Wakoku, Edo.

The arrival of a large number of grain convoys caused a sensation in Edo, and many shogunate officials, merchants, and ordinary people rushed to the port to watch, and the grain trade was the main commodity trade of the Qing Japanese trade for many years, and it was already commonplace for Edo, but the arrival of the grain convoy was of unusual significance.

At the beginning of the year, the trade between the two countries came to a standstill, and for nearly half a year, Edo rarely saw a merchant fleet from the Qing State, followed by the outbreak of the Qing Navy's conquest of the four southwestern feudatories, and then the Qing sent to Kyoto to canonize the assassination of the Qin mission, the Qing State increased its troops on a large scale, and the two countries negotiated and concluded a series of major events, and the relations between the two countries were also extremely tense.

Although the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" was signed, the Qing army did not withdraw under the pretext that the situation in the Japanese country was chaotic, and the huge number of Qing troops stranded in Satsuma, Choshu, and Fukuoka were like a boulder that weighed down the whole of the Japanese country, and the arrival of the grain convoy could not only effectively alleviate the increasingly scarce demand for grain, but also undoubtedly a signal to ease the situation, and with the resumption of commerce and trade, the clouds of war would also be dispersed.

The fleet entered the port and docked, the director of the shipping company Han Shigui slowly landed on the shore, he is the head of the eight families in Tianjin, the Han family took the lead in donating more than ten ships to scuttle and block the channel to block the British and French warships along the river, this righteous act into the eyes of the Yuanqi treasurer easy to be content, the Han family has since been included in the Qing trade fleet, these years more and more rise and fall.

"Han Shopkeeper ——。" Yu Changmao, the shopkeeper of the Edo Yuanqi Trading Office, hurriedly greeted him and said with a smile: "I can be regarded as looking forward to you, the price of grain in Edo has more than tripled, how many stones have been transported this time?" ”

This Yu Changmao is the youngest son of Yu Taifeng, the owner of the Shanghai "Yu Sensheng" sand boat line, Han Shigui knows very well that Yu Taifeng is the master who can speak in front of Yi Zhicontent, and he deliberately made friends, coupled with business contacts, the relationship between the two is very familiar, and he returned the salute, and then he whispered: "A total of 400,000 stones, and here are 200,000 stone ...... in Edo." As he spoke, he lowered his voice again, "Master Guan from the Ministry of Commerce also came with the fleet to ......." ”

The Ministry of Commerce's Guan Changhai is in charge of the trade with the Japanese, and when he heard that Guan Changhai also came with the ship, Yu Changmao was surprised and said: "Weifu private visit? ”

Han Shigui smiled when he heard this, "What is there worth paying a private visit to Weifu in the Wa Kingdom?" ”

While the two were talking, a middle-aged man in his early thirties dressed as a Confucian in a long shirt walked over quickly and smiled: "After a few years, Brother Yu Shi has shown a little rich. ”

Yu Changmao's figure was indeed a little fat, but no one dared to make fun of him like this, and when he turned around, he was overjoyed, "Why is Brother Ji Ren here too?" ”

The person who came was Wang Liangwen, the second son of Wang Tongchun, the owner of the "Wang Yongsheng" sand boat, he glanced at Han Shigui and then said softly: "Lord Guan is also here, Brother Yu Shige called the shopkeeper Lin to go with me to visit." ”

Yu Changmao didn't dare to slack off and hurriedly asked people to take their own posts to invite Lin Haoran - the shopkeeper of the Waguo branch of Yuanqi Bank, Lin Haoran came quickly, after some introduction, the two followed Wang Liangwen on the boat, and entered the cabin, and it was Guan Changhai who saw it, and the two hurriedly bowed down.

Guan Changhai is in his early forties, born in a businessman, and he doesn't have much of a fight, so he said casually: "Don't be formal, sit." After the two of them sat down, he smiled and said, "The two of you have lived in Edo for a long time, so you think you have already smelled the smoke of war, right?" ”

Do you really want to go to war? Yu Changmao and Lin Haoran are all nervous, the two have not discussed this issue these days, and they both feel that it is unlikely that there will be a war, after all, Yuanqi has huge interests in the Wa Kingdom, once the war starts, Yuanqi's losses are not small, and Yuanqi will not be able to do this kind of loss-making business.

