At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 419: Can't Take Medicine as Food and Conflict with Craftsmen and Farmers

Xiahou Ying's words made all the prefects' eyes light up. This year, the court got 100 million gold, which had a very significant effect. The unemployed people were quickly absorbed and the economy improved instantly. The most important thing was that almost everyone benefited from such a large amount of money. Every county either had a highway or a workshop. Using the court's money to make achievements for themselves, there was nothing better than this in the world.

The sages on the side also showed excitement in their eyes. This time, the imperial court flooded the city with money, and they all obtained a lot of infrastructure projects. It was this money that pulled them out of the desperate situation.

If the imperial court frequently delegated such projects, their wealth would double in just a few years.

"Hmm!" Xiao He broke everyone's fantasy with a dull voice.

He looked around and said calmly, "This economic crisis is like a serious illness in our Han Dynasty. The 100 million gold project provided by the imperial court is the medicine to cure the disease, but who among the county governors and wise men would eat medicine instead of food?"

"If the Han Dynasty continues to borrow money for development, it will indeed become more prosperous, but the borrowed money must be repaid. The Han Dynasty has accumulated a huge debt from borrowing money for development, but what if there is another economic crisis like this? By then, I am afraid that a minor illness will turn into a terminal illness."

Xu Fan also broke these people's fantasy and said: "The accumulated debts must not only be repaid in principal, but also in interest. If an economic crisis breaks out, the lower classes of our Han Dynasty will have no money at all, and we will not be able to collect taxes even if we want to. How did the tyrannical Qin Dynasty perish? I think everyone present here knows very well that at that time, the only choice our Han Dynasty can make is to collect taxes from the property owners."

Xu Fan looked around the sages here with a cold face, which frightened those sages with rich wealth. They had not forgotten how this founding monarch of the Han Dynasty organized the people to resist the tyranny of Qin. Their predecessors were extremely miserable.

Kuai Che immediately said, "What the Prime Minister said is a wise saying. Any normal person would not take medicine as food. Developing the economy by borrowing money is simply a crooked way."

"The common people all know that they should not borrow money unless it is absolutely necessary. We are sages chosen by the world. If our knowledge is not even as good as that of the common people, we might as well abdicate and let others do the same." The other sages also reacted immediately. The emperor's intention just now was very clear. If the Han Dynasty really faced a crisis that it could not withstand, it would surely kill them to sacrifice to the people. These sages had no doubt that the Han emperor could do such a thing.

Since they can't eat meat and may get into trouble, they naturally won't agree with this policy.

Xu Fan said: "My dear sage governors, let me tell you a story. I hope it will be of some inspiration to you. There was an old lady named Ying. She wanted to live in a big house even though she had no money. However, she did not want to buy a big house through her own hard work. Instead, she went to a moneylender to borrow money to build a big house. At first, the old lady was very happy with her new house, but then there came a problem. She had to pay back the debt. At first, the amount she paid back was not much, but as the interest compounded, the money she owed became more and more. Later, even if she worked hard day and night, she still could not pay off the debt. In the end, the house she built with the borrowed money was confiscated by the moneylender. Her descendants still had to pay back this debt that could never be repaid."

Old Mrs. Ying's neighbor, Old Mrs. Long, also wanted to live in a big house, but Old Mrs. Long and her family worked very hard. After a few years, they finally saved enough money to build a big house. Although Old Mrs. Long did not live in this house, her descendants flourished in this house.

"Do you scholars think that I should be the Dragon Lady or the Eagle Lady?"

This is a very famous story in later generations. At that time, many people were brainwashed into believing that what the old lady Eagle did was reasonable.

But this story never tells you that when you repay the loan, you have to pay for two houses. It also never tells you that if any problems occur during the process, not only will you lose the house, but you will also be burdened with an unpayable debt. All these problems will burst out one by one in the future.

Kuai Che immediately said, "Of course I have to be Old Lady Long."

"Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run. I should learn from Old Lady Long and leave a fortune for my children instead of leaving endless debts like Old Lady Eagle. Old Lady Eagle doesn't behave like a parent." The sages changed their minds and decided to follow Old Lady Long's example.

