Chapter 1396: Harvesting the Leeks

Duke of Ying, Guo Rong, had a relatively tough life—at least, after Emperor Liu personally visited his doorstep, he did not quickly succumb to illness. Though his condition showed no improvement, he clung to life, confined to his sickbed.

However, after the visit, the Chai family welcomed a joyous occasion: the Emperor's second daughter, Liu Jian, was to be married to Guo Rong's fourth son, Chai Zongxun, with the wedding date to be chosen.

Compared to the eldest princess, Liu Jia—who was frank in nature, uniquely charming, and carried an air of heroism—the second princess was quiet by temperament, well-read and courteous, obedient since childhood. She had no objections to the husband Emperor Liu selected for her, simply leaving matters to his arrangement.

Of course, Emperor Liu was not casually playing matchmaker. He had long harbored the idea of forming a marriage alliance with Guo Rong. Though it was a political union, he had still conducted some assessment of Chai Zongxun.

Among Guo Rong's sons, only the fourth was of suitable age. Moreover, although Chai Zongxun had not displayed any extraordinary talent or aptitude—indeed, he was somewhat mediocre—he was gentle in temperament and courteous to others. He had also frequently entered the palace in the past, making him a fitting match for the second princess.

As for this marriage, the Chai family naturally felt deeply grateful. Noble Consort Gao, Liu Jian's birth mother, was equally satisfied. Though she had devoted most of her energy to Liu Xi's education and upbringing, she still cherished her own daughter. The Noble Consort had high standards—among the many descendants of meritorious officials and nobles, few could catch her eye—but she had no objections to the Chai family's son.

Perhaps in Noble Consort Gao's view, forming a marriage alliance with the Chai family would bring many benefits to Liu Xi, and within the palace, it could also draw closer ties with Consort Guo Ning, gaining an ally.

The second princess now being spoken for also made many nobles feel great regret. Everyone had been keeping an eye on Emperor Liu's children. After the eldest princess married out, the most coveted among the princesses was Liu Jian.

Who would have thought that this delicate flower of the imperial house would ultimately be plucked by Chai Zongxun? But there was nothing to be done—even without Emperor Liu's personal selection, among all the nobles at court, how many families could contend with the Duke of Ying's household?

"So these are the newly minted silver coins?" Inside Chuigong Hall, Wang Qiwu and Shen Yilun had presented the minted silver for an audience, and Emperor Liu showed great interest.

"In response to Your Majesty, these were newly minted by the Mint Bureau upon imperial decree, intended for circulation among the people to facilitate exchange. We specially present them for Your Majesty's review—if there are no objections, we can increase silver minting!" Wang Qiwu said.

This was another measure adopted to improve the state finances. Of course, the court had long harbored this idea; it was only now being brought forth.

At present, the Great Han's legal tender was essentially money and silk. The most widely circulated in the marketplace was copper coinage, while for large-scale civilian trade, silk cloth still served as the medium of exchange. It must be said that in this era of great commercial development, this had already become an obstacle to the growth of trade and commerce—somewhat behind the times.

As for precious metals like gold and silver, though they did function as currency in practical use, they circulated mostly among the nobility and were largely used to craft gold and silver jewelry and ornaments. The court had established some silver inspectorates in various regions for mining and smelting, but most output was supplied to the palace, with a portion used by Emperor Liu as rewards for the court and his ministers.

This time, however, the court intended to formally establish silver's status as currency, putting it into the market to accelerate the circulation of goods and facilitate transactions. Naturally, this could also serve to harvest a wave of leeks through silver minting—the profits from coinage were clearly considerable, and the treasury held a certain reserve of silver. As long as it was implemented, it could quickly replenish the court's coffers.

Emperor Liu wore an expression of eager delight as he picked up one of the sample ingots, estimating it to be ten liang of silver, and toyed with it. Its shape was similar to the sycee in Emperor Liu's memory, though somewhat squarer. It was exquisitely crafted—smooth and lustrous, with carved patterns and inscriptions. Clearly, considerable effort had gone into minting this silver.

"The Mint Bureau's current minting comes in four denominations: five liang, ten liang, twenty, and fifty!" Finance Commissioner Shen Yilun explained: "This should suffice for practical use!"

Emperor Liu asked: "Is this pure silver?"

Shen Yilun said: "These are for presentation purposes. If official minting begins, lead should be mixed in!"

Emperor Liu nodded, then picked up the other samples to examine them. They were all of the same style, exceptionally refined. After a long while, he finally raised his head and commented: "This item is too exquisite—it resembles silverware more than silver coinage!"

