20demayo Chapter 337 Currency Reform Strategy!
Chapter 337 Currency Reform Strategy!
Ok?
Gu Jingzhi frowned and looked at Wan Zhen indifferently. The servants beside him didn't dare to say anything more when they saw this, after all, they didn't know what the relationship between the two was.
This woman had just gotten off the master's carriage, so they didn't dare to act rashly.
Seeing Gu Jingzhi's calm gaze, Wan Zhen hurriedly whispered, "The noble lady has instructed that I must stay by the side of the Marquis and take care of him. She also said... if the Marquis doesn't want me to, he can take me away and give me to someone else next time he comes back!"
"..."
Gu Jingzhi rolled his eyes.
The Crown Princess actually meddled in his family affairs and talked about giving it away as a gift. Gu Jingzhi naturally didn't believe it. Just based on the 70% resemblance, it was impossible for the Crown Princess to do such a thing.
but……
Since the woman said so, he couldn't refuse her, so he said to Jiang Feng, "You arrange it!"
As he spoke, he walked towards his study.
……
The Empty Seal Case is the most critical link in all of Gu Jingzhi's plans. As long as there is no problem with this link, the next things will be easy to handle, and after this, the aristocratic family will no longer be a threat!
Therefore, Gu Jingzhi also needs to seize the time.
Although he does not need to participate in this case, it is ultimately a case of the Ministry of Revenue, and the currency reform and promotion he proposed in front of Emperor Xia also requires him to hurry up and make a plan!
Just in terms of the currency reform, gold and silver currencies were abolished and replaced by copper coins.
The biggest problem with copper coins was that they were too heavy. To solve this problem, they had to use face values instead, such as one penny, ten pennies, a hundred pennies, one ounce, five ounces, ten ounces...
As for the denominations of 100 and 1,000 taels, Gu Jingzhi planned to continue using silver notes.
After all, those who can use banknotes of this denomination generally have a certain social status or are from merchant families. These people are much more knowledgeable and not as easily fooled as ordinary people. Therefore, counterfeit banknotes are of little significance.
After all, if they want to exchange notes of this denomination, they can only do so through banks controlled by the state!
Yes,
The best institution to issue currency is the bank!
Gu Jingzhi was not so worried about large-denomination currencies. After all, he issued the currency for market circulation, not for collection. All the focus was still on copper coins below ten taels!
Through special smelting techniques, copper can be transformed into other colors rather than the single color of this era.
This is a technological means.
Of course, any means will become outdated, so anti-counterfeiting technology cannot only focus on materials, some sophisticated signs are still needed!
However, the smelting of the material alone was almost impossible to imitate in that era when chemistry was not yet popular. In other words, this type of currency could be used for at least a long time.
As for the future...
When people are used to this kind of face-value currency, it won’t be difficult to replace it with something else!
However, the fundamental basis of face-value currency is based on national strength and national credibility. Generally speaking, the risk of using this type of currency during the feudal dynasty period was much greater than in modern times.
Strict monetary laws are particularly important.
As for the color of the copper coin, Gu Jingzhi thought about it and finally decided to use gold. Firstly, this golden copper only needs to be smelted with some materials.
Moreover, the total amount will not change much.
The most important thing is...anti-counterfeiting.
In this era, if you want to make copper coins that are the same color as gold, there seems to be no other way except to add gold. Therefore, anyone who wants to make some counterfeit currency will definitely lose money!
Moreover, in terms of size, the larger the face value of the copper coin, the slightly different its size and thickness. Even if it is a copper coin with a face value of ten taels of silver, if someone wants to use gold to counterfeit it, they will lose a lot of money.
In this way, as long as the cost of counterfeiting is not worth the gain, the appearance of counterfeit currency can be prevented to the greatest extent.
……
Money itself is just a setting of the banking system.
It is by no means easy to open a bank nationwide, so this process may take some time. During this process, which cities will the bank cover first?
These are all things that need to be considered.
However, this is not something that Gu Jing can decide alone. It will be easy as long as we wait for the court to make a decision.
Gu Jingzhi also had a preliminary plan for injecting money into the market.
On the contrary, what is more important to him now is how to formulate the tax system. After the empty seal case, the court does not allow the appearance of empty seal documents, so there are bound to be some problems.
The biggest of these is the problem of loss.
Gu Jingzhi thought a lot in his mind, but in the end, he felt that it was useless to think about it alone, and he still had to go to the palace to meet that person!
Do it when you think of it.
Gu Jingzhi packed up the things he had sorted out, and then arranged for a carriage to go directly to the palace!
……
Emperor Xia originally wanted to take a rest, but when he heard that Gu Jingzhi had entered the palace, he couldn't help but feel curious.
He also knew that Gu Jingzhi attended a banquet at the Prince's Mansion last night and spent the night drunk, but he didn't care about it. After all, it was already this late, and this kind of thing was harmless.
Besides, Gu Jingzhi was just a civil servant. Even if several of his relatives were in the army, they would not pose any threat, so he was too lazy to ask.
But he came here now, so he must have something important to tell you.
Emperor Xia did not waste any time and went straight to the imperial study.
The first thing he did when he saw Gu Jingzhi was to smile and say, "You don't have to go to court today. I heard you didn't even go to the Ministry of Revenue. How come... you drank too much last night?"
"Uh……"
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Gu Jingzhi's face.
Not only was he drunk, he also discussed knowledge with the emperor's daughter-in-law for the entire night!
Gu Jingzhi pursed his lips and said, "Your Majesty, I have been sorting out the issues regarding the issuance of new currency and local taxation. Now... I am undecided, so I thought I would ask Your Majesty for advice!"
"Ah!"
Emperor Xia laughed dumbly and said, "I knew you were coming. I must be very busy. Present it!"
"promise!"
Gu Jingzhi handed a thick memorial to the eunuch, and then it came to Emperor Xia's hands. Emperor Xia looked at the thick book and pointed to the side.
"Give Gu Qing a seat!"
As he spoke, he began to read the contents above seriously. Gu Jingzhi sat quietly below, drinking tea peacefully.
As time passed, Emperor Xia became more and more absorbed in reading, and even the expression on his face began to change constantly, as if he was frightened by what Gu Jingzhi wrote!
a long time!
Emperor Xia put down the memorial, rubbed his brow, and asked, "Gu Qing, is it true that no one can imitate the gold and bronze method you mentioned?"
"His Majesty!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled mischievously and said, "If you use gold... that's fine!"
"..."
The corner of Xia Di's mouth twitched, and he scolded with a smile: "Do you think they can be so stupid?"
"..."
Gu Jingzhi pursed his lips. Actually, that was it. There was no other way, but it was just that the ancients’ gilding technology was not good enough!
Emperor Xia’s question was actually unnecessary. After all, since Gu Jingzhi dared to bring it up, he must be confident. However, currency is related to a country’s destiny. As an emperor, Emperor Xia did not dare to be careless!
He looked at the part about coinage in Gu Jingzhi's memorial, thought for a moment, and said, "Currency is related to the fate of our Great Xia nation, so we must use the best quality copper!"
"How about this? I'll issue an order later to transfer all the high-quality copper mines recorded in Daxia to the Ministry of Revenue..."
"Your Majesty, this won't do..."