Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 268 My Monetary Policy is Too Stable
"Recently, Li Ming, the Tang Dynasty Regent and Minister of the Secretariat, visited Yuan Tiangang and other scientific and technological workers, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for their outstanding contributions to my country's scientific and technological undertakings, and expressed his deep condolences for their injuries on duty.

"Li Ming highly praised Yuan Tiangang's spirit of scientific exploration and called on all people across the country to learn from Comrade Yuan Tiangang.

"Yuan Tiangang expressed his gratitude and believed that scientific and technological development cannot be separated from sacrifice. He is willing to be a "vanguard" and continue to explore the mysteries of heaven and earth with a fearless spirit of sacrifice and contribute to my country's scientific and technological cause."

Pingzhou Puhui Pharmacy, Yuan Tiangang's ward.

"Have you finished writing the press release?" Li Ming asked.

Chief Secretary-General Sun Yan nodded:

"I've finished writing the draft, Brother Ming. Do you want to review it?"

"No need. Let Yuchi Xunyu check it. If there is no problem, it will be sent to various newspapers and will appear in the newspaper tomorrow."

"Okay."

Chang Sunyan left.

Li Ming and Yuan Laodao were the only ones left in the ward.

"So, you found a flaming cenote near the Bohai Sea, and thought it contained 'true qi'. You tried to use a bamboo tube to guide the 'qi' to your Taoist temple, but it accidentally exploded on the way?"

Li Ming asked expressionlessly.

Yuan Tiangang covered his face on the hospital bed:
"Stop talking, stop talking."

Although the promotional materials were written in a high-sounding manner, everyone involved knew that Yuan Tiangang's injury was completely ridiculous.

Based on his own description, it was not difficult for Li Ming to realize that the "burning sinkhole" discovered by Yuan Tiangang on the seashore was actually an open-air natural gas well.

As for the so-called "true qi", it is actually natural gas.

Taoist Yuan was fascinated by the mysterious "Qi" full of fantasy. He felt that it contained the ultimate secret of Taoism, so he decided to take it back and study it carefully.

As a result, one of them was careless and it exploded.

"I am so stupid, really. I just wanted to bring the Qi back to the Taoist temple to see what it is like, but I forgot that since it burns in the pit, it will also burn in the bamboo tube..."

Yuan Tiangang leaned against the pillow, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Li Ming: "..."

He really wanted to pry open the head of this feudal and superstitious science and engineering man and see what was inside.

Natural gas is transported over long distances using bamboo pipes, or from burning natural gas wells.

It's really hard to think of this idea without some imagination.

Fortunately, the explosion was not too severe this time. The "firecracker" only scratched Lao Yuan's skin, which scared him a little, but did not really create a hole in his head.

Otherwise, if something happens to the mineral finder, the loss will be huge and GDP will drop by several points.

"Where is the fire pit?" Li Ming asked.

"It's on the coast at the end of the Binhai Road, just outside Linyu County." Yuan Tiangang adjusted the bandage on his forehead and grimaced in pain.

"Your Highness, please find someone to fill up the pit. It's too dangerous."

"That hole can never be filled." Li Ming stroked his chin and thought.

According to Yuan Tiangang's description, the fire pit was most likely a naturally formed natural gas field with rich oil and gas resources underneath.

Now that he has the energy, Li Ming can start the second industrial revolution as long as he can make a set of drilling equipment and internal combustion engines.

The question is, can a liberal arts student develop Zenith technology with the technological level of the Tang Dynasty?

I'm afraid it won't work even if science and engineering graduates come.

"But it would be a waste to just burn the natural gas like this."

As a grassroots regent who grew up eating only rice and millet, Li Ming hated waste the most.

"Master Yuan, could you please use your geomancy skills to find a few more natural gas... natural fire pits like this along the coast?"

Yuan Tiangang immediately became alert:
"Of course you can, but what do you want to do, Your Highness?"

