If you don’t go to Jieshen Alley, you won’t know the prosperity of Bianjing.
The smell of money is everywhere here!
Zhang Yue walked to a Jiaoyin shop and wrote "Shen's Gold and Silver Jiaoyin Shop".
The first thing that comes into view is nothing else, but the "money mountain" standing in the hall. No one can turn a blind eye to the money in vain, let alone such stacks of money confronting the mountain of money.
There are countless coins shining with countless metallic luster on each money stack, like a group of blooming flowers.
Zhang Yue walked closer and took a closer look, and saw that the stacks of money were neatly stacked horizontally and layered on top of each other, tied with ropes in the middle, and a sealing paper was affixed on top, with the words "I would like to seal the stack of money."
A thousand coins is called a guan, and a thousand guanze is called a stack.
In other words, such a pile of money worth tens of thousands of pounds is worth a thousand pounds.
Stacking money and carefully sealing the notes is like going to the bank to withdraw money today. Ten thousand yuan is tied up with white paper strips.
A pile of one thousand guan, hundreds of piles of money worth more than 100,000 guan, are laid out in the center of Jiaoyinpu. But with so much money, it seems that no one wants it, and it is piled randomly in the center of the room, with only one on each side.
Surrounded by a wooden fence, it seems as if it is easily accessible.
Duoqian Mountain is really dazzling!
Zhang Yue thought of a poem: With a hundred thousand guan on his waist, he rode a crane down to Yangzhou. Carrying a mountain of money piled up by more than 100,000 guan, you actually rode a crane?
This money has a name, it's called Duo Money.
All the kiosks in Bianjing have this rule: money should be placed in the center of the main room to show off one's wealth to visitors.
Zhang Yue stood in front of the Qian Duo Mountain and looked around. The shop was built with Sanhe soil on all sides. There was a long counter behind the Qian Duo Mountain. From behind the counter, there was the sound of gold and iron, as well as the whir of the bellows.
Sound of wind.
At this time, a shop assistant wearing a long gown came up and asked, "May I ask what the official does for a living?"
Zhang Yue smiled and said nothing.
The shopkeeper continued: "In our Jiaoyin shop, you can exchange money for pledge or exchange, and you can exchange it for salt, tea, alum, fragrant medicine, rhinoceros and elephant..."
Zhang Yue said: "Salt banknotes, I have money to exchange them for!"
The shop assistant said quickly: "Please come this way, sir!"
The shop companion led Zhang Yue to the counter, but saw another scene at the counter, with piles of silver collars piled here.
There are fifty taels of large collars, stacked in a pile.
Half of the collars were found, and they were piled into several piles.
As for the remaining half of the small collars, they were used as baskets and stacked randomly.
Zhang Yue glanced at it and saw that the quality of the silver was quite good, and there were stamps on it to ensure the weight of the silver ingot.
Zhang Yue thought to himself, just one cross-selling shop has such financial resources, let alone hundreds of cross-selling shops in Nantong Alley.
Of course, looking at stacks of money is to ensure customer confidence. Otherwise, why would you exchange a few pieces of tattered paper for my real money? How much money is that tattered paper really worth? What if you don't exchange it?
Therefore, merchants have to display a pile of money to show customers. This money is quite a reserve and will not be used on weekdays. It is just there for display.
The more "reserves" there are in the store, it means the store has sufficient financial resources and the customers have more confidence. This is also the meaning of stacking money.
Of course, this is also a necessary process in the early days of credit currency. In later generations, there is no need to even look at banknotes.
A smart businessman stood behind the counter. Hearing the words of the shop companion, he smiled and said, "My surname is Shen. Do you dare to ask the official if you want to change the salt banknotes?"
"If you buy it, it costs 19,500, and if you sell it, it costs 19,200. I wonder how much the official wants?"
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "This price is much more expensive than Duyanyuan!"
The merchant smiled when he heard this, and the shop companion said: "If you can buy it at Duyanyuan, why do you need to come to us?"
