If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 200 IOUs
"What is this?" Looking at what Zhu Zhanqun took out from his sleeve, Zhu Di couldn't help but frowned.

"An IOU." Zhu Zhanquan presented the thing in his hand to Zhu Di and explained: "This is an IOU of 200 million taels of silver. I pledged Zheng Fan's silver mine output in the next three years. The merchants in Nanjing borrowed 200 million taels of silver. This is a written IOU. I need you, grandpa, to be the mediator and acknowledge this IOU."

"You used the silver mountain of Japan as collateral to borrow money from merchants?" Zhu Di was a little confused by Zhu Zhan's approach. After all, no one had done this since ancient times. He even found it difficult to understand Zhu Zhan for a while. What on earth is this going to do?

But one thing Zhu Di knew clearly was that the Northern Expedition was rich.

It's just that Zhu Di is still a little worried. After all, no court has ever asked merchants to borrow money when fighting a war, let alone the emperor himself as the middleman.

Asking the emperor to guarantee an IOU was a first for the world.

But for Zhu Zhanqi, this is a very normal operation. After all, there is something called national debt in later generations.

If the country wants to carry out construction and has no money, it issues national debt; if the country wants to fight a war and has no money, it issues national debt; if there is no reason but simply has no money, it issues national debt...

In short, as long as your national credit is not bankrupt or there are still people buying the government bonds you issued, issuing government bonds is the best way to raise money.

The so-called national debt is actually just like ordinary people borrowing money. They borrow a principal amount, agree on a repayment period, and add a certain amount of interest when it is repaid at maturity, and it is done.

However, there are still some differences between national debt and ordinary people's borrowing. After all, it is guaranteed by national credit, and the country's ability to repay debts is also different from ordinary people.

In addition, the national debt itself also has a lot of room for appreciation. After all, when some countries issue national debt, it is really just because of poor capital turnover or temporary economic difficulties of the country, rather than really running out of money.

Just like the Ming Dynasty now, if you want to make a blow, you still have to pinch it with your hands, but now the Ministry of Revenue cannot come up with money and food.

Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty issues national debt at this time, there is no doubt about the repayment ability of this national debt. Unless Zhu Di is replaced by Baozong, the Northern Expedition loses the battle, and it is a defeat that shakes the country. The Ming Dynasty can bear it The country will be destroyed tomorrow, and the national debt will not be repaid.

Otherwise, if a country as big as the Ming Dynasty were here, how could the imperial court not be able to pay back a mere 200 million taels of silver?
You must know that the Ming Dynasty at this time is not the Ming Dynasty in the middle and later periods when the court's finances were already unable to make ends meet. According to statistics from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the court's annual land tax alone is more than 3000 million shi. Even if it is based on the Hongwu period, one tael of silver is exchanged for two Stones of rice, these more than 3000 million stones of grain are equivalent to fifteen million taels of silver.Of course, this is a tax in kind and cannot be directly converted into silver, but it is still okay to give a rough estimate.

So the court can’t come up with the 200 million taels of silver?How can it be?The 200 million taels of silver in the Ming Dynasty Treasury alone are enough to fill this hole, but doing so will destroy the credibility of the Ming Dynasty Treasury.

After all, everyone deposited their money into the Ming Dynasty Treasury in order to keep the money bank opened by the court safe. But if the court took the money in the money bank and spent it casually, who would dare to deposit money in it?
And now Zhu Zhanchun's IOU is equivalent to a national debt in a sense, but it is not borrowed in the name of the Ming Dynasty court, but in the name of Zhu Zhanchun, the vassal king. But all in all it's the same.

Therefore, after Zhu Zhankun explained what this IOU was about, Zhu Di also understood it and immediately said: "In other words, you use your Zheng Fan's silver mine output in the next three years as a pledge, and from those The businessman borrowed 200 million taels of silver, and then lent the money to the court. The court needs to pay you back the 200 million taels of silver with interest within three years, otherwise you will have to use Zheng Fan's silver for the next three years. Will the minerals be returned to those businessmen?"

"That's what it is, but there are many things that can be done. I don't need to use real money to repay this money. I can ask the Account Department to write me a money order of 200 million taels, and I can pay the money right away. Pay back the money." Zhu Zhanyu laughed. Zhu Di was still thinking about using real money to pay off the debt, but he never thought about how many things could be done here.

As expected, Zhu Di was shocked when he heard that Zhu Zhanqun asked the Ministry of Accounts to write a money order of 200 million taels to repay the account directly. This does not mean that the court took 200 million taels of silver from those merchants in vain and used one Paper to pay off debts?

Zhu Di felt very confused and shocked, but he did not directly rebuke Zhu Zhanquan for lying, but asked him what was going on.

"Grandpa, you misunderstood. Although the money order is indeed a piece of paper, it is stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Household Affairs and has been recognized by the court. Then this piece of paper can be spent as 200 million taels of silver. Someone previously suggested that the court exceed The same principle applies to issuing a money order of 200 million taels to support the Northern Expedition." Zhu Zhanquan explained the reason in the simplest possible terms, and then added: "But if the court directly issues a money order, it is an overdraft. The credibility of the people and the court in the hearts of the people is equivalent to taking money directly from the people's pockets, which is not acceptable."

Zhu Di understood after hearing this, nodded and said: "But it's different if you write this IOU. This is equivalent to the court asking the people to borrow money. After the war is over, the court will pay back the money. This will not affect the people." Trust in the court.”

"Yes, but there are actually other things to say here. For example, where should the interest on this debt come from? Nowadays, one tael of silver on the face of the bill can be exchanged privately for one, two, and five taels of silver. If this ratio drops, it will be How to calculate it, and how to calculate it if it increases, it will be difficult to clarify the things involved for a while." Zhu Zhanquan said to Zhu Di, and then added: "In addition, those businessmen who borrowed money did not directly use this They lent me 200 million taels of silver, and they set some conditions. For example, the court needed to deposit the money into the Ming Dynasty Treasury, and then issued a 200 million taels of money order to the grain merchants in Lianghuai and Huaihe to purchase the supplies for the Northern Expedition. Military rations, the Lianghuai salt merchants who lent this money can enjoy priority supply from Changlu Salt Farm within the next year...

In short, in this Northern Expedition, these merchants paid to support the imperial court in fighting this war, and the imperial court needed to compensate these merchants with various other things. "

(End of this chapter)