Song Yi

Chapter 305
Du Wenhao was taken aback, thinking whether the reform is good or not. This topic has been talked about by historians for 1000 years. I have studied history and know that the reform failed in the end. Since it failed, it means that there is something wrong with the reform. historical choice.The reasons include not only the imperfection and irrationality of the reform itself, but also the officials who implemented it for profit, and of course, Wang Anshi's withdrawn, arrogant and self-willed personality.This is not something that can be explained clearly in a few words, even with my little knowledge of history.

It has been more than 20 or [-] years since the reform, and various problems arising from the reform have been reported to the emperor through various memorials. A few days ago, the private visit of microservices allowed the emperor to personally experience the attitude of the common people towards the reform. The advantages and disadvantages should be known.He is asking himself this question now, not looking for an answer, but more of a soliloquy.

Du Wenhao thought about this in an instant, and the words "rarely confused" popped up in his mind like lightning, and he bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the reform is a major national event, and I am just a little imperial doctor who can only Qi Huang and the others don't know anything about government affairs, so they dare not judge themselves."

"Today, I just want to hear how you, a person who doesn't understand government affairs, talk about government affairs. After all, I will forgive you for everything you say today!"

Du Wenhao froze for a moment, and kept telling himself not to be impulsive. Impulse is the devil. Although he studied history in middle school, the teacher had a deep evaluation of Wang Anshi's reform. Zhuge Liang, it should be more accurate, and I remember it very clearly, but being in it is different, especially, these evaluations are probably not what Song Shenzong wants to hear. I'm afraid I won't be happy in my heart, why should I touch this tiger's butt again.

Thinking of this, Du Wenhao bowed to the ground: "Your Majesty, I really don't understand the reform, so I can't talk about it."

Song Shenzong stared at him for a moment, snorted, pointed to the memorial on the ground and said, "Then you should read this memorial first."

"Yes!" Du Wenhao stepped forward to pick up the memorial and read it. This is a secret military report from Lizhou, which borders Tubo and Dali on Chengdu Fulu. The army was deployed to suppress it, and mobs entered the mountains to become bandits and harassed the local area, which became a problem.At the same time, miasma broke out in the area, killing and injuring countless people and animals.Taking advantage of the chaos, small groups of Tubo tribal troops harassed and looted homes on the border from time to time.

After reading it, Du Wenhao bowed down and placed the memorial on the dragon table, and stood with hands down, still not saying a word.

Song Shenzong said: "How do you feel?"

Du Wenhao thought for a while and said cautiously: "As long as the common people have a bite to eat, they will not rise up and make trouble. There must be a reason for the civil uprising, but whether the reason is because of the Green Crop Law, the so-called no right to speak without investigation, my minister I’m not in the local area, so I dare not speak nonsense.”

"Well, there is no right to speak if there is no investigation! Well said! You have followed the private interview of Zhen Weifu, and you have some understanding of the Young Crop Law. This is after investigation, so let's talk about your opinion based on these feelings. I said, I forgive you for everything you said today!"

"Thank you, Lord Long En!" The emperor asked himself to express his opinion twice, and if he didn't evade it, he was afraid that he would be unhappy. Usury exploitation by the local tyrants and evil gentry can also increase the government’s fiscal revenue, which can be described as a win-win move that kills two birds with one stone.”

Song Shenzong smiled, nodded and said: "You still have some knowledge. It is an indisputable fact that Anshi's reforms have filled the treasury. Tell me, why don't the people support such a good law?"

Du Wenhao thought to himself, if the reform only filled the national treasury, but the pockets of the common people were deflated, and even the rice in the bowls disappeared, the common people would naturally not support it.However, it's rare to be confused, so let's change the topic a little: "The former minister followed the emperor's microfu for a private visit. The minister once talked about the reform with Lord Wang Anshi. I heard that this young crop law has been tested by him in Yin County. Yes, Mr. Wang loaned grain to the people in Yin County, and paid interest immediately, and the people welcomed it very much.

"That's right, why did it arouse public opposition when it was extended to the whole country?"

"Weichen thought that the original implementation in Yin County was small and small, and all aspects were easy to deal with, and things were easy to handle. Any problems encountered could be solved immediately, and the reform could be guaranteed to be carried out in full accordance with the original plan. However, once it is promoted on a large scale across the country, it will be different. The situation in each region is different, and the problems encountered are also different. Among them, there are many corrupt officials who take advantage of the reform to profit, misinterpret the reform, and fish the common people. As a result, the young crop law has changed in many places. , not the original law.”

Song Shenzong listened to Du Wenhao's strategy of suppressing first and then promoting. In fact, someone mentioned these words a long time ago. The Communist Party of China in the late 50s did not follow the laws of nature, and the result was a rebound.

