Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 284 Angel on the front and devil on the back

Late at night, next door to the Hexi Jiedushi Yamen, and around the large courtyard, more than a hundred elite Chishui troops were patrolling everywhere. If they encountered suspicious characters, they would be directly arrested by the Hexi Jiedushi Yamen for interrogation. After being beaten and scolded for a while, he was imprisoned.

And the large house responsible for printing Jiaozi is still brightly lit even at night.

Some craftsmen are busy making engravings with a denomination of one silk, some are making ink, and some are cutting large sheets of special paper into the size of the engraving. In the innermost courtyard, Jiaozi's printing was in full swing.

The air is filled with the aroma of ink.

Except for Fang Chongyong and Cen Shen beside him, there is no one idle here. On a spring night in the northwest, the temperature is not comfortable, but the people in the yard don't seem to notice, and they are still busy.

"Fang Jieshuai, can this thin piece of paper replace silk and do whatever you want on the market?

Can it really be used to buy cattle, sheep, or even slaves? "

Cen Shen took out a handout from his arms, handed it to Fang Chongyong and asked.

"It's hard to describe the joints in detail. Come with me to the study to discuss it in detail."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand indifferently and said.

The beast that transcended the times has been released. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, it is not something he can fully control.

Knowing that I have sinned against myself, it is only the Spring and Autumn Period. Fang Chongyong feels that it may take hundreds or even thousands of years for people to give a proper evaluation of him as a person. He thinks so much now just because he is full and can just do whatever he wants!

Fang Chongyong witnessed today how many merchants in the Liangzhou City Market were forced to exchange silk for jiaozi under the coercion of the Chishui Army.

Why is it a one-to-one exchange, rather than sending more money and receiving less silk?

Fang Chongyong’s consideration is to reduce inflation as much as possible, at least not to cause natural inflation at the beginning. At present, Jiaozi can only be regarded as a "domestic currency" and not an "international currency". If you want to promote Jiaozi to the Western Regions, it depends on the outcome of the Hexi frontier army's expedition to Xiaobolu.

Wherever the Tang army's troops went, there was Jiaozi running rampant.

The two came to the study room of the Hexi Jiedushi Yamen and sat across from each other in front of the desk.

Fang Chongyong took out a bag of loose tea from his arms and asked his servants to make a pot of tea. He poured a glass for Cen Shen and another for himself.

"Issuing Jiaozi is of great importance, not just replacing silk."

Fang Chongyong said with a solemn expression.

Cen Shen nodded slightly and said, "I would like to hear the details."

"Suppose Judge Cen is an ordinary citizen who has dozens of acres of land in his family and has to cultivate the land in rotation, and can only make ends meet.

And a certain person is the governor of a state.

Last year was a bad year, but spring plowing is here again this year. Judge Cen’s family has no food left, so he needs to go to the market to buy seeds, farm tools, and pay rent.

So what is Judge Cen going to do? "

Fang Chongyong took a sip of tea and asked slowly.

“Then naturally we need to find a loan from a large local banker and get through the difficulties first.

It's just that although it's easy to borrow money, it's difficult to pay it back. Nine in and thirteen out is normal, who can afford it? "

Cen Shen said with a sigh.

Many things are obvious and don't matter.

“This is indeed true.

Now, the governor of a certain state, seeing the hardship of the people's livelihood, wants to give Judge Cen a hand. So a certain person borrowed some money from the government treasury to judge Cen in the name of the government.

Well, it’s not a lot, almost ten strings.

Of course the interest rate cannot be high, right? If it is high, it would be similar to a loan shark.

So Judge Cen received the money from the government and left with many thanks. Then I took the ten dollars to buy seeds and farm tools, no need to go into details.

But this year's business is not good, and there is still no harvest. Judge Cen naturally had no money to pay back and did not dare to disobey the authority of the government, so he had no choice but to mortgage his children to the government.

