New Book Collection: The Rise of Great Powers 1900

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All of them were silver bills, but what Yang Chao didn't expect was that the first issuance of 10 million, three-year three-point annual interest bonds, was exchanged for 10 million silver bills, which were silver bills instead of silver.

For Jiangnan, who has fully accepted the silver ticket, the silver ticket is equivalent to silver, but for Yang Chao, this is not the case.

Yang Chao seems that silver is just a symbol, a currency linked to the economy, and there is nothing special in itself, as for the current silver, or paper money, as long as it can be accepted by the people, it is all currency.

However, if all the money is collected now, it means that a large amount of currency in the market has been siphoned off by bonds.

The absence of so much money in circulation in the market is bound to lead to deflation, which is sometimes worse than inflation, causing a massive contraction of production.

The total number of silver bills that Yang Chao pushed to the market through the bank is only 50 million, and it is already very fatal to collect one-fifth, and if he continues to issue bonds in this way, the impact will be too great.

Yang Chao has to raise funds through the private sector, but also cannot siphon out the paper money in circulation, which is a difficult operation.

After that, it was necessary to ensure that the sale of bonds would result in silver, not silver bills, because the large amount of silver bills in the hands of the people would either reduce the capital in the production field and affect the operation of the economy, or directly cause deflation, which Yang Chao was not willing to see.

"It seems that it cannot be issued to the people, and the rich people must be asked to take out the silver from the cellar!"

Yang Chao pondered for a moment, and immediately stopped the issuance of bonds, and then he was going to sell the bonds himself.

Where in the world is there more silver?

There is no doubt that it is Huizhou, before the rise of the Jin merchants, the Huizhou merchants were well-deserved as the first merchant gang.

Among the richest salt merchants in the Ming Dynasty. Merchants from the Hui Merchants were able to compete with those with Jin merchant backgrounds, while in other industries, the Hui Merchants had an overall advantage.

So Yang Chao set his sights on Huizhou to sell bonds. The reason why Huizhou is aimed at is because Huizhou has so many huge riches, crowning the Ming Dynasty, and wealthy businessmen with millions of family assets dare not say that they abound. But it's by no means rare.

All the wealthy merchants in Huizhou combined, even if the silver in the cellar is not 100 million taels, it is estimated that there are 8,000 taels, which is a huge wealth, but it is a pity that it can only be placed in the dark silver cellar and sleep silently.

If this silver can be taken out and exchanged for government bonds, and the government will exchange silver for silver bills to circulate into the market, it can be said that the increase in the circulation of currency in the Ming Dynasty will be doubled. Obviously, the dilemma of insufficient currency will become a thing of the past, and at the same time, the deposit of a large amount of silver in Jiangnan Bank will greatly boost the bank's credit, making the bank's paper money more stable and more acceptable.

But Yang Chao had to solve a problem first, that is, to ensure that the bonds promoted by the Hui merchants were to be used as much as possible to allow them to use the silver they had stored. Instead of paying with the silver ticket in hand, otherwise the purpose of expanding circulation will not be achieved. It is just that the currency in the market has been drained, and with the economic strength of the Hui merchants, it is really possible to mobilize enough paper money 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 Chinese New Year, Yang Chao immediately came to Huizhou non-stop. Come to Xiuning, the center of the pawnshop and money business.

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

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

Can't tell them. Only accept cash, otherwise these people will have to worry about whether the government began to not accept paper bills, just like the Ming treasure banknotes, these people play with money, once they start to run, it will inevitably cause more people to run on silver bills, so the paper money system will collapse.

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

This Huizhou City, the largest restaurant in She County, entertains guests, and all the people who come are local figures.

There are wealthy merchants from all counties in Huizhou, salt merchants from She County, merchants with restaurants in Jixi, pawnbrokers from Xiuning, merchants with cloth and groceries in Qimen and Yixian, all the famous local people are invited to come.

A total of thirty people were invited, basically known as a million-dollar fortune, but unfortunately the first deputy Wu Tianxing couldn't come a few years ago, because this old guy who married a hundred concubines kicked his legs, and all his Wanguan family wealth was divided up by the sons and nephews of the clan, and the Wu family was no longer so prominent.

Wu Tianxing is a legendary figure, and later generations studied him as the prototype of Ximen Qing, his family's ancestral salt merchants, and the family's garden was guided by famous people like Wen Zhengming.

