.Chapter 775: Evening Autumn

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Outside the silent signing room, two trees were planted, one was a persimmon tree and the other was also a persimmon tree. It was almost late autumn, and the leaves on the branches fell and were covered with red persimmons like small lanterns, which looked very beautiful.

Sitting in front of the bright window with the Hunan curtain straight up, Zhang Juzheng talked happily. The 'one-whip' method he mentioned was to compile all the land tax, corvee, various miscellaneous and tributes in a prefecture and county into one piece, and fold it into two pieces to pay, and then end it with the official. It was called 'one-wrapped' because the 'one-wrapped' was homophoned and whip was later called 'one-whip'.

Before the emergence of the One-whip law, the farmers' burden on the court mainly included four parts: one was the land tax, the second was the specialty area to pay local products to the court... For example, Hangzhou wanted to pay tribute to tea, Huzhou wanted to pay silk, Yunnan wanted tribute to wood, etc.... Third, strong men had to perform labor service, and fourth, in addition to the regular service, there were various additional miscellaneous differences.

This tax system is extremely unreasonable. First, look at the farmers. Because the land tax is all about grain and wheat, during the summer and autumn tax payment period, each guarantee and each company collects all the tax grains and sends them to the villages by vehicles and ships, and then from townships and counties, from county to county and prefecture to transport the warehouses of the governors. During this period, they do not know how much transportation capacity will be consumed, and they do not know how much burden the grain households have increased due to losses along the way. At the same time, they also have to bear heavy labor. In addition to the regular service, the government will arbitrarily send miscellaneous disabilities and use labor for free, which seriously affects the normal production activities of farmers and firmly binds them to the land, making society lack free labor.

The result was that the farmers were suffering and struggled on the bankruptcy line and experienced a large number of escapes. The country suffered huge losses due to the exploitation of corrupt officials. Especially the lack of money at their disposal, they could not extricate themselves from the economic crisis for a long time.

Reform is imperative and has long become a consensus among knowledgeable people. In fact, before the One Whip Law, from the late Hongwu period to the present 150 years, this dynasty has seen a series of tax reforms, such as the "equal tax law", "equal flat silver", "outline silver", "one method of levying one method", "ten section brocade method", "one string of bell method", etc., proposed and implemented by different people at different times and places.

However, no matter what the name is, they regard the 'tax and silver collection' as the main reform content, and implement the principle of 'unification of taxes and service, unification of silver'. In other words, 'the 'tax and silver transformation' has become an enduring call. It has not declined with time, but has become louder and louder. Because it has changed the traditional method of collecting taxes in all dynasties and serving in various dynasties, which not only reduces the burden on the people, but also helps the court increase its income, benefiting the country and the people, and cannot be erased at will.

The one-whip method was first proposed by Gui E, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet in the ninth year of Jiajing. He thought that "all the difference is not divided, whether there is a vocation or not, and the land will be collected." Then, Fu Hanchen, the Censor of the Military Land, formally wrote: "I have been practicing the one-whip method. Ten-arms are divided into one li, the grain of diligence is in one county, the county is in the prefecture, and the government is in the governing department. They are all assigned to a province of labor service. The late emperor approved it at that time and first pilot it in more than ten prefectures in Nanzhili, Huguang, Shanxi and other provinces. Nearly fifty years have passed since then, because of the harsh nature of the Jiajing Dynasty and the obstruction of the opponents, this method was implemented intermittently. By the end of Jiajing, there was a danger of silence.

But the situation changed after a person appeared on the stage of power. This person was Gao Gong. Although Gao Suqing had many problems, he was a very pure reformist and spared no effort to support the One Whip Technique. Therefore, from the day he entered the cabinet, Gao Gong began to shout loudly, demanding that this method be implemented nationwide.

But the power was still in the hands of Xu Jie, the chief assistant of the cabinet. Xu Jie's view on the one-whip method was completely opposite to Gao Gong. He believed that this method was not advisable. "Although many great merchants and merchants had money, they were exempted from labor because they had no land. As a result, the clothes were not covered, and the farmers who worked hard all year round were trapped by them." And because the farmers also said that the new law, regardless of households, only the amount of land, many people gave up the land to avoid the service. "And the one-whip method, regardless of warehouse entrance, did not open the number of stones, and only opened the silver per mu, which caused the officials and letters to be traitors, and the increase and decrease of the sprinklers, and there were many disadvantages." The reasons for opposition were also very sufficient, and Gao Gong could not convince him.

But Gao Gong's whistle was like a stone stirring up a thousand waves. Many local officials came to express their conspiracy. Gao Gong argued for them. Even Xu Jie could not ignore it. He could only agree that the Jiangxi governor Song Yiwang and Guangdong Governor Pang Shangpeng would choose several prefectures to implement it in Jiangxi and Guangdong. To put it in just a few months.

