Daming: Old Zhu, we agreed not to rush!

Chapter 333 The Four Stages of Currency Development

"Did treasure banknotes appear in the Northern Song Dynasty? Mr. Su is so knowledgeable!"

Zhu Yan sighed.

He thinks he has read a lot of miscellaneous books, but he has never heard of the earliest appearance of this banknote, the reason for its formation, and its name.

The rest of the people all nodded, and they didn't know that there was such an allusion to the origin of this banknote.

It's not that they read too few books, it's just that these things are not in the content of the royal teaching.

Su Jing looked at Zhu Yan and said with a smile: "King Jin, the emergence of precious banknotes, that is, banknotes, is actually inevitable. With the progress of social development, currencies made of gold, silver, copper and other metals will eventually turn to banknotes."

"Mr. Su, why is it necessary? In terms of iron currency, the appearance of banknotes is indeed necessary, but if it is exchanged for gold and silver, it must not have such a large weight and volume, right?"

Zhu Xi asked Su Jing.

At the same weight, gold and silver are much more valuable than iron, and their volume is also much smaller.

The rest of the people also looked at Su Jing curiously, quite curiously.

Su Jing was slightly taken aback, thinking that the few in front of him were either rich or expensive, there should be a lot of gold and silver property, and it is not unaware that the amount of money has reached a certain level, even if gold and silver are used as currency, there is still a lot of reason, right?
But after thinking about it, Su Jing understood.

This will be the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty was only established. Under Zhu Yuanzhang's policy adjustments, the price level is actually very low.

As a result, even for large quantities of goods, using gold and silver as currency transactions will not cause too much inconvenience.

"King Qin, no matter how high the value of gold and silver is, they are real objects after all. As long as the number is large enough, it is still inconvenient. In other words, paper money is more convenient."

Su Jing said lightly: "The weight of 100 taels of gold and 1000 taels of gold is ten times different, but if paper money is used, as long as there are two denominations, their weight can be the same."

"Perhaps right now, the people of Ming Dynasty don't need banknotes that much, but in the future, there will always be a day when they will be needed."

The advantages of paper currency are too great compared to metal currency.

Zhu Yuanzhang also saw this, so he chose to print Ming's own banknotes as soon as possible.

"So a long time ago, when there was no iron currency? What did people use as currency at that time?"

Zhu Wei asked Su Jing, he always had some ideas that were different from others.

Su Jing smiled and looked at Zhu Wei, a student who was only a few years old, really thoughtful.

"Wu Wang, you asked this question well!"

Su Jing praised first, and then continued: "Metal currency did not appear directly, there must be a process, the history of currency development, so far, I have summarized it into four stages."

"This first stage is naturally when there is no currency, or in other words, the real thing is the currency, and things are exchanged for things. In this period, human beings are still in the tribal period, which is the Emperor Yan Huangdi recorded in the history books, and even Earlier. The method of bartering has great disadvantages, such as the unequal value of the goods, sometimes it is difficult to exchange, I have a chicken, you have a sheep, the value of a chicken and a sheep is not equal, and I If you can’t come up with more chickens and want to add other types of goods that you don’t need, it’s going to be difficult to trade.”

"In order to solve these problems, the ancients also thought of their own methods, such as using shells or cloth as currency, which can be understood as commodities with standard prices, but these things always have some natural defects when used as currency, such as they can be found at will. Damaged, difficult to preserve, etc.”

"After that, it came to the second stage, which I call the gold bullion and silver bullion stage. The ancients in this period could no longer meet their trading needs by bartering or equivalent commodities, so they began to look for some rare ones. Items are used as equivalent exchange items, that is, currency. At this stage, gold and silver have shown their unique status, with scarce reserves, stable properties and easy preservation.”

"This is a major advancement in human history. Gold and silver are used as currency, making it possible for small tribes to become large tribes, and even lay the foundation for the emergence of countries."

"However, natural gold and silver ore also has its own shortcomings. It is naturally formed, and its weight and volume are different. It is still very troublesome to trade."

"Then came the third stage, which I generally call the coinage stage. This period was about the time when the feudal dynasty emerged. Natural gold and silver ores were processed by casting techniques and turned into coins of uniform specifications. Come, the transaction becomes simpler and more fair."

