I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 591 Family Property
Cao Song was a well-connected person in official circles, so it was not difficult for him to gain the trust of an ordinary person. After a conversation, he was able to make the other person open his heart.

Cao Song learned that the man in front of him was named Wang Fu, and he was indeed just an ordinary citizen in Luoyang County. He even heard about the bond from his neighbors at the market.

The reason why they wanted to buy the bonds was not only because the Holy Son of Heaven was behind the bonds, but also because

Wang Fu said: "The gold used to buy the bonds is not my family's money, but the family property."

The so-called clan property, as the name suggests, is the property of the clan. After all, clans today help each other. If a rich family in the clan is willing to donate property and land to the clan to help the poor and the weak,

Cao Song had a very high sensitivity when it came to matters of wealth, so he naturally knew about the family's assets.

In his opinion, if there are poor people in the clan, and he wants to give money and land as gifts, he can just give it in the name of his own family and get a good reputation. Why should he use the clan property?
At most, only some property sufficient for the sacrifices would be left.

But Cao Song also knew that in some clans, the family property was not limited to sacrifices.

Therefore, Cao Song asked Wang Fu: "Since it is family property, it should be kept for future use."

"Today's emperor is wise and the government is clean, but even if there are no man-made disasters, there may be natural disasters... Although these bonds can be bought and sold, they are not money after all. Although they are profitable, the earliest time to redeem them is after the autumn harvest next year."

After hearing this, Wang Fu smiled and said to Cao Song, "Don't worry, old man. Since I came here, I have already discussed it with my clansmen. Even if there is a natural disaster, the savings of my clansmen are enough for us to survive until next year."

"Since Guangxi, our savings have been increasing."

Wang Fu thought with great anticipation: "If there are more bonds next year, maybe I can buy more!"

When Cao Song heard this, he continued chatting with Wang Fu since he had nothing to do.

During the conversation, Cao Song learned that Wang Fu was only in his early thirties and already had a son and two daughters. When he was young, his family was relatively well-off and he even studied in the countryside for a year.

But this good time did not last long. Natural disasters and man-made calamities soon followed, and Wang Fu even had no food to eat at one point.

Wang Fu did not talk much about these sad past events, but talked more about his expectations for the future. Now his son has been studying with a teacher in the countryside.

Wang Fu said: "I don't have high expectations for my son. I just hope he can be a minor official in the village. Then I will be satisfied."

But he also has worries - "My son is stupid and likes to play. He can neither learn well nor cherish things."

Talking about his son, Cao Song also had something to say: "My eldest son has always been disobedient, but fortunately he listened to my advice this time. Now I think it was all my fault for being too gentle with him when he was young, which made him a little rebellious. In my opinion, you should teach him a lesson when he needs to be taught, and beat him early, otherwise it will be difficult to beat him when he grows up."

Wang Fu asked, "I see that the father-in-law is very cultured in his words. I guess his eldest son is no ordinary person, right?"

Cao Song heard this and waved his hand in disdain, saying, "I am just an ordinary official. I am satisfied if people can praise me as an efficient official."

As they were talking, an official suddenly came over and announced, "Don't wait any longer, there are too many people here today, and the bonds we originally prepared are almost used up. It will definitely not be your turn today."

Wang Fu was startled when he heard this.

But then the clerk announced: "Don't worry, new bonds are already being produced and will continue to be sold tomorrow."

Wang Fu was slightly relieved, but then he thought again, if tomorrow is the same as today and the bonds are gone before it is his turn, what should he do?

Then the clerk announced: "Those who don't have the chance to exchange bonds today, don't worry. Someone will deliver a numbered wooden sign later. You can bring this sign to exchange for bonds tomorrow..."

Now, Wang Fu was completely relieved.

Cao Song, who was in the crowd, was satisfied when he saw that Lu Su, who was in charge of the matter, easily appeased the people who came to buy bonds. Then, like Wang Fu, he left with a number tag.

Before leaving, Cao Song felt a little disappointed.

Why didn't Lu Su make any mistakes and give him a chance to show his prowess in front of others?
But before long, Cao Song, who was about to praise Lu Su in person, saw Lu Su said to him with a worried look: "Mr. Cao, the bond issue is so hot now, and people are flocking to it, but I have some worries in my heart. I don't know if I should say it..."

