How did Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty engage in loan sharking business?
In 626 AD, King Li Shimin of Qin launched the Xuanwu Gate Rebellion, killing his brother Prince Li Jiancheng and his brother King Qi Li Yuanji. This scared his father, Emperor Gaozu of Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan, to step aside and give up the throne. , hid in Da'an Palace and became the Supreme Emperor.
In order to obtain the vacant official positions, the historians were very interested in borrowing money and scrambling for money. Tang Taizong's loan sharking business became prosperous and impressive.
Contemporary people are familiar with Chu Suiliang not because he served as an admonishment official or Zhongshu Ling for Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, but because he copied Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface", which is the most famous contemporary work. calligraphy textbook. In addition to these, what is even less known is that Chu Suiliang also opposed Tang Taizong's issuance of usury and organized officials to go to sea to do business, thus having a considerable impact on the currency lending activities in the early Tang Dynasty.
What is little known is that Chu Suiliang also opposed Tang Taizong's issuance of usury and organized officials to go to sea to do business, thus having a considerable impact on the currency lending activities in the early Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty Zhenguan Reign
In 626 AD, King Li Shimin of Qin launched the Xuanwu Gate Rebellion, killing his brother Prince Li Jiancheng and his brother King Qi Li Yuanji, scaring his father Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to retreat. Erxian gave up the throne and hid in Da'an Palace to become the Supreme Emperor. As a result, Li Shimin ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, changed his reign name to Zhenguan, and began the famous Zhenguan rule.
In the twenty-three years of the Zhenguan period, there were frequent wars in the world. The Tang army conquered east and west and was invincible: in the third year of Zhenguan, the Tang army defeated the Eastern Turks; in the ninth year of Zhenguan, The Tang army defeated Tuyuhun; in the 14th year of Zhenguan, the Tang army eliminated the Gaochang regime and reorganized the ruled area of ??Gaochang into Xizhou; in the 18th year of Zhenguan, the Tang army eliminated Yanqi; in the 19th year of Zhenguan, Tang Taizong personally conquered Gaoli Returned in vain; in the 20th year of Zhenguan, the Tang army defeated Xue Yantuo in Mobei and recruited the Tiele tribes who originally belonged to Xue Yantuo; in the 21st and 22nd year of Zhenguan, the Tang army attacked Goryeo twice; In the 22nd year, the Tang army captured Qiuci.
The successive military victories made the Tang army powerful throughout the world. For a time, foreign guests from all over the world came to court, and hundreds of officials petitioned Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to enshrine Mount Tai as a memorial to heaven and earth. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was so happy, but unexpectedly a basin of cold water was poured down on him. Wei Zheng came out and told him that he could not go to Mount Tai:
Today, from the east of Yi and Luo, to the Haidai, there is a huge swamp, and the sky is vast. Thousands of miles away, there are no human settlements, no dogs or chickens are heard, the roads are desolate, and it is difficult to advance or retreat.
Due to the depopulation caused by the war, even the vast and fertile areas in the Yellow River Basin have become wilderness, with difficult roads and lack of supplies, making it impossible to walk. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had no choice but to give up the idea of ??Feng Chan Taishan.
The losses of the war were huge. All the young and middle-aged people went to the battlefield, and normal production had long since stagnated. Even if living materials could be plundered from distant borders or foreign countries, these materials would not be available due to the long-distance transportation costs. It is impossible to transport it to China for use. At that time, most social supplies had been put into military use, the whole country was impoverished, people stayed open at night, thieves stopped working, and the crime rate dropped to almost zero.
In addition to the poverty all over the country and the large number of people dying in the war of invading foreign races, Tang Taizong's dynasty seemed to be a perfect dynasty: politically tolerant and generous, accepting advice; culturally Enlightenment and enterprising, making music and compiling history; in terms of art, innovating and bringing forth the new, making great achievements in poetry, calligraphy, dance, painting, etc.; as for public opinion propaganda work, it has reached an unprecedented peak. The fame of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty spread all over the world, leaving countless popular stories to this day.
In Chinese history, the Zhenguan period was the poorest. This view seems to have become the common sense of people in later generations. Until the Northern Song Dynasty, when people wanted to give examples of poverty in an era, they would use the Zhenguan period as a model. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi wanted to exchange two cents for circulation in the capital. Song Shenzong was worried that foreigners would know about it and make foreigners think that the Song Dynasty was poor and look down upon the Song Dynasty.