After glancing at each other, Yu Changmao hesitated and said, "My lord, once the war starts, our Yuanqi's losses are not ....... ”

Guan Changhai glanced at him and said, "The big shopkeeper has mountains and rivers in his mind and swallows the world, how can we figure it out in vain, what is this little benefit in front of us?" After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "The grain transported this time is sold at the price of eight taels of silver and one stone, which can only be high and not low. ”

The price of eight taels of silver and one stone is not high, and the current grain price in the Japanese market is basically exceeding this price, and the rise is strong, the problem is cash trading, Yu Changmao hesitated before saying: "My lord, the price of grain in the Japanese country has risen sharply, one is because of the shortage of grain, the other is because of the depreciation of paper money, and the price may be a little high...... ”

Lin Haoran also hurriedly said: "As soon as the news spreads, it will inevitably accelerate the depreciation of banknotes, please think carefully." ”

"Confused!" Guan Changhai scolded softly, and then said: "How can I call the shots for such a big matter?" After a pause, he continued: "Don't worry about the food not being sold, the famine in the Japanese country will continue, plus the threat of war, not to mention eight taels, ten taels, even if it rises to one tael of gold and one stone, it is not unusual."

In addition, with the ship also shipped a few ships of banknotes, the depreciation rate of banknotes is not the need for the development of the situation, the current need to speed up the depreciation of banknotes, the faster the better, as soon as possible to depreciate into waste paper! ”

Hearing this, Lin Haoran's face turned a little pale, "My lord, in this way, the reputation that Yuan Qi has built up in the Wa Kingdom over the years will be ruined, and then he wants to rebuild, but it is extremely difficult." ”

"You don't have to worry about this, the big shopkeeper has already considered it." Guan Changhai pondered and said, "The reason why I came to Edo this time is because I am worried that you will have concerns. As he spoke, he took out a letter, "This is the handwritten letter of the chief shopkeeper, and you should be familiar with his handwriting." ”

When he opened the letter and looked at it, Lin Haoran no longer had any doubts, sighed secretly, and said in a muffled voice: "I will obey the orders of my lord." ”

Guan Changhai said with concern: "If there are any difficulties, just mention them." ”

"There is no difficulty." Lin Haoran smiled bitterly and said, "All you need for rapid depreciation is ready .........." After a slight sigh, he said: "Although the banknotes issued by Yuanqi are guaranteed by the shogunate, after all, they are issued by the Yuanqi Wakoku Branch, and the refusal to accept the banknotes and banknotes depreciates rapidly, and the size semicolon of Yuanqi in Wa will inevitably bear the ....... of the wrath of the Wa people." ”

Guan Changhai nodded and said: "This is inevitable, and I want to remind you of this point, telling large and small banks and firms that if there is a situation of destroying shops, the first task is to ensure that there are no casualties." ”

Boatloads of grain were unloaded and landed in the warehouse, almost all the grain merchants in Edo were crazy about it, everyone knew that as long as they could get grain from the Qing people, it meant huge profits, and for a while, Yuanqi's grain and oil merchants in Edo were crowded, and they were all large and small merchants who rushed to hear the news, and the shogunate and some local daimyo also participated in wanting a piece of the pie.

Soon, the Yuanqi grain and oil firm posted a notice, eight taels of silver and one stone, only cash silver, not paper money. This notice was like a basin of cold water pouring cold on all the merchants who came to the house, and like a scoop of cold water poured into a boiling oil pot, and the whole of Edo boiled over it.

Paper money is issued by Yuanqi Bank, paper money is issued indiscriminately, and the gradual depreciation can still make people bearable, now Yuanqi's grain and oil business openly refuses to accept paper money, which is undoubtedly unbearable, paper money is depreciating rapidly, this head opens, all merchants will follow the trend and refuse to accept paper money, and the paper money in their hands is waste paper!

At this moment, another shocking news spread, in view of the "Treaty of Shimonoseki" signed by the shogunate, the Yuanqi Bank was going to issue an additional 200 million taels of silver. At the same time, the news that a large amount of banknotes was being unloaded and disembarked was confirmed and spread.

The banknotes issued by Yuanqi in the Wa Kingdom are not the same as those in China, the banknotes can not be exchanged for cash at the bank at any time, and the credit of the banknotes is completely guaranteed by the shogunate and forced to implement itself, and the nature of the 'green coins' issued during the American Civil War is the same, to put it bluntly, there is no metal currency guarantee collateral, but the shogunate's credit guarantee collateral.

Almost the vast majority of people do not know the competition and do not understand finance, and these false and real news spread, successfully dispersing the anger of a part of the people, and countless angry people flocked to the general's mansion.

Some of the clever ones were running around in a hurry to spend the money in their hands, and then everyone began to participate in the rush to buy, and Edo soon began to have a wave of panic buying on an unprecedented scale, first for rice and pasta, then for foreign goods and miscellaneous goods, and finally for all the money in hand, and finally as long as there was money in hand, everything was grabbed, and there was a riot.

