In the end, Zhao Xu did not completely abolish the Three Departments, nor did he implement the Three Provinces and Six Ministries system to the end, which made many ministers breathe a sigh of relief.
In fact, neither Wang Anshi nor Sima Guang were in favor of doing so. They believed that doing so would be less efficient and would lead to the loss of checks and balances on the emperor.
There is no need to think about whether one department has more power or three departments have more power.
As for why Zhao Xu did not take this step, everyone actually knew it. It was not because of whether they were willing or not, but because the drought made Zhao Xu feel fearful.
The change in the country's strategic policy can also be said to have, to a certain extent, cooled down the party struggles in the court.
Because this strategy is obviously more in line with the conservatives' ideas, but the reformists did not oppose it desperately, because the domestic affairs were still based on Wang Anshi's New Deal, which did not mean that the New Deal would be abolished.
Unlike what is recorded in history, during Wang Anshi's administration, all conservatives were driven out of the government and the public, and their suggestions would never be adopted, regardless of whether they were right or wrong. Vice versa, after the conservatives came to power, they directly abolished all the new policies, regardless of whether they were good or bad.
It becomes a zero-sum game.
The reason for this change in situation is the emergence of a third force in the government, namely the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
The public security, procuratorial and judicial systems originally belonged to the conservative faction, but with the separation of politics and law, some people among both the reformists and conservatives are firmly opposed to the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems.
...
...
This directly broke the boundaries of party disputes, and a very clear consensus emerged between the two sides.
In addition, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs control the power of trial and emphasize fairness, which serves as a check and balance on power.
The paper currency issue mentioned by Su Shi actually reflects that the party struggle is weakening. If it were in the past, people would have desperately opposed it and resolutely prevented Wang Anshi from issuing it.
And now Su Shi is asking how the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can exercise checks and balances.
The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are blocking both sides. Now Sima Guang is not worried that Wang Anshi will act recklessly, and Wang Anshi is not worried that his policies will be deliberately undermined.
There is no room for two tigers in one mountain, but now that there are three powers competing for hegemony, it has become a game of forming alliances and it is impossible for it to reach the point of life and death.
Of course, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs cannot completely eliminate party disputes, but can only slow down this phenomenon at this moment.
Although this decree on official system reform was the last decree issued by Zhao Xu this year, Zhao Xu did not take a break because there was still one thing that he had not answered.
It is the "Temporary Law".
The reason why he waited until now was because Zhao Xu wanted to give Zhang Fei more time to see, and Zhang Fei was also the last minister Zhao Xu summoned this year.
"Have you read the Provisional Law?" Zhao Xu asked.
Zhang Fei smiled awkwardly and said, "To be honest with you, Your Majesty, I only took a quick look at it, but I have been involved throughout, so I am relatively clear about it."
Zhao Xu nodded and didn't argue with him. "In fact, during this period, almost every day someone wrote to me, not wanting me to pass this "Provisional Law"."
Zhang Fei immediately asked: "Is it because of the Eight Discussions System?"
Zhao Xu nodded.
This "Eight Discussion System" can be said to be the core of the entire feudal law, namely: one is to discuss relatives, two is to discuss old acquaintances, three is to discuss the virtuous, four is to discuss the capable, five is to discuss the merits, six is to discuss the nobility, seven is to discuss the diligence, and eight is to discuss the guests.
Generic rules.
"Relatives" refers to a certain range of relatives of the imperial family; "old" refers to certain old friends of the emperor; "virtuous" refers to the virtuous gentlemen whom the court believes to be "virtuous"; "capable" refers to those who "have great talents and achievements", who can organize the army, handle government affairs, and serve as assistants to the emperor and role models of human relations; "merit" refers to those who "have great merits"; "noble" refers to officials of the third rank and above, officials of the second rank and above, and those of the first rank; "diligent" refers to those who "are very diligent"; and "guest" refers to those who "succeed the previous generation as state guests."
Only the "Ten Evils" are unforgivable.
