Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"Wuji, I really want to open your head and take a look to see what's going on in your head and why you can always come up with these weird things."

Emperor Chongzhen stared at Zhang Shikang seriously.

When Zhang Shikang told the story, Emperor Chongzhen listened very carefully. He was confused at first, but as Zhang Shikang continued to tell the story, he soon understood Zhang Shikang's thoughts.

I have to say that if the Ming Dynasty had such a money shop directly under the imperial court, it would seem that everyone would be able to make money.

This is incredible!

"If Your Majesty pries my head open, you will lose me forever." Zhang Shikang laughed.

"How do you plan to set up the state-owned bank that Lord Zhang mentioned?" Hai Zhongqi asked in a deep voice.

The implication, of course, is that Zhang Shikang's money shop plan was approved.

Although he still couldn't stand Zhang Shikang's cynical attitude, as the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty, he had no reason not to implement anything that could truly generate income for the court and benefit the people.

“This is a big project, and it should be done at least in counties, with a bank in each county.

Every money shop needs at least one manager and several clerks.

But running a money-lending business is different from any other business. Whether you are a manager or a clerk, you must not only be literate, but also know how to count, and it would be best if you are proficient in it.

In addition, the construction of a money house must be more stable than ordinary buildings, and it is best to choose building materials that are fire-resistant.

Maybe use stone, which is stronger than wood.

Oh, and by the way, it would be best to have a few skilled guards to prevent robbery.

Let me think about it... Well, that's it for now. If there's anything else you need to add, I'll tell you later."

Seeing that Hai Zhongqi's face was getting uglier and uglier, Zhang Shikang decisively shut his mouth.

"Lord Zhang, do you know how many counties there are in the Ming Dynasty?

Do you know how much money this will cost?" The middle-stage sea level basically shouted.

He was really a little impatient. Zhang Shikang definitely had a grudge against the money in the national treasury. He spent nearly 100 million taels a year and was still not satisfied.

"Look at you, Elder Hai, you are anxious again.

It's not good to be angry all the time, it's bad for your health!" Zhang Shikang quickly advised.

But it would have been worse if he hadn't advised. Hai Zhongqi turned his face away and simply ignored him.

"How many counties are there in our Ming Dynasty?" Zhang Shikang asked when he didn't understand.

But Hai Zhongqi refused to answer this idiotic question. As a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty, he didn't even know how many counties there were in the Ming Dynasty.

In the end, the Minister of Rites Cai Guoyong could not stand it anymore and whispered to Zhang Shikang:

"Master Zhang, there are 1,427 counties in the Ming Dynasty, but some places, such as those with many chieftains, are not included in this statistics."

"So much! Oh, that's indeed a considerable expense." Zhang Shikang looked as if he had suddenly realized something.

Hai Zhongqi turned his face again, thinking that Zhang Shikang had finally come to his senses. After all, it would cost too much money.

But in the end, Zhang Shikang said:

"But the money should still be spent. It doesn't matter whether you spend it early or late, so why not spend it early?

The sooner the money house is established, the court and the people can enjoy the benefits brought by the money house sooner.

Is this the truth, Mr. Hai?"

It's you, you big-headed ghost! Hai Zhongqi didn't answer and turned his head away again.

As a result, the court discussion came to a deadlock.

Although building the money house was definitely the job of the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue disagreed and there was no money to start construction.

Finally, it was Emperor Chongzhen who spoke:

"Don't be angry, Mr. Hai. If we follow Wuji's idea and build a bank like this, how much silver would it cost?"

When the emperor asked, Hai Zhongqi certainly didn't dare to lose his temper, so he said:

"To prevent fire, we need to use more stone materials. Money houses need cellars to store silver, and they must be reinforced cellars.

If the money shop was run by the imperial court, officials would need to be sent to manage it, and the hired clerks would have to be literate and know how to do math. I think they would have to be at least scholars, and they would also have to hire special guards.

Considering the transportation costs of various building materials such as stone, and the cost of craftsmen..."

As Hai Zhongzhong spoke, he roughly estimated the cost, then he paused for a moment and continued:

"If we don't consider the regional differences, a bank like this would need about 11,000 taels of silver, and would have to pay a lot of salary every month."

"It's not a lot!" Zhang Shikang replied immediately.

Even if he opened 1,500 stores, it would only be 15 million taels of silver.

"You..." Hai Zhongqi was so angry at Zhang Haikang that he was speechless.

More than 10 million taels of silver, that is a huge fortune and how many things can be done with it. No one understands it better than the Minister of Revenue.

"But this silver has to be spent. It is related to the court's future revenue increase. The transformation of the monetary system also depends on this money house." Zhang Shikang continued to insist.

Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and said:

"Master Hai, I remember that there are still a lot of jewelry and paintings that were seized from the previous confiscation stored in the Taicang, right?"

If the money was spent in this way, the treasury would most likely be used up soon, and Emperor Chongzhen would have no choice but to move on to the large number of antique calligraphy and paintings.

Some of these things were originally sold through the Ministry of Revenue, but thanks to the wealthy families in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Shikang almost seized them all in one year.

As a result, the antique calligraphy and paintings could not be sold at the desired price, so the court officials at that time decided to delay the sale.

Anyway, whether it is antiques, calligraphy and paintings, or jewelry and jade, they will not depreciate. When the people of the Ming Dynasty have money in the future, they can be sold.

Nearly 100 million taels of silver have been spent this year alone. I guess there must be some wealthy people among the people.

“Selling those antique porcelains should help ease the financial burden on the national treasury.

Moreover, doing so is what Wuji said, increasing the circulation of currency!" Emperor Chongzhen joked.

That large number of antique calligraphy and paintings came from the Donglin Party, gentry, bureaucrats, landlords and merchants, accounting for at least half of the luxury goods in the Ming Dynasty. A batch had been sold before, but the value of the remaining ones was at least 300 to 400 million taels.

"Your Majesty, if you are sure you want to build a money house, I will send people to prepare to sell those things after the New Year." Hai Zhongqi said reluctantly.

If you want to sell antiques at a suitable price, you must at least promote them first and attract wealthy people who are interested. It is best to use bidding, which requires a lot of thought.

"I think this is a good thing and we should do it." Emperor Chongzhen made his final conclusion.

No matter how dissatisfied Hai Zhongqi and others were, they had to accept it. Zhang Shikang quietly gave Brother Chongzhen a thumbs up to thank him for his support.

But he was too happy too early, Emperor Chongzhen then said:

"If the treasury is short of money in the future, please remember to ask him for it."

Zhang Shikang immediately became unhappy. He said, "I'm not that shameless. I proposed it for the good of the court. Why did this happen to me?"

Can't the production team's donkey be used like this?

Hai Zhongqi and others suddenly felt a lot more balanced.

……