I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 280 Silver is expensive, money is cheap; exchanging money for silver! Unscrupulous merchants with no moral compass.
On the ridge of the field, Liu Da, the local tyrant of Hua County, turned into a corpse in the blink of an eye.

While the other strong young men who were blocking Zhang Tian were still in a daze, Huang Hu, the captain of the Elite Martial Guard squad, raised his long sword and shouted, "Anyone who obstructs Zhang Tian will be killed on the spot!"

Swish!Swish!Swish!
The fourteen elite guards standing in the field all drew their long swords.

Immediately, as a strong young man ran out of the field, the rest scattered like birds and beasts, shouting "Murder!" as they ran towards the village not far away.

These people's toughness is entirely based on bullying the weak and fearing the strong. With their leader Liu Dayi dead, they dare not cause any more trouble.

“Continue with the field survey!” Huang Hu said calmly.

Hu Weishi, the magistrate of Hua County, hurriedly ordered the yamen runners behind him to carry Liu Da's body to a small path that would not interfere with the measurement of the fields.

……

About half an hour later, the Liu family group arrived again.

There were nearly a hundred people this time.

Besides the strong young men wielding hoes and sticks, there were also scholars in long gowns and elderly men with white beards sitting on flatbed carts.

Those sitting on the flatbed cart were clearly local gentry or highly respected figures.

These are the real troublemakers in the area.

They are well-connected, cultured, and adept at finding loopholes in the "Great Ming Code" to seek personal gain, causing trouble for the imperial court and local government.

As for ordinary people, most of them are just commoners and have no right to be considered troublemakers.

at this time.

Hu Weishi, the magistrate of Hua County, strode up to Huang Hu, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency, could you please give me your imperial edict? I will explain it to these people later, and they will surely not dare to act recklessly again!"

Huang Hu nodded.

Once these troublemakers learn the identities of Huang Hu and his associates and the power they wield, if they still don't behave, they're simply courting death.

……

soon.

An old man dressed in a blue silk robe came to Liu Da's body, knelt on the ground and wept bitterly.

"My son! Who is so heartless as to dare kill someone on our own land? I will avenge you. We will take the matter to the capital and we will have the right to do so..."

This old man is Liu Da's father, Old Master Liu.

In Hua County, his words carried more weight than ten from the county magistrate, Hu Weishi. He was the most senior and wealthy landowner in northern Hua County, and it was said that he could even speak with a certain official in Daming Prefecture.

immediately.

A middle-aged man dressed in a blue shirt, holding a copy of the "Great Ming Code," looked at Hu Weishi, the magistrate of Hua County, who was walking towards him.

"Your Excellency, what crime did Liu commit that led to such a brutal execution? Even if he were an imperial envoy from the province, he shouldn't have killed someone without questioning him!"

Hu Weishi took out the imperial envoy document from the Jingwu Guard and said, "Gentlemen, may I speak with you in private?"

Hu Weishi then explained the situation to several local gentry and elders.

These people could read the imperial envoy's documents and understand the extent of the power these elite guards wielded.

After a while.

The local gentry and elders looked at the elite guards in the fields and their expressions changed. Then one of the gentry began to explain to Old Master Liu.

Before long, everyone's face was filled with fear.

Given the current power of the Jingwu Guards, they could easily kill them on the spot, let alone in the fields. Even killing Hu Weishi, a county magistrate who had passed the imperial examination, would not be a problem.

Even the officials of Daming Prefecture could not control these imperial guards who acted on behalf of the emperor.

They were far more arrogant than the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and they could kill people with impunity.

Not long after.

With Hu Weishi's consent, these people dragged Liu Da's body away in a sorry state.

Hu Weishi stood up straight.

In the past, he was indecisive in handling land surveys, afraid of offending people, but now that he has a powerful backer, if he continues to be hesitant, his career will be over.

……

The next few days.

The reputation of the Jingwu Guard for "being granted special permission by the emperor to execute first and report later" spread throughout Hua County. No one dared to obstruct or falsify land surveys, and everything proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

at the same time.

Elite guards in other areas also used their fists to speak, and took full control of land acquisition matters.

However, not all of them involved killing to establish authority.

However, it was domineering enough, yet fair enough, to the point that local officials, clerks, and gentry dared not resist the land survey.

In some areas where land surveying was particularly slow, thousands of garrison soldiers appeared. Led by a group of elite guards, they measured land at a much faster pace than ordinary clerks.

……

November 16th, nightfall.

Capital.

A winter snow fell quietly, though not heavily, it added a touch of chill to the capital.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

There was almost no snow on the streets, with only a few rooftops peeking out in white. Some ponds and ditches were completely covered with thin ice, and pedestrians were all wearing thick cotton-padded coats.

Shen Nian, dressed in a thick satin winter coat and wearing a mink fur cloak bestowed upon her by Emperor Wanli, arrived at the Ministry of Revenue.

