My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 107 Seigniorage! Grand Blueprint (4k)

What Su Ze said about taxation in the form of discount is to change the tax in kind to tax in currency. In fact, the Ming Dynasty had tried this a long time ago.

For example, the gold and silver collected from the emperor's treasury were collected by converting them into silver.

The Single Whip System was not actually created by Zhang Juzheng, but was advocated by financial officials of the Ming Dynasty throughout the dynasties.

However, the Single Whip Law also has its limitations, the biggest problem being the lack of money.

Su Ze nodded and said:

"Yes, the southeast has plenty of silver, so naturally they can collect it at a discount. But the north doesn't even understand the monetary system, so the good policy of collecting at a discount will turn into a bad policy that further exploits the people."

Xu Wei still didn't understand. He was born in the prosperous Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and had always lived in the southeastern region where the commodity economy was developed. He was used to using money for transactions.

Changing the collection of silver to the collection of grain, isn't this a great policy?
Xu Wei immediately thought of the benefits of collecting silver. The amount of silver collected was fixed, and the people could easily know the specific figures of the tax. This would reduce the process of officials and clerks at all levels exploiting the people when collecting grain in kind.

Things like "Lin Jian Ki Hu" and "Lin Jian Ki Hu" are all methods used by officials to exploit the people throughout the ages, and many of them are concentrated on collecting grain.

Silver does not deteriorate, the amount is fixed, and the cost of transportation is low.

In contrast, Tu Zemin was promoted from a grassroots official, so he understood what Su Ze meant.

Tu Zemin said:
"Mr. Qingteng, in areas where silver and money are not circulated, the people have no silver. If we change the grain tax to silver, the people will compete to convert the grain into silver. Those who control the silver can buy the grain at a much lower price."

Xu Wei understood immediately. He quickly realized that this was not even malicious speculation, but something that was bound to happen!

Implementing the "One Whip Law" in areas where money and silver are not circulated will harm the grassroots people here. The gentry can use the silver in their hands to sell the people's grain at a lower price, and finally force the people who cannot pay the taxes to sell their land at a low price.

This is also the most criticized aspect of Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip Law. Because of its implementation, land annexation intensified in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and other regions, and it was in these regions that the peasant uprisings in the late Ming Dynasty were the most violent.

The Ming Dynasty’s finances faced such a deadlock.

Without reform, local corruption and rising transportation costs would crush the Ming Dynasty's finances.

Reforms and the "One Whip System" in silver-poor areas intensified land annexation, created more unstable factors, and finally refugee armies rose up everywhere, and the Ming Dynasty was doomed.

Moreover, the large influx of silver from the southeast region also led to another result, which was the rise of groups such as the Donglin Fushe.

The influx of a large amount of silver into the southeast region allowed these regions to accumulate a large amount of wealth. This wealth, which was in the hands of the southeastern gentry, would inevitably influence politics in turn.

Upper decision decided by the economic background.

There are so many academies in the southeast that hire famous teachers to nurture scholars. In the end, these scholars pass the imperial examinations and in turn give back to the academies in the southeast.

When Su Ze studied Ming history, he did not believe that there was really a united "Southeastern gentry group" manipulating the politics of the late Ming Dynasty.

However, the absence of a tightly organized "Southeastern Gentry Group" does not mean that the Southeastern Gentry has no influence.

Because the gentry in the southeast also have their own interests and are not a monolithic entity, there is no so-called Donglin Group with common interests.

However, the gentry in the southeast also have common interests, and their influence in the court will also prompt the court's policies to benefit them.

Wasn't it because Tu Zemin was dismissed from office that he violated the interests of Fujian's maritime merchants? He was then impeached and investigated by the censors.

Such a huge group with great wealth and the right to speak in the court, in their blind greed and short-sightedness, devoured the vitality of the Ming Dynasty. They even fought among themselves during the Southern Ming Dynasty, and finally the Qing army reaped the benefits.

This was also the thing that Su Ze felt extremely regretful and hated in his previous life.

And now, it is the second year since the Longqing opening.

Large amounts of silver had not yet flowed into China, and the southeastern region was only prosperous in culture and education, but was far from the level of "half of the world was rich" during the Wanli period.

At that time, Donglin Master Gu Xiancheng was only eighteen years old and had not even passed the examination for a scholar.

Just as Su Ze said at the Crown Prince's Imperial Lecture, in prosperous times, change is needed. Interest groups have not yet become solidified, so there is still room for reform and innovation.

If interest groups really emerge and control the administrative agencies from top to bottom, then even if Su Ze is cheated, nothing can be changed.

