Kangxi was in a good mood and deliberately stayed with Dai Zi to have dinner with him before letting him go. (eng.com) If it were anyone else, Kangxi would not like to invite his subordinates to enjoy this honor. Some ministers ate with the emperor. They were polite, half-sitting, and silent while eating. They were trembling with fear and suffering, which made Kangxi feel uncomfortable when he saw them. I am afraid that only the thick-lined Dai Zi could talk freely with Kangxi while eating. He ate the several bowls of dishes placed in front of him and talked a lot. Kangxi felt that Dai Zi did not regard the emperor as an outsider and seemed quite comfortable. Probably people who are specialized in their profession and have real talents and hard work are more confident and courageous.
Kangxi had no time to spare at night, so his chamberlain led Wang Yingyuan to the imperial study. Wang Yingyuan still held the ninth-grade title of Ambassador of the Fourth Interpretation Hall in the Ministry of Rites, but he did not have to serve Mao every day, because Kangxi appointed Wang Yingyuan to take a temporary position with salary and run errands for the emperor. Kangxi was not willing to have more ministers selected by the rigid imperial examination, so there was no need for Zhang Yushu and Wang Yingyuan to leave their posts to create vacancies. If there were vacancies, someone would have to replace them, which would be bad. So Kangxi took advantage of his privileges and openly gave them the opportunity to work part-time and earn double salaries. They could take up official positions in the court and boldly take on private jobs, which was very satisfying.
It is very convenient for Wang Yingyuan to come here at night because he moved some time ago. Emperor Kangxi gave him a house in the inner city to settle down. The house was not big but it was well-equipped, but it was exquisite. When men went out to run errands, they had carriages and horses to transport them, and public expenses were reimbursed. Women did not have to go out to buy rice or vegetables, and all the purchases were made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When the goods arrive, you have to worry about food, clothing, housing and transportation. Ling Pu, who knew the inside story, was filled with jealousy. Then he thought about how he and his mother-in-law were living off the emperor's lap without spending any money, so he secretly hid his thoughts. arrive
Wang Yingyuan held several accounting books and presented them to the emperor's boss for review. All fonts, formats, and calculation methods of the new account books were converted into modern styles and re-written in accordance with the requirements specified by Kangxi. Kangxi usually reviewed the financial statements at the beginning of each month and randomly checked a few large transactions. Today, Kangxi left the palace incognito, so he had some personal experience. Kangxi checked the cash diary carefully. One line in it summarized that Boss Xiao of Jishengtang registered an income of 500 taels. He also casually checked the accounts of Zhenbaozhai. Sure enough, a pair of jade and gold Ruyi bottles were recorded in the inventory details Kangxi was quite satisfied, so he took the belongings out of the pockets of his coat and put them into the secret pocket of his underwear. This was Chi Guo Guo Di's transfer of private money
The income recorded in the small account last month showed that the actual cash receipts were 39,600 taels; a total of 13 calligraphy and paintings were handed over to Songyitang for auction, and nine had been sold, totaling 11,200 taels; and 3 toys Twelve pieces were handed over to Zhenbaozhai for auction. Nineteen pieces have been sold, totaling 23,000 taels of silver
Kangxi was very fast in mental arithmetic. It only took him about ten minutes to check the total amount of all the account books. After the reconciliation was completed, he put his private business aside and began to discuss with Wang Yingyuan the main business of establishing a bank.
Originally, due to limited energy, Kangxi wanted to put the bank plan on hold for a while, but recently there was news from the east that merchant ships to Japan had returned and a large amount of copper was about to arrive. After the new version of copper coins is minted, a series of actions such as issuance, promotion, and exchange of old coins for new ones should be supervised and executed by a reliable and stable department under the guidance of the government.
In the past, the imperial court would issue new coins from time to time, especially when dynasties changed. After the new emperor ascended the throne, most of them wanted to print their reign number on the coins and circulate them around the world, just like commemorative coins. At that time, most of the old copper coins were partially melted down and recast into new coins. There was generally no initiative to recycle the old coins to reduce circulation. At most, the court announced that they would not allow them to be used. As a result, in many remote mountainous areas, all kinds of copper coins could be used. Some still use shells.
Since Kangxi wanted to do something, he didn't want to do it half-heartedly. If he wanted to do it, he should make it perfect. He simply set up the bank counter first and took over the ordinary new currency issuance and exchange business. Later, he would talk about deposits and loans. At least government-run banks should be more reliable than underground banks.