Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Song Cheng, who was wearing a third-grade official uniform, came in from outside and greeted Zhu Youtang in a polite manner.

Ordinarily, as a third-grade local official, Song Cheng was completely unqualified to appear at this supreme meeting, but this time he was specially summoned by the emperor, so it was a different matter.

In the attic, as hot water is poured into the tea leaves, the aroma of tea rises.

The beauty is like jade, and a pair of slender hands brings a cup of fragrant hot tea.

Zhu Youtang liked to sit in the pavilion and sip tea, and said calmly: "Song Aiqing, please tell everyone about the financial industry in the capital first!"

Li Yu, the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, and other officials exchanged silent glances, and then turned to look at Song Cheng.

Among the descendants, in addition to Liu Zhong, the governor of Huguang who went to Huguang to clear his father-in-law's land, and Chen Shen, the governor of Xuanda who was in Datong and presided over border trade, the most outstanding rising star in the capital today is the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture in charge of Shuntian Prefecture.

Although this dark-faced young man is incompatible with officialdom, in terms of honesty and fairness, I am afraid that there will be no second best in the entire Ming Dynasty.

What's more, Song Cheng now has the title of Song Qingtian and is deeply loved by the people in the capital.

Song Cheng stood with his back straight, his facial features clearly defined, and his dark face looked neither sad nor happy, but his eyes were bright and bright. First he responded solemnly, then stood on the left side, turned around and saluted the superior officer present.

Although he faced many scornful looks, he was not affected at all, and naturally he would not suffer from stage fright on such occasions.

Song Cheng took out a notebook from his sleeves and then spoke solemnly: "It has been verified by the Shuntian Prefecture that there are a total of 367 shops engaged in lending and pawns in the capital. Among them, the monthly interest rate for lending is about five cents, and the monthly interest rate for pawns is about five cents. It has also reached four points, which is more than the three points of monthly interest stipulated by the law of the Ming Dynasty, and each family does not follow the principle of "no matter how many years and months, one profit per share". Those who are successful will return the goods to the store after the expiration date and sell them at a high price. , and the profit will be multiple times; if the borrower fails to repay when due, evil servants will come to ask for land deeds and land deeds, forcing good families to sell their children as slaves and maids, and the unpaid debt will force the poor owner to establish a new lease, and the people will suffer from financial borrowing for a long time. .”

The so-called "No matter how many years and months, one profit per dollar" is actually Zhu Yuanzhang's intention to use the "Da Ming Law" to protect ordinary people, requiring that no matter how long the borrower borrows, the total interest cannot exceed the principal.

I have to admit that Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed a wise king who cares about the people. He always wants to protect the interests of ordinary people to the greatest extent and give them a chance to stand up.

It's just that "there are policies from above and countermeasures from below." The regulations of the "Da Ming Code" cannot stop the determination of this group of powerful people to extract benefits from the people.

The principal loan amount in their initial contract may only be ten taels, but if the borrower fails to repay it when due, they will require the borrower to write a new IOU, or place it in another pawn shop for loan.

In this way, they finally found a way to crack it. As long as the local government cooperates, then the restriction of "no matter how many years and months, one profit per profit" can be avoided, and the principal of ten taels can be exchanged for a profit of one hundred taels or more.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing is not an isolated case, but common in the capital.

The lending industry had begun in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and in the Yuan Dynasty, an official lending institution, the Qidianku, appeared, making lending an important source of income for the court and the nobility.

At that time, a new profession emerged in China, with Semu people as the main body engaged in the "outsourcing" of the lending industry.

The Mongolian nobles relied on Han Tuohu to lend money to themselves. The annual interest rate of "lamb's money" was as high as 100%, which caused a large number of people to go bankrupt and eventually became the last straw that broke the Yuan Dynasty.

It has been more than a hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The powerful have already completed their primitive accumulation, so they naturally got involved in the lending industry. After all, there is probably no better business than lending money.

Although the "office households" in the Yuan Dynasty disappeared, a profession called "pulling debt from Beijing" appeared in the capital.

"Purchasing Beijing debt" is not a respectable profession. It mainly relies on one's own network resources to lure some officials to borrow Beijing debt, so that one can obtain commissions from it.

"Records of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty" records: "There are dozens of scoundrels in the capital. They often stalk in front of the officials. They often lure rich families to borrow money and then bribe them. In fact, they go there or not. If they accidentally remove them, they cover up their merits. There’s gold in it.”

Earlier, Zhu Youtang mobilized the nobles to plant cotton together. The reason why many Wu Xun ignored Zhu Youtang was that on the one hand, they were unwilling to cooperate with Zhu Youtang's actions, and on the other hand, there was no shortage of these three melons. date.

