Song Yi

Chapter 321 The First Step of Reform

"Is Brother Yunfan back?" Su Shi said in the room.

Du Wenhao walked in in response, only to see Su Shi sitting on a chair, and there was no one else in the room.He cupped his hands and said, "Brother Zizhan, how do you feel?"

"It doesn't matter anymore." Su Shi waved with a smile, beckoned Du Wenhao to sit down, poured him a glass of water and handed it to him.

Du Wenhao took it with both hands, drank it dry in one gulp, smashed his mouth, put down the cup, and Su Shi refilled it for him.Then he smiled and said, "How is the matter of borrowing food going?"

Du Wenhao thought to himself that Lin Qingdai should have told Su Shi, so he told Su Shi about the loan of food.

Su Shi nodded approvingly, and said, "Very well, it's rare that you are thoughtful."

Du Wenhao: "Su Zhizhou may not be able to move into the state government for the time being, I should have already..."

Su Shi interrupted Du Wenhao: "I know, you did the right thing, and the important thing is to settle down the common people."

"Lord Su, except for some of the government officials who were killed, the rest of them have fled the war and haven't returned yet. I'm afraid your magistrate's government will have to wait for a while before it can operate normally."

"Yeah, during this period of time, the people's hearts should be stabilized first, and the restoration of order is the most important thing. Even if there is an official office, it can't sit still."

While the two were talking, Su Shi's wife, Wang Shi, hurried in, pointed to the door, and said angrily, "Master Du, what are you doing? I heard that Yazhou often has heavy rains at night. Others are easy to say. I think Mrs. Du is not in good health along the way, you can't let them all live outside, they will get sick."

Outside the door was Lian'er, who came in right after Mrs. Wang, with a look of shame on her face, she whispered timidly: "I didn't say anything, it was Mrs. Su..."

Su Shi couldn't figure it out for a while, and asked, "What's going on?"

Du Wenhao quickly explained: "Mrs. Su, don't worry, Zhuo Jing is in good health, and she is still very young. Besides, it's a hot day, so there won't be any illnesses, and it's still cool outside, so you can enjoy flowers and wine, isn't it wonderful? "

Mrs. Su was still displeased, walked up to Su Shi, and complained: "Master, this is not acceptable. We agreed to free up two rooms for Mr. Du and the others. The children are all boys, so there is no need to share one room with each other." Occupy the land, what do you think?"

Su Shi heard the clues and was not very moved. He remembered that the emperor once told himself that Du Wenhao is a calm and wise man. Let everyone down, this is a person who does practical things. Thinking of this, Su Shi said to Du Wenhao: "You are so tired all day, you can't just set up a tent outside to deal with it. If you listen to the old man, move back in and live. Everyone lives here." Have fun together."

Du Wenhao wanted to say more, but Su Shi raised his hand: "Okay, I have the final say on this matter. After all, this is an extraordinary period. We don't talk about anything special. The children can't be too spoiled. Let them sharpen it."

Wang nodded and agreed: "I think what the master said is, don't push each other anymore, but it's just a place to shelter from the wind and rain. I believe this is only temporary. As long as there are people around, this state city that was burned by the war will soon be destroyed." It will be restored in the hands of Master and Lord Du."

Du Wenhao couldn't help sighing: "Madam Su, what you said is too good. I must keep Madam's words in mind."

There was a rumbling thunder outside the window, and a flash of lightning split the sky in half like a sharp sword. The golden light beam pierced through the sky and struck a dry old tree opposite the window. There was a sharp sound outside the door. Called, Du Wenhao got up and rushed out the door, only to see Xue Feier hugging Lin Qingdai, her handsome face was pale with fright, Lin Qingdai smiled at Du Wenhao, and then whispered something to Xue Feier, Xue Feier Nodding obediently, the two returned to the tent.