For other crimes, the principle followed is "major crimes must be discussed, minor crimes must be pardoned."
The main basis for the saying "no punishment shall be imposed on scholars and officials" is derived from this law, which is also a continuation of the Tang Law Commentary, and not the stone tablet erected by Taizu as rumored.
It was this law that protected the entire feudal ruling class.
However, in this "Provisional Law", Fu Bi deleted the Eight Discussions system from the Mingli Law and included it in the Amnesty Act. That is to say, any criminal punishment within the scope of the Eight Discussions must be submitted to the emperor for approval.
This is what the powerful people care about.
Because the emperor could pardon, but he could also not pardon. In the end, the law no longer protected their privileges, which broke the principle of not punishing scholars or powerful people.
However, some ministers believed that this would protect them from being arbitrarily punished by the emperor, and many honest officials believed that this would be beneficial to them.
That’s why it was able to pass in the Legislative Assembly.
Zhang Fei said: “I think that Lord Fu has made it very clear in his memorial, and I agree with it very much. The law of the legal system protects the interests of the monarch, the country, and the people.
Throughout history, traitors and villains have been concealed not because they hid well, but because the judicial system at that time was not protecting the interests of the monarch, the country, and the people, but rather protecting the interests of the monarch and themselves. Therefore, their crimes were often covered up, causing them to become more and more arrogant and eventually causing disasters.
This also includes foreign wars, for example, embezzlement of military pay, passing inferior goods off as good ones, killing innocent people to gain credit, and so on.
Therefore, in his memorial, Duke Fu clearly stated that it was necessary for the imperial court to let His Majesty know clearly the interests involved so that His Majesty could make the most wise decision. Otherwise, His Majesty might not know how much harm their actions would cause. "
Zhao Xu frowned and said, "But if there are no such eight opinions, it will undoubtedly increase the pressure on me to pardon you."
When the amnesty law was mentioned before, the Eight Discussions system was not mentioned. He was thinking that he could still pardon those people based on the Eight Discussions regulations.
However, Fu Bi and his colleagues were all knowledgeable university scholars. The purpose of the amnesty bill was to abolish the Eight-Debate System, and it was impossible to retain both.
Zhang Fei said: "I have also considered this, but this will also increase their pressure to break the law, which can reduce the phenomenon of their breaking the law and make them more cautious. Your Majesty can use the power of pardon more calmly.
I have looked through past cases related to the Eight Discussions. In fact, the Eight Discussions system was rarely used in the early days of the country. It was not until the past forty years that it began to appear frequently.
But what comes with it is that there are more and more illegal phenomena, and the judiciary is trampled on completely. And their illegal acts actually endanger the interests of the country, the monarch, and the people.
In other words, the more lawbreakers there are, the greater the losses will be to the country, the monarch, and the people. This can actually be seen by comparing the national strength in the early days of the founding of the country and in the past twenty years. At that time, the judiciary was relatively fair, and relatively speaking, the national strength was relatively strong.
So the conclusion is that if they don’t need to accept the trial of the Song Dynasty, then they must accept the trial of the Northern Dynasty.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu clenched his fist and pounded the low table in front of him.
Zhang Fei hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."
Zhao Xu glanced at him and said, "What crime have you committed? Not only that, you are right. Some people would rather accept the trial of the Northern Dynasty than the Imperial Court."
This last sentence really hurt Zhao Xu's heart deeply.
Think about the negotiations with the Liao Kingdom in recent decades. Every time, the other side blatantly blackmailed and did not respect the alliance signed by the two countries at all, but the Song Dynasty could only compromise.
The reason is that our national strength is weak and we cannot defeat the enemy.
But no one dared to argue with reason or protect their own interests, and now they are talking nonsense here.
This is really outrageous.
It was because of Zhang Fei's words that Zhao Xu finally made up his mind to pass this "Provisional Law".
Is it a pardon law or is it to maintain his power?
But now the Song Dynasty is surrounded by powerful enemies and he is unwilling to accept the status quo. He has no choice.