……

"Your Majesty, this is what Junshu Cheng Lu Zijing said. I think what he said makes sense. Although today's bonds are just being created, people are eager to buy them. It is precisely because of this that we should prepare for a rainy day!" Cao Song said.

If he were young and met such a capable subordinate, Cao Song might have taken away his credit with guilt. But now, Cao Song is older and has experienced more, so he doesn't care so much about it.

Liu Bian listened to what Cao Song said and looked at the memorial in front of him, which expressed Lu Su's concerns about the future development of bonds.

Liu Bian looked at it and, in simple terms, Lu Su believed that bonds not only had to pay interest, but also had to pay the principal in the coming year, so we cannot blindly increase the number of bonds just because many people are buying them now.

In addition, bonds are ultimately an act of making money out of nothing by relying on the credit of the imperial court and the emperor. The issuance of bonds needs and must be controlled by the imperial court and must never be given to local governments.

All in all, the core of Lu Su's advice is caution.

Liu Bian also agreed with this. He said to Cao Song: "Originally, I thought that since the bonds were newly established, I didn't know what problems would arise. Now that I see you are so cautious, I feel relieved."

After hearing this, Cao Song brought up the family property he had heard about today and suggested, "Your Majesty, I think that the so-called family property is mostly used when disaster strikes. As long as it is beneficial, one year, three to five years will not make much difference. The reason why the bond redemption period was set only after the autumn harvest next year was because we were worried that the bonds would not be recognized. In my opinion, we may try to issue bonds with a term of several more years, which can also reduce the money and grain for repaying the bonds next year."

After hearing what Cao Song said, Liu Bian suddenly understood why Lu Su was so anxious to write the letter. He must have thought that Cao Song must have felt that the suggestions he put forward were very prudent.

Faced with Cao Song's suggestion, Liu Bian was somewhat hesitant as to whether to take this step.

In this era, a natural disaster can bring a country's economy to its knees. Current bonds appear to have annual revenue as payment vouchers, but in fact they are more like credit bonds, emphasizing trust.

In other words, the cost of building a canal was too high, otherwise Liu Bian would not have rashly adopted this method.

As for the follow-up of the bonds, Liu Bian hoped that it would become a Jiaozi used for large transactions.

Finally, Liu Bian said to Cao Song: "Please write down what you just said and let the ministers discuss it." When Liu Bian was unsure about something, he would usually ask the court officials to discuss it. Now the court had all the wise men, so how could he not use them?
“By the way, bring Lu Zijing along at that time,” Liu Bian added.

Cao Song nodded in agreement.

The next day, Liu Bian convened a meeting of court officials with an official rank of more than 600 dan, as well as Lu Su, who had less than 600 dan.

Among the three ministers, Dong Zhuo was absent, the three sat alone, and the Minister of the Chancellery Huangfu Song was also not present.

Both of them took sick leave early.

Especially Huangfu Song, whose years of military career caused irreparable damage to his body. As for Dong Zhuo, his body became increasingly obese due to his early years of fighting and years in Beijing... Especially after he became the Minister of Education and achieved his life goal, he became even more obese.

Time makes people grow old, and this group of old ministers left over from the previous emperor's era will inevitably leave the court after Lu Zhi.

Although the old generation is replaced by the new, this country will continue to move forward step by step.

The ministers had different opinions on Cao Song's suggestion.

A group of old ministers were opposed to the bonds themselves, let alone the further issuance of bonds, but the younger court officials hoped that the bonds would continue. The sooner enough money could be raised, the sooner the canal could be completed.

Finally, with Liu Bian's approval, it was decided to release a limited number of long-term bonds.

During this period, Lu Su, who was specially recruited by Liu Bian, argued that although he supported the issuance of bonds, he only supported strict limits and clearly calculated the amount. Such a prudent style made even the old ministers who opposed bonds recognize Lu Su's talent. And Lu Su also showed his style in front of the ministers for the first time.

……

Fan Ling, who had already started hiring people, was unaware of the debate in the court. He was in high spirits at the moment and took Huang Zu to inspect the river, looking forward to the early completion of the canal led by him.

In Kaifeng County, where he was the governor of Henan Province, the minor officials who had received the order had already started propaganda.

"Dig the river, dredge the silt... One thousand yuan a month, meals included, only during the slack season, limited places, no one will be accepted after the deadline..."

