When Ruan Deng Bing attended the court meeting, I was the first to call him, and I quickly stepped out of the queue and said, "Your Majesty, I'm here."
"How is the situation after the opening of Yinzhuang? Have we encountered obstacles in the issuance of Song Dynasty Huaxia coins?"
Ruan Dengbing lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, the exchange of Chinese coins is indeed not ideal."
"What's the reason?"
"Your Majesty, I think the main reason is that the people of our dynasty lack confidence in banknotes. In recent years, the banknotes of our dynasty have a poor reputation, and they have continued to depreciate, and the magnitude is very large. Therefore, more than 90% of the commercial banks in Lin'an City have None of them are willing to accept banknotes. As for the small vendors, they only accept copper coins. At present, the bank's storage business is gradually increasing, but there are very few customers who come to exchange Chinese coins. Even if there are, they can only use them. In exchange for Huaxia coins, I arranged for people to publicize the benefits of Huaxia coins and the court's monetary policy outside the bank every day. I also printed a large number of leaflets and distributed them to shops and pedestrians on the bustling commercial streets, but so far, With little success,"
My fingers inadvertently tapped the edge of the dragon chair again and asked: "Dear ladies, do you have any suggestions?"
After a moment of silence, Ma Tingluan said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Although what Mr. Ruan said is indeed somewhat true, as long as we provide more guidance to the people, I think the people will be happy to accept it. After all, Chinese coins are the legal tender of our dynasty. The face value is suitable and the banknotes are easy to carry, which still has many advantages. When Jiaozihuizi was issued, people waited and watched for a long time before gradually recognizing it."
"I also know that once the imperial court stops minting copper coins, the people will have no choice but to use paper money, but they will be very passive at that time. What I want to do is to find a way to get the people to accept it as soon as possible. The purpose is to restore the people's credibility in the imperial court. confidence,"
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, King Yinglin has written a memorial,"
"Wang Aiqing, please speak,"
Wang Yinglin is my newly promoted storyteller in Chongzheng Hall. He once served as the chief secretary of Taichang Temple and general judge of Taizhou. After the late emperor went to the west, he recommended Ma Guangzu and called him secret festival supervisor and Quan Zhongshusheren. Now he is promoted to be a minister and official of the Ministry of Rites. After Zhao Shunsun entered the Government Affairs Council and was recommended by Zhao Shunsun and Wen Tianxiang, I appointed Wang Yinglin to replace part of Zhao Shunsun's work. Wang Yinglin was about forty years old and his ancestral home was Kaifeng, Henan. He later moved to Yin County, Qingyuan Prefecture (today's Yin County, Zhejiang Province). Lizong became a Jinshi in the first year of Chunyou, and returned to the erudite and macroci subjects in the fourth year of Baoyou. He was an upright and outspoken person, and repeatedly offended the powerful minister Ding Daquan, and was once exiled.
In history, Wang Yinglin was knowledgeable and wrote many books. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, he refused to be an official and lived in seclusion for 20 years. He wrote "Jade Sea", "Jiwen of the Hard Learned", etc. The "Three Character Classic" that became a household name in later generations is one of his works. one.
"Your Majesty, I listened carefully to the reasons stated by Mr. Ruan. There are two fundamental reasons for this. First, the people are worried that Huaxia coins cannot maintain their value. Second, no shops are willing to accept them. Therefore, I think we should start from these two points. Click here to solve it,"
I nodded slightly and said, "What can Wang Aiqing do?"
"Your Majesty, just as Mr. Ma and Mr. Ruan said, our dynasty's Jiaozihuizi and other banknotes have a very bad reputation among the people. It will take a long process to reverse this ideology. During this period, publicity is actually the best In this way, I think we should increase the intensity of publicity. For example, we should publicize it in all newspapers in Lin'an City. We must make sure that all Lin'an people know that Huaxia coins are different from the previous Huizi. Its issuance principle is Based on the amount of gold and silver reserves in our dynasty, we will never issue too much or indiscriminately. Once the people of Lin'an recognize it, it will be relatively easy for people from other walks of life to accept it. Regarding the second point, I think that we should first strictly order the generals of Lin'an City. Commercial banks, big shops, big wine shops, etc. must accept Huaxia coins unconditionally. Huaxia coins are the legal tender of our dynasty. As a member of our dynasty, you don’t have to use them, but you can’t refuse others to use them. In addition, if you open a shop directly under the imperial court, Supplies the people's daily necessities, such as food, salt, candles, cloth, etc. This store directly under the imperial court can accept any legal currency of our country, so the people will have a place to use it after exchanging Chinese coins."
