King of Song

Chapter 187 Unexpected Disappointment of County Magistrate Lin

On the issue of young crop promotion, Lin Zhao was very strict and resolute; Cai Jing was very embarrassed and turned a blind eye, but other officials in Hangzhou were another matter.

Time has entered April and May in the third year of Xining, the weather is gradually getting hotter, and the summer harvest has begun.A lot of money for young crops has been released from all over the country, and they are all eagerly waiting for the settlement after the summer harvest!

In Hangzhou, the atmosphere is especially tense.

Due to the continuous autumn rain last year, autumn plowing and autumn planting were delayed, and the sowing situation may not be normal.Therefore, the situation of the summer harvest in Hangzhou this year must be pitiful, and the harvest is certain.

However, the return of the young crop money is indeed a big problem, especially in the first year of the implementation of the young crop law, which has attracted special attention.What's more, this is a return of principal and interest. Officials at all levels are very concerned about the situation of making profits, so no one dares to be sloppy.

It stands to reason that [-]% interest seems to be a lot, but compared with those big landlords, the situation is still better, and the common people can afford it.The young crop law policy itself is still very favorable, and Wang Anshi is full of expectations for it, hoping that this move can not help but curb the problem of land mergers and increase fiscal revenue at the same time.

It’s a good idea, but it’s difficult to implement it, especially in Hangzhou, where there was a flood last year and the grain harvest was obviously in short supply. This problem has become more acute.

The common people survived the most difficult time by relying on the disaster relief food provided by the state and county, and the young crop money, but in fact the most difficult day has not yet come.

Because seeing that Xia received it, he could finally harvest a small amount of grain, but before he had time to be happy, it was time to return the grain to the court, and it was with interest.

If it was a good harvest year, it wouldn't be a big deal, but now... everything is different!

For a relatively wealthy and well-off family, it may not matter, and it will be over after gritting your teeth, but for ordinary people, it is a bit fatal.

Because once the food is returned, they will face the situation of lack of rations before the autumn harvest, and their life will still be unsustainable.

But the local officials of the imperial court didn't care so much about him. They cared more about their political achievements, and the food released had to be taken back.So this coercive method has been used. After all, it is only natural to pay back the debt and take back the food. What can you do if the local officials do this?

What's more, in that era, how could ordinary people beat the government?In desperation, they had to hand over the food, and their lives fell into hardship again.

This feeling of great gap is really uncomfortable!They were given hope just now, but their hope was destroyed in an instant, and they were forced into a desperate situation. Who can feel better?
As a result, these people began to complain, and they were even more contemptuous and dissatisfied with the so-called young crop law of the imperial court, and various negative emotions began to brew and explode.When they first gave them money and food, they were full of joy, but now, it's a completely different feeling.

There is also a group of people who had no intention of borrowing young crop money from the government.Because their family background is also considered well-off, they can tide over the current difficulties.

But because some officials of the imperial court force apportionment in order to pursue political achievements, you have to borrow it if you don’t want it!The idea of ​​the government is very good. After borrowing these wealthy families, they can fully afford it. There is no need to worry about the recycling problem at that time. The profit is completely guaranteed, and there is no need to pay too much. Such a good thing, the local officials are naturally willing to opportunistic .

Therefore, the figures in the accounts of the Young Crops Law are very objective, but for these ordinary people who are forced to pay, it is very depressing.They obviously don't need to borrow money and food, and after the harvest, all the food is their own.But now, they have to lose [-]% of the interest money for no reason.After a year of hard work, [-]% of the money is given away like this. Who can feel better?

They didn't know that this was the local government acting indiscriminately and out of shape, and they all believed that the newly introduced young crop law was harmful.

Wang Anshi would never have imagined that such a perfectly designed and well-intentioned Qingmiao Ceremony would turn out to be like this, causing the common people to suffer unbearably, and the public's reputation is also extremely bad!Even resentment and resistance, this emotion has been breeding from the very beginning!
Of course, the most painful should belong to those upper class households.According to the provisions of the Green Crop Law, five or ten households constitute one guarantor, among which the rich and upper-class households act as guarantors and serve as guarantors for the borrowers.The original intention of the imperial court is very clear, to help each other, if the borrower is unable to repay, there is still a guarantor, so that the money and food released will not be recovered.

This provision was unreasonable from the very beginning.But Wang Anshi didn't realize it, and directly ignored the loss of human nature, and directly ignored the dissatisfaction and opposition of the upper-class households.

After the summer harvest, it is time to collect debts.

On the ground in Hangzhou, because of the famine, many people could not afford to pay back the principal and interest of Qingmiao Qian.In some cases, because there is not much left after the return, there is an intentional delay or Shaohua.Of course, there is also a part of it, which is intentional malicious delay.

