Chapter 259: 257: Army Scrip? Paper Currency?

"This is the first batch of minted coin — the Regional Commander should inspect it!" Fei Chun entered carrying two strings of copper cash.

Zhao Han drew them close and examined them carefully; he couldn't help breaking into a smile — the imitation was astonishingly true to life.

Apart from a slight difference in color, they were practically identical to the copper cash minted in Nanjing. As for the "Chongzhen Tongbao Great Unity under Heaven coin," the molds were still being made; casting would begin in another two months.

Zhao Han nodded approvingly: "Not bad."

Fei Chun handed over another thick stack of paper notes: "This is the first batch of army scrip."

Zhao Han did not dare issue paper currency rashly — mainly because Zhu Yuanzhang's Great Ming Treasure Note had already thoroughly ruined the reputation of paper money.

The Great Ming Treasure Note was printed in whatever quantity they pleased. Worse, once a note was damaged, the government refused to honor it at all and would not exchange old notes for new, leaving officials, commoners, and merchants alike seething with resentment.

With that precedent before their eyes, ordinary folk now panicked at the mere sight of paper money.

For that reason, Zhao Han dared print only army scrip, to be used solely within the military. Soldiers received their pay directly in army scrip, which could be redeemed for grain at any time and at any official grain depot, anywhere.

This made it convenient to pay frontline troops while they were still in the field.

It was also easy for soldiers to carry; they could wait until the fighting was over, go home, and take the scrip to their home district's grain depot to exchange for grain.

The material for the army scrip followed the Great Ming Treasure Note.

The main ingredient was mulberry-bark paper, supplemented with waste recycled official-document paper. The two were pulped together, producing a greenish-gray paper that was both thick and durable.

The anti-counterfeiting features were numerous —

First, micro-carving. A master micro-carver was commissioned to engrave the printing plates with extremely fine designs.

Second, color printing. Red, blue, and black inks were overprinted in register — the Song-dynasty jiaozi had been made the same way.

Third, watermarks. The watermark technique originated in the Tang dynasty and came in two types, bright-flower and hidden-flower; modern paper currency still uses watermarks to prevent forgery. The Great Unity Army's army scrip employed the hidden-flower watermark method.

Fourth, seals. Every army scrip note had to bear the seals of three major organs — the Finance Bureau, the Works Bureau, and the Military Affairs Court. A note missing any one seal was void. Cinnabar paste was used for the impressions. In addition, the main design on the scrip was printed with a special ink containing lead sulfide — also an anti-counterfeiting feature of the Great Ming Treasure Note.

Furthermore, so long as an army scrip note was genuine, the grain depot was obliged to honor it even if it had been soaked to pulp. If it was torn into several pieces, as long as sixty percent or more of it remained intact, it still had to be counted as a whole note.

Once the army scrip system was up and running, it would save a great deal of transport wastage and at the same time allow larger grain reserves to be maintained.

After its credibility was established, the common people would very likely begin using army scrip as ordinary paper currency.

Zhao Han set down the scrip and said, "Now that we've begun minting coin, the grain depots shall henceforth be renamed grain-and-money depots. In particular, once the 'Great Unity under Heaven coin' enters circulation, it can be exchanged at the grain-and-money depots."

At present, the grain depots under the Finance Bureau could not exchange copper cash; they accepted and disbursed only silver and grain — simply because the Chongzhen Tongbao was too wretched.

Once the "Great Unity under Heaven coin" was issued, copper-cash services could be added.

Everything had to be perfected step by step.

When the currency reform was complete and the banking system was established, the grain-and-money depots would have to be separated from the Finance Bureau and placed under direct central administration.

Half a month later, at the beginning of the month, pay was issued.

The personal guard soldiers of the Ji'an Regional Commander's headquarters became the first troops to receive army scrip.

These men clutched their stack of paper notes; although they understood how the notes were to be used, and although they trusted Zhao Han, they still could not help feeling a flutter of unease in their hearts.

"Can these notes really be swapped for grain?"

"Would the Regional Commander ever trick us?"

"How about… we go give it a try?"

"…"

Several of the personal guards took advantage of their rotation off duty and went together to the grain depot in the prefectural seat.

