Road (Five)

"Good boy, this is my son of Zhu Yuanzhang." After receiving a secret report from the Jinyiwei, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was not as furious as the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei was worried. A smile appeared on his face, which made the two Jinyiwei puzzled.

I was fortunate to see Tianyan, and I received another reward of 100 taels of silver. I also heard the emperor personally announce that it would be commended by Jinyiwei in all the northern dynasties. The messenger withdrew from the palace gate with great gratitude and reminisces of the great emperor's kindness, and the bones on his body lightened a little. Outside his eyes, I suddenly found that his boss's face was unstable, so I quickly took out the treasure money I had just received from my arms, pointed out five ten taels, and respectfully raised it to the deputy envoy of Jinyiwei: "Mr. Xiao, thanks to Lord Xiao's cultivation, my subordinates can witness Tianyan. Please accept this little meaning with a smile."

In the past two years, the treasury was full, and the imperial court gradually recycled Baochao. The issuance and depreciation of the new banknotes were suppressed to a certain extent, and the reputation was better than before. Occasionally, news of a big victory came, and the market value of Baochao would rebound slightly. Although the public cannot compare with the exchange ratio of silver bills and cash silver, it can be about six cents. At that time, the salaries of officials were low, and fifty taels were enough to be equivalent to the income of ordinary officers of the Jinyiwei. It is not worth mentioning that they were worth it.

The deputy commander named Xiao glanced at his subordinate, shook his head and said, "You put it away yourself. I don't need this thing very much now."

"Sir", the messenger looked embarrassed and thought that the superior was too little. He trembled and took out two more treasure bills from his arms. He hesitated for a while, gritted his teeth and pulled out one of the three treasure bills left, pinched them, swallowed, and held them in front of his boss again. "Don't be surprised, you are very caring for your subordinates, and it is appropriate for your subordinates to be filial to you."

Deputy Commander Xiao gently pushed the messenger's hand away and smiled and said, "Do you think the money you get from life is easy? Keep it yourself. My master is a lot of money. If you scrape it from your brothers, it's too unfaithful."

The messenger put away the treasure banknotes awkwardly, not knowing where he made a mistake. He had not seen an official who was not a money-loving official. The Jinyiwei was independent of the national army. The officials had a system of self-contained and strict hierarchy. If he accidentally offended his superiors, he would not be promoted in his lifetime. He might be sent to perform some tasks that he could not be able to live up to his own life. If he could have a Jinyiwei commander in the capital, he would have to flatter him to take on a high-ranking official.

If you speak, your boss will also be merciless when you are in trouble. If you do the job properly, you will be promoted quickly. You lower your head and think for a while, gently bring your horse's head, let your mount take a few steps, and follow your Sima happily, and ask in a pleasing manner: "Sir, when will you hand over the shift? I don't have to hurry to go back. I will climb up the river to be a host tomorrow. Please listen to the piano. I don't know which pleasure boat you like."

The pleasure boat listening to the piano is a popular gentle act in Beijing in recent years. It is inconvenient to be a Beijing official to openly accept the following benefits under the emperor's nose. Usually, a pleasure boat, restaurant or antique shop is appointed as an agent. The gift sender puts names such as treating the piano or watching calligraphy and paintings, and invites guests or guests' confidants to the pleasure boat, restaurant or antique shop. A meal costs a small amount of silver and ten taels of gold, ranging from thousands of gold. The profits are quietly transferred back to the pockets of the bribers in the name of dividends every other day, and the recipients are both taels of knowledge. If they are impeached by the imperial envoy, the official

We can also push our sins to distant relatives and say that they don’t know anything. It is inevitable that distant relatives will be imprisoned or beheaded, but the bribe master will at most receive a crime of poor family management. As long as Zhu Yuanzhang himself is not angry, he will usually be demoted to a few levels to avoid the limelight and slowly sit back to his original position. The messenger is obviously an amateur in this way. He really wants to treat guests, but he cannot ask someone’s nest in person and reward the distant relatives of the Beijing officials. Those relatives will naturally guide you to which house you go to. If you need to have a face-to-face conversation, you can also cleverly arrange for the "catch" between the two parties.

