Chapter 91 Currency
Perhaps he had been busy in Shangyu for too long. Only after he had inspected the warships one by one did Mu Qi have the time to check the historical reverberations of this new wave of deviation values. Not surprisingly, the temperature turned red:
——What a jerk! How can a foreigner like to write a diary so much? !
It can be said that Ruwang's excessive desire to express himself completely destroyed Mu Qi's plan. In the past few days, he has been busy running around, trying to deliberately block the news about Shangyu and distort history into the way he likes - an innocent, naive and weak son of a noble family is pushed into a battlefield surrounded by powerful enemies and the law of the jungle in confusion and trance. Every citizen has the responsibility to fight back when the country is in danger, and he has to fight back when the world is in turmoil. With the help of many loyal ministers, righteous men, wise men and masters, he defeats his dirty ambitions and wins a glorious victory - what a passionate and positive kingly script! What a classic, brilliant and timeless dramatic structure! What a tortuous and fascinating arrangement!
——Of course, this arrangement may be a little far from the real truth. But Mu Qi had already planned for this. The Shangyu incident was actually kept highly confidential. He refused to see any outsiders before and after the war. The information that was released was actually very scarce, and only a handful of his own people were able to participate in the core decision-making. Among these people, both Hai Gangfeng and Qi Yuanjing are completely trustworthy and will never leak any critical information. In this way, all historical materials that could be passed down to later generations were basically in the hands of the Prince of Mu. As long as the Chunqiu style of writing is slightly modified, then you can create any character you want, right? From documents to physical evidence, everything was written by Mu Qi. Even if future historians rack their brains, they will never be able to restore the truth.
Everything was planned so perfectly and so well... until he met this damn loud-mouthed Westerner who had such an excessive desire to express himself that he couldn't control himself!
——Just do business. You are a good capitalist, financier, vampire, street lamp consumables, why can't you control your broken mouth?
The worst thing is that even if Mu Qi discovered Ruwang’s little trick, he couldn’t do anything to him. It is difficult to establish the trust of such a senior partner. You can't turn against each other just for a boring diary that is not discovered until hundreds of years later. As for warning Ruwang not to leak secrets... it is really too much to expect such a role to make non-binding promises.
However, on the bright side, judging from the historical repercussions of the Heavenly Book, Ru Wang's leaking of secrets still had a bottom line; most of the diary was about the strange behavior of the Prince of Cricket Mu, and there was little mention of the most secretive, terrifying, and unspeakable transaction between the Prince and him. Otherwise, the confusion, surprise, and even unspeakable terror faced by historians would probably be several orders of magnitude higher. The so-called "Ruwang Diary" may have to be changed to "Shock! "The Unknown Anecdotes about the Little White Flower, Prince Muguo" and so on.
The deal between the prince and Ru Wang is actually very simple, so simple that it can be summarized in one sentence:
"The trade between Nanyang and Tianzhu is growing day by day, and the amount of silver exchanged each year is probably tens of millions of taels. With so much silver being transported back and forth, and the weights and measures being inconsistent, it must be a big hassle when doing business, right? If someone could mediate and unify the trade of the entire Asia with a reliable and credible currency, wouldn't that be a good thing?"
This sentence was very understated, as if it was just a trivial matter mentioned casually by a friend during a casual conversation. But Ruwang remained silent.
"...I don't quite understand what the prince means."
After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice.
"No, you actually understand what I mean." The prince said calmly: "Mr. Ruwang, is there any ambiguity in my words?"
There is no ambiguity, it is very clear and obvious. But precisely because it was so obvious that it could not be misunderstood, Ru Wang suddenly felt an uncontrollable panic. I was so overwhelmed for a moment that I was speechless.
Unify the currency, unify the market, and use the monopoly currency to control the monopoly trade. This has been the grand goal that top financiers have been working tirelessly for decades since the great geographical discoveries, and the ambitious plan hidden in it can be summed up in one word: in the Age of Exploration, controlling international currency means controlling international trade, and controlling international trade means controlling the flow of materials, money transactions, and industrial development in most of the world. If we can really achieve this - if we can really achieve this, then what we gain cannot be simply described by the word "profit".
