Rule over Ming Dynasty

The mining of gold mines in Luzon was a major initiative of the Ming Dynasty.

Since a large amount of materials needed to be supplied from Guangdong, it was originally planned to take more than half a year to build a road from Luzon City to the gold mine.

It’s just that the attributes of China’s infrastructure madness seem to have been ignited in advance during this period.

A large number of migrant workers went to Luzon not to do corvee labor, but to receive real wages and to have food comparable to that of middle-class families, which led them to exert the fine tradition of hard work of the Chinese people.

Even though they had to eat and drink at the construction site, none of them complained at all, but worked diligently to build bridges and pave roads on this primitive island.

Although the Zhang Sui, Yu Yuanzan and Lin Feiyang hired by Zhu Youtang are still very young, all three of them have a drive and always keep in mind the mission of mining gold mines.

It is under their leadership that whether it is some internal disputes or some external pressures, they can always be resolved quickly.

As for the supply of food, none of them had the idea of ​​being greedy. Instead, they distributed food to the workers and strived to ensure that all workers had good food, clothing, and sleep.

There was originally a shortage of road construction personnel, but food was very scarce in northern Luzon during this period. Not to mention sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn, even rice was very scarce.

The primitive mountain forests and seaside in the north have many natural ingredients, but the food sources are unstable. The average life span of all tribe members is very short, and they sometimes starve to death.

The surrender of the Chishan tribe to the Ming Dynasty was just the beginning. After seeing that the people of the Chishan tribe were hungry and clothed, many tribes expressed their willingness to submit to the Ming Dynasty and just let them eat rice.

With the addition of this group of labor force, not only did the road construction process speed up, but these aboriginal people who were accustomed to walking in the mountains and forests solved the material transportation needs of gold mining.

It is under the combined effect of multiple factors that the cycle of road construction and gold mining has been greatly shortened, while the cost of mining has hardly increased.

With the completion of a road connecting the north gate of Luzon City to the gold mines in the belly, batches of gold ore exposed in the mines were mined, smelted and made into ingots and sent to Luzon City.

Luzon City not only has heavy troops stationed here, but also has a fleet, which is enough to intimidate the entire Southeast Asia.

After hoarding 10 taels of gold, Yu Yuanzan personally escorted the gold back to the capital.

As more and more Ming merchants went to Southeast Asia to pan for gold, pirates appeared in the nearby waters, but no one dared to attack the Ming fleet, not to mention that the combat power of the two was not at the same level.

Yu Yuanzan did not take it lightly, but cautiously sailed northeast toward the southeastern waters of Ming Dynasty.

Although we experienced a summer storm on the way, we relied on increasingly mature navigational charts and navigation skills to make our way north along the southeastern coastline without any danger.

The Ming Dynasty has now begun to pay attention to its maritime territory. Once the fleet returns to the Fujian area, it will basically be within the control of the Ming Dynasty.

Finally, before August 10th, the gold ship escorting [-] taels of gold returned to the Tianjin Port Terminal.

The ancient city of Tianjin was built by Emperor Taizong Zhu Di after he conquered the empire. The city was eight miles in circumference and three Tianjin guards were stationed here. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians lived here.

When the soldiers and civilians in Tianjin learned about the arrival of Luzon's gold ship, they rushed to tell the news. At the same time, they took the initiative to help clear the road so that Yu Yuanzan could escort the gold smoothly and use horse-drawn carriages to transport it to the capital.

There is no hate without reason, and there is no love without reason in the world.

In the early days of Hongzhi's accession to the throne, Qingyun Hou Zhou Shou openly asked for the disputed land in Baodi, relying on his status, and wanted to drive away all the Tianjin soldiers and civilians who were farming on it.

Not only did Emperor Hongzhi not give the land to Marquis Qingyun, but he also disposed of the land in an amazing way, which clarified the property rights of the land they farmed.

With the opening of sea trade during the Hongzhi Dynasty, Tianjin Port is now becoming more and more prosperous, resulting in more and more means of livelihood for the soldiers and civilians in Tianjin, and they are enjoying the dividends of the opening of the sea.

It was precisely because of Hongzhi's various favors and that he never raised taxes after he ascended the throne that the army and people of Tianjin became one of the guards who firmly supported Emperor Hongzhi.

On August [-], the capital city suddenly burst into excitement.

"Is this all Luzon gold?"

"Did you see that little soldier transporting gold? That's my son-in-law!"

"My dear, how much gold do these cars cost?"

