When Chongzhen finished dinner, Yuan Chonghuan and Liu Jingting brought the messengers of Lin Dan Khan, as well as the Shunyi King Bu Shitu, the Ordos Department of Sasang Chechen, and the leaders of other departments on the right wing, a total of 3 or 40 people, and 3 and 500 accompanying escort cavalry into the capital, and passed it to him.

Zhu Youzhen carefully inquired about Wang Chengen, and only after learning that these people had been placed in the Huitong Pavilion in Xicheng, he was relieved. He thought for a while, and then instructed Lu Qi on the side: "After I finish the cabinet meeting early tomorrow morning, you go and summon Liu Jingting and Yuan Chonghuan, and if I want to meet them, I will arrange them in the Wuying Palace..."

The next day, in Chongzhen's private office in the Wenhua Palace, Huang Liji, Guo Yunhou and Wang Yuansi were making a brief report to Chongzhen.

Although Wang Yuansi was holding a notepad in his hand, his eyes rarely swept upwards, and strings of data came out of his mouth.

“… Since the introduction of banknotes, silver coins, and copper coins, the household department has conducted a follow-up survey on the circulation of these three currencies. This compares the circulation of gold, silver, and copper coins with those originally used in the market.

According to the data of the previous households, the record of the use of gold bullion as a means of payment in the past market transactions was about 8%, compared with about 54% of transactions using silver taels and about 38% of transactions using copper coins.

In terms of amount, the amount of gold bullion transactions accounts for 15% of the total amount, silver taels account for 62%, and copper coins account for 23%. After the introduction of paper money at the beginning of the year, the towns of Jiubian have adopted the supply of paper money and silver in half of the military expenditure, and the two towns of Liaoning West and Jizhou have adopted the method of compulsory use of paper money because of the implementation of military management, so paper money accounts for more than 90% of the local use.

In other regions, the circulation of banknotes in Shanxi accounts for about 44% of the local market transaction value, Shaanxi about 24%, Henan 17%, Shandong 21%, Beizhili 45%, and Suzhou, Song, Chang, Jia, and Lake about 39%. In terms of individual cities, Beijing and Shanghai counties have the highest use of banknotes, reaching almost 70%.

According to our survey, in the last three months of market transactions in the capital, except for 15% of silver coins and 7% of copper coins, the transaction amount of copper coins has dropped to less than 10%, and the rest of the transactions are settled in paper money.

In addition, the reason why the banknote usage rate in Suzhou, Song, Chang, Jiajia and Lake areas is 39% is mainly due to the fact that the bank outlets in the areas are not dense enough and the number of banknotes invested is also insufficient.

According to the detailed calculations of several colleagues in the Du Zhi Division, the ministers believed that the reason why paper money was acceptable to the people in these areas was not simply because the banks had sufficient silver reserves to exchange paper money in the market at any time. Rather, it is because paper money can be bought on the market, and those goods that merchants need.

In the north it was mainly cotton cloth and grain, and in the south cotton yarn, all kinds of glassware, cane sugar and metal products. According to the statistics of our Duzhi Division, this year's long-distance transportation and sales of grain as commodities are about 11 million stones, of which more than 80% of the grain comes from Huguang Province.

Because the grain bureau set up by the Ministry of Household Affairs this year to control the grain trade, nearly 6 million stone of grain flowed to Shaanxi and Shanxi under the decree of the imperial court.

Cotton cloth is sold over long distances as a commodity, about 15 million horses. Among them, 8 percent are from the Su, Song, Chang, Jia, and Lake regions.

This year, the north produced 4.79 million quintals of cotton, of which Shandong accounted for six cents, Henan accounted for two and a half cents, Hebei accounted for one and a half cents, folded into net flowers of about 1.19 million quintals, processed into cotton yarn of about 89.25 million quintals, of which half of the cotton yarn was shipped to Shanghai.

Part of the cotton yarn shipped to Shanghai is in the form of paying processing fees, hiring local weavers to weave cloth, or folding cotton yarn for cloth; The other part is sold directly on the market.

Because 8 percent of the grain and 6 percent of the cotton cloth in the northern market were controlled by the merchants and firms supervised by the imperial court, the circulation of paper money was basically stable, and there was no sudden rise and fall.

The circulation of banknotes in the south is completely regulated by the market. Merchants related to the textile industry are willing to accept paper money, but it is difficult to determine those in other industries.

In particular, the salt merchants, the wood merchants, and the pawnbrokers, because of their abundant capital and the fact that they had little to do with the raw materials in the hands of the imperial court, were not willing to accept paper money..."

Huang Liji asked a little strangely: "Aren't these banknotes available in the bank for cash?" Why aren't they happy? ”

Although he was interrupted by his train of thought, Wang Yuansi still replied respectfully to Huang Liji: "It is true that the salt merchants and wood merchants have abundant capital, but most of their profits come from tax evasion.