"Bamboo is not airtight, so what about metal pipes? Can we use metal to make pipes that are less likely to leak?"

Li Ming smacked his lips and said:
"In that case... I want to use this energy to solve the heating problem for the people of Hebei and Goguryeo."

Yuan Tiangang's tactical retreat:
"Your Highness, I suggest you think carefully about this.

“I just put up a bamboo tube several meters long, and the true qi exploded.

"If we put a pipe several miles long and put this dangerous thing into ordinary people's homes... the consequences will be disastrous!"

Li Ming was stunned: "Master Yuan, what are you talking about?"

Yuan Tiangang scratched his head:

"Don't you want to use this natural and readily available fuel to build a complete pipeline network to deliver natural Qi to every household, so that they don't have to burn coal or charcoal, but can burn fires cheaply to keep warm?"

Li Ming stood in awe:

"No, no, no, no, I don't have such a bold idea. Xiao Li, I just want to put a pot on the fire pit to boil seawater to make salt..."

Professor Yuan is, after all, a professor engaged in scientific research. His thinking is more than a thousand years ahead of the times. He skipped over coal briquettes, coal cakes, and gas cylinders and jumped directly to the era of pipeline natural gas.

This is a setting that even the time traveler Li Ming does not dare to adopt easily.

Productivity determines production relations. In the seventh century AD, it was probably quite difficult to hand-roll seamless steel pipes while ensuring that the flammable and explosive natural gas did not leak.

If such a "firecracker" were really installed in every household, the plague would be delivered to every home and eliminated at the designated location by blasting.

Even Ran Min doesn't have such high efficiency in drawing pictures.

Of course, this is a story for the future. The Tang Dynasty couldn't even get enough steel to build pipes.

Even Liaodong, which has the most abundant steel resources, has only just barely achieved "iron pot freedom".

Putting aside the issue of whether there are leaks or not, just thinking about producing thousands of miles of steel pipes is really too much.

"You wanted to make salt? Oh, that's good."

Yuan Tiangang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that His Highness's creative ideas were still within the scope of common sense.

"When you mention it, I remember that I once read a book about the art of Qimen Dunjia during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. In one chapter, it said that there were natural fire wells in Bashu, and that Zhuge Liang, the Marquis of Wu, used these fire wells to boil well salt.

"Specifically, the mouth of the fire well is covered with a stone slab with a hole in the center, a bamboo tube is inserted into the hole, and it is wrapped tightly with lacquered cloth to guide the Qi to the bottom of the salt-boiling stove..."

Professor Yuan was talking, and Li Ming patted him on the shoulder:
"Do good things to the end. After exploring the new fire pit, I would also like to trouble Master Yuan to teach you the technical details of using natural gas to boil salt. I will send someone to assist you."

Yuan Tiangang's mouth twitched and he just wanted to slap himself.

I was just bragging to satisfy my urge to talk, how did I get into trouble again...

…………

"Oh! Master Yuan is so efficient. Has he cooked the first batch of sea salt?

"This salt is really... salty and salty."

A few days later, the first batch of sea salt cooked with natural gas arrived on Li Ming's desk.

how to say……

By 21st century standards, these salts are “full of history,” dark and astringent, rich in many minerals not needed by the human body, and not as good as a stick of industrial refined white salt.

However, during the Tang Dynasty, although this quality could not be considered top-notch, it was good enough for ordinary people.

It’s only been a few days since sorghum and barley were allowed to be produced. Even rice has to be imported. It’s enough to add a little saltiness to the flavor. What else do we need a bicycle for?

The key is that this salt is cheap!
In ancient times, salt production was done by pumping water from salt lakes or salt wells to boil salt, and the bulk of the cost was fuel.

Among firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, firewood is the most important, which shows the importance and scarcity of fuel.

The southern region can also use the sun to dry salt, but these conditions are not available in the Northeast.

Now that the firewood has been paid by God and Lao Yuan, and seawater is free, the salt produced must be super cheap, and the people can eat it to their heart's content!

