Fu Bi's words directly reveal the dilemma of the conservatives represented by Fan Chunren and Su Shi.
What they said is actually very right. Paper currency is a double-edged sword. Any slight mistake will lead to a huge crisis. This is not alarmist.
But the problem is that they couldn't come up with a better solution to help the court, or directly help the merchants out of their current predicament.
Why did Jiaozi appear in the Song Dynasty?
It was not something that some financial genius came up with on the spur of the moment, nor was it brought by a time traveler. Instead, it was forced out. It must have been extremely difficult to force out paper money in ancient times.
First of all, the Song Dynasty minted coins, and the more coins it minted, the more it lost, because the Song Dynasty was a country that minted coins that were used throughout Asia. The Western Xia and Liao dynasties really tried every means to smuggle currency from the Song Dynasty.
If this were paper money, it would be great, but the problem is that this is a copper coin.
Minting copper coins requires manpower and material resources. Even if the Song Dynasty was more prosperous, it could not support their way of playing.
Secondly, the coinage speed of the Song Dynasty could not keep up with the country's commercial development. Coupled with the stimulation of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, the gap was even greater.
This is why, wherever the police, procuratorate and courts go, business first prospers, and then money becomes scarce.
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...
The reason why other places do not have such a serious shortage of money is that Tokyo is a consumer-oriented area, which is different from any other place in the world because it has a huge consumer population.
For example, in Qizhou and Qingzhou, Wang Juqing and Zhang Dun also wanted to issue salt notes, but they just thought that issuing paper money could stimulate business development, not that they encountered a money shortage crisis, so they issued paper money.
The previous way to deal with the problem was to mint coins. If there was not enough copper, then iron or various metal coins would be used. This often led to the phenomenon of bad money driving out good money, so everyone melted copper coins to cast bronze statues and tried to use iron coins as much as possible.
The currency issue has always troubled the Song Dynasty, and there was no solution until its demise. To exaggerate a little, it even left this problem to the Ming Dynasty. If it hadn't been for the silver coming from overseas, the currency situation of the Ming Dynasty would have been even worse.
This also led to certain limitations in commercial development. Of course, the main reason lies in the system. Although the system of the Song Dynasty was more conducive to commercial development than any other dynasty, it ultimately had the limitations of a feudal society.
Now, with the continuous improvement of public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and the promulgation of the "Interim Law", the system has begun to break through limitations, and the currency issue has become more prominent.
The previous methods seem even less applicable.
But this does not mean that Su Shi was wrong. If you do not raise these risks, how can you solve them?
The person who asks the question does not necessarily have to solve the problem. This is a skill that everyone has their own expertise in.
This article by Su Shi successfully attracted the attention of Zhao Xu, so Zhao Xu summoned Zhang Fei into the palace again today and asked him about his opinion on Su Shi's article.
Zhang Fei also said truthfully: "There is no doubt that every word that Chief Prosecutor Su said is correct, and the crisis he believes is also very likely to happen."
Zhao Xu frowned upon hearing this and asked worriedly, "If that's the case, isn't it too rash to issue paper money right now?"
What Su Shi said was so creepy that he was also very worried.
Zhang Fei said: "The best way, of course, is to obtain enough monetary resources, that is, enough copper."
Zhao Xu said nothing.
If there had been, it wouldn't have come to this.
Zhang Fei added: "If there is not enough copper, we must rely on a sound judicial system."
Zhao Xu looked at him with a hint of doubt.
Zhang Fei said: "If Your Majesty read Mr. Su's article carefully, it is not difficult to find that all the threats Mr. Su is worried about are based on the court's own violation of the rules and abuse of power to issue paper money indiscriminately to maintain fiscal expenditures."
After Zhao Xu recalled it, he nodded slightly and said, "That's true."
Zhang Fei said: "Then the right remedy to prevent these crises is to strengthen the rules so that they are not easily broken."
Zhao Xu said: "Public security, procuratorate and court."
"That's right."
Zhang Fei nodded: "The authority and credibility of the law are exactly the two most important attributes of paper money, so Your Majesty does not need to pay too much attention to paper money, you only need to pay attention to the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs. As long as Your Majesty gives the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs enough authority, then the risks of paper money will hardly appear.
