What did Dong Zhuo do to make Li Shushi and others so nervous?
It turns out that news came from Luoyang that Dong Zhuo was going to melt the twelve golden figures that were said to have been cast from the weapons collected by Qin Shihuang from all over the world and cast them into copper coins, and then use them as a new currency to highlight the new dynasty's new policies.
It doesn't sound like there is a big problem. Issuing new currency every dynasty and every generation is nothing new, and issuing currency is originally one of the functions of the government. But is it really that simple?
Obviously not.
Because the new money Dong Zhuo wants to issue is not a currency in the usual sense to supplement market circulation, because there is reliable information that shows that all the new coins Dong Zhuo issues are low-quality and inferior coins, which are commonly known as "small money."
”.
Why does Dong Zhuo's issuance of "small money" cause everyone a headache?
Because the face value of this small coin is the same as the five-baht coin currently in circulation, but the weight of the metals contained in the money, especially the rare copper metal that exists as currency, is much smaller than the five-baht coin currently in circulation.
What are the consequences of this?
It's very simple. What kind of results can the QE1, QE2, QE3... of U.S. imperialism produce? These low-quality small coins issued by Dong Zhuo can produce the same results - but compared to the U.S. imperialism that harms others and benefits itself, Dong Zhuo
These small coins are slightly more harmful to others than to oneself. It is estimated that the power can be approximately equal to the legal currency and gold yuan notes during the Republic of China.
As a result, everyone should be aware of what kind of chain reaction it can trigger in the future. Anyway, no matter whether it is a powerful family, a merchant or an ordinary farmer, he will eventually be unlucky. But compared to the people who are weak in resistance,
In other words, powerful families with precious metals, large amounts of cloth and grain storage are much more resistant to currency devaluation.
Of course, if there is no good way to deal with it, the powerful families will not be able to survive for long. Unless they are confident that they can secure a place to stay in the midst of large-scale civil unrest, they will only become wealthy people who have been given land.
In fact, the inflation problem caused by currency devaluation has always been a stubborn disease that cannot be cured in all dynasties. However, because ancient China was a closed small-scale peasant economy, its reliance on currency circulation was limited. Therefore, compared with the high-profile land issue,
, although currency issues have also caused a lot of destructive effects, they have not received much attention.
However, if you don't pay attention to it, the impact it can cause will still be devastating.
At this time, this issue has a particularly great impact on Li Shushi's Bingzhou, even more than the land issue. Although there are Taiyuan Basin, Xinding Basin, Datong Basin, Fenhe River, Sanggan River, and Hutuo River in Bingzhou,
Although Shanxi is also troubled by water and soil erosion due to rivers such as the Zhang River (Zhuo), a large part of the water and soil lost is concentrated in several basins. As a result, although there are many mountainous areas in Bingzhou, there is also a lot of cultivated land.
However, no matter how much farmland there is, people still need to cultivate it. However, due to the decline of Shuozhou area year by year, even the hinterland Bingzhou area has been repeatedly invaded. A large number of people fled to the Central Plains and even the Jianghuai area. In addition, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion,
A large number of young and middle-aged Taiping Taoists went to Jizhou to fight and die in a foreign land, so the economy of Bingzhou was greatly affected.
In response to this situation, Li Shushi and his staff formulated an economic plan that was slightly unusual among the Han Empire - using commercial development to drive population gathering, and then using population gathering to drive agricultural development.
Bingzhou is close to the grassland, and a large number of horses can be obtained through barter every year. After joining the Karasuma, Xiongnu and other tribes, this advantage becomes more obvious.
Although the quality of horses varies, and war horses are even more strictly classified, in any case, four legs can run faster than two legs, and four legs carrying two legs can run faster than two legs alone.
It is more labor-saving. Therefore, the demand for horses has been strong since Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty allowed localities to recruit troops for self-protection. The rich bought war horses, and the poor bought inferior horses.
At the same time, wool and its products, smelted steel ingots and its products are also very popular commodities, and can bring a lot of profits.
If there is profit, it will naturally attract enough businessmen; for the convenience of business, businessmen will naturally settle down and establish a business here. To settle down and establish a business, they will naturally purchase land and recruit tenants, servants, etc. for production. However, taxation within Bingzhou does not
It is high and the population is still sparse. It is not easy to recruit people in Bingzhou.
Want to trick someone? Then go look outside Bingzhou. Whether it is a foreign slave or a refugee from other places, as long as you abide by the laws of Bingzhou, you will be a Bingzhou citizen and enjoy the treatment of Bingzhou people. But all these are personal actions, and Bingzhou
The government has nothing to do with it.
Of course, governments at all levels in Bingzhou have also promulgated policies to encourage childbirth. However, although this is a noble idea, it will take 20 years to see the effect. What's more, with the current medical conditions, the death of newborns
It is difficult for the natural mortality rate to drop to a considerable level. If there is no war, the natural mortality rate can be guaranteed to be at a relatively low level. But what the Chinese know is that the troubled times, a troubled times where people often see people cannibalizing, have entered the third stage.
