Jiaozi is a very special thing in Chinese history; it can be said to be the world's earliest paper money.

One of the main reasons for its rise was that the iron coins in the Sichuan region during the Northern Song Dynasty were too heavy. How heavy were they? One thousand coins weighed about twenty-five catties. To do business with such currency, one had to hire several strongmen, and when exchanging money and goods at the bow of the ship, the money had to be transported by cart.

Therefore, the clever people of Sichuan invented Jiaozi. The government used special technology to produce it and then stipulated a fixed amount. People deposited iron coins in the "Jiaozi Office" and filled in the amount by hand.

Another important reason is said to be that the Northern Song Dynasty had a thriving trade, but too little money. The imperial court's development of metals such as copper and iron could not keep up with market demand. Or perhaps copper and iron were strategic resources, mainly used to manufacture weapons.

In order to conserve this strategic resource, the imperial court also encouraged the issuance of paper money in the Sichuan region, and paper money quickly became popular in Shaanxi and Hebei as well.

However, the Song Dynasty faced serious border troubles, and the court's policy of paying high salaries to encourage honesty and integrity was increasingly depleting the national treasury. In order to have money to spend, the court printed a large number of paper coins, which led to severe inflation, and eventually the paper coins were discontinued.

Did Xu Churen know the consequences of promoting Jiaozi? Of course he did. The social upheaval brought about by Jiaozi was only a few decades ago. People from that era are still alive. They personally experienced the economic collapse, and many good families went bankrupt and had to beg on the streets.

But now he has to come up with some constructive solutions, otherwise he himself will feel uncomfortable sitting in his position as prime minister.

Zhao Huan reminded him, "Xu Qing, you and Shao Chengzhang need to work together to regulate the rules for issuing Jiaozi. The court does not allow the issuance of Jiaozi at will. In addition, the people have lost confidence in Jiaozi and in the court. You need to think carefully about how to rebuild the people's confidence. You absolutely cannot allow the use of coercive means to force people to deposit money to exchange for Jiaozi."

"As you command."

Xu Churen's heart sank. No matter how he thought about it, he felt like he had dug a huge hole for himself!

When pushed to the limit, one's mind works quickly. And with the cunning merchant Tang Ke ahead of him, Xu Churen immediately thought of a plan: "Your Majesty, I have a plan to restore the people's confidence in paper money."

"you say."

Xu Churen glanced at Tang Ke and said, "Let's start with the upper-class households. Many of them have deposits in the Imperial Bank of the Song Dynasty. We can convert these deposits into paper money and encourage them to use it to buy goods from the Bureau of Arts and Crafts. The court has accepted paper money transactions and set an example. Naturally, the upper-class households will have a better understanding of the market. By doing this repeatedly, the upper-class households will gradually influence the commerce of the people and the influence will slowly spread."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ke almost jumped up. Damn it, are they going to use my Art Creation Bureau as a guinea pig?!

Tang Ke was about to object when the emperor said, "That's excellent, let the court set an example!"

Tang Ke's fat face twitched several times, but he swallowed his words back.

Xu Churen's gaunt wrinkles softened. He wanted to take this opportunity to get involved in the system of the Great Song Royal Bank. Otherwise, if the Eastern Prefecture continued like this, it would be destroyed by the emperor.

The ministers left with their own thoughts, and Prince Kang also set off for Hangzhou tonight. Hangzhou is currently expanding the Maritime Trade Office and gathering more people to build warships and merchant ships in preparation for the opening of the seas next year.

Fast horses set off from the capital city of Tokyo and rushed to other prefectures overnight. After entering the city, they delivered the latest edition of the Song Dynasty Gazette. Immediately afterward, others rode horses to deliver the latest edition of the Gazette to nearby prefectures and counties.

As soon as dawn broke, the official gazettes of the Song Dynasty in the prefectures and counties of Jingxi Road and Jingdong Road began to be sold. They clearly stated the results of the handling of the Confucian scholar case and the Luoyang rebellion, and that tens of thousands of people were to be exiled to the northwest region.

Immediately, the court's decision became a topic of discussion everywhere.

It was extremely unusual that the scholar-officials remained silent this time, leading people to believe that the matter would come to a temporary end.

However, on July 1st, a murder occurred on the main street of Qingzhou Prefecture on Jingdong Road.

Just as dawn broke, a couple suddenly appeared on the main street from the alley. They had more than a dozen wounds on their bodies, cut by knives, and were bleeding. In some places, the wounds were so deep that the bone was visible.

"Help! Please help us!"

Their desperate cries terrified passersby.

A dozen or so people with knives were chasing them. They were already seriously injured and were quickly caught up. Passersby on the roadside did not dare to intervene and watched helplessly as the two men were hacked to death in the street.

This matter quickly alarmed the Qingzhou government, and the result was that it was a gangster revenge killing.

Around dusk, Hou Shijie, the commander of the Imperial City Guard in Qingzhou, personally arrived at the government office. He Liren, the prefect of Qingzhou, was drinking with several beautiful young women, and the scene was quite enchanting.

The servant ran to the door and said, "Master, someone outside is requesting an audience."

"Get out! You blind fool! Can't you see I'm drinking?! Get out, get out!"

The servant hesitated for a moment before saying, "Master, they say they are from the Imperial City Guard and have important business with you."

He Liren immediately jumped up from the table, grabbed his clothes, and quickly put them on.

One of the young girls, her snow-white thighs exposed and her figure radiating beauty, said, "Master, aren't you going to keep us company? Are the Imperial Guards any better looking than us?"

"Yes! Master, why not just have the men outside deal with them? Come, Master, have another drink..."

Frustrated, He Liren slapped the girl, knocking her to the ground: "You little slut, stop talking nonsense! If anyone hears you, I'll be dead!"

After straightening his clothes, He Liren hurriedly led the government clerk to the door to greet them.

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