Chapter 16 The sixteenth chapter of the harem shows shadows Song Jing vehemently denounces bad money

Seeing that Wu Hui'er was about to give birth, she staggered extremely while walking.Li Longji took great care of her, and would come to see her once a day, and asked Shang Gong to send more reliable staff to take care of her carefully. Li Longji gently stroked Wu Hui'er's belly that day, and asked with a smile: "Hui'er, is the baby in your belly a boy or a girl?" Every woman longs to be a mother. Although Wu Huier had given birth, the child died early. This time, the fetus in the womb grew up day by day, and the fetus moved its hands and feet occasionally, which gave her a sweet feeling in her heart.She heard the words and replied: "People say that daughters are easy to raise, but I hope to give birth to a princess for Your Majesty."

Li Longji said: "Okay, if she is a princess, she will definitely inherit your beauty and appearance. When she grows up a little, she can play around her knees. It is really a fun little thing." Wu Hui'er pouted slightly, and said angrily: "It turns out that His Majesty wanted a princess, but he wanted one more little thing." Li Longji leaned close to his ear and said softly: "The most interesting thing in the world is you. Alas, it has been difficult to get close to you for several months, and I am really worried to death." Wu Huier saw the emperor's gossip, her heart flickered suddenly, two blushes appeared on her face, she couldn't help but cast a sidelong glance at Li Longji, the eyes were both tender and hot, this familiar expression made Li Longji feel very familiar Intoxicated.

Wu Huier's expression was fleeting on his face, a trace of worry emerged from his heart, he sighed: "Your Majesty, this concubine has been heartbroken for the past year, and now that the childbirth is imminent, I am always afraid that the child will not be preserved." Li Longji said decisively: "Hui'er, you can rest assured this time, I know that you will meet the empress and the monk's palace, if there is any trouble with the child, everyone who waits on her will be punished with death." Wu Hui'er stared at Li Longji for a moment, then sighed: "Your Majesty is so caring, I think it's okay."

After less than a month, Wu Huier gave birth smoothly, and she was the fetus of a dragon and a phoenix, which made Li Longji and Wu Huier overjoyed.Li Longji immediately named the boy Min and the girl Hui. After great joy, it is great sorrow.Still three days later, the difference between Li Min and Li Hui was less than twelve hours, and both died one after another. Li Longji was so sad and angry that he made people take away all the people who waited on the child and drowned him. Wu Hui'er couldn't help mourning again. Li Longji waited for Wu Hui'er to calm down a bit, and just now he entered the hall to comfort him, and said that he had drowned all those who had neglected their duties, so as to comfort the child's spirit.

Wu Hui'er wept unceasingly, and said with tears in her eyes, "Your Majesty is too hasty. Think about it, Your Majesty, three children died one after another, is there something hidden in them?" Li Longji also thought about this festival before, but then he thought about it again, the palace is very well protected, no one can do anything, so he threw away this thought.Now facing Wu Huier's question, doubts arose in his heart again, he asked in surprise: "Huier, do you think someone is secretly doing harm to Hai'er?" Wu Hui'er wept and said: "Concubine is favored by His Majesty as a servant, will there be fewer jealous eyes in the palace? Your Majesty should not have drowned those people early, you have to find out the truth from them."

Li Longji understood that Hui'er's words were aimed at Queen Wang.Queen Wang has long lost the favor of Li Longji, and she is not the biological mother of the prince, so her status seems to be a bit shaky.When Concubine Zhao Li was favored before, Empress Wang and Concubine Zhao Li had a close relationship in private, and Li Longji would visit him occasionally several times a year because of his status as empress.Ever since Wu Hui'er became favored, Li Longji had less and less chances to let the queen attend the bed, and he seemed to devote all his body and mind to this little concubine.

However, Li Longji was well aware of Queen Wang's character, and she would never murder Wu Huier's child out of jealousy.And this time, in view of the lessons learned from Li Yiyao's death last time, the baby was very guarded, even if the Queen really wanted to send someone to murder her, it would probably be difficult for her to get close to the baby. Seeing Wu Huier's lovely and pitiful expression, Li Longji felt tenderness in his heart again, stepped forward and took her into his arms, and said softly: "Huier, don't cry to death, and don't think wildly. The child has left, how many It's useless to cry, you'd better take a good rest."