If Du Wenhao's words were placed at the beginning of the reform, Song Shenzong would definitely not listen to them, but now his mood is very different, especially after witnessing the private visit of Weifu, he has doubts about the correctness of the reform itself. Question: "Tell me, why has the young crop method changed?"

As Du Wenhao spoke, he uttered the middle school teacher's evaluation of the reform. Now that the emperor was asking questions, it was too late to stop, so he had to bite the bullet and say carefully: "This time, the private visit with the emperor's micro-service, the people's feedback is the biggest, It is the Green Crop Law that has changed from voluntary to mandatory apportionment, and the interest has doubled, which is not a policy to benefit the people, but has become a heavy burden for the people."

Song Shenzong nodded, and said in a deep voice: "I have already investigated many officials like this. In your opinion, why have you repeatedly banned them?"

"For profit, people die for money. As long as it is profitable, there will always be people who will defy the law. Using power to make money has been a huge temptation for officials since ancient times. Not many officials can resist this temptation. Of course, many People have the heart but not the guts.”

"Well, what do you think is the biggest problem with the Green Crop Law?"

The emperor personally asked himself his views on major national affairs. Du Wenhao was young, and couldn't bear the heat in his heart. He forgot the four golden and jade words that were rare and confused, and blurted out: "If there is no distinction between government and business, the disadvantages are huge!"

Song Shenzong's dragon body shook, and asked slowly: "What do you mean?"

"The government should be the night watchman of the economy and society, not a direct participant!"

Du Wenhao is not a graduate of economics, and he doesn’t understand economics, but he has studied political economics in middle school, and in the modern social network age, information is exploding, and all kinds of information can’t help but drill into your ears. Various theories about economics and politics I have heard a lot, and I don't care whether it is right or not, and I just use it to make nonsense.Anyway, what people said must have his truth.

Song Shenzong had never heard this sentence before, and it was very novel. He asked, "What government? What night watchman?"

"The government is the government, the imperial court, and the yamen. Simply put, in economic exchanges, the imperial yamen maintains order and can formulate various rules to carry out macro-control. If there is no problem, the imperial court can enjoy peace. It is necessary to solve the problem and punish violators, but it is not allowed to do business directly. If the imperial court does business, officials will not be able to use their power to profit from it and fill their pockets. This is proved by the history of thousands of years. To do business, you must be independent from the state treasury, set up an independent company with independent accounting and independent management, and establish the necessary supervision and inspection mechanism.”

Du Wenhao's words had too many modern vocabulary, which made Song Shenzong confused. However, he had seen a lot of things like yamen doing business and officials making profits, and he knew that this was a common problem, but he couldn't think of a good way to deal with it. Method.Regarding the method proposed by Du Wenhao, he had never heard of it. He frowned and said, "What company? State-run?"

"A company is a kind of institution, an institution that specializes in business, and state-run means the management of the imperial government. Only by separating the businessmen from the imperial officials and not using the imperial power as a backing can we avoid abusing power and profiting from it."

Of course Song Shenzong understood this truth, but there was a question he didn't want to understand, and asked, "Then how to make money and fill the treasury?"

"Your Majesty, the first priority of the reform is to benefit the people. Only when the people live and work in peace and contentment can the country live in peace and the people live in peace!"

"Of course! What specific ideas do you have?"

Du Wenhao learned about Wang Anshi’s reform in middle school, and his teacher systematically commented on it. He still has some impressions. He has also thought about this issue at ordinary times. Using some successful experiences and practices since the modern reform and opening up, it may be possible to correct the shortcomings.Now that I have talked about this, I have also expressed some of my usual thoughts.

Du Wenhao coughed lightly, and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the disadvantages of the Green Crop Law mainly lie in the officials' misinterpretation during implementation, because this is a reform of the economic system, as long as there is official power to participate, the officials will Driven by profit, the implementation will be out of shape, and finally turn the policy of benefiting the people into a policy of harming the people! Therefore, if we want to restore the original colors of the Green Crop Law, we must improve the Green Crop Law, decouple the government from business, and turn government-run enterprises into Become a private enterprise, put it into the market, and let economic laws regulate it. Only then can we achieve a win-win situation.”

Du Wenhao's series of modern political and economic vocabulary made the emperor even more dumbfounded: "You..., let's be blunt, what kind of improvement method?"

"Decoupling the government from the government-run enterprises, and reforming the government-run enterprises into shareholding systems!" Du Wenhao couldn't find a more suitable vocabulary. Changpingcang and Guanghuicang, which were legal lenders, were separated from the state treasury. As shares of the government, they absorbed local rich businessmen to buy shares and converted the investments of all parties into shares. , share the profits, share the dividends, and share the risks.”