The businessman scolded his shop companion: "Hey, there are no rules at all."
He said to Zhang Yue: "The business of the official family is of course very profitable, we are just sacrificing our lives in exchange for something to eat. No matter whether there are salt banknotes in the Salt Courtyard or not, if the guest official does not sell them today, it will be more expensive tomorrow."
Zhang Yue said: "A salt banknote!"
The shop companion changed his color and said: "Is this just for fun..."
The businessman stretched out his hand and said: "I see the money is nineteen thousand five hundred, please accept the favor!"
Zhang Yue took out his money and bought a salt banknote. He read it and read, "Jie Chi Yan Yin," and below it was written a line of small words, "Exchange the banknote as soon as you see it." Finally, there was the stamp of the Shaanxi Transportation Department.
Zhang Yue said: "If this salt note needs to be exchanged for money..."
The merchant smiled and said: "You can redeem it at any time!"
After the businessman made a comparison with the 'Money Mountain', Zhang Yue also looked back, nodded and said, "Thank you!"
After saying this, Yue Yue left in a high voice.
The shop companion said to the merchant: "Why do you, my boss, have to make noise with this man?"
At this moment, the merchant's face did not have the same smile as before, but he said: "You have been in the shop for many years, why can't people tell you for sure? I think this person's bearing is probably an official!"
The shop companion asked: "Are there not many officials in Bianjing City?"
The businessman shook his head and said: "It's just an ordinary person, but this person is young and has remembered a saying: 'It is better to bully a white-headed man than a poor young man'!"
The phrase "Don't deceive young people into poverty" has completely different meanings when it comes from others and when it comes from your own mouth.
Zhang Yue came out of the Jiaoyin Shop, looked at the salt banknotes in his hands and said to himself: "The salt banknotes in Jiechi were sold by the court for six guan each, but now they can be sold for 19 guan and 500 yuan! What's the reason for this?"
Zhang Yue immediately returned home from Jiaoyinpu, went to Qi Niang and asked, "Do you know what the price of salt is in Beijing now?"
Seventeen Niang said: "The price of salt has increased several times, but the officials have never asked me about this matter. Why do you ask me this suddenly?"
Zhang Yue asked: "Xiangong Han wants me to be the judge of the Salt and Iron Division and to oversee the salt case in the capital, so I ask this question!"
The Seventeenth Mother was surprised and happy, bowed and said: "Congratulations, officer!"
Zhang Yue looked at the happy expression on Qi Niang's face and thought that having a wife who expected her husband to become a dragon was really a bit stressful.
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "What a surprise, Mr. Han has given me a difficult problem. Why do you think the price of salt has increased several times?"
Seventeen Niang said with a smile: "Officials don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are when they don't belong to the family. This time the new king ascends the throne, he will reward the imperial army with 11 million guan and give a reward of 4 million guan to the civil servants. Where do you think so much money is going to go?
Where to go?”
Zhang Yue suddenly said: "No wonder the price of salt is so high. This is inflation!"
Fifteen million yuan is equivalent to a quarter of the national fiscal revenue. This large amount of funds was decentralized, which suddenly caused the prices of bulk commodities to be pushed up. The first one to bear the brunt was salt banknotes. The price of salt banknotes was increased several times.
, and the increased price of salt banknotes has also spread to the middle and lower reaches of the country, and the salt commonly eaten in the market is several times more expensive.
"What do officials mean by inflation?" Seventeen Niang asked.
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "Madam, that's a way of saying it. What kind of salt does our family eat now?"
The Seventeenth Mother pursed her lips and smiled and said: "Our family eats green salt. We don't have to buy it with money. It was given by the officials when they gave lectures, and the officials have forgotten it."
Zhang Yue forgot about this incident.
"What about what ordinary people eat?"
Seventeen Niang said: "Ordinary officials only eat salt. If they are poorer, they eat powdered salt, or buy private salt. Of course, the best salt among salts is salt salt."
