The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"In the 33rd year of Jiajing, Emperor Shizong adopted He Tingyu's words and allowed the people to use small coins. The custom of 60 wen for one fen of silver was to be abolished. The Ministry of Revenue should also plan carefully this time whether to issue small coins under the small flat coins."

After confirming the exchange of flat coins and silver treasures, Wei Guangde said again.

It is said that why private money was rampant in the Ming Dynasty was actually caused by the decree of Emperor Jiajing.

Speaking of which, although the money law of the Ming Dynasty had never been "rectified", it had changed several times since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang started by minting Dazhong copper coins when he was conferred the title of Duke of Wu. After the establishment of Ming, he began to issue Daming Baochao in the eighth year of Hongwu, and changed to a pure paper currency circulation system in the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu.

It's just that everyone knows about the Baochao, so it led to a serious depreciation of Baochao. After Emperor Yingzong first relaxed the ban on using money and silver, silver gradually replaced paper money and became the main currency in circulation.

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In the late Ming Dynasty, during the Longqing period, the currency circulation system of silver-based and money-assisted in the late feudal society of China was formally established, and the reform was completed.

During this reform process, the currency law has been adjusted many times, and different circulation patterns of several monetary economic structures such as banknotes and money, single banknotes, banknotes, silver and money, and silver and money have been formed.

From the 21st year of Zhizheng in the Yuan Dynasty to the 7th year of Hongwu, in view of the collapse of the circulation of Yuan banknotes, at the turn of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, some anti-Yuan rebels minted copper coins after establishing their own regimes and restored the circulation of copper coins.

In the 21st year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang was named Duke of Wu by the Little Ming King, and set up the Baoyuan Bureau in Yingtian to start minting Dazhong Tongbao flat coins.

In the 23rd year of Zhizheng, Zhu Yuanzhang defeated Chen Youliang. The next year, he changed his title to King of Wu and "ordered Jiangxi Province to set up a currency bureau and issued five types of Dazhong Tongbao coins". Five types of coins, including flat coins, two-cent coins, three-cent coins, five-cent coins and ten-cent coins, were minted and circulated throughout the Wu regime.

In the 8th year of Hongwu, "the first imperial edict was issued to the Secretariat to make Ming Baochao and allow it to be circulated among the people". At the same time, "the people were forbidden to trade with gold, silver and other goods, and those who violated the rules would be punished."

Rebuilding a unified national currency law and implementing a currency circulation system with Baochao as the main currency and currency notes and coins in parallel.

In order to ensure the smooth flow of the currency law, the currency law was changed accordingly, mainly in three aspects:

First, it was stipulated that Dazhong, Hongwu Tongbao and old coins of all dynasties were used at the same value and circulated together with Baochao.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that "the Secretariat approved the printing of Ming Baochao, which was used in conjunction with copper coins", and "one string of banknotes was equivalent to one thousand copper coins"; in the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu, it was ordered that "Ming Baochao and coins of all dynasties were used in conjunction, and one string of banknotes was equivalent to one thousand coins".

Second, it was stipulated that both Baochao and copper coins were national currencies, but copper coins were mainly used for small payments, and the payment limit of special copper coins was stipulated.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that commercial tax courses "below 100 wen, only copper coins should be used"; in the tenth year of Hongwu, it was ordered that the Baoquan Bureaus of various provinces "cast small coins and banknotes in conjunction, and only coins should be used for less than 100 wen"; in the twenty-second year of Hongwu, it was ordered that "small banknotes from 10 wen to 50 wen should be made" to "facilitate civilian use".

Since then, the payment limit using only copper coins has been reduced from 100 wen to less than 10 wen.

Later, the legal status of copper coins was further reduced. In the eighth year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that "all commercial taxes and various courses shall be collected in both money and banknotes, with 30% of money and 70% of banknotes"; in the tenth year of Hongwu, it was further ordered that "commercial taxes shall be collected in both money and banknotes, with 30% of money and 70% of banknotes".

The monetary law under this system of parallel money and banknotes was subject to the court's monetary circulation policy of using banknotes as the main currency and money as the auxiliary currency.

In August of the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu, due to the "obstruction of the banknote law", "the imperial edict banned the use of copper coins", "ordered the officials to collect all the money and return it to the government, and exchange it for banknotes according to the number, and copper coins were not allowed to be used again.

Within half a month, all copper coins owned by military, civilians and merchants shall be delivered to the government, and those who dare to use them privately or bury or destroy them shall be punished. '

Since then, the pure paper currency circulation stage of the early Ming Dynasty began. After Hongwu, the four dynasties of Jianwen, Yongle, Hongxi and Xuande all adopted this system, and added the "household salt" system and other systems to "re-value the banknote law".

However, the funny thing is that during the 41 years of the pure paper currency circulation system, copper coins were not absolutely abolished.

In the sixth year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu ordered the casting of Yongle Tongbao coins; in the eighth year of Xuande, Emperor Xuanzong ordered the casting of Xuande Tongbao coins.

