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Chapter 1053 Where does the money come from?
Who is the blood? Some people say that officials are the blood, but I think that is not true. Officials and I are the brains. We do not have to do physical work, but we have to command the arms and legs to move and seek benefits and avoid harm.

Merchants are the blood. They make profits through investment, make money circulate fully, transport goods to various counties and villages, and make the products produced by factories and workshops valuable.

All dynasties have not attached much importance to merchants. There are many reasons for this, but the outcomes are similar. Economic problems have never been solved, and the economy is prone to collapse when faced with natural disasters.

One of the purposes of my new policy is to raise the status of merchants, get their blood flowing, and nourish their flesh and blood. Excessive exploitation of merchants is like bleeding oneself, which is not conducive to long-term development. "

Seeing that the ministers had fully used their imaginations and had come up with several different ideas that eventually converged, Hong Tao began to express his own views.

The importance of businessmen was reiterated once again. The implication was very clear: farmers should not be exploited, and businessmen should not be slaughtered. The methods just mentioned are not feasible.

"I second the motion... But Your Majesty, the court is indeed short of money right now. How about issuing another round of war bonds? However, the amount this time may be a bit large, and the corresponding period will also be longer. I wonder if the people will accept it."

The emperor's statement was immediately echoed by Grand Secretary Silva. Although he had lived and worked in the Ming Empire for more than 20 years, he was not born and raised there. He did not have a good understanding of the ideas of agricultural civilization, but was more accustomed to the European mercantile culture.

But the problem is, according to the emperor, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are all important, and none of them should be neglected, so where should the large amount of money needed by the court come from? Recalling the emperor's clever tricks back then, it seems that issuing bonds is the only way.

"Well, Xi Daxueshi's idea is somewhat reliable. If the court is out of money, it can borrow from the people for a short period of time. It's not free, but interest is paid. It's a fair transaction between us.

But I want money but I don't want to pay interest. Borrowing money can help me get through this difficult time, but I will have to tighten my belt to pay off the debt for many years to come, which is not a pleasant feeling.

Besides, the navy is about to build a new base in the Indian Ocean, and a number of warships need to be replaced. The General Staff may need to provide military assistance to Ceylon and Persia. These are not small sums, and if they are all borrowed, the burden on the court is too great. "

Hearing Silva's suggestion, Hong Tao smiled and gave a thumbs up. He had used war bonds once before, but it was a pity that so many ministers didn't remember it.

But before the thumbs-up were fully put down, the new suggestion was rejected again. The reason was… two words: stingy! He was so shameless to say that he didn’t want to pay interest on the loan.

"Your Majesty, you don't want to come to Thang Long Prefecture again, do you?!" At this time, Yuan Yingtai, the chief minister of the cabinet, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. At the same time, the expression on his face was very interesting, showing both astonishment and helplessness.

For an emperor to secretly encourage his men to rob a neighboring country's capital was no longer a question of propriety, but absurdity. If he did not repent, it would become a huge joke. How would the courts of other countries view him if the news got out?

"To be honest, I do have this idea, but I looked around and didn't find a target worth attacking. Times have changed. I could pretend I didn't know back then, but now I can't easily hide it.

The empire is under control from land to sea. How could such a powerful bandit enter the capital of a country? You don't have to guess anymore. My method cannot be found in history books, but Xi Daxueshi may have heard of it. "After being exposed in public by the old minister, Hong Tao's face did not change color and his heart did not beat. He did not feel ashamed at all. He first admitted his dirty thoughts openly, and then explained the reasons why he failed to make the trip. It was not that he did not intend to rob, but that there was no place to rob. Finally, he kept it a secret and drew everyone's attention to the black fat man.

"I... don't know..." Silva's eyes almost popped out. He still hadn't thought of such a brilliant idea. If he knew, how could he not tell him?
"Hehehe, Fatty, you are not honest. You can't explain clearly, but you bought a lot of tulip futures in secret. I won't stop you from making money in secret, but have you ever thought about what will happen if you lose money in futures?

All the accumulation of your two lives will become waste paper with a few certificates. Julie will graduate from the Royal Academy in another year. What will she bring as a dowry when she gets married?"

Seeing the black fat man's flickering eyes, Hong Tao knew that he was guilty. This guy was really bold. He was in the Ming Empire, but he reached back to Europe to make money.

With the help of Governor Cohen, he bought twenty rare tulip bulb futures at once, spending a total of more than 8 guilders, equivalent to more than 8000 pounds, which is almost 3 taels of silver.

He thought he had done it without anyone noticing, and he never imagined that Governor Cohen, who helped him buy futures, had already had senior officials infiltrated by the Advisory Office. When he heard the news, his first reaction was to send someone to check whether the couple's property and income were consistent.

Fortunately, the two of them did not get possessed by evil spirits and reach into the bank's vaults, and there is no evidence of bribery or other abuse of power. Otherwise, I would have let them know what despair is in advance without waiting for the futures market to collapse.

Tulip futures? Yes, it is the famous Dutch tulip incident, which was also the first financial bubble in history.

After being brought to Europe by the Turks, tulips were soon widely planted due to their large and brightly colored flowers. The rare varieties became the favorite clothing of the upper class and aristocrats.

Just like in later times, once something is labeled as a popular luxury item, its value immediately skyrocketed. The same was true for tulips. Some people began to cultivate rare varieties and deform them in various ways to produce more colors.

However, tulips are difficult to grow, and the bulbs need five or six years to bloom, so the yield is relatively small. But once a rare variety is cultivated, the price is very attractive.

So some people started to specialize in tulip bulb business, looking for rare bulbs and selling them at a higher price. As more and more people started doing this business, the goods, that is, rare bulbs, began to be in short supply, and the price kept going up.

As the speculation went on, people began to be dissatisfied with speculating on physical objects and began to play with expectations, purchasing a bulb and expecting the profit in a few years. Thus, futures were born.

At the highest price, a rare bulb was worth 5500 guilders. In the Netherlands at that time, this amount could buy 150 pigs or 46 cows.

(End of this chapter)