The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 233 - 122: The End of the Provincial Examination, Discussing the Dao on the Lake (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

Chapter 233: Chapter 122: The End of the Provincial Examination, Discussing the Dao on the Lake (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

And this dialogue precisely unveils the very nature of ancient economic activities, as well as a consensus cognition on commercial and economic activities reached by all classes in the current era.

Xu Qing reflected for a moment before saying, "Mr. Xie, do you know how much the annual salary was for a Seventh Rank official in the early years of the dynasty?"

Mr. Xie, fluent in both ancient and modern knowledge, offhandedly answered, "Ninety stones of rice, which remains unchanged even now."

Xu Qing: "Then, in the early years of the dynasty, how much Silver would ninety stones of rice be equivalent to?"

"Five hundred wen in money, but as to how much Silver in particular, I am not certain."

Silver becoming the mainstream currency is a matter of the past century, even more so today. This is also the reason why the Grand Secretary is about to implement the One Whip Law.

Because previously, the Great Yu Dynasty had little Silver, and now there is much more Silver available.

Xu Qing smiled slightly, "Then, Mr. Xie, do you know how much Silver a decent house with one entrance and one exit in Yingtian Prefecture, which was still the Capital at that time, was valued at in the early years of the dynasty?"

"Approximately two hundred taels," Mr. Xie recollected from a memoir written by someone from the past, providing a rough figure.

"And now?"

"At least five hundred taels," Mr. Xie thoughtfully replied after pondering.

"Why is it that when it was the Capital, the prices were even lower than they are now?"

"Could it be that Silver has become devalued?"

Xu Qing spoke leisurely, "In the earlier years of the dynasty, a family with a thousand taels of Silver could be considered exceedingly wealthy in a county. To this day, a fortune of a thousand taels isn’t even sufficient to donate for an Inspector position. However, the Silver in the hands of the common people isn’t necessarily more than it was in the early years of the dynasty."

"Yet the Silver entered into the National Treasury each year, as compared to the early years of the dynasty, has not increased by much."

"But there is indeed more Silver in the world; it’s just not in the hands of the court or the common people, but in the hands of powerful and influential families across the land."

The term "powerful and influential" refers to families with extensive landholdings and those with significant clout.

They could be Aristocratic Families, literati families, or powerful clans...

Essentially, they are all families with a considerable amount of landholdings or sizable influence.

Xu Qing shifted the topic and continued, "The increase in Silver is not due to the country having many Silver mines, but due to the continuous influx of Silver from Overseas through the trade of silk, tea, etc., into the territory of our dynasty.

In the past, these trades were dominated by powerful and influential families, which is why the Silver is in their hands. The deeper meaning behind converting rice cultivation to mulberry is taking back the control of these trades from these powerful families. This ensures that Silver flows into the National Treasury, thereby benefiting all under heaven."

"Grand Secretary has such far-reaching intentions with this strategy; I thought the key point of this law was to increase the court’s revenue, but there’s this additional layer to it." Mr. Xie, not fully understanding financial affairs, was more adept at the struggles for power and influence, serving as staff and offering strategic counsel.

Now with Xu Qing explaining, he realized that the struggles in the world are not restricted to power and influence; there are more profound aspects involved.

Xu Qing sighed and said, "This is an ideal scenario, but in reality, even if the court successfully enforces the conversion from rice to mulberry cultivation, the Silver will not likely flow into the hands of the people to benefit all under heaven."

"Why not?"

Xu Qing: "Doesn’t Mr. Xie understand the behavior of officials of our dynasty? Even if an imperial edict is issued, the gleaming Silver will not end up benefiting the common people. And yet, Silver being the prevailing currency is an overwhelming trend. If common folks don’t have Silver, they’ll have to exchange their own goods for it. The outcome is predictable: the poor will become poorer, and the rich, richer..."

Mr. Xie knew Xu Qing had not spelled out many things, but as a perceptive man, a hint was all he needed to grasp Xu Qing’s implications.

If the gentry and the powerful hold more Silver, they would naturally come up with methods such as enforcing the One Whip Law, which replaces grain and other in-kind taxes with Silver.

If common people can’t pay taxes with Silver, they will have to exchange it with the gentry and the wealthy.

By then...

"No wonder the One Whip Law proposed by the Grand Secretary faced little opposition."

This law had been enforced decades ago, but faced significant opposition and was quickly abolished. This time, when the Grand Secretary brought it up, the opposition was surprisingly weak.

Because back then, the gentry and the powerful held much less Silver than they do now.

Previously, Mr. Xie thought it was due to the Grand Secretary consolidating power, thus making the reform successful through his authority, but it turned out there’s a layer of reasoning he hadn’t considered before.

He had been blind to the truth, thinking that the key to successful reform laid with the sovereign, the Grand Secretary, and the military.

Mr. Xie pondered further, realizing that even though he knew these matters were problematic at the root, neither the Grand Secretary nor His Majesty would reject them, for once enforced, the National Treasury will undoubtedly become flush.

With money, a strong military could be built, great tasks could be accomplished, and the power at the Central could be reinforced.

It’s just a matter of imposing more hardships on the common folk.

Moreover, the actual conditions vary from province to province.

For instance, South Zhili, with numerous textile factories and a variety of entertainment industries, has a wealth of merchandise, so many ordinary people can also earn Silver.

But in many other provinces, even landlords with sizable land holdings might not have much Silver.

The One Whip Law might work in South Zhili, but in other places, it would likely become a policy disaster.

More deeply considered, South Zhili itself needs to bear the grain transport and original grain taxes; switching to a Silver tax may actually help alleviate the burden on the people.

He thought even deeper, regardless of the success of the rice-to-mulberry conversion, Xu Qing would at most hurt the pride of local gentry, but not the hearts of the townspeople.

Moreover, this matter also became a talisman for Xu Qing.

"These gentry in South Zhili might be hostile towards Xu Gongming at the start, but as the benefits of the reform slowly become apparent, their positions will surely shift. As long as Xu Gongming withstands the initial pressure, the rewards will be surprisingly immense."

Because not every gentry would understand these matters, and most could not; but once the benefits of the reform to them become evident, their stance would naturally change.

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