In the days when I was dressed as the king of a subjugated country

Gu Li said: "Zhang Ci'er was kind to Geng Chongming for saving his life. Geng Chongming assassinated me to avenge Zhang Ci'er. He knows how to repay his kindness, and he has the chivalry of giving way. Why don't I imitate Zhao Wuxie's generosity? Rao If he dies, why not? You ask Royal Tianwei, if I spare this man's life, Royal Tianwei will not be harmed, but the people of Li people understand that I love their benevolence better; you ask Hou Chu Fadu, since I, the sufferer, is willing to calm down and make peace, so why should I resort to the law?"

The ministers were speechless for a while.

Prime Minister Mu knelt down and said, "Your Majesty is kind-hearted and broad-minded. I thank you for the people of the world!"

Gu Li said to the assassins: "Let's go. I have ordered a tax exemption for three years. Now that I return to my hometown, I can catch up with the spring seeds."

The guards backed away, allowing the assassins to stand up.

Among the 2 rebels, when they heard the news of Gu Li's tax exemption, some ran away, and when they heard that Gu Li was willing to pardon their sins, some ran away.These seventeen or eight people are all subordinates who have followed Geng Chongming for a long time, and they are willing to go through life and death to fulfill his heart of repayment. They thought that today would never return, but they never expected that the emperor would let them off so lightly !

Some of the assassins couldn't bear it, exchanged tears, knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Gu Li's Fajia. Although the figure of Fajia could not be seen, the voice was clear and gentle.Gu Li said: "Okay, after you go back, live a good life. Not only do I not care about your faults, but I also want you to be my eyes and ears. If there are corrupt officials in your hometown who oppress the people, you can come to the capital to complain to me , I must be the master of the people.”

The assassins scattered away, only Geng Chongming remained where he was, watching Gu Li's execution from afar.

Someone urged: "Geng Chongming, are you still not leaving?!"

Geng Chongming sighed, and asked: "Since Your Majesty can even forgive us, why can't you let General Zhang live?"

Gu Li said: "Zhang Ci'er was not stabbed to death by my decree, he died in prison accidentally. But if you ask me why I can't let Zhang Ci'er live, then I ask you, Zhang Ci'er broke the truth and killed Zhou Wenshen's family. Zhou Wen heard that Shen Gong is loyal to the country, so what is the crime?"

Geng Chongming was startled and remained silent for a long time, Fang said: "I see, everything is due to different positions, there is no right or wrong. On the contrary, it was me, General Zhang, who only ran for his own life when he was captured, and never came back to rescue him. Assassination, regardless of the lives of the brothers. One step forward, one step back, it's all wrong!"

After he finished speaking, he suddenly pulled out the guard's saber and drew it towards his neck!

At this moment of lightning and flint, Gu Li couldn't react in time, he said "Stop" in his mouth and before he spit it out, he heard a ding, and a stone bullet came, knocking the saber to the ground!

Master!

Gu Li searched around for people who could save people by throwing rocks, but to no avail, he heard Prime Minister Mu persuade him: "Why are you so stubborn? You have repaid Zhang Ci'er's kindness by going through fire and water for Zhang Ci'er. From now on, your Majesty will be your life." Give it to you, you can live well!"

Geng Chongming gave a wry smile, knelt down, kowtowed three times to Gu Li's Fajia, and then walked away.

Gu Li asked: "Where is the person who hit the stone and shot the sword just now?"

Walking out of the queue was a smiling young man, handsome and cute, who turned out to be the supervisor Xie Lian who had left a deep impression on Gu Li.

Xie Lian bowed to Gu Li and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, it's a lowly position that has taken the risk."

Gu Li snorted and asked, "Is Jiansheng Xie here?"

Prime Minister Mu explained: "Xie Jiansheng is currently serving as the official secretary of the Ministry of Rites."

Gu Li let out an oh, that's it.This kind of promotion of lower-level officials is usually drawn up by the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Prime Minister Mu is the one who decides, so he has never paid attention to this matter.Based on Xie Lian's performance in the battle of defending the city, it is not a problem to promote him as a prisoner to be the official secretary, but considering Xie Lian's martial arts, it is a bit wasteful to put it in the Ministry of Rites.

Gu Li said: "Master Xie has excellent martial arts skills. It is really a shame to be a doctor in the official department of the Qing Dynasty. He will be promoted to the imperial guard of the imperial guard department."

