Chapter 65: The Discussion on Money and Currency

  As the conversation deepened, Lin Chunhong and Qu Shiwen's transaction finally entered a substantive stage. Lin Chunhong hoped to use the power of the Donglin Party to achieve his goal of going north to suppress bandits, and asked Qu Shiwen to provide convenience for Bangtai's business in Jiangnan.

  Guo Shi didn't say yes or no, only that he needed to consider the feasibility. Lin Chunhong thought to himself: Now I have very few chips to offer, and I've asked for help many times. You just wait, we'll see who's stronger!

  Lin Chunhong had no choice but to bid farewell to Qu Shiying and continue his inspection tour in Wujiang Shengze. Qu Shiying immediately rushed to the Fushan Water House to pay respects to his teacher Qian Qianyi. The Fushan Water House was built on the lake shore, where Qian Qianyi stored all his books. In the Ming Dynasty, it was very popular for private individuals to collect and store books, and many bookhouses were named after water, mainly because books were extremely afraid of fire. For example, the Tianyi Pavilion was derived from "Tianyi Shengshui". The name Fushan Water House also originated from this intention.

  It would be more accurate to say that Qian Qianyi was a scholar rather than a politician. Although he was enthusiastic about the struggle for power, he never achieved his goals. After Chongzhen ascended to the throne, he relied on the Donglin Party, but was soon overthrown by Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren. His political acumen can be seen from this. Now Qian Qianyi has returned to his hometown for a long time, every day arranging his collection of books and doing historical research. Qian Qianyi has an ambitious plan: to privately compile a history of the dynasty from Taizu to the present during his lifetime! He has already published one historical work, "Taizu Shilu Bianzheng".

  If Lin Xianghong knew about Qian Xianyi's plan, he couldn't help but feel: The atmosphere of the Great Ming is really open, and private individuals can still compile the history of this dynasty! It was also under this open atmosphere that the Great Ming ushered in a wave of Western learning spreading eastward, giving rise to a large number of scientists worthy of praise.

  Qian Qianyi stroked a rare book, carefully wiping off the dust on it and putting it back on the bookshelf. He asked casually, "Have those three left? You're quite something, taking one carriage ride and becoming the focus of Changshu."

  Guo Shi said with a smile: "If you don't ride in the sedan chair, how can we show the world that Lin Chunhong is our man?"

  Qian Qianyi also didn't speak, and instead took out a book to read, after a long while, he asked: "I just can't understand why you attach so much importance to this little kid, isn't this little kid just having a strong smell of copper?"

  "You don't know, sir. If we talk about family wealth, how can this kid compare to Zheng Yiguan's millions? If we talk about bravery, how can his village soldiers compare to the elite troops of Zuo Liangyu? But what's good is that this kid has no one to rely on, currently he has no other choice but to ask for our help!"

  "Oh? Even if I were to casually find a farmer by Taihu Lake, there wouldn't be anyone I can rely on."

  "Haha, sir teased the student. Last time, the student secretly sent someone to investigate and found that there were many secrets on Baili Island, but unfortunately couldn't get on the island, so the specific situation is unclear. However, the student heard intense cannon fire and vaguely saw several three-masted sailing ships over 10 zhang tall, it can be confirmed that Baili Island has a large-scale shipyard, and there are also local soldiers practicing the use of artillery!"

  "Huh? This kid actually has this move? Interesting." Qu Shiyu's words finally piqued Qian Jianyi's interest.

  "This guy is like a weasel, although he's small in stature, but agile and full of vitality. If you're not careful, he'll bite you once, and that one bite can be fatal!" Qu Shi's sensitivity far surpassed his teacher Qian Jianyi, and he had some perception of Lin Chunhong's hidden power.

  "I didn't expect Qian Jianyi to still not change his point of view, he said: 'Alright, alright, even if a mosquito's leg is thin, it still has some meat. You can pull him in, I won't oppose it, but don't forget that Zheng Yiguan and Zuo Liangyu are our main targets, absolutely don't divert too much energy!'"

  Guo Shi sighed and said, "It's not easy to get close to Zheng Yiguan and Zuo Liangyu. Xiong Wenchuan regards Zheng Yiguan as a forbidden zone and doesn't allow anyone to intervene. As for Zuo Liangyu, he only looks up to Hou Xun, so how can we insert ourselves in such a short time? It's also out of desperation that I thought of going to find Lin Chunhong."

  Qian Qianyi burst out laughing, "It's precisely because it's difficult that the gains are great! Lin Chunhong and Zheng Yiguan and Zuo Liangyu can't compare to each other, just like fireflies competing with the sun and moon in brightness!"

  Qu Shiyuan nodded in agreement, bid farewell to Qian Yanyi, and went on to busy himself with his political connections. Since Sun Yuanhua was executed, the Donglin Party and Fushe were suppressed everywhere by Wen Tiren, Qu Shiyuan's sense of crisis was extremely strong, and even Lin Chunhong, this straw to grasp at, did not want to let go.

