Years of the Republic of China 1913

During the streaking period, I hope everyone will recommend it a lot, and please remember to collect it! Thank you!

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"Coins?" That's right, coins!

China has always used copper coins as auxiliary currency, gold and silver and even jewelry as the main currency for circulation. Except for the copper coins minted in each dynasty, the value of gold and silver has always been calculated by its fineness and weight, which is very inconvenient to use. .

In the later period of the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, it was suggested that the Qing court tried to cast a batch of Longyang with reference to foreign gold and silver coins, but because of the uneven casting level, small circulation, and different fineness, etc. , and finally failed to really circulate.At present, there are many kinds of currencies used in the Republic of China. Traditional gold and silver are still in circulation, and even copper coins from the Qing Dynasty are still used in large quantities among the people. Except for bank bills and bank notes, most of them directly use foreign currencies, and the most widely circulated one is the Mexican silver dollar, which is commonly called "Eagle Ocean".

In other words, the currency in the early days of the Republic of China was in chaos, and there was no legal currency that truly represented the country.This situation is inconceivable in Western countries. A country without its own currency is a huge disadvantage no matter from the economic or social point of view.

Coinage, or the issuance of legal tender by the government, realizes its functions in value scale, means of circulation, means of storage, means of payment, and world currency. This is a step that a unified country must do.

Not only that, in addition to the main function of currency, coinage is also a big profitable business. In the case of central financial distress, unifying the national currency system and supplementing finances through coinage is also a small investment, quick results, and stable income. Way.

After putting forward the coinage suggestion, Song Jiaoren thought for a while, and after carefully reading the thick stack of materials sent by Fang Zida that night, he finally made up his mind. Currency proposal.

As soon as the coinage proposal was submitted, it aroused great attention from Yuan Shikai and the two houses of Congress. Of course, people of insight raised their hands in approval. The currency is chaotic, with everything in a mess, and it is very inconvenient for anyone to use it normally. As a country, issuing its own unified legal currency is a proposal that no one will refuse.

In this way, within a few days, the proposal on minting the first batch of coins in the Republic of China was successfully passed. For this reason, Song Jiaoren reported to President Yuan Shikai that the government would come forward to set up a special agency for coin minting, and began to prepare for this. thing.

The method of minting coins was proposed by Fang Zida, not to mention many aspects of the materials that Fang Zida handed over to Song Jiaoren made his eyes shine. To be honest, he had vaguely felt some things, but he still failed to pierce the last layer of windows. paper, and Fang Zida’s theoretical and practical analysis gave him great inspiration.

However, although Fang Zida’s written materials were detailed, he only mentioned the problem and the purpose, and did not write about how to solve it in the end. For this reason, Song Jiaoren’s heart was itchy like seven or eight cats scratching, as if a piece of paper was placed in front of him. You can see and smell the delicious food on the table, but you can't eat it.

"Shang Ming, I've read your masterpiece carefully, but why doesn't it say how to do it?" Song Jiaoren invited Fang Zida to his home, closed the door of his study, and he couldn't wait to ask.

"Brother Dunchu, you think I'm a god!" Fang Zida rolled his eyes and said bluntly, "Do you know how much effort I spent on these things? Why do I need you, the Prime Minister, if I know how to do it?" ?”

"Hehe...don't be angry, don't be angry." Song Jiaoren smiled awkwardly, and handed a cup of tea to Fang Zida with both hands, "Shang Ming! There are no outsiders here, so you can just talk about it, just talk about it?"

After receiving the tea, Fang Zida shook his head and sighed: "Brother Dunchu, brother Dunchu, it's one thing to see clearly, and another thing to do it well. It's not that I don't write or I don't talk about it. I want to know How can I keep it from you?"

"But..." Song Jiaoren was about to persuade him again, but Fang Zida waved his hand and said, "You can't become fat if you eat all at once, you have to do things little by little, step by step, since you can find the right direction, there is always a way. What's more, I What I wrote is just the opinion of the family. According to my suggestion, I can find more people to read it. There may be ideals and unrealistic aspects of what I wrote. Everyone discusses it, unifies suggestions, and then comes up with a proper way. The so-called three The cobbler is the best of Zhuge Liang."

Speaking of this, Fang Zida drank his saliva, and said: "In addition, the President must also have a good discussion. Some aspects still need his support, otherwise many things will not be done at all."

