The daily life of the science master's book-wearing group

Song Qingyue talked about everything from stocks and bonds to funds and insurance until dawn. Song Qingyue basically taught Li Zhao all the superficial financial knowledge she knew.

Seeing how excited Li Zhao was, he couldn't help but emphasize the consequences of abusing financial instruments many times.

"As I said, the national debt is not suitable at this stage. Instead, His Highness the Prince should focus on issuing banknotes. The silver we currently use in the Zhou Dynasty relies heavily on foreign trade. Once those who use silver to buy our silk, porcelain, tea, and medicinal materials Some wars, coups, and even natural disasters have occurred in our country, which have affected the import of silver, and there has been a major crisis in the country. But if it is banknotes, the initiative is in our own hands." Song Qingyue then turned the topic to financial security .

In fact, in the late Ming Dynasty in real history, in addition to the natural disasters of the Little Ice Age, the reduction of silver production in the Americas caused difficulties in domestic silver circulation, which was also a very serious economic crisis.

But when it came to banknotes, Li Zhao's brows immediately furrowed. The failure of Dazhou Baochao decades ago was still in front of his eyes. Now Song Qingyue actually proposed that banknotes should be used to replace silver and copper coins. Li Zhao couldn't understand Song Qingyue's mind. loop.

Seeing the tangled look on the face of the Crown Prince, Song Qingyue yawned lightly and said: "Brother, there is no need to frown. The problem with the banknotes is caused by the random printing of banknotes that do not follow objective laws. As long as we issue banknotes in accordance with economic laws, not only It will not disrupt the market and will promote economic development and national prosperity."

"Yue'er knows how to issue banknotes?" Li Zhao immediately humbly asked for advice.

Song Qingyue rolled her eyes and thought about it. The issuance of modern currency is an extremely complex system, and the issuance rules of each country are different. It reminded her of a sentence in a middle school politics textbook: "The essence of currency is the exchange of materials between the two parties of the transaction." Exchange a contract. The so-called contract means that it must be observed and must be binding. For example, the banknote itself is just a piece of paper with a special pattern, but people agree that this paper represents two taels of silver. It must be able to be exchanged for two taels of silver. If, like the old treasure banknotes, the banknotes are printed indiscriminately first, and then the government takes the lead in not redeeming the banknotes, then it is breaking the contract with its own hands. The government broke the contract first, in other words, it is clear that If you compete with the people for profit and rob the people, how can you make the people trust the treasure?"

Song Qingyue explained simply and clearly, and Li Zhao understood it immediately and said immediately: "So, what Yue'er means is that as long as we have one tael of silver, we will issue one tael of banknotes?"

Song Qingyue nodded and smiled: "You can do it this way first. I suggest that the money in the treasury be put directly into the Royal Bank. The Royal Bank will issue banknotes exclusively. If you deposit one tael of silver, the Royal Bank will issue one tael of banknotes and deposit one. Copper plate, the bank will issue banknotes worth one copper plate. We are anxious to let the common people use it first, but we can let the royal merchants and officials use it first."

The two discussed the issue of banknotes for a while. Song Qingyue was so sleepy that her eyelids trembled, so Li Zhao let her sleep.He acted as if nothing had happened, and went to the yard to do a set of boxing, and then went to court after taking a bath.Song Qingyue really envied Li Zhao for this. This man always seemed to have endless energy.Not only is he super energetic, he also has strong concentration, coupled with his abnormal memory and super high IQ, he is born to do great things.

It's mid-June now, the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and it's the time when droughts and floods occur frequently in various places.

Li Zhao asked each of the seven counties in the country one by one whether there was a drought. If a drought occurred, he would first look at the size of the area. If it was a small-scale drought, let the Ministry of Household Affairs allocate funds and ask the local county magistrate to go to neighboring counties to buy supplies. grain.

Secondly, he inquired about the water conservancy construction situation in the past ten years, and was so meticulous that he asked Jin Yiwei to go directly to the place to hand over the fish scale book and the local river map.

If it is discovered that no water conservancy facilities have been built in a drought-prone area for ten years, officials who have served there in the past will receive a bad rating no matter where they are now.