As soon as he entered, a clerk handed him a warm copper hand warmer, which was reserved for officials of the fifth rank and above in the Ministry of Revenue, making it easier to hold a pen and write.

Inside the Right Vice Minister's Hall, the brazier burned brightly, making the room warm and cozy.

Shen Nian took off her mink coat cloak, sat down in a chair, and waited until her hands and feet were warm before she could deal with the documents on the table.

at this time.

Shen Nian heard hurried footsteps outside.

Upon hearing this, he knew that it was Liu Sijie, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Although he was over sixty years old, he walked faster than a twenty-year-old. This was his unique footstep.

"Ziheng, is he in the hall?" The voice preceded his arrival.

"Yes, Liu Zuotang, please come in quickly!" Shen Nian stood up.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Sijie came to Shen Nian with a stack of documents, placed them on the table, and said, "Ziheng, pay close attention to the parts I've circled."

"it is good!"

Shen Nian immediately picked up the document and began to read it.

The clerk nearby quickly served each of them a cup of hot tea and then withdrew.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Before long, Shen Nian finished reading the document that had been circled.

It records the frequent exchange of money for silver by merchants in major cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Jinan, and Kaifeng. In some places, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 1,200 copper coins (official copper coins).

"These unscrupulous merchants are profiting from the new policies of the imperial court!" Liu Sijie said indignantly.

Shen Nian frowned slightly.

Currently, the Ming Dynasty had four types of currency: silver, official copper coins, Ming Dynasty paper money, and privately held coins. Silver was the primary currency, with copper coins serving as a secondary currency; large amounts were paid in silver, while small amounts were paid in copper coins.

The Ming Dynasty's paper money has become practically worthless due to the government's unrestrained and excessive issuance of it.

Privately minted coins refer to coins with very low copper content that are privately made. They are also called "bad coins" because the government's control over them was insufficient, leading to a proliferation of privately minted coins.

Liu Sijie called this exchange of money for silver a scheme by unscrupulous merchants who were profiting from the new policies of the imperial court.

This was because after the nationwide land survey, once the Single Whip Law was implemented, people had to pay taxes in silver.

Most ordinary people had copper coins. When it came time to pay taxes, they needed to exchange their grain, cloth, and copper coins for silver, which led to a surge in demand for silver and a devaluation of copper coins.

In the past two years, the exchange rate between silver and copper coins has been around 1:950.

The fact that a wealthy merchant dares to hoard silver by exchanging one tael of silver for 1,200 copper coins shows that he is certain that after the Single Whip Law is implemented, one tael of silver may be able to be exchanged for 1,500 copper coins, or even more.

In short: exchanging money for silver and hoarding it now would definitely be very profitable.

This situation was already very evident when the Single Whip Law was implemented in Jiangxi two years ago. At that time, one tael of silver could be directly exchanged for 1,400 copper coins, and these were official copper coins. Private coins could even be exchanged for 1,600 copper coins.

The common people earned copper coins, and only after accumulating a small amount would they exchange them for broken silver or silver ingots.

When the Single Whip Law was implemented, the tax that should have been 1,000 copper coins was converted to 1,400 copper coins in silver.

It is extremely unfair to the lower classes.

Furthermore, when ordinary people paid taxes in silver, merchants would suppress grain prices in response to the people's eagerness to sell grain for silver. This forced some people to resort to high-interest loans from landlords and wealthy merchants, or even to sell their land deeds and children, becoming vagrants. This would lead to a resurgence of large-scale land consolidation.

Two years ago, the governor of Jiangxi who piloted the Single Whip Law was Pan Jixun.

He followed Zhang Juzheng's orders and adopted the following approach: on the one hand, he used grain from the Ever-Normal Granary to stabilize grain prices, on the other hand, he severely punished those merchants who hoarded silver, and he also allocated a large amount of silver so that the people could exchange it at a fair price.

However, this approach might work for one region, but it would be difficult to apply to the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

Merchants are profit-driven. If this trend of exchanging money for silver takes hold, it could lead to wealthy and powerful families hoarding silver, even causing a silver shortage and seriously affecting the implementation of the Single Whip Law.

In severe cases, it could even lead to popular uprisings.

Shen Nian's father and father-in-law's Yaodong Trading Company prospered the northern trade, which was actually for the purpose of enabling the circulation of silver and allowing the people to have silver in their hands.

However, once merchants all used this "money-for-silver" method, which was almost plunder, to profit from the price difference, Yaodong Trading Company could not stop silver from being deposited into the vaults of big merchants, leaving the common people with no silver to use.

Then, Liu Sijie took out a small newspaper from her sleeve and handed it to Shen Nian.

"This is an article circulating among many wealthy merchants in the capital. Currently, many of these merchants have begun exchanging money for silver. With the year-end approaching, there is a significant flow of money. If all the silver ends up in the treasuries of these wealthy merchants, then the lives of ordinary people will become difficult after the Single Whip Law is implemented next year!"

