The atmosphere in the huge Chinese Army Hall was subtle and tense. Due to the large number of people and the many braziers, many people were already sweating on their foreheads. People like Master Fahe who were slightly richer had their faces even more shiny.

At this moment, Zhao Guanjia just lowered his head and looked at his notes, but the atmosphere became more and more intense.

"As a military attache, I shouldn't interfere in national affairs, but since the officials have said that anyone can speak out about politics today, I will take the liberty to talk about financial matters from the military."

After arguing for a while, even Li Qiong, the right deputy commander of the imperial camp, couldn't help but suddenly intervened. "Since money is needed, it is not advisable for the common people to be bullied, because they have been able to rebel since ancient times.

They are just the common people who can be bullied! There were two major turmoils caused by taxation in this dynasty. One was Fang La, who relied on the poor people in the southeast market; the other was Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao, whose foundations were Jing Xiang's.

Fishermen and farmers, this is what we have learned from the past! On the contrary, it is the monasteries, merchants... To put it bluntly, have monks and merchants rebelled since ancient times? The country is in danger, and it is time to kill them to enrich themselves! They are powerful landlords, there are really many

Long-sighted man, you don’t need Yue Jiedu to level it this time. The world is far south and the sea is north, and in the end you will level it for the officials! Let’s see who is the sharpest swordsman?”

Li Qiong was born as a student in the state, and he is considered a wise and far-sighted person. However, now he is just a warrior leader of the Northerners in exile. He is most concerned about the Northern Expedition, but he does not have the overall view and compassion of Yue Fei. He is young and

When he was so angry, he could not help but be extreme in related matters. On the day of the peace talks in the court, everyone was worried that he would cause trouble. It was not without reason.

However, when such fierce words were spoken at this time, no one scolded or refuted them, and even caused a moment of silence on the scene, which aggravated the solemnity of the atmosphere... After all, everyone knows that regardless of the official's words at this time,

Ban Ansheng, with this person's temper, there is no telling when it will break out, and it really comes down to the issue of the knife.

Even Li Qiong just figured it out and used his unscrupulous characteristics as an exiled army leader in Hebei... In any case, the Eight-Character Army and the Imperial Camp Front Army are a trump card in the hands of the Zhao Guan family.

However, at this time, after looking down at the notes for a while and thinking for a long time, Zhao Guanjia finally raised his head: "I will express my position first... It is okay to discuss things, don't shout and kill at every turn. I want to

When Wanqi Jinglue was serving as censor, he once advised me that the situation before Yaoshan was completely different from that after Yaoshan. The country was in crisis before and no extraordinary measures could be taken. However,

I did extraordinary things then just so that I would not do extraordinary things today.”

Li Qiong quickly apologized and then returned to the sequence.

Zhao Jiu paused for a moment, but then continued: "Just now, several prime ministers, several ministers, and Chen Jijiu all said very good things, but Vice Dutong Li, although his words were a bit absurd.

, but the truth is still somewhat real... The country is short of money, but it must not exploit the people anymore. It can only take it from the property owners who are above the people. And these property owners, whether monks or merchants,

, the landlords, and even the nobles, are definitely rich, and can even be said to be the richest at the moment. They enjoy their gains in peacetime, but if the country is in trouble, of course they can only be asked to contribute. But, how should they contribute?

You can't rob by force, right? Even if it's possible, it's not enough to win people's trust. What's more, once the plunder is done, it can only go up, but how can the boundary be divided down? Landlords and wealthy businessmen can easily seize the family property, will the rich households also have to do it?

Hand it over? After the rich families, will the middle-class families also have to be tortured? There will be no boundaries, and big troubles will occur. Therefore, we have to find a way to be polite, legal, and within limits.

Take the money out of these wealthy families and use it."

To be honest, the monks, Taoists, and businessmen who came to the scene today were all in a state of confusion, rising and falling. But in a place like this, they didn't have the right to speak, so they could only stand there and suffer...

No, just as soon as the officials spoke to each other, they sank to the bottom of the mud pit and then floated to the surface again.

"Official family." Hearing Zhao Jiu's words, Lin Qi, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, couldn't wait to say. "I just said Jiaozi, and that's what the national debt means... Now that the country is stable, why not follow the example of Jiaozi in Sichuan, in Tokyo, Chang'an

, Nanyang, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, six offices, Nanyang, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, will be reestablished or newly established at the same time. They will be issued properly to ensure the reliable passage of Jiaozi. As for the national debt, I believe that the national debt should also change according to the times. With the degree of popularity of the national debt, no matter how popular it is,

Instead of repurchasing them at higher interest rates, they should sell them at higher interest rates. There is no need to set a six-month or one-year period, but instead allow long-term holdings. And the gold, silver and copper coins obtained from the sale of government bonds can be used as reserves for payment.

