Yang Guang is not proficient in finance. In fact, no one among the elites of this era has studied finance specifically. But everyone knows that money is just a carrier of firewood, rice, oil and salt. Once the firewood, rice, oil and salt cannot be kept up and bought, no matter how much money your family has, They would also starve to death or freeze to death. Once the court issued coins like crazy, it would cause money to become worthless and prices to skyrocket. The money that people had worked so hard to save would also become worthless. When they sell grain, they might just A dou of rice costs two or three cents, but if you buy grain when the currency is devalued, you may not be able to buy a dou of rice with all the money you have accumulated in your lifetime. Therefore, all dynasties in the Sui Dynasty were very cautious in coin casting. In the Sui Dynasty, the price of goods and the issuance of coins were based on the price of grain, which was always kept at about two to three qian per dou of rice. On this basis, the price was adjusted as appropriate. Issue coins.
The great turmoil caused by the proliferation of private money and soaring prices had occurred during the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty. At that time, Yang Guang pacified Nanchen and unified the country, completely eclipsing the then crown prince Yang Yong. At that time, unimaginable amounts of private money suddenly appeared in counties and counties in the northern states, making it impossible for the people to buy a bucket of rice after several years of savings. , causing great turmoil and riots among the people in the north.
After the last investigation, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty said that the money came from Yangzhou and was done by Yang Guang, the general manager of Yangzhou and the king of Jin. His purpose was to use private money to plunder private wealth and trigger turmoil in the north so that he could initiate a change of dynasty. However, only Yang Guang himself knew that he had never done such a stupid thing.
It is true that Yang Guang officially coveted the position of crown prince because of Ping Nan Chen Zhigong, but he would never pay the price for the Sui Dynasty's chaos; because he knew that the Sui Dynasty's chaos would do him no good at all. The Sui Dynasty was in troubled times again. Even if he became emperor, what would be the use? It's just that all the evidence points to him, and he has no defense.
At the critical juncture of the stalemate, Bingzhou, managed by Yang Jun, and Yizhou, managed by Yang Xiu, were "also" flooded with private money, and the finger was directed at Yang Jun, the general manager of Bingzhou, and Yang Xiu, the general manager of Yizhou.
All of a sudden, the clouds cleared and the rain cleared.
Although the mastermind behind the scenes has not surfaced and Yang Jian has no conclusive evidence, but the matter has reached this point, no evidence is needed; but any official with a little knowledge can guess that it was the prince Yang Yong who did it, and his purpose was to kill him in one fell swoop Get rid of the King of Jin, King of Qin, and King of Shu.
In fact, Yang Jian was not without suspicion and fear of Yang Guang, who had great achievements in power. In addition, Yang Guang had no way to defend himself from the sudden private money. If Yang Yong was specifically targeting him, he would really not be able to defeat Yang Yong. It's just that Yang Yong was too ambitious and tried to catch all three younger brothers in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, his ambition not only failed, but also disappointed Yang Jian. Yang Guang also escaped disaster because of Yang Yong's blind pursuit of greatness. (Note)
Yang Guang was almost killed by private money. He knew the harm of private money very well and hated the people who minted private money. However, the plate handed over by Dugu Min was filled with all kinds of private money; No wonder Yang Guang's face changed when he saw it.
The so-called private money is actually fake money. Today's counterfeit money mainly focuses on the copper content. The copper content of official money is as high as 95%, the thickness is uniform, and the texture is complex and exquisite. People who cast private money first use copper at home to cast it; second, they use official money to cast it. Melt copper into liquid, and then make a few pieces of fake money; the fake money they made was either thinner than official money, or mixed with iron, lead, or tin. Then use these fake money to rob people of their labor income.
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【The rise and fall of the Sui Dynasty Lord】 【】
"Aunt, where did this private money come from?" Yang Guang grabbed a handful of private money and looked at it, then raised his head and asked.
"Collected from the shop!" Dugu Min sighed and said to Yang Guang: "Sage, since the imperial court entered the customs, private money began to appear in the three cities of Luoyang. At first, I didn't take it to heart. After all, this kind of money Repeated bans have continued. But the day before yesterday, private money suddenly broke out. People who use private money put real and fake money together. If a merchant is not careful, he will receive private money and lose his capital, so he did it once In business, it takes a lot of effort just to identify money. Prices in the three cities of Luoyang have now skyrocketed because of this; taking food as an example, the price of a bucket of rice has doubled."