Wu Huier's two lines of tears flowed continuously, immediately soaking the skirt of Li Longji's chest, and he cried: "Your Majesty, I really don't want to live anymore. The imperial confinement is so strict that I can't protect my children. I dare not The extravagant hope is to give birth again." Wu Hui'er kept saying that she had been convicted of murdering her child.At this moment, Li Longji had a tender heart, knowing that Hui'er was crying so much because he wanted to find the murderer in the palace by himself. Where is the murderer? According to what Wu Huier pointed out, the murderer must have been instigated by the Queen or other concubines. However, what Li Longji thought in his heart at this time was not so simple. He knew that the palace seemed calm, but in fact there was an undercurrent. .

At this time, Li Longji remembered a public case in the Yonghui period. Emperor Gaozong's empress, Wang Shi, encouraged the emperor to welcome Wu Meiniang into the harem in order to deal with his favorite concubine Xiao Shufei, for Wu Zhaoyi.Empress Wang introduced Wu Zhaoyi with the intention of destroying Concubine Xiao Shu's favor, but Wu Zhaoyi was more capable and soon became the emperor's favorite.In this way, Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu formed an alliance. This Wu Zhaoyi will be Empress Zetian from now on. Of course, she doesn't want to be just an emperor's favorite concubine, she wants to be an empress even more.It just so happened that Wu Zhaoyi gave birth to her eldest daughter after entering the palace. One day after the Queen came to see her, the daughter died strangely.Emperor Gaozong learned of this process and decided that the Queen Wang had harmed the woman. Later, the Queen Wang was abolished, which actually started from this incident.

It was rumored in later generations that this woman was not murdered by the Queen, but Wu Zhaoyi killed her own daughter with her own hands in order to frame the Queen. Li Longji is a taboo for the venerable, and he does not want to admit that his grandmother killed the elder aunt with his own hands.However, deep down in Li Longji's heart, he knew that his grandmother's heart and methods were comparable to others. If she wanted to become a queen, she would definitely sacrifice a daughter. At this time, he looked at the delicate girl with pear blossoms and rain in his arms, and a question flashed in his mind: Does she also want to learn the method of Queen Zetian, and blame the current queen?But he changed his mind again, Hui'er would never kill his own two sons and one daughter in a row, or he was thinking too much.

Li Longji stroked Hui'er's back with his right hand, and said softly: "If you don't want to have a baby, where will my baby wrapped in pink makeup and jade come from? Don't think about it, don't worry, after you give birth to a baby in the future, I will definitely give birth to you." Come up with a perfect solution." The method Li Longji came up with was related to King Ning Li Xian. After the court meeting that day, Li Longji left Li Xian behind, and the two went to the side room to screen others and talk quietly. Li Longji said: "Brother, Hui'er's two sons and one daughter all died young, I think you know about it?" Li Xian sighed: "Yeah, how could it be so unfortunate? Concubine Wu used to go to Brother Yu's house before, and got along very well with the cheap ones. Judging by her body and complexion, there should be nothing wrong with her. Sigh, why is this so?" "Yes, I also find it very strange. Huier will still be pregnant in the future. If Huier dies after giving birth, it will kill Huier! Brother, I have thought of a way in the past two days. If Huier is born again in the future When a child is born, it will be taken into the eldest brother's house immediately after it is born, how about asking my sister-in-law to take care of it?" Li Xian pondered for a while before answering, thinking that if you are not able to support yourself in the palace, and if you are carried into your own mansion, then what should you do?He didn't know what was going on in Li Longji's heart right now, even if he had a vague guess, he decided not to ask. Li Longji saw the worries in his elder brother's heart, so he smiled and said: "I know that my sister-in-law is always a delicate person. I am most at ease when she comes to raise the child. You tell the elder sister-in-law that a person's life is determined by the sky. If the child has a Three ups and two downs, that's what destiny is, and I won't blame my sister-in-law." Li Xian hesitated and said: "If the child goes out of the palace to be raised, is Concubine Wu willing? Is she at ease?" Li Longji sighed: "Why is she worried? Hui'er has no relatives now, except for me, the closest person is the eldest brother and sister-in-law." Li Longji's words reached such a point, Li Xian could no longer refuse. The reason why Li Longji let Li Xianzhi's concubine take care of him was because he really couldn't figure out the real reason for the continuous premature deaths of his children.If the cause of this misfortune is man-made, did Wang Huang and the others commit the murder out of jealousy, or