The seizure of gold and silver from private reserves to increase the supply of money, and the complete shift from precious metal currency to national credit currency were originally a solution that had to be implemented as a last resort when the development of social productive forces exceeded the amount of gold and silver reserves of the state.

Originally, this should have been an extremely long process, but due to the dangerous situation faced by the Ming Dynasty in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen had to use this powerful medicine. When he announced this decision, it was naturally met with fierce opposition from many officials. After all, in this era, most of the hard currencies such as gold and silver were stored in the hands of the gentry, big landlords, and big merchants, and asked them to contribute their family property to exchange it for a stack of printed banknotes, which obviously cost them their lives.

The officials headed by Liu Zongzhou and Zuo Guangxian were the first to stand up against it, and Qian Qianyi, Wen Tiren, and others also euphemistically expressed their opposing views, but only nearly one-third of the officials, including Guo Yunhou, the secretary of the household department, Bi Ziyan, the head of the household department, and the two commanders of the army and navy, remained silent.

Faced with Zuo Guangxian's comparison of the coinage bill proposed by the household department to a thief's move, Zhu Youzhen finally interrupted him impatiently and said: "The household department has already explained that the paper money will be guaranteed by the state in the future to be indefinitely compensated, and if the people really need gold and silver, as long as they explain the reason, they can go to the bank to exchange it." As long as you don't want to disrupt the market, what are ordinary people doing with hoarding so much gold and silver at home? This thing can't be used to fill the stomach when it's hungry, and it can't be used to keep out the cold when it's cold, and after losing the role of market circulation, it's no different from bricks and stones?

In addition, most of the shares of the three major banks are held by merchants, and the imperial court is only responsible for supervision, so how did the gold and silver sent to the bank become a move by the imperial court to rob the small people? Aren't you slandering the court?

Besides, as I have just said, the credit of paper money will be guaranteed by the state, and as long as the Ming Dynasty is not extinguished, the state will recognize that these paper money can be exchanged for gold and silver at a fixed price. Are you questioning my credibility now, or are you questioning how many days this Ming can't last?

If you have no confidence in the Ming Dynasty and me, then there is no need to be my courtier, and I will be an official of the Ming Dynasty. If you think that the Ming Dynasty is about to fall, then take off your official uniform now, and I will never force you to sit in the same boat with me. Since we can't help each other in the same boat, let's go our separate ways. Is there anyone who wants not to do it, stand up and speak. ”

When Chongzhen transformed the ministers' doubts about the coinage bill into doubts about the Ming Dynasty, Wen Tiren, Qian Qianyi and other officials immediately retreated. Compared with wealth, the power in their hands is obviously much more tempting. At this moment, the Ming Dynasty is just facing danger, and they are not soldiers coming to the city, so they are naturally unwilling to part ways with the emperor.

What's more, the silence of the household officials and the representatives of the army also made them realize that even if these officials really took off their official uniforms to protest, the emperor would be able to select enough personnel from these remaining officials to fill the vacancy after they left. Since they couldn't stop the emperor from going his own way, they naturally had to stay for the useful body and make plans later.

Only Zuo Guangxian still refused to give up, he knelt down in front of the emperor, and repeatedly advised Chongzhen: "... The collection of gold and silver from the people to enrich the state is something that only the kings of the fallen countries of the past dynasties can do. Historically, this kind of policy has never solved the problem of insufficient state finances, except for bankrupting the wealthy and causing social unrest.

These wealthy people have always been supporters of the imperial court and pillars of local stability. Your Majesty's edict will make the people of the world admit that paper money is no different from gold and silver, doesn't this make the people fools? The treasure banknotes issued in the early years of this dynasty were no different from gold and silver at the beginning, but what is the difference between treasure banknotes and waste paper in the people after that?

After the wealth of these wealthy families is exchanged for paper money, if the paper money also becomes worthless treasure money, then these cornerstones of local stability will become the leaders of local civil unrest. I think this is probably contrary to His Majesty's original intention of wanting to implement the coinage bill, right?

Please think twice before acting, once this coinage bill is implemented, I am afraid that it will be infinitely poisonous and damage to the national fortune of my Ming Dynasty..."

Chongzhen has not yet spoken, and Cui Chengxiu, who has always been deeply contradictory about these Donglin Party members, has already jumped out, "Okay, you Zuo Guangxian, when the court deliberates, you compare Your Majesty to the king of the dead country, this is your performance of loyalty and patriotism?" You are clearly admonishing Your Majesty, but are you secretly slandering your father? ”

Qi Biaojia immediately defended Zuo Guangxian and said: "Lord Zuo's metaphor is that the policies implemented are similar, not to compare Your Majesty to the king of the dead country, but Lord Cui deliberately compared Your Majesty to the king of the dead country, what is the purpose..."

Feng Quan immediately interjected: "It's really strange, comparing the coinage bill to the government of the ruined country by plundering the people's wealth, but claiming that it is not comparing His Majesty to the king of the ruined country, isn't this just covering up your ears and stealing the bell?" ”

Just as Chongzhen did not allow these former Donglin Party members to distort the content of the meeting, he was not happy to see Cui Chengxiu and others take advantage of this to attack these former Donglin Party members, although Cui and Feng were on his side on the surface.

