Chapter 774 The emperor has no money?
"Father, you can't stop me no matter what, I must do this job well!" Wang Qian said very firmly: "This is also the need of the country! Father, if Ming Dynasty cannot complete the task within ten years, If we collect gold, we won’t be able to issue treasure banknotes!”
“Even if silver can flow in as it does now, money shortage will still be inevitable. At that day, Wanli, which is built on silver, will The reform will collapse!"
"The government factories and the labor party, which my father had high hopes for, will also disappear in the long river of history with the torrent of counterattacks and counterattacks. There are 270,000 craftsmen in Ming Dynasty. This is 270,000 households, a man-made disaster affecting at least one million people will happen!”
“The country needs it, and your Majesty sends it, and I happen to have the ability, why don’t I do it!”
Wang Chonggu looked at his stubborn son in front of him. In his eyes, children will always be children, but Wang Qian has grown up long ago and he will be responsible for his actions.
Telling the golden story well and issuing Ming treasure banknotes involves the fate of the Ming Dynasty for twenty, fifty, or even a hundred years.
"What are you trying to do?" Wang Chonggu sighed. He still didn't agree with Wang Qian's deep involvement in collecting gold. It was too dangerous.
The route that Wang Chonggu arranged for Wang Qian was that after his death, Wang Qian used Ding You as an excuse to become an official, escape from the whirlpool of power, and become a rich man. His Majesty is a person who misses old feelings. How can he, Wang Chonggu, not He can be regarded as a hero of the Wanli Restoration, so it will not end in disgrace.
As for those jackals, tigers and leopards, as long as Your Majesty keeps silent, no one dares to touch the Wang family, and no one can do anything wrong. They have already left the center of power, and there is no need to target them anymore.
This is the rapid retreat.
But Wang Qian wants to follow the route arranged by the emperor, to be an independent minister, to guard the family business, to tell the world that he is Wang Qian. Wang Qian’s purpose is very complicated, to prove himself and realize himself. , protect your family, protect your property and make Ming Dynasty great again.
The appearance of politics is all kinds of interests and calculations. In this turbid world, you have to talk about interests, so that others can understand, trust you, and feel that your values are predictable. Yes, he is a living person.
If you open and shut your mouth to make the Ming Dynasty great again, the sun, the moon, the mountains and the rivers, and the Ming Dynasty forever, others will only think you are crazy. This kind of illusory thing will make you feel that you are not easy to figure out. There is a ghost in my stomach.
On special high-sounding occasions, talk about ideals, and on other occasions, talk about practical benefits. This is a universal tacit understanding. Only in this way can you appear real and appear to be of the same kind.
But the essential driving force of political activities has never been the appearance, but the seemingly false and empty inner ideals, ambitions and the desire to make the world a better place.
Wang Qian said he had no choice, but he actually had a choice. He talked about interests and calculations, but in his heart, he wanted to prevent Daming from falling into crisis.
Legasi, the envoy of Taixi, once accurately defined this phenomenon: For those illusory ideals and unrelenting martyrs, the Ming Dynasty has a wide range of martyrdom thinking, and every Ming Dynasty person is waiting for a Opportunity to die, a death that is vigorous and heavier than Mount Tai.
This is the other side of high moral disadvantage. With high moral advantage, the number of martyrs in the Ming Dynasty really shocked Legas.
For example, when Shen Shiqing was caught by Shen Shixing, he shouted to Yan Shixuan: Tell my mother, I am not a coward.
Legas is not against high morals. He lived in the Ming Dynasty and made jokes about the emperor. Without high morals, he would have died long ago.
He opposed the Ming Dynasty for wasting this high morality on the colonies.
"I'm going to do it." Wang Qian showed his stubbornness in this matter. He exhaled and said: "When people are alive, they must do something to live."
"Then be careful, be more conservative, don't His Majesty's gold and silver are gone. That's His Majesty's personal money, not state money." Wang Chonggu reminded Wang Qian again that the huge assets he controlled were not public money, but private money, and this private person was. The emperor who will definitely hold him accountable.