"What, how can the imperial court open a shop?"
"This is inconsistent with etiquette,"
"That's right, wrong, wrong,"
Although the commercial atmosphere in the Song Dynasty was strong, in the eyes of these high-ranking officials, the role of commerce was only to provide them with a place to enjoy themselves.
How could the majestic imperial court do such a thing?
For a time, Wang Yinglin's proposal was opposed by more than 70% of officials.
"Isn't Wang Yinglin's intention to open a state-owned shopping mall for future generations?"
I didn't listen to the objections of the ministers. State-owned shopping malls had the largest number during the planned economy era, accounting for almost 90% of the total shopping malls. They played a role in stabilizing prices for a certain period of time and ensuring the basic supply for the people.
"This might be the way to go," I thought.
When the ministers in the palace saw that I was silent, they gradually became quiet and all looked at me.
"Master, what do you think?" I said, looking at Jia Sidong who was distracted.
September 9th will be the day to decide whether to reform the military. Jia Sidao's thoughts are all on the "September 9th" meeting. The court meetings in recent days have seemed listless.
"Your Majesty, I agree with Mr. Wang's proposal. From ancient times to the present, although there is no precedent for the imperial court to open shops, there is no etiquette prohibiting the imperial court from opening shops. Just like the banknotes that appeared in our dynasty, they were also used in previous dynasties. No one has ever used it,”
Jia Sidao expressed his opinion, and I couldn't help but nod: "My teacher's words are very close to my heart. Since my teacher also thinks it is feasible, I agree. Jiang Wanli, Liao Yingzhong, Yinzhuang, Ministry of Commerce Ruan Dengbing, Chongzheng Palace Storyteller Wang Yinglin,"
"I'm waiting here," the four of them said as they came out of the queue.
"I issue an edict, in the name of the Ministry of Commerce, to open a chain of shops in the main commercial streets and residential areas of Lin'an City, mainly selling the daily necessities of the people. This matter is left to the four of you for discussion, and Wang Aiqing is in charge. The memorial was submitted After reviewing it, I will submit it to the Ministry of Commerce for implementation. In half a month, I will see the first shop appear on Lin'an Street,"
I thought for a while and added: "The purpose of the store is not to make a profit, but there is no need to lose money. The pricing principle is temporarily based on the average price of the same kind of goods on the Lin'an market, which is slightly lower. Don't impact the original market price system. The goods The types of products are selected by the Ministry of Commerce to meet the basic needs of the people.”
"Yes, I obey the order,"
"Your Majesty, please name the shop," said Jiang Wanli, the highest-ranking person among the four.
"This name, I think, is called the Song Dynasty State-owned Commercial Bank. Its primary purpose is to cooperate with the bank to issue Huaxia coins so that the people can use the Huaxia coins after they are exchanged. In addition, the operation of the shops must strictly abide by the commercial regulations of our dynasty. Law, tax law, etc.,"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the four of them responded again.
"Quite friends,"
"I am here,"
"Lin'an Prefecture also needs to send people to cooperate with Yinzhuang in publicity on the streets, and strictly inspect large commercial banks and restaurants, etc., and strictly prohibit them from rejecting Huaxia coins,"
"Yes, I obey your order,"
"Okay, let me talk about the affairs of Luzhou next. My dear friends, the war in Luzhou has ended. Although the scale of the war was not large, the victory of our army also greatly boosted the morale of our soldiers. I will do my best to support them. The brave warriors are proud. Sir, has the Privy Council finished sorting out the rewards for the soldiers?"
"Your Majesty, it has been completed. Please take a look at it," Jia Sidao said, standing up and holding a memorial in both hands.
"Presented,"
Xiaoqi walked down the steps, took the memorial from Jia Sidao and presented it to me.
"Today's great victory in Luzhou is all thanks to His Majesty's great blessings. Our soldiers fought bravely to kill the enemy. After discussion, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War have formulated the following rewards: 1. The former commander of Luzhou is Fan Sheng, the commander is Zhang Lin, the general is happy, and the deputy general is Meng Xing.
In the battle with the Mongolian Ashu troops, he bravely advanced and unfortunately died.
Fan Sheng, the commander-in-chief, was posthumously given the title of Captain of Light Vehicles, and the rest were posthumously given the title of Captain of Cavalry. One of the four sons, Jin Yong, was given the title of Deputy Lieutenant. Second, Xia Gui, the envoy of the Huainan West Road System, had good command and was recommended to be promoted to Guard the Army and General.