Xie Lian knelt down and thanked her.

Zuo Shijue stared at Xie Lian with cold eyes.

The team tidied up a bit and continued to move forward.Gu Li was blowing a small wind slowly, and it will be cloudy and rainy from tomorrow, this gentle spring breeze blows from time to time.

In the midst of fainting and committing crimes, he finally arrived at the Gyeonggi Barracks.The etiquette department has been arranged properly, and the inside and outside of the barracks are neat and solemn, waiting for Gu Li to arrive.

Gu Li suddenly realized that this was not good for him.

Arranging in advance, these soldiers need to prepare in advance, maybe they will be waiting here early in the morning.Moreover, what he wanted to see and what he wanted to ask were all arranged in advance by the Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of Rituals.What is the difference between him like this and those modern leaders who conduct inspections with great fanfare?

If you want to inspect in the future, it's best to keep it simple.It's just that he just walked around the capital, and he would be advised by the officials. It might not be easy to visit the barracks in private, but he had to find a way to fight for this freedom of movement.

In just a few breaths, he has already thought of a lot.Gu Li got down from Luanjia, and the guards of the barracks came to meet him.These guards were all eunuchs. Like the Ming Dynasty in the later Chu Dynasty, eunuchs infiltrated all administrative and military institutions. Therefore, the number of eunuchs was huge, and it was no longer enough for a few hundred people to handle when the country was founded.Gu Li wanted to take the eunuch back into the palace and return the power to the outer court, but now there are more important matters at hand, and this matter is complicated, so he put it on hold for the time being.

Gu Li was led by the crowd and patrolled the barracks.

Gu Li condoled the wounded in the last battle to defend the city, and asked them if they had received the pension money issued by the household department, and how much they had received.The soldiers replied: "Report to Your Majesty, I have received them all. For the dead soldiers, 20 taels per person, for the wounded, [-] taels per person, and [-] pieces of silk."

Gu Li felt relieved and practiced with the soldiers for a while, sweating a little.

Gu Li asked Yang Hongjian: "Where is Xiao Tan, why don't you see him?"

Yang Hongjian didn't expect that he was still thinking about Xiao Tan, so he asked the commander of the barracks to call Xiao Tan.After a while, Xiao Tan came and saluted Gu Li first. Gu Li first asked him how many years he had been in the barracks and where he was from. It turned out that he and Yang Hongjian were from the same village. No wonder Yang Hongjian took good care of him.

Gu Li asked him again: "Have you received the pension money?"

Xiao Tan hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Ten taels of silver, and ten bolts of silk, a lot of money."

Since Xiao Tan also said so, Gu Li was relieved, and after watching the barracks for a while, he went back to the palace.

A few days after the tour of the barracks, the rain continued and the temperature dropped again.Xie Lian was brought into the palace by Gu Li and incorporated into the Imperial City Imperial Army. Gu Li met him a few times. This young man has always been smiling and good-natured. Gu Li has a good impression of him.

The trial of Wang Zheng's embezzlement of internal funds came to an end, and some of the internal funds were recovered. As for those criminals, Gu Li still ransacked the homes of the repeat offenders, and redeemed them with money for minor crimes.The stolen money still needs to be recovered, and those who helped sell the stolen goods and the purchasers, Gu Li promised them to redeem the money for atonement.As for the rebels, according to the sentinels sent by the Ministry of War, more than [-] remnants of the rebels have dispersed. Gu Li speculates that even if most of them have returned to their hometowns, there are still some people who have become accustomed to the life of looting and looting. For those who planned to set up another mountain, he specifically told the Ministry of War to pay more attention to prevent the people from being troubled by bandits again.

Gu Li took some time to go out to see Chen Feng, and brought along a book of basic mathematical calculations he wrote, intending to teach Chen Feng's little fox literacy.

Chen Feng got it, and he really regarded it as a standard, and he didn't let go of the book. When he saw the excitement, he would hold Gu Li's hands and say: "Mr. Sai is a god!"

Gu Li remembered the matter of Geng Chongming, and asked him: "I heard that His Majesty was assassinated when he was inspecting the Beijing camp a few days ago. This must be your handwriting, right?"

Chen Feng smiled casually: "I just reported a letter to Geng Chongming, telling him that Emperor Dog will go out of Beijing to inspect the barracks."

