diymy Chapter 22 New Trade Management System
Chapter 22 New Trade Management System
Liu Yulong, along with Wu Qijun and Zhang Lexing, cursed the "British barbarians" for a while.
An emperor, or any person in a superior position, should not always wear a stern, deathly expression or act superior at the same time when dealing with his servants, guards, and subordinates who are directly under his command.
Because those closest to the boss know best that the boss is just an ordinary person, they really have the opportunity to betray the boss.
Especially in the mid-to-late 19th century, with the imminent arrival of industrial society, the mainstream way of thinking in society would change with the improvement of productivity, and the sacred aura of imperial power would gradually fade.
Only by actively transforming themselves from sacred emperors to emperors of the people can they and their dynasties prolong their lives.
In informal settings, engaging in lighthearted and pleasant conversation can cultivate a friendly and approachable image in the eyes of those around you, which might just save your life in a critical moment.
It's a good option to join in the criticism of someone everyone dislikes, since Liu Yulong himself does indeed dislike him.
At the end of the argument, Liu Yulong instructed the two men:
"Since they are all idiots, there's no point in trying to reason with them; it's like casting pearls before swine."
"Let's be frank and just list out what we need for them, and have them take it back for confirmation."
"If they accept it, they accept it; if they don't, then they shouldn't come again."
"Let's do it the day after tomorrow morning. Have them come to Xiyuan to see me, and I'll explain things to them in person."
Zhang Lexing was a little surprised:
"Your Majesty is going to personally receive these barbarians? What if they offend Your Majesty..."
Wu Qijun also chimed in:
"Let me deal with these people."
Liu Yulong said to his guards and subordinates:
"Their primary task in coming to the Han Dynasty was obviously to meet the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and get a clear answer."
"If they can't see me, they'll probably try to stay put."
"I will summon them as soon as possible, and after I finish speaking with them, I will tell them to leave quickly so as not to delay the subsequent battles."
"We should try to start the war in Luzon after they have left."
"If the war had started before they left, their mission might have been able to discover the war directly and send news of it back to Europe."
"If the war starts after they leave, it will delay the time it takes for news of the war to reach Europe by more than half a year."
Zhang Lexing suddenly realized:
"Your Majesty's considerations are indeed thorough."
Wu Qijun then cupped his hands in greeting:
"Then I will go and inform them immediately."
Liu Yulong waved his hand, stopping Wu Qijun, who was preparing to take his leave:
"You, as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, don't need to go there personally. Just send two captains to inform them."
"Mr. Wu accompanied me to the Cabinet to draft the specific requirements for them."
"This is also the new method for the Han Dynasty to manage overseas barbarians in the future, and it is also the main content of the reply to that king."
Zhang Lexing and Wu Qijun bowed and accepted the order. Then Zhang Lexing arranged for a captain to leave the palace to deliver the message.
Liu Yulong took Wu Qijun and Zhang Lexing to the cabinet to handle some business.
Liu Yulong sat down on the throne in the center of the main hall of the cabinet, with Zhang Lexing continuing to stand beside him.
Wu Qijun and his cabinet secretaries sat on the left side of a large table below the throne, serving as advisors to Liu Yulong.
Several secretaries sat on the right side of the large table, acting as meeting clerks.
Liu Yulong organized his thoughts and explained, in detail, the various arrangements he had already considered:
The opening lines read: "Our Emperor Gaozu of the Great Han Dynasty was benevolent and magnanimous, and took the initiative to open more than a dozen trade ports to foreign countries."
"Emperor Gao allowed Western merchants to operate freely, but as a result, you smuggled goods everywhere, and it was impossible to stop you despite repeated prohibitions."
"Emperor Taizu Gao reduced the number of Maritime Trade Offices to two."
"But you still do not repent and continue to smuggle things that the Han have explicitly prohibited."
"Therefore, I have decided to expel all foreign barbarians first and to formulate stricter import and export trade management methods."
"If the British are to resume their participation in trade with the Han, other foreign merchants who wish to continue participating in trade must assist the Han in controlling smuggling."
"In particular, the British were to assist the Han army in going to India and destroying the opium plantations there."
"Then, all foreigners coming to Han must abide by the new trade management regulations."
