Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 392 Zero Tariffs and Hard Currency! The Most Popular Red Notes!
The negotiations have stalled not because Siam is deliberately delaying or unwilling to cooperate.

Faced with the various demands put forward by the Ming Dynasty, how could the people of Siam dare to refuse?
After all, the Ming Dynasty's strength was undeniable, and Siam dared not disobey it in the slightest.

In fact, the Siamese negotiating minister had racked his brains to secure the loan.

They were even the first to propose using land and even fertile fields as collateral for loans.

They thought to themselves, "Fertile land is the foundation of a nation. Surely the Ming Dynasty will accept such a sincere proposal?"

However, the Ming Dynasty's negotiating officials had their own considerations.

In their view, given the current situation, it would be extremely difficult for ordinary merchants from the Ming Dynasty to directly operate land estates in Siam.

Not many people are willing to do so.

Perhaps this is not impossible in the future as the situation develops and cooperation between the two sides deepens.

But at least for now, the time is far from ripe.

For these reasons, the Ming Dynasty's negotiating officials declined the proposal to use the land as collateral.

Siamese officials did not give up.

Soon, someone else stepped forward and proposed that Siam's "customs revenue" could be used as collateral.

They felt that "customs revenue" was at least a stable source of income, which might be able to meet the requirements of the Ming Dynasty.

However, this proposal was also rejected by the Ming Dynasty.

The reason for this is that Siam's social development is relatively backward.

For a long time, Siam had very little foreign trade, and its customs revenue was negligible.

It wasn't until the Ming Dynasty lifted its maritime ban and Ming merchants flocked to Siam that its foreign trade gradually became more active.

This means that the vast majority of the "customs revenue" mentioned by the Siamese court came from trade between the Ming Dynasty and Siam.

However, according to the supplementary clauses to the "Ming-Japanese Friendship and Mutual Assistance Agreement", in order to enhance the deep friendship between the Ming Dynasty and Siam, further promote the in-depth development of relations between the two sides, and achieve win-win cooperation in commodity trade, adhering to the principles of fairness and justice, the Ming Dynasty and Siam will implement a zero-tariff policy on all goods imported from each other's countries!

In this way, the "customs tax" collateral proposed by the Siamese officials was practically nonexistent, so how could the Ming Dynasty possibly agree to it?
Currently, the Siamese people are obsessed with the culture of the Ming Dynasty and their pursuit of Ming Dynasty goods has reached an almost fanatical level.

They spared no expense in spending vast amounts of gold and silver treasures just to obtain the books on sages printed by the Ming Dynasty.

Those classic books that carry wisdom and civilization.

There are also exquisite handicrafts meticulously crafted by the Ming Dynasty factory.

In their eyes, mass-produced handicrafts are flawless and far more beautiful than those handcrafted by Siamese artisans.

Its value is naturally higher.

The mass-produced industrial products showcased the advanced manufacturing technology of the Ming Dynasty.

This is something that Siam doesn't have.

Especially the renowned porcelain, with its delicate texture and exquisite patterns, is irresistible.

In addition, there are fragrant teas.

Brew a cup, and you can savor the unique flavor from the Ming Dynasty.

In the past, the Siamese were particularly fond of silk from the Ming Dynasty.

The soft, smooth silk, with its vibrant colors and exquisite designs, exudes an air of endless nobility and elegance when worn.

However, after Zhu Yunwen came to power, although he lifted the maritime ban and vigorously encouraged foreign trade, the export of two goods was excluded.

Firstly, there is food that can be used to fill one's stomach.

In Zhu Yunwen's eyes, the basic needs of the people were the foundation of the nation.

He knew that the people of the Ming Dynasty had not yet achieved the ideal state of having enough to eat and still having surplus grain.

Therefore, not even a single grain of food is allowed to be exported.

Furthermore, the export of livestock and other animals that can be used as food is also prohibited.

Every food resource must prioritize meeting the needs of the domestic population.

Secondly, it provides clothing for people to wear to keep warm.

Silk, as an important raw material for making clothing for ordinary people, was also strictly prohibited from being exported.

As a result of this policy, the price of silk in the Ming Dynasty plummeted, dropping by two-thirds.

Seeing that silk prices were low, many ministers suggested to the court that silk exports be liberalized, believing that this would generate more gold and silver wealth to enrich the national treasury.

However, Zhu Yunwen rejected these suggestions without hesitation.

In Zhu Yunwen's mind, nothing was more important than ensuring that the people of the Ming Dynasty were well-fed and clothed.

Free trade is by no means unrestricted trade; it must be based on ensuring the basic living needs of the people.

While gold and silver treasures were certainly tempting, in his view, exchanging them for industrial products continuously produced in the Ming Dynasty's factories was the most worthwhile deal.

