Chapter 276 The Emperor's Daily Tasks: Expanding Territory...
Many court officials were green with envy.
His Majesty's words are law; it sounds like Prefect Huang was merely transferred to a lateral post, and his position is adjacent to the one he was appointed to. But—
Lingnan is a remote and dangerous region, rife with disasters. And Yin Island Prefecture? As a newly incorporated territory of Dingguo, it possesses vast silver mines and is highly valued. These two places are worlds apart—one underground, the other in the heavens. How could Lord Huang be so lucky?
He's about to soar to great heights, and even those who follow him will get lucrative positions. He must be eating like a fish; it's enough to make anyone envious!
Some people are still envious, while others are already plotting how to become the new prefect of Lingnan. Even if they can't succeed themselves, their relatives, friends, fellow students, and classmates will do.
Lingnan used to be the most remote and desolate place, but now it's different.
On one side of Lingnan lies the birthplace of the new emperor, a land rich in granaries, while on the other side lies the new treasury of the nation. It is a place His Majesty cannot afford to overlook, and the best route for transporting silver is through Lingnan—this geographical location is simply too good, with countless opportunities waiting to be seized!
Many ambitious officials were eager to succeed.
"...Fifty million taels!" The Minister of Revenue stared intently at His Majesty with hopeful eyes, his gaze like that of a starving lone wolf eyeing a bone.
He was truly fed up with the days when everyone was desperately needing money to save them, the court was only concerned with producing banknotes, and the emperor was constantly questioning and scolding him for complaining about being poor... Those banknotes were harder to spend than paper, and the officials of the Six Ministries were complaining every day that they couldn't survive on such a low salary. He was short of money! More short of money than anything else!
Qi Chengming gave him a disgruntled look: "You'll stay here later."
"Ah!" The Minister of Revenue perked up, straightened his back with great excitement, and suddenly felt full of energy.
Every day, the Six Ministries complain about his stinginess, refusing to allocate funds for anything. But it's because money is needed everywhere; if he weren't so stingy, the national treasury would be empty long ago, and he wouldn't be able to care for anyone. Now, thank goodness, that's fifty million taels of silver! Finally, there's a solution! The country is saved!
Every year around this time, the south suffers from floods. In the past two years, thanks to the cement formula provided by His Majesty, things have improved considerably. However, for natural disasters like hurricanes and plagues, they still have to allocate disaster relief funds every year. How can they refuse to provide these funds? Last year, the Central Plains experienced a severe drought, resulting in poor harvests. Flood victims even came to the outskirts of Luoyang to plead for refugees. How can they refuse to provide them with shelter? This year, their crops have yielded little. How can they refuse to continue allocating funds?
These disasters happen every year; who can resist providing aid? But after the relief efforts, how much money can be squeezed out for other uses? Annual taxes aren't even enough to cover the war effort, which makes the various factories and shops His Majesty established in the capital in the past two years—all the profits went into the national treasury, giving them a much-needed respite. However, His Majesty has one flaw: his initiatives are too novel and daring, his ideas unconventional and contrary to established norms—he's not your average benevolent ruler…
Therefore, the Minister of Revenue was most grateful for His Majesty's abilities.
He had this prejudice in his heart, but it wasn't worth grumbling about.
At that moment, the Minister of Revenue immediately thought of many uses for it, and in his mind, he had divided up the fifty million taels of silver completely, which was a very good idea.
Just as the Minister of Revenue was thinking this, he heard His Majesty announce again: "Now that I have just ascended the throne, in order to benefit all the people, I intend to set up a money exchange, named after the reign title, to issue Taiyuan coins. Let's use these fifty million taels of silver to mint them."
The Minister of Revenue was still in a dream when he heard this devastating news: "??!"
The young emperor sighed, staring at them with indignation and determination: "Alas, I have heard that prices in Dading are soaring, and the people cannot afford to eat or pay taxes. They are living in misery, and many are resorting to bartering. Is this their fault? The private currencies circulating among the people are chaotic. In order to amass wealth, the silver content of a single tael of these private currencies is probably less than half! They are all murderous scoundrels who deceive the people!"
