Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1363 Public and private
Liu Mengqian, the prefect of Hangzhou, was an elegant man. The most famous "deed" he left behind in Hangzhou was the elegant collection on the Su Causeway one spring:

"In February, the victory meeting will be held at Su Causeway. There are tens of thousands of horn lanterns and gauze lanterns in the city. They are hung on peach willow trees and covered with red felt on the ground. Children and famous prostitutes are used to drinking and singing. At night, all the wax is burned together, and the light is bright. It’s like daytime. In the lake, you can see thousands of candles on the embankment, and the shadow of the lake is doubled. Xiaoguan plays and sings, sinking and ignorant.”

This kind of scene, both in the past and now, is an extremely elegant affair.Zhao Yingong was quite envious when he read this paragraph in the past.

No matter how elegant a person becomes an official, he has to solve the livelihood problems of the people under his rule.Liu Mengqian is lucky. To be the magistrate in Hangzhou, which is known as "paradise", not to mention the "prospects" of being an official, the most important thing is that he does not have to struggle in the nightmare environment like many of his colleagues .

So Liu Zhifu is very satisfied with his current situation.But last year's severe drought cast a shadow over his official career.

As long as you are a magistrate, you will always encounter a famine or two during your tenure. In ancient Chinese society, there was a natural disaster every three years on average, and a major disaster every ten years or so. One of the main jobs.Prefect Liu has also experienced it.

Since the first year of Chongzhen, there have been natural disasters almost every year in Zhejiang, and the affected areas have spread all over the province. Even the Hangjiahu Plain, which has always been a land of fish and rice, has suffered from floods and droughts many times.The people had little time to breathe.Coupled with the government's excessive levies over the years, the Jiangnan area, which was originally an area of ​​heavy taxation, has already been severely damaged.

The large number of refugees is a headache for Liu Zhifu. In recent years, "civil upheavals" have continued, disturbing the world.Although Liu Mengqian is an elegant man, he still has some knowledge: Jiangnan has been peaceful for a long time, military equipment has been slack, and Wen Tian and Wu are playing. Ma Bukuai, who only scares and blackmails the common people, will not do. At that time, he, the magistrate, will probably have to commit suicide in the lobby.

Therefore, when there was a famine, he summoned the local gentry and asked them to do their best to help the government maintain the relief of the victims. He set up a special famine relief bureau, set up porridge sheds, Kaiping sells, dispensed medicine, and collected roads... Finally, this Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice. , the private accumulation is still relatively rich, and the situation is barely maintained.

However, the situation is still not improving. The drought has passed, but the price of food in the market is currently rising with the coming of "five shortages in June".The price of Doumi on the market has exceeded three coins.

According to Liu Zhifu's experience, once the local price of Doumi exceeds four renminbi, there will be a large-scale famine among the people. .

Moreover, if spring sowing and spring planting cannot be carried out in time, it means that the year's harvest will be over, food and taxes will not be collected, and if the refugees riot again, then he, the magistrate, will not have to do it.Seeing that the situation was getting more and more dangerous, Liu Mengqian couldn't sit still any longer, and couldn't care about his "official authority", so he went directly to the Famine Relief Bureau to call a meeting of the gentry.

The Famine Relief Bureau is located in the official alley in the center of the city. In the lobby, more than a dozen committee members and local gentry who have no position but contribute a lot have gathered.

At the meeting, there were different opinions, and the measures to combat famine and disaster relief were nothing more than clichés. This was a familiar routine for everyone present, but when it came to specific handling, no one was willing to say more—because it involved money. question.

From last year's disaster to now, "encouragement" has gone through several rounds. Although all the people present here are local people who are anxious for justice, after all, they have not reached the level of selfless destruction of homes and famines. , The government expropriated and extorted, and their own economic situation was also greatly damaged.

The final result of the meeting is still undecided.Just keep doing the few things you can do right now.As for the most important items of daily grain and rice, and loans to the common people for seed farming and cattle, because the cost is very high, and the source of money and rice cannot be confirmed, no one is willing to take care of it for a while.

When the meeting was over and the committee members dispersed, Liu Mengqian took care of the servant and asked Zhao Yingong to meet him in casual clothes in the flower hall.

Zhao Yingong was very active in the activities of the Famine Relief Bureau, especially the refugee problem that the government felt was the most difficult, which was basically solved by the Cihuitang.Although he had also heard many rumors that after those refugees were taken in by Cihui Hall, they would be transported away by boats from the Qiantang River every other month.I don't know where it was transported, but it was said that it was sent to Guangdong to reclaim wasteland.