Liu Yulong paused briefly here, waiting for his secretary to write down these key requirements before continuing to explain the specific details of the management regulations:
"All foreigners are implicitly forbidden from entering the territory of the Han Dynasty."
"The Great Han will select a special island near the two Maritime Trade Offices as a transit point and build a large collective dormitory."
"Ordinary foreigners paid accommodation fees and stayed on the island, living together under the supervision of the militia."
"To trade with the Maritime Trade Office, an entry permit is required."
"Pay a processing fee of ten strings of cash and provide or have a recognizable portrait or photograph drawn on-site."
"The agency shall register the origin, identity, and purpose of entry of the parties concerned, and record the time of each entry and exit. Those who fail to do so shall be deported."
"Sign a commitment letter to abide by all Chinese laws and customs after entering the country; violators will plead guilty and accept punishment."
"Those who have incurred the wrath of the people of the Han Dynasty will be punished and then expelled from the Han Dynasty."
After finishing this passage, Liu Yulong paused briefly again. Seeing that the people present seemed somewhat puzzled, he casually explained:
"Don't think that ten strings of cash is a lot of money. People who can travel all the way from Europe to Han Dynasty will not be short of ten strings of cash."
"Those who are truly short of these ten strings of cash will not be allowed to enter the country. The Han Dynasty is not a place to accommodate foreign barbarians, trash, and beggars."
"The processing fee is intended to limit the number of people entering the country, and it can also serve as a basis for tracing violators, as well as make those who pay for entry permits more cautious and law-abiding."
Wu Qijun and his secretaries nodded in agreement and did not raise any further questions about the entry permit fee requirement.
After Liu Yulong and his secretaries finished taking notes, they continued with the follow-up requirements:
Entry permits are further categorized.
"Advanced license, valid for twenty years, renewable upon expiration after review."
"Land use rights in designated areas may be leased in ten-year increments, and may be renewed if the tenants are not evicted by the expiration date."
"They can build houses and warehouses on the leased land for living and business purposes, and can live in the city where the Great Han Trade and Maritime Trade Office is located for a long period of time."
"Advanced licenses require the emperor's approval and are granted to merchants who have already invested in and built factories in the Han Dynasty, as well as merchants who have long been recognized by officials and the people for their honest and law-abiding business practices."
"Intermediate license, valid for six years, renewable upon expiration after review."
"Existing houses and warehouses may be leased for three years within a designated area, and may be renewed if the lease expires without eviction."
"The granting of this right to law-abiding merchants who regularly travel to and from the Han Dynasty for trade requires review and approval by the Court of State Ceremonies of the Han Dynasty."
"A low-level permit allows only short-term stays in hotels and hostels, and the maximum lease term for warehouses and housing is one year. A single entry cannot exceed one year."
"Foreign merchants and their entourage who are granted permission to enter the country for single or first-time business transactions may directly apply for permission at the Maritime Trade Office upon entry."
"All foreigners entering the Han territory for the first time can only obtain the lowest level of entry permit."
Only those who operate a trade business without any violations in the first year can apply for an upgrade to an intermediate license before the expiration date.
"Unless specifically approved by the emperor, a higher-level permit can only be applied for after the six-year term of intermediate permit has expired."
Liu Yulong's entry permit can be considered a simplified visa and immigration management system.
The Han Dynasty will not be sending diplomats to other countries for the time being, so entry permits cannot be obtained in the other country and can only be obtained near the Han Dynasty's trading ports.
Those who are unable to obtain an entry permit, or do not wish to obtain one, but still appear in Da Han, are usually employees of sailors or merchants.
In this era, there's no need to consider human rights issues; they can simply be placed on two separate islands and placed under surveillance and concentrated in one place.
Once the employers have finished their transactions, they can go to these islands and take them away.
Of course, rent had to be paid for their accommodation. The Han dynasty couldn't provide them with food and lodging for free; the money was used as wages for supervising the militia.
Liu Yulong's requirements were somewhat novel to Wu Qijun and others.
However, Liu Yulong explained it simply and plainly: they felt they could handle these matters, and the key was that this would also expand the power of the Court of State Ceremonial and allow them to collect an extra sum of money, so they did not raise any questions.
However, Liu Yulong had not yet finished explaining his arrangements:
"A month ago, I arranged for the Institute of Physics to design a new steam-powered minting machine, referencing commonly used minting machines in Europe."