After a while, heavy rain fell from the sky, the air suddenly became fresher, and the wind became cooler, but Du Wenhao was not in this mood, and said to Su Shi: "I'm afraid this rain will not be light. I have to go to the street to see the people in the city, and see if it can Do something."

Su Shi said: "I will go too!"

"You don't want to go, you're just recovering from a serious illness, so don't catch a cold."

"Not in the way! I am the magistrate, what do I look like hiding at this time! Let's go!"

The guard hurried over with an umbrella, gave it to the two masters, and went out of the city to patrol the streets.

This busy work lasted a whole day. The two of them, as governors and collaborators, personally patrolled the streets to stabilize the hearts of the people. Along the way, they took some homeless residents who were drenched in the rain back to the yamen to hide from the rain. Let the money not be charged, they boiled ginger soup to prevent cold.He discussed the reconstruction plan with Han Jiang and Su Shi again, and he was busy until late at night before coming back to rest.

Du Wenhao got up early the next day.Because Su Shi insisted that people move back to the room, Du Wenhao let the four wives live there. He and Li Pu lived in a tent, next to the tent where Yingzi and Keer lived.

The sky had cleared up, and the abominable Cicada began to cry irritably and endlessly on the branches. The sun poked out half of its face from the east, Du Wenhao stretched his waist, and Li Pu followed closely.

"My lord, it's so early in the morning. I stayed up late last night when I was discussing with people about rebuilding residential buildings. You should sleep a little longer."

Du Wenhao buttoned his buttons as he walked, and said: "Don't sleep, there are still many things to do today, let's sleep a little longer, the common people's affairs will be resolved one day later, time waits for no one, let's go, go to the state office first have a look."

Li Pu agreed, he is a soldier, and he is used to suffering. He never thought that Du Wenhao, looking at a gentle and elegant imperial physician like this, could suffer as much as himself, and even be more patient than himself. This made him firmly believe that Du Wenhao is a It is worthwhile for an official who thinks of the common people to do his best for such a person.

After the order in Yazhou was basically restored, quite a few of the officials who had escaped had returned, and some of them died in the war. Du Wenhao was not in a hurry to expand and supplement officials. What is needed most now is food to stabilize the people's hearts.

When they came to the yamen, they saw that the entire yamen was full of city residents who had lost their homes, all lying powerlessly on the ground, and the children were crying one after another, constantly shouting: "Mom, I'm hungry.... "Father, I want to eat biscuits!"

This is what worries Du Wenhao the most. Without food and money, what will these victims do?
Among them, some victims have already developed symptoms of typhoid fever, and the epidemic is not over.

Du Wenhao immediately came back to deploy work. He first arranged for Qian Buxuan to take Yan Miaoshou, Pang Yuqin, Xue Fei'er, and doctors from several pharmacies in the city who were willing to participate in disaster relief and treatment to form a medical team to treat typhoid patients voluntarily. .The Yamen Minzhuang was also sent to deal with the garbage in the city, and a large amount of disinfectant was prepared for thorough disinfection.At the same time, some military rations were used to cook porridge and distribute it to the victims to relieve their urgent needs.

Then, he arranged for Li Pu to lead the yamen officials and the police to investigate how much grain the grain merchants in the city had in stock.

But he couldn't act until he figured out the situation.

In the next few days, he and Su Shi took the officials of Zhizhou Yamen to visit the victims in nearby villages to learn about the recovery of production, and went to the fields to check the growth of crops. They learned that most of the crops had been preserved during the war. After all, Fan Jun cares more about money, and the food in the field has not grown well and cannot be harvested, so it has not suffered much damage.

It's just that, right now when the crops are not harvested, the grain in the fields is immature, most of the grain in the warehouse is eaten up, and most of the food that is not eaten up is destroyed by the flames of war. Many people have begun to eat chaff.Some even started eating bark and grass roots.Therefore, he was going to start implementing his plan ahead of schedule. Originally, he wanted to wait for the situation to stabilize before starting to implement the reform, but the current situation forced him to advance the plan.

