People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 751: I’ll grab it even if the price is increased by %!
In the backyard of the Women's Workshop, Zhu Youwei looked at the ten newly-arrived looms with a slight smile on her face. Xiaotao came running over with the account book in her hands, beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Princess, three more groups of foreign merchants have just arrived. One of them, Alberto, wants to order 10,000 horses and is willing to pay the full amount in advance."

"Tell him that the maximum is 3,000 pieces, and the delivery will be in three months." Zhu Youwei picked up a sample cloth and looked at it in the sunlight. "Also, starting today, the price of high-quality cloth will increase by 20%."

Xiao Tao's eyes widened: "Is this... too expensive?"

"Don't worry, they are vying for it." Zhu Youwei pointed outside the courtyard wall, "Listen to the noise."

There was a burst of noise outside the wall, mixed with arguments in various languages. Suddenly there was a "bang" sound, as if someone had knocked something over.

At the workshop gate, two foreign merchants were arguing over the order of queuing. The Persian merchant grabbed the Indian merchant by the collar and shouted in stiff official language: "I got here first! You Indians are the best at cheating!"

The Indian businessman was not to be outdone and took out the documents: "Look carefully! My customs clearance documents are two hours earlier than yours!"

The women guarding the gate were stunned. Aunt Liu poked Chun Xing's arm and said, "Girl, have you ever seen such a scene? I have lived for most of my life, and this is the first time I have seen foreign merchants fighting for our cloth."

Chun Xing was about to answer when she saw a group of yamen runners coming out from the corner. Prefect Zhao personally led them over to maintain order, with his official hat tilted.

"Stop it!" Magistrate Zhao wiped his sweat and shouted, "If you continue to cause trouble, we won't sell it to you!"

This was more effective than an imperial decree. The foreign merchants immediately loosened their collars and lined up in an orderly manner. One clever Portuguese even took out a gold coin and stuffed it into the yamen runner's pocket: "Sir, can you please let me stand in front?"

The yamen runner was about to refuse when he heard a cheer from the workshop. It turned out that the latest batch of "mathematical cloth" had come off the loom, and in the sunlight, the western numbers and geometric patterns woven on the cloth could be vaguely seen.

The foreign merchants immediately rushed to the gate like sharks smelling blood. Prefect Zhao stamped his feet anxiously: "Stop them! Stop them quickly!"

In the chaos, the red-bearded foreign merchant Alberto suddenly climbed onto the cargo box and shouted in stiff Mandarin: "I'll pay three times the price! I'll take as many as you can!"

This was like cold water entering a hot oil pan, and the scene immediately exploded. Other foreign merchants started bidding, and an English merchant even took out a bag of uncut diamonds on the spot.

On the second floor of the workshop, Zhu Youwei watched the farce with cold eyes. She turned to Xiaotao and said, "Go tell Prefect Zhao that from today on, all orders must be settled with Ming Baochao."

Xiao Tao hesitated and said, "But the foreign merchants brought gold, silver and jewelry..."

"Let them go to the Baochao Tizhusi to exchange them." Zhu Youwei's voice left no room for doubt.

……

As soon as the Hangzhou Baochao Tizhusi government office opened, the entrance was crowded with red-bearded and blue-eyed foreign merchants, holding heavy silver bags in their hands and shouting in stiff official language to exchange for Baochao.

Alberto squeezed in the front, wiped the sweat from his forehead, pointed at the new sign hanging in the government office and asked, "Sir, what is the exchange rate today?"

The person on duty struck the gong slowly and pointed to the words on the water sign that were not yet dry, and read: "The price on October 18, the 29th year of Hongwu is 2 taels and 2 qian of silver for 1 guan of treasure notes, and 1 tael of pure gold for 5 guan of treasure notes."

The foreign merchants were immediately in an uproar. A Persian merchant was counting on his fingers, and suddenly his eyes widened: "Last month in Quanzhou, the exchange rate was still 2 taels and 1 qian to 1 guan, how come it has increased?"

The manager stroked his beard and smiled, "This merchant may not know that the price of Baochao is rising. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ordered that all trade with foreign merchants must be settled in Baochao. If you want to buy cloth from the Jinguo Workshop, you must follow this rule."

Alberto was so anxious that he kept rubbing his hands. He brought five thousand taels of silver this time, and originally thought that he could exchange it for more than two thousand strings of banknotes, but now he was short of nearly two hundred strings of banknotes. He was about to argue when he heard a commotion behind him.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way, everyone!"

A carriage escorted by several Jinyiwei stopped in front of the government office. When the curtain was lifted, Jiang Hai, the head of the Hangzhou Taxation Commissioner, walked down holding the account book, the ivory plate on his waist gleaming in the sun.

The foreign merchants subconsciously stepped back. They recognized this official.

Jiang Hai glanced at the water sign, turned to the person in charge and said, "Today's price is set too low. The Jinguo Workshop has just received an order from the Prince Mu's Mansion, and the demand for banknotes is huge. We should adjust the exchange rate to two taels and three coins to one guan."

