Prime Minister

Chapter 416

But Cai Xiang looked at the account book for a while, then suddenly covered it and said: "This is even more unacceptable!"

Fan Shidao wanted to speak, but after hearing Cai Xiang's words, he seemed to think of something, so he didn't speak.

Cai Xiang said: "This money is for the people! How can I bear it? Judge Zhang, I know what you want to say. If the court does not take this money, the powerful family will also take it. But I dare not set a precedent for this. The country is a sinner!"

Zhang Yue said in his heart, if I don't do it, some people will do it in later generations.

Fan Shidao looked at Zhang Yue's expression and said: "Go back to Duzhi! This matter cannot be changed... But it's better not to let Zhongshu know about this account book, and the discussion of dividends is feasible. This year, the envoys of the three divisions and the yamen are short of money. Ju even... just happened to (divide him)..."

Zhang Yue glanced at Fan Shidao and thought, are you really Fan Zhongyan and Fan Wenzheng's nephew?Is this the worry of the inborn and the joy of the acquired?You are not a fake, are you?

Cai Xiang took a heavy look at Fan Shidao, and finally Fan Shidao sighed and returned the account book to Zhang Yue.

"Province Lord!"

Zhang Yue took off his official hat and said: "It's a small matter to resign from an official, but it's a big thing to save in the quotation. Governor, what you save in the quotation is the deposit of salt money!"

"Why do you keep the money in Jiaoyin, and save it in salt money? What's the reason for this, can you tell me?" Cai Xiang asked loudly.

Zhang Yuezhi was determined to win or lose, so he expressed his opinion to Cai Xiang.

……

For half an hour, Zhang Yue looked at Cai Xiang, and Fan Shidao still showed a half-understood expression, knowing that it was still a bit difficult for them to understand his own theory.

Perhaps his nephew Cai Jing could understand it immediately.

Cai Xiang asked Fan Shidao: "What do you think of Du Zhizhi's words?"

Fan Shidao pondered for a moment and said: "Hearing Bachelor Zhang's long speech, it seems to have some truth, and the officials also think it is feasible."

Zhang Yue vomited from the bottom of his heart when he heard this, and Fan Shidao said that there was no difference between what Fan Shi said and "You have written a lot of words, I believe you".

Doubt × 2!

Cai Xiang said: "You said that the three cannot be considered at the same time, but now I see that you, the Exchange, and the salt and money cannot be considered at the same time. How do you choose?"

Zhang Yue's chest felt hot, and he was about to speak, but finally said: "Your official... Your official... I don't know!"

Cai Xiang smiled and said: "If you say this, you should use it to persuade Zhongshu!"

Zhang Yue was surprised and delighted when he heard the words.

Cai Xiang said to Zhang Yue, Fan Shidao: "Follow me to the Political Affairs Hall!"

The western suburbs of Bianjing in June.

A group of teams drove slowly into Bianjing.

During the period, the team stopped at a side road pavilion, but saw that there was a person standing in the pavilion, which was Feng Sanyuan and Feng Jing.

Feng Jing quickly bowed down when he saw an old man getting off the carriage.

"Congratulations to Lao Taishan for his return to Beijing!"

This old man is Fu Bi, and now he has returned to Beijing in addition to his service.

There was tea soup and snacks served in the pavilion, and Fu Bi sat down in the pavilion and said, "Forget it, forget it, these vain rituals are all avoided. Is the illness of the official family better?"

Feng Jing heard that the first thing Fu Bi did when he came to Beijing was to care about the illness of the officials. He couldn't help admiring that this is the body of a minister and the worry of an old minister.

Feng Jingdao: "The official family was better a few days ago. They were able to listen to the government together with the Queen Mother in the Hall of Rouyi, but after that they were ill and could not take medicine. Han Xianggong personally served the official family with medicine, but the medicine bowl was overturned by the official family. My son-in-law saw that Mr. Han's clothes were dirty. After Mr. Han withdrew, the queen mother told him that it is not easy to meet Mr. Han."

