Chapter 116 So that’s it
Deng Qianqiu smiled.

"Wen Qianshu, please take good notes and don't talk nonsense."

Everyone became confused.

Bullshit?

Even Zhu Yuanzhang frowned at this time, and Xu Da was even more confused.

Deng Qianqiu spoke eloquently, "In fact, what I said just now is both right and wrong. The world is poor, this is indeed true. But the world is not short of gold and silver, this is also true. You know, the gold, silver and copper coins we spend on buying goods for our daily living may actually only account for one or two hundredths of the gold, silver and copper coins in the world."

One hundred or two...

Deng Qianqiu actually wasn't sure if this was the number, but given the economic structure of that era, he even doubted whether the currency in circulation accounted for even one or two percent of the total currency volume, maybe even less, and much less.

Deng Qianqiu continued, "This is because money is easy to store, and those who control a large amount of money have very little money for their daily expenses of food, clothing, housing and transportation. Most of this wealth is actually hidden in the cellar or under the bed. As for how much such money there is? To be honest, it is simply impossible to count. And this... is exactly the most critical issue at the moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang was thoughtful. He believed Deng Qianqiu's number. Because according to his personality, if he had one million taels of silver, he would definitely hide 999,900 taels and leave them to his children and grandchildren, and his children and grandchildren would leave them to their children and grandchildren...

I think this is probably the case for most people in the world.

At this time, Deng Qianqiu said: "The crux of the problem lies here. The lack of currency circulation, to a certain extent, also means that goods, that is, many things around us, cannot be effectively circulated. Because the currency circulating in the market is in short supply, people tend to try their best to hoard physical goods instead of trading with others."

Xu Da listened attentively. He was a general, and the food and fodder had to be sent ahead before the troops moved. In fact... as the commander-in-chief, no one knew the importance of supplies better than him.

At this moment, his eyes turned towards Deng Qianqiu, and there was an unconscious admiration in them.

"So, what will happen if everyone in the world is hoarding money and materials?"

"..."Everyone heard it, but at this moment they were all silent.

Deng Qianqiu was very annoyed and felt emotional, Wen Yuanji was still the best, at least he knew how to support the main role, it was a pity that he made this guy shut up.

Deng Qianqiu had no choice but to make his own excuses: "This means that the demand in the market has greatly weakened. When the demand weakens, merchants are unwilling to produce, and they don't even have much intention to exchange what they have. As for the common people... they can only guard their own land and be self-sufficient, while the rich hide their money and plan to pass it down to their descendants..."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but interrupt: "What's wrong with this?"

Deng Qianqiu was amused: "There are many disadvantages. First, if the currency is not circulated, it means that the people are more likely to fall into poverty. Second, if it is not circulated, it also means that the government cannot levy taxes. They can't confiscate the mansions of the rich families one by one, right?"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked, "Does it mean that if the currency is in circulation, then we can impose taxes?"

"of course."

Deng Qianqiu was very satisfied that someone was talking to him, even though it raised questions.

Deng Qianqiu said: "Because once the currency starts to circulate, it will generate demand. With strong demand, silver will flow crazily. The faster it flows, the more it will promote production."

"I still don't understand." Zhu Yuanzhang said subconsciously.

Many people below, like Zhu Yuanzhang, were puzzled.

Deng Qianqiu was very happy. This kind of interactive class made it easier for people to absorb what they heard. So he smiled patiently and said, "Let's give an example, let's talk about Jiangning County."

"Everyone knows what Jiangning County was like before. But after the Hundred Households Office began to fight for commercial taxes, it also began to take from the people and use it for the people. How to use it for the people? Building bridges and roads, widening rivers, these measures have great benefits for Jiangning, and in this process, Jiangning County spent money like water. Not only that, all the recruited civilians and strong men, Jiangning County not only did not use corvée to apportion labor, but also adopted the method of hiring workers. So, what will happen?"

Zhu Yuanzhang held his breath and stared at Deng Qianqiu with sharp eyes. He knew that the answer he wanted might be revealed soon.

Deng Qianqiu said, "Such a huge project requires not only a large amount of manpower, but also countless material resources. These material resources naturally require a large amount of purchase. So let me ask, when many merchants see the profit, will they start to rush in like crazy? In just a few months, 79 new workshops of various types have been opened, which is a clear proof."

"Not only that, because the docks have been built and the river has been dredged, the flow of goods has become faster. This newly opened workshop requires a large number of manpower. So many manpower, they need food, clothing, shelter and transportation, and it just so happens that the Hundred Households Office and merchants have paid them salaries. What will happen?"

