Chapter 10 first quarter

Forbidden, political affairs hall. Li Dunmin, Prime Minister of Overseas Affairs, looked at Shi Yue, the right servant on duty, and Fan Chunren, Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, and did not flinch in his eyes. "...Taifu Temple must stop its reckless actions immediately!" Li Dunmin said fiercely, "This is the third time for this official to come to the Political Affairs Hall to make a statement. Li Daqing only cares about recovering the debts of Yongshun Bank, but he doesn't know the subtlety and fragility of the situation in the southeast. Such reckless conduct will surely lead to catastrophe. In recent years, overseas trade has been shrinking, and the profits of maritime merchants have not been as good as before. However, the prosperity of commerce and industry in the southeast is unprecedented. But this prosperity, But it all depends on the growing prosperity of the money shop. Taking the manufacture of porcelain as an example, if a sea merchant wants to buy ten thousand pieces of porcelain and take advantage of the monsoon to go to the South China Sea in the winter of that year, then in the summer of that year, he must sign a contract with the porcelain kiln in advance and pay 10% One deposit, the porcelain kiln signed a contract, and then used the contract as a mortgage to borrow money from the bank, so that people could be hired to make porcelain. In winter, before the sea merchants went to sea, they paid 60% of the purchase price to the porcelain kiln, and the rest was paid by family property. As a guarantee, when you come back in the next summer, you will pay off the principal with interest. It is also at this time for the porcelain kiln to pay off the money owed by the bank. The following officials have seen that, as in the past, the maritime merchants may prepay 50% or even It is all the advance payment, or no advance payment at all, just spot trading, and the goods are cleared to the account, which has become less and less. This is also due to the fierce competition among workshops, which sell more goods than buyers, and The reason for maritime merchants to maximize profits—if overseas merchants wanted to buy goods to go overseas at the time of the most prosperous overseas trade six or seven years ago, if they did not pay all the money and make reservations one year in advance, they might even have no goods to buy. But it is different now In the past, even the maritime merchants who returned home against the wind in winter often delayed the settlement of the payment until summer. This has almost become a common practice in the past one or two years. But in fact, it is not easy for maritime merchants. The competition among maritime merchants is fierce, not to mention domestic Under the workshop, many maritime merchants purchase domestic goods, and they also borrow money from the bank—because the interest on loans to maritime merchants is higher than elsewhere, and the bank is also happy to lend them money.”

Li Dunmin said so much in one breath without stopping, and continued: "Your official has always thought that the situation in the southeast is in danger. All kinds of workshops are trying their best to compete, but most of the goods, in addition to supplying overseas and this state. It cannot be sold in China. For example, if it is not a famous porcelain, which state or county in the Song Dynasty does not produce it? There are waterways, and the cost is too high if the freight is included. If you want to go by land, the cost will be even higher. It's scary. So, if this continues, if the output of the southeast workshops is getting higher and higher, and the overseas trade is shrinking, there will be big troubles sooner or later. But having said that, it may not really happen in two or three years. But now that Li Daqing has acted like this, if there is no accident within half a year, the subordinate dares to cut off this tongue and make an apology to Li Daqing! Li Daqing does not know the evils of the southeast, and thinks that it is credit for collecting the debt, but as far as the subordinate knows, never Seventy percent of the money lent by Shun Bank is directly to maritime merchants, and 30% is lent to banks and workshops in the southeast. Whether it is a maritime merchant, bank or workshop, this is not the season for settlement at all! Shun Bank’s loans are all in bulk, and they have negotiated with the sea merchants about the settlement time, and it is impossible to be earlier than February at the earliest. But now it is November, where do they ask them to find money to repay the debt? Li Daqing just forced Maritime merchants repay their debts, and the government presses them for debts. How dare the common people refuse to pay them back? When the pressure is tight, it is inevitable that they will have to raise money in every possible way, collect debts layer by layer, and even sell their fields and land. What should the workshops do if they have not recovered the payment? Now that they have reached this point, I am afraid that they will inevitably come to the door to collect the debt. If they can recover the debt, it is fine, but if they cannot recover, the bank will inevitably fear that the debt of the workshop will not be recovered... …Besides, what is even more terrible is the money lent to banks and workshops. The maritime merchants are not in the country anyway, and if they can return safely in summer, there is still hope, but many small banks and workshops, this season is Can't stand debt collection."

