Fu Bi's words directly express the dilemma of conservatives represented by Fan Chunren and Su Shi.
They are actually right. This banknote is a double-edged sword. A slight oversight will cause a huge crisis. This is not alarmist.
But the problem is that they can't come up with a better solution to help the court, or directly help the merchants get out of the predicament they are facing.
Why did Jiaozi appear in the Song Dynasty?
It was not something that some financial genius came up with, nor was it brought by time travellers, but was forced out. How difficult it was to force out paper money in ancient times.
First of all, when the Song Dynasty minted coins, they really lost as much as they minted, because the Song Dynasty minted coins in one country and could be used in Asia. Xixia and Liao really tried their best to smuggle currency from the Song Dynasty.
If this were paper money, it would be very cool, but the problem is that this is a copper coin.
Minting copper coins requires manpower and material resources. No matter how developed the Song Dynasty was, it could not support their method of play.
Secondly, the speed of coin minting in the Song Dynasty could not keep up with the country's commercial development. Coupled with the stimulation of the public security organs, the gap became even greater.
This is why, wherever the public security bureau and law go, business is prosperous first, and money is scarce second.
There is no such serious money shortage in other places because Tokyo is a consumption-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 banknotes, but they only believed that issuing banknotes could stimulate business development, not that they were facing a money shortage crisis, so they issued banknotes.
The previous response was to mint coins. If there was not enough copper, we would use iron or various metal coins. This often led to bad coins driving out good coins, so everyone melted copper coins to cast bronze statues and tried to use iron coins.
Regarding the currency issue, it has always been troubled by the Song Dynasty. There was no solution until its demise. To exaggerate, it even left this problem to the Ming Dynasty. If not for the money 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 was the system. Although the system of the Song Dynasty was more conducive to commercial development than any other dynasty, it still had the limitations of feudal society.
Nowadays, with the increasing improvement of the Public Security Bureau and the promulgation of the "Provisional Law", the system has begun to break through the limitations, so the currency issue has become more prominent.
The previous methods appear even more inapplicable.
But this does not mean that Su Shi is wrong. If you do not raise these risks, how can you solve them?
People who ask questions do not necessarily have to solve them. There are specialties in this art.
Su Shi's article successfully attracted Zhao Xu's attention, so Zhao Xu summoned Zhang Fei into the palace today and asked him what he thought of Su Shi's article.
Zhang Fei also said truthfully: "There is no doubt that every word that Prosecutor General Su said is correct, and the crisis he believes is very likely to happen."
Zhao Xu frowned when he heard this and asked worriedly: "In this case, is it too rash to issue banknotes right now?"
What Su Shi said was so scary, he was also very worried.
Zhang Fei said: "The best way is, of course, to obtain enough monetary resources, that is, enough copper."
Zhao Xu remained silent.
If it had, it wouldn't have come to this point.
Zhang Fei added: "If there is not enough copper, we must rely on a complete judicial system."
Zhao Xu looked at him slightly doubtfully.
Zhang Fei said: "If your Majesty has read Mr. Su's article carefully, it is not difficult to find that all the threats that Mr. Su is worried about are all based on the imperial court breaking the rules and using its power to issue banknotes indiscriminately to maintain fiscal expenditures."
After Zhao Xu recalled it, he nodded slightly and said, "That's true."
Zhang Fei said: "Then the right way to prevent these crises is to strengthen the rules so that they will not be broken easily."
Zhao Xu said: "Public Procuratorate."
"exactly."
Zhang Fei nodded: "The authority and credibility of the law are precisely the two most important attributes of banknotes. Therefore, Your Majesty does not need to pay too much attention to banknotes. You only need to pay attention to the Public Security Law. As long as Your Majesty gives the Public Security Law sufficient authority, then
The risk of banknotes is difficult to arise.
At that time, we will hold a hearing and invite the three ministers to come and give answers at the hearing. We will also ask the three ministers to explain and explain the questions raised by Prosecutor General Su."
Zhao Xu said in surprise: "Hearing?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "According to the ancestral law, things must be prevented and things must be controlled. When faced with these doubts, the third commander must give an explanation. Otherwise, it will be a violation of the ancestral law."
"Yes, this is the real violation of the ancestral law!"