Hearing Feng Jing talk about Han Qi's embarrassment, Fu Bi didn't taunt the political opponent, but continued to ask: "Has the official taken any medicine?"

Feng Jingdao: "Afterwards, the prince Zhongzhen was by his side and personally persuaded the officials to take the medicine, and the officials took it."

Fu Bi felt relieved and said, "That's all right."

"How's that Zhang Xiang?"

Fu Bi asked Zhang Sheng, the privy envoy.

That day, the official family fell ill one day, and said in front of the Queen Mother, Han Qi, Zhang Sheng and other officials of the second government, Zhang Sheng is going to kill me!

This matter made the officials of the second government on the side all stunned and inexplicable.

After Zhang Sheng stepped down, he immediately resigned from office. After all, Zhang Sheng was the second civil servant left by the late emperor. It would be nice to come to the Privy Council once to inspect the matter."

At this time, Sima Guang came forward to speak out. He said that Zhang Sheng's resignation was because some good people said that the old ministers would not let go of power, which made them uneasy.In fact, young people who don't want to make progress are useless even if they are in the top position, and veteran officials who want to do things and can do things are fine even if they are in office.An innocent minister like Zhang Sheng will never make mistakes.

What Sima Guang said was like pointing at the officials and scolding them. Who is the minister who wants to do things and can do things?Who is the young man who does not want to make progress?
However, Sima Guang has the merit of persuading people to advance, and he is not afraid of scolding the emperor.

Hearing what Feng Jing said, Fu Bi couldn't help laughing and said: "Jun Shi is still so upright and outspoken! With such courtiers, why worry about bad manners."

After a pause, Fu Bi said: "The official family is really not good enough."

Feng Jing was stunned and said that his father-in-law would continue to be a gentleman as always, and even if he had any dissatisfaction with the officials, it would be nothing more than a few words of blame.

Unexpectedly, Fu Bi would say such serious words, unlike his previous style.

"However, the officials are here to retain Zhang Shuxiang and not allow him to resign. The Privy Councilor is not going to the Privy Council now, just saying that he is at home due to illness. Over there, the Empress Dowager has her father-in-law as the Privy Councilor. It is well known that the officials are dissatisfied with the Privy Councilor."

That's right, after Fu Bi entered Beijing, the imperial court had two privy envoys.

However, it would be embarrassing to change others, but Fu Bi and Zhang Sheng didn't have to. Zhang Sheng was single-handedly promoted by Fan Zhongyan. He and Fu Bi have been good friends for many years, but it still needs a process.

After Fu Bi asked the officials and Zhang Sheng, he said to Feng Jing, "I heard that there is an exchange office under the Salt Courtyard of the capital?"

Feng Jingdao: "Yes, the former Chongzheng Palace storyteller is now sentenced to Yantie Secretary Zhangdu for it!"

Fu Bi said: "I heard about it in Xijingdu, the younger generation is awesome!"

Feng Jing was slightly startled and said: "I see that this exchange office has forced many people to break their homes in recent days. I heard that there are several well-known wealthy businessmen in Beijing who threw themselves into the river!"

Fu Bi said: "The inside story is not what it looks like to outsiders. What do you think of Zhang Duzhi?"

Feng Jing recalled the on-the-spot reaction between him and Zhang Yue when he passed away in the official family, and said: "I thought he was just a talented man, but later I thought"

Fu Bi said with a smile: "Pang Shiyuan is not a talent of hundreds of miles. I know that he should show his strength when he is in charge of governance and don't drive him!"

After speaking, Fu Bi stood up, and Guan Guan handed Fu Bi a bamboo stick.Fu Bi reached out to push Feng Jing's hand and said, "Let's go to Beijing!"

Feng Jing's spirit was shaken, and he immediately entered Bianjing City with Fu Bi's chariot and horses.

When Fu Bi returned to Beijing, Zhang Yue came to the Zhengshitang together with Cai Xiang and Fan Shidao.

