Treasure Island
I didn't expect that Japan, which I thought was barbaric and uncivilized, actually had the title of Treasure Island. Doesn't this title mean that Japan is full of gold and silver? And Zhu Ping'an just said that Japan used gold to cast a Buddha statue over ten feet tall. Tsk tsk, the Buddha statues in our Ming Dynasty were at most gold-plated, which was considered incredible. I didn't expect that Japan actually used pure gold to cast Buddha statues.
Zhu Ping'an's remarks aroused the interest of the officials in the hall in Japan.
"What nonsense! If Japan is full of gold and silver, why are they dressed in rags, hungry, and yet still come to our coastal areas to become bandits?!" Li Mo did not believe what Zhu Ping'an said.
"This is simple. Japan is rich in gold and silver minerals, but lacks natural resources. It is a barbaric country made up of several large islands. There is limited land suitable for farming, natural disasters and earthquakes are frequent, and there is a shortage of food. Food is the most important thing for people. No matter how much gold and silver there is, it is useless if there is not enough food." Zhu Ping'an explained softly.
Zhu Ping'an's explanation is very convincing. For example, when a flood occurred, only two people managed to survive on the treetops, while below them was a flood as vast as the ocean. The two people on the treetops, one was a landlord with ten taels of gold, and the other was a beggar with ten steamed buns. It must be the beggar who survived to the end. Without food, no matter how much gold you have, it is useless.
"What does Zihou mean by the exchange of gold and silver among the barbarians in Japan?" an official asked thoughtfully.
"The gold-silver exchange rate in Japan is very different from that in the Ming Dynasty. The gold price in Japan is much lower than that in the Ming Dynasty. If we can obtain gold in Japan, wouldn't it be a huge profit?" Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and replied softly.
Historically, some time before the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Western countries took advantage of the fact that the gold price in Japan was much lower than the international price, purchased large quantities of gold, made huge profits, and earned a huge amount of gold from Japan, returning home with a huge load of money.
Why can't the Ming Dynasty do what Europe has done? Why should we leave this opportunity to the European powers hundreds of years later
This is probably the crudest form of financial warfare.
"Ridiculous. How can our Great Ming Dynasty, a dignified and benevolent country, use such means to obtain ill-gotten gains! We, the descendants of Confucius, should not do such things." After Zhu Ping'an proposed the idea of cashing in gold, an old minister with gray hair and beard stood up and accused Zhu Ping'an.
Well
This old minister is really a benchmark in the moral world! The Japanese pirates are killing, wounding and looting at my doorstep. I just mentioned it to Japan to cash in on gold, but it doesn't work. The **** superior country, the country of benevolence and righteousness, the descendants of Confucius, etc. all came out.
By the way, I really want this old man to go to the coast and give the Japanese pirates some moral lessons. Maybe the Japanese pirates will be so moved that they will commit suicide by disembowelment and apologize.
"What you said is a way to fill the national treasury. But I don't know if you know that silver is in short supply in our Ming Dynasty. Our Ming Dynasty has a territory of thousands of miles, but it does not produce much silver. It is already difficult to support the operation of our Ming Dynasty. How can we exchange the silver of our Ming Dynasty for gold? The people's livelihood in our Ming Dynasty depends on silver. If we exchange silver for gold in the long run, the consequences will be disastrous." After weighing the pros and cons, an official from the Ministry of Revenue raised a new question.
In dynasties before the Ming Dynasty, the currency in circulation was mainly copper coins, and silver and gold were only auxiliary. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that the silver standard was established. If there was a shortage of silver, the economic system of the Ming Dynasty would collapse.
Although the officials of the Ministry of Revenue did not understand what the silver standard was or what finance was, they still had a rough understanding of it.
"This gentleman is right, but gold can be cashed in not only with silver, there are other ways. Our Ming Dynasty is rich in ceramics, tea, cloth and other things, many of which are lacking in Japan. We can sell them to Japan, but they must settle in gold. This way, we can kill two birds with one stone." Zhu Ping'an nodded. Then he continued.
Zhu Ping'an had no intention of exchanging silver for gold from the beginning. He said so much because he wanted to broaden the horizons of the people with lofty ideals in the Ming Dynasty and stop focusing on the small piece of land of the Ming Dynasty. There is a wider world outside the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, Europe was already on the road to catching up with and surpassing China. If the Ming Dynasty began to open its eyes to the world now, it would still have many opportunities. The Ming Dynasty was not inferior to the West at this time.
However, if history continues, the maritime ban, the seclusion, the isolation of the country... it is only a matter of time before the Western ships and cannons blow open the door of our country. Zhu Ping'an does not want to see the humiliation of modern China happen again, so Zhu Ping'an will take the opportunity to expand the vision of the Chinese people and try to guide them to look at the world in a positive way.
"Haha, you've said so much and gone through so much trouble, but you still want to relax the maritime ban! Humph, the maritime ban is an ancestral rule, and it is clearly stated that no sail is allowed to sail out to sea, so the maritime ban cannot be relaxed."
Li Mo sneered, looked at Yan Song, Yan Shifan and others who seemed to have expected it, and then looked at Zhu Ping'an sarcastically. Obviously, Li Mo once again attributed Zhu Ping'an to the category of Yan Song's followers.
It is also easy to understand that most of Yan Song's followers, especially Yan Shifan, are the most vocal in calling for the relaxation of the maritime ban. In Li Mo's eyes, Zhu Ping'an went through so much trouble, saying that the people would not be taxed more but the national treasury would double, which was all nonsense and a trick. Everything was just for one purpose: to relax the maritime ban!
This little thief Zhu Ping'an really worked hard to cheer for Yan Shifan and others. After all, Yan Song said a lot of good things to help Zhu Ping'an get promoted.
Li Mo brought the issue back to whether the maritime ban should be relaxed or not, and the two factions started arguing again in the hall. Because of what Zhu Ping'an had just said, the relaxation faction became more and more courageous in its argument, and of course the strict prohibition faction was not to be outdone.
However, this time Emperor Jiajing did not give them more opportunities to perform. After listening for a moment, he asked Huang Jin to step down and called out a few names. He left behind five people, including Yan Song, Li Mo, and Xu Jie, and the rest were led out of the Western Garden by the eunuchs.
Zhu Ping'an was also sent out of the West Garden along with everyone else. Although Zhu Ping'an's performance in the audience with the emperor today was acceptable, he was not qualified to stay.
When Zhu Ping'an arrived at the Hanlin Academy, everyone in the academy had already known the news of his promotion. Except for Zhang Siwei's heartfelt congratulations, everyone else had expressions of envy, jealousy and hatred on their faces, especially Yuan Wei, whose face was almost falling to the ground, and he became even more resentful towards Zhu Ping'an.
"Congratulations, Master Zhu."
Zhang Juzheng looked at Zhu Ping'an with a strange look at first, but it disappeared in a flash, and he walked over with a smile on his face to congratulate Zhu Ping'an on his promotion. (To be continued.)