As the Minister of Household Affairs of the current dynasty, although Gao Pragmatic was often distracted, he was still very attentive to his own work. What's more, he always believed that the decline of the Ming Dynasty was first manifested in finance, so he paid special attention to financial reforms. .
Physical objects, copper coins, silver, banknotes...these are all words that often come to Gao Pragmatic's mind. From Zhu Yuanzhang's comprehensive physical tax (almost comprehensive) that reversed history, to the later currency customs, to the collection of copper coins during the pilot period of the one-whip method, to Gao Gong's decision to promote the monetization of silver, the reform process has actually been accelerating.
Yes, silver monetization didn’t happen until the High Gong period.
In later film and television works, it seems that silver has always been the common currency in Chinese dynasties, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception. But this is a wrong view. Due to space limitations, other dynasties will not be discussed for the time being. At least silver was not the legal currency of the Ming Dynasty at all. There was no silver system in the Ming Dynasty before Gao Gong was in power.
Historically, silver monetization itself originated from the private sector, rather than from official system design. After the Cheng and Hong reigns of the Ming Dynasty, silver experienced a period of transition from official illegal currency to officially recognized legal currency.
By the Jiajing period, with the proposal of a whip law and its intermittent small-scale implementation, the silver monetization process was essentially completed, but unfortunately, no system was formed.
It was not until the first year of Longqing that Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty issued a decree on the suggestion of Gao Gong: For goods bought and sold that were worth more than one yuan of silver, both silver and cash were allowed; only money with less than one yuan was allowed.
This decree was the first decree of the Ming Dynasty that clarified the "use of both money and money" under the objective reality of silver monetization. It was also the first time in the Ming Dynasty that the legal currency status of silver was affirmed in the form of legal authority, and the monetary form of silver as the main currency was fixed in the form of legal authority. [Note: This article is historical fact. 】
Therefore, this decree promulgated by Emperor Longqing can also be regarded as proof that the Ming Dynasty established a silver-standard currency system. Official recognition and promotion accelerated the pace of silver monetization. Since then, silver has been fully spread throughout society, penetrating into every corner of society and penetrating into people's daily lives.
Silver monetization accelerated currency circulation, activated the commodity market, prospered the social economy, and brought about changes in the entire social structure of the Ming Dynasty. In a sense, the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty's commodity economy, the formation of merchant chaebols, the rise of private ports in towns, etc. all benefited from the monetization of silver.
It is precisely for this reason that the inflow of overseas silver is a requirement spurred by the economic development and social structural changes of the Ming Dynasty. While Gao Pangshi was thinking about taking over the Philippines, he was also worried about interrupting the import of American silver. It was precisely because he was afraid that this demand would not be met.
Folk transactions in silver have become popular since the Jin Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, the treasure banknote system was implemented. Silver was used as the basis of banknotes, and silver was also used in foreign trade. These laid the social foundation for the monetization of silver in the Ming Dynasty.
However, the monetization of silver in the Ming Dynasty was not a natural process. In fact, it was the result of a game between the imperial court and the people.
Shortly after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, a currency system of treasure notes was established. In order to implement the currency system, gold, silver and copper were repeatedly banned. But the problem is that the gradual collapse of treasure banknotes and the lack of raw materials for copper coins have objectively promoted the trend of silver monetization.
After the "Ming Dynasty Tongbao Banknotes" were issued in the eighth year of Hongwu (1375), the imperial court ordered a ban on the circulation of gold and silver. Later, even copper coins were also banned, and paper banknotes were used exclusively.
However, due to the implementation of the Banknote Law in the Ming Dynasty, there were no precious metals or physical objects as preparations for banknote issuance. Therefore, more precious banknotes were put into circulation and less returned. When the Banknote Law was first implemented, the court did not stipulate the method for updating old coins. Therefore, it was only in July of the ninth year of Hongwu that the problem of old banknotes actually appeared, and the "reversal of banknotes law" was enacted.
