eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 911 New Coin Issuance

Also heading south at about the same time as Han Ziren were cabinet minister Yan Song and the second prince Zai Yi.

Although Zai Yao also said that he wanted to establish his career in Southeast Asia, Zhu Houzhao had a sharp eye and could clearly see which of the two was sincere and which was fake.

Yan Song went to Southeast Asia for the construction of Wanli Port and Cam Ranh Bay Port.

The rulers of Malacca and Champa both submitted letters expressing their no objection to the signing of the treaty.

In the letter, he just begged the country to give him more financial support.

They always use the reason that they are a small country with few people to say that they don't have many sons.

There is no concept of sovereignty these days. As for the Ming Dynasty, which has already demonstrated its military power in Luzon, their idea is that you can do whatever you want, and just make me pay as little as possible.

Zhu Houzhao originally wanted to use the tactics of the unreliable American presidents of later generations, but after thinking it over carefully, he felt that it was difficult to be the boss, and worrying too much about money was really not like the Celestial Empire, so he agreed to everything as long as it was not excessive.

Of course, he asked for a huge amount of money in terms of land, manpower and supporting construction of the port.

Apart from anything else, the supply of fresh water alone needs to be carefully planned, as not every port has a Yangtze River in its hinterland.

Of course, these details belong to Yan Song, and Zhu Houzhao will not worry too much about them.

He was just reluctant to let Zai's departure. The second son was a man of few words but very thoughtful. He was very filial to his father. Even if we don't mention how good the reality was, after all, he was his biological son who had been raised by him since childhood.

Who can be so willing to do that?
But state affairs were numerous and he could not afford to be sad every day.

In July of the twenty-first year of the Zhengde reign,
After the mint worked day and night for more than half a year, a huge amount of coins have piled up in the factory warehouse.

The decree to change the new currency was issued at the beginning of the year in order to let more people in the hinterland know about it.

At this critical juncture, it would be unacceptable not to implement it.

The second son did his job very well.
Firing copper and silver coins is a simple matter, but in fact, coins are very sensitive. In order to maintain confidentiality, Zai Bei established a special file for craftsmen. All casting workers are considered sensitive persons and have a special set of management methods. They are not usually allowed to leave the capital at will. Even if they go out, they have to report it, otherwise they will face endless investigations.

Ignore these.

Zhu Houzhao has summoned the cabinet and the six ministries and nine officials of the court to formally discuss with them the shipment and replacement of the new currency.

As mentioned earlier, the Ming Central Bank could not establish a huge network covering every county in such a short time.

As a last resort, the new currency had to be distributed downward through the administrative system of the central bank, provinces, prefectures, and counties, with the county government responsible for replacing the old currency with the new one.

The initial exchange rate is that one copper coin in the past can be exchanged for one one-yuan copper coin today, and the maximum denomination of the copper coin is 10.

One ounce of silver can be exchanged for 10 silver dollars, and the largest denomination of a silver dollar is also 10.
In fact, the purchasing power of one tael of silver is still relatively strong among the people. In other words, one silver dollar is probably a relatively large amount of money for ordinary people. As for gold coins, most people may not use them, and few were minted this time.

This regulation takes into account the amount of silver contained in a silver dollar. The exchange ratio cannot be too exaggerated. At least, after collecting 10 silver dollars, the silver obtained by smelting cannot be more than the original one or two taels of silver. This would be quite painful.

In principle, they should be basically equal.

But economic issues are too complicated. Even in modern times, some confusion is inevitable when promoting new money and abolishing old money.

We can only rely on the market to slowly adjust and finally find a balance.

During this period, Zhu Houzhao would pay close attention to the price situation among the people. If insufficient silver dollars were supplied, leading to rising prices, he would definitely intervene.

In any case, this monetary reform, which is more important than anyone expected, has officially begun.

To show the court's attention,

Zhu Houzhao once again issued an imperial edict, requiring government offices at all levels to patiently handle the currency replacement process. During this process, anyone found to be corrupt or committing illegal acts would be severely punished!
What worries him most during the replacement process is corruption. Some local officials will ignore the ratio set by the court and privately increase the ratio to enrich themselves.

