In the Fengtian Palace, the courtiers looked at the things in Zhu Yunxi's hands with curiosity.
The old man stood on the royal steps, leaning forward slightly, looking carefully at the round, silvery object in his grandson's hand, and asked in confusion.
Slowly, the old man seemed to see clearly that the portrait carved on the small, beautifully made object in Zhu Yunxi's hand seemed to be himself.
Grandpa Huang, this is Zhu Da... Zhu Yunxi quickly spoke and said with a smile, this is the Ming Dynasty silver coin, Hongwu Tongbao cast by his grandson at the Ministry of Industry!
With that said, he walked up to the old man holding the silver coin and continued to smile, look, on the back of this silver coin are the four characters Hongwu Tongbao, with a dragon carved in the middle. The front...
At this point, turn over the silver coin.
The old man exclaimed, "Ah, this is really us? Why did you engrave our portrait on it?"
On the front of the silver coin, there is a portrait of the old man's head, and there is a line of small characters on the head, which reads: the 26th year of Hongwu, the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty, etc.
Naturally, you used your image on the silver coins of the Ming Dynasty! Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, this silver coin is something that can be passed down through the ages. Your portrait is engraved on it, firstly, to show the prestige of the country, secondly, to give the people a chance to see the holy face, and thirdly!
After saying that, Zhu Yunxi paused and continued to smile, when the people spend money to make money, when they look at your old portrait, they will think, thanks to the old Emperor Hongwu, the people can live a peaceful life!
Haha! The old man grinned so widely that he could not see his teeth.
The grandson did not ask for an order and directly asked the Ministry of Industry to cast the sample. Grandpa Emperor, forgive me! Zhu Yunxi smiled again.
What's the crime? The grandson is trying to make us look good! The old man took the silver coin in his hand, looked at it over and over, and couldn't put it down. However, the old man frowned and asked, "What's the use of good silver like this?" Made by the Ministry of Industry
To make coins, you need to get both the mold and the manpower.
Coin-making in ancient times was not just as simple as making. The cost of making coins even exceeded the value of the coins themselves.
This facilitates circulation, facilitates exchange, and unifies weights and measures! Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, the silver in our treasury is all 99% pure silver, but the folk silver is not so pure. The silver collected by the imperial court has to be smelted, so
First of all, it costs a lot of money!
And because the fineness of silver in different places is different, the exchange standards are not uniform. When made into silver coins, both the private sector and the court can benefit!
Looking at it now, coinage costs some money. But in the long run, the court will save a lot of money just in terms of annual fire consumption!
Furthermore, with silver coins, people do not have to let unscrupulous businessmen and officials exploit them when exchanging copper coins. Moreover, silver coins are smaller than copper coins and are easier to carry. They are also convenient for officials and businessmen to use. This is a good thing that kills multiple birds with one stone!
The old man thought about it silently for a while, then turned to Fu Youwen, the Minister of Revenue, and said, "Listen, it seems to make sense!"
Fu Youwen turned his attention away from the silver coins. As the great steward in charge of the Ming Dynasty's finances, how could he not see the benefits of this silver coin? How could he not know the disadvantages of exchanging private copper coins with silver?
What His Highness said is true. Having this product will not only facilitate circulation, but also benefit the court and save the process of re-smelting and weighing. It will be of great benefit to the country and the people!
After saying that, Fu Youwen solemnly knelt down and bowed solemnly.
What are you doing? The old man asked puzzledly.
Minister, I bow to the sage of the Ming Dynasty! Fu Youwen said seriously, Your Majesty, throughout the ages, it is not that no one has seen the shortcomings of coins. But this matter is closely related, so we dare not act rashly.
There has been a money shortage in every dynasty. How can the country be rich and the people be strong if there is a money shortage? Your Highness's move is a policy for the Ming Dynasty to rejuvenate the country for generations to come. This single virtue policy far exceeds that of its predecessors.
Your Highness has benefited the common people, and the Hongwu Tongbao will be remembered by all people and praised in history books. I worship you on behalf of the common people and scholars in the world, to worship me, the high-spirited prince of the Ming Dynasty, who is not afraid of hardships and dangers!
At the same time, all the ministers in the palace bowed their heads and said, "His Royal Highness, the Emperor's Grandson, may you live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years!"
When it comes to people's livelihood and economy, the ministers in the palace can beat Zhu Yunxi by a few blocks. As soon as this thing came out, they saw the benefits. And behind the benefits, it was Zhu Yunxi who improved the bad governance of coins through silver coins, making the exchange rate of silver coins
After stabilization, the people no longer suffer from exploitation.
Okay, okay! The old man waved and said with a smile, he is still young and should not be praised like this! After saying that, he looked at the silver coins again and said to other courtiers, you guys should also talk about it and talk about the benefits!
Naturally, the ministers were full of flattery and praised him one after another.
A good thing is a good thing! Ling Han, the new official minister, suddenly said, "But I think that although this thing is good, it cannot be promoted to the world immediately. To govern a big country and cook small delicacies, you need to be cautious in everything you say and do. This thing is exquisitely made, and it has
Once the emperor's portrait is quickly promoted throughout the world, it will inevitably cause the price of silver to rise.
Although there is no silver in the hands of the people, but the price of silver rises, it is the people who will suffer in the end! Furthermore, once this coin is released, the bad coins popular among the people will also be greatly affected!
All the officials in the palace congratulated him, but he was the only one who gave him a heads-up.
Zhu Yunxi smiled and nodded. What Ling Shangshu said was mature and prudent. He said to the old man, Grandpa Emperor, my grandson asked Grandpa Huang to issue an order. The silver coins will first be issued in Suzhou, Hangzhou and other prosperous trade places, and the first batch will be cast by the Ministry of Industry.
Around three hundred thousand.
Only the Ministry of Industry has the right to mint coins, and local vassals and private citizens are not allowed to mint them privately. After it is promoted, taxes paid by various localities will also be replaced by silver coins!
Zhu Yunxi automatically filtered Ling Han's words. Everything that is beneficial can be harmful. A policy will always have some negative effects at the beginning. However, major national affairs must be considered in the long run and cannot be shelved just because of temporary effects.
If everything is inflexible because of variables and shortcomings, then the country will become one-size-fits-all in the long run.
Don't be afraid if you have trouble. If you find trouble, you will deal with it and make up for it. But if you make a one-size-fits-all decision because of trouble, the gain outweighs the loss.
That's very good! The old man held up the silver coins and looked at them carefully. According to your words, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry will promote the coinage. After saying that, the old man said again, it's right to be more careful. You can calculate carefully how much it will cost and how much will be minted.
, and then report it!
I obey your orders!
Tsk tsk! The old man is still holding up the silver coin. Our eldest grandson is really smart!
Grandpa Huang! There is a simple way to identify the authenticity of this silver coin! Zhu Yunxi said with a smile.
How to identify them? The old man smiled.
Zhu Yunxi took the silver coin, held it between his fingers, blew on it, and put it in the old man's ear.
Buzz!
The old man listened to the long sound of metal vibrating in his ears, and his eyes narrowed into slits with laughter.
Then, he put the silver in his palm and looked at it over and over. When he saw his own portrait, he sighed, even if thousands of years pass, as long as people use silver, they will remember us! Our life has not been in vain.
ah!
Not just the people of Ming Dynasty! Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, if our silver coins flow to foreign countries, the people of foreign countries can also admire your beauty. Throughout the ages, which emperor can do that?
No? Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head vigorously and said, this is silver, this is money! Our Ming Dynasty’s money must not go out. As he said, he said a little fiercely, only outside money comes in, our Ming Dynasty’s money will never go out.