Zhao Xu nodded, but then he asked slightly worriedly: "But can the third envoy pass the hearing?"
Zhang Fei said: "If he fails, it can only mean that he is just tearing down the east wall and mending the west wall, and even he is not qualified for this position."
Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "It's really getting harder and harder to be the prime minister now."
Zhang Fei said hey: "Why does your Majesty seem to be a little gloating about others' misfortune?"
Zhao Xu's expression changed, "Nonsense, I... How can I take pleasure in others' misfortune?"
Zhang Fei immediately returned to the topic and said: "Actually, I mentioned to His Majesty a few years ago that if the public security law is well established, it can lay the foundation for all this and make everything simpler and more effective.
But now we have passed the most difficult stage of not using the hidden dragon and entered the stage of seeing the dragon in the field. Your Majesty was so persistent and built a whole set of public security and judicial system at all costs, so now we should be richly rewarded. This is all
Your Majesty pays for it."
"See the dragon in the field?"
Zhao Xu was startled. Unknowingly, we had entered the next stage. He asked again: "Then how much reward can I get?"
Zhang Fei said: "If everything goes well, within three years, the national strength can at least be doubled."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Zhao Xu was shocked and said: "How much?"
"Twice that."
"???"
Zhao Xu seemed to suspect that he was hearing hallucinations.
Zhang Fei explained: "First of all, the emergence of the Public Security Bureau and the Taxation Department can double tax revenue; secondly, the development of business can also double.
But it’s actually more than that, because banknotes bring not only business development, but also losses in the process, which can also save a lot of money, and twice as much is a conservative estimate.”
Zhao Xu gradually straightened his back, "If it can be doubled...!"
Zhang Fei said: "Then we will have enough ability to deal with Xixia and Liao at the same time."
Zhao Xu nodded and asked greedily: "When can we reach the stage of flying dragons in the sky?"
Zhang Fei said: "Then we have to wait until all states and counties across the country have popularized the law of public prosecutors. However, the speed of development of the law of public prosecutors will only become faster in the future, because there are more talent reserves now. With the promulgation of the "Interim Law", everyone can learn it easily."
Much faster.”
Zhao Xu couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, "This is really exciting."
...
Zhang Fei's words completely dispelled Zhao Xu's doubts, and Sansi was also actively making preparations.
After Wang Anshi's article cleared the way for public opinion for the Third Division, the Third Division officially announced the tax coin plan at the Dibao Yuan. This year, 3.2 million guan of tax coins will be distributed throughout the Gyeonggi area, and 1 million of them will be distributed.
Guan will be used in Hebei area, and the rest will be used in Gyeonggi area.
This immediately caused huge controversy among the people. You are asked to issue coins, but you are not allowed to issue so many coins. It is often several million coins. This is really scary.
Legislative Council.
"Prevent?"
Fu Bi, Sima Guang, Fan Chunren, and Su Shi all stared blankly at Zhang Fei with their mouths open.
"Of course!"
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Mr. Su's article is really concise and to the point. Banknotes are so harmful to the country, and the third department has not given a specific reply. We, the public prosecutor and the law, must follow the laws of our ancestors and take precautions.
We must make arrangements to safeguard the interests of the country."
Several people looked at each other.
Su Shi suddenly became angry and scolded Zhang Fei angrily: "Zhang San, stop pretending to be a ghost here. Do you dare to say that you didn't write those articles?"
Sima Guang was also confused. You were jumping left and right, confusing us all.
Zhang Fei immediately raised his right hand: "I swear to God, it was all written by Bachelor Wang. If I get a little ink on it, I will die."
"you...."
Su Shi said again: "Do you dare to say that 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 is Academician Wang who came to the door on his own initiative. It is unreasonable for our genuine bookstore not to do this business."
"Stop making excuses."
Su Shi said: "It's obvious that you are the one making the plans."
Zhang Fei said seriously: "Even if I have suggestions, it is still business, and it does not mean that I agree. I have always made a distinction between public and private matters."
Can this be called a distinction between public and private affairs?
Su Shi had a new understanding of Zhang San's lower limit.
Fan Chunren suddenly said: "In other words, you support what Zizhan said."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "I think Mr. Su is very 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 or not is a matter of administrative decision-making, and we cannot interfere."
