Chapter 4672 Emperor’s Credit
Fang Jun glanced at Liu Ji and said calmly: "Zhongshu Ling is one of the prime ministers and assistants, a civil servant leader, but he is so ignorant of economic practice, which is really disappointing. I have a suggestion. Since Liu Zhongshu is a vegetarian and has no moral integrity, Why don’t you take the initiative to give up your position and make way for someone worthy of your position?”
Liu Ji's face turned red and he retorted: "If we are three people together, we must be my teacher. Although I am not good at economic planning, I am willing to study hard, so I am not ashamed to ask."
Fang Jun sneered, ignored him, and said to the hopeful Li Chengqian: "The company doesn't have that much money, and it's impossible to have that much money, so we can't count on the company for this matter, we have to find another way."
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From the time Emperor Taizong intentionally founded the "Dong Datang Trading Company" to the present day, the "Dong Datang Trading Company" has already developed into a behemoth, nominally in charge of all trade related to sea trade, and with the protection of the Royal Navy, it has become an integrated entity of its own. , basically free from political interference.
Such a behemoth who was isolated from the court was bound to be feared by the emperor and important officials in the court. The reason why Liu Jie asked this question was not necessarily because his financial ability was really lacking, but more because it was to give Fang Jun and the company some eye candy. I would like to remind Your Majesty that it is best to nationalize the operation of the business...
Li Chengqian could not hide his disappointment.
Tang Jian didn't care about these intrigues. With his qualifications and age, he was already above the competition for interests. He sighed: "This is not just a question of who has money, but the whole world is short of money. Even if there will be If all the money in Henan Prefecture is put together, it will be difficult to collect 18 million yuan.”
A lot of "money" is actually just a number. For example, the assets of a certain family are worth tens of millions, which is just a valuation. In fact, this is just the value of various industries. If it is sold, no one can come up with it. Money to buy.
The lack of copper in the Central Plains has been a chronic disease since ancient times, which has greatly restricted economic development. This is the most basic knowledge that no one understands.
Even if the Henan family collects enough money, it will lead to a money shortage in the entire Henan Prefecture. If there is no money available in the entire Henan Prefecture, something big will happen...
Tang Jian looked at Fang Jun and said strangely: "As far as I know, the company has relied on the navy's profit to lease a lot of mines overseas. There are both copper mines and gold mines, and there is also a lot of silver. I guess they have these two stocks. It’s huge, so why lend it to the world’s noble family to redeem the land? It can solve the world’s money shortage and earn a lot of interest for the company. Why not do it?”
The current monetary system of the Tang Dynasty was inherited from the former Sui Dynasty. The main currencies in circulation are gold, copper, silk, and silk. Silver is not recognized by the state, but its use among the people is becoming more and more widespread. The reason is the serious shortage of copper and currency, so it can only Supplemented with silver.
But everyone knows that the gold and silver mined overseas by the company are not stored in their own warehouses, but are transported to Chang'an by ship, and are now in the inner treasury of Tai Chi Palace.
The implication is that the emperor is asked to take out this part of the money, either as a loan or in some other way, to make up for the shortage of money from the noble families in the world.
Li Chengqian looked hesitant, but before he could speak, Fang Jun had already smiled and said: "The country is the country, and the family is the family. The 'Eastern Datang Company' is not a national property, but a royal private property built by Emperor Taizong. There are many more How can the shares of the royal family, princes and other people be merged into the national treasury as private property? ”
Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief. As an emperor, he knew very well that "it's difficult to move without money." Especially when it comes to rewarding ministers to show kindness, you can't give a bunch of verbal awards without any tangible benefits, right? Real money is the last word.
In the early years of Zhenguan, the Turkic Jieli Khan came to the Weishui River and pointed his sword directly at Chang'an. Although Emperor Taizong was happy and unafraid to join an alliance with him on the banks of the Weishui River and was praised by the world, in fact, he emptied Chang'an's treasury that time. Only by allowing Jieli Khan to return with a full load did a crisis that was enough to subvert the Tang Dynasty be eliminated.
It was the most difficult time for the empire. In order to save fabric, Queen Wende’s skirt could not even cover the uppers of her shoes...
Emperor Taizong could rely on his supreme prestige to scold Fang Qiu and order a group of arrogant soldiers to accompany him through such difficult days. However, Li Chengqian believed that his talents were not as good as those of Emperor Taizong. If he did not have enough wealth to reward him and win people's hearts, How to establish the imperial dignity?
The money that goes into the house is his money. He is not afraid of spending money, but he is not willing to do Tang Jian's behavior which is close to "robbery".
Fortunately, Fang Jun blocked Tang Jian's mouth, so there was no need for him, the emperor, to refuse.
Therefore, in many cases, as long as Fang Jun is not stubborn and willing to go along with it, he is actually a loyal minister who is both capable and understands his own thoughts...
Tang Jian glanced at His Majesty, who was drinking tea with his head lowered. He knew that what Fang Jun said was His Majesty's heart. This road would definitely not work. He could only sigh and said helplessly: "It's not the old man who covets His Majesty's treasury regardless of public or private affairs." The government is really helpless!”
Such an astronomical amount of wealth flowing into the Ministry of Civil Affairs' treasury will solve many current problems. Otherwise, why would he have to write to resign every day, and then have to stay in bed in the mansion to recuperate after His Majesty refused?
