The market promotion of credit currency is not smooth sailing. Even the promotion of gold and silver-based banknotes takes time. Before World War I, during the Beiyang Republic, there was a serious run on money.
At that time, people in Beijing frantically exchanged banknotes for Yuan Datou, and finally forced the Beiyang government to stop the exchange. At this time, the credit of the entire Beiyang government went bankrupt.
On the contrary, Shanghai launched a financial siege, resolutely opposed the Beiyang government's cease-exchange order, and resolutely maintained the credit of banknotes, what people at the time called Beijing banknotes.
This was the very famous Beijing Banknote Storm in history. If it were not for the firm resistance of Zhang Gongquan and Song Hanzhang of Shanghai, the credit of the Bank of China would have been completely bankrupt at that time.
Perhaps the Republic of China government simply could not survive the famous good historical opportunity for economic development in the Republic of China when World War I broke out!
Ordinary people are naturally wary of power. This is a memory imprinted in their genes, which makes people believe that a worthless piece of paper is money, and they can trade, save, and live... This change in psychological acceptance may require Over generations.
How did the Chinese Nan Piao credit get established? It’s not just that the Chinese control a large share of East Asia’s ocean trade. To put it bluntly, if people believe your Xiao Letian’s banknotes, it’s because they see that you, Xiao Letian, really have something in your hands.
It's not just gold and silver, it's food, industrial products... Even if you have bricks in hand, I can exchange them for building a house, and that still has credibility.
The Chinese people attach great importance to business, which has led to the vigorous development of logistics. When goods are flowing and people can see them, they always feel at ease!
It is not just ready-made goods, but more importantly, the Chinese control the largest industrial base in China, which is the Northern Industrial Zone in the Bohai Bay.
This is already known as the Ruhr of the East. This large-scale industrial zone has radiated to the Tangshan area. The coal mines and iron mines in the Yanshan Mountains have been developed and turned into huge productivity.
Businessmen all over the world know that the Chinese are productive. This is a shame. They believe this and know that even if the head of state has no money, he has the privilege of producing industrial products.
Paper money cannot be exchanged for silver, but I can exchange it for your iron nails! Miner's lamp! Kerosene! Screws... The added value of industrial products in this era is very high, no less than that of European and American high-tech chips in later generations!
As long as this paper money can be exchanged for industrial products or even foreign guns, then this paper money has great credibility!
Commodity logistics, huge productivity...what else is missing? It still lacks a strong army to protect it. There is no need for the Chinese to brag about how powerful the Chinese army is.
Therefore, the credit of Nanqiao banknotes was first established among merchants. Jiangnan, Gyeonggi and Guangzhou were the most economically active areas in the entire Qing Dynasty. Only these three places had banknotes in large circulation.
But once you leave these commercially prosperous areas and go to the hinterland of the Central Plains or in the mountains and valleys, such as the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian, people still live a very traditional life.
Silver taels and copper coins are the currencies they accept. There are really no silver taels and copper coins, so bartering for cloth and grain is fine!
But they don’t accept banknotes, absolutely not!
The Chinese have not yet penetrated into the Jiangnan area, and there is no extra energy to cover and operate the Fujian side, so the people here are even more unfamiliar with banknotes.
Once a rumor spreads, it's hard to put it to rest! For some reason, the 30,000 new Yulin troops soon spread the rumor that the emperor was going to give them southern tickets as rewards, and now the soldiers became restless.
They definitely wouldn't dare to rebel, and they wouldn't even commit rebellion, because after all, it's just a matter of arrears of pay and reward, and it doesn't matter whether it's early or late.
But not making trouble doesn't mean they don't complain. These mountain people communicate with each other in the dialect of their hometown, and they don't speak the dull Northern Mandarin they have learned in the past few years.
The command system with the three hundred emperor's personal troops as its backbone suddenly felt something was wrong. Why did the soldiers around him suddenly become wary, and why did they start communicating in dialects they couldn't understand?
"Keep your voice down...what did you say? Let me ask you...what did you say?"
"No... nothing said... What did you have for lunch today, sir? Is there any meat..."
"Just wait with peace of mind, I won't be able to eat without your meat when the Long Live Lord comes..."
They had just finished reprimanding the soldiers, but turned around and the soldiers started whispering in dialect, "Look, the company commander doesn't know. It seems like the reward is really on the line..."
The soldiers complained angrily, "We are not people who are greedy for money. It is enough to make up the arrears. Working for the Lord Long Live is just repaying our loyalty..."
"But what's the point of saying things don't always work? Long live the Lord, you can't lie to others..."
"Don't talk nonsense... Long live the Lord will not lie. Didn't you listen to the officers? There are traitors in the court, and they just don't want Long live the Lord to be in charge..."
"Long live the Lord, he is guarding the gold and silver mountains, he can't be the master!"
"Yes, the money has been embezzled by those traitors... If you dare to use paper money to deceive us later, we will tear it up and burn it on the spot!"
"Yes, I remember people said before that the high-ranking officials in Beijing have torn up paper money, and they have also been deceived..."
This happened in the Year of the Monkey, and it was all a joke in Sijiu City when banknotes were first promoted, but I never expected that the news would spread to Fujian, thousands of miles away, and the joke would actually be taken as truth.
They really thought that banknotes were paper money. They just couldn't believe that the pieces of paper burned for the dead could actually be used as money! If the imperial guards gave them paper money, they would be cursing them to death!
There were more and more rumors, and the atmosphere became more and more gloomy. Emperor Tongzhi in the Chinese army's tent suddenly couldn't sit still.
The guards under his command were constantly reporting information to the big tent. In fact, the little emperor knew everything that happened outside!
Looking at the pocket watch in his arms, it was already half past twelve, but the soldiers in the army were not in the mood to start cooking.
It seems that these soldiers will not give up until they get the money!
"Let's see...just look at it...one million dollars in cash has robbed us like this? How can I have the dignity to go out to meet the soldiers?"
Emperor Tongzhi said nothing with a livid face. This morning he even refused a visit from the British. Originally, the foreign engineers from Mawei Shipyard and the British fleet officials were going to come together to see Emperor Tongzhi, but even such diplomatic etiquette was ignored. Awesome!
"I rejected all requests from foreigners to watch the ceremony... I really want them to see this new imperial army and let them come in in person..."
"But with the current morale of the military, how can I dare to agree?"
"I am waiting for death..." Shen Baozhen and all the civil servants knelt down, and Lin Zexu's uncle cried like a peach in his eyes.
"Chen Wan is dead... Chen Wan is dead... The poverty here in Fujian is one thing, but it is also a coincidence... I have just settled a payment for foreigners at Mawei Shipyard, and another settlement for Marshal Zuo's military expenses. Pen……"
"Actually, in half a month, business taxes will come up...and there will be money in the government office...Right now, the turnover is really at a disadvantage...wuwuwu..."
At this time, an official behind Shen Baozhen suddenly cried and said, "Long live the Lord... Why don't we just issue southern tickets... There are still more than 600,000 yuan in southern tickets in the government office..."
"Bah...you fart...are you asking me to slap you in the face? What I was talking about yesterday was silver! Silver! Silver!"
