The consequences of Zhang Jun's rebellion were very serious. It not only severely weakened the imperial court's strength, but also reduced its military strength from 500,000 to 200,000, including 70,000 new soldiers.
More importantly, the area under actual control of the imperial court was greatly reduced. Not only was the Jianghuai area north of the Yangtze River lost, but even the Jiangnan West Road south of the Yangtze River was forced to cede to the Western Army. Chen Qing's actual control line expanded eastward from the Dongting Lake area.
To Poyang Lake District.
Xuanzhou is close to Jiangnan East Road to the north, and Quzhou is close to Liangzhe West Road to the south. The only areas under actual control of the imperial court are Jiangnan East Road, Liangzhe West Road, Liangzhe East Road, Fujian Road, and Guangnan East Road.
Guangnan West Road and other six roads are actually a circle along the southeastern coast.
There is another black spot here, that is Quanzhou, which was occupied by Chen Qing long ago.
It was also the battle to put down Zhang Jun's rebellion. Prince Yong's Mansion obtained a large amount of land. Not only did it take over Zhang Jun's territory, but it also took advantage of the situation to seize Jiangnan West Road, seizing millions of money and grain, and the total number of troops increased to sixty-five.
Ten thousand, thousands of warships, the territory and strength are unprecedentedly strong.
As time entered December, a heavy snowfall came unexpectedly. It snowed for three days and three nights. After the snow stopped, the entire Shaanxi Road and Guanzhong Plain turned into a world covered with snow.
At noon that day, Chen Qing came to Qingfeng Teahouse as usual. This teahouse was originally the private property of the princess. Now the princess has transferred it to her father Lu Jin. Now it is regarded as the property of the Lu family. Of course Chen Qing will not care.
Who owns the teahouse? For him, the shore of the land is not the land of the king. He has thousands of miles of territory and does not care about a small teahouse at all.
Chen Qing waved and called for shopkeeper Liu Da. Shopkeeper Liu Da quickly stepped forward and said with a smile: "What are your orders, your highness?"
Chen Qing took out a few banknotes and said with a smile: "There's nothing wrong with the cashier's notes!"
Shopkeeper Liu Da said with a smile on his face: "Reporting to Your Highness, there is no problem with our store, we will definitely accept it!"
"As far as you know, is there any store that refuses to accept it?"
"As far as I know, all the shops on Dongda Street accept it. Everyone welcomes it, but some small traders may not dare to accept it."
Chen Qing smiled and nodded, "I understand, go and do your work!"
Shopkeeper Liu Da bowed and left. Chen Qing smiled at Zhou Kuan and said, "How about it? I'm not wrong!"
Zhou Kuan smiled bitterly and said: "It's useless. It's not that silver coins were not minted before. In the end, they were all collected and not circulated in the market. What's the difference between you, a silver coin, and silver coins?"
Yinjiaozi, also called Yinjiaozi, is the latest currency issued by the Finance and Taxation Department of Yongwang Palace. It replaces the previous silver coins. A Yinjiaozi weighs six cents and can be exchanged for five hundred Wen coins according to the government. It is triangular in shape and very full. It is the largest
The characteristic is that it is compact and easy to carry.
Zhou Kuan, as the Superintendent of the Department of Finance and Taxation, does not agree with the issuance of Yinjiaozi because he has issued silver coins before and failed. Hundreds of thousands of silver coins were issued, but they did not flow into the market. They were all collected by private individuals, which completely deviated from the issuance of silver coins.
original intention.
Chen Qing said with a smile: "In the past, the biggest problem with silver coins was that it was difficult to make molds and the weight was inaccurate. This kind of Yinjiaozi is easy to make and can be issued in large quantities. Secondly, its weight is very accurate, which makes it easier for shops to use a scale to identify authenticity. It is more suitable
Circulation, as for collection, will result in losses, I believe no one will do it."
A six-cent Yinjiaozi is normally only worth 300 cents, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs made it worth a premium of 200 cents. In other words, if you get it from a government-run counter shop, you can exchange it for 500 cents each, if you want to collect it privately.
