Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 580 Like a light on my back
Xiao Ying and Lu Yin both profited from the war and were able to come up with large sums of money.

It won't be easy to subscribe to the remaining quota.

Pei Yuan thought about the boast he had just made to Xiao Ying and said to Chen Xinjian, "Let's go back to the manor first. I need to write a personal letter to Gu Dayong and Bi Zhen. Have someone send it over as soon as possible."

Gu Dayong also participated in the division of spoils in Yanggu, and he received at least 60,000 taels of silver. Moreover, as the director of the Western Depot, he had been powerful for a period of time and should have had a considerable fortune.

Bi Zhen was known for his greed and was also a garrison eunuch who had direct contact with the local area, so he must have had a lot of money in his hands.

This kind of fundraising with huge profits and no risk is not hard to entice these two people.

Chen Xinjian couldn't help but ask, "Commander, I don't quite understand. Since the price of paper money will rise once the memorial from the Treasury is submitted, why should we let outsiders benefit from it?"

“Our people have acquired a large amount of paper money at the seven major customs stations. Even though the memorials from the Treasury have not been submitted, they have still driven up the price of paper money by 20%.”

"Although there are many paper notes in other places, as soon as the news of the imperial court restarting the issuance of paper notes spreads, the price of paper notes will rise accordingly."

"Even if someone wants to profit from it, unless they collect the banknotes faster than the news spreads, they won't gain much."

"With so many precious notes in his possession, the commander can sell them gradually and earn even more money."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan showed no relief, but instead chuckled and said, "That's not how it works. If things were really that simple, the Ming Dynasty banknotes wouldn't have fallen to the point where it takes tens of strings of cash to exchange for one coin."

"The value of the paper money is not determined by the numbers on paper, but by the numbers in people's minds."

"If one is blinded by greed and seeks exorbitant profits, one may suffer incalculable losses."

Chen Xinjian was startled and quickly asked, "Could it be that there's some other unexpected twist?"

Pei Yuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Xinjian, who do you think instigated this petition from the Siyueku?"

Chen Xinjian, recalling the bits and pieces he had heard from Pei Yuan, tentatively asked, "They are either people who want to revive the Ming Dynasty's paper money, or people who want to take advantage of the rising price of the paper money to make a profit."

Pei Yuan smiled and nodded. "Possibly, but not entirely. So, who do you think wants to revive the Ming Dynasty's paper currency?"

Upon hearing this, several answers flashed through Chen Xinjian's mind, but he was still somewhat unsure.

Pei Yuan continued, "The Ming Dynasty's paper money was mainly used for the court's expenses. The two largest portions were the conversion of officials' salaries into cash and the army's pay and rewards. This is also the main reason why officials and military households gradually suffered as the paper money depreciated significantly."

"In order to facilitate the circulation of the issued paper money and to facilitate its redemption, the imperial court established several major tax checkpoints, allowing merchants to pay commercial taxes with paper money. Furthermore, it allowed ordinary people to purchase a certain amount of paper money when buying salt. It even permitted officials and commoners to use paper money to pay fines and atone for their sins."

"Some time ago, Liu Jin's evil policy of exempting people from paying extra for salt with paper money was a major event that accelerated the devaluation of paper money."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjian couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, then in a sense, shouldn't officials and the military, as the largest holders of the Baochao (precious paper money) and the biggest victims of its devaluation, be considered supporters of the Baochao?"

"Could it be that the Imperial Key Treasury's memorial this time is being supported by the imperial court and military officials and nobles behind the scenes?"

Pei Yuan shook his head. "Quite the opposite. These victims of the Ming Dynasty's paper money are also the ones who most want it to die. Because they have lost faith in it and want it to be completely abolished."

"Because after the abolition of the paper money, the court officials could rightfully demand that the court compensate them for the reduced salaries in other ways."

"Therefore, in the first year of the Three Yangs' rule, the court abolished the ban on silver, removed the sole monetary status of paper money, and allowed merchants to use silver in transactions."

"The paper money currently in circulation is mainly printed during the Hongwu and Yongle periods. Even paper money from the Xuande period is extremely rare, let alone those from the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods."

"However, the process of abolishing the paper money did not go so smoothly, and to this day, the paper money is still half-dead."