When Li Dunmin said this, he paused for a moment, and said emphatically: "The most worrying thing for the lower officials is that some workshops and small banks will not be able to support bankruptcy! Nowadays, the wages of workshop workers are usually only a little, which is only enough. Barely getting by, most of the wages are settled before the year and during the Mid-Autumn Festival. If the workshop goes bankrupt, the wages of these workers will not be paid. Who can guarantee that there will be no civil uprising? The bankruptcy of a small bank is even more terrifying. The next official is only afraid of a bank Bankruptcy will lead to bad luck for a large number of banks, and no one in the southeast will be spared. The consequences of this are unimaginable! Xianggong, political participation, such things as handing in money are worthless in the capital now, but they are still valuable in the southeast! Li Daqing What good will it do for the imperial court to take back the money handed over from the southeast? Today’s matter is indeed imminent. Can the family bank stand it?! Please make a decision as soon as possible, if you hesitate to make a decision, or take it lightly, then it will really be hopeless!"

Li Dunmin said that even though both Shi Yue and Fan Chunren had read his letter, and Shi Yue had an interview with Li Dunmin, but hearing him say it again at this time, he couldn't help but feel horrified.But he said "Li Daqing" every word and every sentence, and pointed his finger at Li Qingchen, but it also made Shi Yue secretly groan. Shi Yue has already realized that what Li Dunmin reported is unusual. After Li Dunmin returned to Beijing, he had told him about this matter two or three times, but the first two times when Li Dunmin went to the Zhengshitang, Sima Guang was on duty. Although Guang also attached great importance to this matter, he thought that Li Dunmin was a bit alarmist. After all, Sima Guang knew better than anyone else the richness of the southeast roads. In the enemy country, what big things can happen if there are fewer thousands and tens of thousands of dollars in cash.On the contrary, he wishfully believed that if the banknote payment crisis spreads to Southeast, if the southeast pays less banknotes, the impact may be smaller.After all, since the banknote delivery crisis, Shi Yue relied on his poor knowledge of economics every time there was a meeting in the political affairs hall, and repeatedly reiterated that recycling banknotes as much as possible is a necessary step to solve the banknote delivery crisis.Shi Yue's proposition was quite convincing in the Zhengshitang, and it was easy for Sima Guang and others to understand it. However, the officials in the Zhengshitang didn't find a way to collect and hand over banknotes on a large scale for a while, so they didn't implement it.However, Shi Yue's proposition has been completely approved by Sima Guang after he has extensively consulted various figures such as Shihuo scholars and so on.Therefore, in his opinion, Li Qingchen may have been a little reckless, but he may have done a right thing unintentionally.Therefore, Sima Guang sent Li Dunmin's letter to Taifu Temple routinely, ordering Taifu Temple to "analyze".

How Taifu Temple responded is still unknown.But Shi Yue knew that this matter could not be delayed, so he hurriedly summoned Li Dunmin again regardless of whether Sima Guang had a grudge.Shi Yue was worried in his heart that Sima Guang and Li Qingchen would be annoyed, and the matter would not end. Unexpectedly, Li Dunmin was anxious, and even lost his mind.Shi Yue only said that Li Dunmin has always been extremely alert, how could he think that if a person becomes anxious, how can he speak so thoughtfully? At this time, Shi Yue had no choice but to ease his cheeks for Li Qingchen, because he said: "If it is true as Xiuwen said, then the foreign government's handling of this matter is indeed ill-considered. We live in two governments, and our wisdom is not as good as this, so we can hardly absolve ourselves of the blame. "He only said "outer mansion"—that is, Taifu Temple, but did not mention Li Qingchen's name, and took the initiative to take responsibility for himself and the ministers of the two mansions, understating Li Qingchen's responsibility.

