Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Okay, let's take a break first. I'm really thirsty after talking for a long time. Eat the watermelon before continuing."

On Jiang Xinghuo's side, the three people started eating watermelon around him.

"Bah, bah, bah~"

In the secret room, the atmosphere fell into silence.

Restore part of the currency value of Ming Dynasty banknotes?

Xia Yuanji was shocked.

He seriously suspected that there was something wrong with his ears!

You must know that the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes depreciated from 1,000 guan in the eighth year of Hongwu to 160 guan in the 26th year of Hongwu. Now, not even one-tenth of the surface currency value is left.

With such a drastic depreciation, it would be great if the Ministry of Revenue could barely support it and prevent the Ming Dynasty's banknotes from continuing to depreciate.

Do you want to bring back the value of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes?

Even if the Ministry of Revenue no longer issues new Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes will barely maintain their current level.

Do you want the Ministry of Accounts to buy it back?

If copper coins are repurchased, it will still be Ming Dynasty money spent. As for gold and silver, don’t even think about it, the emperor will not agree.

Next to Xia Yuanji, Zhu Di had obviously thought of this possibility. A hint of gloom flashed in his eyes: "What Jiang Xinghuo said is reasonable, but..."

At this point, he paused.

Recycling Da Ming Bao banknotes can indeed restore currency value. The problem is, isn’t the reason why Da Ming Bao banknotes are over-issued because of lack of money?

If you have money to recycle and restore currency value, then why should I, Ming Dynasty, be so interested in making money?

Besides, it’s all my money! My money!

Xia Yuanji also sighed in his heart. The Ministry of Revenue had no way to recycle the excess Ming Dynasty banknotes on the market.

But I heard Zhu Di continue to say: "What does Xia Qing think should be done? Although I am the emperor, I still need to take into account the sentiments of the people. If I don't handle it properly, I'm afraid."

This is true. After all, the king of a country does not mean he can do whatever he wants. Cutting down hundreds or thousands of gentry is like cutting leeks. But if the interests of millions of people are affected, he has to consider the corresponding consequences. social reaction.

If Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes were repurchased at a low price or even for free, causing public outrage and causing social turmoil and the collapse of the country, then the emperor must be despised by the people of the world even if he has thousands of reasons.

"I do have a plan." Xia Yuanji was silent for a moment, then raised his head and said, "If His Majesty really plans to use silver or 'silver banknotes' as the main currency of the Ming Dynasty in the future, then it is not impossible to consider moving the gold in the treasury. Maybe we can also save the Ming Dynasty treasure money."

Use gold to buy back the paper I printed?

Zhu Di does not have such profound knowledge and corresponding awareness of the economics of the country and the people.

In his eyes, the Ming Dynasty Treasure Note is just a piece of paper.

Use the gold to buy paper.

You think Zhu Di doesn't know how to manage the country and benefit the people, Zhu Di thinks you are mentally ill.

Zhu Di frowned slightly, but saw Xia Yuanji continue to say: "Your Majesty, if you want to buy back the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes and restore the value of the currency, you will not only need the support of gold and silver, but it will not be easy, especially for the Ministry of Household Affairs. It is even more difficult. In this case, it is better to reserve some copper coins for backup, wait for the right time in the future, and then put the copper coins out to buy back the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes."

This is the cleverness or cunning of Xia Yuanji, a senior bureaucrat.

This is the situation, and I am not fooling you. I have also given you a solution. Whether you adopt it or not is up to you. If you are not willing to use the quickest way to spend gold to buy paper, it has nothing to do with me.

Moreover, due to the traditional conflict of interests among various ministries and the inertia of the official-based system, it is uncertain how long the reserve will last and what new changes will occur by then.

Reserve copper coins?

Zhu Di nodded and said: "Xia Qing's idea is to hoard a large amount of copper coins first, and then use them as funds to withdraw funds when the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes are repurchased. In this way, it will not hurt the emotions of the people, but it can be completed smoothly. By repurchasing it and ensuring the reserve of copper coins in the treasury, it can be said that it is a very good thing."

"Your Majesty is wise."

Xia Yuanji bowed and replied.

