Since ancient times, China has used copper as money, and gold and silver coins are not absent, but most of them are like commemorative coins of later generations, and cannot be directly circulated in the market. This is mainly because gold is expensive, and ordinary people cannot afford it, and silver is low, so its value is also inflated, and it is also difficult to use.

After thousands of years of accumulation, gradually formed a habit, even if later in the Ming Dynasty, a large amount of silver from Japan and the New World flowed in, and the government even used silver taels to collect taxes, but did not think about minting silver coins, they were first minted into ingots, and then cut and used, which was extremely inconvenient.

On the occasion of the two Jin Dynasty, the old money was destroyed and the new money was not minted, which greatly affected the commercial circulation, so Pei should think of opening a mine in Xuzhou to mint "auspicious money". But as he himself said, this move is a drop in the bucket, and it can play a certain role in accumulating wealth for himself, and it has a limited effect on the entire country, even the commercial development in the area under his rule.

Therefore, at the banquet for Zhang Yu today, he talked about the Western Regions and the Silk Road trade, and he suddenly thought, can I try to import silver coins from the West to make up for the shortage of copper coins? This is a major topic in economics, and Pei Gai is also a temporary idea, and whether it is effective or not is still lacking careful consideration and discussion.

It's just that according to the usual ideal, if you let the merchants from the West bring more silver coins instead of goods, they will be happy to do so—precious metals are easier to transport—and as long as they introduce their own policies and allow circulation, Chinese merchants will be happy to use them. So let's discuss with Zhang Wei first, do you think this will work?

Whoever wants Zhang Yu to be noncommittal, Kui Jin will speak out first to express his opposition. Pei Cai also really wanted to hear the opinion of this Kui joining the army, so he stopped Zhang Yu's reprimand, and even stood up with a wine cup, walked to Kui Jin, and said: "What I said is appropriate, if there is anything wrong, you can say it clearly." ”

Kui Jin bowed down and replied: "Pei Gong is a talented person, and he wants to make Western merchants import more silver money so that merchants can circulate. However, Jin thought that the country was based on agriculture and commerce was the last industry, and the great Sima was determined to rejuvenate the country, so he should attach importance to cultivation and weaving, and look at the land, rather than paying attention to businessmen. The last official was in Liangzhou, and he had also heard that Pei Gong rewarded industry and commerce, and if he lost, he would give him a name, and he thought that this was the harm of shaking the country, and he didn't know who taught Pei Gong, Pei Gong should be careful not to listen! ”

Pei Caixin said that you want to say this, I thought you had some unique insights on monetary policy. Immediately looked around, and then returned his gaze to Kui Jin.

Pei Cai planned to take this opportunity to explain his reasons for valuing business, not only to Kui Jin, but also to Zhang Yu and his own generals, so he smiled and said to Kui Jin: "There is nothing wrong with Qingyan's words that agriculture should be important, but emphasizing agriculture does not mean that it is necessary to light business." Nowadays, Hu and Ka are in turmoil and the country is declining, so we should pay attention to agriculture, industry, commerce, and Yu industries, so that we can accumulate thick and strong countries. ”

Kui Jin arched his hand and said: "The Book of Zhou" clouds: 'If the farmer does not come out, he will lack food, if he does not work, he will lack his work, if he does not do business, he will have three treasures, and if he does not come out, he will have little wealth. And the last officer knew that none of these four things could be abolished. However, if a tree has roots, stems, branches, and leaves, if the roots are not solid, let alone branches and leaves? Agriculture is the foundation of the country, and all industries are prosperous, if the cart is turned upside down, like the roots of a tree decaying, although ten feet high, it will also die......

Pei should interrupt Kui Jin's words and ask him, "Have you ever planted a tree?" ”

Kui Jin was stunned when he heard this, and then listened to Pei Gai continue: "Qing only knows that the roots are rotten and the wood is withered, but let me ask: What is the use of the roots of the wood without roots?" How many days can a tree without branches and leaves live? Although agriculture is prosperous, everyone cultivates and weaves, if there is no one for industry, business, and security, can the country be rich and strong? ”

Kui Jin replied: "The country's heavy agriculture is like a solid tree, as long as it is not cut down, its roots will be self-reliant, and all industries will prosper by itself." There are priorities, national policies, and there are also priorities, and the minister is not saying that industry and commerce are useless, but Pei Gong should not pay too much attention to it. That is, in today's theory, when the society is declining and people's hearts are in turmoil, since the emphasis is on agriculture and the way of businessmen is small......"

Without waiting for Pei to argue, he hurriedly said: "Today, Minister Pei's envoy Shang Jia can be awarded the official position, is this not because of Han Wu?" If they become officials, they will inevitably strip the people and make politics dirty. In the world of the Han Dynasty, people competed extravagantly, punished too poorly, and even convicted of slander, the root cause of which was that the last official thought it was impossible, and hoped that Pei Gong would think twice. ”

Kui Jin's meaning, first of all, declares, I don't want to eliminate commerce, nor do I intend to entangle more with you on the virtual and big issue of heavy agriculture or heavy business, let's talk about the facts, or talk about your policy mistakes.