"Forget it." The deputy commander named Xiao obviously had something to do in his heart. He kindly refused the messenger's proposal, sighed and whispered: "This day is not as tight as before. The superiors are watching. Although the Jinyiwei is doing things for the emperor, he cannot do too much pleasure. You should hurry up and go back and report." He was not in his position and did not know the danger. Standing in his position, he dealt with the emperor of the world every day, and naturally knew more than ordinary officials and local secret spies. The emperor found that the emperor found that

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works have made a secret order for the Jinyiwei to strictly investigate the bribery and fraud of officials. Isn’t it because of the acceptance of bribes and the viewing of flowers on the Qinhuai River? Isn’t it because the imperial court has an audit department and a secretly Jinyiwei, so how could it be so easy to escape? Having said that, if something happened, those officials with strength and people who are responsible for it may have escaped. As a small deputy envoy of Jinyiwei, he was really caught and peeled off outside the Meridian Gate, and he was a chicken that was a warning to the monkey.

There was a sound of horse hooves knocking on the concrete road from the distance, and a whistle of men and horses galloped over in a carriage. Deputy Commander Xiao saw the avoidance sign and quickly led his subordinates to dodge the main road. Dozens of neat men swung past the two of them with the wind. The people who were begging the team looked at them, their eyes lit up, as if they were old acquaintances, nodding extremely lightly, as if they were greetings.

The four types of horses that pull the cart are extremely rare. They are cleanly washed and maroon mane, without any traces, and the steps are rapid but even, as elegant as dance. The cart is decorated simply and gorgeously, with a few white copper cranes playing on the side of the cart box, flapping their wings to fly under the starlight. The messenger came from the north and saw the traveling scenes of wealthy merchants in Peking, and was also considered a person who knew the goods. He whispered to his superiors: "Mr. Xiao, which prince consort is the ceremonial guard of the princess. It seems that he went to the palace. It's so late, will the emperor summon his son-in-law?"

Deputy Commander Xiao withdrew his envious look and sighed again, "Which family is not the Lord Wu of Pingliao? Not only is the emperor summoned him, but I guess the emperor wanted to summon Lord Wu, so the queen also called her goddaughter into the palace. Hey, they are all military generals, who make a living by fists and feet. Lord Wu's life is so good, and he becomes famous in the world at a young age. Unlike us, we hide in the shadows all day long and shameless, we have to look at the right master. Once we stand in the wrong team, we will not even complain to others."

"Steaming"? The messenger felt confused. Is it still wrong to work hard to give the emperor his life? Thinking about the words "the silver from the fate of his life" by the boss, a cold sweat gradually emerged from his back, and he felt cold in the hot wind in early summer. His group of people were secretly ordered by the emperor to monitor the officials and army of Mongolia's newly acquired land. The King of Yan had long known the existence of his group and had acquiesced to the various actions of the Jinyiwei. Now the court and the public know that the prince has made great contributions, and the fight for the throne should not happen. But who can clearly explain the right and wrong of the imperial family? Maybe one day the emperor would be happy and let the King of Yan be the world. Will those who have monitored the King of Yan leave all the bodies?

"Sir, I want to ask you for something." Thinking of the future, the messenger said casually as if he suddenly remembered it.

"speak"!

"My mother in my little family has been in poor health. This time the matter is over. I want you to let us, Chief Wang, and allow me to go home and be with my mother for several years."

"I know, I'll do it." In view of this subordinate's respectful attitude just now, Deputy Commander Xiao whispered his promise. He secretly regretted that you are a little soldier, you can escape if you want, where can I go? Now the richest Beiping in the world is the fief of the King of Yan. Only one of the three provinces in Liaodong and Liaobei has returned to the control of the King of Yan. The Blade of the World Zhenbei Army was dispatched by the King of Yan. A few days ago, the court handed over the command of the Weibei Army to Chang Mao, the general of the Zhenbei Army. Although the loud voice of Lao Chang seemed to have a good relationship with the Prince Yan, who knew which one he was more in his heart. The six armies of the world, the prince had both Andong and Jinghai armies, and the King of Yan occupied the Zhenbei Army and the two armies of Weibei. If it really fights, Pingnan and Dingxi Army may not help anyone. Those who are hawks can only ask for the world to be unconfused, and the gods bless them, and the ancestors have spirits!

