PFC Chapter 307 Modern Economics Shocks the Emperor!
Chapter 307 Modern Economics Shocks the Emperor!
"Your Majesty, this is the root of why the people barter!"
"Copper coins became too abundant and lost their purchasing power. People no longer trusted them, and so they lost their credibility. On the contrary, bartering... at least gave the people something real!"
"For example, exchanging a pound of rice for a pound of flour. Although the goods are different, at least you're not at a disadvantage!"
Emperor Xia was shocked. "If that's the case, then copper coins are completely useless. How is Gu Qing going to change the currency? Should we use gold and silver? But gold and silver are basically controlled by the aristocratic families, or distributed among the people. Even if we reform it, I'm afraid it will be impossible to achieve it."
Emperor Xia asked a series of questions, and Gu Jingzhi smiled inwardly.
After laying the groundwork for so long, we’re finally getting to the point!
Gu Jingzhi said: "Your Majesty, these copper coins are of course useful. The common people use them to barter just to get enough food or clothes or shoes!"
"But for things like treating illnesses and going out, you'll naturally need coins!"
"However, this is not as frequent as daily needs, so people have some money, but they are reluctant to spend it!"
"This money is not used, simply because the value of the currency and the goods is not equal. If the currency is not used, it is equivalent to having no money!"
“If money is not circulating in the market, then it is not money!”
"If money cannot circulate, the economy will not be able to achieve long-term development!"
"Without currency in circulation, the country's tax revenue will naturally be less..."
Gu Jingzhi's series of words knocked Emperor Xia unconscious!
"Gu Qing, don't talk so roundabout, I don't quite understand!"
"Your Majesty, do you know how much Ningzhou's commercial taxes I brought back to the capital this time?"
"???"
Emperor Xia was startled, then looked at the document with the imperial seal but no words written on it, and asked, "Tell me about it!"
Gu Jingzhi stretched out his hand: "Five hundred thousand taels!"
"How many?"
Emperor Xia's eyes bulged.
"Your Majesty, you heard it right! It's five hundred thousand taels!"
Gu Jingzhi said, "Ningzhou's commercial tax is one in ten. That means that for every ten taels of silver traded, one tael of silver must be taxed. As of this autumn tax year, a total of seven months, nearly 800,000 taels of silver in tax have been collected!"
"Ningzhou is in a period of rapid development, so I left over 200,000 taels of silver in Ningzhou and brought 500,000 taels of silver in commercial taxes back to the capital!"
"Your Majesty, Ningzhou has only been established for two years and governs only four counties. Although it serves as a transit point for goods from the northwest, it is not the primary trading location!"
"Even so, the annual commercial tax can reach over one million taels of silver! If this were placed in the capital, or some wealthy prefecture, how much commercial tax do you think you could collect?"
"hiss……"
Emperor Xia took a breath.
Ningzhou alone can make millions a year, and even more in the future. How much can those wealthy areas and densely populated areas in the south of the Yangtze River make?
"Gu Qing, tell me, why is it that Ningzhou has been able to collect such high taxes in just two years under your control?"
Xia Di asked anxiously.
This is more than one million in tax revenue!
One million taels is not a big number for a country, but the annual tax revenue of Daxia, if only counting silver and money, is only more than 20 million taels.
Ningzhou, a provincial capital with four counties, can collect one twentieth of the entire Daxia. How terrifying is this?
How many state capitals are there in the country?
Even if not every province is like Ningzhou, as long as there are twenty provinces like this, the silver tax of Daxia can be doubled!
But Daxia only has twenty prefectures like Ningzhou?
Of course it is impossible!
Seeing Emperor Xia's eagerness, Gu Jingzhi immediately smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is the effect of money circulation. Ningzhou's tax revenue this year was one million taels of silver, and this was due to the war in the northwest. Now that Great Xia has opened up trade with various ethnic groups, how much tax revenue do you think this will generate?"
"Is it really so terrifying?" Emperor Xia still found it hard to believe!
Gu Jingzhi said, "Leaving money in the homes of ordinary people is not truly hoarding wealth for the people. Only by letting the money circulate can Daxia become richer. When ordinary people have more money in their hands, they will naturally not be stingy with themselves!"
"With more money circulating in the market, various businesses will develop faster. This will create more opportunities for the people to make money. The more money the people can earn, the more they will buy things!"
"If this cycle continues, it won't be long before Great Xia becomes truly wealthy, and..."
Gu Jingzhi's expression suddenly became serious: "Your Majesty, the people have more money in their hands, and all they can think about is having more children, or sending their children to school, to seek a higher and more promising future!"
What the hell!
These words immediately touched Emperor Xia’s heart!
If ordinary people were willing to spend money to send their children to school, what would that mean? It would mean that there would be more and more talented people in the world, and in this way, the court would be able to gradually break free from the shackles of the aristocratic families.
He suddenly remembered the movable type printing that Gu Jingzhi had proposed before, and suddenly he understood.
It seems that Gu Jingzhi has not promoted movable type printing all this time because he has been waiting for this opportunity!
When he first saw movable type printing, he was astonished. Thinking that he would be able to break free from the shackles of his aristocratic family in a few years, he wanted to promote movable type printing immediately!
However, Gu Jingzhi told him that promoting movable type printing at this time would be tantamount to self-destruction.
After all, the foundation of aristocratic families lies in knowledge. If knowledge is passed on to ordinary people in the folk, it is tantamount to cutting off the foundation they rely on most.
If that happens, the aristocratic families will definitely rebel!
If we can first dismantle the financial base in their hands bit by bit, and when they are no longer a threat to the court, we can use movable type printing to break their backbones in one fell swoop, and then the aristocratic families will be stable!
Now, Gu Jingzhi seems to have accomplished it!
Previously, by taking advantage of the land encroachment case, the noble families were forced to agree to land reform. Now, two years have passed, and the land reform has been very effective. Not only has no one starved to death among the people, but the grain tax of the imperial court has also increased greatly. Daxia even launched a foreign war for this!
Now, Gu Jingzhi is using his old tricks again, using the empty seal case to solve the problem of the aristocratic families monopolizing the world's gold and silver...
Then they took advantage of the situation to promote movable type printing. If everything went well, the people at that time would have some spare money. If cheaper books appeared in the world, would the people still consider it?
of course not.
After all, all other things are inferior except reading!
I have to say, Gu Jingzhi's interconnectedness is really amazing!
Xia Di's breathing became rapid again, and his voice was trembling. He asked, "Gu Qing, when do you plan to start?"
Of course, this is not something that can be started just like that. It must be based on a careful plan before it can be started.
However, Gu Jingzhi said, "Your Majesty, this matter should be handled as soon as possible. If it is too late, I am afraid there will be problems!"
"Oh?"
Emperor Xia was shocked!