Naturally, they would not have done so, otherwise the exchange records would have become evidence of their tax evasion. Moreover, the salt merchants and the wood merchants made huge profits, and compared with their profits, the silver taels invested each year were nothing. Some salt merchants who had a lot of money could already beat gold into gold leaf and throw it on the high-rise buildings in the city, and watch the people in the market fight for fun, and it is said that it cost 50,000 taels of silver at one time.

Some of these salt merchants and wood merchants deposited silver and did not bother to pay with paper money at all. As for pawn merchants, pawn shops are fixed taxes, only a dozen taels a year, so there is no suspicion of tax evasion. But the business done by the bank itself includes the content of the pawnshop.

It's too late for these pawnbrokers to hate the bank, so how can they use the bank's banknotes. It is said that some pawnbrokers who closed their doors due to bank runs openly claimed that the banknotes were printed by the imperial court to loot the people's wealth. Just a piece of paper, how can it be used as a real silver tael, sooner or later it will become a treasure banknote of waste paper.

Therefore, the amount of banknotes in circulation in the south is like a high tide and low tide, which is unpredictable. However, we believe that the use of paper money will increase during the peak trade season in summer and autumn, but in the low trade season of winter and spring, the use rate of paper money will decrease. ”

"Is this really unreasonable, such profiteers are really hateful, and they openly slander the court in the market, and what do the local officials do, and they are not punished for these profiteers?" Huang Liji, who heard this for the first time, suddenly became a little angry.

As the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, he knew very well that if it were not for the issuance of paper money, which allowed the imperial court to find a form of currency to replace the huge amount of silver, it is estimated that the army reform, the disaster relief in Shaanxi and other places and the war of the Mongols in this year would have made him, the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty, anxious.

He didn't want to think about whether this banknote would become a treasure banknote, as long as God blessed, when he sat in this position, the banknote must not have problems. Otherwise, he would have really become the target of public criticism.

Guo Yunhou glanced at Chongzhen quietly, and then said with some embarrassment: "After all, it's just a rumor in the market, there is no real evidence, and the officials below are not good at making a big move." However, although our court has always refused to scold people with their words, and we cannot allow these profiteers to slander the court for no reason, will the cabinet issue a decree strictly prohibiting the people in the market from spreading such rumors, and those who violate them will be punished with several days of hard labor, so as to crack down on this unhealthy trend? ”

Huang Liji was quite approving in his heart, he couldn't help but look up at Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen glanced at the two of them, and said casually: "It's nothing to spread rumors and punish a few days of hard labor, but the ability of the following officials to arrest and do things quickly is not unclear."

This punishment is also severe, the light is not equal to going to the suburbs for a few days, and the heavy one may cost people half their lives. The people in the market spread gossip, which is as normal as eating and dressing, and if you say a few words, you will give your life, I am afraid it will be a public anger.

But let them spread rumors and slander the imperial decree like this, what they know is that they think that the dynasty does not scold people with their words, and those who don't know think that the court is empty-hearted and acquiesce. I think this punishment is to be punished, but it doesn't have to be too severe.

They spread rumors in the market, and no matter how you look at it, they have already damaged the reputation of the imperial court, so the punishment for them is also focused on discrediting them, making it difficult for others to believe that they are the same.

I saw that they should put up a sign to spread rumors and make trouble, and sweep the streets, and if they can't correct it in one day, then sweep it for two days. In short, if you don't sweep out the filth in their minds, you won't achieve your goal. ”

Looking at Huang Liji and Guo Yunhou's somewhat surprised eyes, Zhu Youzhen smiled and added: "This punishment does not avoid anyone, even if the local gentry make a mistake, they have to sweep the floor, and if they dare to replace others for themselves, the punishment will be increased." Okay, let's get down to business. What did Tobe want to tell me and Shousuke about these things when he reported these things to me today? ”

Guo Yunhou nodded towards Wang Yuansi, Wang Yuansi cautiously glanced at the notepad in his hand before he spoke: "The ministers think that as long as the imperial court controls the grain and cotton of the Ming Dynasty, then the paper money will not be rejected by the people and merchants.

Because the people of the Ming Dynasty participated in the most transactions, it was grain and cotton. From the small people to the princes, as long as there is still a breath, they must dress and eat. As long as the paper money issued by the imperial court can buy grain and cotton, then it is valuable even if it cannot be exchanged for silver.

Conversely, if silver and copper money can't buy grain and cotton, then it's just a useless pile of waste. In other words, if paper money can replace silver and copper coins in the market, the treasury will no longer have to worry about the shortage of silver or copper coins..."

It was an interesting idea, and it was the first time he had heard an official try to persuade him to abolish the monetary status of silver and make paper money the legal tender of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Youzhen hesitated slightly, and then asked, "You came up with this yourself?" ”