A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 645

"Listen up, gentlemen, for ordinary military households, the first batch of silver coins will only be exchanged for ten yuan per household for the time being, and Chinese registration is preferred..."

"... To tell the difference between real and fake silver coins, all officers and men must keep them in mind carefully. There are generally several ways to listen to the sound, look at the shape, weight, and look at the color... The most convenient way is to blow. For all real silver coins, the sound will be exhausted. It is soft and pleasant to the ear, and if the voice is hoarse and short, it is false..."

Listening to the sound from below, the gentry upstairs and a few attendants all unconsciously followed suit, and indeed a pleasant sound came to their ears.

"...Also, the important point is that the quality of real silver coins is [-]%, and those that are less than [-]% are all fakes. If any soldiers find fakes, they must immediately Report it to the Bank and Money Department, and we will punish him..."

Look at the people queuing up quietly and listening carefully below, all in order, and the gentry's eyes are full of sighs, no wonder these people are called all the soldiers, watching these people, fighting together, they only need a little training, and they dare to fight. Fighting elites, the East Road has become more and more different in the past few years.

Returning to his seat, the handsome gentry touched the silver coin in his hand without saying a word, and the literati entourage beside him also sat down, playing with the silver coin in his hand, touching or blowing.

After a long time, the gentry sighed: "The price of going to and from the capital is one or two taels of silver, and the purchase price is six hundred. The price is only between zero and twenty. Since the holy emperor practiced his job, he has moved every day. Last year, he sold it for two thousand. , During summer and autumn, there are more than two thousand hundreds, why?"

When he spoke, he spoke with a strong Jin accent, and his thick eyebrows were raised, giving him an air of high spirits.

"The origin of cheap money."

A follower below said: "According to the students' opinion, it is caused by too much private money mixed in."

The gentleman nodded slowly.

Another entourage looked at the copper coins in his hand, looked at the big characters "each coin should be made of ten coins" on it, and said: "Although this money is good, how can the Marquis of Yongning not be afraid that there will be criminals who will take risks and flock you with private money?" Exchange this good money?"

The previous man snorted and laughed: "We have been on the East Road for many years, and we know that Yongninghou is a shrewd man. When did he suffer? Don't you know that the above seven words are a trap?"

He said: "The Department of Silver and Money has issued an order a long time ago. This silver coin and copper coin are the first batch to be issued. The amount is temporarily insufficient, so they all need to be exchanged for a limited number of registrations. Chinese is the best. Regardless of bad money or good money, they are worth ten Exchange it, and the rest have household registration, but there is no such good thing, or one exchange fifteen, twenty or so."

"It is estimated that Xuanzhen under the Marquis of Yongning's rule has the most profitable Chinese books. Yuji, Datong, and the second town of Shanxi also benefited. Outside of Xuanda, they are not included in the exchange. There are criminals flocking to exchange their private money. It must have great energy, how could the Intelligence Department under the Marquis of Yongning ignore it? They are a pack of tigers and wolves."

With a ding, he popped out a few copper coins and put them into the hands of everyone: "Soon, the Marquis of Yongning will order that the flow of private money is strictly prohibited in the town. Xiaoping coins with a face value of one penny are only allowed to be circulated by the imperial court."

"What do you mean by the imperial court making money? It is the money in your hands."

One person looked at it and said in surprise: "This is the Chongzhen Tongbao minted in the first year of Chongzhen. Each coin weighs [-] cents and [-] cents. It is one of the finest coins in the country for hundreds of years."

The man sneered and said, "That's right, only the money in your hands can be called court-made money."

He bit the last few words very hard, and said: "Everyone can see clearly that only such fine coins can be used as ten coins per copper round, and the rest are all fakes of private money. , if it is used, it will be punished as illegal.”

Everyone in the room looked at each other in blank dismay, only the gentry was still thinking about something, and one of them couldn't help but said: "Although the official coins have become worse and worse over the years, some of the copper coins in the market are still minted by the government."

