My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 231: Happy to have a son
Su Ze looked at the settlement report that popped up from the system.

[Thanks to the generous donations of Marquis Chengyi Liu Shiyan and other nobles who had lost their titles due to crimes, the funds for the Military Supervisory Bureau were raised.]

The emperor officially issued an edict to build a military training camp next to the Imperial Academy.

[Thanks to your efforts, the standards for establishing the Military Supervisory Commission were raised, cultivating a group of qualified junior officers for the Ming Dynasty.]

Three months later, the first batch of students from the Martial Arts Academy enrolled.

However, due to the system of recommending meritorious officials for admission to universities, groups of meritorious officials, nobles, and military officers emerged as a political force on the historical stage.

The conservative military officer group, formed by the alliance of meritorious nobles and landed aristocrats, clashed fiercely with the progressive military officer group composed of commoners.

[Ming Dynasty +2]

From this perspective, his eagerness to promote the establishment of the Military Affairs Bureau did have an impact on the future, strengthening the voice of the sons of meritorious officials within the Bureau.

Aren't the meritorious nobles and military officers just the Junker nobles of Prussia?
The future Ming Dynasty is becoming more and more "lively".

However, the fact that the national fortune could grow also shows that a more standardized military supervision system could still bring benefits to the Ming Dynasty.

Su Ze put down the "Portable Ming Dynasty" device and began to think. Indeed, history always progresses in a spiral.

This incident also highlights another problem in the Ming Dynasty: the severe underutilization of private funds.

Due to the long-standing national policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, government funds had almost no connection with private funds.

This also made the Ming Dynasty's finances very fragile.

European monarchs of the same era could borrow money from bankers when they encountered short-term financial problems. Several famous universities in Europe were originally founded by royal families who borrowed money from bankers.

"When the people squandered their wealth, they plundered it from the common people; when a popular uprising was imminent, they plundered it from the merchants."

There was no trust between merchants and the government. When the Ming Dynasty encountered financial problems, the only solution left was to raise taxes.

This is naturally a very fragile fiscal system.

The transformation of modern states also lies in the exponential increase in fiscal mobilization power.

Of course, the so-called financial system is actually just a tool for extracting social wealth.

The monarchs of Europe in this era were not exactly innocent either; they often borrowed money and didn't repay it, or simply resorted to physical means to resolve disputes with their creditors.

However, if better financial instruments were available to raise funds from the private sector, then the Military Supervisory Commission would not need to solicit funds from nobles this time.

As social reforms continue, more issues will inevitably arise that fall between the government and the people, such as public transportation and education. It is not good for such investments to be entirely funded by the government or entirely raised by the people. A better approach would be for the government and the people to work together, or for the government to raise funds from the people.

This also requires more effective financial instruments.

Su Ze picked up a letter from Tu Zeming, the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou. A new thing that Tu Zeming wrote in the letter caught his attention.
-
February of the fourth year of the Longqing reign.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! The Earl of Cheng Yi has been restored to his title! He has been granted a new imperial edict and certificate!"

"The first Western-style fleet ship at the Denglai Shipyard has been launched for sea trials!"

"By imperial decree, the first batch of military academy students' list is to be drafted!"

In a teahouse in front of the Shanxi Guild Hall, Fan Kuan, dressed in a black silk robe, respectfully poured tea for the middle-aged man opposite him.

The man opposite the editor-in-chief of the Commercial Daily, one of the four major newspapers, was so polite to Fan Baoxian, the head of the Fan family of Datong.

The head of the Fan family left his hometown of Datong right after the New Year, clearly not to check on the results of the preparations for the Commercial Daily.

He came to the capital to inspect business matters.

Fan Baoxian arrived in Beijing unprepared and did not stay at the Datong Guild Hall. Instead, he summoned Fan Kuan to a teahouse to discuss matters.

Fan Kuan was secretly surprised. From the teahouse owner to the waiters, everyone seemed to treat Fan Baoxian with great respect, which showed that the teahouse was owned by the Fan family of Datong.

Fan Kuan then recalled that he often liked to bring people to this teahouse to discuss matters.

This clan patriarch, who was stationed at the ancestral home in Datong, was able to control such a large business as the Fan family in Datong, which shows he was no ordinary person.

"Isn't the money exchange business you're talking about just a bank?"

Fan Kuan said:

"Clan leader, you are wise. These banks and money shops are similar but also different."

Fan Kuan said:

"Money shops are used for exchanging money. Most of the money shops in the capital appeared during the Zhengtong era. This was because the court relaxed the ban on silver, copper coins flooded the market, and copper coins varied in weight and purity. The exchange rates between copper coins, private coins, and white coins were large and fluctuated frequently, which led to the emergence of money shops as a way to exchange coins."

Fan Baoxian nodded. Money shops had existed in the Ming Dynasty long ago. Just as Fan Kuan said, money shops were actually a kind of private currency exchange institution that emerged under the chaotic monetary policy of the Ming Dynasty.

