Without Wu Yong's Government Council, there is not much difference from the previous Government Council. Now that Li Gang has been promoted to political envoy, he is in power.

The administrative model that Zheng Zhi can know, whether it is the later dynasty or the former Great Song Dynasty, is actually not much different in essence. Even the difference between China and foreign countries is not big.

All the new dynasties, several major organs, are just the Government Council, the Privy Council, and the Dali Temple.

The Government Council is like the State Council or the Prime Minister's Cabinet in later generations. It is the main center of this government governance, under the government affairs yuan, which is divided into major ministries and commissions, and it is no different from later generations.

The Privy Council, which has become a system of its own, has no subordinate relationship with any local yamen. It is the Central Military Commission.

Dali Temple is a legislative system and a trial system. This point is slightly different from later generations, that is, this Dali Temple also serves as a part-time legislator. In the future, the legislative power will probably be divided as well.

These major systems are actually no different from later generations. It can even be said that the system of three provinces and six ministries is actually the main system of administration. The real maturity of China was formed around the sixth century, 1,400 years, and it was this system.

Even the whole world uses this system. The difference in essence is not big, the details are naturally poor, there are improvements, and there are also detailed differentiations.

Of course, this is just a system of governance and administration. The extraordinary wisdom of the ancient Chinese lies in this. No matter how the ruling system changes, this administrative system is already quite mature.

Today, Zheng Zhi did not have a court meeting, but went to the government council in person.

This time he came to the Government Council, Zheng Zhi naturally had very important things to discuss and decide.

Zheng Zhi sat at the head of the hall of the Government Council, and there were all the officials on the left and right, but everyone had a seat. This is also Zheng Zhi's reform, and the courtiers are no longer allowed to stand and discuss matters, and they can sit in front of the emperor. This scene appeared briefly in the Tang Dynasty, but it was not Zheng Zhi's first creation.

"Your Majesty, the ministers have discussed the method of exchange for more than half a month, but there is no mature plan, the ministers are derelict in their duties, and I ask Your Majesty to forgive them." After Li Gang got up, he said with an embarrassed face.

Zheng Zhi nodded when he heard this: "This matter is extremely complicated, and the things involved are also in all aspects, and I also know that it is difficult for you to plan, so I came here today to help you make suggestions." If you have those problems, you will speak up and have some worries in your heart, and see if I can help you solve them. ”

The method of money exchange is to be direct, and the money bank is just a bank. Remittance, naturally, is paper money. And today, it's huge, it's huge, and there's even something overseas. The circulation of money has become a big problem, and paper money is naturally the most important means to solve this problem.

The fundamental meaning of paper money is that it can be taken to the bank and exchanged for hard currency. Paper money is a voucher for exchanging gold, silver and copper coins. The extension of the future is the subsequent monetary development.

Li Gang was originally a righteous person, and he didn't hide it in front of Zheng Zhi, and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, if you want to talk about Jiaozi, Shu is the earliest, and there are many effective imitations in subsequent places." However, it lasted for decades, and most of them became worthless. The people lack trust in the silver bills and the like. This is the difficulty of implementation, and one of the difficulties is also difficult. ”

Zheng Zhi wants to promote banks and banknotes, and naturally there are many considerations. Facilitating the circulation of money is only one thing. Now the new dynasty is already an era of the rise of capital, how can such things as paper money appear, not to mention that there was a Song Dynasty before. Rather than waiting for private merchants to cooperate with each other and issue their own banknotes. It's better for the imperial court to come and do this early.

The right to issue currency must not be held by private businessmen. Although currency was only a certificate in the early days, it involved finance, all aspects, and the interests of the entire country and the people. It must only be controlled by the state.

Zheng Zhi also has lessons in his mind about this matter. The United States of America is a lesson from the past. The issuing authority of the currency is the Federal Reserve, which is the product of the cooperation of the major chaebols and has little to do with the government. The right to issue currency is actually beyond the control of the national government.

The national government, which has only the right to issue debt, borrows money from the chaebols and banks, and from the whole world. The interests of finance have nothing to do with the government, and they are all in the hands of the board of shareholders and the chaebols, that is, in the hands of private individuals.

Of course, most of the time there is a benign interaction between the state and the chaebol, helping each other. But one-sidedly, the country's policies are often influenced by the chaebol, and even most of them are influenced by the chaebol. The state has even become an intermediary between the chaebol and the common people, an institution used to regulate the interests of the two.

Most of the benefits of the globalization of the dollar have also gone into the pockets of the chaebols, which have become something outside the state system. It has nothing to do with who is the leader of the country in power.