The authoritative Wang Chonggu is actually not afraid of infighting among bureaucrats. He has been fighting all his life, fighting over trivial matters. The biggest danger in this matter is the emperor.
Collecting and hoarding gold sounds simple, but it is actually very difficult. Song Renzong’s beloved Concubine Zhang loved pearls, which suddenly caused the price of pearls in Kaifeng City to increase dozens of times. Song Renzong had no choice but to pick a peony and give it to Concubine Zhang. The palace stopped buying, and the price outside the palace dropped.
Once the news of the emperor's collection of gold spreads everywhere, the price of gold will soar to an unimaginable level. Unless the emperor comes forward and announces that he will no longer collect gold, the price will only remain high. .
But now, the emperor has left this matter to Wang Qian. Wang Qian relies on Yanxinglou Trading House to collect and save, which is also very difficult.
Because the emperor wanted to collect gold at a low cost, this game of drumming and passing flowers must always have players entering the field to continuously harvest gold. If you cut too hard, the seedlings will not grow, and if you cut too lightly, the seedlings will not grow. , gold accumulation is too slow.
How to control this rhythm well is the difficulty Wang Qian encountered.
"Dad, in fact, I am just starting to collect and store gold. I mainly rely on overseas inflows." Wang Qian was very excited after hearing his father's instructions and knowing that he would no longer object.
He talked about the path of gold collection and storage. The gold collection and storage in the Ming Dynasty relied on the Yanxinglou Exchange, but the amount was not very large, and it mainly relied on inflows.
"Is there a lot of gold in Taixi? I only heard that there is a lot of silver." Wang Chonggu was stunned and shook his head and said: "I don't know the situation in Taixi. When people get old, they just mess around with government factories. I am better at it."
Wang Qian looked around and said: "Dad, you don't understand this. The Spanish court is richer than the Ming Dynasty. I heard that Felipe II can earn four million taels of gold a year. He can issue debt in large quantities, Geno The Asians are keen to buy the debt issued by Felipe II and then sell it everywhere.”
“The result is that Felipe II now owes the people more than 10 million taels of gold. But every time the debt comes due, he will cheat once and declare bankruptcy. He has declared bankruptcy twice, but there is still a steady stream of businessmen going to Madrid to buy Felipe’s bonds and sell them everywhere.”
"Because people believe that Felipe II can honor these debts, aren't these same bonds the treasures of our Ming Dynasty?"
Wang Chonggu did a simple calculation and said blankly: "The Thai people are really It’s so tolerable. Really, the common people of Taixi haven’t even incurred a debt of ten million taels of gold. Instead, overthrow his kingdom? "
Wang Chonggu simply couldn't imagine what would happen in the Ming Dynasty. The annual income of Wanli in the fourteenth year was only 35 million silver. According to the ratio of Taixi, it is equivalent to saying The Ming Dynasty court owed a debt of 88 million silver. Not to mention the people who couldn't bear it, the Ministry of Revenue was the first to bear it!
Wang Guoguang was afraid that he would be unable to sleep the whole night.
The Ministry of Accounts has been talking about the 10 million silver national debt of Suiyuan Chidao ever since it was owed. It was not until the moment it was paid off that he breathed a sigh of relief and disagreed with His Majesty’s issuance of new national debt. , Borrowing silver from the people, the interest is on the one hand, the Ming Dynasty is really poor, on the other hand, it always damages the face of the court.
"Nothing. In order to retake the Netherlands, he sold another four million taels of gold bonds, saying that he would build a new fleet to attack England." Wang Qian shook his head and said: "The Ming Dynasty has the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty, and the West has the same national conditions as the Ming Dynasty. They are probably used to the national conditions of the West."
Wang Chonggu was stunned for a moment. Next, he said in a daze: "I don't understand. I have always advocated more goods."
It is difficult for people to accept all kinds of new things when they are old. For things that happen overseas, tens of thousands of miles away, Wang Chonggu Without paying too much attention, he focused on how to produce more goods and make goods and commodities more accessible to people.
Even if the emperor wants to collect gold, even if it is done secretly, well-informed people always receive the news quickly, and the market reacts to it and makes various interpretations.