The new emperor's murderous intent surged, and his ministers fell silent in fear.
The tone shifted abruptly, and the new emperor's voice softened: "Therefore... I wish to issue Thai Yuan coins made of pure silver, so that everyone's lives can be a little better."
Qin Liusong listened carefully and keenly discerned from the new emperor's words his intention to target other private currencies.
Grand Tutor Wu was bewildered by so much currency; his eyes were glazed over, and he couldn't believe his eyes.
The other reborn courtiers exchanged bewildered glances, trying to analyze the new emperor's intentions. The new emperor's methods for saving the country differed from their previous ones; they had lost their foresight and their support, and thus were somewhat confused—the new emperor already possessed Liuzhou vouchers, so why was he now introducing a new currency? This new currency was essentially "money," as if the new emperor was simply handing out money to appease everyone and make up for their losses.
Is that correct?
But... if I can't figure it out, I'll stop thinking about it. The new ruler is always right.
They readily agreed, shouting in unison, "Your Majesty's great favor!"
Those officials who hadn't been reborn also showed joy upon hearing this, and their expressions of gratitude were almost as swift as those of the reborn officials: "Your Majesty, we thank you!"
Regardless of whether it's a new currency or not, or any worries, as long as one thing is confirmed, they won't be fooled—His Majesty promised that the Thai Yuan will be genuine, of high quality, and made of pure silver! The people can finally breathe a sigh of relief, and they benefit too.
You see, these officials, high and low, were normally paid by the government, but the retired emperor demanded that they be paid using official currency. Each month, they received large amounts of worthless silver notes and a small amount of cloth and grain, leaving them so poor they were practically pawning their pants. In the end, they had no choice but to join in the embezzlement and collude… and not everyone was willing to do so.
Who doesn't aspire to be an honest official and stand up for the people?
That's impossible, isn't it? They can't even afford to eat anymore, so they have to realize they're not saints.
If the new king were to give them this money... they would be overjoyed. Thai baht is great, Thai baht is wonderful!
"This...Your Majesty, this..." Everyone present was except for the Minister of Revenue, whose face turned as if he had lost his parents, heartbroken and wanting to submit a memorial, but unable to speak due to the expressions on the faces of the others. Everyone else was satisfied and beaming with joy.
—Everyone has been suffering from the burden of banknotes for too long.
Therefore, after Qi Chengming specified that he wanted to set up Taiyuan Money Shop, everyone agreed to the proposal. Soon, the Ministry of Revenue and Qin Liusong, the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, were put in charge of the project, and the specific details were discussed privately.
Qi Chengming smiled slightly, concealing his merits and fame.
He stared at the two lines of text that had changed before him:
[Emperor's Daily Task: Territorial Expansion (Completed)]
[Infrastructure Task: Establish Taiyuan Money Exchange]
Branch Task 1: Obtain enough anchors to gain the approval of most court officials for the issuance of Thai Yuan coins and banknotes (Completed)
The grand court session has ended.
The Minister of Revenue rushed to the side hall of the Zichen Palace in a frenzy. Even if he couldn't persuade His Majesty, he had to get to the bottom of this. That was...that was fifty million taels of silver! Using it for the livelihood of officials and the people around Luoyang was a good thing, but if it were used elsewhere...it could save many more lives! Why did His Majesty always take such unconventional approaches and like to do such strange things?!
"My lord, please don't be too anxious. His Majesty must have his own plans," Qin Liusong said, offering a word of advice as they traveled together.
The Minister of Revenue's anxious attitude eased slightly. Knowing that this man, whose official position seemed insignificant, was actually a favorite of His Majesty, he quickly asked, "Scholar Qin, you have been following His Majesty since your early years. Do you know what His Majesty's intention is?"
"This..." Qin Liusong knew that his understanding of currency was far inferior to that of Lord Xiao Mu. The new emperor's thoughts were always vast and profound, far surpassing those of ordinary people like them. The new emperor must have his own reasons, but what were those reasons?