did Wu Huier want to set the blame on him?Li Longji really couldn't judge, so he thought of such a method.He knew that if the eldest brother and sister-in-law came to raise the child, they would definitely do their best. Wu Hui'er saw that Li Longji did not pursue the matter of the child's death, although she was depressed for a long time, she finally did not dare to press and ask, and the matter gradually calmed down. This day was still Wu Huier's bedtime, the two of them fought fiercely, Wu Huier prostrated herself in the crook of Li Longji's arms, and said softly: "I have something to ask, Your Majesty must agree." Li Longji's whole body was comfortable at this time, and he gradually became a little confused while savoring the delicious food, so he let out a "huh". "Your Majesty, I want to select some newcomers from the Yeting Palace, and replace all the people who serve me." "Well, that's fine, just figure it out." Li Longji replied in a daze, and then fell into a deep sleep. Wu Huier did what he said, and called Gao Lishi Monk Palace the next day, saying that they were ordered by the emperor to go to Yeting Palace to pick people up. Queen Wang was furious when she heard the news, and scolded: "This vixen is getting more and more flattering. I am the master of the harem, and the palace has its own regulations. What if she falsely preaches the imperial decree?" After all, Wu Hui'er is the emperor's new favorite, and the queen and queen are getting worse and worse in front of the emperor. Of course, Gao Lishi's monk's palace is clear to the bystanders.Shang Gongsu, who was the queen's confidant, did not dare to say anything, but Gao Lishi knew the benefits, so he bowed and asked: "Whether Concubine Wu is falsely preaching the imperial decree, please ask the queen to ask the emperor for proof, such a slave can do things easily." Queen Wang said: "Forget it, I'll go ask the Holy Majesty. Hmph, if she doesn't come to tell me, she obviously doesn't take me as the lord of the harem seriously. I'm not dead yet, so she wants to go crazy?" Li Longji was a little dissatisfied when he heard what Queen Wang said. He raised his eyes and scolded: "Such a trivial matter, do you still need to make such a big move? Huier had been in the Yeting Palace for a long time, and she wanted someone she knew in the past to serve by her side. Why not?" "Your Majesty, the palace has its own rules and regulations. These newcomers are sloppy and have to be taught before they can serve them." "Forget it, it's nothing more than some hard work, how can it be so complicated? Don't talk about it, let them do it quickly." When Queen Wang came in front of Li Longji, she was still cautious.Now that she heard what Li Longji said, she knew that the matter was irreversible, so she bowed and agreed. Wu Hui'er's children died one after another, and Li Longji was still in his arms at this time. He had no basis to hear that the queen was playing tricks on him. You must put your heart into the business. Huier's children died one after another, and those palace officials were punished, but you have no responsibility at all? The new people are careless, and your old people have never been better?" Queen Wang restrained herself and held her breath when she heard the words, not daring to answer. Zhang Shuo and Li Linfu submitted memorials respectively, requesting an extension of the time limit for the fugitives to surrender.After reading it, Li Longji asked Song Jing for his opinion, and Song Jing asserted: "These two people are wildly imaginative, if they give up immediately, what kind of situation will your majesty's edict be placed in?" Seeing Song Jing's firm attitude, Li Longji put the matter aside.However, Li Longji greatly appreciated Zhang Shuo's success in recruiting soldiers and chasing the Turks, and awarded a book to commend him. The benefits of enclosing households are becoming more and more obvious. At the end of the year, the Ministry of Households verified the number of households in the country. There are 7,069,565 households in the country, with a population of 41,419,712 people. ; Compared with the guanhu and guankou in the early years of Kaiyuan, the population has increased by more than six million people.The reason for this is the natural proliferation of the inherent population, and more of it is the factor of fleeing households and returning to their hometown. The food has been ripening year after year, and the number of talents is increasing. The Minister of the Household Department, Yuan Qianyao, is very happy, but there is worry on his face.After the court was over, Yuan Qianyao followed Song Jing into the Zhongshu Province, and said: "Master Song, the money is not enough." Song Jing wondered: "Why is there not enough money? The amount of money minted by the court every year has increased compared to the previous year, and I know that there are many people who mint private money. What is the price of Doumi this year?" "It has dropped by three more than the same period last year." "From this point of view, if the money is not enough, it is not the reason for the price increase of things." "Master Song is right. According to the