This is the lesson in Zheng Zhi's mind, and it is also something that Zheng Zhi wants to avoid. The national government should represent the interests of all people and cannot be swayed by any one stratum. Businessmen control politics, which is something that Zheng Zhi cannot accept in his consciousness.

Zheng Zhi heard Li Gang's words, nodded and said: "This matter is easy to do, the central bank of the imperial court, any office in the country, can be freely exchanged." When the banknotes arrive at the bank, they will inevitably be exchanged for gold, silver and copper coins of equal value. This is the law of the standard, based on the things of gold and silver, and the exchange is free. Maintain credibility for a long time, and this problem will be solved in the future. ”

Zheng Zhi dared to put it bluntly, he was also full of confidence, and there was no shortage of gold and silver in the treasury, so he also had such confidence. The issuance of banknotes is not required by law. It is not that the imperial court law stipulates how much silver or copper money can be exchanged for a dollar, and a successful thing can be implemented immediately. This is market behavior, and the tougher the measures, the greater the private backlash.

Forcing it is counterproductive. As soon as it came, it seemed to become the imperial court plundering the wealth of the people. Second, it will also cause a large depreciation of paper money and a complete collapse of the financial system.

Li Gang nodded while hearing this, and went to see Zhu Wu, who naturally worked hard to write a book and record Zheng Zhi's words.

Then Li Gang said: "Your Majesty, the method of anti-counterfeiting of paper money is also a difficulty, in the past, Jiaozi was overflowing, and there were many counterfeits, and this matter was also one of the reasons for the failure of Jiaozi." No one in the government council is well versed in this matter. The second difficulty is also. ”

"There are three strategies for this matter, the first is to gather a group of papermakers to develop a special paper, only used to print banknotes, which must be wear-resistant and durable, and easily distinguish from other papers, but also strictly confidential, not the slightest outside. The second strategy is the method of cryptography, which should have proficient people in Shudi Qianzhuang, and gather these proficient people to discuss a mature set of cryptography methods. The third policy is to strictly legislate, but once the forgery is verified, they will not be spared, and their families will be sold to the army. Zheng Zhi's foresight is also here, that is, Zheng Zhi has actually heard that ancient silver tickets also have a very strict anti-counterfeiting system, and Zheng Zhi naturally does not understand the truth. But Zheng Zhi knows that this anti-counterfeiting system is very effective.

If you gather a group of people who have done this business to discuss together, you should be able to solve this password problem. The difference between paper and paper is the foundation. Then you can also try the watermark method, and the principle of watermarking is not complicated. The papermaking process of the Song Dynasty was highly developed, and it was not difficult to solve this problem as long as the requirements were put forward and the test was carried out.

The key is also to make the production process of banknotes cumbersome, the more cumbersome the better, the cumbersome will be exquisite, and the delicacy will make counterfeiting more difficult.

Zhu Wu kept recording Zheng Zhi's words, and Li Gang asked again: "Your Majesty, the most difficult thing is the management of the entry and exit of the world's money villages. ”

When Zheng Zhi heard this question, his brows furrowed. In the final analysis, it is the accounting and settlement problems of the bank. This issue is much more complicated than the tax system, or the household finance system.

The tax system, to put it simply, is essentially a voucher system, and then it is mostly addition and calculation, and tax additions from all over the country.

The essence of the fiscal system, to put it simply, is to add first and then subtract. Take money from the tax system, and then reduce it again, and reduce it to various departments, to various yamen.

Of course, this is just a simple metaphor, and the actual operation is extremely complex.

But compared to the two systems, compared to the bank, it is simple. The banking system, as you will note, is a myriad of small additions and subtractions in each place. Procedurally, it is a collection of countless credentials. Upward, there are also comprehensive statistics. Below, there is also the daily entry and exit of each office, the voucher data processing of each account, and the comparison with the bottom statistics.

Banks are also involved in the statistics of the entry and exit of the whole country, and they also have to cooperate with the tax system. Prevent tax evasion.

And so on and so forth.

When this problem arrives at Zheng Zhi, it is already a mess, and Zheng Zhi really can't solve this problem. I heard Zheng Zhi speak: "Li Gang, the Ministry of Education will immediately start preparing for this year, and one more subject will be examined. Recruit money officials from the world, let's call them accounting officials. The questions are specific to arithmetic and degree support. All the shopkeepers in the world can enter the examination without any other conditions. The top three are directly appointed as the deputy accounting envoy of the central money bank, and they are given three grades. Take 10,000 people as officials, all of them are sealed grades, let them discuss the management of the bank, have a mature plan, and then report to the Government Council to decide, and a certain person also personally participated in the decision. ”

Zheng Zhi has Zheng Zhi's intelligence, and Zheng Zhi is not the person who knows everything. The only way to solve practical problems is to find people who are proficient.