"Awei, what is the current price of salt in the market?"

Wei Daijia is very familiar with market data:

"Pingzhou and Yingzhou are about 20 wen per dou, and Goguryeo is more expensive.

"Your Highness, do you want to sell the official salt to make up for the fiscal deficit?"

Ave lowered his voice:
“If the finances are really tight and funds are limited, why don’t you learn from Sang Hongyang of the Han Dynasty and temporarily ban the sale of private salt?

"In this way, the people will have no choice but to buy our high-priced salt, which is equivalent to adding another source of fiscal revenue in addition to taxes."

Li Ming raised his eyebrows and looked at Awei.

Ave looked at him.

Although it is often said that the ancient times were a "salt and iron monopoly", this is not absolute.

For example, in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, in order to recuperate, the court reduced taxes and levies, salt was not a monopoly, and the court did not impose heavy "on-site taxes" on the salt fields.

Therefore, the price of salt was not as outrageous as it was in the later period, when it could easily cost several hundred coins per dou.

"Your idea is very creative, a disguised way of increasing taxes on the people?" Li Ming raised the corners of his mouth without smiling.

Wei Daijia could naturally hear the leader's mockery, but he felt that he had no problem and refuted confidently:

"It costs money to send troops to Xueyantuo and Henan, it costs money to provide relief to Hebei, and it costs even more money to provide heating to the disaster victims so they don't freeze to death.

"Now because of the war in Hebei, the government-run trading companies' profits have been cut in half this quarter. Apart from adding some burden to the people, where can the government get the money?

"People will understand that we have to go through this difficult time together. When the hard times are over, we can lower the price as appropriate, or even cancel the salt monopoly altogether."

Li Ming fully understood Wei Daijia's intention.

The so-called governance, to put it nicely, is "local interests are subordinate to overall interests, and immediate interests are subordinate to long-term interests." To put it bluntly, it is just pasting, using Liaodong's resources to subsidize other regions.

However, although Wei Daijia's approach was well-intentioned, the execution would almost certainly go awry.

Li Ming pointed at the table and said:

“It’s hard to collect taxes, but it’s even harder not to collect them. Once the government gets a taste of the sweetness of state-run salt, will they be able to stop themselves?
"Does it mean that my people will only be able to eat salt at exorbitant prices in the future? Without salt, they will have no energy to work."

Wei Daijia was silent for a while, then asked:
"Then how does Your Highness intend to use salt to solve the financial problem?
"A bushel of salt costs 20 copper coins, which is not a high price. Even if we don't count the cost, we can't save much money in total. How can we support the finances of Hebei and Goguryeo?"

Li Ming smiled:

"You still don't have a broad vision. You only focus on the small amount of money you can earn by buying low and selling high." "If the government wants to enrich the finances and solve the heating problem for the disaster victims, there are many ways to do it."

This aroused Wei Daijia's curiosity:

"any solution?"

Li Ming slapped his thigh:
“The problem now is not that salt is too cheap, but that salt is too expensive!
"They're selling it for 20 wen a bushel. Why don't you go and rob it? What will the common people do if they can't afford salt?"

"No, I have to help my family get the price down to ten cents a bucket!"

This set of reverse operations directly confused Wei Daijia.

"Your Highness, you can't do this! Twenty wen is really the lowest price, otherwise the finances will be ruined! The people of Hebei are still starving, and the people of Goguryeo are still eating grass..."

"However," Li Ming added slowly:
"Ten cents for a bushel of salt is conditional. Not everyone can buy it."

Oh?
Wei Daijia heard the hidden meaning.

"What are the conditions your highness mentioned?"

“Consumers have to buy it with paper money.”

…………

Li Ming had already used the paper currency trick when he was Tongpingzhangshi, helping Chang'an overcome the money shortage crisis.

Although this policy was effective, it was short-lived and ended when Li Ming died (fled).

