My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 345 Tight Money Supply and Gold-Silver Arbitrage

Su Ze was unaware of the nobles' schemes, and even if he had, he would probably have just thought it was normal.

From the moment the Armed Forces Supervision Office was established, the group of professional soldiers was destined to step onto the historical stage.

The Imperial Guard, originally intended as a reserve officer corps, was instead turned into a staff group by these nobles.
No one can predict how a system will ultimately be implemented.

Of course, all of this is still just a plan among the nobles. Whether the Imperial Guard can truly become a military advisory body like the cabinet depends on the outcome of the multi-party game.
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On June 23, with the cooperation of many parties, the ceremony for the enrollment of new students at the Martial Arts Academy was finally completed.

Su Ze looked at the list of new students for this cohort.

The list still mainly consists of sons of military officers waiting to inherit their positions.

However, this time the Ministry of War strengthened the assessment standards. The sons of meritorious officials and the sons of hereditary soldiers not only had to be tested on their reading and writing skills and basic military knowledge, but also had to undergo a martial arts test.

If you fail any one of the requirements, you will be demoted to the preparatory course of the Military Academy. Only after you complete the course and pass the examination can you be promoted to the Military Academy.

In addition, there are twenty martial arts prodigies recommended from the local area.

These were all recommended by local education officials, and they had all passed the Ministry of War's assessment, so their quality was quite good.

Among them was a scholar named Zhu Shan, who had already obtained the title of Xiucai (a degree in the imperial examination system), but had longed to make a name for himself on the battlefield since childhood. He recommended himself to the local education commissioner and was recommended for a place.

Zhu Shan passed the martial arts test, achieving excellent levels in both archery and physical fitness.

Although Su Ze had put in his best efforts, compared to the fiercely competitive military academies of the original timeline, the highest military academy of the Ming Dynasty still seemed like a makeshift operation.

But Su Ze knew that the most accomplished students in the future would probably be those from the first few batches.

Unfortunately, in East Asia's competitive system, the one thing that's never lacking is talent.

In the early Ming Dynasty, becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) was considered a pretty good educational qualification.

However, today, "poor scholar" is used to describe impoverished scholars.

These first few batches of martial arts graduates will inevitably occupy the most important positions, and their successors will have to wait for them to give up their positions before they have a chance.

Although dynasties throughout history have proclaimed that "talent is priceless," in reality, talent itself is worthless; what is truly valuable are positions that can train talent.

Ultimately, those who reach high positions are all those who have honed their skills through various roles. If the path to advancement is blocked, no matter how academically gifted one is, there will be no chance of success.

For the previous batches of military academy students, the new Beijing garrison had just been established, and the Ming Dynasty was in a period of external expansion. As long as they could survive, they would always have opportunities for promotion without having to worry about anyone blocking their way.

But after a few phases, you'll have to start from the bottom, one step at a time, and do your best to strive for an opportunity to break through to the top.
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Just as Su Ze finished dealing with the new students of the Martial Arts Academy, two officials from the Ministry of Revenue arrived at the newspaper office.

Ge Ye, Chief Clerk of the Shandong Provincial Department of Revenue; Wei Yun, Assistant Clerk of the Shandong Provincial Department of Revenue.

Back then, Su Ze was appointed as an assistant secretary under the Shandong Provincial Department of Revenue at Zhang Juzheng's suggestion. He had worked with the two men and got along quite well with them.

Ge Ye was a meticulous and pragmatic official, while Wei Yun was also a capable young official.

Later, when Su Ze was promoting commercial taxes, he proposed to establish a commercial tax bureau under the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission and recommended Wei Yun as the director. The commercial tax work was carried out quite well.

Su Ze invited the two into the newspaper office, where Ge Ye explained his purpose.

"Su Hanlin, we two have come regarding the minting of coins in Dengzhou and Laizhou."

"Denglai minting?"

Su Ze was somewhat puzzled.

Could there be a problem with the mint?
Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of minting coins in Dengzhou and Laizhou, was promoted to Directorate of Ceremonial. His successor is said to be a capable eunuch. He shouldn't have run into trouble so soon, right?
Ge Ye said:

“Since the mint began minting coins, merchants traveling between the ports of Dengzhou and Laizhou have been using silver dollars for transactions. The number of coins minted by the Dengzhou and Laizhou mints has been declining for months, which has already affected the revenue from the imperial treasury’s fire loss program.”

"The Cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs have inquired many times, and Grand Secretary Zhang is also dissatisfied with the current situation in Shandong."

Su Ze looked at the two of them and understood their purpose.

The Dengzhou-Laizhou Mint had been operating for many years, and one tael of silver could be minted into two silver coins. This huge profit from minting had become an important source of revenue for the imperial treasury.

However, the supply of wild silver on the market is always limited, and merchants know that they will exchange it for silver dollars before coming to the port of Daming, which will inevitably reduce the amount of seigniorage they can collect.

This wasn't something Su Ze was originally worried about, but Ge Ye's next words made Su Ze frown. Ge Ye said:

“Silver dollars in the Dengzhou-Laizhou market are also flowing out, and this trend is not limited to Dengzhou-Laizhou; silver dollars in other ports are also showing this trend.”

