Five days later, Zhao Xin signed a loan agreement with Guangnan on behalf of Beihai Town and paid the first installment of 600,000 silver dollars through the Bacheng Military Control Commission.
The loan period this time is ten years, with an annual interest of 3%. The payment method is divided into three installments. The monetary part of 1.2 million silver dollars will be completed within half a year, and the other 800,000 will be completed within one year in the form of arms and supplies. Beihai
The quotations for weapons and ammunition provided by the town were all made into a booklet, and Nguyen Phuc King had to take it back and read the details carefully, and finally Nguyen Phuc Anh made the final decision. As before, 300,000 silver dollars will be paid in copper coins, and now the Mint in Hoi An is busy again.
It's no longer possible to trade.
Chen Jue got his wish and got the first-level agent of cooling oil. In addition, Zhao Xin also asked the Bacheng Trade Department and Chen Jue to sign a wood purchase agreement totaling up to five million silver dollars. The two parties agreed that the Chen family's business would be established in five years.
Internally, it provides Beihai Town with a large amount of shipbuilding timber, including ironwood and teak, and the delivery location is located at the Citrus Ao base.
This big deal from heaven made Chen Xiaolei very nervous. After the agreement was signed, she immediately expressed to Ruan Fujing that she would give half of the share. She did not dare to monopolize such a big business. In her heart, she thought that Zhao Xin was using some kind of method.
way to express apology, but the latter is not what it means at all.
Zhao Xin bought so much wood not only for Beihai Town's own use, but also because he was inspired by Kong Shaoan's "fishery cooperative". Nowadays, shipbuilding along the northern coast almost all uses southern fir and pine. Not only are they expensive, but they are also used by fishermen.
Most of the boats were single-masted boats with insufficient power. Moreover, due to the Qing Dynasty's sea ban policy, the largest fishing boat only weighed 500 shi, equivalent to 30 tons. It was unthinkable to go fishing overseas.
After finishing all this, Zhao Xin and He Xiwen, who had returned from Xilang, talked behind closed doors for an afternoon. Early the next morning, he took A Miao and the guard company on the journey back north.
Watching the huge Thor go away, Chen Yan felt a little more disappointed for some reason. If it weren't for the fact that she couldn't live without it as the head of the family, she really wanted to visit Beihai Town.
One day later, the Thor docked near the estuary of the Kajiang River in West Borneo. Luo Fangbai, Xie Jie and other leading Chinese figures, who had been notified in advance and were already waiting at the new port, boarded the ship to pay their respects.
This matter had been decided a long time ago, but it was postponed for a few days due to the arrival of the Guangnan delegation. Zhao Xin felt that instead of letting these Chinese brothers go to Bacheng sparsely, it would be better to come over by himself and arrive all at once.
After the harmonious meeting scene ended, Zhao Xin held a meeting with more than 20 Chinese elder brothers in the conference room on the ship. His move made all the elder brothers feel that they were embarrassed, because they knew that the people in front of them were
He is the future "Emperor". We don't even have any official title, but we can actually sit in the same room with the Emperor to "discuss national affairs." Who would believe it!
Everyone present, including Luo Fangbai, Wu Yuansheng and Xie Jie, was ready to erect a monument when they returned home to write down this matter.
However, the next words of "Emperor Zhao" gave these big brothers a blow to the head.
He told these Chinese brothers in a serious tone that considering the contracts that various companies had signed, that would be the case this year. However, starting from New Year's Day in 1794, Chinese mines in West Borneo were prohibited from selling gold and silver to maritime merchants, or directly
Use gold and silver to purchase supplies. In the future, all gold and silver produced in West Borneo will be exclusively purchased by the Bacheng Military Control Commission; in addition, half of the output of tin mines must also be purchased by Bacheng. Diamonds are not included in this list and can be sold at will.
"This matter will be issued by various administrative offices in West Borneo in the form of decrees. It must be communicated to every mine before the new year!"