However, for the governor of a certain state, the money and silk in the treasury are countless, and if he falls short, he will be punished by his official hat. So I just need Judge Cen to pay back the money. There are many slaves in a certain family, and there is no need for Judge Cen to sell his sons and daughters.

Therefore, Judge Cen had to sell his children to a local wealthy family in the end, and the money he got was used to pay off the government's debts.

Although XX knows these things, as the governor of the state, the money lent to you belongs to the court, not XX himself. Even if someone wants to delay, there is no way to delay. Is this the truth? "

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile and took a sip of tea.

Cen Shen stopped talking, because this situation is too common, and homesteaders have no risk of resisting natural disasters, let alone man-made disasters.

He knew from the questions Fang Chongyong asked that this person was very familiar with local government affairs. The other party's current official position as Hexi Jiedushi was at least mostly due to his own ability and knowledge.

From what we just said, we can know that an ordinary local official, even if he wants to help these farmers, is taking huge risks, and in the end it is very likely that he will be thankless.

Once the government intervenes in private lending, who will make up for the financial deficit in the event of natural or man-made disasters?

If you cannot get back the money you borrowed, you will have to make up for it from somewhere else, or even charge an extra ten dollars in taxes elsewhere!

Otherwise, you can't just ask the emperor to pay for this money, right?

In the feudal era, even if local officials were not corrupt, even if they did not collude with the local wealthy families, what they could do was very limited!

Silk worth ten guan requires people to weave cloth; while copper coins worth ten guan require copper to be cast and a large amount of firewood to be burned to smelt.

Who can make up for these losses? By that bankrupt farmer?

“So it’s come full circle and the government can’t actually do anything, right?”

Cen Shen smiled bitterly.

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand, indicating that the other party did not need to interrupt.

"Then let me put it another way."

Fang Chongyong took another sip of tea to moisten his throat.

"The governor of a certain state printed ten strings of jiaozi and lent them to Judge Cen. It's still the same. This year there was a natural disaster and there was no harvest. The ten strings of jiaozi were in vain.

The one-year period has expired, and now the government is coming to collect debts from you. What should the governor of a certain state do? "

Fang Chongyong asked rhetorically.

Cen Shen thought for a while and felt as if his eyes were covered by a layer of gauze. This question is very similar to the previous one, but not exactly the same.

"The court can print another Jiaozi and ask someone to lend it to Judge Cen in the name of the government to help you tide over this year's difficulties. From now on, your family will have to pay off the two ten-guan Jiaozi it owes over five years. .

Although this still can't save Judge Cen's family from disaster immediately, it at least gives you hope of living. In this way, Judge Cen would not pick up a hoe and become a bandit when he could not get out of trouble even by selling his son and daughter.

Is this true? "

Fang Chongyong took out the jiaozi worth ten pieces of silk that Cen Shen had handed to him before, waved it in front of the other party and said.

"But the one printed before..."

Cen Shen's mind hasn't turned around yet. Although this Jiaozi can be printed, it is difficult to say how many will be printed.

There is only a slight difference between the two situations Fang Chongyong just mentioned. However, even with this difference, there is an essential difference.

Fang Chongyong didn't point it out and waited quietly for Cen Shen to think slowly.

A slight difference can make a thousand miles. This saying is very suitable here.

Before Jiaozi, the central government in the feudal era did not have the right to mint coins.

In other words, the right to mint coins was severely restricted.

How much copper is dug out across the country equals the ability to issue coins. If they couldn't keep up with the market demand, they had to use usable silk as circulation items. In fact, it could only be regarded as "barter." And it caused severe deflation and a series of social problems.

For example, privately minting copper coins.

Taking the first example mentioned by Fang Chongyong, every penny of financial loss is borne by the government itself. If the farmers cannot afford to repay, it will directly become a debt without a head, and the government will have no buffer room.

Either the farmers will be forced to go bankrupt and their families will be destroyed, or the government will bite the bullet and bear the losses.