Zhang Fei was very clear before that if the amnesty bill was not established, the Eight Discussions System would definitely not be able to be changed, because this was the core of feudal law, but now was far from the time to abolish the Eight Discussions System.
You should know that the Eight-Discussion System was completely abolished in the late Qing Dynasty.
Got to come up with a replacement.
In other words, this "Interim Law" does not say that the principles of fairness and equality must be observed, and its core content should be preserved.
Because even under the Eight-Debate System, the final decision-making power still lies in the hands of the emperor, but the amnesty bill can make the judiciary appear fair, just and equal on the surface.
If you are guilty, you are guilty and must also accept civil penalties.
At this time, snowflakes were falling from the sky.
A heavy snowfall marks the end of this year.
This year has been truly full of drama, from drought to disaster relief miracles, from Xihe's defeat to Xihe's great victory, from being an envoy to a brothel to the hero's return.
Everything was reversed.
It is precisely because of this dramatic reversal that this year has become a decisive year.
The adjustment of the country's major policies and the upcoming promulgation of the "Interim Law" will lay a solid foundation for the future.
It must be mentioned that Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and others also felt that the burden on their shoulders was lightened a lot. As the party struggles died down, their goals gradually became closer.
For Wang Anshi, the adjustment of policy did not mean the abolition of his new policies. On the contrary, it made him attach more importance to his new policies.
For conservatives, it goes without saying that all their concerns will be put on hold for the time being, at least
The emperor has decided not to launch any foreign military operations in the near future and to focus on domestic affairs.
This is what Han Qi, Fu Bi, Sima Guang and others pursued.
In fact, Wang Anshi's reforms were mostly aimed at domestic affairs, but they were very different from today's focus on domestic affairs. The difference was that everyone knew that Wang Anshi's reforms were aimed at promoting foreign wars. Conversely, Wang Anshi must have quickly made money for the country and accumulated wealth in preparation for war.
This is extremely contradictory to the conservative ideology, and is also the reason why Fu Bi, Sima Guang and Han Qi opposed it.
No matter how much you talk, if your goal is to fight a war, you will not care about people's livelihood; what you care about is finance.
But now, the major in internal affairs means putting aside foreign wars and focusing on domestic affairs and people's livelihood.
This is an essential difference.
On the first day of court at the beginning of the new year, Zhao Xu formally approved the "temporary law" submitted by the Legislative Council, without changing a single word.
This made Fu Bi, Sima Guang and others breathe a sigh of relief.
The powerful were greatly disappointed.
But Fu Bi's cunning lies in this. He named this law "Temporary Law" instead of "Law of the Great Song Dynasty". In other words, there is still room for maneuver.
In fact, Fu Bi was also worried about the Eight-Discussion System. He did not dare to force all these powerful people and those unworthy literati into a corner, lest they become desperate and do something desperate.
But it must be said that this "Temporary Law" has completely activated the entire public security, procuratorial and judicial system. There was no written law before, and everything relied on Zhang Fei's precedents. Apart from other things, it is very difficult to learn. It is like a master teaching an apprentice, and it is difficult to popularize it.
Now that we have written laws, everyone can learn them. This is very beneficial to the current promotion of public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and even more beneficial to their implementation.
Genuine bookstore.
As soon as Hou Donglai opened the shop door, he saw a group of people rushing in.
"Old Hou! Do you have any copies of the Provisional Law for sale?"
"No."
Hou Donglai shook his head.
“It wasn’t printed?”
"no."
Hou Donglai sighed, "It is not allowed to be printed."
"Why? Didn't the government say that it has already approved it?"
"Yes, they have. But the government won't let us print it, saying they are afraid we might make a mistake. Currently, only the Song Dynasty Gazette is allowed to print it. If we print it and get caught, we will not only be fined a lot of money, but also go to jail. How dare we print it?"
The Da Song Di Bao Yuan is the original Di Bao Yuan, which has now become a business agency.
