HLnovel Chapter 294 Salt Certificate System
Chapter 294 Salt Certificate System
"Later, some Tang Dynasty documents recorded that although food boxes could be used for packaging, it was far less developed than in the Song Dynasty, and the cost of packaging was also relatively expensive."
"By the Song Dynasty, it had become a matter of ordering dishes and having them delivered by special personnel, and there was indeed a lot of delicious food in the Song Dynasty."
"Ahem, I've digressed. Tea in the Song Dynasty was different from that in previous dynasties. It gradually became a daily necessity for the people of Song, and it came in various forms, such as brewing tea, whisking tea, and so on. There were also all sorts of other tea drinks."
"For example, there's perilla drink, which is made by boiling perilla leaves, ginger, and dried tangerine peel together in water, and then chilling it. There are also things like crispy yams, which are very refreshing to eat in the summer!"
Then, the people in Wanchaozhong saw videos of delicious food appear on the small screen.
Oh my, isn't this a delicacy from the Song Dynasty?
After Lin's enticing words, I really want to eat it!
Let's get started with Suohuan (a Song Dynasty term for takeout)!
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke continued, "This shows that tea in the Song Dynasty truly permeated all levels of society at that time and could be considered a daily necessity."
"As for salt, it is used as an everyday commodity. According to historical records, there are about 30 kinds, but the Song Dynasty only used four kinds."
"However, their salt is quite troublesome. Different types of salt are supplied to different places. For example, sea salt is supplied to people on Hebei Road, Huainan Road, and other eleven roads."
"Therefore, as everyday commodities like salt and tea, once the economy is reformed, the profits that can be obtained are enormous!"
"Simply put, Cai Jing mainly abolished the government's control over tea and salt, and then distributed this monopoly system to private merchants."
"There was a background to this: due to years of military campaigns in Shaanxi, there was a shortage of food supplies. In order to alleviate this situation, the government recruited salt merchants to transport supplies to the border areas and exchange goods of equivalent value for salt certificates."
"Or you could buy salt certificates with some money, then transport salt to Jiezhou, and then sell it in designated areas. Although it was a bit troublesome, there was still a profit to be made, so there were quite a few people who did this business."
"However, when Cai Jing took office, the salt ponds in Jiezhou were damaged by flooding and could no longer produce new salt. This not only prevented the merchants from exchanging for new salt, but also affected the country's finances."
"Therefore, Cai Jing reformed the salt certificate system, established new certificate purchasing offices, and printed new salt certificates."
"Salt merchants bought more salt notes, which increased the price of salt. Later, Cai Jing continued to issue new salt notes, making it more difficult to exchange old notes for new ones. When exchanging for new notes, old notes could only be discounted or charged extra."
"However, as soon as the salt merchants exchanged for new salt notes, he immediately issued new ones, and they had to pay more to exchange them again. The essence of this matter was to make money. With Cai Jing doing this, the fiscal revenue of the Northern Song Dynasty naturally increased."
"Besides the imperial court profiting, the salt merchants and ordinary people who wanted to buy salt didn't actually benefit much. The same goes for tea permits; the ultimate goal was still to make money."
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: My goodness! How can he be so capable?!
Fang Xuanling of the Tang Dynasty: Ultimately, it became a law that harmed the people!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty: ...It really can make money!
A scholar-official from the Han Dynasty said: "Although he is cunning, he is quite capable..."
A scion of a prominent family during the Qing Dynasty: But is it because he has a high-ranking official who loves to play around? All his stuff is incredibly expensive!
……
"If the initial purpose of the reform was to enrich the country and strengthen its military, then it has indeed been achieved. With just the revenue from salt and tea, the Northern Song Dynasty was no longer in deficit."
"However, Cai Jing was indeed formidable; when he came to power, he faced Emperor Huizong's ambitions."
"Emperor Shenzong was a ruler who took a hard line against foreign powers. His son, Emperor Zhezong, also supported military campaigns abroad. And Emperor Huizong, with these two precedents in mind, was also someone who insisted on military campaigns abroad."
"What's rather surprising is that the largest territory during the Song Dynasty occurred during the reign of Emperor Huizong."
"At the same time, several prefectures in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun region also returned to the hands of the Northern Song Dynasty, although they were essentially empty cities that were bought back."
"But at this time, there was not much time left before the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, only two or three years."
During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty
In another timeline, Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, truly doesn't know whether to be furious enough to vomit blood or feel a sense of relief that this guy has reclaimed several prefectures!
The question is, why did the Northern Song Dynasty fall so quickly?!
Zhao Guangmei, standing to the side, looked worried, fearing that her brother might get angry and cause problems!
Sigh! We haven't even gotten to the Jingkang Incident yet; there's going to be a lot of trouble later!
……
"On the other hand, since Emperor Huizong was preparing to launch a decisive attack, war would certainly require funds, so perhaps Cai Jing's earlier reforms were partly driven by this reason."
"In order to continue making money, he also set his sights on Jiaozi, which first appeared during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty and circulated in Sichuan."
"At that time, due to the developed trade in Sichuan, but the lack of copper to make currency, it was inconvenient for local merchants to trade. As a result, paper money - Jiaozi - came into being."
"At that time, the Northern Song Dynasty issued Jiaozi (paper money) every two or three years, and its circulation was never problematic due to caution. However, Cai Jing's reforms to Jiaozi unexpectedly caused the market to collapse."
"After Cai Jing reformed the Jiaozi (paper money), he printed and issued a large amount of paper money without any consideration for the consequences. This large amount of paper money directly led to inflation."
"This was followed by a sharp devaluation of paper money. Many people, seeing the decline in the value of paper money, immediately exchanged it for copper coins if they could."
"Finally, the Northern Song government also ordered that the previous paper money could no longer be used, and later introduced a new kind of money—the 'qianyin'."
A scholar-official from the Han Dynasty: It seems the Song Dynasty really knew how to make money!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty: This tactic looks familiar!
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: Since you were able to control it before, it means it's not uncontrollable...
……
People from other dimensions seeing this would find this inflation terrifying!
If I had these coins in my possession, but the authorities were forbidding it, I would go crazy!
Cai Jing! Truly worthy of being the leader of the Six Traitors!
……