But the "banknote dumping method" was very unsuccessful. "The method of collecting and exchanging faint banknotes is originally for the convenience of the people, but many people are treacherous because of the law. Every time they use the banknotes, they can easily change them." - Unbroken treasure banknotes Just replace it with a new one, which increases the cost unnecessarily.
Due to the huge flaws in the Baochao system itself, the devaluation of Ming Dynasty Baochao began almost immediately after the implementation of the Banknote Law.
Judging from the price ratio between banknotes and silver, in the mid-Hongwu period, one tael of silver was equivalent to three or five guan of banknotes. In the seventh year of Xuande, the commercial tax fish tax in Huguang, Guangxi, Zhejiang and other places was reduced to 100 guan of banknotes for each tael of silver. In the first year of Zhengtong, "one tael of silver today is equivalent to more than a thousand guan." During the Chenghua period, Zhou Guang, the commander of Daxing Zuowei, reported that the situation was even more serious. ".
It can be seen that over the course of a hundred years, the depreciation of treasure banknotes has become increasingly serious. By the Chenghua period, its depreciation rate was already about a thousand times.
The increasing depreciation of treasure banknotes made the circulation of treasure banknotes difficult, which was called "banknote stagnation" by people at the time. As early as the 21st year of Hongwu, the currency circulating in society was not only treasure banknotes, but also other physical substitutes such as gold and silver, satin, and rice. In order to protect the value of treasure banknotes, in the 27th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang magically issued a decree banning copper coins.
This copper ban led to an unexpected result, which was the destruction of the monetary system in the early Ming Dynasty that was dominated by banknotes and supplemented by money. Instead, it caused an increase in private silver use. As a result, at the end of Hongwu, there was a situation where "merchants from various counties in Hangzhou, no matter how expensive the goods were, would always judge the price based on gold and silver."
Bao banknotes are increasingly depreciating in value, losing the trust of the public, and gradually withdrawing from private circulation. But Zhu Yuanzhang was not convinced by this, so in the 30th year of Hongwu, he once again resorted to a magic weapon: prohibiting the trading of gold and silver crops.
Needless to say, no matter how majestic the imperial decree was, it could not meet the actual needs. This decree did not really prohibit the use of silver among the people.
Silver monetization started from the private sector. This bottom-up trend of silver monetization impacted the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty and forced the imperial court to accept and recognize this huge force from the private sector.
In the first year of Zhengtong (1436), Huang Fu, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue (Note: Readers who have read the Guangxi volume, remember that I once wrote about this person after Gao Pragmatic captured Annan and praised him very much) ?) Report to the emperor:
"Bao banknotes are used as well as copper coins. During the Hongwu period, one tael of silver was equivalent to three or five guan of banknotes. Today, one tael of silver is equivalent to more than 1,000 guan of banknotes. This is the worst of the banknote method."
The harsh reality faced by the court at that time was that the treasure banknotes had depreciated thousands of times and were actually abandoned by the people. For the court, this was obviously a very threatening fact.
Out of instinctive reaction, the central government of the Ming Dynasty still tried to maintain the Baochao system by changing policies and doing everything possible to maintain it. Unfortunately, the so-called policy changes are just "paying money with money" to deceive the country and harm the people.
Although the imperial court took various measures to establish the main currency status of Baochao, it was ultimately unable to stop the impact of silver on Baochao.
In fact, according to Gao's pragmatic view, the Ming Dynasty issued treasure banknotes with neither a banknote nor a limit. The circulation was large and the amount returned was small. The order of exchanging old and new banknotes was not only chaotic but also the prices were very different. In addition, the treasure banknotes were poorly made. It is extremely easy to counterfeit, and almost everything is impossible.
The market is flooded with inferior banknotes such as treasure banknotes, which obviously greatly exceeds the actual demand for money in the circulation of social goods. This will inevitably cause inflation and the value of treasure banknotes will become increasingly devalued.
Moreover, from a highly pragmatic point of view, the Ming Dynasty implemented the Banknote Law. From the subjective point of view of the emperors of the past dynasties, it was just to amass wealth, and it was not convenient for the people at all. Various problems occurred and the banknote law collapsed soon after its implementation, which was closely related to this motive.