"At the same time, due to the continuous expansion of the scale of transactions, the reserves of gold and silver are gradually unable to meet the needs of transactions. Iron currency and copper currency have appeared one after another, and have gradually become what they are now. Copper coins, There are also gold ingots and silver ingots, all of which are of uniform standard.”

"In the fourth stage, that is, the stage of banknotes, the Jiaozi that appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty was the earliest banknote, and Jiaozi was invented by the merchants at that time, but it was because of one person."

Su Jing said a lot in one breath, her mouth was dry, and she took a sip of the tea on the table.

At this moment, Zhu Biao and the others were listening intently, and it was a bit uncomfortable to stop here.

It's just that they didn't dare to urge Su Jing to drink water, they could only wait patiently.

Outside the study, Zhu Yuanzhang has already arrived.

When he learned that Su Jing was giving lectures to his sons at the Prince's Mansion, Lao Zhu couldn't hold back anymore.

He was already distracted, even absent-minded about handling government affairs.

Knowing that Su Jing started the class, he immediately became curious, and soon he knew that this class was not for Zhu Biao alone, but for five sons together.

Lao Zhu ran over immediately without hesitation.

To say that Su Jing's lectures can bring Zhu Yuanzhang a lot of thinking every time, and can also foresee a lot of problems for Daming.

It's just that Su Jing really hasn't attended class for a long time because of this messy thing recently.

Who is it?
Su Jing, boy, drink water faster!
Lao Zhu leaned against the window, muttering silently in his heart.

The curious expression on his face was no worse than that of his son. After all, the currency lessons Su Jing talked about were just right for the Ming Dynasty banknotes he was about to print now.

In the two previous meetings in the prison, Su Jing reminded him that this Ming Dynasty note is not so easy to print.

Lao Zhu said he didn't care, but he was always thinking about it in his heart.

This meeting, of course, is very anxious, I want Su Jing to talk more, talk faster!
"Cough cough."

Su Jing followed her throat, looked at the people in front of her and said, "Does any of you know who is the key person who made Jiaozi from a private to an official?"

silence!

Both Zhu Biao and Zhu Fen had read a lot of books, neither of them knew it, let alone the others.

"It doesn't matter if you don't know, you may know him if I tell you."

Su Jing smiled and said, "This person is Zhang Yong from the Northern Song Dynasty."

"Master Su is talking about Zhang Yong, a famous official of the two dynasties during Song Taizong and Song Zhenzong's period, from the official to the Ministry of Rites?"

Zhu Biao immediately asked.

"probably."

Su Jing replied uncertainly.

To him, Zhang Yong is just a name mentioned in the history books when talking about Jiaozi in the Northern Song Dynasty. As for the specific deeds and official positions, he is really not very clear.

Zhu Wei said: "Zhang Fuzhi is a famous minister who ruled Shu, and the "Zhang Guaiya Collection" is even more famous, this person is really amazing!"

Su Jing nodded and said: "That's right, Zhang Yong is very powerful, turning Jiaozi into a real banknote, and his contribution is very great!"

"Mr. Su, after hearing so much from you, do you mean that banknotes are the mainstream? Now that the Ming Dynasty banknotes are going to be printed, does Mr. Su think this is an excellent thing?"

Zhu Di said.

This is not what he is interested in, but he is still thinking seriously, but all he can think of is the pros and cons of Daming now.

In this regard, Zhu Di's pragmatic spirit is very similar to that of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Fourth, good question!

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was listening, couldn't help admiring in his heart, what Zhu Di asked was exactly what Lao Zhu cared about.

What are the flaws in the printing of Daming Banknotes?What improvements are needed?
"King Yan asked a good question!"

Su Jing still encouraged as always, but just after he finished encouraging, he changed the subject: "But don't worry about this question, after I finish this class, you should be able to find the answer by yourself."

Su Jing, can you be more straightforward, boy!

Old Zhu was really pissed off by Su Jing, to come up with such a trick.

"Yes, Mr. Su, students must listen carefully."

Zhu Di nodded.

Su Jing resumed his rhythm and said, "Okay, I briefly told you about the history of currency development. Now, I need you to think about a question, what is the essence of currency?"