Shen Nian took the tabloid and saw an article titled "On the Valuation of Silver and the Devaluation of Money".

Taking Jiangxi, which has already piloted the Single Whip Law, as an example, this article analyzes that after the Single Whip Law is implemented nationwide next year, silver will become more expensive and money will become cheaper. The present is the best time to hoard silver, so that when ordinary people need to pay taxes in silver next year, they will surely make a fortune.

These tabloids circulated only among wealthy merchants and some scholar-official circles. Ordinary people could not see this way of making money, and even if they did, they did not have the ability to find large amounts of copper coins to exchange for silver.

On the contrary, the small amounts of silver they stored would soon end up in the pockets of big merchants.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the cabinet. The three elders should be prepared for this kind of situation."

Shen Nian believed that Zhang Juzheng was capable of thinking of this problem.

……

After a while.

Liu Sijie and Shen Nian appeared in the cabinet, standing in front of Zhang Juzheng, Yin Zhengmao, and Shen Shixing. They informed them of the recent exchange of money for silver by many wealthy merchants and produced the internal newsletter.

After the three cabinet ministers reviewed the document, Zhang Juzheng spoke first, saying, "The Single Whip Law will indeed lead to silver becoming expensive and coins becoming cheap, and may even cause a silver shortage."

"My solution to this is as follows: First, in the early stages of the Single Whip Law, allow both cash and in-kind payments; second, severely punish unscrupulous merchants who engage in speculation and profiteering, crack down on usury, and use the copper coins in the imperial treasury and the grain reserves in the national treasury to stabilize the exchange rate between money and silver as much as possible; third, mint good coins and eliminate bad coins to preserve the value of copper coins, and also look for silver mines; fourth, promote trade so that the silver of the wealthy can circulate, instead of being hoarded in silver vaults."

"However, once such unhealthy trends take hold, it will be difficult to prevent ordinary people from suffering losses, but it will stabilize within three years at most."

Zhang Ju's face showed a hint of helplessness.

Although he had come up with many strategies, the imperial court was not omnipotent, and at present it was still a "small court, big market".

Since the imperial court could not use edicts or regulations to fix the ratio of money to silver, merchants, seeing that hoarding silver could make them rich, would certainly hoard silver. Once the circulation of silver decreased, the ratio would inevitably change.

We can't just arrest all the merchants who hoarded silver.

Shen Nian and the others were well aware of this.

Yin Zhengmao said, "The only course of action now is to deal with whatever comes our way. Maliciously hoarding silver is actually going against the new policies of the court. If there are too many such wealthy merchants, I suggest we carry out a massacre. Once we get rid of a few ringleaders, they will not dare to do it again!"

"This is a last resort and should absolutely not be used unless absolutely necessary!" Shen Shixing added.

Zhang Juzheng nodded in approval.

"Next, let's see what the conscience of the merchants in the capital is like, and whether they will make this ill-gotten money. If some merchants in the capital can suppress this evil trend, then the problem is not too big and can be solved by appeasement!"

Shen Nian and the others all nodded.

……

November 20th, near noon.

The article "On the Valuation of Silver and the Devaluation of Money" suddenly appeared in various tabloids on the streets of the capital and then spread rapidly, becoming a hot topic of discussion among the people of the capital.

Followed by.

A situation that Zhang Juzheng, Shen Nian, and others had not anticipated has occurred.

Merchants of all sizes in the capital city went on a frenzy, exchanging money for silver.

Pawnshops, money exchanges, jewelry stores, restaurants, and other establishments all gave priority to accepting silver, and one tael of silver could be exchanged for 1,300 copper coins.

Before the news reached the countryside, some small merchants traveled to counties and villages outside the capital to exchange copper coins for silver.

They've lost all sense of shame, all for the sake of money.

To Shen Nian's amusement and exasperation, several brothels in the capital openly declared that customers would only be charged silver.

Even going out for a cup of tea required silver, and the brothel would give change in copper coins.

This way of eating is truly unsightly.

But those who are obsessed with women will still obediently hand over silver.

at the same time.

Upon hearing this, some officials began to use their privileges to exchange their copper coins for silver.

For a time, the capital became the busiest place in the entire Ming Dynasty for exchanging money for silver.

Once this trend spreads, the Ming Dynasty will likely face a silver shortage even before the Single Whip Law is implemented.

……

Zhang Juzheng, Yin Zhengmao, Shen Shixing, and others were nearly driven mad with anger upon hearing this news.

They originally thought that most of the merchants in the capital were scholars, had the court in mind, and had a broad vision, so they wouldn't make money off the hard-earned money of ordinary people.

Never thought about it.

These people are like vicious dogs hunting their prey; all they care about is money, and they consider it a loss if they can't gain an advantage.

This trend must not be allowed to continue and must be suppressed immediately.

When the young Wanli Emperor learned of this situation, he was greatly alarmed and immediately summoned Zhang Juzheng and others to the Wenhua Hall.

(End of this chapter)