As commercial activities flourished in the Ming Dynasty, this exchange business became even more developed.

Of course, these money shops also engaged in private minting, pawnbroking, and usury. Several money shops in the capital had a long history and were backed by powerful figures.

During this period, money shops in the capital were having a tough time.

The main reason is naturally the large-scale minting of silver dollars and brass coins. The continuous minting over the past two years has gradually eliminated various inferior coins.

As the use of good coins became more and more widespread, merchants and ordinary people also began to get used to using good coins for transactions. Money shops that originally made money by buying and selling coins naturally could not survive.

Fan Kuan said, "But the money exchange is used for exchanging silver in different places."

Fan Kuan explained:

"The earliest money exchange business appeared between the Maritime Trade Offices."

"The Maritime Trade Office is responsible for trading between various ports. If all the profits are converted into cash and stored on ships, it will occupy cargo space, which is very inconvenient."

"Therefore, Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Maritime Trade Office, proposed to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs that a bank be set up in each Maritime Trade Office, and that the profits of the merchant ships of the Maritime Trade Office could be deposited in the bank of the Maritime Trade Office at the port, and the bank would issue receipts."

"In the end, all these silver dollars will be sent to the capital anyway, and then the receipts from the banks will be used to calculate the amount to be deposited into the imperial treasury."

After thinking about it, Fan Baoxian also felt that this method was very good.

Since the profits of the Maritime Trade Office were all to be sent to the imperial treasury in the capital, this method saved the waste of transporting silver dollars back and forth.

Fan Kuan said:

"Clan leader, don't you think this bank is very convenient?"

Fan Baoxian nodded.

Fan Kuan then said:
"When I was running a newspaper in Zhigu, I often heard merchants complaining about the need to exchange money between the capital and Zhigu."

"So I wondered, why can't our Datong Fan family set up banks in Zhigu and the capital respectively?"

"Merchants deposited money in Zhigu, and the Zhigu bank issued a receipt. With the receipt, the merchants could withdraw the money in the capital, and vice versa."

Fan Baoxian lowered his head and began to think.

As the head of a business family, Fan Baoxian naturally wouldn't ask questions like how the money exchange made money.

When others deposit their money in their own banks, that idle capital becomes a golden goose laying eggs. With so many profitable industries in the capital, investing any amount of money in any of them can yield substantial profits.

Moreover, money is something that generates more money the more you have. Just as Fan Kuan said, if this bank can really get merchants to deposit their money there, then it's like the Fan family of Datong has a treasury.

Fan Baoxian was thinking about other issues.

he asked:
How are these banknotes protected against counterfeiting?

Fan Kuan said:

"The stubs issued by both banks were in triplicate, and were signed, stamped and sealed on special paper. One copy was delivered by fast horse between the capital and Zhigu. All the stubs had to be checked together before they could be cashed out."

Fan Baoxian lowered his head and thought about it again, and felt that Fan Kuan's idea was indeed good.

The capital and Zhigu are not far apart, but carrying a large amount of money while traveling is inherently dangerous.

If you can exchange them for silver notes for travel, you can keep them close to your body and avoid being exploited by officials along the way.

Fan Baoxian finally made up his mind and said:
"Then let's establish Fan family banks in Zhigu and the capital, starting with our Fan family, and use banks to settle money."
-
In his letter to Su Ze, Tu Zeming also mentioned the money exchange of the Maritime Trade Office.

Su Ze could only say that Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Maritime Trade Office, was quite capable; he had managed to establish early banking settlement services.

The banks that emerged in the late Ming and Qing dynasties, in addition to being settlement institutions, also served the function of issuing credit money.

Silver notes, a type of commercial note, are actually similar to a form of paper money.

Of course, there are many problems with this kind of spontaneously issued paper money, but there's nothing that can be done about it.

After the collapse of the credibility of the Ming Dynasty's paper currency, several attempts by the government to issue paper money all failed.

Su Ze was not so radical as to issue paper money. The silver notes that Zhang Cheng had set up in various Maritime Trade Offices could not only save on the cost of silver circulation, but also be used to attract private funds.

Su Ze picked up his pen and began to think about his reply to Tu Zeming.

Su Ze first suggested opening up the Maritime Trade Office's money exchange offices so that private merchants could also use their functions.

Su Ze also proposed a method for preventing counterfeiting of three-part banknotes, and used special ink developed by the Yuefu Xinbao printing house for printing.

Su Ze suggested that the merchant shipping system of the Maritime Trade Office could be used to transport these documents and complete the anti-counterfeiting work by storing them in a different location.

The banks run by the Maritime Trade Office were essentially a type of bank. If they could attract more funds from society, they could accumulate capital and become modern financial institutions.

Su Ze put down his pen and heard the maid outside the door shout, "Master, the lady is about to give birth!"

Su Ze quickly stood up. He had asked the emperor for leave in early February to stay home with his wife, Zhao Lingxian, waiting for her to give birth. Now, she was finally going into labor.