We will hold a hearing and invite the three envoys to answer questions at the hearing. We will also ask them to explain and clarify the questions raised by Attorney General Su. "
Zhao Xu was pleasantly surprised and asked: "Hearing?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "According to the laws of our ancestors, we must take precautions against incidents and control the situation. The Three Envoys must give explanations when facing these doubts. Otherwise, they will be violating the laws of our ancestors."
"Yes, this is truly a violation of our ancestral laws!"
Zhao Xu nodded, but then asked with a hint of worry, "Can the Three Envoys pass the hearing?"
Zhang Fei said: "If he fails, it can only mean that he is just robbing Peter to pay Paul, or even that he is not qualified for this position."
Zhao Xu laughed and said, "It is becoming increasingly difficult to be a prime minister nowadays."
Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, why do you seem to be gloating over other people's misfortunes?"
Zhao Xu's expression changed. "Nonsense, I... I don't take pleasure in other people's misfortunes."
Zhang Fei immediately returned to the topic and said, "In fact, I mentioned to Your Majesty a few years ago that if the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are well built, they can lay the foundation for all of this and make everything simpler and more effective.
Now we have passed the most difficult stage of "hidden dragons are not used" and entered the stage of "seen dragons in the field". Your Majesty was so persistent and spared no expense to build a complete set of public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. Now you should get rich rewards. This is all the result of your Majesty's efforts."
"Seeing a dragon in the field?"
Zhao Xu was stunned. Unconsciously, we have already entered the next stage. He asked again: "Then how much can I get in return?"
Zhang Fei said: "If everything goes well, within three years, we can at least double our national strength."
Zhao Xu was shocked and asked, "How much?"
"Twice as much."
"???"
Zhao Xu seemed to suspect that he was hallucinating.
Zhang Fei explained: "First, the emergence of the public security, procuratorial, judicial and taxation departments can double tax revenue; second, the development of commerce can also double it.
But in fact, it is more than that, because paper money not only brings about the development of business, but also reduces the loss in the process, which can also save a lot of money. Twice is a conservative estimate. "
Zhao Xu straightened his back gradually, "If only I could double it!"
Zhang Fei said: "Then we will have enough capabilities to deal with Xixia and Liao at the same time."
Zhao Xu nodded, and then asked greedily, "When can I reach the stage of flying dragon in the sky?"
Zhang Fei said: "We have to wait until the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems are popularized in all counties and cities across the country. However, the development of public security, procuratorial and judicial systems will only get faster and faster in the future, because there are more talent reserves now. With the promulgation of the "Provisional Law", everyone will learn much faster."
Zhao Xu couldn't help but raise his lips, "This is really exciting."
Zhang Fei's words completely dispelled Zhao Xu's doubts, and the three offices were also actively preparing.
After Wang Anshi's article cleared the way for public opinion for the Three Departments, the Three Departments officially announced the tax currency plan in the Dibaoyuan. This year, 3.2 million strings of tax currency will be distributed in the entire capital area, of which 1 million strings will be used in Hebei Province, and the rest will be used in the capital area.
This immediately caused huge controversy among the people. You are allowed to issue currency, but you are not allowed to issue so much. It is really scary to issue millions of coins at a time.
Legislative Council.
"Prevent?"
Fu Bi, Sima Guang, Fan Chunren and Su Shi all stared at Zhang Fei blankly with their mouths open.
"Of course!"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Mr. Su's article is really concise and to the point. Paper money is so harmful to the country, and the three courts have not made a specific response. We, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, must follow the laws of our ancestors, take precautions and make regulations to safeguard the interests of the country."
Several people looked at each other.
Su Shi suddenly became furious and angrily scolded Zhang Fei: "Zhang San, stop playing tricks here. Do you dare to say that those articles were not written by you?"
Sima Guang was also confused. You're jumping around left and right and have confused us all.
Zhang Fei immediately raised his right hand: "I swear to heaven, those were all written by Master Wang. If I get even a little bit of ink on me, I'll die a miserable death."
"you."
Su Shi asked again: "Do you dare to say it has nothing to do with you?"
Zhang Fei put down his hand and said, "Of course it has something to do with me, but it was Master Wang who took the initiative to come to us. It makes no sense for us to not do this business in the genuine bookstore."
"Don't try to quibble."
Su Shi said: "It's obvious that you were the one giving the advice."
Zhang Fei said seriously: "Even if I have made suggestions, that is business, and it does not mean that I agree with it. I have always been clear about the distinction between public and private affairs."
How can this be called distinguishing between public and private?
Su Shi had a new understanding of Zhang San's bottom line.
