Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 506 A Single Banknote Sweeps the World! The Ming Empire's "Printing Tax" War!
The printing presses of the Daming Bank were humming and running at full capacity every day, year after year, with the amount of banknotes printed continuously increasing to meet the growing demand for Daming banknotes in overseas markets.

Because of the vast overseas markets that continuously absorbed these currencies, despite the enormous number of paper money issued, prices in the Ming Dynasty remained unusually stable without any fluctuations.

In fact, Xia Yuanji, who was in charge of the affairs of the Daming Bank, keenly noticed a rather interesting phenomenon through the close monitoring of the various branches under his jurisdiction: the number of banknotes actually circulating in Daming was not increasing, but rather showing a continuous decreasing trend.

As a result, it became necessary to continuously increase the amount of banknotes printed in order to ensure market demand for the banknotes and maintain the effective operation of the market.

The reason for this is actually not complicated.

Besides the banknotes that Daming Bank directly distributed to overseas markets through official channels, countless merchants in China also voluntarily carried banknotes out of the country.

The demand for Ming Dynasty banknotes in overseas markets is so strong that it borders on frenzy.

Merchants from various countries vied to buy it, and the Ming Dynasty's paper money naturally fetched a high premium overseas.

With such enormous profits at stake, merchants naturally flocked to it, taking domestic paper money overseas to resell for profit.

However, this also inadvertently added new difficulties and challenges to the financial supervision work of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunwen did not intervene to stop this.

Firstly, currency circulation is an unstoppable natural phenomenon in an open economic system.

Unless we return to the old path of "closing the country to the outside world," there is no way to curb the cross-border flow of paper money.

Paper money, in particular, is portable and easy to transport, making it extremely difficult to regulate.

Implementing bill acceptance management through the banking system can only control a portion of the circulation channels, and cannot completely block the spontaneous outflow of money from the private sector.

Since he knew that it was impossible to completely stop it, Zhu Yunwen naturally did not insist on forcing it.

Secondly, if the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes could gradually evolve into a universally accepted currency, wouldn't that be a tremendous benefit to the Ming Empire?
After all, collecting "money printing tax" is incredibly satisfying.

Especially when this "tax" falls on the heads of overseas countries, it is extremely profitable, without even having to bear the side effects.

If a country were to levy excessive "printing tax" on its own citizens, it would also face enormous risks.

If not handled carefully, it could trigger inflation and disrupt the economic order.

But now, this "printing tax" is borne by other countries overseas, and the Ming Dynasty only needs to "collect" it. It couldn't be better.

Of course, regulation remains indispensable, especially in the prevention and crackdown on counterfeit currency, which requires even greater vigilance.

Currently, the regulatory work is mainly carried out through the overseas branches of Daming Bank.

Once counterfeit money enters the market, it will eventually have to return through branch channels, and most of it can be accurately identified and intercepted during the circulation process.

Thanks to the advanced anti-counterfeiting technology and complex and exquisite production process of the Ming Dynasty banknotes, the Southeast Asian countries, due to their relatively backward technology, have not yet produced counterfeit banknotes that can pass for genuine ones and truly threaten the credibility of the Ming Dynasty banknotes.

It is worth mentioning that the Ming Dynasty's paper money adopted a rigid redemption mechanism, pegged to silver and other physical commodities, to maintain currency stability.

Overseas, however, Zhu Yunwen deliberately adopted a different strategy.

The banknotes issued overseas were not redeemable for silver, but instead adopted a market-based, fluctuating currency value model.

This move was a preliminary experiment by Zhu Yunwen to promote the gradual transformation of the Ming Dynasty's paper money into modern credit currency.

Using overseas markets as testing grounds, we will gradually explore the path of monetary credit.

Surprisingly, this strategy has instead created another spectacular phenomenon.

Since the Ming Dynasty's paper money was no longer required to be exchanged for silver, and overseas markets had a strong demand for it, its value in the market rose sharply, far exceeding its exchange value within the Ming Dynasty.

Within the Ming Dynasty, there were explicit regulations governing the exchange of paper money for silver: one thousand paper money could be exchanged for one tael of silver, plus a five percent handling fee. The system was rigorous and the operation was standardized.

You can exchange the paper money for silver at the bank.

Overseas, where there is no rigid redemption, the value of the currency is entirely determined by the market.

Furthermore, due to the great enthusiasm of various countries for the Ming Dynasty's paper money, it became a rare commodity. One thousand paper money could be exchanged for one tael and six mace, or even one tael and eight mace of silver, far exceeding the domestic standard.

This is the fundamental reason why merchants are carrying large amounts of cash out of the country.