Fan Ling listened to the faint voice of the clerk and said to Huang Zu, "Although His Majesty will definitely send the School Affairs Department to secretly monitor whether these wages can reach the hands of the hired people, this does not mean that we can be careless. Money can move people's hearts, so we must be careful."

Huang Zu immediately replied: "Teacher, rest assured, I will keep it in mind."

If Huang Zu initially flattered Fan Ling in order to make better progress, then after several years of getting along with him, he had truly regarded Fan Ling as his trusted teacher.

He comes from a good family and is not short of money. Now is the time for him to do great things. How can he allow people around him to take advantage of the opportunity to pursue personal gain and ruin his future?
Fan Ling added: "It will take a long time to develop a new canal, so the original Bian Canal and Sishui canals must continue to be used and cannot be abandoned. The first thing to do now is to take advantage of the low water level in the Yellow River and shallow water level in the Bian Canal to dig out the silt accumulated in the canal. Don't rush for success."

Huang Zu always felt that Fan Ling’s words today were a little strange.

Fan Ling continued, "I started the canal project, but I may not be able to supervise the entire process in the future. By then, you will have a heavier burden."

Huang Zu looked at Fan Ling's gray hair and beard, and suddenly thought, maybe his teacher was making arrangements for his funeral arrangements?

The more he listened to Fan Ling's explanations of the precautions for dredging the canal, the more he felt that his guess was right.

He hurriedly said to Fan Ling: "Teacher, you are in good health and will live a long life. It has only been ten years since the canal was built. Teacher, you will definitely see the day when you can see the canal!"

What Huang Zu said was truly heartfelt; he really said this with deep emotion.

Then, the next moment, Huang Zu noticed that Fan Ling was walking slowly behind him.

Huang Zu had not yet realized that he had made a mistake until he was kicked and fell into the mud of the Bian Canal.

"What I mean is that after the money and grain arrive, I will ask you to go and dredge the Handan Canal first. I am telling you what to pay attention to after you go to Handan Canal..."

Looking at Fan Ling who was fuming, Huang Zu thought that if his teacher could see with his own eyes the day when the canal he had planned could be successfully transported by river, he would be willing to be kicked a few more times.

In a village not far from the Bian Canal, the village head Zhao Yi, who was promoting the court's employment policy, was also unaware of what was happening. He was trying to attract more people to sign up and participate in dredging the river.

Zhao Yi was originally a sergeant in the Xiyuan Army. Later, he followed an official from the Imperial College who was specially sent to the Xiyuan Army by the emperor to learn some classics and official affairs. After passing the assessment, he returned to his hometown and successfully became a pavilion chief.

Zhao Yi is quite satisfied with his current life. Of course, if he could go one step further, he would be willing to be a village chief even if he doesn't have to be a village head.

Although the county magistrate did not explain it explicitly, Zhao Yi knew very well that the more people a pavilion chief like him could summon, the more he would undoubtedly be valued by his superiors.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yi shouted even louder.

When a villager came to ask about the situation, Zhao Yi explained in detail: "Don't worry about not getting paid. Dredging the canal is a major plan set by the emperor. Everyone is watching. Who dares to embezzle money?"

"Don't disbelieve me, when I was a soldier in the Xiyuan Army, I saw the emperor with my own eyes!"

Zhao Yi said this countless times during his career as a guard, and it worked every time. Because as long as he said that he had seen the emperor, even if the villagers did not believe what he said, they would think he was very knowledgeable and would think about the credibility of his words.

This time was no exception. Upon hearing this, the villagers gritted their teeth and said, "It's past the farming season, and there's nothing to do at home now, so count me in!"

But after I told them my name, the villagers still asked worriedly, "Is it true that food is included?"

"Not only are meals provided, but accommodation is also provided for those who live far from home! But you have to bring your own bedding." Zhao Yi didn't want the villager in front of him to go back on his word. Besides, there were many people around him who were interested. If the villager went back on his word, who knows how many would give up. "I have been in the village for so many years, when have I ever lied? If food is not provided, or the wages are not enough, just come back to me! I, Zhao Yi, am a man of my words, and I will make up for the difference myself!"

After making the solemn promise, Zhao Yi's face beamed with joy when he saw the villagers coming to sign up.

(End of this chapter)