On the 31st day of the tenth month of the first year of Longwu, the meritorious officials of the Korean campaign arrived at the port of Tianjin, then changed to warhorses and galloped to the capital, ready to meet the Emperor.
Xiao Ruxun ordered the commander-in-chief and generals of the Korean war to meet him together to tell him about the course of the war, the results of the war, and the follow-up situation, such as the situation in Korea and Jianzhou, and so on.
Also, Xiao Ruxun decided to summon Mao Wenlong alone.
The battle of Bozhou was about to begin, and it was time for a group of outstanding young Generals to shine. Instead of just letting the Generals on the northern expedition take the limelight, the new Generals needed to experience and grow as well. Battles after battles were fought not only for money and Great Qin's Fate, but also for future Generals and Ministers.
The civil and military officials who stand out in the war are the most valuable talents.
The main generals of the Liaodong Corps led by Liao Zhong, including Jiang Dahai, arrived at the palace on the first day of the eleventh month to meet Xiao Ruxun. After the morning court, Xiao Ruxun went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to summon them.
At present, the Daqin army was still on the Korean soil, helping the King of Korea stabilize the place, intimidating the rebels, and maintaining the rule of Korea. They also came to ask the Emperor for advice on the next strategy and how the army should continue to move.
They didn't feel tired from the war, they had enough military achievements.
The Daqin army was like a wolf and a tiger.
Xiao Ruxun had just gone to the Imperial Court to discuss with the ministers about the administration of horses, education, Dazhi Avenue, and many other matters. Silver was spent like flowing water. Even though the mountains of gold and silver in Jiangnan were inconceivably large, spending money like flowing water to build infrastructure was not known when this mountain of gold and silver would be completely spent.
Therefore, he had been very concerned about the trade between the five ports. He was even organizing an ocean-going merchant fleet, preparing to make another trip to the Europa continent to fish for gold.
They used triangular trade to earn bloody gold and silver, while Daqin used clean goods to wash the gold and silver and then brought it to Daqin. As an existence like a silver black hole, Daqin's ability to absorb gold was not ordinary.
Of course, inflation was also within his consideration, but at this time, the situation was slightly different.
Due to the large increase in the circulation of money, the productivity could not keep up, which led to the value of goods and the depreciation of the currency. This was not unheard of in history. The Jiaozi and Daming Banknotes of the Song Dynasty were randomly distributed in such a way that their reputations were ruined. Nowadays, the people were extremely distrustful of paper money.
So much so that Zhang Juzheng used a whip to determine the status of silver as a currency, basically replacing the circulation of Daming Banknotes, ending the meaning of the existence of Daming Banknotes. The purchasing power of silver increased greatly, basically replacing people's demand for paper money.
How heavy was one tael of silver? It could buy 377 catties of rice. What was the difference between it and paper money?
The bankruptcy of Song Jiaozi and Ming Bao Banknotes had caused Xiao Ruxun to be unable to properly reform the currency. There would also be many disputes over the weight and quality of the silver in circulation.
Since the third month of the first year of Long Wu, there were many disputes over the weight and quality of the silver that had been reported by various regions.
Although Xiao Ruxun had purged the landlords and the big merchants, the small and medium merchants were able to survive after they handed over their land. Needless to say, the small merchants and peddlers were not affected at all.
After the end of the land reform, under the organization of the local government, the merchants accepted the new business tax policy and restored their relationship with the farmers' association. Under the supervision of the local government, they started their business activities again. Now, the three southeastern provinces had recovered their vitality.
This autumn, there was a bumper harvest everywhere. Merchants also started to move around. The exchange of silver naturally could not stop, and the disputes that had been going on for a long time could not be eradicated.
Xiao Ruxun was also considering when to set the standard. He wanted to change the silver tael to the standard silver coin. He wanted to verify the quality and weight of the silver tael as the basic standard. This would be used throughout the country to unify the quality and weight of the silver tael.
Through the government's order, the whole country would use silver coins instead of silver tael for transactions. Then, the channel for the exchange of silver tael for silver coins would be opened. The people could exchange their silver tael for silver coins of equivalent value. This would standardize the circulation of silver.
At the same time, through the issuance of silver coins, the amount of silver in circulation would be controlled, the value of the currency would be maintained, and the prices of goods would be maintained. This would speed up the economic development of various regions. Roads would be built and infrastructure would be built in various regions.
In addition, the silver earned from overseas would not necessarily be put into circulation in the market. In a situation where there was no need to circulate, the silver could be stored.
In the sixteenth year of the Ming Dynasty, 1588 AD, the Spanish Invincible Fleet was defeated by the British fleet. The Spanish, who had been receiving the Ming Dynasty's foreign trade and importing silver plundered from the Americas into the Ming Dynasty, were finished.
The Spanish suffered heavy losses and were greatly weakened. They could not afford the Ming Dynasty's goods. There was no silver to import. This was a very heavy blow to the southeastern coastal provinces that were dominated by the export-oriented economy. It even caused an economic crisis in Jiangnan.
This sudden economic crisis had a very heavy impact on the various regions of Jiangnan. It directly led to an overabundance of goods and a shortage of silver. The inland provinces that relied on the transportation of goods to the southeastern provinces to earn money suffered a serious blow.
This situation was only alleviated after the rise of the Netherlands and the East India Company. China's goods once again had a place to sell.
During this period, the large amount of silver imported from the Americas seemed to have suddenly disappeared.
This was the handiwork of the land lords with a keen sense of smell. By hiding silver, they reduced the circulation, guaranteed the value of the silver, and reduced the value of the goods. They did not suffer any losses, but they made the major suppliers of the inland provinces suffer. For example, the four chieftains of Guizhou. Of course, this also included Yang Yinglong.
The four chieftains had a lot of wealth. From the Chenghua era, they began to send their goods to Suzhou and other places to sell, earning a large amount of silver.
In order to build a place along the way, they would often give away half of the silver and sell the other half, feeding the relevant local officials. Everyone made money together and had a harmonious relationship.
Until a war broke out thousands of li away, causing the Spanish to decline. The inflow of silver to the Americas greatly decreased. The local gentry and tyrants began to hoard silver, causing a shortage of silver and the accumulation of goods, causing an economic crisis.
The export-oriented economy of the southeastern coast suffered a serious blow. At that time, the imperial court did not realize it and did not have the means to control it.
Unable to sell anything, Yang Yinglong's income greatly decreased. However, he needed to maintain his own life and status, as well as his rule in Bozhou. His personality was also impatient, so he began to plunder everywhere. When he found that the poor people in the mountains were not easy to rob, he began to rob the Han people.
The conflict between him and the Sichuan Ming government began to intensify. The previously harmonious relationship no longer existed, and it directly led to the battle of Bozhou.
That was why the butterfly effect was really too wonderful. As early as this time, it had already manifested a terrifying lethality.
A battle for supremacy on the sea between England and Spain, ten years later, ignited a fierce war between hundreds of thousands of people far away in China.
At the end of the Ming, the Jiangnan merchants, landlords, and tyrants were the indirect instigators. They hid the silver that the Spanish and Portuguese brought from all over the world and did not circulate it. Each family was rich, but the amount that was put on the market was extremely limited.
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