Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 500 The Rentier Class
New book for collection: "The Rise of Great Powers 1900"

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They were all silver bills. What Yang Chao didn't expect was that the first issue of 1000 million, three-year three-cent annual interest bonds was exchanged for 1000 million silver bills, which were silver bills instead of silver.

For Jiangnan who had fully accepted the banknotes, the banknotes were equivalent to silver, but for Yang Chao, this was not the case.

From Yang Chao's point of view, silver is just a symbol, a currency related to the economy, and there is nothing special about it. As for cash, it is still paper currency, as long as it can be accepted by the people, it is currency.

But if all the bills are collected now, it means that a large amount of currency in the market has been taken away by bonds.

The lack of so much currency in circulation in the market will inevitably cause deflation. Compared with inflation, sometimes deflation is more serious and will cause a large-scale contraction of production.

The total amount of banknotes that Yang Chao pushed to the market through the bank was only 5000 million, and it would be terrible to collect one-fifth of it. If bonds were issued in this way, the impact would be too great.

Yang Chao has to raise funds from the private sector without withdrawing the banknotes in circulation, which is a difficult operation.

Afterwards, it must be ensured that the sale of bonds will get silver instead of silver bills, because taking a large amount of silver bills from the hands of the people will either reduce the capital in the production field and affect the operation of the economy, or it will directly cause deflation. Yang Chao would like to see it.

"It seems that it can't be issued to the common people. We must let the rich take out the silver they have hoarded!"

Yang Chao pondered for a moment, and immediately stopped the issuance of bonds. Next, he will sell the bonds himself.

Where is the most money in the world?
There is no doubt that it is Huizhou. Before the rise of Shanxi merchants, Huizhou merchants were the well-deserved number one merchant gang.

Among the wealthiest salt merchants in Ming Dynasty, merchants from Huizhou merchants could compete with merchants from Shanxi merchants. In other industries, Huizhou merchants had a comprehensive advantage.

So Yang Chao set his sights on selling bonds to Huizhou.The reason why they aimed at Huizhou was because there were so many wealthy people in Huizhou, the most wealthy in Ming Dynasty. I dare not say that wealthy businessmen with millions of dollars are everywhere, but they are by no means rare.

All the rich merchants in Huizhou add up, even if there is not 8000 million taels of silver in their cellars, it is estimated that there are [-] taels of silver.

If the silver can be taken out and exchanged for government bonds, and the government can exchange the silver for silver bills and enter the market, it can be said that the increase in currency in circulation in Ming Dynasty will be doubled. At the same time, a large amount of silver is deposited in Jiangnan Bank, which will greatly boost the bank's credit and make the banknotes it issues more stable and easier to accept.

But Yang Chao must first solve a problem, that is, to ensure that the bonds sold by Huizhou merchants are paid with the silver they have hoarded instead of the silver notes in their hands, otherwise the purpose of expanding circulation will not be achieved. It's just that the currency in the market has been drained. With the economic strength of Huizhou merchants, it is really possible to mobilize enough banknotes to cause deflation.

Therefore, Yang Chao's promotion of bonds this time must be purposeful and selectively issued to a certain group of people!
Before the new year, Yang Chao immediately came to Huizhou non-stop, and came to Xiuning, the center of pawnshop and bank business.

Sufficient funds must be raised before the end of the year, otherwise the debt repayment and next year's budget may not be spent.

As for how to get these people to open the hoarded silver, Yang Chao is still confident, but he has to talk about some skills.

You can't tell them that only cash is accepted, otherwise these people will worry about whether the government will stop accepting paper notes, just like the Daming banknotes, these people are playing with money, once they start to run, it will inevitably cause more people Run on bank notes, and the paper currency system will collapse.

In mid-November, Yang Chao came to Huizhou with great fanfare.

In Huizhou City, the largest restaurant in Shexian County entertained guests, and all the guests who came were famous local figures.

There are rich merchants from all counties in Huizhou, salt merchants from Shexian County, merchants who run restaurants in Jixi, pawnbrokers from Xiuning, merchants who deal in cloth and groceries in Qimen and Yixian counties, all local famous people are invited to come.
A total of [-] people were invited, most of whom were billionaires. Unfortunately, Wu Tianxing, who was the first deputy a few years ago, failed to come, because this old guy who married a hundred concubines kicked his legs. All of them were divided among the clan's nephews, and the Wu family was no longer so prominent.

Wu Tianxing is a legendary figure. Later generations studied him as the prototype of Ximenqing. His family was a salt merchant, and the garden at home was instructed by famous people like Wen Zhengming.

