Chapter 26 Financial Plan
Government reform improves tax collection capabilities. This is one of them. In fact, if the Ming court could implement the taxes levied in the court regulations. That's not a small amount either.
It's just that Ming officials never had that ability. So He Xi made his first cut here.
Starting from Nanjing and Beijing, it took several years to carry out reforms in most local prefectures and counties across the country.
This is a huge undertaking.
And He Xi naturally wouldn't just use this method.
The second is to lift the ban.
I dare not say that all bans have been lifted, but at least most of them have been lifted. On the sea, almost all counties and cities near the sea have access to the sea. There is a new customs house in the county. You must pay taxes when going overseas.
This is to encourage exports.
The Ming Dynasty was originally a country with strong productivity. Now after industrialization, the production of various materials has increased on a large scale. Failure to find more sales channels and markets will cause problems.
Therefore, it is reasonable to encourage people to go overseas.
The businessmen that He Xi supports to go overseas are naturally not the big ones. But real small businessmen. Of course, it is impossible for real young traders to go to sea. They don’t even have a boat. But those who just got rich. Businessmen who want to go further are He Xi’s target group.
It is almost impossible to expect these bureaucratic businessmen to take risks.
Bureaucrats are the most conservative people. This can also be extended to bureaucratic businessmen, who prefer to operate within the scope of privileges. This kind of operation is essentially about making money.
They don't dare to go to the ocean.
But these self-made businessmen are brave.
Fully opening up the sea will also make many things managed by many powerful businessmen useless.
Moreover, in order to encourage people to go overseas, He Xi even ordered the Customs Bank to start operating insurance business. On the one hand, it is certainly to encourage middle and lower businessmen to go overseas. In addition, this insurance is essentially a very profitable business, and it can be regarded as relieving the financial pressure on the court.
In addition to encouraging the opening of the sea, industrial and commercial operations are also encouraged.
This incident makes many people restless.
Someone whispered in a low voice: "Does the imperial court want to share the world with businessmen?"
Although this sentence was spoken in a low voice, it reached the ears of many people. Some people just sneered after hearing it. Some people were shocked when they heard it.
This sentence can be regarded as a glimpse of the thoughts behind He Xi's series of methods.
Yes, the imperial court and merchants share the same world. This is probably capitalism.
He Xi does not think that the moral integrity of capitalists is better than that of scholar-bureaucrats. However, with the world situation like this, He Xi had no other choice but to support businessmen.
After all, times have changed.
He Xi knew that this article encouraged industry and commerce, which dissatisfied many people. But so what? He Xi is no longer the original He Xi. He doesn't have to do anything now, it's enough for the people below to be angry but afraid to speak.
These people did not dare to directly oppose the legitimacy that Zhu Xiongying cared about most, nor did they dare to challenge He Xi on the matter of reform. He Xi cares more about this matter than Zhu Xiongying.
In this way, these words, which should have caused a sensation, passed away indifferently.
He Xi continued with the third point.
The third one is, of course, currency reform.
The first was to revoke the silver coin. Recast copper coins. Confirm that one dollar note is exchanged for one hundred copper coins. All original copper coins were recycled and destroyed.
It is said to be a copper coin, but in fact the copper content is not high. There are also alloys of many other metals. I have to admit that Ming Dynasty made rapid progress in iron smelting technology.
The designs and colors of copper coins are very good.
On it are the words Daming Yuanbao.
Secondly, the ratio of banknotes to gold and silver has declined. Before, one yuan could be exchanged for one tael of silver. But adjustments will be made slowly in the future. One yuan will probably never be exchanged for one tael of silver.
Even in the future
The amount of money that can be exchanged will become less and less.
He Xi's operation can be summarized in one sentence.
That is currency devaluation.
Of course, it’s also about rectification.
In fact, over the past few years, the exchange rate of one yuan for one thousand pence before the war was no longer sustainable. Although He Xi was also minting copper coins, too many banknotes were issued. Copper coins are not that easy to cast.
The final situation can be imagined.
One yuan can be exchanged for up to three to five hundred copper coins.
He Xi's series of rectifications are nothing more than recognition of the real value of money. Of course, during this adjustment, the court's actual debt was also reduced a lot.
Of course, the copper coins that He Xi wanted to make were naturally rolled by machines. There is no hole in the middle, and overall, it is larger than the original copper coin.
This is of course an illusion.
He Xi was only prepared to confirm that it was a copper coin at the beginning, but it was hard to say in the future.