Back in Yazhou City, Li Pu had already checked out the grain stores of the grain merchants, and told Du Wenhao that these grain merchants were hoarding a large amount of grain. Because the granaries were relatively hidden, they escaped the military disaster, but the grain merchants were unwilling to sell grain at a lower price. He is unwilling to open warehouses for free to release grain to the people.It is suggested that Du Wenhao order a forced grain requisition.

After hearing this, Du Wenhao shook his head and asked Li Pu to call all these grain merchants to the Yamen for a meeting.

The grain merchants didn't know what Du Wenhao would say, and they felt uneasy. They were grateful to Du Wenhao for leading the troops to wipe out the Tubo Xishan tribe's Fanjun, but also worried that the grain they hoarded would be confiscated by the government. Find the connections above to get rid of this young hookup officer.

Du Wenhao brought Han Jiang and Su Shi to the venue, took out the imperial decree and read out his appointment.Among them, especially the content of ordering Du Wenhao to implement the new law in Yazhou, all the grain merchants suddenly became nervous. They wanted to discuss a few words, but they dared not. Yazhou granary.

Du Wenhao then introduced Han Jiang's identity.

When the grain merchants heard this, the general who held the military power was originally the general manager of Chengdu Fu Road, and was responsible for the dispatch of the entire Chengdu Fu Road's grain supply. He was their immediate boss.They all stood up and saluted together.

Du Wenhao asked Han Jiang to lecture first, Han Jiang of course knew the meaning of Du Wenhao's words, coughed, cupped his fists towards the east, and said respectfully: "Everyone should know that Doctor Du is a person close to the emperor, and his medical skills are the best in the world. He is favored by the emperor. The Holy Majesty has issued an imperial decree, ordering Yuyi Du to be our governor of Yazhou, and authorizing Du Yuyi to implement the new law in Yazhou. Even if I am promoted by Changpingcang on Chengdu Fulu, I cannot Interfering with the new law enforced by Royal Physician Du in Yazhou. Therefore, the decision made by Royal Physician Du after a while is the final decision, not to mention all of you present, even this official, has no right to change it. It is useless to go to the court, because this is the decision of the emperor, who can be bigger than the emperor?"

When all the grain merchants heard this, they kept crying in their stomachs, thinking that this was a harbinger of tough measures. This is a disaster, but this is the emperor's holy will. Who dares to say no?Although the sky is high and the emperor is far away, the top leader of Changpingcang, Chengdu Prefecture has stated that he has no right to interfere with Du Wenhao's new law.

Han Jiang said coldly again: "Our ugly words can be said first. From now on, when the new law of Royal Physician Du is implemented, whoever dares to follow the law and violate it secretly, don't worry about this general being ruthless!"

These grain merchants are good at observing words and deeds, and now they can only knock out their teeth and swallow them in their stomachs. They all squeezed out smiles, even claimed yes, and expressed firm obedience.

Du Wenhao smiled and thanked Han Jiang, then introduced Su Shi and asked him to speak.

The official announcement of Su Shi's appointment as the magistrate of Yazhou has been posted on the screen wall of the Yamen, and most people in the city already know it.Seeing the real person now, he was a sickly middle-aged man, a little surprised, and hurriedly got up to salute.

Su Shi's words were very simple: "Everyone, what General Han said just now is what I want to say. Although I know the state, I dare not interfere with Du Yuyi's new policy. I believe that the new policy is definitely not against the people. Taking profits is definitely not about enriching the court and impoverishing the people. It must be a good new law that truly benefits the people and allows the people to get benefits. Therefore, I hope that all of us will work together to help Du Yuyi promote the new law and let the people live a better life. A day of prosperity and well-being!"

These few words made the hearts of the grain merchants feel a little more at ease.