But Fan Chunren didn't have so many scruples, and said bluntly: "I have also read the letter on this matter. I don't understand much about financial planning, but Li Haihai's letter made things very clear. Just now Li Haihai said At that time, I remembered that an article was reprinted in the "Bai Shui Tan Academic Journal" in March this year, which was devoted to the bank. The article said that 10 million banknotes, after passing through the bank, may actually be equivalent to 30 million. This is the real "money multiplier effect" - according to the point of view of this article, Taifu Temple will collect tens of millions of banknotes from the southeast within a month or two , isn’t it equivalent to taking out 30 million coins? According to what Li Haiwai said, this is the time when maritime merchants, banks, and workshops are unable to make ends meet..." At this point, Fan Chunren gasped Cool, he startled himself.After a while, he murmured: "Could it be too late?"

"I hope it's not too late." Shi Yue shook his head.Fan Chunren surprised him again - he claimed that he "doesn't know much about financial planning", but Shi Yue had to think for a long time before he understood what he said, and Fan Chunren only read a paper, You can draw inferences about other cases from one instance.This made Shi Yue couldn't help sighing secretly: If it is really better than IQ, I am afraid that he is one grade lower than Fan Chunren. At this time, Fan Chunren suddenly thought of something again, and his face turned pale, "If the situation in the southeast is really like this, it would be without Li Qingchen, and the news of handing over the banknotes would spread to the southeast..."

"Because of this, I have repeatedly asked to see you, gentlemen, please don't hesitate any longer." Li Dunmin said anxiously, "The southeast and overseas trade are really tied to the imperial court's wealth, and the southeast must not be messed up! Your Excellency! Come on, I heard that there are many proposals to abolish the banknotes. This generation is all sitting and talking. The prosperity of the southeast bank depends entirely on the issuance of banknotes. If the banknotes are abolished, it will be a disaster for the southeast bank. Once the bank collapses, the workshops in the southeast, and the maritime merchants with today's scale, will be destroyed, and there may be no eggs left!"

"However, Zhang Tianjue's argument seems to be different from that of Li Haihai..." "Zhang Tianjue thought that there was no cure, and he wanted to survive by cutting off his tail. The handover of banknotes destroyed the industry and commerce in the southeast, and had little impact on the agriculture in the southeast. His idea was to wait five or six years and then reorganize. It's too late. Besides, the real big workshops and big merchants in the southeast will definitely survive, and the unlucky ones are only small banks and small workshops..." Li Dunmin accused Zhang Shangying of being close to the big businessmen and landlords in the southeast, which was nothing new to Shi Yue.Zhang Shangying's idea of ​​cutting off the tail for survival was originally a reasonable proposition. Besides, after the secret talk with Shi Yue, although Zhang Shangying's attitude was still clear, he also actively cooperated with Shi Yue and participated in the efforts to save the handover. leg.This also allowed Shi Yue to gradually eliminate his dissatisfaction with Zhang Shangying.Therefore, seeing that Li Dunmin was anxious and unscrupulous, he attacked Zhang Shangying again, and was about to interrupt him, but he heard Li Dunmin say again: "But the lower officials think that the small workshops and small maritime merchants on the southeast roads Small banks are the key to the prosperity of the southeast. If overseas trade and industry and commerce in the southeast are controlled by a few families, it will be harmful to the court and the people. Therefore, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must save the money as much as possible. No If the banknotes are handed over, there will be no real prosperity in the southeast, but if the imperial court abolishes the banknotes this time, the so-called frightened bird will be extremely difficult if the imperial court wants to issue banknotes again in the future."

Only then did Shi Yue feel relieved, and Fan Chunren also nodded and said: "This is indeed the truth." Then he turned to Shi Yue and asked, "I heard that Mr. Junshi and Xianggong ordered the outer court to analyze it. I don't know if there is a conclusion?" Shi Yue shook his head and said, "It hasn't been reported yet." Fan Chunren asked about the situation of industry, commerce and overseas trade in the southeast roads in detail. Li Dunmin was a magistrate on Liangzhe Road and was very familiar with these matters. Fan Chunren is very favored.Originally among the officials in the southeast, although Zhang Shangying was also a traditional Confucian scholar who paid more attention to the interests of ordinary self-cultivating farmers, he also fought fiercely with big businessmen and landlords; Li Dunmin was quite different from Zhang Shangying. He paid the most attention to small and medium businessmen. As for the situation of small and medium-sized workshop owners, although he is the so-called "Stone Party", he is extremely alienated from the 18 families headed by the Tang family, and even criticizes them a lot. He believes that these big businessmen and workshop owners rely on their own resources to monopolize raw materials, Manipulating prices is harmful to the country.Li Dunmin also mentioned that he cracked down on traditional guild organizations and Yaren organizations that tried to monopolize prices and markets in Zhejiang and Zhejiang provinces. Zhang Shangying and others had conflicts both openly and secretly.Li Dunmin's proposition is obviously in Fan Chunren's mind, and he has won Fan Chunren's approval frequently.

