AWB Chapter 364 The shock brought by Gu Jingzhi!
Chapter 364 The shock brought by Gu Jingzhi!
"Marquis Xiling, you're being so polite! We're all guests at Brother Qiao's house today. We're all family, so why be so polite?"
Dong Zhentang's smile was very warm, and if you didn't know him, you would think that the two of them were old friends who had known each other for many years!
But this is also a good thing for Gu Jingzhi.
Seeing the two of them like this, Qiao Zhen was also happy. He looked around and said with a smile, "This family banquet won't be so soon. How about Brother Dong and Gu, let's go to the study for tea?"
He looked at the two of them, seemingly asking questions but actually he had already made arrangements.
He knew that Gu Jingzhi had something to say, and since he had family here, it wasn't a good place to talk.
Gu Jingzhi and Dong Zhentang naturally had no objection and agreed with a smile.
After they sat down in the study, Qiao Ze poured them some tea. Dong Zhentang glanced at the study and said with a smile, "Brother Qiao, your study doesn't look like a military family's study at all!"
Qiao Zhen listened and laughed, "He's old now, and he can't always think about fighting and killing. After two years in Ningzhou, the young man from the Gu family has actually made him like reading!"
"Oh?"
Dong Zhentang looked at Gu Jingzhi and laughed, "Marquis Xiling is the top scholar in the literary world of our Great Xia. I didn't expect that he could teach a great general like you."
Gu Jingzhi immediately smiled bitterly and said, "Minister Dong, please don't listen to the old general. I didn't teach you this. It was just that the old general would read in his spare time and teach his two children to read. That's how the habit was formed!"
"Ha ha!"
Everyone laughed when they heard this.
Dong Zhentang looked at Qiao Zhen and sighed, "But it can be said that after all the hard work, there is happiness. Now that His Majesty has made up his mind, the Qiao family can be said to be full of honor. Brother Qiao can still calm down and study at this time. I envy him!"
He wasn't being polite.
Qiao Zhen was born into a military family, and at this age, he can sit down and read a few books... As the future first relative of the emperor, it is indeed not easy.
Qiao Zhen just smiled faintly after hearing this.
If it were in the past, he might not have been able to calm down.
But during those two years in Ningzhou, his thoughts changed a lot. He went from being a peasant to a noble family, then was demoted to a remote village. His eldest son divorced him, and he raised his two sons and grandchildren by himself...
Although he still didn't show much emotional fluctuation at that time, he understood some things.
What happened to the prince in Ningzhou afterwards made him completely disheartened.
Although he has been reinstated now, the relationship between him and the prince is only one of interest. In his early years, he felt that studying was useless since he was already in a high position.
But after two years in Ningzhou, his heart completely calmed down, and he discovered that reading was actually very useful.
Seeing that he was unwilling to say more about this, Dong Zhentang sighed in his heart.
Emperor Xia's original intention of protecting his son was correct, but it was somewhat unfair to the Qiao family. After all, the involvement was too far-fetched.
There was no evidence pointing to the Qiao family at the beginning, and even the evidence pointing to the prince was vague.
The Qiao family was simply thrown out by Emperor Xia to protect his son, which was indeed unfair to the noble ministers.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but change the subject, looking at Gu Jingzhi, and said with a smile: "Gu Hou's demeanor in the court is really eye-opening. He can debate with the ministers with his literary skills and defend the borders with his military skills. There is no one like Gu Hou in the court!"
"Ha ha!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Minister Dong, you are too kind. All this is just because of your Majesty's support behind the scenes. We are just your Majesty's pawns!"
Everyone can speak official rhetoric, but how could Dong Zhentang have stayed in the position of Minister of War for so many years without the approval of Emperor Xia?
Therefore, Gu Jingzhi would not be so foolish as to say anything in front of him.
He pretended to be distressed and said, "Since I took office as the Ministry of Revenue, I have been overwhelmed with things. With the emergence of a major case like the Empty Seal Case, the Ministry of Revenue must be restructured. I am also filled with distress!"
"Although measures have been put in place in all aspects, implementing them is like walking on thin ice!"
When Dong Zhentang heard this, he also sighed.
He heard everything clearly at the court meeting that day. What Gu Jingzhi was going to do could be said to be the first time in thousands of years, and he could only listen.
However, thinking of Gu Jingzhi's currency reform, he jokingly said, "You know what, Lord Gu, with this move, all our life savings have become a pile of scrap metal!"
"Uh……"
Gu Jingzhi smiled awkwardly and said, "Excuse me, excuse me!"
It was indeed embarrassing to be pointed out in public. No matter what, the Qiao family and Dong Zhentang were all friendly forces. Although his currency reform plan was aimed at the aristocratic families, the friendly forces were also involved.
Of course, he didn't think there was anything wrong with this. After all, currency reform was generally the trend of the times.
"I never thought that the gold and silver that have been used for thousands of years would eventually be banned. Only Marquis Gu would dare to think of that!"
Dong Zhentang sighed heavily.
He couldn't say whether he agreed or disagreed with this policy, but as a member of the emperor's faction, he couldn't oppose it. After all, wealth and glory were based on power, and he could still change this!
but……
He looked at Gu Jingzhi seriously and asked, "Lord Gu, I'd like to ask you, how confident are you?"
grasp……
Gu Jingzhi thought for a moment and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, within three years at most, the new Daxia currency will be prevalent throughout Daxia. Even the gold and silver of the foreign races at the border will flow into Daxia in large quantities. By then, not only Daxia, but also the foreign races at the border will have to use Daxia's currency as the main currency for transactions!"
"Oh?"
Dong Zhentang's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Could Lord Gu elaborate?"
"That's no problem!"
Gu Jingzhi nodded and said, "Before I returned to the capital, I happened to find a batch of military pay that Yun State had allocated to the Gu family in the past, totaling one million taels of gold and five million taels of silver!"
"This money is now in the hands of His Majesty. It is intended to be used as a reference for issuing new currency..."
Listening to Gu Jingzhi's words, Dong Zhentang nodded slightly.
He could still understand this. Gu Jingzhi used gold and silver as a reference, and generally calculated how much silver he had and how much copper coins he would cast. However...
He said, "That's 15 million taels of silver. Although it's a lot, it's still far from enough. I don't know..."
"hehe!"
Gu Jingzhi smiled and said, "Fifteen million taels is certainly not enough. Not to mention it's not enough, I'm afraid it can only meet the circulation needs of a certain area. But who said I only prepared fifteen million taels of new currency of the same denomination?"
"???"
Dong Zhentang glared. "Didn't you just say that the face value of the new currency must be based on the gold and silver reserves in the national treasury? Even if we take into account the gold and silver already in the national treasury, I'm afraid there won't be much more. How much have you prepared?"
Gu Jingzhi smiled slightly, then held up five fingers: "Fifty million!"
"The first batch is issued, 50 million taels of the same denomination!"
"What?"