As Zhao Xin spoke, he looked around at the astonished Chinese elders present. He continued: "I'm going to put the ugly words in front of you. By next year, no matter which company it is, if it dares to sell gold and silver to foreign businessmen, as long as it is
If found out, all mines will be fined and the mine owners will not only be fined, but also jailed!"
The half-hour meeting ended quickly. When Zhao Xin left with Chai Rugui and others, everyone in the room was silent. Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie winked at each other, then stood up and followed them out, leaving a group of people looking at each other.
The Chinese big brother.
Zhao Xin knew that Luo and Xie would come to him soon. He was too lazy to explain to the big brothers just now. His Mandarin with a Beijing accent made many people listen to him; Luo Fangbai had to follow almost every sentence he said.
Translating a sentence in Hakka is really verbose.
When Luo and Xie came in, they found that the furnishings in the cabin were not as magnificent as they imagined, but simple. This gave them another layer of understanding of Zhao Xin.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for being stupid, but this ban on the use of gold and silver..."
"You don't understand, right?"
Zhao Xin smiled slightly, waved his hand for the two of them to sit down, and then said: "Let me ask you something first. How many types of Western gold and silver coins are circulating in the market in Nanyang now?"
Luo Fangbai thought for a while and said: "There are always dozens of kinds."
"How much is the total amount in circulation?"
The two of them were stunned when they heard this, wondering how they could count clearly.
"Then do you two know why foreign money is so popular in Nanyang?"
Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie thought for a while and gave answers including being easy to carry, easy to count, difficult to forge, containing silver and having a stable color, etc. However, Zhao Xin told them after listening that what you said was all right, but there was one more thing.
The reason why foreign money continues to flow into the entire East Asia is because some foreign businessmen are making money through money.
"Your Highness, do you mean money interest?" After all, he had been a scholar, so Luo Fangbai responded quickly.
"Yes!" Zhao Xin nodded, and then explained it to the two of them.
It is said that under the tribute system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, except for the Edo shogunate, which cast gold and silver coins, other countries in East Asia implemented a monetary policy of "using both silver and silver". In addition, the currency standard system of the entire Qing Dynasty cannot be generalized.
It is neither a copper standard nor a silver standard, nor a parallel standard.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The biggest problem here is that under the system of small peasant economy, both money making and money bills are based on silver as the accounting center. However, whether it is broken
Neither silver nor silver ingots are currency, they are essentially silver bullion.
The correct term for this monetary system in which silver and money are mutually reinforcing each other - "use silver for large numbers and money for small numbers" should be "a bimetallic system with parallel silver and copper metals." It is completely different from the Western monetary system.
When these silver ingots cast into ingots entered the market, due to their excessive currency value, the complete silver ingots were divided into pieces of silver, which were exchanged in money shops and hidden in cellars, or turned into various silverware.
, thus exiting the circulation field and returning to the status of precious metals.
This is why some people in later generations said that China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was the ultimate funnel of world silver. Think of the example of Shanxi merchants who like to cast silver winter melons. For 1,600 taels each, robbers can't take them away, but can this thing be circulated?
?
So good, in this case of currency silverization, since each silver bullion cannot be unified in terms of specifications, fineness or weight, each payment needs to go through complicated procedures of fineness identification and weighing, making the market in urgent need of a kind of
Silver coins of certain fineness, weight and specifications to enable rapid capital turnover.
The emergence of foreign money has just met this demand. Nowadays, it is not only used in Nanyang and Guangdong, but also in the northwest and northeast. Among them, Dutch horse money, American silver dollars and Maria Theresa silver coins have flowed into the mainland.
Later, because of its unstable quality, it was usually melted into silver bullion by merchants; the one with the largest circulation was the Mexican Eagle issued by the Spanish.
The Yingyang used in the market today is divided into three grades: large, medium and small. The large one weighs about seven cents and two cents, the medium one is half a dollar, and the small one is one quarter. Among the three grades, the large ones are the main ones.