As for silk, which is not produced in sufficient quantities, there is really no need to exchange it for gold and silver.

Unless the Ming Dynasty develops to the point where every citizen has more clothes than they can wear, and the court no longer needs to worry about the people's clothing, then it is only then that we can consider reopening the export of silk.

Actually, this won't take too long.

After all, cotton cultivation was rapidly expanding and becoming widespread across the vast lands of the Ming Dynasty.

Once the Ming Dynasty has enough cotton and enough textile machines in its factories to produce enough cloth to keep every citizen warm, the ban on silk exports will naturally be lifted.

Although items like tea are edible, they are allowed to be exported because they do not have the property of filling the stomach.

As a specialty product of the Ming Dynasty, tea also showcased the unique charm of the Ming Dynasty in foreign trade, bringing considerable benefits to the country.

Siam's current trade situation is extremely awkward, almost one-sided.

They only import a wide variety of goods from the Ming Dynasty, but they lack goods that they can export back to the Ming Dynasty.

You can buy goods from the Ming Dynasty, but you have to pay for them.

Left with no other choice, Siam had to spend real money to exchange for those Ming Dynasty items they coveted.

But Ramaputri II knew that Siam’s gold and silver reserves were not inexhaustible.

If this continues unchecked, the gold and silver in Siam will eventually be squandered.

By then, the country's economy will likely be plunged into an abyss of despair.

Fortunately, Ming officials generously promised to accept Siam's grain exports to the Ming Dynasty.

This was only a small consolation for Siam, but it brought a glimmer of hope to Siam's trade predicament.

Prior to this, merchants in the Ming Dynasty had shown little interest in the grain trade.

After all, the price difference in grain is really limited, and the profit is pitifully small.

Merchants from the Ming Dynasty traveled far from their homeland, crossed oceans, and endured countless hardships to reach Siam. Naturally, they were single-mindedly pursuing businesses that could yield "huge profits."

They completely disdain the grain business, which has very low profit margins.

Only the Ming Dynasty government, considering the overall national interest, was willing to engage in the import of grain. However, Siam's grain production capacity was also limited; at most, it could only export one or two million shi (a unit of dry measure) per year.

This figure was barely achieved even under conditions of extreme exploitation of the lower classes and slaves for food.

The money earned from exporting grain alone was far from enough to meet Siam's enormous demand for importing various goods from the Ming Dynasty.

Putting aside other things, just importing large quantities of the Four Books and Five Classics, such as "The Great Learning," "The Doctrine of the Mean," and "Mencius," as well as printed books of Tang and Song poetry from the Ming Dynasty would require a huge amount of money.

Knowledge is valuable, and books are expensive.

But Siam must learn from them and import them in large quantities.

We can't just import a few books and then print them ourselves.

Because Siam's level of productivity was incomparable to that of the Ming Dynasty.

Both paper production costs and printing costs were many times higher in Siam than in the Ming Dynasty.

For Siam, the books sold by the Ming Dynasty were already considered cheap.

It was only because the demand was so great that so much gold and silver had to be paid for.

Needless to say, other Ming Dynasty goods were also needed by Siam.

The nobility needed luxury goods, while the government especially needed the ironware of the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, the most pressing issue for Siam right now is the huge military reparations it has to pay to the Ming Dynasty.

This amount of money is really barely enough to make ends meet.

Although the negotiations have been stalled and made no substantial progress, fortunately, the Ming Dynasty has not exerted any pressure or pressure.

It turns out that at this moment, the scientific and technological personnel dispatched by the Ming Dynasty are traveling around Siam to investigate whether this land contains rich mineral deposits or other resources that can be developed and utilized.

The hope is that this will generate a stable source of income.

For this reason, Ming officials were not in a hurry to achieve results in the negotiations.

They are more focused on long-term resource development and cooperation.

But Ramaputra II was extremely anxious.

Although he, as the king, did not directly participate in the specific negotiations, his ministers would constantly report the progress of the negotiations to him.

As a self-important monarch who considered himself "brilliant and unparalleled," Ramaputri II outwardly appeared calm and composed, but inwardly he was extremely anxious, wishing he could find a solution immediately to resolve the compensation issue and alleviate Siam's trade difficulties as soon as possible.

Now, Zhu Shou has offered to use long-term export contracts for pepper and sappanwood as collateral to obtain a loan from the Ming Dynasty.

This was like a ray of dawn, instantly dispelling the gloom in his heart.

This delighted the king, as if he saw a glimmer of hope for Siam to escape its predicament.

"Is...is this really feasible?" Ramaputra II's voice trembled with excitement.

