History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 521: "Ex-boyfriend" disrupts the situation
In all dynasties, whenever the money ban was lifted, a large number of inferior coins would inevitably be produced. In order to obtain the maximum value, people reduced the copper content of copper coins, such as adding cheap lead and tin, or reducing the size. This is common sense, and Shi Jingtang would not be unaware of it. Facts have proved that the people of the Later Jin Dynasty did the same.

So why did Shi Jingtang insist on opening up?

If we look at this historical issue from a financial perspective, it will be easily solved. Simply put, control the exchange rate and fleece the sheep.

The Khitan's economic invasion was backed by military strength. Shi Jingtang knew the harm, but he was powerless. Therefore, he could only use financial means to solve the financial problem.

Actively creating "bad money" is actually actively devaluing the currency. For example, the original copper coin weighs 5 grams and contains 5 grams of copper. Now, I add lead and tin, reduce the size, and cast a copper coin weighing 3 grams, containing 2.5 grams of copper (for the convenience of description, the numbers are only for understanding and have no scientific research value). In other words, I turned the original one coin into two coins, and in this way, my wealth doubled.

To understand it using today's concepts, the central bank of the Later Jin government implemented a "quantitative easing" policy. Simply put, it turned on the printing press and printed money like crazy.

Shi Jingtang used this "printed" money to pay the Khitan "protection fee" and purchase a large number of Khitan products. For the Later Jin Dynasty, this was a "half-price" promotion. The Khitan people were still in the dark.

After a period of circulation, the market will automatically adjust and prices will fluctuate. The most obvious manifestation is the general price increase of commodities. Commodity prices rise, wages rise... Gradually, prices will infinitely approach the actual supply and demand relationship. For example, in the above example, over time, people's wages will double, and all commodities will double. In other words, the central bank's "quantitative easing" and the method of printing money are self-deception and cannot solve the fundamental problem.

Some people may ask this question: Why doesn't the country turn on the printing press and print money 24 hours a day? If the money is printed more, will the people become richer soon?
Of course you can. Zimbabwe and Germany have done this before.

Shi Jingtang lifted the ban on money in the private sector on the surface, but in reality he was secretly devaluing the currency. The currency of the Later Jin Dynasty was devalued, but the currency given to the Khitans was based on the price before the devaluation, so that the currency slowly evaporated in the hands of the Khitans.

As mentioned above, as time goes by, the market will slowly be impacted by the over-issuance of currency. Therefore, Shi Jingtang suddenly stopped it after just half a year.

Before the money could flow back, it was blocked by Shi Jingtang in Khitan and rotted in the hands of the Khitans. The people of the Later Jin Dynasty reaped the benefits of currency depreciation, while the Khitans borne the side effects of the subsequent inflation.

We can also see that by using the power of the exchange rate scissors gap, we can truly kill people invisibly, causing the other party's wealth to evaporate and shrink without them noticing.

One more thing to mention is that in today's world, the real manipulators of exchange rates are precisely the beacon countries. Especially after World War II, after the establishment of the "Bretton Woods System", the beacon country was like a greedy vampire, stealing the blood and sweat of people all over the world. After the collapse of the system, it continued to fleece the world through the "petrodollar". In the end, it bit back and cried thief, which is really shameless.

Shi Jingtang suddenly announced the lifting of the ban in just half a year, and then suddenly announced the re-ban, leaving the Khitans completely unaware of what was going on. The Khitans were well-equipped with weapons and horses, and were good at riding and shooting. I admit that they could crush the Central Plains militarily, but in politics, especially in finance, they were just a younger brother.

When it comes to financial warfare, the Chinese are the ancestors.
Strong local governments and a weak central government will always lead to chaos.

From Li Siyuan to Shi Jingtang, we often use a word - "weak" to describe the newly enthroned emperor. The weakness of the imperial power is mainly manifested in the strength of local forces, the most typical of which is Li Conghou. The representatives of the "powerful faction" Li Congke, Shi Jingtang, Fan Yanguang, and Zhao Dejun were ready to move, and it was Li Congke who finally took the lead in raising the banner of rebellion.

After Shi Jingtang came to power, the former "powerful faction" Fan Yanguang and his son Zhao Dejun still posed a huge threat to the Later Jin regime, and Li Congke's court also gave birth to a new powerful faction, which became the "new cutting-edge faction."

Shi Jingtang relied on the support of the Khitans to sit on the throne of emperor. This set an example for the new and old powerful groups. They saw a shortcut to success. It also gave them a legitimate reason to change the "rebellion" into a gorgeous cloak of nationalism and patriotism.

Numerous rebellions began on the day Shi Jingtang ascended the throne and intensified until his death.

In short, during Shi Jingtang's period, those who should have rebelled against rebelled, and those who should not have rebelled against rebelled as well.

1. "Ex-boyfriend" disrupts the situation
Zhao Dejun was a real "powerful person". He was from Youzhou, good at riding and shooting, quite powerful, and had a very keen political sense, as slippery as a loach. He first served Liu Shouwen and then Liu Shouguang. When Li Cunxu attacked Yan, he took the initiative to surrender and submit. In the third year of Tongguang (925), he was appointed as the Jiedushi of Youzhou Pinglu Army by Li Cunxu, and from then on he was in charge of Youzhou.

After Li Siyuan ascended the throne, he married his daughter to his adopted son Zhao Yanshou to win him over, "so Dejun was particularly trusted." Even Mingzong Li Siyuan did not dare to touch him, which shows that he was deeply rooted in Youzhou and could not be removed.

As the governor of Youzhou, Zhao Dejun made great achievements in both civil and military affairs. As mentioned above, under his governance, the economy of Youzhou developed, the military defense system was improved, and the Khitan dared not easily move south from Youzhou.

We dare not say that Zhao Dejun built Youzhou into an iron wall, but the facts are indeed worthy of praise. For example, the Khitan took advantage of the rebellion in Dingzhou Wangdu to join forces from Youzhou and march south, but they suffered a miserable defeat and almost all of their troops were annihilated. The main generals were captured alive by Zhao Dejun and sent to Luoyang to ask for credit and reward.

When the Khitan went south to help Shi Jingtang, they also went directly south from the Daibei area, and when they left, they also went directly back north from Luzhou. The Khitan army never dared to cross the Taihang Mountains and enter Youzhou guarded by Zhao Dejun. When Li Congke's group proposed to send Yelu Bei back to his country, they finally changed their plan to go north along the Taihang Mountains because they were afraid of Zhao Dejun. They would rather pass through the Khitan camp than force their way into Youzhou.

These two examples are enough to show how solid Zhao Dejun's management of Youzhou is.

(End of this chapter)