Chapter 632

Episode 632 Now in Beijing... (2)

That evening, Hyang, who returned to Gangnyeongjeon and looked at the documents again, burst into laughter.

“If it were the current Ming situation, the Ming emperor would want to throw the emperor away, right?”

Hyang’s joke was true.

In the deepest part of the Forbidden City, at the shrine where the memorial tablets of past emperors were kept, Emperor Gyeongtae’s mournful cries erupted every morning and evening.

“What should I do! “Please give me an answer!”

* * *

People’s biggest problem was finances.

In order to run the country properly, finances had to be sound, and for this to happen, revenues and expenditures had to be well balanced.

However, after the war, a huge hole was left in the people’s revenue.

As the Gyeonghang Grand Canal was cut off and most of the central region was devastated, it was impossible to properly return to the industrial zone in the northern central region.

Another major source of tax was the granary area of Gangnam, but due to the merchants who took the lead in selling off the stalls, proper tax revenue was not generated.

This was because taxes became a huge burden on farmers who sold grain at low prices.

Gyeongtaeje, who was worried about how to pay the soldiers who maintained the northern front and the cost of clothing and feeding them, presented his own solution to the ministers.

“How about printing money in large quantities?”

As soon as the Gyeongtae Emperor’s proposal came out, all the ministers, starting with the Cabinet Secretary, responded with one voice.

“Absolutely not!”

“No, this is not going to happen!”

“what is the reason!”

In response to Emperor Gyeongtae’s cries, which were almost in a panic, the Cabinet Secretary explained the reason with a desperate expression.

“your majesty! Currency can only exist as currency if it can be exchanged for something of the same value as the amount stamped on it. With the current state of affairs, that is impossible! Nevertheless, if we print currency, a situation will arise where transactions are made based on the weight of the currency rather than by the value written on the currency!”

“Ugh...”

In response to the assistant cabinet secretary’s protest, the Gyeongtae Emperor could only utter a groan.

* * * The

reason why the cabinet secretaries and ministers were able to rebel like this was because of the confusion caused by Gyocho (交鈔) at the end of the Yuan Empire and the harmful effects of the Jijeon operated during the reign of Emperor Yongle.

In the late Yuan Dynasty, the value of Gyocho, which had been excessively sold to cover increased war expenses and insufficient tax revenues, eventually plummeted in value, leading to price instability.

In order to cope with the ever-rising prices, more and more bills were issued, and eventually even the conversion was suspended, leading to catastrophe.

In the end, the high inflation that led to the overuse of the teachings became one of the causes of the collapse of the Yuan Empire.

The same was true for the paper coins issued during the reign of Emperor Yongle. Because of the frequent expeditions of Emperor Yongle, the large quantities of coins issued devastated the Ming economy.

Because of this precedent, the Ming Dynasty was very cautious in the management of currency. However, currency management was unavoidable. This was because there were many problems with receiving taxes in kind and operating the extremely large territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, as an alternative to solve this problem, they began to promote a plan to reorganize the sheep tax law that had been in place since that time and pay taxes in silver rather than in kind.

At this time, information came in that Joseon had succeeded in operating its currency.

And upon hearing this, Emperor Seondeok decided to actively manage the currency.

It was more convenient to receive silver than in kind, but silver was also not an item that was easy to store and carry. However, banknotes were easy to carry. Although it was vulnerable to water and fire, what happened after it was released to the civilian population could be treated as a personal misfortune and moved on.

With the strong will of Emperor Seondeok, the manufacturing industry was actively fostered and currency was actively used, and the Ming economy entered a period of revival.

This was the beginning of the golden age of Ming, which later Chinese historians referred to as ‘Xiandeokjichi (宣德之治)’.

* * *

Even in the midst of actively managing the currency, Ming officials did not forget the lessons left by the Qiaoqiao and the teachings taught by Joseon.

-For banknotes to survive, proper convertibility must be guaranteed.

To keep this iron rule, the Ming Dynasty government diligently accumulated silver. It was secured by developing silver mines here and there in the central plains and receiving silver as payment for trade with other countries.

“If you do something wrong, innocent people can be harmed by false accusations!”

Despite opposition from Hyeongbu Sangseo, Hobu Sangseo did not back down.

“It is a damage that can be endured in order to escape from difficult times. And those who will do anything to get even a penny more profit are merchants. How many innocent people are there? Just looking at the current situation, isn’t there a rumor going around all the way from Gangnam to the Forbidden City that they are bribing local officials and covering things up?”

“Isn’t there a situation where there are a bunch of robbers calling themselves martial people or Kangho people around those merchants? “If you do it wrong, it could cause a big bloody storm.”

“joy!”

Ho Bu Sang Seo lightly snorted at Hyeong Bu Sang Seo’s words and bowed his head to Emperor Gyeong.

“The righteous people who shouted ‘loyalty, righteousness, and cooperation’ during the last Japanese raid were gone, and now only the robbers remain. Leaving these people alone is a disgrace to truly righteous people, so they must be punished more firmly. “They may be powerful, but in front of guns, they are nothing but a fuss!”

“Hmm...”

By the side of the book, Emperor Gyeong-tae snorted and fell into trouble. After thinking for a while, Gyeong Tae-je looked back at the cabinet secretary.

“Establish a policy, including the instructions in the book of fortune-telling, and then announce it.”

“I follow your orders.”

“That’s it for today. “I want to rest.”

* * *

“Did I make a mistake?”

When the assistant cabinet secretary returned home that night, he emptied his glass alone and muttered in agony.

“Although Hufusangseo’s plan is risky, it can be of great benefit if successful. However, the confusion that will arise in the process is a problem. No...”

The Cabinet Secretary paused for a moment and sighed.

“The emperor is the problem.”

Gyeongtaeje’s qualities were general-purpose. If there were no problems with his personality, Joo Ji-jin would have had the qualities to be an emperor.

Because a person with such versatile qualities became emperor, the assistant cabinet secretary became concerned.

If Ho Bu Sang Seo’s plan was implemented, chaos would inevitably arise. If it had been Emperor Seondeok, it was certain that the confusion would have been overcome. However, if it were an economic system, there was a significant possibility that it would collapse due to chaos.

“The group called the Murim people is also a problem. “Because they are not afraid of the law of the land...”

They say they are powerless in front of guns, but the group called the Murimin were robbers who were not afraid of the law of the country or death. If such thugs joined forces, there was a high possibility that the national order would be shaken.

“If there is a merchant who dreams of becoming the

king of Lu and Buddha, and he colludes with a group of robbers...” The cabinet secretary, who mentioned the story of Lu and Buddha, who made Jacho, who was a merchant and was held hostage by the state of Chu, as the king of Jangyang, the monarch of Jin, said that he did not want to think about it anymore. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.

While the assistant cabinet secretary was pondering, Nobok came in and said,

“A large guest has arrived.”

“customer? On this night? “Who is it?”

“This is Danju, the king of the royal family.”

“Take us inside!”

* * *

The old merchant, who had been guided in by a servant, greeted the assistant cabinet secretary with a wave of his hand.

“Have you been well so far?”

“It’s just like that. “How are you?”

The head of the cabinet briefly greeted the head of the royal family, one of the country’s top royal families, and asked while handing him a glass.

“What is going on at this late hour?”

“There were strange rumors going around Gangnam, so I hurried to visit.”

“A strange rumor?”

“There are rumors that people claiming to be Joo Yun-moon and Joo Joon-gyu are appearing.”

“What!”

Those who claimed to be Geon Mun-jae and his son, who were said to have committed suicide after being defeated by Emperor Yongrak in the long ago, appeared.