Chapter 393 Currency War (Part 2)
The old butler took Wang Yuanbao to the study room and whispered to him: "Mr. I'm in a bad mood, don't talk nonsense."
"Thank you!"
"Master, Wang Yuanbao is here."
"Come in!"
Wang Yuanbao took a deep breath, walked into the study quickly, knelt down for Zhang Yun and said, "Caomin Wang Yuanbao, see Zhang Xiangguo."
Perhaps thinking of the heavy gift Wang Yuanbao gave, Zhang Yun's face was a little gentler, and he waved his hand and said, "Please sit down!"
Although Wang Yuanbao kept saying that Zhang Yun was his backstage, in fact, Zhang Yun himself did not admit that he was a Hanlin Grand Secretary and a leader of the literary world in the Tang Dynasty. How could he admit that he had a close relationship with a businessman?
But a wealthy businessman like Wang Yuanbao is the source of wealth he needs. Therefore, Zhang Yun kept asking his son to interact with the Wang family. He rarely met Wang Yuanbao, and it was unprecedented to let Wang Yuanbao enter his study today.
Wang Yuanbao was also extremely excited. Zhang Yun actually invited himself into his study. This was not an ordinary honor. He forgot his intention and stammered in his excitement: "Zhang Prime Minister is worthy of being the first prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. He did not forget the state affairs so late."
Zhang Yun was clearly reading a book, what does it have to do with state affairs? Wang Yuanbao's flattery made him slapped the bull's head unfair. What is the first prime minister of the Tang Dynasty? He is neither the right prime minister nor the left prime minister. Of course, he has the oldest qualifications, but that's it. If Li Qingan compliments him, he might be content, but he was a businessman full of stinking complimenting him. Zhang Yun couldn't help but frowned, and regretted letting this person enter his study.
"If you have any urgent matters, just tell me!"
Wang Yuanbao didn't dare to say more and hurriedly said, "Report to Zhang Prime Minister, Li Qing'an sent someone to find the villain today."
Wang Yuanbao then told Hu Yunpei about his coming to him, but he concealed his profits and finally said: "He wants to use silver dollars to buy a large amount of copper coins. We suspect that it is related to the imperial court's intention to issue new silver coins. There is insufficient copper coins on the market, and new silver coins may be difficult to market. The matter is urgent, and the villain reported to the prime minister overnight."
Zhang Yun became more and more surprised as he heard it. At this time, he had already put the matter of Li Longji awakening aside. He was thinking about something in his mind, what exactly did Li Qing'an do?
Who is Zhang Yun? He has been the Minister of Revenue for ten years. How could he not understand where Li Qing'an pointed his sword? He was obviously teaching Li Yu a lesson about seizing Hexi, or even forcing Li Yu to make concessions, or he was further ingenious. If Li Qing'an really bought a large amount of copper coins and Li Yu issued silver coins, the failure would probably be very likely.
If Li Yu's new money law fails, then his plan to recruit 200,000 new troops will be shattered. If time continues, he will face extremely unfavorable situations in military affairs. Not to mention An Lushan, even the other three kings will also attack one after another. They will not allow Li Yu to stay on the throne for too long. Zhang Yun's mentality is more contradictory when Li Yu advocates issuing new money. On the one hand, he hopes that Li Yu will fail, so that he will not be able to recruit troops. But on the other hand, he is happy to see a situation where public grievances caused by issuing new coins, which gives the other three kings an excuse to hold the king accountable.
Zhang Yun was in conflict and silent. At this time, Zhang Ye next to him suddenly asked: "You said that person came to see you with Li Qing'an's No. 16 gold medal. Have you ever seen him?"
Wang Yuanbao shook his head, "This is the first time I have seen him, and it is the first time Xing Qian has seen him. This person is very mysterious. He only knows his surname, but his name, or his identity. Moreover, he no longer wants to see me again tomorrow."
Zhang Ye pondered for a moment, and then said to Zhang Yun: "Brother, I suspect this person is the leader of the Han and Tang dynasties. Do you still remember the exposure of Li Qing'an's identity? He has a secret organization in the Central Plains."