"But you must know Geng Chongming's character. General Zhang died, and he will definitely avenge him. In fact, when you reported the letter, you had already calculated that Geng Chongming would definitely take action, right?"

Chen Feng, this little fox, understands people's hearts!

If he directly told Geng Chongming that the emperor was going out of the palace, it was a good opportunity to assassinate, General Geng should not let it go.Geng Chongming might have to think too much, but he didn't plan to assassinate him.But Chen Feng didn't say anything, and only gave Geng Chongming a message, which seemed to put the choice in Geng Chongming's hands, but in fact, he had already calculated that he would definitely take action to avenge Zhang Ci'er.

However, Chen Feng sighed and said: "It's a pity that I counted and counted, but I didn't expect that the dog emperor would let them go. Instead, I lost the pawn Geng Chongming. It was my bad move."

"If the emperor kills them, the remnants of the rebel army are afraid that everyone will be in danger, but how dare they believe that the imperial court will really let them go."

"The dog emperor doesn't have such a mind. It must be Mr. Sai who is pointing from the side. It's a pity that I didn't dare to show my whereabouts that day. I could only take a look at it from a distance. I didn't find out who Mr. Sai is. Otherwise, I must personally Meet him for a while."

Gu Li cut it, and said to himself that Mr. Sai is right in front of you right now, but you can't see Mount Tai, haha, when Mr. Sai takes off his vest, he will definitely surprise you!

Gu Li was having a sweet dream when he heard Chen Feng say, "Mr. Sai took the first move, but I don't know if Mr. Sai has the ability to take the second move."

What is this little fox trying to do?Gu Li hurriedly asked, but Chen Feng put on a smirk and stopped talking. He was anxious to be questioned, and patted Gu Li on the head with a book, threatening him: "You, you, if you have the time to make jokes here, why don't you read more?" Some books, learn from Mr. Sai!"

When Gu Li returned to the palace, he called Yu Guangle over.Yu Guangle's injury was almost healed, so Gu Li brought up the old matter again, talking about running a newspaper.

Yu Guangle said that since the newspaper is to be run, it must be manned. I wonder if His Majesty can assign some people to him in the palace.Gu Li ran the newspaper in private, he didn't want outsiders to know, and it was impossible to second the eunuchs in the palace, so he took the internal money and handed it to Yu Guangle, letting him hire his own manpower to do things cheaply.

Yu Guangle asked again: "Your Majesty, what should be the name of this newspaper?"

Gu Li thought for a while and said, "Let's call it "Hou Chu Morning News"!"

The "Hou Chu Morning News", known as an epoch-making significance, was settled so simply.Yu Guangle is a smart person, knowing what Gu Li meant, he selected a newspaper store outside the palace and hired people, reckoning that it won't take long for the first issue of "Hou Chu Morning News" to meet the people of Beizhili.

The newspaper business is in full swing, but Gu Li is thinking about another matter.He called Zhao Sheng, Shangshu of the household department, and brought the account book by the way.

Recently, Gu Li has investigated many officials, and the Taicang government treasury has been filled again. In addition, the land accumulated by these officials' homes has reached millions of acres.Gu Li handed over to Prime Minister Mu and asked him to distribute the fields to farmers from all over the country. These things can be done quickly, and they can catch up with the spring plowing.

Although the Taicang government treasury has been enriched, there are only more than 100 million taels of gold flowers and silver, which is only one-third of the military salary required for a year in Liaodong, not to mention the bitter salary of the Nine Frontiers Town. In addition, there are canals Maintenance, official salaries, palace expenses, normal operation of the bureaucratic system, purchase of armaments and firearms, purchase of horses from Monan Mongolia, support of royal family members and inner court eunuchs, etc.If these more than one million taels are thrown into the big river of the Houchu court, I am afraid that there will be no splash.

Gu Li had to plan and use carefully, and he couldn't throw the more than 100 million taels in Liaodong.

When Gu Li was trying to find a solution for money, Yang Hongjian hurried into the palace to face the saint.

"Your Majesty, this is a pond report from Wang Zhi, the commander of Guanning. Liaodong officers and soldiers mutinied due to arrears of military pay. Chen Daoping, the deputy commander of Jinzhou, rebelled and killed Liaodong Jinglue. He led [-] of his subordinates to join Jianlu."

Gu Li's eyes darkened, and he was silent for a long while before asking, "When did this happen?"

