I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 768 Charles V is the leader of the Beggars’ Sect!

Komuman chuckled and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, Furong, produced by Hunan Cigarette Factory.

"After talking for a while, I felt like smoking again, so I took a puff."

Komuman popped out four cigarettes, handed one to each person and put one in his mouth. He then took out a lighter with a pure silver shell, opened it with a clang, and spun the steel grinding wheel, sparks flew, and a peanut-sized fire ignited on the tinder cotton thread soaked in kerosene.

After lighting up the cigarettes for everyone, Komuman took a puff and exhaled a long puff of smoke. Soon, the narrow reception room was filled with smoke.

The four of them cultivated themselves into immortals in the smoke.

After smoking one, Marcelo also took out his own cigarette, a Red Sun brand cigarette.

He exchanged some Portuguese silver coins at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's Hong Kong branch for two or three hundred Ming silver coins.

"It's not satisfying." Marcelo clumsily imitated Comman's movements, popped out four cigarettes and distributed them around.

"Yeah, it's really not satisfying to smoke just one cigarette." Jose and the other two responded with a smile.

Marcelo pulled out a brass lighter, one side of which was embossed with an eagle with outstretched wings, the other side with a precipitous peak. He lit it with a clang, then lit up everyone's cigarettes and began to smoke again.

After smoking two cigarettes in a row, the four of them satisfied their cravings. Marcelo said through the smoke: "Now that we're done smoking, let's continue."

Komuman replied, "Okay. Just now, the Marquis asked about providing financing services, which is one of the most important responsibilities of the Mingguo Bank.

Financing is generally divided into government bonds and corporate bonds.

Public bonds are generally national and local construction bonds. National and local construction bonds are generally used to build straight roads and bridges. After the straight roads and bridges are built, tolls will be collected from passing passenger and freight carriages.

This toll will be collected directly from cargo owners and passengers through freight and passenger ticket fees. After deducting maintenance costs, most of the proceeds from this toll will be paid as principal and interest to bond buyers, allowing them to make a profit. This bond is backed by taxes from the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court and local governors, so it can be said that it is guaranteed to make a profit regardless of drought or flood.

The risk of government bonds is low, so the interest rate of bonds is relatively low. However, the purchasers of construction bonds are also very enthusiastic, and they can be traded while preserving their value.

Corporate bonds are issued by industrial and commercial enterprises to raise funds when expanding new factories. The issuers of corporate bonds are very strong and well-known industrial and commercial enterprises, and they use the goodwill of the enterprise as collateral.

But doing business is definitely risky. After a new factory opens, it may make a profit, or it may go bankrupt, leaving nothing behind. Therefore, corporate bonds are high-risk and offer relatively high interest rates, so many people buy them.

Banks must issue these bonds and provide trading platforms. Banks get these government and corporate bonds at a certain discount and sell them to their high-quality customers first, giving them a chance to make money.

These bonds are fixed-denomination, bearer, have a term of three to ten years, and are redeemable in full upon maturity.

It can be freely circulated and traded, but can only be exchanged at a bank after expiration.

These bonds and stocks become securities that can be traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Tianjin Stock Exchange.
The most popular bonds on the Shanghai Stock Exchange are the Lianghu Construction Bonds, and the most popular bonds on the Tianjin Stock Exchange are the Beijing-Tianjin and Beijing-Luan Railway Construction Bonds.

"railway?"

Komuman smiled bitterly and spread his hands. "This question is even more difficult to explain. I heard that these two railways will be opened in the near future. When the time comes, the Marquis can go and see it with his own eyes."

"Okay. Manuel, what do you mean by bankers can finance the Ming army to destroy a country?"

"The earliest public bonds of the Ming Dynasty were the Northeast Recovery Bonds issued directly by the Shaofujian, followed by the South China Sea Strategy Bonds, the Western Expedition Bonds and the Reform of the Aboriginals Bonds, which are what we understand as war bonds."

"War bonds?"

"Yes, they are also called patriotic bonds. Because this kind of war bond has a very low interest rate, no guarantee, and a high risk. If you lose the war, you will lose everything. Although the Ming army and navy are extremely powerful, the chances of losing the war are very small.

However, the benefits of war are very uncertain and difficult to predict. It is very likely that even the capital will not be recovered. However, these war bonds are often sold out very quickly. In addition to having great confidence in the army and navy of the Ming Dynasty, the buyers also have a strong sense of patriotism.

That’s why they are also called patriotic bonds.

Fortunately, the four types of war bonds issued by the Shaofujian all made a profit, among which the South China Sea Strategy Bonds and the Western Expedition Bonds had the highest interest rates. A bond with a face value of one yuan could earn one yuan, forty cents and two cents, including principal and interest, after three years.

The lowest is the bonds for converting native peoples into civilians, which can earn you 1 yuan, 20 cents and 1 cent after five years."

Marcelo immediately asked, “How effective were these war bonds?”

Komuman thought for a moment and said, "It can be said that the Yarkand Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate were destroyed by the Western Expedition Bonds."

Leon and Marcelo's faces were filled with horror.

The strength of the Ming Dynasty is truly unfathomable.

The Yarkand Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate were not small countries like Austria and Hungary, but large grassland countries with thousands of miles of territory and hundreds of thousands of cavalry. Fighting against such countries was the most troublesome, as at least 100,000 troops would have to be mobilized, and it was unknown how much money would be spent.

