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

Chapter 440: The Difficulties of Reform and Hu Hai’s Comeback
On September 2, the fifteenth year of the Han calendar, in Chang'an City, Yan Palace.

Xu Fan held Shang Nong's letter in his hand and sighed after reading it. The problems Shang Nong mentioned in the letter were easy to solve, and later generations had achieved roads in every village. They were also difficult to solve, and the foundation for later generations to achieve this was already in the 21st century. The core problem was just one word: money, but the Han people today couldn't do that.

Xu Fan ordered his men to call in Prime Minister Xiao He, Acting Prime Minister Ye Teng, and Cao Shen, and gave them Shang Nong's letter to read.

After reading it, Xiao He said, "With the current fiscal revenue of the court, the problem of doctors is easy to solve. We can build a clinic in the south and the north to double the number of doctors trained. At the same time, the court will formulate policies to allow government-run clinics to go to the countryside regularly to check the health of the people and promote health knowledge. As for treating diseases, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Medical care in this era was still in an extremely primitive stage. Even in a capital city like Chang'an, there were many diseases that could not be cured at all, let alone in rural areas with simple medical facilities.

Xu Fan thought of the policy of barefoot doctors in later generations, so he said: "The court can invest money to recruit students in poor villages and train some doctors who know some health knowledge and can treat some minor illnesses. The court will not charge them tuition fees, but will give them a certain living allowance. In return, after they accept the support of the court, they must stay in the village designated by the court for ten years."

The policy he had in mind was a combination of the later generations' sponsored students and barefoot doctors. You weren't allowed to stay in the countryside for your whole life, but keeping you there for 10 years wasn't too much.

Ye Teng said worriedly: "There are more than tens of millions of villages in the world. Even the imperial court does not have the ability to train so many doctors."

Xu Fan said: "These rural doctors are simplified versions of those trained by medical schools. Treating illnesses is not their main function. They mainly promote health knowledge and teach people good hygiene habits in a timely manner, which can reduce more than half of the diseases in the countryside. Treating illnesses is mainly left to doctors in the county, which doesn't cost much."

It is naturally difficult to train an illiterate person to become a doctor with certain medical knowledge, but now there are hundreds of thousands of middle school students in the Han Dynasty, and it is very easy to select some of them to cultivate health knowledge.

After listening to Xu Fan's words, Xiao He said: "I will formulate relevant medical systems to ensure that the rural doctor system will be quickly promoted."

Then he looked at the first point Shang Nong mentioned and shook his head, saying, "The situation in the villages of the Han Dynasty is very complicated. The main focus of the Tongzheng Department is now on repairing wooden tracks and maintaining the Qin Dynasty roads. It is beyond the ability of the Han Dynasty to open up or even repair the roads in the villages."

Xu Fan asked, "Isn't it feasible to propose to the merchants and farmers that the village organize manpower to build canals and highways?"

The three of them looked at each other, and Cao Shen said, "In fact, Guanzhong has already implemented this policy. Guanzhong's industry is prosperous, and it is also a major road connecting the four directions. Goods from the Western Regions, the desert, the Central Plains, and Shuzhong all pass through Guanzhong. Therefore, we have not only many tracks in Guanzhong, but also many roads. In order to transport their agricultural and sideline products, many villages will take the initiative to maintain and repair the roads."

"But I am not optimistic about the implementation of this policy in areas outside Guanzhong. The court has greatly reduced the number of Han officials in the countryside. Although this has reduced the court's financial expenditure, it has also reduced the court's control over the local areas. I am worried that if this policy is implemented, the local Han officials will unscrupulously assign corvée labor. There are more than just roads in the countryside that need to be built in the local area. Canals, docks, cities, market squares, city expansions, and new industrial zones all require manpower to build. However, due to the limited financial resources of local counties, many projects have to be stopped or rely on financial support from the court."

Ye Teng said: "If the restrictions on local Han officials are relaxed, the villages need civilian labor to build highways and canals, does that mean that the county does not need civilian labor to build city highways, and the county does not need civilian labor to build docks, rivers, and canals?
The reason that can be used is the same as what Prime Minister Shang said. The court has relaxed the corvée policy in the villages, so should it also relax the corvée policy in the counties? Corvée is one of the fundamental national policies of our Han Dynasty, and we dare not shake this national policy. "

Xiao He said: "Now in our Han Dynasty, millions of people go to cities to work as temporary workers every year. This has become one of the most important sources of income for ordinary farmers. If the court implements a corvée policy, the people will have to be restricted to the countryside, which will be a greater loss to the people of the world."

