There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 409 Mr. Lin
Fuzhou, Houguan.

Biefeng Academy.

The academy was built during the Kangxi era under the supervision of Zhang Boxing, who was then the governor of Fujian. Later, it was inscribed by three emperors of the Qing Dynasty, namely Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, which basically established the educational status of Biefeng Academy among the academies in Fujian.

Unfortunately, Biefeng Academy was completely destroyed by fire during the Xinhai Revolution, leaving only a few artificial hills and landscape features that were not easily burned.

"Brother Shao Mu, wait for me!"

A young student had just finished his studies at the academy and was about to return to his dormitory when someone called out to him from behind.

Lin Shaomu stopped and turned back, saying with some helplessness, "I just finished class and haven't even left the academy yet. Brother Zhang Ju, your timing is really perfect!"

Liang Zhangju laughed and said, "Haha, tomorrow is finally Brother Shaomu's day off, so naturally I must come over and have a good discussion with you."

Liang Zhangju was not a student of the academy, and it was indeed somewhat unreasonable for him to enter the academy at his age.

However, although he was not a student of the academy, he was married to the academy's dean, Zheng Guangce, so he could freely enter and leave the academy without anyone stopping him.

Moreover, Liang Zhangju was not a spineless coward who relied on his father-in-law for financial support; he was a man of genuine talent and learning, and had even studied under the great Fujian scholar Chen Shouqi.

Because of their teacher's influence, Liang Zhangju and Lin Shaomu got along quite well, and they even met through the great Confucian scholar Chen Shouqi.

Strictly speaking, Liang Zhangju was Lin Shaomu's senior brother outside the academy, while Lin Shaomu did not formally become Chen Shouqi's disciple, but was deeply influenced by Chen Shouqi's scholarship.

Liang Zhangju met Lin Shaomu at the entrance of the academy and then led him to his home.

Liang Zhangju's family had already prepared food and drinks, and Lin Shaomu did not refuse. Although he and Liang Zhangju were good friends and half fellow disciples, Liang Zhangju was very wealthy, and the academy's dean was his father-in-law.

Lin Shaomu came from a poor family and relied entirely on his father's teaching at a private school to support the family. He was able to study under the great scholar Chen Shouqi not because of his family background, but simply because his father and Chen Shouqi were classmates and friends when they were young.

After a round of drinks, he barely ate anything.

Liang Zhangju couldn't wait to ask Lin Shaomu about state affairs: "Brother, what are your thoughts on the current state of affairs in Fujian?"

"Fujian is saved!" Lin Shaomu put down his chopsticks and summarized in one sentence.

Liang Zhangju asked with a smile, "Why do you say that, brother?"

“Because of two things: ** and silver,” Lin Shaomu said.

"**And silver?" Liang Zhangju was taken aback, and quickly asked, "Brother, could you elaborate?"

Lin Shaomu said, “It’s very simple. Brother, in recent years, when you’ve been buying rice, grain, and cotton cloth, have you noticed the price fluctuations? In the sixtieth year of Qianlong’s reign, the price of rice in Fujian was about fifteen wen per liter. By the fifth year of Jiaqing’s reign, in just five years, the price of rice in Fujian had risen to nearly sixty wen per liter, and last year it even rose to eighty wen per liter. This directly led to an uprising among the people of southern Fujian. Even our governor of Fuzhou was forced to rebel and join the Han Dynasty.”

Liang Zhangju nodded at first, but then said, "I know all that, but the rise in rice prices is common in times of chaos. When the Han Dynasty swept through Jiangnan, the war started and grain was controlled, so rice prices naturally skyrocketed. Fortunately, the Han Dynasty took over Fujian in time, otherwise, if the rice prices had continued to rise, my family probably wouldn't have been able to make ends meet."

Not only was his family struggling, but if it weren't for his help, Lin Shaomu would have been forced to join the peasant army last year due to rising rice prices.

Lin Shaomu said, “Brother is right, but it seems you haven’t noticed. After the Han army took over Fujian, although they quickly provided grain to stabilize the local rice price, the price of rice still remained at twenty coins, which is five coins more than five years ago. That is, the price has increased by a quarter.”

"Is there something wrong with this?" Liang Zhangju asked, puzzled.

Lin Shaomu shook his head: "Of course not, the increase in rice prices is too fast. I have checked some records. From the Kangxi to the Yongzheng period, the price of rice in the country was basically fluctuating at or below one tael of silver, and there were very few rice prices that exceeded one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure)."

"Even during the Qianlong era, the price of rice only increased by a couple hundred wen at most, and that was in the wealthy Jiangnan region. But in Fujian, the price of rice almost doubled."

"There are only two reasons: first, silver was expensive and money was cheap; second, trade expanded."

Upon hearing this, Liang Zhangju didn't bother to think about it and immediately asked, "What does 'silver is expensive and copper coins are cheap' mean? Does it mean that silver is more expensive and copper coins are cheaper?"

