The Ming Dynasty capital was still hot in early autumn. People stood by the river, blowing the wind from the river, and finally felt a little chill.

Dali Temple Minister Gao Xianning and a group of people were waiting at the Longjiang Port Wharf, waiting for the boxes from a large ship to be transported down one after another. People carefully carried out six improved six-wheeled hourglass from the boxes covered with cotton. Two hourglasses were already placed on the wharf.

This big ship had also set off from Longjiang Port and sailed along the river to the Sichuan Provincial Administration and then headed north along the Tuojiang River to conduct Japanese film observations in Zizhou; then sailed on the same route and returned to the capital.

When Gao Xianning stepped forward to observe, he found that the scales of the six hourglasses were all different; they were not the same as the two hourglasses placed in Longjiang Port.

A look of disappointment suddenly appeared on his face. In this situation, there was no need to ask about the results of the observation of the Sun Film; the observation time could not be synchronized, and the results were meaningless.

The experiment led by Gao Xianning was once a rumor in the capital, but now I am afraid that only jokes will be left.

This kind of thing seemed to have entered the scope of the Jinyiwei's spy. Because the next day, when Gao Xianning went to Dongnuan Pavilion to face the holy, Emperor Zhu Gaoxu took the initiative to comfort him.

Zhu Gaoxu said without raising his head: "Many things are not related to methods, they are purely technical issues. It is really difficult to find accurate timing technology at present. Gao Siqing does not have to be too persistent, just keep it as a one-man statement. Next time the fleet goes to the West, I will call the eunuch on the mission to find the rumored 'European geometric original' in the Arab region; and cooperate with the astronomical observations of the Imperial Heavenly Prison to see if it can be verified by other methods."

While talking, he was still "crackling" with his subordinates' abacus, and then wrote and painted on paper.

The scene was a bit funny. The burly emperor who was originally a soldier in battle, was fiddling with the abacus there seriously, as if he had become a shopkeeper.

Gao Xianning bowed seriously and said, "The emperor's words are reasonable."

After a while, Xia Yuanji, Qi Tai, Ru Wei, Jian Yi, Song Li and other civil officials also arrived one after another, and everyone gave a great gift to the emperor behind the imperial case.

"Flat." Zhu Gaoxu put down his abacus and brush, raised his hand and said.

He then looked at the paper in front of him and said straight, "The mint on the south side of the outer city has sufficient raw materials such as copper, charcoal (coking coal) and other materials, and all matters are well prepared. It starts day and night, and produces about 100 million coins per year. In addition, there are two on the Qinhuai River, and two other mints are under construction in Taiping Prefecture (Ma'anshan). In the future, the mints can reach 500 million coins per year.

Since the start of construction of the First Mint, the mint, five or ten months of copper coins are worth only 80,000 guan; according to the price of new coins that are times as high as old coins, they are only worth 160,000 guan. This currency is just a drop in the bucket for the overall wealth of our Ming Dynasty. It is imperative to cast silver coins."

Xia Yuanji clasped his fists and said, "I would like to report that since the Baochao Library (Central Bank Warehouse) already has 80,000 new copper coins, it is better to hand them over to the Ministry of Revenue's Administration as soon as possible."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I have received the memorial from Xiamen Hall and have not approved it. It is the matter to be discussed today. When I first established the central bank, I had made it clear that the central bank was in charge of currency, not coins. Xiamen Hall and Song Tiju have no direct relationship with each other."

Xia Yuanji said: "The difference is indeed different in one word. However, military expenditure is allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, and the treasury this year is very tight; 80,000 new money can be used for 160,000 old money, and it can also slightly reduce the urgent needs of the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Xia Yuanji and looked at the things on the paper, "A silver coin is currently worth about 60 times the value of a new copper coin. In the future, the five major mints will start construction at the same time, and they can mint tens of millions of coins every year, which can fully meet the needs of currency issuance.

However, if this money is always delivered to the Ministry of Revenue for use indefinitely, there will be too much currency circulating on the market, and the result will be a vicious depreciation of the currency. This is not the purpose of my establishment of the central bank.

The depreciation rate of currency, that is, inflation, should be related to the total amount of goods and wealth on the market across the country, and should maintain a certain relationship. We must neither make the currency flow insufficiently nor do we have to inflation too quickly."

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment and said, "Usually, the central bank and the Ministry of Revenue are independent yamen. The income of the Ministry of Revenue should mainly come from taxes, rather than directly asking for it from the mint. If Xiabutang is really short of money, he can submit a report to the court and then borrow money from the central bank.

In recent years, borrowings have been written in blue and do not need to be returned, because new money has just been circulated on the market and a certain amount is needed to meet the market needs. However, in the future, the Ministry of Revenue borrowed money must be recorded with the deficit and returned with tax revenue.

The situation where the imperial court directly subsidized the Ministry of Revenue with government orders should be in special times. For example, if a natural disaster occurs in a certain place, the imperial court should subsidize it by increasing currency inflation. It is not a simple relief, but using the money from the treasury to hire local disaster victims to build water conservancy and road facilities.

