Chapter 86
[Whoa, that's brilliant! He even came up with the idea of borrowing from the common people!]
[Isn't this just national debt?]
Xiao Yunzhou's lips twitched, his daughter had awoken.
Oh dear, he had to restrain himself a bit, he couldn't let his daughter find out he could hear her thoughts, or it might frighten the child.
"Your Majesty, what do you mean by borrowing from the common people?" Jiang Li of the Ministry of Revenue thought he must have misheard.
[Ah, so this method was the Emperor Father's idea?]
Xiao Chuchu's astonished thoughts transmitted directly into the study from the adjacent room.
Xiao Yunzhou's expression shifted as he observed the startled Jiang Li, instantly feeling impatient.
"Ahem, always asking questions!"
Xiao Yunzhou's face hardened, "I have cooked the meal and served it to you, yet you still don't know how to eat it!"
"Do you expect me to feed each of you bite by bite?"
Jiang Li blushed, and the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Revenue felt their ears burning hot.
Finally, having worked in the Ministry of Revenue for many years, Jiang Li had some financial acumen, "Your Majesty means that since Jing Country has a large population, if each person lends one coin to the imperial treasury, we could accumulate millions of taels?"
Just recently, the one million taels of silver from the bribes taken by Ritual Master Xu had been confiscated for public use, but it hadn't even warmed the Ministry of Revenue before it was divided up in just a few days.
There was money needed to repair the Yellow River's embankment breach.
Concubine Liu needed funds to sew winter clothes.
The Imperial Academy of Medicine required money to treat refugees suffering from plague.
And there were military provisions, purchasing warhorses...
Opening up trade routes, buying lamb meat...
Just thinking about it gave Jiang Li a headache.
"Your Majesty, so you've set your sights on the common people's purses?"
Jiang Li thought to himself, casting a mournful glance towards the Emperor.
"But we already collect heavy taxes from them."
"And now you've come up with this new scheme of asking the people to lend money... Alas, it's difficult!"
The common folk are naive!
If they have money, wouldn't they rather keep the doors shut and eat meat themselves?
They don't even have enough to buy meat, and you want them to lend to the Emperor?
Hmph, they'd consider lending even a single coin too much!
Unless it's soldiers and officials holding knives to their doors, forcing them.
"This will likely cause discontent among the people, Your Majesty should reconsider," the Vice Chancellor Shen Liang frowned as he cautioned.
Since ancient times, people borrow when in urgent need, not when destitute.
"Even if the people have money in hand, they would carefully consider lending even to relatives, let alone lending to the court?"
Jiang Li nodded vigorously, "Indeed. Oppressive taxes are crueler than tigers, Your Majesty should reconsider!"
Xiao Yunzhou was given such a lecture that his head started to ache, and he reached up to massage his temples.
[Woo, that's true, so we should offer the people interest!]
Xiao Chuchu exclaimed urgently from the next room.
Xiao Yunzhou heard her and nodded to himself, turning to Chancellor Fu Cha, "Chancellor, do you recall the painting you gifted me when I was still the Crown Prince?"
Chancellor Fu Cha was momentarily stunned, "The one from your birthday that year?"
"Yes," Xiao Yunzhou nodded. "At the time, the Empress Dowager taught me to be grateful for gifts from teachers, and to reciprocate."
"So the next day, I transcribed a poem to present back to you, Chancellor."
Chancellor Fu Cha's gaze flickered as he recalled that warm teacher-student memory.
But what did bringing this up now mean?
Even if he had wholeheartedly served the Crown Prince back then, now as the Chief Chancellor, he could not endorse the Emperor's tyrannical policy of forcing the people to hand over their money to fill the imperial treasury.
But just as Chancellor Fu Cha was steeling himself to firmly advise against it, he heard Xiao Yunzhou continue.
"Later on, you were indeed delighted to receive my calligraphy. For three years after, you continued gifting me paintings for my birthday."
Chancellor Fu Cha paused, "Your Majesty, you mean..."
Xiao Yunzhou nodded, his gaze drifting to the distant sunset as he struck a pensive pose.
"When the people lend money to the court."
"The court should also express gratitude by offering something in return to the people, for example, if they lend one hundred coins, I will return one hundred and twenty coins to them after one year."