Gold was actually a currency with poor circulation in the Ming Dynasty. It was too expensive, so in most cases gold was simply used to make jewelry.
When the emperor wanted to collect gold, various street financial analysts made their own interpretations, but these interpretations all went in the same direction, that is: the emperor had no money!
The emperor’s fundamental purpose is not to collect gold, but to sell gold!
The reason why we came to the conclusion that the emperor had no money was because the Ming Dynasty was carrying out construction projects and the emperor was building Chi Road, opening Longchi Road, Suiyuan Chi Road, Jingkai Road, Jingmi Road, Suiyuan Road, Songjiang Ring Road, etc. , all are projects with large investment, and the emperor is still fighting a war. As long as the war is going on, it will be a super high investment.
The militaristic Majesty finally had to take out gold in exchange for silver. On the surface, he said that he wanted to collect gold, but it was just to sell gold at a higher price.
This argument is in line with reality and logic, but for the caliber to be so unified, it is obvious that someone is deliberately manipulating public opinion. The mastermind behind this is Wang Qian. Several miscellaneous newspapers he controls are very analytical. whole.
The price of gold in the Yanxing Building trading building fell three times a day, which also proves that there is a large amount of gold for sale.
Wang Qian only started collecting and saving when the price of gold fell sharply, and one tael of gold could only be sold for five taels of silver. The sickle had quietly been raised and began to wave towards the speculators' heads.
Buying at low prices and selling at high prices, the cycle repeats. Wang Qian can operate in this way because he has the support of massive silver and gold given to him by the emperor.
The emperor’s order to Wang Qian was: exchange ten million silver for 625,000 taels of gold, which means the ratio of gold to silver is 1:16. Even if it can only be exchanged for 500,000 taels of gold, then You can make a deal. After all, the emperor wants gold, and these powerful right-wingers will definitely take the opportunity to increase the price. As long as it is not excessive, Zhu Yijun can accept it.
But Wang Qian is greedy. He wants to turn Yanxinglou Trading House into a water pump to squeeze out the gold from the land of Ming Dynasty.
"Give Wang Qian a decree and tell him to take it easy. The price of gold is going through twists and turns, which makes me tremble with fear." Zhu Yijun was startled when he discovered that Wang Qian's sickle was waving like a whirlwind.
Feng Bao hurriedly bowed his head and said: "This will definitely happen in the short term. Only as time goes by will the prices of gold and silver stabilize. It will not be possible then."
This often happens in Yanxinglou. The few days before the new five-masted ocean ship invoice is the most violent time. At this time, emotion is greater than value, and then it will gradually become value-oriented.
"You mean the first stubble of leeks is the fattest, and if you don't cut it, others will cut it, right?" Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said, "Forget it, respect the laws of the market."
Ha Yeck's big hands are always so ruthless, but there is this giant banker in the gold and silver market. If you want to avoid being harvested by the giant banker, the only way is to stay away from Yanxinglou Trading House.
"I have been telling the people of the Ming Dynasty that they must study more to avoid being fooled by scholars." Zhu Yijun could only let Wang Qian operate. The matter has been explained, and the standards for passing the examination have been given. How will it be done? It all depends on Wang Qian's methods. If there is too much interference, no one will work for him as the emperor in the future.
"Your Majesty, Legas is here." A small yellow doorman walked into the royal study and bowed his head.
After the Lantern Festival, Zhu Yijun summoned Legas, the general of Honglu Temple, and asked him about the details of Felipe II.
"I see your Majesty, long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty." Ligasi greeted him very respectfully. After hearing that he was offered a seat, he stood up and sat aside.
"I asked you to come here because I have something to ask you. I want to ask you about some situations in Taixi." Zhu Yijun sat up straight. After obtaining the information from Legashi, the Ming Dynasty Ocean Caravan also had to go to Taixi in person to obtain the information. Information, by the way, I also inquired about the situation from the Thai people, and multiple parties confirmed each other.
Zhu Yijun asked, and Ligasi explained everything clearly.
After hearing the emperor's question, Legazhi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, Your Highness Felipe, you are not as rich as your Majesty. Four million taels of gold is obviously an exaggeration."
