Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 65 Currency Wars

The reason why Zhao Kuangyin was so eager to expel the currency of the Southern Tang Dynasty was of course not just because of face issues.

It is true that this thing is not under my control. The casting power of this thing is more or less in the hands of Nan Tang. Even he is an ancient person who understands that currency is one of the fundamental policies of a country. He is a person who does not allow others to sleep soundly beside his bed. How can such a matter of life and death be left in the hands of others?

No, as soon as Li Jing took action, he directly dealt a heavy blow to the Song Dynasty's economy.

Li Jing did two things in total. First, he temporarily stopped minting coins and encouraged his country's merchants to go to Hou Shu and Southern Han to carry out trade and recycle currency.

Second, rumors spread that they would stop all Taoist farming operations, reduce local armies, strengthen the central imperial army, make peace with the envoys sent by the Song Dynasty, and pay tribute again.

Just these two things gave Da Song a lot of pain in one fell swoop.

Zhao Kuangyin was so angry that he heard that he was shouting crazily in Duanwen Hall: "Hit him! Tell Han Lingkun to beat him!"

Then he gradually calmed down after Zhao Pu and others tried their best to persuade him.

Because Li Jing may not have deliberately messed with the Song Dynasty, and he probably didn't have the courage. This matter may have been unintentional.

First, the Southern Tang Dynasty has been suffering from a money shortage for many years. Its industry and commerce were very developed and it was definitely the richest vassal state during the Five Dynasties. However, its currency quantity was never enough. To put it bluntly, it was the casting of physical currency. cannot keep up with the development of the commodity economy.

In addition, other countries used Southern Tang's currency, and his currency kept flowing out. This matter has been a very distressing matter for Southern Tang for more than ten years.

So now that the Song Dynasty is expelling Nanqian and the value of Nanqian is depreciating, is there anything wrong with buying back the domestic currency from outside?
As for why the coinage was temporarily stopped, is it unfair to target the Song Dynasty? It is because Li Jing suddenly became seriously ill this year and was about to die!

As a dying person, shouldn't he pave the way for his child, Li Yu?
Let's stop minting coins for a while. After Li Yu ascends the throne, maybe he will get a new batch of money after changing the year.

Even if you don't exchange for new money, at least accumulate the coins during this period. When the new king ascends the throne, he will not be without money to spread coins.

As for the dismantling of military garrison, that is to say, the weakening of border troops. Brother, I am disarming. I am dismantling troops and still garrisoning them among the people. Isn't this showing my friendship and respect?
When I abolished the border troops, did something go wrong?You actually want to send troops to fight me?Then I...will not be laid off?

After all, Zhao Kuangyin still wanted to save face. Using this as an excuse to question Southern Tang was really unjustifiable.

However, if he withdraws from the camp, first of all, the military situation on the border between the two countries will be further eased, and the military tension will slow down, which will inevitably lead to an increase in trade volume, not to mention that he is so obedient and pays tribute.

Furthermore, if this happens, the disbanded border troops will have to be resettled, and the land originally occupied by the military camps will have to be allocated to the powerful civilians, right?Especially the latter, the local tycoons in these military camps and the Southern Tang Dynasty are all salivating. Do they have to take advantage of this time to save money crazily and prepare cash so that they can participate in this gluttonous feast? , what about buying these lands?
As a result, after this back and forth, the issuance of Nan Tang stopped, but the local tycoons in Nan Tang began to raise cash.

Moreover, while they were dismantling the garrison troops, they also had to strengthen the Central Forbidden Army, that is, professional soldiers. Did the military expenditures go up all of a sudden?Shouldn’t this money be prepared in advance?

If this currency doesn't rise in Southern Tang, it's a fool.

And Nanqian now has the meaning of a world currency. The Nanqian in the Southern Tang Dynasty has risen. Rich people in other countries, and even the government, will naturally start to hoard money instinctively. So might it not rise in the Northern Song Dynasty?

To put it bluntly, they are saving political capital for Li Yu. For the Southern Tang Dynasty, the most important thing now is the replacement of the old and the new. How can they have time to care about the internal currency affairs of the Song Dynasty.

This was purely an accidental injury. Zhao Kuangyin went to get angry with Nan Tang because of this matter. It was really a bit of a reluctance.

It was really helpless. Zhao Kuangyin had no choice but to further increase the supply of money. He hoped that enough Song money could fill the vacancy of Nan money, at least to prevent a money shortage in the market.

Hearing this, Xue Juzheng showed a hesitant expression. "Why are you pretending to be so arrogant? Am I still the one who got punished for my words? Just tell me what you have to say!"

