GBP Chapter 201 Clean up some fancy but useless new tricks!
Chapter 201 Clean up some fancy but useless new tricks!
Even after returning to the backyard of the county government office, Magistrate Yang still couldn't figure out how to solve the marketing problem of "Xu Jin Huan".
It doesn't really matter, since it will take several months for the silkworms to grow into moths. Besides, Ningyang County didn't raise many silkworms this time, so even if they all grow into moths, they won't be able to make many pills. Therefore, there's no need to rush into marketing.
What Magistrate Yang never expected was that just as he returned to the county office to focus on his own slump once again, Wang Qiong, the interpreter who had only been away from Ningyang County for a short time, returned to Ningyang County once more.
Upon seeing Magistrate Yang, Wang Qiong greeted him with a smile and a cupped hand, saying, "Brother Yang, I'm here to bother you again."
Magistrate Yang laughed heartily twice and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Brother Wang, what are you saying? I'm overjoyed that you've come to Ningyang County. There's no question of you bothering me."
Yang Shaofeng led Wang Qiong to the main hall of the back office and had water boiled and tea brewed before tentatively asking, "Has the matter of preferential treatment for students been resolved?"
Wang Qiong nodded and replied, "It's been resolved, and not only the issue of preferential treatment for students has been resolved, but also the issue of rural gentry has been resolved."
Upon hearing Wang Qiong's statement, Magistrate Yang gasped and asked, "Should we resolve this all at once?"
Although he had been somewhat prepared, Yang Shaofeng was still taken aback when he heard the definite news. After all, Wang Qiong was not only saying that the issue of preferential treatment for students had been resolved, but also that the issue of rural gentry had been resolved as well.
To put it bluntly, the gentry were not simply composed of scholars who had no intention of entering officialdom, nor were they simply composed of rural landlords.
Strictly speaking, the gentry group included retired officials, scholars who had no intention of serving in government, landlords with large land holdings, and wealthy merchants with large fortunes. These people had intricate connections between the common people and the imperial court, and any emperor would have to think twice before acting when it came to their interests.
What did Wang Qiong say in the end?
Solved at the same time!
However, Wang Qiong once again gave an affirmative answer: "It's all resolved. From now on, the scholars who leave the school will no longer be Confucian households but ordinary households. The gentry will also have to pay taxes and perform duties in the same way. The corresponding official documents should be sent to Ningyang County in about ten days to half a month."
Yang Dazhi thought for a long time before suddenly asking, "Is it because of Chang Pingzhang?"
Wang Qiong nodded and laughed, “Brother Yang is indeed amazing—that’s right, it’s because of Chang Pingzhang. Actually, it’s not just because of Chang Pingzhang, but also because of Prime Minister Xu and Marshal Tang. Although they didn’t bring troops back to the capital like Chang Pingzhang, they still have Chang Pingzhang’s five thousand iron cavalry. Even if someone is dissatisfied, they can only grit their teeth and bear it.”
That's true.
After all, Chang Yuchun brought back five thousand iron cavalry to the capital. Although the Jiangnan region was not very suitable for cavalry charges, as the main base of Emperor Zhu Chongba, there were still a large number of infantry stationed in the Jiangnan region. With the addition of five thousand iron cavalry, no one dared to openly object. It was just unknown what kind of turmoil would occur in the court.
Just as Magistrate Yang was pondering this, Wang Qiong once again cupped his hands towards Magistrate Yang and said, "Brother Yang, I have a few things to tell you about my visit to Ningyang County this time."
Yang Shaofeng, full of curiosity, gave an "oh" and asked, "Which matters are you referring to?"
Instead of answering directly, Wang Qiong had his servant bring over a small box he carried with him and pushed it in front of Magistrate Yang, saying, "The first thing is about the paper money—this box contains the first batch of paper money printed by the Paper Money Management Office. His Highness specifically asked me to bring it to Brother Yang."
Yang Shaofeng was immediately intrigued and reached out to open the box, picking up the precious paper money that Wang Qiong had mentioned and examining it.
Good heavens, the people in the Treasury of Paper Money are really lazy.
Or rather, Emperor Zhu Chongba and all the officials in the Ming Dynasty court were quite lazy.
Because the box contained banknotes in denominations of 100 guan, 10 guan, 1 guan, 100 wen, 10 wen, and 5 wen, which were basically the same denominations that Magistrate Yang had told Wang Qiong before, with only one additional denomination of 1 wen.
Magistrate Yang, full of curiosity, held up the one-coin note and shook it, asking, "Isn't the cost of producing this one-coin note more than a one-coin coin?"
Wang Qiong nodded and said, "It was after His Majesty discussed it with Prime Minister Li and Mr. Qingtian that the final decision was made to increase this one-coin paper money."
Seeing that Magistrate Yang still looked puzzled, Wang Qiong explained, "His Majesty said that even if ordinary people have ten or a hundred strings of cash, they might not be willing to spend it. They will use this one coin the most. So this one coin might pass from Zhang San's hand to Li Si's hand, and its actual value should be far greater than one coin."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback, wondering to himself, "Is this how it's calculated?"
Forget it, I barely know anything about things like a country's currency issuance, and my knowledge of economics isn't much better than those carpenters in Ningyang County. I'd rather not concern myself with such trivial matters.
Furthermore, the reason why the Ming Dynasty's official banknotes were ruined in history had almost nothing to do with the size of the denomination or the cost of minting. On the contrary, it was inseparable from the old tyrant Zhu Chongba.
For example, excessive issuance and the failure to allow the people to use the money to pay taxes after issuance were the root causes of the Ming Dynasty's paper money's rapid devaluation and eventual near-worthlessness.
After silently complaining to himself, Magistrate Yang looked at Wang Qiong and asked, "I wonder how His Majesty and the officials of the court plan to promote the use of paper money? If the people have paper money, can they use it to pay taxes?"
Wang Qiong nodded and replied, "Yes, His Majesty said that wherever copper coins can be used, paper money can also be used. As for how to implement it... isn't that why I brought paper money to Ningyang County to see Brother Yang?"
Yang Shaofeng looked at Wang Qiong with a bewildered expression. "So, the paper money is going to be piloted in Ningyang County first, and then rolled out across the entire Ming Dynasty? No, Brother Wang, have you considered that if people from other places bring paper money to Ningyang County, I can accept it, but if I take it to other prefectures and counties, will those other prefectures and counties accept it?"
Besides, did you, Zhu Chongba, even understand how to prevent counterfeiting before rushing to issue paper money?
Thinking of this, Magistrate Yang simply picked up the banknotes in his hand and examined them carefully.
"In the second year of the Hongwu reign, the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty was in charge of the Treasury of Paper Money."
"One article"
"Made by craftsman [name] of [workshop name] on [date]"
"Number of Class A, No. X"
"Forgers will be executed along with their entire family."
It looks quite convincing, with the seal of the Treasury, the face value, the craftsman's name, the date of manufacture, a handwritten serial number, and even a threatening declaration of extermination of nine generations of relatives, along with a whole bunch of complicated patterns, which I suppose are for anti-counterfeiting purposes.
But did that old man ever consider whether ordinary people could understand what was written on it?
Every day, we get rid of all these fancy but useless new tricks!
Tsk tsk, it's fortunate that this old man had foresight, knowing to pilot it in Ningyang County first—at least most people in Ningyang County could recognize the denominations, making it much easier for them to accept.