice and rubbed his forehead.

"Tell me, what else can Baochao do?"

Feng Bao was very curious at this moment, what tricks Wei Guangde could do with Baochao Li Si.

"The Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are now worse than the papyrus among the people."

"Be careful when lending money."

Zhang Juzheng still maintained some sense and hurriedly reminded him.

"Hey, I'm not talking about rough things."

Feng Bao spoke at this time, "Shan Loi, let's continue talking. What else can the Bao Banknote Collection Department do besides printing useless banknotes?"

"Paper money."

"Pfft, haha."

Feng Bao was also drunk and burst out laughing when he heard Wei Guangde's words.

Fortunately, there was no alcohol in his mouth, otherwise he would not have eaten this table of food and wine.

In fact, for people like them, they would never lose their composure like this, but the answer Wei Guangde gave was so unexpected.

Feng Baozai laughed loudly, and Zhang Juzheng also smiled, but not as wildly as Feng Baozai.

Wei Guangde looked at them both and said with a straight face, "Do you think I'm joking?"

Seeing Wei Guangde's reaction, both of them were slightly startled, and gradually put away their smiles.

"Shan Loi, you don't really think that asking the Treasurer's Office to print paper money is a good business, do you?"

Feng Bao asked slightly puzzled.

"Burning paper money among the people has been around for a long time, probably in the Han Dynasty."

Wei Guangde began to search his memory, read through the ancient books he had seen before, and began to explain them.

The origin of burning paper money can be traced back to the Wenjing Dynasty of the Western Han Dynasty, and the custom truly formed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

The Chinese have a tradition of "death as life" and believe that money is needed in the underworld, so they are buried with money.

In the pre-Qin era, genuine coins for burial were probably found to be unsafe and wasteful since the Han Dynasty. "Historical Records: Biography of Curious Officials" records: "People in the society have stolen money from Xiaowen Garden", saying that the money in Emperor Wen's tomb was stolen by tomb thieves. .

"痗" and "痗钱" later specifically referred to the money used for burials. This is the most primitive state of paper money.

Because of fear of being stolen, they were later changed to imitations. The imitation materials include copper, silver, tin, lead, pottery, clay, etc.

Even so, they were often stolen. Zhu Yi of the Song Dynasty recorded in "Yi Jue Liao Miscellaneous Notes": "People in the Han and Jin Dynasties buried a lot of money, and they were often exhumed!"

Although the imitations were cheap, the production process was cumbersome, so they were quickly eliminated. In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, paper "Qian Qian" appeared.

"Fengshi Hearing and Seeing Notes" says that "paper was made by Cai Lun of the Later Han Dynasty, and its paper money has been around since the Wei and Jin Dynasties."

At this time, the paper money was not upgraded until Xiao Baojuan, the Duke of Donghun in the Southern Qi Dynasty, was upgraded. Hong Xingzu of the Song Dynasty's "Du Shi Dianzheng" said: "The Marquis of Donghun in the Southern Qi Dynasty did good deeds and ghosts, so he cut paper into money and used it to bind silk."

By the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, the burial custom of using paper money as a symbol was widely used in court ancestral ceremonies, and the shape of the money began to be finalized. The "Old Book of Tang·Biography of Wang Yu" says: "It is dedicated to worshiping things to wish luck, praying in every line of the temple, or burning Paper money, pray for blessings.”

Different from the yellow paper burned in later generations, the paper money burned in ancient times was made in the shape of the battle. The earliest paper was made into the shape of cloth coins or knife coins. Later, gold and silver became the currency in circulation, so they were made into the shape of ingots.

Of course, doing this is actually quite labor-intensive. Paper is not cheap, and it also requires labor, so it’s not cheap either.

Why did the rough yellow straw paper sold outside in later generations have holes punched in the middle? It actually represented copper coins.

In ancient China, money was made using the molding process for mass production. The molded appearance was actually similar to those punched paper money.

As for the so-called ghost coins that appeared later and imitated various foreign currencies, they were actually not without origin. There were similar ones long ago in ancient times.

"Nowadays, private paper money is not cheap. If it is printed like treasure banknotes, it will cost at least half the cost."

