Prime Minister

Chapter 402 Serving as an official for the benefit of the common people
If you don't go to Jieshen Lane, you don't know the prosperity of Bianjing.

The smell of money is everywhere here!
Zhang Yue walked to a Jiaoyin shop and wrote a letter to the "Shen Family Gold and Silver Jiaoyin Shop".

The first thing to enter is nothing else, but the 'Mountain of Money' standing in the hall.No one can turn a blind eye to the vain money, not to mention the mountains of money piled up against such piles of money.

There are countless coins shining with countless metallic luster on each stack of money, like a group of blooming flowers.

Zhang Yue walked up to take a closer look, but saw that the stacks of money were neatly stacked horizontally, layered on top of each other, tied in the middle with ropes, and then a piece of sealing paper was pasted on it, with a line of words "Pile up the money, I sincerely seal it".

One thousand coins are called guan, and one thousand guanze is called duo.

In other words, such a stack of tens of thousands of catties of money is worth a thousand pennies.

The note that stacks the money is like going to the bank to withdraw money today, and the 1 yuan is tied up with white paper.

There are hundreds of stacks of money worth 10,000+ guan, just laid out in the center of the intersection shop.But so much money, as if no one wanted it, was randomly piled in the center of the house, surrounded by only a wooden fence, as if it was readily available.

The pile of money is really dazzling!

Zhang Yue thought of a line of poetry, wrapped around a hundred thousand guan, and rode down to Yangzhou on a crane.Carrying this mountain of money piled up with 10,000+ pieces, you actually ride a crane?

This money has a name, called Kanduo money.

All the Jiaoyin shops in Bianjing have this rule, to put money in the center of the main room, and to show off to people who come by.

Zhang Yue stood in front of the pile of money and looked around. The four sides of the intersection shop were built with concrete, and there was a long counter behind the mountain of money.Behind the counter came the sound of gold and iron, and the whirring of the bellows being pulled.

At this time, a shop assistant wearing a long gown came up and asked, "How do officials make a living?"

Zhang Yue smiled and said nothing.

The shop assistant continued: "We pay Yinpu, you can pledge money or get money back, and you can also exchange salt Yin, tea Yin, alum Yin, fragrant medicine Yin, rhinoceros Yin..."

Zhang Yue said: "Salt banknotes, I have exchanged them for money!"

The shop assistant hurriedly said: "Guest officer, please!"

The shop assistant led Zhang Yue to the counter, but there was another scene at the counter, where piles of silver collars were piled up.

There are 50 pairs of large collars, and they are piled up in a pile.

The half of the middle collar is piled up again.

As for the small collars and half of them, they are piled up randomly as baskets.

Zhang Yue glanced over, and found that the silver was in good condition, and there were stamps on it to guarantee the weight of the silver ingot.

Zhang Yue said heartily, just one Jiaoyin shop has such financial resources, not to mention the hundreds of Jiaoyin shops in Nantong Lane.

Of course, looking at the stack of money is to protect the confidence of customers, otherwise why would you exchange my real money with a few pieces of torn paper?How much is that torn paper really worth?What if you don't pay?
Therefore, merchants have to display a pile of money to show customers. This money is quite a reserve fund and will not be used on weekdays. It is purely like this.

The more "reserve funds" in the Jiaoyin shop, the more sufficient the financial resources of the shop and the greater the confidence of customers, which is also the meaning of watching money.

Of course, this is also a necessary process in the early days of credit currency. In later generations, even paper money can be ignored.

Standing behind the counter was a sophisticated businessman. Hearing what the shopmate said, he smiled and said, "My surname is Shen. Do you dare to ask the officials to exchange salt money?"

"If you buy it, you need 9000, and if you sell it, you need [-], [-]. I don't know how much the officials want?"

Zhang Yue said with a smile: "This price is much more expensive than Duyanyuan!"

The businessman smiled when he heard the words, and the shop assistant said: "If the guest officer can buy it in Duyanyuan, why come to us?"

