Five days later, Zhao Xin signed a loan agreement on behalf of Beihai Town and Guangnan, and paid the first period of 600,000 silver dollars through the Bacheng Military Control Commission.

This time the loan period is ten years, with an annual interest of 3%, and the payment method is divided into three periods. The currency part of 1.2 million silver dollars will be delivered within half a year, and the other 800,000 will be completed in one year by arms supplies. The weapons and ammunition quotations provided by Beihai Town have been made into booklets, and Nguyen Phuc Jing has to take them back and carefully consider them. Finally, it will be decided by Nguyen Phuc Ying. Just like before, 300,000 silver dollars will be paid in copper coins. Now the mint in Hoi An is so busy that it is too busy to pay.

Chen Yan got the first-level agent of cooling oil as he wished. In addition, Zhao Xin also asked the Bacheng Trade Department and Chen Yan to sign a wood purchase agreement with a total amount of up to 5 million silver dollars. The two parties agreed that the Chen family's business would provide Beihai Town with a large amount of shipbuilding wood, including titanium and teak, to Beihai Town within five years, and the delivery location was set at the Ganlingao base.

This big order from heaven made Chen Lei very good. After the agreement was signed, she immediately told Nguyen Phuc Jing that she had half of the share, and she would not dare to take such a large business. In her heart, she thought Zhao Xin was expressing his apology in some way, but she didn't know that the latter did not mean this at all.

Zhao Xin bought so much wood, in addition to Beihai Town, he also was inspired by the "fishing cooperative" of Kong Shaoan. Nowadays, shipbuilding in the northern coastal areas almost all use fir and pine wood from the south. Not to mention the price, most of the boats used by fishermen are single-mast boats, which are insufficient power. Moreover, due to the Qing Dynasty's sea ban policy, the largest fishing boat only has 500 stones, equivalent to 30 tons. It is impossible to even think about going to the overseas fishing.

After finishing all this, Zhao Xin closed the door and talked to He Xiwen, who had rushed back from Xilang, for an afternoon. The next morning, he took A Miao and the guard company on a journey back north.

Seeing the huge Thunder God's departure, Chen Qi felt a little more disappointed for some reason. If it weren't for the head of the family, she would really want to go to Beihai Town to take a look.

A day later, the Thor stopped near the outlet of the Kajiang River in West Borneo. He had received notice in advance and had been waiting for the new port, including Luo Fangbai, Xie Jie and other Chinese figures boarded the boat to pay their respects.

This matter was decided long ago, but it was postponed for a few days because of the arrival of the Guangnan delegation. Zhao Xin felt that instead of letting these Chinese brothers go to Bacheng in a scattered manner, it was better to come here by yourself and arrive at them all at once.

When the harmonious meeting scene ended, Zhao Xin held a meeting with more than 20 Chinese brothers in the conference room on the boat. His move made the elders feel very proud. You should know that the future "emperor" in front of us has no one who can even be a fame and official, and he can sit in the room with the emperor to "discuss national affairs". Who would believe it if he said it!

Everyone here, including Luo Fangbai, Wu Yuansheng and Xie Jie, was about to erect a monument when they went back and wrote a special book on this matter.

However, the next words of "Emperor Zhao" hit these big brothers in the head.

He told these Chinese brothers in a serious tone that considering the contracts signed by the companies, this year was like this. However, starting from New Year's Day in 1794, Chinese mines in West Borneo were prohibited from selling gold and silver to maritime merchants, or directly purchasing materials with gold and silver. In the future, all gold and silver produced in West Borneo will be exclusively purchased by the Bacheng Military Control Commission; in addition, half of the output of the tin mine must also be purchased by Bacheng. Diamond is not listed here, so it is sold at will.

"This matter will be issued by various administrative agencies in West Borneo in the form of government orders, and it must be communicated to every mine before the New Year comes!"

As Zhao Xin said, he looked around the Chinese brothers present with a shocked look on his face. He continued: "I will put ugly words in front of you. Next year, no matter which company it is, he will dare to sell gold and silver to foreign merchants. As long as it is found out, the mine will not only have to be fined, but also go to jail!"

The half-hour meeting ended soon. When Zhao Xin left with Chai Rugui and others, everyone in the room was silent. Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie winked each other, then stood up and followed, leaving behind a group of Chinese brothers looking at each other.

Zhao Xin knew Luo and Xie and the others would come to him soon. He was really lazy to explain to the group of elder brothers just now. His Beijing accent made many people feel like they were listening to the heavenly books; almost every time he said a sentence, Luo Fangbai had to translate it in Hakka dialect, which was really long-winded.

When Luo and Xie came in, they found that the furnishings in the cabin were not as magnificent as they imagined, but were simple, which gave them a little more understanding of Zhao Xin.

"Your Highness, Shuchen and others are stupid, this prohibits the use of gold and silver..."

"I don't understand, right?"

Zhao Xin smiled slightly, waved his hand and let the two sit down, and then said, "I'll ask you one thing first. How many Western gold and silver coins are circulating in the entire Southeast Asia now?"

Luo Fangbai thought for a while and said, "There are always dozens of kinds."