Fan Chunren suddenly said, "That is to say, you support what Zizhan said."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I think Mr. Su is absolutely right."
Fan Chunren asked curiously, "Then why didn't you stop it?"
Zhang Fei said: "Didn't I say this a long time ago? Whether to issue tax coins is an administrative decision, and we cannot interfere."
Sima
Guang was confused, "So what are you doing now?"
Zhang Fei said: "Now that his policy has been released, but he has not given enough reasons, our public security, procuratorate and courts must take action and hold a hearing to ask questions clearly to prevent this policy from causing harm to the country."
"A hearing?"
Several people were shocked again.
"yes!"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Our public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are not assisting the court in formulating policies, that has nothing to do with us, but after the policy is issued, if there is a dispute in the law, especially in the ancestral law, then of course we have to take action and let the other party explain clearly.
The problem now is that tax money is a kind of contract, but it is also very special and different from ordinary contracts. If there is a problem, how should our public security, procuratorate and courts make a judgment? We must ask clearly so that we can have a reasonable basis in the future. "
"I see."
Fu Bi nodded slightly.
Fan Chunren couldn't help but sigh: "The public security, procuratorial and judicial systems are so profound and we are far from understanding them."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You are just used to questioning and asking questions during the policy-making process. But there is no perfect policy in this world. Often, a policy is rejected by everyone, and the existing problems will never be solved.
This is the significance of the existence of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, which is to prevent the shortcomings in policies. First of all, we must face the problems. It is normal to have problems and we must accept them. How should we prevent these problems from happening and make the best use of our strengths and avoid our weaknesses? "
After hearing this, Sima Guang and Su Shi both felt a little ashamed.
If you think about it carefully, isn't that what the debate in the court is all about? There is no policy that is not questioned. Everything has its problems, and the result is that nothing is accomplished.
At the same time, they have a new understanding of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. Their responsibility is to discover problems and prevent them, rather than letting them die in the womb once they are discovered, unless you can formulate more perfect policies.
But everything has two sides, there is no perfect policy. If you want its advantages, you must accept its disadvantages. The solution of the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments is to use supervision to weaken the harm caused by these shortcomings.
This realization made Fan Chunren, Su Shi and others suddenly enlightened, and they gradually understood how to get along with the administration.
After consulting with them, the procuratorate immediately held a hearing on the grounds of ancestral law and national interests, requiring the three departments to explain the issuance of tax coins.
When this news came out, many people were shocked.
Because many people know that Zhang Fei supports it, but the policy has just been announced and you come out to oppose it. Are you so fickle?
Or have we misunderstood Zhang Fei again?
But the three courts responded immediately, and Xue Xiang agreed to come to the hearing to answer the questions of the procuratorate.
The date is set for the next holiday, and the location is still set at Xiangguo Temple. Xiangguo Temple is very happy to host this kind of hearing. It doesn't matter if you come or not, so it will be a relief.
Of course, this hearing was already discussed by Zhang Fei and Xue Xiang. Xue Xiang also knew that the success of the Hezhong Prefecture's salt money depended entirely on the supervision of the public security, procuratorate and courts. It was he who needed the public security, procuratorate and courts, not them who took the initiative to provoke him.
Today is the day of the hearing.
The people are no strangers to hearings and are used to them. Although everyone is currently very eager for the court to issue tax coins, they still have doubts in their hearts. Because the emergence of Jiaozi has already told the people what harm this paper money will cause, especially such a huge amount, which has increased their doubts.
Therefore, this hearing also attracted everyone's attention.
Whether officials or ordinary people.
Because officials are the ones who use tax coins, and merchants and common people are the ones who collect tax coins, everyone is a stakeholder.
The spring breeze is blowing gently, the sun is shining slightly, the peach blossoms are pink, the willows are green, and the birds are singing.
The front yard of Xiangguo Temple was crowded with people, and everyone's eyes were focused on the temporary venue in the middle. There was a hint of anticipation and also a hint of nervousness.
Deng Wan watched Xue Xiang confidently come to the court, but he was extremely worried. He whispered to Wang Anshi, "Prime Minister Wang, if every policy has to be questioned like this, who will dare to help the emperor in the future?"
He thought that if he came to give the answer one day, he would go crazy. He also didn't understand why Xue Xiang was so enthusiastic. Maybe it would be better if he didn't try to refuse.
