Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 607 Stubborn Disease
The fourth year of Zhengxing was the Year of the Rabbit.

During the Lantern Festival, grand celebrations were organized on both sides of the Luo River. In addition to setting off fireworks and firecrackers, there was also iron flower making.

This is a very novel performance in the world today.

When Xue Bai was in Yanshi, he smuggled a large amount of iron and stone from Wuyang for smelting. Although he didn't know much about the casting process, he just talked about a few general directions. After so many years, the blacksmiths learned to build blast furnaces and wind boxes, and the technology has made great progress, and by the way, this kind of fancy skills have also been developed.

That night, Tianjin Bridge was built across the Luo River, and a flower shed more than ten feet high was built beside the bridge.

The flower shed has two floors. It looks round from a distance, but it is actually octagonal.

"Do you know why this flower shed is in this shape?"

"Why?"

"When the sage was in the palace, he ordered the Heavenly Master Li Xiazhou to make gunpowder and refine iron tools, so the iron flower has a deep connection with Taoism. This octagonal flower shed is a Bagua, which means one yuan gives birth to two yin and yang, and two yin and yang give birth to four symbols..."

The group of people who were talking were all wearing the same blue cloth robes. Their clothes were not luxurious, but very clean. They were traveling together.

These are the students on government stipend from the county schools in Luoyang Prefecture.

They were neither the children of the rich and powerful who could enter the Imperial Academy, nor were they talented men who had achieved fame and status as state officials. Most of them were children of ordinary families who studied hard and had good talents. Last year, they were given an additional way out.

Yuan Zhiyuan was among them. After listening to his companions' talk, he couldn't help but ask, "Lin Ji, how do you know so much?"

Lin Ji was the youngest of the students on the government academy, but he always looked very sad and worried. Before he could answer, someone else had already spoken for him.

"Because Lin Ji also came from the Jimin Society in Yanshi."

"Jimin Society?" Yuan Zhiyuan said, "How can a hut be named like this? It has to avoid the taboo of Emperor Taizong."

He was born a slave in an aristocratic family. He had heard little about folk affairs, but he knew a lot about various etiquette.

Lin Ji said: "Although the Jimin Society did not avoid the name of Emperor Taizong, it actually carried out the aspirations of Emperor Taizong."

As he spoke, he pointed to a few people beside him and said, "This time, many of the students who passed the exam in Luoyang Prefecture were raised by the Jimin Society. We were all children of refugees. We were originally destined to starve to death in the wilderness or be sold as slaves. It was the Jimin Society that raised us and provided us with funds for our studies."

Yuan Zhiyuan became curious about this and was about to ask again when cheers suddenly came from the front.

"it is good!"

He looked up and saw a group of shirtless men pushing a large bellows together.

Afterwards, the flower beater held a long stick in his hand, scooped up the iron juice, and quickly ran under the flower shed. Another flower beater also picked up a wooden stick and hit his stick filled with iron juice fiercely, and the iron flowers shot up into the sky.

"it is good!"

Yuan Zhiyuan also shouted, his voice not loud at first, but as the sparks on the Luo River became brighter, his voice gradually got louder, and finally he shouted loudly.

He felt a freedom he had never felt before.

~~
In the Mingtang, Xue Bai was also looking at Luo He. The bright lights seemed very close to him, yet very far away.

Li Xiazhou, who was standing next to him, was wearing a Taoist robe with wide sleeves, which was whistling in the wind.

"With our current smelting technology, we can eventually make the objects that Your Majesty mentioned." Li Xiazhou pointed at the scene of iron flowers being forged in the distance, "I have done more than just this flower work."

Xue Bai asked: "Is there any new progress?"

"Boiler." Li Xiazhou said, "I feel that with the boiler, the steam engine may also make great progress."

"Ah."

Xue Bai wanted to give Li Xiazhou some more pointers, but after thinking it over, he realized that he had already told Li Xiazhou the basics he needed to understand, so he could only figure out the rest slowly.