Though his tone was calm, one could tell that Emperor Liu was not entirely satisfied with this minted silver. Wang Qiwu and Shen Yilun exchanged a glance, and Wang Qiwu asked: "We beg Your Majesty's instruction!"

Emperor Liu directly instructed: "Since this is to be circulated among the people, it should serve their convenience and seek practicality. Make it simpler—these patterns and engravings can all be discarded. Keep only the year designation and the mint's mark!"

With that, Emperor Liu returned to his desk, picked up his imperial brush, and on a spread sheet of white paper, sketched out the sycee shape he had in mind. He handed it to Wang Qiwu: "Mint some more samples according to this design and see how it looks!"

With the Emperor having spoken, the two could only gladly accept, responding in unison: "Yes!"

"According to the Finance Commission's plans, how many copper coins can one liang of silver exchange for?" Emperor Liu asked again.

Shen Yilun answered: "Based on the Ministry of Revenue's extensive calculations, it is deemed appropriate for one liang to exchange for one thousand three hundred coins!"

"That much?" Emperor Liu was somewhat surprised. He instinctively felt that this might be harvesting too aggressively.

In his understanding, one liang exchanging for between one thousand and one thousand one hundred coins was already considered expensive. Two hundred more coins per liang might be harsher than robbery. However, considering that this was now the Great Han dynasty and circumstances were different, he did not rashly offer his opinion.

Sensing the Emperor's doubt, Shen Yilun said: "Your Majesty, silver is a precious currency, as universally recognized. This price was set after detailed calculations by the relevant offices!"

Emperor Liu pondered for a moment and said: "If the silver price is too high, might it not cause silver to be dear and coinage to be cheap? If so, that would not be so friendly to the common people!"

This point gave Wang Qiwu and Shen Yilun pause for thought. It was Wang Qiwu who spoke: "Your Majesty, issuing silver coinage is only a trial. Henceforth, the Finance Commission will monitor the actual results. Should problems arise, adjustments can be made to achieve the best outcome!"

"Mm!" Emperor Liu finally nodded: "The court minting silver to circulate throughout the realm is meant to benefit the state and the people. It must be handled with care—all possible consequences and impacts must be considered and prepared for! However, the matter of silver coinage must proceed. I ask you all to put in the extra effort!"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty!" Wang and Shen said together.

"Are there any other difficulties?" Emperor Liu asked further.

Wang Qiwu said: "If there is a difficulty, it is that the court currently holds too little silver in reserve. The treasury stores less than one hundred twenty thousand jin. We will need to prospect and mine across the realm to increase silver production! Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve circulation throughout the entire country!"

Even with just one hundred twenty thousand jin, according to the Finance Commission's plans, minted into silver coinage, it would be worth over one million five hundred thousand strings of cash—no small sum.

"When Liu Xi returned to the capital from his inspection tour of the Jinghu South Circuit, he said that Hunan had many silver mines, but due to excessive conscription of miners, quite a number of mines had been shut down!" Emperor Liu said leisurely: "Now it seems we must restart those operations and increase mining output."

"Mining is dangerous and labor-intensive. Regulations should also be issued for the mining inspectorates in various regions to strengthen management of mining operations!" Emperor Liu added, never forgetting to display his concern for the people.

"Yes!"

It could be imagined that once this policy was implemented, the mining inspectorates across the realm would again have headaches over labor for mining. Of course, perhaps it wouldn't be so troublesome—the court showed compassion for its own people, but beyond the Great Han's borders, there might be far fewer scruples. An empire's growth and strength inevitably involved squeezing blood and sweat, and there would always be those who were exploited.

"Additionally, there are still many tributes in the imperial coffers. Keep a portion for imperial use, and transfer the rest to you first, to get the silver coinage matter underway!" Emperor Liu added.

"We thank Your Majesty for your support!" Wang and Shen were immediately delighted and hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

It could be said that the vast majority of the Great Han's gold and silver precious metals lay idle in Emperor Liu's imperial coffers. Wang Qiwu and the others knew just how wealthy the imperial house was, and the Emperor's willingness to support them would relieve no small amount of their pressure.

"This is a temporary loan—it must be repaid!" Seeing the expressions on his two ministers' faces, Emperor Liu said with a light laugh.

"Yes!"

Counting the previous loan, Emperor Liu had now become the Great Han court's largest creditor. This had left his own imperial coffers rather depleted—for one must know, the vast Great Han palace had no small expenses. For the sake of the Great Han, Emperor Liu could be considered quite generous.

Of course, the Emperor possessed all within the four seas, and from certain angles, there was no need to distinguish so clearly. Moreover, the root of the Great Han's current fiscal difficulties was still Emperor Liu's "great ambition"—it was the entire empire's subjects who were footing the bill for his decisions.