Chen Xinjian thought for a moment and said, "So, the person behind the scenes who pushed the Siyueku to submit the memorial should be just like us, trying to make a quick buck from it."

Then, somewhat puzzled, he said, "If that's the case, since everyone has the same goal, shouldn't we work together to raise the price of the paper money?"

"Moreover, these people certainly don't expect that there's a Thousand-Household Commander lurking in the shadows, so they might not be in a hurry to ship the goods. Perhaps, they could even end up doing all the work for the Thousand-Household Commander."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan's previously lazy and gentle gaze slowly turned sharp.

He said calmly, "That's what I originally thought."

"However, I, the commander, have suddenly thought of the worst-case scenario these past few days."

"This worst-case scenario makes me feel like I have a thorn in my side, and I have to put in my utmost effort to deal with it!"

"Therefore, I, the commander, must immediately cut off my own tail like a gecko, abandon a large amount of profit, and raise silver to prepare for battle!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjian was startled.

He had initially thought this would be an easy harvest, a chance to make a good profit, but seeing Pei Yuan's alarmed attitude made Chen Xinjian nervous as well. "Does the commander mean there are still variables?"

Pei Yuan said in a deep voice, "I suspect that the relaunch of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Note was likely orchestrated by those who can't stand seeing the Ming Dynasty Treasure Note doing well."

Chen Xinjian was taken aback and asked in confusion, "How is this possible? If they were hostile to the Ming Dynasty's paper money, why would they specifically have the Treasury submit a memorial to the court, requesting permission to collect the paper money again?"

Pei Yuan couldn't help but recall the previous incident, and said with a slight sneer, "Then there's another reason. I hadn't connected the two before, but recently I've felt more and more that something's not right."

After saying that, he changed the subject and asked, "Do you know why the imperial court suspended the collection of paper money at several major customs posts in the fifth year of Zhengde's reign and switched to collecting silver instead?"

Chen Xinjian was no stranger to this question and answered cleverly, "That's because the imperial court urgently needs to stockpile a large amount of silver in order to quell the rebellion of Liu Liu and Liu Qi."

Pei Yuan nodded. "That's right."

"When Liu Jin was in power, through investigations into corruption and embezzlement, he managed to recover three million taels of silver from various regions in just over two years. In order to quell the rebellion, the court also temporarily levied silver at major customs stations."

"But all that silver was squandered and completely spent during the suppression of the rebellion in Bazhou."

"Others may not be aware of this, but I, the commander, am well aware of it. The stock of Taicang silver has reached a very delicate situation."

"This stockpile should be more than enough to cover the court's expenses, but if any unforeseen circumstances arise and the court needs money, it will definitely be stretched thin."

"I've been keeping an eye on this matter for a while, but I haven't gotten any leads yet."

“A few days ago, I was thinking about the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes when I suddenly had a thought and connected the two.”

As he spoke, Pei Yuan made that crucial judgment: "After the Taicang silver has been bleed dry, if we then cut off the flow of silver inflow, wouldn't things be done even more thoroughly?"

Chen Xinjian suddenly had a sudden realization: "So, the commander believes that the main purpose of the memorial submitted by the Director of the Treasury was not for the Ming Dynasty's paper money, but rather that someone wanted to target the Taicang treasury and cut off the inflow of silver from it?"

Pei Yuan didn't speak, but this brief silence clearly indicated his acceptance of this conjecture. After a moment, Pei Yuan said, "Not entirely. The person behind this must be a rare master strategist."

"Once the memorial from the Treasury is submitted, not only can we take the opportunity to cut off the inflow of Taicang silver, but we can also take the opportunity to crush the Ming Dynasty's paper money in one fell swoop. It is no exaggeration to say that we can kill two birds with one stone."

Chen Xinjian was somewhat confused.

The request from the Treasury to restart the issuance of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes was undoubtedly positive news for them.

Many people see the huge potential for appreciation of the Ming Dynasty banknotes and pursue the profits therein.

Once the popularity of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Note rises, it might not only be defeated, but its value could also be stabilized again.

However, in his reflections over the past few days, Pei Yuan had already seen through the advantages and disadvantages of the matter.

"This memorial from the Treasury is a deadly lure. What they want to trap are those last remaining people who still have illusions about the Ming Dynasty's paper money."