Because Liaodong was far away from Chang'an and had not encountered a money shortage crisis, paper money had never been used, and most people had never even heard of it.

Li Ming will take advantage of this financial crisis to completely reverse this incorrect concept of money, promote the use of paper money, and make transactions more convenient.

At the same time, the government can fully control the monetary policy, carry out counter-cyclical adjustments, and over-issue banknotes to collect inflation taxes or something.

But how easy is it to roll out paper money across the board?

After all, it involves the vital interests of everyone, and it cannot be forcibly changed by a single administrative order.

Although the decree was issued personally by His Highness Li Ming, the people of Northeast China, who are full of martial virtues, may not necessarily rebel directly.

But under Hayek's control, the public would almost certainly pretend to obey the paper currency policy, either by finding excuses to refuse to accept it or by creating something like a "black market".

The same thing happened in Chang'an. If it weren't for the money shortage, which merchant would accept light paper instead of heavy metal currency?
When the money shortage was over and Li Ming fled, you see, didn't the paper money immediately become waste paper?
Therefore, to fully expand the use of paper money, the key is to make the people accept this new thing imperceptibly.

This requires some governance skills.

And cheap salt is the key to everything.

…………

"Salt, only ten cents a bushel? Is that true?"

The next day, a piece of breaking news spread widely among shopping housewives.

"I don't know either. Anyway, that's what was written in the Pingzhou Daily yesterday."

"Does what's written in the newspaper count?"

"Such a big thing, written in black and white, how could it be false?"

"The market isn't far away anyway, let's go and take a look!"

For a housewife who is very careful with her money, what could be more tempting than “salt is half the price over there”?

It's just a matter of taking two more steps.

Li Ming abolished the Lifang system. People no longer had to travel far to the East and West Markets to open shops or stalls, so shopping was very convenient.

The housewives soon arrived at a government-run salt shop, where there was already a long queue in front of the shop.

Next to the team, staff members kept shouting back and forth:

"This shop only accepts payment in banknotes. This shop only accepts payment in banknotes..."

Paper money?

The housewives looked at each other:
"Xiao Lang, what is paper money?"

The man pointed to the rice shop next door:
"Go to the bank and exchange it for copper coins."

The people are already familiar with the bank. There must be one next to the government-run rice shop. The government bonds were bought there. Even if they don't do business, the people buy rice there every day and can get familiar with it just by looking at it.

They went there half-believing and half-doubting, and each spent ten cents, and actually bought a piece of paper from the small shop.

"Ten coins" were written on it, and in order to take care of those who could not read, a total of ten copper coins were thoughtfully drawn.

Using this strange piece of paper, the housewives actually bought a full pound of salt.

"The salt shop can just collect money directly, why do they have to go through a 'paper currency'? Isn't this just like taking off your pants to fart?"

Everyone was very puzzled and kept discussing it all the way.

His Highness Li Ming is like this. He would slap his head and implement a new policy from time to time.

For example, the abolition of the lifang system and curfew was also his idea. At that time, tearing down the lifang wall caused quite a stir.

Unexpectedly, the results were quite good. People’s lives became much more convenient and business became more prosperous.

But this time the policy of exchanging paper money for salt was a bit abstract, and they didn't figure it out until they got home.

A few days passed like this, and the shops selling official salt continued to accept paper money, and banks continued to offer the service of exchanging copper coins for paper money.

Gradually, the clever and resourceful people suddenly discovered the special uses of these colorful papers:

Why not use paper money to partially replace copper coins for trading and circulation?

Anyway, paper money can definitely be exchanged for salt, and salt is a necessity in life that everyone cannot live without.

The advantage is convenience!
A string of coins weighs six or seven pounds and takes up a lot of space, so it has to be tied around the waist.

If converted into paper money, it can be done with just a few pieces of paper, making it very convenient to do business.

Besides, there is no need to worry about problems such as insufficient weight and wear and tear.

The common people thought they were very clever, and in addition to eating salt themselves, they began to exchange the excess banknotes at the bank.