officials, in recent years, households have been successful, and food and goods are overflowing. After all, the imperial court has limited money, which makes it more and more embarrassing." "Oh? If so, wouldn't the bad money in the market be more flooded?" "It's not just flooding! If Mr. Song is free, you can pretend to go to Dongshi to observe it for a while, and then you will know the details." The so-called evil money refers to privately minted money compared to Kaiyuan Tongbao cast by the imperial court. In the fourth year of Tang Gaozu Wude, the five baht coins of the Sui Dynasty were abolished, and Kaiyuan Tongbao coins were issued.This coin is made of copper, with a diameter of eight cents, and it weighs two baht and four accumulations.In the period of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, due to the rapid economic development, official money was not enough, so private coins appeared. The private money was not enough, and sometimes it was mixed with tin and iron, so it was called evil money. Song Jing and Yuan Qianyao then changed into casual clothes, they didn't take anyone with them, after leaving the Suzaku Gate, they each rented a donkey on the side of the street, and then entered. According to the regulations of the Tang Dynasty, only the prefectures, county offices, and the eastern and western capitals can be established as cities.There are two cities in the east and west in the long house, and there are 220 lines of goods in the city. The rare things from all directions are gathered together, and then they are sold in mansions on all sides of the city.The two cities are managed by the city order established by Yongzhou Prefecture. At noon, the market is opened with 200 beats of drums, and at seven quarters of the day, the market is dispersed with 300 beats of drums. After the two of Song Jing entered the market, they saw people crowded shoulder to shoulder in the city, which was very lively.There are more than 400 shops on the four walls, which belong to meat shop, silk shop, cloth shop, iron shop, noodle shop, rice shop, scale shop, medicine shop, butcher shop, fruit shop, boot shop, pepper shop, dye shop, etc. , the store is full of goods inside and outside the store, and buyers and sellers are negotiating prices, which is very busy. Yuan Qianyao whispered: "Master Song, let's go all the way, just look at the money they used in the exchange, we can understand." Song Jing had never been to the East and West Cities before. Seeing the grand occasion, he couldn't help sighing: "Oh, I didn't expect Chang'an to be such a busy place. They are bustling all day long, how many goods are traded!" Yuan Qianyao said: "Master Song, look at those shops. Most of the operators are Hu merchants. The goods they put here are only a small part, and they are nothing more than samples or small transactions. In suburban warehouses or on vehicles and ships, after they have negotiated, the goods can be transported without entering the market.” "Well, with so many goods, how can there be enough money?" "Please, Master Song, let's take a closer look." The two of them walked along the street and looked carefully, focusing on the money paid by the buyer.They looked at more than ten houses, and saw that the money was light or dark, with different shades and shapes.Yuan Qianyao whispered: "Master Song, the colors are different, because they are made of iron and tin, or they don't use copper at all, so there are all kinds of colors." Song Jing asked: "I just saw someone paying with five baht money from the former Sui Dynasty. Can five baht money still be used?" "Why not? Compared with those bad money, five baht money is still good money." "Good money? That's right, we looked at more than ten shops, why didn't we see a transaction with official money?" "Oh, Lord Song, that's why the officials say that the official money is not enough. The amount of official money is small, but the content is quite sufficient, and the holders of the money are unwilling to sell easily. For example, if you come here to trade, you must first spend the bad money and keep the official money. In the end. In fact, there is another reason for the lack of official money. Mr. Song should know that people are often buried with money after death, and the money for burial is all official money, even ordinary people don’t need bad money to be buried with them.” "Yes, the amount of money for the burial is not small." They walked in front of a shop again, Song Jing suddenly took a coin and exclaimed: "Is this still money?" Yuan Qianyao took a closer look at the money, and saw that it was a little smaller than the official money. There were no small characters in official script on the surface, and there was no square hole. There was only a small round hole in the middle for stringing. It is swarthy, and it is estimated that there is no copper in it. Yuan Qianyao watched and said: "This thing is probably made between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River. The pirates hid in the mountains and there are few people. They made it in a hurry and made it into the general appearance of money." "Oh, it seems you know a lot about bad