The impact of the economic crisis on society is undoubtedly huge. Ordinary people only care about daily necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, and a little bit of life in front of them. They cannot see very far and do not want to see very far.
Although everyone admires Prime Minister Xiao of Donghai, admiration cannot overcome the hardship of life. If he doesn't eat a meal, he will starve.
What would the old lady with little feet think when she saw the notice in the soy sauce shop that they would not accept tickets and would only accept cash? How angry was he when the price of the same goods in the tea shop was doubled when purchased with cash and with banknotes?
When the banknotes were earned, they were worth one dollar of silver, but when they were spent, they could only be spent as half a dollar of silver. Half of the wealth was swallowed up in an instant, and the people in Jiangnan went crazy.
All the stores of Lotte Bank and Lotte Bank were attacked by angry people, and the rotten eggs were not spared. In the end, the bank clerks did not dare to go out on the streets or open their doors in broad daylight.
The local government and the Hunan Army defenders are also crazy with exhaustion. They are not immune to this crisis. The senior generals of the Hunan Army and the Manchu officials also have a lot of banknotes in their hands. They don't care. According to Xiao Letian's rules, you directly go to the big shopkeeper of Jiangnan Branch and ask for exchange.
If you don't exchange it, the government will not provide you with any protection.
Although there are people like Zeng Guofan and Hu Xueyan intervening in the middle, the power of one or two people is very small, and they are even less likely to interfere in the private affairs of their officials. When someone exchanges his own money, no matter how powerful the commander-in-chief is, he can only make suggestions. , it is not always easy to issue military orders directly.
How could Xiao Letian make such an opening? Lotte Bank flatly rejected this unreasonable request, and the conflict immediately intensified.
All the government soldiers who originally provided protection for the bank withdrew, and angry people began to attack the bank. In order to ensure the safety of personnel and property, the Ryukyu headquarters had to choose to temporarily close all branches in the Jiangnan area.
"Lotte Bank is closed! Our money is going to be turned into waste paper! God, you gangsters... Xiao Letian, why don't you die!"
In the entire area where Nanbao circulated, almost all voices cursed Xiao Letian to die, and the purchasing power of banknotes collapsed again.
The more chaotic Jiangnan becomes, the more excited the foreign bankers in Shanghai become. One bottle after another of expensive wine is opened, and the door to the feast of wealth has been opened to them.
"Come on, come on! Gentlemen and ladies! The huge Jiangnan economy is about to collapse, and we will soon be in the harvest season! Cheers..."
"Xiao Letian still wants to rescue the market? Just dream. He issued 1.6 billion banknotes in Jiangnan, which is 1.6 billion silver dollars! A silver dollar weighs 30 grams, 100 million silver dollars is 3,000 tons, and 1.6 billion is 48,000 tons. Pure silver, even if Xiao Letian sells himself, there is no way he can have so much money! Cheers..."
"Thank you for the war, and thank you for Xiao Letian's arrogance. It was because of this war that we were given this feast! I firmly believe that when the Russians defeat Xiao Letian, the banknotes will eventually become a pile of waste paper, and Xiao Letian will The looted silver will not flow back to the Jiangnan region..."
"At that time, Jiangnan will be like a giant that has lost all its blood, with countless valuable assets but no cash flow. At that time, the cash in our hands will be enough to attack! Cheers..."
"Hahaha... Then we only spend one silver coin to buy high-quality assets that we usually can't buy with ten silver coins. Gentlemen and ladies, a huge profit of more than ten times will appear before our eyes!"
The atmosphere of the reception has reached its peak, and the mellow wine is consumed like running water. Under the shining of wealth, the lady turns into a gentleman and the gentleman turns into a beast... Everyone fantasizes about taking the least amount of money to take over the countless lands in the south of the Yangtze River. Piers, commercial streets, silk reeling factories, textile factories, ceramic factories...all valuable assets were transferred to his own name.
The waltzes were played one after another, and the men and women were singing, laughing, and dancing gracefully. Not far from the windows of the hall, you could see people from the Qing Dynasty walking in a hurry. They were looking for shops that still accepted banknotes, and their faces were full of panic. At a loss.
When the atmosphere of the reception was at its hottest, a man suddenly pushed open the door and nodded perfunctorily to his friends around him. He walked quickly to the presidents of Citigroup, Standard Chartered and Bank de France and whispered in a low voice.
"It's a bit bad! Many rivals suddenly appeared in the market, and they are secretly buying banknotes. Now the collapse of banknotes in the market has slowed down!"
The branch presidents stationed in Shanghai from banks such as Citigroup, Standard Chartered, and France are all veterans who have been trained by the headquarters for many years and are very familiar with the business. In particular, Citigroup's Henley Wen is a veteran.
"Opponent? Can you find out who is the trader behind it?"
"It's not easy to find out who it is, but I suspect that this fund has something to do with those Ryukyu grain merchants. I guess Xiao Letian is borrowing from the grain merchants to start stabilizing the credit of banknotes!"
"Grain? Grain merchants? It's really them. It seems that Xiao Letian has run out of skills and pushed those hardworking businessmen to the forefront... But Asia is such a weird place. Chinese people have a deep fear of grain. Psychologically, Xiao Letian has pinched their pulse!"
The basic principle of business is that if there is a sale, there will definitely be opponents. This world is a duality, and harmony and unity can also lead to contradictions.
If you are not optimistic about the prospects of banknotes, try to sell them. When the price reaches a certain level, the opponent's order will inevitably appear. The lower the price you sell, the stronger the opponent's order will be.
Now the credit of banknotes is actually locked in that war. If Xiao Letian wins, the banknotes will immediately return to their original credit and purchasing power. Then wouldn't those who sold them at a low price lose money?
If the Russians win, Nanpiao's credit will be cleared immediately, and the bottom-buying funds will only be wiped out, while the bankers who sell banknotes at high positions will make huge profits.
Now that the purchasing power of banknotes has been cut in half, opponents are finally taking action.
Throughout the crisis, it is strange that grain prices in the Jiangnan area, which are usually the most volatile, do not fluctuate significantly at this moment. Although many grain merchants also want to make a fortune in this crisis, they have absolutely no chance. I thought that Ryukyu actually increased the supply of rice.
Not to mention that Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice and can be self-sufficient in food, that is purely a misunderstanding of people. Before the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a proverb circulated was 'If Jiangnan is ripe, the world will be sufficient! 'At that time, Jiangnan's grain output was definitely the stabilizer of China's food security.
However, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, after Jiangnan's industry and commerce developed, food production was declining year by year, because a large amount of manpower and material resources were concentrated in more profitable industries, such as porcelain, silk, and tea. They were impatient of the slow and hard work of earning food. Money.
Therefore, from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the folk proverb changed to "If Huguang is cooked, the world is sufficient!" 'The grain production in the two lakes and Guangdong and Guangxi regions is more important to the empire, but the people's traditional psychological consciousness is not easy to change.
As for now, whether there is a good harvest in Jiangnan, the two lakes, or Guangdong and Guangxi areas has no big effect. The world's food security has all depended on Ryukyu, and Ryukyu all depends on Nanyang.
