The Daming Jingshi in early autumn is still hot. People stood on the edge of the river, blowing the wind from the river, and finally felt a little cool.

Gao Xianning, the secretary of Dali Temple, with a group of people, was at the wharf of Longjiang Port, waiting for the boxes on a large ship to be carried down one after another. Six improved six-wheeled hourglasses were carefully lifted out of the cotton-covered chests. On the dock, there were already two hourglasses.

This big ship also set off from Longjiang Port before, sailed along the Dajiang River to the Sichuan Political Envoy, and then followed the Tuojiang River to the north to observe the sun's shadow in Zizhou; Then sail the same way and return to Beijing.

When Gao Xianning stepped forward to observe, he found that the scales of the six hourglasses were all different; Compared with the two hourglasses placed in Longjiang Port, none of them are the same.

There was a look of disappointment on his face. In this case, there is no need to inquire about the results of solar shadow observations; The hours of observation are not synchronized, and the results are meaningless.

The experiment presided over by Gao Xianning was once cited as an anecdote in Beijing Shilin, but now I am afraid that only laughter remains.

This kind of thing seems to have also entered the scope of Jinyiwei's spying. Because the next day, when Gao Xianning went to Dongnuan Pavilion to face the saint, Emperor Zhu Gaoxu also took the initiative to comfort him a few words.

Zhu Gaoxu said without raising his head: "Many things have nothing to do with methods, they are purely technical problems, and it is really difficult to find accurate timing technology at the moment." Gao Siqing doesn't have to be too persistent, just keep it as a family. The next time the fleet went to the Western Ocean, I called the eunuchs who sent me to look for the rumored 'Euclidean geometry original' in the Arabian region, and then combined with the astronomical observations of the Qin Tianjian to see if we could verify it by other methods. ”

As he spoke, he was still "crackling" with his abacus, and then writing and drawing on paper.

It's a bit funny. was originally a burly emperor who led troops to fight, but at this time, he was seriously tinkering with calculations there, as if he had become a shopkeeper.

Gao Xianning said solemnly: "The saint is reasonable. ”

After a while, Xia Yuanji, Qi Tai, Ru Yu, Jian Yi, Song Li and other officials also arrived one after another, and everyone saluted the emperor behind the imperial case.

"Flat." Zhu Gaoxu put down the abacus and brush, raised his hand and said.

He then took a look at the paper in front of him, and said straightly, "The mint in the south of the outer city is open day and night with sufficient raw materials such as copper, charcoal (coking coal), and all kinds of preparations, with an annual output of about 100 million coins. In addition, there are two mints on the Qinhuai River and two mints under construction in Taiping Mansion (Ma'anshan). In the future, up to 500 million coins will be minted annually.

Since the start of the First Mint, the three copper coins of one, five and ten wen minted in ten months are worth only 80,000 yuan; According to the pricing of the new money is double the old money, it is only worth 160,000 yuan. This bit of currency, for the overall wealth of my Ming Dynasty, is just a drop in the bucket. It is imperative to mint silver coins. ”

Xia Yuanji hugged his fists and said: "Minister, please play, since there are 80,000 new copper coins in the treasure banknote treasury (central bank warehouse), it is better to hand them over to the household bank treasury as soon as possible." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I have already received Xia Butang's recital, and I have not yet approved it, and it is a matter to be discussed today. When I first set up the central bank, I made it clear that the central bank was in charge of money, not coinage. Xia Butang and Song Tiju did not have any direct relationship. ”

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Xia Yuanji said: "The difference between one word is indeed different. However, military spending is allocated by the Ministry of Households, and the state treasury is very tight this year; 80,000 new money can be used for 160,000 yuan of old money, and it can also slightly reduce the urgent needs of the household. ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Xia Yuanji, and then buried his head in the things on the paper, "A silver coin is worth about sixty times the value of the new copper coin. In the future, the five major mints will start construction at the same time, and they will be able to mint tens of millions of coins every year, which can fully meet the needs of currency issuance.

However, if this money is delivered to households in this way and indefinitely, there will be too much money in circulation, and the result will be a vicious depreciation of the coin. That's not what I set up a central bank for.

The rate of currency depreciation, that is, inflation, should be related to the total amount of goods and wealth in the national market, and maintain a certain relationship. Neither allow money to circulate enough, nor inflation too fast. ”

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment, and then said: "Under normal circumstances, the central bank and the household department are independent yamen. The income of the household should come mainly from taxes, not directly from the mint. If Xia Butang was really short of money, he could submit a report to the imperial court and then borrow money from the central bank.

In recent years, the loan has been written in blue and does not need to be returned, because the new money has just been circulated in the market, and a certain amount is needed to meet the needs of the market. However, if you borrow money from the household department, you must record the deficit and return it with the tax revenue.

The situation where the imperial court directly subsidizes the household department with a government decree should be at a special time. For example, if there is a natural disaster in a certain place, the imperial court should subsidize it by increasing currency inflation. It is not a simple handout, but uses the money from the national treasury to hire local disaster victims and build water conservancy and road facilities.