Therefore, with the mental strength that Ru Wang had honed over the past few days, he was stunned for a moment before he slowly spoke:
“I’m afraid this is not something we can dream of.”
"Why?"
Guess why? Is it because I don’t like it?
Ru Wang had no choice but to grit his teeth and speak:
"...Many European bankers have actually thought about this. But they have not achieved any results."
Never underestimate the professional qualities of financiers. When the great geographical discoveries were in full swing and the first wave of globalization was about to begin, there were already trendsetters who took advantage of the situation and rose to prominence, keenly aware of the direction of the times - once economic ties became increasingly close, conflicts between currencies and weights and measures among countries would inevitably hinder the booming trade. At this time, a new, unified, international currency that could be used around the world became a necessity of the new era.
Of course, even the wildest and craziest financiers today do not dare to play with the credit currency of later generations. The unified currency they planned is actually still based on gold or silver, and there are not many ways to play with it. But even so, the opportunities contained therein are still dazzling; there are too many financial operations to elaborate, to put it simply, if someone can really master the right to define international currency, it is basically equivalent to mastering a legal money printing machine; with a printing machine, money no longer needs to be earned, it can be printed out by the machine!
——In the face of opportunities of this level, why bother talking about pennies on the dollar or small profits of millions or tens of millions? Those who know the business will only think you are petty.
Whoever controls the currency controls the world. This is a truth that European financial groups have long understood.
However, precisely because everyone understands this truth, the implementation of a unified currency is extremely difficult and faces obstacles at every turn. To put it bluntly, it is of course good to remove trade barriers and the free market is of course attractive; but if a money printing machine that can control world trade is really built, which country will enjoy it?
You can't just make wedding clothes for others, right?
The interests are entangled and they are hostile to each other. A large number of interest groups are trying their best to hinder each other, so of course nothing can be accomplished. Judging from historical facts, it was probably not until Britain completed the Industrial Revolution and its national strength greatly improved, and relied on its iron fist to beat the European powers one by one, that the pound's supreme position in the world was barely established. And now... you can't expect Ruwang to convince the European empires with just his words, right?
Therefore, this kind of thing is something that one yearns for but cannot achieve, and there is nothing one can do about it. Doesn’t Ruwang want to? I can't do it!
The prince obviously understood the merchant's implication, but still had no reaction:
"I know that Western countries are strong. But we are not seeking a position in Europe. As long as we can set up a unified currency in Southeast Asia, we will be satisfied. This is also the reason why we call on all countries to jointly develop Southeast Asia."
After reaching the so-called principles of "peaceful coexistence" and "joint development" with Portugal, the Crown Prince has keenly sensed the changes in European power. The strength of European countries is certainly strong, but after crossing thousands of miles of vast ocean, the force they can project is already a spent force. At most, they can only bully the small and insignificant countries in Southeast Asia. The so-called "taking advantage of one's rest to wait for the enemy to tire out" is the way to bully the enemy; in terms of relative strength comparison, Da'an now actually has the advantage.
But Ruwang obviously doesn't think so:
"The South China Sea is an important trade route, with a large number of navies gathered there—"
Is it possible that if you have a hammer, all the nails in the world are yours? Can so many navy ships handle it?
"We have certainly considered this." The prince interrupted him, "So the research on rockets will continue. Mr. Ruwang, I can assure you that within two years, we will be able to develop Feixuan Zhenjun No. 5, a rocket that can be installed on a ship and launched at any time, and even illiterate people can operate it."
Ru Wang suddenly stopped talking.
He looked around and confirmed the surrounding situation again and again. After hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke in a low voice:
"……real?"
"Mr. Ruwang, don't you believe me?"
If it were a month ago, faced with such a rude and almost arrogant statement, the maritime merchants would probably have to keep silent and give an awkward but polite smile. But now... now, after experiencing the great battle in Shangyu, Ruwang no longer has the courage to doubt.
——However, even with all the previous miracles as a prelude. This time the shock was still extremely exciting, so exciting that Ru Wang's lips were trembling. The transfer of rockets from land to sea may be just a small technical change; but it is like a storm that turns the entire battlefield situation upside down - rockets that can only be launched from the coast are just surprisingly powerful coastal defense weapons, which can only defend but not attack; but if this thing is successfully moved to the ship...
