"Prime Minister, now is the best time to unify the auxiliary currency!"

After Kong Fanpu's words fell, the office fell into a brief silence. Li Zicheng looked at the young man who was several years older than him with a smile. Like Chen, he had the same expression on his face.

He also had an encouraging look, seeming to encourage him to continue speaking.

"Prime Minister, today the price of copper is rising, and profiteers are changing money to copper for personal gain. The people are suffering from the shortage of auxiliary coins. If the price of copper fell after the European War, the provinces will surely mint copper coins in large quantities to gain local benefits. But now, the price of copper has risen sharply.

At the end of last year, the copper coin bureaus in all provinces had successively reduced or stopped producing copper coins, and now they are losing one dollar for every dollar produced. Therefore, all provincial copper coin bureaus have stopped minting copper coins."

During his investigation into money making and copper coins, Kong Fanpu also conducted an investigation into copper coin bureaus in various places.

"Still taking Shandong Province as an example. The Provincial Copper Yuan Bureau was founded in the first year of the Republic of China. By the outbreak of the European War, the profit was about 300,000 taels. The Copper Yuan Bureau included factories and equipment, with an investment of nearly 400,000 taels, and is now maintaining monthly

We need more than 10,000 taels, and now the Copper Yuan Bureau of Shandong Province has not only failed to become a source of local wealth, but has even become a burden on local finances!"

Perhaps in order to prove that what he said was true, Kong Fanpu took out two identical reports from his briefcase and handed them to the Prime Minister and the Director-General respectively. While they were reading the reports, he continued to make the report.

"Therefore, now that the auxiliary currency is unified, since local governments have no profit from copper yuan, there is naturally no need for profit and hindrance. If the Ministry of Finance can provide appropriate subsidies, for example, the equipment of the copper yuan bureaus in each province can be directly purchased by the Ministry of Finance, so that local governments can

Huge profits can be made. Take Hubei Province, which has the highest copper coin output, as an example. The Hubei Copper Copper Bureau has nearly a thousand pieces of copper coin equipment. If the central government buys them at a discount, Hubei Province can make a profit of more than one million taels of tools!"

"Well, maybe this is a good time to unify the auxiliary coins, and this method is not bad. But..."

As he pondered, Li Zicheng took a look at the cost of acquiring the Copper Yuan Bureau mentioned in the report, which cost tens of millions of taels nationwide.

“Where do the funds come from?”

Chen also looked at this subordinate whom he was not very familiar with. Anyone could make good suggestions, but things might not be able to be solved.

"Prime Minister, according to the amount of 30 billion copper dollars in circulation in our country, the money production is also equivalent to that. The total amount of copper currency in circulation nationwide is 400,000 tons. If the central government centrally collects and redeems it, it can be made into copper ingots or exported, or sold domestically.

, the profit will reach hundreds of millions! The acquisition of Copper Yuan Bureau is only a drop in the bucket!"

"What's the difference between that and the Japanese?"

After asking a question in return, Li Zicheng continued.

"It is true that we can make a profit by purchasing the circulating copper coins to make copper coins, but how to meet the market demand for auxiliary coins? How to meet the needs of the central government to issue auxiliary coins? If the local government loses one yuan by casting one yuan, how can the central government gain anything by minting new auxiliary coins?

The theory of profit?"

"Prime Minister, the central government does need to consider the tax on coinage when issuing currency, but isn't coinage just for profit?"

While asking questions, he knew that without the benefit of minting coins, it would be difficult to come up with that huge sum of money given the current situation of the Ministry of Finance, so Kong Fanpu went on to explain.

"Of course, it will not be feasible if minting is operated at a loss. Therefore, when the Ministry of Finance can unify the national auxiliary coins, it can formulate new auxiliary coins. The new auxiliary coins can be designed with reference to the current raw material prices, and the new auxiliary coins must take into account the rising prices.

Regarding the issue of financing and minting, the auxiliary currency is only an auxiliary currency, whether it is silver taels or silver dollars. When the auxiliary currencies are finally unified, the Chinese currency must be unified."

Looking at the Prime Minister with expectant eyes, Kong Fanpu's voice could not help but rise slightly.

"Prime Minister. Since Qin Shihuang completed the great cause of unification, he has implemented several far-reaching measures, such as "cars on the same track, books on the same text." After taking office, the Prime Minister also became the Mandarin Pronunciation Committee of the State Council and wanted to unify the pronunciation of Mandarin? And?

