Chapter 105: Silver Famine

The situation in Japan came. made Zhu Qizhen breathe a sigh of relief.

Because in the second half of the 32nd year of orthodoxy, another bad sign appeared in the Ming Dynasty, that is, the rise in silver prices.

In fact, the silver price of the Ming Dynasty has been on an upward trend since Zhou Chen abolished the treasure banknotes.

After all, it was not for nothing that Hongwu decided that the treasure banknote would be the national currency. One of the practical reasons for this is that there is a huge shortage of precious metal copper coins.

To mint a large number of copper coins, this thing is time-consuming and laborious, and it is better to follow the paper money system of the Yuan and Song dynasties.

It's just that this system is no longer sustainable when it is orthodox. Only then can there be thoughtful reform.

But the dividends of any reform are temporary.

After the abolition of the treasure banknote, the silver and silver were convenient for a while. But as the country became more and more congested, the price of silver taels became higher and higher.

One of the reasons is that there is so little silver.

What is the total amount of silver taels in circulation in the Ming Dynasty?

Zhu Qizhen didn't know, but the total number was probably around 100 million taels. This is also the reason why the amount of silver mined in the Orthodox Unification Dynasty has increased year by year.

Before orthodoxy, including the early period of orthodoxy, the annual silver mining volume of the Ming Dynasty was around 300,000 taels.

Whether there are any of the following people who are full of private pockets, Zhu Qizhen doesn't know. But even if someone has a lot of money. The amount of silver added by the Ming Dynasty every year is only about one million taels.

Of course, the currency in circulation in the Ming Dynasty is not only silver taels, but also a large number of copper coins, and a considerable number of places are bartered.

In Zhou Chen, as much as possible, the fiscal revenue was converted into silver and grain. The need for silver has increased considerably. Now the wind of a whip has only blown out.

The price of silver seems to rise uncontrollably.

Zhu Qizhen deeply understood one thing.

That is, some of the reforms in history may lag behind. But it's all prerequisites.

Zhu Qizhen faced a problem, if all the taxes of the Ming Dynasty were converted into silver dollars, which greatly reduced the difficulty of management from top to bottom.

But the amount of silver that supports the entire operation of the Ming Dynasty is heavenly.

The premise of a whip method is that in the late Ming Dynasty, almost a steady stream of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Qizhen suddenly discovered that he had buried a deep silver hunger, or precious metal hunger, in the depths of the Ming regime.

This made Zhu Qizhen very anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

According to the law of economic development and the quantity of money, the Ming Dynasty must ensure that the inflow of silver is continuous and uninterrupted in the future. Otherwise, there will be big problems with Daming.

And Daming precious metals are very scarce, which has become the root of Daming's disease.

And there is no cure for this disease.

The Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties all carried out a large number of experiments on the paperization of money, and almost all the credit of paper money has been overdrawn. Now the Great Ming Lord

The body is thinking, that is, paper money is unreliable.

It is simply impossible to restore the treasure money.

This question seems to be in a dead end.

Zhu Qizhen said secretly in his heart: "I can only leave the country to future generations to worry about." ”

During his 30-year reign, he completed two monetary reforms, one abolishing paper money and establishing the silver system, which is now changed to silver money.

This is frequent enough.

In making paper money, it is simply a change of order and the people are at a loss.

Therefore, this one thing can only be left to future generations. He could only look at what was in front of him.

Zhu Qizhen looked at Liu Dingzhi and said, "As the first assistant, how should this matter be handled, I have to give me an explanation." ”

Zhu Qizhen's tone was very unkind.

There is also a reason for this, because the problem of silver shortage was not discovered by the cabinet, nor was it discovered by Jinyiwei, but reported by the Shaofu.

This is also related to the nature of the government and Jinyiwei.

The Ming government is essentially a small government, minimizing interference with the people below, and they also have no ability to interfere with the people below. Although Jinyiwei has the task of reporting prices in various places. But economic problems are not Jinyiwei's specialty. They won't find the problem either.

Shaofu is different.

The Shaofu is deeply involved in the operation of the economy.

The silver shortage led to a rise in the price of silver, and the shortage of money in the market directly affected the income of Shaofu. Shaofu couldn't be more sensitive to this.