money." "Yes, Xiaguan has been here several times before, so I know a thing or two from this." Song Jing looked forward and saw that there was still a long way ahead. He estimated that he had just passed one-twentieth of all the shops.He sighed and said: "Forget it, let's go back. I guess the shop in front is the same as what we have seen, it is really shocking. Let's go back and invite Zhang Shizhong to discuss together, and then report to the Holy One." When Song Jing and Yuan Qianyao were visiting the East Market, they exchanged more than ten pieces of evil money of different colors and shapes.Song Jing asked Zhang Jiazhen to be called again, and then the three of them entered Xingqing Palace to meet Li Longji. Li Longji has been managing politics in the "diligent government affairs building" recently, and the main hall of Xingqing Palace, Xingqing Palace, seems to have become his bedroom. The "Diligent Government Affairs Building" is adjacent to the south wall of Xingqing Palace. This building is about 30 feet high, and the pillars are about 24 meters thick. It is the tallest building in the surrounding area. Li Longji reviewed the memorials or met with the officials here. He only felt that the light in the hall was sufficient, which was different from the Taiji Hall of the past; With a panoramic view of the scenery, I can't help but feel refreshed. Li Longji listened carefully to Song Jing's report, and then picked up the evil money lined up on the case one by one to observe, and then said with a smile: "The so-called pressing the gourd and floating the scoop means that the matter of closing the house is not over yet. The money thing came to the fore again." Song Jing said: "I was afraid that the price of goods would soar, which would cause a flood of bad money. After this inspection in the market, it was found that the daily necessities of the common people, such as grains and noodles, fell instead of rising. From this point of view, since the early years of Kaiyuan, Your Majesty has To appease the people to be quiet, the people can work in the fields with peace of mind, and they have reclaimed a lot of wasteland; recently, they have made a big move to enclose households to increase the number of households, so that there are more things and less money, so that bad money will be flooded." Li Longji picked up the evil money with only outlines and no copper in it and said: "Yes, it is indeed appropriate to call evil money 'flooding'. It is really strange that such a thing can be used as money to circulate in the world. Do you two have the same opinion as Song Jing?" Zhang Jiazhen replied: "The source of evil money did not start today. As Song Ling said, Your Majesty's benevolent government has made the country prosperous, and the country has limited money to make, and the money is not enough, so the evil money is flooding." Yuan Qianyao of course echoed the words of the two prime ministers. Li Longji said: "Zhang Qing mentioned the source of evil money. The money is not enough. The country has to make more coins to meet its needs. However, the mining and metallurgy in the world is limited after all. If there are more coins suddenly, where is the copper? ?” At that time, there were a total of 168 government-run silver, copper, iron, tin and other smelting institutes in the Tang Dynasty, most of which were distributed in the six prefectures of Shaanxi, Xuan, Run, Rao, Qu, and Xin. Five mountains, ninety-six copper metallurgy institutes, two Xishan mountains, and four lead mountains.What Li Longji said is right. If a smelter is to be built, the source of the ore must first be verified, and then mining and smelting should be carried out. This is not a short-term matter. Song Jing said: "Your Majesty, there is almost no official money in the current market, and most of it is bad money. The materials used for this bad money are not from government-run factories, but are collected privately by the people. From this point of view, the people's private The amount of gold mined is already more than that of the government-run smelters. I believe that if we want to get the root of the problem, we must strictly prohibit the people from mining it privately." Yuan Qianyao said to Song Jing softly after hearing the words: "Master Song, the imperial court has collected mining and metallurgy taxes from the people for private mining. If it is prohibited, this tax will be lost." Li Longji heard the words and asked: "Yuanqing, how much is the private mining and metallurgy tax collected by the household department every year?" Yuan Qianyao replied: "At the end of last year as an example, a total of 3,300 yuan was collected from private mining and smelting." Li Longji was surprised when he heard the words: "Oh, the amount is not small! It seems that Song Qing is right, the mines currently mined privately are more than the government-run mills." During the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, the mining and smelting of copper and iron were all owned by the imperial court, and private individuals were not allowed to get involved.At that time, there were calls for private mining among the people. Minister Quan Wanji wrote