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

Chapter 495: The World of Great Conflict
August 28th, the 20th year of the Han calendar.

After leaving the Yan Palace, Cao Shen went directly to Zhou Bo's mansion.

Cao Shen said with some concern: "Tax reform is not that easy to do. The last tax reform almost left you no place to stay in the Han Dynasty. Although you are powerful and have the support of the emperor this time, it is still very dangerous."

Zhou Bo smiled and said, "This tax reform is different. I am fighting for the interests of the local areas. The county governors of the Han Dynasty will basically support me."

Then Zhou Bo said seriously: "And the tax system of the Han Dynasty has reached a point where it must be changed."

Zhou Bo took out a report on his research in Chen County and said, "This is the data of Chen County, Chen County Liuhe Township. It has 8 villages, more than 1100 households, more than 50 people, and more than 10 acres of land. There are 5 petty officials in the township, wounded soldiers, and elders."

Cao Shen was surprised when he received the report: "Such a township actually ate up more than 200,000 dan of land tax, almost eating up the finances."

Although Cao Shen was in a high position and had great power, it was difficult for him to get in touch with the township and village level. At most, he had some understanding of the county level. He couldn't believe that the townships of the Han Dynasty were so bold as to waste more than 200,000 dan of grain, which was enough to feed an army of 10,000 people for a year, but was eaten up by a minor official in the township.

Zhou Bo said helplessly: "Liuhe Township is already the richest Chen County in the Han Dynasty, the richest township. The annual land tax collected reaches 24000 shi, worth 500 coins. Among them, the head of the village, the head of the pavilion, and the teacher receive a monthly salary of 24 coins. The annual salary of 800 petty officials and teachers is 21. The township patrol, the picker, the warehouse clerk, the warehouse clerk, the clerk, and the clerk also have a clinic, one doctor, and three apprentices. Among them, the patrol, the picker, the warehouse clerk, and the clerk receive a monthly salary of 1500 coins, these 2 township officials, with an annual salary of more than 3 coins, the doctor's salary of 1 coins, an annual salary of 8 coins, three apprentices, an annual salary of 10 coins, the court subsidizes the clinic with 59 coins every year, Chen County subsidizes each primary school with coins, this year is coins, pensions for wounded soldiers are coins per year, storage losses are coins, and five elderly pensions are coins. Such a small township has a normal annual expenditure of coins.

But you were also a minor official in Pei County. It is impossible for all local bosses to be honest. In fact, the annual tax revenue of Liuhe Township is not even enough to cover their expenses. "

Cao Shen said: "The court gave land to the village chiefs, village heads, and teachers. Why do they still receive salaries?"

In order to minimize the expenses of the Han Dynasty, Xu Fan gave 100 acres of land as salary to the most grassroots officials such as the head of the village and the head of the village, and 500 acres of school land to primary schools for school expenses.

Zhou Bo said helplessly, "Didn't you notice that there are 1100 farmers in Liuhe Township, but only 8 mu of farmland? The farmland in Chen County has long been insufficient for distribution, but Chen County is prosperous, and working casually is better than digging for food in the soil. The local people don't want to go to the south to cultivate the land, so many farmers go to the city to be craftsmen, and don't even have farmland locally. It is normal for a household to have seven or eight people, and even three generations living together with more than a dozen people are not uncommon. In order to occupy more land, these local tyrants distributed the land to their descendants early, but also reported to the county, saying that in order to support the court's equal land policy, they are willing to give up their official land. When I saw this news, I didn't know what to say."

Cao Shen understood and said, "So, after these rural officials lost their official fields, the court had to support them. It's true that the grain is not enough for the court to move, so it can only be stored in the local granaries. The officials below probably regard the grain as their own private property."

The Han Dynasty had two main tax systems. One was the land tax which mainly collected grain, and the other was the industrial and commercial property tax. Among them, the industrial and commercial property tax was easy to collect and easy to transport. The huge money houses of the Han Dynasty could collect taxes with the least consumption, but the land tax was not so easy. It was huge in size and difficult to transport. Several large granaries were filled with grains, cloth, salt, sugar, etc. The court generally stored them in local areas, or sold them nearby, which created opportunities for local officials.