"There are rumors in the Ming Dynasty that His Highness Felipe earns four million taels of gold a year. This is obviously a misunderstanding. In fact, His Highness only has more than two million taels of gold a year, that is, It was an income of 21 million ducats in gold coins. This was when the Netherlands was not lost, and it is even less now.”
After losing the Netherlands, Felipe II still had a specific income. Legas is not sure how much annual income there is. Before that, it was 21 million ducats in gold coins. A gold coin weighed about nine points, five millimeters, five centimeters and seven centimeters.
Zhu Yijun frowned and said doubtfully: "I heard that he sold another 4 million taels of gold bonds. Now the total debt scale has reached 14 million taels of gold. The annual income is based on 2 One million taels of gold, Can you afford such a huge debt? "The debt is seven times the annual income. If it comes to the Ming Dynasty, it is equivalent to saying that the national funds owe the people of the Ming Dynasty 245 million taels of silver. Not to mention the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Guangguang, Zhu Yijundu I'm having trouble sleeping and eating.
This is called: Genoese financial innovation.
“If you can’t hold on, you will go bankrupt.” Legas shook his head and said: “His Royal Highness Felipe has done this twice. People always believe that His Highness, who has mastered the new world, will pay back these things. The debt is only a matter of time, but in fact His Highness is simply unable to repay it.”
“Your Majesty, you don’t have to think about it, you have nothing to do with Ming Dynasty. In any reference, the Ming Dynasty simply cannot accept the bankrupt and dishonest behavior of the court, and His Majesty cannot dissolve the cabinet to quell the public anger. The Ming Dynasty is not a feudal system, and His Majesty has a one-yuan dictatorship. "
The Ming Dynasty has one way of doing things. There is no way to learn from the advanced financial experience of Europe and the West, and if you lose it, you will be in the middle of China's changing dynasties.
Zhu Yuanzhang rebuilt the Ming Dynasty in the hands of the barbarians, which in the West was equivalent to the return of Rome's lightning. For such a powerful feat, Zhu Yuanzhang issued some Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, and even after all calculations, they did not exceed the annual revenue of the imperial court. Later, he urgently called it a halt. .
Even the kings of later generations did not dare to issue treasure banknotes on a large scale again, taking this as a warning.
This has been talked about for more than two hundred years, and people will continue to talk about it. What to say, I am born in a farmer's family and do not understand financial affairs.
Isn’t it natural for a king to owe some debts? These days, England, France, Spain, Portugal, which one is not a hole in the ass?
Felipe II owed a debt of fourteen million taels of gold. It took the Spanish court seven years to pay off this debt without food and drink, but it was impossible without food and drink. There will also be a lot of eating and drinking.
"Only when you can't pay the interest will you go bankrupt, but you will pay the interest before going bankrupt."
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"Your Majesty, it seems that the yamen goes bankrupt and then rebuilds the yamen without paying any price, but it is not the case. I have repeatedly advised your highness on this behavior many times. This method is killing the goose and taking the egg. , one day, both humans and gods will be abandoned." Legas did not hide it, but explained this 'king's evil deeds' in detail.
Felipe established a close credit alliance with Genoese businessmen. Felipe II issued gold bonds, and Genoese businessmen peddled these bonds everywhere. The control of the New World amplified Felipe's own credit. As a result, any actual investment is not as high as the return from buying bonds.
The benefits of raising sheep, shearing sheep, setting up handicraft workshops, and even urban land are not as high as the returns on bonds, resulting in a large amount of funds flowing into bonds rather than entities, which has had a negative impact on the handicraft workshop industry in Spain. Such a huge impact that no industry was worth investing in for a long time.
All the money poured into the bond market.
The influx of goods from the Ming Dynasty had very limited destructive power on the industrial chain in the West, and the rest was all destroyed by the golden bond itself.
Legas said with emotion: "I have been away from Spain for twelve years. When I returned to Spain, nothing has changed. People are used to the generous returns in the bond market and cannot go back to hard work. On the road to creating wealth, you get used to making quick money and become extremely impetuous.”