After their ancestors completed their primitive accumulation, they began to engage in lending business in the capital, especially Beijing debt for officials with particularly outstanding repayment capabilities, allowing them to find the most stable and abundant financial resources like the Mongolian nobles.

The golden sunshine was scattered in the courtyard behind, and the expressions of the officials in the Imperial Study Room were different.

In March of the second year of Hongzhi, the window of usury was pierced by the upright Shuntian Prefect, who pointed the finger at all the nobles in the capital.

Han Youying's body became more feminine, especially her skin became fairer, her legs were straight and slender, and she was handing Zhu Youtang a new cup of tea.

She actually understands business, but she knows that loan sharking is indeed a good business, but the consequences are that countless families are separated, and many families can only live in wealthy families as slaves for generations.

But now, when she saw that the emperor in front of her was actually targeting the most profitable business in the world, her heart beat faster because of this man's courage.

Perhaps in the near future, I can really see a truly prosperous society in which every ordinary person can live a good life.

Zhu Youtang watched Song Cheng explain the financial situation in Beijing, then he picked up his tea cup and sipped tea slowly, without rushing to express his position.

He had already known about Daming's financial problems, but he just decided to take action now.

Zhu Youtang took a sip of tea, as if he was just a bystander, condescendingly prepared to listen to the opinions of the important ministers below, or sit and watch them argue.

Even ordinary things can lead to quarrels, but today it's going to be a tense day when it comes to financial decisions.

"This matter of private loans has always been a matter of willingness to pay. Although the interest rate of private loans is a bit higher, it can help people solve their urgent needs. The current monthly interest rate of 45 to 5 cents is much lower than in the past." Wu Yu, the minister on the right side of the department, didn't say anything when he saw the old fox in front of him, but he was the first to express his opinion.

coming!

When Wu Yu expressed his opinion, Wan An and Liu Ji opened their eyes as if they had a clear understanding.

Song Cheng turned his head to look at Wu Yu and said seriously: "Master Wu, you are wrong! Not to mention that these pawnshops and banks have actually made profits several times or even dozens of times. Even if the monthly interest is four or five cents, it has violated the general public. The laws set by our ancestors. How could the imperial court sit idly by after violating the laws of the Ming Dynasty? As for the monthly interest rate of the past dynasties, this matter is not worthy of discussion. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the world has been governed by benevolence and filial piety, and benevolent government should be implemented since then!"

Benevolent government?

Wan An turned his head and took a deep look at Song Cheng, who was talking eloquently. Although he felt that this dark-faced young man looked very naive, he still maintained his innocence.

"Yin, Governor of the Song Dynasty, the country must govern the world with benevolence and filial piety, but we must not stick to old rules! Private lending has been going on for two thousand years. Our country must be kind to the people, but we must also understand that low prices hurt farmers, and we must be well versed in the rules. The three policies of Wen Zheng and Huang Zheng are the way to govern the country!" He Qiaoxin, the new Minister of Punishment and Song Cheng's superior, seemed to be preaching seriously.

The so-called "Three Strategies for Famine Policy" are Fan Zhongyan's three measures to deal with local disasters.

Fan Zhongyan failed again in presiding over the New Deal, and was released by the imperial court. Later, he was appointed magistrate of Hangzhou. After he took office in Hangzhou, there was a severe famine on the two Zhejiang roads that year. There were people dying of hunger on the roads, and the hungry people moved all over the roads.

Faced with this kind of disaster, local governments were busy cracking down on price gouging, but Fan Zhongyan incredibly launched three "three desolate policies" that were not understood by ordinary people.

The most puzzling thing was that Fan Zhongyan raised the price of rice. At that time, the price of a bucket of rice in Hangzhou was 120 yen. He directly raised the price to 180 yen and posted posters along the river to publicize the huge increase in rice prices in Hangzhou.

Unexpectedly, this criticized move had a miraculous effect.

The Ming court transported four million stone cans of grain from the southeast to the capital, which cost nearly two million taels in freight. Naturally, the grain merchants also spent a lot of money transporting rice to Hangzhou.

Because they believed Fan Zhongyan's false propaganda, many grain merchants in the southeast thought they could make a profit, so they flocked there.

However, when these rice grains were delivered to Hangzhou City, due to the limited demand for rice grains from the people of Hangzhou City, a market with oversupply emerged, and the price of rice in Hangzhou City eventually fell rapidly.

Now He Qiaoxin's example of Fan Zhongyan's three policies of famine policy can be said to be very clever. After all, Fan Zhongyan is the most respected official of the Song Dynasty among civil servants, and raising the price of rice has indeed achieved miraculous effects.

Through this example, it seems that the "reasonableness" of high interest rates on private loans can be supported.

