A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 426 The Temptation of Appreciation

"The imperial court now has Zhengcang, Changpingcang, etc."

"The main warehouse stores the common people's rent, and the rent collected is used to pay officials' salaries and maintain the daily expenses of the court."

"The Changping Warehouse has also existed since ancient times, and it is used to buy grain and stabilize market prices."

"During the Kaihuang period of the previous dynasty, an edict was issued to all counties to set up communal granaries, and each prefecture and county to set up righteous granaries. The people and soldiers of all prefectures persuaded them to set up communes and set up righteous granaries. On the day of harvest, according to their income, they were advised to produce millet and wheat and build them in the communes. Store in the warehouse, if there is a lack of ripeness, when there is a famine in the society, use this grain to help."

The communal warehouse system in the Sui Dynasty used to be very good. At the beginning, associations were formed in the villages. After the grain was harvested, the people in each community voluntarily donated some grain to the warehouse, and assigned people to manage it. When there was a famine, the warehouse was opened for relief.

Later, it was developed to levy food for righteous warehouses on a household basis, ranging from five stones to five buckets. Those who did not have land and merchants were also levied according to the same level, and the households were not collected. Later, it was developed to levy by mu. .

In the ten years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Yicang was also built, but after the war, the former Yicang system has long since disappeared, and it has not been truly complete in recent years.

Wu Huaiyu now proposes that the Yicang should be fully restored.

Wen Yanbo said that it is not easy to restore the free warehouse, mainly because many people have not yet recovered, and they have to pay the grain for the free warehouse in addition to the regular rent, which is tantamount to adding to the burden of the people.

"I suggest collecting by the mu, two liters of grain per mu, two liters of grain per mu, which is relatively not very high. If you have less land, you will pay less. If you have more land, there is no big burden."

Wen Yanbo said that the imperial court has not yet fully grasped the number of acres of land in the world, and without the actual number of acres of fields, it cannot effectively expropriate by mu.

"The number of acres of fields can be counted slowly, and the collection is based on the mu, and the wheat, rice, millet, etc. are handed over according to the output of the land, and two liters of land are paid per mu. Merchants, craftsmen, etc. who have no land are collected on a household basis."

Wu Huaiyu insisted on levying per mu, but he actually regarded it as a new source of taxation. The official tax of the imperial court was adjusted by the rent, and the official rent was two stones of millet per ton per year.

Ideally, one town can be divided into one hundred mu of land, a small part of which needs to be planted with mulberry, locust tree, and jujube, and the rest is mainly grown for grain, so two stones of millet is equivalent to the output of one or two mu of land. The positive tax rate is about one-fiftieth.

But actually, there are very few people who can get [-] mu of full-scale land, especially the land of Gyeonggi. It’s better at the beginning of the founding of the country, and basically everyone has enjoyed the first wave of farm dividends. , but gradually it becomes more and more difficult to get the land, so the actual tax rate is getting higher and higher.

There is no difference between expropriating warehouse grain by household and so on, and renting and renting grain. If the land is not enough, the actual burden will be heavy.

Therefore, it is more direct and fairer to directly levy by mu.

If the land is collected on a household basis, except for the lowest-class households, other households must acquire at least five buckets of land, equivalent to 25 mu of land, but now most of the eighth-class households do not have 25 mu of land.

Levy by mu affects the poorest and wealthiest landlords the most.

A landlord with [-] mu of fertile land only pays five shi per household, but if the per-mu levy is two liters, then he has to pay two hundred shi.

However, most of the land is actually concentrated in the hands of these noble and powerful landlords, so the collection is based on households, which basically requires less than [-]% of the collection.

Now that the imperial court's finances are so difficult, Wu Huaiyu has already set his sights on Yicang.

Yicang grain is not only used as disaster preparedness and food shortage, he regards it as a regular tax and develops it into a land tax.

After harvesting the grain from the righteous warehouse, it is of course impossible to just lie there and wait for the famine. Some of it can be lent to the Changping warehouse, and the Changping warehouse can be used as capital to release young crops.