This has happened many times. Sometimes I felt I was just a hair’s breadth away from a breakthrough, yet I couldn’t make it for years.

No matter what, progress is a good thing. Xue Bai knew that with his guidance, the development of productivity would be accelerated, although many things would take a long time to see results.

At least this gave him the confidence to make the Tang Dynasty stronger during his reign. Even if he did not make any reforms or solve the problem of land annexation, he would be regarded as a wise ruler just by relying on the development of productivity.

Perhaps he could relax and enjoy the prosperity that would slowly come.

But every time he thought about it, Xue Bai would feel empty and feel that he had lost his motivation to make progress.

Sometimes he seemed to be able to see that one day he would establish an extremely powerful Tang Dynasty. He even had a picture in his mind of trains crisscrossing the vast territory and poems of the Tang Dynasty being sung thousands of miles away.

However, if the increasingly fierce class contradictions are not resolved, and a powerful dynasty does not have a system that matches it, it will be like a bomb that gets bigger and bigger. When it explodes, it will fall apart...

"Oh!"

A ball of fireworks exploded in front of Xue Bai, scattering streams of light all over the sky.

This is how the Lantern Festival passed.

The young emperor welcomed the fourth year of his reign.

In the years before, the stable environment that should have been established had already been created, and things like recuperation and focusing on people's livelihood and agriculture had also been done. The development of productivity was in a gradual process... The time for change has gradually matured.

It all depends on whether Xue Bai still wants to make drastic changes.

~~
Shouan County.

Old Yuan squatted beside the hundred acres of land allocated to him by the government, feeling a little worried.

This land is not good, in fact it is a wasteland, far inferior to the fertile fields that the Cui family allowed him to cultivate.

Of course, he could plant crops if he wanted to, but after some calculations, renting oxen, buying farm tools, digging canals to divert water or carrying water for irrigation would be quite a burden for him.

After thinking about it, he thought of the Chunmiao Loan that Du Wulang had told him about.

Although he was worried that if he borrowed money again he would encounter another bad year and repeat his past misfortunes, he still gritted his teeth and decided to do it.

The next day, Old Yuan got up early and set out for the county town before dawn.

When he arrived at the county government office, he saw many farmers squatting on the street opposite the gate, so he went over and asked, "Are you here to borrow the spring seedling loan as well?"

"Yes, originally there was an official in the county who said that we could get it done at Fenghui Bank, but he's not here, and we don't know what to do."

"Who's coming?"

"Shao Wenyuan, it is said that he had an affair with the young widow, and was thrown into a pig cage by her husband's family."

"Then shall we go to Fenghui Bank?"

“I went there yesterday and was told that the county office would send people to each village along with the cattle.”

As they were talking, the gate of the county office finally opened, and an official came out shaking his head. Seeing a lot of people gathered here, he stepped forward and shouted, "What are you doing here? Are you trying to cause trouble?"

"Sir, we want to ask about the Chunmiao loan..."

"I've told you all! Wait in your own villages. The county will send people with oxen and farm tools to each village. Who told you to come to the county office?!"

After saying this, everyone dispersed.

Seeing this, Old Yuan followed them and prepared to return to the village to wait.

After walking a few steps, he encountered a sedan chair swaying towards him. An attendant came forward and asked, "Old Yuan, why are you here?"

"I'm here to borrow the Chunmiao loan."

"Wait."

The attendant returned to the sedan chair and spoke. Old Yuan looked over and found that it was the chief clerk Zong Han.

Zong Han gave a few instructions, and the attendant responded. He then said to Old Yuan, "The chief clerk is concerned about you and asked me to take you there."

"Thank you. By the way, is the annual interest really 1%? My fields are barren, and I'm afraid that if I have to pay it back..."

"The annual interest rate is one or two percent, depending on the acreage of the land. Come with me."

"Okay."

Old Yuan followed the other party to Fenghui Bank in the south of the county.

The attendant entered and said, "The chief secretary asked me to come here. I am from Xiangshui Village and I want to borrow the spring seedling loan."

