"What does this mean?"

Li Zhi looked at Han Yi in a daze.

Han Yi said seriously: "After Weichen became the Minister of Revenue, he has been observing the issuance of currency. He found a very big disadvantage, that is, the cost of producing currency in the court is higher than the value of the currency itself. For example, the cost of producing a bottle of perfume is ten cents, but a bottle of perfume is only worth one cents on the market. With the cost of ten cents of perfume, he will be able to produce perfume of perfume. This will cost as much as you produce!

This is the case with the issuance of currency. From mining to producing currency, the high cost is really shocking. In short, you will lose as much as you produce. Although the currency is valuable now and is still appreciating, it is estimated that it will not bring too much income to the court. When the amount of currency on the market is sufficient, the price will definitely fall. However, by then, the court will have to produce millions of coins every year. If this is done, the court will not last for a few years, and this is by no means a long-term solution.”

Li Zhi sighed, "I don't know how I know, but there is no way. This currency is always issued. The people are used to five cents per dou of rice. The court suddenly said that five cents can buy one stone of rice, and the people will not agree."

The biggest problem of currency in the Tang Dynasty was that the cost of producing currency was higher than the value of the currency itself. After all, the technology was extremely limited, which required a lot of manpower and material resources, and there was still a lot of loss in the production process. Although the technology had been improved a lot, there was no way to completely reverse it. Because currency is a special commodity, once the price rose, it means that there would be a big problem, because the price of currency is calculated based on the copper price. If the price of currency is far higher than the copper price, then currency will lose its meaning. This is not a credit currency, it is originally a copper standard. You have to make people believe that this is gold. We play with the gold standard. Isn’t this nonsense?

Han Yi said: "Your Majesty, the technology for producing vouchers is now mature, and the production cost is far lower than the value of the currency itself. If you use vouchers, you can perfectly solve this problem."

Li Zhi said: "Isn't this the same thing? Vouchers can be exchanged for currency. If they cannot exchange for currency, then who dares to use it? It can't be said that the court said that vouchers are valuable, it's valuable."

Han Yi smiled and said, "What if the Wei-Minist can make the people recognize the value of the voucher itself?"

This is OK? Then the court will have no money in the future, so it’s enough to print vouchers. I really don’t feel too good.

Li Zhi said in surprise: "How is this possible?"

Han Yi smiled and said, "According to statistics from the Ministry of Revenue, by next year, the number of private currency gaps may reach three million guan."

Li Zhi exclaimed: "So many?"

You should know that the Tang Dynasty now has only a few hundred thousand chunks of currency issued every year, and the gap is several times the amount issued. This is too exaggerated.

Han Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that the court has not issued currency for four years. Before the crisis, the amount of currency issued has gradually increased from 290,000 to 480,000. In the past four years alone, it has almost 2 million. In addition, the current productivity increase, three million is a conservative estimate."

During the crisis, the government closed down, and the market was the hard currency, and the currency had been forgotten.

Li Zhi wondered: "But the people didn't need so much money in those years."

Han Yi said: "But if it weren't for that crisis, the issuance of currency would have increased steadily. This was originally a process of accumulation, proving that the entire market demanded so much currency. However, because of that crisis, many people used a large amount of currency to mint copper mirrors in recent years to exchange for food with landlords. Because the currency was no longer valuable at that time, the currency on the market did not increase but decreased.

Now after the two years of stability, the scale of production has far exceeded before the crisis. At the same time, many farmers have come to the city to work, and more and more people need money, and the other is increasing, and the demand for money is naturally greater. However, because of His Majesty's copper hoarding plan and the improvement of coin minting technology over the years, a complete set of new coin production lines have been created. If it is really necessary, the court can still issue so many currencies. If there is enough raw materials and full production, the production volume can reach up to five million guan."

Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this and said, "Then what else are you talking about?"

"But only Your Majesty and the Messenger know about this!"

"What do you mean?"

Isn't this straightforward enough? Of course it's a fraud. I can't do anything except cheating! Han Yi said: "Except for Your Majesty and the Husband, all the ministers in the court, including the private merchants, will believe that it is impossible to produce so much currency now in financial difficulties. But if there is not enough currency support, merchants will face a currency crisis, and many workshops with private coins will surely emerge, which will disrupt the market and bring incomprehensible losses.