Zhou Bo nodded and said, "It has been twenty years since the founding of the Han Dynasty. A generation has grown up. They have not only caused great employment pressure in the cities, but also in the countryside. The land system of the court in the Central Plains has begun to disintegrate in large numbers.

Although the situation in Liuhe Township is not normal, it is very representative. Most of the land tax collected by the court went into the mouths of these petty officials. Instead of going into the mouths of petty officials, the court might as well reduce the land tax and streamline the township-level units, so that the tax revenue goes directly to the county office, cut off the petty officials in the township, and only retain some welfare facilities. "

“At the same time, the county offices can retain their staff at the county level because they have too many government affairs to deal with for industrial development and are short of staff.”

A few years ago, the emperor had the idea of ​​reducing or exempting land taxes, especially those in the poor counties along the border. However, land taxes are not only a source of revenue for the imperial court, but also an important source of revenue for the counties. Reducing this revenue would make the already tight finances of the counties even worse, so the emperor had no choice but to give up this idea.

But Zhou Bo remembered this incident. When he was inspecting the south of the Yangtze River, he attached great importance to the villages and visited more than a dozen villages. The villages in the south of the Yangtze River were not so bad. Those lands were newly reclaimed and the local area was still in a vigorous state, with some of the atmosphere of the founding of the Han Dynasty. The local officials were all full of ambition to turn the wilderness into fertile fields. Therefore, the official field system, village primary school system, medical clinic system, etc. set up for the villages when the Han Dynasty was founded were all well maintained.

But after arriving in the Jianghuai area, the countryside has completely changed. On the one hand, these are the richest places in the Han Dynasty with dense populations, so naturally there is not too much land. However, the cities are rich, and local farmers are unwilling to go to the south of the Yangtze River to reclaim wasteland. The local tyrants in each village have set their eyes on the official fields and school fields. They also took advantage of the Han Dynasty's equal-field system and made it seem righteous to harm the public interest and benefit themselves.

Of course, the petty officials in the villages of Jianghuai were also sensible. They usually collected about 30% of the taxes, so they had to leave some for their superiors and the court. Those who took all the money were actually a minority like those in Liuhe Township. However, if reform was to be carried out, the more serious the problem, the better. Zhou Bo naturally wanted to use Liuhe Township as an example.

Cao Shen said: "We need to reform, otherwise the petty officials below will become lawless. Since there is a Liuhe Township, there must be countless villages that want to become Liuhe Township. If the court does not find a way to change this situation, who knows how many parasites it will have to support."

While Cao Shen and Zhou Bo were communicating, Xu Fan also came to the Mohist headquarters to communicate with the craftsmen on the parade. Because the Sages' Meeting was about to be held, the leaders of the various branches of the Mohist in the Han Dynasty also gathered in Chang'an City at this time.

Xu Fan smiled at the Mohist elites and said, "It's a bit embarrassing to say this. Other places in the Han Dynasty are gradually getting out of the economic crisis, but Guanzhong is still in the procession and demonstration. Compared with other counties, Guanzhong is lagging behind."

The Mohists from Guanzhong at the scene lowered their heads in shame.

But Xu Fan changed the subject and said, "But we have to look at it from two sides. The fact that our craftsmen in Guanzhong are still demonstrating shows that we are more militant and better at protecting our own interests. Damn, those stinky merchants only give us 2000 coins a month as a waste of money. We work like slaves for them and help them make money to buy luxury cars and houses, and we have to bear the consequences of their greed. That's why there are no merchants here, otherwise I would have beaten them up to vent my anger."

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, which made all the Mohists understand that the emperor was on their side.

Then Xu Fan asked: "Is the brother who smashed the textile machine here?"

Four people stood up and said, "We are here!"

Xu Fan waved and said, "Come to the front."

Four craftsmen came to the front desk excitedly.

Xu Fan asked: "What are your names?"