Objectively speaking, in addition to the imperial court, those who benefited from the implementation of the Banknote Law were some profiteers and unjust officials. The Banknote Law only brought disaster to ordinary people.
In fact, after the Zicheng and Hong eras, the distrust of treasure banknotes among the people has reached its peak. Bao banknotes have completely lost the credibility and value of currency. The main use of private payments is silver. Bao banknotes cannot be circulated, and the banknote method has also been reduced. It’s the same as Xuwen.
After Longqing, silver became the official currency, and after the one-whip method was widely implemented - especially in the Jiangnan region, this situation was irreversible.
What is irreversible is not only the big system, but also the detailed system. For example, in addition to land taxes and corvées being uniformly calculated on a field-by-field basis, the two largest fiscal expenditures of the court, official salaries and military pay, as well as important bulk national tax revenues such as salt tax, tea tax, customs duties, and commercial taxes, were also calculated in silver. .
This is the establishment of the silver standard.
However, for Gao Pragmatic, although in his eyes the silver standard is definitely much more advanced than before, there is still a lot of "unprecedented progress" - yes, what he wants is paper money.
Although the currency paper currency of Ming Dynasty Baochao was a complete failure, this does not mean that paper currency is the wrong direction. To a certain extent, the failure of the Ming Dynasty banknotes is an excellent lesson for the future. As long as the problems that arise during the implementation of the Ming Dynasty banknotes are solved, and then a new banknote system is started from scratch, it will almost be successful.
I just mentioned the problems with the Ming Dynasty banknotes: there is no banknote and no limit, the circulation is large, and the amount returned is small. The order of exchanging old and new banknotes is chaotic and the prices are very different. In addition, the production is crude and easy to forge. This This is the reason why Baochao failed.
Is there any solution? Yes, Gao Pragmatic has already thought of a way.
There is no banknote, that is, there is no issuance reserve. This reserve fund is obviously huge, and it is impossible to expect the court to come up with it.
Based on the current situation of the imperial court, to put it bluntly, if Gao Pragmatism is replaced and who is replaced as the Minister of Household Affairs, the imperial government will either directly go bankrupt, or it will have to ban the opening of vassals, strengthen preparations for war, and repair the imperial mausoleum. Wait for a few big things to stop.
Let the Ministry of Accounts allocate at least 20 million taels of silver to make reserves for the issuance of banknotes? dream.
This money must be found elsewhere. According to Gao's pragmatic ideas, the main source is the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance. Perhaps the royal family, civil and military officials, and even vassals from various places can be brought together.
But to get these people to spend real money, obviously it cannot be done by calling on everyone to love the country and the people in a pragmatic way. There must be interests here! There are high-interest, pragmatic solutions, but we’ll talk about this later.
The second problem with the failure of Baobao is that there is an unlimited amount of issuance, and the circulation is large, but the return is very small - this is an interrelated problem. However, there are also highly pragmatic solutions.
Unlimited circulation will lead to too much circulation. In fact, as long as the emperor and the court do not interfere with this problem, it will be fine. In other words, the issue of circulation is left to this independent agency to handle according to the rules - the rules are of course set with high pragmatism.
As for the lack of returns, it is actually not difficult to solve this problem. The key lies in the determination of the court: just as the success of silver monetization is established by collecting silver from all taxes, as long as the expenditure of the court official salary, military pay, and Important bulk state tax revenue such as land tax (including corvee tax), salt tax, tea tax, customs duty, commercial tax, etc. were all replaced by accepting (or spending) paper money, and the problem was solved.
The imperial court allows you to pay taxes with paper money, so why don’t you use paper money? As long as the court recognizes the value of your banknotes and calculates your taxes according to the face value of the banknotes at all times, obviously you will not lose money. What reason do you have to reject this currency that is more convenient to carry and use?