Hearing this, Yang Guang's face fell like water and he asked: "Auntie, I wonder if the governor of Henan Prefecture has done anything?"
"Lu Fuyin has intervened. They have used government officials to arrest many people who used private money. However, although the public complaints have subsided, this method can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause." Dugu Min said: "I feel that this matter is not correct. It's so unusual, and I don't know if the court is concerned about it, so I took advantage of the opportunity to visit my grandson and brought some private money over."
After hesitating for a moment, Dugu Min glanced at Yang Guang worriedly and said with a wry smile: "Sage, the three cities in Luoyang say that these private money come from Liangzhou, and this money is cast by Vajra slaves."
"Auntie, you can rest assured. Someone once used this method to drive a wedge between Aye and me; now there are also people who want to drive a wedge between our royal family." Yang Guang sneered when he heard the last sentence. He knew it would be like this. the result of! The next step is probably based on the close relationship. First, Yang Lun, the shepherd of Jizhou, who has the best relationship with Yang Ji, made private money in Jizhou, followed by Yang Jing, the shepherd of Qingzhou, Yang Zhiji, the shepherd of Yangzhou. If not, the prince and Dugu Kai, the governor of Bingzhou, , Jiaozhou governor Liu Fang was also involved. But Yang Guang had almost fallen for this trick before, so how could he be fooled?
Besides, everyone has a rebellious heart. After firmly believing that someone was trying to alienate the royal family, Yang Guang trusted these brothers more and more. What's more, Yang Ji guards the Silk Road and is also responsible for selling arms/fire. How could he be short of money? And Yang Jing, the poorest among the four princes, has now found a treasure. How could they be stupid and make personal money?
They are not fools. Instead of illegally making personal money, they might as well pool their money to open a gold mine in Qingzhou, where the money they make will not be hot and will be much more.
Originally, Yang Guang planned to hand over the gold and silver mines discovered by Yang Jing to the government, but now he changed his mind and decided to classify the mineral deposits that were still confidential as a royal mine, and then manage and supervise the mining of Zongzheng Temple. . Make those damn bastards jealous.
As for the 50,000 prisoners that Yang Jina planned to send, they would all be set as royal slaves.
He wanted to see who dared to object!
Yang Guang was so angry that he refused to eat. He comforted Dugu Min, said hello to Queen Xiao, and asked Yang An to pick up the plate full of private money and return to Anren Hall angrily.
When he arrived at the palace, he slapped the table and shouted: "Summon all the ministers and ministers in the council hall to come and see me."
Yang Guang had something to discuss with these people, and everyone was waiting in the meeting hall, so not long after, the prime ministers Su Wei, Gao Jiong, Yang Xiong, Changsun Chi, Pei Ju, Xiao Jue, Zhang Heng, Li Ziquan, and his subordinates Nayan Yang Da, the Minister of Internal Affairs Zhou Fashang, the Minister of Civil Affairs Niu Hong, the Minister of Civil Affairs Yang Wensi, the Minister of Rites Yang Xuangan, the Minister of War Duan Wenduan, the Minister of Punishment Li Yuantong, and the Minister of Industry Yu Wenkai rushed to Anren Hall.
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【The rise and fall of the Sui Dynasty Lord】 【】
When everyone saw Yang Guang's posture, they knew that the emperor was very angry now, and they were inevitably a little uneasy. Yang Guang flicked the plate on the imperial eucalyptus hard, and the plate fell to the ground. His private money was scattered all over the floor. He roared. Xiaozhu said: "Look carefully, tell me, what are these?"
Everyone leaned down and each picked up a few pieces of private money to look at it. Their expressions became extremely serious. They were all high-ranking local officials. Even Yang Xuangan had been the head of a county, so everyone knew that private money was no less harmful. Yu rebelled and finally understood why the emperor was so angry.
Su Wei bowed and said: "Sage, private money casting has been banned repeatedly since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. The court also killed many illegal traders who minted money. However, the illegal profits contained in private money always prompted some people to take risks. .”
"That's because the imperial court was too kind to these people in the past. They didn't kill them hard enough, not enough, and in the wrong way. From now on, those who dare to mint money will be the Yi tribe." Yang Guang knew that the so-called traders were all They are scapegoats, all slaves of aristocratic families. Small businessmen with official status do not have the strength, courage, financial resources and courage to make private money, and the court just kills these groups who are obviously scapegoats, which is of no use.