Qin Liusong recalled how, in his previous life, the new emperor had defied his father's wishes and, upon ascending the throne, had declared the abolition of private minting of coins. The retired emperor had remained strangely silent and had not voiced any opposition. Instead, the hatred of wealthy families and powerful clans among the common people was directed at the new emperor's reforms... It was hard not to suspect that the retired emperor was using this as a scapegoat to make the new emperor take the blame and clean up the mess.
The new emperor likely intends to rescind the decree allowing others to mint coins at will.
After pondering for a moment, Qin Liusong cautiously replied, "Your Majesty just said that the chaos in Dading and the suffering of the people are all because those hateful people are not grateful for the Emperor Emeritus's decree and are privately minting coins that don't contain much real silver, which is why everyone is struggling. If we get rid of these bad apples and we all use new coins made of pure silver, wouldn't Dading be free from the troubles of external chaos and internal strife?"
“But…” The Minister of Revenue looked grave.
He wasn't unaware of these dangers, but compared to these impending crises, the suffering people in various regions were in far greater danger, with so many losing their lives every year... The Minister of Revenue, as the one who approved the allocation of funds, had already seen far too many people who couldn't be saved.
"Temporary gains and losses are important, but a deeper vision and overall adjustments can save more people in Dading. My lord, you are no less knowledgeable about these things than I am," Qin Liusong emphasized. This is a permanent solution; it's always better to do it sooner rather than later. Qin Liusong did not want to see the country fall again.
Minister of Revenue: "..."
He understood that he could only remain silent, unwilling to accept it.
“Not bad.” Qi Chengming had just come over and overheard their conversation, and responded in agreement.
He looked at Qin Liusong with admiration.
This is why he has always valued Mr. Qin. Although there are many details and methods that Mr. Qin does not understand, Mr. Qin has always been a leader in understanding his ideas.
"My dear minister, you need not worry. The second batch of silver is on its way. I will deposit this sum into the national treasury." Qi Chengming also reassured the Minister of Revenue. This little old man had almost fainted from anxiety during the court session just now. How could he let down such a good official who was dedicated to serving the people?
Since Qi Chengming intends to use this sum of money in the money shop, how could he possibly ignore the national treasury?
"Thank you, Your Majesty!!" The Minister of Revenue beamed with joy, no longer uttering a single complaint. He sat down obediently on the stool, ready to discuss the new bank, determined to make it a success.
"The Taiyuan Bank will be established jointly by my private treasury and the national treasury." Qi Chengming sat down on the couch and made the conclusion without even taking a sip of water. "After the Taiyuan coins are minted, Taiyuan paper money will be produced. People can take Taiyuan paper money to the bank at any time to exchange it for Taiyuan coins. The salaries of the six ministries will also be paid in Taiyuan paper money."
The Minister of Revenue hesitated, thinking of the Emperor Emeritus's banknotes. He paused, his voice trembling, but ultimately didn't voice his concern, instead asking, "Your Majesty, what should we do with the old banknotes? Should they be abolished?"
If banknotes suddenly become worthless, it will be a big problem!
The retired emperor had done this many times... Every time a new currency was issued, the old one was declared invalid, leading to many people committing suicide or going bankrupt. But what else could be done if it wasn't abolished?
“Now is not the time to abolish it. Silver notes can still be used together with Thai Yuan coins.” Qi Chengming temporarily rejected the idea and saw the Minister of Revenue breathe a sigh of relief. “It’s just that all government currency used for taxes, military pay, water conservancy, and corvée labor must be changed to Thai Yuan coins.”
"That's natural," the Minister of Revenue said, though his face still showed worry.
Qi Chengming glanced into the distance and said, "Gan Tang, go and get those few sheets of paper I wrote on yesterday from the second shelf of the bookshelf."
Gan Tang brought over the densely written characters, and Qi Chengming gestured for Qin Liusong and the Minister of Revenue to take a look.
"This is……!"
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