a letter requesting the collection of silver tax to encourage private mining, but Li Shimin refused.Afterwards, during Emperor Gaozong's Yonghui reign, official money was no longer enough, and bad money began to appear. Emperor Gaozong then ordered that five bad money should be paid for one good money, and new money should be reformed to make Qianfengquanbao money. Get rid of bad money and rectify the disadvantages of the times.However, this reform of the currency system has not achieved actual results. The new money is one inch in diameter and weighs two baht and six cents, which is not much different from the old Kaiyuan Tongbao money. For example, the palindrome of Kaiyuan Tongbaoqian can be read as Kaitong Yuanbaoqian, and its meaning is also clear, while the palindrome of Xinqian is read as Qianquan Fengbao, so it has been criticized.After the new money was issued, it was boycotted and the price of rice and silk increased. Emperor Gaozong had no choice but to abolish the new money and reuse Kaiyuan Tongbao money. As a result, the official money was still not enough, and the piracy of casting and mining could not be prohibited, so the imperial court took advantage of the trend and stipulated that where there were places where copper and iron were produced within the boundaries of the state, those who were not collected by officials were allowed to be mined and smelted by the people privately, but they had to be smelted according to the amount. The state pays taxes. Zhang Jiazhen also disagreed with Song Jing's strict prohibition order, saying: "Your Majesty, the reason why the imperial court did not prohibit the private mining of the people before is because the sources of mining are all in the shape of chicken coops, and the officials cannot mine and smelt them. I think that now the officials The lack of money is actually due to the fact that the official money is too little. If the people’s private collection of materials is used properly, it can make up for the shortage of official money. I also have another worry. If the court prohibits the people’s private collection, the money will be even more insufficient. , can easily cause prices to skyrocket, as evidenced by the lack of new money during the Qianfeng years." Li Longji knew that Song Jing had always been jealous of evil, and he tended to be slanted when he acted, so he was easy to fall into extremes.The matter of evil money has a long history, and it is not a simple and easy thing to do, so it must be extremely cautious.He just frowned and thought about it, without expressing his opinion. Song Jing was a little dissatisfied with Zhang Jiazhen's words, and scolded: "Is Zhang Shizhong's words suspected of speaking for others? You keep saying that the common people harvested them privately, but is it really the common people who did it? Hmph, the chicken coop mine you mentioned does exist. However, all private copper in the world is produced by the Jiwo Mine, is there such a large amount? I seem to have heard that there are several private mines between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River that are no less than government-run smelters, can this scale be done by ordinary people?" Zhang Jiazhen usually works with Song Jing, but she is conscientious, sticks to her duties, listens to Song Jing's words more and does not contradict her.However, Song Jing scolded himself in front of the emperor today, and there seemed to be suspicions in his voice that he was involved in the mining and metallurgy affairs in private, and his heart suddenly became anxious, his face turned red, and he asked: "If Song Jing Ling Suo said that the private mine between the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River was opened by you? Your Majesty, this matter is very important, please give me a clean slate!" Li Longji saw that the two prime ministers were arguing because of their disagreement, and felt a little funny, so he said: "Why is Zhang Qing so serious? Song Qing is just referring in general, so how can you dirty your innocence?" He changed the subject and said again , "If the private mining of the people is prohibited, it will actually be detrimental to the country. Let it continue as usual, and the tax will continue to be collected. However, the large mines Song Qing mentioned are absolutely not allowed to be run by private individuals. There should be rules and regulations for this matter, which must be collected." to the state government." What Li Longji said seemed wise, but it was actually impossible to operate.At this time, all private mines in the country are really a mess, and the imperial court can't even figure out the number. How can they determine their size?And when the scale is determined, those mine owners can be broken down into pieces, and many chicken coop mines will pop up at once, so the imperial court cannot accept them as government-run. Li Longji said again: "Yuanqing, what do those salt and iron envoys in the household department do every day? If they are limited to the existing smelters, it will not work. They must try to open up new mine sources to Increase the number of copper and iron. Song Qing, this year's