Sima Guang was confused, "Then what are you doing now?"
Zhang Fei said: "Now that his policy has been introduced, but he has not given enough reasons, of course we, the Public Security Bureau, must take action and hold a hearing to inquire clearly and prevent this policy from causing harm to the country."
"Hearings?"
Several people were shocked again.
"yes!"
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "We, the Public Security Bureau, are not assisting the court in formulating policies. It has nothing to do with us. But after the policy comes out, if there is any legal dispute, especially the ancestral law, then of course we have to have it."
Let the other party explain clearly what you are doing.
The problem now is that tax currency is a kind of contract, but it is also very special and different from ordinary contracts. If there is a problem, we must ask clearly how the public prosecutor and the law should judge it, so that we can follow it in the future."
"I see."
Fu Bi nodded slightly.
Fan Chunren couldn't help but sigh: "This public prosecutor's law is really profound and profound, and we are far from understanding it."
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "You are just used to questioning and asking during the policy-making process. But there is no perfect policy in this world. Often there is a policy, which means the public says the public is right, and the mother-in-law says the mother-in-law is right.
As a result, every policy will be rejected, and existing problems will never be solved.
And this is the meaning of the existence of the Public Security Bureau, which is to prevent the shortcomings in the policy. The first point is to face the problem head-on. It is necessary to have problems, and we must accept them. How can we prevent these problems from happening, so as to maximize our strengths and avoid weaknesses."
After hearing this, Sima Guang and Su Shi both felt a little ashamed.
If you recall carefully, the debate between North Korea and China is just like that. There is no policy that cannot be questioned and has its problems. The result is that nothing is achieved.
At the same time, they have gained a new understanding of the public security law. Their responsibility is to discover problems and prevent them, rather than just letting them die once a problem is discovered, unless you can formulate more complete policies.
But everything has two sides, and there is no perfect policy. If you want its advantages, you must accept its shortcomings. The solution for the public security organs and law is to use supervision to weaken the harm caused by these shortcomings.
This realization suddenly enlightened Fan Chunren and Su Shi, and they gradually understood how to get along with the administration.
...
After negotiating with them, the Procuratorate immediately held a hearing on the grounds of ancestral law and national interests, asking the three departments to explain the issuance of tax coins.
As soon as this news came out, many people were shocked.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Because many people know that Zhang Fei supports it, but they just announced the policy, and you come to oppose it again. Are you so fickle?
Or maybe we misunderstood Zhang Fei again.
However, the Third Division responded immediately, and Xue Xiang agreed to come to the hearing to answer the procuratorate's questions.
The date is set for the next rest day, and the location is still set at Xiangguo Temple. Xiangguo Temple is very happy to host this kind of hearing. Even if you don't come, you can come, and you can't miss a stick of incense.
Of course, this hearing was already discussed between Zhang Fei and Xue Xiang. Xue Xiang also knew that the success of Hezhong Prefecture's salt banknotes completely relied on the supervision of the Public Security Bureau. It was he who needed the Public Security Law, not the Public Prosecution Law who took the initiative to provoke.
...
Today is the day of the hearing.
The common people are no longer unfamiliar with hearings, and are not surprised by them. Although everyone is very eager for the government to issue tax coins, they still have doubts in their hearts, because Jiaozi appeared and had already told the people what harm these banknotes would have.
Especially with such a huge number, it only aggravated their doubts.
Therefore, this hearing has attracted much attention.
Whether it is officials or ordinary people.
Because officials are the ones who use tax coins, and businessmen and common people are the ones who collect tax coins, everyone is a stakeholder.
The spring breeze blows gently, the sun shines slightly, the peach trees are red and the willows are green, and the birds are chirping.
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 little bit of expectation, but also a little bit of nervousness.
Deng Wan watched Xue Xiang come to the court confidently, but felt extremely uneasy in his heart. He whispered to Wang Anshi: "Ms. Wang, if every policy has to be questioned like this, who will dare to help officials in the future?"
Share the worries!"
He would go crazy if he thought that one day he would come to answer the question. He also didn't understand why Xue Xiang was so keen and didn't try to refuse. Maybe it would be better.
This bad start is really a challenge for administrative officials.