But if there is enough currency in the market, my Tang Dynasty economy will soar. For example, if you hold a bucket of rice in your hand, it will be difficult for you to find someone who needs that bucket of rice. But if you hold a five cent in your hand, although the value of the two is equal, you can easily spend it. Nowadays, merchants produce a lot of goods, and the people also have demands, but there is no currency. If there is sufficient currency, it can expand the entire market. This is why merchants are very eager for the imperial court to issue more currency, because it is very beneficial to them."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "What do you mean is to hide this fact first?"

"good."

Han Yi said: "On the one hand, the people have a very large demand for money, and it has even reached its peak. However, on the other hand, the court cannot issue so many currencies, so the two sides have to stand together and make compromises so that the problem can be solved."

Li Zhidao: "What you call compromise is issuing vouchers?"

Han Yi nodded.

Li Zhi frowned and said, "Will they agree? I still don't believe it."

Han Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, what I emphasized is that the court is not without raw materials. Not only do we have enough copper, we also have a lot of copper ore, but we cannot cast these copper into currency in a short period of time. It is Your Majesty that you have the people and the country. In order to meet the needs of the people and make the people live a better life, the court issued those coppers in the form of vouchers. The meaning of vouchers has not changed, but it is still some copper, which has not been minted into coins. With these coppers as a guarantee, and with the people's demand for money, I think they will compromise.

This greatly reduces the cost of issuing currency. In addition, in order to reduce the risk, the court can mint three million coins in advance, but only half is issued and half is hidden. If a crisis occurs, at least we still have a guarantee. But if it goes well, that half can be left for later issuance. Over time, the vouchers will become legal currency."

"This is a great idea!"

Li Zhi's eyes lit up.

He is not stupid either. After Han Yi's analysis, this is definitely possible.

Using copper storage to issue vouchers does not change the meaning of vouchers, nor does it change the existing monetary system. It is just a stopgap solution, but this can solve the current urgent needs and lay the foundation for future issuance of paper money. The key is that there is a guarantee and you are not afraid of chaos. This is just an experiment. If it doesn't work, then I just need to take out the copper coins to make up for it.

This is actually a typical Han Yi plan. He usually calculates that there will be a crisis here, but he will never say it, because only when the crisis breaks out or is about to come can the people in power and the people make compromises, and then he can get all the benefits he wants from it. This trick has been tried and true.

He had known about the currency issue for a long time, but he had never mentioned it. He was just preparing secretly. When everyone was hungry and thirsty, we would sit down and talk slowly, and he would have the dominance.

The entire copper hoarding plan was not to make money for the court or Li Zhi, but to lay the foundation for issuing paper money.

Li Zhi said again: "You proposed this suggestion, and the voucher was originally made by you, so I will leave this matter to your Ministry of Revenue."

"Ministry of Revenue?"

Han Yi was stunned for a moment and said, "I didn't say that the Ministry of Revenue will issue it!"

Li Zhidao: "When the imperial court issues vouchers, of course, it must be issued by the Ministry of Revenue!"

Han Yi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is not possible. If the court is allowed to issue it, the people will not agree at all."

Li Zhi wondered, "This currency has always been issued by the court!"

Han Yi said: "Your Majesty, if the court issued vouchers, then I know how much copper the court has and how many vouchers the court issued. The court does not even need to collect taxes, just print vouchers directly. If this is the case, the entire country's finances will collapse. The ministers have always emphasized that the responsibility of the court is to supervise, balance, rather than to compete with the people for profit."

Li Zhi asked, "Then how do you think it should be released?"

Han Yi said: "The copper is mortgaged to Jinxing and Yuanxing, and the goldxing and Yuanxing will issue vouchers on their behalf."

Li Zhi said cautiously: "It will be issued by Jinxing and Yuanxing?"

Han Yi knew what Li Zhi meant, but he was not guilty at all. He said frankly: "Your Majesty, this is actually the same as issuing treasury bonds. Why was it so successful at issuing treasury bonds so successfully? It was not only because of the Jinxing and Yuanxing at that time. In addition, there was also the imperial court supervising it. The people thought it was clear that if the Jinxing and Yuanxing randomly issued treasury bonds, they would suffer losses. The imperial court would allow it. However, the Jinxing and Yuanxing are private and have strong financial resources. If something goes wrong, they can go directly to the Jinxing and Yuanxing for money. The Jinxing and Yuanxing will not secretly collude with the imperial court, so the national debt can be sold so smoothly.

