Late Tang Dynasty: I

"Copper, where did the copper come from?"

After going around and around, I even went around to mine copper, but the copper mines in Datang were limited and the output was also limited.

Li Ye paced back and forth: "What to do with the iron money!"

Sun Kui said nothing.

The impact of the ban will be too great. The imperial court collects so much iron money to collect taxes, and more iron money is used by the private sector. If it is banned, the world will be in chaos!
But if the imperial court acquiesces, it will encourage the trend of casting iron coins.

You must know that although there is not much copper in the Tang Dynasty, there is a lot of iron ore.

In addition, iron farm tools are cheap, but the value of iron coins has also risen with copper coins. According to the results, many people use iron coins to buy farm tools, and then find a mountain to melt the farm tools and cast them into iron coins. Over and over again, you can earn several times.

We can only think of ways to lower the value of the currency. When the cost of casting iron coins exceeds the benefits, it can naturally be banned.

"How much silver and how much gold is in the treasury?"

Sun Kui said: "Your Majesty, there are only more than 50 taels in the treasury, and more than 3 taels of gold!"

Li Ye shook his head, this stock is too small!
“What is the current price of gold and silver in the world?”

Sun Kui said: "Your Majesty, there are about one tael of silver and seven or eight hundred taels of gold in the world. Your Majesty, the gold and silver of the Tang Dynasty did not circulate, and the court did not recognize them. Most of these gold and silver were sold to jewelry stores. went."

Li Ye thought for a while and said to Zhao Xi: "Summon all the ministers to the Yizheng Hall to discuss matters!"

"promise!"

After a while, the prime ministers all arrived at the political hall.

Li Ye said: "I heard that the price of rice in Bianjing is only seven or eight cents per dollar. What do you think?"

Du Rangneng stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, during the Zhenguan period, it was five cents per pound of rice. The country was strong and prosperous, and the people lived in peace and harmony. This was a sign of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. I congratulate your Majesty!"

Shi Pu also stepped forward and said, "Congratulations to Your Majesty, and congratulations to the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Ye frowned slightly and saw Zhang Chengye stepping forward and said: "Your Majesty, I used to be in the Ministry of Household Affairs. The Tang Dynasty collected taxes in kind or in money. Now the price of food has plummeted, and the money collected has been reduced by half. Now the imperial court There are 80 people receiving military pay, more than 2 officials at all levels, and hundreds of thousands of government officials. Most of these people are issued copper coins, which require 1000 million copper coins a year, and now..."

When Zhang Chengye said this, all the prime ministers understood.

As the currency value rises, tax collections decrease, but expenditures remain the same.

"Coupled with other expenditures such as road construction, disaster relief, shipbuilding, etc., if this continues, Datang will go bankrupt!"

"Bankruptcy?"

"You can't make ends meet!"

Jingxiang said: "I never thought that with good weather and good harvests every year, the Tang Dynasty would still be unable to make ends meet."

Du Rangneng stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, now that the world is at peace, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and everyone from all directions submits, I think we should reduce our troops to serve the people and save expenses!"

The Tang Dynasty had too many armies, with 70 to [-] soldiers, more than [-] city defense soldiers from various states, and more than [-] troops. Seventy to eighty percent of the annual taxes were eaten up by these big soldiers.

Du Rangneng proposed it, and many people nodded. If the number of soldiers was reduced by 20 or [-], it would save more than [-] yuan in expenditure, and the court would not be unable to make ends meet.

Li Ye shook his head. It was not that Tang Dynasty could not afford to support an army of 80. The problem was the lack of money.

Judging from Jingxiang's expression, he also agreed. Silla was at peace, Bohai State and Tang Dynasty had always been on good terms, Khitan had no military affairs, the party items in Yuzhou were also very good, and the Gaochang Uighurs in Hexi had not been troubled for four or five years.

Not to mention Tubo, which is now divided into hundreds of tribes. It also experienced a slave uprising 20 years ago, and all Zanpu fled to the border of Nanzhao to survive.

As for Nanzhao, he now has no strength to show his teeth with the Tang Dynasty.The surrounding areas of the Tang Dynasty were peaceful and peaceful, and it was indeed time for the governors to release their horses to Nanshan.