Pei Cai smiled and replied, "Qing is mistaken." Then he raised his voice: "Shang Jia can be an official because of the loss of Su, this government of the early Han Dynasty is not original to Emperor Wu, so how can it be said that 'people compete extravagantly, punish too poorly, and even convict with belly slander' is because of the loss of government?" The disadvantages of the Han Wu Dynasty were that the poor soldiers were poor, the farmers were generous if the grain was insufficient, and the merchants were mean to the merchants if the transportation was not smooth, and the people were poor for the real treasury.

"In the early reign of the Chahan Dynasty, there was the pressure of the Xiongnu outside, the disturbance of the princes inside, the lack of national use, the soldiers were not strong, and the policy of resting with the people in the early Han Dynasty was helpless, and the wealth was amassed to calm the internal and external troubles. How similar is it to today? If there is no Kong, Sang Hongyang and so on, how can he chase the Xiongnu in the north and Ouyue in the south, and become a prosperous era? However, the Xiongnu chased it from afar, Ou Yue Ding, regained the southwest Yi, the industry of a hundred generations, and did it for themselves, which led to the poverty of the country and the weakness of the people, and had to issue an edict of sin in their later years - it was their fault for quick success, not for the loss of government.

"Moreover, the politics of Kong Wei and Sang Hongyang are not business-oriented, but are businessmen appointed by the imperial court, and salt and iron are monopolized, and they are both lost. The monopoly policy begins with the management of the Zhong, which can make the country rich and strong, isn't it good governance? The policy of losing evenly, and paying tribute through hard labor, is convenient for the people and beneficial to the country, and is not a bad government. Emperor Weiwu was in a hurry to succeed and issued an order to calculate and sue the people, so that the middle class and above were about to break the family, which suppressed business, not heavy business. ”

Kui Jin was about to say something, but Pei should wave his hand to stop him from continuing to speak, and said: "Count it as an ancient existence - how can it be reasonable to get rich because of business and not pay tribute to the imperial court?" Only Emperor Wu weighs his taxes, and the two are counted ......"

It is a monetary unit, which is equivalent to the "through" of later generations, and the second is two thousand coins, and one counts, the past dynasties say that it is different, some say that it refers to one hundred and twenty money, and some say that it refers to two hundred dollars. In general, in fact, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "Calculation Order" was to ask industrial and commercial owners and usurers to calculate one of the two, and for small handicraftsmen, it was to calculate one of four, and in addition, privately owned vehicles and ships should also be counted according to their quantity and size.

"It is because the rich households are hiding their wealth, which leads to the 'whistleblower order' out, and those who hide their wealth are on the side, and the whistleblower can get half of it, so the wind of whistleblowing is rampant, and the merchants' homes are broken. This is a strategy that can amass a large amount of wealth in the short term, but it is not conducive to the prosperity of commerce. If business is not prosperous, like a tree without leaves, how can it live long?

"Although my wealth is insufficient, I do not pay heavy commercial taxes, and I make the merchants start to collect profits when they circulate, and do not levy them without profits, and I do not ......forcibly take the wealth that I have accumulated before."

Pei Gai has ensured the safety of private property to a certain extent, not like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who was taxed because of wealth, and no matter whether your property is good or bad, whether it is short-term accumulation, or accumulation for several generations, it is all one-size-fits-all, which will naturally cause endless resistance. Moreover, this also makes industrialists and businessmen dare not expand the scale of production, and the profits obtained are rather wasted than replaced by cars, boats and other means of transportation.

In this way, if there is an agricultural endowment, the good year does not increase, the normal year does not decrease, and the bad year can be exempted, people are happy to do business and work, and their profits are large, the state taxes are also abundant, and both public and private. And I still work with the merchant officials, and I still work with the workers, and do not make the herdsmen, so how can I take the risk of stripping the people? ”

Of course, this is only the current situation, and Pei should be very eager to find an opportunity to install one or two successful merchants in his shogunate, and be responsible for formulating commercial policies, just like Kong Wei, Sang Hongyang and others in the Han Wu Dynasty. But he also knew that the time had not yet come, and just giving the industrialists and businessmen empty positions had already caused a lot of resistance, and he was not an emperor like Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and it was impossible to completely change the status of even one or two industrialists and businessmen.

Furthermore, Confucianism had just risen during the time of Emperor Wu, and it had not yet become the mainstream of social thought, until Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, he still said that "the Han family has its own system, and it is originally a tyrant".

Pei Cai said a lot of words, after all, he needed to take a breath, Kui Jin was able to interject and said: "The benefits of businessmen are very large, if they are not suppressed, but pay attention to them, I am afraid that the farmers will be relieved and chase the profits of business, and it is inevitable that the fundamental ...... will be shaken."