Zhu Di nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Xia Yuanji was overjoyed that he had finally fooled the emperor.

However, he was obviously too happy.

"Also, Xia Qing, please tell me how long it will take before the value of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes returns?"

A hint of smile flashed across Zhu Di's eyes.

Xia Yuanji gave a wry smile, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, this is a long-term project. First of all, the imperial government is unable to recycle the massive amounts of excess Ming treasure banknotes on the market; secondly, the governments around the Ming Dynasty also lack sufficient manpower and material resources to support the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. The most important thing is that private merchants and common people understand the policies implemented by the government. This also requires a lot of preparation. Therefore, it is basically impossible to restore part of the currency value of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes in a short period of time. Even if it is restored, it is impossible to let it return It is probably unlikely that it will reach the level of ten years ago."

"So, how long do we have to wait?"

Zhu Di's face darkened.

If you put this first, second, and last with me, do you think this is the imperial examination policy theory?

"No one has done it before." Xia Yuanji shook his head and said, "I really don't know, maybe three to five years? Maybe more than ten years or even longer? In short, it will be difficult to recover in a short time."

When Zhu Di heard this, he couldn't help but fell into deep melancholy: "After such a long time, doesn't it mean that the Ming Dynasty's treasure banknotes will continue to be issued in excess and then continue to depreciate?"

"Then we use the gold from the treasury?"

Zhu Di was a hero of his generation, but he was not a saint.

If he really uses gold to buy paper, he will be in pain. After all, the money is theoretically his money, and it will be the basis for him to build his unparalleled achievements in the future.

Zhu Di suddenly thought, isn't there silver in Japan?

If Japan is defeated, can we use nearly free silver to buy back precious coins?

But when Zhu Di thought about it again, he felt that the problem seemed not that simple.

Because Jiang Xinghuo said before that the influx of a large amount of silver in a short period of time will also cause "inflation".

So what to do? Is the silver controlled little by little every year to be exchanged for Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes? How long will it take to work?

Gold came easily. All the gold in the treasury was spent. The currency value of the Ming Dynasty banknotes at least increased a lot. There was no need to worry about 'inflation', which would only affect the currency value and not the people's lives.

This principle is very straightforward.

That's what the so-called "common people" exchanged for Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. In fact, what they were recycling was a large number of treasure banknotes in the hands of nobles, merchants, and gentry.

if not? All the treasure money in the hands of ordinary people and their families cannot be exchanged for a grain of gold.

But if it is exchanged for silver, then how can an ordinary family exchange a dime of silver back for it, and the people still have to spend the scraps of silver exchanged, wouldn’t it cause ‘inflation’?

Therefore, gold can be directly absorbed by the rich quickly, thereby exchanging a large amount of treasure money in the hands of the rich and increasing the value of the currency.

It comes faster than silver and is more stable, so it doesn't have much to do with the people.

"It doesn't matter if you don't move the gold."

Xia Yuanji coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, don't be discouraged. I think we can take some measures to make the recovery of copper coins faster."

"For example, first announce to state and county officials that the new printing of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes will be suspended. At the same time, you can also send capable officials to the various administrative envoys of the Ming Dynasty to explain His Majesty's intentions clearly. In this way, the local governments will definitely understand His Majesty. With good intentions, when the copper coins are put into the national treasury, the people will definitely be eager to buy back the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes and rush to exchange them. By then, the price of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes will inevitably rise rapidly."

"Well, that makes sense." Upon hearing this, Zhu Di finally showed a touch of relief on his face and said, "Xia Qing is indeed my loyal minister. Not only is he very capable of managing the country and benefiting the people, but his philosophy of governing the country is also very close to mine. , now I will entrust this matter to Xia Qing, and hope that Xia Qing will live up to my high expectations."

"Your Majesty, I obey the order." Xia Yuanji hurriedly thanked him, and then asked cautiously: "May I ask, Your Majesty, when will the copper coins in the treasury be used?"

Zhu Di pondered for a moment and said, "Let's do the preliminary work according to Xia Qing's instructions. As for the copper coins in the treasury, I will arrange it myself."