Wang Anshi said helplessly: "This is better than quarreling in the court!"
Deng Wan said: "This policy should focus on authority, not on reasonableness. I think this hearing is just causing trouble for the court."
Wang Anshi said nothing.
He also wanted to rely on his authority, because he admired Legalism, but the problem was that there was an emperor sitting on top of it. The hearing project was only possible because of the emperor’s nod. Today Zhao Xu is also here. He is interested in
He was also very interested in the hearing, which allowed him to see things he couldn't see in the court.
Sitting on the stage were Zhang Fei, Xu Zun, Zhao Pin, and Cao Dongdong.
Of course, the protagonist must be Zhang Fei. To be honest, after watching so many hearings, whether it is Zhao Pin or Fu Bi, they still can't figure it out. They will subconsciously avoid some issues and don't think they can do it here.
Ask under the circumstances.
After Xue Xiang came to the witness stand in front and sat down, Zhang Fei asked: "I'm really sorry. I also know that the three envoys have been very busy recently, but there is no way, because in the "Provisional Law", there is no excessive
Regarding the tax currency bill, we, the Public Security Bureau, must know what the 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 imperial court also encounter these crises?
.Based on the laws of our ancestors, things must be prevented and things must be controlled. We must inquire about this."
There must be a law to follow, and the ancestral law is undoubtedly the best to use.
"I am very happy to answer this question, because it is also the responsibility of our third division to explain these issues clearly." Xue Xiang replied very calmly and calmly.
"Thank you, Third Secretary, for your understanding." Zhang Fei nodded with a smile, and then asked, "So, what is a tax currency?"
Xue Xiang replied: "A voucher that can be used to pay taxes to the country."
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "Is the tax currency a kind of contract? If so, does it have to follow the contract law?"
Xue Xiang nodded and said: "It is a contract, and contract law must be followed."
Zhang Fei asked: "According to contract law, a very important principle is consensus. Only a contract that both parties agree on can be considered a legal contract."
Xue Xiang replied: "Anyone can refuse to accept tax coins, and when someone holds tax coins, then an agreement with the court is reached."
Zhang Fei asked: "So can officials refuse?"
Xue Xiang hesitated for a moment, and then said: "There are two situations. Officials can refuse tax coins when buying and selling things in the market, but they cannot refuse the tax coins sent to them by the imperial court because the imperial court has changed their salaries.
System, this is also the internal regulation of the imperial court, and officials are willing to accept it."
The officials sitting here were very angry when they came up. Although it is not that everyone is opposed to it, but when will we be willing to accept it?
Do we have the right to say no?
Depend on!
Zhang Fei asked again: "About the equivalent system in contract law?"
Xue Xiangdao: "Each tax coin has a clear face value, one cent, fifty cents, one hundred cents, five hundred cents. In the process of paying taxes, it is equivalent to the same amount of copper coins."
Everyone present nodded frequently, as if they understood it very well. The reason was that they were more or less aware of the contract law during the previous national law-discussing movement. Now that a case has appeared, they instantly understood the relationship between the law and the law.
.
Zhang Fei said: "The imperial court issued tax coins last year because of a disaster. The incident happened suddenly and they chose to take extraordinary measures. Everyone can understand. This is also the reason why there was no hearing on this last year. But this year the weather is going well, why does the imperial court still need to do it?"
It was decided to continue to issue tax coins. As far as I know, this was the first thing you proposed by the Third Secretary."
"Yes, regarding this policy, it was I who first proposed it."
Xue Xiang quickly nodded in recognition and explained: "The reason for the whole thing is that there is currently a very serious money shortage problem in the entire Gyeonggi region, and the imperial court does not have enough copper coins to immediately mint coins to alleviate this crisis.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After careful study, our three companies found that there are three reasons for this crisis. One is last year’s warehouse tax. Due to the warehouse tax, last year’s warehouse tax
Many wealthy households released the grain stored in their warehouses. At that time, due to the disaster, the people were short of food, and a large amount of coins were taken away by the wealthy households, but the wealthy households could not spend the coins quickly."
Many big landowners present had tears in their eyes. Even if it was like this, I didn't want to. We were not hoarding on purpose, but we had no reason to spend money.