“This is killing the goose that lays the golden egg, issuing a large amount of debt for the sake of short-term income. , causing money to flow to the bond market instead of production. If the hegemony of the New World can be maintained continuously, it will continue. When it cannot be maintained, it will collapse. "
In addition to the flow of money to debt. In addition to the fact that there is no investment in the handicraft workshop industry in the market, the second drawback of this method is that it must maintain the false prosperity of the bond market. Unless it is desperate, it will not declare bankruptcy.
No matter what, interest must be paid and the bond market maintained. Only by maintaining the bond market can Felipe himself continuously obtain funds to sustain the war.
At this time, in order to raise enough interest to maintain the prosperity of the bond market, Felipe transferred a large number of public lands and sold legal privileges at a cheap price for more than 20 years.
The transfer of public land led to a decrease in the government's continued income; the sale of officials and titles led to the disintegration of the law.
"Your Majesty, this is not enough." Li Yazhi said with a solemn expression.
“The harm is already great enough, isn’t it enough?” Zhu Yijun spread his hands and said in surprise. The handicraft workshops were closed and no new industries even appeared. The harm was already great enough.
Legas nodded and said: "If you do this, the money is still not enough. At this time, you need to increase taxes."
"His Highness has conducted a total of fourteen times in the past twenty years. Increase taxes on raisins, wine, coal, fish, wool, salt, etc., raw materials will rise, food, clothing, housing and transportation will become more expensive, and the cost of handicraft workshops in the city will increase. It piled high and eventually went bankrupt and closed down, forming a vicious cycle.”
“His Majesty cautiously raised the tax once, but was also worried that the increase from 6% to 13% would attract strong opposition, and Spain even raised the tax. The wool tax has reached 40%.”
The Ming Emperor was so cowardly to have such great power!
Look at what those kings of the West did! England is enclosing land, Spain is issuing bonds, Russia is engaging in serfdom, Ming Dynasty is raising taxes, and is secretive, holding court meetings, ministerial meetings, asking the opinions of governors from all sides, and even just in the Municipal Shipping Department. Trial.
Legas said helplessly: "Your Majesty, a debt is a debt. If you owe money, you must pay it back. If His Highness Felipe doesn't pay it back, you will have to let the Spanish civilians pay it back."
Owed. Debts must be paid back, and the ruling class spends them indiscriminately, and the debts are borne by the entire people. Once there is a military defeat, Spain will lose its Atlantic hegemony. If one day the Strait of Gibraltar is blocked, Spain will lose its supremacy. opportunity to become a piece of fish on the table.
"That's true. If you owe money, you have to pay it back." Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and agreed with Ligas' point of view.
"Your Majesty, in fact, if the Ming Dynasty wants to collect gold, it can sell salt to the West." Legas leaned forward and said: "As long as your Majesty starts selling salt, the gold will continue to flow in. Daming."
"I don't understand very well, please explain in detail." Zhu Yijun immediately sat up straight with a serious look on his face.
Zhu Yijun has always been worried that collecting gold will lead to a decline in silver inflows and cause social shock. New commodities are needed specifically for gold inflows.
Obviously Legas knew the reason why the emperor asked him to come and had thought of the answer.
Legasil said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the West mainly eats mineral salt, not sea salt. After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, I realized that it was the latitude that caused the overall lack of sunlight and heat accumulation in the West. This led to a shortage of sea salt."
"The reason why the Venetian merchants were able to establish the water city of Venice was to create such a strong influence with hundreds of thousands of people, and even for a time. Purchased half of Constantinople and allowed the Eastern Roman Empire to pawn the crown of the Roman Empire because of salt.”
“On the Baltic Sea, on the north coast of the Holy Roman Empire, there is a city centered on Lübeck. The business alliance is called the Hansa Alliance. This alliance can even beat the king of Denmark to death because Lübeck is the salt production center of the West. ”
"His Royal Highness Felipe's actual rule over the Netherlands is also achieved through salt, and taxation is also achieved through salt. Now His Highness Felipe has banned sales in the Netherlands. Salt is like a rein, which is used in the Netherlands. Tighten your neck if you are dishonest in the Delan area."
“But recently this ban has expired, and the Netherlands seems to have found the source of salt, which is why they are actually independent.”