"I... I just feel that it would be better to summon the King of Qin to come and discuss it. His Highness the King of Qin is a man of heaven. It seems that he really got it right this time. Such an unpredictable situation Ability, I think, is at least far superior to that of the Third Commander-in-Chief."

"Coin casting is a major event. It is not only related to the face of the new dynasty, but also to the cost of military supplies and the welfare of the people. Although His Highness sometimes acts on his own initiative, I am afraid that at least in this matter, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty are far inferior to him. , At the current price of Nanqian, I am afraid that His Highness has already made no less than 500 million yuan. With such a wise man in the government, why not just ask him for advice? Isn't it a hundred times better than the ministers?"

When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he was a little offended.

"That kid has already earned thirty-five million yuan? He...he is just fooling around. What does he need so much money for? Isn't this all about people's wealth and wealth?"

"I heard that His Highness often told people that if he didn't earn the money, it would have to be earned by others, even by countries such as Southern Tang and Houshu. I thought that there might be some truth to what he said."

"........."

When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he couldn't help but become more silent.

There is no doubt that he has lost this brotherly battle, and from the current point of view, it may not be over yet.

Although he was still very angry with Zhao Guangmei, he had to admit in his heart that his third brother was indeed extraordinary. He could understand things that no one in the civil and military dynasties could understand, and he could take action decisively. , He did not hesitate to borrow money from loan sharks to get into the game, and in a few months, he earned the Song Dynasty's fiscal and tax revenue for half a year.

What a genius!

Zhao Kuangyin believed that if he really asked Zhao Guangmei for advice, what he said would definitely be much more accurate than these prime ministers.

But as an elder brother and a king, asking Zhao Guangmei for advice at this time is really... embarrassing.

"What do you think, should I call my third brother over to ask?"

Several prime ministers looked at me and I looked at you. They all had their own thoughts. Even if so many prime ministers admitted that their skills were inferior to others, they still let a 13-year-old kid beat him to a pulp. This is It's really a bit...

Sad.

After a while, Zhao Guangyi sighed and said: "The third brother's talent is a hundred times better than mine, but eldest brother, the money that the third brother borrowed from the Kaifeng Mansion this time has already amounted to 80 million yuan, and it was all brought with him. If I ask him before this, I naturally believe that the third brother will not care about the profit of copper smell and tell me everything. But asking him for advice at this time is the same as... or... directly robbing him of his money. What's the difference?"

This was at least a step. Zhao Kuangyin nodded when he heard this, thinking that what Zhao Guangyi said was indeed reasonable.

Zhao Guangmei must really understand, but he is a person who has stepped into the game and changed places. If he is Zhao Guangmei, holding such a large amount of money in his hands and carrying so many liabilities, can he come out at this time? Can the suggestions really remain aloof and fair?

"Then, don't ask him for now, let's do it first. That's it. Hey~, let's mint coins quickly and expel Nanqian. I don't dare to ask for more. As long as our Song and Yuan Tongbao can be issued all over the world, I don’t ask for more.”

　Because we want to fight a currency war, Fangbang puts the explanation first:
　　1 In the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty, the citizen economy and the market economy had made considerable progress. War would devastate people's livelihood, but there was no strong correlation between the development of the citizen economy and the prosperity of people's livelihood.On the contrary, the war broke the household registration restrictions and attacked the powerful landlords. Refugees poured into the city in large numbers, which promoted the development of the citizens' economy. Even later, the entire Northern Song Dynasty was the most developed stage in history that hurt the citizens' economy. Therefore, there was a currency war. of social basis.

　　2. During the Five Dynasties, there were very frequent trade exchanges between various countries, even during wartime, because they could not be controlled at all. All the border troops were blatantly smuggling, and no one could control it. Zhao Kuangyin also turned a blind eye. Don’t think that doing so in troubled times Without border trade, the opposite is true. The more troubled times are, the more rampant smuggling by border troops becomes. In fact, this is not called smuggling, because it is tacitly approved by Zhao Kuangyin, and this profit is an important part of military expenditures.During the Five Dynasties, it was normal for border armies to engage in fake wars, let alone trade.

　　3. The various armies are the real protagonists of this period. The army has evolved into a complex of military achievements. The army does business. The reason why the army is stationed in Kaifeng and not moved to Kaifeng is because Kaifeng has convenient waterways, which is conducive to the army's business. Some of the history will be clearer if you look at the military as a large group of enterprises. Zhao Kuangyin was at most equivalent to the chairman of the board of directors, and there were a large number of shareholders below him. The military reform in the early Song Dynasty was a long process that went through three generations of kings. This book Times haven't even begun to change yet.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)