"The Xiangshui Village County Office has already paid out money to each household."

"He distributed the land too late, so his land was not included. Oh, he returned to his hometown and settled there last year."

"Land deed."

When Old Yuan saw that he was asked for the land deed, he felt that this scene was familiar. He looked at the hand that the other party stretched out and was worried that he would not be able to pay it back and lose the land. He asked, "Is it really one cent per year?"

"The annual interest rate is 1%, which will be collected together with the autumn tax and paid in full by the end of the year. If there is a flood or drought, a year's grace period will be granted."

The clerk from Fenghui Bank spoke in a serious tone with no expression on his face. But if Old Yuan didn't understand, he would say it again. Finally, he asked Old Yuan to put his fingerprint on the deed.

Not long after, Old Yuan walked out of Fenghui Bank with a bag of money.

He followed the instructions of others and returned to Xiangshui Village and waited for two days. Sure enough, the government sent people to rent out oxen, farm tools, and spring seedlings.

Old Yuan calculated that after he used the borrowed money to buy all these and plant the fields, he would still have half left, which was just enough to last until the autumn harvest. He would not have to pay rent and labor service this year, and after repaying the spring seedling loan, if he had some left, life would be better next year.

But not every farmer is as lucky as him.

"Listen carefully, the court doesn't have that much money. Those who haven't received it yet have missed out."

After the county clerk had said this, he sat there guarding the oxen, waiting for the farmers to come with the rent. However, those farmers had not been able to get the spring seedling loan, and they were whispering to each other, not knowing what to do.

Old Yuan had been away from home for many years and was not familiar with them. He was in a hurry to drive the oxen away and did not meddle in their affairs.

The next day, when he met his fellow villagers, they had all borrowed the spring seedling loan and had started farming.

Upon asking, I found out that someone from the county had come to resolve the matter. They said it was "similar to the Spring Seedling Loan" and that one only had to press their fingerprints and pledge the land deed in order to get the money.

Old Yuan said, "That's right. It's convenient for you. You don't have to go to the county again."

Two months later, Old Yuan dug a lot of wild vegetables in the mountains and went to the county school to see his son.

Although the county school provided room and board, the Yuan family was not rich after all, and Yuan Zhiyuan usually took on some odd jobs such as writing and calculating to make some money to supplement the expenses. Fortunately, the business in Dongdu is now prosperous, and there is always work to be found on both sides of the Luo River.

Generally speaking, their food, clothing and other living expenses were not as good as the treatment of slaves when they were in the Cui family, but at least they lived with hope and dignity, and were happy.

Finally, Yuan Zhiyuan said, "The last time I saw Mr. Du, he said that if he had time, he would go to Xiangshui Village to see Grandpa." "How can I trouble Mr. Du to go there?" Old Yuan rubbed his hands and asked hesitantly, "How about I go and meet Mr. Du?"

"Then I'll take Grandpa with me."

The father and son actually walked to Luoyang City that day. They slept on a large bunk bed in the post house at night and bought two steamed buns. It didn't cost them much in total. They didn't reach Luoyang until the next day.

After tidying up their appearance, they went to Du's house to meet him.

Du Wulang was not at all arrogant and greeted them immediately. When he learned that they had come on foot, he was deeply moved.

"I wanted to go to Shou'an County to see you guys, but I've been lazy since the Chinese New Year and have gained two pounds."

"How can I let you go all the way? I should come and see you."

"I don't have anything else to do." Du Wulang said, "I just wanted to go over and ask you how you've been doing lately."

"All right." Old Yuan said, "The fields have been planted. At first the land was barren, and it was not easy to open it up. It took two months to get it looking good, but I feel relieved when I see it."

Du Wulang then laughed cheerfully and asked, "By the way, this is the first year that the court has issued spring seedling loans. Have you received any?"

"I have received it. Even if it is a bumper year, as long as I am willing to work hard, it will be better if I understand."

"Did the villagers receive it too?"

"Yes, Xiangshui Village has more than 50 households compared to last year, and they all say that the interest rate is low this year. In the past, if they wanted to borrow, the interest rate would be high."

