The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 377 The Xining Reform Begins

(You can keep a chapter to share with tomorrow at midnight)
[In April 1069, Emperor Shenzong of Song established the "Three Departments Regulations Office", a special agency to formulate regulations for the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Salt and Iron.]

【To "plan the national strategy, discuss the reform of the old law, and bring benefits to the world"】

[In April of the same year, according to the suggestion of the Three Departments Regulations Office, eight people were sent to various places to investigate the situation of farmland irrigation, taxation, and labor law, and reform activities were gradually launched.]

【The three "not to be feared" principles are: "natural disasters are not to be feared, ancestors are not to be followed, and people's words are not to be pitied." 】

[This reform changed the ancestral law, so it was called "New Law". It is known in history as "Xining Reform"]

……

Daqin
Three shortcomings? Well said.

But this is to isolate oneself.

As for the duties of this Ordinance Department...

It has nothing to do with Zhongshu and Privy Council. Is there another Zhongshu besides Zhongshu?

The power is given in full.

"What do you think should be done first, to eliminate the evils or to promote the good?"

Ying Zheng asked the officials who were summoned before him.

Wei Liao spoke first:

"Your Majesty, throughout history, only Shang Yang succeeded in reforming the law."

"But Shang Jun first eliminated the evils and then promoted the benefits."

"It is true that if the drawbacks are not eliminated, it will be difficult to achieve benefits."

Ying Zheng remained calm and looked at the others.

Feng Quji looked around.

Meng Tian pretended to be in deep thought, Xiao He was really in deep thought, and Liu Bang pretended to be in deep thought.

Fine……

"Your Majesty, I think what the captain said may be a little biased."

"Shang Yang's reforms were to first promote benefits, then to lure people with benefits and then to eliminate the evils."

“Without benefit, it is difficult to eliminate the disadvantages.”

After jumping over Meng Tian, ​​who was sweating profusely, Ying Zheng looked at Xiao He again.

"Zhili Neishi, what do you think?"

Meng Tian breathed a sigh of relief, Xiao He was tense, and Liu Bang continued to pretend to be in deep thought.

"Return to Your Majesty."

Xiao He bowed and said slowly:
"Both the lieutenant and the right prime minister have a point, but they have forgotten the true foundation of their reasoning."

Facing the emperor's gaze, Xiao He said word by word:

"That's Qin Min."

"If the people want change, the government can be changed. If the people do not want change, the government cannot be changed."

“But the people do not know where change comes from, so we must win their trust and benefit them.”

"Shang Jun gained the trust of the people, and with this as his foundation and relying on Duke Xiao, he was able to promote benefits and eliminate disadvantages."

Feng Quji and Wei Liao on the side looked at Xiao He and fell into deep thought.

Meng Tian's heart began to beat wildly when he heard this.

The other three also understood what Xiao He meant.

Shang Yang's reforms indeed won the trust of the people and also benefited the people.

But it’s just like lending money. I give you the interest, but you still have to pay it back!

This return will make the country rich and the army strong!

What about the people? Where can we provide wealth and strength?

Xiao He's words secretly referred to the people as being very harsh, and he was almost pointing at the emperor's nose.

"You should first appease the people and make them believe that you really want to do good for them!"

"You're still changing the law? Change your head!"

Ying Zheng looked at Liu Bang without changing his expression or beating his heart.

"Dianke...what do you think?"

Liu Bang shook his sleeves and performed a great ceremony of possession.

"Your Majesty, I believe that if we want to achieve peace and prosperity for the world, we must first make the people prosperous, and then peace and prosperity can be achieved."

“If a person is fundamental to what he does, he will be able to recognize the source of his gains and losses.”

“Instead of thinking about the pros and cons of eliminating evils and promoting benefits, it is better to entrust the responsibility of weighing the wealth of the world to this department that understands the fundamentals.”

"They are familiar with and understand their functions, so the solutions they come up with are definitely the best, and the suggestions they put forward are definitely understandable."

"Gather wealth and use it to distribute it. In this way, the people will be prosperous and the country will be well-off."

"And...Shang Yang's reforms were top-down."

The other four people cursed inwardly: Loach!

Ying Zheng glanced at Liu Bang.

……

Great Song.

"it is good!"

Zhao Kuangyin applauded.

According to the tradition of decentralization, if Wang Anshi served as the prime minister of the Secretariat, he would not be able to control the finances of the three departments.

But if Wang Anshi was allowed to work in the Three Departments, he could not concurrently serve in administrative duties.

As the leader of the reform, Wang Anshi had to unify power and take charge of both administration and finance, which was exactly contrary to the Song system he had formulated.

We can't let Wang Anshi be both prime minister and the chief minister of three ministries, right?

And this kid!

He made a decision that went against his ancestors!

"A financial agency was set up specifically for the reform, and Wang Anshi was appointed as the deputy prime minister to head the Regulations Department."

Zhao Kuangyin waved his fist and said excitedly
“This way, we can achieve the unity of administration and finance!”

"It will make it easier for Wang Anshi to preside over the reform!"

"Okay, okay! Our ancestors are not worthy of the law!"

"Your ancestors are not worthy of following the law! You did the right thing! Well done!"

"puff!"

The swinging fist accidentally hit his cheek, and a tooth came out of Zhao Kuangyi's mouth.

Zhao Kuangyin, whose excitement was interrupted, glanced at Zhao Kuangyi, who was covering his face with a resentful look.

Disgusted:
"Go squat on the pillar!" "If you touch my fist with your face again, I'll hit you on the head..."

After glancing up at the sky, Zhao Da softened his tone.