He does not plan to use the copper coins in the Ming Dynasty's treasury, which are not sufficient, because doing so will affect the stability of the treasury, and may even cause turmoil in the court and change the situation after the Jingnan.

When Xia Yuanji heard this, he immediately saluted respectfully and said, "I will obey the holy order."

The two petty officials, Guo Jing and Chai Che, who had been silently listening to the conversation between the emperor and the Minister of Revenue, looked at each other and saw what the other was thinking.

In fact, they all want to say - what are you thinking about? Why don't you take a break and wait for Mr. Jiang to tell you what's ready?

Of course, this is just the idea of ​​a petty official. His status and vision are naturally incomparable to those in power in the empire.

Without further ado, the three people next door quickly finished their watermelon to quench their thirst.

Li Jinglong wiped his mouth and continued to ask in front of the emperor's mouthpiece: "How do you think Jiang Lang should do this to restore part of the currency value of the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes to a relatively acceptable level of banknote exchange?"

"Isn't this simple?" Jiang Xinghuo wiped his hands.

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Shall we buy gold, silver and copper directly from the common people?"

"That's not the truth." Li Jinglong thought more deeply, "If I had gold, silver, and copper to buy, I wouldn't be overpaying."

"It's not as complicated as you think. You don't need to spend gold, silver or copper. One move is enough."

Hearing this, Zhu Di and Xia Yuanji looked at each other in the secret room, and both saw the surprise in the other's eyes.

They had been discussing for a long time just now. How could the people be willing to recycle the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes instead of buying them with gold, silver and copper?

Although the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes have depreciated greatly, they are still worth some money after all. Is it possible that they want to rob them?

It was definitely impossible for Jiang Xinghuo to express such an idea, so there must be a way they couldn't think of.

But what method can be used to successfully recover the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes from the hands of ordinary people without spending gold, silver, and copper?

Xia Yuanji was puzzled.

"Is there such a way to get the best of both worlds in the world?" Li Jinglong was a little unbelievable, "You don't have to spend money, and you can get back the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes in the hands of the people."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled: "Not only is there, but I just told you about it."

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu, who had always been slow to respond, suddenly raised his head and said, "Mr. Jiang, I seem to understand what you mean."

"Oh?" Jiang Xinghuo encouraged, "Speak boldly. It doesn't matter if you are wrong."

Zhu Gaoxu scratched his beard nervously and said: "Mr. Jiang just said that 'bad money drives out good money', which means that if the surface prices are equal, people will want to increase the relative value in their hands." Hide the high currency for later use, and spend the low currency first. I think it is similar to the farmer who hides the new millet and eats the old millet first."

"If that's the case, is there a more valuable currency that will appear like 'new millet' and give the common people a choice? Will the common people use the old Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes as 'old millet'? I think it is extremely possible. of."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said, "You are very smart, and you deserve to be my student. That's what I mean."

"What?"

Li Jinglong was first a little shocked at how quickly Zhu Gaoxu had grown his brain, and then he started to be forced to use force as a habit.

"Jiang Lang, if the new currency is issued and its surface value is equal to the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, but the actual value is higher than the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, then we can simply change it into banknotes."

"That's just what I meant. I didn't say that I would issue new currency."

Jiang Xinghuo explained to the two of them: "Since you all know that if you want to recycle banknotes, you have to spend money. Then have you ever thought about using future Ming Dynasty banknotes to recycle current Ming Dynasty banknotes?"

The secret room next door.

Zhu Di put his hand on his forehead, feeling that he was already a little unable to turn around in terms of running the country and benefiting the people.

What Jiang Xinghuo said was a bit difficult to understand.

"Xia Qing, what does it mean to use the future Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes to recycle the current Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes?"

For a long time, Zhu Di did not wait for Xia Yuanji's answer.

Zhu Di removed the hand that was holding his forehead and turned around to look, only to find that the expression on Xia Yuanji's face was extremely wonderful.

Sudden realization, shock, admiration, all kinds of expressions were mixed together.

How do you see it? He looks like Dao Yan who is not so crazy.

Zhu Di pursed his lips and said.

"Xia Qing?"