Zhu Yuanzhang recruited Wu'anguo into the palace not for the purpose of the King of Yan meeting the Mongolian tribes. He knew that if Wu'anguo was in the Zhenbei Army, he would agree with the King of Yan's actions. This kid had a very extraordinary relationship with the King of Yan, so Zhu Yuanzhang would not believe that he would not help the King of Yan say good things. Liu Ling, who was like a ghost elves, was behind the scenes. Wu'anguo's imperial consultant was getting more and more smooth. A few days ago, he asked him whether he wanted to divide the territory of King of Yan. He was silent for a long time and actually said, "This is a family matter, all of them are sons, and I have no right to interfere." The tone of the tone is like the old fried dough stick Li Shanchang.

The Onon River Alliance is only good and not bad for the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang was so wise. Looking at the secret reports of the names of more than 60 Mongolian tribe leaders who participated in the alliance, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed silently. "His grandma, I want me to confer so many kings at once, and this foreign king of the Ming Dynasty is a mess." Thinking that from then on, the Mongolian tribes returned to the union state of Genghis Khan before the unification of the unification, Zhu Yuanzhang thought that this large number of princes had been sealed out.

It is worth it. From now on, no matter the land and the number of herdsmen under the rule, you are also the prince, and I am also the prince. You can't control what I do, and I won't participate in what you do. Then, the Ming Dynasty will build several cities on the enclaves between the princes and use the road to pass through the grassland. The grassland will be much more calm from then on. Unexpectedly, there is such a wonderful solution to the problem in the north since the Li Tang Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang became happier and hugged a small song of Fengyang unknowingly.

"Long live, Master Wu is here," Lao Wang replied in a low voice.

"Let him come in, don't inform me, find a stool to sit on it yourself." Zhu Yuanzhang stopped the imperial pen in his hand and ordered casually.

A gentle footsteps slowly approached. Wu Anguo tiptoed in and stood not far from the Long Case. After waiting for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was reading the memorial, was idle, and then he started to speak in a low voice: "My minister Wu Anguo is ordered to come to see you. I wish my emperor a long life, long life, long life, long life."

"I'm fine. Today, we are the father-in-law and son-in-law. You can move the stool and sit on it yourself." Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood today, and his tone of giving him a seat was a bit happy.

"I thank you for your class", Wu Anguo recited a line that was memorable and memorized. This set of handwriting was repeated every day like an exercise, and he no longer felt awkward. He moved a stool and sat down, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's question.

"I have no major problems when I came to you in the middle of the night. I checked the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue in the evening and found that the silver in the Ming Dynasty treasury included the unfinished Goryeo, Dieluo, Japan and other countries' compensation. The total amount is now four times that of five years ago, and this year it is still growing like crazy. I think that the money that the people's turnover in the past few years may increase more. If this continues, isn't the silver in the hands of the people? When I had no money, I would send more treasure money, and the price of the treasure money would fall. If the price really drops, can the lives of the people not be affected? I will not scold me every day behind my back."

What Wu'anguo admired most was that Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor, could still care about the lives of the people. No matter what purpose it was for, there were no few who could do this among the feudal kings. Now when the emperor asked himself the question of silver and prices, he immediately realized that in this era, no one in the Ming Dynasty could give an answer. When the court decided to open the sea ban, he had already thought about this question, and based on his vague memory of school, he proposed the suggestion of controlling the outflow of gold and replacing silver with gold as coins. Unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang only adopted the first half of the suggestions.

Looking at the thick stack of account books in front of him, Wu Anguo did not dare to make any suggestions and whispered: "Long live, this matter is not trivial. Please think about it so as not to think carefully and ruin your Majesty's major affairs."