Ministry of Industry Minister Jia Jun and others originally opposed the high interest rates of private financial institutions, but after seeing some analysis by He Qiaoxin, they found that a monthly interest rate of four to five cents may be a reasonable interest rate.

Zhu Youtang put down the tea cup in his hand and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

He Qiaoxin is actually changing the concept. Fan Zhongyan raised rice prices to achieve "low rice prices", and now the high interest rates on private loans are to maintain high profits for the powerful class.

Even people in later generations who know some economic knowledge can understand that high interest rates will only cause a large amount of capital to flow into the financial industry, while low interest rates are a good way to stimulate the economy.

Why the powerful are still unwilling to build weaving factories and participate in maritime trade? The most fundamental problem is that the returns from lending are too high, so they are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone.

That’s not to say that high interest rates have no benefits at all. A sound lending system can indeed solve some people’s urgent needs, but it often causes borrowers to drink poison to quench their thirst.

"He Shangshu, I don't understand what high interest rates have to do with the three desolate policies! It's just that private lending now clearly violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and making a profit is a violation of Taizu's original intention, so this evil trend cannot rise again! Today I'm going to greet you Mingjun, how can I not treat you?" Song Cheng had his own position and responded seriously.

Huh?

Wan An and Liu Ji couldn't help but look at Song Cheng, feeling that this dark-faced young man still knew how to flatter.

But this is indeed the case. If Zhu Youtang had not been in power, other emperors would not have discovered this stubborn disease, regardless of whether they had the courage or not.

Zhu Youtang looked deeply at Song Cheng, but still did not express his position.

Although he wanted to rectify it, the involvement of lending was too great, and it could be said that all the powerful people in the capital were involved. The best thing to do now is to let people like Song Cheng take the lead, while you sit firmly in the rear.

As a qualified emperor, he cannot express his position easily. If there is a true patriotic minister, let him rush forward for you, so that you can better win with one blow.

He Qiaoxin suspected that Song Cheng didn't even know what the three policies of the desolate policy were, so he looked at Song Cheng with disdain: "Yin of the Song Dynasty, my words are actually very simple! The bad government you think is not necessarily bad government. What you think is good governance is not necessarily good governance. Whether a policy is good or bad is not decided by you alone, but should be evaluated by the people!"

As soon as these words came out, Liu Ji and other officials couldn't help but nod secretly. At the same time, they carefully looked at the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. He was indeed somewhat genuine.

Zhu Youtang also looked at He Qiaoxin, but his eyes did not appreciate it.

Although He Qiaoxin was already the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, his father He Wenyuan was actually even more powerful back then. He once became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and was given the title of Crown Prince and Taibao.

However, the final fate of his father He Wenyuan was more tragic. After the incident of seizing the gate, He Wenyuan wrote a sentence in the memorial in the imperial edict of Emperor Jingtai, "The father has a son who will be passed down all over the world".

If Emperor Jingtai's lineage inherits the throne, then he will naturally be a great contributor to Conglong.

Unfortunately, the Emperor Yingzong learned of the incident and immediately ordered the arrest of He Wenyuan. However, He Wenyuan chose to hang himself to save his family.

He Qiaoxin observed filial piety for several years, and then returned to officialdom. His career was not affected by his father, but was strongly recommended by Wynn and others.

Zhu Youtang originally arranged for He Qiaoxin to retire in Nanjing, but Du Ming was forced to resign due to the influence of his son. However, his favorite Liu Zhong and Chen Kun did not have enough local experience. Neither He Cong, the governor of Shandong nor Liu Xuan, the governor of Liaodong, can now move.

He actually had no interaction with He Qiaoxin. Since He Qiaoxin's father was indirectly killed by Yingzong, he didn't really want to reuse this person.

It's just that the emperor still has to follow some rules after all, and now the most suitable candidate is indeed He Qiaoxin. In addition, he is ready to kick Liu Jian away, so he really needs to add a clear stream to check and balance the forces of all parties in the court.

Wu Yu, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, seemed to be He Qiaoxin's little fanboy, and echoed with bright eyes: "What He Shangshu said is absolutely true! At that time, everyone thought that Fan Wenzheng raised the price of rice to put the people in trouble, but Little did you know that the price of rice in Hangzhou City will fall soon, so the people can survive! Now you think the interest rate is too high, but now the people have no complaints, which proves that this matter cannot be touched lightly!"

"The people have no complaints? Minister Wu, you are too far away from the people! Your Majesty, I beg to summon Yu Ming, a villager in Hebei Village, to listen to the voices of the people below!" Song Cheng glanced at Wu Yu with disdain, Then he solemnly asked for orders.

August is here, I wish you all good luck!