The chief bowed quickly and said, "I will change it right away."

Alberto watched helplessly as the yamen runner turned the water sign over and re-wrote "Two taels and three cents of fine silver for one guan of treasure notes." His hand shook and the silver bag almost fell to the ground.

"Sir!" Alberto squeezed in front of Jiang Hai and said in stiff official language, "We are here to trade with real gold and silver, why do we have to exchange it for paper money?"

Jiang Hai closed the account book and said calmly, "According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, Baochao is the only currency in circulation. If merchants feel that this is unfair, they don't have to change it."

The Persian merchant suddenly interrupted: "But other ports can still trade with silver!"

"That's from last month's almanac." Jiang Hai pulled out a roll of yellow silk from his sleeve. "The Duke issued a handwritten order that all Maritime Customs Offices would be prohibited from trading in gold and silver starting half a year ago. Violators would have their goods confiscated and be expelled from the country."

The foreign merchants looked at each other in bewilderment. They had traveled all over Europe and Asia, but had never seen such a tough monetary policy. An Indian merchant whispered, "If this banknote depreciates..."

"The Baochao Tizhusi has a notice board posted every day, and it's fair to everyone." Jiang Hai pointed to the notice board at the side door of the government office, "There is a notice board with the exchange rate trend for the past three months, you can check it out for yourself."

Alberto squeezed over to take a look and saw clear curved lines drawn on the parchment.

The exchange rate of Baochao to silver has risen from 1 liang 9 to 1 guan at the beginning of the year to 2 liang 2 qian now. The note on the side reads "Because the circulation of Baochao is stable, the exchange rate fluctuation does not exceed 10%."

"Did you see that?" Jiang Hai's voice came from behind him. "The Ming Treasure Notes are backed by three hard currencies: grain, salt permits, and silk. They are much more reliable than the small change you brought."

The foreign merchants were talking to each other. They traveled on the sea all year round, so they naturally understood what a stable currency meant. The Persian merchant suddenly took out his purse and said, "I'll exchange it! First, 500 strings of cash!"

With the leader in hand, the others immediately rushed to the counter. Alberto gritted his teeth and pushed all five thousand taels of silver up to the counter: "Change them all into banknotes!"

The manager smiled and moved the abacus: "Five thousand taels are exchanged at 2 taels and 3 cents per string, so the total amount should be 2,272 strings and 7 cents. According to the rules, I will charge a 1% handling fee, so the actual amount paid is 2,250 strings."

The heavy silver was collected into the government treasury and exchanged for stacks of blue-gray banknotes.

Alberto checked carefully and found that each banknote was stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue and had anti-counterfeiting patterns on the edges.

"Don't worry about it." Jiang Hai stood behind him without knowing when. "In Hangzhou, this is more useful than money. You can use it for meals, hotels, and even beggars."

As they were talking, a group of porters came out from the corner of the street. They were carrying new cloth woven by the women's workshop, and each piece of cloth had a price tag on it - all of which was marked with banknotes.

"Did you see that?" Jiang Hai pointed at the signs. "Now even the common people recognize banknotes. The silver you brought is just a pile of metal that will oxidize."

Alberto suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly, "If we want to exchange it back for silver when we leave the country..." "You can exchange it at any time." Jiang Hai pointed to the back of the water sign, "But it will be based on the price of the day, plus a 1% handling fee."

The foreign merchants took a deep breath. With this inflow and outflow, they lost 2% of their profits out of thin air. But looking at the long queue in front of the Jinguo Workshop, they swallowed their complaints.

"Sir!" A clerk came running over, "I just received a letter via carrier pigeon saying that there are foreign merchants causing trouble at the Ningbo Maritime Customs Office and they are insisting on using silver to buy goods."

Jiang Hai snorted coldly: "Send a message to the Maritime Customs to seize all the cargo on that ship. Send the Royal Guards to the docks to announce the new policy so that the foreign merchants will learn their lesson."

Alberto heard this and quietly stuffed the newly acquired banknotes into his oilcloth bag. He finally understood that in the Ming Dynasty, if the prince wanted the banknotes to circulate, he would not be able to spend even a grain of silver.

As the sun rose higher, the silver vault of the Baochao Tizhusi had already piled up into a small mountain. The head of the office held the account book and reported to Jiang Hai: "We exchanged 30,000 strings of Baochao in half a day. The silver collected is enough to mint the military pay of three thousand households."

Jiang Hai nodded and glanced at the teahouse across the street. Several silk and satin shop owners were looking around with banknotes in their hands.

"Go tell them." Jiang Hai instructed his followers, "Starting tomorrow, all private silver notes will be invalidated. If you want to do business, bring in treasure notes."

Just as the entourage left, a group of Jinyiwei escorted a bruised foreign merchant passing by. The merchant cried, "I just want to use the gold coins to buy a piece of cloth!"

