For Zhao Huan, the most difficult thing was not fighting wars or suppressing rebellions, but the financial problems of the Song Dynasty.
As the first dynasty in human history to officially begin using paper money, it took too many wrong turns, both in theory and in practice.
Furthermore, due to the very special circumstances of the Song Dynasty, paper money played a role in saving the Song Dynasty from financial crisis as soon as it was introduced.
What factors in the Northern Song Dynasty led to the emergence of Jiaozi (paper money)?
With the increasing frequency of trade, the development of copper mines could not keep up with the society's need for currency, leading to the use of iron coins by the public.
However, the value of iron was ten times that of copper, which caused severe inflation.
In large-scale commercial currency transactions, a merchant might have to use a horse-drawn cart to transport a load of iron coins, sometimes even heavier than the goods themselves.
Therefore, merchants in Sichuan came up with the idea of Jiaozi (paper money).
Initially, Jiaozi was not currency, but merely a voucher.
Gradually, people began to develop these tokens into currency. However, due to a lack of regulation, the credit system quickly collapsed, many shops that sold these tokens closed down, and a financial crisis ensued.
This event took place in Yizhou, which is also known as Shu.
Therefore, Zhang Yong, the prefect of Yizhou, stepped forward to rectify the market rules of Jiaozi (paper money). After his rectification, all merchants without credit were forced to close their Jiaozi shops.
Zhang Yong delegated the authority to issue Jiaozi (paper money) to sixteen highly reputable wealthy merchants in Sichuan, who were then responsible for issuing the local Jiaozi.
However, the issuance was subject to the supervision of the imperial court, and the issuance volume also had to be approved by the imperial court.
Historical events are never isolated. The seemingly insignificant Jiaozi (paper money) of Shu (Sichuan) was changed in fate because of the war in the Northwest, which had nothing to do with it.
During the reign of Emperor Renzong, the Tangut people rose to power, and wars broke out frequently in the northwest.
At the same time, the system of launching the imperial examinations to introduce talent to the court during the reign of Emperor Taizong had become quite robust by the time of Emperor Renzong, and was almost saturated.
At this time, the government, which was controlled by civil officials, still had no idea of increasing revenue or reducing expenditure.
Finally, a Fan Zhongyan emerged who proposed the Qingli Reforms to save the court's expenses, but he was overthrown by the interest groups of civil officials.
In short, salaries must not be reduced, benefits must not be reduced, the number of places in the imperial examinations must not be changed, and favoritism must not be touched.
But now the ranks of officials are growing larger and larger, and with the military campaign in the northwest, the court needs money!
After the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the Song Dynasty was quite wealthy. However, during the reign of Emperor Renzong, it was discovered that the court's expenditures were becoming increasingly alarming year by year.
Even the richest person can't withstand it!
The imperial court was already facing a looming financial crisis, and Fan Zhongyan, who wanted to resolve it, was sidelined.
So the civil officials started looking for ways to make money!
Money can't just be planted in the ground and watered to grow, so where does it generate money from?
Just then, the phenomenon of Jiaozi (paper money) in Sichuan caught the attention of the imperial court. Someone suddenly had a brilliant idea: why not take back the right to issue Jiaozi to the imperial court and let the court issue it?
At that moment, everyone had a sudden realization: "Holy crap! This is a great idea! From now on, I'll have the power to distribute money. What if we run out of money?"
Print! Print like crazy!
This is much more reliable and faster than planting money in the soil!
Of course, when the Song Dynasty first took back the right to issue paper money, it was like a gentle scholar, quite restrained.
However, as the number of Song Dynasty officials grew and border affairs became increasingly frequent, the expenses seemed to be bottomless.
Therefore, the imperial court began to increase the amount of paper money issued.
However, paper money was not everywhere. At that time, it was mainly found in Sichuan and the Northwest. Sichuan was the place where paper money originated, and the Northwest was where they were fighting against the Western Xia.
Jiaozi, as a form of paper currency, was of epoch-making significance in world history.
However, it was also a double-edged sword. While it alleviated the crisis for the Song Dynasty, it also triggered terrible inflation.
To put it simply, in the current era of Zhao Huan, the price of rice in the capital city of Dongjing (Kaifeng) speaks volumes.
Especially during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, the paper money was changed to money tokens, which was essentially just a change of name. The unit name was changed from string to mint. The ministers in the court during this period were basically without any integrity.
In order to alleviate the financial crisis and to put more money in their own pockets.
The printing presses of the Song Dynasty were all running at full speed, and coins began to appear in large quantities among the people. In which places did they appear?
The land of Shu, in the northwest, east of the Yellow River.
In these three places, one is that Jiaozi (paper money) has become deeply ingrained in people's hearts and has become a habit.
One was fighting against the Tanguts, and the other was border friction with the Liao Dynasty.
Machine guns and artillery are used to defend the country when they are in the hands of an army with a strong sense of national responsibility, but if they fall into the hands of bandits, thugs, or people without any morals, they will lead to destruction.
Just like Qian Yin.
Once war broke out, the Song Dynasty's "money printing machine" began to work day and night.
As a result, prices in the general public began to soar.
Moreover, it was all for the sake of making money.
Cai Jing also came up with another idea: mint large coins!
The day after Zhao Huan transmigrated, after killing Cai Jing in the imperial court, one of the charges he announced was that Cai Jing had minted large coins.
Why was minting large coins a crime? Because it caused chaos in the money supply and exacerbated inflation.
The large coins cast here were mixed with more iron.
In terms of hard currency, iron is cheaper than copper; the price of iron is one-tenth that of copper.
For example, in the past, 4 kilograms of iron were used to cast one string of coins, but now Cai Jing is casting large coins, using 5 kilograms of iron to cast five strings of coins!
The addition of these four strings of coins did not result in a proportional increase in iron content; rather, it changed the size of the coins and the characters on them!
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