He snorted coldly and continued in a serious tone: "In order to let certain people keep a close eye on their dogs, in the future, no matter which family releases the dogs for making private money, the owner and his family will also be punished with confiscation of all property and loss of money." He deserves a heavy fine of three thousand li; if his dog or his slave throws more than a hundred guan of private money into the market, the owner and the dog are both guilty... Not only those who cast private money, but also those who dare to use private money to defraud the people will also be punished Severe punishment will be meted out according to the law.”
"Clear rewards and punishments, and a certain degree of relaxation are good ways to govern a country. Mere punishments without rewards will only make those who make private money more united; but I believe that the illegal gangs are by no means monolithic. Under threat, there will be people within it who are afraid of death, afraid of being implicated, and who also want to receive rewards. Therefore, in order to encourage the relatives, family records, and slaves of those who make private money to report lawbreakers, I decided to report traitors in the same way as He will be rewarded heavily; as long as the verification is true, the rewards will be paid out in full. If he reports a huge gang that makes private money and a huge amount of private money, he will be awarded a knighthood."
Hearing this, all the ministers felt a moment of silence for these private money miners. The emperor has begun to use methods of dividing and dissenting, supporting and rewarding to govern the country. You just wait to die!
Yang Guang looked at the ministers and continued: "From ancient times to the present, whenever there is an overflow of private money, prices will soar and complaints will rise, and the foundation of the country will be shaken. However, the method pursued by the past dynasties is to kill everyone on sight. That is me In the Sui Dynasty, there was no perfect law to regulate money, but once private money flooded the market, it would cause huge turmoil. In view of the fact that money is closely related to people's livelihood and the destiny of the country, I decided to treat this matter as a top priority. You go down From now on, immediately draw up laws related to money as I said before.”
As Yang Ji said: As long as the court has laws promulgated and there are laws to abide by, then it is the local government's business to enforce them or not; if the local governments do not act, then the people who know that there is this law will not blame them. Instead of focusing on the imperial court, they discussed the matter on a case-by-case basis and blamed the crime on the local officials.
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【The rise and fall of the Sui Dynasty Lord】 【】
Afterwards, the court only needs to respond to the people's calls and punish illegal officials in accordance with the law to restore the "image" of the court.
Yang Guang had some disapproval of this in the past; in his view, the central government and local governments, the emperor and officials were an inseparable whole. However, after trying it several times, he found that this method was really good. Many knowledgeable people believe that all motives of the court are for the good of everyone. The bad ones are those corrupt officials who deceive the superiors and conceal the actions of the subordinates. The actions of corrupt officials are just individual cases, and the entire court cannot be viewed as an individual case.
"I obey!" All the ministers responded loudly.
Yang Guang decided on the general direction of punishing private money, and then returned the topic to the current private money incident. He told Zhang Heng and Li Yuantong: "Zhang Xiangguo and Li Shangshu, these private money came from Luoyang. It is said that it has flooded the three cities of Luoyang. It's a disaster. One of you is the imperial censor and the other is the minister of the Ministry of Justice. The investigation and seizure of private money will be left to you two. You must investigate this matter clearly and clearly for me before the Northern Inspection. .”
At this point, Yang Guang leaned forward slightly and said coldly to the two of them: "What I want to remind you is that there are such nonsense as King Wei first casting his private money, and King Teng, King Dao, and King Cai following him. ,I do not want to hear."
"I will definitely handle this matter!" The power of the emperor and the meaning represented by "King Wei, King Teng, King Dao, King Cai" made Zhang Heng and Li Yuantong frightened and secretly complained.
The two of them knew very well about the major private money incident that year; Zhang Heng was the general manager of the Yangzhou General Manager's Office at the time, and was well aware of the seriousness and complexity of the situation at that time.
Judging from the saint's last words, this private money case was not simply about profit-making, but a serious political incident, and its target was directed at the royal family and the four princes.
This matter is very difficult to handle! But no matter how hard it is to handle, we still have to handle it. Who told them to do this?
Zhang Heng pondered for a long time and then asked Yang Guang for orders: "Sage, this matter is unusual. I am worried that some officials from Luoyang are also involved. I implore the sage to give us the power to mobilize officials, government servants, and soldiers in Yuzhou and Henan."
"Precisely!" Yang Guang took out a gold medal, handed it to Zhang Heng, and said in a deep voice: "Zhang Xiangguo is in charge of this matter. As long as you have needs, even the local garrison can be mobilized."