It is impossible for a person to carry one thousand taels of silver with him when he goes out, but if it is banknotes, so what if it is ten thousand taels? This is not the reason why the people do not recognize the treasure banknotes. It is just that the treasure banknotes continue to depreciate in value, and if you keep them in your hands, you will suffer a loss.
Then there is the issue of exchanging old banknotes. Originally, the exchange of old and new Ming Dynasty banknotes was very confusing. The exchange required additional money, but the amount of money spent in different places varied, which led to many disadvantages.
Gao's pragmatic plan is to have a clear statement on the exchange standards for old banknotes, just like the RMB exchange in later generations. There must be unified standards for things like worn handwriting, missing corners, etc., and the standards can only be exchanged.
As for the exchange price, it is free to exchange old RMB banknotes for new ones in later generations, but Gao Pragmatic estimates that he cannot afford it now, and there is still a fee here. It's just that he doesn't plan to charge more. Basically, he only needs to recover the cost of producing banknotes. That is the cost of making paper, printing currency, and shipping.
Of these three costs, the first two are relatively fixed, while the transportation costs are difficult to distinguish based on the transportation distance. But Gao pragmatically knew that the distinction could not actually be made. Once differentiated, it would lead to differences in exchange prices in various places, returning to the old path of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes. Therefore, he believes that an average value must be taken, and then the exchange fees will be calculated according to a unified standard across the country.
The last "lesson learned from the past" is actually the issue of banknote anti-counterfeiting. The material for making Ming Dynasty banknotes is called "mulberry bark", which is mulberry bark. The appearance of the treasure banknote is cyan, with special anti-counterfeiting dragon patterns and anti-counterfeiting seal characters. In the center is a money string pattern, with the number of money strings representing the face value.
The highest denomination of the treasure banknote is one thousand copper coins, and there are six denominations including 500 to 100 copper coins. According to the weights and measures of later generations, the entire banknote is thirty-three centimeters long and twenty-two centimeters wide. In terms of appearance design alone, it can be called high-end and classy.
However, this was of no use. The money-making technology was okay at the time, but it soon fell to the point where even the private sector could imitate it. Of course, it was over. After all, with huge profits, there are inevitably people who dare to take risks. .
There is a foreshadowing here: Gao Pragmatic had previously invested in a new type of paper, which is thick paper popular among Europeans and suitable for hard-pen writing. It is useful at this time - the best type is obviously Suitable for making banknotes.
As for anti-counterfeiting technology, it can be divided into two categories. One type is anti-counterfeiting at the level of large-denomination banknotes, and the other type is anti-counterfeiting for small-denomination banknotes in ordinary circulation.
The common technical means between the two is exquisite patterns, just like the dragon shape used on treasure banknotes. Both types of banknotes in the high pragmatic scheme must have the highest degree of detail.
This is not a problem for Jinghua Steelworks, which has the highest level of craftsmanship at present. This factory will definitely be able to produce the most exquisite steel engraving impressions, and impressions of this level are basically impossible to be imitated by the private sector. What Gao pragmatically has to do is to ensure that Jinghua's self-monitoring is in place and not let the impression spread.
In addition, there are multiple stamping anti-counterfeiting, secret stamping anti-counterfeiting, seal anti-counterfeiting, etc. These are all methods that have been available since the Jiaozi era, and their ideas can still be used today. Of course, methods such as secret deposits are only for banknotes, and small-denomination banknotes cannot be so complicated.
The technical means have been met, and now what is needed pragmatically is to raise original equity capital. In addition to Jinghua itself, which he can decide with one word, even the Sea Trade Alliance needs to be persuaded, let alone the royal family and officials.
But it doesn’t matter. During the Battle of Yunnan and Burma, Gao Pragmatic had already explored a good way...
Gentlemen, I like war, because war means making money! Do you want to make this money with me?
You ask me how to make money? Of course you have to invest first. Considering that Luzon will receive a steady stream of money in the future, this investment is obviously a long-term investment, so we might as well set up a dividend-paying institution first.
I've already thought of a name, it's called "Da Ming United Savings", or "Ming Fed" for short.
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