Zhu Yuanzhang was smart enough to check the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue these days and found that the national treasury silver was growing too fast. After encountering problems, he immediately remembered Wu'anguo's suggestion, contacted Wu'anguo's name in Peking, and issued an order to announce him. Now seeing this problem, he suddenly stumped Wu'anguo and knew that he was right. Even if the Ming Dynasty had not seen soaring prices, he would definitely face this difficult problem in the future. He immediately recruited eunuchs to bring Wu'anguo a bowl of ginseng soup, and ordered him to drink it while thinking slowly, and then whispered: "I asked Fei Zhen in the afternoon. He suggested that I seal up a part of the treasury silver and lay off the expenses of the Ministry of Works, saying that if the court spent less money, the people would also have less money. But I thought, this is not a long-term solution. I can't let someone cover the treasury silver every day, and I can't force them to not spend the silver in the hands of the people."

Historical books record that a wise monarch in a certain dynasty always likes to say that the ropes of copper coins in his public treasury were rotten. When Zhu Yuanzhang was unable to make ends meet the treasury, he envied these rich emperors very much, but now he understands what the money in the treasury was like. At the beginning of the founding of the country, the Mongolians swept the world's silver and fled north. The entire Ming Dynasty was so poor that he could not order the issuance of treasure banknotes and ban the transaction of gold and silver. The excessive depreciation of treasure banknotes was criticized by many people in the court and the country. Small merchants simply used joint boycotts to block the circulation of treasure banknotes, and the sarcasm of the treasure banknotes a day and a lot of people's ridicule about the price of treasure banknotes. For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang compromised with the people in the ninth year of Hongwu and changed the face value of the treasure banknotes.

In order to calculate the two in cash, the "Dang Silver" was printed on it, and the ministers who issued money randomly were searched to quell the public's anger. In recent years, the treasury was enriched. He issued an order for the public to use the two in cash to reclaim a large amount of treasure banknotes and destroy it. He barely found the value of the issuance of the treasure banknotes and maintained the face of the court. After such trouble, Zhu Yuanzhang had some vague understanding of the relationship between gold, silver, money, and treasure banknotes, so he intuitively realized the depreciation of the currency. Thanks to his instructing the Ministry of Revenue to make such trouble, the economy of the Ming Dynasty was not collapsed by the impact of the new policy of Peking and the marine trade. The recycling and destruction of a large amount of treasure banknotes invisibly played a role in stabilizing the currency value.

When Wu'anguo was messing with grain and stocks in Peking last year, he found that the current purchasing power of silver in the Ming Dynasty was not as good as before, and he also paid attention to the issue of currency depreciation. At that time, he racked his brains to recall the pitiful financial knowledge he learned in school, and reminded and studied it for a few days before he realized that there might be some direct connection between the total amount of currency circulation and the total amount of consumer goods on the market. If there was too much silver on the market and the total amount of goods did not keep up, the silver would naturally fall. On the contrary, the copper coins that could only be minted by the state, because their denominations were fixed, looked stable than silver. Which merchant who could buy bulk goods would pull a truck of heavy copper coins with a penny to trade?

The candlelight in the study was beating, and a candle flower burst out from time to time, indicating that time passed. After thinking hard for more than an hour, the memorials to be reviewed on Zhu Yuanzhang's desk were replaced by Lao Wang and eunuch. Wu Anguo had some eyebrows in his mind about the solution to the problem in front of him, and cold sweat also leaked out from his forehead. He thought to himself: It was so dangerous. If Zhu Yuanzhang had not been for the face and used the national treasury to repurchase Baochao, the fragile financial system of the Ming Dynasty would have been destroyed by his own hands. After experiencing the lessons of last year's famine and the collapse of the stock market in Peking, Wu Anguo had already understood in his heart that many advanced things in his era could not be adapted to this social foundation, especially in the social and economic aspects, the system he had kindly established, and he insisted on

It often backfires when it comes to action. However, Guo Pu and others tampered with things that were distorted and basically maintained their original intentions. After returning to the capital, under the guidance of Liu Ling, he carefully studied the various rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty and found that some things that were criticized by later scholars were incomparable and reasonable and strict in the social environment at that time, and a little movement involved many problems. Therefore, Wu'anguo is not afraid to make suggestions now, especially this kind of suggestions that are implemented from the upper level down. This disregardless attitude just met Zhu Yuanzhang's requirement that the emperor did not want him to meddle in other people's business. It was precisely because of this reason that in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, Wu'anguo turned red little by little and gradually turned purple.

