Chapter 56: Fang Zida's Request

  During the naked run period, I hope everyone will recommend it more and remember to collect it by hand. Thank you!

  "Coin casting?" Yes, it's coin casting!

  China has always used copper coins as auxiliary currency, gold and silver, or even jewelry as the main currency for circulation. Except for the copper coins cast in each dynasty, the value of gold and silver objects has always been calculated by their purity and weight, which is very inconvenient to use.

  In the late Qing dynasty's Westernization Movement, on someone's suggestion, the Qing court also tried to mint a batch of dragon dollars by referencing foreign gold and silver coins. However, due to uneven manufacturing levels, small issuance quantities, and inconsistent purity, they ultimately failed to truly circulate.

  Currently, the currencies used in the Republic are diverse. Traditional gold and silver are still circulating, and even the Qing dynasty's copper coins are still widely used among the people. Excluding a portion of "yinpiao" (banknotes) issued by some Chinese banks, transportation banks, and local money shops, the vast majority directly use foreign currencies. Among them, the most widely circulated is the Mexican silver dollar, commonly known as the "yāng yáng".

  In other words, the currency in the early days of the Republic of China was chaotic and there was no truly representative national legal tender. This situation is unthinkable in Western countries, where a country does not have its own currency, which is extremely detrimental from both economic and social perspectives.

  Coining, or issuing legal tender by the government, to realize its functions as a measure of value, medium of circulation, store of value, standard of deferred payments and world currency, is an indispensable step for a unified country.

  Not only that, but also apart from the main function of currency, minting is a big business to make money. In the case of central financial difficulties, unified national currency system, supplemented by finance through minting, which is also a way with small investment, quick effect and stable income.

  After proposing the coinage proposal, Song Jiaoren suddenly had an idea, and after reading through a thick stack of materials sent by Fang Zidao that evening, he finally made up his mind. The next day, he submitted a proposal to Yuan Shikai and the National Assembly to mint the Republic's legal currency.

  The proposal for minting coins was met with great attention from Yuan Shikai and the two houses of parliament. People with insight naturally raised their hands in approval, and even some members of parliament who were used to opposing the government did not have many objections. After all, the current currency is chaotic, with a mix of everything, and it's very inconvenient for anyone to use. As a country, issuing its own unified legal tender is a suggestion that no one would refuse.

  In just a few days, the proposal for casting the first batch of coins in the Republic of China was smoothly passed. For this reason, Song Jiaoren reported to President Yuan Shikai and agreed that the government would set up a special institution for coin casting and start preparing for it.

  The method of casting coins was proposed by Fang Zida, and many aspects of the materials he handed over to Song Jiren made him suddenly enlightened. To be honest, some things he had vaguely felt before, but never broke through the last layer of window paper, while Fang Zida's analysis from both theoretical and practical perspectives gave him great inspiration.

  However, the material written by Fang Zida was detailed but only raised questions and objectives, without providing a solution. This made Song Jiaoren feel itchy in his heart, like seven or eight cats scratching, as if a delicious dish was placed in front of him, visible and smelling good, but unable to be eaten.

  "Zhang Ming, I've read your masterpiece carefully, but how come it doesn't mention how to do it?" Song Jiaoren asked eagerly as he invited Fang Zidao to his home and closed the study door.

  "I'm telling you, Tuan Chu Xiong, do you think I'm a god or something!" Fang Zi Da rolled his eyes and said in a very impolite tone: "Do you know how much effort I put into this? If I need to find out how to do it, why would I need you, the Premier?"

  "Hehe... Don't be angry, don't be angry." Song Jiaoren smiled awkwardly and deliberately handed a cup of tea to Fang Zida with both hands: "Zhengming! Since there's no outsider here, can't we just talk freely?"

  Taking the tea, Fang Zidao shook his head and sighed: "Tun Chu brother, Tun Chu brother, seeing through is one thing, but being able to do it is another. It's not that I don't want to write or speak, but how can I do it without deceiving you?"

  "But...” Song Jiaoren was about to persuade again, but Fang Zida waved his hand and said: “You can't get fat by eating in one breath. Things need to be done step by step. Since we can find the right direction, there will always be a way. Besides, what I wrote is just my own opinion. According to my suggestion, it's better to ask more people to take a look. What I wrote may have some unrealistic aspects, let's discuss and unify our suggestions, and then come up with a more suitable approach. After all, three cobblers can surpass one Zhuge Liang."

  Fang Zida took a sip of water and continued, "Also, we must have a good talk with the President. There are some aspects that require his support, otherwise many things can't be done."