"I'll give you a discount on your legs!"

……

[On July 1069, , Wang Anshi submitted a memorial in the name of "the Three Departments Regulations Office" and on the same day "established the equal transportation system for the six routes of Huai, Zhejiang, Jiang, and Hu"]

【Appoint Xue Xiang as the shipping envoy for the six routes of Huainan, Liangzhe, East and West Jiangnan, South Jinghu and North Jinghu, and implement the equal transportation system.】

[The equalization method, in simple terms, is to consider the comprehensive relationship between the amount of local tribute that should be paid each year, the annual expenditure of the capital, and the amount of inventory. ]

【The imperial court allocated 5 million strings of cash and 3 million dan of rice as working capital for the Shipping Department. The Shipping Department, based on the actual situation of the capital's treasury and the materials in various places, followed the principle of "moving the expensive to the cheap, using the near and using the far".】

[Choose to buy the materials needed by the court at a low price, and at the same time transport the excess materials from various places to various places for sale, thereby saving national expenses, increasing court income, stabilizing prices, and reducing the burden on the people. ]

……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Wei Zifu poked Liu Che's butt as he turned his back to her.

"Tsk! What are you doing!?"

Liu Che shook off Wei Zifu's hand with his sleeve and turned to look at her angrily.

There are still people in the temple! Where are you touching?

Wei Zifu pointed to the sky.

Liu Che took a look and turned to face the wall.

"Sang Hongyang is more familiar with it than him!"

"During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Quanfu official was set up to manage currency circulation and market trade in order to limit the excessive concentration of wealth in the world."

"Use the quanfu to adjust the rich and the poor, so that the wealth of the world can be distributed."

"That's what the Regulations Department does!"

……

The period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty
"Isn't this the same trick used by Sang Hongyang?"

Liu Bingyi couldn't hold it in any longer.

Sang Hongyang's method indeed helped Emperor Wu enrich the country and strengthen the army!
What are the consequences? What is the cost?
One of the original intentions of this law was to take back the power of collecting and distributing goods from merchants and return it to the court, which would also reduce the burden on the people.

But in the end, this thing became a national procurement and sales monopoly!

Their problems are even worse than those of private businessmen!

People only buy expensive things, not the right ones, and the prices are high but the quality is poor!

It would be fine if only one of the equalization methods was similar.

If we really use Sang Hongyang's "technique" to reform the world.

Liu Bingyi thought of the fact that the number of households increased but the population decreased during the reign of Emperor Wu.

Being deceived is still your best path.

Hope you have...

Liu Bingyi, who had a puzzled look on his face, read the latter part of Tianmu's words and his expression gradually returned to calm.

"I knew it..."

……

[According to historical records, in the second month after the implementation of the equal transportation law, the shipping officials transported a large amount of rice to places where rice was expensive to make money, and sold it at "double the market price". This move is self-evident and has definitely increased the burden on the people.]

[Afterwards, official purchase prices were often distorted, either much lower than the market price, almost free, or much higher than the market price in exchange for kickbacks.]

[During the implementation of the equalization law, officials demanded kickbacks. They would not buy unless they were expensive or without kickbacks, so that it was difficult to even recover the principal of the working capital allocated.]

[Countless corruption occurred during this period, which seriously interfered with the normal operation of the market.]

[These problems were already pointed out by conservatives such as Su Shi at the time.]

【Two years after the equalization of transport was implemented, it disappeared without a trace. 】

……

Later Zhou Dynasty: Emperor Shizong's reign
Guo·Shanghai Merchant·Rong, available for a limited time only!
"Let's not talk about the results."

"Wang Anshi's measures show that he really understands the fundamentals of managing the wealth of the world."

He put his arm around the pale-faced Zhao Kuangyin’s shoulders.

Guo Rong commented with a happy look on his face.

Are you angry about someone usurping your throne?
Of course I’m angry!

But is the usurper worse off than you?

That would be more satisfying.

The usurper's future will be worse than yours, but you haven't been usurped yet?
Guo Rong doesn’t know what a funny person is, but he knows how to watch fun!

"This is actually a good policy since the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties."

"In addition to the normal land tax, each state and prefecture also collected various materials in the name of tribute."

"Gold, silver, silk, damask, satin, and even arrowheads, cowhide, paper, pens, etc."

"These tributes are shared by all households."

Guo Rong recalled the days when he traveled all over the country. During those days, he saw too many people suffering.

"But no matter what happens in the local area, even if the harvest is good or bad, the tribute cannot be easily changed or reduced. It must be transported to the capital as tribute according to regulations."

“When the harvest is poor, we have to buy it at a high price to supply it.”

"On the other hand, local officials did not ask about the supply and demand of various materials in the capital, or the inventory status of various warehouses."

"As a result, some surplus materials had to be sold at half price, and big merchants took the opportunity to hoard them, causing great harm to the government and the people who paid tribute."

Guo Rong recalled the way his father sighed as he looked at the tributes piled up in the warehouse, rotting and decaying.

"Taizu stopped paying tribute from various places, which can be regarded as a sudden solution to the problem... Although it is impossible to stop paying tribute forever, at least it gives them time to adjust."

He patted Zhao Kuangyin’s shoulder, who had a bitter face.

Guo Rong got up and left.

"You can't leave. Don't worry, I won't kill you. Your wife and children are on their way."

"I will help you solve your second brother's problem."

"You're welcome."

"Equalized Loss Method... I need to look up some books..."

"How can we improve rice?"

Zhao Kuangyin looked at the gradually disappearing figure, and his bitter face slowly returned to normal.

Looking at the sky calmly.

……

(End of this chapter)