"Mr. Su, isn't this simple? Isn't the essence of money just money? Money is used to buy things."

Zhu Xi raised his hand and replied.

Su Jing asked back: "Okay, King Qin, what is that money?"

Zhu Xi was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Zhu Wei said: "Mr. Su, I thought that currency represented a certificate that could be used to purchase goods. Gold and silver could be used as this certificate, and so could precious banknotes."

"Well, yes, King Jin, your thinking is very good."

Su Jing nodded and said: "The term certificate is used well. To put it bluntly, it can also be called a general equivalent, a special commodity used to serve as the equivalent of all commodities."

"commodity?"

Zhu Wei asked suspiciously: "Master Su, money is money, so how can it be a commodity?"

In Zhu Wei's mind, money is money, and commodities are commodities, and the two obviously cannot be confused.

"That's right, Mr. Su, Fifth Brother is right, currency and commodities are two different things."

Zhu Xi agreed.

Su Jing smiled and said: "Okay, since you think it's two different things, let's talk about it. First, let's talk about the first stage of currency development, bartering. For example, one sheep is exchanged for ten chickens. Is it an exchange of goods?"

"What if it comes to the third stage of currency development? A sheep is worth five renminbi. If there is a farmer who raises sheep and wants to buy chickens to eat, he must first sell the sheep and exchange them for silver, and then exchange the silver for chickens." Be a chicken, right?"

"In the first stage, one sheep is equal to ten chickens, and both sheep and chickens are commodities; but in the third stage, one sheep is equal to five coins and ten chickens, and both sheep and chickens are commodities. Why can't these five coins be commodities?"

"Isn't it because the commodity five coins is worth as much as a sheep that people are willing to exchange it?"

After Su Jing finished speaking, the minds of the audience turned.

"Master Su, the students understand that silver, that is, currency, is actually a commodity used to mark prices. Everyone recognizes the value of currency, so currency can be used as a transit for the exchange of other commodities. Just like food, the common people recognize the value of food. The value of grain can also be used as silver, and the grain at this time is currency, but it is also a commodity at the same time.”

Zhu Di was the first to react and said excitedly.

This kind of logical thinking ability is still the fastest to respond to Zhu Biao who has studied and nurtured by Su Jing's side day and night.

"Yes, Prince, you understand quickly."

Su Jing nodded, and was also very pleasantly surprised by Zhu Biao's example of food, which shows that Zhu Biao really understood.

Zhu Wei said: "I also understand that currency itself has the attributes of a commodity. If currency is not a commodity, then currency is no longer currency."

"Well, King Jin is very insightful!"

Su Jing praised again, which really surprised him.

The mind of this King of Jin, Zhu Yan, is really quite clever.

Next came Zhu Wei, he was also Su Jing's certified student after all, and he soon understood.

Zhu Xi and Zhu Di really thought for a while before they seemed to understand.

On the other hand, Lao Zhu outside the window carefully smacked what Su Jing said, and kept nodding, as if he had tasted something.

"Don't worry if you don't fully understand it, you can always understand it if you think about it."

Su Jing comforted, and then continued: "We understand the essence of currency, now I want to ask you again, why gold and silver have become the final choice of people as general equivalents in the long history of currency development, and other materials Or items, why are they eliminated?"

"I know this."

Zhu Xi immediately raised his hand and said: "Because gold and silver are valuable! Everyone likes valuable things, and this becomes money!"

"Haha."

Su Jing smiled.

"Why, Mr. Su, am I wrong?"

Zhu Xi touched his head, a little embarrassed.

Su Jing immediately said: "No, no, King Qin is right, gold and silver are valuable, so they were chosen, but it would be better if King Qin could go deeper."

"deeper?"

Zhu Xi asked suspiciously, "What is Mr. Su referring to?"

Su Jing reminded: "Why is gold and silver valuable, has King Qin ever thought about it?"

Ok?
Zhu Xi frowned even tighter.

Zhu Su who was on the side couldn't help but said: "Master Su, because rare things are precious!"

Su Jing immediately nodded and said: "That's right, it is precisely because things are rare that gold and silver are valuable, but this is only one of the reasons why gold and silver are chosen."

(End of this chapter)