Du Wenhao smiled: "Everyone, don't be nervous. Just like Su Zhizhou said, the reform should benefit the people and the people. The government's reform in Yazhou is also based on this basic idea. If this law fails to benefit the people and the people The purpose, even harming the people, you tell me directly, I am determined to reform, if not, it will be abolished. The interests of the people are the highest interests! This official has always believed that if the reform cannot make the people's lives better It is impossible that it cannot last for a long time, a good system can only be implemented for a long time if it is recognized and strongly supported by the general public, including all of you present, otherwise, it will eventually be eliminated by history!"

Su Shi never knew exactly what kind of reform Du Wenhao was going to carry out, and he didn't ask too many questions along the way. Although the imperial decree required him not to interfere with Du Wenhao's reform, if Du Wenhao's reform was like Wang Anshi's reform, it would not only benefit the people, but also harm the people. According to the words of the people, with my own personality, I am afraid that it is difficult not to raise objections.Listening to what Du Wenhao said now, the keynote of the reform is to benefit the people and benefit the people instead of increasing the court's income. This is exactly what he wants and won his heart.

Grain merchants have listened too much to the beautiful words of officials, but to be honest, they have never seen an official who dares to put the interests of the common people first, and who dares to publicly say that the interests of the common people are the highest interests.Hearing his words, I was terrified for a moment, and at the same time moved in my heart, I was also uneasy.It wasn't until he heard Su Shi's applause to express his approval and appreciation that he had the courage to applaud accordingly.

At first, the applause was just for applause. Once the applause started, thinking that it would be a good thing if such a reform could really be implemented, the applause became enthusiastic.

After Du Wenhao waited for everyone's applause to stop, he smiled and said: "The reforms of this official will not be swarmed, but will be gradually pushed away step by step. Now this official is going to announce two reforms to be implemented in this state. The first one is Stop all the implementation of the original reforms in this state!"

Upon hearing this, all the grain merchants were surprised and delighted, but Su Shi and Han Jiang were not very surprised. Song Shenzong had already stopped some reforms, and Du Wenhao had stopped all of them in Yazhou. It can be said that they let nature take its course.To implement the new law, of course the old law must be stopped.

Du Wenhao paused, and then continued: "The new law must benefit the people. As far as I am concerned, Yazhou has just experienced a war, and a lot of waste is waiting to be done. But the most urgent thing is to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people. And the Changping of the yamen Both the granary and the Guanghui granary are empty, and there is not a grain of grain to relieve the victims. I know that all of you here have a large amount of grain in the hidden granaries, and have escaped the military disaster. Therefore, to solve the stomach problems of the victims, we can only Lean on everyone sitting here!"

The grain merchants thought to themselves for a moment, afraid of what would happen, and said it in a blink of an eye.Among them are those who are sensible and good at observing words and emotions. Seeing that Du Wenhao's background is so great, the so-called people who know current affairs are heroes. With the current posture, he must agree if he agrees, and he must agree if he does not agree.

The old grain merchant stood up first, cupped his hands and said, "My lord, you can just send a message. We will do as much as you donate. They are all from the villagers. No one has any problems. And thanks to the lord who led the army to wipe out After defeating Fanjun, we saved our food, otherwise, all the food would have been taken away. Let's take it as a little gratitude to the old man for his kindness."

The other grain merchants were also smart people, and they all stood up and cupped their hands and said, "Yes, sir, just send a message. We will accept how much you donate!"

Du Wenhao cupped his hands and said: "Thank you all for giving me face, but you have misunderstood. I invited everyone here this time, not for this matter. Of course, if you are willing to open a warehouse to release grain, it is a great good deed to accumulate yin and virtue." , I thank you in advance on behalf of the common people. What I want to talk about is actually the second reform."

When the grain merchants heard it, Du Wenhao didn't make a mandatory apportionment of grain donations, but voluntarily set up a porridge factory to distribute grain to the victims. Fame, this kind of thing is still voluntary in the heart of the grain merchants, and they are all relieved.But hearing him say that this is the second reform, they all became nervous again, wondering if it involved vital interests.