Jiang Hai shook his head and walked into the government office. He knew that within half a month, these foreign merchants would cherish the banknotes more than the people of the Ming Dynasty. After all, in this land, the will of the prince is an iron law.

At this moment, in the Jinguo Workshop, Zhu Youwei was counting the newly delivered banknotes. She casually took out a piece and looked at it in the sunlight, with a slight smile on her face.

"What are you laughing at, Princess?" Xiao Tao asked curiously.

Zhu Youwei flicked the banknotes and said, "Look at this paper. It's made of Longyou Xuan paper, which is stronger than the silk from Xuji Cloth Shop."

……

Chapter 348

The long queue in front of the Hangzhou Women's Workshop snaked to the canal. The foreign merchants held the newly exchanged banknotes, their faces full of anxiety. Alberto the Red Beard squeezed in the front, and the sweat on his forehead rolled down into his beard.

"Boss, I want to order 3,000 pieces!" Alberto slammed the banknotes on the counter, causing the inkstone to jump.

Xiao Tao opened the order book, slid her finger down the densely packed names, and stopped. "Sir, the orders are already scheduled until June next year."

“What?” Alberto’s blue eyes widened. “I led a fleet across the ocean, just waiting for this batch of goods to return!”

A Persian businessman came over and said in a low voice: "I have an order for next month. I only need to increase the price by 50%..."

Alberto's beard trembled. He had calculated clearly that the profit of this batch of cloth could be tripled if it was shipped to Venice, so even if the price was increased by 50%, there would still be profit. He grabbed the Persian merchant's wrist and said, "Deal!"

This scene was clearly seen by Mr. Zhao in the teahouse across the street. He narrowed his eyes and patted his thigh: "Old Zhou, can we pick up the cloth we ordered the day before yesterday next month?"

Shopkeeper Zhou of Silk and Satin Village was eating melon seeds and almost choked when he heard this. "Brother Zhao, what you mean is..."

"We can make 50% profit by reselling it!" Mr. Zhao lowered his voice, "Anyway, our shop doesn't need it urgently."

On the second floor of the workshop, Zhu Youwei stood in front of the window, taking in all the transactions on the street. She turned to the Jinyiwei captain behind her and said, "Go check how many orders were transferred today."

When the captain clasped his fists and left, Xiao Tao hurried upstairs. "Princess, something strange has happened. Just now, a foreign merchant was willing to increase the price by 50% to buy the order from others."

Zhu Youwei tapped the window lightly with her fingertips. "Go get the order book."

In the accounting office, Zhu Youwei checked the orders page by page. Her finger stopped at a name. "This Li's Silk Shop, the order was placed just the day before yesterday, how come it was sold today?"

Xiao Tao came over to take a look: "I heard that the foreign merchant was in a hurry to get the goods, so he bought it at double the price."

"Check their tax bills." Zhu Youwei's voice turned cold.

In the evening, the Jinyiwei escorted a man with a pointed face and monkey cheeks to the backyard of the workshop. The man knelt down with weak knees. "Princess, spare me! I just want to sell a few pieces of cloth..."

Zhu Youwei flipped through the account book handed over by the Royal Guards. "Manager Li, you ordered 100 pieces of cloth the day before yesterday, and today you sold 200 pieces. Where did you get the extra 100 pieces?"

Shopkeeper Li rested his forehead on the ground, shaking like a sieve. "I...I forged the order..."

"Take him away." Zhu Youwei closed the account book, "Tell Magistrate Zhao that he will be punished for forging an official deed."

The next morning, the Hangzhou tax commissioner posted a notice: All orders must be checked against the tax bills, and those who violate the order will be charged with forgery of official documents. Next to the notice was a confession of guilt by Manager Li, the ink still wet.

In the teahouse on the corner, Mr. Zhao and Manager Zhou were sweating profusely when they saw the notice.

"Fortunately, we haven't started yet." Shopkeeper Zhou's teacup clattered against the tray.

Mr. Zhao narrowed his eyes and said, "The notice says that genuine orders can be transferred as long as the price does not exceed 50% of the original price?"

On the canal dock, Alberto was arguing with a few foreign merchants, who were surrounding a local merchant wearing a kerchief and waving banknotes.

"Three hundred strings of cash! Give me the order for next month!" A Portuguese businessman's face flushed red.

The scarf merchant shook his head and said, "At least three hundred and fifty strings of cash. This is the cargo that can be returned before the monsoon."

Alberto took out a cat's eye stone: "Add this!"

This scene was seen by a passing tax collector. He touched the notice in his arms and turned away. Since it was less than 50%, let them go.

In the workshop's accounting office, Xiao Tao was holding the newly registered orders and exclaimed in amazement. "Princess, the order volume in the past half month has increased by 30% compared to last month."

Zhu Youwei was checking the sample cloth, and she didn't even raise her head when she heard this: "The foreign merchants are in a hurry to catch the monsoon, so they are naturally willing to raise the price. Tell the weavers that from today on, for every additional piece of cloth weaved, the wages will be increased by 30%."

……

(End of this chapter)