"Ten days ago." Yang Hongjian lowered his head: "General Wang has suppressed the mutiny, but the issue of military pay cannot be delayed any longer."

Gu Li asked Yang Hongjian to go back, and took people to the inner shipping warehouse.Three to four out of ten of the gold and silver in the inner treasury were recovered. Last time, he ordered the supervisor of rites, the censor of the inspectorate, and the rites to go to Luoyang to condolences to Prince Fu. Originally, 9000 taels were allocated from the inner court treasury But the inner court treasury was stolen, so they first borrowed it from Taicang, and the money has already been returned to Taicang.

Gu Li looked at the golden flowers and silver in the inner treasury, and thought to himself, is it really necessary to take out the silver in the inner treasury to supplement the military expenses?

However, as far as he knew, in the late 30s, silver imports would drop significantly, and China was not a major mining country for silver mines. After nearly 200 years of mining, the ore veins in various places tended to be exhausted.However, private economic circulation has become accustomed to using silver as a carrier. If we do not reserve a little more silver at this time, how will we face the economic crisis brought about by the sudden decrease in silver inflow?

Gu Li was upset, so he simply sneaked out of the palace to see what that little fox Chen Feng was doing these days.

When Gu Li went, Chen Feng was studying science at home. When he saw Gu Li coming, his eyes lit up and he asked, "What did you get this time?"

Gu Li was worried, and said with a bad face: "How can I get Mr. Sai's handwriting every time. Mr. Sai's things are strictly watched in the palace."

Chen Feng immediately put away his smile and continued to sit under the window and read the arithmetic book.

Seeing his indifferent look, Gu Li sighed heavily.Chen Feng turned his head and asked, "What's the matter? Did you get angry with Eunuch Yu?"

Gu Li rolled his eyeballs, and with a flash of inspiration, he said, "Ah, I'm not angry. It's just that Eunuch Yu has a bad temper these days. I don't know if he was angry with His Majesty and turned his hair on my head. Up miles."

Chen Feng laughed, and said: "The dog emperor must be annoyed by the Liaodong affairs, but I told you to suffer."

Gu Li asked, "What Liaodong? How do you know?"

"Didn't I say that Mr. Sai will take the first move, but it's hard to say whether the second move can be taken."

"Could it be that you made a move in Liaodong and made things difficult for the dog emperor?"

"Recently, officers and soldiers searched for me in the capital, and I don't know how to use sex. How can I go to Liaodong to stir up trouble? I just learned the news of Liaodong in advance, and I want to see how Mr. Sai can solve this problem in Liaodong. .”

Gu Lizheng wanted to ask Chen Feng about Liaodong's military salary, so he pretended not to know, and asked, "What's the problem in Liaodong?"

"The dog emperor has been exempted from taxes for three years. I wonder if he still has enough money to pay the army. This time there was a riot in Liaodong. Although it has been suppressed, if the army still doesn't pay, there will be even bigger troubles."

"Then what does Chen Tianshi think should be done now?"

Chen Feng smirked complacently, pinched Gu Li's cheek, and said: "Why are you so anxious for the dog emperor, of course we are just watching from the sidelines."

Alas, Gu Li woke up.He is so stupid, really, how could he think of coming out to ask Chen Feng's opinion, although Chen Feng has a good brain, but he really doesn't necessarily have more ideas than a modern person like him.And even if Chen Feng had a way, he wouldn't tell him easily!

Gu Li went back to the palace in a gloomy mood, while Gu Youzhen was playing with a guard outside the Qianqing Palace, acting innocently.

Gu Li took a closer look, and the guard turned out to be Xie Lian.Gu Youzhen was hanging on his arm, climbing up with hands and feet.

Seeing Gu Li, Xie Lian saluted, and Gu Youzhen got off his arm and shouted, "Father!"

Gu Li picked him up, supported him, and asked, "What is Zhen'er playing with?"

Gu Youzhen said: "The guard Xie is so amazing, he can lift up my minister with one hand!"

Gu Li smiled, remembering that Xie Lian had also been sharpened in the military camp, and he could listen to his opinion on the matter of Liaodong, so he asked someone to take Gu Youzhen to play, and he took Xie Lian into Qianqing Palace.

Xie Lian is a smart person. Seeing Gu Li's frown, she asked, "Is Your Majesty worried about the situation in Liaodong?"

Gu Li asked, "You heard that too?"