After ordering soup to see off the guests, Fan Chunren said to Shi Yue: "I'm afraid that Mr. Junshi made a mistake in this matter." Shi Yue had seen that Fan Chunren had already been won over, but at this time he pretended to be generous, and only said: "Mr. Jun is just cautious, and you can't listen to one-sided opinions on this matter." Fan Chunren glanced at Shi Yue, dissatisfied: "Nowadays, it is all for the imperial court, why should Ziming be like this?" Shi Yue was blamed by Fan Chunren, and he didn't feel blushed, because he said: "Speaking of it, we must save some face for Li Bangzhi." Fan Chunren snorted softly, and said: "Li Bangzhi is not incompetent. If he is appointed Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, he will definitely do better than me. But he really cannot be the minister of the Taifu Temple. Ziming, the emperor ordered us to In the two governments, we are not told to abuse good people. If the emperor uses the wrong person, how to correct it is our responsibility." Fan Chunren was upright and upright, Shi Yue heard it, but felt even more uncomfortable, he only felt that he wanted to reconcile the contradictions, but compared with Fan Chunren, he looked like a villain.He wanted to defend himself a few words, but felt it was ridiculous to do so.At the moment, he didn't make any distinctions, just asked: "What is Fan Gong's intention?" "In my opinion, most of Li Dunmin's words are trustworthy. It is not too late. We should discuss with Junshi as soon as possible, and send envoys to the southeast roads to order the officials of Taifu Temple to stop pursuing them. Besides, what is the matter of the court today? Can this matter be separated from the Taifu Temple? Even for the good of Li Bangzhi, the minister of the Taifu Temple should also be replaced." Fan Chunren spoke so confidently that Shi Yue was momentarily speechless.In fact, he has wanted to replace Li Qingchen for a long time, but even though he is a valuable minister, he has more scruples than Fan Chunren when he wants to replace a sensitive and important candidate like Li Qingchen. After a while, Shi Yue said: "This matter is no small matter. If it is really necessary to change the Minister of the Taifu Temple, let alone how Li Bangzhi will arrange it, it is a question of who will take over. If this matter cannot be properly done, I am afraid that the emperor will not agree." Fan Chunren looked at Shi Yue, and said lightly: "I think Ziming must have someone in mind, why ask me instead?" Shi Yue sighed, shook his head, and said with a wry smile: "Fan Gongmo thinks that I'm deliberately probing, but I'm just the candidate in my mind, and it may not be so desirable." "Oh?" Shi Yue didn't care about Fan Chunren's expression, he lowered his head and pondered for a while, then raised his eyes to look at Fan Chunren, and said slowly: "In my opinion, Zeng Bu is the most suitable candidate for Taifu Siqing right now." Fan Chunren met Shi Yue's eyes with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and after a while, he uttered a few words: "I have no objection." Shi Yue was stunned and looked at Fan Chunren in surprise, but he heard Fan Chunren laugh again: "Zeng Bu was the third envoy, and also served as a county guard in Guangzhou and overseas. He is very familiar with domestic and overseas affairs. The Minister of the Fusiyuan is very suitable. But he is with the emperor, but I don't know... After all, the minister of the temple has to be appointed by the emperor-but if Ziming wants to recommend him, I am willing to add a name at the end of the recommendation letter." To Shi Yue, this was really an unexpected harvest. He was overjoyed, and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you Fan Gong." "Ziming, you don't need to thank me." Fan Chunren said indifferently, "This is not a favor. I never treat such a big matter as a favor." Shi Yue was very happy, and said with a smile: "I am neither thanking Fan Gong for myself, nor Zeng Bu." Under the current situation, all personnel appointments must reach a consensus among the ministers of the political affairs hall. Talk to the emperor, so that there will be no extra problems and awkwardness.Shi Yue was originally very worried that the old party would not accept Zeng Bu as a candidate, so he didn't even say anything about it to Zeng Bu, but now that Fan Chunren expressed his support, he got a heavy bargaining chip, and Sima Guang started lobbying , will also get twice the result with half the effort.Therefore, it is understandable that Shi Yuezhi was overjoyed - the emperor has now become a real "governor" because of his health. If the political affairs hall has no objection to