Emperor Chongzhen turned his head to Lan Tianbao and Chen Baoting nodded slightly, and then turned back to the many courtiers below and said: "The honorable and noble salaries are distributed, and the palace is distributed including the military salaries of the forbidden army in the palace, etc., I have always felt that it is not very convenient to distribute them. Therefore, a money bank was also opened, ready to be distributed in the form of silver tickets. ”

Hearing this, all the courtiers couldn't help but be surprised, what do you mean, the emperor runs his own bank? This...... Is this true?

Some of them have flexible brains and usually pay more attention, and they immediately remembered the Daming Royal Bank established before. Could it be, this is the emperor's money, right?

While they were being amazed, they saw several chamberlains walking towards them, carrying folds of things in their hands, and handing them out to each of them.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them from the throne, knowing that they were surprised, so he explained to them again: "This is the silver ticket prepared by me, no need to write it by hand, no need to keep it secret, and it can be exchanged for silver taels immediately according to the seal on the face of the ticket." I am confident that the outside world should not be able to imitate it! ”

When he said this, the officials at the bottom were high-ranked, and the officials in front of the queue had already obtained the silver ticket from the Daming Royal Bank, and at a glance, they understood that the emperor was so confident, and it turned out that he really relied on it. The cost of this silver ticket alone is probably a lot.

There were even a few well-informed officials, after getting the silver ticket, immediately exclaimed: "This is the handiwork of Mr. Shizhu!" ”

In terms of publishing, Hu Zhengyan was a master in the late Ming Dynasty and was also very famous. Of course, at the height of his fame, it would take a few more years for his arch flower prints to appear. But now, with the support of Emperor Chongzhen, this arch flower printing has come out in advance.

Seeing that the courtiers below were whispering with silver tickets, Emperor Chongzhen was not in a hurry, and waited until everyone in the palace got it and looked at it, and then he said: "This silver ticket, I have already issued it to the three major battalions under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and promised in front of the whole army that as long as these silver tickets want to be exchanged for silver, they can be exchanged for silver at any time." In this way, I can also guarantee to my people that anyone who holds the silver ticket issued by the Daming Royal Bank can go to the Daming Royal Bank to exchange the silver ticket. ”

Some civil officials who have opened their own money banks actually want to say that the emperor opened a money bank, so wouldn't it be competing with the people for profit. However, when I heard it at this time, the emperor opened this money house only for the forbidden army, honorables, and the palace, so it was not enough to compete with the people for profit, so I had to hold back.

And those officials who suffered this loss of money did not understand. After thinking about it in a daze, he felt that he understood a little bit of the emperor's meaning, so he asked Emperor Chongzhen: "What does Your Majesty mean, is it that the Ming Dynasty will only use this kind of silver ticket in the future?" ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "Yes! I, the Ming Royal Bank, will never have a problem. And I can issue an order to the household, if one day there is a problem with the silver of the Ming Butler's Bank, and there is not enough exchange, I can directly embezzle the salt tax to complete the exchange of the silver ticket without asking for a decree. ”

Hearing such a thing for the first time, the civil and military officials in the hall couldn't help but whisper again.

The emperor's meaning, they understood, was that if anyone was worried that he had a reputation as an emperor, he could use the salt tax as a guarantee. He took the initiative to say this, which made these officials feel that the emperor was confident. Otherwise, if there is really a thing where the silver is not enough to exchange, the emperor's face will be disgraced.

Thinking like this, many officials feel that the silver ticket of the Daming Royal Bank is still okay, after all, no yamen dares to seize the emperor's bank, which is something that no other private bank can do. In addition, the silver ticket is exquisite, free of secret deposit, easy to exchange, and has the emperor's guarantee, as well as the salt tax guarantee, which is more credible than other money houses.

As a result, some officials came out and immediately agreed that this method was good, at least to solve the inconvenience of their direct use of silver.

However, those officials were anxious before, such as Yang Sichang, who had a close relationship with the Jin merchants, so most of the wealth in his hands was the silver ticket of Fan Ji Qianzhuang, if the emperor's proposal passed, then Fan Ji Qianzhuang would really die.

So, he immediately came out and said: "Your Majesty is already rich all over the world, and now there is a royal money bank, I am afraid that it will be criticized by the people, and it is to compete with the people for profit." As soon as the royal family comes out, which other money bank can compete for the royal money business? ”

Am I rich? Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but hehe in his heart, if he really wants to be rich, can he still be forced to hang himself?