But it is a pity that when it was passed on to Wu Tianxing, he was weak and sick, and was unable to bear children. He married more than 100 concubines, but he failed to give birth to a son and a half daughter. This is probably one of the reasons why he kept marrying concubines. First, without any heirs, Wu Tianxing has no intention of passing on his wealth. Not only did he build gardens like crazy, but he also had a lot of expenses besides marrying concubines. However, when he died, he still left behind millions of dollars. The family property is divided up by hundreds of distant nephews, and the family is only divided into tens of thousands, at most 10 taels of silver.

Yang Chao couldn't help regretting that the principle of equal distribution stipulated by the Law of the Ming Dynasty made it very difficult for the capital accumulation of the Ming Dynasty's business. The so-called wealth can't be more than three generations. These rich people often have many children and grandchildren. This amount of wealth ranges from a dozen people to hundreds of people. Huge wealth can only be divided, and cannot be gathered to form a huge industrial capital.

Of course, many businessmen have also discovered this kind of problem. For example, in Wang Xiao's family, the old man of the Wang family is very reluctant to divide the family. He wants to leave the family's grain shop and fleet to the eldest son. Give them a sum of money, as long as their family's main business is not divided, then the wealth can be passed down from generation to generation.

Although Wu Tianxing's family was weak due to the separation of the family, and even quit the salt business because of this, it did not cause much disturbance. After all, this kind of thing happens almost every year in Huizhou. Every year, new businesses rise up, and old ones It is common for everyone to see the decline of businesses.

It was also because Yang Chao invited the wealthy merchants that he found out that the old guy Wu Tianxing was dead. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion. It has been five years since the Ruan family's house was parted.

The reason why he never forgets Wu Tianxing is because Yang Chao's target this time is someone like Wu Tianxing.

This kind of family has millions of dollars, there is almost no place to invest, and a guy with a lot of silver in his home.

"All the elders and gentry in Huizhou, the Governor's visit to Huizhou this time is actually borrowing money."

Yang Chao didn't feel ashamed at all and said it directly. It is absolutely hard for any civil servant to say it. Borrowing money from a businessman, do you want the dignity of the government?Do you want the face of a scribe?Especially for this kind of grandiose borrowing, even if literati borrow money, they are absolutely sneaky and dare not let others know.

After Yang Chao finished speaking, these wealthy businessmen stood up one by one.

"Willing to serve the Governor!"

These people said, not surprising at all.

First, they had already received news that Yang Chao came to Huizhou on loan.In the second dynasties, when the government ran out of money, they would ask merchants to raise donations, and sometimes even forced a showdown.For example, those who operate the salt industry often donate money to build embankments during floods to ensure the smooth flow of canals.

But in the past, even if the government asked them to ask for money, it was a high-ranking one. Basically, they would call them over directly, without even seeing each other, and ask them to come directly, or give the head of the line an indicator to let them go. It's the first time for someone like Yang Chao to come to the house for a showdown, which makes them feel a kind of pride, and finally has the power to officially recognize their wealth.

"I would like to give 10 taels to serve the governor!"

"My humble offering is fifty thousand."

"My humble offering is twenty thousand."

……

"My humble offering is 30."

One of them called out a donation that was much higher than others, and everyone pointed it out, not surprised, but said it was reasonable, because a son of this family passed Yang Chao's imperial examination and became a chief official in She County .

The head of the official department is just a small official, and Yang Chao appointed a seventh-rank official. In fact, his power is not comparable to that of the county magistrate. In reality, these people did not dare to compare themselves with the county magistrate.

But their family members still feel that their faces are honored, and they feel that they have become gentry, no longer a merchant, and their family is also an official family. This time, the capital contribution is not just their family, but several big merchants in the same clan. , for their lintels are shining.

30 is a lot, but Yang Chao still feels that it is not enough. These people have millions of dollars, otherwise it would not be worthwhile for Yang Chao to invite them personally. It is not a waste of time to sell more than 50 million taels.

Now among the 30 people, the most invested is only 30 yuan, and the least is 300 yuan. The total is only [-] million taels.

Yang Chao waved his hand: "Gentlemen, everyone, you misunderstood. I am not here to persuade the government to donate, but to borrow money for the government. Since it is a loan, of course it will be repaid. The three-year bond has an annual interest of only three cents. If it is Borrowing from ordinary people, I am afraid that the people will not be able to make a profit. If you borrow money from the government, your family will not be able to use it. You are all from rich and noble families, so you must give out three to five million taels, and it will not hurt your bones."