The more important measure of Qin Shihuang was to issue Qin Banliang. Although the currency was unified to a certain extent, in fact, commerce was very underdeveloped two thousand years ago, and currency was still a means of payment for urban residents and the upper class, so this

The measures were more about conveying the significance of Qin's unification of the world. Since then, various dynasties have continued to iterate on currency unification, but they have never been able to form a truly stable currency system. Even the right to mint coins has been owned by both officials and private citizens.

, since Zhang Zhidong’s One Whip Law, silver taels have begun to become China’s legal tender. However, silver taels are not scientific currencies. As far as the silver taels currently implemented in our country, the silver taels include real silver (silver taels actually circulating) and virtual silver (as silver taels).

(unit of accounting: silver taels). Real silver, such as pure silver in Beijing, Baibao silver in Tianjin, Erqibao silver in Shanghai, 24bao silver in Hankou, etc. Virtual silver, such as 98 yuan in Shanghai, Tianjin

Banking, Hankou's foreign regulations and Beijing's public weights, etc., all real silver transactions must be converted into specific virtual silver taels before they can be recorded...

Since the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, foreign silver coins have flowed into China in large quantities. In the late Qing Dynasty, officials cast Longyang coins, which were used in actual transactions. In the second year of Xuantong, the Qing government issued the "Currency Regulations", which stipulated that the national currency unit was yuan, and 1 yuan silver coins were used.

Chongkuping is 7 cents and 2 cents, containing 90% pure silver, and 6 cents, 4 cents and 8 cents of combined silver. In the third year of the Republic of China, the Ministry of Finance and the government promulgated the "National Currency Regulations", stipulating that the national currency was silver dollars, which were later minted and were called folk coins.

The national currency silver dollar is called "Yuan Datou". Although the Yuan Datou silver dollar was welcomed after its issuance, the two-silver system still exists, and the inconvenience of mixing the two dollars causes hundreds of millions of losses to the Chinese economy every year!"

As one of the first batch of students after the establishment of Harvard Business School, when studying in the United States, Kong Fanpu chose "two-dimensional mixing" as the theme for his graduation thesis. Naturally, he was very clear about the disadvantages of two-dimensional mixing.

"Under the complicated currency system where two yuan is mixed, almost absurd transactions and settlements are often presented: Silver dollars are mostly used in actual payment situations, and accounting is still based on silver taels; whether silver dollars are exchanged for silver taels, or silver dollars are exchanged for

Exchanging silver taels requires many twists and turns, which is very complicated and increases transaction costs. Since other countries mostly adopt the gold standard currency system, those engaged in foreign trade must not only face changes in the price ratio of gold and silver, but also consider the market fluctuations between silver taels and silver dollars.

Ebbs and flows. Therefore, the Shanghai business community has long called for switching to silver dollars!"

“But don’t forget the banks that occupy China’s main financial market!”

Chen reminded aloud from the side that the "abolition of the two reforms and the reform of the Yuan" had been established as a project as early as the previous Ministry of Finance. It was also an established policy of the Ministry of Finance and had not been implemented. The reason was simple: taking into account this resistance.

"Prime Minister!"

Interrupting his subordinate's words, Chen reminded him from the side.

"Based on the results of our current investigation, in Shanghai's financial community, the situation of banks and banks is different. Their attitudes towards the abolition of the two reforms to the Yuan Dynasty are different. As representatives of China's local old-style financial institutions, banks have long dominated the financial market.

Its business is based on silver taels. Its traditional business is silver money exchange, and later it mainly operates silver taels and silver dollar exchanges. Although the bank also handles deposit business, there is interest on deposits of silver taels, but no interest on deposits of silver dollars; if the depositor

To obtain interest, it must be converted into silver and entered into the account.

In the Shanghai financial market, the currency industry has always set the price for converting silver dollars into silver taels, that is, "yangli" and the interest rate for lending silver taels to each other among peers.

, to earn the difference. Due to the existence of the two-bank system, most of the bill settlements in Shanghai's banking industry must be carried out by the Money Industry Association's General Association, and many banks have to open accounts in the money industry for deposits. The minimum is five to six million yuan, and the maximum is more than 5 million yuan.

Tens of millions of yuan, or even opening both silver tael and silver dollar accounts at the same time, resulting in a large amount of funds being shelved. Once the two-yuan system is abolished, foreign currency and silver currency will naturally disappear, which will directly lead to the loss of bank market control, business shrinkage and

Profitability decreases and traditional advantages are difficult to sustain; for the banking industry, it means a reduction in transaction and settlement costs, and it is no longer controlled and dependent on the money industry.

