As the Minister of Household Affairs of the current dynasty, although Gao Pragmatic was often distracted, he was still very attentive to his own work. What's more, he always believed that the decline of the Ming Dynasty was first manifested in finance, so he paid special attention to financial reforms.
.
Physical objects, copper coins, silver, banknotes... these are all words that often come to Gao Pragmatic's mind. From Zhu Yuanzhang's comprehensive physical tax (nearly comprehensive) that reversed history, to the later banknotes, and then to the one-whip method during the pilot period
From the collection of copper coins to Gao Gong's decision to promote the monetization of silver, the reform process has actually been accelerating.
Yes, silver monetization only appeared during the Gao Gong period.
In later film and television works, it seems that silver has always been the common currency of all dynasties in China, and the Ming Dynasty is no exception. However, this is a wrong view. Due to space limitations, other dynasties will not be mentioned for the time being. At least silver is not the legal currency of the Ming Dynasty at all.
Before Gao Gong Bingzheng, there was no silver system to speak of.
Historically, silver monetization itself originated from the private sector, rather than from official system design. After the Cheng and Hong years of the Ming Dynasty, silver experienced a period of transition from official illegal currency to officially recognized legal currency.
By the Jiajing period, with the proposal of the One Whip Law and its intermittent small-scale implementation, the silver monetization process was essentially completed, but unfortunately, no system was formed.
It was not until the first year of Longqing that Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty issued a decree on Gao Gong's suggestion: For goods bought and sold that were worth more than one yuan of silver, both silver and silver were allowed; only money with less than one yuan was allowed.
This decree was the first decree of the Ming Dynasty that clarified the "use of both money and money" under the objective reality of silver monetization. It was also the first time that the Ming Dynasty affirmed the legal currency status of silver in the form of legal authority, and used the legal authority to treat silver as a currency.
The currency form of the main currency has been fixed. [Note: This is a historical fact.]
Therefore, the decree promulgated by Emperor Longqing can also be regarded as proof that the Ming Dynasty established a silver-standard currency system. Official recognition and promotion accelerated the pace of silver monetization. From then on, silver spread across the entire society and penetrated into every part of society.
corners and penetrate deeply into people's daily lives.
The monetization of silver accelerated currency circulation, activated the commodity market, prospered the social economy, and brought about changes in the entire social structure of the Ming Dynasty. In a sense, after this, the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty's commodity economy and the formation of merchant gangs and chaebols,
The rise of private ports in cities and towns, etc., all benefited from the monetization of silver.
It is precisely for this reason that the inflow of overseas silver is a requirement spurred by the economic development and social structural changes of the Ming Dynasty. Gao pragmatically wanted to capture the Philippines, but at the same time he was afraid of interrupting the import of silver from the Americas. It was precisely because of fear of this
Needs are not met.
Private transactions in silver have been popular since the Jin Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, the treasure banknote system was implemented, and silver was used as the basis of banknotes. Silver was also used in foreign trade. These laid the social foundation for the monetization of silver in the Ming Dynasty.
However, the monetization of silver in the Ming Dynasty was not a natural process. In fact, it was the result of a game between the official court and the people.
Soon after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a currency system of treasured banknotes was established. In order to implement the system of treasured banknotes, gold, silver and copper were repeatedly banned. However, the problem was that the treasured banknotes gradually collapsed, and the lack of raw materials for copper coins objectively promoted the trend of silver monetization.
.
After the "Ming Dynasty Tongbao Banknote" was issued in the eighth year of Hongwu (1375), the imperial court banned the circulation of gold and silver. Later, even copper coins were also banned, and paper banknotes were used exclusively.
However, due to the implementation of the Banknote Law in the Ming Dynasty, there were no precious metals or physical objects as preparations for the issuance of banknotes. Many treasure banknotes were put into circulation and few were returned. When the Banknote Law was first implemented, the court did not stipulate the method for updating old coins. So it was only until the seventh year of the ninth year of Hongwu that
In April, the problem of old banknotes actually appeared, so the "backnote law" was enacted.
But the "banknote dumping method" was very unsuccessful. "The method of collecting and exchanging faint banknotes is originally for the convenience of the people. However, many people are treacherous because of the law. Every time they use the banknotes, they often exchange them for easy ones." - Unbroken treasure banknotes
Just replace it with a new one, which increases the cost unnecessarily.