The above are the questions that Su Ze has been thinking about since he traveled through time.

Tu Zemin looked at Su Ze, who was indeed the Su Yishu who “shocked the world with one suggestion”!
Su Ze wanted to open ports in the north, which was even more difficult than his own advocacy of opening more ports.

There is no other reason, it’s just that we are too sensitive about trade with Japan.

Tu Zemin also vaguely understood that he was impeached and investigated because he affected the interests of the southeastern maritime merchants, and Su Ze proposed to open the ports in the north. Wouldn't that lead to attacks from the southeastern maritime merchants?
Not to mention, there were already a large number of ministers in the court who opposed opening ports for trade.

But why did Su Ze do this?
In fact, the navigation conditions in the north are not as good as those in the south.

In Fujian alone, there are natural ports such as Quanzhou and Fuzhou, which are mature ports used for hundreds of years during the Song Dynasty.

Guangdong also has a large number of excellent ports, which are also located on busy shipping routes.

Just a little further north, Ningbo and Hangzhou are also mature and good ports.

And the North?
The ports in Liaodong will freeze in winter, and the situation in Liaodong is not very stable.

Then there is only Denglai.

This place can indeed be used as a port, but is it necessary just for trade with Japan?
Su Ze himself was from Suzhou Prefecture. Why did he not propose to open a port in the southeast but in the north?
Is it just to balance the north and the south?

That’s not the case.

Tu Zemin looked at Su Ze doubtfully and asked:

"May I ask Su Hanlin, why do you want to open a port in the north?"

Su Ze looked at Tu Zemin with admiration. The fact that he could think of this problem showed that Tu Futai really understood economics.

Su Ze gestured to Xu Wei, who walked to the door and window of the flower hall. After confirming that no one was eavesdropping, Su Ze said:
"Su wants to open a port in the north because he wants to control the silver in the hands of the court through trade, and then use this silver to mint coins!"

"coin!?"

Su Ze asked Tu Zemin:

"Tu Futai, you've been in Yuegang. Haven't you seen the silver coins of the Western Barbarians?"

Tu Zemin nodded repeatedly and said:
"I've seen it, I've seen it. The silver coins of the Western Yi are quite small and exquisite. Some merchants in Yuegang directly use their silver coins to do business."

Su Ze said: "In my opinion, if the court wants to improve the currency system, it is impossible to use copper."

"Since the Song Dynasty, the world has been short of copper. Nowadays, the cost of mining copper mines to mint coins is even greater than the coins minted."

"And the Central Plains has been short of silver since ancient times, so no dynasty has ever thought of minting silver coins."

Su Ze's eyes lit up and he said:
"But things are different now. Futai Tu should be aware of the huge amount of silver flowing into Yuegang through maritime trade! If we can mint all this silver into coins, the problem of the lack of circulation of silver and money in the world will be solved!" "Once silver and money are circulated throughout the country, and then the silver is collected and converted into grain, the treasury will be well-stocked and the people will live in peace!"

When Su Ze finished speaking, Tu Zemin and Xu Wei present were convinced by this grand blueprint!
Everyone knows the benefits of collecting silver instead of grain. Isn’t it because there is not enough silver in the world?

Since it was not enough, Su Ze proposed to take the initiative to open a port in the north to absorb foreign silver and mint it into silver coins!

Su Ze doesn’t want to open a port, but to open a mine!

Treat the port as a mine to attract silver coins from overseas!

Tu Zemin thought carefully about this seemingly crazy idea and found it actually feasible!
Because he was one of the few officials in the Ming Dynasty who had actually seen the large amount of silver pouring into Yuegang.

Tu Zemin also understood why Su Ze chose to open a port in the north.

Because compared to opening ports in the south, the imperial court can better control the ports by opening ports in the north.

Su Ze looked at Tu Zemin and knew that he had persuaded the other party.

The reason why it takes so much time is that although Su Ze has come up with a national policy, it also requires people to implement it.

Tu Zemin, who once served as the governor of Fujian and personally presided over the opening and closing of Yuegang, was the chosen one.

And Su Ze also knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Longwan period was a time when silver production on the entire earth increased dramatically.

The gold and silver mines in Central and South America, and the Iwami silver mines in Japan, all of these silver mines with huge reserves and easy to mine appeared at the same time. Coupled with the initial international trade formed in the Age of Navigation, the amount of precious metals in the world skyrocketed.

This surge even caused inflation in Europe.

The Spanish Empire, which controlled the American colonies and transported gold and silver to its homeland on treasure ships, went bankrupt several times because of this!