Wang Anshi explained that poverty is not shameful:
Since ancient times, when kings such as Tang Taizong and Zhou Taizong were extremely poor, why should they be ashamed? The court issued usury loans
From the time Li Yuan launched his army at the end of the Sui Dynasty to the foreign wars during the Zhenguan period, the war lasted for more than thirty years. The Tang Dynasty spent countless war funds and depleted its finances and taxes, so it had to make a little money to compensate. . In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty led the court to issue usury loans and earned a little interest.
The method that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty used to issue usury loans was not to organize loan companies, but to appoint loan entities.
The method that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty used to issue usury loans was not to organize loan companies, but to appoint loan entities. Identifying the borrower first and then lending money to them is a wonderful way to expand financial business. Ordinary people cannot afford to borrow money, or even if they borrow money, they cannot afford to pay it back. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty organized government yamen at all levels to borrow money. Each yamen appointed nine staff members as natural persons to borrow money. The official title was "Zhuqian Lingshi". Each money-catching officer had to borrow 50,000 yuan from the court and pay 48,000 yuan in interest to the court every year, with an annual interest rate of 96%. This interest rate level did not break the moral standards of the ancestors of the previous dynasty that interest should not exceed the capital, so Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty conducted a high-sounding loan sharking business with peace of mind.
In order to encourage the money-grabbing historians to repay the money with interest, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty included them as candidates for the Ministry of Personnel. After paying interest for one year, they could be appointed to vacant official positions. In order to get the vacant official positions, the historians were very interested in borrowing money and scrambling for money. Tang Taizong's loan sharking business became prosperous and impressive.
The purpose of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty in issuing usurious loans was not only to make a little money, but more importantly, at that time, civil and military officials had no wages, and the administrative expenses of government agencies at all levels were insufficient. The interest earned by the court from issuing usurious loans was used for Pay wages to all officials, as well as daily administrative expenses of government offices at all levels. The money-catching historians borrowed usury funds from the court and used them to do business in the sea and pursue profits. This business method was not pioneered by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, but emerged in the Sui Dynasty and was called Gong Xie Qian.
Except for the fact that the whole country was poor and a large number of people died in the war of invading foreign races, Tang Taizong's dynasty seemed to be a perfect dynasty.
"廨" is the general name for official offices in ancient times, and "public money" is the capital borrowed by officials from the court. Officials used public money for business operations, and the profits were used to solve livelihood problems and supplement the administrative expenses of government offices. This formed the public money management method. However, once the public money management method came into being, it became a matter full of controversy.
In the 14th year of Emperor Wen's founding in the Sui Dynasty (AD 594), Su Xiaoci, Minister of Industry, criticized some officials for using public money to lend money for profit-seeking purposes, disturbing the people, and damaging customs. Therefore, he petitioned the imperial court to restrict public money. What the money is for. Out of his agrarian thought, Su Xiaoci advocated limiting the use of public money to agricultural operations. In the 17th year of the founding of the Emperor, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict allowing the capital and local government offices to use public money to trade in the market and run businesses everywhere, but he was not allowed to use public money to lend and charge interest.
In the Tang Dynasty, the salaries of officials were much lower than those in the Sui Dynasty. Public farms were set up in the capital and various prefectures and counties to provide public and private expenses. Later, when the government offices at all levels still had insufficient expenses, the government offices in various departments in the capital set up public funds and gave them to the officials to do business and collect interest to use them as salaries for the government officials.
In the twelfth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong abolished the capital of public houses. In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty restored the capital of public houses, standardized them, and added a money-catching order.
With capital and instructions from the court, the money-catching historians began to do business and trade with the people under the banner of the court. When officials and people trade, each represents different interests and has different legal status. To use a modern legal language, the relationship between the two is not that between equal civil subjects. People and officials cannot be equal when dealing with each other, so people are naturally very reluctant to do so. Unfortunately, the officials have great power and power, so people have to reluctantly obey. Moreover, catching money makes historians bear the burden of usury from the court. It is impossible not to make money. They must trade and make money. They must do it if there are conditions, and they must do it if there are no conditions to create conditions. As a result, the trend of forced buying and selling emerged, and the commodity economy gradually declined.
The ruthless Qianzhu Lingshi could get a lot of money from the people with the help of imperial decrees; the kind-hearted Qianzhu Lingshi didn't want to get money from the people, so he paid the usury interest out of his own pocket. Official posts that are actually vacant can also be filled. Therefore, catching money and ordering history became a shortcut to becoming an official, causing strong dissatisfaction among intellectuals and officials.