Regarding this, he strictly ordered the governors of various places to visit each county in his edict, otherwise if the court discovered anything, the governor himself would be in trouble!

Not only that, Zhu Houzhao did not blindly suppress the policy, but also provided reward measures. In the counties that were ranked last and implemented the policy well, the top ten county magistrates would be promoted three levels in a row.

It can be said that he used all his energy this time.

The capital's best place was naturally the first to be replaced.

Zhu Houzhao himself was not convenient to always appear in such occasions, so he sent Zai Yao, who was in the mood for work, out to conduct open and secret investigations in the capital area to promote the smooth implementation of the money exchange and severely punish government officials who acted recklessly.

It officially started on July 1st, the 21st year of Zhengde.

This day is set, and the day of its end is also set.

From July 1st of next year, people are no longer allowed to pay old money when buying things, and they are no longer allowed to accept old money when selling things. Violators will be charged with using counterfeit currency!
This was the first time Zai Yao had experienced such a thing.

This guy got so excited that he shouted in the mansion, "Father went on a secret visit a few days ago and uncovered a major case. This mission is also a civilian matter, so I will also go on a private tour in plain clothes!"

Everyone in the mansion knows that
The eldest prince admires the current emperor a little, so he likes to imitate some of the emperor's words and deeds.

This is actually not surprising.

Here, Zai Yao is the boss and he can do whatever he wants.

So he changed into plain clothes, asked the housekeeper to give him three hundred taels of silver and eight hundred copper coins, and then went out.

The money exchange points in the capital are simple, as they are right next to the Central Bank. Even if the rest of the country can't take care of them, the capital can always take care of them.

So early in the morning, there was already a long queue under the sign that said "Money Exchange".

Don't joke about money.

The old money will soon not be usable, so it’s definitely better to change to new money as soon as possible.

Zai Yao was among them. He knew the court's rules, so he kept observing whether the people in the central bank followed the rules. When he found that the proportions were normal, he felt bored.

“That way we won’t be able to catch anyone.”

If he can't figure out anything, how can he show off in the palace?
Later, he thought of a good idea and went to the streets with his newly exchanged copper coins and silver dollars.

When passing by an inn, something caught his attention.
He stopped for a while, then went up to ask, "Boss, the price of your accommodation is written in two currencies, which is good, but the exchange rate here is not exactly the same as the exchange rate of the court."

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man. He replied, "Old money has no other use except paying taxes, and everyone has it, so it is naturally cheap. However, not everyone has time to exchange new money, so it is naturally expensive."

Zai Yao blinked his eyes. Although he was not very smart, he felt that something was wrong. "Isn't this against the rules of the court?"

The shopkeeper saw that he was looking for trouble, so he said in a bad tone: "What do you want us to do? Old money is useless after a year. We are business people and we have to collect money every day. But we have to collect old money every day and then ask us to change it. Who can stand this? What kind of business is that? We can only queue up there every day."

"You can't say that. Old money is still useful. You can spend it if you collect it."

"How can it be that simple? Doing business requires confidence. Now no one wants to accept old coins. Old coins are cheap. Wouldn't it be a loss for me to accept them?"

Zai Yao was speechless.

But after so long, he finally realized that this was not right.

As a result, the people spontaneously "devalued" the old money, and the transition period lost its original meaning. The direct result was that the wealth of all the people who owned the old money was looted!
Although this can be circumvented by replacing new money,
But tens of millions of people and countless coins need to be exchanged, and this cannot happen in an instant. There is always a process, and there will always be people who will suffer losses in the process.

As a result, there will inevitably be complaints.

In fact, this is the law of economics. Some things in the economy are supported by the confidence of countless people, and administrative measures may not necessarily work.

Zai Yao knew that this was the reason why his father described this reform as "breaking through the barrier". If they passed through it, everything would be smooth. If they failed to pass it, there would be some trouble.

He went to a few more shops to get a more detailed understanding, and then he felt that he had gained something, and then he handed a note into the palace.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao was standing outside the Qianqing Palace and looking into the distance. He was also somewhat concerned about the situation outside.

The success or failure of currency reform is too critical.

(End of this chapter)