"Mr. Su, isn't this bank crucial to the issuance of banknotes?"
Zhu Xi asked Su Jing.
Su Jing nodded and said: "Yes, a bank, or should be called a bank, is an important institution that integrates and balances currencies such as banknotes, silver ingots and copper coins."
"Issuing banknotes is not a simple act. There are too many things that need to be paid attention to behind it."
bank?
Zhu Xiang frowned and asked: "Mr. Su, why do you call the bank a bank? Isn't a bank a silverware-making business?"
This time it was Su Jing's turn to be stunned. He really didn't expect that banks still had this meaning in ancient times.
"Well... Well, this is just a title. Although gold and silver can be used as currency, silver is obviously used more often. It can refer to money. Bank is an industry. The meaning of bank is the money industry."
Su Jing quickly made up for herself, feeling a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, Zhu Xi didn't bother with Su Jingduo about this matter. It was just a title, not that important.
"Mr. Su, according to you, banks are very important. Then these banks must be managed by the government. Only the government can make people trust it like this."
Zhu Xi said to Su Jing.
Su Jing smiled and said: "That's not necessarily true. In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, will people still trust the government and the court?"
"In the late Yuan Dynasty, private banks were much more reputable than those owned by the imperial court. After all, the money stored in the imperial bank could be expropriated at any time."
Zhu Xi nodded and said: "Sir, it is true, but now that the Ming Dynasty is prosperous and the people live and work in peace and contentment, the court still has great credibility."
Zhu Ping has strong confidence in Daming.
In most dynasties, the early stage is often a period when the people live in peace and harmony. The standard of living may not be very high, but the policy of cultivating one's health and recuperating one's health can always inspire people.
At this time, the government and the court were often the most loved by the people.
"What you said is quite good. I wonder how much King Qin knows about things in the West, that is, in Great Qin?"
Su Jing changed her subject and talked directly about the West.
Zhu Fang shook his head and said: "Students don't know much. Kaos would tell us a little before, but now he is working in the Hanlin Academy, so I see him less. The third brother is more familiar with him."
Kaos was a Roman. After Lao Zhu lost interest in him, he sent him to the Hanlin Academy.
Only King Zhu Fan of Jin had contact with Kaos.
Su Jing said calmly: "Actually, this bank, or bank, also has its origins in the West."
"First of all, the emperor in the West is called a king, the king of a country. Their political system is somewhat different from ours. Generally speaking, the king is still the head of a country and the collection of power."
"As for the Western monetary system, the basic development process is similar to what I said before."
"Some civilians have become rich by doing business and have money, but the money is not safe in their own hands. Robbery and theft are still very common in the West. In order to ensure the safety of their money, rich businessmen store their money in In the king’s treasury.”
Having said this, Su Jing took a sip of tea and moistened her throat.
Zhu Fang said in confusion: "Will the king still help merchants store gold? Isn't this unlikely?"
The king's treasury is the inner treasury.
Zhu Xi could not imagine that an emperor's inner treasury would help store businessmen's money.
Su Jing explained with a smile: "The king's treasury is, to put it bluntly, the mint. The West once implemented a policy of free minting, that is, anyone can take gold nuggets to the mint and cast them into gold coins. Therefore, the mint allows Customers store gold.”
“The merchants thought they were storing the mint, but it was actually the king’s treasury, and the king could not be stopped from using their gold.”
"Wars are also very frequent in the West, and gold is of great use in wars. Naturally, some merchants' gold has been embezzled privately."
"Then these merchants realized that their gold was not safe in the mint and had to be relocated."
"King Qin, guess where the new place these merchants have chosen is?"
Zhu Ping listened with rapt attention and immediately replied: "Is it a bank?"
Su Jing shook her head and said: "We haven't gone to the bank yet. They chose goldsmiths, because in addition to the mint, there are goldsmiths who can cast gold coins, but the merchants will not directly make them and take them away, but let the goldsmiths A voucher is issued for the person who deposits the gold, and with this voucher in the future, the gold can be withdrawn.”
"I see. It seems that even if the king loses his credibility once, it will be difficult to get it back."
Zhu Xi said with deep emotion.