But it's a pity that it was passed into the hands of Wu Tianxing, but he was frail and sickly, he couldn't have children, married more than a hundred concubines, and failed to give birth to a son and a half daughter, which is probably one of the reasons why he continued to marry concubines, no heirs, Wu Tianxing had no intention of passing on the wealth, not only crazy to build gardens, but also married concubines, all kinds of expenses were also very large, but when he died, he still left millions of family properties, which were divided by hundreds of distant nephews, and the family was not divided into tens of thousands, A maximum of 100,000 taels of silver.

Yang Chao couldn't help but regret that the principle of flat distribution stipulated by the Ming Dynasty Law made it very difficult for the capital accumulation of the Ming Dynasty's commerce, the so-called rich people are not more than three generations, these rich people often have many sons and grandchildren, even if the ancestors can make money, but after three generations, the wealth is divided by less than a dozen people, more than hundreds of people, and the huge wealth can only be differentiated, and can not be gathered to form a huge industrial capital.

Of course, many businessmen have also discovered this kind of problem, such as 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, and other sons, such as Wang Xiao, he only intends to give them a sum of money, as long as their family's main business is not divided, then the wealth can be passed on from generation to generation.

Although the Wu Tianxing family was weak because of the separation, and even withdrew from the salt industry because of this, it did not cause too much turmoil, after all, this kind of thing happens almost every year in Huizhou, every year there are new businesses rising, and there are also old businesses declining, and everyone is used to it.

Yang Chao also found out that Wu Tianxing, an old guy, was dead because he invited wealthy businessmen. I couldn't help but sigh with emotion, it had been five years since Ruan's family had been separated from the river house.

The reason why he is so obsessed with Wu Tianxing is because Yang Chao's target this time is a character like Wu Tianxing.

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

"Fathers and gentry of Huizhou. The Governor's visit to Huizhou this time was actually to borrow money. ”

Yang Chao said directly without any shame, this is absolutely difficult to talk about as any civil official, borrowing money from businessmen, do you want the dignity of the government? Do you want the face of the scribe? Especially this kind of grandiose borrowing, even if the literati borrow money, they are absolutely sneaky and dare not let people know.

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

"I am willing to serve the Metropolitan Governor!"

These people said, not at all strange.

First, they had already received the news that Yang Chao had come to Huizhou to borrow money. When the government of the second dynasty ran out of money, they would ask businessmen to raise donations, and sometimes even forced showdowns. For example, those who run the salt industry donate money to build river embankments during floods to ensure the smooth flow of canals.

But in the past, the government even asked them for money. It's also a high-minded look, and it's basically just a direct greeting to them over. didn't even see the face, just let people ask for it, or give the head of the line an indicator, let him go to the showdown, like Yang Chao, it was the first time to come to the door. It also made them feel a sense of pride that they finally had the power to officially recognize their wealth.

"The contemptible man is willing to pay 100,000 taels to serve the governor!"

"Fifty thousand."

"Twenty thousand."

……

"Three hundred thousand."

One of them shouted out a donation amount that was far higher than the others, and everyone pointed at it not strange, but said that it was right, because one of the children of this family was admitted to Yang Chao's imperial examination. He became a director of the department in She County.

The head of the official department is just a small official, Yang Chao is a seven-rank official, in fact, the power is not as good as the county order, in fact, these people do not dare to compare themselves with the county order, and they also visit the county order honestly when they see the county order.

But their family still felt that there was light on their faces, and they felt that they had become gentlemen, no longer a businessman, and their family was also an official eunuch.

300,000 is a lot, but Yang Chao still feels that it is not enough, these people each have millions of dollars, otherwise it is not worth Yang Chao to invite them personally, Yang Chao thinks that each of them can contribute 500,000 yuan to buy bonds, so that they can sell more than 10 million taels, so it is not a trip in vain.

Now the largest of these 30 people has contributed 300,000 yuan, and the least is 230,000 yuan, adding up to a total of only 2 or 3 million taels.

Yang Chao waved his hand: "Gentlemen. Everyone misunderstood, the official did not come to persuade donations, but to borrow money for the government. Since it is a loan, of course it will be repaid. Three-year bonds with an annual interest rate of only three cents. If you borrow from ordinary people, you are afraid that the people will not be able to make a profit, so you lend money to the government, and your family's daily needs will not be enough. You are all rich and noble, and you must come up with three or five hundred thousand taels, and it will not hurt your muscles and bones. ”

As soon as Yang Chao finished speaking, the faces of the rich businessmen present changed one by one, they understood what Yang Chao meant, three or five hundred thousand yuan was Yang Chao's purpose, and this was a sum of money that made them feel painful.

