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

Chapter 631 Persuading the Emperor
After Pei Yuan said that, Xiao Chong didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Thinking that there were still a few people waiting to be seen, he immediately served tea and saw them off.

Pei Yuan didn't linger and left Xiao Chong's residence directly.

The next morning, several money shop managers were waiting outside to inquire about the exchange rate for silver notes that day.

Pei Yuan estimated that there was still considerable room for price reduction, so he didn't give a definite answer and told them to open later and inquire about prices at other stores first.

These money shops with the "Quan" brand have been operating for a short time and haven't yet formed a close understanding with their peers. In recent days, they have been following the market price.

But things are different starting today.

Pei Yuan gave clear requirements for the money shops under his name.

That is, they follow the pace of other exchanges, but they are slightly higher than others in terms of the purchase price of banknotes.

Pei Yuan estimated that most of the funds that had been accumulating positions in the early stages, like his own, should have sold off their holdings during the price surge.

The rest are the many followers who got trapped in yesterday's rapid sell-off.

Yun Buxian asked with some concern, "If that's the case, I'm afraid those people will flock here to exchange, and I don't know if we have enough silver prepared."

Pei Yuan listened with confidence, "It's definitely enough."

In the early Ming Dynasty, the official price of a 1,000-cash note was equivalent to 1,000 copper coins, and this ratio and price remained stable until the 26th year of the Hongwu reign.

What is the current market value of the Baochao (precious paper currency)?

It is now certain that the price will fall below the level of "ten strings of cash to one coin" today.

There is a huge difference of many times over.

At the current exchange rate, one tael of silver can be exchanged for seven hundred cash.

If the two or three million taels of silver in Pei Yuan's fund were not enough, Pei Yuan couldn't even imagine what astronomical GDP figures the Zhu family had to generate by printing money back then.

However, Pei Yuan also reminded Yun Buxian, "There's definitely enough to cover the bottom line, but you still need to be careful and try not to collect too many banknotes."

The price of paper money fluctuates greatly; even a slight change can cause the total value of paper money outside the market to inflate.

This is similar to the analogy of having a bottle of wine worth ten yuan.

Yun Buxian spent three thousand yuan this morning to buy this bottle of wine.

Under this valuation system, the other one hundred bottles of wine, originally worth one thousand yuan each, would have a total price of three hundred thousand yuan.

The amount of paper money traded in money shops was limited, but its impact on the entire valuation system was enormous.

What Pei Yuan needs to do now is not to absorb these precious notes, but to provide significant support for the valuation system of these notes through the money shop channel.

This allows those banknotes that are not traded in banks to also have an equivalent valuation.

This is equivalent to the fact that as long as someone occasionally comes out and spends three thousand to buy this bottle of wine, it can significantly boost the valuation of other wines.

Yun Buxian roughly understood Pei Yuan's line of thinking and immediately patted his chest to assure him that there would be no problem.

Pei Yuan was not entirely at ease and kept a close eye on the fluctuations in the price of the paper money.

Perhaps because of yesterday's sharp drop, the price of buying banknotes this morning was 12 strings of cash for 1 cash, and then it slowly fell back.

Following Pei Yuan's instructions, Quanzihao began acquiring banknotes by exchanging eleven strings of cash for one coin.

As for the selling price, it's meaningless now. The Treasure Notes are currently in a clear downward trend, and almost no one dares to buy them at this time.

Lu Yin secretly sent someone to spread the word that the Imperial Treasury had sold off all the banknotes it had in hand.

Judging from the financial results, it seems they made a small profit.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan immediately sent someone to the money exchange to inquire.

After combining the information from the thirteen money shops, Pei Yuan only discovered a few scattered large sell orders.

In response, Pei Yuan could only awkwardly realize that among the many money shops in the capital, the thirteen "Quan" shops had virtually no presence.

It is likely that only a very small number of price-sensitive individuals, after comparing prices repeatedly, will find that the purchase price of the "Quan" series banknotes is slightly higher, and thus specifically choose the "Quan" series.

Faced with a large number of money shops, many people who were eager to sell probably hadn't even stepped foot inside a shop with the "Quan" name on it.

As for why there are so many money shops in the capital, that's not surprising.

Even in later generations, didn't those huge companies that talked about ideals, sentiments, and beliefs all end up getting into online lending?

Before the person who delivered the ledgers could return, several more groups of people rushed over from the money exchange.

It turned out that a rumor had spread from somewhere that the emperor intended to start printing paper money, causing the price of paper money, which had begun to stabilize, to plummet rapidly.