"I just don't understand, where did all those coins the imperial court minted go in the end?"

The outflow of silver dollars is a major problem; insufficient currency issuance will hinder economic development.

But the Ming Dynasty was a silver black hole; it had only been a short time since the seas were opened, and the problem of a money shortage had already arisen.

Credit money is naturally the best choice, but after the Ming Dynasty's paper money was ruined, it was impossible for the public to accept paper money again in the short term. The silver standard was a choice that had to be made out of necessity.

Su Ze could only say:

"The two of you sent me the data on the minting of coins in Dengzhou and Laizhou and the information on the flow of silver dollars. I, Su, will try to find a solution."

Ge Ye and Wei Yun quickly said:
"Thank you, Hanlin Su!"
-
Just as Su Ze saw the two off, Zhang Hong, the eunuch serving the Crown Prince, arrived at the newspaper office.

"The Crown Prince has invited me over?"

Su Ze straightened his clothes and stood up. Only then did he realize that he had been busy with the affairs of the Martial Arts Bureau these days and had not gone to the Imperial Household Department to teach Little Fatty Jun.

With a forced smile on his face, Zhang Hong said on the way:
"Su Hanlin, it is the heir of the Marquis of Wuqing who has returned to the capital."

The heir of the Earl of Wuqing? Isn't that Li Wenquan, the Crown Prince's maternal uncle?

Su Ze recalled that last month, he used carrier pigeon to communicate with Wang Jiaping, the magistrate of Penghu County. Wang Jiaping said that Li Wenquan had led the Penghu colonization merchant fleet to Sakai Port in Japan.

It seems they're returning from Sakai Port.

Su Ze smiled. Ever since the report from the Japanese Ministry of Communications was sent back to the capital, the fact that Japan had a large number of silver mines had aroused discussion in the court and among the public.

Actually, this is not a secret among the people.

Before the Wokou raids in the southeast, Japanese merchants exported large amounts of silver to the Ming Dynasty. The fact that Japan produced silver was common knowledge along the coast.

However, due to the issue of the Southeast Anti-Japanese War, trade with Japan was a sensitive topic, and no one would discuss it openly.

After the seas were opened, Ming Dynasty merchants were busy making money through trade, and no one talked about this topic anymore.

Huang Wenbin and Zhu Juntang's reports merely brought the matter of Japan's rich silver to the attention of the Ming Dynasty's upper echelons.

The most excited one of them was Little Fatty Jun.

The memorial to establish the Japanese General Administration Office for intelligence gathering was the Crown Prince's first political memorial and his first political practice.

Now, the Japanese Ministry of Information Affairs has brought back such a big piece of news, along with a book by Huang Wenbin analyzing the characteristics of the Japanese people, bringing back a large amount of Japanese intelligence.

Doesn't this all demonstrate that the Crown Prince has the ability to recognize talent? After the report from the Japanese Ministry of State Affairs was sent to the cabinet, even the cabinet ministers praised the Crown Prince. Emperor Longqing was very pleased to hear this and rewarded the Court of Imperial Sacrifices once more.

Li Wenquan, the heir of the Marquis of Wuqing, went on a trade trip to Japan and must have brought back more information, which is why the Crown Prince was so eager to summon him.

Su Ze took out a silver coin and put it into Zhang Hong's hand.

Zhang Hong readily accepted the gift; he was currently a eunuch in the Eastern Palace, but not yet the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The Eastern Palace of the Ming Dynasty was the least autonomous Eastern Palace in history, lacking an independent treasury and entirely dependent on the imperial treasury for funding.

Like the impoverished scholar, Zhang Hong's future was also promising.

However, being in this position meant having to maintain many connections, and Su Ze noticed the predicament of this chief eunuch by the Crown Prince's side, so he often tried to befriend him by buying information from him.

Zhang Hong was naturally very grateful to Su Ze, and Su Ze's attitude towards the eunuchs was quite natural, showing no sign of discrimination or arrogance typical of scholars.

Upon arriving at the Eastern Palace, Su Ze met Li Wenquan, the heir of the Marquis of Wuqing, whom he had not seen for a long time, in the Minglun Hall.

Compared to the last time we met, Li Wenquan was a shade darker from the sun, but his overall energy and spirit were much better than before.

The reason is quite simple: Marquis Li Wei of Wuqing is an abstract figure. Despite his own grandson being the crown prince, he is as stingy as an old farmer.

Li Wenquan was able to break free from his father and make a name for himself, so his situation was naturally different.

It should be noted that Li Wenquan is now the president of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Merchants Association, the Dengzhou-Laizhou Insurance Association, and the CEO of the Dengzhou-Laizhou Colonial Merchants Group.

He also owns large sugarcane plantations in Penghu, as well as sugar wineries, sugar mills, and a fleet of ships capable of sailing across Asia.

In terms of personal wealth, he ranked among the top among the imperial relatives of the Ming Dynasty.