“How much is the total circulation?”

The two of them were stunned when they heard this, thinking that they could not count them.

"So do you two know why foreign money can become popular in Southeast Asia?"

Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie thought about it and the answers they gave included easy carrying, easy counting, difficult to forge, stable silver quality, etc. However, after hearing this, Zhao Xin told them that you were right, but there is another point that the reason why foreign money flowed into the entire East Asia was because some foreign merchants were making money through money.

"What does Your Highness mean to be a money interest?" After all, he was a scholar, and Luo Fangbai reacted quickly.

"Yes!" Zhao Xin nodded, and then explained to the two of them.

It is said that under the Qing Dynasty's tribute system, except for the Edo Shogunate, the other countries in East Asia implemented a monetary policy of "using both silver and coins in the same system". In addition, the entire Qing Dynasty's monetary standard system could not be generalized. It was neither a copper nor a silver nor a parallel standard.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content later! The biggest problem here is that under the system of the small peasant economy, whether it is making money or not, it is silver as the accounting center. However, whether it is broken silver or silver ingots is not currency, it is essentially silver dollars.

For this kind of monetary system where silver and money are in the opposite direction - "silver is used for large numbers and money is used for decimal numbers", the correct statement should be "a replica system of silver and copper metal parallel." It is completely different from the Western monetary system.

When these silver blocks that were minted into ingots entered the market for circulation, due to their excessive value, the complete ingots silver was divided into broken silver, and were hidden in the cellar through the exchange of the money shop, or turned into various silverware, thus exiting the circulation field and returning to the state of precious metals.

This is also why later generations say that China in the Ming and Qing dynasties was the ultimate funnel of the world's silver. Think about the example of Shanxi merchants like to cast silver and winter melons. One 1,600 taels, robbers can't take it away, but can this thing be taken out for circulation?

So good, in this kind of currency silverization, since each silver block cannot be unified in terms of specifications, quality and weight, each payment requires a complex procedure of identifying quality and weighing the weight, which urgently requires a silver coin with a certain quality and specification in the market to enable rapid capital turnover.

The emergence of foreign money just satisfies this demand. Nowadays, it is not just Nanyang and Guangdong, but it is almost everywhere except in the northwest and northeast. Among them, after the Dutch horse money, American silver dollars and Mariatrica silver coins flow into the mainland, due to their unstable quality, they are usually melted into silver blocks by merchants; the Mexican Eagle Ocean issued by the Spanish is also the most circulating.

The Yingyang used on the market today is large, medium and small third grade. The larger ones weigh about seven cents and two cents, the middle ones are half yuan, and the smaller ones are one quarter. Among the third grades, the larger ones are mainly the silver content, and the silver content is 90.1824%.

In the Guangzhou market, 100 New Mexican Eagle Ocean can be exchanged for 72 taels of silver ingots. How did this exchange relationship come about? It is very simple, the weight is 2,700 grams for both (the Qing liang is 37.5 grams).

But the problem is that the content of sterling silver of 100 Mexican Eagle Ocean is 2430 grams; the content of sterling silver of 72 taels of silver ingots is as high as 2538 grams; because the silver content of silver ingots is 94%. From this, it can be seen that the difference in sterling silver between the two is 103.1 grams, which means there is a floating amount of 4.04%.

It didn't seem to be much, but after the Opium War in another time and space, the Qing government compensated the British 21 million silver dollars, and the floating amount of this part alone was 577,000 taels, indicating that there is a huge amount of eagle oceans circulating among the people.

There is more foreign money in the circulation field, while there are fewer high-quality silver ingots; they are either smuggled out of the country or stored in pieces by rich people. This has also led to less and less silver on the market, which has led to "high silver and low money". Since the 30th year of Qianlong, the price comparison of silver and money across the country has begun to rise, from an average of around 800 ci to more than 1,000 ci.

The rise in price comparison between silver and money has also caused prices to continue to rise, and people's livelihood is becoming increasingly difficult. Don't forget that the daily use of the people at the bottom is to make money, while the prices are anchored by silver.

Zhao Xin has been paying attention to the currency issues of the Qing Dynasty over the years, especially in Bacheng, when he saw a large number of silver coins from various countries circulating on the market. He turned into a "straw-hat boy" and talked carefully with some maritime merchants from Fujian and Guangdong, and then he discovered the serious problems.

After understanding the key point, he quickly notified the Beihai Town Mint, reducing the silver content of Beihai silver dollars from 925 to 900, and increasing the production of copper coins.

Although the silver content has been reduced, since most of the commodities in Beihai Town are purchased and sold in a unified manner, especially the prices of grain and industrial products are priced by Beihai Trading Company, the purchasing power has not been affected at all. For merchants and money shops under the Qing Dynasty, Beihai silver dollars are far superior to those of Mexican Yingyang because of their production technology, even if the water head is a little less, it is still easy to use.

Zhao Xin finally said: "The right to mint coins is the embodiment of the highest power of the country, and is as inviolable as the throne of the emperor. Whoever holds the right to mint coins has the power to dominate the resources of the entire country. Dare to compete with the country for the right to mint coins is equivalent to rebellion!"

Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie were still confused after listening to Zhao Xin's long speech, but Zhao Xin's last two sentences were heavy, and the two of them were sweating on their foreheads. You should know that in the Chinese mines in West Borneo, tin coins privately minted by various companies have always been popular.

"You go back and think about it carefully, and then guide the heads of other companies. I have said everything I should say, and the preparation time is also reserved for you. Confucius said, killing without teaching is called abuse, not being cautious about taking the result is called violence, and being slow to lead to the order is called thief. Commissioner Luo, what do you think?"

"I understand."

The Thor stayed in West Borneo for only one night. Zhao Xin didn't ask for the gifts sent by Chinese brothers from various families and the Sultan of Pontianak, and Chai Rugui was blocked back with joy. For him, as long as he controlled the gold in West Borneo, it would be more useful than any gift.

On the way north, he originally wanted to go to Nanjiuzhou and Jiaodong to check it out, but Wang Zhong had to give up with a telegram a day.

On September 11, 1793, at noon on the first day of the eighth lunar month, Thor slowly sailed into the wharf of Whale Bay. When Zhao Xin got off the boat, Wang Zhong and others who came to greet him came up.

When Wang Zhong saw Zhao Xin, he teased: "Your Highness, you are finally back. If you don't go back, Wang will have to take a boat to Nanyang to find you."

Zhao Xin smiled and bowed, "Mr. Rong Fu, I'm really sorry, there are too many things to deal with. You also know that I am a person who can't stay idle."

Because Yuan Mei, Zhao Yi and several of their disciples were present, Wang Zhong didn't know how to say anything else, so he immediately introduced Zhao Xin one by one.

"Yuan Zicai, Qiantang, pay homage to His Highness King Zhao."

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content behind! "Are you a lay Buddhist Cangshan? You have long admired the name!"

"Zhao Yunsong, Yanghu, pay homage to His Highness, King Zhao."

"Mr. Oubei, I have long admired you!"

Zhao Xin smiled and bowed, while looking at Yuan and Zhao.

Needless to say, Yuan Mei's name is called out. Unlike what he imagined, 77-year-old Yuan Mei is a thin old man wearing a felt hat, wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead, his gray beard is about one foot long, wearing a dark gray lake silk robe and black vest, wearing a new black cloth shoes, and holding a cane in his hands.

Compared to Yuan Mei's style of being a rich man, Zhao Yi looks like Mr. Dongbai, who teaches a private school. This man is thin and wearing a local cloth gown, his vest is cotton, and his shoes look gray and about to wear. However, although he is not good at looking, his eyes are bright and energetic. In "Mencius", he says that if his chest is not upright, his eyes will be shady. Zhao Xin also concludes from this that this old man is a person with a good mind and worth dating.

By the way, you are looking at others, and others are looking at you too. When Yuan Mei and Zhao Yi first arrived in Beihai Town, they heard that King Zhao didn’t talk much about etiquette and were usually very easy-going. When they met on the first day of the first day of the lunar calendar, it turned out that much of the tension and anxiety in their hearts had gone.

It has been two whole months since the two of them came to Beihai Town. Except for not seeing Zhao Xin, they have seen everything else they can see. Not only did they take the train to Heilongjiang City, but they also took a steamboat to take a walk around the Triling Shiji and worshiped the Yongning Monument. The vast area of ​​Beihai Town, the prosperous town, and the endless large wheat fields, surprised the two of them and said that the trip was worthy.

They have read the notes of their predecessors before and know that they are very large outside the pass, but there is no specific concept. Moreover, whether it is Fang Gonggan's "Jiuyuji" or Yang Bin's "Jiubaji", although it depicts a lot of customs and cultures, it also mentions the hardships of the natural environment.

However, what surprised them was that whether it was Boli, which was located at the intersection of the three rivers, or Heilongjiang City, not to mention Furdan City and Beihai Town, they were all streets and alleys, densely populated, and any house was filled with red bricks and black tiles, which was no worse than the inner city, and they were even more prosperous.

There were too many things that they couldn't understand in Beihai Town. In addition to boats, there were also various agricultural machinery and trains galloping in the fields. When Zhao Yi, who learned that the green tractor that was almost three people tall could cultivate hundreds of acres of land in a day, was surprised that his chin was dislocated.

Compared with Zhao Yi, Yuan Mei's trip was not only full of vision, but also had a great time. In order to take good care of their daily life and diet, Zhao Xin's wife Chen Xuan specially transferred a Yangzhou chef from home to the house. Fry and stew every day, and various delicacies and seafood were eaten. Yuan Mei was very excited. You should know that many dishes in Beihai Town came from another time and space. He felt that he was very open this time, and "Suiyuan Food List" can enrich a lot of content.

By the way, both of them got what they wanted and were hired as consultants for the new imperial examination, and were also honorary examiners. In order to show their formality, Yu Deli specially prepared two gold-plated red certificates, and asked Wang Zhong to write the content, and finally stamped them with the seal of the Civil Affairs Committee.
Chapter completed!