Lin Shaomu said, "That's one way to understand it, but it's actually much more complicated. The value of silver and copper coins affects not only the value of silver and copper coins, but also the livelihoods of ordinary people, merchants and stalls, and even the government and the imperial court. All of these are greatly affected."

This brings us back to the monetary system of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the early Ming dynasty, copper coins and paper money were used in parallel, while silver was a private currency outside of the legal tender and was not subject to the control and protection of the Ming laws.

By the late Ming Dynasty, the paper money system had completely collapsed. In an effort to salvage the crumbling monetary system, Zhang Juzheng formally incorporated silver into the national monetary system through the Single Whip Law.

After seizing power, the Qing dynasty continued the Ming dynasty's national policies in their entirety, designating silver and copper coins as official currencies and implementing a system of parallel silver and copper coinage.

Silver became more valuable, while copper coins became less valuable.

This sounds like there's no problem, but upon closer inspection, the problem is quite serious.

The fact that silver was more expensive than copper actually meant that the purchasing power of silver increased, while the purchasing power of copper coins decreased.

In the early years of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins. Now, however, it is very difficult to exchange one tael of silver for one thousand copper coins.

In layman's terms, decades ago, 100 yuan could be exchanged for 100 coins, but now 100 yuan can't be exchanged for 100 coins.

In the context of later paper money credit systems, this change is certainly not a problem and conforms to the basic laws governing the operation of currency.

However, this was different during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when China still used metal-based coins such as silver and copper coins, rather than currency.

Currency and money are different. Money has inherent value, while currency is just currency. Without credit backing, it is just a piece of waste paper.

Currency has value, so such abnormal devaluation should not occur. If it has devalued, it can only mean that the amount of silver in the market is decreasing, while the amount of copper coins is increasing.

The imbalance between the reserves of silver and copper coins directly led to the high price of silver and the low price of copper coins.

The high price of silver and the low price of money not only increases the purchasing power of silver, but also causes prices to soar, and at the same time, it causes devastating damage to the operation of the market and finance.

First, let's talk about the money shops in various places. Due to the high price of silver and the low price of money, a silver shortage will definitely occur. Merchants and ordinary people will feel anxious about silver, which will lead to a spontaneous run on the money shops to withdraw their silver.

Everyone craves silver, whose value increases daily, and rejects copper coins, whose value decreases day by day.

Merchants who have deposited a large amount of money will demand to withdraw silver from money shops. Money shops cannot provide that much silver in a short period of time, which will lead to a financial run. Money shops will either lose their credit or go bankrupt.

The banks suffered bankruptcies due to runs, and even the wealthy merchants didn't fare well. Although they generally used silver, their goods still needed to be sold. The direct cause of the high silver price and low silver price was the decrease in silver, which increased the purchasing power of silver. However, the decrease in silver also reduced the purchasing power and desire of ordinary people.

To minimize losses and prevent excessive depreciation, large merchants often lower prices or even sell goods at half price to avoid inventory buildup and potential losses.

Even if a wealthy merchant suffers heavy losses, at least he doesn't go bankrupt and still has the capital to make a comeback.

However, small and medium-sized merchants were not so lucky. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, these merchants often bought low and sold high to earn the difference in price. However, as silver became more expensive and copper coins became cheaper, these merchants had to buy goods at higher prices, but the amount of silver they could earn from selling them would decrease.

With mutual exchange, the profits of small and medium-sized merchants will be drastically compressed.

Then there are the ordinary stall owners, most of whom are folk craftsmen, and the money they usually deal with is copper coins.

As copper coins become increasingly worthless, the profits available to these artisans, whose livelihoods are highly tied to the market, will also shrink.

Even when the government collects taxes, it faces various problems and ends up losing a lot of money.

Liang Zhangju was completely dumbfounded. He was not only amazed by Lin Shaomu's profound knowledge at such a young age, but also deeply impressed by the problem that Lin Shaomu had seen through from a single point to a broader perspective.

Liang Zhangju said half-jokingly, "I never imagined that such small silver and copper coins could have so many intricacies. If that's the case, then shouldn't I go back and stockpile some silver now, just in case?"

Lin Shaomu shook his head: "That's not necessary. The Great Han has already taken over Fujian and is currently restoring crops to the destroyed farmland throughout the province. In addition, the Great Han has already introduced new silver dollars in Fujian, so these problems should be resolved in no time."

Upon hearing this, Liang Zhangju asked again, "Does this have anything to do with **?"

He seemed to recall his younger brother mentioning that the rice price issue in Fujian was also related to **.

Lin Shaomu said, “It’s very simple. Since the yakiniku became popular in Fujian and Guangdong, foreign countries no longer traded Chinese silver with foreign currency, but regarded yakiniku as a rare commodity. This has a devastating impact on the national economy and people’s livelihood, and it is outrageous.”

These words would have been utterly astonishing if Nie Yu hadn't been in Fuzhou.

This directly points out that smuggling, besides poisoning the people, poses the greatest harm to the country.