"This business office is really overbearing. They don't even allow books to be printed."
"Just wait, the price will be sky-high. How can the government sell things cheaply?"
The Dibao Institute has already started printing in a hurry. A gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. After joining the business office, these idle officials have all become very hardworking, because if they are fired again, they will really be unemployed.
Now Wang Anshi is forcing money on them, how can they not cherish it?
At the end of last year, they had been working overtime to prepare the engravings and were just waiting for the emperor's approval.
Printing began on the day the emperor approved it.
The Song Dynasty Newspaper Institute.
Wang Anshi sat on a chair, holding a newly-published "Provisional Law" and flipping through it hastily.
Standing nearby was Xu Ye, who was in charge of the printing department. He asked Wang Anshi nervously, "What do you think, sir?"
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "Very good, it is finally on par with the books printed by the genuine bookstores. So, the world is bustling with people who are driven by profit. No matter how much the old newspapers urged, they could not catch up with the genuine bookstores."
Xu Ye said: "The genuine bookstores will only become worse and worse than ours, because the officials in our court all have good handwriting and can use different fonts to correspond to different contents. Even in terms of the beauty of the books, they are far inferior to us."
"very good!"
Wang Anshi nodded and asked, "Has the price been decided?"
Xu Ye said: "In order to print better and make it easier for everyone to read, we have split this "Provisional Law" into ten volumes, five volumes each for civil and criminal matters. The printing cost of each volume is about fifty coins. I think it can be bought for a hundred coins."
"If it's sold for a hundred coins, I won't have to think of a way to get you to print it?"
Wang Anshi said, "Besides, we can't just look at our labor costs, we also have to look at the content. These are all priceless. I think each copy will be priced at 500 coins. As for how much the bookstore will sell it for, it's up to them to decide."
One book costs five hundred coins, and a set costs less than five strings of coins.
Xu Ye took a deep breath, but he was ecstatic in his heart. He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I understand."
Just at this moment, a clerk came into the room and whispered something in Xu Ye's ear.
"I understand. You go down first."
After the clerk left, Xu Ye said, "Prime Minister Wang, just now Feng Zhongcheng from the Censorate sent someone to ask us to send a few sets of temporary laws to the Censorate."
Wang Anshi said: "The court will spend money to buy it from here, and as for what they want, let them buy it with their own money."
Xu Ye asked awkwardly, "The imperial court has to pay for it?"
Wang Anshi said, "If the court doesn't spend money to buy it, then the Dibao Institute will be unable to make ends meet. Who will pay your salaries? Your finances are not under the management of the Three Departments now, you have to rely on yourself. If you want to give it to them, it's up to you. Anyway, it's all your bonuses and salaries."
Xu Yezhi nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."
Procuratorate.
The first meeting of the Procuratorate at the beginning of the year was to arrange for some trainee prosecutors to work in the Legal Aid Department.
"Prosecutor Zhang, our procuratorate is already too busy with its own affairs, why do you want us to take turns to go to the Legal Aid Department to help?"
He Zhizhong asked curiously.
Zhang Fei said, "Our procuratorate is only involved in a part of the cases. Many civil disputes cannot be brought to the procuratorate. The Legal Aid Department is different. They will encounter civil disputes and criminal cases. You can fight more cases there, which will be very helpful to you. Why do those bookstores try so hard to get their young people to go to the Legal Aid Department for training?"
“Yes, the students understand.”
Just at this moment, someone outside the door suddenly shouted, "How ridiculous! How ridiculous!"
Xu Zhiqian said: "It seems to be Mr. Su's voice."
Zhang Fei then said to He Zhizhong: "Hurry up and get ready, then report to the Legal Aid Department."
After saying that, he walked out and saw Su Shi and Fan Chunren walking towards the lobby. He hurriedly called out, "Two Attorneys General."
When Su Shi saw Zhang Fei, he immediately shouted, "Zhang San, it's best that you are here. We want to sue Wang Jiefu."