Pei Gai smiled and asked, "How many times do you think that the benefits of businessmen are many times?" ”

This question is a bit unreasonable, Kui Jin was stunned for a moment, Pei should take the opportunity to say: "The benefits of plowing the fields are ten times, the benefits of businessmen are a hundred times, and the benefits of establishing a lord and a country are countless times. ”

This statement of several times and several times originally came from Lu Buwei, he discussed it with his father like this, and the benefits of establishing the lord and the country were countless times, and he immediately ran to support Zichu - Pei Gai meant, how many businessmen like Lu Buwei can there be in the world?

"It's not that they don't know the benefits, but the bigger the benefits, the greater the risks. People have poor endowments, and the suitable industries are different, that is, I value business, and I do not light agriculture, why not look at the wind and change jobs? It is true that people are often accustomed to seeing success rather than failure, and if there are people in the village who have become rich through business, they will always try to follow suit, but if the guards cannot perceive the situation, plan countermeasures, or report to the court in time, what is the use of the guards? Did the court just ask them to collect tribute?

"In the world, there will be disadvantages if there are advantages, and if you don't do anything because of the disadvantages, you can only wait for death. When the state is in charge of politics, it is necessary to inquire about the customs, investigate the people's feelings, and educate and guide them. Now the Quartet is tired, all industries are not prosperous, it is important, such as drought and must weir river water storage, if the rain causes the water storage to overflow, and then dig up the flood discharge can also. If you are afraid of floods in times of drought and do not dare to store water, how can you survive until the days of rain? ”

Pei Gai is here to state once again that my current policy of pro-business is temporary, temporary, and you should not oppose it too much. At the same time, it is also implied that if the development of commerce affects agricultural production, I will naturally tighten my mouth, and if there is no such crisis as it has emerged, then you should not ask me to change the policy.

Although Kui Jin didn't think so, he couldn't find a place to put his mouth for a while, so he had to bring the topic back: "In this case, why did Pei Gong ask Xijia to import money?" Money is a thing, it only circulates, hunger cannot eat, cold cannot clothing, and it is not urgently needed. ”

Pei Gai turned to Zhang Yu and asked him: "Ask Zhang Gong, what is the current Xijia from the Western Regions?" ”

Zhang Wei replied: "There are many foreign objects, as well as horses, camels, furs, jewelry, etc. ”

Pei nodded and said, "If there are Western seeds, Zhang Gong can pay attention to whether they can be planted in China, so that they can be multi-tributed." Horses, camels, and furs may also be kept, and as for jewelry, they may not be eaten, clothed, or used as soldiers, nor may they be urgently needed, but their value may be depreciated, and they may be ordered to be imported into silver. ”

Then he turned to Kui Jin and said: "Money can't be eaten, but it can be easy to eat, and it can't be clothed, but it can be changed to clothes, it is of great use in business, and it is comparable to non-pearl jadeite." ”

Kui Jin asked, "If the fields are less productive, how can the money be easy to eat?" Silkworms are not prosperous, how can money be changed? ”

Pei Cai said with a smile, the words came back again, and I didn't say that I wouldn't re-cultivate and weave, and-"Cultivators and weavers are the benefit of the small people, and the benefits of non-scholars, but today's people gather more land, slaves and maids, build farms and dock forts, and accumulate grain and silk." The market is empty, and the village is abundant, why? Have you ever thought about it? ”

"Please also ask Pei Gong for advice."

Pei Gai smiled: "It is precisely because business is not prosperous and businessmen are not compatible." The only things that the scholars could get were land, slaves, grain, and cloth, and it was difficult to trade things from other parties, so they could only accumulate them. Nowadays, if there are merchants from afar who offer special things, then the scholars will see it, one is greedy for their things and wants to make it easy, and the other is that if the merchants can come here, the place will be peaceful, and there is no need to store more grain and silk. Wouldn't it be good that the grain and silk that were released could be sold in the market, and that the people would not be afraid of hunger or cold? ”

In fact, there is still a layer of benefit that he does not dare to say, that is, once industry and commerce prosper, there may be big landlords who will chase money and invest funds in non-agricultural fields, thus releasing a part of the cultivated land and guaranteeing the country's basic agricultural tax revenue.

Kui Jin didn't come prepared, and it was impossible for him to refute Pei Gai during the banquet, and he squinted at his own lord Zhang Wei's face was very ugly, so he finally had to give in, and said deeply: "Since Pei Gong has a long-term plan, Jin is on the affairs of the country, and it is inconvenient to put more beaks." I only hope that Pei Gong will consult the sages more, and do not make a national policy. ”

This can be regarded as a step, and Pei Gai will take the opportunity to close the canopy. Because he had more important things to do, he turned his head and said to Zhang Yu: "My secretary Guo Jingchun is good at getting along with people, so how about making him a portrait of Zhang Gong?" ”

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