Deng Qianqiu continued, "This will make the market demand even more vigorous! Vigorous demand has led to expensive labor, and expensive labor means that more people have money in their hands and need more food, clothing, housing and transportation. As a result, the number of restaurants in Jiangning County has increased by 135; the number of ready-made clothing shops has increased by 42; and the number of carriages and horse-drawn shops has increased by 7. These new shops must be decorated and need to hire workers, and the required cooks, waiters, coachmen, and boatmen have added new jobs." "The more jobs there are, the more people will receive salaries, so... this will make the demand even higher. As a result, more and more merchants have realized that all the goods on the market are hot, from ready-made clothes and cloth to carriages and boats, and because the goods are in short supply, the prices of many goods have begun to rise. Merchants have seen huge profits, so... on the basis of the original 79 newly added workshops, in the past half month, Jiangning County has added more than 30 workshops."

"You see, the Hundred Households Office took out hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and invested them, but the gold and silver flow it brought was actually more than ten times that. Why? Because the demand is constantly being passed on, because it is profitable, it has leveraged more money that was originally unwilling to be hidden in the cellar. These currencies began to flow, which in turn gave rise to greater demand. The number of merchants began to double, and the number of employees also rose. When such numbers grow like a snowball, then... for the government, the amount of taxation will also double."

"So, the Hundred Households Office spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to do many good things that benefited the country and the people, but not only did it not suffer any losses, but because of the increase in demand and the prosperity of the market, it greatly increased commercial taxes, so..."

At this point, Deng Qianqiu slowed down his speech and said leisurely: "The first class we have today is "Commodities and Currency."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly had an epiphany.

This is so!

I originally thought that Deng Qianqiu was performing magic tricks, but I never expected that this guy had already predicted this.

but……

Zhu Yuanzhang obviously had a new question in his mind, so he said: "When the Tartars were here, they also encouraged merchants, but what was the final result? Those unscrupulous merchants colluded with the government and hoarded goods at high prices, but in the end, the people were still living in poverty. Isn't this a lesson for us?"

In fact, the origins of some of Zhu Yuanzhang’s bizarre national policies mostly come from the painful experiences during the Yuan Dynasty.

It can be said that it is precisely because the founding emperors of every dynasty were too good at introspection that each new dynasty began to frantically carry out patching.

For example, after the demise of the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties realized the harm of the powerful and the aristocratic families, so they frantically suppressed the powerful and the aristocratic families and even opened up the imperial examination system.

The demise of the Tang Dynasty made everyone realize the great harm posed by the warlords known as Jiedushi, so the Song Dynasty desperately emphasized civil affairs over military affairs, even to the point of being pathological.

In the Ming Dynasty, almost all of the national policies in the early Ming Dynasty can be seen as lessons from the demise of the Yuan Dynasty. Whatever the Tartars did, Zhu Yuanzhang did the opposite.

This way of patching originated from Zhu Yuanzhang's growth experience and what he saw and heard in the first half of his life. It is difficult for ordinary people to change his mind.

Deng Qianqiu looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with a smile. At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was in disguise, and he looked very serious. It seemed that at this moment, he met the old man again.

Deng Qianqiu said: "There are still countless local tyrants and evil gentry in this world. Let me ask you, is it because of this that we should kill all the gentry?"

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

Deng Qianqiu continued, "It's the same with merchants. The lesson from the Tartars should teach us to distinguish between good merchants and dishonest merchants. We should severely punish those dishonest merchants who hoard goods or conceal taxes, rather than just killing them all."

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.

At this time, many people were listening attentively, but some people were dismissive of it, thinking it was nothing but knowledge.

But some people were listening very attentively, and some even felt that Zhu Yuanzhang, this old man, was very noisy.

A scholar wearing a headscarf said, "Captain Deng, please continue to explain Commodities and Currency in detail. This person knows nothing and only wants to sabotage us. Why bother with him? If you don't want to listen, just get out. Why are you talking so much?"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang became furious. He clenched his fists and wanted to punch this guy.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was about to get angry again, Deng Qianqiu hurriedly said, "Okay, stop talking nonsense and start teaching."

Zhu Yuanzhang gradually calmed down. Although he still had many questions, Deng Qianqiu's words just now had actually shocked him enough.

The more you spend, the more money you make.

Is there such a good thing in the world?
The key to the problem is that... this is actually a profound subject.

At that moment, he ignored the scholar for a moment, but held his breath and listened carefully.

(End of this chapter)