Thinking so in his heart, he asked coldly: "If I am really rich all over the world, why can't I even pay my military salary?" Do you have no money in your heart? ”

You're welcome, Yang Sichang's face changed when he was said, and he didn't know what he wanted to say, but Emperor Chongzhen spoke first, turned his head to look at the others and said: "I didn't let other money banks do business, but there is one rule, that is, if you want to issue a silver ticket of one hundred taels, you must deposit one hundred taels of silver in the Daming Royal Bank, so you will give him a silver bill of one hundred taels of the Ming Royal Bank." In this way, it can put an end to the problem of private money banks absconding with money and printing more silver bills without permission. The problems that you are worried about can be solved together! ”

Yang Sichang was reprimanded, and others who wanted to say that they were competing with the people didn't dare to say it. Later, when he heard the emperor's words, he was dumbfounded. Because this trick of the emperor can indeed put an end to the current large-scale thing that is not enough to exchange silver tickets.

Once this is done as the emperor said, the silver ticket can be exchanged at the Daming Royal Bank. And they have figured it out before, Daming Royal Bank is not afraid of runs. Because not only does the emperor have face, but also the guarantee of the salt tax, etc., if you are even worried about this, then you still obediently take the silver and forget it.

These people in the hall were all thinking about the emperor's words, but the first assistant Xue Guoguan spoke: "Your Majesty, since this is the case, why do you still want to allow the people to open money banks, it is better to ban it directly!" ”

This is not a matter of ventilating in advance, but Xue Guoguan himself really can't understand it, so he asked this question.

When the other officials heard this, they also felt that this question was a good question, so they all looked at Emperor Chongzhen and wanted to hear how the emperor answered.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he smiled and said, "My plan is to only open the Ming Imperial Bank in Jingshi and Yingtianfu, and at most open one in the provincial capitals of each province in the future. Too much to have the energy. It is not ready to be open to all the people, at least there is a lower limit on the scale, and less than how much is not handled, so that the private money bank can completely fill the place that the Daming Royal Bank can not take care of. ”

His real intention is actually to prepare the Daming Royal Bank as a central bank. It's just that at the beginning, there was no way, you had to be both a referee and an athlete, and after other money banks slowly became popular and regularized, Daming Royal Bank had to quit the ranks of athletes, just become the referee of all money banks.

At this time, there are few people who have that kind of mind, and do not do profitable things, but only do a certain piece of content. If it were possible, they would like to take up all the profitable businesses in the world.

However, the emperor obviously did not belong to this case, which made the courtiers a little surprised when they heard it. It can only be attributed to the fact that the emperor really has no heart to compete with the people.

As a result, those courtiers who felt that the problem of silver tickets would be well solved in the future, and who were only concerned about this, praised the emperor's benevolence, generosity, wisdom, and so on.

Yang Sichang lowered his head and didn't speak, he had been trained just now, and he didn't want to speak anymore, so he turned his head slightly and glanced at the imperial history team, and hinted to Liu Meicai with his eyes, meaning to let Liu Meicai think of a way.

is worthy of being a Jinshi, and he is in contact with Jin Shang, Liu Meicai is holding a silver ticket in his hand, and suddenly his eyes lit up, and he really thought of it a little. Therefore, after waiting for a little silence in the hall for a while, he came out and played loudly: "Your Majesty, there is something unknown about Weichen. ”

"Oh, what's the matter?" When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he knew that he was here to find fault, so he immediately sneered in his heart and asked lightly.

When the others heard this, they were a little curious about what Liu Meicai didn't understand, so they all calmed down and paid attention to his question.

Only to hear Liu Meicai raised the silver ticket in her hand, and then asked respectfully: "Your Majesty, Weichen feels that the printing of this silver ticket should cost a lot of money." If Daming Royal Bank does not print more silver bills, how to fill this shortfall? Even if there is a money lending business, but this deficit is a bottomless pit, the more private banks, the more silver bills are needed, so how to deal with this situation? Or is it that only a small number of private banks are allowed to exchange for this silver ticket? ”

Hearing his words, all the officials came to their senses, looked at the silver tickets in their hands, and couldn't help but nod secretly. Although they don't know much about business, they still have a certain appreciation for the quality of things. With this silver ticket in their hands, they can also see that the cost will not be small.

Therefore, they were also curious, how would the emperor answer Liu Meicai's question?

Emperor Chongzhen didn't have to think about this question, so he replied directly: "Since I have solved the problem of silver tickets for everyone, this cost naturally cannot be borne by me alone. Where the money dealer comes to the Daming Royal Bank to exchange the silver ticket, it must pay the cost of the silver ticket. At this point, I can ensure that Daming Royal Bank will not have additional profits, and I will only talk about the cost of production. As for the cost of printing the silver bills printed by the Daming Royal Bank, it is naturally the same as the private bank, which can be solved through lending. ”

It seems to be a matter of course to collect some work costs, and many courtiers nodded when they heard it. However, Liu Meicai was unwilling and did not ask Emperor Chongzhen. So, he rolled his eyes, and asked Emperor Chongzhen again: "Your Majesty, Weichen just heard that the Ming Royal Bank wants to issue military salaries and salaries to the three major battalions, the palace, and the nobles, etc., all of which use this silver ticket. With such a large scale, I am afraid that this cost cannot be covered by lending, right? If the interest rate is too high, you will encounter the dilemma of having no one to lend. Wechen is worried that Daming Royal Bank will still have a deficit! ”

What happens after a drawdown? That's a problem!