Li Zhao not only held the official accountable, but if he found out that the person had been promoted, he would also find the superior who had originally written the evaluation for the official and give him a negative evaluation as a warning against the so-called laziness and neglect.

As for areas with severe waterlogging, it is more or less due to the bursting of nearby river embankments.

Li Zhao knew that river repair funds were usually the hardest hit area for official corruption. However, there were too many things going on now. He planned not to settle accounts with those people yet, but to send people to guide disaster relief and epidemic prevention. By the way, he would send people from the Audit Department to accompany him to investigate secretly. Regarding the corruption matter, after the disaster relief is over, once the corruption is confirmed, he will settle the accounts with those corrupt officials.

The last step is to ask the Ministry of Industry to provide a water conservancy construction plan. The requirements are that it is economical and durable, and it must be extremely urgent. It is best to have a plan in three days, and to send people to start repairing canals and reservoirs in five days.

At this time, the current Minister of Industry, Mr. Qi, and a group of cronies he promoted, immediately exposed the fact that they were all idiots.

Who is Li Zhao?

He was a person who had written a military logistics transfer process manual and worked as a supervisor at a construction site. He could see at a glance that the work handed over by the Ministry of Industry was a piece of shit, and calling him shit was just flattering them.If he were the current emperor, he could kick Qi Shibin out of the palace in front of all the civil and military officials.

However, Li Zhao obviously had a different style from his father. After saying a few words about "I love you for your hard work," he issued a decree the next day, suspending Mr. Qi's two assistant ministers and six other doctors, and asked them to go to science. He asked the chief assistant, Mr. Lu, to temporarily take over the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry. He also invited all professors, associate professors and doctors related to water conservancy from the School of Science to the Ministry of Industry for help.

Among these professors and associate professors, several were former officials who worked under Song Jianming after he took up his post in Guangzhou, and were recommended by Lord Song to come to the Academy of Science.

Even the mechanics who had studied water pumps in the arsenal were invited. Those water pumps were originally used on ships. Li Zhao suddenly remembered that those water pumps could actually be used to irrigate farmland!

Although the temporarily formed Ministry of Industry looks a little chaotic, fortunately everyone is very motivated. If you seize this opportunity, you might be able to go from teaching in a school to becoming a high official in the imperial court!

But when faced with the dense task list on the blackboard, even Mr. Lu frowned.

Li Zhao smiled and said: "It is indeed complicated. Don't worry, Chief Assistant. Let's put things in order first, and then divide everyone into several groups. Each group is responsible for one thing."

"Yes! Yes, this method is good!" Mr. Lu was extremely happy.

However, after grouping, we found that there were still not enough people, and there were still some remote areas and small counties with smaller disaster areas that could not be taken care of.

When something happened that couldn't be solved, Li Zhao seemed to have a conditioned reflex and immediately thought of going home to ask his wife.

"Is this a matter worth frowning on?" Song Qingyue, who was preparing for her birthday party, said it was easy to solve: "We were able to invite bids when building roads, but now we have to build canals, why can't we also invite bids?"

Li Zhao slapped his head: "You are so clever! I have too many things going on and I am confused. I will ask your father to place an advertisement in the Morning News Express tomorrow."

Song Qingyue reminded him again: "On how to prevent counterfeiting of banknotes, you can also use newspapers to brainstorm ideas."

Li Zhao nodded with a smile and asked, "It's almost July, have you started preparing for your birthday?"

Song Qingyue said with a smile: "This is natural! My new skirt workshop is counting on the birthday party to promote it! But our Prince, do you still have enough money for water conservancy projects and disaster relief?"

Li Zhao scratched his head and said: "To be honest, my wife, the autumn harvest season has not yet come, and the national treasury is indeed a little nervous, so I plan to use my own pocket to subsidize it."

Song Qingyue held her chin and said: "Your Highness, you can try to issue a disaster relief bond now. Borrow it now and pay it back at the end of the year. When you pay it back, you will be given an extra [-]% interest."