Suddenly the warm atmosphere was deserted, no one spoke, no one spoke.

Yang Chao smiled: "I'm afraid you don't worry about the government." However, as long as the governor is there, the government will pay back the money. At the moment, I am using troops in Jiangnan, so I am short of money everywhere. It's really helpless to ask you to borrow money. As you all know, this governor opens the imperial examination and establishes the official department. This is for all the big merchants. This official thinks that Shinong industry and commerce, the four people are equal! Everyone is qualified to be an official. Everyone should also serve the country. Now that the government is short of money, the state is short of money, and if everyone can't borrow generously. Once the northern Tartars go south, we will be robbed of our houses, land, and even our wives and children. ”

The Manchu enclosure movement in Beizhili and Shanxi terrified the whole world, especially the enclosure in Shanxi, which was also clear to the Hui merchants with the propaganda of a large number of salt merchants who operated the salt industry in Yangzhou.

After Yang Chao finished speaking, still no one spoke, he overestimated the morality of these businessmen, in fact, in addition to integrity, the morality of the merchant class is not as good as that of the rural gentry class, this is culture, the integrity of businessmen is to obtain benefits, and the etiquette and morality of the gentry class are also to safeguard their interests.

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

"The Governor doesn't want you to pay for it right away. The Governor is just giving everyone a hint in advance. All this money is used to protect everyone's safety. And I don't want you to pay all at once. The Governor only needs a guarantee, and if the government is short of money next year, the Governor hopes that you can come up with 500,000 taels of silver at any time. The government pays interest every year. ”

Acceptance, Yang Chao needs a similar promise to fulfill, just like a bank's line of credit, in an emergency, let these people accept those bonds.

At this time, a merchant suddenly knelt down: "Most of the governors are good, and most of the money from the villain's family is lent to the pawnshops of the same clan. can't be drawn out for a while, and the villain is willing to serve the governor. ”

Yang Chao personally helped him up and said with a smile: "Bendu is not a robber. Since Master Wang is in trouble, the governor naturally does not dare to force it. ”

The businessman's surname is Wang, and he is also telling the truth, the Wang family is famous for running a pawn business, but after the business is successful, many people quit, sitting on huge assets, and then training the children of the family to study and move closer to the gentry class. But their huge wealth will not be idle, some of them will be turned into fertile land, houses, and some will be taken out for loans, some to ordinary people, some to pawnshops, and some to money banks.

The operation of pawnshops in Huizhou, if there is no capital at the beginning, will lend to large households, the so-called "loan to everyone in the Quartet, repay their tithes and three interest", the annual interest rate is more than 20 percent.

Mr. Wang is such a family, his father started when he started, and in his generation, he concentrated on studying, and the family wealth was used to lend money to the pawnshop of the same clan, and it was not eaten every year.

But to say that he can't take out 500,000 taels of silver, Yang Chao doesn't believe it, these families often hide silver to avoid danger, just in case, who makes this world not peaceful.

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

Another merchant asked in a whisper.

Yang Chao smiled: "Naturally." ”

The merchant immediately said, "In this way, the villain is willing to buy 500,000." ”

The others glanced at each other, and then finally made a statement.

Yang Chao was a little confused at first, but later found out that they planned to buy bonds from Yang Chao, which was considered to give Yang Chao a face, but many people cashed out the bonds through the trading center.

But at the moment, Yang Chao didn't know, he only knew that fifteen million taels of bonds had been sold, of which 10 million taels were silver, which were the cellars of these people's homes, and then they could be exchanged for silver tickets and put them on the market.

However, Yang Chao found out a year later that Jiangnan Bank had a large amount of silver exchange, and the focus was on the wealthy merchants in Huizhou.

It turned out that they went around in a circle, first sold the low-interest bonds in their hands to the market in exchange for silver tickets, and then exchanged the silver bills into silver and pulled them home to hide in the cellar again.

On the contrary, in the process of their large-scale selling and exchange, the bond market fluctuated on a large scale, and when the bonds were at their lowest, they actually fell to half of the face value, causing a wave of runs on Jiangnan Bank, and their exchange also caused a run, almost causing the collapse of the financial system.

Nassau was almost unbearable to deal with, and urgently ran to Nanjing to ask Yang Chao for help.

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