The same is true for issuing vouchers, which means that the court mortgages copper to the Jinxing and Yuanxing and collects vouchers. At that time, the production technology of vouchers can also be divided into three parts, and the imperial court, the Jinxing and Yuanxing each master some of the technology. After the court decides to issue vouchers, the three parties will go to the same place, take out their own technology and print vouchers.

In addition, the court has to send several departments to jointly supervise. In fact, the dominance is always in the hands of the court. How much to print, when to issue it, is decided by the court, but it is just that the most expensive production rights are handed over to the Jinxing and Yuanxing, but at the same time, it also improves the credit of the vouchers. If it is to be more blunt, it is also to avoid the court's excessive printing of vouchers and officials seeking personal gain from it."

Li Zhi nodded slightly. He could take care of himself, but he couldn't take care of the officials below. If the officials could print vouchers, then the officials wouldn't take care of so many, just print them to death. After all, this is also the art of balance that he is best at, and said: "Does the Jinxing, Yuanxing produce vouchers for the court for free?"

Han Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, as a businessman, I think it would be shameless if Jinxing and Yuanxing ask the court for relevant fees again."

Li Zhi said in surprise: "How do you say this?"

Han Yi said: "Because once the court agrees with the voucher, it can also help the Jinzhan and Yuanzhan sell themselves everywhere, and can improve the credit of the Jinzhan and Yuanzhan. Nowadays, credit is very important, and this is a win-win deal."

"Yes!" Li Zhi smiled and said, "It's really harder to get the advantage of you, a big profiteer!"

Han Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty has been too much, but this has nothing to do with the unscrupulous businessman, because if one party makes a profit and the other party loses, then it can only be a one-time transaction and it cannot last long. Only in a win-win situation can it last long."

You have to admit this kind of thing calmly. The more you deceive, the more suspicious Li Zhi will be. After all, Jin Xing belongs to his family, while Yuan Xing belongs to his wife.

Li Zhi nodded and suddenly said, "What do you mean is to take those vouchers for Yan Shangshu's plan?"

Han Yi nodded and said, "Your Majesty, this voucher is just a piece of paper. It doesn't matter if you don't have to go out. Moreover, the main purpose of the imperial court is to stimulate the economic development of the people, but it cannot be given out for nothing. Therefore, not only Yan Shangshu's plan, but also the salaries of officials should be used all of them. This will also make the people trust the vouchers more, and even encourage the people to pay taxes in the future. In this way, the credit of the vouchers will be higher. Once the credit of the vouchers reaches a very high level, the vouchers may help us collect the wealth of neighboring countries."

Li Zhi was stunned again, why did he jump abroad all of a sudden, and said curiously: "How do you say this?"

Han Yi smiled and said, "Your Majesty, since ancient times, the goods produced in the Central Plains have always been very needed by neighboring countries. Now, my Tang Dynasty manufacturing industry has been further improved, and the quantity and quality have been greatly improved. We can further expand trade and attract more foreign merchants to buy it. If the vouchers issued by the Tang Dynasty can be purchased by the goods produced by the Tang Dynasty, then for other countries, the vouchers have actual value, and they will also use our vouchers, because it is convenient, which is equivalent to the vouchers issued by the Tang Dynasty, and can buy all the goods in the world, so wealth will not flow into my Tang Dynasty."

Vouchers are not paper money. Vouchers and copper coins are directly equivalent. They can be exchanged for copper coins that are worth waiting for at any time. At that time, Han Yi issued vouchers, which was actually regarded as the predecessor of paper money. How to change vouchers into paper money, the only way is to improve the credit of vouchers. Paper money is actually a credit currency. When the credit reaches a peak, it will naturally become a paper money. However, this is a long-term plan, and it will have to develop for many years before vouchers can become paper money.

If Li Zhi was still hesitant just now, but when he heard this, he stopped hesitating and made a decision and did it.
Chapter completed!