Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Your Majesty agrees?"

In the newly established Daming Bank, Jiang Xinghuo was looking at the data on the circulation of banknotes and the recycling of recent treasury bonds.

"How can I disagree?" Xia Yuanji was not very happy and sighed.

Daming Bank is mainly composed of the banknote withdrawal department and the treasury bond withdrawal department of the account department, as well as newly established analysis agencies, market regulatory agencies and physical bank branches. At present, the business scope of the branches is only limited to Nanjing.

Since there are no formal banks in Ming Dynasty and it faces huge pressure on currency recovery, the current Ming Dynasty Bank not only assumes the responsibilities of the central bank to formulate monetary policy and issue currency, but also undertakes financial supervision, market supervision, as well as the issuance of national bonds and the recycling of exchange treasures. banknote's responsibilities.

It can be said that this is already the top financial institution in the entire city of Nanjing, and even in the world.

Jiang Xinghuo was not satisfied with this.

Because starting from the middle of this year, some bad phenomena began to appear - that is, the Ming Dynasty government bonds began to be unable to be sold!

In the first version, the Ming Dynasty national debt was bound to the income of the fertilizer workshop. Later versions did not have this condition. Now among the various national debts, only the war debt of Annan and the glass workshop are bound. In terms of dynamic treasury bonds (with upper limits), these two are selling better, while the others are basically in a semi-sluggish state.

In order to sell national debt to collect the treasure banknotes that are still flooding the market, the newly established Daming Bank has tried every means, but the results are still very little. The people no longer have the enthusiasm at the beginning, and the wealthy businessmen have Landowners and landowners will also consider the issue of rate of return. If there is a war or specialize in commodity government bonds, they will not choose to buy ordinary government bonds.

Despite its efforts, the imperial court has been adopting an overly loose monetary policy, and this situation has been maintained for more than thirty years.

Well, it's not "excessive easing" at all. The Hongwu Dynasty was just printing money uncontrollably and flooding the country with floods.

If this continues...

"Look at these data. It's probably impossible to control the excess flow of Ming Dynasty banknotes by selling national debt alone."

The prepared data chart shows the monthly recycling volume of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, as well as detailed information such as the actual copper coin-bao banknote exchange ratio, treasury bond exchange price, etc. on the market.

After Xia Yuanji read it carefully, he sketched it in his mind.

"We still need to step up efforts to ban gold and silver trading."

This is a repeat of an old tune. In April this year, the imperial court issued an edict to Xipinghou Mu Sheng and the Yunnan Chief Envoy, ordering Yunnan's territory to "improve the currency law and ban gold and silver trading. The offenders must be considered evil, and those who have the ability to lead" The arrester will be rewarded with the gold and silver he has traded, and the person who surrendered after the two-way transaction will not be imprisoned, and the reward will be the same as the first arrest. If you buy jewelry and utensils, it is not prohibited." This was the last chief envoy since the 35th year of Hongwu. The company was ordered to ban gold and silver trading.

The purpose of banning gold and silver trading is naturally to help stabilize the currency value of treasure banknotes, because the greater the circulation of illegal currencies such as gold and silver among the private sector, the smaller the circulation of treasure banknotes.

Although the imperial court sometimes converted value units such as grain, copper coins, and cloth into tens of thousands of taels of silver for the convenience of calculation, in fact, the Ming Dynasty did not have so much silver in circulation, and silver was not legal currency.

But can the value of treasure banknotes be stabilized simply by banning gold and silver transactions?

It's obviously impossible.

The root problem of the depreciation of Baobao lies in printing too much, rather than being squeezed out of the market by other currencies. There is a saying that to forge iron, you need to be strong yourself. If you are not good enough, even if all competitors are artificially BAN, what can be changed? ?

"It's useless." Jiang Xinghuo said.

Xia Yuanji was a little slumped. Of course he knew that this method was of little use and that it would treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. However, in traditional financial management techniques, this was the only solution.

"The actual currency value of Ming Dynasty banknotes has rebounded, but it is still too far away from reaching the point where banknotes can be exchanged." Xia Yuanji fell into deep thought.