"I think the situation seen by local merchants and farmers is mainly because the industry of our Han Dynasty is not prosperous enough and cannot absorb enough people. If farmers move to the city and become craftsmen, they will not have to work so hard. At the same time, if the industry is prosperous, the taxes of the court will naturally be high. With money, our Han Dynasty can naturally make every township and every village have roads. Therefore, I think the court's main focus now should be on developing industries and absorbing enough rural population, so as to solve the problem of rural poverty."

Xiao He and his two companions were obviously worried about the reform of corvée in the Han Dynasty. The annual construction volume of the Han Dynasty was only slightly higher than that of the Qin Dynasty. The number of civilians conscripted by the Han Dynasty court was sometimes as low as hundreds of thousands, and sometimes as high as one million. However, no one in the world ever said that the Han Dynasty court abused the people's power.
Because the Han Dynasty had a policy of exemption from corvée, both the imperial court and local Han officials had to pay real money to hire laborers. The people of the world could benefit from these projects, so naturally there was no resentment. Due to financial constraints, the imperial court could not levy corvée as recklessly as during the Qin Dynasty, and could only spend according to its financial situation and focus on building a few projects each year.

But if this restriction was lifted, they could not imagine how much corvée the local Han officials would impose for the sake of political achievements. They even could not imagine how many projects His Majesty would undertake for the sake of political achievements. Exemption from corvée not only restricted the local Han officials, but also restricted the ambitions of the Han emperor.

In the view of Xiao He and others who experienced the collapse of the late Qin Dynasty, slower development is better than the collapse of the world.

Xu Fan did not think as deeply as Xiao He and the others. He only believed that the Han Dynasty had poor organizational capabilities and it was difficult to learn the policies of later generations. The development of its industries was not as strong as that of later generations, and the tax revenues of the Han Dynasty court were not as high as those of later generations.

Xu Fan thought for a moment and said, "The court must promote the comprehensive construction of a well-off society throughout the Han Dynasty. The balance of local development is also the responsibility of the court. To be arrogant, most people in Guanzhong should have achieved a well-off society. I thought that even if there is a gap between people in other places, it should not be very large."

"But the reality is obviously completely different from what I thought. The lives of the people in Shangjun are one level lower than those in Guanzhong. This is the court's dereliction of duty. We have the responsibility to improve the quality of life of the people in Shangjun."

"I have an idea, which is to reduce the land tax of the people in Shangjun, so that they can use the money to build their hometown or improve their living standards."

But Xiao He said immediately: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible. The land tax accounts for more than 30% of the tax revenue of the Han Dynasty. It is the most worthy tax of the Han Dynasty. More importantly, grain is the foundation of the stability of the Han Dynasty. If the court loses this tax, it will inevitably collapse."

Xu Fan was naturally self-aware. The agricultural tax was reduced in later generations, but that was based on the fact that agricultural tax only accounted for 5% of tax revenue. The Han court obviously did not have the ability to do so. But the inability to reduce the taxes of farmers in the world does not mean that the taxes of poor counties in mountainous areas cannot be reduced.

So Xu Fan said: "I don't want to reduce the land tax of the whole country, but only reduce the land tax of poor areas like Shangjun. The cost of collecting taxes in these poor counties is high. Instead of exerting a lot of energy to collect a few melons and two dates, it is better to reduce this part of the land tax. The people spend this money, and the court can also get it back in taxes."

Tax collection also has costs. Compared with the Central Plains, which has convenient transportation and is located in the plains, Shangjun is full of gullies and ravines. The straight-line distance may be only one or two miles, but it takes half a day to go up the mountain and down the countryside. This brings great costs to tax collection. According to the land tax of the Han Dynasty, one mu of land collects three dou of grain, and a farmer collects about 30 dan of grain. These 30 dan of grain must pass through the township, county, and prefecture, and people carry horses and pass through many times. These processes require costs. Labor consumption costs, administrative costs of Han officials, storage consumption costs, etc. Therefore, the cost of collecting one dan of grain in the mountainous area is several times higher than in the plains.

Instead of spending several times the effort and energy to harvest this little bit of food, it is better to simply give up this little bit of food and just consider it as helping the farmers.

After listening to Xu Fan's explanation, Xiao He and the other two thought for a long time and shook their heads, saying, "Your Majesty, the court does not lack this land tax, but the local Han officials are very short of it. Take Shangjun as an example. If the court does not collect this land tax, the finances of many counties in Shangjun may collapse, and even Shangjun will be affected.