The man said with a smile: "The Department of Banks said that they don't believe that the government will be so dirty and issue such low-quality coins. It must be slander by criminals. They firmly believe that until now, the imperial court has been issuing coins such as the first year of Chongzhen... "

He raised the copper coin in his hand: "... such a fine coin."

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay again. In this way, the private money merchants who issue copper coins indiscriminately are going to be in bad luck, especially at this time when the money bureau of the household department is weak, and most of the circulation in the market is copper coins from local money bureaus and private traders.

The man said: "Generally speaking, the ordinary people in Xuanfu Town have benefited a lot from this money, so they are not Chinese. It is very worthwhile to exchange [-] or [-] coins for a copper coin with private money. Yes, there is a limit, and it can be exchanged cleanly at one time, and the net becomes good money."

"Of course, they also have the fewest copper coins in their house. For ordinary people, it is extremely rare to have a few coins in the house. Usually they are loose small copper plates, which are exchanged for a few copper coins and placed at home. But Yongning Hou's move will definitely be appreciated by them. Praise and support, win the hearts of ordinary people again. The big families in Xuanfu can only exchange for food stamps except for the limited amount of silver coins."

Everyone calmed down, looked at the silver and copper coins in their hands, and one person said coldly: "The Marquis of Yongning always only cares about the interests of the Han nationality and the common people, and the rich gentry will not be looked down upon by him? Even we... ..."

An angry look appeared on his face: "A few days ago, we got the household registration, and we all became naturalized, even Baigu Gong."

The other person also said angrily: "What did Master Sun say, he used to be the right servant of the Ministry of War and the censor of Youqin capital, a majestic governor of Shaanxi, the three characters of naturalized nationality are really insulting to the gentleman!"

Everyone in the house showed strange expressions. They read the books of sages, but unexpectedly they became naturalized. In Donglu, they are not qualified to participate in politics.

"The Marquis of Yongning only cares about buying people's hearts, what a wolf's ambition!"

"Coins of such high quality and standardization are sure to be invincible. Is the Marquis of Yongning going to replace the Ministry of Households of the Ming Dynasty in the future?"

Everyone in the room was chattering.

"Ah."

Sun Chuanting, who had been stroking the silver coins in his hand, frowned, and looked around the crowd: "Although I don't know the mind and ambition of the Marquis of Yongning, the Marquis of Yongning is impeccable in terms of benefiting the people. In the past two years on the East Road, you have also seen that the various cities Changes in livelihood, I, why not. If I don’t do anything in my life, do I just care about my mouth and have a good time?”

"Regulating coins is a good thing. Don't you want to see the flood of bad money and the suffering of ordinary people?"

All the attendants and staff members looked a little unnatural. Indeed, in terms of people's livelihood, Yongning Hou worked hard and solitary, and what he did was obvious to all. These people did not do anything, but instead blamed those who worked hard. Such thoughts, think about it. ashamed.

Sun Chuanting stood up and sighed: "The imperial court is in dire straits, and the Qianguan mansion reported that the Fu governor and the fierce commander all died in battle for the country. We can only sit with our hands tied, and we are ashamed."

Since he was dismissed from office, Sun Chuanting was either in the capital or in Xuanda, and spent most of his time living on the East Road, silently observing and experiencing.He has carefully analyzed Wang Dou's many measures with his staff, and after a few years, he has gained a lot.

Sun Chuanting privately agreed with Wang Dou's issuance of silver coins. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. The fineness of the silver coins issued will not be inferior to the Xuanfu silver coins.

All the staff also changed the subject, and one of them said: "Fu Governor died, and the new trilateral governor, Wang Qiaonian, is mediocre. To put down the thieves, Duke Bai must step in."

Another person said: "I heard that Nan'anbo was running around in the capital, and urged the government and the public to appoint Bai Gong. Looking at the situation in Henan, Bai Gong's comeback is very loud."