If we want to avoid the mistakes of the Yuan Dynasty in the next few years and not let banknote exchange become a tool to harvest people's wealth, but truly achieve proportional exchange and use the price of silver as the anchor for new banknotes, then we must In order to raise the value of the severely depreciated treasure banknotes, we must recycle the treasure banknotes that are flooding in the market on a large scale.

But the current actual situation is that neither the ban on gold and silver trading nor the Ming Dynasty's national debt can have this effect.

"The first year of Yongle is not over yet, and there are still a few months until the New Year. There is plenty of time to prepare." Jiang Xinghuo rubbed his chin and pondered secretly.

The adjustment of the entire monetary system is by no means an easy matter. Any small variable may lead to extremely huge and serious consequences. However, in any case, the Ming Dynasty Baochao is a relatively pure currency, and the gameplay is not as complicated as that of later generations. , so there are still ways.

"Master Jiang, is there anything you can do?"

The central bank's tightening monetary policies are nothing more than those. The first is to reduce the amount of currency issuance. This is already being done by Daming Bank. It plans to reduce the amount of new currency issuance every year. It is definitely not possible to directly stop issuance. Because there is a demand for currency circulation, to use a vivid metaphor, it is the same as people cannot eat a bite of food in order to lose weight; the second is national debt, needless to say; the third is the business of the central bank and commercial banks, such as control The scale of credit, raising the deposit reserve ratio, and raising the rediscount rate simply do not exist now because there are no commercial banks in Ming Dynasty.

Although there was no answer that could be copied directly, the thoughts in Jiang Xinghuo's mind were not completely constrained.

As the only main currency, Ming Dynasty Baobao Banknotes can be used by everyone as long as they have this thing in hand.

So, how can we prevent the treasure banknotes from being used?

For example, stocks.

With the emergence of the corporate system, it is naturally not difficult to buy stocks, because stocks were used to finance companies during the great voyages from the beginning, and they are not a modern thing.

In Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, the world's earliest joint-stock company system was born in 1602 (the first year of Yongle was 1403), which was the East India Company established in the Netherlands. After the emergence of the joint-stock company as an organizational form, it soon Widely used in Western countries. With the birth and development of joint-stock companies, the method of raising capital in the form of stocks has also developed, and there has been a need to buy, sell and transfer stocks. This has led to the emergence and formation of the stock market and promoted the emergence and formation of the stock market. The stock market is improving and developing.

It was also the East India Company. In 1611, the company's shareholders began trading stocks on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, and later there were specialized brokers to facilitate transactions. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange formed the world's first stock market.

It makes no sense that what Westerners can do two hundred years later, after the Eastern Ming Dynasty promoted the corporate system, they would not be able to do it two hundred years earlier. After all, there are no technically insurmountable difficulties in the original stock and stock market. And if we look at factors such as funding, the Ming Dynasty may be even stronger than the West two hundred years later.

Jiang Xinghuo had this idea.

The stock market can indeed absorb a large amount of treasure money in the market.

But the problem is that there are no mature related concepts in this world, so if Jiang Xinghuo wants to do it, it is equivalent to creating something out of thin air. There will be many uncontrollable factors, and it is destined to start on a small scale.

However, the scale of the stock market is small, and if it develops gradually, it will not be able to absorb precious money into the pool.

Moreover, after constant battles in the temple, Jiang Xinghuo gradually gained a new perspective on things and became sensitive to the key points of some issues.

If you have the conditions to do stocks and the stock market, it does not mean that you must do it, because under the current feudal dynasty system of the Ming Dynasty, many things are not what you want to do in the end, but what you want to do will eventually change. It has to be exactly the opposite of what you think.

He also knew that in the Ming Dynasty, when a large amount of wealth was concentrated together, it was not good news.

This kind of thing often means disaster.

Just like those wealthy businessmen in history, they clearly hold an astonishing amount of wealth in their hands, but as long as the imperial will covets it a little, they will still be reduced to a lamb to be slaughtered, leading to the decline of the family.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't want to pull the plug and work hard, but was cut off from the leek in the end. After all, the Ming Dynasty did not yet have a mature business system and financial transaction system.

Therefore, after hesitating for a long time, he finally shook his head.

"Huh?" Just as Jiang Xinghuo was thinking hard, an idea suddenly appeared in his mind, "What if the treasure notes and the salt method are treated as one thing?"

