"Next, let's talk to you about our third policy of governing the country." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "There is a serious shortage of copper and iron in China, and the copper mine is not enough to mint coins, resulting in our Hongwu Tongbao can no longer be used, and Hongwu Bao banknotes have to be used." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang took out a Hongwu treasure banknote from his arms, thirty-three centimeters long and 22 centimeters wide, which was simply an A4 piece of paper.

The value is consistent, that is, one tael of silver.

With a move in his heart, he was ready to give Shen Wansan a chance to perform, and said: "Rank ministers, can any of you tell whether it is better for the country to use the copper standard, or the silver standard or the treasure banknote standard?" Where are the pros and cons of each, and the specific reasons should be stated. ”

After a pause, he said, "We just want to hear some valuable opinions, and if it's just a superficial remark or a rehash of the same old tune, don't come out to show ugliness." ”

Li Shanchang wanted to step forward to play, but when he heard the emperor's words, he retreated.

The treasure banknote lifting division is subordinate to the Zhongshu Province, and the second bureau of banknote printing and the second library of the treasure banknote store are in charge of him. If Li Shanchang had a deep understanding of the standard currency, the imperial court would not have changed from the original Hongwu Tongbao to the Hongwu treasure banknote.

Moreover, after using Hongwu Bao banknotes, the amount of food that can be purchased with money is still changing every year.

"Your Majesty." At this time, Shen Wansan stood up and said, "The copper standard and the treasure money standard have their own advantages and disadvantages, the world has the largest population of the people, and the annual income of ordinary people is about three or four taels of silver, that is, three or four yuan." The annual income of medium-sized peasant households was 20 taels of silver, that is, about 20 yuan, so the copper standard was used to facilitate transactions between the common people. ”

Shen Wansan was well aware of the purchasing power of various classes, and said: "However, I have very few copper mines in the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor has collected bronze artifacts from various households in order to cast more Hongwu Tongbao, causing the people to ...... There were some complaints, so they switched to Hongwu Bao banknotes. In addition, copper can be minted, and Hongwu cannons are important military supplies, so they are not suitable for large-scale copper coinage. ”

Therefore, the minister suggested that the emperor use treasure money as the standard, and the whole country used treasure money. However, in order to facilitate circulation among the people, smaller denominations were used. Previously, there were six kinds of Hongwu treasure banknotes, such as 100 Wen, 200 Wen, 300 Wen, and consistent, and the denomination was too large to be applicable to the people. If you can print more Hongwu treasure banknotes of one, two, five, ten, twenty, and fifty, then the people do not need to use Hongwu Tongbao. ”

In addition, in order to facilitate the use of merchants and the imperial court, large treasure notes of ten taels, twenty taels, one hundred taels, and ten thousand taels can be printed to completely eliminate the use of copper coins and silver. If there is no large amount of treasure money, the consistent money is worth three catties of copper coins, and the family has a wealth of more than 30,000 catties of copper. Even silver is heavy, making it difficult to carry and trade. ”

At that time, the gap between the rich and the poor in society was too large, and the people could not see silver for a year and a half with copper coins, while the rich people basically did not use copper coins for the convenience of silver. In this way, it will not be possible to achieve national unity, and a fault line will be formed between the various strata.

"If the whole country uses treasure money, the common people and the rich will form one, so that it will be convenient for both circulation and trading. As for the copper, gold, and silver, they should all be put into the treasury and not used lightly. ”

In addition, the emperor wanted to encourage the Ming Dynasty to trade with overseas, and overseas merchants only recognized gold and silver, not treasure money. If you want to develop overseas trade, you can't do it without enough gold and silver. ”

"Nonsense!" The Ministry of Rites Shangshu said, "How much treasure money can be printed across the country?" I'm afraid that even the cost of printing is not enough. ”

"Doesn't it have to be minted to mint copper coins? It is much more cost-effective to print a penny of treasure money than to mint a copper coin. Shen Wansan said, "Money has no value in itself, and trading and circulation are its only uses." If the precious copper, gold, and silver are only used for trading and circulation, is it too wasteful? The minister felt that these valuable materials should be used as stable treasure money. ”

"Only when the imperial court has enough copper, gold and silver stocks can it stabilize the status of treasure money and allow the people to use it with confidence. Those overseas merchants will also trust Hongwu Bao Yuan more, and may be able to use Bao Bao to trade with them directly in the future. ”

"Not bad." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded after hearing this, "Just do as you say." "Shen Wan's three riches are rivals the country, and his views on coins are much better than those in the Ministry of Rites.

"Li Shanchang."

"The minister is here!"

"Immediately print one and two equal denomination treasure banknotes, circulate throughout the country, and all the gold, silver and copper will be collected into the treasury."

"Yes!"

……

"As for the problem of the purchasing power of treasure banknotes decreasing year by year, the minister thinks that the imperial court has printed too much." Shen Wansan said, "For a country, it is not right to print too much or too little treasure money. ”

"Oh, what do you mean by that?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

When the ministers heard this, they all listened carefully. The depreciation of treasure money often occurs, and they have never understood the reason.

"The reason is simple, we compare a country to a closed village that cannot be traded with the outside world. The amount of food produced by the village each year is a fixed amount, assuming that it is only 100 stones. Shen Wansan said, "If the treasure money printed in the village is only one hundred taels of silver, then one tael of silver can buy one stone of grain." If 10,000 taels were printed, then 100 taels would be needed to buy a stone of grain. ”

"I see!" When Zhu Yuanzhang and the ministers heard this, they all immediately understood.

It's easy to say, but no one understands it before, the window paper hasn't been pierced, and everyone is in the dark. Once it is pierced, the crowd will think that even a child can understand.

In history, Zhu Houzhao collected bronze ware all over the country because he didn't understand the reason for the depreciation of money, and then melted down large-scale coinage, making the people miserable, and he was able to make a lot of money for himself and the imperial court.

"It is very important that the treasure money cannot be printed more or less, because it is related to the people's trust in the treasure banknote. If the people don't trust the treasure banknotes, then the treasure money will exist in name only. "Shen Wansandao,

"And the frequent currency reform will also have a huge impact on the court and the people."

"In addition, overseas trade is equivalent to opening the village to the outside world, and you can buy grain from other villages. At this time, the village just now can make a fortune by changing the way the amount of treasure money printed. ”

Is there still such an operation? The crowd was dumbfounded.

Sure enough, it's a profiteer! The ministers thought to themselves, this person's treacherous is beyond our imagination! If he hadn't said it, it is estimated that none of the civil and military officials present would know.

Earn a deficit by changing the exchange rate, although Shen Wansan doesn't know this term, he has already practiced it. Previously, there was an overseas merchant who accepted the transaction of Hongwu treasure banknotes under his flickering.