"This person doesn't matter. Even if it's important, you can't find him."
Zhang Yun sighed and said, "He will not show up again. Second brother, don't pay attention to this person, pay attention to the incident itself. Li Qing'an is going to compete with the emperor."
"Just exchange one million guan, brother takes this matter too seriously!"
Zhang Yun shook his head and said to Wang Yuanbao: "Master Wang Dong, please avoid it for the time being!"
Wang Yuanbao knew that their brothers had a secret to discuss, and outsiders could not be present, so he quickly got up and retreated. The study became very quiet. Zhang Yun walked slowly in the room with his hands behind his back. He walked to the window and looked at the heavy night outside the window. After a long time, he said in a low voice: "Actually, I don't like him if the emperor issued silver money. Even without Li Qing'an, An Lushan, Shu King, and Wu King, they would take action to destroy it. Issuing new money is not a matter of one or two days. His move is unpopular and will fail sooner or later. In fact, this is not what I worry about."
"What's the big brother worried about?"
"I'm very worried about Li Qing'an's backup plan!"
Zhang Yun sighed helplessly and said slowly: "He bought a large amount of copper coins this time, as if he wanted to fight against the emperor, but in fact, his real purpose was not here."
Zhang Ye said in surprise: "Isn't he trying to block the new money method of the emperor?"
"He is right to block the new money method, but if your vision stops, then you will think too easily about Li Qing'an."
Zhang Yun sneered: "His real purpose is to control the coins of the Tang Dynasty, and use his Anxi silver dollars to eventually replace the Kaiyuan Tongbao, or use the Anxi silver dollars as the main one and Kaiyuan Tongbao as the auxiliary one. This incident did not happen today. He did this several years ago and was advancing steadily step by step. I have been observing, and the emperor also discovered this sign. Therefore, he instigated the Hexi Incident and wanted to block the eastward advance of Li Qing'an's silver dollars. Of course, Li Qing'an was unwilling to have his plan failed. It is inevitable to counterattack. At this time, the emperor wanted to issue new silver dollars, and this incident became a breakthrough for Li Qing'an's counterattack. If Li Qing'an counterattack succeeded this time, the court would no longer be able to stop the Anxi silver dollars from entering the Central Plains. The Tang Dynasty coins would be controlled by Anxi sooner or later."
Zhang Ye was shocked when he heard this, and he said anxiously: "Since my brother discovered Li Qing'an's great conspiracy, why don't you stop him? This may be detrimental to us."
Zhang Yun's eyes turned out the window again, and he seemed to be thinking again, but a hint of sarcastic smile appeared in his eyes. He turned his head and glanced at his brother and said, "I hope you understand three things. First, do not draw conclusions easily, do not easily object or support. This is the fundamental reason why you have never been able to become the prime minister; second, no one can stop Li Qing'an's silver dollar offensive. The reason is very simple, because the people of the Tang Dynasty like Anxi silver dollar, and don't even like you? Why did the silver money in the court become garbage? Who planted the bitter vines at that time, and who should taste the bitter fruit now, and the retribution is unhappy; third, I also hope that the new money method of the priest failed. If he did not fail, when will I come back?"
"That big brother means......"
"It's very simple. We want to promote the cooperation between Wang Yuanbao and Li Qing'an, and then we ignore it and wait and see what's going on."
Early that morning, the Anxi Guifang in East City and West City of Chang'an closed down at the same time. The money and goods in the Guifang had been emptied, and the shopkeeper and the servant disappeared. The entire Guifang had become an empty house with no paper left.
As the news spread, merchants from the two cities flocked to them, and many people had a lot of money in Anxiguifang. They were so anxious that they were crazy. If Anxiguifang went bankrupt, would they ask who would ask for money?
The front door of Anxiguifang in Xicheng City was already crowded with three layers inside and three layers outside. The merchants were so anxious that they shouted and squeezed into it desperately.