Xue Xiang continued: "The second reason is that the imperial court achieved great success in providing disaster relief last year."
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: "Because the imperial court provided work relief last year to promote the development of commerce. According to last year's commercial tax, it was much higher than the previous year. This has never happened since ancient times, whether it is
Emperors Yao and Shun, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had never done this. During the famine years, not only did the vast majority of the people not be displaced and starve to death on the roadside, but at the same time, commerce was able to develop and become more prosperous."
As soon as these words came out, he immediately received a lot of contemptuous looks.
You are clearly trying to flatter the emperor.
The reason why Xue Xiang is so unpopular in the court is that he is relatively tactful in his conduct and likes to flatter others and give gifts and money.
Sima Guang and the others couldn't stand this kind of behavior the most.
Zhao Xu, who was sitting in the inner hall, was blushing a little.
This flattery seems to go too far.
But Xue Xiang didn't think there was anything wrong and continued to answer seriously, "One thing that can be proved very well is that businessmen are filing requests to the court, hoping to expand the city and let them build more workshops.
But as business prospers and transactions increase, the demand for coins will increase, which is also a reason for the money shortage.
Third, as the value of money continues to rise, everyone is holding on to their money and not using it, further exacerbating the money shortage."
Zhang Fei asked: "So, the imperial court decided to issue tax coins to deal with this money shortage crisis?"
Xue Xiangdao: "This is the cause, and of course it is also the main reason for issuing tax coins this time. However, our Third Division hopes to make the tax coins permanent. The reason is the recent tax law reform."
Zhang Fei asked: "What does this have to do with tax law reform?"
Xue Xiang nodded and said: "In the past, ordinary farmers mostly used grain and silk cloth to pay taxes, and rarely used coins, while some businessmen paid taxes on the goods they produced, such as candles, leather, tea, etc. The imperial court
These goods were collected, and then part of them were used for government needs, and part of them were given to officials as salaries.
However, due to the reform of the tax law, everything is now calculated based on total income. There is no requirement that tea farmers pay taxes on tea and silk merchants pay taxes on silk.
This made last year's situation extremely special. Last year, both people and businessmen paid taxes with tax coins, but did not pay taxes with goods.
At the same time, last year the imperial court distributed some tax coins to officials and soldiers as salaries.
This changed from the people delivering goods to the court, and the court issuing them to officials, to the people paying tax coins to the court, the court issuing tax coins to officials, and the officials taking the tax coins to purchase the needed goods from the people."
Zhang Fei asked: "So the Third Secretary thinks the latter is better?"
"Compared with the former, the latter is much better, which is why our three companies decided to try it." Xue Xiang explained: "Although it seems like there is just one more step in the middle, the results are completely different."
Zhang Fei pretended to be curious: "What's the huge difference?"
Xue Xiang replied: "When people use goods to pay taxes, they have to face discounts. If there are a lot of goods, they still hire donkey carts to transport them, or they carry the goods themselves. These are losses other than tax revenue.
In the same way, for the tax department, counting is also quite cumbersome. If you use tax coins, it will be very convenient, and the loss in the middle will be almost zero.
Nowadays, most of Hezhong Prefecture pays taxes with salt banknotes. It takes three to four months for other prefectures and counties 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, in fact, each official's living habits are different, and the family size is also different. Some officials need more food, but some officials hope to get more candles.
It will be issued according to your needs, so many officials need to take the 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 they can be exchanged for more, but
Sometimes I get very little.
Officials often complain about these problems. If tax coins are issued, officials can use them to purchase their own needs.
All of this is the reason why business became more prosperous last year, and it is also the key reason why many people survived the difficulties. Officials and soldiers did not need to buy before, but now they need to buy. Businessmen must expand production, and then they need to recruit more people.
More people provide more livelihood for the people.
Similarly, it can also eliminate the worries of wealthy households about warehouse taxes, because more people will buy food, and if the price is reasonable, they will not worry about being unable to sell it.
The imperial court will also benefit from this, which can reduce a lot of losses and effectively prevent corruption. It is difficult to know whether ten thousand shi of grain is one dou more or less. But if it is one hundred thousand guan tax coins, one penny less
will be discovered.
At the end of the day, tax coins are good for everyone."