Xu Fan continued, "Yes, parents love their children and plan for them, and the same is true for us who love our hometown. As the Son of Heaven, I naturally want to leave a fortune for the Han Dynasty instead of a debt.

You naturally want to leave a fortune for your hometown instead of a debt, so all the wise men in your hometown should be aware of supervising the Han officials. The money spent by the Han officials is the tax revenue of your hometown, the money of your fellow villagers, and your money. If this money is spent efficiently, your hometown will prosper, but if it is spent inefficiently or even embezzled, then the development of your hometown will lag behind other places. "

"I think all of you wise men have also discovered that the more prosperous the counties of the Han Dynasty have developed over the years, the faster they have developed, and the poorer the counties have developed, the slower they have developed. People from the surrounding poor counties will run to the richer ones, forming a vicious cycle that makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker. This is the way of man, to take from those who are in need and to serve those who are in excess. If you don't want to be weak, take on the responsibility of supervising the Han Dynasty and let them develop your hometown well."

"Yes, yes, what the emperor said is truly wise." Kuai Che said flatteringly.

So the Internet is a good thing. It can gather the wisdom of people all over the world and make all aspects of the impact of a policy fully visible to discussion. It can even prevent you from thinking of aspects that the policy makers have not thought of.

There is a very famous question in later generations, why do we have to borrow money for development, and even develop a model like installment loans.

Since the first industrial revolution, human production has exceeded consumption. Countless workshop owners have tried all kinds of ways to find markets and then dump their goods. However, they came up with so many ways to make money, not to take money out of their own pockets.

Like borrowing and installment payments, the purpose is to allow the poor to have money to buy their goods. This model can increase their wealth.

However, they rejected the simplest method of increasing salaries because it would deduct money from them.

So a very simple problem has been infinitely complicated, with consumer loans, stimulus loans, and financial loans emerging one after another. They are unwilling to solve the problem from the simplest source. If you just increase your salary a little, consumption will increase.

Xiao He asked: "Then do you sages agree with the court's fiscal reduction plan?"

Qin Bo raised his hand and said, "I agree."

The Mohist sages following Qin Bo also raised their hands.

Kuai Che looked around and raised his hand too, and then more and more sages began to raise their hands.

Xiao He said: "Okay, the court's fiscal reduction plan has been approved. From now on, the governors of each county will start to formulate plans to reduce fiscal revenue and announce them to the world before the end of the Sages' Meeting."

The faces of the county governors of the Han Dynasty were extremely grim. They would have a hard time in the next few years.

After finishing Xiao He's proposal, Qin Bo stood up and said, "In the past two years, based on the household registration population data of the court, I have discovered a very serious problem. The Han people regard children at the age of 15 as the age of adulthood. Children from rural farmers begin to work in the fields with farmers, while children from towns become apprentices in workshops.

Because our Han Dynasty has opened up its household registration system, farmers can freely go to cities to work. According to certain calculations, about 100 million farmers go to cities to work every year. A few years ago, our Han Dynasty's workshops could still accommodate these apprentices.

But this year the economic crisis has broken out. The number of craftsmen produced in the workshops is far from enough to meet the number of Han children reaching adulthood each year. They have flocked into towns and cities, increasing the number of craftsmen. Workshops in various places have begun to deliberately lower the wages on public accounts.

According to a survey conducted in various counties of the Han Dynasty, the salaries of craftsmen in the Han Dynasty had generally been declining before the crisis, and now they have dropped to the level of the founding of the Han Dynasty. If craftsmen want to reach their original income, they must work overtime for 1 to 2 hours. The results of the salary increase in the Han Dynasty a few years ago can be said to have been destroyed. "The court should pay attention to this situation. Why did the economic crisis break out this time? It's because ordinary people are too poor. They can't afford too much cloth and can't make new clothes. They can only patch up the old clothes for three years and patch them up for another three years. But if the people can't afford cloth, overcapacity will break out. Such a crisis has already broken out once. If the court doesn't pay attention to this situation, the next crisis will definitely come again. "

After Qin Bo finished speaking, he passed the data he had found to the emperor, the prime minister, the three dukes and nine ministers of the court, and the wise men present.