In order to unify the tax power, I will issue an edict that the Ministry of Revenue has the right to control all taxes across the country; the Maritime Promotion and Supervision Department will also be assigned to the Ministry of Revenue directly under the Ministry of Revenue. You have to find a way to increase revenue and reduce expenditures from maritime tariffs and local tax expenses."

After hearing this, Xia Yuanji had to say, "Since the emperor has set rules, I will submit a memorial to ask for an order after returning to the yamen, sign the blue letter, and borrow coins from Baochaoku (Central Bank Warehouse)."

Zhu Gaoxu slapped his forehead and found Hu Guang, a bachelor of Hanlin Academy, from the crowd, and said, "After a while, Mr. Hu wrote an imperial edict to be assigned to the Ministry of Revenue directly under the Ministry of Revenue. From now on, the Ministry of Revenue will take charge of all parts of the country and be clear about taxes."

Hu Guang bowed and said, "I will receive the order."

Zhu Gaoxu said to Xia Yuanji: "I hope the Ministry of Revenue will assume the power of central finance. Xia Jun encourages it."

Xia Yuanji bowed his hands with a serious expression and responded.

Zhu Gaoxu also said: "In the past year, I have issued an order to stop issuing the Daming Baochao and minting coins. This national policy does not simply use silver coins and copper coins to replace the Baochao. My wish is to solve some of the accumulated problems of the imperial court for many years through monetary and fiscal strategies.

First, deflation means that the market has a long-term shortage of money and insufficient currency. As the country is peaceful and the actual prices of various goods such as grain continue to fall, some officials celebrate, thinking that it is a manifestation of material abundance.

This statement is not wrong, but I do not think it is a good thing. Because the currency cannot keep up with the economic level, the price of goods has fallen year by year, and the things produced are difficult to sell; this will inhibit grain, and the continued increase in goods will be extremely unfavorable to wealth growth.

Rich rich households must store coins, gold and silver instead of using them for business. The reason is very simple. If you can buy two stones of rice this year, but three stones next year, it is best to store coins instead of spend them. A large amount of gold and silver coins stagnate in the cellar, which will cause more serious deflation.

Therefore, the central bank must strictly prohibit private collection of gold and silver, limit the weight of private collection of gold and silver jewelry, and maintain a certain slow depreciation rate of currency so that production can develop."

He paused and said: "Secondly, land annexation, cultivated land is concentrated in a few wealthy households year by year. More and more people are extremely poor, which affects the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty and the collection of agricultural taxes, causing financial difficulties in the court.

I have sent people to investigate secretly from many parties, and the reasons for land annexation are very complicated. But there is one major issue that can be alleviated through monetary policy, which is to curb high-interest loans.

In addition to hiding coins, rich local households have another way to make a living by raising interest rates. Generally, the victims use land pledges, and profits cannot be repaid, so they can easily lose their land. Therefore, the central bank needs to support state-owned money houses, and Dashangbang money houses lend at reasonable interest, providing funds for those who are short of money. In short, they can use capital-based methods to adjust national policies and try not to use rough decrees to restore the credit reputation of the court."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Third, the problem of the decentralized supply system of military and government offices in various places. Under the scattered supply system, a county sometimes needs to supply more than a dozen local materials. It cannot be sufficient or guaranteed quality; it also causes great burdens on local people and often has to borrow money to survive.

The court needed sufficient fiscal revenue, currency circulation, centralized coordination of production, orders, and transportation matters. It reduced the burden on the people, improved military-political efficiency, and at the same time boosted industry and commerce."

After hearing this, everyone talked for a while.

At this time, Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel, said, "The emperor works hard to govern, and intends to make drastic changes. However, everything goes against the ancestors' constitution, and if the upper and lower levels cannot follow it together, the etiquette and law will be shaken. The law will still follow the old rules and will be difficult to change temporarily. If the coins are repeatedly handled in various yamen, there may be treacherous people who are seeking profits. Even if greed becomes a trend, the administration will collapse and must be observed."

No one of the ministers immediately refuted Jian Yi’s remarks. However, Qi Tai stood up and said impartially: “The emperor intends to eliminate bad policies, and the country is very lucky. What Jianbutang said is also reasonable. The sages should be careful.”

Zhu Gaoxu did not argue directly, but smiled at Gao Xianning and said, "I said it right before? Many times, the difficulty lies only in technical issues."

Gao Xianning bent down and said, "The Lord is wise."

Zhu Gaoxu did not scold Jian Yi because Jian Yi was right. For example, the "ancestor-making constitution" involved was indeed very complicated. Some of the issues mentioned by Zhu Gaoxu were really designed by his grandfather. The civil and military dynasty all over the court had been in power for decades, and sudden changes may indeed cause political confusion.

"I am very pleased to leave today. I am very satisfied with all the loyal court. We should be cautious and take a long-term plan for major issues." Zhu Gaoxu said.

After hearing this, the ministers bowed and thanked each other.

However, Zhu Gaoxu's determination was not shaken at all by one or two admonitions from the ministers. He always firmly believed that with the current level of productivity development, the ruling system that has not changed for thousands of years has actually been no longer suitable for the development of productivity; with the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty and the low state mobilization ability, it is completely inconsistent with the national strength.
Chapter completed!