This bad precedent is a real challenge for administrative officials.
Wang Anshi said helplessly: "This is better than quarreling in the court!"
Deng Wan said: "This policy should be based on authority, not on reason. I think this hearing is just adding trouble to the court."
Wang Anshi said nothing.
He would like to rely on his authority because he is a proponent of Legalism, but the problem is that there is an emperor sitting above him, and the hearing project is approved by the emperor. Zhao Xu is also here today, and he is also very interested in the hearing, which will allow him to see things that he cannot see in the court.
Sitting on the stage were Zhang Fei, Xu Zun, Zhao Yan and Cao Dongdong.
Of course, the protagonist is definitely Zhang Fei. To be honest, after watching so many hearings, whether it is Zhao Yan or Fu Bi, they still cannot grasp the right degree. There are some questions that they will subconsciously avoid and do not think they can ask under such circumstances.
After Xue Xiang came to sit in the witness stand in front, Zhang Fei asked, "I'm really sorry. I know that the three officials have been very busy recently, but there is nothing I can do. Because there is no bill on tax currency in the Provisional Law, we must know what this tax currency is and what legal effect it has.
In addition, we have read some cases about Jiaozi. Many shops that issued Jiaozi have closed down. So what is the difference between Jiaozi and tax coins? If they are the same, will the court also encounter these crises? Based on the laws of our ancestors, we must prevent things and make rules. We must ask about this. "
This requires laws to follow, and the laws of our ancestors are undoubtedly the most useful.
"I am very happy to come here to answer, because explaining these questions clearly is also the responsibility of our three divisions." Xue Xiang answered very calmly.
"Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Sansi." Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, and then asked, "So, what is tax currency?"
Xue Xiang replied: "A voucher that can be used to pay taxes to the country."
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "Is tax currency a kind of contract? If so, does it need to follow the contract law?"
Xue Xiang nodded and said, "It is a contract, and we must abide by the contract law."
Zhang Fei asked: "According to the contract law, a very important principle is consensus. Only contracts that are agreed upon by both parties are considered legal contracts."
Xue Xiang replied: "Anyone can refuse to accept the tax coins, but when someone holds the tax coins, then it is an agreement with the court."
Zhang Fei asked: "So officials can also refuse?"
Xue Xiang hesitated for a moment, then said, "This can be divided into two situations. Officials can refuse tax coins when buying and selling things in the market, but they cannot refuse tax coins issued by the court, because the court has changed the salary system. This is also an internal regulation of the court, and officials are willing to accept it."
The officials present were very angry when they heard this. Although it’s not that everyone is against it, but when will we be willing to accept it?
Do we have the right to refuse?
Depend on!
Zhang Fei asked again: "What about the equivalent system in contract law?"
Xue Xiang said: "Each tax coin has a clear face value, one cent, fifty cents, one hundred cents, five hundred cents, one string, and in the process of paying taxes, it is equivalent to an equal amount of copper coins."
Everyone present nodded frequently, as if they understood a lot. The reason was that from the previous nationwide legal discussion movement, they all knew more or less about contract law, and now that a case had emerged, they instantly understood the legal relationship involved.
Zhang Fei said: "The court issued tax coins last year because of a disaster. The incident happened suddenly, so they chose to take extraordinary measures. Everyone can understand that this is why there was no hearing last year. But this year, the weather is good, why did the court decide to continue issuing tax coins? As far as I know, this was the first thing you, the Three Departments, proposed."
"Yes, I was the first to propose this policy."
Xue Xiang nodded in acknowledgement and explained, “The cause of the whole incident is that there is a serious money shortage in the entire capital area, and the court does not have enough copper coins to mint coins immediately to alleviate the crisis.
After careful research, our three departments found that there were three reasons for this crisis. The first was the warehouse tax last year. Because of the warehouse tax, many wealthy households released their stored grain last year. At that time, due to the disaster, the people were short of food, and a large amount of money was taken away by the wealthy households, but the wealthy households could not spend the money quickly. "
Many of the big landowners present had tears in their eyes. That’s how it was. I didn’t want to do that. We didn’t hoard goods on purpose, but we had no reason to spend money.
Xue Xiang continued, "The second reason is that the court's disaster relief last year was very successful."
Zhang Fei asked, "Are you saying that the success of disaster relief has led to a shortage of money?"
The others also looked at Xue Xiang curiously.
"Yes."