With a quick resale, one can make a fortune. Who wouldn't want to do such a sure-fire business?
Although the exchange rate of the paper money overseas has slightly decreased due to the large amount of it being carried and resold, it has now been maintained at around one tael and six mace.

Early paper money was extremely valuable overseas, commanding exorbitant premiums.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ming Dynasty merchants carried their precious paper money to various countries, while simultaneously purchasing large quantities of agricultural products, minerals, and other strategic resources, which were continuously transported back to the Ming Dynasty.

On the one hand, they dumped high-quality industrial products from the Ming Dynasty overseas to obtain even greater returns.

Early exports mainly consisted of traditional advantageous products, such as tea and porcelain.

However, as trade deepens and market demand changes rapidly, the export pattern is also quietly changing.

Zhu Yunwen abolished the ban on silk exports.

Today, the Ming Dynasty imports large quantities of high-quality cotton from India and other places, and with the help of advanced textile machinery driven by steam engines, it weaves it into delicate and soft cotton cloth, which flows into the market in a continuous stream and can fully meet the clothing needs of the people.

In fact, the domestic supply of cotton fabric has far exceeded demand.

Silk, as a luxury fabric exclusively for the nobility, had little impact on the daily wear of ordinary people, and the significance of restricting its export had long since vanished.

Moreover, Zhu Yunwen took the opportunity to lift the ban on cotton cloth exports.

The reason is obvious.

The production of cotton cloth in the Ming Dynasty surged, and the price plummeted to a quarter of what it used to be.

This is partly due to the continuous influx of cotton imports.

Raw materials are the foundation of production; without them, everything else is just empty talk.

The other half is due to technological leaps.

A steam-powered textile machine can produce enough cotton cloth in a day to rival the daily labor of a hundred weavers in the past.

At the same time, scientific progress has driven innovation in printing and dyeing processes.

Not only has the cost of dyes been significantly reduced, but the diversity of colors and the exquisiteness of patterns have also far surpassed those of the past.

In the market, cotton fabrics come in a dazzling array of colors, from elegant light blue to vibrant vermilion, from intricate floral patterns to simple geometric designs, making it impossible to look away.

Such technological innovation has made the cotton fabric produced in the factory not only affordable but also a fashionable choice sought after by the public.

Against this backdrop, the price of cotton cloth in the Ming Dynasty continued to decline, while the income of ordinary people steadily increased.

Nowadays, an average worker can buy ten times more cotton cloth in a month of hard work than in the past.

The decline in prices has quietly changed people's consumption habits.

In the streets and alleys of Nanjing, the number of pedestrians wearing tattered and patched clothes has gradually decreased, replaced by brand-new and bright clothing.

The people stood tall, their faces beaming with confidence and satisfaction.

New clothes are no longer an unattainable luxury, but an everyday enjoyment within reach.

Of course, people in remote areas still retain the tradition of thrift, and old and patched clothes are still common.

On the one hand, their income was not as high as that of the people of Nanjing.

On the other hand, the simple habits accumulated over thousands of years are difficult to completely reverse in just one or two years.

However, at least within the territory of the Ming Dynasty today, the tragedy of freezing to death because people could not afford warm clothing has almost disappeared.

During the cold winter months, every household has clothes in their wardrobe that are warm enough to keep out the cold.

After all, the Ming Dynasty has a lot of projects under construction right now. As long as you are willing to work, you will have food to eat, silver to earn, and you can afford to buy clothes.

Even in the worst-case scenario, local officials would distribute old clothes to people who were extremely poor due to special circumstances, depending on the situation.

All of this was unimaginable in the past.

In the past, if the imperial court could open a soup kitchen and provide a bowl of porridge, it would be considered a great act of kindness, and the praise would spread throughout the land.

As for old clothes, even if they are worn out, they are still rare items.

Even worn-out clothes can be taken to a pawnshop and exchanged for silver.

Many pawnshops primarily sell used clothing as "pawned items".

Even many so-called "wealthy families" often wore old clothes with patches on them.

Even most honest and self-disciplined officials, apart from the official robes bestowed by the court, mostly wore old clothes and patched them up, living frugally.

Good quality clothing can be passed down for generations, which shows how precious it is.

How could they possibly give away clothes to poor people for free?
But now, the situation in the world is different.

The Ming Dynasty had enough cotton cloth to make clothes.

There are so many clothes I could never wear them all.

With the supply of cloth for clothing for the domestic population secured, Zhu Yunwen naturally would not restrict the export of cotton cloth.

After all, we still need to leverage the advanced technology of the Ming Dynasty to expand into overseas markets.