"Wu Shang, Ren Liang, Shi Lu, Wei Gang." Xu Fan asked again: "Why did you smash the steam looms? Don't you know that these machines were developed by the masters of the Mohist school? You just bully the machines because they can't talk, otherwise the machines will complain to you, 'You smashed the wrong people, they are our own.'"

The audience burst into laughter again. The Mohists liked listening to the emperor's lectures very much. However, the lectures contained a lot of truth. The key was that the emperor's lectures were particularly interesting and he conveyed the truth to them in a simple and easy-to-understand way.

Wu Shang smiled awkwardly and said, "I didn't think too much about it at the time. I just thought that the steam engine made money for those unscrupulous businessmen, but it also made me starve. So I destroyed the machine in a rage."

Ren Liang and the other two also said, "It's the same for me. We usually work hard for those profiteers to make money, but in the end, because of the increased cloth production, I lost my job. How can this be justified? I was so angry that I smashed the machine."

Xu Fan said, "But you are venting your anger on the wrong people. You should be angry at those profiteers. The steam engine is not to steal your jobs, but a tool to reduce the intensity of labor and your working hours. Smashing the steam engine is the most useless means. You can neither retaliate against those profiteers nor bring harm to your family. If the Mohists had not helped you this time, you would have been exiled to the Western Regions."

Wu Shang and his three companions were still able to stay in Chang'an City because the incident had caused such a big fuss that the Chang'an magistrate did not dare to make a judgment easily. Qin Bo found the owner of the workshop and offered to help them repair the steam engine and compensate them for their losses. Only then was a settlement reached. Otherwise, the four of them would still be in prison.

Then Xu Fan looked at everyone and said, "Smashing the machines is only the behavior of the weak. It can't really solve the problem, and it can't even avenge your enemies. If you really have the ability, you should open a textile factory yourself and get rid of the profiteer who squeezed you. This is the best way to retaliate. Of course, if we only discuss revenge on a few profiteers in class today, it would be too much of a compliment to them."

"Today we need to understand the mechanism of economic crisis. Why does the steam engine, which is more efficient in producing wealth, bring us crisis? Why?" Xu Fan asked back while looking at everyone.

Tian Yang said: "Legalist Li Si said that since the court began to develop industry as the foundation of the country, the industry has flourished, and the steam engine has increased efficiency by dozens of times. Now the wealth of the world is enough to be distributed to everyone in the world to eat and drink, but what is lacking is the consumption capacity of the people in the world. However, merchants have been saving wealth, resulting in a large part of the wealth no longer being able to flow around the world, resulting in a gap in consumption wealth. Eventually, this gap became larger and larger, leading to the outbreak of the economic crisis."

"Yes, it was obviously the greed of those unscrupulous businessmen that caused the crisis, but the result is that hard-working craftsmen like us are unemployed."

Xu Fan nodded and said, "This can be said to be the most fundamental reason, but it is not mentioned that we, the craftsmen, are the ones who suffer in the end? Logically speaking, when the crisis breaks out and the workshops close down, shouldn't these profiteers be the ones who suffer the most? But in reality, everyone has lost their jobs and have no food to eat, so the losses they have suffered are even more serious."

There was a lot of discussion at the scene, but no one could find the reason.

Qin Bo said: "This is because ordinary craftsmen do not master the machines. Instead, they become part of the machines and earn wealth for these merchants. Due to overcapacity, those merchants even stopped the machines, let alone the craftsmen next to the machines."

Xu Fan smiled and said, "Yes, this is the most important reason. The craftsmen did not master the machines and the workshops. Although the Mohists established hundreds of workshops, compared with the workshops of the entire Han Dynasty, this is just a drop in the ocean. The vast majority of the workshops in the Han Dynasty are in the hands of private workshop owners."