Xue Xiang nodded and said, "Last year, the court used work instead of relief to promote the development of commerce. According to last year's commercial tax, it was much higher than the year before. From ancient times to the present, this has never happened. Whether it was Emperor Yao and Shun, Emperor Wen of Sui, or Emperor Taizong of Tang, they had never done it. In the years of famine, most of them
Countless people not only did not become homeless or starve to death on the roadside, but businesses were also able to develop and become more prosperous. "
As soon as these words were spoken, they were immediately met with many contemptuous looks.
You are clearly trying to flatter the emperor.
The reason why Xue Xiang was unpopular in the court was that he was rather smooth in his way of dealing with people, liked to flatter others, and liked to give gifts and money.
Sima Guang and others could not stand this kind of behavior the most.
Zhao Xu, who was sitting in the inner hall, blushed a little.
This flattery seems a bit excessive.
But Xue Xiang didn't think there was anything wrong with it, and continued to answer seriously, "One thing that can be well proved is that merchants are appealing to the court, hoping to expand the city and allow them to build more workshops.
However, as business prospers and transactions increase, the demand for currency will increase, which is also one of the reasons for the shortage of currency.
Third, as the value of money continues to rise, everyone is holding onto their money, further exacerbating the money shortage.”
Zhang Fei asked: "So, the court decided to issue tax coins to deal with this money shortage crisis?"
Xue Xiang said: "This is the cause, and of course it is also the main reason for issuing the tax coin this time, but our three departments hope to make the tax coin permanent, and the reason is the recent tax law reform."
Zhang Fei asked: "What does this have to do with tax reform?"
Xue Xiang nodded and said, "In the past, ordinary farmers paid taxes with grain and silk, and few used coins. Some merchants paid taxes with the goods they produced, such as candles, leather, tea, etc. The court collected these goods, and then used part of them for government needs, and part of them were given to officials as salaries.
But due to tax law reform, everything is now calculated based on total income. There is no requirement that tea growers pay taxes with tea or silk merchants pay taxes with silk.
This made the situation last year extremely special. Last year, both the common people and the merchants paid taxes with tax coins instead of goods.
At the same time, last year the court distributed some tax coins to officials and soldiers as salaries.
This changed from the situation where the people handed over goods to the court, which then distributed them to officials, to the situation where the people handed over tax coins to the court, the court distributed the tax coins to officials, and the officials then used the tax coins to buy the goods they needed from the people.
Zhang Fei asked: "So the three officials think the latter is better?"
"Compared to the former, the latter is much better, which is why our three divisions decided to give it a try." Xue Xiang explained: "Although it seems to be just an extra step in the middle, the result is worlds apart."
Zhang Fei pretended to be curious and asked, "What's the difference?"
Xue Xiang replied: "When the people pay taxes with goods, they have to face the cost of conversion. If the goods are large, they still have to hire a donkey cart to transport them, or carry the goods themselves. This is a loss outside of the tax revenue.
Similarly, for the tax commissioner, counting is also quite cumbersome. If tax coins are used, it will be very convenient, and the loss in the middle will be almost zero.
Nowadays, most of the taxes in Hezhong Prefecture are paid with salt notes. The other prefectures and counties need three to four months to complete the statistics, but Hezhong Prefecture only needs one month to complete the statistics, which can save a lot of manpower and material resources for the court.
As for officials, each official has different living habits and family populations. Some officials need more food, but some officials want more candles. However, the court only distributes candles based on official ranks, not needs. As a result, many officials need to take goods to the market to exchange them. Not to mention that such transactions are very cumbersome. The most important thing is that the prices of the goods are different. Sometimes you can get more, but sometimes you get very little.
Officials also often complain about these problems. If tax coins were issued, officials would be able to use them to buy what they need.
All of this is why business became more prosperous last year and is also the key reason why many people have survived the difficult times. Officials and soldiers did not need to buy before, but now they need to buy. Merchants must expand production, which means they need to recruit more people to provide more livelihoods for the people.
Similarly, it can also eliminate the worries of wealthy households about warehouse taxes, because more people will buy grain, and if the price is reasonable, they will not have to worry about not being able to sell it.
The imperial court will also benefit from this, as it can reduce a lot of losses and effectively prevent corruption. If there is one more or one less dou of grain in 10,000 dan, it is difficult to know, but if there is one hundred thousand guan of tax coins and one penny is missing, it will be discovered.
Ultimately, tax dollars are good for everyone.”
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