There was a notice of closure on the door, and someone chanted loudly: "Due to internal organization, Anxi Cabinet House will be closed for two months at the same time. For some unfinished matters, Wang Baoji Cabinet House will temporarily entrust Wang Baoji Cabinet House to handle the matter. Any merchants who can save money in Anxi Cabinet House can go to Wang Baoji Cabinet House to redeem the deposit with the Anxi Cabinet House ticket and token of deposit. Wang Baoji Cabinet House will pay in full with Anxi silver dollars, or wait for the resumption of business in the Cabinet House. If there is a hasty and disrespectful situation, please forgive me!"
When the merchant learned that Wang Baoji Cabinet could be exchanged for money, he turned around and ran towards Wang Baoji Cabinet not far away. After a moment, he squeezed the gate of the cabinet into pieces and shouts sounded.
Although Wang Baoji Cabinet was already prepared, the large number of merchants who came to withdraw money still made Wang Baoji's men busy. This is no wonder. Anxi Cabinet is the second largest cabinet in Chang'an. Because it can be exchanged for Anxi silver dollars, it attracted a large number of merchants to save money. In Chang'an alone, the amount of money saved reached more than 400,000 yuan. Anxi Cabinet traveled at night every night, and it took ten days to empty the deposit in the warehouse. Anxi Cabinet was temporarily closed, and the run storm suddenly started. Thousands of merchants who rushed to hear the news almost squeezed out the Wang Baoji Cabinet in the east and west markets.
Faced with the surging crowds of cashing out, Wang Baoji's friends and shopkeepers were fighting to defend their interests. Storekeeper Liu's voice was hoarse, "It's always 300 yuan, yes! No penny can be lost."
The large supply of silver dollars caused the ratio of silver dollars to copper coins to fall to 1 to 250 cents, but Wang Baoji would never give in, and 300 cents were always allowed to give in. 'Wow!' The 500 white silver dollars rolled into the bag and handed them to a money-raising person. The money-raising person squeezed into a corner, took out one silver dollars and blew them violently, put them in his ear and listened carefully, until the corner of his eyes smiled, and the money-raising person carried the money-raising bag and squeezed out of the store.
The bank run case in Anxi Guifang and Wang Baoji Guifang was closed. Although it was a life-and-death battle for the merchants in Chang'an, it was just a trivial matter for most Chang'an people, far less than the romance of the romantic people. The story of a talented man and beautiful woman is interesting. On the same day, the incident in Bifenglou, Pingkangfang. The famous prostitute Zhu Xueniang married a talented man from Xiangzhou, Zhou Zhengtao, a talented man, was a sensation and attracted all the attention of Chang'an people.
The run-off war at Wang Baoji Cabinet was still surging, but the passers-by had dispersed one after another and they all went to the restaurant to inquire about Zhu Xueniang's story. About two hundred steps away from Wang Baoji Cabinet in Xicheng City, there was a three-story wine shop called Guiqu Laixi. At noon, it was crowded with guests who were dining, and there were also winners who robbed money from Wang Baoji Cabinet. They had a glass of wine to celebrate their victory. The wine shop was very noisy, and most people were talking about Zhu Xueniang's good deeds. Zhu Xueniang's face and dance, delicate figure were almost mythical. Even if Zhu Xueniang had taken over the guests, the drinkers were red in the face.
But in a elegant room on the third floor, there were talks about topics that had nothing to do with Zhu Xueniang's good deeds. There were three people in the room, one of which was Hu Yunpei, the intelligence leader of Anxi in the Central Plains. Sitting next to him was Miao Yi, the Minister of Rites. Miao Yi was a native of Ye Han. During the Kaiyuan period, his family moved back to the Central Plains. He was also a member of the Han and Tang dynasties and one of the few officials in the court in the Han and Tang dynasties.
