In the city of Bianliang, the incident at the Jiaozi Shop quickly became the latest news.
Although the Jiaozi shop had been open for more than two months, most of the more than 500,000 strings of cash deposited there were actually from officials and businessmen.
The so-called official businessmen are businessmen who are family members of officials. These people rely on the power of officials to engage in business activities.
It's just that the turnover of officials in the Song Dynasty was relatively frequent, and the court had strict control over commercial taxes, monopolies and other systems, so there was no particularly exaggerated monopoly of wealthy people.
But even so, officials and businessmen are all very rich.
When Shengdu established the Jiaozi service, the first group it approached was this one, allowing them to deposit money into it.
Led by Lu Yijian, Sheng Du and others, many high-ranking officials in the court let their families deposit money into the account. The remaining amount of about 100,000 strings of cash was deposited by merchants in Bianliang.
After all, although the Jiaozi Shop had already taken effect in Chengdu, it was still a novelty in Bianliang. Merchants were watching cautiously and no one intended to be the first to try it.
However, after Chengdu merchants set an example by depositing money in Chengdu and withdrawing money in Bianliang, Bianliang merchants flocked to the Jiaozi shop. For a time, the door was almost broken by the crowds, and Shengdu had to start preparing to open a second Jiaozi shop on Maxing Street.
“Hahahahahahahaha.”
On July 3, in the study of Chongde Hall, Zhao Zhen was very happy looking at the official documents newly delivered by Jiaozi Shop.
The tea merchants wanted to withdraw money together, and a bank run occurred. As a result, the Jiaozi shop took out a large number of shiny Jingyou Yuanbao for many consecutive days, counted them on the spot, and delivered them on the spot.
This series of actions made the Jiaozi shop famous, and merchants came to deposit money in an endless stream. Although it was not necessarily used in Chengdu, it could also circulate in Bianliang.
In addition, copper coins themselves are extremely susceptible to wear and tear. Oxidation and corrosion are both major problems. If the money is kept at home or buried underground, it will rot away in no time. If it is kept in a Jiaozi shop, the loss will be borne by the state.
Therefore, the deposits in the Jiaozi Shop increased instead of decreased. By the time the deposits from Chengdu arrived in Bianliang, the deposits in the Jiaozi Shop in Bianliang would probably reach three million strings of cash, which was enough to cover half a month's fiscal revenue of the Song Dynasty.
Although this money was deposited by others and did not belong to the court, the annual 4% storage fee was a considerable sum, and secondly, a portion could be diverted to replace treasury expenditures.
This will greatly alleviate the current serious fiscal deficit, so Zhao Zhen is very excited. At least when facing Li Yuanhao's attack the year after next, he feels very confident that he can defeat the other side.
As for the tea merchants who deliberately squeezed the Jiaozi shops, Zhao Zhen did not care.
Apart from asking the Imperial City Bureau to compile a list and confiscate a few merchants who had indeed committed illegal acts, the rest were all let off.
The matter was resolved satisfactorily, and there was no need for the court to kill them all.
The main reason is that the merchants' behavior is not actually illegal, because since the Jiaozi shop is used to deposit money, it is reasonable and legal for merchants to withdraw money. If the imperial court settles accounts later, it would be tantamount to killing the chicken to get the eggs, and other merchants would not dare to deposit money.
Therefore, allowing them to come and collect the money openly, as long as there is sufficient reserve, will actually increase the credibility and reputation of the Jiaozi shop.
"Your Majesty, after the establishment of the Jiaozi Bureau, the treasury deficit was temporarily resolved, and many high-ranking officials in the court no longer opposed the cash payment system."
Lü Yijian bowed to Zhao Zhen and said, "With the money sent from the Chengdu Jiaozi Shop this year, plus the savings from the cash payment system next year, I think the Song Dynasty's treasury will have a lot of surplus next year, and we will have a better chance of victory against Zhao Yuanhao."
"Um."
Zhao Zhen was very satisfied and nodded, saying, "All of this is thanks to you all, Prime Minister Lu and Prime Minister Song, you are truly my pillars of support in governing the country."
Lu Yijian and Song Shou looked at each other. Both of them were old foxes, and they could vaguely guess something.
How come Yan Shu happened to see Fan Zhongyan coming out of the study? Wang Shouzhong has always been sensible. He says what he should say and never says what he shouldn't say. How could such a thing be spread?
But it got out anyway.
There is no official influence behind this, so they definitely won't believe it.
But even if they guessed it, they would not say it out loud. Lü Yijian and Song Shou bowed and said, "Sharing the emperor's worries is the duty of a minister."
Wang Sui said, "Now that the treasury is full and the borders have no worries about food and grass, perhaps we can make plans early."
"Your Majesty, I believe that the cash payment law has been implemented smoothly. The key lies in whether we can fill the national treasury even more next year to deal with the ambitious Zhao Yuanhao."
Sheng Du said, "The tea merchants can only use the money they get from the Jiaozi shops to buy grain. The price of grain has risen a lot because of our recent large-scale purchases. Why not sell it to them now to enrich the national treasury?"
"Ah, this..."
Zhao Zhen was dumbfounded. He thought that his ministers were the worst.
"I think so."
Wang Zeng said: "The tea merchants in Bianliang have suffered a great loss. But if they don't go to the Central Government this year, they will not have tea permits to buy tea next year. They will not be able to get the inflated valuation, and the profit from selling tea will be gone. They will have no income at all, so now they can only buy grain."
Cai Qi also said, "That's right. The imperial court has already purchased a lot of grain on the market. If grain prices soar, it will hurt the people. So, instead of giving those grain merchants a bargain, it would be better for the imperial court to make the money and stabilize grain prices."
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
Several prime ministers bowed.
For the imperial court, this was a win-win situation.
It can not only solve the problem of grain import into China, but also stabilize grain prices and make a profit through reselling.
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