In this way, the grain in the warehouse can also be rotated and updated in time, and it can also play a better role in helping the people, etc., and can also earn some money for the court to subsidize.

One mu yields two liters of grain, and 200 million mu is equivalent to 700 million stone grains. The arable land in the Tang Dynasty was hundreds of millions of mu. I dare not say that it was [-] million mu or [-] million mu in its heyday. Now there are [-] million mu or [-] million mu in the core area, so if it is possible If they are all collected, then this righteous warehouse will have six to seven million stones a year, or even tens of millions of stones.

Even if it's only 500 million shi a year, it's still an astonishing sum, and it's a huge sum for the extremely poor Zhenguan Chuchu.

If another two or three million shi grains are lent to Changping warehouse for loans in a year, calculated at an annual interest rate of 300%, this year can earn more than 100 million shi.

If there are 1000 million shi of grain in the righteous warehouse a year, and 500 million shi are used as capital for the Changping warehouse, at least 200 million shi of grain can be earned in a year.

This is how the account is calculated.

Wu Huaiyu simply wrote down the numbers.

Li Shimin's breathing became short of breath.

Wei Zheng and Wang Gui were not calm anymore.

Wei Zheng even thought that if the imperial court could provide millions of stones of grain a year and lend low-interest loans to the people of the lower classes, then a large number of people would no longer need to borrow usury from temples, nobles, and powerful people every year. , the burden of the people will be greatly reduced, and many people will not have to end up with high debts, and will be forced to sell their children, daughters, pawns, wives, and land to go bankrupt.

"Will it be too high, two liters per mu, one hectare granting [-] mu of land, two shi for rent, and now two shi for the righteous warehouse grain?"

Wang Gui asked.

"Wang Xianggong, there are not many people who can actually grant the land in full. If Yiting really has a hundred acres of land, then his income will be at least nearly a hundred shi, and the four shi rent and righteous warehouse land are also affordable."

"Besides, the food from the Yicang is taken from the people, and it is still used for the people,"

"The righteous warehouse was originally used for disaster preparedness and famine relief, but now it is used for lending, which is inconsistent with the original intention."

"Wang Xianggong, the grain harvested in Yicang Grain must be used rationally. We only lend a part of it to Changping Cang. Changping Cang uses it to lend money to poor people for relief, or to use it as capital and purchases to stabilize prices. It is a good strategy to benefit the country and the people, and we did not directly divert the Yicang grain for other purposes like Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did during the great cause of the previous dynasty."

some debate.

In the end, Li Shimin was forced by the reality, he was short of money everywhere, and was very helpless. He finally found a source of living water, and he didn't care too much about other things.

In the end, it was decided to levy grain for free warehouses by mu, two liters per mu, regardless of the officials, gentry and nobles.

The free warehouses in each prefecture and county are managed by staff assigned by the Zhidu Department, supervised by county and local township elders, and half of the free warehouses are lent to Changping warehouses for capital and loans for buying and releasing young crops.

There are three major warehousing systems under the branch of Zhidu. The main warehousing is rented by the state, the righteous warehouse and the land of the righteous warehouse, and the Changping warehouse is based on the public money and household tax collected by the imperial court. Lend it to Changping Society as the capital to release the young crop loan.

Changping Society is a subsidiary unit of Changping Warehouse. It is equivalent to the first official bank of Datang. It is mainly responsible for lending.

There is no such business of interest-bearing storage in the Tang Dynasty now. If you want to deposit money with others, you have to pay a fee, so some interest is charged, and the loose money in the hands of some people is absorbed, and then used to lend and collect interest. Make a difference.

Wu Huaiyu felt that this kind of thing couldn't be more normal, and it was also a very profitable business.

But Wei Zheng was always worried, and he couldn't tell what was wrong, but he felt that doing it like this opened a door to hell, which was very scary.

I always feel that this will cause problems later on.