"A cart weighs several hundred kilograms at least. Listen to the sound of the wheels and the horse is sweating!"

……

The people who were watching saw the motorcade coming in from Chongwen Gate, saw boxes of large boxes with seals, and heard the unusually heavy sound, but they started talking one after another.

Earlier, the capital had been doubting the authenticity of the Luzon gold mines, and there were many highly respected scholars among them.

But now that the facts are in front of us, the appearance of boxes of genuine gold has caused all the doubts and slaps in the face of those great scholars.

"It seems that Luzon really has the Dajin Mountain!"

"Look what you said, those students from the Imperial College saw it with their own eyes!"

"It's not just that simple. Now that the road has been repaired, more and more gold will be transported back in the future!"

……

Now that we have witnessed the gold from Luzon being transported back with our own eyes, everyone's imagination has been opened up, as if they saw that the gold from Luzon Island is about to flow into the capital like a tide.

This is not wishful thinking, but an inevitable trend.

As long as there is no major turmoil in Luzon Island, the gold mines in Luzon will continue to be mined, and the mined gold will naturally flow back to the Ming Dynasty.

Although gold cannot drive productivity, so much gold will help the Ming Dynasty build a stable monetary system, which will be a weapon for the Ming Dynasty to harvest the world.

"I really believe the emperor's dream about Silver Mountain!"

"If silver is really everywhere, we really can't treat it as a treasure!"

"Speaking of which, silver can neither be eaten nor worn. If you insist on using silver, it will only make the Japanese people cheaper!"

"Haha... The ones who are really worried are the powerful people sitting on the silver mountain. We firmly support our emperor!"

……

As the gold from Luzon was successfully transported back to the capital, the original plan of the capital's dignitaries to guide public opinion went bankrupt. More and more people believed in Zhu Youtang's dream and no longer fell in love with silver.

Just like this, in this currency public opinion war, the Hongzhi Silver Dollar launched by Zhu Youtang won a big victory by successfully mining Luzon gold.

Subsequently, Baijiayuan also guided the direction of public opinion. In the latest issue of "Ming", Xie Qian published "On Monetary Theory", pointing out the shortcomings of the silver standard.

It was just that the abolition of the silver standard infringed on the interests of the powerful class and caused another war in the capital to heat up.

Many dignitaries who were originally waiting and watching, but for some unknown reason, chose to deliver ammunition to the Marquis of Xiangcheng, as if they wanted Li Jin to control the rice market in the capital.

"What's going on? Why does Royal Rice Store still have rice?"

Time passed by half a month, and Li Jin, the Marquis of Xiangcheng, wanted to buy up all the polished rice from the Royal Rice Store, but found that the rice grain from the Royal Rice Store seemed to be endless.

No matter how many cloth and rice tickets they secretly purchased, or whether they obtained the Hongzhi silver coins newly issued by the Ming Dynasty, they could all cash in rice at the Royal Rice Bank.

On the contrary, due to their crazy buying and buying, silver was increasingly not recognized by the people in the capital, and some people even refused to conduct silver transactions.

As for the people in the capital, they have survived the food panic period and now buy rice within their means, but they no longer want to fill their homes with rice as before.

Amidst this ebb and flow, the payment pressure of the Royal Rice Bank is actually continuing to decrease, but no one knows how much rice the Royal Rice Bank actually has.

"We all underestimate the foresight of our emperor. He built several granaries in the imperial city. The rice for the past half month has been transported from the imperial city!" Butler Li has been trying to find out the royal rice store for a while. ’s trump card, he reported it very bitterly.

Li Jin sent the lute girl away, but picked up the teacup and said, "Quickly find out how many granaries he has in the imperial city and how much food is left in them?"

"Master Marquis, that's the imperial city there. It really can't be found!" Butler Li said with a grimace when faced with the unreasonable request of the Marquis of Xiangcheng.

Since Zhu Youtang beheaded the imperial doctor Liu Wentai, the news channels inside and outside the palace have basically been shut down. It is impossible to find out the situation in the rice warehouse in the imperial city.

Although it is not absolutely impossible, it is indeed powerless with his ability.

What's more, once this kind of thing is discovered by Dongchang or Jinyiwei, he will be beheaded, and his family will even be harmed.No matter how loyal he is to the Marquis of Xiangcheng, he will not make fun of his own wealth and life. "Do we really have to give up?" Li Jin took a sip of tea and said with a flash of unwillingness in his eyes.