At the same time, the decree promulgated during the Hongwu period that "gold, silver and copper coins are not allowed to be sent abroad" was broken, and "internal officials were sent to foreign countries and the northwest to buy horses and collect goods". Copper coins were "constantly issued in tens of millions" by sea and land, and were often used to reward foreign countries.

In the Yongle and Xuande dynasties, not only did they continue to cast copper coins, but they also stipulated the provinces and bureaus that cast them and the annual coin casting quota. This batch of Yongle and Xuande Tongbao coins were all cast more neatly and the format was also more neat, showing that there were money regulations.

The copper coins of the Ming Dynasty were not only used in large quantities for foreign trade, but also allowed to be used and paid in individual regions, each with its own laws, which constituted the money law of this stage.

It can be said that Zhu Yuanzhang's decree to ban copper coins was basically abolished after his death, and the people still maintained the previous state of using both banknotes and money.

However, the value of Baochao depreciated wildly during this period, and the people abandoned it like a shoe.

In December of the tenth year of Xuande, Yingzong, who had just ascended the throne, issued an edict to "relax the ban on the use of money". The next year, he changed the reign to Zhengtong and "relaxed the ban on the use of silver".

From then until the 45th year of Jiajing, a total of 131 years, the Ming currency circulation system changed to the parallel use of banknotes, silver and money, and the legislation never changed the provision that Baochao was the main currency. In the early Zhengtong and Jingtai years of this stage, there were twists and turns of "re-imposing the ban on money because the banknote law was not working".

However, the collapse of the banknote law was an irreversible trend. Although Baochao continued to be issued until the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was only a form of preserving the ancestral system. The currency circulation system of banknotes, silver and money had lost its practical significance in social and economic life, and silver was the main currency.

The parallel currency structure pattern of silver and money has emerged. Since the Hongzhi Dynasty, the imperial court has continued to issue decrees stipulating the price comparison of clear money, old money of the past dynasties, and the discount of silver, and adjusted it from time to time.

At this time, although the court still strictly prohibited the private casting of copper coins, due to the lack of copper coins among the people, some people still began to secretly cast copper coins.

In the 33rd year of Jiajing's reign, Shizong adopted the words of He Tingyu, the imperial censor, "please allow the people to use small coins, with sixty coins as one cent of silver", and ordered that "the money law should be based on the convenience of the people."

Emperor Jiajing adopted this suggestion, perhaps because he believed that blocking was better than sparing.

However, once this hole was opened, the flood of private money could no longer be contained.

After all, it was illegal to mint privately before, but now it has become "operating according to orders." Moreover, at this time, in order to obtain more huge profits, private mints of small coins are even more shoddy.

In fact, as long as you are careful, you will find that the clear money stipulated by the court is seventy cents per cent of silver, while for private money, it is sixty cents per cent of silver.

In other words, the ratio of open money to private money is 8.6 to one, one denarius of silver is equal to ten denarii, and sixteen denarii is equal to one tael.

Ordinarily, the Jiajing Dynasty seemed to have already established the money laws of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact it did not.

Because although the imperial court had decided on the exchange of silver and money, the government did not care. That is to say, the common people exchanged money for silver and the price fluctuated, and they did not strictly follow the imperial regulations.

When there are many copper coins, the price of silver rises. When there is little silver, the price of copper coins rises. Some large merchants also take advantage of this to exploit the common people and small merchants.

The reason for this situation is that Emperor Jiajing also issued a decree, that is, "Silver should be used for taxes and official salaries."

In the 42nd year of Jiajing's reign, drumming and casting were stopped, and since then the tax levied silver instead of money.

It was precisely because of this decree that it caused extremely bad effects that lasted hundreds of years later.

The sixth-grade text "Putting Rice" published by the People's Education Press of later generations is selected from "The Harvest of Three or Five Dou More" by Ye Shengtao. It tells the story of farmers in old China who dumped rice after a good harvest. Although the price of rice fell, they had to bear the pain and sell it at a low price. thing.

Since then, changes in the price of Ming money have mainly occurred when local governments paid taxes and levies.

Merchants manipulated the price comparison of silver and took advantage of the court's regulations to collect silver instead of collecting money and exploit the common people crazily.

Therefore, in the third year of Longqing's reign, Tan Lun once proposed: "Please let the people use money to lose money to the officials, and then the money law will be self-explanatory."

The actual meaning is to abolish the levy of silver instead of levying money. The common people can pay for the silver with money according to the imperial edict.

The purpose of Wei Guangde's redundant money law is to establish this in the form of legislation.

Merchants can speculate on the price of silver coins, but the government must collect taxes on 1120 Wen coins according to one tael of silver.

As long as the government clarifies the price of money, there will be less room for merchants to make profits.

"How about the imperial court follow the example of the previous Song Dynasty and introduce iron coins? One to ten exchanges with copper coins?"

Tan Lun suggested in a low voice.

"Iron coins are much more difficult to cast than copper coins, and they corrode easily and are inconvenient to preserve. If you really want to cast small coins, it would be easier to reduce the quality of small coins."

Zhu Heng said.

He is the Minister of Industry, so he naturally knows the difference between copper and iron.

Don't think that iron coins are easy to cast just because they seem to have a small face value. In fact, casting iron coins is much more troublesome than casting copper coins.