After all, even with the copper mines in Nanyang, the Ming Dynasty still had too little copper. In the future, He Xi will decide to exchange the copper coins for banknotes or iron coins.
Many businessmen below who held large amounts of banknotes immediately had hesitation in their hearts.
With this change, the amount of currency depreciation is quite large.
However, there are also many positives today.
The most important thing is that the imperial court personally came out to encourage industry and commerce, which was a very powerful signal to many people. It just depends on how some people interpret it.
Many businessmen followed the army and came to Nanjing step by step. Made a lot of money along the way. Not to mention, the implicit meaning of these words is that the spring of businessmen will come in the future.
Compared with these signals from the court to support industry and commerce. Just a little bit of the national debt is nothing.
Moreover, they were naturally afraid of the authority of the imperial court and did not dare to bargain with the imperial court. After He Xi's victory, he said such a thing. Although they were dissatisfied in their hearts, they did not dare to show up.
Not to mention, the auction for reverse birth will also begin soon.
At this time, it left a bad impression on He Xi, which was irreversible.
There is also the matter of national debt. Different businessmen have different views, but quite a few businessmen feel that this national debt is no different from the offerings required by the previous court.
It's nothing more than a name to pay back the money.
Who can really ask the court for money?
This national debt, in the eyes of many people, is already a piece of cake. It is already quite good for the imperial court to say this matter politely. What else?
Some businessmen are trying to find ways to take advantage of the current situation to create more regulations that are beneficial to themselves.
Seeing that there is no objection, the finances for the next few years will probably be determined according to He Xi's plan.
He Xi also knew in her heart that this matter was easy to say, but not easy to do at all. This is also a war, but a war without smoke.
It can't compare to the fierce battle between the North and the South. But it's more important, more subtle and silent.
It can be said that the war between the north and the south was for today. On the route of reform, there is no longer any obstacle. If there is any obstacle, it is Baiguan himself.
Because this reform itself is to change the normal life that the Ming Dynasty has maintained for hundreds of years. The changes are so great that China will be in two different worlds in the future.
Just like the War of Liberation, the three major battles are certainly soul-stirring. However, the campaign to suppress bandits took many more years to change the social landscape.
The military power is in hand and the great government is carried out. It is not a simple thing to spread the reform trend to every corner of the Ming Dynasty and make it the official ideology.
You have to start from a very small place and remember to be ruthless. It's hard work and very torturous, but if you want to do things right, you have to do things like this.
"I hope everything will be completed safely and smoothly." He Xi thought to herself.
financial issues
back.
He Xi raised the issue of education again. He Xi’s idea was very simple: Liaodong University of Technology, Lushun Navigation University, Yingkou University, Beijing Imperial College, and martial arts. Outside these five colleges and universities. Nanjing Imperial College and Taiping University of Technology were added. Daming Taxation University has just been prepared to be established.
In addition, He Xi planned to establish normal universities in the north and south Beijing respectively.
A total of ten colleges and universities.
He Xi has no plans to add more colleges. The reason is simple: there are not enough manpower.
Yes, the four universities in the north graduate one to two thousand people every year. It is not enough for the imperial court. It should be noted that it must be supplied for the imperial court and the army. There are also some private companies that also like to use it.
So talents are in high demand.
Even if some resources are mobilized from various aspects and many universities are established, it will be difficult to ensure quality for a while.
And it also creates hidden dangers for the future.
Those who excel in learning will lead to officialdom. This has been a rule in China for thousands of years. Although He Xi intends to imitate later schools in these universities, they are also fundamentally different. That is, 80% of the people who come out of these schools want to be officials. Even if he is not an official, he still works in government-related places.
Those who work for private individuals are swept away again and again.
In other words, the number of students is almost equal to the number of officials. If in the future college students will be unemployed after graduation, the Ming Dynasty will encounter a very serious impact.
It may even shake the foundation.
Students are different. College students in the Ming Dynasty were extremely valuable.
One day, college will become part of basic education, but definitely not now.
He Xi doesn't care about the future, but just makes sure that these universities are enough for now. He Xi would not even be willing to expand a few more schools if possible. But, this is impossible.
If nothing else, Zhu Xiongying would not allow it at all, and many people in the south would not allow it at all. If He Xi had not established several universities in the south, most of the officials in the Ming Dynasty would have graduated from universities. So if this happens, how can the southerners get ahead in the court from now on? How can they be willing to do so?
In order to balance the north and the south, these schools also need to be built.