Li Zhao was stunned and said with some hesitation: "Didn't Yue'er say a few days ago that the time has not yet come, so be careful about issuing bonds?" Song Qingyue smiled and said: "It wasn't the time before when we were nervous about money! The new road can be Repairs are necessary, but water conservancy projects that can protect farmers' production are more important than roads. I say it is not the time to issue bonds yet, because I am afraid that local officials will follow my example and issue bonds selfishly and use them later. If you continue to refuse to repay your debts and engage in random activities, won't the country be in chaos? Why don't you introduce another regulation? Private individuals and local governments are not allowed to issue bonds privately, and disaster relief bonds must be issued by the Royal Bank. Set a maximum amount. As long as it is issued in a planned manner, there will be no trouble."

Just two days later, the "Chaowen Express" made its front page news, reporting on the drought and flood disasters in various places since June this year.

Then, starting on the second page, there was a bidding advertisement for water conservancy project construction published by the Ministry of Industry.

There are a total of eight regions in this tender.

The newspaper detailed the local disaster situation, climate, terrain conditions, and even maps and other information in the bidding advertisement, so that those who are good at water conservancy can send their own construction plans to the newspaper, or come directly to the capital for construction. Report to the Ministry.

Anyone whose plan is adopted will be given a bonus ranging from 50 taels to 300 taels of silver depending on the size of the project. If the plan is particularly good, there will be the opportunity to go directly to the local government to serve as the director of water affairs. Of course, the imperial examination will also be held. You have to pass, but you can become an official first and make up the exam later!If your education level is not good enough, you can go to the local county for tutoring. Later, you may have the opportunity to study at the Imperial Academy and the Academy of Sciences in the capital.

This incident immediately caused a sensation in the entire circle of scholars, and even aroused everyone's enthusiasm for studying water conservancy.

As for the original officials headed by Qi Shibin and Qi Shangshu, they were miserable. His Highness the Crown Prince asked them to study. Isn't this just a slap in the face and saying they are useless?When they arrived at the College of Science, these officials discovered that all the professors who taught water conservancy engineering had gone to their original offices to work for them. Where were the classes?

This is what His Highness the Crown Prince wants to change!
He is a second-rank official in the imperial court!
Your Highness, please change it!
Is there any law left!
Frustrated and desperate, Mr. Qi wrote a letter of complaint and went to Jiangxi to complain to the emperor, claiming that His Highness the Crown Prince was taking advantage of your absence to eliminate dissidents in the court and support his cronies. This was a rebellion!
What is the emperor doing at this time?His old man is trying to divide the land among local tycoons in Jiangxi!

In this era of imperial power, it is probably considered a spectacle for an emperor to personally go to a place to do such a thing.

This was all because Song Jianming's discussion about land annexation and the demise of the dynasty scared the emperor. That discussion gave the emperor a firm belief that land annexation was the biggest enemy of imperial power and was related to civil unrest and civil unrest. Like a mutiny, the number one enemy who can threaten the throne under his butt!
The big landowners must be eradicated!
When they arrived at the boundary of Longhu Mountain, the people who had been allocated fields rushed to the roadside with chickens, ducks and grains, and warmly welcomed His Majesty. The sight of everyone crying with gratitude and shouting "long live the mountain" shocked the emperor greatly.

"Bang!" With a sound, vanity, self-confidence, and pride exploded like an air bag in a car steering wheel.

The emperor's mind got excited, and he immediately issued an announcement, saying that since I am here, I will make decisions for the people.If the people have any grievances, they can come to Longhu Mountain to complain to me.I personally make the decision for everyone!
Not trusting the local officials, the emperor directly asked the officers and soldiers of the Firearms Battalion to go down and inform every village and county about the matter.

This time, like an ant's nest, a large number of people who had been oppressed by local local gangsters, local emperors, and big landowners flocked to Longhu Mountain like a tide.

Once the case was confirmed, soldiers from the firearms battalion came directly to arrest the person with guns in hand.Anyone who commits rape or murder will be sentenced to beheading; those who hire people to beat and maim people will be sentenced to castration; those who engage in loan sharking and seize people's land will be sentenced to face tattoos and ten years of coal mining.