Zhang Fei was startled and asked, "What's the matter?"
Su Shi said, "Wang Jiefu instructed that only the Great Song Dibao Institute was allowed to print the Provisional Law. We just wanted to take some back to Jingdong East Road, but the Dibao Institute refused to give us any and said we had to buy them."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You are more familiar with the business office than I am. They are here to make money. How could they give it to you?"
Su Shi said, "But I am asking for it on behalf of the Qizhou Procuratorate, not on my own. But the people at the Imperial Newspaper Office said that the court has to pay for it."
You should know that nowadays, only a small part of the salary that the imperial court pays to government officials is in the form of money, and the rest is in kind, or the grain harvest of a certain area.
That's why Su Shi thought this was incredible.
Zhang Fei laughed and said, "Don't officials have to pay when they go to the hospital to buy medicine?"
Su Shi was stunned for a moment, then said, "But I also had a part in revising the temporary law, and I have the copyright, so they should also share the money with me."
"Of course not."
Zhang Fei asked in return: "Prosecutor General Su revised the document as an official, or in other words, he revised it with salary. The copyright is in the hands of the court. The court gave it to the Dibao Institute, so it belongs to the Dibao Institute and does not need to share the money with anyone."
Fan Chunren said, "This is a small matter. It is reasonable to spend money to buy it, but the problem is that they sell it a little too expensive. Nowadays, a copy of it is sold for 520 coins."
Zhang Fei said: "It's not expensive."
Fan Chunren added: "But they split the entire Provisional Law into ten volumes."
"Well."
Wow, this is really cruel! Zhang Fei said embarrassedly: "I can't do anything about this. The pricing power is in their hands."
But he also understood Wang Anshi. Everything is difficult at the beginning, and the current situation of the Business Office is also quite difficult!
Su Shi asked: "If we copy it down, will it be considered as piracy?"
Zhang Fei said: "It doesn't count if you read it yourself, but it does count if you sell it commercially. The copyright law clearly states it."
Su Shi thought about it and sighed again: "It's just that the number of words is a little too many. If it were less, it wouldn't be a big deal to copy a set."
In fact, it’s not because there are too many words, but because I’m not short of money, there will definitely be people who choose to copy it.
This is indeed a bit too expensive. In the past, people chose to copy many books and articles.
But there is no doubt about it.
This will definitely sell well.
Because those wealthy businessmen and landlords will definitely buy them.
Because this "Provisional Law" is closely related to both merchants and landlords, and is extremely beneficial to merchants, it almost confirms the private ownership of land and property.
The reason why this temporary law contains so much content is because the property must be divided very clearly, otherwise it will not be possible to provide legal protection.
The main content of this part is
Contract law, inheritance law, marriage law, copyright law, etc.
These all involve the addition and division of property.
But it is not entirely private property. The concept here is different from the concept of private property in later generations. Later generations defined it as a right that everyone has, and the law is only protecting your rights.
However, the interpretation of this temporary law is that it is based on the law of the rule of law to protect the legitimate rights and interests of individuals, and it is not defined as a right that everyone has.
Why did Zhang Fei define the law of the legal system in this way? In fact, it was because of this problem that he did not dare to give this definition.
Because this would be in conflict with the saying "All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects."
The law protects the legitimate rights and interests of individuals. This statement is true for both ordinary people and the powerful.
The question is who will protect it, the monarch or the country.
This power is granted by the state and the monarch, not something you are born with.
There is a huge difference here, and this road is far from reaching its end.
Qianjin Bookstore.
"Boss, give me a set of "Provisional Laws"
But a young servant put a piece of fine silk cloth on the counter and said breathlessly.
The bookstore owner said, "We don't accept silk or cloth, we only accept coins, even tax coins are fine."
"Why?"
The servant asked curiously.
The bookstore owner said, "Because the Dibaoyuan only charges money, we also paid for it."
The servant said, "But there is no money now, everyone is bartering."
The bookstore owner said, "Then I can't do anything about it. I only accept coins."