Due to the huge flaws in the Baochao system itself, the devaluation of Ming Dynasty Baochao began almost immediately after the implementation of the Banknote Law.
Judging from the price ratio between banknotes and silver, in the middle period of Hongwu, one tael of silver was roughly equivalent to three or five guan of banknotes; in the seventh year of Xuande, the commercial tax fish tax in Huguang, Guangxi, Zhejiang and other places was discounted in banknotes, and one tael of silver was paid for one hundred guan of banknotes.
In the first year of Zhengtong, "one tael of silver today is equivalent to more than a thousand guan." During the Chenghua period, Zhou Guang, the commander of Daxing Zuowei, reported that the situation was even more serious.
”.
It can be seen that over the course of a hundred years, the depreciation of treasure banknotes has become increasingly serious. By the Chenghua period, the depreciation rate was already about a thousand times.
The increasing depreciation of treasure banknotes made the circulation of treasure banknotes difficult, which people at the time called "banknote stagnation". As early as the 21st year of Hongwu, the currency circulating in society was not only treasure banknotes, but also other gold, silver and satin coins.
Horses, rice and other physical substitutes. In order to protect the value of treasure coins, in the 27th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang magically issued a decree banning copper coins.
This copper ban led to an unexpected result. In the early Ming Dynasty, the currency system that was mainly based on banknotes and supplemented by money was destroyed. Instead, it caused an increase in the use of silver among the people. So much so that at the end of Hongwu, "merchants from various counties in Hangzhou" appeared.
, no matter how expensive the goods are, the price is determined by gold and silver."
Treasure banknotes were depreciating day by day and lost the trust of the people, so they gradually withdrew from private circulation. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was not convinced by this, so in the 30th year of Hongwu, he once again resorted to a magic weapon: prohibiting the trade of gold and silver crops.
things.
Needless to say, no matter how majestic the imperial decree was, it could not meet the actual needs. This decree could not really prohibit the use of silver among the people.
Silver monetization started from the private sector. This bottom-up trend of silver monetization impacted the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty and forced the imperial court to accept and recognize this huge force from the private sector.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In the first year of Zhengtong (1436), Huang Fu, the Minister of Household Affairs (Note: Readers who have read the Guangxi volume still remember that after Gao pragmatically captured Annan, I
Have you ever written about this person and praised him highly?) Reported to the emperor:
"Bao banknotes are used as well as copper coins. During the Hongwu period, one tael of silver was equivalent to three or five guan of banknotes. Today, one tael of silver is equivalent to more than 1,000 guan of banknotes. This is the worst of the banknote method."
The harsh reality faced by the court at that time was that the treasure banknotes had depreciated thousands of times and were actually abandoned by the people. For the court, this was obviously a very threatening fact.
Out of an instinctive reaction, the central government of the Ming Dynasty still tried to maintain the Baochao system by changing the policy. Unfortunately, the so-called change of policy was just a "payment with banknotes" that deceived the country and harmed the people.
Although the imperial court took various measures to establish the main currency status of Baochao, it was ultimately unable to stop the impact of silver on Baochao.
In fact, according to Gao's pragmatic view, the Ming Dynasty issued treasure banknotes with neither a banknote nor a limit. The circulation was large and the amount returned was small. The order of exchanging old and new banknotes was not only chaotic but also the prices were very different. In addition, the treasure banknotes were poorly made.
It's extremely easy to counterfeit, and almost everything doesn't work.
The market is flooded with inferior banknotes such as treasure banknotes, which obviously greatly exceeds the actual currency demand for social commodity circulation, which will inevitably lead to inflation and the increasing depreciation of treasure banknotes.
Moreover, from a highly pragmatic point of view, the Ming Dynasty implemented the Banknote Law. From the subjective point of view of the emperors of the past dynasties, it was just to amass wealth, and it was not convenient for the people at all. Various problems occurred shortly after the Banknote Law was implemented and it quickly collapsed. With this kind of
Motivation is closely related.
Objectively speaking, in addition to the imperial court, those who benefited from the implementation of the Banknote Law were some profiteers and unjust officials. The Banknote Law only brought disaster to ordinary people.
