The trend of historical development is inevitably the transformation of precious metals into coinage and paper money.

And the more developed the economy, the more likely it is that paper money will appear.

In the Song Dynasty, iron money was used in Sichuan, and the value of iron money was low and heavy, and it was extremely inconvenient to use. At that time, a copper coin was worth ten iron coins, and the weight of each thousand iron coins was 25 catties for large coins and 13 catties for medium coins. It costs 20,000 yuan to buy a piece of cloth, weighs about 500 catties, and you need to use a car. Chengdu is an important economic powerhouse, and the road to the outside world is extremely rugged and difficult, so there is an objective need for a light currency, which is the main reason why paper money first appeared in Sichuan. Moreover, although the Northern Song Dynasty was a highly centralized feudal autocracy, the national currency was not uniform, and there were several currency areas, each of which did not use each other.

At that time, there were 13 roads (administrative units of the Song Dynasty) special copper coins, 4 roads special iron coins, and Shaanxi and Hedong used both copper and iron coins. The outflow of currency is also strictly prohibited in various currency areas, and the use of paper money can prevent the outflow of copper and iron coins. In addition, the Song government was often attacked by the Liao, Xia, and Jin, and spent heavily on military and indemnities, and also needed to issue paper money to cover the fiscal deficit. A variety of reasons contributed to the creation of paper money - "Jiaozi".

During the Yuan Dynasty, paper money circulation was the most prevalent period in ancient Chinese history. In the first year of Zhongtong (1260), Yuan Shizu issued the "Zhongtong Bill" and "Zhongtong Yuanbao Banknote". At the beginning of the issuance of banknotes, because Yin Jian was not far away, the Mengyuan Dynasty specially formulated the earliest credit currency regulations "Fourteen Paintings" and "Passage Strips": the establishment of the "Banknote Lifting Division" to monopolize currency issuance; Allocate sufficient silk and silver as the standard banknotes to maintain the credit of paper money; It is allowed for the people to exchange silver for the government reserve or to exchange money for the government, and at the same time, it is strictly forbidden to buy and sell gold and silver without permission; Establish the legal status of paying banknotes, and all banknotes can be taxed and paid; Silver and copper coins were withdrawn from circulation. For the first time in human history, the creation of such a standard system, which later generations called the silver standard.

However, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the government failed to implement the effective policies of the Kublai Khan Dynasty to stabilize the value of the currency, and began to gradually depreciate. In the end, the currency system is disordered, there is no banknote exchange, prices soar, the price of banknotes plummets, the people are unwilling to use paper money, and paper money becomes waste paper. The issuance of money is necessary for the development of the commodity economy, which in turn promotes the development of the commodity economy. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the government issued paper money indiscriminately, causing confusion in the currency system, which was one of the important reasons why the rulers of the late Yuan Dynasty withdrew their troops from Youyan, abandoned the Central Plains, landed the crown of sweat, were poor at dusk, and escaped to the desert in the north.

During the Ming Dynasty, although Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, knew that one of the basic reasons for the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty was the collapse of the currency system, but in order to alleviate financial pressure, strengthen centralization, put precious metals under the control of the government, and reduce transaction costs, but also out of Zhu Yuanzhang's self-confident character, the Ming court established the banknote law in the eighth year of Hongwu (1375), set up the "Treasure Banknote Lifting Division", and issued the "Ming Dynasty Treasure Banknote". Due to the poor paper at that time. The Ming Dynasty banknotes are difficult to last, and the Ming Dynasty banknotes are only issued but not received, neither demarcation nor recycling of old banknotes, resulting in more and more banknotes circulating in the market. The treasure banknotes were flooded, and inflation occurred in the year of issuance. The depreciation is extremely fast. The people abandoned it one after another, and it ended in failure.

Song, Yuan, and Ming all issued banknotes, and the results were extremely sad.

And now, when Zhao Pu becomes the emperor, he will inevitably issue banknotes, which is not only Qin Hui's opinion. It is also the opinion of some ministers of the DPRK and China. The issuance of paper money was not only a means to relieve financial pressure and collect money for the imperial court, but also to strengthen the rule. One of the means of strengthening centralization.

When you control the money pocket and the gun, you control the world to a certain extent.

At that time, even if you want to divide the feudal town, even if you want to rebel, there is a lack of material foundation, and the world of the Great Song Dynasty is completely stable.

The issuance of banknotes is inevitable, and the benefits are also huge, but there are many risks.

Once it is not properly manipulated, once the paper money is devalued on a large scale, or there is a bad currency to drive out the good money, or some merchants hoard Juqi, then it will be dangerous! At worst, the country's economy has been hit hard; Worst, state power has been subverted.

The bank is a double-edged sword, hurting others and hurting yourself, in the face of no good kung fu, it is best not to play easily!

It's just that it's too late, knowing that the kung fu can't get home, I still have to fight it!

