…
On December 27, the ninth year of Xuanwu, in the Weiyang Palace of Chang'an.
Liu Ce, Xu Wenjing, Qin Mo, and Ye Bin were sitting in the conference hall, looking solemnly at the pile of orders in front of the table.
Qin Mo said: "The merchants of Lanfang Kingdom ordered 10,000 pieces of silk, 30,000 pieces of cotton, 10,000 catties of sugar, and 5,000 pieces of tea bricks from Hanling Trading Company last month.
In addition, the total value of beer, liquor, iron nails, colored glaze and other industrial products is around 3.5 million silver dollars. One-third of the deposit has been paid in advance and is temporarily stored at the Edo Branch of the Central Bank. "
Then, he took out another list: "Also, this is an order from the Malay royal family. In addition to industrial products and agricultural products, they also ordered weapons worth 1.3 million silver dollars.
He also has a strong intention to purchase firearms for our army. He wants to purchase 5,000 matchlocks and 1,000 flintlock muskets, and is willing to pay in full in advance.
As long as it is delivered before July next year, in addition, the Kingdom of Manila has also contacted Hanling Company and purchased economic goods worth a total of 2.3 million silver dollars.
And proposed to purchase a warship in service in our army to ensure the stability of its national border and coastal defense.
It's just that such a major matter must be discussed by the Ministry of War before it can be decided whether to sell it abroad. Therefore, I came here today to ask Your Majesty how to make a decision. "
"In addition, the Kingdom of Insula has promised to provide us with a large amount of rubber raw materials and allow long-term cooperation. Other countries have also sent invitations accordingly, hoping to exchange rubber for our products such as tea, sugar, cotton cloth, porcelain, and ironware."
A large number of overseas orders promoted the sustainable development of the Han Dynasty's economy. Today, the Han Dynasty basically no longer relies too much on agricultural taxes.
But with the inflow of large amounts of silver and gold, the issue of inflation must be considered.
In fact, the problem of currency depreciation in this era mainly depends on the proportion of precious metals contained in the currency. Taking silver as an example, any silver content below 70% is an inferior currency. The silver content in normal market transactions basically remains between 75% and 90%. between.
In other words, as long as the currency is made of high-quality materials, there is no devaluation problem.
What's more, Liu Ce would not be stupid and put all the precious metals he obtained directly on the market. Instead, he would classify and effectively place them in the treasury and banks, which greatly avoided the problem of goods inflation and avoided large-scale bank devaluation that hurt the people.
However, such rapid development still exceeded Liu Ce's expectations. According to the preliminary plan, an economic and trade model of this scale would take at least five years to achieve.
However, now, Nanyang has not fully controlled one-third of its sphere of influence, and commercial activities have already reached such a large scale. It is really unexpected. This is just the beginning.
After a long time, Liu Ce said to Qin Mo: "Reorganize all overseas orders. Military and civilian must be separated in detail.
Let the people in the Department of Commerce and Customs not be idle and get busy. They must control the quality level.
In addition, battleships are not for sale for the time being, matchlocks and flintlocks are rationed for sale, and artillery can only be sold to the outside world with a maximum limit of three-pounders.
Higher-end firearms must be decided upon through joint deliberations and inspections by the six ministries. "
Qin Mo said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, this is a matter within the scope of my duties."
Then, Liu Ce looked at Ye Bin and said, "Shang Shu, your people are really capable of making such a big basket for me. How come I didn't notice it before?"
My big man is actually such a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger. He, a foreign envoy, has such ability and disturbs the peace of Southeast Asia. It really makes me sit up and take notice. "
Ye Bin heard the meaning of Liu Ce's words and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, his actions were not ordered by me. This is not shirk. It is because by the time I received the news, the situation in Nanyang had been completely messed up by him. No matter how much we try to remedy the situation, it won’t help, so we just let the situation go and expand our business activities first before considering anything else!”
The man Liu Ce and Ye Bin talked about was naturally Ban Dingyuan.
After Ban Dingyuan was expelled from the country by Honglin that day, he did not return directly to the Central Plains. Instead, he transferred to the Sealand Kingdom and quickly became a neighbor with the Sealand Kingdom.
After that, Ban Dingyuan used the Sealand Kingdom as a springboard to lobby among the countries in Southeast Asia. With his outstanding diplomatic talent and the terrifying national power of the Han Dynasty behind him, he immediately attracted all the foreign forces that had originally turned to the Jin Kingdom. Arrived at the Han Dynasty.
Especially in terms of economics, although South Australia also has tea, silk and other products, the quality and quantity cannot be compared with those in the Central Plains, and many items are also much cheaper in price, so they are naturally sought after by various countries in Southeast Asia.
In just a few months, the Southeast Asian countries that had tasted the benefits can be said to have become very dependent on the Han Dynasty's economy. In addition, the Han Dynasty's silver dollar currency was well preserved, and many Nanyang countries began to turn to silver dollars and copper coins as their own currency. Popular with nobles and gentry from all over the world.