In order to unify the power of taxation, I will issue an edict that the household department has the right to control all taxes in the whole country; The Municipal Lifting Division will also be directly under the Ministry of Households. You have to find your own way to save money from the sea trade tariffs and local tax expenditures. ”

After hearing this, Xia Yuanji had no choice but to say: "Since the saint has set the rules, after the minister returns to the government, he will play a chapter and ask for a decree, sign in blue, and borrow coins from the treasure banknote vault (central bank warehouse). ”

Zhu Gaoxu slapped his forehead, found Hu Guang, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, from the crowd, and said: "After a while, Master Hu will write a holy decree and let the Municipal Lifting Division be directly under the Ministry of Households. From now on, the household department has the right to control the tax collection of all parts of the country and each eye. ”

Hu Guangbai said: "The minister's decree." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said to Xia Yuanji: "I hope that the household department will assume the power of the central finance. Natsube reluctantly. ”

Xia Yuanji bowed his hand with a serious expression and answered.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "In the past year, I have ordered to stop issuing Daming treasure banknotes and mint coins. This national policy is not simply to replace treasure money with silver and copper coins. My wish is to solve some of the shortcomings of the imperial court for many years through monetary and fiscal strategies.

First, deflation, that is, there is a chronic shortage of money in the market and a shortage of money. As the country became peaceful, the real prices of grain and other goods continued to fall, and some officials celebrated instead, believing that it was a sign of material abundance.

There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't think it's a good thing. Because the currency cannot keep up with the economic level, the price of goods is falling year by year, and it is difficult to sell what is produced; This will inhibit the continued increase in the production of grain and goods, which is extremely detrimental to the growth of wealth.

The rich and wealthy must have kept their coins and gold and silver in their cellars, rather than for their business. The reason is very simple, money has always been able to buy two stone of rice this year, but next year it can

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To buy three stones, it is best to store the coins rather than spend them. The stagnation of large quantities of gold and silver coins in the cellars would cause even more severe deflation.

Therefore, the central bank should strictly prohibit private collections of gold and silver, limit the weight of private gold and silver jewelry, and maintain a certain rate of slow currency depreciation, so that production can develop. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Second, land has been annexed, and cultivated land has been concentrated in a few wealthy households year by year. There were more and more destitute people, which affected the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the collection of agricultural taxes, causing financial difficulties for the imperial court.

We sent people to make secret visits in many ways, and the reasons for the land annexation were very complicated. But there is one major thing that can be alleviated by monetary policy, and that is to curb high interest rates.

In addition to storing coins, the wealthy people in the local area also made a living by lending usury. Generally, the sufferer uses the land as a pledge, and the interest cannot be repaid, so it is easy to lose the land. Therefore, the central bank needs to support state-run banks and big businessmen to lend money at reasonable interest rates to provide a source of funds for those who lack money. In short, it is possible to use capital to regulate the affairs of national policy, and try not to use rough decrees, so as to restore the credit and reputation of the imperial court. ”

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Third, the problem of the decentralized supply system of the military and government yamen in various places. Under the decentralized supply system, a county sometimes has to supply supplies to more than a dozen places. Neither adequacy nor quality can be guaranteed; And it has caused a huge burden on the local people, and they often have to borrow money to get by.

The imperial court needed sufficient financial revenue, currency circulation, and centralized coordination of production, orders, and transportation. It can reduce the burden on the people, improve the efficiency of the military and government, and at the same time boost industry and commerce. ”

When they heard this, they talked for a while.

At this time, the official Shangshu bowed and said: "The saint is working hard, and he intends to change the law drastically. However, everything is contrary to the constitution of the ancestors, and if the upper and lower levels cannot be complied with as one, the etiquette law will be shaken. The law is still the same as before, and it is difficult to change it for a while, and the coins are repeatedly handled in the various offices, or there are traitors who make profits, and when greed for ink becomes a trend, the rule of officials collapses, and it is impossible to ignore it. ”

None of the ministers immediately refuted the righteous arguments. However, Qi Tai stood up and said impartially: "The Holy One intends to eliminate the maladministration, and the country is very fortunate. What Jian Butang said is not unreasonable. Saints should be cautious. ”

Zhu Gaoxu didn't argue directly, but smiled at Gao Xianning: "I was right before, right? Many times, the difficulty lies only in technical issues. ”

Gao Xianning bent down and said, "The Holy One is wise." ”

Zhu Gaoxu did not rebuke Jianyi, but because Jianyi was not wrong, for example, "the constitution of the ancestors" is indeed very complicated. Some of the problems mentioned by Zhu Gaoxu are really the system designed by his imperial grandfather, and the Manchu Dynasty civil and military scholars have been in power for decades, and sudden changes may indeed cause political confusion.

"Today is gone, you are loyal to the court, and I am very relieved. Major matters should be carefully taken and taken into account for the long term. Zhu Gaoxu said.

When the ministers heard this, they bowed down and thanked him.

However, Zhu Gaoxu's determination was not shaken in the slightest by one or two exhortations from the minister. He has always firmly believed that with today's level of development of the productive forces, the ruling system that has remained unchanged for thousands of years is actually no longer suitable for the development of the productive forces. With the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty, the country's mobilization capacity is so low that it is completely incommensurate with the national strength.

Reform is imperative. In the early preparations, there was a lack of good news from Sheng Yong to send a big silver mine.

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