recommending candidates, the emperor will generally not reject them. Fan Chunren shook his head and said, "It's not important, Ziming should think about how to arrange Li Qingchen." Shi Yue said with a smile: "You don't have to worry about this Duke Fan, the emperor is wise, and he will naturally find a good solution. But this matter doesn't need to worry about my subjects." November of the seventeenth year of Xining is destined to be a month related to "big events".When the second ten days of November comes, the first is the official establishment of the head office of the Dasong Bank and the election of the Governor Bureau.Since the early years of Xining, it has been going smoothly. After more than ten years, it has miraculously expanded to become the largest industrial and commercial group in the Song Dynasty. Biggest setback.The Tang family suffered a disastrous defeat in the subsequent election of governors. Zhou Yingfang not only won the support of all small bank seats, but also had an advantage among independent governors. Not long after the banks in Bianjing decided to unite to deal with the banknote delivery and run-on crisis, the Banknote Delivery Bureau issued a decree requiring all banks across the country to submit a transaction of banknotes or copper coins of the total deposits to the Banknote Delivery Bureau for sealing, called deposits. A reserve, the money that will be used to cover possible runs. Only two days after the promulgation of this decree, there was another dazzling appointment and removal of personnel in Bianjing.Shen Zhizhengshi, official minister Feng Jing paid homage to the Privy Council affairs - the coexistence of Privy Council envoys and Zhiyuan affairs was extremely rare in the Song Dynasty, but this was the second time during Zhao Xu's reign; Wang Gui, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, pays homage to Shenzhi Zhengshi and Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials; Li Qingchen, Secretary of Quantaifu Temple, worships Shenzhi Zhengshi and Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites.Zeng Bu, who had not been appointed after returning to Beijing, unexpectedly became the Minister of Taifu Temple. With Zeng Bu's qualifications, there was no problem with Quan serving as Minister of Taifu Temple, but since he was demoted as the third envoy, he has only served as prefects in Guangzhou and Lingyamen for ten years, and then directly from Lingyamen. Entering the foreign government to serve as a minister, this kind of ups and downs is already unusual, and overseas officials can be promoted directly to the temple as a chief, which completely overturned the perception of the officialdom in the Song Dynasty.After Su Zhe returned to Beijing to take over the Household Department, two of the three major economic departments of the Song Dynasty—the Household Department, Sinong Temple, and Taifu Temple—also officially fell into the hands of the Shi Party. In addition, the emperor approved Shi Yue's son to use the former Xia capital Xingqing Mansion as the Anxi Mansion, and accepted Wang Anli's resignation to judge Anxi Mansion with Wang Anli.With Lu Dafang as the minister of the Ministry of Industry, he has the power to manage the affairs of the Ministry of Industry. Zhao Xu's decisive personnel adjustment at this time is by no means as simple as accepting the suggestions of Shi Yue, Fan Chunren and others to vacate the position of Minister of the Taifu Temple for Zeng Bu.Feng Jing could no longer be in charge of the Ministry of Officials, which was already expected by everyone, but Wang Gui, who had been coveting the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials for a long time, finally got his wish, but it was more or less beyond people's expectations.The reason given by Zhao Xu is very humane - Wang Gui has the oldest seniority among the six ministers, but he has only served as the minister of the Ministry of Rites with a lower rank. Now that he is getting old, even if he can't become an official by right and left servants, he should be the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. Even Sima Guang didn't object to Zhao Xu's reason.Speaking of which, if you really want to be picky about Wang Gui, you can't start with his talent and character, but these two things are sometimes extremely subjective, and the emperor undoubtedly has the final say.Moreover, everyone knew that Wang Gui's name was to participate in politics, but he was actually the emperor's mouthpiece. Since the emperor wanted to personally control the officials at this time, it was impossible for Sima Guang and Shi Yue to compete with the emperor. The left and right servants of the