"Master Su, guess where my uncle went before returning to the capital?"

The item "[Flying Pigeon Messenger]" was too fantastical, so Su Ze pretended not to guess it. Little Fatty Jun then smiled and said:

"So there are things Master Su doesn't know! Before returning to the capital, my uncle sailed to Japan!"

Hearing this, Su Ze feigned surprise and said to Li Wenquan:
"Then today I, Su, will certainly listen carefully to what the young master has to say."

Li Wenquan, with a smile, recounted his trip.

"Our fleet departed from Tainan Port in Penghu and caught the right wind direction, arriving in Okinawa in just a few days."

"The fleet bought nautical charts to Sakai Port in Japan in Okinawa and hired several guides who had been to Sakai Port before. We arrived at Sakai Port without much effort."

Su Ze nodded slightly. Trade in Northeast Asia was already very mature. In fact, many Ming Dynasty merchants had been to Japan, but they kept it hidden due to political issues.

Li Wenquan can only be described as the first person to personally travel to Japan in a semi-official capacity.

Li Wenquan recalled:

“Actually, Sakai Port was the first small island. Originally, it was just a place where nearby merchants would gather to do business, and it gradually became a seaport.”

“During the previous dynasty, the tribute missions from Japan and our Great Ming Dynasty both started from Sakai Port.”

"After Japan entered a period of chaos, Sakai Port managed to stay safe by playing both sides."

Li Wenquan described it as follows:

“Sakai Port is also a magical place. In Sakai Port, I saw Portuguese merchants wearing Nanban hats, monks wearing kasayas but with sashimi belts at their waists, Japanese people with samurai-style haircuts but dressed in Western monks’ clothes, and merchants speaking Chinese everywhere.”

Su Ze was not surprised by this. Sakai Port could be said to be the center of Japanese trade, and trade with Ming was the most important part of Japanese trade. Sakai Port merchants would definitely speak Chinese.

Li Wenquan then said:

"Sakai Port is also amazing. Because it is located between various forces, it has managed to gain a semi-independent status. It can maintain its autonomy simply by paying protection money to the most powerful daimyo in the surrounding area."

Zhu Yijun asked:
"What if Sakai Port encounters a foreign enemy? Wouldn't the area descend into chaos?"

Su Ze was tempted by Xiao Pangjun again, but thankfully Li Wenquan said:

"Your Highness, that is not the case."

"Although there is no daimyo ruling Sakai Port, there is an organization called the Thirty-Six Men, which is responsible for handling all matters, big and small, in Sakai Port."

“Sakai was surrounded by moats filled with water, and the two ends of each town were separated by wooden planks, which were locked at night to protect the city’s safety.”

"Whenever Sakai Port is threatened, the Thirty-Six Men will pay to hire soldiers to protect Sakai Port, and Western mercenaries will also come to enlist. Sakai Port has survived several crises in this way."

After hearing this, Little Fatty Jun rubbed his hands together and said:
"There really is such a city in the world?"

Su Ze smiled and said:

“Your Highness, the world is full of wonders. Sakai Port is not so strange. The Portuguese have Venice, which is also an autonomous city-state.”

Li Wenquan nodded repeatedly and said:
"Su Hanlin is indeed learned! I met a Portuguese merchant in Sakai Port. He was a Venetian and he said that Sakai Port and Venice are very similar. They are both city-states governed by merchants."

Little Fatty Jun wasn't particularly interested in the local customs and culture of Sakai Port. After all, a prince of the mighty Ming Dynasty wouldn't care about the port city of a tiny country.

Little Fatty Jun said:
"Uncle, quickly tell Master Su about the money-making method you discovered!"

So it was about making money.

Su Ze then realized why Little Fatty Jun had called him over in such a hurry.

Li Wenquan said:
"Su Hanlin, this will take time to explain."

"After arriving at Sakai Port, Li discovered that silver dollars and brass coins from our Great Ming Dynasty were in circulation there. Moreover, Yongle Tongbao coins were also the currency in circulation there."

"I heard that the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga had the Yongle Tongbao coin painted on his military flag."

Su Ze was not surprised.

Although Japan produces gold and silver, its coin-minting technology is backward.

Moreover, gold and silver were high-value currencies, which were actually considered valuables, while commercial circulation actually required smaller amounts of copper coins.

The currency demand from countries surrounding the Ming Dynasty led to a persistent copper shortage in the Ming Dynasty, a problem that had existed since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the Ming Dynasty strictly enforced the ban on copper and prohibited tribute merchants from taking Ming copper coins out of the country, a large number of copper coins still flowed out.

The Ming Dynasty has now lifted the maritime ban and allowed free trade.

The finely crafted silver and brass coins then quickly flowed into the surrounding trading cities, becoming the local currency.

Su Ze recalled what Ge Ye, the official in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, had mentioned about the outflow of silver dollars. It seemed that some of the silver dollars had flowed back to Japan.

Li Wenquan coughed lightly and said:
"Just as the two officials from the Japanese Ministry of Information Affairs said, Japan really does have a huge silver mine!"

(End of this chapter)