My life skills in Daming Liver

Xiangzi didn't know how to answer Tong An. Nowadays, all industries in the capital are in depression. He has no strengths except his strength and can't find a suitable job at all.

Tong An thought for a while and said:

"Mr. Yan said a few days ago that Mr. Wang Shizhen and Wang's family need a strong servant. I will tell Mr. Yan today that you can try it at Mr. Wang's house?"

Xiangzi immediately thanked him profusely:

"Thank you sir! Thank you sir!"

"Don't be too busy thanking me. It depends on Mr. Wang whether it will work out or not."

Tong An took a green chartered car and came to the workshop founded by Yan Jun outside the city.

Yan Jun and his fellow workers founded the Gongxuefang.

This workshop is neither government-run nor privately owned. The workshop has no leader. All workers work together in this workshop, and the profits from the workshop every month are equally distributed to everyone.

Yan Jun can only be regarded as one of the organizers of the workshop. He also works in the workshop on weekdays, responsible for some clerical work and mediating conflicts between workers.

However, the benefits of this workshop are good, and the workers who work in the workshop are also very satisfied, and many people want to join here.

Since the Imperial Academy was converted into a military academy, Tong An's monthly subsidy of two taels of silver was also cancelled.

The recent price increase in the capital is incomprehensible. Although the military academy is in charge of food, eating, drinking, having sex in the capital, pens, inks, papers and inkstones all cost money. Yan Jun also arranged a settlement position for Tong An in the workshop. Every time When he was resting, he would come over and do the accounting.

After discussing Xiangzi's matter with Yan Jun, Tong An opened the account book and asked in surprise:

"Master Yan, why have the prices of materials increased so much this month?"

Yan Jun was wearing worker's clothes. He took a sip of strong tea and said:

"Why doesn't the price of capital increase this month? The materials that have increased the most are coal and steel, and the price of coal has doubled in a month."

Tong An has been doing accounting for the workshop for a long time. He said:

"Winter has passed, and the peak coal consumption in the capital has ended. Why are prices still rising?"

Yan Jun said:

"This rise is not due to the use of coal, but because the Ming Dynasty issued too much currency indiscriminately."

Tong An didn't understand. When Zhang Juzheng was in power, there were several money shortages in the capital. How come there is too much money now?

Yan Jun stroked his beard and said:

"At the end of Zhang Juzheng's reign, in order to solve the problem of money shortage, silver coins were issued."

"These silver coins are made from Southeast silver coins. They are small coins that were recast after being mixed with lead and Japanese lead. They were fine at the beginning. One Southeast silver dollar was recast into three Ming Dynasty silver coins. This is how they are exchanged in the market."

"When Li Chunfang came to power, the Ming court was already unable to make ends meet. In order to pay rewards to the subordinates, the Ming court recast one Southeast silver dollar into ten Southeast silver coins."

"At the end of Li Chunfang's reign, the Zhongshu Province was already in turmoil. At that time, officials from the Ministry of Revenue were minting silver coins privately, and even some businessmen were also minting them privately. At that time, no one in the capital was in charge."

"The credit of Ming court silver coins has plummeted. Now one Southeast silver dollar can be exchanged for fifteen Ming court silver coins. The price is still falling. Now when our workshop does business, many business partners only accept Southeast silver coins."

"The silver dollar is depreciating, but the copper coins are getting promoted. Now the people in the capital have no copper coins to use."

"Why?"

"The Ming court's cannon-casting technology is not up to standard. Cannons made of pure iron are prone to explosion. Copper and iron are needed to make cannons."

"In order to cast cannons, the Ministry of Industry took away more copper coins from the market. Although the original monetary system of parallel silver and copper had many problems, now there are no copper coins, only silver dollars that continue to depreciate, and prices are no longer stable. After the Chinese New Year this year, prices in the capital have skyrocketed."

"I've been studying recently. This is what Governor Su calls hyperinflation."

"inflation?"

Yan Jun did not particularly agree with the political system of the Southeast. His political ideal was more similar to the utopian society founded by He Xinyin in his hometown. This was also the political ideal of many disciples of the Taizhou School.

He Xinyin chose to fail after the experiment failed, but Yan Jun did not have such a mission.

He believed that the reason why He Xinyin's experiment failed was because of his practice in an agricultural society. The productivity of agricultural society was insufficient and there was a lack of basis for commodity exchange. When the number of people was too small, it was unable to meet all needs, which ultimately led to failure. .

After He Xinyin failed in his social practice, he chose to become an official in the southeast and realize his political ideals under Su Ze.

Yan Jun believes that in today's cities, this kind of egalitarian society can be realized through workshops. He can run workshops through the method of employee autonomy and distribute all profits to workers to realize his dream of a harmonious society.

Although Yan Jun agrees with Southeast's political system, he also agrees with Su Ze's economic theory.

Compared with Su Ze's works on political theory, his series of economic works have been read by very few people.

Many people have forgotten that Su Ze was known as the God of Wealth back then. He reformed the Ming court's banknote tariffs and market shipping taxes, and provided financial support for the Southeast Anti-Japanese War.

In Yan Jun's view, the political system Su Ze built in the southeast was just a patchwork of the Ming Dynasty's political system. In comparison, Su Ze had higher attainments in economics.

Yan Jun said: "Inflation, simply put, means that prices are skyrocketing and money becomes less valuable."

"In the view of Governor Su, it is beneficial to maintain a certain degree of price increase, that is, inflation."

"why is that?"

"Captain Su gave the example of the money shortage in the Han Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, money went hand in hand, but the Han Dynasty valued rich burials, so the princes hid gold in tombs. The price of gold kept rising. Ordinary rich people saw that gold became more valuable. They were even less willing to exchange gold for things, so in the end of the Han Dynasty, the market was short of gold and money, and commodity transactions almost stagnated."

"When prices rise to a certain extent, when people see that today's money can buy more things than tomorrow's money, they will be more willing to spend money, and commodities and currency can circulate, which is good for social development. .”

"But in this economic matter, there is a point where too much is too little. If there is excess, there will be loss. Once prices rise too fast, it will have devastating consequences for the entire society. This is hyperinflation."

Tong An had experienced the grain shortage in the capital and the rise in rice prices, so he was aware of inflation. He nodded and said:

"Is this caused by the excessive printing of silver coins by the Ming Dynasty?"

Yan Jun nodded and shook his head and said: "Yes, not quite, but hyperinflation is coming soon, which is more terrifying than the war on the front line."