Among the two movements.
It can be said that after several years of operation, the plan formulated by Li Shushi and his staff has begun to bear fruit. Many peripheral children of aristocratic families and some children from poor families, secretly supported by Li Shushi, have begun to form the business class of Bingzhou, and even some industries.
There have been quite powerful industrial trade unions. Although they are still in their infancy, they already have some say.
The Chinese people's affection for land is unmatched by people from any other country in the world. When you have money, you will naturally want to buy land. When buying land, you need people to manage and farm it. You also need various farming equipment and livestock. These needs not only provide
Bingzhou brought a lot of population, especially young and strong labor force, and also enriched Bingzhou's economic activities.
After all, even if it is a self-sufficient small-scale farmer economy, it is still impossible to completely close the operation. As long as they want to obtain a better quality of life, they must circulate goods. Professional things are best done by professional people.
It's not.
However, once inflation breaks out and the economic chain collapses, it will have a catastrophic impact on Bingzhou and even Shuozhou, which has a close economic relationship with Bingzhou. It will also cause a large loss of wealth. It can be said that it is almost possible to win without a fight.
effect.
"The most important problem is that in the world, apart from Sili and Liangzhou, we are the only ones who obey Dong Zhuo's orders. Shuozhou and Xuzhou still obey the orders of the central government and do not ban annual offerings. Xuzhou Central
Putting aside the separation between Yanzhou and Yuzhou, could it be that Dong Zhongying is specifically targeting us and wants to bring down our Bingzhou?!"
No wonder Li Shushi would express such emotion, because it seems that this is the case.
As mentioned before, Dong Zhuo implemented a lot of new policies after the massacre, the core of which was harsh criminal laws and at the same time improving the status of soldiers. Once these regulations were rolled out across the country, the ones who would be hardest hit would naturally be those who relied on poetry and books.
Those culturally aristocratic families who started their careers rarely had the tradition of joining the army because all their strength was devoted to seeking chapters and excerpts.
Such a decree was naturally resisted by the majority of the gentry, especially since they already had a good excuse.
In fact, even Li Shushi did not intend to copy the strict laws in full, because Qin's laws were not only harsh, but also too aggressive. The military aristocracy formed by Qin's laws was completely focused on expansion, and had no choice but to
It is their duty to expand, otherwise their descendants will lose the family they have worked so hard to build in three generations.
This is also an important reason why the Qin Dynasty perished so quickly - the benefits of the Qin Dynasty could not be seen because of the unification of the country. Even if it forced a foreign war, there would not be much profit in the war goal, and a lot of manpower and material resources would have to be invested.
(The Great Wall, Ling Canal, Zhichi Road, etc.), so even if the battle is successful, it cannot make up for the financial gap, and once it fails, the whole line will collapse. Although there are also items to encourage Sang Zhi, but do you see who in the Qin State relies on
Who became aristocrat by farming?
But what about the disadvantages? But they continue to show up - harsh laws that make people lose hope, terrifying cruel officials, and complicated corvee.
So under the instigation of thoughtful people, the central government of Qin, which originally lacked the ability to control, surrendered the world.
Therefore, unless Dong Zhuo did not take the vast territory of the Han Dynasty in Guandong into consideration when he first promulgated the New Deal, and was prepared to learn from the Qin Dynasty and use his own power to compete with the heroes of the world, Dong Zhuo's New Deal would look more like suicide.
"Dong Zhuo didn't know about the harm caused by small money, and Li Wenyou should also be well aware of it. So I'm afraid its main target is the powerful families in Luoyang City. As for us in the corners of the country, I'm afraid he himself knows that it is
Out of reach."
"What Zhong Ji said makes sense. The most important issue now is not who the order in Luoyang City is aimed at, but how we solve this problem. Looking at the recent actions of the Guandong princes, it is very obvious that they are raising troops to prepare for war. On the market
It seems that my private money is much more than before. I'm afraid that the small money in Luoyang City is just the final blow."
Although Guo Yao and Zhong Yao are equally worried, the direction of their worries is obviously different from that of Li Shushi. As the top leaders of the county, the two of them have as much detailed information about the commercial circulation in the county as Li Shushi.
The changes are much clearer than Li Shushi, the state pastor who has been suppressing bandits in the north recently.
"Hey, I really can't live in peace for a while."
Although Li Shushi looked helpless, several other people felt relieved when they saw his appearance.
Is this an illusion?
PS: Although the currency war in the Han Dynasty was not as obvious and intense as in modern times, its impact was extraordinary. In comparison, Dong Zhuo's small money was really nothing. After all, its depreciation was only one-tenth. There is more.
One-twentieth or even one-fiftieth of BT, of course, the method is not just small money. For example, Liu Ba, who could become an economist of the Three Kingdoms, used currency devaluation to help Liu Bei obtain a large amount of military supplies.
As for why Liu Ba was able to ensure market stability through currency devaluation and allow Shu currency to circulate in large quantities in Wu and Wei? We will not mention this issue until an appropriate time later.