Xie Lian said: "I have practiced in Liaodong for several years, so I am quite well informed."

"Then tell me, what is the current situation in Liaodong?"

"Liaodong is far away from the capital city and is adjacent to Jianzhou. Most of the military households in Liaodong intermarried with foreigners for generations. Over time, the Han border people and Rongdi assimilated with each other, and the military households in Liaodong became more familiar with Jianlu. Chen Daoping, the deputy general who rebelled, is a local military general in Liaodong. Coupled with the cunning of Jianlu and the lure of huge profits, it is not surprising that Chen Daoping will defect."

Gu Li nodded. Liaodong was far away from the administrative center of the capital, and ideologically they were separated from each other.It would be great if it was in modern times. With the Internet and electronic communication, no matter what news is in the local area, it can be conveyed to the central government in the first place, which invisibly strengthens the centralization of power.

However, in ancient times when this kind of technology was underdeveloped, it took ten days for an emergency report to reach Beijing. It was not easy for him to strengthen the control of the central government over the local area.

"Then according to what you said, the military generals in the Liaodong Army Town cannot be selected from the Liaodong Army households?"

Xie Lian said: "I think that if you are a military general from other places, you need to choose one who can hold your ground, and if you are a local general in Liaodong, you need to choose a loyal one."

Gu Li nodded, and asked again: "Then, who do you think is suitable for Liaodong?"

"If my father is still there, naturally my father is the most suitable. Now that he is gone, naturally the minister is the most suitable."

Gu Li smiled and said, "You are not humble."

"Your Majesty never said that you can't recommend yourself." Xie Lian was not afraid of Gu Li, and smiled relaxedly, and said, "Besides, Jiao Liewei is a loyal and brave person, Yang Shangshu is a reliable person, and Li Shilang leads the army quite well." There is a law, but I remember that his wife and uncle are from Liaodong, so you can't believe it."

Li Shilang is talking about Li Xiewen, Gu Li has a good impression of him, let's listen to Xie Lian's words for now, whether he wants to adopt it or not is up to him.

"Your Majesty, Wang Zhi, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, entered the imperial examination. He has more spirit of a scholar than a general. Liaodong Army's salary needs to be paid as soon as possible, otherwise Wang Zhibing may not be able to suppress Liaodong."

Gu Li nodded and let Xie Lian go out.

Gu Li thought for a while, and asked someone to invite Prime Minister Mu.

He sat quietly alone, listening to Gu Youzhen playing with Xie Lian outside, Gu Youzhen yelled: "Zhen'er is going to sell something, come and buy my things! Here, this leaf is your money!"

Gu Li suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and was so excited that he couldn't restrain himself, he ran outside, hugged Gu Youzhen and kissed her hard.Gu Youzhen was throwing herself into playing with Xie Lian, holding a few leaves in her hands, when she was kissed hard by Gu Li suddenly, her face was dazed.

Gu Li laughed and said, "Leaves! Leaves! Hahaha! You can have as many leaves as you want! That's right! Why didn't I think of that!"

Gu Youzhen murmured: "What's wrong with Father..."

When Prime Minister Mu came to Qianqing Palace, he saw Gu Li who was overjoyed and excited.

Prime Minister Mu chuckled and said, "What kind of happy event is your Majesty having?"

Gu Li asked Prime Minister Mu to be invited into the Nuan Pavilion, and the servant served tea, and said straight to the point: "Shangshu Yang must have informed the prime minister about the Liaodong matter, right?"

Prime Minister Mu replied: "Wang Zhi won't be able to last long if the military payment is delayed again and again. We need to find someone who can talk."

Gu Li smiled and said: "It just so happens that I also have a candidate in my heart, Prime Minister, why don't we write it down separately, how about a couple?"

Gu Li asked the servant to bring a pen and paper, and he and Prime Minister Mu wrote separately.The two put down their pens at the same time and showed their names, but they saw that on the two pieces of paper, the three characters "Jiao Liewei" on the left were flamboyant, and the three characters "Jiao Liewei" on the right were like dogs digging.

Gu Li smiled and said: "Prime Minister Mu is exactly what I thought. Did Prime Minister Mu protect Jiao Liewei at the beginning, did he foresee the current situation in Liaodong?"

Prime Minister Mu was startled, and said embarrassingly: "The old minister doesn't know what His Majesty said. The case of Jiao Liewei accidentally injuring King Fu, but after six departments and nine ministers' court discussions, it is not the old minister who can make the decision..."

