Chapter 59: The Gold Standard Concept

  At this point, Yongzheng stopped in time. He knew that Kangxi had always emphasized agriculture and people's livelihood throughout his life, often disguising himself to inquire about prices, fearing that prices would skyrocket and cause social unrest. And the reason he threw out this question was that, in the later world, the gold standard was popular all over the world. To become a world economic power, it is necessary to instill the concept of the gold standard now.

  Upon hearing this, Kangxi indeed furrowed his brow. Previously, he had never thought that there would come a day when he would be worried about having too much silver. The analysis and prediction of the 14th prince were not unreasonable. As more and more silver poured in, it would inevitably lead to devaluation and inflation, which was a major flaw in the financial system. How could this problem be solved? Could they just close the ports and stop trade? He glanced at Yin-zhen and said, "Tell me your specific thoughts."

  "Huang Ama, to solve this problem, we can take two approaches. Firstly, vigorously promote gold trade, Western countries want to come and buy our Qing dynasty's goods, we can forcibly stipulate that the payment for purchasing goods must be paid in gold, forcing them to use gold transactions, while the imperial court issues a strict order to restrict the outflow of gold. Secondly, take the inflowing silver and spend it on buying goods from Western countries that our Qing dynasty needs, forming a virtuous cycle, which not only suppresses the devaluation of silver but also enriches domestic goods."

  In fact, the Qing dynasty has always been in a passive position in foreign trade, and although it obtained a large amount of silver, its profits were far lower than the average level of Western countries. It can be said that it was "buying high and selling low", and in reality, it had always been doing business at a loss. The Qing dynasty's fleet only reached as far as Southeast Asia, and there was no direct ocean-going fleet to the West. This kind of trade is considered long-distance trade for the Westerners, but for our great Qing, it is merely external commerce, completely an abnormal trade with no return.

  Our great Qing is the center of world economy and trade, it should have firmly grasped the maritime transportation rights, but now we have handed over our maritime transportation rights to Western countries. Although the scale of trade has been expanding continuously, all exports of our great Qing's goods rely on Western countries for transportation, and imports are entirely dependent on what others bring in. This completely passive trading method is indeed a sad thing.

  "In the past six months since arriving in Shanghai, I have been diligently studying maritime trade and customs. At present, this completely passive model must be broken. I dare to guarantee that once a healthy maritime trade model is formed, customs tariffs will account for 20% or even more of the country's annual revenue."

  Two percent? Kangxi's heart skipped a beat, last year the national revenue was 43 million taels, two percent is how much? More than 8.6 million taels, and the country's customs, including both regular taxes and surplus, only had 12 million taels in total last year. This gap isn't small at all. And Yin-zhen's views on Qing's passivity and sadness in overseas trade infuriated him even more.

  All along, Kangxi had been gloating over the profits of maritime trade, but he never expected that he would be making a dowry for the Westerners, and he only got a small profit. How could he bear it? He unconsciously stood up and walked quickly in the hall.

  Kangxi's face was frosty, and Yin Zhen secretly wiped away a cold sweat. He couldn't help but wonder if he had gone too far. If Kangxi were to order the closure of all ports in a fit of rage, he would become a historical sinner, forever recorded in the annals of history with a heavy pen.

  Li Dequan was also standing by, his heart racing like fifteen buckets of water, going up and down non-stop. In his heart, he secretly sighed that this Fourteenth Young Master had really been tempered through trials and tribulations. He had only gone to Shanghai for a short time, but when it came to maritime trade, he could rattle off a whole set of terms, which was enough to drive the Old Master to the edge of furious rage. Alas, you come back only once every half year, can't you just say a few less words? You're scaring me, an old slave, out of my wits! Next time I meet the Fourteenth Young Master, it's best if I avoid him.

  Kangxi soon controlled his emotions and sat down slowly in front of Yin Zhen, "This matter will be delayed for now. Wait until your ocean-going trading fleet and warships are built before we discuss it again. As for promoting the gold trade, I'll discuss it with several other ministers, you can also submit a memorial."

  "Your Majesty, I will rush back to Shanghai tomorrow, but there is one more thing that requires your gracious approval." Yín Zhēn said cautiously, "The Navy is on the warship at sea, and has been drifting on the sea for a long time. Firstly, the wind and rain are strong at sea, and secondly, they have many opportunities to train in the water and fall into the water. The current uniform is not suitable, I humbly request that Your Majesty allow the Navy to design another military uniform, that is, combat clothing."

  Kangxi thought secretly that this was probably another imitation of the Western naval forces, and thinking about it also made sense, so he said, "Approved, you may withdraw."

  Looking at the departing figure of Yongzheng, Kangxi couldn't help but let out a light sigh. This old Fourteenth has something in his belly, he casually mentioned and brought up a customs reform, a financial administration, and the pros and cons of maritime trade are clearer than any other minister. It seems that in the future, I need to squeeze him a bit more.

  On March 20th, early in the morning, Yongzheng got out of bed. In Beijing, he didn't dare to slack off. At noon, he arrived at Huitong Hall on time.

  Looking far away, the front of the Huitong Hall was a sea of black, with at least thousands of people. Yin Zhen was startled, weren't there only over 200 people who came that day? How did so many people suddenly appear? As he walked closer, he saw that the empty space in front of the Huitong Hall, which was usually used for trading, was now filled with small groups of three or five people, and large groups of over a dozen people, all chattering and bustling about, even more lively than a vegetable market.

  After careful observation, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Usually, it was the master with three or four attendants. When they saw him arrive, everyone would rush up to greet him and pay their respects, still calling out to each other. After all the people had stood up, he shouted loudly, "Now let's start roll call. Those whose names are called, line up behind me and stand at attention, Wu Ge."

  "Biao Xia is below." Wu Ge loudly responded and then ran out of the crowd to stand behind Yin Zhen like a flagpole.

  "Uzimahe, Bayi, Malan, Gargizi, Fuheng..." As Yongzheng called out the names, one by one, the imperial clansmen ran to stand behind him in a straight line like Wu Gu.

  There were 218 people in total, all present. Yin Zhen thought to himself that this group of people was quite obedient, fearing that they would become the target of his wrath. He swept a glance over the crowd standing like statues and felt a sense of emotion. The Kangxi Emperor had established a rule that all imperial princes who wanted to be enfeoffed as nobles must undergo an examination, not only in literature but also in archery and horsemanship; those who failed would have their noble titles reduced.

  The Kaifeng's regulations forced all the imperial clansmen to develop good physiques, so in terms of personal quality, the imperial clansmen were much stronger than ordinary people, whether it was culture, physique, or military quality. They were not a little bit worse, only they were all skilled in archery and horsemanship, but I don't know if they can adapt to the navy.

  He immediately made a secret determination in his heart, not adapting also had to be adapted for the old man, the old man spent tens of millions of silver coins and years of energy to build the ocean-going fleet, it was not used to decorate the door, but to make money, thinking of coming to the navy to mix up war exploits? No way.