As mid-to-late November approached, Kaifeng Prefecture became colder and colder. The Bian River was frozen, and there were few ships, appearing empty.

Han Qi rode on the horse and guided the ceremonial guards to walk through the road. Looking at the bustling crowds on the road and the vendors who were shuttled back and forth, he sighed in his heart. The war on Hebei Road began to slowly enter a tense stage, but Kaifeng Prefecture did not realize it at all, and it was still the same as usual.

After entering the imperial city, Han Qi went to the Political Affairs Hall to clean up a little, and then went to the capital hall with the priest.

Tian Kuang, Zhang Sheng and Zeng Gongliang were already waiting in the capital. When they saw the priests coming in, they hurriedly bowed together.

They each sat down, Tian Kuang said: "Hebei Road Supervisor sent a letter saying that he wanted to prepare for a war with the Khitan, but now there were insufficient shells. Since the Khitan went south, several iron prisons in the court, in addition to the Baiting Prison, Xiangzhou Prison also began to make flowering bullets day and night. If it was not enough, another solution must be found."

Wen Yanbo couldn't help but say annoyed: "This battle was just one battle in Quyang, and I don't know how much money it spent. If this continues, how can the court's financial resources be supported? The shells are still insufficient. Should the iron supervisors in Laiwu and Xuzhou also learn to produce flowering bullets? Should the iron supervisors do other things? In the spring of the next year, farm tools will be needed everywhere, and they must not be ignored."

Zhang Sheng said: "My husband, war is related to the destiny of the country, but if you have a solution, you must support the front line."

Wen Yanbo shook his head repeatedly: "To this day, he has spent 180 million guan for the war, not counting the supplies used in the army. If he continues like this, in just two or three months, the expense will exceed 300 million guan. 300 million guan. The court will not be able to collect so much money a year!"

Zhang Fangping said: "This year, the imperial court's taxes totaled 230 million trump card. The court does not pay salaries and takes them all to war, which is not enough. Only the artillery shells, guns, and other goods produced in the Iron Prison will be kept for the time being, and there will be no cash. If you expand the scale, you will be afraid-"

After saying that, he couldn't help but shake his head. In fact, it's not just the Iron Supervisor, a large number of factories, shops, etc. under the three departments were all on credit, and Zhang Fangping looked at the numbers. How much does it cost to continue this battle? Not to mention, due to the solid walls and clearing the fields, all kinds of taxes on Hebei Road will be basically exempted from the next year, and his income will be reduced in the coming year.

Due to the rapid development in recent years, the savings of the Song Dynasty have become worthless now. In the past, when encountering such a thing, the internal treasury could often take out millions of treasurys, which could solve a big problem. What is the current ten millions of treasurys? It can't solve the problem even if the internal treasurys were taken out.

Zeng Gongliang said: "It is unprecedented that the Khitans will raise an army of 800,000 to move south. To fight with the Khitan, of course, you have to spend money. Being able to win is a blessing for the court. How can you say it is difficult to do it?"

Wen Yanbo spread his hands: "But the court really doesn't have that much money, what can I do? Tell Taiwei Du to spend as little as possible. If we spend less money in front of us, we will be much more relaxed. How can the world afford it if we spend hundreds of millions of yuan in a few months?"

Zeng Gongliang shook his head: "Hundreds of thousands of troops spend money every day just like flowing water. How can we spend less?"

Tian Kuang said: "Fighting on the front line is essential. Moreover, the army now uses guns and cannons, and the cost is not only several times that of the past. Before the war begins, we have to spend less money in the front line. How can we fight this battle? My husband, at an extraordinary time, we have to think of some extraordinary means."

Wen Yanbo said: "What extraordinary means? This year, the world's taxes have been spent and there is no savings. The court has no money."

Han Qi on the side said: "Or, advance the money for the next year? Money is indispensable in fighting. It is worth spending more for Yan Yun. There is really no way. How about we advance the tax for the next year? This battle cannot be fought for a few years."