This is also a precedent for arithmetic talents to be such an official for the first time.

When Li Gang heard this, he was a little surprised in his heart, it was really the first time in the world to elect an official like this. This kind of miraculous thing can only be done by His Majesty in front of him.

Li Gang subconsciously turned his head to look at these big and small officials in the hall, and there were really many people with ugly faces. Although these people are all officials of the new dynasty, none of them are sharpening their heads and climbing up. Sanpin, this grade, is already impossible for most people to reach in a lifetime.

But now you can get it directly if you take the top three in arithmetic degree. This makes many officials who can't drill into it think in their hearts.

It's just that His Majesty the Emperor sitting in front of his head is too domineering and too powerful. Even if many people have thoughts in their hearts, they don't dare to say it, and even the ugliness on their faces is fleeting, and they don't dare to let His Majesty the Emperor in front of them see it.

Zheng Zhi can naturally find the changes in many people's expressions, but he is too lazy to pay attention to them.

I heard Li Gang answer: "Your Majesty, at this time, the minister immediately started to do it, as for this problem, I don't know what Your Majesty's instructions are." ”

"The officials who manage the affairs of the household search department come to the questions, and after submitting them, they will come up and take a look, and they will also personally add some questions." Zheng Zhi was still a little uneasy in his heart, afraid that the questions from the household department would not meet his requirements, so he also thought about coming up with some questions by himself. Zheng Zhi came up with questions, naturally he couldn't avoid mathematical problems, and even difficult mathematical problems, so that he could really distinguish a higher level and select the talents needed by the country.

"Yes!" Li Gang bowed, and this question ended for the time being.

I heard Zheng Zhi say again: "There are three sets of questions, the first set is selected all over the country, and the second set is selected by the state government. The third set of test questions is the Beijing Middle School. That's how it goes. ”

There are no qualifications for the exam, and those who want to know a little arithmetic will rush to it. Grading selection is also required.

Li Gang nodded and saluted, but didn't say much. In this matter, even if Zheng Zhi doesn't advise, Li Gang knows how to do it. If you want to say that Li Gang is not proficient in the matter of accounting, but when it comes to organizing exams, Li Gang naturally knows what steps to use.

Zheng Zhi had already gotten up and was about to leave, but he suddenly remembered something again, and asked, "How is the work of the Ministry of Labor's cotton armor going?" ”

When Li Gang heard this, he hurriedly turned his head and signaled. Ling Zhen got up and walked forward, and said, "Back to Your Majesty, the minister has been working on this matter for a long time, and the cotton armor has made a lot of styles, all of which are being tested. Crossbow arrows and muskets were fired repeatedly, and even gunpowder packs were used. Within a month, the best method of construction can be selected, and it can be put into production immediately. ”

This cotton armor, after being soaked in cotton, is repeatedly beaten and compacted, as hard as a wooden plank, and lined with iron sheets. The main function is to protect against the shooting of muskets and feathered arrows, and the effect is excellent. It can also keep out the cold, and the weight is much lighter than that of iron armor. In the fight against nomadism, to some extent, cotton armor is actually more effective than iron armor.

This matter of cotton armor is naturally very related, so I heard Zheng Zhi say: "Speed up the progress, after the autumn of this year, we will equip more than 20,000 people." ”

Ling Zhen arched his hand and replied, "Your Majesty, the minister will definitely finish this matter." ”

Zheng Zhi nodded when he heard this, and then walked out.

The matter of cotton armor is naturally related to the war situation in the Northeast and the war with the Jurchens. With cotton, keeping out the cold doesn't matter. Autumn war, in the northeast, it's winter.

Under the severe cold of dozens of degrees below zero, the Jurchens in the forest must be tightly wrapped, and fur and cloth clothes, as long as they can be wrapped, will definitely be wrapped around their bodies. If you are fighting, you have to put on armor. Being so bloated and naturally inconvenient to move has become a disadvantage for the Jurchens. It is the iron armor under the severe cold, which cannot be touched by water, and if it is touched, it will stick to people's hands.

At that time, Yue Fei, wearing a cotton jacket, wrapped in cotton armor, and carrying a musket, entered the forest to fight with the Jurchens. This severe cold has become an advantage. Cotton shoes, cotton gloves, cotton hats, all advantages.

This is the main reason why Zheng Zhi did not listen to Wu's strategy of burning the prairie with wildfire. It is to carry out this asymmetrical war when the Jurchens are short of food and clothing, and the victory rate of the war will be guaranteed.