"Master, news is coming from the palace!" A servant walked in from outside, and followed by your little eunuch, obviously this was the one who sent his elder brother to deliver the letter.

"Eunuch Liu, what do I say about my elder brother?" Zhang Xun said anxiously when he saw the little eunuch.

The little eunuch said, "Second Master, our family doesn't know what the godfather said when he came to the house. Our family didn't come to pass messages to the second master, but to deliver letters to the second master." As he said that, the little eunuch took out an envelope from his arms.

Zhang Xun was stunned, but he hurriedly took the envelope.

After looking at the sludge on it, he found that there was no problem. Zhang Xun opened the envelope. He pulled out the letter from it and looked at it a few times. Zhang Xun looked a little strange, and finally sighed helplessly.

"But, send Eunuch Liu out and get another hundred taels of silver for Eunuch Liu."

When the little eunuch heard this, he quickly smiled and said, "I will thank the second master for the reward!"

The little eunuch left with the money, and Zhang Xun sat on the chair, pondered for a while, and could only shake his head with a wry smile. In Zhang Jing's letter, he agreed with Zhang Xun's business, which made Zhang Xun very happy.

But there is one thing that Zhang Xun was still very unhappy, that is, Zhang Jing made a request in his heart.

You can do business, but you cannot use the people of the Ming Dynasty, even if you are a lowly person. In addition, it is not allowed to sell privately, and slaves cannot be sold to others except the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Zhang Xun felt very uncomfortable with this requirement. This was obviously an opportunity to make a big profit, but now he can't do it.

Although Zhang Xun really wanted to ignore his elder brother, Zhang Xun didn't dare. Zhang Xun still knew something about his elder brother Zhang Jing. Although his elder brother was favored in the palace, he was in charge of the East Factory, and even became the first eunuch today.

But his family knows his family affairs, and not talks about others. Zhang Cheng, who is the Imperial Horse Supervisor, is eyeing his elder brother's position.

With Xu De, the newly rising company in the inner factory, his elder brother's status is definitely not as reliable as outsiders imagine. If he dares to do anything out of order, he will definitely be stabbed to the emperor by the inner factory.

Once it affects my elder brother, I will have nothing left.

"I don't know who will be cheaper in such a good business!" Zhang Xun sighed for a while, took his elder brother's letter to the oil lamp and burned it directly.

Zhu Yijun didn't know what Zhang Xun was thinking, even if he knew, Zhu Yijun wouldn't care.

Zhu Yijun is convening a court meeting in the Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.

Those who participated in the court included three cabinet ministers and the newly promoted Wenhua Palace Grand Secretary Wang Yongji. There were also the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Household and Li Shenxing, the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who had just returned from Shanxi.

The Office of the Internal Affairs is getting bigger and bigger, and Li Shenxing's status is becoming more and more important.

Zhu Yijun walked into the hall with a blank expression, glanced across everyone's faces, and then slowly spoke: "I'll find you all my dear friends today, and I have something to discuss with you."

When everyone heard Zhu Yijun's words, their faces became serious.

The Ming Dynasty Rule is being revised. Shuntian Mansion is busy these days. Everyone really doesn’t know what the emperor is going to do. But judging from the emperor’s attitude, things are probably not small!

"I'm looking for your dear friends today for this!"

Zhu Yijun said, and Zhang Jing next to him walked up from behind, holding a big silver ingot in his arms. The big silver ingot made everyone a little dazzled. How heavy is it!

Thirty kilograms!

Zhu Yijun can't tell the weight, it was cast by Zhu Yijun.

The Ming Dynasty has always been short of silver, and the main currency is copper coins, which everyone knows. But there is a time when there is a shortage of silver. It has been twenty years since the Longqing switch.

Although the silver in these twenty years has not been enough to make the Great Understanding, there has definitely been a large amount of money flowing in.

Although it may not necessarily reach 100 million taels, it will not be much different.

You should know that the Ming Dynasty only lacked silver, not without silver. The inflow of these silver directly led to the breeding of some problems. In the past, although the royal family and rich people in the Ming Dynasty knew that silver could be used as currency, more did not regard silver as currency, but instead regarded it as pearls and jade-like jewelry to collect it.

Otherwise, Emperor Zhengde would not have been so stupid that he used silver to build a house directly, which cost 20 million taels of silver. A large amount of silver slept in the palace and the palaces.

However, Zhu Yijun knew that silver would soon depreciate rapidly. By the end of Wanli, the price of one stone of rice would soar to 18 taels of silver, which was rare in the world.

The inflow of silver did not form new purchasing power, create new value, nor promoted innovation. Instead, it was concentrated in the hands of a few officials and businessmen, either invested in land, real estate, or hidden underground in cellars.