Finally, Wei Guangde said.

It is indeed true. The popular paper money in the Ming Dynasty is made of yellow and white paper in the shape of ingots. The price is not cheap.

Rich families burn a certain amount, while poor families burn less.

When Wei Guangde said this, Zhang Juzheng remembered something, so he said: 'I remember that paper money with printed words appeared in the Five Dynasties period, and it was called bionic money. ’

"That is, let the Baobao Prosecution Department print paper money in the style of Baobao. After the imperial court decrees, the paper money will be supervised by the imperial court. This is a monopoly industry. As long as the price is right, it should be easy to promote it."

Wei Guangde said casually.

"Disaster."

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's words and Wei Guangde's idea, Feng Bao instinctively felt that something was wrong.

"Brother Shuanglin, why are you worried about whether the Ministry of Revenue wants to do this business? They will report it when the time comes, and you can just leave it to His Majesty to make a decision."

Wei Guangde smiled.

In fact, all three people also know that this matter is not difficult to operate, and it is easy to form a stable and profitable business.

Because it is very simple. In ancient China, the emperor was the son of heaven and had the right to sacrifice to heaven and earth and to give orders to heaven and earth.

There has never been a religious leader in China from beginning to end. Even if the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master came to Taoism, it was the right given to him by the emperor.

That's because the emperors of ancient China could make gods.

The emperor's canonization of gods is an important religious and cultural activity that reflects the close connection between the emperor and the divine power.

This tradition originated from the religious beliefs and cultural traditions of ancient China, in which the emperor was regarded as destined by destiny and had the ability to enshrine gods. This was not only a symbol of his power, but also the maintenance and expansion of the national sacrificial system.

Therefore, in a certain sense, the emperor of China can actually be understood as a combination of special secular power and religious leaders.

With an emperor, there is naturally no need for other religious leaders, such as the pope or pope.

The emperor's power is so great that all he needs to do is issue a decree and pay money to get it done.

According to the thinking of the people at this time, the paper money ordered by the emperor to be made can naturally be circulated in the underworld.

"I can talk to Ru Guan about the idea of ​​philanthropic loans and see what he thinks."

Zhang Juzheng smiled.

Wei Guangde's seemingly absurd proposal, and Zhang Juzheng actually wanted to tell Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Household Affairs, actually showed his bias.

It's not a big deal, it can be done.

At this time, Wei Guangde also remembered a piece of news that had been conveyed to him by Yuegang, that is, the missionaries who arrived in Yuegang had different views on some Chinese traditions, including different opinions on the fact that the Chinese emperor could actually be a god.

Well, in the face of Western monotheistic doctrines, the Chinese emperor's move to confer gods was naturally considered treasonous.

Don't blame others for knowing that Chinese emperors have the right to confer gods. Emperor Jiajing loved to confer gods so much that he kept conferring titles on himself, making it difficult for others to know.

So Wei Guangde told Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao what the Yuegang missionaries said.

"Those missionaries from the Christian Church believe that humans are inferior to gods, so it is rude for emperors to confer gods on the lower level. They also believe that emperors govern human beings but not ghosts and gods. When emperors confer gods, they will say that they will protect the country, lakes and seas. Human beings say that this is driving the gods, but humans cannot drive the gods.”

Wei Guangde happily told the news he had heard. Zhang Juzheng was fine, but Feng Bao's face became ugly.

Regardless, eunuchs are the most loyal royalists in this country.

Everything they have comes from the emperor, so they naturally hope that the emperor will be powerful.

Even now, the young emperor seems to be more beneficial to them, but in Feng Bao's eyes, imperial power is definitely greater than divine power.

Even the gods must listen to the emperor's will.

The emperor must have the courage of the emperor to control the gods and ghosts.

The Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain also said that "the law cannot ascend to the emperor." Even if the gods were dissatisfied with the emperor, they could not use the law to harm the emperor.

Of course, this is related to the differences between Western and Eastern religions and cultures, so naturally it cannot be accepted by the three people sitting here.

In the East, our traditional concept is that gods have always been made by mortals, so it is normal for people to be gods.