"That's true..." Fang Zida said so frankly, Song Jiaoren still didn't understand that he was not Song Jiaoren anymore.Indeed, Fang Zida saw the disadvantages and wrote the results, but the theoretical aspects accounted for most of them. After all, it was difficult to implement in practice. More importantly, many aspects of the three major suggestions he put forward involved Yuan Shikai’s interests. Without Yuan Shikai's support and acquiescence, it would have been impossible to rely solely on Song Jiaoren's decision.

Nodding his head, Song Jiaoren stopped forcing Fang Zida and talked about other things.

"The congressional proposal on minting coins has been passed, and the State Council has decided to set up a special minting agency. I've considered it, and I think it's more appropriate for you to be in charge."

"Oh, what's the situation with this institution? Tell me first." Fang Zida seemed very interested, sitting up straight and asking.

Song Jiaoren talked about his own ideas. Minting coins is a major national event. He planned to set up this institution with the State Council and the Ministry of Finance as the main players. This institution is under the Nanjing Manufacturing Bureau and the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau. Then set up a minting bureau as the main executor of coinage.At the same time, the Ministry of Finance will entrust the Bank of Communications as the minting agency to carry out the work of recycling old coins and silver, while Fang Zida's main responsibility here is to prepare for the minting bureau and carry out the actual minting work.

"Don't do it!" Song Jiaoren had just finished speaking, but Fang Zida refused straight away.

"Why?" The astonished Song Jiaoren looked at Fang Zida in puzzlement. He had to know that holding the power to mint coins was a big job. If it wasn't for Fang Zida, how could Song Jiaoren give up such an important position?Who would have thought that Fang Zida would say that he would not do this job right after the lecture, and Song Jiaoren was immediately puzzled.

"Why?" Fang Zida lit his cigar and took a puff. He sneered and said, "What's the difference between your method and the Tongzhengsi of the Manchu Qing Dynasty before? It's not a change of medicine. Maybe silver dollars can be minted if you go on like this, but it's not good for the country. There is no benefit in financial improvement. It is thankless, what am I going to do? Hehe, this job is fat and poor, and I may earn a lot of money if I sit in this position, but unfortunately, I, Fang Zida, don’t care about this benefit.”

Dazed for a moment, Song Jiaoren frowned, and after a long time he asked, "Shang Ming, what do you think makes you want to do it?"

"You want me to tell?" Fang Zida asked with a smile.

"Say it!" Song Jiaoren nodded seriously.

"Okay, let me say what I say!" Fang Zida said straightforwardly: "I can do it if you want, you have to meet my three conditions."

"speak!"

"First: You split the Bank of Communications into two parts, and I will be responsible for reorganizing part of it into the central bank. Second: The central bank has the sole currency minting, issuing rights and other necessary functions, and its subsidiaries include Nanjing and Shanghai Manufacturing Bureaus. And the newly established Foundry Bureau. Third: I need to merge Hanyang Iron Works and China Merchants Steamship Company into the Central Bank at the same time.”

"This..." Song Jiaoren hesitated immediately. The Bank of Communications is one of the second largest banks in the country. Except for the Bank of China, the rights owned by the Bank of Communications are almost the same as the central bank in name. Fang Zida wants to directly deprive the Bank of China And the privilege of the Bank of Communications, and the direct spin-off of the Bank of Communications will inevitably cause shocks.As for the ownership of the manufacturing bureaus in Nanjing and Shanghai by the new central bank, it is not difficult, but the third point proposed by Fang Zida even requires Hanyang and China Merchants, which will touch a series of related interests. An easy thing to do.

"Hehe, don't be in a hurry, you should think about this matter slowly, and you can answer me in a few days." Seeing Song Jiaoren's embarrassed look, Fang Zida smiled and said, "But I can explain first, These three requirements are indispensable, and I will never take the burden of which one is missing. Brother Dunchu, now that the country is suffering from all kinds of ills, if you want to cure the disease and save the people, you have to use strong medicine. Repairing and repairing, in the end it will be nothing!"

After finishing speaking, Fang Zida got up to leave, leaving only Song Jiaoren pondering over his words with full of thoughts.

Leaving the Song Mansion, Fang Zida had a smile on his lips, as if all this was in his calculation.No matter Song Jiaoren as the prime minister or Yuan Shikai as the president, he will eventually agree to his request, and controlling the central bank is equivalent to controlling the lifeline of China's economy, which is especially important for Fang Zida.As for the chief minister and deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance, Fang Zida didn't pay attention to these thankless positions at all.