If this matter was in a peaceful time, the magistrate would have to ask.But right now, the governments all over the country are treating patients with headaches and feet. The gathering of a large number of disaster victims is a great hidden danger. Now someone is willing to come forward to deal with it. It doesn't matter where you are sent to in the end, whether the refugees are dead or alive.What's more, the yellow book system has been abolished over the years, and the number of registered households is completely fabricated. It has become unclear how many registered households are under the rule of local officials.Therefore, the big and small officials of Hangzhou Mansion have adopted an indifferent attitude towards this matter.

Liu Mengqian first spoke politely to Zhao Yingong, praising him for being "young and promising", "urgent and righteous", and then said that he was playing on the repair watch, and asked for credit for the local people in the disaster relief.At that time, the imperial court will naturally have a ceremony of honor.Zhao Yingong's "going further" is also unknown.

Zhao Yingong thought to himself that the so-called "going further" was nothing more than "Guozijian Studying" qualifications for supervising students, and he really didn't like it.But on the bright side, he had to put on a flattered look and thank him again and again.

After the formalities were over, the topic of Liu Zhifu turned to the topic of famine relief.

Zhao Yingong already had a plan in mind.However, he was unwilling to speak out at the meeting. First, it was too high-profile, and it was easy to break a taboo. Second, once this matter was implemented, the subsequent economic benefits would be enough to make people jealous, so it was not appropriate for him to raise it.It is best to propose a plan to Liu Zhifu in private, and then he will announce it.

This prefect Liu will not let go of any opportunity right now.Because of his ability to digest refugees in the previous stage, he will definitely come here for advice.

Zhao Yingong's plan has been considered many times. On the one hand, it is his task to continue to absorb refugees from the south of the Yangtze River, and he can fully undertake it. On the other hand, he has to rely on this to cover his affairs with the righteousness of "saving lives". coat.

He briefly reported his thoughts on handling, with the purpose of "using business as a substitute for relief and revitalizing the market".

There are a lot of disaster victims. If you want to save money, relying on porridge and pickles for relief can calm the hearts of the people, but it will not be able to resume production; it would be best if you loan cattle seeds to help the disaster victims resume production, but the cost is too high , The Famine Relief Bureau cannot afford it.Even if they "persuade" merchants from all over Hangzhou again, it may be difficult to raise much rice.Moreover, repeated recruitment will inevitably lead to a backlash—Zhao Yingong reminded Liu Zhifu very tactfully that this would be detrimental to his official reputation.

The power of the gentry in the Ming Dynasty was very heavy. If the local officials wanted to be an official in a peaceful manner, the gentry could not offend them.Of course Liu Zhifu understood Zhao Yingong's reminder.

"'Relief from business, revitalize the market', these eight words are good, but how to implement it? Please teach me, sir." Liu Zhifu pretended to be humbly asking for advice.

It is only a policy to use business as a substitute to revitalize the market, although it is a novelty.However, the specific implementation still cannot escape the word "money and food".What Liu Zhifu wanted to know was how this Mr. Zhao conjured up money and food out of nothing.

"My lord speaks too seriously. The word 'teach' is definitely not dared. It is just a little contempt of the students, and there are many difficulties in it."

"But it doesn't matter, as long as the students can do it, they must do their best."

"Of course there are many difficulties, beyond words, and I dare not bother you; as long as I can, I will take care of it myself. Please don't worry, my lord. The refugees will definitely not be troubled."

Zhao Yingong's remarks made his attitude clear: Cihui Hall will continue to accommodate refugees sent out. As long as the local government does not interfere and the refugees form refugee groups, nothing that endangers order will happen.

Liu Mengqian nodded slightly, with this premise, everything would be much easier to handle.As for where the refugees went, it didn't matter to him.

Zhao Yingong went on to say that although the refugee problem can be solved, the restoration of production is still the top priority. In order not to miss the farming season, it is imperative to loan seeds to the people to cultivate cattle.It's just that the government and the Famine Relief Bureau can't come up with money now.

"...The students thought about it before and after, and there is a way, which can be described as both public and private." Zhao Yingong only showed his hole card at this time.

"What way?"

"Silk!"

Liu Mengqian had a quick mind, and immediately realized that Master Zhao was playing raw silk's idea.This is not surprising—raw silk is very profitable.However, distant water can hardly quench thirst, and the time for planting rice seedlings has passed by the time raw silk comes on the scene.The key still depends on how he plays his abacus of "public and private convenience"?
Zhao Yingong said: Although Hangzhou was hit by drought last year, it did not have a great impact on sericulture households. In particular, the mulberry farms were not affected much by the drought climate. There has been no further disaster since the fall of last year. The growth of mulberry trees is very good. This year The harvest of mulberry leaves should not be a problem.So the cocoon harvest can be guaranteed.