Oh my god, who can withstand the mighty power of a salvo of fire from Lord Feixuan, Lord Wanshou, and Lord Qingmiao?
If this kind of thing is really researched out, the situation in Nanyang and India will change immediately!
Ru Wang took a deep breath slowly.
"Please don't be nervous." The prince seemed to see what he was thinking, so he spoke in a very gentle tone: "We have always loved peace and are good at persuading others with the truth. We will never resort to violence without authorization."
Ruwang's face turned wooden.
"I don't know much about international currency. I just learned a little bit from the conversations of the masters in the West." The prince said in a friendly manner: "However, after the success of the rocket technology experiment, the conditions for promoting a unified currency are complete, right?"
He pointed at Ruwang and then at himself, his meaning could not be more obvious.
There are many different theories about the basis for the forced promotion of the so-called international currency, but based on the years of practical experience of European financiers, the conditions are actually not that complicated. The first is to have a strong manufacturing base to ensure adequate supply of materials in the market; the second is strong and powerful violence to beat up every protectionist bandit who prevents you from engaging in free trade; and finally, it is just the right financial services - providing customers with loans, financing, and guarantees, which greatly reduces the difficulty of transactions and clears the way for all cross-border trade.
...And now, all the conditions are indeed in place: the natural manufacturing saint, the invincible Feixuan Zhenjun, Wanshou Emperor, Qingmiao Emperor, and the time-tested and ruthless financier who has emerged from swords and guns - the strong forces combine to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, promote and inspire each other, and soar into the sky with one foot on the other; the broad road that the European Financial Group has dreamed of for decades but has never been able to obtain seems to have shown a little light at this time.
The temptation of this glimmer of light was so great that Ru Wang couldn't help but change his expression:
"this……"
"There's nothing to think about, right?" The prince said softly, "Think about the benefits, Mr. Ruwang."
Mastering currency is equivalent to mastering the printing press, and mastering currency is equivalent to mastering everything - there is really nothing to think about in the business of printing money with a printing press. Even if you just get a little share of the profits in the process, it is a huge profit that you can't even dream of!
With such huge profits, Ruwang certainly couldn't help but be tempted. But after all, he was a well-trained businessman. He hesitated for a moment, then spoke slowly:
"...Even so, why did the prince choose us?"
Among the three conditions for promoting international currency, finance happens to be the simplest and most insignificant one. Theoretically speaking, the prince could just kick out Ru Wang and replace him with a new one, or simply cultivate a reliable financial institution within the Central Plains and eat the whole cake in one bite, leaving no crumbs for outsiders.
He didn't believe that the Prince of Mu was the kind of morally perfect person who was gentle, humble, decent, generous and willing to think about his partners all the time. This kind of person suddenly shows unusual tolerance and magnanimity, which of course makes people feel wary.
In fact, Ruwang's suspicion hit the mark. The prince's expression changed subtly after hearing just one sentence - yes, why should he be so eager to find someone to cooperate with him and share this piece of cake?
Ruwang's guess is quite reasonable. Mu Qi had been planning for a long time and painstakingly, and of course he did not want to make things easier for European bankers; but after thinking it over and over again, he was still stuck on a fatal problem:
...Does the Da'an court have the ability to handle financial problems?
If the blame for hundreds of years of changes, the neglect of military equipment, the negligence of government and the weakness of coastal defense can be put on the unworthy descendants and corrupt officials of later generations, then the blame for the financial collapse cannot be pushed away or shaken off, and the two ancestors Gaozu and Taizong can only bear the responsibility.
Of course, for the past five thousand years, agriculture has been emphasized over commerce, and successive dynasties have not been very good at finance. But it is extremely rare in ancient and modern times for an emperor to be so abstract as Emperor Gaozu, and it deserves a great mention in history books. In the early days of Emperor Gaozu's reign, the monetary system was chaotic, and the people almost had to barter. Emperor Gaozu understood the people's sentiments and decided to print treasure notes as currency, with paper money and copper coins progressing at the same time to alleviate the people's difficulties. Printing paper money was something that was attempted in both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, but generally speaking, it was not widely accepted by the public. It would often depreciate by half after a dozen years, and new money had to be urgently replaced. It was only a temporary emergency measure; this was fully anticipated by both the upper and lower classes.