When Xia Yuanji heard this idea, he also fell into deep thought.

Xia Yuanji quickly figured out the key points, but his expression became extremely solemn.

What do you mean by treating Bao Chao and Salt Law as one thing? To put it bluntly, it is to expand the distribution scale of salt currency on the premise of meeting the requirements of opening up China and France to supply the border army with military rations. In other words, merchants recycle treasure banknotes from the private sector, and then use these treasure banknotes to exchange salt currency with the court. In this way, Come, the imperial court will quickly be able to recycle a large number of treasure banknotes, and then make the actual currency value of the treasure banknotes close to the paper currency value.

But no policy is perfect, so at what cost?

"This is overdrafting the potential of the salt method, Yin Chi Mao Liang."

Jiang Xinghuo disagreed with him, shook his head and said, "This is killing two birds with one stone."

Xia Yuanji is still a little worried. He is worried that doing so will not only make the salt law more and more out of control, but if it is not done well, the banknote law will be self-defeating and even affect the entire national economy and people's livelihood. This is not an exaggeration. The supply of salt has increased. According to the most basic common sense of economics, the price of salt will inevitably fall, and the court's profits from salt will decrease. Of course, the court does not have to recognize this price, but the consequence of this is that the official salt will begin to be unsaleable again, and the private salt will become unsaleable. Massive flooding of salt.

At that time, the government's salt quotations would become another version of the Ming Dynasty treasure notes. The prices were all inflated and seriously inconsistent with the actual value.

The method of "adding salt to the banknotes" is equivalent to pressing the gourd to float the ladle, and the currency depreciation of the banknote method is a chronic poison. According to the absolute rate, it only depreciates by 1-3% every year. The Hongwu Dynasty lasted more than thirty years. Only less than 10% of the depreciation is left. Everyone is used to it. At most, copper coins are used for transactions instead of treasure notes.

But the price of salt is different. If there is a problem with this thing and the people cannot afford salt, they will rebel.

"You can continue next year, you can continue the year after that. What about the year after and the year after that? I have calculated it before. The amount of salt that people eat every year is certain. If you use more salt to attract money back, the effect will become weaker and weaker. , and the consequences are completely unknowable." Xia Yuanji clearly expressed his concerns.

Of course Jiang Xinghuo was justified in this concern, but after some thinking, Jiang Xinghuo still said.

"The reform of the entire currency and taxation system is a systematic project. We cannot just look at the changes in one or two systems, let alone treat the national economy as a static state. The battle of Annan is about to be won, and Li Jinglong has already passed it. Glue defeated the main force of Annan's army on the southern front. Once Annan's market is obtained, the scale of Ming's foreign trade will inevitably reach a new level, and the markets of so many surrounding countries are waiting for Ming to expand."

Jiang Xinghuo did not continue, but Xia Yuanji understood what he meant.

Jiang Xinghuo is gambling.

He is betting that the speed of Ming Dynasty's foreign trade expansion and economic growth will definitely create spillover effects.

What are spillover effects? To use an analogy, the total amount of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes is regarded as a reservoir. Currently, there is too much water in the pond, which has far exceeded the warning line and is about to overflow.

What Jiang Xinghuo has to do is to reduce the water supply inside the reservoir (to reduce the printing of new Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes), while draining water from the pond through the sewer (the Ming Dynasty treasury bonds and "salt in the banknotes" return currency), and on the other hand It is to open up the connection between the reservoir and several pits of different sizes (markets in Annan and other countries) next to it, so that these pits can carry the overflowing water.

In this way, a three-pronged approach, as long as the currency value of the Ming Dynasty banknotes can be quickly restored before problems with the salt price arise, then the "salt in banknotes" method will be successful.

This kind of recovery does not even require a complete recovery of the paper currency value. It only needs to recover 40-50% to reach the baseline for banknote replacement.

After all, salt is a necessary consumer product for the public. In the short term, that is, within one or two years, increasing the supply will not cause much fluctuation in the price of salt, because people can eat more of it themselves or hoard it.

The supply of salt will only begin to affect the market after it exceeds the people's own consumption limit and hoarding limit.

This time can be obtained at least one or two years.