Du Wulang was just asking a few questions casually. He thought that since Luoyang Prefecture was now under the emperor's feet, there wouldn't be any trouble there, and the court was most worried about other places.

Nowadays, some local officials either embezzled the Chunmiao loans, or lent the money to relatives at high interest rates, or simply failed to do their job. This is why the money was approved by Fenghui Bank. However, there are still many small states and counties in the world that Fenghui Bank does not cover or does not have the manpower.

"It's good that Shou'an County is doing well." Du Wulang turned to Yuan Zhiyuan and asked, "How about you? How are you preparing for the exam?"

“Students have confidence.”

Yuan Zhiyuan agreed, thought for a moment, and then asked, "My dear, I heard that the Cui family was pushed to the forefront because of me?"

When mentioning this, Du Wulang felt a little guilty towards Cui Dong.

Yuan Zhiyuan passed the county examination, and the story of why he became a slave of the Cui family was also revealed.

The Cui family took advantage of the disaster and lent out a bushel of grain to buy all of Old Yuan's land, and later bought him as a slave. Over the past few decades, there have been countless escapees who have been hidden as slaves.

Including when the imperial court was cutting down on temples, the Cui family sheltered many monks.

These are not serious crimes, as wealthy families generally do this, but this is a typical example, and the Cui family happened to be pushed to the forefront, so they can only blame themselves for their bad luck.

Du Wulang could no longer help Cui Dong out of friendship because he knew that Xue Bai wanted to use this incident to implement new policies.

I'm afraid this time it's not a small reform, but the tax law.

Of course, there will probably be considerable opposition in the imperial court.

"It's not because of you." Du Wulang came back to his senses and said to Yuan Zhiyuan, "It's because... it's the general trend."

~~
The next day, Yuan Zhiyuan returned to the county school from Luoyang.

In the dormitory, Lin Ji was discussing something with his classmates.

"I would say the root of the turmoil is the annexation of land."

"The wealthy and powerful families annexed fertile land and hid their population. The imperial court could not collect taxes, but its expenses increased day by day. The treasury had no money, so its control over the local areas naturally weakened, and chaos arose."

"If we want to eradicate the accumulated abuses, there are only two ways. One is to survey the land and collect taxes based on the amount of land. The other is to simply take the land back to the court and redistribute it..."

Yuan Zhiyuan asked: "What are you talking about?"

Lin Ji turned around.

He is still very young, and although he always pretends to be mature, his expression and words still reveal some childishness, and his ideas are somewhat naive.

But what he had was passion.

"We are discussing the topic of policy, how to reform the rent and labor service system and bring about a new reform!"

Yuan Zhiyuan asked, "Is this a question from the teacher?"

"No." Lin Ji said, "This is the topic for this year's spring exam."

They were not yet qualified to take the imperial examination, and Yuan Zhiyuan always felt that that was still a long way off. He had to pass two more exams before he might be eligible to study at the Imperial College and then take part in the provincial examination.

After preparing for the exam for so long, he has gradually lost the energy to do so, because he has realized that the gap between himself and those students is too big.

Even compared to Lin Ji, he felt inferior. Although Lin Ji was born in a poor family, he studied in the school of Jimin Society and learned the way to govern the country and benefit the world. But he spent too much time figuring out how to serve the master and had too many distracting thoughts.

"It seems that the court really wants to reform." Yuan Zhiyuan said, he thought of what Du Wulang said "the general trend of the times."

"It's not that we want to do it." Lin Ji said, "It's that we've already started. In the past two years, the court has issued many new policies. We will see the effects step by step."

~~
Shou'an County, Xiangshui Village.

It was already dark when Old Yuan came back. He saw a light still on in Liu Fu's house at the entrance of the village, so he looked inside and discovered that many people were gathered together gambling.

The villagers gambled on very small amounts, with only a small amount of money in total, which was passed back and forth among each other.