  Lin Chunhong was naturally unaware that he was regarded as a weasel, mosquito legs, firefly and straw. He had been the county historian for nearly three years, with many achievements and excellent annual evaluations, but his position never rose. This was not only related to his being a white body, but more importantly, he was an orphan with no one above him. Zhang Daohan had long pointed out that being a white body was not the problem, if you want to go further, you must find a backer in the imperial court. Zhang Daohan had always admired the Donglin Party and suggested that Lin Chunhong tightly grasp the plow of Qi Shi, striving to get the support of this powerful backer, the Donglin Party.

  Lin Xianghong also had this intention. After all, although the Donglin Party and Fushe suffered a thorough defeat in the imperial court, they still had strong forces locally.

  Now, Lin Chunhong and his two companions are marveling at the prosperity of Wujiang Shengze. Shengze is one of the four major silk capitals along with Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huzhou. Almost every household here makes a living by raising silkworms. The riversides are lined with mulberry trees, and people are busy picking leaves in the green woods, occasionally singing Wu folk songs. In the village, the sound of looms is endless, day and night, and silk fabrics woven from far and near are all sold in Shengze. There are no less than a thousand pawnshops in Shengze, and merchants from all over the world gather here to buy silk, making it difficult to find a place to rest even for a moment.

  In front of the silk store, a group of merchants always gather. These merchants are big and small, with the large ones selling thousands of bolts of silk at once, while the small ones only sell a few bolts. No matter how much capital the merchants have, each person carries a steelyard on their back. The steelyard has almost become an emblem of the merchant's identity, and when they receive silver from the purchasing merchant, they must use their own steelyard to weigh it again, lest they be taken advantage of without realizing it.

  As a result, the sound of arguments in Sheng Ze Li was endless, and most of them were about the issue of silver. This made Lin Chunhong and his two companions shake their heads repeatedly. The three found a small shop, ordered some special snacks from Sheng Ze, and continued to argue about this issue.

  Especially Zhang Daohan and Li Chongde, the two are used to arguing, and when they debate, it's even more explosive. Alas, the conflict of ideas involves all aspects, not just silver transactions?

  Li Chongde had a good understanding of the paper money system and sighed, "It's true that paper money is more convenient than silver coins, but why can't it be widely promoted?"

  Zhang Daohan hummed and said, "The baochao has long been worthless paper. Rain Tian didn't think about it, the imperial court issued too many baochao, so of course the common people don't want to use them. Today's baochao can still buy a head of cattle, but tomorrow it will only be able to buy a pancake. If you were in my shoes, you'd also be eager to spend it!"

  Li Chongde looked at Zhang Daohan with disdain, glanced at him sideways and said: "If the court's reserve of gold and silver is worth the same as Baochao, why not let Baochao be exchanged directly for gold and silver? Why has Baochao fallen to this point?"

  "If the court had gold and silver of equal value, why issue paper money? Isn't issuing paper money just a way to collect wealth?" Zhang Daohuan's counterattack immediately followed.

  "The purpose of issuing baochao is multifaceted, convenient for transactions, how can it be for amassing wealth?"

  "Can ordinary people stop the imperial court from collecting wealth?"

  ……

  Zhang Daohan and Li Chongde's argument grew louder, Lin Chunhong saw that the two were fundamentally not discussing the same issue, one was talking about the role of paper money, and the other was talking about the court being irresponsible, it was simply a case of "chicken and duck talk". He couldn't help but say: "Baochao is also easy to counterfeit, didn't the Wenzhou Prefecture Treasury have a big case of counterfeiting Baochao?"

  Zhang Daohan and Li Chongde finally stopped arguing and began discussing the counterfeit currency case that shook the Ming dynasty years ago.

  But Zhang Daohan and Li Chongde's argument had already startled the surrounding diners, who were mostly businessmen and naturally had a deep understanding of the inconvenience of silver. For a moment, they pointed at Lin Chunhong and his two companions, discussing them in hushed tones.

  Next to Lin Chunhong's table, there was a blond-haired and blue-eyed Westerner who was also listening in. Lin Chunhong had already gotten used to the Westerners of the Ming Dynasty and didn't intentionally try to strike up a conversation. This Westerner came from Spain, named Felice, and under the guise of being a missionary, he did some business dealings. He secretly sneered at the debate among the many diners: "What's so difficult about this? Casting gold and silver coins of various weights, wouldn't these problems be easily solved?"

  Just as Phyllis was muttering to herself about the intelligence of the Ming people, Lin Chunhong's soft discussion entered his ears: "Minting gold and silver coins is also a way, but all these require costs, and there is almost no profit. Didn't the court mint copper coins on a large scale several times? Each time they lost money badly. In fact, the silver ingots minted by the government are similar to silver coins, but there are too few varieties, and the quality cannot be guaranteed, so they are not very useful for small transactions."