"It's not enough to just issue banknotes, you also need institutions that specialize in issuing banknotes, that is, banks; It is also necessary to have a corresponding deposit, so that the paper money can be exchanged for the corresponding copper coins at will, as well as silver, and even gold; After the imperial court, paper money was used instead of silver for salaries; There is also a crackdown on hoarding, and severe punishment is given to those who hoard a large number of paper money and disrupt order. The most important point in the issuance of banknotes is the credit ............"

Zhao Pu took a sip of tea, and finally said the pros and cons of banknotes.

It's messy, it's trivial. After all, Zhao Pu was not born with a doctorate in economics, just an amateur, and it is okay to talk about the direction and some key points, but when it comes to the details, there are still some shortcomings.

And Qin Hui and Li Gang are extremely smart people, listening to these stories, they have vaguely understood the importance of banks and the importance of paper money issuance.

I didn't say much, just thought quietly.

After a long time, Qin Hui spoke: "Your Majesty, where does the security deposit come from?" The treasury is empty and it seems that there is not enough margin! ”

"You can use the salt tax as collateral!" Zhao Pudao.

"Your Majesty, don't do it!" Li Gang stopped again.

"Then Li Xiang can have a solution?" Zhao Pu asked rhetorically, at this moment, the anger in his heart had almost disappeared, and he had regained his composure, "There is no deposit, and the issuance of paper money is more hateful than robbery!" ”

Li Gang was at a loss in his heart, and he couldn't find the appropriate wording for a while.

"Actually, there is another source for the margin! That is to absorb deposits and issue loans! Then, Zhao Pu began to talk about the relevant knowledge of collecting deposits and issuing loans. The essence of a bank is to take from the people and use it for the people. Absorb deposits, and a part of them are diverted as loans, which are issued in exchange for interest and promote business development; Part of it is used as a security deposit, and the loan is paid at any time! ”

"The establishment of a bank has many advantages, one is that it can issue paper money to help the country collect money; second, it can control the lifeblood of Jiangnan, so as to control the world; The third is to crack down on usury! ”

Fourth, there is another benefit, which Zhao Pu did not say, that is, it is conducive to the Northern Expedition.

The banks were used to tie the big merchants and gentry classes in the entire Jiangnan to the chariot, and they were both prosperous and loss-in.

At that time, these businessmen and gentry could only fully support the Northern Expedition; There was no way to stop the Northern Expedition, unless they were willing to overthrow the Great Song Dynasty and establish a new regime, but this was impossible. This is the Song Dynasty, not the Northern and Southern Dynasties, if you want to overthrow the Song Dynasty and take him down as an emperor, at least there must be continuous civil wars.

At this time, foreign enemies are eyeing each other, and civil war is tantamount to looking for death.

And if a war to destroy the country starts, it is likely to turn Jiangnan into ruins.

In short, everything is impossible, the merchant gentry class is speculative, and the merchant gentry class is doomed, and the rebellion will not succeed.

It's just that these Zhao Pu can't say it, they will only rot in their mouths!

Qin Hui and Li Gang asked Zhao Pu some questions one after another, and Zhao Pu answered them one by one. At this moment, there are no kings and courtiers, only the chairman and general manager.

After the end, Li Gang asked: "The bank is the important weapon of the country, and it should be run by the government. Why do you want to do it privately! ”

"The corruption of the Great Song Dynasty is too serious, I don't feel at ease!" Zhao Pu said leisurely: "Once the bank is established, it will be Jiangnan's money pocket, a large amount of money slips through his hands, and at that moment he can regard money as dung, too little, too little." At that moment, I may not be able to control myself! ”

"Only the private sector, without the constraints of the government, and let them share a part of the profits, this can minimize corruption!"

Li Gang sighed in his heart, the officials' conduct is indeed not very good!

Qin Hui said: "It's just a private operation, can it prevent corruption?" ”

"Can't!" Zhao Pu said honestly, "But it can be reduced." The bank is independent into a system, in addition to the implementation of the general policy of the imperial court, has greater autonomy, in specific affairs, the imperial court does not make detailed intervention! And the imperial court will set up financial statistics, which are responsible for supervising the financial situation of banks! “

"This will still give birth to corruption, but the number of supervisors has decreased, there are fewer loopholes, and the difficulty of corruption has also increased!"

"On the bank, I will enforce draconian laws. In the bank, there is no one who does not kill the scholars, there are just three generations of exterminating the three clans, exterminating the nine clans, and Zhulian three generations are not allowed to be officials, and they are not allowed to conduct scientific examinations! ”

The establishment of a bank is inevitable, but the loopholes of the early banks are too big and it is too easy to exploit loopholes!

Zhao Pu can only use strict supervision as the foundation and use the strict torture law as a deterrent to reduce bank corruption! (To be continued......)