, then you will lose two hundred coins for every one you collect.
Melting it into silver ingots will cost you at least two ounces of money for every tael of silver. No one will do this kind of loss-making business.
This premium issuance method is a brilliant idea thought up by Chen Qing. It has the premium function of banknotes and is based on physical silver, so it will not be counterfeited in large numbers.
Of course, the court can also cast Yinjiaozi to earn a premium, but the problem is that the Internal Affairs Hall has two regulations. First, it is not allowed to use Yinjiaozi for bulk cargo trade and inter-state trade. Secondly, it is not allowed to exchange for one thousand yuan at a time.
The source of the silver jiaozi must be clearly stated.
In fact, Yinjiaozi is defined for daily consumption. For example, the imperial court imitated 200,000 Yinjiaozi. There were only two ways to earn a premium. The first was to carry out bulk trade, and the second was to exchange copper coins at the counter. However, internal affairs
The two regulations of the church have blocked these two roads. They can only be used for consumption or exchanged in small amounts. I don’t know if they will be exchanged until the Year of the Monkey and the Horse.
Moreover, casting such smooth Yinjiaozi also requires high technology and a lot of labor. Private imitation of Yinjiaozi cannot be made, and even if it is made, the cost is very high. The cost of a Yinjiaozi may be more than 50 yuan.
A hundred articles. The gain outweighs the loss.
Some people will say, what if I use white copper to fake Yinjiaozi?
In fact, it is difficult. Yinjiaozi is relatively accurate. Everyone is familiar with its weight, size, and appearance. The counterfeiting is very rough, and you can tell it is a fake almost as soon as you get started.
Moreover, fake goods are not dared to be exchanged at counters. They can only be used for consumption. They are small in quantity and widely used, and are easy to be discovered. When you are caught by the internal guards, you will most likely only use dozens of fake silver coins, but you will not be able to use them.
You have to pay the price of killing everyone.
The huge benefits and costs are not equal, and no one would do such a stupid thing.
Chen Qing smiled proudly and said: "If I hand over paper money, neither the people nor the merchants will accept it, but Yinjiaozi is different. It is real silver, and everyone's resistance will be much smaller. From shops and merchants, it is different."
You can see how well the people accept it.”
Zhou Kuan shook his head and smiled: "One is production and the other is silver reserves. You have to solve these two big problems."
"There is no problem with the output. We can cast 500,000 pieces a year. As for reserves, we have a cumulative inventory of six million taels of silver. We have also acquired two large silver mines on Jiangnan West Road. In addition, I will tell you another secret. You can get it from
Japan earns a lot of silver."
Zhou Kuan raised his eyebrows, "How to make money?"
Chen Qing smiled lightly and said: "During the Xuanhe period, we could only exchange one tael of silver for two guan of money. After Jingkang, one tael of silver skyrocketed to one tael for five guan of money. But Japan is rich in silver, so they still exchange one tael of silver for two guan."
Guanqian, I only need to take 500 fen of goods, which will be worth 2 guan of money when they arrive in Japan, and I will receive one tael of silver directly. In other words, I can exchange one tael of silver from Japan for 500 fen of goods."
Zhou Kuan was surprised: "Who said this?"
"Of course it's Zheng Tongquan. He went to Japan several times and earned hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. He no longer does overseas trade, so he told me this secret."
Zhou Kuan shook his head, "I still don't understand. Since there are such huge benefits, why don't other businessmen do it?"
"There is a very practical reason for this. Although Japan is rich in silver, all the silver is in the hands of the daimyo. The goods they want cannot be provided by ordinary merchants. When ordinary merchants go to Japan, they trade with Japanese merchants. Basically
They were all bartered and could not be exchanged for silver. Zheng Tongquan got special goods through various connections and exchanged them for 300,000 taels of silver from several famous people."
"What is special cargo?"
Chen Qing laughed and said: "Pig iron or armor are both contraband items stipulated by the imperial court, but they are the materials most desired by various Japanese lords. Zheng Tongquan obtained tens of thousands of sets of leather armor, which made him rich."