After hearing what they said, Li Ye looked at Sun Kui. If he didn't say anything else, his rhythm would be taken away by the prime ministers.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the imperial court can issue an edict, and silver and gold can be circulated together. The imperial court can also use silver and gold to pay taxes when collecting taxes. The imperial court can then purchase rice grains on the market to fill the granaries in various places and stabilize the market price... "

Sun Kui dropped this bombshell, which made Zhu Zizhen dizzy.

The imperial court did not ban the circulation of silver and gold, but the people were not accustomed to using silver and gold to settle accounts.

"Everyone, think about it. To check and fill the gaps, should we issue silver coins and gold coins, or directly let the gold and silver circulate in the world. The copper coins of the Tang Dynasty are still lacking. I think it is better to put the money in the treasury into the world."

"The low price of grain hurts the farmers. The Ministry of Household Affairs has to spend the money and exchange it with the people for silver, use the silver to pay the army, and use the silver to exchange for food!"

The subject of economics was completely blank in the Tang Dynasty, and the prime ministers knew nothing about it, and they knew nothing about the relationship between money in circulation and commodities.

Therefore, no one has any idea whether it is good or not to allow gold and silver to circulate.

Jingxiang said: "Your Majesty, how can I exchange this silver for copper coins? How can I exchange it for silver coins and copper coins?"

"Whatever the market price is? But for silver coins, the exchange rate can only be fixed. A silver coin weighs about seven or eight yuan, and it is fixed at a consistent face value!"

Jingxiang said: "Your Majesty, I think the currency value of silver coins cannot be too different from the market price of silver. Adding the cost of minting silver coins, plus [-]% of the profit, I think it is more cost-effective to issue silver coins!"

Zhang Chengye also nodded: "In this way, the imperial court's minting of silver coins can also add an additional income."

After discussion by all the ministers, the matter was settled. Li Ye made Zhang Chengye the coin envoy, and Zhang Chengye continued to be in charge of the internal funds.

Li Ye left behind Sun Kui and Zhang Chengye, Jingxiang and Shi Pu, the Minister of War.

Li Ye said to Sun Kui: "Put some of the money from the Ministry of Revenue to buy grain, and spend the money until the granary is filled!"

"As for brewing, I think we can relax the supply of distiller's yeast, increase the quota, and consume more food."

"promise!"

"The Ji Liao Governor's Mansion, the Andong Governor's Mansion, Youyun Governor's Mansion, Shangdu Jingzhao Mansion, and the Hexi Governor's Mansion all need to stock up on food. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs will discuss how much food is needed."

Shi Pu felt a little numb. These places are all border towns. There are many inconveniences in transporting food, and there are also huge losses on the road. I am afraid it will be difficult to solve it even if hundreds of thousands of people are used.

The emperor smiled and said: "How's the luck? The imperial court stopped interfering and notified wealthy businessmen from all over the country to issue bids in the name of the Tang Dynasty Weaving Bureau. The one with the lowest price will get it."

Tendering is nothing new in the Tang Dynasty. Part of the masonry and wood used in the construction of Bianjing City was tendered.

Li Ye then said to Zhang Chengye: "Datang Weaving Bureau, Datang Bank will start collecting silver and gold from tomorrow. Please scatter the copper coins first. If you buy silk with silver, the price can be reduced by [-]% or [-]%!"

Zhang Chengye frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, the price of silk cloth is already very low now. If..."

Li Ye shook his head and said: "The Tang Dynasty wants to issue silver coins and gold coins. The silver and gold in the treasury are not enough now. If they are issued less, it will not be enough!"

On the surface, it seems that both the court and the emperor's internal funds have suffered losses. The price of food has gone up, and it will naturally cost more to send it to the frontiers.

But in fact, for the country, it cannot settle these small accounts. It is the healthiest for Datang to spend enough copper coins first to stabilize the market price.

The way to spend copper coins is to buy silver, gold, and grain.

The treasury was responsible for distributing military pay and salaries and could not be used in a big way. The responsibility for storing gold and silver naturally fell on the emperor's internal funds.

(End of this chapter)