Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 281 Can't run out of money?

Fan Jingwen, Chief Assistant of the Cabinet and Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, feels that he has only truly experienced the feeling of being the Chief Assistant until now. Everyone who sees him greets him with a smile, even Shi Kefa, the Supervisor of Rituals, and Chen Chunde, the Zuodu Yushi, who are cold and arrogant. All respect him.

Thinking that his household department had more than 3000 million silver dollars, Fan Jingwen felt that his back was too tough. He heard that there was a drought in western Zhejiang, so he prepared 30 silver dollars for disaster relief first, and the officials came to find all kinds of excuses If you can approve the payment of money, there will be no delay.

Now Fan Jingwen is waiting for Qi Biaojia, the right servant of the household department, to come to him to stop him from transferring money so generously.

But after waiting for about ten days, Fan Jingwen did not see Qi Biaojia coming to see him, so he had to order Qi Biaojia, the right servant of the Ministry of Human Resources, to call: "Qi Shilang, how much money is still in the treasury?"

"Reporting to Mr. Ge, there are still 9000 million and 400 million silver dollars unused, but there is no war, no large-scale construction projects, and no major disasters. However, it rains frequently, and even silver coins are easy to rust, so the next official thinks It’s better to find a way to spend this money as soon as possible, as several warehouses in Nanjing can’t hold it, and it’s not an option to temporarily put it in the backyard of the household department.”

Qi Biaojia, the right servant of the household department, expressed his confusion.

And Fan Jingwen couldn't help but smile: "This official has been an official for so long, and this is the first time when the treasury can't run out of money. I dare to say that this is the end of the prosperous Ming Dynasty, but I am in a daze. In front of you, this official is becoming more and more incomprehensible to the world, you are right, it is not a solution to keep the money in the treasury, it has to be spent. What do you think about this, Qi Shilang?"

"In my opinion, I should ask Your Majesty for advice. Although it is said that it is taken from the people and used for the people, it is better for Your Majesty to decide how to use it. In addition, there are two major events, the construction of the imperial mausoleum and the repair of the Forbidden City. Your Majesty has to make up his mind, and His Majesty is sympathetic, and we can't ignore your grace."

When Qi Biaojia said this, Fan Jingwen nodded, and immediately decided to take Qi Biaojia into the palace to ask Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian.

"You can't run out of money?"

Zhu Youjian didn't expect that Fan Jingwen, Shangshu of the Ministry of Households, and Qi Biaojia, the right servant of the Ministry of Households, came to him for this matter.

Fan Jingwen took a look at Qi Biaojia, and Qi Biaojia stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, after the 3000 million military expenses owed to the Generalissimo's Mansion and the Ministry of War have been allocated, plus the 2000 million silver dollars allocated for local disaster relief, government repairs, and river projects, plus the savings accumulated by the Ministry of Households last year, the entire Ministry of Households is left. More than 9000 million yuan has been allocated. At present, even the provisions to increase the salary of Nanjing urban excrement workers at the request of Tianfu and the increase in the amount of women's makeup powder in Jiaofang Sile women at the request of the Ministry of Rites have been approved for allocation, but there are still 9000 million and 400 million silver dollars left.

According to the expenditure plan of the imperial court over the years, 1000 million silver dollars is enough to deposit silver. Now the 400 million silver dollars have to be spent, otherwise it will be rotten in the household department office, and management is more troublesome. Annual statistics require a lot of manpower , So I ask Your Majesty to decide whether the money will be used to repair palaces and imperial tombs, or to repair all post roads and river embankments in the world. "

Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian smiled, and asked Han Shoujing on duty to take two slices of iced watermelon for Fan Jingwen and Qi Biaojia. After the two thanked them, he opened his mouth:

"Even if money can't be spent, he can save it to earn more money. The household department is not just a yamen that spends money, it can also make money."

"make money?"

Fan Jingwen, Shangshu of the Household Department, and Qi Biaojia, the right servant of the Household Department, looked at each other, and looked at Zhu Youjian with some puzzlement: "Your Majesty, please give me some advice!"

"I remember that I asked you to copy the property of Qian Qianyi and other rebellious ministers and save it in the Central Bank of Daming. You can still do this now, and deposit the 400 million silver dollars in the Central Bank of Daming. Every year, your household department collects interest. A lot of income, after a long period of time, I am afraid that I can reduce the tax collection rate at that time, which is not a good thing for the benefit of the people," Zhu Youjian said with a smile.

Fan Jingwen glanced at Han Shoujing: "Your Majesty's words are true, and I think so too, but Eunuch Han and the central bank don't agree. They refuse us to deposit the 400 million silver dollars in the central bank."

Zhu Youjian glanced at Han Shoujing: "Is this really the case?"

Han Shoujing showed a look of embarrassment: "Your Majesty Mingjian, the 400 million silver dollars from the Ministry of Households is a large amount of money. Once the Central Bank of Ming Dynasty collects this amount, more people will be spent every year to look after and maintain it. Not to mention the amount of silver dollars, it would cost a lot of money just to pay the interest to the household department. In two or three years, the Central Bank of Ming Dynasty would collapse;
Moreover, the more than 9000 million silver dollars were finally released, and now they have returned to the Daming Central Bank. My Baoquan Bureau under the Daming Central Bank has to stop the production of new silver coins. Once the production of new silver coins is stopped, the Baoquan Bureau will support Craftsmen have no way out. "

"The Central Bank of Daming is afraid of having too much reserves, which is understandable, but you can use loans to spend them. From now on, the Central Bank of Daming lowers the threshold for loans and lowers the interest on loans, which can stimulate business development. When the time comes, your household department will Policies can also be issued to encourage the gentry and ordinary people to start businesses and expand their business scale. At the same time, they can also crack down on private usury, promote price increases, and promote people participating in labor production to obtain more income, so that the economy of the entire Ming Dynasty will be active, understand? "

When Zhu Youjian said this, Han Shoujing, Minister of the Household Department, Fan Jingwen, and Minister of the Household Department, Qi Biaojia, all looked at each other, and shook their heads involuntarily: "Your Majesty, forgive me, the ministers are ignorant, and some don't understand."

Zhu Youjian had no choice but to explain in detail again, until the sunset, when they were about to eat, the three of them understood the truth of this, and Zhu Youjian simply gave a banquet to the three of them, explaining economic concepts with rice and dishes at the dinner table .

It was not until the second day that Han Shoujing, the governor of the Daming Central Bank, readily accepted the cash deposit of more than 9000 million silver dollars from the household department, but he did not forget to ask Fan Jingwen:

"As for the Ministry of Household Affairs, I would like to ask Mr. Ge to issue some government orders to encourage people to do business and take loans as soon as possible. Han will be very grateful first."

"Eunuch Han, please don't worry, we will draw up a plan as soon as possible, and when other government offices come to the Ministry of Accounts to ask for money, as long as it is profitable, they will let them come to your bank for loans, and don't go to the Ministry of Accounts to allocate funds." Fan Jingwen smiled. He replied that almost all of the more than 9000 million silver dollars had been transferred out, which made him feel very relieved, and he couldn't help saying to Qi Biaojia: "When the first payment of interest arrives, this household department office will have to be repaired."

(End of this chapter)