"Changing grain!" One soldier slapped his army scrip onto the counter.

The grain depot clerk asked, "How much are you changing?"

The soldier said, "All of it."

The army scrip came in denominations of one dou, two dou, five dou, and one shi.

They watched as the depot began carrying grain out and carefully measuring it with the dou measure — it was plainly redeemable.

The soldier suddenly laughed: "Forget it, forget it, I don't have time to take it home anyway."

The grain depot clerk's face filled with frustration, but he dared not offend a soldier and could only turn away, muttering complaints under his breath.

The soldiers, for their part, were delighted. Their home villages all had grain depots — roughly one depot for every three towns. In the future, when they had leave to visit home, they could simply bring army scrip; there would be no need to exchange for silver at the prefectural seat, and no need to lug heavy sacks of grain on the road.

Army scrip was the first step; next, official scrip would be issued.

Because of the silver shortage, military pay was calculated in grain, but official salaries were still denominated in silver.

Once the grain-and-money depots had accumulated sufficient silver reserves, official scrip could be issued, and all civil and military officials would have to receive their salaries in paper notes.

As ever — step by step, slowly.

Even the official scrip would have to be issued first in Ji'an Prefecture, because on the day it was issued, countless officials were bound to rush in and demand redemption. It could only be rolled out prefecture by prefecture, gradually, until it finally became a currency that the officials themselves accepted.

Only when the officials and soldiers accepted it would society and the common people accept it; at that point, a small quantity of paper currency could be tentatively issued.

For decades to come, paper currency and metallic money would coexist; forcibly abolishing metallic money would only provoke social panic.

…

"Daddy!"

Chong'er, now two and a half, came dashing over on his little legs.

Zhao Han hastily caught him, settled him astride his neck to ride horseback, and laughed: "Giddyup, giddyup, giddyup!"

"Giddyup, giddyup, giddyup!"

Chong'er clutched his father's head and shouted along gleefully.

"Don't fall, don't fall!"

Fei Rulan hastily warned, then added in a low voice, "Father is here, and he's brought my cousin-uncle."

Zhao Han walked inside with his son on his shoulders and indeed saw Fei Yinghuan, along with Hu Mengtai, whom he had not laid eyes on for many years.

Those two had once shut themselves away to study together; in the end, Fei Yinghuan had purchased an official post and taken up office. Hu Mengtai had persevered until the spring of last year, when he finally passed the jinshi examination — only to serve a mere half-year in office before Zhao Han seized his home district.

"Father-in-law. Cousin-uncle." Zhao Han greeted them with a smile.

"You flatter me." Hu Mengtai hastily rose and bowed with clasped hands.

Fei Rulan came over and said, "Give me the child — you two go on talking."

Hu Mengtai was inwardly full of emotion. A household slave back then had now become the King of Jiangxi, yet he himself had no choice but to return home and seek refuge.

Everyone sat down, drinking tea and chatting idly.

Fei Yinghuan made the introduction: "Youli passed the jinshi examination and was sent out to serve as County Magistrate of Fenghua in Zhejiang — but he ended up doing something rather momentous."

Zhao Han asked, "The disaster in Zhejiang last year was very severe, wasn't it?"

"Exceptionally severe. And in trying to relieve it, I managed to offend people." Hu Mengtai sighed.

It turned out that in order to raise funds and grain for disaster relief, Hu Mengtai had investigated fraudulent land registrations, compelled the gentry to pay their taxes, and gone straight for the Dai family of Fenghua to make an example of them.

Dai Ao held the post of Vice Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, a senior fourth rank. To a local official, that counted as a powerful figure in the capital.

Hu Mengtai ordered the runners to arrest his son, but the runners secretly leaked word, and the son promptly fled to Beijing.

Dai Ao, being a native of Fenghua, was by regulation barred from impeaching the Fenghua County Magistrate. He therefore submitted a memorial on state affairs, arguing that the realm's collapse stemmed from corrupt county magistrates. The essay was written in veiled terms, hinting without naming names. Chongzhen could not be bothered to guess and told Dai Ao to state plainly which county magistrate had committed offenses.

Just then, a Supervising Secretary eager to make a name for himself exposed the matter outright, and Dai Ao was thrown into prison by Chongzhen to await judgment.