Just like bonds.

He is very opposed to many new things. Old Wei is a retro-styler, and he is eager to restore the Zhouli Zhou system. Although he does not want to restore the well field system, he feels that many new things are unreliable.

The imperial court should only govern the people, collecting taxes and levies lightly, but now the imperial court wants to enter the market to make money, lend money, etc., and turn the free warehouse grain into a regular tax. He is very opposed to it.

But the objection is invalid.

Li Shimin is short of money now, and the Tang Dynasty's finances are already very difficult. If he wants to make a difference, he wants to destroy the Turks and Tuyuhun, and even conquer Liaodong Goguryeo in the future, or restore the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty. Without money, he can't do it.

This court discussion on Datang's finances finally reached a consensus.

Li Shimin originally wanted to give Wu Huaiyu, the leader of the Datang Royal Finance Development and Reform Planning Team, an additional title so that he could better lead the reform plan.

This title is to participate in the government.

Qin Qiong, Xiao Yu, and Wei Zheng all entered the political affairs hall with the title of counselor for the government as their prime ministers.

However, Wu Huaiyu resisted the temptation to pay homage to the prime minister, because his qualifications are too low, and now he holds several positions, and there are always people who advise the emperor.

If this is a prime minister, it is estimated that there will be more opponents.

It's not necessary, just take your time.

Although the emperor proposed to give Huaiyu the title of prime minister, he directly refused, but the emperor's ability to propose prime minister was already a great recognition of Wu Huaiyu.

It was Dai Zhou who felt very uncomfortable about this. Zuo Cheng, who was originally a Shangshu, was a good person. The emperor promoted him to be a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. As a result, Wu Huaiyu became a servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He didn't care at all. Yes, after all, the location is special.

But who would have thought that he judged Duzhi again, and now he has come up with so many new tricks, which won the emperor's appreciation, which makes him embarrassing as a minister.

Fortunately, Wu Huaiyu did not accept the appointment of the prime minister, otherwise, if the minister worshiped the prime minister, then he would still be able to stay as a minister?The custom at that time must be that Wu Huaiyu will enter the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and he will have to leave the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Feeling very embarrassed, Dai Zhou stood up when the emperor announced the end of the court meeting, and asked to abdicate to let the virtuous. He was willing to return to Shangshu Province to be the right minister of Shangshu, and handed over the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to Wu Huaiyu.

Wu Huaiyu also stood up.

"Your Majesty, it's really hard for a minister to take on several positions in one person. Please also take back the part-time duties of serving as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to judge Duzhi, and serving as a secretary and censor."

The emperor did not accept Dai Zhou's resignation from the minister, nor did he accept Wu Huaiyu's resignation from the part-time job of serving as the minister of the Ministry of Minbu and serving as the censor.

"Dai Zhou is steadfast and capable by nature. He is familiar with the law and is familiar with copywriting. He has served in the Menxia Province since the previous dynasty. After I ascended the throne, I was promoted to Shangshu Zuocheng. At that time, the two servants of the Shangshu Province were not in office. Dai Zhou was in charge of the affairs of the Shangshu Province. , good at making decisions, and is recognized as the most competent Shangshu Zuo Cheng since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Now serving as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he also performed very well and should be rewarded for his meritorious service.

Wen Xiang, drafted an edict, granted Dai Zhou the Duke of Anyang County, and the prince of the school, Zuo Shuzi, who was also an admonisher, and gave him a hundred pieces of silk. "

Dai Zhou had no sons, and took Dai Zhide, his elder brother's son, as his stepson, and Li Shimin specially bestowed on him the title of Qianniu of the East Palace.

The emperor praised Dai Zhou for his great skills, but he didn't want to give him a title as he did for Wu Huaiyu, but Dai Zhou was still very grateful.