Green salt is the best salt, but it is usually not available because it is a tribute from Xixia. The Song Dynasty strictly prohibits the entry of any green salt except through the border market.
Minced salt is sea salt. Sea salt has a very bad taste and varies in quality. Sichuan well salt is mined in small quantities, so people eat mostly grain salt, and grain salt is the first choice to dissolve salt.
The imperial court issued salt quotations from Anyi Pond in Jiechi every year.
After merchants buy salt from the banknote store, they go to Jiechi to collect salt.
Therefore, the so-called salt banknotes and salt currency, in other words, are actually banknotes with a reserve fund based on the salt solution produced by Chichi every year.
Zhang Yue looked at the salt banknotes in his hand. The so-called salt banknotes were one hundred and sixteen kilograms. The salt banknotes given by the court were six guan per seat. Now he was fired to almost 20 guan per seat.
Zhang Yue understood that Han Qi would really... really create problems for him.
But Zhang Yue decided to take the job anyway. Yes, the Jingyan officials were very good, and the officials all claimed to be the emperor's masters, but in fact they were just "Qing guests" invited by the emperor.
People respect you just for the sake of the officials. If the officials are not strong, then everything is in vain.
Being an official also requires power!
A man cannot live without power for a day, power is the backbone of a man.
A few days later, the errands from the political hall officially arrived.
After Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang became famous, they were led by Han Qi to visit the Queen Mother and the officials.
The first place where the curtains of the Queen Mother's official residence are located is the small east gate hall, which was originally the place where Hanlin scholars received the emperor's summons.
After the official ascended the throne, he became seriously ill. One day he screamed and walked around wildly, unable to show courtesy. Han Qi threw his staff and mantle curtain to hug the official, and then he stopped.
After that, the officials were constantly ill and could not handle the affairs of the government, so they recuperated in the west of Rouyi Hall. The place where the officials entered was also changed to the west of Rouyi Hall. Now the Empress Dowager Cao is handling state affairs, and she sits in the east of Rouyi Hall.
Listen to politics behind the curtain.
On this day, Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang first went to Xihe of Rouyi Hall to pay their respects to the officials and asked how the Holy Body was doing. The officials responded with silence as always. Zhang Yue and Lu Dafang withdrew from Xihe and went to Donghe.
Reporting to Empress Dowager Cao in front of the curtain.
Empress Dowager Cao behind the curtain said: "I heard Ren Shouzhong say that although Zhang Qing and Lu Qing are capable, their qualifications are shallow. With the power of three ministers, it may be difficult for them to take on the important responsibilities."
"But Mr. Han Xianggong said that now the rice and salt in the capital have soared, and the dignitaries have food and housing as usual, but this has made the people miserable. When I was not the queen, I lived among the people, and I knew that the people had no savings in their homes, and the food was not enough for a liter.
, salt is even less geometric.”
"Nowadays, the grain and salt in the capital are rising three times a day, and the people have no savings at home, so they can only buy them at high prices. The officials originally had good intentions in rewarding the military officials, but in the end it harmed the people. What do I feel when things happen like this?
Forbearance. Since you two have been elected as judges of the Third Division by Prime Minister Han, you need to handle this matter well, and the salt and grain in Beijing that I want to see within a month will be stabilized!"
Zhang Yue felt his blood boiling after hearing this. He was touched by Empress Dowager Cao's compassion for the people, and he also deeply felt the great responsibility on his shoulders.
Han Qi said from the side: "Xueshi Zhang, what do you want to say to the Queen Mother?"
Zhang Yue said: "I was recommended by the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager to live in a humble place. I have all experienced the sufferings suffered by the common people."
"Now that I am an official, I dare not forget the pain that I felt back then. Today, as an advisor to the Queen Mother, I only have eight words to say, 'As an official, I will benefit the people during my term.'"
Behind the curtain, Empress Dowager Cao said happily: "Very good. I have remembered Zhang Qing's words, 'Serving as an official will benefit the people for one term.' Let's do it!"