Sitting opposite the two of them was Zheng Shaoyou, the Chief of the Metallurgical Office of the Shaofu Supervisor. The Chief of the Metallurgical Office was just a ninth-rank sesame official, assisting in the management of matters such as molten gold, silver, copper and iron. Although his official position was small, he had some key information about Li Yu's issuing new money this time. Some clues could be seen from the sitting posture of the three of them. Hu Yunpei leaned on the soft mattress and seemed relaxed and leisurely, grasping the initiative of this conversation. Miao Yi, as a foil, kept holding the wine pot to persuade the two of them to drink, and mediated the atmosphere in the center. As for Zheng Shaoyou, he looked nervous, rubbed his palms from time to time, leaning forward slightly, and listening to every word of Hu Yunpei with all his concentration.
Before meeting Zheng Shaoyou, Hu Yunpei sent someone to investigate his family background in detail. His mother was seventy years old and had a sick elder brother who was lying at home. There were three young children to raise him. The whole family relied on Zheng Shaoyou's salary. The court owed two years of salary, which almost fell into a desperate situation. His family was sold. Now he relied on his wife to make a living by washing clothes for others. Moreover, Zheng Shaoyou had secretly taken silver from the edge and was caught. His superiors did not punish him because of pity for him. However, his annual assessment was due to his lack of hope of promotion and fined him for three months. Based on this information, Hu Yunpei judged that Zheng Shaoyou was an easy person to fight for and could not give him too much benefits. Giving too much would scare him.
"General Li is kind to his subordinates and is employed without any doubt. Zheng Shucheng should also know about the Battle of Shibao City! All the soldiers who died in that battle are still paying their families, and there are not many of them. Those who come to Anxi will give land and exemption from taxes. Those who are unwilling to leave their hometown will provide money and rice on a monthly basis. Therefore, most of his subordinates are willing to serve him. I don't want to say more about these words, so let's say that! If Zheng Shucheng is willing to be loyal to the general, we will pay Zheng Shucheng's salary according to the amount of the fourth-rank official in Anxi every month, and once again give Zheng Shucheng three thousand silver dollars. What do you think?"
Zheng Shaoyou couldn't hold back the ecstasy in his heart. How could he not be willing? His family was poor and his family was hungry. Now he got 3,000 silver dollars, which was worth 3,900 guan! And his monthly salary, his hard days finally came to an end. At this moment, his heart was full of gratitude and desire for loyalty. Not to mention serving Li Qing'an, even if he was asked to die, he would be willing.
"What do I need to do, Mr. Hu, please speak as long as you want."
Seeing that he had surrendered, Hu Yunpei smiled and said, "Actually, our request is very simple. Every three days, you have to write a report on the imperial minting of coins, and then someone will come to you. If there is an emergency, you must report it in time."
"There is no problem, I will do it!"
Perhaps I felt that it was too easy for me to get money, so I felt embarrassed. Zheng Shaoyou said again: "Actually, I have a very good relationship with Zhang Shucheng of the Money Cricketing Department. If Mr. Hu needs it, I can help contact me."
After saying that, Zheng Shaoyou regretted it. This would ruin his chance. He suddenly became uneasy, but Hu Yunpei seemed to have not heard his suggestion. He was staring at the crowds of Wang Baoji Cabinet in the distance, and turned around and smiled faintly: "I want to know now how many new silver coins in the imperial court have been minted? When will they be issued?"
Zheng Shaoyou was excited, and he knew about this. He hurriedly said: "The new silver coins have been minted for 20,000 guan. Based on 1 to 50, this is one million guan. If the sir needs it, I can get two."
"Yes! When will it be released?"
Zheng Shaoyou thought for a while and said, "I don't know the specific release date, but I have been notified that five days later, the eighth day of November, the first batch of 20,000 silver coins will be officially out of the warehouse, and we need to come to the scene for the final inspection."
"Five days later!"
Hu Yunpei smiled proudly, which was exactly consistent with the news he received from other channels.
In the imperial study room of Zichen Hall of Daming Palace, Li Yu was listening to the report of Duzhi doctor Di Wuqi. The noon sun shone into the room, making the room particularly warm. Li Yu was distracted as he listened to the report.