Because of this, since the Shanghai Banking Association was formally established last year, people in the banking industry and some economics and finance scholars have repeatedly advocated the implementation of the abolition of the two reforms to the Yuan. However, to this day, the situation of "two layers of Yuan is ignored" has still not been changed. This

But this incident involves Qian Guo’s money industry, and the time is not yet ripe!”

Immature?

The chief's words aroused Kong Fanpu's temper, and he spoke without any regard for etiquette.

"Prime Minister, do you know that the mixed use of two yuan causes economic losses of up to 40 million yuan to China every year!"

Forty million yuan!

This is the first time Li Zicheng has heard of this. The reason why he supports "abolition of the two reforms to the Yuan" is very simple. Because historically it was a major event in China's modern financial history. More importantly, "abolition of the two reforms to the Yuan" is for

The foundation has been laid for the issuance of banknotes across the country. As for the economic losses caused by the mixed use of two yuan, it is true that we have not yet understood...

After interrupting the general manager, he saw that his words aroused Prime Minister Kong Fanpu and said hurriedly.

"The annual economic loss caused by mixing two yuan involves a specific mathematical model. If the Prime Minister is interested, he can give it within a month. Now I only give a simple example. His monthly salary is three hundred yuan. If

After working at the Bank of China, I took out a salary of 300 yuan, then went to Qianzhuang Street, exchanged it for silver taels at the first store, and then exchanged silver dollars for it at the second store, and walked from east to west. Repeat this, and walked out of Qianzhuang Street without waiting for a job.

All the wages are drawn by the bank! This is true for the profession, and it is also true for businessmen everywhere. The profits of the bank are all generated by the mixing of two yuan!"

Kong Fan's Mandarin words made Li Zicheng stunned for a moment, and he turned his attention to Chen. Seeing the Prime Minister looking at him, Chen opened his mouth and said,

"Prime Minister, it is indeed true! In the banking industry, banks are often called the cancer of finance! But the current time is not ripe. First, the bank industry involves a wide range of interests of all parties, and second, our banking industry is not yet fully mature."

Even as a supporter of the banking industry, Chen also advocated slow and prudent implementation of the abolition of the two reforms to the Yuan to ensure the country's financial stability. After all, the most important thing for China now is stability.

After nodding, Li Zicheng looked at Kong Fanpu and asked.

"Mr. Chen thinks it's premature, what do you think?"

"Prime Minister, compared with the banking industry, the banking industry is the foundation of finance. Although my country's banking industry cannot be compared with the banking industry in Europe and the United States, losses of up to hundreds of millions are caused by the combined use of two yuan every year, and the banking industry is very important to the banking industry. The two industries have been in constant dispute for many years, which has made China's finance deeply affected by other industries. Now that there are banks in every county in the country, why is there such a saying that the banking industry is immature?

“We must consider the stability of the financial market! We must act with caution! Don’t act too hastily!”

"If two elements are used together, how can we achieve stability?"

After retorting unceremoniously, Kong Fanpu said again.

"Moreover, Zhi Xiang did not propose to immediately "abolish the two and change the yuan", but in the process of promoting the unification of auxiliary currencies, it was easy first and then difficult, and implemented gradually. In the third year of the Republic of China, the government promulgated the "National Currency Regulations" and designated the national currency as the silver dollar. Beiyang The national currency minted by the government is a silver dollar with the president's face. In January this year, this silver dollar became the standard silver dollar in Shanghai's financial market, replacing Long Yang's position. Long Yang's market was immediately cancelled, and now Shanghai's financial industry seems to be in the future. The Yingyang Bank Market was abolished within two or three years. In the market, although silver coins have been replaced by silver dollars in people's daily lives, silver coins are still the main means of payment in terms of commercial transactions and international balance of payments. At the same time, although money making is still in It is gradually being eliminated in the market, but my country's copper auxiliary currency system is not unified. Therefore, we often face such contradictions in the commercial and financial markets: transaction settlement is calculated in silver taels, actual income and expenditure are in silver dollars, the unit of accounting is in silver taels, and actual circulation is in silver taels. The silver dollar is another one. This situation of using silver taels for transactions and silver dollars for currency will inevitably lead to sudden rises and falls in the market price of silver coins. Serious businessmen often suffer losses from this, while speculative businessmen make profits from it. This restricts industry and commerce to a great extent. It can be said that the main reason for the development of my country is that commerce is underdeveloped in most areas of our country and the currency system is chaotic. Therefore, to improve the currency system, we must not unify the currency, and unify the currency, we should abolish the two reforms since the Yuan Dynasty." Therefore, I think , when the unification of auxiliary currencies is promoted, new laws can be directly promulgated to determine the currency unit and currency type. Now, all financial levies in China are paid in silver dollars. If the two standards of virtual silver and silver in each province can be abolished through the implementation of auxiliary currencies, then central regulations will be implemented Yuan, and the customs duties are also the total payment of silver dollars. Both Chinese and foreign merchants and people will enjoy its convenience. In this way, the situation of "two layers of money and one light" can be changed, and the government will not need to collect the equivalent of silver dollars and put them back again. Combining the two losses of silver dollars, it is also very beneficial, and it is actually a move that benefits the country and the people!"….

