1635 Han style rises again

On February 1676, 3, Hanzhou, Jianye.

More than 20 years ago, in the mainland of Hanzhou, when people saw the towering bell tower or the spire of the Drum Tower in the distance, they knew that they were not far from the city.But now, the tall chimneys and billowing smoke are the first thing that catches your eyes, and you know that you are approaching a bustling and lively city.

People who came to Hanzhou mainland for the first time were all shocked by what they saw, towering port lighthouses, advanced docks, countless merchant ships, orderly streets, majestic high-rise buildings, roaring long-distance There are steam locomotives and many chimneys.Nothing seemed more majestic and startling to them than the constant yellow fire rising from the top of the furnace.

In the continent of Hanzhou, which has been sleeping for hundreds of millions of years, since the steam engine was born more than 20 years ago, all "strength work" has been handed over to the steam engine.Spinning machines, looms, rolling mills, hammers, lathes, water pumps and even railway locomotives driven by steam engines are always working tirelessly.

Textile mills, steel mills, lumber factories, ceramic factories, printing factories, machinery manufacturing factories, etc. do not need to be built next to the river, and the creaking waterwheels and windmills have only existed as a kind of pastoral scenery since then.The noise of machines coming from the new factories that were constantly being built broke the tranquility of hundreds of millions of years, and the night sky of the entire Hanzhou continent seemed to be illuminated red by the fire from the stove.

Although Qi State still spares no effort to carry out immigration work, coupled with the rapid number of natural births in the country, the domestic population continues to increase at a scale of 30 to 40 per year, but this new manpower is far less than the explosion after the increase of steam engines great material creativity.

The organic deposits in the earth's crust, the life energy of tens of millions of years are stored in the form of coal. With the advent of the steam age and the result of people's control of machines, the power of each person has increased hundreds of times.Some scholars once said that the advent of the steam engine will be the biggest leap in civilization since the "invention" of fire in the human world. Since the millennium, human civilization has never experienced such a drastic turning point and acceleration.

Although the new demographic data has not yet come out, but a rough estimate, the population of Qi at the end of 1675 may be around 730 million to 750 million, but this country with a population of less than 260 million has burned down in the past year. More than 13 million tons of coal have been produced, which is equivalent to about 230 trillion calories.The power of the steam engine in the entire Qi State is about 300 million horsepower, which is equivalent to the force that 0.1 million adult men can produce (each adult man can produce about 700 horsepower).With such a large population, they can eat nearly [-] million tons of grain a year, which is more than three times the local grain output of Hanzhou.

For the operation of the steam engine, coal and capital account for the largest proportion of cost, accounting for about 90% in total.And these two elements happen to be lacking in Qi State.

According to last year's statistics, Qi's iron and steel output has doubled compared to five years ago. The iron output has reached 68 tons, and the steel output has exceeded 30 tons, reaching 31 tons. The total iron and steel output is only one million tons away. One step away, continue to lead the world (Britain's steel production only exceeded one million tons in 1835, reaching 102 million tons).

After the birth of the steam engine, coal and iron became the most prominent and bulk commodities of this era; and then, the railway perfectly integrated these two commodities, which produced an incredible miracle.

In October last year, the planned coastal railway was completed from Panjiagang in the north (now Port Douglas in northeast Australia) to Linzi in the south (now Sydney, Australia), with a total length of more than 10 kilometers.In addition, the southeast railway line that connects Nandufu (now Melbourne) and Nan'anfu (now Adelaide, Australia) in the south is also in the stage of exploration and construction, and it is expected that in the next three to four years, there will be connected.

Including several branch railways in the southwestern Guizhou area (now Perth City) and the western coastal area, the railway mileage in Qi State reached more than 400 kilometers, an increase of five times compared with five years ago.

The steam locomotive shortened the travel time from Weihai (now Cairns) to Linzi (now Sydney) from more than 20 days by sea boat to less than five days.The train fare has dropped to one-fifth of the original price, which greatly reduces people's travel costs.At the same time, the cost of land transportation has also dropped sharply. The freight by train is less than one-eighth of that of horse-drawn carriage, and the speed is several times faster.

Once the railway reaches a certain scale, a decisive change will take place, and its revolutionary value will also be reflected.If commerce is the blood of industrialized Qi, then railways are the arteries of Qi.Moreover, with the development of the railway, the expansion of the Qi State in the Hanzhou Continent will no longer be limited to the coastal areas, and will start to go deep inland.