His plan is to use the 5 taels of silver raised by the China Merchants Bureau as an advance payment to the Famine Relief Bureau, and the Famine Relief Bureau will come forward to buy silkworm cocoons.Zhao Yingong did not interfere with the purchase price of the Famine Relief Bureau, but the price that China Merchants purchased from the Famine Relief Bureau was fixed.In one in and one out, the premium generated is the profit of the Famine Relief Bureau.The profit was used as a loan for famine relief.The purchase of seeds, oxen and food to overcome the famine were distributed to the victims in the form of loans.Pay back in autumn.

The Famine Relief Bureau is run by the government, and it has a great reputation for famine relief. It is easy to form a double pressure of politics and morality, and it is not afraid that sericulture households will not submit.And as far as the gentry in the late Ming Dynasty was concerned, they would never stop unless they took this opportunity to squeeze the small households hard.

As for how much profit they can squeeze out of the sericulture account, what kind of unlimited things the silk cocoon guild will do is out of his consideration.The heavier the losses of sericulture households, the better for Zhao Yingong.

Zhao Yingong continued to say that in terms of specific operations, the advance payment can be used first so as not to miss the farming season, as long as enough purchase funds are set aside.As for how much the purchase money will be kept, Zhao Yingong is ambiguous.In short, in the end, Zhao Yingong would get silkworm cocoons or raw silk equivalent to 5 taels of silver at the purchase price of China Merchants.

"What if the sericulture households refuse to sell to the Famine Relief Bureau?" Liu Zhifu asked.

"What's so difficult about it?" Zhao Yingong laughed, "Naturally, I need to ask your lord to issue a notice in advance, so as to make sense of it, the common people will understand the key point. If it doesn't work, I have to ask the masters of Silk Cocoon Industry to help me a lot. "

The Famine Relief Bureau is not a silk cocoon company, and the specific business operations are still left to them.Zhao Yingong reckoned that with the general contractor of the Famine Relief Bureau, it is equivalent to taking away a layer of profits for nothing. The silk cocoon shop in Hangzhou must have a lot of competition around the purchase of silk cocoons. This year's exploitation of sericulture households may be It will be heavier than ever.

Liu Zhifu nodded with his beard, but did not speak.Zhao Yingong lowered his head with a smile all over his face and just drank his tea.

He wasn't worried that the Famine Relief Bureau or Liu Zhifu would cheat him—if it was Zhao Yingong's personal actions, then he was very likely to be cheated—the officials and gentry of Ming Dynasty are all cannibals, but Now it is the China Merchants Bureau who is lending the money, not to mention the righteous name of famine relief, the magistrate Liu is too bold to cheat the 36 gentry in the south of the Yangtze River in one go.

Liu Zhifu could hear it clearly, and thought to himself that Mr. Zhao was indeed a man of all kinds.But this solved his urgent need.He reckoned that this acquisition would have to be a half-and-half profit.Not only has the cost of seed farming and oxen gone down, but the masters of the Famine Relief Bureau have also made a small contribution.It is indeed "both public and private".

A smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he even called him "Mr.Zhao Yingong took the opportunity to put forward a second suggestion.

Although the losses of the sericulture households were relatively small, they were also hit by disasters. The money and food for the famine relief this time will go to the silkworms they raised. Right now, there is no harvest, and the life of the silkworm farmers is also very difficult.So there should be some support as well.He mentioned that he was willing to help silkworm farmers by providing them with "tip leaves", and at the same time opened a charity workshop in Cihui Hall to reel silk for customers.

"The establishment of this workshop is also to provide a place for the refugees who come here to earn their own living."

Liu Zhifu is an official in Hangzhou, so he knows the meaning of "Shao Ye". When Zhao Yingong mentioned this matter, he understood what he meant after a little thought.He has contributed a lot to famine relief this time, so it is naturally inconvenient to object to these benefits.As for the valet silk reeling workshop, he does not see any special need, after all, most sericulture households reel their own silk.But he didn't think it was a problem -- it wasn't a crime.

"This is easy. You just do it yourself." Liu Zhifu said, "I know it well." He picked up the teacup, "Don't worry about it."

　Whether Liu Mengqian was the prefect of Hangzhou in 1634 is doubtful.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)