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After the Shaofu report came up, Zhu Qizhen also gathered the intelligence of all parties, and this matter was confirmed. The rise in the price of silver has been an event since the beginning of orthodoxy, and this year's increase in the price of silver has exceeded expectations.

As soon as the price of silver was high, everyone kept the silver and did not spend it, and the silver in the world suddenly became in short supply.

Beijing, the largest economic center in the north, is the most sensitive to changes in this regard.

Today, this problem is still a symptom. But if you don't curb it, who knows what will happen.

Zhu Qizhen gave so much power to the cabinet, it can be said that the scholars in the cabinet are not much worse than the prime ministers of the Tang and Song dynasties in terms of power. Such power is given to them to be held accountable.

In any case, Liu Dingzhi is the head of the cabinet and the prime minister. There is a sin of negligence in this matter.

Liu Dingzhi himself understood, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that there are three strategies to curb the price of silver. ”

Zhu Qizhen nodded and motioned for Liu Dingzhi to say.

Liu Dingzhi said: "First, the household department added an additional sum of money to purchase enough materials from the Beijing division to build the gallop road. ”

Zhu Qizhen immediately understood that this was actually the so-called method of raising names in the Song Dynasty, which was used to balance the price of paper money. Now it is only used on silver taels.

The treasury of the Ming Dynasty is rich, and there are 10 million to 20 million taels of silver in the large warehouse and the inner treasury all year round as the silver at the bottom of the ballast warehouse

, until the crisis moment, you can't move.

In extreme cases, there are also two stocks of more than 30 million taels of silver.

That is to say, there is not enough silver on the market, and a large part of it is also that the Ming Dynasty has occupied too much silver taels, and so much silver is smashed out at once. Naturally, it can alleviate the shortage of silver.

However, in this way, the construction of the gallop road was increased.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "How much?" ”

Liu Dingzhi gritted his teeth and said, "Five million taels." ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "In this way, let's continue to build the two Jingchi Road." ”

In this way, the two gallop roads from Xuzhou to Xi'an and Beijing to Nanjing were built at the same time.

For Mr. Liu, it was a difficult decision.

Once the minister of the Ming Dynasty became the secretary of the household department, he would generally become a miser. The silver in the Taicang treasury is regarded as life.

This is also because the fiscal thinking of these ministers will stay at the stage of small farmers. I already want to fill up all the warehouses.

Five million taels is a lot of money for Liu Dingzhi, enough to fight a battle. Not only can the Liangjing Chi Road be built, but even the Chi Road from Xi'an to Yili can be started in advance.

However, this is a palliative solution.

Liu Dingzhi said: "Second, ban bronze ware, ban silver ware, and increase the number of silver dollars and copper coins. The specific number cannot be given by the minister for a while, and he needs to discuss with the following before reporting to His Majesty. ”

Increasing the amount of money minted is also a way.

After all, coinage itself is a currency issuance, after all, not all silver coins are silver, and not all copper coins are silver.

This is useful for increasing the amount of money issued.

Zhu Qizhen didn't say anything.

Liu Dingzhi continued: "Third, it is to issue money. ”

said this, Liu Dingzhi glanced at Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen instantly understood.

What is the place where the most gold in Daming is located? It is in the inner treasury, Shaofu has mastered a large number of gold mines, especially in the development of the northeast, and there are many gold mines that continue to enter the inner treasury.

issued money, Zhu Qizhen also did it, but the price of gold was too expensive at this time. The money in the palace is used as a reward, and in many cases it is not used as currency.

If you want to issue it, it is best to leave it to the Ministry of Households.

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a while and said, "I will allow you to do these three things, but they only treat the symptoms but not the root cause." ”

All kinds of administrative measures are just to suppress the signs of money shortage, and this silver shortage is more like a rehearsal. And all Zhu Qizhen can intervene in is Beijing.

For the most economically developed south of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen is beyond the reach of the whip.

Liu Dingzhi immediately saluted and said: "The minister can't solve the worries of the monarch's father, and the crime deserves death." ”

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Get up, in this way, Japan is too important." ”