The situation this time is very different from when the Conscription Law was promulgated. No matter whether it is the big landowners or the dignitaries in the court, they are truly united and determined to fight to the end.
This is because the previous exemption tax really hurt them.
This time they came with revenge in mind.
The key point is that this timing is very favorable for them to operate the currency. It happens that at this time the rural households are in a period of famine and need food. They sell grain on a large scale, and the price of grain drops slightly. The people benefit greatly from it.
Although everyone knew they were causing trouble, no one dared to openly accuse them.
Interestingly, however, Wang Anshi was very happy to see them do this because it provided support for his monetary policy.
If this had not happened, his statement about issuing Jiaozi in Tokyo would have required at least a long period of discussion. When Song Renzong issued Jiaozi in Yizhou, it also went through repeated discussions, let alone in the capital.
Wang Anshi also had high hopes for this.
He rushed to the imperial city early this morning, ready to check the progress of the Jiaozi production. This time, he was in charge of the Jiaozi to be issued, and all the words were written by him personally.
"Wang Jiefu."
...
...
Just as he arrived at the door, Wang Anshi suddenly heard a familiar voice. He turned his head and saw Sima Guang walking towards him with a smile. He couldn't help thinking, it's unlucky to meet this old man so early in the morning! He bowed and said, "Good morning, Junshi."
"morning!"
Sima Guang returned the greeting and said, "It just so happens that today I have something I want to ask you for advice, and I never thought I would meet you here."
You are clearly hiding to catch me. Wang Anshi said calmly, "What's the matter?"
Sima Guang said: "In fact, the Sinong Temple has collected a lot of coins recently. Why not directly distribute these coins to the royal police? When these coins are used up, new coins will probably be minted. Is issuing Jiaozi unnecessary?"
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "The money from the Sinong Temple is not just for this month's wages. This year's wages for the royal police, tax police, and prosecutors, as well as the shipping costs needed by Kaifeng Prefecture, all depend on this money. How dare I spend it all? At present, this money is still insufficient, so I can only mix Jiaozi with coins to distribute."
"I see."
Sima Guang nodded and asked again: "So it is only for this year, and it won't be issued again in the future, right?"
Why don't I try to find out what he means? Wang Anshi pretended to hesitate and said, "It depends on the situation. If it's good, it's more convenient to trade with Jiaozi. You don't want to carry a cart of money every day when you go out."
I knew this guy was plotting something. Sima Guang's expression changed, and he said seriously: "Wang Jiefu, I have no objection to your issuing Jiaozi this time, but in the future, I will definitely stop it, no matter whether the result is good or bad."
Wang Anshi was furious and said, "Junshi, why do you always oppose me? It's the same exemption tax. If I do it, it will increase the burden on the people. If Zhang San does it, you not only don't say anything, but also praise him. What did I do to offend you? Tell me, I will apologize to you."
Sima Guang said, "I am not targeting you. I am just discussing the matter. I believe that you, Wang Jiefu, can issue the coins according to the number, but what about a hundred years later? Can you guarantee that no one will issue Jiaozi indiscriminately like Yizhou did before?"
In fact, he didn't believe at all that Wang Anshi would issue it according to the number.
Wang Anshi snorted, "Will you believe my promise? We have to try it first to see if it will work. How can we know if we don't try? Besides, there is only so much copper, but transactions are becoming more frequent. We will never have enough coins. We have to find a way. Jiaozi is one way. It has been used in Yizhou for decades. Although it has problems, it can be improved."
"Oh! I knew you had bad intentions."
Sima Guang pointed at Wang Anshi and said, "The fox's tail is out. You don't have enough copper, so you issue Jiaozi. You just want to use Jiaozi to replace currency. If the court is short of money, you can just print Jiaozi. Is this what you call "no additional taxes for the people and plenty of money for the country"? You are not competing with the people for profit, but plundering the people's wealth."
Wang Anshi was so angry that he pointed at Sima Guang and said, "Okay, okay, come here and think of a way to deal with the current money shortage crisis."
Sima Guang immediately said, "This money shortage crisis has happened before. Even if we leave it alone, the people will find ways to deal with it. What the court should do is not to add fuel to the fire and allow the people to pay taxes with goods. When the time comes, they will not be able to help themselves and will still take out the coins. Besides, I am not saying that your response this time is wrong. I am saying that the Jiaozi can only be used in times of crisis and not all the time."
At this point, he looked around and whispered, "Can you guarantee that the government won't issue them indiscriminately?"
In fact, neither of them is wrong, just like their governing philosophy, one is to save money and the other is to increase revenue.
Wang Anshi was a financial manager and he saw the importance of money to the economy, while Sima Guang was a researcher of human nature and he knew that any use of Jiaozi would lead to its excessive issuance, which was very scary.
The two were arguing when Lu Huiqing suddenly walked up to them quickly, "Master..." Seeing Sima Guang was also there, he quickly bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets Scholar Sima."
Sima Guang nodded slightly.
Lu Huiqing quietly handed a newspaper to Wang Anshi. Wang Anshi took it and looked at it. He knew that meeting this old man would be bad luck. He turned his head to Sima Guang and said, "Junshi, I have something urgent to deal with. I'll take my leave now. We can talk about it another day."
