Wanli 1592

Chapter 1090 The Economic Crisis of the Ming Dynasty

On October 31, the first year of Longwu, the heroes of the Korean War arrived at Tianjinwei Port one after another, and then changed horses and galloped towards the capital, preparing to meet the emperor.

Xiao Ruxun ordered the commander and generals of the Korean War to meet him and tell him about the course of the battle and the results of the battle, as well as the follow-up situation, such as the situation in North Korea and Jianzhou.

And, Xiao Ruxun decided to summon Mao Wenlong alone.

The upcoming Battle of Bozhou should allow a group of outstanding young generals to take the lead. Don’t always show off the generals of the Northern Expedition. Newcomers also need to experience and grow up. The wars are not only about money and Daqin The fate of the country, as well as the future famous ministers and generals.

Civil servants and military generals who stand out in the war are the most valuable talents.

The main generals of the Liaodong Corps headed by Liao Zhong, including Jiang Dahai, arrived at the palace to meet Xiao Ruxun on the first day of November. After Xiao Ruxun left the early court, he went to the Qianqing Palace to summon them.

At present, the Daqin army is still helping the king of Joseon to stabilize the place on the territory of North Korea, deter Xiaoxiao, and maintain the rule of North Korea. They also came to ask the emperor for his next strategy and how the army should continue to act.

They don't feel that they are tired from fighting and have enough military exploits.

Daqin's army is like a wolf like a tiger.

Xiao Ruxun had just discussed matters such as horse administration, education, and Da Chi Dao with the officials in the previous dynasty. The money was spent like flowing water. I don't know when the gold and silver will be spent.

Therefore, he has been paying great attention to the five-port trade, and is even organizing an ocean-going merchant fleet, planning to make another trip to the European continent to make money.

They used triangular trade to earn bloody gold and silver, and Daqin washed the gold and silver with clean goods and brought them to Daqin. As a black hole of silver, Daqin's ability to absorb gold is not as strong as usual.

Of course, the inflation that may be caused by this is also within his consideration, but at this time, the situation is slightly different.

It is not uncommon in history that the value-added currency depreciated because the currency in circulation increased greatly, but the productivity could not keep up. This is not uncommon in history. Jiaozi and Daming banknotes in the Song Dynasty were issued indiscriminately in this way, which ruined their reputation. Now People are extremely distrustful of paper currency.

So much so that Zhang Juzheng used a whip method to determine the currency status of silver, which basically replaced the circulation of Daming banknotes and ended the meaning of the existence of Daming banknotes. The purchasing power of silver increased greatly, basically replacing people's demand for banknotes.

How much does one tael of silver weigh?You can buy 370 seven catties of rice, how different is it from banknotes?

Due to the bankruptcy of Song Jiaozi and Mingbao banknotes, Xiao Ruxun is still unable to carry out currency reform properly, and this silver will also cause many disputes due to weight and fineness in the circulation process.

Since March of the first year of Longwu, among the government affairs reported by various places, there are many civil disputes caused by disputes over the weight and fineness of silver.

Although Xiao Ruxun purged the landlords and big merchants, the small and medium merchants survived after handing over their land, let alone the small merchants, who were not affected.

After the land reform, under the organization of the local township government, the merchants accepted the new business tax policy, restored their relationship with the peasant association, and restarted their commercial activities under the supervision of the local government. Today, the three southeastern provinces have regained their vitality.

There was a bumper harvest this autumn, and merchants began to move around. Naturally, the exchange of money and money cannot be stopped, and the long-standing disputes cannot be eradicated.

Xiao Ruxun is also thinking about when to set standards, change silver taels to standard silver coins, and check the fineness and weight as the basic standard, which will be used throughout the country and unify the fineness and weight of silver taels across the country.

Through government orders, all parts of the country are allowed to use silver coins instead of silver coins for transactions, and then open the channel for silver coins to be exchanged for silver coins, so that people can exchange their silver coins into equivalent silver coins, so that the circulation of silver can be standardized.

At the same time, through the issuance of silver coins, the amount of silver in circulation is controlled, the value of currency is controlled, prices are maintained, economic development in various places is accelerated, roads are built in various places for infrastructure, and localities are revitalized, so that the exchanges between places are closer.

In addition, it is not necessary for the silver earned overseas to be put into market circulation. If there is no need for circulation, the silver has storage value.

In the 16th year of Ming Wanli, 1588 AD, the Spanish Armada was defeated by the British fleet. The Spaniards who had been undertaking the foreign trade of the Ming Dynasty and imported the silver looted from the Americas into the Ming Dynasty were finished.

Spain suffered heavy losses, and was unable to afford the goods of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no silver import. This was a very heavy blow to the southeastern coastal provinces that were dominated by export-oriented economies during that period, and even triggered a war. Jiangnan's economic crisis.

This sudden economic crisis had a heavy impact on all parts of the south of the Yangtze River, directly leading to an excess of goods and a shortage of silver, and the inland provinces that relied on transporting goods to the southeastern provinces to make money were severely hit.

This situation was not alleviated until the rise of the Netherlands and the East India Company, and Chinese goods had a place to sell again.

During this period, the large quantities of American silver that had previously been imported seem to have suddenly disappeared.

This is the handwriting of those big landlords and gentry with a keen sense of smell. Through hiding silver, reducing the circulation, ensuring the value of silver, reducing the value of goods, so that they are not damaged, but they have suffered from large suppliers in several provinces in the interior. For example, the four major chieftains in Guizhou, of course, also include Yang Yinglong.

The four chieftains have a lot of wealth, and they have been selling their goods to Suzhou and other places since the Chenghua period, earning a lot of money.

In order to manage places along the way, half is often given away and half is sold to feed the relevant local officials. Everyone makes money together and has a harmonious relationship.

Until the outbreak of a war thousands of miles away, the Spaniards declined, and the inflow of silver in the Americas dropped sharply. The gentry and powerful gentry everywhere began to cover up the silver, which caused a shortage of silver and the accumulation of goods, resulting in an economic crisis.

The export-oriented economy on the southeast coast suffered a severe blow, but the imperial court at that time had no awareness and no means of macro-control.

Yang Yinglong, who couldn't sell anything, had a big drop in income, but he needed to maintain his own life and status, as well as his rule in Bozhou. His personal temper was impetuous, so he got up and looted everywhere. When he found that the few people in the mountains were poor When it was easy to rob, he started robbing the Han people.

The conflict between him and the Sichuan Ming government began to intensify, and the previous harmonious relationship no longer existed, which directly triggered a battle of Bozhou.

So the Butterfly Effect is really amazing. As early as this time, it has already demonstrated terrible lethality.

Ten years later, a battle for maritime supremacy between Britain and Spain ignited a fierce war among hundreds of thousands of people far away in China.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the merchants and landlords in the south of the Yangtze River were the indirect pushers, hiding the silver that the Spaniards and Portuguese obtained from all over the world, and it was not in circulation. Each family had a lot of wealth, but it was extremely limited to put on the market.

They also know that once there is more silver, and silver is cheap and goods are expensive, their wealth will shrink.

(End of this chapter)