At this moment, when the prime ministers are eating public meals, there is a meeting in the political affairs hall before noon.

The prime ministers were quarrelsome because of political affairs. At lunch time, everyone sat down and chatted to enhance their relationship. After a few glasses of wine, everyone reconciled as before.

Of course, the eternal story of Ding Wei giving Kou Zhun a "beard" also happened on this occasion.

When Cai Xiang and others arrived, the three prime ministers, Han Qi, Zeng Gongliang, and Ouyang Xiu, were eating public meals. Zhang Yue saw that the meals of the prime ministers were indeed different!

Next to the corridor of the main hall, three people sat at a group table, and there were more than a dozen delicacies placed on the group table.

Both Han Qi and Ouyang Xiu had wine cups in front of them. Han Qi's wine cup was larger, while Ouyang Xiu's was smaller. As for Zeng Gongliang, he didn't drink at all. He had already eaten half of a bowl of rice.

When Han Qi saw Cai Xiang, he greeted Cai Xiang immediately: "Jun Mo is here, let's eat some together."

The attendant immediately brought the bowls and chopsticks, moved the chairs to board, Cai Xiang sat down unceremoniously, while Fan Shidao and Zhang Yue stood aside, watching the prime minister eat with his own superior.

Cai Xiang picked up the bowl and picked up the food with chopsticks, then talked to Han Qi while eating.

Zhang Yue and Fan Shidao were standing far away, unable to hear what was said.

But seeing Han Qi listening to Cai Xiang, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, he gave some instructions to the attendant.

So the attendant set up a food table mat for Zhang Yue and Fan Shidao, and took two dishes from the table with almost no chopsticks in front of the food table.

But I saw that one plate was roasted mutton, and the other was boiled bamboo shoots with water shield, with a spoonful of meat sauce poured on it.

Zhang Yue was also hungry, so he frantically grilled the rice, then grilled the mutton with a few chopsticks, put the water shield and bamboo shoots in the bowl, and continued to grill the rice.Finally, he raised the empty bowl with not a single grain of rice left and said domineeringly to the waiter beside him, "Excuse me, add another bowl!"

The corners of Fan Shidao's mouth turned up when he saw this.

Ouyang Xiu listened to the conversation between Han Qi and Cai Xiang, turned his head to look at Zhang Yue and couldn't help smiling, and asked someone to bring two bowls of food to Zhang Yue from the table, Fan Shi said.

Zhang Yue was only half full, Cai Xiang, Han Qi and other prime ministers also had a preliminary exchange of opinions, and the waiter over there unceremoniously removed the table.

The six of them took in the cool breeze under the corridor.

Zhang Yue and Fan Shidao came forward according to his order, and Han Qi said to Zhang Yue: "At the beginning, it was agreed that the cross-quote office was just a stopgap measure, how can the cross-quote office be abolished, and the salt and money will not be kept? You have a reason! "

Zhang Yue knew about this, if he couldn't convince the prime ministers present, all his hard work would be in vain.

Zhang Yue chewed the leftovers in his mouth, and immediately said: "Your Majesty looks at the past and present..."

Fan Shidao coughed lightly, feeling that Zhang Yue's behavior was a bit inappropriate.

Han Qi smiled, indicating that it was okay to continue talking.

Zhang Yue gulped it down and said, "...but all the money of the imperial court, there are three things that cannot be considered at the same time. They are divided into light and heavy, circulation, and price exchange!"

Everyone: "???"

They can still know the weight. The weight comes from the pipe. There is a saying in the pipe that "coins are heavy but everything is light, and coins are light but everything is heavy".

As for circulation, what is the exchange rate?
In fact, what Zhang Yue said is the theory of the impossible triangle of economics in later generations, that is, it is impossible for independent monetary policy, liquidity, and exchange rate to coexist.