Jiang Li's mouth fell open.
"The Jing Country court will serve as the guarantor."
Xiao Yunzhou leaned forward.
"As long as Jing Country does not perish, we will definitely return the people's money along with the interest."
"Even if I am no longer here, the new Emperor will honor the debt contracts as proof and act accordingly."
"The longer the loan period, the more interest the people can receive."
The Chancellors and Ministry of Revenue officials in the study all stared wide-eyed.
None of them had ever considered asking the people to lend money in the past.
But now hearing about this interest, it did seem quite possible!
"How about this, Chancellor, if I were to borrow one hundred taels from you to purchase military provisions, with a written contract promising to return one hundred and twenty taels after one year, would you be willing?"
Xiao Yunzhou looked at them.
The four Chancellors' mouths twitched.
What reason would there be for unwillingness?
An immediate twenty tael profit.
Money breeding money is far more useful than letting it sit idle at home!
"Your Majesty, this subject is willing to lend to you!" Jiang Li excitedly took the lead.
"Your Majesty, this national debt scheme is truly remarkable."
"How did Your Majesty come up with it?"
[Woo, yes, how did the Emperor Father think of it...]
Xiao Chuchu couldn't help but wonder, her thoughts echoing the question.
"..."
How did he come up with it?
Xiao Yunzhou cast a mournful glance at Jiang Li.
Naturally, it was from hearing Princess Chuchu's thoughts - 'Foundations of Modern Finance'.
But could he say that?
Could he reveal such celestial secrets to this group whose contributions to the world were negligible?
Alas.
You all lack the karmic destiny to receive such celestial blessings.
"Ahem, did I not draw inspiration from the method of force-feeding ducks the other day?" Xiao Yunzhou blatantly lied.
"Ducks are fed four meals a day, eating a lot which gets stored in their bodies as more meat and fat."
"Seeing this made me think of how you few have been eating well..." Ahem, no, "I mean, made me realize that after receiving salaries for many years, your family wealth must have accumulated quite a lot."
The Ministry of Revenue trio and the four Vice Chancellors opened their mouths wide.
Was he insinuating something?
The Emperor just called them fattened ducks?
No, the Emperor was jealous of their substantial family fortunes!
The Emperor had his sights set on their private wealth!
The officials were well-fed and plump while the imperial treasury lacked funds to provision the troops...
So the Emperor thought to ask them for loans, didn't he!
Jiang Li of the Ministry of Revenue nearly fainted.
He immediately turned pale, kneeling down and kowtowing, "Your Majesty is wise! If Your Majesty establishes a national debt, this subject will be the first to respond!"
"This subject will definitely bring out all the idle cash from home to support the urgent needs of the imperial treasury!"
[Ah, I see, the Emperor Father conceived the idea of national debt from the duck force-feeding, impressive my Father!]
Xiao Chuchu couldn't help but applaud in her heart.
Xiao Yunzhou heaved a huge sigh of relief, his back damp with nervous sweat.
It was fortunate that he, the Emperor Father, was so resourceful.
"Hmm, Chancellor Fu Cha made a good point earlier," Xiao Yunzhou recalled the thoughts of his daughter Xiao Chuchu. "We should borrow when there's urgency, not when we're poor. State debts should not last too long either, only to resolve a few months or a year or two of dire needs."
"So I was thinking, in addition to state debts, we should introduce another policy where common people can deposit and withdraw money from the state treasury at any time."
The ministers in the study room were stunned.
Xiao Chuchu, however, was excited. [Woof, this is like a bank deposit service!]
[Some people don't like risks. When they hear about lending money, they get headaches and are unwilling to do so. But depositing money carries lower risks with principal protection, so they feel more at ease.]
Xiao Yunzhou nodded inwardly as he listened, turning to the ministers in the study room. "Jiang Li, would you be willing to deposit money with me?"
"I'll pay you interest monthly. You can deposit for a month or a hundred years, whatever you wish."
Jiang Li: "......"
The Emperor is really something!
As he listened, he felt a little... tempted.
Three days later, imperial edicts were posted on the city gates of the capital.
The people who saw them were astonished!