After taking a sip of ginseng soup and moistening his throat, Wu Anguo began a low voice: "Long live, I think this matter needs to be discussed for a long time. Our dynasty broke Goryeo in twelve years and received a large amount of compensation. In the 14th year of restoration of Yunnan, the production of private silver mines increased greatly, and then he had to pay for it. This led to the situation of silver backlog today. As Master Fei said, treating the symptoms but not the root cause. The national treasury can remain unchanged, but the people have silver in their hands, so they naturally have to buy wealth. The growth of wealth and goods is less and the growth of silver is more, so wealth and goods are naturally becoming more and more expensive.

Some ordinary people who cannot make money will be more and more difficult. If the accumulated problems are accumulated for too long, it may damage the foundation of the country. In a hurry, we can temporarily use the advice of our great masters to respond to emergency measures and long-term strategies. First, use the power of the country to promote the growth of property and allow ordinary people to find opportunities to make money. Second, let the people spend as much money as possible to the void. Third, according to the original report, gradually replace silver with gold. These three steps are indispensable, but the specific implementation details are not clear. I need to go back to the Academy of Sciences to discuss, and maybe a better solution can be found."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head from the pile of memorials and listened to Wu'anguo's suggestions. Every time Wu'anguo said something, Zhu Yuanzhang's brows frowned even tighter. When he heard Wu'anguo say that specific details were needed to find helpers at the Academy of Sciences, Zhu Yuanzhang's brows had already twisted into a group. He knocked his forehead with his hand and sighed helplessly: "Even if I order every minister's home to open ten workshops, it may not be time to deal with the most urgent matters. It is best to spend money in a void. Can Wu offer me a plan for me temporarily? I also allow you to go back to the Academy of Sciences to discuss, ask someone to transfer people for you and get money for you."

"It would be great if Mongolia's land could be sold to the people like Liaodong." Wu'anguo's first reflection was a strategy of selling land for money. When Li Ling, who gave this advice to the Zhenbei Army, felt sad. He had encountered problems in Peking before, and there were always people who helped to come up with ideas. Now the Academy of Sciences is known as the talent of the Internet world, but in fact there are not many people available. Most of the time he was singing a one-man show. He lowered his head and thought for a moment, smiled bitterly, and suggested: "Long live, now the convenient way to let the people spend money in a void is to exchange silver for titles. Anyway, the titles and salaries of the Ming Dynasty have long been separated, and Your Majesty might as well set up more empty titles to wait for people with 'wealth'." Wu'anguo deliberately made the word "wealth" very serious, which made Zhu Yuanzhang's brows gradually loosen.

"The second method is to spend money to places where you can't see benefits for the moment, such as the Academy of Sciences. Long live, allocate silver to the Academy of Sciences to improve rice seeds, which is a good way. Long live, why not allocate more silver to the Academy of Sciences. One way is to increase the cost of each subject, and the other way is to recruit talents. Anyone who offers advice to the benefit of the country will be rewarded with great rewards."

"Third, if you want to get a long-term plan, you need to transfer a few people to me. These people are good at managing money, so you can naturally solve the confusion in Long Live's heart."

"Tell me, I will send someone to tell them all at night, or you will visit me for three visits to the cottage and invite them." Zhu Yuanzhang heard Wu Anguo say that someone could solve this problem, and he was less lenient.

"No need for too much. Three of them had a companion to manage the stock market in Peking last year and made contributions. The first two were awarded their titles by Zhan Zhen, the boss of the Zhan brothers in Peking and Xu Zhichen, the shopkeeper of Xu Jibiaohao. The third person should actually be considered as the master and servant." Wu Anguo paused, and a charming figure flashed in front of his eyes, "One is Gao Deyong from the River, and the other is his maid Qing'er."
Chapter completed!