  Li Chongde sighed and said, "Now the currency system has reached a point where it cannot be changed. When the village soldiers enter the village, they all raise the issue that the silver or copper coins in the village are not enough, and basically all transactions are bartered, which is very troublesome. I don't know if you've noticed, sir, but when it comes to large-scale transactions, transporting silver and money is also a big problem. Long-distance transportation not only wastes manpower but is also unsafe on the road, which has a great impact on our business! The letter of credit you mentioned last time can indeed solve this problem very well, but it cannot prevent counterfeiting."

  Zhang Daohan frowned and said, "Only the imperial court can formulate currency laws. Alas, now the imperial court is plagued by internal troubles and external threats, and even inside it's a struggle to make ends meet. How can they have the leisure to formulate currency laws? Moreover, there is no consensus on how to solve the problems we are currently facing, so even if the imperial court has the will, it lacks the power..."

  "Hush..." Lin Chunhong noticed the Westerner beside them was eavesdropping on their conversation, and hastily stopped Zhang Daohan, saying: "The pickled vegetables from Sheng Ze are indeed famous for a reason, they're really delicious, what do you two think?"

  "It's really true, Sheng Ze not only dresses up the world, but even snacks have a unique style..."

  "Haha, Sheng Ze not only has the best clothes and food in the world, but also has a reputation for its delicious sauce dishes. Even the Guiyuan Temple is famous for it. Indeed, it's a place where people gather, merchants congregate, and culture flourishes... It makes one feel like they're back in their hometown..."

  After talking nonsense without any nutrition for half a day, the three men paid the bill and left, continuing to watch Sheng Ze's silk industry. Phyllis was suddenly excited, feeling that an opportunity to make a fortune had arrived, and hurriedly paid the bill and followed them.

  But Lin Chunhong and the other two came out of the small shop, looking at the crowd gathered in front of the tooth line, Li Chongde sighed: "I think Sheng Ze's silk industry doesn't have any experience worth mentioning, it's just gathering idle people to reel silk and weave silk. Here we have accumulated thousands of years of mulberry cultivation and sericulture experience, but we can't learn from it, it's better to go to Songjiang to see the cotton cloth."

  As soon as Li Chongde's words fell, Zhang Daohan curled his lips and said: "Without any experience, can one town be compared with Suzhou, Hangzhou and Huzhou?"

  "It's nothing more than that there are many people raising silkworms and mulberry trees, what's so remarkable about it? Moreover, the rivers here are dense and transportation is convenient, so merchants gather here."

  "I think the experience of that dental clinic is quite good..."

  Two men were arguing, when suddenly they heard a strange voice from behind them saying: "Three of you, please stop..."

  Lin Chunhong hastily turned back, only to find that the Westerner from earlier had caught up. Lin's bodyguards instinctively went on high alert, shielding the two scholars behind them, and asked, "May I ask what brings you here, sir?"

  Phillis ran all the way, panting and speaking intermittently: "You are an official of the imperial court, right? I just happened to overhear the conversation between you and the others, please don't mind."

  Lin Chunhong saw Phyllis and had no malice, put down his heart and smiled: "What am I, a court official? Just a small official."

  Phillis was secretly surprised and pointed at Li Chongde, asking: "Didn't that person just call you 'sir'? Isn't 'sir' a title for officials in the imperial court?"

  Lin Chunhong and the other two looked at each other, smiled, but didn't answer.

  Phillis was overjoyed, having heard that the people of Da Ming were humble and unwilling to directly acknowledge themselves as court officials. He said: "If the court intends to mint gold and silver coins, I have a way to make minting coins a profitable business!"

  Lin Chunhong was very interested and asked: "I wonder if you have any method?"

  Phillis hesitated for half a day before saying: "If I tell you, you won't hire me..."

  Lin Chunhong burst out laughing: "If you don't tell me your secret, how can I know that you have something in your belly and hire you with confidence? Don't worry, as long as your method is effective, I promise you, I will not treat you unfairly!"

  Phillis couldn't help it and poured out his plan, making Lin Chunhong look at him with new eyes.

  Lin Chunhong finally said only one sentence: "Follow me to Jingzhou, and then the coin factory will be handed over to you!"

  Phillis was overjoyed and immediately became a follower of the three, following them to Songjiang.

  After arriving in Songjiang, Lin Chunhong found that the technology of Songjiang was not worth mentioning either. It just made a name for itself and had extremely low worker wages, forming an industrial chain in the Songjiang area.

  Lin Chunhong found it dull and returned to Changshu, again sounding out Qiu Shi's attitude. Lin Chunhong agreed to provide 6,000 taels of silver as a tribute for Qian Qianyi and Qiu Shi's master-disciple relationship, and only then did Qiu Shi agree to run errands for Lin Chunhong.

  Lin Chunhong settled this matter and immediately returned to Zhijiang to make all preparations for going into battle.