Qin Bo's statistics are very detailed. They include not only the data on the number of farmers entering cities and towns to do odd jobs every year, but also the data on the increase in young people every year. Farmers who do odd jobs will eventually return to the countryside to manage their own land. Especially in the past two years, the planting of various cash crops has left farmers in rural areas with less time to do odd jobs.

However, the young adults in Han generally do not want to stay in rural areas and prefer to gather in more affluent towns. This leads to the demand for millions of new jobs in Han every year.

Such a huge demand for employment was concealed by the rapid increase in the territory and handicraft industry of the Han Dynasty in the past two years. However, with the outbreak of the economic crisis this year, this contradiction broke out completely.

By the way, it also reduced the bargaining power of the craftsmen, resulting in the wealth of the world. Although it was still increasing, the benefits obtained by the craftsmen were decreasing. The 4 hours that Xu Fan had fought for them were slowly taken back by these workshop owners in the form of overtime. Everything seemed to have returned to the starting point.

Kuai Che said: "Mr. Qin, what do you mean by this? Are you only allowing the craftsmen of your Mohist school to increase their income, but not allowing the farmers of the world to increase their income?

An ordinary farmer in our Han Dynasty earns less than 3000 coins a year, which averages out to 12 coins in 250 months. This is not the salary of one person, but the income of a farmer. A farmer in our Han Dynasty has four or five people, and on average one person earns less than 50 coins a month. "

"We can provide them with a salary of 3000 to coins, which means they can earn coins in half a year. Is this wrong? Or does Sage Qin think that only the craftsmen of your Mohist school can earn this money, while ordinary farmers cannot."

"I told Mr. Qin that ordinary farmers also have the right to obtain wealth through their own labor, and you are not qualified to deprive them of this right."

"Great!" Countless wise men who were originally workshop owners cheered.

After so many years, they finally met someone who could fight against the leader of the Mohist School. Many people were so excited that they were almost in tears.

Under the organization of the Mohists, the craftsmen have almost become the bosses. They cannot be beaten or scolded, and they have received salary increases. Now there is finally someone who is willing to stand up for them.

Qin Bo said: "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to remind the court to pay attention to this issue."

Kuai Che said: "You Mohists can also open your own factories to support these craftsmen. Everyone can compete based on their abilities. If you Mohists can pay those craftsmen thousands of dollars every month and still keep these workshops alive, then we will have nothing to say if we lose."

Qin Bo said: "Master Kuai, you are making trouble without reason. I just want the court to pay attention to the interests of craftsmen, strictly enforce the law, and protect the rights and interests of craftsmen."

Kuai Che sneered, "What you mean is that the rights of farmers don't need to be guaranteed. I also want to ask a question in return, why can you craftsmen earn salaries, but farmers can't? Since you craftsmen think the salaries are low, why don't you go to the border of my Han Dynasty to cultivate the land? My Han Dynasty has a territory of 100,000 miles, and there is plenty of land to be cultivated. If you, the Mo family, lead people to cultivate the land, there will naturally be fewer craftsmen in the city, and with fewer people, the salaries will be higher."

"Great!" The sages cheered one after another. Even the governors of the Han Dynasty were secretly happy. This was considered a way of retorting to Qin Bo's words.

Shusun Tong sighed, "During the chaotic times at the end of the Qin Dynasty, this Kuai Che convinced the entire Yan State with just his mouth. His strategy was no less than that of Li Shiqi back then. It's a pity that Kuai Che didn't meet a wise leader, and his skills were wasted."

Xu Fanyan looked at Qin Bo who was losing the game and said, "We have been discussing matters for a long time and everyone is a little tired. Let's take a break and discuss the subsequent proposals tomorrow."

Thus ends today’s meeting of sages.

Xu Fan brought Qin Bo, Xiao He, Ye Teng and Shang Nong to the Yan Palace, and then asked Qin Bo about the statistical data in detail.

Qin Bo also explained in detail the employment data recorded by the Mohist school to Prime Ministers Xu Fan and Xiao He.