"Oh, ah? Your Majesty, don't be surprised, I was temporarily distracted!" Xia Yuanji quickly replied.

Zhu Di did not blame him, but asked: "Xia Qing seemed to have understood. So what does this sentence mean? Why can you use the future Ming treasure banknotes to recycle the current Ming Dynasty without spending gold, silver and copper?" Treasure money? I don’t quite understand.”

"His Majesty."

The shock in Xia Yuanji's eyes did not fade away, and he still managed to speak.

"As His Highness the Second Prince said, the principle of bad money driving out good money is just the other way around. That is, the purpose of issuing higher value 'good coins' is to allow the 'good coins' to be collected. Expulsion, come and go to recover the 'bad currency' of the original Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes in the hands of the people!"

"Changing money?"

After playing simulation games, Zhu Di had some bad associations with this word.

Xia Yuanji has presided over the running of the Ming Dynasty for so many years. What he lacks is not experience and experience at all, let alone the ability to handle the affairs of the country and the people.

What Xia Yuanji lacks is the modern economic theory of the country, the people, and currency that stood on the shoulders of countless giants.

And he, in a sense, is also one of the giants who have been stepped on.

"It's not about changing banknotes, and there is no need to actually issue new banknotes. We just need to let the people know that the future Ming Dynasty banknotes are worth more than the current Ming Dynasty banknotes, so people who have savings and don't want to keep the Ming Dynasty banknotes will depreciate. , will naturally hand over the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes in his hand."

"Is there such an operation?" Zhu Di was dubious.

There is no way, managing the country and benefiting the people is not about fighting. If Zhu Di is fighting at the level of a master, then in the field of managing the country and benefiting the people, Zhu Di is at the level of an apprentice. Obviously, he is full of instinctive wariness against anything that is difficult to understand. with caution.

Xia Yuanji replied: "Theoretically it is possible, but I can only think of these in a hurry. As for how to reasonably make the future Ming Dynasty banknotes more valuable, and what to do after recycling the banknotes, I have not yet thought about it." good."

Zhu Di didn't say anything more and signaled Xia Yuanji to continue listening.

“Issuing some ‘Ming Dynasty National Bonds’ will be enough.”

Jiang Xinghuo said simply.

Probably knowing that these two people didn't understand, Jiang Xinghuo continued to explain the name.

"It means that the interest-bearing bonds issued by the state have different interest rates according to the years. People who want to make profits will use the surplus Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes to buy Ming Dynasty treasury bonds. In this way, there will be less Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes circulating in the market. Is it? This is the most efficient, easy and low-cost way to recycle banknotes."

Li Jinglong is not as stupid as he thought, he is almost clueless.

"So, the Ming government bonds are equivalent to the new 'good currency'. With the Ming government bonds as good currency, the wealthy people will automatically use the Ming treasure banknotes as the 'bad currency' to buy the Ming government bonds and hide them, and use them to buy Ming government bonds." The Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes of the Ming Dynasty national debt have been recycled!”

"But." Zhu Gaoxu frowned slightly, "National debt must be repaid when it matures. In the end, doesn't it mean that the country did not collect it and paid part of the interest instead?"

"That's not how I look at it. In fact, it's just a matter of time difference."

Jiang Xinghuo said patiently: "We used the example of the Yuan Dynasty to explain that currency, as a general equivalent, is based on division of labor and exchange. The most important thing is that currency must be circulated, otherwise there will be a money shortage."

"This example is a money shortage, but what about the other way around? At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was insufficient currency liquidity, but now there is too much currency liquidity, to the point of flooding!"

"So we want to artificially create a 'money shortage'?" Zhu Gaoxu came to his senses.

"Yes." Jiang Xinghuo said, "There is a standard for currency liquidity. In certain ranges, if it exceeds this range, the indiscriminate issuance of currency will have a greater impact on inflation than in the normal range."

"So we need to artificially create a money shortage to reduce inflation, even if it is just for a few years."

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "Mr. Jiang, can you elaborate?"

"As I said before, with the restoration of social order and the progress of the economy and the people, the real value created overall is increasing year by year in the current Ming Dynasty. We need to look at the problem dynamically. This year The total amount of money is much more than the real value of the Ming Dynasty this year, so there is inflation.”