Just after Yang Chao finished speaking, the complexions of the wealthy businessmen present changed. They understood what Yang Chao meant. Three to five million yuan was Yang Chao's goal.

Immediately, the warm atmosphere became deserted, no one spoke, no one opened their mouths.

Yang Chao chuckled: "Everyone is worried about the government. But as long as the governor is here, the government will pay back the money. Right now, I am using troops in the south of the Yangtze River, so I am short of money everywhere. It is really helpless to ask you to borrow money. Everyone knows that I Supervise the opening of the imperial examination and set up a special official department. This is for all big businessmen. The official believes that the four peoples are equal! Everyone is qualified to be an official. Everyone should also serve the country. Now the government is short of money It means that the country is short of money, if we cannot borrow generously, once the northern Tartars go south, our house, land, and even our wives and children may all be taken away by the Tartars.”

The Manchu enclosure movement in Northern Zhili and Shanxi shocked the whole world, especially the enclosure in Shanxi. With the propaganda of a large number of salt merchants operating in the salt industry in Yangzhou, Huizhou merchants were also aware of it.

After Yang Chao had finished speaking, no one spoke. He overestimated the morality of these businessmen. In fact, apart from honesty, the moral values ​​of the business class are not as good as those of the rural gentry. This is culture, the integrity of businessmen It is to obtain benefits, and the ethics and ethics of the gentry class are also to safeguard their interests.

Seeing that these people did not respond, Yang Chao laughed.

"The governor doesn't want everyone to pay immediately. The governor is just letting everyone know in advance. The money is used to protect everyone's safety. Don't pay for it all at once. The governor only needs a guarantee. If the government is short of money next year If so, the governor hopes that everyone can take out 50 taels of silver at any time. The government will pay interest every year."

For acceptance, Yang Chao needs something similar to promises to be fulfilled, just like a bank's line of credit. In an emergency, let these people accept those bonds.

At this time, a businessman suddenly knelt down: "The governor, please, that most of the money from the villain is lent to pawnshops of the same clan. If you can't find it for a while, the villain is willing to serve the governor."

Yang Chao helped him up himself, and said with a smile, "This governor is not a robber. Since Mr. Wang has difficulties, I naturally dare not force him."

The businessman's surname is Wang, and he is telling the truth. The Wang family is famous for running the pawn business, but after the business is successful, many people quit, sitting on huge assets, and then train the family's children to study and move closer to the gentry class.But their huge amount of property will not be left idle, some of them will be turned into fertile land and houses, and some of them will be used for lending, some to ordinary people, some to pawnshops, and some to banks.

In the operation of pawnshops in Huizhou, if there is no capital at the beginning, they will borrow from large households. The so-called "loan to everyone in the four directions, and pay them a quarter of the interest", the annual interest rate is more than 20.00%.

Mr. Wang is just such a family. His father started the family, and in his generation he concentrates on studying. The family wealth is used to lend to the pawnshops of the same family, and it is not enough to eat every year.

But Yang Chao wouldn't believe that he couldn't come up with 50 taels of silver. These families would often hoard their silver to avoid danger, just in case, who made this world not peaceful.

"Great governor, the villain dares to ask, may our bonds be sold?"

another merchant asked in a low voice.

Yang Chao smiled and said, "Of course."

The businessman immediately said: "So, the villain is willing to buy 50."

The others looked at each other before finally expressing their opinion.

Yang Chao was a little confused at first, but after inquiring later, he found out that they planned to buy bonds from Yang Chao to save Yang Chao's face, but many people cashed in the bonds through the trading center.

But right now Yang Chao doesn't know yet, he only knows that 500 million taels of bonds have been sold, of which 1000 million taels are silver, which is the hoard of these people's homes, and then these hoards can be exchanged for silver notes and put into the market.

However, Yang Chao discovered a few years later that there was a large amount of silver exchange in Jiangnan Bank, and the focus was on wealthy merchants in Huizhou.

It turned out that they went around in a circle, first selling the low-interest bonds in their hands to the market in exchange for bank notes, and then exchanging the bank notes, turning them into silver and pulling them back home to hoard them again.

On the contrary, in the process of their large-scale selling and exchange, the bond market fluctuated on a large scale. When the bonds were at their lowest, the price fell to half of the face value, causing a wave of runs on Jiangnan Bank, and their exchange, also It caused a run and nearly collapsed the financial system.

Nassau was almost overwhelmed, so he rushed to Nanjing to ask Yang Chao for help.

Yang Chao didn't dare to be careless, and immediately discussed with Nassau.

(End of this chapter)