At this moment, he completely disregarded the dignity and image that a king should have. His eyes were wide open, full of urgency and expectation, and he asked questions almost out of control.

Zhu Shou remained calm and nodded slowly, his tone resolute: "Of course. And the more the better! As for the specific details, let the people in charge below discuss them carefully."

In the present Ming Dynasty, pepper and sappanwood are considered "hard currency".

Its price is so high that it is astonishing.

One tael of silver can only buy five catties of pepper, while the price of sappanwood is roughly half that of pepper.

Due to the enormous demand and popularity among the people, before the new Ming Dynasty banknotes promoted by Zhu Yunwen were introduced, people in some areas even regarded pepper and sappanwood as "general equivalents" and used them to perform the function of "currency" in daily transactions.

During his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang also had a special fondness for pepper and sappanwood, often bestowing them upon officials and soldiers as rewards to commend their achievements.

In real history, during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the imperial court was in dire financial straits. At one point, pepper and sappanwood were even used as "salaries" for officials. After being discounted to a certain value, they were distributed to officials to offset part or even all of their salaries.

In Siam, however, pepper and sappanwood were very cheap, less than one-twentieth the price in the Ming Dynasty.

Previously, when Ming Dynasty merchants came to Siam to do business, their main trade model was to import pepper and sappanwood from Siam and then export Ming Dynasty tea, porcelain, and various industrial products to Siam.

However, on the one hand, the scale of merchants' purchases is limited, making it difficult to create a large-scale purchasing effect.

On the other hand, these merchants were single-mindedly pursuing high profits, and often priced their goods quite high when selling them to the Ming Dynasty.

Even if goods are piling up and not selling, they would rather let them rot in their hands than lower prices to maintain their exorbitant profit margins.

For this reason, Zhu Yunwen specifically mentioned this matter before Zhu Shou set off to conquer Siam.

It would be virtually impossible for Ming Dynasty merchants to import sufficient quantities of pepper and sappanwood in a short period of time and drive down prices.

Only official intervention can break this deadlock and satisfy the Ming Dynasty's demand for pepper and sappanwood.

It was against this backdrop that Zhu Shoucai brought up the matter of using long-term export contracts for pepper and sappanwood as collateral to obtain loans.

Upon hearing Zhu Shou's reply, Rama Bodhi II was overjoyed and blurted out, "Good!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes darted around, and with a hint of cautious probing, he asked softly, "Could the long-term contract we've signed be priced in the Ming Dynasty's red banknotes?"

The "red notes" mentioned by Ramaputra II naturally refer to the Ming Dynasty banknotes printed by the Ming Bank.

The new version of the banknote uses color printing technology, and there is a brightly colored and lifelike red dragon on the banknote.

Because of its unique design, it was commonly known as the "red banknote" by the people.

Before the Ming army set foot on the land of Siam, the acceptance of "red banknotes" was generally low in both official and private trade markets.

Only a very small number of people, driven by curiosity about new things and simply attracted by the exquisite designs on the banknotes, would collect them.

It is generally not taken out for use.
Only merchants in the Ming Dynasty used "red notes" when they had trade dealings or lent money to each other.

The local people of Siam do not recognize it as a currency.

When Ming Dynasty merchants needed to purchase goods from Siamese merchants, they could still mostly rely on the ancient barter system for transactions.

Alternatively, transactions may be conducted using gold and silver treasures as the unit of account.

However, everything changed dramatically when the Ming army arrived in Siam in a grand procession, defeated the Siamese army, and signed the "Ming-Siam Friendship and Mutual Assistance Agreement".

First, the official stance of the Ming Dynasty was clear and solemnly declared that military reparations could be paid using Ming Dynasty paper money.

This move undoubtedly opened a crucial door for elevating the status of the Treasury Note in Siam.

Secondly, the arrival of the Ming army sparked a craze for Ming culture, and the Siamese people became wildly enthusiastic about Ming goods.

In their frequent trade dealings with Ming Dynasty merchants, Siamese nobles and merchants gradually discovered that using "red notes" to purchase Ming Dynasty goods was the most convenient and popular payment method among Ming Dynasty merchants.

Its popularity even far surpasses that of gold and silver.

After all, when trading with gold and silver, careful weighing and precise measurement of purity and quality are required, a process that is cumbersome and prone to disputes.

The "red banknotes" are completely different; their face value is clear at a glance and there is no dispute about them.

As long as they could produce enough paper money, Ming Dynasty merchants would readily and without hesitation deliver the goods at the agreed price.

As Ming Dynasty culture flourished in Siam, various Ming Dynasty goods were enthusiastically sought after by the Siamese people, and the demand for "red banknotes" naturally increased as well.

……

(End of this chapter)