But no one expected that Emperor Gaozu's actions would be thousands or even hundreds of times more drastic than those of the two Song dynasties: as soon as paper money came out, Emperor Gaozu immediately changed all officials' salaries and rewards into paper money, and then thoughtfully issued a notice, announcing that all transactions from then on would have to be conducted in paper money, with only one exception.
Which one? Pay taxes.
In short, the money the court issued was paper money, but the taxes you paid to the court had to be silver, copper coins, and rice. But why didn’t the imperial court use paper money to collect taxes? The officials below were not stupid, and of course they reacted immediately - because in the eyes of Emperor Gaozu, these banknotes were just a piece of paper for wiping buttocks and could be thrown away at any time.
The subsequent development was not unexpected. After realizing the emperor's true attitude, the credit of paper money collapsed rapidly, and its value depreciated thousands of times in just over ten days. One hundred strings of cash could only buy two grains of rice, exceeding the goals of the two Song dynasties and greatly establishing a benchmark in China's financial history that was unparalleled in ancient and modern times, until it was surpassed by another southern regime. Once credit collapses, it is difficult to rebuild it. Da'an's financial and fiscal system has also been deteriorating, and has finally reached the point where it is now beyond redemption.
Sticks cannot defeat economic laws; violence can accomplish many things, but it is not omnipotent - Emperor Gaozu spent his entire life repeatedly struggling, and in the end he eloquently proved these two laws.
...So, instead of hoping that the current Master Feixuan will have a genetic mutation and a drastic change in his humanity, and suddenly awaken abilities that none of his ancestors in the Zhu family have ever had, and learn to be cautious, self-restrained, conservative, and respect the laws of the economy itself, you might as well hope that a group of people who understand finance will come up to take charge when the dynasty changes. Until such a group of people emerges, we probably can’t expect any major innovations in the economic field.
This is the underlying color of the dynasty, written into its genetic source code from the moment it was born. This level of underlying code is no longer something that can be changed with a little effort. In fact, Mu Qi was in a high-level position and had extensive knowledge. The more information he read, the more frightened he became. He couldn't help himself: with a broken system like Da'an, a mountain of shitty code, and numerous bugs, it would be impossible to revive a complex and difficult international financial system; even if he wanted to sort out the chaotic and complicated domestic financial system, it would be an extremely difficult project.
--to be honest. After reading a lot of information in the cabinet, Mu Qi couldn't help but sigh at the skills of a series of famous ministers from Zhang Cong to Zhang Taiyue; they were able to piece together this pile of junk, patch it up, and barely get it on the road, and they were also able to use the "One Whip" system to make do with the unified country's finances and expand taxation. No matter from which angle you look at it, this is pure bullshit. I suggest that Lao Deng kowtow to you two brothers.
But Mu Qi really didn't have the ability to make such a turnaround, so after thinking for a long time, he had to find foreign businessmen with whom he had a pleasant cooperation and borrow their already established mature financial system. The internal situation is a mess and it can only be maintained with the help of external forces; this is not a decent thing in any way. So the prince remained silent for a while, and could only reluctantly find an excuse:
"...The more friends we have, the better. We still need to cooperate in the future. Of course, we can't eat alone."
Such empty rhetoric might not be able to deceive an old-fashioned capitalist like Ru Wang, so the prince quickly changed the subject and tried to divert the other party's attention:
"Mr. Ruwang is fighting in the investment market, so he should understand the importance of timing. If you seize the opportunity, one day can be as good as a hundred days for others. At such a critical moment, it is not just a simple matter of making a little profit."
This sentence was suggestive, and it really made the merchant's face more turbulent:
"...Of course I will consider the bank wholeheartedly. But——"
"I'm not talking about the bank; or rather, not just the bank." The prince interrupted him: "Mr. Ruwang, you have been in this position of senior bank commissioner for a long time, right?"