Zhengshitang are no strangers to history, and the allusion of "I also want to get rid of officials" is very clear to both of them. At the same time that the emperor was adjusting the layout of the Zhengshitang, Zengbu, the Minister of Quantaifu Temple, sent envoys to the southeast, ordering the previously sent officials to temporarily stop pursuing the arrears of Yongshun Bank. However, Shi Yue prescribed the wrong medicine.The reason for the bank run in Bianjing was not only the inflation caused by too much money handed over, but also the lack of reserves of gold, silver and copper coins, and the people worried that handing in money would turn into waste paper.He hastily prescribed the prescription of "deposit reserve funds", which did not help to alleviate the difficulties faced by the banks, but made the Bianjing banks, which were already facing a run on crisis, worse.Moreover, although the deposit reserve can make a batch of banknotes withdraw from circulation, it has the same function as the emergency fund of the newly established Dasong Qianzhuang Head Office, which has aroused opposition from the banks. It is far better to control the sum of money by the Qianzhuang Headquarters than by the Banknote Delivery Bureau.The Governor’s Bureau was unanimous in its attitude towards this. Under Zhou Yingfang’s suggestion, the Governor’s Bureau technically resisted the deposit reserve system and adopted delaying tactics; Huge sums of money have been invested to support some scholars from the Shihuo Society to study this issue, so that their research results can be published in newspapers and periodicals, and can be published. Zhou Yingfang, who has the background of West Lake College, is not only a shrewd businessman, but also a real "Confucian businessman"-the meaning of this title should not be only moral, but should refer specifically to those with "Confucian scholars". ", and at the same time, he was able to cleverly use the businessmen of the class of "Confucian scholars".The "Confucian scholars" of the Song Dynasty mastered knowledge and learning, controlled public opinion, and connected power—Zhou Yingfang may not be able to summarize these three characteristics, and he may not be interested in doing such a summary and analysis, but he did He can always use it for himself like a genius. Zhou Yingfang understood better than ordinary businessmen that for Song Ting, criticism from the scholar-bureaucrat class was far more powerful than opposition from the bank, and the risk to the bank was less.And his use of this fund is also very clever-Xining Chongbao may not be able to bribe all scholars, but it always has an influence on the majority, and the few who are not bought can demonstrate the fairness of this funding. This point may be even more important.What this requires is how to skillfully control the ratio of supporters and opponents. But to Shi Yue, this little resistance from Bianjing is not worth mentioning at all. Li Qingchen's reckless behavior in the southeast roads, Shi Yue's "deposit reserve law" that misprescribed medicines, Zeng Bu's belated order to stop the collection, and the rumors about the abolition of banknotes in Bianjing finally inevitably spread to the southeast roads, Finally, in December of the seventeenth year of Xining, a nightmarish news was brought to Bianjing's Wang, Ma, and Shi Sangong. The incident started in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. The two small banks were already on the verge of death by Li Qingchen's recklessness. After hearing about the "Deposit Reserve Law", they fell into despair without even clarifying the specific details. In their minds, there was no difference between asking for the money from the Banknote Delivery Bureau and collecting a huge amount of taxes forcibly, so the shopkeepers of the two small banks came up with the same idea. They quietly sold their properties and fled with the money. Go overseas! The run on all roads in the southeast broke out.The small banks in the southeast are far less resistant than the small banks in Bianjing. They sell off their debts and collect their debts. Starting from December, one bank after another was forced to close down or close to bankruptcy. The owners of small banks went bankrupt, and the big banks barely maintain.What's more deadly is that the closure of the small bank led to the closure of the small workshops. A large number of goods and semi-finished products were left unattended, and large-scale workshop workers gathered in front of the state and county government offices to file complaints in states and counties... It wasn't until this moment that Shi Yue realized that hell was far more than eighteen floors.