Felipe can no longer tie the Netherlands down with salt. area because the Dutch found salt lakes in Venezuela, South America.
Salt is very important to the Central Plains dynasty, and it is equally important to Taixi. It can determine the rise and fall.
The Ming Dynasty has a complete salt-drying technology. From Shandong to Qiongzhou, there are almost all salt-drying fields on the long coastline, and each company has a variety of technologies. Legas once learned about the Ming Dynasty’s salt-drying technology, in order to translate into Latin and sent it back to Tessie, but he finally gave up because there was not enough light in Tessie.
Ming Dynasty needs bulk commodities to meet the demand of gold inflow, so just put some effort on salt.
"I have to pay attention to this matter." Zhu Yijun said with confidence.
Legas said with some emotion: "The last time I returned to Spain, the biggest achievement was to persuade His Highness Felipe to implement benevolent government."
Legas never betrayed Spain. But he never betrayed Ming. He was a messenger, delivering and communicating with the distant world.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, what are you going to do?" Zhu Yijun asked in surprise.
Legaz said with certainty: "Benevolent government, specifically, means giving up the conquest of the Netherlands and England, and using the huge war funds, estimated at 40.6 million ducats, in construction to recuperate and recuperate with the people."
“As long as there is no war, the Papal States will Don't think about interfering in Spain's internal affairs; as long as there is no war, Spain's handicraft workshops can quickly recover; as long as there is no war, the seemingly huge debt can be paid off slowly, and there is no need to continue to transfer public lands, peddle legal privileges, Raising taxes will deprive the common people of their benefits.”
“Your Majesty. Come on, Spain has less than 20 million people. Compared with the Ming Dynasty, which has 130 million people, it is easy to turn around. "
"The Netherlands belongs to the British. Conspiracy, golden trap laid for His Highness, abandoning the already alienated Netherlands, It's just a loss of some tax revenue, but it can keep Spain's glory for a long time."
"Instead of attacking the Netherlands, it is better to find where the Dutch people's new salt fields are, as long as they can find the salt fields. , you can put the reins on the heads of the Dutch!”
Legaz spoke highly of the abandonment of land by the Chief Secretary of Cochin that occurred in the first and second years of Xuande, even though the literati of the Ming Dynasty repeatedly criticized this act of abandonment.
The Ming Dynasty has been engaged in the Northern Expedition for fifty-six years from the Hongwu period to the Xuande period. Such a long and large-scale expedition, with hundreds of thousands of people entering the grasslands at every turn, has already exhausted everyone. Yes, giving up Cochin in exchange for the rest and recuperation of the people, in Legaz’s view, is a benevolent government, not a bad government.
"Has Felipe accepted your opinion?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously.
Legas shook his head and said: "I accepted it, but not completely. His Highness does not intend to give up the Netherlands, but he intends to find new salt fields of the Netherlands and use a cheaper way to get them back. Deland area."
< br>This is also the reason why Felipe II is willing to exchange talents for the market. Legaz, a foreigner, has become a counselor of the country in more than ten years in the Ming Dynasty. Felipe is willing to pay silver in exchange for a native of the Ming Dynasty. People become his think tank.
After the emperor knew everything he wanted to know, Legaz left Tonghe Palace.
"In the next chapter, the Ministry of Industry will ask which place in Ming Dynasty has the best salt-drying technology." Zhu Yijun is very, very concerned about new bulk commodities.
Silver inflow must be maintained stably, which involves the stability of the country, and gold collection and storage must also be done, which involves the future of the Ming Dynasty. New commodity categories have become very important.
The Ministry of Industry quickly responded to the message and answered the emperor's questions.
"In the eleventh year of Wanli, Shandong suddenly replaced Lianghuai and became the largest salt-producing area in the Ming Dynasty. The person who caused this phenomenon was actually Yao Guangqi." Zhu Yijun said in surprise after reading the memorial.
Yao Guangqi, the king of kelp, not only grew kelp, but also dried salt. He invented a graded salt field method, allowing Shandong's salt production to surpass that of Lianghuai.
(End of this chapter)