Countless mineral deposits and commodities were quickly transported to seaside ports by train, and then transported to various parts of Hanzhou or many overseas countries through merchant ships of increasing size.The construction of railways not only stimulated the development of the economy, but also completely rewritten the face of the land.As the whistle of industrial civilization, the steam locomotive has shocked human beings like never before.

After feeling the strong impact of this industrial force, the more than [-] members of the Hexian Town Mission felt deep awe and sincere admiration for Qi Guo in their hearts.

Jianye is not only the largest industrial city in Qi State, but also the most populous city in Qi State.As of last year, the population of Jianye City has reached 11, and the urban area has also expanded to more than 70 square kilometers. Several cities, such as Kaiston City) and Kaiyuan (now Humpty Doo, Australia), constitute the northern urban agglomeration of Qi State and are also the most important industrial belt in Qi State.

Naturally, the northern region (Jianye Mansion) with Jianye as the core is also the most affluent place in Qi State, gathering nearly 20.00% of the country's industrial scale, with more than [-] large and small industrial and mining enterprises and trading companies, creating a domestic nearly a quarter of the wealth.

In Jianye City, you can buy any commodity in the world, such as exquisite porcelain and silk from the mainland, precious furs from the extreme north, Japanese lacquerware, spices and precious wood from Southeast Asia, pepper from India, carpets from Persia, African ivory, even various European gold and silver sacred objects, and American mahogany can all be obtained in the market in Jianye City.

"If your envoy wants to buy the goods you need in Hanzhou, you can first exchange the gold and silver currency you brought into Hanzhou silver dollars, or directly deposit it in a certain bank, and get the corresponding gold coupons according to the currency exchange rate, and you can freely It's time to buy and sell goods." The official of Qi State who was in charge of receiving the mission from Hexian Town reminded enthusiastically.

"I have experience in the Song Dynasty." Yang Yandi, the envoy of the Hexian Town Mission, bowed his hands and thanked: "Before I came to Hanzhou, I had already exchanged all the gold and silver items into Hanzhou silver dollars. Hehe... In fact, Hanzhou silver dollars Not only is it widely circulated in our land of Haxian, but it is also widely used in Cambodia, Annan, Siam, and Myanmar. It is very convenient to trade and buy. Oh, yes, the gold circle coupons mentioned just now, I don't know what it is?"

"Hanzhou silver and gold coins are metal coins. If they are carried in large quantities, it is very inconvenient and not safe to store. Especially for some merchants engaged in commercial activities, carrying a large number of metal coins is undoubtedly a burden. Therefore, three years Recently, under the license of the Ministry of Households, the Hanzhou Bank of Qi State specially launched the exchange service of gold yuan coupons. As long as the currency is deposited in the bank, it can be exchanged for a corresponding amount of gold yuan coupons, which can be traded with people in the market or directly purchased goods. , no one can refuse."

"Isn't this gold round coupon the treasure banknote that Daming used to pass?" Yang Yandi frowned involuntarily.

"How can this Daming banknote be compared with the gold round coupons of our Qi State!" Song Honghui shook his head disdainfully and said: "Except for the Hongwu period, the Daming banknote still had a certain degree of credibility, and in other periods, it was useless. The gold round certificates issued by the Zhouda Bank are guaranteed by the Ministry of Accounts and the Treasury, based on sufficient gold and silver currency reserves, and issued on the principle of mandatory unlimited redemption.”

"Oh, what Song experienced said, this gold round coupon can be exchanged for the corresponding amount of gold and silver at any time without restriction?"

"Of course." Song Honghui nodded and said, "However, in our country of Qi, Hanzhou silver dollars are legal tender, and gold and silver are prohibited for shopping in the market. Therefore, this gold round coupon can only be exchanged for Hanzhou silver dollars of the amount marked on the coupon. "

Although the official of the Qi State spoke convincingly and infinitely exaggerated the authority, credit and various conveniences of the gold round coupons issued by the big Hanzhou bank, but out of a natural distrust of banknotes, Yang Yandi and the Hexian Town Mission The personnel still did not want to exchange the tens of thousands of Hanzhou silver dollars they had brought with them into gold coupons, but stubbornly packed them in a few boxes, and moved them around time-consuming and laboriously along with a large number of tributes to the emperor of Qi.

Perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps because he didn't want to offend the face of the receiving officials in Qi State, Yang Yandi symbolically exchanged two gold coupons with a face value of [-] at the counter of the Hanzhou Bank in the city, and carefully carried them in his bosom.

The gold circle coupons currently issued by Hanzhou Bank have fixed denominations of five yuan, ten yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan and one hundred yuan.