examination of these salt and iron envoys must add this content, and it must be the first." Song Jing and Yuan Qianyao bowed and agreed. Song Jing was very dissatisfied with the emperor's decision, and continued to argue: "Your Majesty, it is not easy for the imperial court to open a new mine. It needs to explore the mine veins first, and then dig, and it will be difficult to see its achievements in a few years. If the trend of private mining cannot be curbed, it will be difficult to change the current situation.” Li Longji sighed: "Song Qing, the formation of today's mining and smelting situation was not achieved in a day, so why do you expect to reverse it in a short period of time? Besides, the world is so big that government-run smelting institutes cannot meet the needs of casting money." , so that the people are allowed to mine privately, and the country can collect taxes from it, why not do it? Let’s discuss this matter here, without further discussion.” Song Jing had no choice but to give up resentfully. Li Longji said again: "We should talk about the topic. Bad money is flooding, what law should we use to control it? Yuan Qing, you are in charge of the household department, and you know the details of this matter best, so you can talk about it first." Yuan Qianyao reported: "I believe that the reason for the shortage of official money is that it is rich in ingredients and heavy, so it was taken away by profiteers in the south, melted down and added with lead and tin to make new bad money; The two are people using it for burial, so the official money is less." Li Longji shook his head and said: "Yuanqing's words are just minor details, not the root of the matter. For example, as long as the funeral is prohibited, it can be corrected, but can this change the general trend of lack of official money? I don’t think so. You said just now that profiteers destroy money and make bad money, so that’s just getting a little bit of edge. In my opinion, the reason why bad money is rampant is that the money maker can profit from it!” Song Jing heard the words and praised: "Your Majesty's words are very true. I heard that every time the thieves make bad money, for example, the coin mixed with tin can make a profit of a hundred coins for every thousand coins. Such huge profits, of course, make people flock to it. " Zhang Jiazhen also echoed: "All the prosperity of the world is for profit. This sentence is very appropriate for the pirates. Since the past dynasties, the imperial court has severely cracked down on the pirates, but they have been banned repeatedly. The pirates are not If you dare to set up in a conspicuous place in the market, these people may hide in the rivers and lakes, or go to the remote mountains and old forests to thieves, and the government cannot prohibit them." Li Longji looked at Yuan Qianyao and said, "Yuanqing, what can you do to change his situation?" Yuan Qianyao thought for a while, and said bluntly: "The minister thinks that the only way to replace bad money with good money is the right way. Although the bad money is poorly made, it has its currency value after all. After the court takes it back, it will be melted into good money. .” "Well, what ratio should we replace?" "Your Majesty, I think it's advisable to exchange one good money for four bad ones." This time it was Zhang Jiazhen's turn to be dissatisfied, and she said: "Your Majesty, I think Yuan Shangshu's words are very hasty." "Well, please try to say it." "There has been evil money, and the method of replacement has been used in the past dynasties, but it is difficult to control its momentum. Emperor Gaozong Xianqing five years, paid five evil money to one good money, and the people used the evil money at a low price, and secretly hid it to wait for the official. The prohibition was relaxed; during the reign of Emperor Zetian in Chang'an, money was placed in the market again, so that the people could use the money in the same way, and they could exchange two bad money for one good money. I'm afraid it won't work." Zhang Jiazhen walked up to the case, pointed to the evil money lined up on the case and said: "Your Majesty, please see that there are more than ten kinds of evil money, which are only a small part of the evil money circulating in the world. I heard that there are all kinds of evil money in the world. There are no less than dozens of categories such as copper, Paidou, Quedun, Dangran, piercing hole, sandy, white strong, black strong, goose eye, iron tin, ancient Chinese, etc. Yuan Shangshu only said that one good money can change four evils Money, there are good and bad in these bad money, can it be consistent?" What Zhang Jiazhen said was indeed reasonable. Yuan Qianyao didn't think about it in detail before answering, so his method was too simple.At this time, Li Longji quite agreed with Zhang Jiazhen's words, and said: "Yes, evil money also has a currency value, and the currency value is different. If an imperial edict is issued this time, it must be carefully considered in advance, and no changes will be made." Song Jing cupped his hands and said: "I have a law that can change this situation. It's just that after