After issuing Jiaozi, the central government has established its own central bank, which can issue Jiaozi as currency as needed. In theory, you can print money without any restrictions! If one payment becomes a bad debt, another one will be printed! There are no technical limitations!

If the ten-guanjiaozi loaned to the farmer is lost due to no harvest, then the ten-guanjiaozi becomes a bad debt of the bank. From the M1 currency that can be circulated, it has become the M2 currency that is temporarily unable to circulate.

Jiaozi, which can be freely circulated, has become bad debts that cannot be recovered temporarily, or even forever.

The ten guans spent by the farmers became "accidental" debt that circulated at the social level (the farmers had already spent it). The entire country and society will bear the consequences of increased inflation.

Of course, this is an ideal state, but the specific process is very different.

If you compare the central government in the feudal era to a person's head. So when there is no central bank, every penny lost is equivalent to a slap on the head of this person, and financial collapse is equivalent to declaring this person to be in a state of brain death!

But if there is a central bank, then the central bank can continue to issue M1 currency, increase liquidity by printing currency, and alleviate the government's financial crisis by creating inflation. In other words, the overall consequences of inflation are borne by this person's body (the state's main body).

No matter how you look at it, the latter's ability to withstand stress far exceeds that of the former.

After owning Jiaozi, things like "Qingmiao Loan" in the Northern Song Dynasty can be easily operated.

Of course, there are still many details here. As the Hexi Jiedushi appointed by Ji Ge, Fang Chongyong's policy maneuvering space is very limited. I can’t do that many tricks yet. Even if he has already written a memorial, he still needs Brother Ji to nod and Li Linfu to push forward vigorously.

"Fang Jieshuai, Jiaozi is really... scary."

Cen Shen said with emotion.

He thought for a long time and didn't understand the question raised by Fang Chongyong, but he was already clearly aware of the opportunities and risks involved.

Once Jiaozi spread throughout the Tang Dynasty, the changes it would bring cannot be underestimated.

"We can't use this thing just because it may cause trouble. The method of borrowing money to help small farmers purchase seed farming tools is called the green seedling method.

A certain person has already written a decree on the Green Crops Law, and will then promote it in the five states of Hexi. The local government borrowed money and gave it to farmers. This method was prepared to write to the court to promote it. "

Fang Chongyong sighed and said.

He could guarantee the effectiveness of the decree in Hexi, but in other parts of the Tang Dynasty, the Qingmiao Law only touched the pockets of powerful families.

There is no need to think about the resistance that will be encountered during this period. It will definitely cause a lot of trouble when the time comes.

The government delayed the wealthy businessmen controlled by powerful people from aristocratic families from lending money at high interest rates, so no matter what the name of the Green Seed Law was changed or what methods were used to implement it, it would naturally be resisted by these people.

As expected, Cen Shen said helplessly: "The idea of ​​​​Jie Shuai is a good one, but many people live on the interest of loan sharks. Once there is a natural or man-made disaster, the people will sell their sons and daughters. They are eager to sell them every year. A natural disaster.”

"Judge Cen, let me ask you a question.

In the past, it would take three to ten pieces of silk to buy a set of ready-made clothes. Now that I bought it with ten pieces of silk, where did the silk that I originally planned to use to buy clothes go? "

Fang Chongyong asked Cen Shen a question that seemed simple but had very profound connotations.

Cen Shen was good at writing poetry, but he was not proficient in arithmetic, and he was unable to understand the economic issues that transcended the times. His brows furrowed into the character "Chuan", thinking about the question Fang Chongyong just raised.

Yes, the silks that were originally circulated in society and used as "money", when Jiaozi completely replaced them, where did these silks go?

An obvious fact is that these silks definitely did not disappear out of thin air, let alone were burned by fire!

"A certain person has a house to rent. Yesterday he signed a contract with A. The deposit is 20 guan. The contract is for one year and will be returned to A after he cancels the lease."

Fang Chongyong's voice rang in Cen Shen's ears.