At this moment, he seemed to have seen a bottomless pit, and the thought of giving up had arisen in his heart.

It just made him very puzzled. He obviously had sufficient financial resources and had hauled away nearly ten million kilograms of polished rice from the Royal Rice Store. However, the Royal Rice Store still had not bottomed out, and there were no signs of bottoming out.

"Master Marquis, Renyi Money Shop is not as happy as before, and the warehouse where we store grain is getting harder and harder to find. Why don't we think of other ways out?" Butler Li hesitated and advised cautiously.

It's not that he doesn't want to take advantage of the blocked canal and the locust plague to make a lot of money.

It's just that the Royal Rice Bank is too unpredictable. Even though the gold and silver they used has been astronomical, they still can't figure out how many meters the Royal Rice Bank has.

Although he also found some inside information, Huangdian had made a lot of silver from cotton cloth, locks, soap and other projects over the years, but Wei Yu never hoarded silver, but replaced it all with polished rice.

No matter how actively Wei Yu hoards polished rice, if the storage reaches the level of 2000 million kilograms, it should make some waves no matter what.

Unfortunately, everything seems so silent, and now the Royal Rice Bank has never refused to pay, which makes it more and more obvious that the Royal Rice Bank is bottomless.

"Other ways out?" When Li Jin heard these words, a wry smile immediately appeared on his face.

Although Beizhili suffered a locust plague, the government organized people to kill the locusts and saw that the locusts did not damage the cotton. The mood in the capital was more stable than before, and the price of rice was stuck at a low level by the Royal Rice Bank.

Now he is riding a tiger and cannot get off. Even if he wants to quit, if he sells it at the current rice price, not to mention that other nobles will not let him go, and his Xiangcheng Hou Mansion will go bankrupt.

Now that he has chosen this path, he is destined to never look back.

At this time, a figure walked in hurriedly. The person who came was Li Fu, the prince of the Marquis of Xiangcheng.

Li Fu was a well-known dandy in the capital when he was young. However, during a jealous fight with Xu Shiying, he was severely kicked in a vital part, and he has not had children to this day.

Perhaps only through more experiences can people grow quickly.

Li Fu later stayed at home and studied hard. Although he failed to obtain a good reputation, he still understood the art of war and business.This time I helped Li Jin a lot, and it seemed that I wanted to show off well.

Li Jin was not happy with this son who was unable to bear children, but he said with a straight face: "How many times have I told you to stay calm when things happen, how can you be so frizzy and irritable?"

"Dad, the rice at the Royal Rice Store should be bottoming out soon!" Li Fu was used to Li Jin's attitude and reported the report with great excitement.

Li Jin's heart moved slightly, and he asked very seriously: "Where did you learn about this?"

Huh?
When Butler Li heard this unexpected surprise, he turned to look at Li Fu curiously.

Now they have joined forces with the dignitaries in the capital to place heavy bets on polished rice. They are betting that the Royal Rice Company will bottom out in the short term. Otherwise, each of them will suffer heavy losses, and their Xiangcheng Marquis Mansion will face bankruptcy.

"Royal Bank just issued a new issue of treasury bonds. What do you think the intention is?" Li Fu raised the corners of his mouth slightly and immediately said deliberately.

Li Jin thought of the Luzon gold that had just been shipped back, so she picked up the tea cup again and said, "Is it true that the royal family is issuing national bonds to dig silver mines in Japan again, as per the rumors?"

Now that there is successful experience in mining gold mines in Luzon, and now that Daqing has discovered a large vein of gold in Japan, Zhu Youtang is likely to issue treasury bonds to raise funds to mine Japan's silver mines and pay the silver dollar two years later.

"No?" Li Fu immediately shook his head seriously.

Li Jin's cup of tea was already brought to his lips. He immediately raised his head in surprise and said, "No, what about issuing national bonds to raise money?"

"The Royal Bank said that the bank's rice store has less and less rice, so it is preparing to issue new bonds to raise [-] new money, and send people to North Korea to purchase rice and transport it back to the capital!" It was rare for Li Fu to see his father so shocked. His expression revealed the news.

Butler Li finally understood why Li Fu was so excited and hurried in, and seemed to understand: "So, the Royal Rice Store probably doesn't have much rice, so they plan to use Korean rice to solve the food shortage crisis in the capital! "

"Dad, it's outrageous that the Royal Rice Company has so much rice, and it makes sense that it has bottomed out now! If the Royal Rice Company cannot transport rice back from North Korea this time, then we have the final say on the price of rice in the capital. !" Li Fu said very optimistically.