In fact, Dai Zhou's biggest problem is that although he is familiar with the law and is proficient in copywriting, this cannot conceal that he is also a foreign official. Although his father was a county magistrate, Dai Zhou does not understand classics and history. To put it simply, this is an uneducated It is actually a special case of the Zhenguan Dynasty that people can be rewarded by the emperor and become Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs all the way.

The emperor conferred titles on him and conferred titles on his step-sons. What else could he say, except that he dedicated himself to death.

Walking out of the palace gate, Dai Zhou also apologized to Wu Huaiyu with folded arms and bent over, "I have no dissatisfaction with Duke Yi, please forgive me."

"Why did Mr. Anyang say that?" Huaiyu laughed.

Dai Zhou looked at Wu Huaiyu, who was extremely young, and sighed, "When I was the age of Duke Yi, I was just an outsider from the lower provinces of the Sui Dynasty. Today, Your Majesty worships Duke Yi as his prime minister. Why does Duke Yi reject?"

In his 50s, the gray-bearded Dai Zhou is a bit hunchbacked. This old man who has struggled for most of his life in Chang'an has the greatest wish, or dream, to be a marquis and minister one day.

This is just a dream, I never thought that I would have the opportunity to realize it.

But today, Wu Huaiyu Palace rejected the emperor's worship, which touched him a lot. He was so young, but he was able to refuse such a temptation.

"I'm still young, and I still have a long way to go," Huaiyu said with a smile.

"Hey, I'm getting old."

Dai Zhou couldn't help sighing, "When I was young, I didn't have the patience to study. Later, when I became an official, I realized that I had no future. I calmed down and studied for two years. I took part in the imperial examination and was elected Mingjing. Moved to the door to record things, "

Speaking of the past, Dai Zhou couldn't bear to feel that he was getting old. In fact, the Mingjing that he took the test back then was obtained based on his family background and family connections, and he barely mastered one of the Nine Classics.

These years, he has been appreciated by Pei Ju and has been taken care of and promoted. His official career is not bad. Even if he worked under Wang Shichong back then, it did not affect his official career after joining Pei Ju in the Tang Dynasty. He even won the appreciation of Emperor Zhenguan and was promoted all the way. Shi Cao joined the army, and now he has become Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and was named Duke of the county.

Dou Lu Huairang became the official envoy of Guannei Dao as he wished, not the deputy envoy, but the direct envoy.

Zhidushi itself is a dispatch envoy, not a clerk, so he has no rank. Doulu Yinrang has the loose rank of Dr. Yinqing Guanglu, so his Zhidushi is from the third rank.

"Thank you, Jiro."

When Doulu Huairang got the news, he immediately came to Xuanyangfang Yiguo Mansion to thank him.

"What do you do with those kind words?"

Wu Huaiyu has never shy away from employing people who are close to him. Doulu Huairang is his very good friend, a friend who has withstood the test, and an ally he has drawn into the circle long ago.

One's own allies, of course, have to help each other.

Now that the Zhidu Division is unfolding, there are many people staring at it. It is estimated that many people secretly hope that this matter will fail. At this time, of course, they still have to trust their brothers.

"Erlang, tell me, where should I start as an envoy?"

"Inspect the acres of land, and then levy grain from the free warehouse by mu. With the grain from the free warehouse as the capital, you can lend it to the Changping warehouse as the capital, enter the market and buy transactions, and lend and collect interest.
Of course, Guannei Road not only has a lot of land, but also the profit of salt and wine to make money. In addition, the border market trade with Shuofang and Turks is also a piece of fat. Anyway, although Zhidu Division has a lot to do, the core There is only one purpose, making money! "

"If you can get money for the court, then you are excellent. If you can't get money, it's useless to talk."

Dou Luhuairang laughed loudly, "I can't lead the army to fight in judicial and civil affairs, but making money is my forte. Please don't worry Erlang, I will definitely make money for you."

"Brother Doulu, remember that although making money is important, you must also pay attention to the method."

"I understand, I understand everything." Dou Lu Huairang replied with a smile, he was familiar with making money, and he knew it well.

(End of this chapter)