The businessman reprimanded the shop assistant: "Hey, there are no rules."

He said to Zhang Yue: "The business of the official family is a huge profit. We just risk our lives for a little bit of food. No matter whether there is salt money in Duyanyuan, but if the guest officials don't sell it today, it will be more expensive tomorrow."

Zhang Yue said: "A table of salt money!"

The shop assistant changed color and said, "Could it be a pastime..."

The businessman stretched out his hand and said: "I see the money is nineteen thousand and five hundred, Cheng Hui!"

Zhang Yue took out his silver coins and bought a piece of salt note. It read "Jiechi Yanyin a seat" written on it, followed by a line of small characters "Exchange upon seeing the note", and at the end was the seal of the Shaanxi Transshipment Department.

Zhang Yue said: "If this salt money needs to be exchanged..."

The merchant smiled and said, "It can be redeemed at any time!"

After the businessman compared to 'Qian Shan', Zhang Yue also looked back, nodded and said, "Thank you!"

After finishing the chapter, he swaggered away.

The shopmate said to the merchant, "Why should my boss make noise with this man!"

There was no smile on the merchant's face at the moment, but he said: "You have been in the shop for many years, how can anyone not be sure, I see this person's demeanor, he is probably an official!"

The shop assistant said: "Are there still few officials in Bianjing?"

The businessman shook his head and said, "Ordinary people are fine, but this person is young, and he has a saying that he has remembered, 'It is better to bully a white-headed man than to bully a young man and a poor man'!"

The words "Don't bully young people and poor people" have completely different meanings when they are said from other people's mouths and from their own mouths.

Zhang Yue came out from Jiaoyin Shop, looked at the salt banknotes in his hand and said to himself: "Jiechi salt banknotes, the imperial court sells one seat and six guan, but now it can be sold for [-] guan and [-] yuan! What's the reason for this?"

Zhang Yue immediately returned home from Jiaoyin Shop, Xun Shiqi Niang asked, "Do you know how the price of salt is in Beijing now?"

Seventeen Niang said: "The price of salt has increased several times. The officials never ask me about it. Why do they suddenly ask?"

Zhang Yue asked: "Han Xianggong wants me to be the judge of the Yantie Division, and preside over the salt case in the capital, so I have this question!"

Seventeen Niang was both surprised and delighted, she leaned over and said, "Congratulations, officer!"

Zhang Yue looked at Shi Qiniang's joyful expression, and thought to himself that it is really a little stressful to have a wife who looks forward to her husband Jackie Chan.

Zhang Yue said with a smile: "He Xizhi, Mr. Han has given me a problem. Why do you think the price of salt has doubled?"

Seventeen Niang said with a smile: "Officials don't know the price of firewood, rice, oil and salt if they are not in charge of the family. This time the new king ascends the throne, he rewards the imperial army with 100 million guan, and the civil servants with 400 million guan. Where do you think all the money will go?"

Zhang Yue suddenly said: "No wonder the price of salt is so high, it's inflation!"

Fifteen million guan is equivalent to a quarter of the country's fiscal revenue. The decentralization of this day's large amount of funds has suddenly pushed up the prices of commodities, and the first to bear the brunt is the salt money.The price of salt banknotes has been raised several times, and the price of salt banknotes has been inflated and passed on to the middle and lower reaches in one breath. The salt eaten on the market on weekdays is also several times more expensive.

"What do officials mean by inflation?" Seventeen Niang asked.

Zhang Yue smiled and said: "My lady is a saying, what kind of salt is what our family eats now?"

Seventeen Niang pursed her lips and said with a smile: "Our family eats green salt, which is not bought with money. It was given by the officials when they lectured, and the officials forgot."

Zhang Yue forgot about this incident.

"Then what do ordinary people eat at home?"

Shi Qiniang said: "Ordinary officials and eunuchs eat a piece of salt. If they are short of the last salt, they may buy private salt. Of course, the best salt is the solution salt."