In comparison, Spain and France were considered powerful countries in Europe. A war involving tens of thousands of people could bankrupt the treasury of their kingdom, forcing the king to transform the army into bandits and robbers to generate income.

But in the Ming Dynasty, two wars of annihilation that were absolutely earth-shattering and costly in the eyes of European countries were paid for by issuing patriotic bonds.

What would happen if they issued bonds to destroy Spain or Portugal one day?
Marcelo and Leon shuddered.

"I never thought that the banks of the Ming Dynasty could be used in this way. They could not only revitalize industry and commerce and boost the economy, but also unleash great war potential."

After hearing Marcelo's sigh, Komuman shook his head and said, "Mr. Marquis, you are wrong."

"What's wrong?"

"The biggest role of financial institutions such as banks is to mobilize funds, allocate resources and improve efficiency."

Marcelo and Leon look confused. Can they say something we can understand?
Komuman explained: "Let's take the simplest example. For example, Spain and Ming Dynasty both have a fund of 100,000 silver coins. Because of the underdeveloped financial institutions such as banks in Spain, the 100,000 silver coins have been circulating for a year, and 50,000 silver coins have been in the bank vault, motionless.

Spain only used 50,000 silver dollars to create value each year, or at most 100,000 silver dollars.

Because of banks and other financial institutions in the Ming Dynasty, these 100,000 silver yuan were constantly circulating and flowing into the extremely developed industrial and commercial industries. Perhaps 100,000 silver yuan were circulating in the market every month, and 1.2 million silver yuan were used to create value in a year, which could be as high as 2.4 million silver yuan.

The same 100,000 silver coins were used by the Ming Dynasty to create 1.2 million Yuan, creating 2.4 million Yuan in value, while Spain used 50,000 Yuan, creating only 100,000 Yuan in value.

Two million, four hundred thousand and one hundred thousand, there is a difference of twenty-four times, Your Excellency the Marquis!

According to statistics from the Financial Bureau of the Shaofujian, all banks in the Ming Dynasty, including the six major banks, had deposits and loans totaling 2,467.9 billion yen in the fourth year of the Wanli reign, and the amount of financial bills such as bills of exchange, transfers, and letters of credit was 1,736 million yen.

From this, we can infer how much wealth is flowing and how much wealth is being created in the Ming Dynasty every year? ! "

Marcelo and Leon already knew that one Ming silver dollar was roughly equal to 25 grams of pure silver, and one Portuguese real silver coin was roughly equal to 27 grams of Ming silver. Due to the purity and exchange rate, one real silver coin was approximately equal to 0.9 Ming silver dollars.

The wealth that Comman just mentioned flowing in the bank is approximately 4.2 billion silver coins, which is approximately equivalent to 4.66 billion reais Portuguese silver coins.

4.66 billion reais silver coins.

When Marcelo and León heard this number, they felt dizzy and as if the sky was falling.

They wondered in their hearts whether the wealth flowing through Portugal had the same number after the decimal point as that of the Ming Dynasty.

Sixty million reais silver coins is also an astronomical figure!

The former King Charles V of Spain (Carlos I) received 7.5 million reais in taxes from the New World each year, but his various expenses each year amounted to 30 million reais.

During his 37 years in power, he accumulated a debt of 936 million reais of silver coins, and his creditors were banks such as the Bank of Venice, the Bank of Genoa, the Bank of the Netherlands, and the Fugger Bank.

This number was considered to be an astronomical figure that was jaw-dropping by countless Europeans. Even if the Spaniards had huge mines in the New World, it would take another 40 to 50 years to recover them.

936 million reais silver coins, according to the current exchange rate, are equivalent to 842.4 million Ming silver coins. Compared with the liquid wealth of several banks in the Ming Dynasty, it is just a drop in the ocean.

With the real comparison, Marcelo and Leon now finally understand what it means that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is rich and powerful.

In front of the Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Charles V, the most powerful and richest monarch in Europe, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, was just a beggar leader.

Marcelo and Leon felt extremely melancholy from the bottom of their hearts.

Although they knew that the income and expenditure of Charles V could not be compared with the flow of money between Ming banks, according to the level of development of Ming's finance and industry and commerce, such a large flow of money would create an astronomical figure of wealth.

Even if the Ming government and Emperor Wanli did not receive much tax revenue, the wealth remained in the territory of the Ming Dynasty and in the hands of the people of the Ming Dynasty. It was like a mighty river left in a vast lake. If there was a breach, the wealth that would surge out would be enough to drown the entire Europe.

In the following conversation, Marcelo and Leon forced themselves to continue asking Comman what they wanted to know about the situation in the Ming Dynasty.

I originally thought that it would help me sort out my thoughts on negotiations with the Ming Kingdom, but after listening to it, I felt even more confused.

The Ming Dynasty was too rich and too powerful. Marcelo and Leon were worried that they would lead this giant dragon from the East to Europe. If it sneezed, not only Spain, but also Portugal, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries would suffer.

After talking for nearly two hours, Comman and Jose said goodbye, leaving Marcelo and Leon to continue feeling melancholy and confused in the room. They found Sophonia, borrowed a room from the Portuguese delegation, and started talking.

"Sophonia, why did you sneak into the Portuguese envoys and come to the East?"

(End of this chapter)