"Once those forces attempting to manipulate the price of Ming Dynasty banknotes enter the game, the mastermind behind this will unleash a massive amount of Ming Dynasty banknotes that they have been preparing for."

"In this way, they can not only reap huge profits from the soaring price of the precious paper, but also lock up the wealth of other entrants in the precious paper through aggressive dumping."

"Then, once the world changes and the crisis of Taicang Silver erupts, they can take the opportunity, while completing their own plans, to give the Ming Dynasty's paper money a good stab."

Chen Xinjian's expression changed, and he understood Pei Yuan's meaning.

"Does the commander mean that if problems arise in the Taicang granary, the imperial court will likely resort to similar measures as it did in the fifth year of the Zhengde reign, suspending the collection of Ming Dynasty paper money again and instead collecting silver from the major customs offices?"

"This method... is too ruthless!"

Consider what happened after the collection of paper money was suspended in the fifth year of the Zhengde reign.

In just two short years, the price of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes plummeted from one string of notes to two copper coins to several dozen strings of notes to one copper coin.

This drop is so dramatic that it's no exaggeration to say it was a complete collapse.

If the imperial court were to suspend the collection of paper money again, triggering a collapse in confidence, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This will leave the already battered and dying Ming Dynasty banknotes with no chance of recovery.

All those who are optimistic about the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes and follow the trend of speculation will be ruined and die without a burial place.

Chen Xinjian finally understood why, even in such a favorable situation, Commander Pei could still say something like "feeling like a thorn in his back."

He swallowed hard. "What Qianhu means is that we are the mantis, and there is another oriole behind us."

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Not bad!"

Chen Xinjian was initially flustered, but then he thought that since Commander Pei had realized this early on, this sixth brother might very well become the one to hunt down the predator.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Xinjian actually felt a little excited. "Is that commander going to fight them to the bitter end?"

Pei Yuan's expression remained calm, but his words were exceptionally firm: "I, Pei Yuan, will never back down!"

Although Chen Xinjian didn't understand why his commander insisted on fighting this battle, he felt that his question was somewhat unnecessary.

Commander Pei is already mobilizing silver to prepare for battle, so what else is there to say?

However, even though I trust my own commander, I still have to invest my own money.

It's always better to ask questions before you start to feel at ease.

So Chen Xinjian coughed and said awkwardly, "Such a big matter, surely the commander can't fight alone? Isn't there anyone in the entire court willing to fight alongside us?"

Pei Yuan had clearly decided to go it alone.

Hearing Chen Xinjian ask this, he pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps. Our emperor might be happy to see it happen, and those powerful landlords and tycoons in the north who have been exploited in the silver trade might also get involved."

When it comes to who most wanted the value of the paper money to rise, it was undoubtedly the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Since the Yongle Emperor, successive emperors have tried to boost the value of the paper money.

Even a slight increase in the value of the paper money, compared to the amount the court uses when it does, means that a huge additional fortune can be realized.

What about the landlord class in the north?
These landlords and powerful families, whose main occupation was farming, found it difficult to acquire silver through foreign trade.

The situation is different in the South.

They abandoned traditional farming and instead planted mulberry and hemp, produced porcelain, and smelted ironware.

Then these products could be exchanged for silver from overseas trade at several times the price.

If this inflated silver were used to cheaply plunder crops grown in the northern lands, it would completely destroy the economic structure of the Ming Dynasty.

If that's all there is to it, we can use the money from the South to support the troops in the North, and gradually maintain economic balance through gentle measures.

However, silver, besides being a currency, is also a commodity.

It comes with its own costs and substantial profits.

Although silver was rare in the Ming Dynasty, it was produced in abundance in many places.

If the Ming Dynasty completely abolished paper money, it would continuously increase the demand for silver.

Then those foreign merchants, with the cheap silver they acquired, could leech off the Ming Dynasty, easily reaping huge profits from the Ming's labor earnings.

What remains is a damaged economic structure and a social ecosystem riddled with contradictions caused by silver.

If this were combined with the "single-whip method" that drives up the valuation of silver, it would be absolutely brilliant.

The Single Whip Law created a significant price scissors effect in the North, completely destroying the economy. As a result, the ruling Southern faction lived comfortably and became less inclined to spend on military expenditures.

Finally, the sword pointed south, and the land of China sank.

(End of this chapter)