In fact, since the Hongnian period, people's distrust of treasure banknotes has reached its peak, and treasure banknotes have completely lost the credibility and value of currency. Silver is mainly used for private payments.
It’s the same as Xuwen.
After Longqing, silver became the official currency, and after the one-whip method was widely implemented - especially in the Jiangnan region, this situation was irreversible.
What is irreversible is not only the big system, but also the detailed system. For example, in addition to land tax and corvee being uniformly calculated on a field basis, the two largest financial expenditures of the court official salary and military salary, as well as the salt tax and tea tax.
, tariffs, commercial taxes and other important bulk national tax revenues are also calculated in silver.
This is the establishment of the silver standard.
However, for Gao Pragmatic, in his eyes, although the silver standard is definitely much more advanced than before, there is still a lot of "unprecedented progress" - yes, what he wants is paper currency.
Although the paper currencyization of the Ming Dynasty Baochao was a complete failure, this does not mean that paper money is the wrong direction. To some extent, the failure of the Ming Dynasty Baochao is an excellent lesson for the future.
If the problems that arise during the implementation of the banknotes are resolved and a new banknote system is developed from scratch, it will almost be successful.
I just mentioned the problems with the Ming Dynasty banknotes: there is no banknote and no limit, the circulation is large, and the amount returned is small. The order of exchange for new and old banknotes is chaotic and the prices are very different. In addition, the production is crude and easy to counterfeit. This
This is the reason why Baoqian failed.
Is there a solution? Yes, Gao Pragmatic has already thought of a solution.
There is no banknote book, that is, there is no reserve fund for issuance. This reserve fund is obviously huge, and it is impossible to expect the court to come up with it.
Based on the current situation of the imperial court, to put it bluntly, if Gao Pragmatism is replaced and who is replaced as the Minister of Household Affairs, the imperial government will either directly go bankrupt, or it will have to ban the opening of vassals, strengthen preparations for war, and build imperial mausoleums.
Waiting for a few big things to stop.
Let the Ministry of Accounts allocate at least 20 million taels of silver to make reserves for the issuance of banknotes? A dream.
This money must be found elsewhere. According to Gao's pragmatic ideas, the main source is the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance. Perhaps the royal family, civil and military officials, and even vassals from various places can also be brought together.
But to get these people to spend real money, it is obviously not something that can be accomplished by calling on everyone to be patriotic and love the people. There must be interests here! There are high-interest and pragmatic ways to solve this problem, but we will talk about this later.
The second problem with the failure of Baobao is that there is an unlimited amount of issuance, and the circulation is large, and very few are withdrawn - this is an interrelated problem. However, there are also highly pragmatic solutions.
Unlimited circulation will lead to too much circulation. In fact, this problem can be solved as long as the emperor and the court do not interfere. In other words, the issue of circulation is left to this independent agency to handle according to the rules-the rules are of course set with high pragmatism.
As for the lack of returns, it is actually not difficult to solve this problem. The key lies in the determination of the court: just like the successful monetization of silver is established by collecting silver from all taxes, as long as the expenditure of the court official salary, military pay, and
Important bulk national tax revenue such as land tax (including corvee tax), salt tax, tea tax, customs duty, commercial tax, etc. are all changed to accept (or pay) paper currency, and the problem is solved.
The court allows you to pay taxes with banknotes, so why don’t you use banknotes? As long as the court recognizes the value of your banknotes and calculates your taxes based on the face value of the banknotes at all times, you obviously won’t lose money. What do you have?
Why reject this currency that is more convenient to carry and use?
It is impossible for a person to carry one thousand taels of silver with him when he goes out, but if it is banknotes, so what if it is ten thousand taels? The reason why the people do not recognize the treasure banknotes is not here, it is just that the treasure banknotes continue to depreciate, and if you keep them in your hands, you will suffer a loss.
Then there is the issue of exchanging old banknotes. Originally, the exchange of old and new Ming Dynasty banknotes was very confusing. The exchange required additional money, but the amount of money spent in different places varied, which led to many disadvantages.
