******
Qin Mu glanced at the ministers present and asked, "Ministers, do you have anything else to add?"
Yang Chao, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately stood up and spoke eloquently: "Since the Hongzhi Dynasty, the annual silver tax revenue of the Ming court has actually been less than 100,000 taels. After the Jiajing period, the silver in the Taicang warehouse has always been in a state of deficit.
On the other hand, after silver became the main currency, people paid more attention to the value of silver, and a large amount of silver was concentrated and hoarded by bureaucrats and merchants as private wealth, reducing the amount of silver in circulation;
At the same time, the people's huge demand for silver turnover, coupled with the increasing corruption of the Ming court and the sharp increase in Liao military pay, resulted in a situation where the demand for silver exceeded the supply, causing a serious silver shortage in the market.
This shows that domestic silver mining alone could no longer meet the huge demand for silver faced by the country and the market. Under pressure from the silver shortage, the Ming court lifted the maritime ban in the Longqing period, and a large amount of silver flowed in from the West. By the fifth year of the Longqing period, the silver shortage was greatly improved.
But I think this is only a temporary solution and cannot completely solve the currency problem.
From the beginning of Chongzhen's reign, wars and natural disasters broke out frequently throughout the country, production was severely damaged, materials were in short supply, and the value of silver depreciated seriously. Previously, one tael of silver could buy one stone of rice, but now in many places, four or five taels of silver are needed to buy one stone of rice.
On the other hand, there were refugees everywhere, people's lives were difficult, and the wages of hired workers were low, so they could not be measured in silver, and could only be measured in copper coins. The demand for copper coins increased, which further led to the increasingly serious situation of cheap silver and expensive coins.
Merchants sold all kinds of goods in silver. The income was silver, which had to be exchanged for money to hire workers. If silver was cheap and money was expensive, the cost would be high, which was extremely unfavorable to the already depressed economy.
On the contrary, if silver is expensive and money is cheap, it will benefit the government and merchants, but it will be disadvantageous to ordinary people. According to the rules of the market, large amounts are paid in silver. Small amounts are paid in money. Ordinary people's income is mostly small amounts, so they pay more in money, while merchants and wealthy people pay more in silver. Silver becomes more expensive and money becomes cheaper. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
When the imperial court collected taxes, it counted them in silver and then converted them into cash to collect from ordinary people. If silver was expensive, the amount of money converted would increase, which was also extremely disadvantageous to the people.
However, the silver-to-money exchange rate is difficult to adjust, so I think the fundamental solution is to unify the currency. Only by unifying the currency can we truly solve this chaotic phenomenon, stabilize the currency, and protect the interests of ordinary people. "
After listening to Yang Chao's argument, the ministers present could not help but whisper to each other. The Qin State was now implementing Zhang Juzheng's "One Whip Law", which levied taxes based on the amount of silver collected per mu. Looking deeper, to solve the existing taxation problem, the currency problem must be solved first.
The currency problem is mainly caused by the imbalance between supply and demand. If there is less money, there will be a shortage of money, and if there is more money, there will be inflation. Another reason is that the lack of currency uniformity causes internal chaos.
With the improvement of productivity, the total volume of commodity transactions has become increasingly large. It is difficult to maintain the stability of currency value by relying on metal currency, especially for such a large country. Once the society is stabilized and productivity is released, a large amount of currency is needed for transactions. Unfortunately, China's silver and copper are not abundant, and a single currency cannot meet the demand. Therefore, silver and copper can only be used together, which has led to currency chaos and then many problems.
Qin Mu said slowly: "If you want to unify the currency, you have to issue paper money. But the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties all issued paper money, especially in the Ming Dynasty. Starting from the seventh year of Hongwu, the Ming court issued the Ming Baochao and made it the only legal currency, prohibiting the circulation of silver and money. However, the Ming Baochao soon depreciated and was resisted by the people. Ministers, what do you think about this?"
Xu Yingjie was well prepared and answered immediately: "Your Majesty, paper money originated from Jiaozi, which appeared in Sichuan during the Northern Song Dynasty. It was first issued by the people, which is enough to show that the people have a demand for paper money. The Ming Baochao issued during the Hongwu Dynasty was resisted by the people. This can only mean that the paper money was not issued properly, not because of the paper money itself.
I have summarized that, taking the Ming Dynasty Baochao as an example, its main problem is poor legislation. First, the issued Baochao has no banknotes and no limit on the amount. The circulation of Baochao is more than that of issuance and less than that of collection.