Gu Li blinked, and said: "Well, it seems that I was really wise to spare Jiao Liewei's life. He used to work under Xie Chixing's command, and he must be familiar with the situation in Liaodong. This time I sent him to Liaodong. He is the most suitable candidate right now."

Prime Minister Mu also nodded his head.

"It's just about the Liaodong military salary. Has the Prime Minister thought about how to make up for it?"

"Originally, the old minister thought that Jiao Liewei's trip to Liaodong might be delayed for another year. During this year, we might be able to scrape together the salary of the Liaodong army. But I didn't expect His Majesty to be merciful. After exempting from taxes for three years, the old minister felt a little embarrassed for a while."

Gu Li said: "I have handled the case between Wang Zheng and Cao Cunlin, and the Taicang treasury has already made some money."

Prime Minister Mu said: "60 years ago, when Emperor Dezong was here, there were 600 million taels of reserve silver in the treasury of Taicang. Now it is only 100 million taels, and the cultivation will be imminent this spring, and it is necessary to distribute cattle breeds to farmers returning home after fleeing famine. Apart from the most important thing, there are still many things that the court needs to spend, and I don't know how much effect this 100 million taels will have."

Gu Li smiled and said, "Prime Minister Mu, I can turn this 100 million taels into 600 million taels, do you believe it or not?"

"The old minister can't imagine it, so please make it clear to His Majesty."

Gu Li coughed and said seriously, "Prime Minister Mu has never thought of printing banknotes?"

Prime Minister Mu was stunned, with a solemn look on his face: "Your Majesty, when I was alive, I used to issue post-Chu treasure banknotes. However, in less than 60 years, the post-Chu treasure banknotes are like waste paper. Are you going to follow in the footsteps of the others? ?”

Oh, it turns out that the founder of the late Chu Dynasty, like Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, ever issued banknotes?

Gu Li asked: "So at that time, was there any hard currency prepared as a reserve fund?"

Prime Minister Mu was not an expert in finance, so he was suddenly unable to answer this question when asked by Gu Li.Gu Li recalled what Zhu Yuanzhang did at that time. Zhu Yuanzhang never prepared precious metals as reserves when issuing banknotes. Since the boss of Later Chu ended up with the same fate as Zhu Yuanzhang in issuing banknotes, the two people's practices should be similar.

He then said: "If the government does not prepare gold and silver and other valuables as reserves and establish a stable exchange rate, how can the people dare to use banknotes with confidence. In addition, when the court is short of money, it prints banknotes, causing troubles in the private economy. It’s not surprising that after inflation, Chu Bao’s banknotes are like waste paper.”

Prime Minister Mu couldn't figure it out for a moment, and said carefully, "I hope Your Majesty will think twice about this matter."

Gu Li tried to persuade him: "Issuing banknotes has another advantage, which is to use inflation to collect taxes."

Prime Minister Mu was even more dizzy, and asked, "Didn't Your Majesty say that the tax will be exempted for three years?"

Gu Li tried to make him understand that what he exempted was the agricultural tax, one was to protect the proletariat represented by poor farmers, and the other was to buy people's hearts.The collection of inflation tax can harvest a wave of wealth from the wealthy bourgeoisie. The smaller the share of the proletariat participating in economic activities, the less affected by inflation.

Prime Minister Mu's mosquito-repellent eyes: "Your Majesty, what is the proletariat? What is the bourgeoisie?"

Gu Li's eyes darkened.

Prime Minister Mu looked at Gu Li's headache, and sighed: "The old minister is indeed getting old, and his thinking can no longer keep up with the young people, but the old minister knows that there must be someone who understands."

Prime Minister Mu left.

Gu Li didn't know who he was talking about, but if he couldn't convince Prime Minister Mu, it must be very difficult to issue banknotes.Gu Li frowned, and sat at the table silently writing Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations". He wondered if it would be helpful to popularize economics at this time.

I don't know how long it took to write, Gu Youzhen was already tired from playing, and came in to stick to Gu Li to learn how to write with him. Prime Minister Mu finally came back, bringing someone with him.

This person is also an old acquaintance, that is, the Taipusi Sicheng, Fu Shaoge, who was taken by Gu Li and asked him to pay for the taxi.