Just then, an old man came over and said, "Boss, give me a set of "Provisional Laws."
The old servant beside him took out a stack of tax coins.
"Oh! It's Mr. Sima. Mr. Sima, wait a moment. I'll get it right away."
Seeing that it was Sima Guang, the shopkeeper did not dare to be negligent and immediately took out a whole set of brand new "Provisional Laws".
Sima Guang asked, "Why haven't I heard that the Dibaoyuan only accepts coins?"
The bookstore owner laughed awkwardly.
The servant immediately pointed at the bookstore owner and said, "Boss, you are lying."
The shopkeeper glared at the servant and explained to Sima Guang, "Don't be surprised, Mr. Sima. Nowadays, there are no coins in the market. Silk cloth is used instead. I have collected a lot of cloth, but I can't use so much. It's troublesome to use it. It just so happens that many people are scrambling for this "Provisional Law", so I want to get some coins. Other bookstores do the same."
Sima Guang asked: "Why doesn't everyone use coins?"
The shopkeeper immediately replied, "It's because there are too many fools. Last year, all the tax coins were used to pay taxes. As a result, no one has any money left. It was Sima Xianggong who had foresight and kept so many tax coins. Now that prices are falling, tax coins are valuable."
Last year, he also paid the tax coins himself, because everyone still did not trust the tax coins and quickly used them to pay taxes.
Sima Guang couldn't help but feel ashamed. He didn't have any foresight. He was just very frugal and didn't have much to spend. Therefore, he kept a lot of tax coins at home. He added: "But before there were no tax coins, I didn't hear that there was a shortage of coins."
The shopkeeper said, "I don't know about that. Anyway, it's hard to see coins nowadays."
Since the shopkeeper doesn't know, then find someone who knows and ask him. After all, this is no small matter!
The first person Sima Guang thought of was Zhang Fei.
So he asked the old servant to take the books home, and then he went to the procuratorate.
It just so happened that Su Shi and Fan Chunren were inspecting the procuratorate, or rather, they were learning. After all, the procuratorate with Zhang Fei was more advanced in its architectural design.
For example, the procuratorates in Qizhou and Qingzhou are more casual and depend entirely on the orders of their superiors, whereas the procuratorate in the capital has very detailed divisions. Zhang Fei often takes vacations, but it doesn't have much of an impact. Whenever something happens, professionals will handle it.
"You're all here."
Sima Guang said.
Fan Chunren and Su Shi stood up and bowed.
Zhang Feigongming bowed and asked with a smile: "Sima Xueshi is not here for the price of the Provisional Law, right?"
"Of course the price is very high." Sima Guang snorted, "But the business office is controlled by Wang Jiefu."
At this point, he paused for a moment, "But I didn't come here for this. When I was buying books just now, I heard the shopkeeper say that there are no coins in the market right now. The people said it was because everyone had paid the tax coins before, but the tax coins were only used for disaster relief. Now that the disaster is over, everyone has paid the tax coins, so there should be no change. How come there is a money shortage all of a sudden?"
Fan Chunren frowned and said, "In fact, we have also seen a shortage of coins in places like Qingzhou and Qizhou. This is probably because the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have promoted more prosperous commerce and increased transactions, which has led to a shortage of coins."
Sima Guang nodded and said, "I know that too. The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs first appeared in the capital, but there was no shortage of money."
Su Shi nodded and said, "That's true, and there is rarely a shortage of money in the capital."
The three of them looked at Zhang Fei again.
Zhang Fei said: "According to the observations of the Bian Jing Law Firm, there are three main reasons for the cash shortage."
Sima Guang hurriedly asked: "What are the three reasons?"
Zhang Fei said: "First, there are more people. The disaster is over, but many people did not return to the countryside, but continued to work in the workshops. They all need to go to the market to buy daily necessities, so more people use coins.
This leads to the second reason. They need to rely on production to make a living if they stay in the country. That is to say, the more goods they produce, the less money there is.