I will make a bold calculation. If it can be done, I will always have an income of ten million yuan, and in the future I will be able to have an income of ten million yuan every year."

After Lin Qi said this, the monks, Taoists, nobles and wealthy businessmen in the distance all had their own thoughts. If they just bought national debt and the amount was not too extreme, why not? But according to the words of the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, I am afraid that it must be matched with part of the transaction.

I might as well feel some pain in my body.

Unexpectedly, after Lin Qi said such appropriate words, Zhao Guanjia didn't even say a word of praise. Not only that, several prime ministers also looked at each other.

After a long pause, the person who spoke to Lin Qi was actually his political ally, Yushi Zhongcheng Li Guang: "Lin Shangshu... what you said is very reasonable. Jiaozi's national debt is a good thing. The imperial court

It must be done, but let me ask you, if the national debt no longer bears interest but is issued with a positive interest rate, how much can it be sold? If you only focus on earning this interest, does it conflict with the fundamentals of the national debt emergency response? "

Lin Qi frowned slightly and was about to answer.

But Li Guang didn't give the other party a chance to think, and directly revealed the answer: "If the court wants to make interest money, where is the green seedling method?"

Lin Qi was speechless and found it hard to answer for a moment, while the civil and military officials, monks and laymen of the court, both noble and lowly, were also in a daze, and then started to burst into excitement.

Without him, the term "Qingmiao Law" touched upon the core contradictions in politics and economy of the Song Dynasty.

Anyone with a little common sense knows that one of the core laws of Wang Anshi's reform is the "Young Crops Law", and the "Green Crops Law" replaces the property owners who are loan sharks with the government and directly lends money to the poor... This is a theoretical framework

It is an excellent economic regulation that was very effective when tested in small-scale areas. However, in the final implementation, although it succeeded in making money, it failed completely in terms of people's livelihood, economy and political morality.

Even the failure of Wang Anshi's reform could not escape from this green seedling method.

At the same time, everyone finally understood why the government wanted to gather together such a messy group of monks, Taoist priests, nobles, and wealthy businessmen, and then let these people enter the palace in the first batch.

It should be noted that according to the theory that economic foundation determines everything, by the Song Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism were no longer purely religious groups. Although they still maintained their basic religious instincts, they also engaged in some upper-level lines from time to time. However, following Confucianism and Buddhism,

The three Taoist schools merged, religious theory was completely localized, and the temple economy gradually became powerful and landlord-oriented, so after all, more thoughts were put on the direction of land management and expansion.

From this perspective, monks and Taoist priests are basically more like big landowners.

However, unlike ordinary landowners, their religious characteristics naturally allow them to have more money gathering functions... Come to think of it, who really converts all the money they collect into gold to build a golden body?

Filling it with copper inside and adding a layer of gold powder on the outside makes it very conscientious.

There are also printing of Buddhist scriptures and local business club activities, all of which openly collect money from believers. There is no need to mention the 30-70 split account. The key is which account was made public?

As a result, the believers' gold, silver, copper coins, silk, and food gradually filled the cellars. With spare money in hand, greed caused mischief, and they couldn't help but think that money can make money, so they naturally started to lend money at usury.

Monks and Taoist priests are the most active in lending among the landlords. Most temples even have professional loan functions, which makes them account for a considerable proportion of the landlords’ lending business... It can only be said that throughout the ages, North and South have

Chinese and foreign, whether foreign monks or Taoist priests, they are all the same thing.

Look next door, aren't the Knights Templar also very good at it?

This is determined by religious characteristics.

At the same time, as the top big landowner, Xungui has amassed the most money and has the most money. He must lend money, even to both urban and rural areas.

There is no need for businessmen to say much. Their profession is such, but they often cannot compete with temples and landlords in the countryside, so their influence is generally in the market.

In other words, these people who came here inexplicably today finally found a common label between them...loan sharks in the feudal era!

As for the "Young Crop Law", to put it bluntly, the court came to lend usury and seize the loan sharking market. However, the nominal interest rate will be lower, which seems to be beneficial to people's livelihood!

"Official!"