In addition to cotton cloth, Zhu Yunwen also ordered the establishment of a company specializing in clothing production to promote the mass production of ready-made garments.

While bespoke tailoring offers more refined and tailored garments, large-scale industrial production is the right path for future development.

The clothing and footwear of ordinary people will ultimately rely mainly on industrialized production models for supply.

Private tailors will eventually retreat to a niche market and become a choice for a select few.

The Ming Dynasty took the lead in establishing such companies, seizing the opportunity to build a brand, which would allow them to obtain excess profits in the future.

In fact, setting up a garment factory has already brought many benefits.

For example, in military uniform production, the adoption of factory assembly line operations has led to a sharp drop in costs and a significant increase in efficiency.

For example, many companies and factories need uniforms.

In addition, a large number of school uniforms, official robes, and yamen runners' uniforms were all produced and supplied by factories in order to reduce costs.

On the contrary, the number of finished clothes sold sporadically to ordinary people was not large, but they were extremely popular.

The skill level of private tailors is not guaranteed.

Officials and wealthy gentry would naturally hire skilled private tailors to make their clothes.

But ordinary people don't have such high demands.

As long as the tailor can cut clothes, whether his skill level is high or low, it doesn't affect the people's willingness to hire him to make clothes.

For ordinary people, having clothes to wear is enough. Whether they are well-tailored or not, and whether the workmanship is up to standard, is not something that many people really care about.

While factory-produced garments may not be as good as those made by top-tier private tailors, they are actually of a much higher standard than those made by many ordinary tailors.

The clothing styles were also specially designed by designers.

The pattern and colors are both very beautiful.

Naturally, it became very popular.

They often sell out as soon as they hit the market, making them extremely difficult to find.

This was actually a phenomenon intentionally created by Zhu Yunwen.

First, establish a high-end image for the factory's garments; this will make promotion easier in the future.

This opportunity can also be used to establish several clothing and shoe brands, and even luxury brands.

In the future, these brands of clothing will not only be supplied to the people of the Ming Dynasty, but will also be exported overseas.

At that time, you can earn countless amounts of money.

Of course, this can only be done step by step.

After all, a brand isn't built in a day.

However, the Ming Dynasty has already seized the initiative, and with Zhu Yunwen's deliberate guidance, it is only a matter of time before several major brands emerge that control the world's clothing and footwear market, or even monopolize most of the world's clothing and footwear sales.

For now, the Ming Dynasty will still export cotton cloth.

Because of its high quality, low price, excellent printing and dyeing, and wide variety of colors, it is very popular in many countries and its sales have never stopped.

In addition, there are porcelain, glass and ironware.

Porcelain production has long adopted large-scale mechanization, significantly reducing production costs. Products produced on assembly lines are of consistently high quality and extremely inexpensive.

The same applies to glass and ironware.

These goods quickly became one of the Ming Dynasty's most important exports, flowing into overseas markets in a steady stream.

On the contrary, tea exports have gradually been surpassed by other commodities because mechanization is still difficult to fully implement in the planting and processing stages.

Of course, in terms of overall tea export volume and currency value, it is actually still growing steadily.

However, due to the enormous export volume of goods such as cotton cloth, glass, and ironware, tea's share in the overall export volume appears relatively small.

However, overseas demand for Ming Dynasty tea has not decreased; on the contrary, it has become even stronger.

Today, Ming Dynasty tea has become a symbol of high-end luxury goods, and its price is much higher than before.

The same batch of tea can now generate significantly higher profits from exports than in the past.

Of course, the most "best-selling" export "commodity" was always the Ming Dynasty paper money.

In addition, books and paper are also important export categories.

As Ming Dynasty merchants ventured overseas in large numbers, the Ming navy conquered Siam, demonstrating its formidable fighting power in the Battle of Pegu. The powerful national prestige and brilliant culture of the Ming Dynasty also spread far and wide.

People from all over Southeast Asia take pride in learning from the culture of the Ming Dynasty.

Being able to speak fluent Mandarin and read Mandarin Chinese is considered a sign of being a "high-level intellectual," and in Southeast Asian countries, such individuals are considered guests of high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

Even if the master of a noble family doesn't know a single Chinese character from the Ming Dynasty, he will still collect a large number of books from the Ming Dynasty and display them in his rooms.

Otherwise, wouldn't it seem like they lack cultural depth and are unworthy of the name of nobility?

The fashion of the aristocracy often sets the trend among the common people.

Ordinary people also followed suit.

As a result, books published by the Ming Dynasty became bestsellers overseas, becoming highly profitable export goods.

……

(End of this chapter)