The exchange rate of the paper money once fell below 30 strings of cash to one coin.

This is all under the premise that the printing of paper money has been officially restarted and the market anticipates that the imperial court will strongly prevent the emperor from printing paper money.

However, despite the fact that the price of the paper money had already fallen, large and small money shops in the capital still saw a large amount of selling.

Several money shops with the "Quan" name reached their daily transaction quota, so they sent people to inquire whether they should transport back paper money to replenish their silver reserves.

Pei Yuan cursed inwardly, expressing deep disappointment that Zhu Houzhao couldn't even do bad things properly.

How could something like this be leaked?
Around noon, the Imperial Guards, who had been keeping a close eye on the prices at various banks, reported that the price of the paper money had suddenly jumped, reaching a level where "twenty-five strings of cash could be exchanged for one coin".

Pei Yuan was completely bewildered once again.

What's going on? Why did it start to rise?
The Imperial Guards who went out to gather intelligence quickly learned the reason for the soaring price of the precious paper money from a clerk at a money exchange.

—The corrosion on the copper plates of the paper money was too severe, causing varying degrees of damage during the polishing process. Several attempts by Zhang Rui, the director of the Eastern Depot, to reprint the paper money all failed.

Zhang Rui has reported back to the Emperor, saying that the printing of the Baochao (precious banknotes) has been suspended for decades, and it would be difficult to reprint them unless new molds and plates were made and mulberry paper, which is much denser than before, was used.

Pei Yuan immediately thought of what Lu Yin had mentioned: Zhang Rui's cost was about two strings of paper money to one coin, and he had a rough guess in his mind.

Sure enough, not long after, Lu Yin's confidant also came to deliver a message.

This time, the intelligence was more complete, stating that the Emperor was furious and had placed Zhang Rui under house arrest in the palace. The Emperor is now investigating the truth behind the destruction of the bronze plates and will then decide how to deal with Zhang Rui.

After hearing this, Pei Yuan thought to himself, "No wonder."

The thought that even with his extensive connections, he couldn't keep up with the speed of information gathering from those money shops made Pei Yuan even more cautious.

With Lu Yin as an undercover agent, the intelligence he obtains will certainly be more accurate and in-depth, but even the most readily available, superficial intelligence can be of great value at crucial moments.

Pei Yuan asked the young eunuch, "Who is handling Zhang Rui's case?"

The young eunuch replied, "It's the Western Depot handling this."

Pei Yuan waved his hand, indicating that everything was fine. If the Western Depot were handling it, Zhang Rui would have an easier time getting through.

Although there were quite a few eunuchs left in the capital by the Western Depot, Gu Dayong had made it clear before he left that the affairs of the Western Depot should be discussed with Song, the chief of criminal investigation.

Song Chunniang's personality has always been that of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), and she would never deliberately investigate Zhang Rui in order to gain merit.

On the contrary, Zhang Rui has given her face several times and allowed her to make a lot of money. Even if problems are found in this matter, he will definitely turn a blind eye.

With the Western Depot deliberately protecting the Eastern Depot, it was virtually impossible for the emperor to investigate its head.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment, then called Yun Buxian over and said in a low voice, "I plan to go to the palace to see the Emperor and persuade him to completely stop printing paper money. Before that, you have to find a way to make the people of the four outer armies cause some trouble."

"The four outer armies?" Yun Buxian asked, somewhat surprised. "What happened to them this time?"

Pei Yuan explained, "These four outer armies were selected from the troops that quelled the rebellion in Bazhou last time. At that time, the imperial court rewarded the soldiers and officers who had made contributions to the quelling of the rebellion with a large sum of money. Part of these rewards were paid in Ming Dynasty paper money."

"In addition, after these people entered the capital, the emperor also bestowed many rewards upon them, including a certain percentage of paper money."

"This is why the Director of the Treasury made the unprecedented move of submitting a memorial, saying that the treasury's paper money was running out and was no longer sufficient for use."

A significant portion of the use of the Ming Dynasty's paper money was for military rewards.

Military rewards, in a sense, are equivalent to gifts from the emperor to the soldiers and generals.

Just like when others give gifts, they often say a few polite words, such as "it's a local specialty" or "it's not worth much money."

The Ming Dynasty Treasure Note perfectly achieved both of these points.

These are local specialties, and they were indeed printed by ourselves.

It's worthless, really worthless.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty's paper money has always occupied an important place in military rewards.