In the midst of the chaos, someone gritted his teeth and broke the silence. It was Chen Gongfu, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel who had previously supported the attack on these people and had a fierce attitude. "We must not repeat the Qingmiao method!"

"Why not?" Chen Kangbo, who was still on the same front as the Imperial College priest just now, immediately came out to protest. ""Guanzi" says that if you make a profit, the country will prosper. This is the truth! The rich and the poor lend money and easily reap the benefits.

, it’s time for the government to take advantage of this and use it for great things!”

Chen Gongfu shook his head repeatedly: "I deeply agree with the argument, but no matter how good it is, it will not delay the defeat of the new law."

"The failure of the Green Seed Law was due to the fact that while it benefited the people, it harmed countless wealthy people like those in today's hall. The wealthy people entangled with the old party and deceived the Shenzong." Chen Kangbo continued to defend without hesitation. "Again.

In addition, in order to build momentum for the new party, King Wang Shu hastily appointed many shameless people and corrupted the new law during its implementation. This made Qingmiao's power fail! And where is the old party now? And with the power of the officials, will they be deceived by these villains in the hall?

As long as we hire the right people, we can succeed!"

"This matter is not that simple." Chen Gongfu still shook his head. "I am a few years older. I have witnessed the government forcibly apportioning money and forcing households to borrow money... Doesn't Chen Jijiu talk about the original theory and practice?"

"you……"

"President Fahe." Just when the dispute was getting bigger, Zhao Jiu suddenly spoke, but he named one person. "You are the Arhat I appointed, why don't you speak?"

Fahe's face was shiny and dripping with sweat. Hearing the words, he quickly stepped out of the queue, clasped his hands and bowed: "Your Majesty, this young monk dare not speak out about national affairs."

"I won't ask you about national affairs, but about ordinary things." Zhao Jiu responded with a smile. "Does Shaolin Temple lend money, Qingmiao Loan?"

Not to mention that the officials were obviously prepared, but they just asked casually. There was no way to hide the matter, so after hesitating for a moment, Fahe gritted his teeth and said honestly: "So that the officials know that Qinghuang will not accept it."

At that time, when seeds and agricultural tools were needed before spring plowing, the Shaolin Temple did lend money and grain to tenant farmers and Dengfeng people."

Zhao Jiu nodded: "How much interest?"

"Young crop loans do not matter the month or the year, but only the season." Fahe could only answer the message with a private question, but under the light, his bald head was wrinkled and soft.

As the saying goes, "40% interest."

"Has the interest rate always been like this?" Zhao Jiu's face was as usual and his voice was gentle.

"Of course not." The grease on Fahe's face became more and more conspicuous, but he did not dare to hide it at all. "It is said that a long time ago, the interest rate was 50%, but after Wang Xiang publically established the "Green Miao Law", both monks, Taoists and merchants in Henan area

The customs have probably changed the rules and become 30%..."

"Because the Youth Law stipulates that the upper limit of youth loan interest is 30%?"

"Yes Yes!"

"Then what?" Zhao Jiu did not pursue the malicious intent of the reactionary forces against the government, but continued to ask in an easy-going manner.

"Then...then after the "Green Seeds Law" was abolished, it gradually became 40%." Fa He was cautious. "There was great chaos in the past few years, and before Mr. Xu took charge of the farming in Henan, there was a time when seeds were scarce and valuable, and some places changed again.

It became 50%, and later after Mr. Xu took control, it gradually returned to 40%."

"You are still talking about market economy." Zhao Jiu laughed out loud rarely, but sighed for a moment after laughing. "But this lending is really the fastest-growing business in the world. 40% of it is a conscience price, and 30% of it is from the court.

Good governance... No wonder you all became rich men, and no wonder King Wang Shu’s new law failed so quickly, but he still collected so much money for the court to use the army."

Fahe tried his best to respond: "Officials, this matter is inevitable...it is indeed the people who have such needs."

"I know." Zhao Jiu shook his head and said again. "Even if this dynasty is dead and the emperor is gone, this loan sharking business will be inevitable. But Fahe, do you think Guan Zi's sharpness can make a difference, right?"

"Guan Jia." Fa Heqing knew that the most critical time had come, but he mustered up the courage to confront him. "The young monk dare not speak extravagantly about the sage, but he dares to guarantee that the people in Dengfeng are very enthusiastic about the young crops loan in our Shaolin Temple.

I have always been happy... When the people are poor and have no way out, the rich contribute money to help each other and collect interest in return. Isn't this not helping the rich and the poor? Isn't it a good thing? "
To be continued...