The corner of Ru Wang's mouth twitched:
“…I don’t understand what the prince means.”
"No, you know what I mean." Mu Qi said calmly, "Since you have worked in the bank for so long, you should be clear about the style of financiers. They come for profit and leave when the profit is gone; they will destroy the bridge after crossing it and abandon it after the rabbit dies. Even your 'senior commissioner' is actually just an employee serving the top management; they pay you a high salary because you can bring them higher profits. But an employee is just an employee after all. No matter how high their status or how experienced they are, as long as there is a slight fluctuation in profits, the sword hanging over their heads will fall immediately... Am I right, Mr. Ruwang?"
This is of course correct, so Ru Wang's face was blank for a moment:
“There’s nothing we can do about it.”
"There really is nothing we can do about it." The prince agreed. "A senior commissioner is only a commissioner. He will never be able to turn things around with that little bit of profit. Unless you can master some unique channels, key information, and capital that cannot be easily replaced by banks."
Capital Capital, the ability to control the means of production is called capital. The reference to this kind of means of production is also diverse and complex, and cannot be simply summarized by money. In this era of the jungle of the jungle and almost dark forest, having a unique communication channel that cannot be easily interfered with by others and an ally that is strong and reliable enough to control the entire trade route are also very important means of production, and capital that is enough to gain a foothold in the financial world.
"...Of course, this may sound a bit superficial." The prince said slowly, "But I can assure you that we value old friends very much and are willing to cooperate with old friends we trust. We hope to continue this mutually beneficial and win-win business."
Now that things have come to this, it would be boring to try to cover them up any further. The prince stared at Ru Wang's heart-pounding, eager and difficult-to-suppress expression, and solemnly cast the final weight:
"——Mr. Ruwang, you don't want to be a commissioner for life, do you?"
·
【Historical Echoes·Secret】
[Due to the controversial and sensitive content involved, this clip should not be made public]
[…The monetary unification of Southeast Asia is a hot topic in the study of world financial history, but it is also a huge mystery. Historians have long noticed that the unification of currencies in Southeast Asia and East Asia was accomplished overnight, without any cause or preparation, and without any necessary testing or collusion. The capital of the Da'an court and the relevant English banks almost hit it off immediately, and they acted decisively and used both soft and hard tactics to quickly suppress all opposition in a very short period of time, and quickly launched the international monetary system that continues to this day, without giving other forces any room to react - and the explanation given by both sides to the outside world was merely a "coincidence" that came to mind at the moment.
Such a major event certainly could not have been accomplished overnight, so later researchers were skeptical and generally believed that there must have been a secret negotiation process between China and Britain. But the problem is that no matter how researchers searched for existing materials, they could not restore this possible negotiation from the documents. They could only focus their suspicions on certain senior officials on both sides, and repeatedly compared materials and cultural relics in an attempt to find evidence.
Among the many suspects, Juvenal, the lifelong chairman of the East India Company's board of directors, was recognized as the most likely candidate to preside over the negotiations. Ruwang climbed his career from commissioner to senior partner of the Bank of England and chairman of the East India Company. His career was closely linked to China. He was often attacked by his political opponents as a "China-oriented person" and a "Da'an man lurking in British banks." Ruwang was very dissatisfied with this and had refuted it many times in public, and his rebuttals were very powerful.
He claimed that all his cooperation with China was completed through the Prince of Mu. If he is considered a "pro-China" person, then should the Prince of Mu of Da'an be considered a "pro-Europe" or "pro-Europe" person?
As we all know, after the Prince of Duke Mu participated in the Jiayin Reform, China has been at war every year, and has had military conflicts with almost all the powerful countries in Europe. It is truly an international financial system that was conquered by force and conquered the world with just a pair of fists. If you say that such core members are close to Europe, it would be better to say that Genghis Khan of Mongolia has a kind face and is one of the greatest saints in the world, and everyone should worship him.
After such a sharp rebuttal, Ruwang's political enemies were indeed powerless to oppose. So they quickly changed tack and gave the chairman of the board a new nickname:
"Mu Qi's dog".
】
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