"Later, A canceled the lease and B continued to rent. So he asked B to give 20 yuan to A and let B live in the house.

So the twenty strings that A gave to X are still in X's hands? As long as this house is always rented, does that mean that the deposit of twenty pounds will always be in someone's pocket? "

Fang Chongyong asked with a smile on his face.

"Ah! Yes, yes!

That’s the truth! Why didn’t I think of that! "

Cen Shen suddenly realized that Fang Chongyong had awakened the man in his dream with one word. He finally understood what kind of game the other party was playing in issuing Jiaozi in Hexi.

As long as Jiaozi continues to be issued and circulated in society, the part of the wealth that was previously used for barter will be equivalent to being "replaced" and become "extra" wealth for the whole society.

This is the magic of conjuring wealth out of thin air!

"But, if Fang Jieshuai no longer rents the house, or if the house breaks down, wouldn't it be necessary to spend twenty guan to make up for the shortfall?"

Cen Shen suddenly thought of this almost unsolvable problem.

Since it is a house, it will be damaged one day. Although these twenty coins are equivalent to an indefinite loan, there will still be a day when the money will be paid back.

What to do on that day?

"If someone uses these 20 guan to farm fields, start a small business, or use it to slowly develop his family's industry, he will naturally not have to worry about not being able to pay back the money in the future. At that time, this deposit will definitely be just for someone. It's just a small amount of money.

But if someone takes this money, goes to a gambling house to have fun, and loses everything in the end, then... what does Judge Cen think will happen in the end? "

Fang Chongyong asked meaningfully.

"Been taught a lesson."

Cen Shen was sincerely convinced and bowed respectfully to the other party Zhongyong, poured himself a full cup of tea, drank it down in one gulp, and took a deep breath to calm down.

He had a hypothesis in mind.

If the emperor accepted Fang Chongyong's suggestion, he began to issue Jiaozi in most areas of the Tang Dynasty, especially areas with prosperous commerce and dense populations. Then there will be what Fang Chongyong calls the "deposit effect."

It's like renting out your house for the first time and charging a large deposit.

During the issuance of Jiaozi, a large amount of hard currency originally used for bartering, such as grain and silk, which everyone recognized but was inconvenient to carry, would be "replaced" by Jiaozi, making The entire society has a huge amount of usable wealth.

It's like the landlord getting the deposit for the first time.

For the government, this is a windfall!

Of course, not everyone can enjoy benefits in this process. But it is certain that most people will profit from it, it just depends on how much. The more powerful and wealthy a person is, the more benefits they can get from it.

When Jiaozi is spread across the country and the entire society finally recognizes that it has been circulated without hindrance, the "deposit effect" will disappear, and there will no longer be the possibility of making wealth out of thin air. At that time, it will be a matter of A quitting the rent and B renting the house, and the wealth is "trade-in".

The period between A starting to rent a house and checking out for B to rent a house is the period of accelerated economic development in Datang. How much development can be achieved, how long it lasts, and how fast it develops depends on what the ruling class headed by Ji Ge will do with the wealth after getting it.

Thinking of this, Cen Shen's heart suddenly went cold.

"Fang Jieshuai... What if, someone said, if in the future the people don't recognize each other anymore and switch back to barter, what should we do?"

Cen Shen swallowed and asked.

"Then give me back the 20 pounds deposit!"

Fang Chongyong stretched out his hand and teased Cen Shen.

"How can I afford it?"

Cen Shen said with a wry smile, they all understood what the other person was talking about.

"If you can't afford the repayment, what will happen in the end depends on whether you want to take a knife to Judge Cen's house to collect the debt. It also depends on whether you have enough caretakers at home and how your martial arts are.

In short, such a large amount of money cannot be sold just by selling it. "

Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly.

Cen Shen was silent. There were many things that didn't need to be said, everything was left unsaid.

　I insist on providing you with useful information, I won’t write boring plots.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)