After also stopping the dispute between the two sides, Zhu Youzhen said: "Do you compare me to the king of the dead country, Zuo Shilang has his own mouth to declare, and you don't need to speak for him." Zuo Shilang, explain it yourself in public, does that remark just now mean that I am compared to the king of the dead country? ”

Zuo Guangxian wanted to admit it in his heart, "If Your Majesty you do this, aren't you still the king of the dead country?" However, he looked at his colleagues who were helping him on the left and right, and Cui and Feng, who were eyeing him on the other side, and finally didn't dare to say his sincere words, affecting these colleagues around him.

"The minister's metaphor is inappropriate, just talking about things, and he does not mean to compare His Majesty to the king of the dead country. I still hope that Your Majesty will think twice before acting, and not plant the root cause of chaos in the future..."

Zuo Guangxian's change of words suddenly weakened his momentum a little, and Zhu Youzhen did not entangle him with how much trouble there would be after the implementation of this coinage bill, but said bluntly.

"Since Zuo Shilang thinks that he has no such intention, then there is no need to pursue this matter further, let's go back to the topic.

What evil consequences will the coinage bill have for the future of the Ming Dynasty, I think your ministers are thinking a little too far.

In the past few years, the imperial court has borrowed tens of millions of dollars to build various transportation, water conservancy facilities and many central industrial areas in the north, and there has been little return so far. If this year's drought becomes unstoppable and causes the victims to rise up in the north, there is a good chance that these projects that have invested a lot of capital will be destroyed.

With the current national strength of our Ming Dynasty, if we want to resume these constructions after the war, I am afraid that it will not be possible in one or two decades. Without these facilities and industrial zones, state revenues would shrink further, and the imperial court's resilience to disasters would be further weakened.

What's even more troublesome is that without the material support of the Central Plains, China's rule over the grasslands outside the Saiwai will be shaken. You can think about it, once this situation arises, how will the Manchus let go of this opportunity?

At that time, the imperial court will be caught in a two-sided war, one is to quell the riots launched by the victims in various parts of the north; The first is to deal with the Manchu breakthrough of the northern defense line.

Once the Manchus rushed into the Monan grassland area, the northwest region of our country was directly exposed to the Manchu army. Everyone knows very well that the Mongolian tribes are now willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty, first, our dynasty can provide a large amount of materials to the grassland; The second is the strategic situation between our dynasty and the Manchu Qing dynasty, with our dynasty having more advantages.

Once these two conditions change, it is really unknown how many people in the Mongol tribes will remain loyal to our dynasty.

Therefore, I believe that this year's drought relief is not only about whether the victims can be saved, but also about whether our Ming Dynasty can continue to survive.

If this pass cannot be passed this year, what will be said in this dynasty in the future, it is just a matter of waiting for the day. I have heard that when a person is about to die of thirst, even if someone gives him poisoned wine, he will not wait to drink it. The current situation of this dynasty is not the same.

Today, we should save the country first, and then save the people. If the country no longer exists, what is the point of these local big families to us?

So there is no need to discuss this matter again, let's vote on it. I also want to see how many people value their own property more than this country..."

For officials such as Guo Yunhou, Cui Chengxiu, and Feng Quan, they are not only tied to reform, but they are also the ones who benefit the most from this coinage bill. In this situation, they naturally firmly supported Chongzhen's proposition.

After all, behind the passage of the seigniorage bill, it will not only further strengthen the voice of the household department in finance. Importantly, the additional banknotes issued through these confiscated gold and silver can not only eliminate the shortage of money in the market, but also bring them rolling profits by importing capital into the industries in which their families have invested.

In the era of the small-scale peasant economy, the inconvenience of circulation made materials more important than money. But in the era of the commodity economy, the money that can buy any amount of goods in the market is obviously more favored by merchants.

For scholars and doctors such as Liu Zongzhou and Zuo Guangxian, who were still trying to maintain the old economic order, the self-sufficient manor economy was obviously more in line with their pursuit of an ideal society.

Therefore, the emperor's attempt to break the feudal order, destroy the ideal social state full of poetry in their eyes, and forcibly incorporate the independent landlords' estates into the social cooperative economic link was full of disgust.

But under Chongzhen's gaze, there are really not many officials who dare to insist on their own ideas. These state councilors are not low-status speech officials, they can climb to the current position, at least ten or twenty years of ups and downs in the sea of eunuchs, naturally it is impossible to give go like those speech officials, fight the emperor to the end, and win a world-famous reputation.

Moreover, those Donglin Party members who are really hard bones have already died a long time ago, and the rest are still more knowledgeable about current affairs. Therefore, after the emperor put forward the vote again, many people hesitated for a moment, and still chose to stand with the giants of Shoufu, Hubu Shangshu, and Minister's Shangshu. Those who insisted on opposing the passage of the coinage bill were only Zuo Guangxian and seven or eight others, less than a quarter of the number of people attending the meeting.

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