"They use steam engines like sickles to reap the world's wealth. The Master used the steam spinning wheel as an example. The steam spinning wheel is 10 times more efficient in producing yarn than the water-powered spinning wheel. These workshop owners have mastered the steam spinning wheel. Under the original production capacity unchanged, the steam spinning wheel can be equivalent to 10 water-powered spinning wheels. What used to be done by ten people now only needs one person, and nine people will lose their jobs. The original craftsman who was not fired will not benefit from it either. Originally, he only needed to look at a water-powered spinning wheel, but now he has to look at 10 times more spindles when looking at a steam spinning wheel. Not only has the job become more difficult, but because more people have lost their jobs, his replacement is higher. If he wants to keep this job, he has to work harder. It used to be enough to work for four hours, but now under the threat of the boss, he has to work for five or six hours, but the money he earns is the same.

This is the consequence of merchants occupying advanced steam engines. In this system, except for the merchants who make more money, everyone else loses money. This is the consequence of craftsmen being unable to master advanced productivity.

This is also the reason why the Master does not approve of you smashing the machines. You should master the machines and apply them skillfully, making them your best helper and best friend, instead of resisting the steam engine or destroying it, because there is no use in doing so. The more you resist the steam engine, the more likely you will be eliminated by it.

Let me give you another example. If our craftsmen mastered the steam engine, one machine could replace 10 machines. With the same production capacity, the working time of each craftsman could be reduced to one tenth of the original time. Originally, it took four hours to work, but with the steam spinning wheel, it only takes one stick of incense, and the wealth obtained by everyone is the same as before. Let's see how the steam engine can bring us a happy life under this model.

Through these two examples, we can see that the machine does not exist. The steam engine is a gift that our Mohists bring to the people of the world. It is the guarantee for everyone's life to become better. The key is who has the power of this steam engine. Now it is obviously not in the hands of the craftsmen, so it will cause conflicts and erupt into crises.

Especially at this time, we must have a clear understanding. Smashing machines and destroying steam engines can only make our craftsmen weaker and weaker. We craftsmen cannot do such foolish things.

Instead, we should embrace the steam engine and let it work for us and bring us a happy life.

Tian Yang thought for a while and asked, "Your Majesty, Chen County is piloting the government-run model. Most of the factories in Chen County already belong to the court, and even the original shopkeepers have become employees of the court. In this model, isn't it equivalent to us mastering the machines? Why doesn't the court promote this government-run model? Logically speaking, this model is unlikely to cause an economic crisis. Doesn't this completely solve the problem?"

Xu Fan smiled and said, "Your idea is problematic, and it even seems like you are shirking responsibility. It's like a farmer's child complaining about his father because he is not a wealthy businessman and did not let him become a second-generation rich man. He still made him work hard in the fields."

Xu Fan's metaphor made the audience laugh again.

"Shouldn't it be better to transfer the management rights of the workshops from merchants to Han officials? If I were a Han official, why would I give you the money? Wouldn't it be better for me to keep it for myself and my descendants? Of course, Master, this is just a metaphor. Most of the Han officials in my great Han Dynasty are good people."

But it can answer the question just now, that is, the court is not as powerful as you think. The court's junior official is already unable to manage hundreds of workshops. Before the crisis, they had to sell off some inefficient workshops. Local workshops have collapsed in this crisis. They are not much better than the workshop owners. "

"I just want to know what the situation of the Han Dynasty is like. It is a world of great contention, just like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The only difference is that in the previous world of great contention, the contention was for land."

In this era of great contention, what people are fighting for is the control over the workshops. Merchants are fighting for the control over these workshops, and Han officials are also fighting for the control over these workshops. If you actively give up the fight, then you will be like the small countries in the Spring and Autumn Period, entrusting your lives to the kindness of the big countries, and the end of these small countries is destined to be tragic.

We craftsmen do not want this fate, so we must take the initiative to master advanced productivity. Any idea of ​​waiting, relying on, and asking for is stupid and naive. You should not ban machines during demonstrations, but find ways to increase your income, improve your welfare benefits, and fight for better rights.

At the same time, we will build more collective workshops like yours, and use your own strength to transform the world. The Master is waiting for all the workshops in the world to become collective workshops, and all the workshops in the world will belong to our craftsmen. The wealth produced by the workshops will also belong to our craftsmen. Only then will the craftsmen of the Han Dynasty be able to gain true freedom, and no one can easily destroy your jobs or fire you, because you are your own bosses.

(End of this chapter)