…………

"Oh? The total amount of salt sold was 20,000 strings, and 100,000 strings of paper money have been printed?"

Li Ming listened to Wei Daijia's report and nodded with satisfaction.

This was equivalent to creating 80,000 strings of monetary credit out of thin air, and the progress had far exceeded his expectations.

Sure enough, it is human nature to be greedy for small gains.

Only by using small favors to induce the people to try the benefits of paper money can they be tempted.

Using "salt", a commodity that everyone cannot live without, as a currency anchor is the underlying logic of this currency reform.

This is also to learn from the successful experience of "Shandong Currency" during the base area period.

Next, by further expanding the basket of commodities to which the paper currency is anchored, the basis for issuing currency can be expanded accordingly.

He looked at Fang Yize standing beside him with a smile.

Xiaofang's complexion was obviously much better than in the previous few days.

His expression was proportional to the amount of copper coins lying in the treasury.

"How about it? Now that the money printing machine is in our hands, do you feel more confident?" Li Ming asked with some pride.

What is a money printing machine... Fang Yize was in a good mood today, so he ignored this question and suggested:
"Ming's idea is good, but the front-line expenses are huge. We need to speed up the application of paper money throughout society as soon as possible. I have a plan."

Li Ming: "What's the plan?"

Fang Yizhe: "How about abolishing the current in-kind tax, which is mainly grain and cloth, and requiring that taxes must be paid in paper money to induce farmers to use paper money?"

Regarding this fantastic idea, Li Ming said:

"Your suggestion is very good. Don't suggest it again in the future. Every time when it comes to paying taxes, farmers have to sell their grain in bulk. You are afraid that the price of grain and cloth will collapse, right?"

The biggest problem with monetary tax is that it can easily cause low grain prices and hurt farmers.

So while Li Ming was carrying out drastic reforms on the currency, he was also being cautious about tax reforms.

The government's policies must be flexible and tense in moderation, and they cannot be too big and cause trouble.

"But the front line is in urgent need of money, and 100,000 strings of cash is of no use at all. What should we do?" Fang Yize spread his hands, indicating that a good cook cannot cook without rice.

"What's the big deal?" Li Ming waved his hand lightly: "The printing press is in someone else's hands anyway, so why not just print more money?"

This... Fang Yize looked at Wei Daijia.

Wei Daijia couldn't bear it any longer and whispered:

"Your Highness, can Yuan Tiangang cook so much salt? What if the common people use paper money to buy salt and can't take it out?"

"That's easy. From tomorrow on, all government-run stores will accept paper money as payment." Li Ming began his next plan:
"It's not limited to salt. Whether you're buying rice, flour, cloth, or farm tools and iron pots, you can use paper money. Taxes can also be paid with paper money, but it's not mandatory.

"In this way, we won't be afraid that ordinary people will rush to buy salt with all the paper money that has been printed, right?"

After they thought about it, they realized that this was indeed the case.

With more choices of goods, there will be no risk of everyone scrambling for a particular product, causing the product to sell out and the currency to collapse.

As long as there are always goods on the shelves, this monetary system backed by physical goods will always work.

Isn’t this much more reliable than some vague so-called “credit”?
"Paper money is much more convenient than copper coins, and people are flocking to it. In this way, all the copper coins in the world will be in the treasury!"

Fang Yize showed a long-lost smile.

The greatest joy of a chief financial officer is that the money in the account is always enough for expenses and there is no need to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Brother Ming is still bad enough (crossed out) but resourceful!
From the very beginning, when he started hoarding and reselling supplies from the palace, his ability to make money was visibly getting stronger day by day!
Li Ming nodded: "Yes. In addition to paying the soldiers' salaries abroad and dealing with foreign trade, the other copper coins are of great use to me."

Fang Yize: "What's the use?"

Li Ming: “It’s melted.”

Fang Yizhe: “???”

His expression, which had just brightened up, quickly fell again.

(End of this chapter)