  "This is also the case..." Fang Zidao said so frankly, but Song Jiaoren still didn't understand that he was no longer Song Jiaoren. Indeed, Fang Zidao saw the flaws and wrote out the results, but the theoretical aspects took up the majority, and it was difficult to put into practice after all. More importantly, many aspects of his three major proposals involved Yuan Shikai's interests, and without Yuan Shikai's support and tacit consent, it would be impossible to decide solely by Song Jiaoren.

  Nodding his head, Song Jiaoren stopped forcing Fang Zidao and changed the subject.

  "The proposal for minting coins has been passed by the National Assembly, and the State Council has decided to establish a specialized coinage institution. After careful consideration, I think it would be more suitable for you to take on this role."

  "What's going on with this organization? You tell me first." Fang Zida seemed very interested and sat up straight to ask.

  Song Jiaoren shared his ideas, minting is a major national affair, he planned to have the State Council and Ministry of Finance take charge, assigning personnel to establish this institution. This institution will be under the Nanjing Manufacturing Bureau and Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau, and another Casting Bureau will be established specifically for coin casting as the main executor. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance will entrust the Transportation Bank as the issuing agency for minting, to carry out the work of recovering old coins and silver ingots. Fang Zidao's side is mainly responsible for preparing the Casting Bureau and doing the actual minting work.

  "No way!" Song Jiaoren had just finished speaking when Fang Zidao flatly refused.

  "Why?" Song Jiaoren looked at Fang Zidao in surprise, not understanding why he would give up such an important position. It was a lucrative job, and if it weren't for Fang Zidao, Song Jiaoren wouldn't have handed it over so easily. But as soon as Fang Zidao finished speaking, he indicated that he didn't want to do the job, leaving Song Jiaoren bewildered.

  "Why?" Fang Zida lit a cigar and took a puff, coldly laughing: "Your method is no different from the copper administration of the Qing dynasty. It's just a change in soup but not in medicine. If we continue like this, silver coins might be minted, but it won't bring any improvement to the country's finances. It's hard work without reward, why should I bother? Ha ha, this is indeed a lucrative position, and one can make a lot of money from it. Unfortunately, Fang Zida doesn't care about such benefits."

  Song Jiaoren furrowed his brow and after a long while asked: "Deng Ming, what do you think it would take for him to agree?"

  "You want me to say?" Fang Zida asked with a smile.

  "Right!" Song Jiaoren nodded seriously.

  "Alright, I'll say it!" Fang Zidao said with a smile: "If you want me to do it, you have to satisfy my three conditions."

  "Speak!"

  "One: You divide the Bank of Communications into two parts, one of which is reorganized as a central bank under my responsibility. Two: The central bank has the sole right to mint and issue currency and other necessary functions, with subordinate institutions including the Nanjing and Shanghai mints and the newly established casting bureau. Three: I need to merge the Hanyang Iron Works and the China Merchants Steamship Company into the central bank's subordinate institutions."

  "This……" Song Jiaoren hesitated for a moment. The Bank of Communications is one of the two major state-owned banks, and apart from the Bank of China, it has almost the same rights as the nominal central bank. Fang Zidao wants to directly deprive the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications of their privileges and split the Bank of Communications, which will inevitably cause a stir. As for the manufacturing bureaus in Nanjing and Shanghai being affiliated with the new central bank, this is not a difficult task. However, Fang Zidao's third point even wants to include the Hanyang Iron Works and the China Merchants Steamship Company, which would touch off a series of related interests and is really not an easy thing to handle.

  "Heh heh, no rush, take your time to think about it, and you can get back to me in a few days. Fang Zida saw Song Jiaoren's troubled expression and smiled: "However, I must make one thing clear - these three demands are non-negotiable, if any of them is missing, I absolutely won't take on this responsibility. Brother Xuanchu, the country's problems have reached a critical point, to cure the disease and save the people, we need to administer strong medicine, we can't afford to hesitate, if we're like Li Hongzhang, always patching things up, in the end it'll all be for nothing!"

  After finishing speaking, Fang Zidao stood up and bid farewell, leaving Song Jiaoren alone with a heart full of thoughts to savor his words.

  Leaving the Song Mansion, Fang Zidao had a smile at the corner of his mouth, as if all this was within his calculations. Whether it was Song Jiaoren as Premier or Yuan Shikai as President, they would eventually agree to his demands, and grasping the Central Bank was equivalent to grasping China's economic lifeline, which was especially important for Fang Zidao. As for positions like Minister of Finance or Deputy Minister, Fang Zidao had never looked down on them from the start.