Under the circumstances, the Han Dynasty's economy was destined to reach a higher level, but accordingly, South Australia's foreign trade economy was bound to suffer an unprecedented blow.
After all, the heritage of the Central Plains is there, and it cannot be compared to a semi-monk from the Kingdom of Jin. What's more, Liu Ce, a time traveler, is hanging on the wall. It is simply lawless.
However, economic plunder is never peaceful. Not to mention Liu Ce, anyone who knew something about economics in the Han Dynasty, and even students who went to middle school, knew this truth well.
Therefore, snatching South Australia's foreign trade and economic sovereignty in this way is tantamount to a declaration of war.
In fact, this is also Ban Dingyuan's plan.
I have to say that this guy is really brave. He really wants to force the imperial court to go to war with Nan'ao! And it almost worked.
Ban Dingyuan knew that even if his visit to Australia failed, it would be impossible for the imperial court to launch a war. After all, the Han Dynasty's economy was in a period of steady growth, and there was no need to fight a laborious ocean war for some mineral resources.
But if South Australia's foreign trade income is forced to cut off, the situation will change.
It can be said that Ban Dingyuan's plan has been very successful so far. 70% of the countries in Nanyang have all switched to commercial cooperation with the Han Dynasty, which greatly reduced the Jin State's tariff revenue and directly opened up the clan policy formulated by the Jin State. .
It stands to reason that a commercial war in the physical sense is imminent.
This made Liu Ce feel troubled. After all, his current colonial plan was to encroach step by step. After digesting those territories and completely monopolizing the Nanyang economy, he would then show his hand to the Kingdom of Jin.
But this class is far away...
It really completely disrupted himself and even the layout of the imperial court.
Just when Liu Ce was still thinking about how to deal with the aftermath of Ban Dingyuan's transgression, Qin Mo spoke again: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly.
Before dealing with Ban Dingyuan, please first deal with the difficult matter at hand. The Department of Commerce, Customs Department, and Taxation Department should submit letters to various government agencies.
It is said that due to the increase in official workload, various agencies are in urgent need of reliable manpower. Even banks have complained to Weichen, saying that there are insufficient accountants and cashiers to handle many official tasks at once.
Please ask the imperial court to arrange for the decentralization of personnel immediately. However, the officials currently employed by the Ministry of Household Affairs have already made arrangements for people's livelihood, and it is really impossible to fill such a hole. "
Qin Mo's words are very straightforward, that is, there is indeed a shortage of people in various government offices.
If there were only one or two missing, he would not report it at all. He could only say that the shortage of personnel had reached the point where it had to be filled.
In order to avoid the phenomenon of redundant officials, the Han Dynasty paid great attention to the arrangement of officials. In many cases, they preferred to have a shortage rather than an excess. In many places, one person was used as four or five people.
But even so, the plan could not keep up with the changes, because the establishment of many new yamen, especially the establishment of customs, made the already scarce number of corresponding professional officials even tighter.
Liu Ce thought for a while and asked: "Approximately how many gaps are there?"
Qin Mo: "The total gap is 60%..."
As soon as these words came out, not only Liu Ce, but also Ye Bin and Xu Wenjing were shocked.
"Such a big gap?"
In the face of everyone's doubts, Qin Mo replied: "Nowadays, all walks of life implement precise management, and overall management is no longer simpler than before. Therefore, the number of officials is naturally in short supply.
If the situation were not so pressing that there was no other way, I would not ask His Majesty for anyone. "
Liu Ce showed an understanding look, and then said: "Let's see, how many of this class of middle school graduates are still idle at home?
After simple training, they will be directly assigned to internships in various branches. If possible, they will be directly promoted to full-time positions. "
Qin Mo said: "As far as your Majesty is concerned, except for those who are unwilling to become officials after graduating from middle school, I have already made arrangements for those who can be arranged."
Liu Ce shook his head: "No, you didn't make arrangements properly."
Qin Mo frowned: "Your Majesty, please speak clearly."
Liu Ce smiled and said: "Those girls who have graduated and are idle at home, can't they also be assigned?"
"this……"
Qin Mo was a little embarrassed. Although he also thought about arranging those graduating girls to branch offices in various places, he never dared to take this initiative.
Liu Ce said: "Don't think too much. In fact, there are some places where women are more suitable than men. For example, at the front desk of a bank, I think women are more suitable."
Qin Mo said: "I also know that, but... well, that's all. Since Your Majesty doesn't care, what do you have to worry about?"
Liu Ce nodded happily and agreed with Qin Mo's openness.
The higher the status of a woman, the stronger the country's heritage. This is an unchanging truth.
After all, a great man once said that women hold up half the sky.
After talking about Qin Mo's question, Liu Ce's face turned slightly ^_^, tell me, how do you plan to end the current situation in Nanyang? "