Even if the market price of salt is affected, it is still not in a dangerous situation, because the price of salt is difficult to drop all of a sudden. The salt farms are controlled by the court. If the price of salt drops, the "salt in banknotes" will be stopped next year. With additional increases, or simply tightening the quantity of salt introduced, the price of salt will naturally rise back.

But objectively speaking, this idea is a bit wishful thinking. No one is sure whether the three-pronged approach of "salt in banknotes", Ming Dynasty treasury bonds, and overseas markets can safely drain the reservoir that has accumulated for more than 30 years. Warning line location.

"What if it fails?"

Needless to say, waiting for the outcome of Jiang Xinghuo and Xia Yuanji is not just as simple as being demoted or dismissed.

You may not even be able to save your life.

After all, it is not uncommon in history to introduce a scapegoat to make the people angry, and many of these scapegoats are the original leaders.

After Jiang Xinghuo heard Xia Yuanji's words, he was silent for a long time, and then said: "Don't worry, as long as the salt affairs can be rectified, there will be no problems, but this premise must be that the salt affairs can be rectified thoroughly, otherwise there will be no further problems." No matter how exquisite the design is, if it cannot be implemented, it will become a castle in the air."

"Of course, no one would have dared to try the 'salt in banknotes' project at the beginning. We just took advantage of this opportunity of Nanjing's major banks to move from underground to above ground, so that Daming Bank can also start its business."

"Master Jiang means?" Xia Yuanji was stunned, and then his face suddenly changed as if he thought of something.

"I plan to lend this money to the private sector as a special loan to help businessmen who don't have that much Ming Dynasty treasure money on hand."

Jiang Xinghuo said slowly.

When Xia Yuanji heard this, his eyes suddenly widened: "Lending to the private sector? But where do we get so much money?"

He knew what Jiang Xinghuo meant, but if Daming Bank didn't print money, it really wouldn't have that much money.

And although the imperial court has been encouraging merchants to do business and make money, it does not mean that the imperial court will fund these merchants in this way! This can easily be labeled as colluding with businessmen and harming the interests of the court.

Now, just a few days after Jiang Xinghuo took office as CEO, the main department under Daming Bank, that is, the banknote withdrawal department allocated from the household department, has little money on hand. The national debt withdrawal department has ordinary people, businessmen, and nobles. The money obtained from the purchase of national bonds by officials, officials, etc., but this money cannot be used easily. After all, it has to repay principal and interest. This embarrassing situation makes it impossible for Daming Bank to come up with more money to pay to Special loans for "salt in banknotes".

"You don't have to worry about the money."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled lightly: "I have my own way to raise the funds."

"But what Master Jiang has," Xia Yuanji said hesitantly, "I'm afraid there's still a long way to go, right?"

"It doesn't matter, just leave this matter to me."

Jiang Xinghuo didn't say how he raised money, but just said: "In addition, you don't have to worry too much about the amount of banknotes collected in the 'Salt in Money' collection. You won't put in a lot of money at the beginning. There is always a gradual process." There can be no mistakes in the process.”

Seeing this, Xia Yuanji felt much more relaxed, nodded and said, "Master Jiang will have to work hard during this period."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded: "There are still many things to do in the Household Department, so go ahead and do your work first. I will leave after reading this report."

Xia Yuanji cupped his hands and exited the room of the CEO of Daming Bank.

After Xia Yuanji left, Jiang Xinghuo sat in silence for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and murmured: "It's time to open."

——————

The guild halls of major salt merchants in Nanjing City also began to receive news gradually.

Not long after Ma Jing was imprisoned, worse news came one after another.

"All military and civilian personnel are allowed to deposit old banknotes in the treasury of the Ming Dynasty Bank in the capital and go to the six salt transportation departments in Lianghuai, Changlu, Hedong, Shandong, Fujian and Guangdong. Regardless of seniority, salt will be distributed per kilogram of salt, and treasure banknotes will be collected consistently. ; If the amount of salt is large, then Lianghuai and Changlu will quote 300 guan each time, Hedong and Shandong each 150 guan, Fujian and Guangdong each 100 guan; the common people can use it both public and private, and the banknote method is also clear, such as Na If you don’t have enough cash and are willing, Daming Bank can provide a special loan of no more than 30% for one year, and you will need to repay it with copper coins later.”