Finally, last year, due to the warehouse tax, the landlords released a lot of grain, which caused many people to rush to buy grain. However, they did not use all the tax coins at that time, but also a lot of coins, which led to a large amount of coins flowing into the hands of landlords. But the landlords did not have many places to use the money.
These three reasons just happened to come together, thus causing a money shortage. The currency became more valuable, and fewer people used money. "
The three of them nodded frequently after hearing this, and they all frowned and began to think.
After thinking about it, Sima Guang still couldn't think of a solution, so he asked Zhang Fei again: "Then how do you think we should deal with it?"
This was really beyond his knowledge, because the landlords were only one of the reasons. The deeper reason was the growth of the scale of business, which had never been encountered before and there was no relevant record in history books.
Zhang Fei said: "There is no other way except to issue coins. It depends on whether it is minted coins or paper money."
We can't just say, let's reduce the scale of our business.
Sima Guang, Fan Chunren and Su Shi looked at each other in bewilderment.
coin?
Even if it can be cast, it's too late!
This money shortage phenomenon will either not occur at all or it will be a storm. The reason is that bad money drives out good money. The higher the price of money goes, the less people will use it.
Of course, speculators are an exception.
Baifan Building.
"This is the goods we need for the spring. You have used up all the tax coins you saved up."
Fan Yong instructed the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper said, "Master, the coins are getting less and less, and the goods are being stored and cannot be sold. Although the tax coins are not as valuable as copper coins, they can still be used for two years. Why don't we wait a little longer?"
Fan Yong said: "If we wait any longer, we won't be able to take advantage of this. The situation is so serious now, the court will take action soon."
The shopkeeper asked anxiously, "Master, have you got any inside information?"
Fan Yong said, "What insider information do we need? The salt notes of Hezhong Prefecture are so successful, won't the court learn from them? Go! Go!"
"yes."
The cash shortage in the capital is extremely rare, as the money supply here has always been very sufficient, and it came very suddenly.
The first to complain were the businessmen. They expanded production last year and were going to give it a try this year. However, they encountered a cash shortage at the beginning of the year. No one had any money, so consumption naturally became very slow. They can't even get by this year.
The second group is the landlord grain merchants. The grain prices are now almost unsustainable. If they lower the price, they will suffer huge losses. But if they don’t lower the price, they will have to pay warehouse taxes if they cannot sell the grains.
Fortunately, they were in the capital, under the feet of the emperor, and their complaints immediately alarmed the higher-ups.
Chuigong Hall.
Today, Zhao Xu summoned Wang Anshi, Wen Yanbo, Xue Xiang, and Sima Guang to discuss the issue of money shortage.
Sima Guang first told Zhao Xu about Zhang Fei's reasons.
Xue Xiang panicked after hearing this. Could it be that Sima Guang had come up with an idea?
Wang Anshi gave him a calm look and said, "Don't panic. It's most likely that Zhang San told him this. Otherwise, how could he have thought of this?"
Zhao Xu asked: "How should the court respond?"
Wen Yanbo said: "New coins can be minted to ease the crisis."
Xue Xiang immediately said, "Not to mention that it takes a long time to mint coins, there is not enough copper in stock, so it must be shipped from other places. But many merchants can't wait that long. Their goods are squeezed in their hands. If they can't sell them, they can't pay the craftsmen. This will cause a lot of problems."
Sima Guang said: "In business, there are gains and losses. This is a very natural phenomenon."
Xue Xiang said: "But those merchants contributed nearly half of the tax revenue last year. If the court does not help them, this year's tax revenue may be even lower than last year.
And those landlords and grain merchants, they also
They are complaining bitterly. If there is not enough currency, they will hoard a lot of food. If they are asked to pay warehouse taxes, they will definitely not accept it.
Sima Guang frowned secretly but said nothing.
Zhao Xu then asked Xue Xiang, "What suggestions do the three officials have?"
Xue Xiang said: "I think we can continue to issue tax coins to alleviate the money shortage."