At this time, Kong Fanpu's topic was no longer limited to the unification of auxiliary currencies, but focused on the unification of the national currency.

"For the central government of a country, unifying the currency, especially the coinage power, is not only an economic need, but also a political need. Now China's coinage power must be sorted out. At present, our Ministry of Finance has been ostensibly

With Tianjin Mint as the main factory, Nanjing, Wuchang, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Yunnan, Fengtian, Changsha, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Anqing, and Shanghai are branch factories. Although each branch factory is called a branch factory, it is actually a branch factory.

In an independent position, it is imperative for the central government to take back the right to mint money, whether for political or even military reasons..."

What Kong Fanpu got in the end was a burst of laughter from Li Zicheng, who interrupted Kong Fanpu's words with laughter. He knew that if today's conversation was spread, it would probably arouse local vigilance. But for him now, he

What I was thinking about was "boiling the frog in warm water", tightening the noose slowly and little by little, rather than in one step. One step may seem to solve the problem, but in fact it solves one problem and adds a lot to it at the same time.

The problem is even more serious and has a greater impact than before.

"Everything must be done step by step. First, implement the auxiliary currency. Well, Commissioner Kong, your investigation on this matter is very detailed. Without investigation, you have no right to speak. Mr. Chen, the Ministry of Finance will prepare it and draw up a charter. Then we will discuss it with you.

The provinces should coordinate together, as well as the design of auxiliary coins. If the Tianjin Mint cannot solve this problem, the ** company can be asked to provide some technical support. Their metallurgical technology is very good!"

Not only was it good, but it was basically "counterfeit currency" that had been issued. Li Zicheng had a smile on his face. Maybe the "counterfeit currency" technology in the past could be applied.

"Well, the national currency units must also be taken into consideration. Even if we want to unify the auxiliary currency, we must consider the entire currency system. Let's unify it step by step. Commissioner Kong, don't worry, I am twenty-five today, and you are only thirty.

We have plenty of time!”

When Kong Fanpu responded, Li Zicheng took a look at the photo of the Shandong Provincial Copper Yuan Bureau in his report. The solid factory building and spacious factory area aroused his interest.

"Well, as for the acquisition of Copper Yuan Bureau, the Ministry of Finance can consider using the existing equipment, factories, and workers of Copper Yuan Bureau to set up demonstration factories in various provinces. These are all ready-made, and some equipment may need to be added. The Ministry of Finance may need additional equipment.

Investing a sum of money is a very cost-effective thing in the long run. It can be jointly organized with local gentry and celebrities, or it can be invested by the Ministry of Finance and handled by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. After the demonstration factories in each province make profits,

Naturally, it can form a demonstration effect and guide local capital to invest in industry. In this case, not only can new factories be established in various provinces in the short term, but it can also promote the development of local industrial factories, thereby further increasing the central and local fiscal revenue. Well, this matter is

It’s settled!”

When Kong Fanpu heard the Prime Minister's decision, he was stunned at first, and then he admired it in his heart. Now he finally saw the Prime Minister's method of making money. Originally, in his opinion, the acquisition of Copper Yuan Bureau might even be a loss-making business.

, then I had thought that the little prime minister in front of me could turn a seemingly "losing" thing into a profitable thing with just a few minutes of work. What is the most profitable thing to do now? I'm afraid it is to do it.

The factory is the most profitable,

"Prime Minister, if the Copper Yuan Bureau is to be converted into a factory, I am afraid that the ** company will need to provide some technical support. After all, most of the machines in the Copper Yuan Bureau are special-purpose machines. If it is to be converted into a factory, I am afraid that the provinces have already been converted into factories!

"

Chen reminded from the side.

"This is no problem, ** company can invest in technology and equipment!"

Business is not allowed to lose money. For any businessman, this is the most basic way to do business. At this moment, Zhang Yilin walked in and sent a document to the Prime Minister.
Chapter completed!