Du Wenhao said: "One of the previous reforms was called the 'Youth Seedling Law', which was used to subsidize the common people when it was in a state of inadequacy. However, that method has a big disadvantage, that is, the government intervenes, not only with the common people In addition, the officials also profited from it and forcibly apportioned it. As a result, the original policy of benefiting the people has become a policy of harming the people. My new law must take advantage of its benefits and avoid its disadvantages."

Among the various reforms, the Qingmiao method and the Shiyi method have the closest relationship with the grain merchants. Hearing this, all the grain merchants held their breath and listened attentively.

Du Wenhao said: "The biggest drawback of the Green Crop Law is that the government conducts business and abuses its power. Therefore, the first step of the new law is to change the loan of the Green Crop Law from government to private business. However, it is not all about letting the common people borrow money themselves. That’s no different from the previous practice, so it’s no longer a reform. My reform is to set up a public-private partnership lending company.”

These words are too modern, and everyone present widened their eyes, not knowing what Du Wenhao meant.

Du Wenhao briefly introduced the company's common sense, and it took half an hour for these grain merchants to roughly understand what Du Wenhao's idea was.

Du Wenhao said: "This system is not a rigid apportionment, it is purely a voluntary principle. Officials who join the company on behalf of the imperial court, although they still continue to receive monthly salaries, they can no longer work part-time in the government, and they have no power as an official. They just The representatives sent by the imperial court to manage the properties invested by the imperial court have the same voting rights as you in the company's major affairs, determined according to the amount of investment, one share, one vote, the minority obeys the majority, and they have no special privileges."

After hearing this, all the grain merchants showed joy and nodded their heads one after another.A grain merchant said: "So, after we join this company, we can lend grain again?"

The Green Crop Law implements government monopoly and prohibits personal lending, so grain merchants asked this question.

Du Wenhao nodded and said, "Of course."

All the grain merchants were immediately overjoyed. You must know that before the reform, in addition to selling grain to make money, a large part of the income of the grain merchants was to lend grain to farmers when the crops were not harvested. The roads are blocked, and when there is no supply, the common people have no money to buy grain, and the grain merchants refuse to sell at a low price, so the grain merchants cannot make money.Now that I heard that joining the company can continue to lend grain, I am immediately happy.

Du Wenhao was not in a hurry to get them to express their opinions, and said, "Well, you can discuss it for half an hour. I will come back to listen to everyone's opinions after half an hour. It's still the same sentence, join voluntarily, and never force it."

After all, Du Wenhao, Han Jiang and Su Shi left the hall and came to the back hall to rest.

Su Shi hesitated for a moment, but still asked: "Brother Yunfan, can your method... work?"

Du Wenhao didn't know whether it would be feasible to transplant the company system under the conditions of the commodity economy in the modern society to the small peasant economy, so he smiled wryly and said, "I can't answer your question now, whether it works or not, we have to see."

Both Su Shi and Han Jiang nodded in agreement.

Du Wenhao said: "Help me figure it out, if you are a grain merchant, are you willing to join the company under this condition?"

The two glanced at each other and thought for a moment, Han Jiang said first: "I think Brother Yunfan's method is feasible. Businessmen, it is their nature to seek profit. As long as there is money to be made, there is no big risk or unnecessary risk. After the pros and cons, I will still do it. Brother Yunfan’s method, the first benefit to the grain merchants is that they can use the grain to make money. This is the main purpose of their hoarding of grain. They will join in for a little bit. "

Su Shi nodded and said: "Yes, now the people are suffering from disasters, and there are not many people who can afford food, but most of the crops in the fields are not destroyed, and there will still be harvests after autumn. As long as the interest is suitable, the people are of course willing to borrow money." Yes. And it’s better to lend out the grain and get it back with interest after autumn, than to put the grain in the granary for rats to eat if it can’t be sold. For this, the grain merchants will agree.”

(End of this chapter)