After completing the famine relief in Fenghua, Hu Mengtai had offended every major local clan. He felt there was no point in remaining an official, and worried about his family, so he simply hung up his seal and left, returning to Yanshan, then came to Ji'an to seek refuge with Fei Yinghuan.

This gentleman, in the historical record, would spend his entire family fortune resisting the Qing, hold his city for months, and then, husband and wife together, die for their country.

Zhao Han said with a smile, "Since Cousin-Uncle has come, how about serving as my secretary?"

Fei Yinghuan explained, "An ordinary secretary in the Secretariat is similar to a Secretariat Drafter in the Great Ming."

Hu Mengtai already knew the personnel system — Fei Yinghuan had told him about it — and said with a slight smile, "As long as I can get things done, that's fine."

Generally, people Zhao Han wanted to promote would serve three months as an ordinary secretary, then could be sent out as a town chief, or directly made an Assistant Magistrate, and thereafter rise very quickly.

Zhao Han was not afraid of the Fei family growing too powerful; Li Banghua's clan likewise had many members serving as officials.

There were also the Xiao family of Luling and the Liu family of Jishui. Because they had submitted thoroughly and very early on sent out large numbers of clansmen to serve as clerks, they had already produced many County Magistrates and Assistant Magistrates — and from both the Xiao and Liu families, men had even become Prefects.

"Father-in-law, how go the preparations for the migration?" Zhao Han asked.

Fei Yinghuan answered, "They set out in a few more days."

Fei Yinghuan's new posting was as County Magistrate of You County, coordinating with the Prefect of Changsha on the migration.

Along the border between Huguang and Jiangxi, bandit depredations had been so severe that the population had plummeted, making it necessary to move people in to fill the land. The numbers being moved were not large — a few thousand to ten thousand per county — which would just happen to relieve the population pressure on the Jiangxi side.

It was precisely because so many places needed migration that Zhao Han had been impatient to issue army scrip, and then had Fei Chun's side hurry to mint coins.

Hu Mengtai cupped his hands and smiled. "By seizing the prefectural seat of Changsha, the Regional Commander has effectively taken half of Huguang. Half the empire's granary is now in your hands."

"It all depends on the soldiers at the front risking their lives." Zhao Han was extremely pleased.

Abruptly, Zhao Han asked again, "Yuyao is not far from Fenghua — has Cousin-Uncle by any chance heard news of Zhu Zhiyu (Zhu Shunshui)?"

"When I left Fenghua, I made a special trip to visit him," Hu Mengtai said. "These past few years he has been quietly devoting himself to scholarship, and he is no longer bound by the School of Principle or the School of Mind. He now advocates practical learning — agriculture, crafts, medicine, water conservancy… every trade and every craft, he studies them all. He also told me that the way of learning lies in practice, and the learning of the sages lies entirely in putting it into action. A scholar pursuing learning should seek true principles and true knowledge, and should apply what he learns."

"Ha, well said." Zhao Han laughed.

The Zhu Shunshui of Mount Hanzhu days had been only a half-finished product; now he had at last evolved into his complete form.

Zhao Han planned to write a letter and have Xu Ying send someone to deliver it to Yuyao, inviting Zhu Shunshui to come serve as an official or as a teacher.

Of course, he might not necessarily be persuaded to come — when Chongzhen had decreed he take office, Zhu Shunshui had declined and refused.

The three of them were just drinking tea and chatting with great enjoyment when suddenly a guard came in to report: "Regional Commander, urgent military intelligence from Guangdong!"

"Bring it here."

This military report had been sent by Zhang Tieniu, relaying that the Bapai Yao, numbering in the tens of thousands, had risen up, and that they also wished to present women to Zhao Han.

It was certainly ghostwritten by an army propaganda officer, for it laid out the Bapai Yao situation very clearly.

Zhao Han found it utterly novel. In his established impression, a Yao tribe ought to have a chieftain system. He had never imagined that they actually practiced an electoral system — first electing "committee members," then electing other leaders from the committee, and what's more, they understood the concept of changing terms every two years.

The propaganda officer also said that the Yao could be pacified and treated well, and made to pass on their techniques of terrace farming.

(End of chapter)