The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 82

Big money is not available, and the government refuses to accept it. The government itself does not value it, but hopes that it will be valuable to the people. How can this make sense? I posted a notice that half of the money and miscellaneous taxes that the people should pay and everything that should be put into the treasury can be put into the treasury, and the money issued from the treasury can also be distributed with half of the money. The people think it is very convenient.

The standard for coining coins is six copper and four lead. Gansu does not produce hardware, and people mostly use pottery, so it is difficult to buy copper. The previous vassal purchased and transported one million kilograms of Yunnan copper from Sichuan, and appointed the alternate magistrate Tuoke Jing'a to undertake the task. From the third year of Xianfeng to the present, there has been a delay in delivering the goods, and no instructions have been requested for reimbursement. After several urgings, tens of thousands of kilograms of copper were delivered. There were still hundreds of thousands of kilograms that were not delivered, saying they were sunk in the river and were waiting to be salvaged. I want to borrow Yunnan copper and hurry up to cast it, which will be beneficial to people's livelihood and military pay. I then asked the Ministry of Finance to allocate two million kilograms of Yunnan copper from the treasury of Luzhou, Sichuan, and send people from Gansu to be responsible for transporting it. The freight would be paid by borrowing 10,000 taels of silver from the Sichuan treasury, and then from Shaanxi Province, part of the money sent to Gansu would be paid. Deduct and return it, eliminating the need for round-trip financing. The Ministry of Household Affairs approved the allocation of one million kilograms of copper, and I followed it. So Yang Wen, the alternate county magistrate, was appointed to go to Sichuan to handle the matter in accordance with the official document.

The former governor Yi Tang was good at criminal justice, but knew nothing about money, grain and military affairs. Yi Tang misunderstood someone who said that soaking iron with alum could instantly turn it into copper, so he started to experiment. The candidate governor of Hezhou, Jiang Li'ao, was a man who liked to do things and make trouble. When he was the governor of Hezhou in the 30th year of Daoguang reign (1850), he was accused of imposing extra fire charges and was dismissed from his post after Qi Shan reported it. His nephew, Jiang Yuanpu, was serving as a minister in the capital. In order to rescue Uncle Nai, he fabricated rumors to impeach Prime Minister Qi, saying that Prime Minister Qi was killing innocent people indiscriminately when he suppressed the Yongsha wild tribes. In addition, a group of unscrupulous censors from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, As well as Sa Ying'a, Shu Shen, Kui Dong, Wu Ruqing and others fanned the flames, it turned into a huge case, and Qi Xiang was finally brought down, venting their private hatred. Now Jiang Li'ao was on the waiting list in Gansu, and he and Yi Tang were from the same hometown of Chu and Chu, so Yi Tang asked him to take over the task of soaking iron with alum and making copper.

Jiang Li'ao first received 700 taels of silver and several strings of coins from the treasurer. After four years of delay, he did not receive much copper. After I took office, Jiang Li'ao reported that he wanted to ask for money from the treasury again. I said to him: "How can you get another payment if you haven't paid it off last time? You just have to hand over the copper as soon as possible so that you can settle the account." Jiang Li'ao knew that he couldn't deceive me, so he stopped looking for me; and the feudal lord The Yamen sent several letters to urge Tong, but Chiang ignored them. I have asked many people, and they all think that using alum to soak iron is very untrue. Although it is said in the "Compendium of Materia Medica", no one has ever tried it; I only heard that boot mirrors were made in the saddle and bridle shop in the capital, and when rubbed with alum water, the color of the iron became like copper, but it immediately changed again. It's dark. I've never heard of turning a whole piece of iron into copper.

Not long after, Jiang Li'ao died of illness, and his son, Jiang Deyu, was a Zaza who donated money to other provinces. He fabricated his father's legacy and sent it to the feudal lord and the governor's office. According to his will, it was his greatest regret in his life that he did not complete the business of soaking iron into copper. He requested that his son be allowed to inherit the business of soaking iron into copper and fulfill his last wish. I reported it directly to Ming Lebin and waited for instructions. Le Bin's masters, Peng Peilin and Jiang Deyu, are usually on the same side, and of course they will not criticize. But Le Bin didn't know much about official affairs, and he was asked to do so, so he didn't dare to refuse. He delayed for several months, and the order was reviewed by the feudal government office. I replied: "Because Jiang Gumu received 700 taels of silver and several strings of coins from the treasury during his tenure as Duanqian vassal. Calculated based on the amount of copper he had paid, it was only enough to deduct a certain amount of money, and there was still a certain amount of money short. What he received The treasury fund is 700 taels, and there is nothing left; now Jiang Deyu, the son of Gu Mu, was originally a candidate from another province, and was entrusted with Gansu errands, which was inconsistent with the regulations. Moreover, even if he was appointed, others would not obey his command, and he was not interested in copper-making. There is no benefit to the great cause. It was investigated that Jiang Deyu followed his father Jiang Li'ao to handle the copper affairs for four years, but without any results. Therefore, he could not be ordered to resume the operation. The capital should be ordered to demand the repayment of the money owed. Fu Qi said. "Le Bin didn't comment on my report for several months. I don't know the reason for this.