Why is "salt in banknotes" bad news for salt merchants?

Because of two points, first, the court not only opened the door, but also set the threshold very low. Although ordinary people could not go to the salt field to get a pound of salt by themselves, the court did not restrict the form of group buying. The gameplay was similar to that of the whole village in later generations. Raising funds for real estate speculation is the same. In addition, for small and medium-sized businessmen who do not have enough cash, Daming Bank also thoughtfully provides special loans, lending you cash to spend, and finally paying back copper coins. The interest rate is very low.

Second, more people are buying salt with treasure banknotes, which is equivalent to a disguised attack on the private salt in the hands of salt merchants, because as long as you can get it from the government with treasure banknotes, you don’t need to go to the salt merchants to buy private salt. .

In the city of Nanjing, Wu Chuanjia, the head of the Wu family of Huai merchants who had participated in the auction before, was also in a panic. At this time, he was restless. He kept pacing around the house with sweat on his forehead.

The announcement on the table hit Wu Chuanjia on the head like a thunderbolt from the clear sky. After taking a few steps, Wu Chuanjia felt his eyes go dark and almost fainted.

After sitting down and calming down for a long time, Wu Chuanjia was speechless. He knew that he would not be able to escape this time. Not only that, his family would also be implicated.

"Yuan Gong read my fortune and told me that I would have a certain threshold when I was forty. Now it seems that it has come true." Wu Chuanjia murmured.

"Brother, what should we do now?" his clan brother asked.

Nowadays, people in the Wu family's business are in a state of panic.

The Wu family is one of the largest Huai merchants. The bad things in the Lianghuai Salt Fields, whether it is directly trading surplus salt with kitchen households, or reversing the order of paying grain and collecting salt, are inseparable from the Wu family. Although the Wu family always They removed themselves and let subordinate companies that transferred several layers of control do it, but this was the era of feudal imperial power! Do you think that without evidence, nothing can be done against you? That's so childish.

Wu Chuanjia took a deep breath and said: "Our only hope now is to get Mr. Hou to talk, otherwise we will really be dead!"

The Marquis is the descendant of the Huai Shang Wu family, the Anlu Marquis. The Anlu Marquis of this generation is Wu Jie.

As one of the few second-generation nobles who could fight, Wu Jie was a veritable famous general of the Southern Army. During the Battle of Jingnan, he followed Geng Bingwen and Li Jinglong to fight against Zhu Di's Yan army, and participated in the two battles of Zhending and Baigouhe. The performance was okay, but he was blamed for it and did not participate in the second half of the Jingnan battle.

As for Wu Jie's father, Wu Fu, the Duke of Guizhou, although he is not famous, he is an important minister who followed Zhu Yuanzhang throughout the game and a core member of the Huaixi Group. Wu Jie's sister is the Princess of Qi. The Jianwen Dynasty was a top-notch wealthy family, and the power in the temple was also very high, so they were qualified to support the branches of their hometown to become the leaders of Huai merchants.

But now the situation has changed, and among the core families of the Huaixi Group, except for Li Jinglong of Cao Guogong's Mansion, who has barely returned to the center of the political stage, the other families are feeling a little frustrated.

The clan brother said: "But how could the Marquis agree to intercede with His Majesty at this time? You must know that Jiang Xinghuo used thunderous methods when he took action. He ordered so many people to be killed, and now even the Minister of Punishment has been arrested!"

Wu Chuanjia shook his head bitterly and said: "No matter what, this matter must be resolved!"

Wu Chuanjia thought for a while and told his younger brother: "You go and prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and I will write a document. Our family has served Anluhou Mansion for so many years, and Anluhou Mansion cannot ignore death."

The clan brother hesitated for a moment and asked, "Brother, will doing this make the Marquis resentful?"

Wu Chuanjia sighed: "I don't want to do this, but if I don't do this, I will definitely go to jail or even beheaded. Although Wu Jie is not as majestic as before, he is still the Marquis of Anlu and is still a senior official in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. , he has many friends, relatives, and disciples in the court. What's more, without us, how can he maintain such extravagant ostentation in Anluhou Mansion?"

What Wu Chuanjia said was true. Wu Jie was indeed able and possible to help him at this time.

