282: Chapter 282 In physics, motion is relative.

In 1522, the exchange ratio between gold and silver in the Great Ming was between one-to-six and one-to-seven.

The discovery of the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine in Japan during this period caused the price of silver to drop significantly, with the gold-to-silver ratio in Japan being one-to-ten.

Driven by profit, massive amounts of silver from Japan were transported to the Great Ming through various channels, allowing the Japanese to make a fortune.

To profit from the price difference between Japanese and Ming silver, the Portuguese used to transport silk from Macau to Japan to sell for silver, then returned to Macau to buy more Ming silk to exchange for even more silver in Japan.

Additionally, a large amount of silver flowed into the Great Ming from the Americas through trade with Spanish and Portuguese merchants, trade by overseas Chinese in the Philippines with their motherland, and British trade through the East India Company.

Through these direct or indirect trade relations, silver from the international market was transported to China in large quantities during the late Ming Dynasty.

The massive influx of foreign silver promoted the development of the Great Ming's commodity economy and the evolution of its monetary system.

However, there was no fixed exchange rate between these silver currencies from different countries, and they circulated with their own valuations. Silver ingots of various shapes and weights appeared in the currency market, making the Great Ming's already complex monetary system even more disordered and chaotic.

The Great Qing took over from the Great Ming and thus inherited the Great Ming's disordered and chaotic monetary system.

In the late Qing Dynasty, due to factors such as the opium trade, treaty indemnities, and the loss of sovereignty over customs and salt taxes, silver began to flow out continuously.

The massive outflow of silver made domestic silver scarce and expensive; prices expressed in silver fell, while prices expressed in copper coins rose.

The 'expensive silver and cheap copper' caused by the silver outflow increased the burden on the domestic population, severely damaging domestic agriculture and handicrafts. Furthermore, due to reduced taxes and falling national revenue, the country began to face a serious financial crisis.

To compensate for the fiscal deficit, the Qing government significantly increased customs duties and Likin.

The excessive issuance of inconvertible currency resulted in hyperinflation, which dealt a severe blow to both the domestic economy and politics.

In summary, silver only holds high value when it functions as a currency.

With silver as currency, the government lacked control over the money supply, making it impossible to perform macro-adjustments and making the domestic economy highly vulnerable to major impacts.

For Zhao Fusu, even if he treated silver as currency and extensively mined the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine to flood the market with silver...

In the short term, he could make the economy prosper, much like how printing a large amount of money can increase the cash in everyone's hands.

But if the amount introduced into the market exceeds the growth rate of Great Qin's GDP, it will cause silver to devalue and purchasing power to drop significantly, leading to inflation issues later on.

This approach would be no different from killing the goose that lays the golden eggs; it is not a sustainable strategy for development.

Zhao Fusu tapped his fingers on the table.

With Great Qin's strength, it would be simple for him to take the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine in Japan.

But how to use this Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine—that was the tricky part.

If he only developed it for its industrial value, Zhao Fusu felt it would be a waste, far from reaching the impact it had in his original world.

The Japanese had made a fortune from it; Zhao Fusu was unwilling to see it yield so little profit once it fell into his hands.

He clasped his hands behind his back and paced continuously in his study.

When a person paces, their brain cells are often highly active, allowing them to think of many ideas they couldn't before.

Suddenly, a spark lit up in Zhao Fusu's mind, and he actually came up with a brilliant idea.

The corners of his mouth curled up high, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

In physics, motion is relative.

Relative motion means that the state of motion of an object depends on the chosen reference frame.

A reference frame is a supposedly stationary object or system of objects chosen to describe the motion of other objects.

The same object's motion can be completely different relative to different reference frames.

When you sit on a train traveling at a constant speed, relative to the train car as the reference frame, you are stationary because your position relative to the car hasn't changed. But relative to the ground, you and the train are moving together because your position relative to the ground is constantly changing.

While a plane is in flight, luggage placed on the rack is stationary relative to the plane.

But relative to an observer on the ground, the luggage is moving at high speed along with the plane.

By the same logic, something that is bad for Great Qin is only so because Great Qin was chosen as the reference frame.

But what if the reference frame were an external force?

If it's bad for external forces, then it's good for Great Qin!