His mood was quite complicated these two days, with mixed joys and sorrows. He was happy that his father no longer involved in his government affairs. After the Hexi Incident, he did not follow his father's plan and the two had a big quarrel. As a result, his father no longer involved in the affairs of the court and returned the power of recruiting troops to him, as if he was completely disregarding his hands, which made Li Yu breathe a sigh of relief.
But as soon as his father's affairs were gone, his grandfather, the late emperor Li Longji, woke up again. Although he was in a bad state and could not speak, he had already woken up after all, which made Li Yu's heart become heavy again, as if a piece of lead stone was added.
Although his position in the Eastern Palace was decided by the emperor's grandfather, he ascended the throne without the consent of the emperor's grandfather. Without the abdication edict of the emperor's grandfather, and even the royal family did not agree. He took a step back and even Yang Guifei, who was regarded as the first emperor and empress, did not express his opinion. He was just supported by the ministers. In this way, there was some lack of legal principles. This was also the main excuse for King Shu, King Wu and King Jing to refuse to admit him. They announced to the people of the world that the emperor had not abdicated, so how could the boy ascend the throne?
In fact, the accusations of the Three Kings make some sense. According to the correct approach, he should be the crown prince's supervisor first. Only when the late emperor truly dies will he ascend the throne. However, the emperor's grandfather has the disease of not knowing life and death. If he does not wake up for twenty years, he will have to be in charge of the state for twenty years?
It was precisely under this consideration that he agreed to the request of his ministers to officially ascend the throne to the emperor. His only hope was that the emperor's grandfather would never wake up or die. His father also hinted not long ago that half a year had passed and could make the emperor's grandfather die of illness. Just when Li Yu was hesitating, the emperor's grandfather suddenly woke up. In this way, the Tang Dynasty actually had two emperors, which would be an extremely embarrassing thing.
"His Majesty!"
Pei Min, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was about to speak, but found that Li Yu was a little distracted, so he whispered to remind him. Li Yu suddenly woke up and smiled apologetically and said, "Pei Aiqing, please tell me!"
In addition to the fifth Qi and the Minister of Revenue Pei Min in the Imperial Study Room, there are right prime minister Yang Guozhong, Shaofu Supervisor Yang Shenyu, and Hanlin Grand Secretary Li Mi, who are finally deciding on the specific measures for issuing new money.
Since Li Yu decided to issue new silver coins, he has been opposed by many important officials, especially Pei Min, the Minister of Revenue, who was the strongest. He wrote to Li Yu three times, pointing out that this is a typical act of killing chickens and getting eggs. Although a certain amount of money can be obtained at present, the profit is the income of exploiting the people, which will seriously affect the credibility of the court, and will cause prices to soar and make people live in miserable life. In response to him, Li Yan, Minister of Justice, also pointed out that the flood of silver coins two years ago doubled the price of rice, and many middle and low-level households were seriously affected. The issuance of inferior silver coins will undoubtedly make it worse and even trigger civil unrest.
Under repeated opposition from the ministers, Li Yu had to make concessions, firstly, reduce the issuance volume, reduce the pre-ordered 300,000 guan to 200,000 guan, the ratio is reduced from the original one to fifty to one to thirty, and slightly increase the silver content of the second batch of minted silver coins to silver, three, copper, five, and two. In this way, it basically meets the normal 1 to ten silver ratio. After Li Yu made the concession, the Zhengshitang finally approved the issuance plan of the silver.
The issuance time has been set, and it was officially issued on the eighth day of November, five days later. The time for issuance of the money is very secret, and only a few people know it to prevent the information from leaking in advance and causing chaos in the market.
But at this time, another new problem arose. Pei Min, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, opposed issuing the first batch of silver coins first, because the first batch of 20,000 guan was made in the ratio of silver, one copper, six lead and three. The silver content of a penny was too low. If it was one to ten, it would barely meet the normal ratio of silver coins. However, Li Yu insisted on compromising the ratio of 1 to 30 and refused to make any concessions.
"Your Majesty, I am very worried that once the new money has a bad impact on the people's hearts, no one will believe it again if the second batch of new money is issued. Your Majesty, don't be careless!"