In less than half a day, all the shops in Edo Castle closed their doors and refused to accept paper money, and the angry people flocked to Yuanqi's bank and office offices in the city again, and in some places began to smash and loot shops, and the whole Edo seemed to be filled with a surge of rage!

In the port of Edo, on the deck of a large sea ship, Guan Changhai did not hide the appreciation in his eyes, "Shopkeeper Lin turned Edo into a powder keg with just a few rumors, which is really overkill. ”

"If the paper money is invalidated, the wealth of countless people's lives will be wasted, how can it not be angry." Lin Haoran had a look of compassion on his face, "Although they are pitiful, Yuan Qi's reputation in the Wa Kingdom is also in vain. ”

"Don't regret it, it's a trap from the beginning." Guan Changhai said slowly: "From the day Yuanqi Bank entered the Wa Kingdom, it was for today. As he spoke, he smiled, "Over the years, the Waguo branch has not used banknote sets to exchange gold and silver ....... ”

A trap in the first place? Lin Haoran couldn't help but be stunned, he always thought that the use of imperial court credit as collateral to issue banknotes is an attempt, the previous dynasty's Ming treasure banknotes ultimately failed because they did not strictly control the issuance of banknotes, in the years of the Wa State, although the Wa State branch also privately issued additional banknotes to arbitrage gold and silver, but it was increased according to the commercial economy of the Wa State and the market currency circulation, he consciously this model can be implemented, for which a lot of summarization has been made, but it is a trap throughout!

After a long silence, he asked, "The big shopkeeper is still in Maguan?" ”

"I don't know." Guan Changhai glanced at him and said, "You will retreat to Fukuoka and inquire when the time comes." However, now that you think about it, how to deal with the shogunate's rebuke, so many people are going to evacuate, and it is not appropriate to turn against the shogunate now. ”

Lin Haoran said disapprerovingly: "We Yuanqi are also victims of this matter, and we directly push it to those who have fallen behind the curtain." ”

This guy is a talent, Guan Changhai said with a smile: "If you don't want to go back to the bank, come to the Ministry of Commerce, and I will recommend it to Minister Xie." ”

"I'll talk about it when I get home." Lin Haoran was not very interested in the Ministry of Commerce, and glanced at the sunset in the west and said: "If this riot cannot be stopped in time, after dark, it may cause even more riots, the gold and silver of the bank have already been transferred, and this batch of grain is ......" ”

"There are only 50,000 stone brought ashore, so there is no need to worry." Guan Changhai said in a relaxed tone: "Presumably, the shogunate will not dare to let it go, they should know the consequences of this matter." ”

General's Palace.

"This is completely a conspiracy of the Qing people!" Ye Zheng said angrily: "If the paper money is invalidated, the whole country will obviously fall into chaos, and the Qing people who have not withdrawn their troops are trying to take advantage of the chaos to invade!" ”

"The paper money is invalid, and Yuanqi's bank loss is not small." Sakai Tadashi said tepidly: "Yuanqi Bank has been operating in our country for more than ten years and has a good reputation, and now it can be said that it has been ruined. ”

"The cause of the incident was that Yuanqi's grain and oil firm refused to accept paper money."

"The depreciation of paper money and the rejection of paper money is also a reasonable thing!"

"Paper money has always been strong and in good circulation, so why is there a sudden sharp depreciation?"

This question really stopped Sakai Tadatomi, and after a slight mutter, he said: "It is difficult to conclude the depreciation of paper money for the time being, and you should ask the Yuanqi branch." ”

The two argued, but Matsudaira Yasuei didn't intervene until then he spoke: "This matter can be put aside for a while, there is a riot in the city right now, and it is not early, if you leave it alone, it will inevitably get out of control further after dark...... ”

Tokugawa Ieshige, who was on the couch, had been silently listening to the arguments of several old people, and only after hearing these words did he speak: "The whole city is under martial law, and troops are sent to protect all the industries of Yuanqi." ”

Before dark, the whole city of Edo was under martial law, and the streets and alleys of the city were full of armed soldiers with torches, and although the control was timely, the city was still in shambles, many shops were smashed and looted, and the most serious losses were naturally the branches and firms of the Yuanqi Bank and many shops and restaurants and teahouses opened by the Han Chinese.

After receiving the feedback, Lin Haoran's expression was a little gloomy, he didn't understand why he had to go to war, seeing that he was a little depressed, Guan Changhai said slowly: "Starting tomorrow, under the pretext of turmoil in Edo and serious hostility, I will arrange for the Japanese fleet to come to assist." ”

Lin Haoran glanced at him and said, "Can we make the shogunate compensate for our losses?" ”

"It's not that you can, but you have to." Guan Changhai smiled: "They must be allowed to compensate." ”