And this undoubtedly contains some hints of threats.

The Wu family of Huaihe merchants had served the Anlu Marquis Mansion for so many years and delivered so much money, so naturally they had evidence in their hands.

You can be groveling at ordinary times, because you have to rely on the name and connections of the Anluhou Mansion to do business, but when it comes to life and death, you have to be tough when it's time to be tough.

"Okay, I'll do it right away."

The clan brother turned around and went out, and returned to the room a moment later. He already had pen, ink, paper and inkstone in his hand.

Wu Chuanjia wrote at his desk and then handed it over to someone to send to the Anlu Marquis Mansion.

However, not long after, the man came back and brought back a letter.

Wu Chuanjia took the letter and looked at it for a few times, his face changed slightly, and he growled: "You are not the son of a man!"

Obviously, Anlu Hou Wu Jie did not intend to help him.

Wu Chuanjia took out a wooden box from a secret place. There was an account book hidden in it. The account book was written in extremely detail. It clearly wrote down the financial transactions between the Anlu Marquis Mansion and the Wu family of Huai merchants. It also recorded many relevant witnesses. .

These evidences were all left behind by Wu Chuanjia privately. Obviously, Wu Chuanjia had selfish motives in collecting these evidences. Even if these evidences could not completely bring down the Anlu Hou Mansion, they were enough to convict Wu Jie of corruption and perversion of the law.

This is a completely self-destructive strategy. If it is exposed, the Wu family of Huai merchants and the Anlu Hou Mansion will be destroyed.

"Brother, if this thing is sent up, Your Majesty will definitely be furious. Then it won't be a matter of one or two people dying! Our whole clan will have to be buried with him!" the clan brother eagerly dissuaded.

"Do you think Wu Jie won't guess that we have evidence in our hands? Why is he so confident at this time that he wants to sacrifice us to protect himself? It's because he, like you, thinks I don't dare to use it."

Wu Chuanjia gasped for breath, and after a while he said: "He feels that humble businessmen like us, who value profit the most, must be willing to sacrifice a few or dozens of people to preserve the continuation of the family. But he didn’t know that I had other options.”

Wu Chuanjia's words made the clan brother's eyes widen in shock.

He swallowed involuntarily and asked in a trembling voice: "Other options?"

Wu Chuanjia was silent for a moment, and then slowly said: "You were right before, once this thing is sent up, Your Majesty will not let me go lightly, and the lives of our entire family may not be saved, but if we don't send it up, I will eventually I don't want to die, I want to give this thing to the Imperial Preceptor. I talked to the Imperial Preceptor at the auction and the banquet for the rich Japanese businessman. The Imperial Preceptor is not a person who despises businessmen, and he understands the interests very well. Trade-offs.”

When the clan brother heard this, he couldn't help but slap his legs and said: "Brother, you are confused! Haven't you seen the current situation clearly? It is the national master who is rectifying the salt affairs, and it is the national master who wants our lives. There is no need for the national master to investigate. , take the initiative to explain yourself, aren’t you giving him a chance?”

Wu Chuanjia slumped weakly on the chair and said, "I know, but I'm not willing to accept it. I don't accept it!"

It took Wu Chuanjia a long while to straighten up, hold his knees, and gritted his teeth and said: "Only if this thing is given to the Imperial Master, and we make a deal with the Imperial Master, and do what the Imperial Master wants us to do most, will he let our Wu family go. "

"Brother, you are gambling with the wealth and life of the whole family!"

"certainly."

Wu Chuanjia knew very well that he was gambling, but as the top businessman in the Ming Dynasty, he also knew that he had a bargaining chip in his hand.

The bargaining chip is not only the ledger in this box, but also the Wu family's resources in Huaishang.

As the owners of the Lianghuai Salt Fields, Huai merchants must resist Jiang Xinghuo's rectification of salt affairs for their own fundamental interests. Local gangsters unite together, and Jiang Xinghuo's work will not make any progress for a while.

And if the Wu family can jump back, then Jiang Xinghuo will undoubtedly be much more handy if he obtains relevant intelligence, inside information, and resources.

Wu Chuanjia was betting that he was right about Jiang Xinghuo.

This Imperial Master is also a master of business.