281: Chapter 281 Iwami Silver Mine

After Xu Fu left, Zhao Fusu called He Zhi and solemnly instructed him, "Keep a close watch on Xu Fu."

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty the Paramount Leader."

He Zhi cupped his fists and replied, "Surveillance is the specialty of our Shadow Guards."

"Mm."

Zhao Fusu waved his hand, dismissing He Zhi.

He opened the system interface and began today's sign-in.

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining an Industrial Silver Mine Distribution Map."

"Silver mine?"

Zhao Fusu looked at the Industrial Silver Mine Distribution Map with curiosity.

It was the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine located in Japan.

The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was discovered in the 16th century, with mining history beginning in 1526 and lasting over 400 years until the mine closed in the 1920s.

From the late Sengoku period to the early Edo period, the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine was one of the largest silver mines in Japan and even the world.

In the 17th century, its silver production accounted for one-third of the world's total silver output, providing crucial economic support for Japan's economic development and trade with surrounding countries and regions at that time.

Zhao Fusu frowned.

The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine played a significant role in promoting Japan from the 15th to the 17th century, but for Great Qin, its role was not very significant.

At this time, Great Qin's currency was not on the silver standard but used the banliang coin, made of copper, tin, and lead—a copper-tin alloy with high hardness, low melting point, and ease of casting, making it suitable for currency.

After the First Emperor unified the world, he promoted the use of banliang coins nationwide and issued a decree that no one else had the power to mint coins; only the state held that right.

Copper coins were inexpensive. The First Emperor used low-cost copper coins as currency to prevent people from counterfeiting them.

Compared to gold and silver, the price of copper coins was inherently low, so counterfeiting them wouldn't yield much profit.

For those capable of minting coins, there wasn't much money to be made, and they would face the death penalty; thus, their motivation to counterfeit banliang coins was not very high.

In this way, the First Emperor could control the national economy through the banliang coin.

The paper money Zhao Fusu planned to introduce followed the same logic.

He wanted to keep the power to print money in his own hands.

Only Great Qin would have the authority to issue paper money; it would be illegal for anyone else to publish it.

This move was intended to strengthen his control over Great Qin's economy.

Paper money could not be printed haphazardly either.

Printing money in large quantities would only lead to the devaluation of the currency and cause national inflation.

How much paper money to print depended on GDP growth; the amount of money printed should match the GDP growth.

Once the amount of issued paper money exceeded the amount of GDP growth, the value of the paper money would begin to decline.

At that time, severe national inflation would occur; if ten thousand yuan couldn't buy a meat bun, people would be left destitute, causing massive social problems.

In cases where silver is not used as currency, it only has industrial value, which is far lower than that of gold.

In ancient times, the exchange ratio of silver to gold was between six-to-one and nine-to-one.

Today, the price of one gram of silver is nine yuan, while the price of gold has broken through seven hundred yuan, a difference of nearly a hundredfold.

It can be seen that once silver loses its currency attributes, its value is far less than before.

In the early Ming Dynasty, to firmly control the Great Ming's economy, Zhu Yuanzhang actively promoted the Great Ming Treasure Note and strictly prohibited transactions using gold and silver.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial decree: "The common people are forbidden from trading in gold, silver, or goods; violators will be punished. Those who exchange gold or silver for notes shall be executed."

Zhu Yuanzhang was great at conquering the world, but not so much in economics. He didn't understand economics; printing large amounts of Great Ming Treasure Notes when GDP growth was low only caused the notes to devalue significantly.

Among the common people, the Great Ming Treasure Note became almost like waste paper, considered too stiff even for wiping one's bottom.

Due to its inherent value, silver began to appear frequently in private transactions.

In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, silver became the primary circulating currency.

When Ming Chengzu moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, due to limitations, the salaries of Beijing officials still had to be paid in Nanjing. The personnel in charge "traded the officials' salary grain for goods, selling them regardless of price, with the return being less than one-tenth. The court wasted grain and salaries, and the officials received no real benefit."

By the first year of the Zhengtong era of Ming Yingzong, which is 1436 AD, the Ministry of Revenue, to overcome this drawback, decided to convert the land taxes of Jiangnan into silver, cloth, and other items to be transported to Beijing for official salaries. The following year, nearly 730,000 dan of grain stored in Suzhou, Songjiang, and Changzhou were also converted into silver to pay the officials.

These decisions by the Ming government made silver the officially recognized legal currency. From then on, fiscal revenue and expenditure gradually shifted towards a silver-based payment method.

This is the silver standard system!

The Great Qing inherited this from the Great Ming, and the silver standard system reached its peak.

Isn't there a TV series set against the backdrop of the Great Qing called Empire of Silver!