As for why there are no golden round coupons below five yuan, it is mainly due to the particularity of the audience considered.Compared with those merchants who often traded with hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of silver dollars, most ordinary people with an average monthly income of less than ten Hanzhou silver dollars had no intention of exchanging gold coupons, and they usually had a few dollars in their wallets. A few cents in change, and occasionally a few dollars, it must be prepared for some big purchases.

Therefore, despite the endorsement of the government and the royal family and the issuance by the Hanzhou Bank, this kind of large-denomination gold-dollar coupons had a good reputation, but their initial circulation was still limited.One is the limited geographical scope, currently it is mainly concentrated in the "big" cities in Hanzhou and several surrounding territories; the other is the limited acceptance group, the face value of gold round coupons is relatively large, so many ordinary people do not use them However, it is limited to merchants, financial intermediaries or wealthy groups in the country.

In fact, several local banks had already launched bank notes more than 30 years ago before the Hanzhou Big Bank launched the gold circle coupons. That is, customers deposited a certain amount of Hanzhou silver dollars in the bank, and the bank issued a deposit note accordingly ( bank note), with the corresponding amount handwritten on it, and customers can take this note to the bank in the future to cash in the Hanzhou silver dollars deposited at the beginning.

The deposit notes issued by major banks are the same as the previous receipts, which are proofs of currency exchange, but the difference is that the deposit notes have interest, and there are various passwords and seals, while the receipts are interest-free, just indicating a a debt relationship.

After more than 30 years of development, the banks (banks) in Qi State have accumulated a very high reputation, and the people in the country have gradually accepted the concept of depositing their savings in the bank, instead of depositing their savings in their own houses as in the mainland. Dig a hole and bury the piggy bank in it.

Moreover, according to the laws of the State of Qi, it is illegal to intentionally destroy, destroy, or melt Hanzhou silver or gold coins.In this way, to avoid the behavior of melting gold and silver and pouring silver or gold melons in the mainland.

The gold-dollar coupons that are currently being promoted are the preparations made by financial institutions across the country for the future full-scale issuance of banknotes based on the gold standard.Of course, in order to avoid the depreciation of banknotes such as Daming Banknotes, the current gold round coupons are not legal tender for the time being, and the mandatory "sight redemption" attribute is given to the gold round coupons. In theory, it is a kind of A disguised bank certificate of deposit, or a bank roll, does not require the bank to pay interest.

In order to enable the smooth circulation of gold round coupons, more than a hundred government-controlled large-scale industrial and mining enterprises and trading companies in China took the lead in using the gold round coupons in market activities to purchase production materials, pay workers' salaries, and sell the products they produced. Form payment and collection of payment.

In addition, in addition to providing financial services of "exchange at sight", major banks in the country also deposit the corresponding gold coupons equivalent to Hanzhou silver dollars and issue the necessary savings deposit certificates when collecting people's savings.

Of course, correspondingly, in order to ensure full redemption under extreme circumstances, the Hanzhou Big Bank that issued the gold round coupons also prepared corresponding gold and silver reserves according to the amount of the gold round coupons issued, instead of printing banknotes like the later generations That's it.

The impact of banknotes on the economy is far from being as simple as convenience, but recreating the space and elements of the economy.Know that in the sphere of circulation of any country, the gold and silver money by which the products of land and labor power circulate and distribute to their proper consumers, is a dead stock.

Paper money is a valuable part of the capital of a country, but produces nothing for the country.But by substituting banknotes for large amounts of gold and silver, the state will be able to convert a large amount of this dead stock into an actively productive stock.Gold and silver circulating in any country can be compared to roads leading to various places, and banknotes, um, to use an extreme metaphor, banknotes are like the railways that are currently being developed in Qi State. The speed and quantity of market circulation are geometrically Way to grow fast and furiously.

It is worth noting that the financial experiment carried out by Qi State (the issuance of golden round coupons) does not rely entirely on coercion by power, but is largely based on the free choice of the people of Qi State.Because the forced circulation of currency does not mean legal circulation.No one is forced to accept these notes as payment.

However, more and more merchants in Qi State have gradually accepted these banknotes without compromise, from cautiously testing them.In addition to strong patriotism and national responsibility, the support of merchants stems more from their confidence in the Qi government and the country. This confidence stems from the decades of stable operation of financial institutions such as Hanzhou Big Bank, and is also based on the royal family and The stability of the cabinet government's commitment comes from Qi's sustained, healthy and rapid economic development over the past few decades.