Du Wenhao introduced the concept of limited liability company in the modern company law into the reform of the Green Crop Law, looked at Song Shenzong's astonished expression, and continued: "This enterprise must implement independent accounting, and the officials assigned to the enterprise to manage the investment department of the government must be A full-time person cannot work part-time in the imperial government, and put an end to the participation of official power. Moreover, he must also have private shares. At the same time, the official investment cannot exceed half, and the company implements a shareholder system. Important matters such as interest are decided by the votes of each shareholder, and voting rights are based on shares, one share, one vote, and the minority obeys the majority..."

"Wait!" Song Shenzong couldn't understand at all, and quickly interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "Speak slowly, after you finish, speak slowly, I don't understand."

Seeing that he seemed very interested, Du Wenhao couldn't help but feel relieved, bowed and agreed, and when Song Shenzong sat down behind the dragon case, he motioned for him to sit down too, and then he sat down on the chair beside him with his hips tilted. After sorting out the ideas, I started to explain, starting with what is a company, and then the joint-stock system, the establishment of a limited liability company, the respective powers of internal agencies, the respective powers of the shareholders' meeting, the board of directors, the manager, and the board of supervisors, voting methods, and legal responsibilities , and then how to structure a public-private joint venture limited liability company to engage in green crop lending.

Although he graduated from a medical university, he studied forensic science. Among the subjects offered were civil law and company law, but they were electives. Fortunately, he chose it at the time, so he still had basic knowledge of this area.

Song Shenzong listened very carefully, and if he didn't understand, he asked in detail. During the period when the medicine was delivered, he didn't bother to take it, and asked Du Wenhao to continue explaining. It took about an hour, and he finally figured out Du Wenhao's idea.

Du Wenhao finally concluded: "Implementing a joint-stock company that is decoupled from the imperial government and conducts independent accounting to engage in lending under the Young Crops Law can prevent imperial officials from abusing their powers and avoid forced apportionment. Interest can also be flexibly adjusted according to the local grain production and market at that time. Demand is determined to avoid usury and exploitation. Special attention must be paid to the fact that the local gentry must be allowed to lend money to the common people. A competitive mechanism must be introduced to eliminate monopoly so that the common people can benefit. Since the company is an independent operation, it is responsible for its own profits and losses, and it is concerned with its own interests. Shareholders can be truly responsible and work together to make the company a success. Without the backing of official power, the company will not become an institution for the common people, and it will have long-term vitality."

For Song Shenzong, this is a brand-new system, which was unheard of before. Although it took an hour to understand its main content, it must be too unbelievable for him. He pondered: "Your method is also novel, but , I heard that your medicines for diagnosis and treatment are often ingenious, and I don't think it's surprising that you can come up with this method. It's just that things that I can't understand, if generalized, I'm afraid that other places will not be able to understand."

"So it is necessary to proceed step by step, first carry out a pilot in a certain place, and then gradually promote it after the pilot is successful. You cannot expect immediate results. What reform needs is patience."

Song Shenzong smiled: "Hehe, you have taught me a lesson."

Du Wenhao was shocked, and hastily bowed and said, "I don't dare!"

"You are right. I have also discovered that the previous reforms were indeed eager for quick success. They did not resolutely implement the principle of 'do it gradually, and plan slowly'. Well, your views are very innovative and have given me new ideas. The idea is very good, I want to hear your views on other reforms."

Du Wenhao was very happy, he bowed and agreed, thought for a while, and said, "Let's talk about the recruitment law first."

"it is good."

"The labor recruitment law hires people to serve, and the required funds are shared by households according to their level. This method liberates the peasants who serve and increases the rural labor force. This is very good. It can be said to achieve multiple results in one fell swoop.”

Song Shenzong said: "Then why is this good idea met with resistance and so many people disagree?"

"The point is that people who were previously exempted from military service have to pay. It's okay for the privileged class, but for those female households, single households, minor households, and temple households who lack labor and have financial difficulties, they also have to pay labor assistance money. Even when you close your household, you have to pay regularly, and there is still money left over from labor exemption. At the same time, the annexed family enjoys the preferential treatment of halving the loss. This is over. Of course, it is not happy for the privileged class with vested interests, but for the real difficulties People who can’t afford to pay, of course they don’t support them, and they have made too many enemies. Even though the treasury is full, many of the money collected should not be collected, such as poor households. Although these people collect very little money, no matter how little The money is an unbearable heavy burden for them. It is a mouthful of food. After collecting the money, they lose the hearts of these people. These people are often the easiest to get sympathy. It is better not to collect such money. receive."

Song Shenzong's face turned blue and white, and he said slowly: "Very well, you can continue to talk about your views on other reforms."