The king is equivalent to the emperor, and just one use is enough to destroy trust.
Su Jing asked: "King Qin, what do you think the certificate issued by the goldsmith looks like?"
Goldsmith's credentials?
Zhu Xi was stunned. He hadn't thought about it just now, but now that Su Jing mentioned it, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
"Is the goldsmith's certificate just a banknote?"
Zhu Ming said to Su Jing, with a bit of excitement in his eyes.
"That's right. Since the gold is placed with the goldsmith for safety, wouldn't it be too troublesome if you have to get the gold every time you make a transaction? Why don't you just trade the certificate directly? Anyway, you can get the gold with the certificate!"
The more Zhu Xi talked, the more excited he became, as if he had discovered a new world.
Su Jing smiled and nodded: "Yes, the merchant quickly discovered what you said. There is no need to get the gold when making a transaction, just use the voucher, but this was also discovered by the goldsmith. "
"They realized that the certificates they issued had the effect of currency! This is incredible. The temptation of wealth is unlimited, and fake certificates soon appeared."
"It's just that this fake certificate is different from fake coins. From a production point of view, the real and fake certificates are both made by goldsmiths. There is no difference at all. It's just that the fake certificate does not correspond to real gold, it is just conjured out of thin air."
Zhu Xi immediately said: "If this is the case, wouldn't there be problems again soon? The goldsmith's reputation should soon collapse, just like the king."
"Then, what will these merchants choose? Will they continue to change the place where gold is stored?"
Zhu Xiang's thoughts began to wander, heading in a further direction.
"King Qin, don't worry."
Su Jing's words brought him back from his thoughts. He looked at Zhu Xi and said, "King Qin, in fact, the goldsmith's fake certificate was fine at first, and no one noticed it. Do you know why?"
Fake voucher? How could anyone not notice it?
Zhu Jing was confused by Su Jing's words and couldn't understand. He shook his head and said, "Mr. Su, students don't understand very well."
Su Jing explained: "First of all, the goldsmith's certificate has become the actual currency in daily transactions, so the frequency of withdrawing gold will become much lower, right? Secondly, the gold is in the hands of the goldsmith, as long as it is not If you withdraw it all at once, there will always be something left, and then someone will deposit it, and the cycle repeats. This fake certificate is just like the real certificate, and no one will notice it at all, unless all the depositors come to withdraw gold."
After listening to Su Jing's explanation, Zhu Ping suddenly realized: "This is actually the case. In this way, the true and false certificates have the same effect. Isn't this goldsmith's wealth endless?"
"It's not that simple."
Su Jing shook her head lightly and said: "King Qin, although it is unlikely that all the depositors will come together to withdraw money, the possibility that the goldsmith will continue to forge false certificates is very high."
"For example, if a goldsmith has one hundred taels of gold deposited by others, if he only forges a fake voucher for ten taels of gold, then the total amount of gold that can be exchanged for the external vouchers is one hundred and eleven taels. Such an expansion. It’s an amount that a goldsmith can bear.”
"But if the goldsmith continues to forge, and the number of fake vouchers increases to one hundred taels, then the gold corresponding to the external vouchers is only two hundred taels. Even if the goldsmith can still pocket it, what about the three hundred taels of vouchers? ? What about four hundred, five hundred or even six hundred? There will always be a day when it collapses."
"At that time, the loss will not only be the reputation of the goldsmiths, but also the customers who can't get the gold despite having the certificates may do something extraordinary."
After saying this, Su Jing picked up another cup of tea.
If you talk too much, you will get thirsty easily.
As for Zhu Xi at this moment, he was already a little confused.
After a while, he said to Su Jing: "Mr. Su, since this certificate is equivalent to banknotes, what if the Ming Dynasty issued banknotes? With the continuous issuance of banknotes, the people no longer trust the banknotes to be exchanged for gold and silver, and the Ming Dynasty's If there is not so much gold and silver in the national treasury, and paper money is no longer valuable, wouldn’t it mean that countless people would go bankrupt?”
At this moment, Zhu Xi truly understood the terrible consequences that excessive currency issuance might bring.