Gu Li's impression of Fu Shaoge was that this young man was handsome and upright, but he didn't expect to bribe Wang Zheng, which was beyond Gu Li's expectation.

Prime Minister Mu said: "Your Majesty, this Fu Sicheng has a lot of insight into business. Although the old minister doesn't understand what you said, Fu Sicheng may understand."

Gu Li asked: "What does Fu Sicheng's family do?"

"The grandfather of the minister was once an editor of the Imperial Academy, and my father was a Juren in the 15th year of Qinghe. He lived at home and was obsessed with poetry, wine and landscape, and never became an official."

"Then what about your grandparent's house?"

"The ancestral home of my grandfather's family is She County, Huizhou."

Gu Li understood.In Huizhou, there are businessmen.However, the later Chu Dynasty emphasized agriculture and restrained business just like Zhu Yuanzhang. Although the status of merchants has gradually improved after hundreds of years of economic development, families like Fu Shaoge’s family who have been educated and become officials for generations marry a woman from a merchant family. It's not decent enough.

Gu Li asked again: "Prime Minister Mu said that you are quite insightful about business, but you can tell me, is it good or bad to use silver as currency in circulation?"

Fu Shaoge thought for a while and said: "The main metal minerals in my post-Chu are copper and iron, but the value of copper and iron is not high. If copper and iron are the main transactions in the market, you need to carry a lot of copper and iron to buy expensive things, which is inconvenient to carry. The value of silver is precious, but the existing large-scale silver mines in China have been exhausted after a long period of mining. If you want to send people to mine veins, you are afraid that you will not be able to make ends meet. Most of the silver circulating in the market today comes from overseas. of."

Fu Shaoge calculated in his mind, and said: "The annual silver import volume is between 668 million taels and 708 million taels, but since six years ago, the annual total import volume has been declining. If one day, the total amount of silver imports from overseas A sharp drop will inevitably have a huge impact on my Houchu."

This Fu Shaoge really has two brushes.

In fact, starting from 1620, with Seville, Spain as the center, a global economic recession that lasted for 40 years occurred.In addition, there are various factors such as the decline in the amount of silver mines mined by the Spaniards in the Americas, the severance of trade between Japan and Haojing, etc. The decline in silver imports is inevitable.

"How did Fu Sicheng calculate that the total amount of silver imports has been declining?"

"My grandfather told me that the number of overseas merchant ships coming to the coast of Zhejiang has been decreasing every year."

It turned out that Fu Shaoge had never read the relevant statistical data, but deduced it from the number of merchant ships.This person is not as familiar with global economic history as Gu Li, but he can see the big from the small, which shows that Prime Minister Mu has not misunderstood the person. Fu Shaoge is indeed a talent in economics.

Gu Li pondered for a while and heard Fu Shaoge ask: "Your Majesty is worried about the income of the treasury? According to my opinion, the opening of the sea ban will definitely increase the income. I think that the Japanese pirates' rebellion decades ago started from the sea ban." Now, due to famine and war, the imperial court is temporarily unable to stop the private overseas trade of the people. Instead, it has given opportunities for the development of overseas trade. However, this wealth income has all flowed to the people, so that the poor among the people are poor and the rich are rich, and the national treasury is still empty , unable to raise troops."

Fu Shaoge was right on point. This kind of elite, in modern times, is a talent who strategizes on Wall Street.Gu Li couldn't help admiring him, and said: "Fu Sicheng is really far-sighted, but the matter of opening the sea ban can be put aside for a while. What I want is to issue banknotes."

Fu Shaoge was a little surprised.

Seeing that it was already noon, Gu Li simply left Prime Minister Mu and Fu Shaoge for dinner, and Gu Youzhen sent them to Guo Jing.

The waiter brought up the food, and today there are some seasonal vegetables and a crucian carp.Prime Minister Mu had heard the officials of the Ministry of Rites cry about the simplicity of the meals in the palace, and when he saw it today, it was true, and he couldn't help feeling a little distressed.After all, Gu Li is also the king of a country, and his food is not as good as those of his ministers.

However, Gu Li twitched his index finger. One bite of this crucian carp and he knew it was freshly killed. It tasted delicious and the meat was full of elasticity.After eating, Gu Li remembered something and asked Prime Minister Mu: "Is there any news about the crops I asked Prime Minister Mu to look for the day before yesterday?"

Prime Minister Mu said: "The one called Sweet Potato already has a clue."