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Zhang Juzheng felt extremely keen. He realized that the implementation of the One Whip Law would be accompanied by a good opportunity for monetary reform while "monetizing taxes". As long as a certain currency can be used to pay taxes, the orthodox status of this currency will be quickly established. If the Ming Dynasty Baochao was to be reformed, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Before he discussed the implementation, he discussed collecting it first. Zhang Juzheng's reform of Baochao gave people strong confidence at the beginning... He believed that if the people were confident in Baochao and then widely accepted and circulated throughout the society, the best way was to stipulate that the court should use Baochao to pay taxes with Baochao. If silver was used, you should buy the banknotes first and then use the banknotes to pay taxes. He believed that if the government took the lead in collecting banknotes, the people's confidence in Baochao would be established in less than a year.

Of course, the treasure banknote he refers to is a product of the so-called "currency reform", and it is more appropriate to call it "new treasure banknote".

It should be said that Zhang Juzheng's plan is very high. First, he summarized the failed experience of banknotes in the past and contemporary times, and came up with a basic principle, "firstly seek no burden on the people, then seek benefits for the country," so that he would not become Sang Hongyang and Wang Mang who seized the benefits of the people.

Then, regarding the reform of the Daming Baochao, he put forward three specific principles:

First, the status of newly issued treasure banknotes should only be used to "support silver and money" rather than to abandon silver and money and get rid of money. After the new treasure banknotes are issued, the silver and money will not withdraw from circulation, but will be circulated at the same time as the treasure banknotes at a certain value ratio.

Second, treasure banknotes should be issued by, and can only be issued by the Ministry of Revenue, and limited issuance. Otherwise, there will be no fixed number of banknotes, and it will be endless, which seems to be a big profit, but I don’t know that the more they are, the cheaper they are.

Third, treasure banknotes must be cashable and are officially accepted. Specifically, in addition to allowing the people to pay money and grain with money, the people are also allowed to hold the banknotes and receive cash silver... Of course, the court will pay a certain fee to the bill number as a reward; allow shops to exchange banknotes for silver; allow pawns to enter and exit the pawns to use treasure banknotes...

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Sinu held the teacup and sipped the Mingqian transported from Hangzhou. He had a habit of always putting his hands on the edge of the teacup when holding more important talks with others. In this way, when the other party’s topic is more complicated, he could take the teacup and drink it before he spoke. This not only moistened his throat and kept the voice soft, but also created opportunities for himself to think.

Now, Zhang Juzheng reveals the plan for currency reform to himself. It is obvious that his purpose is to build a monetary system with the Ministry of Revenue as the absolute leader and widely recognized by all sectors of society. Zhang Juzheng has realized that currency cannot be issued indiscriminately, must be convertible, and must have a certain amount of credit. It should be said that he has the basic elements of establishing a monetary system.

What's even more rare is that he was also clearly aware that the infamous Ming Baochao for nearly two hundred years had caused the people to lose their trust in the court. In addition, the government itself was corrupt and inefficient and could not win the trust of the people. However, the money bank had a high credit among the people, so he had the idea of ​​using the reputation and institutions of the bill to promote monetary reform.

Silence even thought that if he hadn't wanted to use the power of the Piaohao, Zhang Juzheng wouldn't have come to discuss it with him, and he would have finalized the matter himself.

But since he came to talk to him, he would have a chance...to persuade him to give up this idea.

Yes, Silence disapproves of this kind of monetary reform.

Everyone is calling for reform, as if reform is the general trend, but how many people can understand what China, which was in the 16th century, actually needs? What is not needed? If you don’t understand this problem, you will get half the result with twice the effort and even have a counterproductive effect.

To be honest, there is no one who really understands, including himself, and Zhang Juzheng. Social reform is a systematic project that involves a wide range of issues. Supercomputers in the 21st century cannot be considered completely. What's more, under the current conditions, just relying on one's own brain to think about it?

At this time, the knowledge brought by silence from five hundred years later became extremely precious. Although silence did nothing practical in the past two years, he also gained a lot of time to recall the knowledge he learned in his previous life, then apply it to reality, carefully considering all aspects of the politics, economy, military, thought, culture, etc. of the Ming Dynasty. The whole process was lonely, painful and long, but the harvest was also extremely precious. He finally had a deep and rational understanding of this changing society, which allowed him to stand at a height that was unattainable in the world and look at some practical problems.

For example, in this currency reform, Zhang Juzheng's view is already extraordinary, but he is still restricted by his own official position, knowledge, vision and other aspects. It is not in line with the general trend and may even hinder the development of history.

The silent view is that from the perspective of the government, this reform will bring about many benefits such as growth in fiscal revenue, increase in economic regulation capabilities, etc. But from the perspective of the country and history, this reform is actually unnecessary, or unnecessary.

He has good reason to support his judgment:

First of all, what kind of reform is meaningful? It must be a reform that is uncontrollable for society itself. So has the Baochao really reached a point where it must be changed? From the perspective of itself and the Ministry of Revenue, Baochao, which is so rotten that it is hard to wipe its butt, is of course like this.

But from the perspective of the entire society, it seems that this is not the case. Throughout the history of China and foreign countries, it is because there is a lack of sufficient hard currency in social circulation that paper money appears as supplements or even substitutes.