"Yes, let's talk about the market change law. The government's market change department will buy unsalable materials at a fair price on the market, and sell them when the goods are in short supply. While stabilizing prices, it will also increase fiscal revenue. At the same time, it will restrict big businessmen from monopolizing the market. It is a win-win solution, but, like the Green Crop Law, the fault lies in the government's business. Since the government intervenes in the economy, things will change. We have seen this very clearly in Dongming County. It should be buying low and selling high. But manipulating officials for profit is not done in this way, buying high and selling low is the opposite. It is a common problem of officials and businessmen to take advantage of opportunities, and it has been like this in all dynasties. Moreover, I feel that this method is somewhat inappropriate."

"What's wrong?"

"The state's establishment of the Market Yisi is actually to turn the monopoly of a few merchants on the market into the government's monopoly on the market. Since the government has the backing of public power, no merchants can fight against the state. Losing money because of no profit will result in the elimination of competition. Without competition, there will be no development. Monopoly is the greatest enemy of the development of commodity economy, no matter whether the monopoly comes from merchants or the country. The same is true of the market exchange method, and the same is true of the equal loss method! "

Du Wenhao spoke happily, and suddenly saw that Song Shenzong's face was ashen, not only was he stunned, but the words that were rarely confused came to his mind again, Nuonuo said: "I am talking nonsense, if it is inappropriate, please forgive me, Your Majesty." Forgive me!"

Song Shenzong let out a sigh of relief, and said slowly: "I have already said that I will forgive you for everything you said tonight. Moreover, you are not talking nonsense. I can see that what you said earlier is true. It is well thought out, reasonable, to the point, and thought-provoking, Du Wenhao, Du Wenhao, you already have this insight at a young age, and you are indeed a genius just to be an imperial doctor. Unexpectedly, there is you by my side Such talents. Hehe"

Du Wenhao didn't know if Song Shenzong's words came from the heart or if they were ironic, so he said in fear and fear, "I don't dare to be a humble minister."

"Let's talk about your views on other reforms. I want to finish listening."

If you say everything, if you don't say half of it, you will end up anticlimactic, and you will lose everything, so you can only gamble on this one.Coupled with the emperor's praise just now, Du Wenhao's blood boiled somewhat, and he felt that if he could help improve the reform, or even come up with a "Du Wenhao reform", he might be able to help Song Dynasty become a superpower in the world, which is more important than medical treatment. Duo, he bowed and said: "The Farmland Water Conservancy Law and the Fangtian Average Tax Law are good laws that benefit the people. As long as they are firmly implemented, their benefits will gradually emerge. However, according to my minister, the implementation of these good laws The strength is not great, and the people don’t get much benefit.”

It is said that what Du Wenhao said was of course derived from the conclusions of later critics who were wise after the fact. However, Song Shenzong knew that he was indeed dissatisfied with the construction of farmland and water conservancy across the country, and the average tax on square land was also very poor. .Du Wenhao is not a member of the government, but he knows this well, and Song Shenzong can't help but look sideways.

Du Wenhao went on to say: "The Lianzao system of the Baojia Law has little effect. Because the implicated and implicated system is too strict, it makes the people lose their sense of security and affects their sense of happiness, which arouses the resentment of the people."

"Um, any more?"

Du Wenhao swallowed, turned his mind, and the bet was over. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I think that it is better to cut off the flow than to open up the source, and to fight for wealth with the people is worse than to open up foreign trade, earn money from outside the border, and fill the treasury."

Song Shenzong's expression was a little displeased, he frowned, and said, "How to earn money?"

"Establish a state-owned foreign trade company, carry out foreign trade, do business with Dali, Tubo, Daliao, and even Xixia, sell products outside Xinjiang, and earn money outside Xinjiang. It is best to do business with Korea and Japan and earn money from them."

"This is not a new idea." Song Shenzong said with a faint smile, "In the past, all dynasties have done this, such as the ancient tea-horse road with Tubo and the Silk Road in the Western Regions, isn't that the case?"

"Yes, but the scale is too small, and most of them are limited to the private sector. There are too few items for trading, and the cost is too high."

"Listen to this, do you have any good things for foreign trade?"

After crossing over, Du Wenhao has been thinking about making money from the production of modern society objects in ancient times, but he has been busy practicing medicine, and the money he earned from the last prescription made him not have to worry about money at all, so he has no motivation Carrying out these things, speaking out now, might help Song Dynasty strengthen its national strength, bowed and said: "Wei Chen has some secret recipes and inventions, can manufacture products, and these products should be popular. These products are labor-intensive industries. That is to say, industries that require a lot of labor, widely promoted and built factories all over the country can not only create a lot of job opportunities for ordinary people, but also pay huge taxes to the imperial court.”

Du Wenhao didn't notice that Song Shenzong's smile had disappeared, his expression became indifferent, with a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, and he said indifferently: "Oh, what secret recipe was invented? Is it medicine?"

(End of this chapter)