Fu Shaoge asked: "I don't know what crops His Majesty is looking for?"

Gu Li took out the painted corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and potatoes and showed them to Fu Shaoge.

Fu Shaoge said: "These crops have never been seen in the local area. They should be overseas crops. I sent someone to ask my grandfather, maybe there will be harvest."

Gu Lixi said: "Okay, I will leave this matter to Mu Chengxiang and Fu Sicheng."

The waiter put away the bowls and chopsticks, and Gu Li took Prime Minister Mu and Fu Shaoge to move into Dongnuan Pavilion to continue discussing the issue of banknotes.

Fu Shaoge had already thought a lot during the meal, and after thinking about it, he asked straight to the point: "If your majesty wants to issue banknotes, have you ever prepared gold and silver as reserves?"

Prime Minister Mu's mosquito-repellent eyes: "Why do you have to prepare gold and silver?"

Gu Li said: "The purchasing power of the face value of banknotes depends on the exchange ratio with gold and silver. If gold and silver are not prepared and exchanged freely, how can people use banknotes with confidence." For example, RMB can be used to buy gold and silver. For precious metals, to issue banknotes, the exchange rate between banknotes and gold and silver must be established.

Prime Minister Mu is still pondering.

Gu Li continued: "Now there is 100 million taels of silver in the Taicang treasury, and I will take another 20 taels of gold from the inner court treasury as a reserve fund to issue banknotes worth 600 million taels. Does Fu Sicheng think it is appropriate?"

Fu Shaoge thought for a while, then nodded: "Yes."

Prime Minister Mu's mosquito-repellent eyes: "Your Majesty, I don't understand why you don't prepare 600 million taels of silver when you issue 600 million taels of banknotes?"

Gu Li explained: "Because the people holding banknotes will not all ask for silver exchange at the same time, so I only need to ensure that this reserve fund can supply the daily exchange needs."

But Fu Shaoge asked: "After the banknotes are issued, His Majesty plans to print and issue banknotes every few years? Recycle old banknotes every few years? What is the exchange ratio between old banknotes and new banknotes?"

Fu Shaoge asked about the idea again. What Gu Li thought was that if he pardoned the national agricultural tax for three years, then the agricultural tax would be filled by the annual inflation tax. For example, last year the imperial court collected about 1000 million shi of grain nationwide. , Then, equivalent banknotes can be printed and put into the folks, which is equivalent to extracting the wealth of the folks.Because in this way, inflation will be caused, and the paper money in the hands of the people will depreciate, so this part of the income is called inflation tax.

In today's Houchu, the gap between the rich and the poor is too large. Some people are so poor that they don't have any land, and some people are so rich that they can make tofu from fish brains. Those who barely make ends meet by farming are unable to participate in economic activities. However, the impact of inflation is even smaller.For example, Prime Minister Mu only has one yuan in his hand, and Gu Li has 1 yuan in his hand. One day, all banknotes depreciate by 2000%, then Prime Minister Mu will lose [-] cents, and Gu Li will lose [-] yuan.

Three years later, when the poor people at the bottom have surplus food in their families, Gu Li can collect agricultural taxes as usual, and there is no need to raise money by issuing banknotes.

But Gu Li thought so, but he absolutely couldn't say that.Mu Cheng was the prime minister of the three dynasties, so he must have a lot of wealth, and Fu Shaoge's ancestral family was in business.Gu Li's inflation tax collects the wealth of their rich people. If Gu Li speaks out his mind directly, these two people will have to fight to the death.

The author has something to say: I saw a little cutie who said that he wanted to set up a project to ask ministers to donate money. I remember that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did something similar, asking rich people to donate military expenses. Of course, not many people were willing to donate. So Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty started to make salt and iron Monopoly.Chongzhen also asked his relatives to pay for it. At that time, he deprived a relative of his family property, causing him to hang himself. After a vision came from the sky, Chongzhen was terrified and returned the money.

In fact, the people of the Ming Dynasty were very rich, because the tax system of the Ming Dynasty was not good, and the wealth was hidden among the people. However, when a country is running in the late stage, social rigidity is inevitable. The result is that the rich and powerful will be more The rich have the power, the poor get poorer, and the gap between the rich and the poor is huge.So I think it's feasible to arrange for Gu Li to raise money through banknotes, but I'm not a financial professional after all, so I'm just an idiot.