The total amount of money spent on the three mountains and five gardens is now unaccountable, because the time has dragged on for too long, there have been too many emperors, and the system engineering is too huge, but we can estimate it from the side.
Although there is no final conclusion in academic circles about Cixi's budget for rebuilding the Summer Palace, there is still no controversy about the budget of around 30 million taels. Moreover, Cixi only renovated the Summer Palace, and the cost was already so objective.
Although the price is somewhat inflated due to falling silver prices and corruption, even if the imaginary figure of 10 million taels is deducted, the actual cost is still between 20 million taels.
Now of course Xiao Letian couldn't use the Sanhai Project that didn't happen as an example. He could only make an estimate in his mind. It cost 20 million taels to rebuild a Summer Palace. If it were to be completely built new, it would cost at least 3 More than ten million taels.
The Summer Palace is just one of the three mountains and five gardens system. The entire project is at least ten times that of the Summer Palace project, which means that the three mountains and five gardens cost at least 300 million taels of silver.
Well, for the entire Qing Dynasty, even 300 million taels of silver is just a small number. After all, where is China’s thousands of years of family wealth? But does the civil engineering of the royal garden count as a cost?
A rookie's palace must not be filled with treasures, and his study must not be filled with calligraphy and paintings by celebrities from all dynasties. Aren't the various cultural relics that the British and French allied forces took away money considered money?
These scattered financial accounts are the real gold-eating monsters. This calligraphy and painting was bought for 30,000 taels of silver, the porcelain vase was purchased for 5,000 taels of silver, and there are also various precious gems, jades, and Western treasures... all together. An astronomical figure.
Xiao Letian didn't dare to think about it anymore. He shook his head and sighed, "I estimate that the three mountains and five gardens project will cost China at least between 400 million to 500 million taels of silver..."
"Mr. Long, you just asked Sister Wu what to do if she was caught stealing so many things. To be honest, as long as she didn't steal those top-notch treasures, such as Qianlong Dayu Mountain, Qingming River Scene, Mao Gongding, Sanshi Pan, Xishan Travel Map... Wait until the peerless treasure is discovered by the Manchus..."
"A fire in the Old Summer Palace messed up the entire Qing Dynasty's treasure inventory accounts. Now they themselves don't know how much money they still have. Taking advantage of the chaos, do you know how many insider thieves started to steal? There are countless..."
Xiao Letian raised his wine glass and gave a toast to Sister Wu, "If you don't steal, of course there will be eunuchs and thieves from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who will steal. They may end up living in that country... Later, you and Chun Shisanniang will hand over the matter to you." All the hidden clues from the past were used..."
"Let the word go, we will charge as much as we can for the royal treasures in the Forbidden City. No matter how much the market price is, we will add 30% to it..."
When the Kirigakure kid heard that Xiao Letian had given her a task, her heart stabilized. Being able to give herself a task showed that Xiao Letian really wanted to use herself instead of just showing off.
"I obey your orders. I will reorganize my brothers and sisters who stayed in the Qing Dynasty and restore the past intelligence network... I will also present the treasures I have hidden in Fusang and the Qing Dynasty to the Prime Minister..."
Xiao Letian nodded, "I won't ask you for nothing. I'll increase it by 30% compared to the market price. Acquisition..."
A loud bang interrupted Xiao Letian's words, but it was Master Long who punched the railing, causing sawdust to fly and leaving a big gap.
"Five hundred million taels of silver... God, how many things can five hundred million taels of silver do? If we follow what the Prime Minister said, let alone industrialization once, even ten times will be fine..."
Yes, Master Long has become obsessed with Xiao Letian's estimated figures. Most warriors are upright and accept death. Master Long and Xiao Letian have been inseparable these years, and he has been sitting in on those top-notch small classes.
Although Mr. Long's knowledge base was not high, he couldn't stand Xiao Letian's lectures, which were easy to understand and were all in vernacular. Therefore, Mr. Long became one of the first nationalists inspired by Xiao Letian.
These core members of Xiao Letian know what a country and a nation are, what industrialization and technological development are, and of course they also understand the importance of the ocean and the idea of sea power.
Especially those brothers who went abroad with Xiao Letian were impressed by the power displayed by the powerful industrial civilization of the West.
Mr. Long is now bursting into tears of grievance: "Five hundred million taels of silver... How many factories will be built, how much technology will be invested, how many fleets will be formed... How can we let foreigners bully us like this?"
Sister Wu also sighed, "Yes... Actually, why are Japan no longer convinced by China, and some people say that there will be no China after Yashan... How can people look down on these things that are humiliating the country and losing power?"
"Prime Minister, you were able to successfully sign the agreement in Osaka, establish the Fuso Bank, and mediate Japan's civil war, all because of your remaining power in Europe... If it weren't for your illustrious military exploits that shocked those famous people, do you think those warlike people I will listen to you."
Xiao Letian patted Mr. Long on the back, "Don't be angry. It's still too late. China's national destiny has not reached an irreversible situation yet... As long as we seize the time, it is not impossible to catch up from behind."
He was trying to persuade Mr. Long, but Xiao Letian was also crying in his heart. He had four to five billion taels of silver to build the royal garden, but not a single copper coin to invest in the ocean or new technologies. In the end, it was left for the enemy to rob and burn.
It is difficult to estimate how much 500 million taels of silver is equivalent to today. If we use less accurate grain calculations, one stone of japonica rice in the south of the Yangtze River during the Qianlong period was about 180 kilograms today, which is 90 kilograms. According to two yuan per kilogram Calculated based on the average price, the price of one stone of japonica rice is between 260-400 yuan.
What was the average price of Japonica rice in the south of the Yangtze River during the Qianlong period? In good years, when the price of rice was extremely low, it cost three or four taels of silver. When it was expensive, it could reach three or four taels of silver. Taking an average value, it was about one tael and a half and one stone.
Of course, the overall purchasing power of silver in the Qing Dynasty was gradually declining. Taking into account the value of silver inflation, the actual purchasing power of one tael of silver in the Qing Dynasty was about the same as the 180-200 yuan in the 21st century.
Based on this estimate, 500 million taels of silver is roughly equivalent to 100 billion yuan in later generations. This shows the luxury of the Manchus in the past two hundred years.
Thinking of this, Xiao Letian no longer dared to think about it. He knew that using grain prices as a target was very unreasonable, because the grains in the Qing Dynasty were completely different from the grains in later generations that had been ripened by large amounts of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and hormones.
The difference in yield per mu of land is more than dozens of times, which means that the value of food in the Qing Dynasty is much higher than that in the 21st century. If the number of 100 billion is really multiplied by ten, I think this account can really be settled. Not sure.
History is sometimes a confusing account that cannot be understood at all.
"We're here... Prime Minister, look quickly... The Ryukyu Pier is already crowded with people waiting to welcome you. Let's go home..." the lookout on the Roma shouted excitedly.
Note: The Hidden Dragon of the Qing Dynasty was published in. All book friends, please search the Internet for the keyword "Hidden Dragon of the Qing Dynasty" on the official website, and then collect and read the book. Only reading here can help the mind to be pure. Thank you very much.
The book club 116253076 Xinjing is there, and it bubbles up basically every day. You are welcome to come and chat together, talk about the behind-the-scenes stories of the creation of Hidden Dragon in the Qing Dynasty, and tell you some little easter eggs and surprises during the creation.