After hearing his question, many people turned their eyes to Emperor Chongzhen again to see how he would answer this question?

I heard Emperor Chongzhen say to Liu Meicai: "Of course I have an arrangement, and this deficit is impossible. But I think you must want to have a deficit, then I can also tell you, take a step back, even if there is a deficit, I will accept it, because this is related to whether my Ming people can live and work in peace and contentment, whether my Ming people are getting better and better, and related to my Ming society! ”

Liu Meicai was a little stunned when she heard it, and she felt that what the emperor said was too exaggerated, isn't it just to print a silver ticket, and it is even related to the society of the Ming Dynasty!

When Emperor Chongzhen saw his appearance, he sneered and said, "I guess you don't understand the truth of this, do you think I'm exaggerating?" ”

In fact, the other courtiers actually had this idea, just watching him speak so confidently, the other courtiers couldn't help but keep their mouths shut, and let Liu Mei come out.

At this time, Liu Meicai's forehead was already slightly sweating, and he felt despised, but there was no way to refute it, not to mention, the other party was still the Ming Emperor.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw him, he didn't let him answer, and said directly: "What is money?" Its essence is a unit of measurement to measure goods, which is the embodiment of the value of goods. From the beginning of ancient times when shells were money, to iron as money, and now copper as money, gold and silver as money. One can do without anything else, but one cannot live without this money. More money and less money determine how much material a person can get, and whether life is good or bad. ”

But why did gold, silver, and brass become money and not anything else? Have you ever thought about it? The voice of Emperor Chongzhen was left in the main hall, "Now the silver ticket is a manifestation of money, just the same item, such as food......"

Emperor Chongzhen started from the origin of money, and talked about the current form of currency, and then from the amount of currency, to the embodiment of the value of the currency itself, and from the regional imbalance of currency to the impact on the people, anyway, he talked endlessly for nearly half an hour, and there was only his voice in the entire hall, and he was a little dumb until he said that his voice was a little dumb, so he didn't want to say any more, and finally stared at Liu Meicai and asked: "Now, do you know why even if I want to lose money, I have to subsidize this Ming Royal Bank from other places, right?" ”

To tell the truth, his continuous explanation, if it is placed in the classroom of later generations, it is estimated that a large number of people will fall asleep, which is really a bit boring. Not to mention that in this era, there are many words and new things in it, and after listening to so many words, there are basically few courtiers who can fully understand them.

Most people only have one feeling, the emperor seems to be very powerful, and he knows a lot. Just by looking at the way the emperor talks eloquently, he knows the knowledge here, and the emperor really knows it.

So, for most people, they are worried that the problem of silver tickets in the future will be solved by the emperor, so they will no longer be entangled in how much, and send a bunch of sycophants to the emperor by the way. As for what the emperor really meant, wait until the next court, and then ask others.

In this way, in the future, all private banks will use the silver bills printed by the Daming Royal Bank, which is basically decided.

Of course, this only solves a long-term problem; Looking back, now that many silver tickets have become waste paper, the emperor has not yet said what about this matter. Some of the courtiers asked in a knocking voice.

In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen naturally would not tolerate it, so he arbitrarily said: "If there are still silver tickets that have not been exchanged, go directly to the owner to ask for it, and if you can't get the money, you will copy the house to pay off the debt." As for the silver tickets of Fan Ji Qian Zhuang, I have not yet distinguished those that are stored by Qing and other private individuals, and they are all sealed. If you are in a hurry to change money. I went to the owner of Fan Ji Qian Zhuang. As for that Fan Yongzheng, even if he only had business dealings with the palace and had the courage to do this in secret, I would not tolerate it. If it is found out, it is actually ill-intentioned, it will be the crime of raiding the family and exterminating the family. ”

When he said this, he sent a signal. Don't shout here, if you're worried about your money, hurry up and ask for money from the Fan family first. Otherwise, once the factory guard finds out that there is a plot in the palace, the entire family will copy it, and you won't get a penny.

After announcing this, Emperor Chongzhen's own purpose was achieved, and he went directly to the court.

After weighing it in their hearts, many officials did not dare to guarantee that Fan Yongzheng's collusion with the people in the palace would really be just the reason for ordinary business dealings. Therefore, he tightened the silver ticket in his hand and immediately began to look for the rest of the Fan Yongzheng family. Even some people knew the shareholder behind Fan Ji Qianzhuang, so they immediately came to the door.

Regarding the matter of this Fan Ji Qian Zhuang silver ticket, from the beginning, he did not follow the script of those Jin merchants.

It is conceivable that Jin Shang, at least the Fan family is in trouble!