Butler Li looked at Li Jin who was drinking tea and said with the same optimism: "Master Marquis, the rice supply of Royal Rice Store should be bottomed out soon. This is really our opportunity!"

"Since the Royal Rice Store is about to be unable to sustain its support, you should go to Renyi Money Shop immediately to ask for money to continue buying rice!" Li Jin put down the tea cup gently and made an immediate decision.

He couldn't give up originally, but now that he knew that Royal Rice's rice warehouse was about to bottom out, he had no reason to give up.

Now, not only can he not give up, but he also has to increase his efforts to purchase the polished rice from Royal Rice Company, striving to make the rice warehouse of Royal Rice Company bottom out quickly.

As for money, not only do they need to get silver from Renyi Money Store, but they also need to drag more dignitaries from the capital into the water, so they are bound to fight a beautiful turnaround.

Li Fu's eyes flashed with coldness, and he seemed ready to make a move: "Dad, their rice must pass through Shanhaiguan. Where should we start?"

"Don't get involved in this kind of thing!" Li Jin didn't expect his son to be so courageous, so he scolded him with a straight face.

Now, apart from buying up the Royal Rice Store's granaries as soon as possible, we can't let North Korean rice come to the capital smoothly.

In fact, the most effective way is to stop this transaction. Sending people to snatch it halfway is the worst way. There are actually many ways to stop it.

Of course, the most important thing now is to let the rice of the Royal Rice Store bottom out, forcing people in the whole capital to buy their own high-priced rice, so as to make a lot of money.

When Li Fu saw that his father wanted to exclude him, he felt dissatisfied, but secretly made a decision: no matter what means he took, he must prevent North Korean rice from coming to the capital.

The words were divided into two parts, and the capital city once again ushered in a grand occasion.

A full 10 taels of Luzon gold were transported back to the capital. This batch of gold did not become the royal kiln gold. Instead, it was handed over to the newly established royal gold jewelry workshop of the royal family, which turned all the Luzon gold into various jewelry for the royal family. Gold Bank for sale.

"These gold jewelry are so beautiful!"

“Not only are they beautiful, but there are so many styles!”

"I heard that it is smelted several times. See how bright it shines?"

……

No matter what era it is, it is human nature to love beauty. Now seeing the complete and novel gold jewelry in front of you almost attracts ladies from all over the city to come and hang out.

Although the current royal store transactions require the use of new coins, the new coins are not difficult to obtain now.

One is through the exchange of copper coins, and copper coins are indeed the official currency of the Ming Dynasty.The second is that the Ming Dynasty recognized the value of gold, but it could be exchanged for gold tickets.

What is very exciting is that Royal Bank adheres to the positioning of "gold is precious and silver is cheap". Ten taels of silver dollars only require one tael of gold, and the ratio is directly increased to ten to one.

Many noble concubines took out their own gold. Although it was troublesome to go to the royal bank to exchange it first, they were very satisfied to get a satisfactory gold jewelry for only a small processing fee.

In fact, Royal Gold Bank not only sells gold jewelry, but also sells pearl jewelry and even silver jewelry because Tokyo Bay produces so many pearls.

Royal Gold Bank relies on its own capital advantages to create a chain of luxury gold shops with the most complete categories, and it also contributes to the popularization and circulation of silver dollars.

Because the Royal Gold Bank's jewelry is too tempting, many women holding national debt cannot sit still.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the national debt can be exchanged for gold at the end of the year!"

"Treasury bonds can now be redeemed in advance, but there is no interest on performance!"

"If you are really eager to sell the national debt in your hands, our bank can help you connect the dots!"

……

The Royal Bank relies on the subscriptions of these women to allow the mining of the Luzon gold mine to proceed smoothly. Now it has achieved initial success, which is also a sign of great goodwill.

For bondholders eager to sell government bonds, Royal Bank also plays the role of a platform.

Although banks have the ability to recycle national debt, they are more willing to play the role of middlemen and use their high-quality customer resources to make connections.

Royal Bank is not satisfied with this achievement. After having its first national debt experience and now having accumulated enough reputation, it will continue to play its role as a financial platform.

Faced with the price difference between rice grains in Beijing and North Korea, the Royal Bank issued corporate bonds of 10 taels of silver dollars to the public on behalf of the Royal Rice Bank, and the currency subscribed naturally required the use of Hongzhi silver dollars or copper coins. (End of chapter)