Su Ze arrived outside the inner courtyard and saw a group of women from the Zhao family.

After Zhao Lingxian showed signs of labor yesterday, Zhao Zhenji's wife, Li, personally led a group of female relatives to the Su residence.

When a daughter of a wealthy family gets married, they will send someone to "accompany her during childbirth." This is partly because they are also women and can share their childbirth experiences with the new mother, and partly because it serves as "insurance" for the bride's family to prevent the husband's family from using childbirth to harm their daughter.

Of course, giving birth in this era was a life-or-death ordeal, and the midwife prepared by the Zhao family began to direct the maids, and the entire inner quarters became busy.

Su Ze paced anxiously back and forth as he listened to his wife's cries from inside the house.

Fortunately, Zhao Lingxian was in good health, and Su Ze often accompanied her on walks during her pregnancy. Less than an hour later, a loud "waaa!" was heard, and immediately the midwife raised by the Zhao family rushed out and said:
"Congratulations, sir! Congratulations! The mistress has given birth to a son, and both mother and child are safe and sound!"

Upon hearing "Mother and child are safe," Su Ze quickly pulled out a handful of silver coins from his sleeve and rushed towards the inner courtyard.

Pushing open the door, Su Ze heard the baby crying and saw Li Shi holding the swaddled infant and talking to Zhao Lingxian on the bed.

Upon seeing Su Ze, Li presented the baby to him.

But Su Ze wanted to hug his son, yet he was afraid that his clumsy hands would hurt the child.

Li said with a smile:

“I didn’t expect that even Su Hanlin would be unsure of something. Let me teach you how to hold a child.”

Under Li's guidance, Su Ze held the child in his arms and looked at his smiling wife on the bed. Su Ze felt that his connection with this world had become closer.

From that moment on, Su Ze felt truly integrated into this world.

And everything I've tried to change seems to have gained meaning with the baby's cries.

On February 12th, Su Ze's wife, Zhao, gave birth to a baby boy. Both mother and child are safe and sound.

Upon receiving the news, Su Ze's house immediately became lively, with his relatives and friends sending gifts to congratulate him.

However, Su Ze only accepted gifts from relatives and friends. When officials he was not familiar with sent gifts, he would simply ask them to leave their visiting cards and politely decline their gifts.

In addition to relatives and friends, important officials in the court who had dealings with Su Ze also sent him gifts.

Of the four cabinet ministers, Zhao Zhenji and Su Ze were related by marriage, while the other three ministers also sent gifts.

The ministers and vice ministers of the six ministries, as well as the heads of the nine major and minor government offices, also sent their family members to present congratulatory gifts. Su Ze could not refuse these gifts, so he could only accept them for now and return the favor when the opportunity arose.

Gifts were then sent from the palace.

The Longqing Emperor first issued an imperial edict, granting it to Su Zeyinzi.

According to the "Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty," the threshold for a son to be granted a hereditary title was the third rank, but there were also special cases like Su Ze's.

The emperor granted Su Ze's son the position of Zhongshu Sheren, a seventh-rank official, which meant that if Su Ze's son did not participate in the imperial examinations, he could obtain the official position of Zhongshu Sheren upon reaching adulthood.

Of course, if Su Ze's son is unwilling to inherit the family name, he can continue his studies for the imperial examinations and give the spot to one of Su Ze's other sons.

Simply put, the imperial favor was a safety net, a special reward from the emperor to top-ranking civil officials.

The two sons of the former Grand Secretary Xu Jie, and Yan Shifan, the son of the Grand Secretary Yan Song before him, all entered officialdom through hereditary privilege.

The Longqing Emperor also bestowed postpartum tonics and sent imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to prescribe recuperative medicines. This was the kind of treatment usually reserved for high-ranking officials. After Su Ze received the imperial decree and expressed his gratitude, the chief eunuch Feng Bao, who was in charge of announcing the decree, came over.

Congratulations, Su Hanlin.

Su Ze hurriedly took out the lucky money from his pocket. These were silver coins tied with red thread, meant to bring joy to the guests. However, Su Ze hesitated. Giving lucky money to a eunuch who had given birth seemed a bit like an insult.
Feng Bao happily accepted the money and said:

"I also hope to share in Hanlin Su's good fortune and gain a few more godchildren."

As expected of the chief eunuch in the palace, he resolved the awkward situation with just one sentence. No wonder Zhang Juzheng chose to ally with Feng Bao.

Feng Bao then said:
"Hanlin Su, I have another imperial edict from His Majesty."

Su Ze quickly straightened his clothes and said:
"Please speak, Eunuch Feng."

Feng Bao said with a smile:

"His Majesty's decree states, 'Minister Su should continue to pay close attention to matters concerning the Military Affairs Bureau.'"

Su Ze now understood that the emperor's bestowal of this favor was a way of urging him to hurry up and go to the military academy to work like a beast of burden!
The emperor's urgency must mean that the establishment of the Military Supervisory Bureau has encountered problems again.

(End of this chapter)