The former will cause the land price to become extremely expensive and ordinary people cannot afford it, causing the land to be further concentrated in the hands of the powerful. The latter will turn the results of the "Longqing Switch" into a blank piece of paper.

The inflow of large amounts of silver also brought two new problems. One was that it caused the goods to be expensive and the silver was cheap, leading to inflation. The other was that silver became a circulating currency, which made the Ming Dynasty hand over control of the currency to others.

This problem must be solved. If the currency problem is not solved, no matter how much you make, you will be taken away by someone.

Although Zhu Yijun had never experienced the economic war in later generations, he had also heard of it. Not to mention the collapse of the Soviet Union, Japan's economic collapse alone was a lesson.

You want to buy the things I have worked hard to get? Don’t even think about it.

Monetary reform is imperative!

Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Jing to put the big ingot on his Longshu desk, and then said, "My dear friends, the Ming Dynasty is short of money. Everyone knows this, but do you know where my ingot comes from?"

Everyone was stunned, but they still answered quickly: "I don't know!"

"This is the silver I have asked to get back from Jiangnan." Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Maybe you think these silver is nothing, but I tell you that in Jiangnan, silver has depreciated."

"Maybe my dear friends don't know what depreciation means, I'll explain it to you."

"In the early years of Wanli, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 1,500 copper plates. In the fifth year of Wanli, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 1,400 copper plates. In the tenth year of Wanli, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 1,200 copper plates. In the fifteenth year of Wanli, that is, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 900 copper plates."

"All my dear friends are well-educated people, do you know why?"

Everyone was stunned, and many people turned to look at Zhang Xueyan, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The meaning was very obvious. At this time, the Ministry of Revenue should stand up. This matter is up to you!

Zhang Xueyan glared at the person who looked at him, then took a step out, and then said, "Back to your Majesty, this means that there is more and more silver on the market."

Nodding, Zhu Yijun reached out and gently stroked the big silver ingot in front of him, and said with a smile: "Yes! The silver in the Ming Dynasty is getting more and more, but where did the silver in the Ming Dynasty come from?"

"Back to Your Majesty, since the Longqing switch was opened, the trade between Jiangnan and overseas has become increasingly prosperous. These silvers are used by foreigners to purchase goods." Zhang Xueyan said at this time.

Zhu Yijun nodded again: "Zhang Aiqing is right."

"What good will Zhang Aiqing, so much silver flowing into the Ming Dynasty do to our Ming Dynasty, the people of the world, and to me?" Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Xueyan and asked with a smile.

Money is spent, but if you can’t spend it, it’s waste paper.

If you do not have the identity of currency, exchanging the properties of the Ming Dynasty for foreign silver will definitely be a loss-making transaction. Only when you buy and sell can you buy. If you just sell and don’t buy, this problem will be big.

After listening to Zhu Yijun's words, Zhang Xueyan pondered for a moment, and then her face changed.

"Your Majesty, this!" Zhang Xueyan even got sweaty and said in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, these silvers are harmful to the Ming Dynasty. Please close Yuegang, implement a new sea ban, and restore the ban and the ancestral system that cannot be put into the sea."

Looking at Zhang Xueyan who was a little confused, Zhu Yijun sighed.

This is a smart person. He just pointed out this problem and saw the terribleness of this problem. However, closing Yuegang is not the solution.

When the ministers present heard Zhang Xueyan's words, they all looked at Zhang Xueyan like crazy.

You should know that since the Longqing switch, the Yangtze River trade has flourished. Officials from the imperial court came from Jiangnan, and basically all of them do this at home. You actually want to block Yuegang and have to go into the sea. You are afraid of death not fast enough!

Zhu Yijun knew that there was indeed something wrong with the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade, but the problem was not because of whether to turn on the switch, but because of smuggling.

You should know that in this era, the smuggling industry has become the mainstream of maritime trade. The biggest factor is currency. Most trade uses silver, and the Ming Dynasty did not have a good trade system.

For example, you can buy a piece of cloth when you go to Guangzhou for two taels of silver, but you may only need one tael to go to the smuggling market, and you may only need one tael to buy from the Ming government.

The official trade cannot compete with the private sector at all. Most business travelers who come to China to trade will choose to smuggle this path. The vast majority of money flows into the hands of those big smugglers. In a few years, these big smugglers will form an interest alliance, and they are the Donglin Party.

Zhu Yijun would not allow such a thing to happen, and this is the purpose of his convening this court discussion today.

"Zhang Aiqing, come and tell everyone!" Zhu Yijun naturally noticed the reactions of others and sighed and said, "You guys, please let me see what Zhang Aiqing said."
Chapter completed!