Pei Yuan continued to say to Yun Buxian, "Those people from the four outer armies are basically stationed near the Yongshou Marquis's residence due to the turmoil some time ago, and they don't have much contact with the outside world."

"These people may not be aware of these changes in the price of paper money in the city."

“Originally, the Ming Dynasty's paper money was practically worthless, so they might not have been surprised by the emperor's decision to reprint it.”

"But if they knew that just a few days ago, the exchange rate between paper money and silver had reversed, exceeding the rate of one string of cash to two coins in the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, then it would be a completely unexpected and delightful surprise."

"If the exchange is conducted at such a price, each of the arrogant and fierce generals of the four outer armies can make a small fortune."

"If they were to hear that the price of paper money had plummeted again and become worthless once more because the emperor wanted to continue printing it, they would probably start to complain."

"At that time, the other nobles who have been harmed will probably also secretly support them. As long as we put a little external pressure on Zhu Houzhao, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort when I try to persuade him."

Yun Buxian understood Pei Yuan's meaning and immediately said, "Although I don't have much contact with the four outer armies, the servants, cooks, purchasing agents, and gardeners used by the Earl of Yongshou are all from the capital."

"It shouldn't be difficult for me to send a few people in to spread the news."

After Yun Buxian left, Pei Yuan continued to closely monitor the changes in the money exchange market.

With the failure of the emperor's plan to print paper money, the exchange rate of paper money once soared to around "twenty strings of cash for one coin".

This emotionally driven surge didn't last long, and it gradually declined in the afternoon.

Perhaps they realized that if the copper plate was broken this time, what about next time?

With their extensive network of information, it wouldn't be difficult for these people to find out that the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue still had twenty copper coins.

Even if all the copper plates were gone, as long as the emperor insisted on his own way, he could still print paper money.

This time, the thirteen stores with the "Quan" brand did not follow suit and decline.

The price remained firm at twenty strings of cash to one coin until dusk, when the store was about to close.

The unusual situation at the thirteen stores with the "Quan" brand has attracted considerable attention.

As the market neared its close, several money shops around the Quanzihao thirteenth branch hesitantly followed suit and raised their prices slightly.

That evening, Yun Buxian came to report that when the soldiers learned that the wealth in their hands had unexpectedly surged and then plummeted, they all regretted it and slapped their thighs.

When they heard that Zhu Houzhao planned to restart the printing of paper money, which resulted in a sharp drop in its value, they became even more indignant.

But after the previous incident, these arrogant and fierce soldiers were not fools, and of course they dared not cause trouble again because of this.

However, a sense of resentment inevitably arose in the camp.

The underlings below were all very restrained, but Xu Tai, who was supposed to suppress these discussions, complained a lot himself.

Pei Yuan was satisfied with the result upon hearing this, and then asked Yun Buxian, "Has His Majesty still gone to the Yongshou Earl's residence early in the morning these past few days?"

Yun Buxian replied, "It's been like this every day."

The Yongshou Earl's Mansion is very close to the Imperial City; it's just across the road.

After the previous mutiny, in order to strengthen his control over these border troops, Zhu Houzhao worked tirelessly, getting up early every day to go to the military camp and share the hardships with the soldiers.

Pei Yuan considered for a moment and then said to Yun Buxian, "I have something for you to do."

Yun Buxian immediately replied, "Please give your orders, Commander."

Pei Yuan slowly said, "Take some trusted men and, under the cover of darkness, retrieve some Ming Dynasty banknotes. Then, use paste to brush them onto the open ground where His Majesty often trains."

"Brush more, brush more densely, don't worry about how much is wasted."

"Come back quietly after you're done, and whatever you do, don't let the night patrol find you."

Yun Buxian's heart trembled slightly upon hearing this.

Seeing Yun Buxian lost in thought, Pei Yuan casually asked, "Is there a problem?"

Fortunately, Yun Buxian had also faced great danger before, and his heart was much stronger than others. He gritted his teeth and said, "No problem."

Then, Yun Buxian said to Pei Yuan, "For this mission, I plan to use the brothers who went on the mission with me last time."

At times like these, his old cronies are no longer reliable; only those who have risked their lives with him are trustworthy.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan replied decisively.

"Although you are now working for Commander Ben, my expectations for you are completely different from those for others, and I value you far more than others."

“You’re going to do great things in the future, so you need reliable people on your side. I’ll assign those dozens of people to you from now on.”

Upon hearing this, Yun Buxian felt deeply honored and immediately went to the meeting.

(End of this chapter)