Why did paper money first appear in China? From the Tang Dynasty, to the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and Jin all had various forms of paper money? It is not that the Chinese had advanced financial ideas, but that China has never been the origin of precious metals such as gold, silver and copper. When the social and economic development reached a certain level, precious metals representing value were seriously scarce and paper money had to be supplemented.

After the founding of this dynasty, it was facing a long-term "money shortage" of extremely scarce precious metals and unable to meet the needs of social production and exchange, which led to serious deflation, which seriously hindered the development of the commodity economy. If the situation remains unchanged, then monetary reform is imperative, and silence will help him implement a reliable monetary system at all costs.

But the current situation is that with the advent of the Age of Discovery, the development of South America, and the discovery of Japanese silver mines, the world's silver stock is extremely abundant. Although these silvers are not owned by China. However, in foreign trade, China is in an unparalleled position. A large amount of silver began to flow into China through the trade surplus. At this time, whether or not domestic silver is produced is no longer important.

As the pioneer of the foreign trade of this dynasty and the founder of the Maritime Manufacturing Department, Chen Mo had the most authoritative data in his hands, which could prove his point of view. In the 44 years and 10 years of Jiajing alone, the silver imported from Malacca from Macau reached 14 million taels, which was approximately equivalent to twice the total output of China's official silver mines during the thirty-year heyday of the Ming Dynasty. This is not the case with the silver flowing from Japan to China, and more from the Americas to the Spice Islands and then transporting it into China.

Moreover, silver flows into China not only for one trade route, because there is a large difference in the price ratio of gold and silver in China, Japan and Europe, and the price ratio of gold and silver in China is between 1 to 5 and 1 to 7; while the price ratio of gold and silver in Japan is between 1 to 12 and 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 15; if silver in Europe is imported from Japan and America to China for gold, you can make more than double the profit. Of course, only a few giant merchants are qualified to play such high-end games, such as Wang Zhi, the Governor of Portugal... such as the Shen family.

In short, when silver is pouring into China and the country's currency supply is sufficient, it is the only way to actively promote the establishment of the silver standard. As for the Ming Dynasty Baochao, let it continue to rot and completely withdraw from the stage of history.

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Since society can digest the contradictions through its own regulation, there is no need to reform again. If reforms are necessary at this time, it will only increase the burden on the court, cause trouble for the society, and create opportunities for corrupt officials to fill their pockets.

"And even if you can suppress your impulse and not over-production, how can you ensure that your successor will not over-production? At that time, your kindness will become an accomplice of those who plunder the people's wealth." When Silence told Zhang Juzheng his opinion incisively, he saw this deep and restrained young reformer, his face was obviously pale.

Silence, long-term silence, one is thinking, the other is thinking.

After a long time, Zhang Juzheng woke up from contemplation and picked up the teacup, but found that it had been empty. He went to get the teapot in silence and found that it was empty inside.

Not wanting to let someone come in and interrupt his thoughts, Zhang Juzheng stopped the silence and called people, and looked at him with a scattered look and said, "In terms of currency system, I admit that you are my teacher."

"I dare not take it." Chen Jing said, your expression seemed to be about to eat me, the teacher.

"But you dare say that you are thinking from the standpoint of the world, not for the endorsement of some people?" At this moment, Zhang Juzheng was like a sword unsheathed, and the cold light was soaring that he was scared to death.

Silent but Gu Jing looked at him without any trouble and said lightly: "The spiritual platform has no way to escape the divine arrow, the wind and rain are like a rock and dark homeland. I don't care about it, I recommend Xuanyuan with my blood." The ghosts and gods teased me and came to my hometown five hundred years ago. Even if no one knew or understood, for the sake of that little hope, I would be willing to sacrifice my flesh and blood to a mother who was suffering and disaster...

Zhang Juzheng would not understand what kind of beliefs and sorrows were hidden behind this poem, but he could hear that it was silent and cleared his mind, so he said in a deep voice: "Then please tell me honestly that since there is no need to make money, why should you let Huilianhao issue banknotes in the southeast?"

"That's not paper money, but bank coupons that can be exchanged for cash bank at any time." Chen Si was not surprised that he knew this secret, so he naturally guessed that he would have such a question.

"Just just say it another way?" Zhang Juzheng narrowed his eyes and said with a cold light.

"The difference is too big." Chen Jing said without rushing: "From the issuance, if Huilian Number wants to issue a certain amount of bank coupons, it must first receive a gold and silver of the same amount. The gold and silver are kept in the Huilian Number's vault, and people can exchange it at any time. Once the ticket number pays gold and silver, the equal amount of bank coupons will be destroyed immediately to keep the number of bank coupons in circulation and equal the amount of gold and silver in stock." Speaking of this, he pulled the topic on Rishenglong and said: "So, even if there is a run in Rishenglong, Huilian Number is not worried. At worst, it will take back all the bank coupons and return the gold and silver to everyone."

"This is the difference between banknotes and paper currency. Banknotes are required to be recognized throughout the country, but banknotes are only accepted by the bill number issued. The banknotes of Huilian will not recognize them, and vice versa." Silently looked at Zhang Juzheng, you have the foresight of the genius, and I have more than five hundred years of experience. Let's see who can say who has ever said.

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Chapter completed!