At this time, Di Wuqi said: "Your Majesty, I have different ideas from Mr. Pei. I have investigated that in fact, whether it is new or old, the people are unwilling to do it, because the flood of bad silver money in the past two years has harmed the people. Unless we follow the example of Anxi to issue sufficient silver dollars, but we can't do it, either I just issue big money, one to make fifty. I think this is better than issuing silver money, because after the second batch of silver money is issued, everyone will gradually find that the silver content is not low, so the doubts will disappear with the passage of time, so it doesn't matter if I send it first and then send it."
Li Yu thought for a while and asked Yang Guozhong again: "What about Yang Xiangguo's opinion?"
"I support the view of the fifth doctor."
Yang Guozhong was not very enthusiastic about issuing silver and money. In the past, it was Zhang Yun's territory. Although Zhang Yun is not here, his mind is all focused on the adjustment of officials starting next month. Today, Li Yu ordered him to discuss issuing silver and money, which was difficult for him.
The reason why Yang Guozhong supported Di Wuqi was actually not related to Yin Qian itself, but because he did not like Pei Min, who was Li Qing'an's wife and a former member of the Eastern Palace Party, had a very strong relationship with him. He still remembers that Pei Min once impeached him in front of Li Longji that Yang Guozhong had raised a housewife in private, which made him severely scolded by Li Longji. His beloved concubine was also forced to give him away. That incident made him always be resentful of Pei Min, so he firmly supported him as long as Pei Min opposes.
"I also think that money doesn't care about the old and new, and it takes time to let the people adapt slowly. Mr. Pei repeatedly obstructs His Majesty's plan to raise money. I think there is something else!"
After saying that, he glanced at Pei Min, his eyes full of sneer. He needed to remind the emperor that Pei Min was Li Qing'an's wife and uncle.
"Yang Guozhong, don't swear by the slander. The emperor has just ascended the throne and is expected by the people of the world. I am to maintain the reputation of the emperor. How can there be any hidden information?"
Pei Min bowed deeply to Li Yu, "Your Majesty, I am loyal and dedicated to the country. Please give your Majesty a clear guide."
"Mr. Pei misunderstood. Prime Minister Yang has no other intentions. Don't take it to heart. I know that you are loyal and have no intention of blaming you."
Having said that, Li Yu did suddenly remember that Pei Min was Li Qing'an's wife's uncle. He felt a little uncomfortable. He pondered for a while and asked Li Mi again: "What do you mean by sir?"
Li Mi actually supported Pei Min's opinion, but Pei Min didn't know one thing, that is, Li Longji had woken up. If Li Longji recovered from health and Li Yu was still so weak, Li Yu would fall into extreme passiveness. Li Longji might not allow him to recruit another army, so he must recruit a group of loyal troops before Li Longji recovered from health, and this would require money. If the second batch of silver coins with high silver content were minted, it would take at least more than a month.
It is precisely for this reason that Li Mi advocated issuing silver coins immediately, forcibly exchanged for a batch of copper coins to recruit soldiers, and then waited for the second batch of silver coins to come out before taking back the first batch of silver coins, so that the consequences would be slightly alleviated.
Li Mi nodded, "It took too long to cast the second batch of silver coins, and there might be changes. I agree with the fifth doctor's suggestion to issue new silver coins according to the original planned date."
Li Mi's attitude undoubtedly gave Li Yu a reassurance. Seeing that Pei Min was still about to speak, he waved his hand and interrupted him in a tone that would not be objected to: "I have repeatedly solicited everyone's opinions and made concessions. Now there are only five days left. I don't want to make any changes, and I will not accept any plan. I will decide to issue new money as planned."
After saying that, he stared at Pei Min with a stern look, waiting for his statement. If he dared to object, he would immediately dismiss him. Pei Min sighed secretly. In fact, he had another plan, which was to borrow money from the big cabin shop first to respond to the emergency, and after the second batch of silver coins was minted, he would use it to return it to the cabinet shop. In short, the first batch of silver coins must not be issued and should be recasted. Unfortunately, he had no chance to mention it again.
Chapter completed!