After saying this, he left in a hurry.
Sima Guang asked curiously, "What happened?"
Suddenly, someone behind me laughed and said, "You came too early today. You didn't see the newspaper that just came out."
Sima Guang looked back and saw Lu Gong. He bowed and then asked, "What newspaper?"
Lu Gong directly handed the newspaper in his hand to Sima Guang.
Sima Guang took it and looked at it, and couldn't help laughing and said, "I am really self-righteous."
Lu Gong asked, "What do you mean?"
Sima Guang laughed and said, "I have always been worried that Wang Jiefu's use of Jiaozi to replace currency would harm the people of the world. In fact... hehe... the people are not ignorant and know the harm of Jiaozi."
Lu Gong said: "It's not that the people are stupid, but the emergence of this newspaper has changed many things!"
Sima Guang nodded.
This article actually introduces the origin and development process of Jiaozi. In the middle, it points out that Jiaozi shops were indiscriminately distributing coins in the past. Also, during the reign of Emperor Renzong, in order to raise military rations, a full 600,000 strings of coins were distributed without any reserve funds.
This article does not say anything bad about Jiaozi, it just introduces the history of Jiaozi.
But the people were not stupid. After listening to everyone's discussions, they quickly came to a conclusion: the court kept a reserve fund out of benevolence and righteousness. Otherwise, you would have no choice. You might not even know whether there was any. Moreover, you could print as much of it as you wanted.
One can imagine the impression the imperial court left on the people.
The key point was that the newspaper was circulated too widely. In just one morning, the Jiaozi had been thrown into the stinking ditch by the people.
Bian Jing Law Firm.
"The imperial court is really crazy. They want to exchange a piece of paper for our money. They really think we are fools."
Fan Li, who had just returned from outside, was smiling and shaking his head.
Zhang Fei frowned and asked, "What's going on outside?"
Fan Li said: "Some people say they don't want to accept this Jiaozi, and some say they are willing to accept it at 70%, but if that's the case, no one will want it. The people of Yizhou have no choice. They can't transport coins in even if they have them. We have the largest coin minting workshop in the country in Bianjing. We can wait for coins to be minted. At worst, we can barter first. Coins can still be minted for a few years."
Zhang Fei sighed, "We can afford to wait, but we can't wait for the exemption tax. If it weren't for an emergency, the court wouldn't do this."
Fan Li said, "You think the court is too kind. If we accept this Jiaozi, do you think the court will print more?"
“……!”
This sentence made Zhang Fei speechless. He thought, yes! Once this article is published, will the people in the capital still believe in Jiaozi? In fact, Jiaozi is most beneficial to merchants. If merchants do not accept it, it is basically impossible to succeed. It seems that I still have to use my method. However, issuing paper money in the era will cause endless disasters. If it is not issued, the economy will indeed be difficult to develop.
Just at this moment, Wang Anshi walked in angrily, and without paying any attention to the two of them, he went straight into the box.
"Don't let anyone in."
"knew."
Zhang Fei gave Fan Li some instructions and followed him in.
"It's all your fault."
Wang Anshi pointed to the newspaper on the table.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said: "This has nothing to do with me. It's not distributed by my official bookstore."
Wang Anshi asked, "Didn't you make this newspaper?"
"Ah? Is this what Master Wang is referring to?"
"What do you think it is?" Wang Anshi said, "Those people used newspapers to distort the court's ideas. After this incident, I will definitely punish those newspaper sellers."
He was really angry. Once the article was published, Jiaozi immediately became a joke.
Zhang Fei said: "If I remember correctly, this newspaper also benefited Master Wang a lot at that time."
Wang Anshi's expression changed and he asked, "Then can you benefit me again?"
Even if he wanted to discipline the newspaper, he had to wait until after this incident. After all, the other party was only explaining the history of Jiaozi and did not slander him, so he couldn't make trouble. He would talk about it later. He came to Zhang Fei today because he wanted Zhang Fei's help to win this propaganda battle.
Zhang Fei sat down and said, "The other party didn't use any tricks, he just told the story.
In fact, the reason why it has become like this is because the people do not believe in the court's Jiaozi. No matter what I say, the people will not believe it. "
Wang Anshi asked, "Where is your ability to call a deer a horse?"
Zhang Fei said awkwardly: "That's a lawsuit, it's different."
Wang Anshi sighed, "But we have to think of a way to deal with it. They are doing this to avenge the exemption tax. Now that we have finally made them pay the tax, we cannot return it."
Zhang Fei frowned and hesitated for a while, "I did it. I will find a way to solve this problem."
Wang Anshi hurriedly asked, "Do you have a solution?"
Zhang Fei nodded.
Wang Anshi asked, "What method?"
Zhang Fei said: "Change the paper."
"Change the paper?"
"good."
Zhang Fei said: "Use salt notes to replace Jiaozi."
Wang Anshi was stunned for a moment, then said, "I have considered this before. Many areas in the northwest use salt notes as currency. But whether it is salt notes or Jiaozi, they are the same. There is no difference."
Zhang Fei said: "There is still a difference."
Wang Anshi asked, "What's the difference?"
Zhang Fei said: "The difference is that people can go without currency for a long time, but they can't go without salt for a long time."
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