Wang Sheng, Xia Qing and others were promoted to captains of mounted cavalry, and generals Han Zhen, Shi Yuqi and others were promoted to captains of flying cavalry and above.
As an honorary officer, three, the Privy Council and the Ministry of War recommended that General Xia Gui be promoted to Taizhong Dafu, Wang Sheng, Xia Qing and others were promoted to Tongzhilang, Han Zhen, Shi Yuqi and others were promoted to Chengshilang. The above are casual officials. Four, in this time
For those who performed well in the battle, Wang Sheng was promoted to the commander of the infantry army and Xiangdu, and Xia Qing was promoted to the commander of the horse army and military capital.
Commander, Han Zhen was promoted to Commander of the Capital of the Horse Army, Shi Yuqi was promoted to Marquis of Yu, the Capital of the Army, Zhang Feng, a soldier with outstanding performance, was promoted to Military Envoy of the Horse Army, Li Xuezhou was promoted to the Head of the Infantry Army, Gao Kangjian was promoted to the Head of the Infantry Army, and the remaining rewards are detailed in the appendix, 5. Privy Council and
The Ministry of War recommends that all soldiers in Luzhou be rewarded with 100,000 yuan."
After reading it, I still didn’t understand everything about honorary and casual positions. I only knew that they were various honorary positions. Only the fourth and fifth points were basically clear to me. They were all real promotions. No wonder later generations commented on the Song Dynasty.
Even when I was in an official position, I found it complicated, so it seemed that I needed to learn more about this aspect of my knowledge.
Among the plans drawn up by the Privy Council, Han Zhen was promoted the fastest. Like Xia Qing, they were both commanders of the Ma Army. However, judging from Xia Gui's battle report and the news from the Longya Intelligence Department, Han Zhen was indeed quite popular.
There are generals and talents.
"Lu Aiqing,"
"I am here,"
I asked Xiao Qi to hand Jia Sidao's memorial to Lu Xiufu and said: "I will approve the reward plan drawn up by the Privy Council and the Military Department. This plan will be handed over to the Ministry of Military Affairs for drafting and will then be notified to the Luzhou War Zone."
Lu Xiufu took the memorial and said, "Yes, I obey the order."
Jia Sidao was extremely unhappy. According to custom, after the emperor approved it, the Privy Council would draft a decree, and then the emperor would seal and issue it. But now it was handed over to the Military Affairs Council. Although the content of the decree was still in accordance with the memorial of the Privy Council, it was just changed.
The form of the issuance also shows that the Military Council is clearly decentralizing the power of the Privy Council and the Ministry of War. In other words, the imperial power is dividing Jia Sidao's power.
Of course I knew what Jia Sidao was thinking, so I ignored him and continued: "Wen Aiqing and all the dear ministers of the Government Affairs Council, I will hold a meeting on provincial reform in the side hall tomorrow after the court meeting. You must prepare in advance.
In addition, the establishment of the Department of Law will also be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting. By the way, Shichen, you and Weng Aiqing, the Minister of Zhongshu, will also participate."
"Yes, I obey the order,"
After Jia Sidao heard this, he felt that it was completely unpleasant. In the end, he suppressed his dissatisfaction and said: "Old minister, I obey the order."
After leaving the Daqing Hall, Xiao Qi said: "The official house, Xianwen Pavilion has been renovated,"
"Yes, very good, let's go now,"
There was a tradition in the Song Dynasty royal family. After each emperor died, his successor would build or renovate a pavilion inside and outside the palace to collect and organize the imperial writings and various secret royal documents related to the previous dynasty. Since Longtuge (beginning with Longtuge)
Since Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, 10 towers have been built, and Xianwen Pavilion is the 11th.
There were many palace bachelors in the Song Dynasty, and their origins came from here. For example, the well-known Iron Bread Master Bao served as a direct bachelor of Longtuge, that is, a bachelor of the palace (divided into bachelor, direct bachelor, and pending bachelor). , a kind of Zhige fourth grade), the original responsibility of the Diange bachelor was to organize and organize the materials of the previous emperors, and later evolved into an honorary bachelor's official position.
The late emperor Lizong had two offices in the palace, one was the imperial study room of Ningqian Palace, and the other was the Xianwen Hall next to it. One of the offices.
After I ascended the throne, I built it into the Xianwen Pavilion in accordance with the etiquette regulations. It was used as a library to collect imperial documents from the Lizong period.