Su Jing nodded and said: "Yes, once money becomes worthless, countless people will inevitably suffer the consequences. Now the Ming Dynasty has a strong military. If such a thing happens, it can be suppressed by force, but if it is other Problems also arise, and if they break out, it is not impossible for the country to subjugate itself."
"When people can no longer live, they have no choice but to rebel and negotiate."
Country subjugation!
This was the first time that Zhu Chong heard the word "national subjugation" from Su Jing's mouth. Even though he had heard Su Jing's theory of the destruction of the country by weather before, it was still not as shocking as hearing Su Jing say it in person.
"Mr. Su, are you telling the truth?"
Zhu Xi couldn't believe it and asked Su Jing again.
Su Jing said lightly: "Although it is a bit alarmist, it is not impossible."
Charles I could be beheaded by Cromwell, and the country's demise was not impossible.
"So what in the end? How did the West solve this problem?"
Zhu Xi hurriedly asked Su Jing.
Since Su Jing is talking about what has happened in the West, there must be a solution.
Zhu Ping urgently wanted to know how to solve this matter.
Su Jing said lightly: "How else can we solve it? The banks that will appear later, that is, money banks, will have an additional reserve system."
"Reserve system?"
Zhu Xiang frowned and said, "What kind of system is this?"
Su Jing explained: "It's very simple. In a bank, some people deposit money and some withdraw money. At the same time, the bank will also lend money out. But in this case, if too many people withdraw money, there will be riots."
"So, in order to deal with this problem, it is necessary to always have some money in the bank to guarantee the bottom line, and this money is the reserve fund."
"Any banking institution that wants to open needs a corresponding deposit based on the scale of its business."
"Of course, the ratio of this reserve to business scale varies. This ratio is also called the reserve ratio."
As someone who studied economics in her previous life, Su Jing knew that the reserve system is an extremely important system in the modern banking system and is also a guarantee for the safety and stability of banks.
It's a pity that in the Ming Dynasty, or in other words, under the feudal dynasty system, this reserve system was useless.
“Who is going to guarantee that the reserves are real?”
Zhu Ping asked directly, revealing the most critical issue in one sentence.
The reserve system is indeed a very good system, but the reserves are owned by the bank. Without third-party supervision, people will not have their own underpants exposed directly.
Under the feudal dynasty, imperial power was supreme.
In the final analysis, it is the above words that determine everything, and reserves may or may not exist.
It can even be said that there is none, and it is completely unregulated.
"No one can guarantee that."
Su Jing spread her hands, looking helpless.
Zhu Feng was dumbfounded, what does this mean?
He didn't realize that what Su Jing said actually contained something subversive.
"The situation in the West is different from ours. We still need to find a way to solve this problem ourselves. It depends on human beings. Maybe King Qin will be able to think of a good solution in the future."
Su Jing encouraged Zhu Ping.
The improvement of the Western banking system was accompanied by the bourgeois revolution.
Su Jing did not want to mention revolution to Zhu Ping. This thing had no ground in the Ming Dynasty, at least in the current Ming Dynasty.
Lao Zhu had just established the Ming Dynasty, and his personal prestige and power were at their peak.
revolution?
Just kidding, that would be death!
The open-mindedness I mentioned to Zhu Xi before has reached its limit.
"Mr. Su said that I must study hard and try to solve this problem one day!"
Zhu Xi said with confidence, and the source of his confidence was Su Jing.
In addition, Zhu Fang also firmly remembered what Su Jing said about the development of Western banks.
After you go back, you can find out more about Kaos.
Su Jing patted Zhu Xi's shoulder and said: "It's a good thing to have ambitions. That's it for today's class. Dinner will be eaten soon. Get ready to eat!"
"Yes, Mr. Su."
Zhu Xiang nodded, immediately returned to his room, took out a pen and paper and started recording.
He really remembered Professor Zhu Biao's learning methods.
It is best to listen and take note of the content of Su Jing's lecture. If not, then record it as soon as possible after listening.
Try to record the original words spoken by Su Jing. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. You can think about it carefully later.
Su Jing, on her side, just smiled lightly at Zhu Ming's behavior.
I don’t know how useful what I said will be.
(End of chapter)