Han Qi and the others looked bewildered, looking at Zhang Yue, who was full of oily mouth, and talked eloquently: "In the past, salt banknotes were set up for merchants to enter Shaanxi, and the people who bought and sold them were merchants such as grain merchants and salt merchants. .The imperial court decided that 110 six catties of salt would be used as the six guan, and the three divisions and Shaanxi agreed to exchange salt banknotes every year to set a fixed amount. It has been peaceful all the time, but why did the salt policy change again?"

"Later, the merchants in Banbian realized that it was inconvenient to travel back to Beijing from Shaanxi Banbian, so they asked the merchants in China to buy the salt banknotes and then returned to Beijing to sell them to salt merchants. So the salt banknotes gradually circulated in Chu coins."

Han Qi said: "Du Zhi, tell me slowly from the beginning to the end..."

Zhang Yue said: "In fact, the money law of this dynasty has always had many disadvantages. Copper coins and iron coins are enough for ordinary people, but for trading, large amounts of money are not enough. Merchants go to Shaanxi for trade and carry thousands of catties. Coins are extremely inconvenient, not only costing transportation effort, but also easy to be snooped by thieves."

"Later, merchants looked at salt banknotes and thought they were convenient to carry and exchange, so their purchases increased. Some rich merchants saw that storing salt banknotes was more convenient than storing gold and silver, so they exchanged gold and silver for salt banknotes and used them in large transactions. above trade."

"Thus the salt banknotes have been changed into coins from the original exchange!"

"What is the difference between Jiaoyin and coins?" Zeng Gongliang asked.

This theory is indeed difficult for the ancients to understand.At this time, Zhang Yueyi's sense of superiority arose spontaneously among the students, watching Han Qi, Zeng Gongliang and other big bosses sitting like students.

He said: "Of course it's different. Interchanges cannot be circulated, but coins can be circulated. Originally, salt banknotes were only circulated between salt merchants and merchants, and there were tens of thousands of 10,000+ seats a year."

"Due to the scarcity of salt banknotes in circulation (sacrificing circulation), the imperial court can issue a fixed amount of salt banknotes every year (independent monetary policy), and then redeem them with six consecutive seats (fixed exchange rate), forming a triangle-like balance."

"But after the salt banknotes become coins, they can be purchased by ordinary people from salt merchants and merchants, so they have liquidity!"

"In other words, after the salt banknotes have circulation, in order to form a new triangular balance, the imperial court has to issue a fixed amount of salt banknotes every year (independent monetary policy) or six consistent one-seat redemption (fixed exchange rates), and must choose one."

"To put it bluntly, there is one supply and one demand, but there are too many buyers, the balance is broken, and a large number of salt banknotes are bought by the people. In the end, the three departments have no choice but to continue to delegate the right to print banknotes to the Shaanxi Transshipment Department."

"In this way, the imperial court has lost its power."

Han Qi and the others looked at each other, and it was true that things were developing as Zhang Yue said.

The imperial court gave up the independent monetary policy to achieve a fixed exchange rate of six consecutive seats and the liquidity of salt money, forming a new triangular balance.

The demand side is enlarged. In order to maintain the price balance, we can only find a way on the supply side.

Zhang Yue said: "However, the Shaanxi Transshipment Department, which holds the power of weight, has never considered for the imperial court, and has continuously printed money, so that false money is prevalent. When the court finds out, it is too late to take back the power of weight. The folks are flooded with a lot of fake money!"

"Therefore, in the fifth year of Jiayou's reign, Fan Xiang, the envoy of Salt Dissolution, reformed his salt law, established the Duyan Court, abandoned the payment of six guan and one seat, and changed to five guan and five hundred wen for rigid payment of salt banknotes. Sell ​​salt notes at the highest price minus five hundred cash."

"This is the fair method mentioned in Guanzi, and it can be called a good method."

However, Fan Xiang's reform caused conflicts between the Third Division and the Shaanxi Transshipment Division...

Zhang Yue said: "The power of importance (independent monetary policy) lies with the imperial court, and it must not be lost. The circulation of salt and banknotes is beneficial to the country and the people (circulation). ..."

(End of this chapter)