Green salt is the best salt, but it is usually not available, because it is a tribute from Xixia. Except for passing through the border, the Song Dynasty strictly prohibits any green salt from entering.

The last salt is sea salt. The taste of sea salt is very bad and the quality is uneven. However, the amount of well salt in Sichuan is less, so the common people eat most of the salt.

The imperial court issued salt quotations from Jiechi Anyichi every year.

After the merchant buys salt at the money selling place, he goes to Jiechi to extract the salt.

Therefore, the so-called salt banknotes, Yanyin, in other words, are actually banknotes with the desalted salt produced by Chichi every year as the reserve.

Zhang Yue looked at the table of salt bills in his hand, the so-called one table was 110 six catties, the imperial court gave the salt bills a seat of six guan, and now he was fired to nearly [-] jin per seat in one breath.

Zhang Yue understood that Han Qi would really... really create problems for himself.

But Zhang Yue decided to take this job, yes, Jingyan officials are very good, and the officials all pretend to be the emperor's teachers, but in fact they are just "clean guests" invited by the emperor.

People respect you only because of the face of the officials. If the officials are not strong, then everything is false.

To be an official is to have power!

A man cannot be without power for a day, power is the backbone of a man.

A few days later, the errand of Zhengshitang officially arrived.

After Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang agreed their names together, Han Qi led them to visit the Queen Mother and the officials.

The place where the queen mother's official house hangs down is first the small hall of the east gate, which was originally the place where the Hanlin scholars were summoned by the emperor.

After the official came to the throne, he was seriously ill, and ran away screaming all day, unable to be polite, Han Qi threw a stick and curtain to hug the official, and then stopped.

Since then, the officials have been ill and unable to handle the government affairs, so they cultivated in the West Hall of Rouyi Hall, and the right place for officials was also changed to the West Hall of Rouyi Hall.Now it is the Empress Dowager Cao who handles state affairs, and she sits in the east of the Rouyi Hall and listens to the government behind the curtain.

On this day, Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang first went to the west of Rouyi Hall to pay their respects to the officials, and asked how the Holy Body was, the officials remained silent as usual.Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang withdrew from Xihe, and went to Donghe to play to Empress Dowager Cao in front of the curtain.

The Empress Dowager Cao behind the curtain said: "I heard Ren Shouzhong say that although Zhang Qing and Lu Qing are capable, but their qualifications are shallow, and the power is given to the three divisions, I am afraid it will be difficult."

"But Han Xianggong said that the rice and salt in the capital are soaring now, and the food and housing of the dignitaries are as usual, but the common people are suffering. When I was not a queen, I lived among the people, and I knew that the common people had no savings at home, and the food was only a bucket , and salt is even less geometric.”

"Nowadays, grain and salt in the capital are rising three times a day, and the people have no savings at home, so they can only buy it at a high price. It was a kind intention of the government to reward the military ministers, but in the end it hurt the people and made such a mess. What do I feel? Forbearance. Since the two of you have been elected by Han Xianggong as the third judge, you need to deal with this matter carefully, and I will see Jingzhong Yanliang within a month!"

After hearing this, Zhang Yue felt his blood boil. He was not only moved by Empress Dowager Cao's sympathy for the people, but also deeply felt the great responsibility on his shoulders.

Han Qi said from the side: "Bachelor Zhang, what words do you have to say to the Queen Mother!"

Zhang Yuedao: "My minister Meng Xiandi and the Empress Dowager recommended him to be in the humble place. I have experienced the sufferings of ordinary people."

"Now that I'm an official, I never dare to forget the pain I experienced back then. Today, when the Empress Dowager consults with my ministers, I'm only correct with the words 'Being an official will benefit the people'."

Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Cao said happily: "Very good, I remember Zhang Qing's phrase 'Being an official will benefit the people', let's do it accordingly!"

(End of this chapter)