In a sense, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is "the Minister of Money". From the day he takes the position of Minister, he is either making money or on the way to make money...
It costs money to build water conservancy projects, it costs money to equip the army, it costs money to pay officials, it costs money to maintain official houses and palaces, it costs money to build bridges and pave roads... How can you get around without money?
Who are the capable ministers and who are the officials?
Anyone with money will do it!
He has served as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs for many years, and now he is already over sixty years old. He has taken a dim view of power and interests, and only wants to make some achievements before leaving office. History books can treat him with a lot of praise.
So at this time, seeing such a huge sum of money not falling into his pocket, Tang Jianbai scratched his heart and looked at Fang Jun almost pleadingly: "It seems that Erlang still has a way, right? Don't worry, no matter what kind of I firmly support all methods!”
Then, he swept in front of the other people one by one, and said loudly: "Whoever dares to object, I will fight to the death!"
Liu Jie: "..."
Seeing Tang Jian's eyes finally fall on his face, he felt extremely depressed. Is it really appropriate to point at the monk and scold the bald man like this?
But there was nothing he could do against Tang Jian. If a veteran of this level sacrificed his face and relied on his elders, he would be almost invincible...
When Li Chengqian's gaze seemed to fall on his face, Liu Ji couldn't sit still, straightened his back, looked at Fang Jun, and said sincerely: "If the Duke of Yue really has any good ideas, why don't you tell me Come out and read the details together.”
He naturally knew that the gold and silver shipped by the Navy to Chang'an were ship after ship, and all were sealed in His Majesty's inner treasury, which could be used to meet urgent needs. However, His Majesty looked like a "miser" and obviously did not intend to use the money he had treasured. After breaking into the treasury, if there is no good solution now, the officials in the court will force His Majesty to take out the money, and His Majesty will have to obey, but he will inevitably feel resentful.
So I simply put all my expectations on Fang Jun. If Fang Jun can come up with a good solution, everyone will be happy. If he is helpless, he will have to bear the most complaints from His Majesty...
Fang Jun raised his eyelids and glanced at the ill-intentioned Liu Ji, and smiled disdainfully. The reason why this person was rated average in history was not because of his lack of talent, but because he was narrow-minded, irresponsible, and hated by others. .
Such people hang out in the officialdom and fall off the horse at the slightest setback. If you don't die, who will die?
"Of course there are ways, but this matter is of great importance. Whether it succeeds or not, I hope you can guarantee not to leak it to the outside world."
Li Chengqian perked up and said in a deep voice: "It's okay, Erlang, but only I and a few of my dear friends know about this matter. If anyone leaks even half of it, I will never let it go!"
Fang Jun nodded, attracting everyone's curiosity, and then slowly said: "Issuing banknotes in the name of the Royal Bank can solve the problem of money shortage."
Everyone knows about the Royal Bank, but what are banknotes?
This time even Li Ji became curious: "Erlang might as well explain it in detail, so that we will not be confused and confused."
Fang Jun sat upright and spoke clearly: "The so-called banknotes are naturally printed on special paper, and are supplemented by various anti-counterfeiting methods so that they cannot be stolen or copied. Banknotes can be divided into several types with different denominations. According to the Royal Bank issued, using His Majesty’s internal funds as a deposit to guarantee any People can exchange equal amounts of gold and silver at any time just by holding banknotes, and use these banknotes to lend money to noble families who are in urgent need of money to redeem their land. The noble families will then pay the redemption fee to the treasury and pay the royal bank as agreed. ”
Everyone didn't turn around for a while, which was quite baffling.
Although Tang Jian was old, he had been in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs for many years and was quite knowledgeable about the economy. After thinking about it for a while, he explained the turning point: "In other words, the aristocratic family used this kind of paper money to redeem the land they had occupied and annexed, so that After it is legalized, this kind of banknotes will flow back to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs can request your Majesty's internal funds to be exchanged in equal amounts at any time..."
"Wait a minute!"
Liu Jie finally understood something: "In other words, the family members used worthless banknotes to redeem their fields. The Ministry of Civil Affairs can exchange the banknotes with His Majesty at any time, while His Majesty's money is still in the bank... But this is going round and round. In a big circle, how can we directly ask the family members to pay IOUs to the Ministry of Civil Affairs? ”
“But after such a setback, the problem of money shortage was solved.”
Fang Jundao: "The lack of money is an important link that restricts economic development. Adding tens of millions of dollars out of thin air will stimulate the economy to reach a new peak."
Liu Ji frowned: "But those are just worthless banknotes, not real money!"
"Why are the banknotes that you can ask your Majesty to redeem in equal amounts at any time, not money? That is money! And it is money guaranteed by your Majesty's credit, which is more real than real gold and silver!"
Before this, there had never been paper money, and the world knew nothing about its harmfulness. However, relying on the personalities managed by the three generations of emperors since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the "emperor's credit" was extremely strong, as long as there had not been any "additional issuance" or "abuse". If paper money is issued, the "emperor's credit" will remain strong.
As long as the "emperor's credit" remains strong, the value of banknotes will remain strong.
Of course, the development from paper money to currency requires a complex and long process. Issuing a few paper money on a whim cannot replace the currency system of gold and silver.
But everything is difficult at the beginning. As long as you make a good start, you will not repeat the mistakes of "Jiaozi of the Song Dynasty" and "Baochao of the Ming Dynasty"... (End of this chapter)