The First Opium War broke out forty years later not only because the Qing dynasty banned silver trade, but also because the essence of silver trade was that the British were using it to extract silver from China.

Previously, China had been using tea to continuously absorb the silver held by the British, resulting in a growing trade deficit for the British with less and less silver. This directly triggered the Boston Tea Party and the subsequent American Revolutionary War.

It can be said that the British finally found a rare commodity that could reverse their trade deficit, but the Qing dynasty told them that it was harmful to their health and forcibly banned its trade. Naturally, the British were forced to break their defenses and launch a war.

If they don't start a war, the British will run out of money, and a silver crisis will inevitably break out in the country.

Times have changed. At least the British nowadays don't really think there's anything wrong with drugs. They not only sell drugs to foreigners, but they also like to use drugs themselves. Even during World War I and World War II, they didn't change these bad habits.

Lin Shaomu continued, "These foreign merchants are truly despicable and hateful. They treat silver as a rare commodity and no longer use foreign currency to trade for silver. Through the smuggling trade of these silvers, they continuously transport Chinese silver back to their own countries and turn it into their own silver."

"If this continues, China's silver will be quickly depleted, and all the silver will be in the hands of foreign vassal states. The consequence will be that the Chinese people will have no money to use, not that they will have no money, but that they will not have enough silver to trade with."

"Without silver, although there are still copper coins, copper coins are too small. It's fine for daily use, but large-scale transactions and sales will become extremely complicated. The country's tax collection will also fall into chaos, and may even regress to the past when grain was used as tax."

“Taking grain as a tax will harm the people!”

With this explanation, Liang Zhangju understood: it was foreigners from outside the capital who were using drugs to steal their money.

They don't even need to take all of it; as long as they take most of it, the money in their hands becomes worthless.

Since most of the silver in the market is gone, the result is not just that silver is expensive and money is cheap, but that silver cannot support the monetary standard and may eventually lose its monetary attributes.

After all, silver is not like gold, which has very limited natural reserves. Not only was it scarce in China, but it was also scarce during European colonization, which is why gold is so valuable.

Moreover, even during the Ming and Qing dynasties, gold was not considered currency; it was simply highly valuable and could be exchanged for silver and copper coins.

If you really wanted to spend the gold, you simply couldn't.

The true gold standard system was not established until 145 years later, and it was short-lived, collapsing in less than 30 years.

Liang Zhangju said, "I previously thought this thing was harmful, but I never imagined it would not only harm people but also bring disaster to the country. It is indeed as the court has proclaimed, a scourge to the nation and its people. It is truly a born evil thing that harms people!"

The two discussed the current political situation in Fujian for a while, then stopped there and began to drink and eat.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the wine had been drunk and the food served was served.

Liang Zhangju asked Lin Shaomu, "Now that Fujian has been recovered by the Han Dynasty, what are your plans for the future, Brother Shaomu?"

Lin Shaomu knew what Liang Zhangju meant by those words; it was nothing more than his plan to enter the service of the Han Dynasty.

In the current Han Dynasty, there are three options for becoming an official.

The first option is to volunteer and be assigned to Fujian, but the starting point is low; one must begin as a minor official. However, if one performs well, it won't affect normal career advancement, and one can be promoted to a higher official position.

The second option was to study at the academies founded by the Han Dynasty. Studying at these academies required attending new subjects, including mathematics, physics, and chemistry. As long as one graduated normally, they would be granted an official position.

The third option was to participate in the imperial examinations of the new dynasty. The new dynasty had abolished the examinations below the provincial level, but because many provinces and prefectures, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, had been newly restored last year, they still recognized the Xiucai degree from the pseudo-Qing period (only one term was recognized).

Those who passed the imperial examinations in the new dynasty were directly appointed to official positions, with the lowest rank being a minor official.

Lin Shaomu answered without hesitation: "I want to take the imperial examination of the new dynasty."

Liang Zhangju was somewhat surprised: "Brother, you are so young. I thought you would first study at the new dynasty's academy and then enter officialdom!"

Lin Shaomu shook his head: "That's too slow. It's not that I look down on the academy, but it's better to start studying at a young age. I'm already sixteen this year, and in three more years I'll be twenty. I really can't wait that long."

Liang Zhangju understood this. A person with talent would certainly not be willing to waste time in this prosperous and transformative era. Even he himself planned to participate in the imperial examinations of the new dynasty to enter officialdom.

Liang Zhangju raised his wine glass: "Then I, as your elder brother, wish you success in the imperial examination next year!"

Lin Shaomu also raised his glass: "I, your humble brother, wish you success in the imperial examination and a glorious return to your hometown!"

The two drank together until almost evening.

Liang Zhangju repeatedly tried to persuade Lin Shaomu to stay and rest, but Lin Shaomu politely declined.

After watching the other person leave, Liang Zhangju finally spoke after a long while.

"What a young prodigy... Lin Zexu!"

Shao Mu was just a nickname; his given name was Ze Xu.

(End of this chapter)