Wen Yanbo said: "Taxes are fixed, how to advance payment?"

Han Qi said: "Now we are all using paper money. As long as we print more, we will print less in the next year. Doing this will be equivalent to prepaying the next year's expenses? This matter is not complicated, it is just a matter of ordering people to print money."

Zhang Fangping shook his head repeatedly: "My husband, this matter is not that simple. The imperial court first printed money based on the copper coins of the imperial court, and printed as many banknotes as there are. Later, the money was really insufficient, and prices fell year by year, and the people were inconvenient, so they decided to print money based on copper coins. With more money, there must be more copper coins. Otherwise, the printing of money will inevitably lead to rising prices among the people. When prices rise, no matter how much money is printed, the things you buy will still be the same. Moreover, the imperial court printed it with white paper, and the people will suffer."

Han Qi said: "As long as the war is not delayed, even if there is chaos among the people for a while, it will not be a big harm. If you are young, the prices will naturally come back."

Zhang Fangping shook his head: "If you print more now, it is not a problem of printing less than a young person next year, but a return of more than a single year. Too many things involved will easily cause confusion, and this matter is absolutely not feasible!"

Tian Kuang said: "The battle with the Khitan is related to the fate of the country. Otherwise, borrow from the private sector? In the past two years, there have been countless wealthy people in the world, and there are many families in the Central Plains. Borrow some money from them first, give some interest after the war, and return it back."

Wen Yanbo said: "It is not easy to borrow money from the private sector, but to lose the dignity of the court. Those wealthy families only recognize the word "money". They make money from their families and everyone is enthusiastic. When they say they are taking money from outside, which one is willing to do it?"

For a moment, no one spoke, and the hall was quiet.

After a while, Zeng Gongliang said: "Or, just like printing money, print some bonds and sell them. State the profits and sell them to rich people. One or two years later, they can use this bond to recover their principal and interest. This bond cannot be used as coins, so it is not considered money. Selling to rich people is equivalent to borrowing from them. The profits are given more generously, so don't they buy them?"

After thinking about it, Zhang Fangping said: "This is feasible. As long as you explain to the world that if you get this bond one or two years later, you will get the savings bank, just like a deposit. You can immediately repay the money and it should attract people to buy it."

Wen Yanbo said: "If you do this, why print bonds? I don't know how much money there is in the savings house, so I just borrow from them. The savings house belongs to the court and borrows from outside, so what can I do if I lend it to the court?"

For a moment, everyone was stunned and thought carefully about the pros and cons. Savings banks collected deposits and issued loans, but in fact they were early banks. However, in this era, lending to small private households is too high. Savings banks are not for the people, but only lend to large factories, stores and other customers with asset mortgages. Private loans to people are still profitable in usury.

After a long time, Zhang Fangping said: "It should be okay to borrow from a savings bank. However, if the money saved is too small, it is easy for the people to withdraw money, and it is easy to lack of deposits and cause chaos. Why not do this? Let's borrow 20 million chunks from the savings bank to solve the current urgent need. If you still have to make a lot of money on the front line, it is better to print bonds. The bonds are clearly marked and priced, which is easier to control."

Wen Yanbo thought for a while and could only nod, "I have to do this. This battle costs too much money, which makes people feel numb. There has been no war before, so it is not like this time. Just because Hebei Road is solid and cleared, it costs more than 60 million guan and a large amount of food was transported. In my opinion, after this battle, it will take 100 million guan to be prepared early."

There are poor ways to play, and rich ways to play. The Song Dynasty is now the richest place in the world, so it is naturally rich ways to play. Once the war begins, the ammunition is just like not having money, so you can use it. Collecting civil forces is mostly redeemed and rarely directly requisitioned. Du Zhongxiao didn't care. If he could solve it with money on the front line, he would spend money. The war had just begun, and it had spent more than 200 million yuan, which made the entire court stunned.
Chapter completed!