Sun Chuanting looked a little proud, he was confident that compared with Wang Qiaonian, his ability was still much superior, especially after traveling on the East Road for so many years, on his face, he said with a smile: "Wang Du is outstanding in his conduct and outstanding in martial arts. , the old man still admires it."

He looked forward to it and said: "I hope that one day it will be revived. Although Xuanzhen is happy, it is not my family's home. It is my wish to sacrifice my life to serve the country."

……

After the Xuanfu Town silver dollar was issued, there were mixed reactions from all parties.

On this day, in Yanghe City, Xuanda Governor Ji Shiwei held a silver dollar in his hand and blew it against the corner. Hearing the pleasant voice, he nodded with a smile. Good money, good quality, uniform weight, use one as the other, Really convenient.

Recently, he has been proud of his spring breeze, not to mention a lot of money in his hand, Wang Dou also transferred a part of the Jingbian Army to serve as a standard battalion for him. He has soldiers and money. Will, become more and more respectful to myself.

This put Ji Shiwei in a good mood and decided to support his son-in-law.

He had an idea, to entrust his son-in-law to mint the silver in his hand into silver coins, and pass it through the jurisdiction, but there was also a problem, which was the fire consumption of silver.

"Huo consumption" began in the Wanli period and appeared after Zhang Juzheng implemented the "one whip method". The broken silver was melted and recast into silver ingots, which would be lost. Of course, this part of the money cannot be paid by officials at all levels. Collect from the people.

Later, the fire consumption became more and more serious. In some prefectures and counties, it even reached two, two, three, four or five qian, some of which were handed over, and most of them were divided up by officials at all levels.

Ji Shiwei inquired about the treatment of fire consumption. The son-in-law's practice in Xuanfu Town is to return the fire consumption to the public.

In order to make up for the "loss" of officials at all levels, the method of sharing profits was used.

Hearing that the son-in-law boasted about the future role of the Bank and Money Department and the various banks under his jurisdiction, it deeply touched the hearts of officials such as Du Xun. According to the son-in-law, the income from future profits will greatly exceed the income of officials at all levels. Make the fire consumption return to the public, and proceed smoothly.

"Yanghe is no better than Xuanfu, let's take another look."

The cautious Governor Ji finally thought so.

In Taiyuan, Cai Maode, the governor of Shanxi, grabbed a silver coin in his hand, wondering what he was thinking.

Datong, governor Wei Jingyuan, a silver dollar was in his hand, rolling unconsciously, thinking about the proud look of Zhu Zhifeng, the governor of the Xuanfu, when the governor's mansion was discussing a few days ago, he couldn't help but sighed deeply.

He admitted that in terms of people's livelihood, Wang Dou really worked hard and was willing to spend money to do some practical things.

Unlike Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, who is an iron rooster who never pulls out a dime, now that the Wang family is rich and Datong is famous, it is obvious that he only cares about his own army. It is bitter.

Political affairs are difficult, Governor Wei thought in his heart, flicked his fingers, and there was a ding, and the silver coins in his hand made a pleasant chirping sound.

In March, the capital, the Forbidden City.

"Long live, it's like this."

Wang Dehua bowed his waist, held a silver coin in his hand, held it between two fingers, and signaled to Emperor Chongzhen opposite him, then he puffed up his cheeks and blew vigorously, and then put it to his ear: "Listen, is there any buzzing sound?" sound?"

Emperor Chongzhen followed suit, and sure enough, after blowing it, he put it to his ear, and a very pleasant sound came to his ears.

He looked at the silver round in his hand, the fineness was really very high quality, only short of the national treasury's folded silver, that is, golden flower silver, which was about three cents of the Wanli year and about one cent now.

What's more, almost every piece of these silver coins has the same shape, weight, and fineness, and one can be used as another, which is very convenient for the people.

(End of this chapter)