Everyone knows that Wei Zheng slayed the dragon, and the emperor's famous ministers could kill gods. Why can't the emperor control ghosts and gods?

Moreover, in our traditional concept, gods are also part of the way of heaven. The innate gods are the personification of a part of the way, and the acquired gods are mostly in line with the way of humanity and have their own duties.

We are grateful because the gods are virtuous, so there will be no situation where the gods are supreme and humans are lambs. What’s more, we have always believed that gods are just mortals.

So these ideas are different. Even if everyone questions the emperor’s apotheosis, they are still happy to hear the story of Jiang Taigong’s apotheosis. This is the hero of culture.

In the hearts of the Chinese people, most people believe that the gods were conferred by Jiang Taigong. In fact, Jiang Taigong did consecrate gods, but it was the Emperor of Zhou who gave Jiang Taigong the power to confer gods.

This has been famously stated in the Book of Changes, "Guan of Changes": "Observe the divine way of the sky, and the four seasons are not abnormal. The sage teaches with the divine way, and the world obeys."

Understanding the natural movement of heaven and earth will not miss the four seasons. The sage uses Shinto to teach and bring the world to its center.

Feng Bao, who didn't pay much attention to the matter at first, became furious when he heard that some foreign missionaries questioned the imperial power.

However, he was in Yuegang, Jiangnan, not in the capital, so he couldn't find anyone to attack.

"The Ministry of Revenue can discuss it. If it decides to report it, I will talk about it in the palace."

Wei Guangde noticed that his casual words seemed to have influenced the ministers of the court, and he couldn't help but feel a little happy.

Well, this seems to be a good thing.

Wei Guangde thought to himself.

In the future, there was a case where supervisors in a certain place sealed up a shop selling ghost money, and the reason was counterfeit money.

It felt weird at the time, but if the system of ghost money monopoly was established in the Ming Dynasty, it seemed that the case of counterfeit ghost money could be confirmed.

Well, Wei Guangde suddenly felt guilty.

The monopoly system is essentially a monopoly.

Although the government will have various reasons to explain the benefits of official monopoly, it is easy to breed various problems.

There was no monopoly in this industry in the country before, but he took the initiative to add a project. I don't know if people in the future will scold him for it.

"Shan Dai, let's talk about the post office. How do you think we can reform the post office and save money?"

Wei Guangde was joking, but he didn't react as strongly as Feng Bao. He also looked down on the barbarians and ignored their suggestions.

"Post office?"

After hearing Zhang Juzheng's concern, Wei Guangde thought about it and said, "This matter involves the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel. It's better to call the three ministers and discuss it together."

Wei Guangde started to practice Tai Chi. Now he talked about these four things, and he didn't know if they would be unhappy.

"It's okay, let's discuss it first and figure it out."

Zhang Juzheng ignored Wei Guangde's thoughts and said directly: "I think the first step is to find out the situation of the post stations in various places.

I remember reading the official documents from the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Households before. There are more than 2,000 post stations across the country. I think some of them can be abolished, and some of the closer ones can be considered for merger."

"Reducing the number of post stations can indeed save a lot of expenses."

Wei Guangde had to follow Zhang Juzheng's words, but what he thought in his mind at this time was whether Zhang Juzheng's abolition of the post stations would force out Li Zicheng.

Well, Emperor Chongzhen abolished the post stations to save money for the court, but it forced out several bandits.

These people used to be people in the system.

If Emperor Chongzhen did not abolish the post stations, perhaps they would have devoted themselves to his old Zhu family until their death.

The north of the Ming Dynasty was not in chaos, and the Ming Dynasty could still maintain Liaodong alone.

Even if they can be defeated on the battlefield, they can still drag down the Jianzhou Jurchens.

Well, Nurhaci should be dead, but Li Zicheng's elders should still be working in the post stations in Shanxi and Shaanxi.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly understood why many of the later generations' streamlining of the military and government were just formalities, just cutting departments without reducing the number of people.

It will start to expand again during the next institutional reform. People have also read history.

"We should also urge the Ministry of Personnel and local inspectors to strictly investigate and verify"

Wei Guangde was still thinking about something, and Zhang Juzheng had already talked to himself.