Finally, he said helplessly: "Your Majesty, in the past seven years, the number of craftsmen in the world has doubled. The rapidly growing textile industry, mining, cement, brick kilns and other industries could absorb these craftsmen, but this year's crisis has caused half of the textile industry to collapse, and the development of other industries has also slowed down. At the same time, the emergence of steam engines has greatly improved the efficiency of the textile industry. A textile factory that used to require 7 people now only needs 300 people, which further compresses the positions of craftsmen. Now the economic crisis of the Han Dynasty has gradually begun to subside, and the court's construction is about to be completed. By then, a large number of craftsmen will flood into the market, but there will not be enough positions to accommodate them. The result can only be that two or three people will compete for one position. The benefits we fought for the craftsmen seven years ago will disappear."

Ye Teng kept shaking his head when he saw the youth statistics compiled by Qin Bo. He said, "This is simply an unsolvable problem. Now is not the most dangerous time. The number of young people added each year is only about one million. But in another 10 years, there will be two to three million young people pouring into the market every year. The situation at that time is simply unimaginable."

According to Qin Bo's statistical chart, the number of young people from the 12th to the 15th year of the Han Dynasty was about one million. However, after the 150th year of the Han Dynasty, the number suddenly increased to 16 million. In the 163th year of the Han Dynasty, the number increased to 17 million. In the 175th year of the Han Dynasty, the number increased to 18 million. In the 196th year of the Han Dynasty, the number was million. The numbers kept getting higher and higher.

The population growth figures were so fast because, firstly, the world was peaceful and there was a period of population explosion. Secondly, Xu Fan vigorously promoted medical development, reduced production risks, and promoted health knowledge in the form of opera, which rapidly reduced the mortality rate of the population, further increasing the natural growth rate of the population. Now they have to face the problem of population explosion.

Originally, the development of industrialization could solve the labor problem, but during the transition period from handicrafts to industry, there were not so many jobs.

Because the efficient steam engine eliminated a large number of jobs, and the industrial system supporting the steam engine had not yet been completed, a large number of new jobs did not appear, this period was actually the most difficult time for craftsmen.

Ye Teng thought for a long time and said, "The only solution I can think of is to learn from the policies of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty again, strictly control the household registration, implement the policy of dividing the population into two groups, and move the adult population to the border areas for reclamation. This can not only solve the problem of population pressure within the Han Dynasty, but also solve the problem of the sparse population in the border areas that are difficult to develop. When new fields are developed, our Han Dynasty will have new towns and workshops. Markets are also opened up, which will form a positive cycle."

The merchants and farmers were dissatisfied and said, "Why should farmers like me suffer this? Are farmers in our country naturally inferior to others? They don't deserve to live a good life, fight with wild beasts, and reclaim wasteland?"

Ye Teng said: "I am just trying to find a way to solve the problem. I am not targeting the ordinary people of the Han Dynasty. You can see it yourself. The Han Dynasty will have to add 200 million young people every year. The handicraft industry cannot accommodate so many people. The Han Dynasty also does not have so much land to distribute to them. The court will not organize them to open up new fields."

"I will tell you what the result will be. Originally, a family had 100 mu of land, but if this family had three sons, a hundred years later, each of the three sons could only get 33 mu of land. The 33 mu of land could only produce 70 dan of grain at most. After paying dan of land tax, only dan would be left. If the farmer wanted to support a wife and children, he would not even dare to have more children. As long as he had three sons, his whole family would starve. Firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are not things that can be eaten to live a good life. The rest of the things all cost money."

"How do you solve the education problem of farmers' children? If a farmer suddenly falls ill, will he have money to treat him? We have spent 10 years to bring the people of the world to the poverty line. We can't let it fall back again in 10 years."

"The only way to solve this problem is for the court to organize them to cultivate the land so that each of the farmer's three sons can get another 100 mu of land. In this way, they can not only have enough food and clothing, but also have a surplus of 3000 coins every month."

"The children of these farmers suffer today so that they don't have to lead their families to starvation in the future."

(End of this chapter)