Ordinary borrowers are very scattered, and it takes time, effort, and thankless effort to recover the principal and interest from these people.How could the local officials go to such lengths, and the higher-ups were pressing harder, so for the sake of convenience, they all targeted the upper-class households who provided guarantees.

But this approach is completely unwarranted for these upper-class households.They didn't borrow a penny or a grain of rice, but they have to pay so much for no reason, and the boss must be unwilling.

How can the local officials be willing to reason with them, because there is a guarantee, and the money and food can be forcibly withdrawn.These innocent upper-class households can only deserve bad luck, so they paid a lot of money and food.The government also politely left a sentence, asking them to go to the people who owed money to collect the bills.

The government can be unreasonable and coercive when they come forward, but what about ordinary people?Let these high-end households collect the accounts, maybe they can recover some, but most of the time they become bad debts.Some people are unwilling to return it, while others really cannot afford it.

The upper-class households are destined to suffer losses for no reason. In their eyes, the Qingmiao Law is completely robbing them, which makes them hate it.

So from the very beginning, the common people became hostile towards the Green Crop Law and were very disgusted.But what is the use of resentment?Their opinions were directly eliminated in the gusts of wind!
Zhao Bian, the magistrate of Hangzhou, had a solemn expression. Before that, he was not very optimistic about the Qingmiao method, and he had opposed it with Sima Guang and others when he was in Bianjing.He left Bianjing and came to serve as the magistrate of Hangzhou, which has something to do with it.

Even so, he didn't realize how serious the harm of the young crop law would be.But knowing now, when I saw it with my own eyes, I deeply realized that the situation was far beyond imagination.

Now he understands that Sima Guang's worries are not wrong at all, and his persistence is not wrong.The content of the Young Crops Law may be good, but as many people worry, there are many problems in the implementation process.

Hangzhou has eight counties under its jurisdiction, and six of them are in chaos. Only Qiantang and Yuhang are in a slightly better situation.

The best situation is in Qiantang County, where Lin Zhao almost didn't promote the distribution of money for young crops.Instead, it is replaced by the model of disaster relief food, shops and farmers.

At this moment, the summer harvest in Qiantang County is going on normally. As for those people who should have borrowed money, they are now planting cotton wholeheartedly!Lin Zhao asked those big cannibals to guide a group of cotton planting experts, and then spread the planting skills to various villages.

Seeing that the cotton leaves in the field are green and green, and green fruits have appeared one by one, someone curiously opened them and found that they are really immature fluffy things, and they are really inedible.

But it doesn't matter, although these never-before-seen crops cannot be eaten, someone pays them.Meng's Commercial Bank has already paid him half of the food in advance, so that they can survive the most difficult time safely, and they are definitely happier than the people in other counties.

As for the rest, they will be paid separately after the cotton is picked in autumn.Half of the deposit has been paid, and the large amount of money has completely reassured these people.All of them worked hard to learn from the technicians, tended the crops in the field well, and only waited for the autumn to receive additional money and food.

Therefore, the people of Qiantang County are definitely the happiest, and they are unparalleled happiness.Relatively speaking, Lin Zhao seems to be under the least pressure.But Lin Zhao didn't feel well, and he didn't feel lucky about it, because he had witnessed the whole situation in Hangzhou.

All kinds of forced apportionment, all kinds of unethical behaviors, as well as the reactions and adverse effects of the common people, Lin Zhao was completely aware of them.He didn't know if he didn't look at it. He was shocked when he saw it. When he observed and understood it, he felt uncomfortable.

Although all this seemed to have nothing to do with him, Lin Zhao felt a different kind of disappointment in his heart.Yes, very disappointed!
After his rebirth, he had always had a high opinion of Wang Anshi, hoping that Wang Anshi's reform would make the country strong, avoid alien invasion, and even die, especially to avoid the sad shame of Jingkang.

So he has been trying every means to help Wang Anshi, give more support, and even be identified as a member of the new party due to various circumstances.In fact, Lin Zhao is indeed more inclined to the new law, and has paid a lot for it.

But today, Lin Zhao's thoughts began to waver. The reality is so cruel, and the blow to him is not a bit big!
A different kind of loss rose in my heart, and I began to feel a little disappointed!
Will Wang Anshi's reform, which is famous in history, fail from the very beginning?Maybe it was because I didn't understand clearly before, and I didn't have any precautions, so what about now?

Are we going to sit idly by and let the reform continue with such twists and turns?Lin Zhao felt that maybe he should do something
(End of this chapter)