Old Yuan also wanted to go up and play a few rounds, but he was different from others after all. He had to support a son who was studying. After thinking about it, he finally held back.

Before going home, he took another look at the wheat. The summer crops were about to ripen, which made people full of anticipation.

"Boom boom boom!"

At night, there was a knock on the door. Old Yuan got up and opened the door, and saw Liu Fu standing outside with his bare chest.

"Old Yuan, your son is a scholar. Can you read?"

"I……"

Before Old Yuan could speak, a deed was handed to him. Liu Fu asked impatiently, "Take a look. How much interest is written on the deed?"

"Two cents?" Old Yuan said, "I still recognize the word two."

"What's the word behind this?"

The two of them looked at the words in the moonlight for a long time, but in the end they could not recognize them.

Finally, Old Yuan said, "Just tell me what happened. Is there any problem with the IOU written by the county office?"

"Today, two people came to the village to gamble. I overheard them saying that this was not the county office's Spring Seed Loan, but Mr. Hu's usury."

"Who is Hu Gong?"

"It is said that he is a remarkable person." Liu Fu said with a look of fear.

Old Yuan comforted him, saying that such a thing was impossible and that it was impossible for the government to lie to people.

He also learned and applied what Du Wulang said, saying that this was under the feet of the emperor, who would dare to take advantage of Chunmiaodai?

"Don't worry. My son will come back after taking the exam in two months. I'll ask him to show you this IOU..."

In the blink of an eye, the summer grain was harvested and Xiangshui Village was filled with joy, but the joy was mixed with anxiety.

On this day, Old Yuan was busy working in the fields when he heard people arguing at the entrance of the village from afar.

The sound became louder and louder, so he went over with his sickle in hand to take a look.

"Look carefully, this is the IOU signed in black and white. It costs one thousand coins, and the interest is two percent per month. Now four months have passed, and you need to pay back one thousand eight hundred coins!"

"No, no, we borrowed the Spring Seedling Loan from the County Office."

"Don't make a mistake. You are borrowing money from our Alang. It is clearly written in the receipt. If you can't pay it back, you can mortgage your land to my Alang. Do you think you can refuse to pay?"

"But I can't read."

"You can't read? It's only natural to pay back your debts. Just use this grain to pay back. Move!"

"..."

Old Yuan stood at the edge of the field and looked out. He saw that the debt collectors were numerous and armed with knives, which made them look very scary.

He then shrank back again.

After this incident, Old Yuan was worried for two days, fearing that someone would come to collect his debt, take away the grain he had grown with great effort, or occupy the land he had opened up with great difficulty.

"Tuk-tuk-tuk."

When the knock on the door sounded again, he shuddered subconsciously.

When he opened the door, he saw a minor official standing outside.

"Old Yuan, right? I just came to tell you that you borrowed the Spring Seedling Loan, so it's okay. Those villagers were just too stupid and were coaxed into borrowing high-interest loans. Fortunately, the harvest is good this year, so it's nothing serious."

"Yes, yes." Old Yuan didn't dare to say anything.

The clerk continued, "I heard that there are many people gambling in your village, right?"

"Yes Yes."

"To tell you the truth, many people lost their money for spring seedlings in gambling, and then went to borrow money." The clerk lowered his voice, "You said that it is better for people to live an honest and good life, right?"

"Yes Yes."

Old Yuan sent the clerk away and sat back on the couch in a daze.

After sitting for a long time, Liu Fu tiptoed into his room and waved, "Old Yuan, I have to go."

"Where?"

"I was just about to ask you." Liu Fu said, "I have finally understood that it is impossible to survive in this world without a backer. I heard that you are familiar with the manager of Jinping Villa. Can you let me go?"

Old Yuantou asked, "You want to join the Cui family?"

"I asked someone to look at the loan agreement, and it was also cheated by that greedy guy. I borrowed a lot, and the harvest is small. Even if I give him all the grain, it won't be enough to pay him back. I'm afraid I will have to sacrifice my wife. It's better to be a servant of the Cui family to keep my dignity..."

(End of this chapter)