Song Chenxu interrogated cases from morning to night every day. Jiang Yuanchao led his subordinates to wear out the soles of their shoes for investigation, while Fu Chengfeng led people to arrest people everywhere.

For a time, the whole Jiangxi was in a state of uproar.

The local gentry officials were panicked.

Some were waiting halfway with bribes to stop the firearms battalion officers and soldiers from going to the village to do things; some went to Longhu Mountain to complain first, wanting to tell the emperor how ridiculous the local unruly people were. They were so uncivilized; others began to arrest people who wanted to complain, even lying in wait on the road. They would catch anyone they met passing by, and the more ruthless ones would be killed on the spot, while the more soft-hearted ones would be taken back and maimed. .

Some people surrendered with tears in their eyes, but more people were aroused to anger. Who didn't survive?
There is no need to go to the capital to beat the Dengwen drum, and there is no need to suffer a hundred sticks to see the emperor!The emperor has condescended to be condescending and come to everyone's doorstep to make decisions for the people. How can we wait until now? !

Not to mention the local gangsters, even the local county magistrates, some people came to accuse them of colluding with the local big families, oppressing the people, causing bias, and judging cases indiscriminately.

These days, the local wealthy families are all local emperors, and they all have no royal laws. This kind of thing is too numerous to count.

For example, there is a county in Jiangxi called Wuyuan. The literary style of this place is very prosperous and it even produced the sage Zhu Xi. In the previous dynasty, there were people from Wuyuan who passed the Jinshi in almost every scientific examination.

Wuyuan County is surrounded by mountains, and most of the rocks are limestone. In addition, there are many local people and little land. It is very difficult to feed a family by farming. Therefore, many people in Wuyuan County make a living by mining lime.

But since the change of leadership in the Ministry of Rites, the entire academic circle has questioned Zhu Xi, and the emperor secretly expressed that he hopes the Ministry of Rites will help suppress the Jiangxi Gang. Wuyuan County, which has been full of elite students, has not been able to produce a single Jinshi for seven or eight consecutive years!

For the wealthy people in Wuyuan, it was a huge blow.

It can be said that in the official circles of the Zhou Dynasty, the blood from Wuyuan has been interrupted, which will be a devastating blow to Wuyuan's future politics, economy, and culture.

This group of Wuyuan students did not want to keep up with the trend of the times and began to study science and mathematics. Instead, some people suggested that it was the people who mined lime that cut off the "dragon veins" near Wuyuan and destroyed the local Feng Shui!

This absurd proposal was actually supported by the heads of the local wealthy clans. They jointly signed a letter asking the government to "strictly prohibit it by erecting stones and cutting it down by cutting them down." Completely ban the practice of burning ashes.

Nine out of ten local lands are already in the hands of these wealthy families. If we don't let the common people collect ashes, won't this push the local people to a dead end?
Therefore, the government did not allow them to collect it, so they collected it secretly.

However, for the sake of their own imperial examinations, the local gentry did not care about the lives of those ash collectors. They even organized village warriors to patrol the nearby mountains and send those who illegally quarried lime to the county government.What else will these hardworking men get in the hands of the county magistrate?The common people had no choice but to spend all their money to fish for people. When they were fished out, they were basically beaten until they could not get out of bed for several months.

This has been going on for years.

No, the local people have had enough of those people. There are dozens of ash collectors who want to go to Longhu Mountain to complain to the emperor.

However, the local wealthy people actually organized Xiang Yong to intercept him halfway!

Facing hundreds of warriors with swords in their hands, the ash collectors no longer flinched or compromised this time.

One by one, they raised their hammers and pestles and rushed towards the village heroes!
Just like that, fights and bloody incidents between the people in Wuyuan County and the local gentry and landowners broke out all over Jiangxi.

Some county officials who had done too much evil were so frightened that they packed up and ran away. Others simply ran to Longhu Mountain and shouted to the emperor, "The unruly people are rebelling! Your Majesty, the unruly people are rebelling!" (End of Chapter)