Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

After understanding it, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately said:

"So that's how it is. Merchants who run money shops can use the people's money as capital and earn more profits."

"As long as the interest rate does not exceed his profit from business, the merchant's profit is more than enough to pay the small interest."

Having said that, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wei Wu again and asked:

"So the lending business you're talking about isn't about lending money to others and charging high interest?"

Hearing this, Wei Wu nodded and said:

"It is indeed borrowing money, but it is not charging high interest rates but low interest loans. At the same time, not everyone can borrow money."

"The lending business is mainly for businessmen, and the purpose is to help them with cash flow when they are short of working capital."

"However, corresponding collateral is required, such as a property deed or land, or high-value items such as merchandise."

"Some businessmen are actually just facing temporary difficulties and could get by with just a little bit of funding, but they are stumped by this little bit of money."

"In this case, after verifying that they are indeed facing cash flow problems, the bank can provide loans to help them overcome the difficulties."

After listening to Wei Wu's description, Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent for a long time.

Just when Wei Wu felt strange, Zhu Yuanzhang finally spoke:

"There are pros and cons to opening a money house, but overall I think the pros outweigh the cons. It's just that the money house is a big deal."

"We need to improve the relevant laws, which will take quite a while. The bank's other businesses are fine, but the lending business..."

Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment before continuing:

"Let's discuss the loan business later! It's too early to talk about this now. Let's wait until we capture the pirate island and transport the silver back."

To be honest, Wei Wu didn't know why Zhu Yuanzhang had such a reaction to the lending business.

But since Lao Zhu has already spoken, he has to continue to hold on to this topic.

Anyway, the lending business is not particularly important. As long as other businesses can proceed normally, it will not have much impact.

So after Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Wei Wu immediately brought the topic back to currency.

"The silver from the Japanese pirates must be shipped back. It's just a matter of currency issuance. We still have to be careful about the quantity."

"Ok?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, but then he understood why Wei Wu said that.

“Is it still because of inflation?”

“Yes, once the amount of money exceeds the current market demand, it will cause inflation.”

Having said that, Wei Wu changed the subject and explained to Zhu Yuanzhang what the market meant.

"The so-called market refers to the current productivity of the Ming Dynasty and the volume of goods circulated among private traders."

"Based on the current situation, the amount of goods circulating in the Ming Dynasty is not enough to support too much currency circulation."

"Otherwise, it will be like the example I just gave, where the amount of money is greater than the number of cups, and the money will become worthless."

While speaking, Wei Wu suddenly raised his hand and made a three gesture.

“The amount of currency issued should be based on the value of the anchor. The healthiest ratio is three times, and no more than five times.”

"In this way, the risks to the economy will be within a manageable range, while further adjustments will be made based on the country's productivity."

"But there's no need to worry about that. Now that we have the steam engine, Ming Dynasty's productivity will soon enter a stage of explosive growth."

"At the same time, an effective recycling mechanism should be established for banknotes, and damaged and old banknotes should be replaced with new ones on a regular basis."

"As long as these preparations are made, you will wake up smiling even in your sleep when you collect commercial taxes and trade taxes after the sea is opened."

As soon as Wei Wu finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled very heartily.

He could fully imagine how rich the Ming Dynasty would be by that time.

At the same time, Zhu Biao, who was standing next to Zhu Yuanzhang, also had a smile on his face, but his expression was not as direct as Zhu Yuanzhang's.

After a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped laughing and reached out to pat Wei Wu on the shoulder.

"The navy has been training for a while now. I heard the soldiers are eager to go out to sea and fight."

"Now we're just waiting for the Institute of Science and Technology to convert the Fuchuan into a steamship. How long will it take you to do that?"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, Wei Wu did not give an answer, but asked a question in return.

"Uncle Zhu, how many troops are you planning to send to fight the Japanese pirates this time?"

After Wei Wu finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately gave the answer.

"In the early stages, we will select 30,000 elite troops as the advance force, and then decide how many reinforcements to send based on the battle situation."

"Thirty thousand elite troops?"

Wei Wu asked softly, but in his heart he was thinking about the issue of the transformation of the Fu ship.

Although the Ming treasure ship had a carrying capacity of 3,000 people per ship, the actual number of passengers was not calculated in this way.

In addition to the personnel, the ships also needed to carry a large amount of food and supplies, and the actual number of people on board was probably only about 1,300.

However, in order to ensure the smooth voyage of the treasure ship, 500 of the 1,300 people were crew members.

Therefore, only about 800 soldiers were actually transported, but the steamship's carrying capacity was much greater than that of the treasure ship.

Even though the steam engine itself takes up a lot of weight, it can reduce the demand for crew members.

In addition to the necessary food and supplies, it can carry about a thousand soldiers excluding the crew.

If there are 30,000 people, then at least 30 Fu ships must be prepared to be able to carry 30,000 people.

Wei Wu was calculating in his mind the number of ships needed for 30,000 people, but Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know this.

Seeing that Wei Wu remained silent after hearing the number of 30,000 people, Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Wei Wu thought 30,000 people was too few.

So he immediately started to explain:

"In the beginning, we were planning to send out 100,000 troops, but after seeing the new firearms, we changed our minds."

"There's no need to send so many people over there. We just need to provide follow-up supplies. Thirty thousand people will be enough."

When Wei Wu heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said, he knew he had misunderstood, so he quickly said:

"Don't get me wrong, Mr. Zhu. I don't think 30,000 men are too few. As you said, 30,000 men plus rifled flintlock muskets are enough to wipe out the Japanese pirates."

"I didn't say anything. I just calculated how many ships would be needed for 30,000 people and how long it would take to convert them."