"Thank you, saint!" Zhang Heng breathed a sigh of relief and accepted the gold medal. He hesitated for a moment, then worriedly raised his hands to Yang Guang and said: "Sage, the serious consequences of private money are often skyrocketing prices, and the first one to bear the brunt must be the price of food. People don't know the authenticity. Once they see others rushing to buy food, they will also They will follow the trend and rob. The old minister suggested using Changping warehouse to stabilize the price of grain to prevent the situation from escalating!"
"Yes, saint!" Su Wei also raised his hands and said in agreement: "Spreading rumors, creating chaos, and driving up food prices are often one of the methods used by profiteers to make huge profits. These people will do anything to make profits, and in the end The best way is to open warehouses to sell grain and stabilize grain prices. I think..."
"That won't work!" Yang Guang waved his hand to interrupt Su Wei, and said coldly to Zhang Heng and Li Yuantong: "After you arrive in Luoyang, check your private money first; as for the profiteers, leave them alone, let these profiteers make trouble, just let these When profiteers drive up food prices, all you need to do is note which profiteers are taking advantage of the situation. When things get serious, raid their homes and use their heads to quell public dissatisfaction."
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【The rise and fall of the Sui Dynasty Lord】 【】
After hearing this, everyone felt horrified, knowing that those big families that mainly sell grain were about to be in trouble.
"Saint!" Gao Jiong thought for a while and then said with a cupped hand: "The illegal and profiteers are extremely hateful. Killing them is indeed a gratifying move; but after all, Luoyang is the capital of the Sui Dynasty with a large population. The veteran believes that everything must have a degree, if If you do it too much, it will be difficult to clean up afterwards.”
In this regard, Yang Guang followed suit and said to Zhang Heng and Li Yuantong: "You must control this yourself. Do not use the grain from the official warehouse until absolutely necessary. But there is one thing you must remember: I want to kill a batch to push up grain prices. The profiteers who have skyrocketed are serving as a warning to others!"
"Here!" Zhang Heng and Li Yuantong said goodbye and left.
Yang Guang is still an emperor no matter how you say it. In fact, he does not reject this kind of factional dispute at all. For him, whether those who made private money or profiteers who took advantage of the fire were seeking profit, or whether they were targeting Yang Ji, it was actually secondary. The reason why he was so angry was that the man behind the scenes was fighting for power at the expense of the foundation of the imperial court and the interests of the people. This move had seriously violated Yang Guang's inner limit and was what he could not tolerate the most.
The second is that Yang Guang regards the Northern Patrol as a major event, and there may be a big war. However, before he officially patrols the Northern Patrol, the city of Luoyang in the east becomes riotous. If he didn't kill a group of people at this time, the situation would be in chaos after he arrived in the north.
The implication is that you can make trouble and fight, but you cannot play with "my" country.
As for Yang Guang, the emperor who is an average referee, he originally favored Yang Ji's side, but the other boxer didn't understand the rules and actually punched the referee hard before the match. He was so stupid that he could attack you.
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[Note: There is a history of this coin war; Yang Guang was found out first, and he was in a very unfavorable situation at the time. Yang Yong was at the height of his power at that time, and almost all of the people in the center were his. Perhaps Yang Yong's faction saw that Yang Guang was about to finish, and Yang Jun had a good relationship with Yang Guang and was one of the main forces in Pingnan Chen, so they wanted to win over Yang Jian. The illusion of "two kings joining forces to tear the world apart" was created in front of him, prompting Yang Jian to make up his mind to punish Yang Guang, so he dragged Yang Jun into it; then, Yang Xiu couldn't escape either.
But it was precisely because they were blindly confident, blindly expanded the scope of their attack, and did not adopt the tactic of "breaking off one of their ten fingers instead of hurting them"; in the end, nothing happened to Yang Guang, Yang Jun, and Yang Xiu.
Through this example, it can be seen that battles for the right to inherit the throne were ubiquitous in ancient times. Compared with the open battles in the capital and the court, the secret contests were undoubtedly more exciting and cruel. Compared with other places, the "drizzle-like" battles in the capital and the court may not even be the main battlefield; maybe a humble official in a small place can reverse the situation.
I think the legend of Chu Liuxiang and the legend of Lu Xiaofeng are more appropriate to describe a battle of this level: before Chu Liuxiang and Lu Xiaofeng took action, the enemy was already in danger and their defeat was decided, and the final battle was nothing more than Just meaning. 】