The highly pragmatic plan is to have a clear statement on the exchange standards for old banknotes, just like the RMB exchange in later generations. There must be unified standards for things like worn writing, missing corners, etc., and the standards can only be exchanged.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As for the exchange price, it is free to exchange old RMB banknotes for new ones in later generations, but Gao Pragmatic estimates that he cannot afford it now, and there is still a fee. It's just that there is a fee.
He doesn't plan to charge more. Basically, it is enough to recover the cost of producing banknotes. That is, the cost of making paper, printing banknotes and transportation.
Of these three costs, the first two are relatively fixed, while the transportation costs are based on the transportation distance and are difficult to distinguish. But Gao Pragmatic knows that in fact they cannot be distinguished. Once distinguished, it will lead to differences in exchange prices in various places, which returns to the Ming Dynasty Baobao.
Lao Lu. Therefore, he believes that an average value must be taken, and then the entire country will calculate the exchange fee according to a unified standard.
The last "lesson" is actually the issue of anti-counterfeiting of banknotes. The material for making Ming Dynasty banknotes is called "mulberry bark", which is mulberry bark. The appearance of the banknotes is cyan, with special anti-counterfeiting dragon-shaped patterns and anti-counterfeiting seal characters on it. In the center is
The money string pattern represents the face value based on the number of money strings on the screen.
The highest denomination of the banknote is 1,000 copper coins, and there are six denominations including 500 to 100 copper coins. According to the weights and measures of later generations, the entire banknote is 33 centimeters long and 22 centimeters wide. Only the appearance design is used
Generally speaking, it can be called high-end and classy.
However, this was of no use. The money-making technology was okay at the time, but it soon fell to the point where even the private sector could imitate it. Of course, it was over. After all, with huge profits, there are inevitably people who dare to take risks.
.
There is a foreshadowing here: Gao pragmatically invested in a new type of paper before, which is a thick paper popular among Europeans and suitable for hard-pen writing. It is useful at this time - the best type is obviously
Suitable for making banknotes.
As for anti-counterfeiting technology, it can be divided into two categories. One is anti-counterfeiting at the level of large-denomination banknotes, and the other is anti-counterfeiting for small-denomination banknotes in ordinary circulation.
The common technical means between the two is exquisite patterns, just like the dragon shape on treasure banknotes. Both types of banknotes in the high pragmatic plan must have the highest degree of precision patterns.
This is not a problem for Jinghua Steel Plant, which has the highest level of technology at present. This plant will definitely be able to produce the most exquisite steel engraving impressions, and impressions of this level are basically impossible to be imitated by the private sector. What Gao Pragmatic has to do
Just let Jinghua's self-monitoring be in place and don't let the impression spread.
In addition, there are multiple stamps to prevent counterfeiting, secret stamping to prevent counterfeiting, seals to prevent counterfeiting, etc. These are all methods that have been available since the Jiaozi era, and the ideas can still be used today. Of course, methods such as secret stamping
It's just for banknotes, so small-denomination banknotes can't be that complicated.
The technical means have been met, and what Gao pragmatically needs now is to raise the original capital. In addition to Jinghua itself, which he can decide on his own, even the Sea Trade Alliance needs to be persuaded, not to mention the royal family and officials.
But it doesn’t matter. During the War of Yunnan and Burma, Gao Pragmatic had already explored a good way...
Gentlemen, I like war, because war means making money! Do you want to make this money with me?
You ask me how to make money? Of course, you have to invest first. Considering that Luzon will have a steady stream of money coming in in the future, this investment is obviously a long-term investment, so we might as well set up a dividend-paying institution first.
I've already thought of a name, it's called "Da Ming United Savings", or "Ming Fed" for short.
----------
Thanks to the book friends "SeamChe", "All the Way Color Friends", "Book Friends 141205205311512", "destinyzxx", "Tilong512", "Lu Senah", "Wow 23333", "athulla", "Bull's Waltz", "Kay
Your Highness", "How Steel Refines Gold", "Qin Dynasty Resident", "Assault Rifle 1949", "Han Jun" for your monthly vote support, thank you!
Thanks to book friend "Shen Yang" for your support of 12 monthly tickets, thank you!
PS: Seeing so many monthly votes, I knew it was the end of the month again. Other friends might as well check it out. It doesn’t matter to me whether to vote or not. The main thing is not to waste it. I vaguely remember that voting for monthly votes seems to add experience points or something.