Wen Yanbo immediately said: "The incident of Jiaozi in Shu has already proved the consequences of issuing paper money. The tax money issued last year was due to disasters and emergency needs. It cannot be a long-term solution."
Xue Xiang immediately said: "But this is a different time. Now there are public security, procuratorate and courts to supervise, and the meaning of tax currency can be used to pay taxes. This is actually a contractual relationship between the court and the people, and it is legally binding.
The reason why the salt notes of Hezhong Prefecture have always been trusted by the people is not because they deliver salt there, but because the salt notes can be used to pay taxes.
Moreover, according to the situation in Hezhong Prefecture, in this situation, issuing some tax coins can make business more prosperous, increase more commercial taxes, and at the same time reduce the number of landlords who use currency speculation to exploit the people.
Today, those landlords complain that they are wronged, but in fact, with the increase in the value of currency, they have already made back all the losses from selling grain at low prices throughout the year.
Not only that, our dynasty minted the most coins in history, but we also experienced the most money shortages in history. The reason is that Xixia, Tubo, and the Northern Dynasties all used our coins, so no matter how many coins we minted, they were not enough. "
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "What the Three Envoys said makes a lot of sense."
Sima Guang said, "Your Majesty, although there are public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, the issuance of currency is an administrative power. The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs cannot prevent over-issuance. The last salt debt crisis in Hezhong Prefecture has already proved this point. Now everyone knows that Hezhong Prefecture could not provide enough salt at that time, thanks to that batch of private salt."
I imply that I know what you are doing, but you can't keep doing this.
Wang Anshi smiled and said, "The crisis was not caused by the salt debt, but by the expansion of the border between Xihe and Yuan Xueshi. They decided to issue salt debts in order not to harm the people's strength. However, Hezhong Prefecture has also made preparations for debt restructuring. They would rather take on a huge debt than waste the people's strength. Shouldn't such a government be praised?"
Sima Guang snorted, "That's because the police, procuratorate and courts are watching."
Wang Anshi said: "It is precisely because of the existence of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs that we suggest issuing tax coins."
"???"
Sima Guang felt that this guy was becoming more and more shameless.
Xue Xiang said to Zhao Xu: "Your Majesty, now the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Salt and Iron, which are the two major financial powers, are all under the Ministry of Revenue, and only the Ministry of Granary has been retained among the three departments. I think the three departments can focus on the issuance and calculation of coins.
Judging from the situation in Hezhong Prefecture, as long as the calculation is proper, even the issuance of paper money can be controlled.
Moreover, the imperial court can also follow the example of the Jiekupu in Hezhong Prefecture and make all the currency information public to win the trust of the people and merchants."
Sima Guang said: "This seems to be a request from the Hezhong Prefecture Procuratorate, but it is not to win the trust of the people, but to facilitate the investigation of the Procuratorate."
Xue Xiang smiled and said, "I have always been very supportive of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. I believe that Chief Prosecutor Su's request is the key to the success of the salt money."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "There has been a frequent shortage of money in our dynasty, and the impact has been great. When the summer tax was due, the landlords often used the shortage of money to exploit the people."
Wang Anshi immediately said: "It's not just the summer taxes. When many people repay their usurious loans, they don't have much money, so they can only use real goods to pay, which leads to the destruction of their families and lives.
Shangshu Sima should be able to prove this, because if you look at the debt lawsuits in Hezhong Prefecture, you can see that compared with all the prefectures and counties in the country, only Hezhong Prefecture has the least disputes in exchange for money, and the reason is that Hezhong Prefecture has salt notes. "
The three emperors and their ministers sang in unison, and Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and others had no chance to get a word in. This really exceeded their understanding of economics.
I can only continue to express my concerns helplessly.
Obviously lack of confidence.
Because they couldn't find a solution.
In the end, Zhao Xu adopted Xue Xiang's suggestion and handed over the right to mint and issue coins to the Three Departments, while the previous financial power belonged to the Ministry of Revenue.
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