Fan Jingwen, the first assistant of the cabinet and the secretary of the household department, felt that he had only truly experienced the feeling of being the first assistant until now, and everyone who saw him greeted him with a smile, and even Shi Kefa of the ceremonial supervisor and Chen Chunde, the emperor of the left capital, were respectful to him.

As soon as he thought that his household department had more than 130 million silver dollars, Fan Jingwen felt that his waist was hard, and when he heard that there was a drought in western Zhejiang, he asked someone to prepare 300,000 yuan of disaster relief silver without saying a word, and the officials came to find all kinds of excuses to pay the silver, and if they could approve it, they would not delay.

Now Fan Jingwen is waiting for Qi Biaojia, the right attendant of the household department, to come to him to stop him from being so generous in throwing money out.

But after waiting for about ten days, Fan Jingwen didn't see Qi Biaojia come to him, so he had to order Qi Biaojia, the right waiter of the household department, to call: "Qi Shilang, how much money is still in the treasury now?" ”

"Returning to the old pavilion, there are still 94 million silver dollars unused, but at the moment there is no war, and there is no large-scale project construction, and there is no major disaster, but the rain is diligent, even silver coins are easy to rust, so the lower officials think that it is better to find a way to spend this money as soon as possible, this few warehouses in Nanjing cannot be installed, and it is not a way to temporarily put it in the backyard of the household department."

Qi Biaojia, the right attendant of the household department, expressed his confusion.

And Fan Jingwen couldn't help laughing: "This official has been an official for so long, and it is the first time that he has encountered the time when the treasury has not spent all the money, and he dares to love that this is already a prosperous era of the Ming Dynasty, but he is still in a trance The accumulated white bones in the north yesterday are still in front of him, and the official is becoming more and more unable to understand the world, you are right, this money has been accumulated in the treasury is not a way, and it has to be spent." What do you think about this? ”

"According to the lower officials, it is better to ask Your Majesty, although it is said to be taken from the people and used by the people, but in the end, it is better for Your Majesty to call the shots, in addition, there are two major events, the construction of the imperial mausoleum and the repair of the Forbidden City, and your Majesty has to take the idea, Your Majesty is sympathetic, and we must not ignore the grace of the king."

As soon as Qi Biaojia said this, Fan Jingwen nodded, and immediately decided to take Qi Biaojia into the palace to see Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen.

"Can't run out of money?"

Zhu Youzhen didn't expect that Fan Jingwen, the head of the household department, and Qi Biaojia, the right attendant of the household department, came to him for this matter.

Fan Jingwen glanced at Qi Biaojia, and Qi Biaojia stepped forward and replied:

"Your Majesty, after the 30 million military expenses owed to the Generalissimo's Office and the Ministry of War have been allocated, plus the 20 million silver dollars allocated for local disaster relief, government repair, and river projects, etc., plus the accumulation of the Ministry of Household last year, there are still more than 90 million left in the entire Ministry of Households.

According to the expenditure plan of the imperial court over the years, 10 million silver dollars can be enough to deposit silver, and now the 94 million must be spent, otherwise it will rot in the household yamen, and it is also troublesome to manage, and a lot of manpower is needed for annual statistics, so please ask Your Majesty to decide, whether this money is used to repair the palace and the imperial tomb or to repair the world's post roads and river embankments. ”

Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youzhen smiled, and asked Han Shoujing, who was on duty, to take two slices of chilled watermelon to Fan Jingwen and Qi Biaojia, and only after thanking the two of them did he open his mouth:

"Even if money can't be spent, it can also be saved to make more money, and the household department is not just a yamen who spends money, but also can make money."

"Make money?"

Fan Jingwen, the head of the household department, and Qi Biaojia, the right attendant of the household department, glanced at each other, and looked at Zhu Youzhen with some puzzlement: "Please Your Majesty for guidance!" ”

"I remember that I asked you to save the property of Qian Yi and other rebel ministers in the Daming Central Bank, and you can still do this now, and store the 94 million silver dollars in the Daming Central Bank, and you also have a lot of income in the interest collected by your household every year, and over time, I am afraid that I can reduce the tax collection rate at that time, which is not a good thing for the benefit of the people," Zhu Youzhen said with a smile.

Fan Jingwen glanced at Han Shoujing: "What Your Majesty said is very true, and Weichen also thinks so, but Han Gonggong and their central bank do not agree, and they refuse to let us deposit these 94 million silver dollars in the central bank." ”

Zhu Youzhen glanced at Han Shoujing: "Is there really such a thing?" ”

Han Shoujing showed a look of embarrassment: "Your Majesty Mingjian, the 94 million silver dollars of the household department is a large amount of money, once my Daming Central Bank collects this money, it will cost more people to take care of and maintain this silver dollar every year, not to mention, it will cost a lot of money just to pay interest to the household, and in two or three years, my Daming Central Bank will collapse;

Moreover, these more than 90 million silver dollars have finally been put out, and now they are back in the Daming Central Bank, and the Baoquan Bureau under the Daming Central Bank will have to stop the production of new silver coins, and once the production of new silver coins is stopped, the craftsmen fed by the Baoquan Bureau will have no way to live. ”

"The central bank of the Ming Dynasty is afraid of too many reserves, which is understandable, but you can spend it in the form of loans, from now on, the central bank of the Ming Dynasty will lower the loan threshold and reduce the interest on the loan, which can not only stimulate business development, but also encourage the gentry and the people to start a business and expand the scale of business, and at the same time you can also crack down on usury among the people, promote the increase in prices, promote the people involved in labor production to get more income, and make the economy of the entire Ming Dynasty active, understand?"

As soon as Zhu Youzhen said this, Han Shoujing, Fan Jingwen, the head of the household department, and Qi Biaojia, the right attendant of the household department, all glanced at each other, and couldn't help but shake their heads: "Your Majesty, forgive me, the ministers are ignorant, and they don't understand." ”

Zhu Youzhen had to explain in detail again, and it was not until sunset and when they were about to eat that the three of them understood the truth, and Zhu Youzhen simply gave a banquet to the three of them, explaining the concept of economics on the dinner table with rice dishes.

On the second day, Han Shoujing, president of the Central Bank of Daming, gladly accepted the cash deposit of more than 90 million silver dollars from the household department, but he did not forget to instruct Fan Jingwen:

"In terms of the household department, I also asked the elder to issue some decrees to encourage people to do business and take out loans as soon as possible, and Han was grateful first."

"Father-in-law Han, please rest assured, we will draw up a plan as soon as possible, and when the time comes, other officials will come to the household department to ask for silver, as long as it is profitable, they will let them come to your bank for a loan, and do not go to the household department to allocate funds here", Fan Jingwen replied with a smile, almost all of the more than 90 million silver dollars were transferred, which made him feel very relaxed, and he couldn't help but say to Qi Biaojia: "When the first interest arrives, this household yamen will also have to be repaired." ”

(End of chapter)