The imperial court used treasure notes to pay official salaries and military pay and purchase private products, but only used a small amount of treasure notes to levy taxes. The court was unwilling to recall the unsold treasure notes in a timely manner. In addition, the printing was crude and the counterfeiting was easy, so there were too many treasure notes on the market, far exceeding the actual market demand.
Second, it undermines the legal system. The paper money system lacks the necessary stability and continuity. For example, when Hongwu first implemented the paper money system, he prohibited the private buying and selling of gold and silver. In the second year, he ordered that tax grain could be paid in silver instead.
In the 9th year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that one string of banknotes could be converted into one dan of rice. In the 18th year, it was changed to one dan of rice equal to two strings of banknotes, five hundred coins. In the 27th year, it was forbidden to use coins, and banknotes were used exclusively. After that, the ban on coins was not lifted, and copper coins were minted again and again. This was so inconsistent that the people were betrayed, and the banknote system was ruined.
Therefore, I believe that as long as our dynasty formulates a more perfect currency law to address the problems of the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes, we can avoid repeating the mistakes of the Ming Dynasty and issue our Qin Dynasty's paper notes."
It is commendable that Xu Yingjie can analyze so many problems about the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes.
"Minister Xu said it very well." Qin Mu expressed his approval, and then continued: "As the saying goes, knowing is easy but doing is difficult. It is not enough to just be able to see the problem, but also to have a way to explain the problem. Ministers, do you have any way to solve these problems?"
Huang Zhenlin, who first mentioned the currency and taxation issues in his report, came out to answer: "King Qin, the first thing about paper money is credibility. If the credibility issue is resolved, other problems will be easily solved. The problems mentioned by Minister Xu just now are all aimed at the credibility of paper money. Except for the issuance limit, other problems are easy to solve. Looking back at the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, the main reason for the depreciation of paper money was the uncontrolled issuance of paper money. Therefore, I think controlling the issuance of paper money is the key."
Qin Mu asked with a smile: "I believe all the ministers know that if too little is issued, there will be a shortage of money, and if too much is issued, it will lead to a devaluation of the banknotes. What I want to ask is, how can we ensure that the amount of banknotes issued is neither too much nor too little, but just right?"
Qin Mu's question made all the ministers present silent for a moment. Military generals like Liu Meng even half-closed their eyes, as if they were in a trance.
Finally, it was Huang Zhenlin, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Industry, who answered: "Reply to the King of Qin, the demand for currency is determined by the total value of goods traded in the market. Therefore, to determine the amount of currency issued, we must first calculate the total value of goods traded in the market."
"Then how do we calculate it? The country is so big, can Huang Qing count how many things are traded in the market one by one?"
"this... ... ... ."
After Qin Mu's repeated questioning, everyone fell into deep thought again.
Qin Mu said calmly: "Let's think about this issue thoroughly first."
Huang Zhenlin thought for a moment and said, "I would like to ask the King of Qin to calculate the total amount of goods by tax inspectors in various places, from counties to states, from states to prefectures, and then we can add up the data layer by layer and get a rough estimate.
Even if the data is not very accurate, it will not cause a serious shortage of money or depreciation. Moreover, the imperial court always has a gradual circulation process when issuing paper money. It will issue a small amount first, and then slowly replace silver and money after its credibility is established.
This process will take at least a few years, and at most ten years. During this period, local tax supervisors will collect statistics every year. By then, the total amount of goods on the market and the annual increase or decrease rate should have an objective amount. Then, using this amount to calculate the amount of banknotes issued, there should not be too much discrepancy. "
"This is a feasible approach." Qin Mu nodded and asked Sima An and others, "What do you think, ministers?"
According to convention, every emperor, in addition to having his own reign title, had to have his own currency. Usually, in the first year after determining his reign title, he would issue his own "Tong Bao" coin.
Qin Mu was only a king, not an emperor, so the reign title was the first year of Qin, which was the same as the first year of Wu when Zhu Yuanzhang was the King of Wu. Therefore, there was no need to rush to mint coins.
However, the determination of the currency system now concerns the regulation of market trade and the restoration of people's livelihood, so it is necessary to agree on it in advance.
Judging from Qin Mu's attitude, he was inclined to issue paper money. Sima An thought for a moment and said, "I think that issuing paper money should be done with extreme caution. The court can first set up a paper money promotion department to work with the three law departments to formulate the paper money law, and then issue a small amount to see how the people react. Once the credibility of paper money is established, it won't be too late to make further plans."
**************
ps: It's the 30th, and I haven't opened my shop today. I've been raped several times, and my ranking has been falling, falling all the time. Alas! I continue to ask for monthly tickets, and please protect my chrysanthemum!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
...