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Chapter 1056 Stock Trading 2
"Hehehe... you only guessed half right. If the silver is left in the bank, the court can loan it out for use first. As long as the ratio is calculated correctly, it will not affect the bank's payment credit.

Don't forget that you have to pay interest when you deposit money in the bank, but no interest is calculated when the money for buying stocks passes through the bank. As long as the money is large enough, even if it only stays in the bank for three days, the interest generated is a considerable amount.

In fact, the handling fee may not seem to be much for each transaction, but if the number of transactions is frequent enough and the handling fee is paid every time, it is also a considerable income. In addition, the exchange can also participate in stock trading and make another profit by taking advantage of information asymmetry to buy low and sell high.

In short, once the stock market is operational, it can provide funds for private industries to grow rapidly. Not only can it increase commercial taxes, it can also help the court increase revenue directly. "

After all this talk, He Suan Hongtao wanted to invest in the stock market. But was it possible to invest in stocks in the Ming Dynasty when communications were not well developed? The answer is yes, for example, the Dutch tulip futures, which are called futures, are actually a kind of stock trading.

Of course, the stock trading of this era is different from the stock market of later generations in many rules, but the general functions and operating principles are basically the same.

And you don't need to be able to buy and sell stocks in real time and browse all the stock price data while sitting at home. You only need to provide a relatively complete set of trading rules and set up a professional department to manage them.

In fact, there was a similar financial model in the Song Dynasty. For example, Jiaoyinku was a department in which the state openly allowed speculation in securities. Although it was small in scale, it operated quite maturely.

"Your Majesty, I also have something I don't understand. The shares of the property have been sold back and forth, and the price has continued to rise. The buyers have made money, the sellers have made money, the property has made money, and the court has made money, but in the end, who lost money?"

After a question-and-answer session between Silva and the emperor, and with the information in hand, the ministers had a general understanding of the ins and outs of stock trading. Then, there was a problem with Customs Minister Li Tianjing.

He had been working in the customs, and was very sensitive to business and tax issues. He also knew one thing: in business, there must be gains and losses, and money always comes from somewhere, and it is impossible for more money to come out of thin air. However, the stock transactions that the emperor wanted to conduct seemed to be winners in every calculation, which was too unreasonable.

"Premier Li asked a good question. This is a big question and it is difficult to explain it in a few words. As the saying goes, the wool comes from the sheep. Anyone who participates in it may lose money. Therefore, I have specially stipulated that court officials and soldiers are not allowed to get involved. If they are found to be involved in stock trading, they will be punished for deceiving the emperor."

In response to Li Tianjing's question, Hong Tao did not elaborate further, nor did he give a specific answer. He just mentioned it in one sentence and then focused on the punishment rules.

In fact, it is not that it cannot be explained in a few words, but the evil intention contained in it is too dirty, even the trusted ministers can hardly speak out. If people knew that the emperor was so sweet-mouthed and treacherous, the reputation he had built up with great difficulty over decades would collapse immediately, and the sense of trust would be seriously damaged.

He is playing with human nature, taking advantage of people's weakness of seeking profit, and collecting more taxes from the people in disguise. But unlike general tax increases, the stock game is designed to pit the rich. The greedier and richer you are, the greater the possibility of losing.

Compared with before he ascended the throne, the private capital of the Ming Empire was much more active at this time, and many landlords and gentry came forward to set up factories and became industrialists. However, there are still many people who bury silver, silver coins and even gold coins in the ground, and they are unwilling to buy land or invest again. If money does not flow, it is no different from stone, and nothing can be produced. But Hong Tao could not send Jinyiwei to their homes to force them, so he had to find a way to lure them to take out the money.

What is the lure? Stocks. They don't need to spend time and effort to build factories, mines, farms, or transport goods. All you need is money to buy and sell. With a few months or even months, you can double your profits. Stocks are the best for them.

To put it bluntly, Hong Tao deliberately created speculative opportunities for the rich in the Ming Empire. Once they tasted the sweetness of doubling their assets quickly, many people would dig silver and silver coins out of the ground and invest them in the stock market. Then, regardless of whether they won or lost, they would keep a portion of it, and their goal would be achieved.

Will the rich be fooled? A look at the situation in the Netherlands will reveal the answer. Europeans are human beings, and the people of the Ming Empire are also human beings. Apart from differences in appearance, language, and culture, there is no difference in human nature.

The temptation that drove the Dutch crazy also worked in the Ming Empire. It was just that the emperor and the court had already made preparations and started official guidance to prevent excessive bubbles.

No bubbles? This request will stump any economist who has ever appeared in the world. Bubbles are not only indispensable in economic development, but also have positive effects. Too many bubbles will increase risks, but too few bubbles will slow down the development speed.

So the important thing is not whether there is a bubble, but whether the amount of the bubble can be controlled. Hong Tao is absolutely sure about this point, because the Ming Empire is a highly centralized system. What does it mean? To put it bluntly, there is nothing in the empire that cannot be solved by the emperor's words, including the economy.

If the empire's economy declines and cannot be stopped by itself, the imperial army will immediately have something to do. The most effective and direct way to solve economic problems is war!
This is the advantage of a highly centralized system. As long as the top decision-makers make no mistakes, the government's work efficiency is the highest and the resistance from the people is the lowest. Because from top to bottom, no second opinion is allowed. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as one heart and one mind.

However, the advantage is also the disadvantage. Because of the high efficiency, once the top power makes a wrong decision, it is also a complete mistake, and it is difficult to self-adjust in the middle. The reason is still the same. There is no second opinion. Everyone is united and determined... and they have taken the wrong path!
But Hong Tao does not have to worry about this shortcoming, at least not during his lifetime. Because what happened during this period, the level of human development, and what problems occurred are all stored in his memory. He does not need to follow the historical context too much and can refer to it, thus avoiding missteps.

The meeting lasted until the evening. The ministers discussed the information given by the emperor one by one, probing for flaws from different angles until everyone was satisfied in principle.

But the matter was not over yet, and the stock market could not be opened immediately. The emperor said that the specific rules and the way of offering shares had to be jointly drafted by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Taxation, the Customs and the Sun and Moon Bank, and the staff of the stock market had to be selected from these departments.

After all the preliminary preparations are done, we can prepare for the trading market and spread the word among the public. And it is not a nationwide operation, but a pilot project in Tianjin, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou and Manila. If there are no major problems after one year, we will discuss whether to expand the scale.

(End of this chapter)