"We now have a working prototype, and we expect to be able to mass-produce the new Great Han standard silver coins by autumn."
"From now on, silver will be completely discontinued within the territory of the Great Han and replaced with silver coins. Existing silver and silver coins within the territory must be exchanged for new Great Han silver coins. At the same time, the circulation of foreign silver coins will be completely prohibited."
"Starting next year, the trade quota system will be reinstated, and the fire loss will be increased across the board, and a seigniorage tax will be levied."
"All foreign barbarians who come to the Han Dynasty to conduct industry and commerce must swear an oath to obey the orders of the Han Emperor and abide by the laws and customs of the Han Dynasty."
"All foreign gold and silver, whether gold and silver ingots or various gold and silver coins minted by foreign barbarians, must be exchanged at the Imperial Han Bank for standard Han silver coins before they can be traded and used within the territory of the Han Dynasty."
"When exchanging, the face value and total weight of other gold and silver coins shall be disregarded, and the calculation shall be based solely on the weight of the pure gold and pure silver contained therein."
"At the same time, 30% of the fire loss must be paid as seigniorage, of which 20% is deposited into the imperial treasury account and 10% is used as profit for the Imperial Bank."
"After completing these procedures, foreign merchants can obtain a trade quota edict issued by the Court of State Ceremonial, based on the length of time and frequency of their business operations."
"The imperial edict specifies the types and amounts of goods that can be traded, and the Maritime Trade Office must check whether the edict and the goods match when entering or leaving the country."
"At the same time, the Huanghan Trading Company will take the lead in organizing and managing the Dahan Export Trading Company."
"All merchants engaged in export trade must pay an annual membership fee of one hundred strings of cash to join the guild in order to participate in export trade."
"The Co-bank sets out the price fluctuation range for all exported goods every year. All exporters must strictly comply and pay taxes, or they will be expelled from the Co-bank and punished."
"Huang Han" is similar to "Huang Ming" and means the imperial family of the Han Dynasty.
In ancient times, the East did not typically use the term "royal" in the sense of "royal" or "imperial," but rather used the character "皇" (emperor) followed by the country's name.
For example, Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral rules were "Huangming Zuxun" and his family genealogy was "Huangming Yudie".
Because of Liu Desheng's obsessive-compulsive disorder, he has always been unwilling to use European-style silver coins.
The Han Dynasty still adhered to tradition, using a monetary system that combined silver notes, silver, and copper coins.
Silver notes are registered with a fixed amount and function as bills of exchange, used for remittances between money shops and for large commercial transactions.
Silver was used for commercial transactions involving intermediate amounts, while copper coins were used for daily consumption by ordinary people.
The standard currency symbols are "qian" and "guan". One qian is one copper coin, and one guan is considered to be one thousand copper coins.
The banknotes also used the guan (贯) symbol.
Liu Desheng arranged for the Academy of Sciences to continuously improve the technology, which led to a continuous improvement in the production and anti-counterfeiting level of the Han Dynasty's banknotes, making them comparable to European and American paper money of the same era.
Liu Yulong believes that there is no need to reform the bank draft system now; it can continue to be used as a commercial bill of exchange as usual. The focus should be on upgrading production and anti-counterfeiting technology with new scientific research results.
Liu Yulong's goal in monetary economics was to design a modern minting machine and to design Great Han silver coins and copper coins to replace traditional silver and copper coins.
The new silver coins also used the "guan" (a unit of currency) as the unified currency symbol, gradually abandoning the silver coins held by the people.
The standard silver coin of the Great Han Dynasty had a total weight of half a tael, which is 32 grams, and contained 90% silver, 90% copper, and 10% tin.
Liu Desheng used to levy a fire loss tax, which was essentially a seigniorage tax. However, the fire loss rate in the traditional Eastern system was much lower than that in the traditional European system.
The Han Dynasty mainly used silver as currency from external sources, and seigniorage was a typical means of controlling foreign currencies. Therefore, Liu Yulong wanted to directly increase seigniorage to 30%.
While controlling foreign currency, Liu Yulong also had to centrally control the sales prices of exported goods.
These two very harsh policies will significantly reduce the profits of traders, but at this time, the Han Dynasty is almost a seller's market; if you don't accept them, don't come.