The court had to arrange Han officials to manage the local areas. However, there were more Han officials in the rich counties and towns, and fewer in the poor counties and towns. However, no matter how few there were, there had to be a certain number to maintain the local rule. These Han officials would consume the local finances. The poorer the place, the less industry there was. The land tax might be the only tax they could receive. Without this money, how would the Han officials in the area survive? If the court had no way to support them, they would find ways to support themselves.

Xiao He's question stunned Xu Fan. He knew that agricultural taxes were reduced or exempted in later generations, but he was not a grassroots official, so he had no idea how the finances of the village and township levels were maintained.

But Xu Fan soon realized that he was the emperor, and if he had to solve all the problems, then what was the use of the Han officials under him?

So he said: "Prime Minister, you and the tax inspector should discuss the reform measures to reduce the land tax, and try your best to reduce the burden on the people and satisfy the local Han officials. You should pilot it in Shangjun. After the Shangjun pilot is successful, you can promote it to the poor counties of our Han Dynasty."

Xiao He could only smile bitterly and said, "I obey your command."

Ye Teng and Cao Shen also looked helpless. The emperor was now unreasonable. What could they do? They could only take on this hard job.

But after Xiao He took on the task of reform, he said: "Your Majesty, if you want to increase farmers' income, you really need to develop industries and transfer farmers to the city. This is the fundamental solution. It just so happens that during this period, local county governors have requested the court to support them in building steam engine factories."

"But I think that merchants should be left to the merchants themselves, and the court should not interfere. Your Majesty's exhibition model is very suitable for the current situation. I think Your Majesty should hold a steam exhibition again to attract merchants from all over the world to Chang'an and let them choose the machinery they want to manufacture."

"As more workshops and factories are built, they will naturally employ more craftsmen. As more craftsmen are built, there will be one less farmer. As more land is occupied by farmers, they will naturally become richer."

Xu Fan nodded and said, "It just so happens that the Shaofu has developed a lot of machines powered by steam, and these merchants are also needed to promote their construction. Then I will listen to the Prime Minister's advice and hold the 2nd Steam Expo in Chang'an City."

Xiao He said: "Your Majesty is wise."

On September 15th, the 15th year of the Han calendar, in Wu County, Kuaiji County.

Hu Hai watched Zhuzi and others hang up the plaque of Fei Hai Money House and his eyes filled with tears of excitement. He finally got his own money house back.

Only Zhuzi was puzzled and asked, "Brother Hu Hai, we can definitely build a bigger and newer bank, why do we have to come back?"

Hu Hai said: "I have waited for this opportunity for three years. The reason why I spent such a huge price to buy back this bank is not because of its good geographical location, but because I, Hu Hai, must take back what I have lost with my own hands."

Three years ago, Hu Hai sold his shares in the steamship factory and obtained a huge fortune, which could enable him to achieve personal freedom.

But it was a bit difficult for Hu Hai to revive his Fei Hai Money House.

During the financial crisis of that year, the four major money houses of the Han Dynasty expanded across the board, occupying 6-7% of the entire Han Dynasty's financial industry. The remaining money houses were also more or less related to the four major money houses of the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, even though Hu Hai had more money in his hands than when he first established Fei Hai Money House, there was no market for private money houses in the Han Dynasty at that time. At the same time, after experiencing a wave of crises, the people of the Han Dynasty had no trust in these private money houses. Under such circumstances, it was difficult for Hu Hai to open Fei Hai Money House.

This situation forced Hu Hai to change his career and set up his own fleet to transport goods from the Central Plains to Southeast Asia, and then transport goods from Southeast Asia to the Central Plains.

The Han Dynasty's shipping industry has been developing for more than ten years. Fleets sailing to the South China Sea can be seen everywhere. The maritime trade that used to bring in more than ten times the profit has disappeared. Now, maritime trade can only bring in twice the profit, and this is still based on the degree of risk. After all, no matter how strong the ship is, there is still the risk of being overturned by the waves.

But while engaging in maritime trade, Hu Hai once again found an opportunity to make a comeback, because he discovered that there were no money houses in the various reclamation sites of the Han Dynasty and the vassal states. If the local people wanted to remit money back to the Han Dynasty, they could only let the caravans carry the money and bring it back via transport ships, which was extremely unsafe.

When Hu Hai discovered this, he was overjoyed. He thought this was a chance given by God for him to make a comeback.

(End of this chapter)