Jiang Xinghuo swallowed and said: "But if we take back part of the currency, and the real value of the Ming Dynasty becomes more in a few years, then if we put these currencies back, will it be in line with the Ming Dynasty in a few years? Monetary demand? Of course, this is just an example, and the actual operation is more complicated."

Li Jinglong took advantage of the situation and continued.

"In this way, there is a time lag, either five or seven years. During this period, the excess Ming treasure banknotes were hidden by the court, and when the Ming Dynasty's ability to create 'real value' caught up, they would be released When I went back, in fact, the court didn’t spend any money at all, and it solved the problem of corrupt banknote laws!”

"It's not just that." Jiang Xinghuo smiled, "There are so many ways to manage the country, people and finance that you can't even imagine."

"Give me an example?" Li Jinglong said after looking at the wall.

"Okay, give me an example. For example, do you think that the interest rate of the five-year Ming Dynasty government bonds must be higher than the one-year Ming Dynasty government bonds?"

Li Jinglong said in astonishment: "Otherwise? If the interest rate of short-term treasury bonds is higher than that of long-term treasury bonds, who would buy long-term treasury bonds?"

Jiang Xinghuo smiled even happier.

"Then let me ask you, if the time of the currency recycling plan is ten years, the longer the period, the higher the interest on the national debt in the first five years. As a result, you find that the recycled currency still does not meet the currency required to turn banknotes into silver banknotes. Measure, what should you do?"

Li Jinglong was speechless, he didn't know what to do.

"Is it necessary to issue six-year or seven-year Ming government bonds with higher interest rates?"

"No need." Jiang Xinghuo said, "I'll tell you what to do. After five years, the interest rate on short-term treasury bonds exceeds that on long-term treasury bonds. In the sixth year, the interest rate on four-year treasury bonds exceeds that on five-year treasury bonds; in the seventh year, the interest rate on three-year treasury bonds exceeds that of long-term treasury bonds. The interest rate on a one-year Treasury bond exceeds the four-year Treasury bond in the sixth year, and so on.”

"In this way, the purpose of quickly recovering currency can be achieved. This is called an inversion of national debt interest rates."

"Heavenly genius!"

"Master Jiang is enough to become the founder of the sect!"

"The man who has managed the country and benefited the people for hundreds of years in the Song and Yuan Dynasties is not as good as Jiang Shiwan!"

"Even Mr. Wang Anshi, who presided over the New Deal, is far inferior!"

Xia Yuanji was deeply shocked.

Xia Yuanji asked himself, the impact of today's lecture on his thinking has exceeded that of his life in the past decades!

If the previous silver monorail system is something that may become a reality in the future, it still feels a bit far away from now.

Then the operation and gameplay of issuing treasury bonds and inverting the treasury bond interest rate.

Not only have I heard of Xia Yuanji, but I have never thought of it in my dreams!

The nightmare that had plagued Xia Yuanji for nearly twenty years, the corruption of banknotes, was so easily solved by the method taught by Jiang Xinghuo.

You must know that this is a difficult problem that no one has been able to solve since the Song and Yuan Dynasties!

It’s true that no one can understand it!

And Jiang Xinghuo, with one move of silver anchoring and one move of national debt recovery, easily solved the problem of banknote corruption, which seemed to be an unsolvable problem for the economic bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty.

This kind of shock is the same as the impact caused by an unknown person in modern times casually telling the formulas of two special cancer drugs, and the top authority in the medical field who has been studying the field of cancer for a lifetime cannot understand it, has the same impact!

Too shocking! ! !

This is not over yet, Jiang Xinghuo continued.

“The last thing I want to talk about is how to build an ‘offshore silver banknote’ ​​system.”

"After completing this step, silver banknotes will have two sets of operating mechanisms, internal and external, and will eventually become the basis of world currency."

These words immediately relieved Xia Yuanji, who was in deep shock.

Zhu Di also squinted his eyes. He was very satisfied with this operation that could accomplish things without spending money.

Zhu Di waited intently for Jiang Xinghuo to finish the last part of this class.