this law is implemented, there will be waves in a short period of time. Your Majesty must implement it firmly and not make sudden changes. Over time, the effect will be achieved." At this time, Li Longji suddenly had a surge of ambition: the matter of evil money has been entangled for a long time, and now it must be curbed.Although he didn't listen to the details of Song Jing's law, he also knew that according to Song Jing's nature, it is impossible to take strict actions, so he felt hopeful in his heart, and said with a smile: "Okay, please try to say it." Song Jing said decisively: "What Zhang Shizhong said is right, don't make any substitutions, just strictly prohibit it." "How to prohibit it?" Seeing that Song Jing's words were in line with his own wishes, Li Longji encouraged him to continue. "I believe that all evil money on the market is forbidden to be used, and must be traded with official money! All the evil money will be taken back by the imperial court, and the cost of copper, iron, tin, and lead will be paid according to its fineness." "However, there is too little official money in the market, how to deal with it?" "It can be limited to three months. The circulation of bad money is allowed within the time limit. During this period, the imperial court increases the amount of money minted. Once the time limit expires, it will be strictly prohibited." Hearing this method, Li Longji already agreed in his heart.He turned to the other two and asked: "Zhang Qing, Yuan Qing, do you agree with this method?" The two observed that the emperor's expression was calm, and obviously applauded Song Jing's words, so they dared not openly object again.Yuan Qianyao bowed and said: "I think that Song Ling can try this method, but the evil money has accumulated evils for a long time, and it involves a wide range of people. It is related to the daily expenses of the common people, so we must be cautious. I think the time limit is too short. Do you want to change it?" Half a year?" Li Longji was silent for a moment, then he said decisively: "If you want to resolve the divergent situation, you must take decisive measures, let's take a period of three months. Song Qing, you should immediately draw up an edict and send it to the world tomorrow." Yuan Qianyao was deep in his thoughts, and felt that the matter of banning evil money was no small matter, and if he did not do it, he would cause trouble to his upper body, so he asked Li Longji: "Your Majesty, it is not a minister who is evading his duties. Now the household department is busy with closing households. It is already extremely hectic, and Kuohu gradually deepened and did not dare to slack off, so the fact of banning evil money is no longer able to take this responsibility.” Li Longji knew that the prohibition of evil money was no small matter, and that the family of the household department could do it with all their strength, so he said to Song Jing: "Yuanqing's words are reasonable, Song Qing, this matter is up to you, and it can be implemented separately by Shangshusheng and Yushitai. " He turned to Yuan Qianyao and said, "The rest of the household department is fine, but you and the state salt and iron envoys cannot be separated from each other. You must obey Song Qing's orders and follow them at your own pace." Yuan Qianyao was overjoyed when he saw that he didn't have to preside over the forbidden money, so he bowed and agreed. On the second day, Li Longji's "Forbidden Evil Money Edict" was published all over the world. Its text said: The ancients gathered goods from all over the world, and set up the laws of nine mansions, so as to lead the world and make people alive.If the weight is right, the benefit can be harmonious; if the truth and the false are mixed, the official will lose its guard.Those who use money, regardless of this way, will fear that the poor will be poor every day, and the treacherous will grow old, so they declare the old chapter and hang all kinds of things, hoping that their people will be safe and popular, and prohibit orders. After Song Jing returned to the mansion, he cheered up and called everyone to arrange the matter of banning evil money.He knew that there was a lot of evil money in the Jianghuai area, so he wanted to send a competent person to preside over the prohibition of mining and theft and casting in his land. He first thought of Ni Ruoshui, and wanted to make Ni Ruoshui go to Jianghuai as the envoy of banning. Unexpectedly, Ni Ruoshui refused to go with all kinds of reasons, causing Song Jing to lose his temper, but Ni Ruoshui still refused, even pretending to be ill and not being in the government office. Song Jing couldn't do anything, so he had to find someone else, and thus found Cui Yinfu, Yushi Zhongcheng. Cui Yinfu also knew that the matter of banning bad money was tricky, but seeing that Yu Wenrong and Li Linfu, who were acquainted with each other, had been praised by the emperor many times because of their participation in the household closing affairs, which was very beneficial to their official career, and wanted to seize this opportunity, so they went happily. As a result, the vigorous banning of bad money began.