The silver content is 90.1824%.
In the Guangzhou market, one hundred New Mexico Eagle Oceans can be exchanged for seventy-two taels of silver ingots. How did this exchange relationship come about? It's very simple. The weight is both 2,700 grams (the clear tael is 37.5 grams).
But here comes the problem. The pure silver content of one hundred Mexican Eagle Oceans is 2430 grams; the pure silver content of seventy-two taels of silver ingots is as much as 2538 grams; because the silver content of the silver ingots is 94%. It can be seen from this that,
The amount of pure silver between the two differs by 103.1 grams, which means there is a 4.04% floating amount.
It may not seem like much, but after the Opium War in another time and space, the Qing government compensated the British 21 million silver dollars, and the floating amount of this part alone was 577,000 taels, not to mention the massive amount of Yingyang among the people.
in circulation.
There is more foreign money in circulation, but less high-quality silver ingots; they are either smuggled out of the country, or stored in blocks by wealthy people. This also leads to less and less silver on the market, which leads to
"Silver is expensive and money is cheap." Since the 30th year of Qianlong's reign, the price of silver coins across the country has begun to rise, from an average level of around 800 coins to more than 1,000 coins.
The rise in the price of silver has also caused prices to continue to rise, making people's livelihood increasingly difficult. Don't forget, the people at the bottom use money every day, and prices are anchored by silver.
Zhao Xin has been paying close attention to the currency issues of the Qing Dynasty over the years. Especially after seeing a large number of silver coins from various countries circulating in the market in Bacheng, and transforming into a "straw hat boy" to talk carefully with some maritime merchants from Fujian and Guangdong, he discovered that among them
serious problem.
After understanding the key here, he quickly notified the Beihai Town Mint to lower the silver content of the Beihai silver dollar from 925 to 900, and at the same time increase the production of copper dollar auxiliary coins.
Although the silver content has been reduced, since most of the goods in Beihai Town are purchased and sold under unified purchasing, especially the prices of grain and industrial products are set by Beihai Trading Company, there is no impact on purchasing power. For the Manchu Qing Dynasty,
For the merchants and money shops in the area, the Beihai silver dollar is far superior to the Mexican Yingyang because of its production technology. Even if the water level is a little low, it is still easy to use.
Zhao Xin finally said: "The right to mint money is the embodiment of the country's highest power, and is as inviolable as the emperor's throne. Whoever controls the right to mint money has the power to control the entire country's resources. Dare to compete with the country for the right to mint currency, it is tantamount to rebellion!"
Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie were still confused after listening to Zhao Xin's long speech, but Zhao Xin's last two sentences were so weighty that sweat broke out on their foreheads. You must know that the Chinese mine in West Borneo
In the market, tin coins minted privately by various companies have always been popular.
"You go back and think about it carefully, and enlighten the leaders of other companies by the way. I have said everything that needs to be said, and I have also given you time to prepare. Confucius said, not teaching but killing is called cruelty, and not being disciplined is called treating
He is so violent that he is called a thief by his slow orders. Commissioner Luo, what do you think?"
"I understand."
The Thor only stayed in West Borneo for one night. Zhao Xin did not want any of the gifts sent by the Chinese eldest brothers of various families and the Sultan of Pontianak, and Chai Rugui kindly blocked them all. For him, as long as he can control
The gold from West Borneo is more useful than any gift.
On the way north, he originally wanted to visit Southern Kyushu and Jiaodong, but Wang Zhong sent a telegram urging him one day, so he had to give up.
On September 11, 1793, which was noon on the first day of the eighth lunar month, the Thor slowly sailed into the wharf of Whale Bay. When Zhao Xin disembarked, Wang Zhong and others came to greet him.
When Wang Zhong saw Zhao Xin, he teased: "Your Highness, you are finally back. If you don't come back, Wang will have to take a boat to Nanyang to find you."
Zhao Xin smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Mr. Rong Fu, I'm really sorry. I have too many things to deal with. You also know that I can't sit still."