At the same time, during this period, the Ming Dynasty was the largest exporter in the world, without a doubt.

Ming Dynasty products are best-sellers all over the world. As soon as Ming Dynasty products are shipped out to sea, merchants from all over the world will rush to buy them.

Therefore, during the Longqing and Wanli periods, huge amounts of silver flowed into China, which also provided conditions for Zhang Juzheng to implement the Single Whip Law.

However, although Zhang Juzheng carried out tax reform, he did not carry out fiscal reform.

In his previous life, Su Ze was a civil servant in the finance department. He knew very well that tax reform without fiscal reform would only strengthen the government's ability to extort money, which would ultimately inhibit economic development.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng's one-size-fits-all tax reform also accelerated the problem of unbalanced regional development.

Su Ze's plan was to take advantage of the influx of silver to carry out a thorough financial reform.

Mint silver coins to facilitate currency circulation across the country, and on this basis, carry out tax reforms.

Once such a reform is completed, it will be able to completely revitalize the Ming Dynasty's economy, solve the problems of the lack of circulation of silver and money and the sluggish development of the commodity economy, and also solve the problems of excessive in-kind taxation, high costs and excessive waste.

And there is a hidden idea in Su Ze's plan.

That is to open ports in the north to mint coins, hold the right to mint coins in the hands of the court, and use the right to mint coins to plunder silver in the southeast.

This is also the reason why Su Ze proposed to mint silver coins.

The silver flowing into the south had to be minted before it could be legally circulated. This was called the seigniorage.

This is even a global tax. Su Ze only needs to submit a memorial requiring ships trading in China to use silver coins minted by the court, and then he can collect seigniorage from all trading partners!

Of course, the concept of seigniorage was probably too advanced for the Ming Dynasty, and Su Ze had no intention of explaining it to the two people present.

It is estimated that in the entire court, only the cabinet elders can understand this level.

Using seigniorage to drain away excess silver from the southeast, and then investing it in unevenly developed areas through infrastructure investment, this is the fiscal national policy that Su Ze has thought of since he traveled through time!

Of course, this set of national policies requires many steps, the first of which is to open ports in the north for trade and collect silver coins.

This conversation with Tu Zemin made Su Ze very happy.

Tu Zemin is capable and experienced, and is the best person to implement the opening of ports in the north.

The purpose of inviting Tu Zemin to submit a memorial together was naturally to bring him into the "circle of friends" and make him the implementer of national policies. After all, Su Ze was not willing to leave the capital and take up a local post.

Tu Zemin was also completely persuaded by Su Ze's grand blueprint!

Opening ports in the north, minting silver coins, and then collecting silver to convert into grain, Su Ze's blueprint is so grand that it can solve the financial and tax difficulties that have plagued the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop!

And if you think about it carefully, if Su Ze’s idea can be accomplished, maybe it really can!

Because Su Ze's national policy is completely different from the moral preaching of other scholars and officials. This is a visible path. Su Ze has pointed out the entire path and even demonstrated its feasibility!

Tu Zemin's breathing became rapid.

He was actually over 50 years old. The reason why he was running around in the capital after being investigated was not because Tu Zemin was attached to power, but because he was unwilling to retire with an unclear charge.

At his age, all he cares about is his reputation after death.

Tu Zemin was unwilling to accept that he was the first to initiate the switch, but ended up leaving a stain on his career in history.

Now if Su Ze’s idea is really completed, it will bring him fame for generations to come!
The fame that will last for thousands of years is an irresistible temptation for any scholar who is determined to manage his family, govern the country and bring peace to the world.

As expected, Tu Zemin immediately said:

"Tu is willing to sign!"

Su Ze quickly helped Tu Zemin up and said:
"Tai Futai Tu, I can't help you get your position back, but I will recommend you to the Prime Minister."

Tu Zemin immediately understood what Su Ze meant. He certainly knew that Su Ze's teacher was Gao Gong, who was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel.

Su Ze obviously wanted to make himself the executor of the Northern Switch.

Tu Zemin said quickly:
"I am a criminal and I am completely at the mercy of Su Hanlin."

Only after seeing Su Ze off did Tu Zemin calm down.

Wait, after saying so much, is Su Ze really sure that he can convince the emperor and cabinet ministers to open the gates in the north?

Only then did Tu Zemin remember this serious issue!
He wrote a petition to open the ports, and finally only opened trade in Yuegang, which also encountered a lot of opposition.

Opening the northern border and engaging in trade with Japan would face enormous resistance from the imperial court!

Tu Zemin then realized that Su Ze was just painting a rosy picture for him!
(End of this chapter)