Chapter 54: The Silver Dollar of Zhaowu

Three million taels of silver is not a small amount. Zheng Hongkui said that after the three million taels of silver came out of the Zheng family, Yao Qisheng came to the palace almost immediately to report it.

Zhang Xuan was also slightly surprised after hearing this.

If he said that he would pay money for the Zheng family, he didn't expect it at all, it was fake. The Zheng family is rich and known to the world. The four words "rich and rival the country" seem to be tailor-made for the Zheng family.

After Zhang Xuan proposed the national bonds, the Zheng family had to express it more or less. But I never expected that Zheng Chenggong would be so atmospheric.

Three million taels without blinking an eye.

Zhang Xuan said: "Since the Duke of Min is so well aware of the righteousness, and I can't live up to the heroes, the interest on this national debt is a little higher, and the Zheng family must not be allowed to suffer." ”

"I understand." Yao Qisheng said.

Zhang Xuan felt in his heart that Yao Qisheng didn't understand, and he would rather let the Zheng family make a lot of money on top of the national debt this time, so as to achieve the effect of standing up for the letter.

It also lets you know that treasury bonds can make money, so that the next time you issue treasury bonds, you will enthusiastically sign up.

However, this matter, after all, is not an urgent matter, Zhang Xuan will let it go first, but ordered someone to call Xian Zijing over and tell him about this matter, Zhang Xuan finally said: "From today on, no matter what the imperial court collects, the expenditure can only be silver dollars." ”

"This time, the military expenditure is very urgent, and within a month, the three million taels of silver will be converted into silver dollars, but I don't know if you can complete it."

Xian Zijing gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, the minister can only use extraordinary methods, so that some requirements on the silver dollar will not be able to meet Your Majesty's requirements." ”

"It doesn't matter." Zhang Xuan said: "This time you have to be in a hurry, and it is not too late to build it carefully next time." ”

"So." Xian Zijing said: "The minister can do it, but His Majesty has to allocate a sum of money first." ”

"How much?" Yao Qisheng said. Whenever money was involved, Yao Qisheng became very sensitive and asked directly.

"Xia Guan can't come out for a while." Xian Zijing said: "However, because it is no more than 50,000 taels." Only with this amount of money can we see the mint set up. ”

Zhang Xuan said: "This is accurate. However, how are you going to do minting. ”

Xian Zijing said: "With His Majesty's thoughts, suppress." However, the minister originally wanted to suppress it with hydraulic power, but he hadn't chosen the address yet, and the matter came too quickly, so he had to simplify it because of the ugliness. ”

Zhang Xuan said: "If it's simple? ”

Xian Zijing didn't know what to say for a while, and Gaine couldn't say a lot of things clearly, so he said: "Your Majesty, the minister can suppress the tools and carry them into the palace for Your Majesty to take a look." ”

Zhang Xuan was a little puzzled, in his mind, this kind of suppression of money

The machines of the coins should be very large, if they can be carried into the palace. With some suspicion, he said, "Go quickly." ”

"Yes." Xian Zijing said.

However, after a while, several soldiers carried a small machine into the room.

Zhang Xuan could see that this thing was not big, but it was very heavy. It looks like it's all made of iron. It looked like a jar, with a silver bar inserted from it. There's an iron shelf underneath, triangular, that holds this up.

Xian Zijing said: "Two wrestlers are needed. to be able to operate. ”

Zhang Xuan called two of the soldiers standing guard outside the door, and Xian Zijing asked the two of them to hold a big hammer.

After fixing the thing, a man picked up the hammer and slammed it into the machine, and a section of the rising cylinder was smashed down.

A crisp sound of "jingle" reached Zhang Xuan's ears, but he saw something rolling on the ground several times. Zhang Xuan bent down and picked up this thing.

But he saw that it was a round piece of silver. It's about the same size as the ocean. It's just that there is no text on it.

Xian Zijing said: "Your Majesty, because of the tight time, the inscription on this is not ready yet. But that's pretty much it. As long as there are enough people, three million silver treasures a month can be created. ”

Zhang Xuan regretted it for a while.

He thought that the technology of suppressing the ocean was very high. But I never thought that Xian Zijing would be able to do it like this.

It's just that in this way, wouldn't the people's private suppression of the ocean be even more widespread.