Because Yuan Mei, Zhao Yi and several of their disciples were all present, Wang Zhong couldn't say anything more and immediately introduced Zhao Xin one by one.
"Yuan Zicai from Qiantang, pays homage to His Royal Highness King Zhao."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Are you Cangshan layman? I have long admired your name!"
"Yanghu Zhao Yunsong, pay homage to His Highness King Zhao."
"Mr. Oubei, I have admired you for a long time!"
Zhao Xin smiled and cupped his hands while looking at Yuan and Zhao.
Needless to say, Yuan Mei's name sounded like cocoon. Unlike what he imagined, the 77-year-old Yuan Mei was just a thin old man, wearing a felt hat, with wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead, and a gray beard.
One foot long, wearing a dark gray lake silk jacket and black waistcoat, wearing new black cloth shoes, and holding a cane in his hand.
Compared with Yuan Mei's air of a rich man, Zhao Yi looks like Mr. Dong Heng, who teaches in a private school. He is thin and wearing a homespun coat, a waistcoat made of cotton, and the shoes on his feet also look gray.
Qiu, looked like he was about to be worn out. However, despite his plain appearance, his eyes were bright and sparkling. "Mencius" said that if the heart is not straight, the eyes will be dim. From this, Zhao Xin concluded that this old man was a man with a good heart and worth dating.
people.
It is said that if you are looking at others, others are also looking at you. When Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi first arrived in Beihai Town, they heard that King Zhao did not pay much attention to etiquette and was very easy-going. When they met on the first day of the new year, it was true that it was so. They were originally nervous.
and the uneasiness went away for the most part.
It has been two full months since the two came to Beihai Town. Except for Zhao Xin, they have seen everything they can. Not only did they take the train to Heilongjiang City, they also took a steamboat to Trinshiji. They circled around and paid homage to the Yongning Monument. The vastness of Beihai Town, the prosperity of the town, and the vast stretches of wheat fields stretching as far as the eye could see, greatly amazed the two of them, and they said that their trip was worthwhile.
They had all read the notes of their predecessors before and knew that the area outside Guan Guan was very large, but they had no specific concept. Furthermore, whether it was Fang Gongqian's "Jueyu Jilue" or Yang Bin's "Liubian Jilue", although it described There are a lot of customs and customs, but the hardship of the natural environment is also mentioned.
However, what surprised them was that whether it was Khabarovsk, which is located at the intersection of three rivers, or Heilongjiang City, let alone Fuldan City and Beihai Town, they were all lined with streets and lanes, densely populated, and every house was red. The bricks and black tiles are no worse than Guan Nei, and it is even more prosperous.
There were too many things that they couldn't understand in Beihai Town. The most shocking ones were not only the boats, but also the various agricultural machinery and trains galloping in the fields. When they learned that the green tractor that was almost three people tall could be used in one day. Zhao Yi, who had cultivated hundreds of acres of land and attached great importance to agriculture, was so surprised that his jaw was dislocated.
Compared with Zhao Yi, Yuan Mei's trip not only broadened her horizons, but also gave her a feast for her eyes. In order to take care of the daily life and food of the two of them, Zhao Xin's wife Shen Xuan specially transferred a Yangzhou cook from her family to come over. Every day Yuan Mei was hooked on the fried, stewed, and various delicacies from the mountains, rivers, and seafood. Knowing that many dishes in Beihai Town were made from another time and space, he felt that his eyes had been opened this time. "Suiyuan" "Food List" can enrich a lot of content.
By the way, both of them got their wish and were hired as consultants for this new imperial examination, and they were also honorary examiners. In order to show formality, Yu Deli specially made two gilded red letter certificates, and asked Wang Zhong to write the content, Finally, the seal of the Civil Affairs Committee was stamped.
Seeing that the imperial examination was about to start in a few days, Zhao Xin rested for two days after returning home. On the third day, he was dragged to the examination hall by Wang Zhong.