Knowledge about Jiaozi is already taught in junior high school history.
But for people in the Song Dynasty, this thing was still somewhat unfamiliar, and they still did not take it seriously enough.
Because it was only circulated within Sichuan Prefecture, the entire Song Dynasty's money and banking system was not born with the emergence of paper money.
Many people don’t know how important banks are.
In fact, without banks, the productivity and production system of the entire world would lag far behind.
Although the financial industry is hated by the world, its existence has indeed helped the country develop stably.
Including Wang Anshi's Qingmiao Law, it is essentially a form of lending in the financial market.
Therefore, if Jiaozi can be used reasonably and allowed to bear a certain value in the monetary system, then the poor financial situation of the Song Dynasty will definitely be resolved.
"Why can Jiaozi alleviate the problem of an empty treasury?"
Yan Shu asked.
Zhao Jun tilted his head and looked at Yan Shu curiously. Although his eyes were covered with gauze and could not be seen clearly, Yan Shu seemed to be able to sense the other party's strange expression.
This made Yan Shu feel a little uncomfortable. He was afraid that this might be a truth known to everyone in later generations, and asking this question would make him seem a little ignorant.
Fortunately, Zhao Jun didn't get suspicious, but said, "Uncle Lari, our village still relies mainly on paper money. Digital payment is probably not yet popular."
"yes."
Yan Shu naturally didn't know what digital payment was, so he could only echo Zhao Jun's words vaguely.
Zhao Jun said, "Let me ask you a question. If a family in the village earns tens of thousands of yuan working away from home, is it safer to keep the money at home or to deposit it in a rural credit union?"
What is a rural credit cooperative?
Yan Shu was stunned.
But he quickly realized that Zhao Jun had a reason for asking, so he immediately said, "It must be the Rural Credit Cooperative."
"Yes."
Zhao Jun nodded. "Although credit unions have faced numerous problems in recent years, this cannot erase the support and contributions that rural credit unions have provided to countless farmers over the years."
"What does this have to do with rural credit cooperatives?"
Yan Shu asked again.
Zhao Jun continued, "Let me ask Uncle Lari another question. Which would you choose, a 10,000 yuan banknote or a 10,000 yuan copper coin?"
“Paper money.”
Yan Shu answered without hesitation.
Although he did not understand what Zhao Jun meant by rural credit cooperatives and paper money, he knew that the correct answer must be something he did not know.
Otherwise, what is the point of Zhao Jun asking this question?
I have to say that it was indeed the right choice for Lu Yijian to ask Yan Shu to come. He was quick-witted and responsive. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been exposed long ago and Zhao Jun would have known that he had traveled to the Song Dynasty.
"Yes, although the copper coin is worth 10,000 yuan, it can't be spent. Secondly, even if it can be spent, it is very inconvenient to carry around, far inferior to paper money."
Zhao Jun said: "Currency has been undergoing an evolutionary process from ancient times to the present day, from shell coins in ancient times to knife and shovel coins made of iron and bronze during the Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and finally to the formal minting of copper coins during the Han Dynasty. Their functions are all practical, scarce, and liquid."
"In ancient times, shells were only found on the coast and were scarce inland. Shells were also very beautiful and became ornaments for ancient tribes, so they became a measure of value. Later, during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze and iron were both scarce metals, but they were also circulated among the people."
"After the Warring States period, ironware became more common and its value was lower than that of copper, so copper coins became the circulating currency in ancient my country. Silk cloth, gold, silver, and even grain became currency because of their practicality and scarcity."
"So we can see that the significance of money lies in its inherent value, which is why it can serve as currency and conduct market transactions."
"The Jiaozi currency, which appeared in Sichuan during the Song Dynasty, became the world's first paper currency."
"Paper money has so many advantages: it's easy to store and carry, it's cheap to manufacture, and it avoids the wear and tear of metal currency during circulation. But why didn't it become fully popular until the Ming and Qing dynasties, when feudal society was at its peak?"
"There's only one reason: it lacks practicality and scarcity. Regardless of the denomination written on it, paper money is essentially just a piece of paper. Its ability to function as a transaction is due to the value bestowed upon it by the state, not because it possesses the same value as the goods themselves."
"In ancient times, if the country wanted to issue paper money, it needed to store an equivalent amount of gold, silver, and copper coins to ensure that when the paper money was redeemed, the people could exchange it for sufficient coins. However, if the paper money was over-issued and the people could not exchange it for the sufficient amount of coins, the country's credit system would collapse, causing the paper money to depreciate rapidly and prices to soar."
"So after the emergence of Jiaozi in the Song Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, as the war worsened, the court issued Jiaozi extensively, causing a serious devaluation of Jiaozi and inflation. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang implemented the Baochao policy and also printed a large amount of it, causing nationwide inflation and causing great suffering for the people."
"In the final analysis, Jiaozi is actually just a credit currency. It is guaranteed by the country's reputation that allows it to circulate. No matter how much metal currency there is, such as gold, silver, and copper, it can be used to make jewelry and decorations, and its practicality and circulation value will not be reduced. If there are too many paper currency, it will be too uncomfortable to wipe your butt."
"Moreover, the rule of ancient feudal society was unstable, and the small peasant economy was fragile. The slightest natural disaster or man-made disaster could destroy the government's credibility. If too much credit currency was printed, it would lose its credibility."
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