"Am I in a hurry?" Zhang Xuan secretly said in his heart: "Do you want to wait any longer." ”

It's just that Zhang Xuan wants to wait, Yao Qisheng doesn't want to wait.

Yao Qisheng had long been infected with financial hunger and thirst, and he couldn't extricate himself. For things that can make money, he will never let go, and he feels that as long as there are savings in the household, Zhang Xuan will not find a way to do crooked ways.

For example, national debt.

The interest rate of money is the country's regular income, and Zhang Xuan is just turning copper coins into silver coins. Now that it has been effective, it should be promoted quickly.

"Your Majesty, since there are silver dollars, please ask Your Majesty to order that a series of expenses such as the imperial court and military salaries will be paid in silver dollars. In the spring and autumn period, the silver dollar is not charged for fire consumption, and all kinds of silver and miscellaneous silver, because of the old practice, let the people use it. Yao Qisheng said: "There is also a mint that needs to be expanded quickly. The minister was willing to set aside 100,000 taels from the household department for expansion. ”

Zhang Xuan saw the fire jumping in Yao Qisheng's eyes, and said secretly in his heart: "That's it, everything is from bad to good, and it will be slowly improved in the future." Zhang Xuan said: "Okay." First build it in this way, but to prevent folk lawbreakers from stealing it. Xian Qing still has to work harder. ”

"Obey." Xian Zijing said.

With Xian Zi

Jing began to make silver into silver dollars, and Zhang Xuan also showed silver dollars at the imperial court, and gave a silver dollar to officials in the world.

It also makes the people accustomed to this kind of money.

However, there are many advantages to this money, and the biggest advantage is that it can be used to pay taxes without charging fire.

Since the Ming Dynasty began to collect cashiers, the miscellaneous tax of fire consumption has become an important revenue for local governments. It is one of the most important additional taxes in tax collection.

In all kinds of financial reforms of the Qing court, they all started with fire.

You can see its importance.

If it is a peaceful time, if this decree wants to be implemented, I don't know how much there is opposition to it, both openly and covertly.

But today's Zhang Xuanming is the inheritance, and it is the same as the creation. Especially for the officials in various places, he is almost ruthless, and he is living with his tail between his tail from top to bottom, so he naturally does not dare to make a mistake.

Exempting fire consumption is a tax cut for the people. But if I really want to implement this tax cut, I am afraid it will take several years.

The reason is very simple, although three million silver dollars are a lot, but in the whole south, it is like a drop in the bucket, for a considerable period of time, the circulation of silver and silver is still the mainstream, and the flow of silver dollars is only an auxiliary.

This is determined by the economic characteristics of this era, even though Zhang Xuan has come up with many methods, for example, to set up a special exchange department in the customs, all silver flowing into the country from overseas must be handed over uniformly, and then exchanged into silver dollars.

For example, exchange bureaus were set up in various yamen, and the people could exchange silver for silver dollars. However, these methods do not shorten the process of replacing silver dollars with silver by any means.

However, in this way, a large amount of silver was transported to Nanjing, and under the auspices of Xian Zijing, it was minted into silver coins. And the interest earned from such a large-scale coinage allowed Zhang Xuan to quickly recover from the economic crisis. gave Bactria the strategic initiative against the Qing court.

According to the analysis of later generations, behind a series of conquests in the Zhaowu period, the three major financial sources were money and interest, the two taxes after the large-scale clearing of acres of land, and the national debt. The issuance of hundreds of millions of Zhaowu silver dollars is the top priority of financial support.

This is also an important reason for a series of major wars during the Zhaowu period, and there is no shortage of people's strength.

The first batch of Zhaowu silver dollars, because of the shoddy production, in the later years of Emperor Zhaowu, this batch of silver dollars was specially destroyed and recast. There were few in the world, and in what came to be known as the treasures of numismatic collecting. Only the Great Museum has a few, and the number of surviving pieces does not exceed 100.

Of course, that's all for later.

When this silver dollar was sent from Nanjing to the hands of Zheng Chenggong in Quanzhou, Zheng Chenggong presided over the first war in the Zhaowu period, the battle of attacking Taiwan, and officially began.

At the time, everyone thought that this was a small war, and Zhang Xuan also thought so, but he didn't want the beginning of this war that lasted for more than ten years. It took a whole generation to finally chase the north and destroy the Qing court. This is a complete explanation of what it means to have a plan that cannot keep up with change.