During the Song Dynasty, there was a large outflow of copper coins and a shortage of copper raw materials. At that time, commodity transactions became more and more active, and the demand for copper coins increased sharply, so iron coins had to be introduced.

Although the Ming Dynasty still lacks copper, after all, there is more silver, and silver is now the main currency in circulation. Otherwise, Wei Guangde would not have proposed casting one coin of silver treasure.

Speaking of which, such silver coins are only the size of copper coins, but one can be worth seventy copper coins.

However, Wei Guangde felt something in his heart at this moment and said, "I remember that there are still people among the people who exchange treasure banknotes. Is it just ten coins of treasure banknotes that can be exchanged for one penny?"

"What Mr. Wei Ge means is to use treasure money?"

Tan Lun asked with a frown.

"No, no, absolutely not."

Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Household Affairs, said: "Although this is true among the people, it is not calculated this way in the court.

If we follow this approach, the imperial court’s treasury from the central government to the local governments will be reduced.”

Immediately, Wang Guangguang listed the shortcomings of Wei Guangde's method.

Although everyone knows that treasure money is useless, it was printed by Taizu. Even if it is discarded, the most basic dignity must still be retained.

"But, I heard that someone below exchanged treasure banknotes for money from the treasury."

Wei Guangde glanced at Wang Guangguang and said.

As soon as he said these words, the room suddenly became quiet, and Zhang Juzheng also frowned.

Wei Guangde's words were too straightforward. Although he did this below, because the number was small, everyone acquiesced and did not declare it.

To this day, the account books of the Ministry of Household Affairs still record treasure notes.

When local governments pay taxes to the court, they not only pay taxes in kind and money, but also pay part of the treasure banknotes according to "customary practice".

Do local governments accept treasure money?

No matter what, they collect money from the people according to the price of treasure notes, and then the silver money is turned into treasure notes and handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs.

This is why everyone knows that treasure banknotes are useless, but there are still people who exchange them.

It is useless to the common people, but in the hands of the officials, it turns into nothing.

“Let’s all think about this again and brainstorm, and come to the cabinet tomorrow to discuss it again.

However, the Ministry of Industry must calculate the labor prices as soon as possible and produce sample coins and silver treasures. "

Zhang Juzheng said.

The more we talked about this, the more we discovered the shortcomings of the imperial court's chaotic money laws, which seemed to have reached a point where they could not be changed unless they were changed.

The original intention of implementing a whip method is to reduce the burden on the people.

Although people exchange money with each other, there are still many shortcomings. Wei Guangde's money law reform targeted these shortcomings, but Zhang Juzheng began to pay attention to them.

Therefore, he asked everyone to go back and think about it now and continue tomorrow, but he gave the Ministry of Industry the task of completing the sample coins as soon as possible.

It can be seen that in his heart, money law must be done and it is of great importance.

"Yes, don't worry, Chief Assistant. I will gather people to discuss this matter when we get back."

Zhu Heng nodded and said.

"Please keep it secret. This matter must not be made public until the imperial court collects gold on a large scale.

If anyone here leaks any information to the outside world, don't blame me for being so heartless. "

Zhang Juzheng said seriously.

Since taking over the position of chief minister, he has stopped worrying about the court's finances all the time.

Now Wei Guangde's money law seems to have given the court an opportunity to open up money. Before, he never thought of controlling the price of gold and silver to make profits for the court.

But now, although Wei Guangde said it very simply, the meaning behind his words was very clear.

The Yi people took advantage of the price of gold and silver to make profits, and the imperial court seemed to benefit from this.

As for competing for profits with the people, they are competing for the profits of the barbarians and big businessmen. In fact, they do not lack this little money.

On the other hand, the redeployment law is indeed of real benefit to the people.

"The meaning of Lord Shouxu also means good loan."

Wei Guangde also expressed his stance after Zhang Juzheng finished speaking.

"I fully support the opinions of the first and second assistants."

Lu Tiaoyang also spoke at this time.

The three assistant ministers of the cabinet expressed unanimous opinions, which I believe is enough for the three of them to understand the pros and cons, which can really bring someone down.

Although Wang Guoguang, Zhu Heng and Tan Lun are all considered "partisans" of Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, in the face of actual interests, it is difficult to guarantee that no one will have any wrong ideas.

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When it comes to first- and second-grade officials, it's actually hard to tell who is who. Everyone just gathers together for their own benefit, and each has their own supporters behind them.

People cannot be simply defined by political parties or township parties. When Yan Song invaded the government and the opposition, there was Jinda, a fellow villager who was not a member of the Yan family.

"But, after all, the Ministry of Industry needs people below to do it, so it's kept secret."

Zhu Heng was a little embarrassed when he heard that it was kept secret for the time being.

Arranging people to do things, but not explaining things clearly will inevitably lead to mistakes.

At this time, both Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde attached great importance to it, and he did not want to make any mistakes in the Ministry of Industry.

"It is said that the imperial court saw the scattered silver among the people and planned to mint a batch of silver coins to pay officials' salaries."

Wei Guangde had already considered this and immediately reminded him.

"All right."

Zhu Heng could only nod in agreement.