Chapter 1259: Yang Zhaos Worries! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
”Haha, Big Brother, long time no see!”
Wang Chong faintly smiled, clearly not minding that he had been called by his actual name. He pointed at a nearby table and chair and indicated that Yang Zhao should sit.
A maid came over to pour new tea and serve a new set of pastries.
”Big Brother, you seem extremely worried over something. Just what has you in such a state? Have the Confucians also started to censure you as well?”
Wang Chong took a light sip of his tea and smiled.
”Worthy brother, I don't have a single shred of military authority, and it's not like I'm enemies with them, so why would they pay any attention to me? But if I don't handle this matter well, I fear that the Confucians might actually censure me.”
Yang Zhao sighed, his brow creasing in worry.
”Oh?”
Wang Chong raised an eyebrow and his expression immediately turned serious.
”It sounds rather serious. Just what has happened?”
”This is actually related to you. You remember the gold yuan certificates you proposed to His Majesty?”
Yang Zhao's brow was creased in worry as he brought up the proposal Wang Chong had made to the Bureau of Revenue a long time ago.
”Whether it's gold or silver, small households and establishments really don't care, and they can get by just carrying around a few loose pieces of silver. If they need to travel to a faraway place, they just get a cloth bag and tie it to their belt. But the Great Tang is currently thriving and prosperous, and countless tycoons and merchants crisscross the empire. Every day, the amount of silver going in and out is like a surging river, and it truly feels like they spend money like water. This is no small sum. This is particularly the case with a few of the noble clans. After several hundred years of inheritance, they've come to control many caravans that can influence commodity prices throughout the Nine Provinces. A single deal can involve tens of thousands of taels of gold or silver. Carrying this much gold or silver around is extremely inconvenient. Thus, the Imperial Court adopted your proposal and began to heavily promote the use of gold yuan certificates. Later on, after many twists and turns, His Majesty gave this matter over to me to handle. At the start, the policy managed to resolve quite a few things, but problems started to crop up.
”For some reason, many factions have begun to reject the use of gold yuan certificates. If paying with actual gold or silver, they will take the stated price, but if paying with gold yuan certificates for the same thing, they will demand an additional twenty or thirty percent, sometimes even more than that. Gold yuan certificates are losing more and more of their value now; many factions are no longer so happy to take them, and use of gold yuan certificates is avoided wherever possible. They're even more willing to carry around heavy chests of gold and silver, taking the risk of being robbed by bandits, than accept the gold yuan certificates issued by the Imperial Court.
”You also understand that the Imperial Court's promotion of gold yuan certificates is soft in nature, and if they don't accept it, there's nothing we can do. Not only that, it was only the noble clans on the borders that were rejecting gold yuan certificates at first, but later on, even the great clans of the capital began to resist them. Privately, some people have already begun to trade gold yuan certificates amongst each other, even though the Imperial Court has stressed again and again that they shouldn't. If this continues, we'll have a major problem on our hands! Once you've shot an arrow, there's no getting it back, and the Imperial Court has already expended a great deal of time and effort into promoting the gold yuan certificates. If the gold yuan certificates are completely rejected, the Imperial Court will immediately suffer enormous losses, and this is highly likely to affect the welfare of the people. After all, a problem with gold yuan certificates is a problem of money. Pulling a hair can cause the entire body to move, and this effect isn't something that can be stopped if the Imperial Court recalls all the gold yuan certificates. This could even have major economic ramifications!”
The more Yang Zhao spoke, the more worried and depressed he became.
”Worthy brother, you also know that many people privately aren't happy that I was made Chamberlain of Palace Revenues. Countless people in the court, even the officials of the Bureau of Revenue, are keeping a close watch on me. If I show the slightest weakness, they'll immediately drag me off my horse and make sure that I never recover. I feel like I'm sitting on a bed of nails! You were the one who thought up the idea of gold yuan certificates. No matter what, you have to help me!”
Yang Zhao suddenly clutched Wang Chong's arm like he was a drowning man clutching onto a straw, his expression fraught with panic.
Wang Chong said nothing, instead beginning to carefully examine Yang Zhao. He had heard some things about Yang Zhao's current circumstances. Given his status as cousin to Consort Taizhen, no one in the palace dared to directly criticize him. However, quite a few people criticized him in private, with the majority of the criticisms aiming at his family background and his proclivity for gambling. But Wang Chong also knew that Yang Zhao did not enjoy the favor of the Sage Emperor merely because of his connection to Consort Taizhen. Although he was not born to a very good family and had his various problems, he possessed astonishing talent when it came to numbers and finances. That he could recognize that the problem of the gold yuan certificates was not an isolated problem and could have hidden economic effects was already proof enough of his talents in this field. Moreover, Wang Chong also knew that Yang Zhao had relied on his skill in economics to rise through the ranks of officialdom.
”Let me ask you, just how many gold yuan certificates have been printed?” Wang Chong bluntly asked.
”This… it– it shouldn't be that many…” Yang Zhao immediately began to stammer.
”Hmph, not that many? If it wasn't that many, would we have the current situation? If you want me to help you, you have to tell me the truth.”