Spring and Autumn I Am King

"Si Kou, if spending continues at the current rate, before the autumn harvest next year, the money and silk in the treasury of Sanyi will be exhausted!"

Ji Qiao's statement is not groundless. The slips in his hand filled with "Zhou Bi's figures" are exactly this year's income and next year's budget.

He said bitterly: "Ever since the first taxation of mu a hundred years ago in the State of Lu, it began to change to Tian Chefa to collect grain tax, but after Si Kou came to power, not only did he burn up the backlog of bonds in previous years, he also paid almost all of this year's autumn tax. No. So let alone Yuncheng, which has just started in January, even Zhen and Linqiu, who have ruled for half a year, don’t have much tax revenue…”

For this, Zhao Wuxi naturally has his own reasons.

He replied: "The priority of valuing agriculture is the fundamental method that I formulated when I convened the officials and officials for a meeting a few days ago. The ancients said that if the agricultural affairs are successful, the grain will be more, and if the grain is more, the country will be rich, and the world will be complete. So if you want to be rich in a fief, you have to pay attention to food, and Mr. Ji should know this."

Wu Xian was helpless to do this. In the past, the officials of Wei, Qi, and Lu were all virtuous, and taxation was as urgent as sparks. There was no timetable, and farmers had to borrow 'one for two' loan sharks from temples, clans, or merchants to cope with the tax. class, so there will be a backlog of so many bonds.

In addition, the government colluded with the merchants and deliberately lowered the price of grain during the harvest season, the rent and tax of the city, the collection of the government's treasury, the 1/10th of the fu, the hills and various labors, etc., were put on the farmers. As a result, in the four seasons of the year, farmers are often only able to support one family. In the event of a disaster, it is common for each family to starve to death, which is why a large number of farmers flee to Onozawa.

Wu Xian was also distressed about this: "The exodus of peasants is the reason for the lack of food and the fact that the households have no savings. Besides, after the army passes, there will be a disaster year, where the teacher is, the thorns will arise, and it will not be long before Sanyi has been ravaged by war. , Although the Jin army did not loot because of me, it was still in bad years. Not to mention that I had to deal with my conscription. How could I bear to let the people lose their families and disperse their wealth and sell their sons and daughters because of this? They also poured into Onozawa under my rule, increasing the strength of Robber Zhi!?"

Ji Qiao was dumbfounded. But he still said: "Although this move is to stabilize the people of Sanyi and restore the economy after the war, it is still too much, and a small amount can be reduced. Now that winter has entered, Sanyi's agriculture is not expected to have any income. At least get In the early summer of next year, the winter wheat will not be able to make money until it matures..."

Within a year and a half, powdered food has spread from Jin to Song, Qi, and Cao, and even Lu has begun to bloom everywhere. Lu craftsmen are ingenious. As long as they have seen the real stone mill, how difficult is it to imitate. Although Zhendi and Linqiu both built mills early, with the spread of technology, the monopoly of wheat flour is getting lower and lower, and there is no huge profit that Jiqiao expects.

He was very upset about it. He raised his voice again and said: "The cost of half a year is too great, and the Si Kou can't ignore it. Repairing walls, roads, and ditches is an expense. The implementation of the New Deal will no longer grant food fields to subordinate officials, so the city officials have every You have to pay a salary every month, and after the fall and winter, you have to give a jacket and fur clothes to keep out the cold.”

"And the most expensive is the nearly 1,000 recruited soldiers raised by Si Kou. They are not involved in farming and mulberry fields. They only focus on training and slaughtering thieves. The soldiers are also too graceful. When the ministers of Jin State recruit soldiers, they have to bring their own clothes and weapons, but Si Kou should provide them here. ...

Wuxi smiled and said: "The people like to be recruited, and they no longer deliberately evade labor. Isn't this very good? This is the thin tax collection, not harsh on the people. Be loyal and love, and the people can make friends."

He knew all these things Ji Qiao said, but Wu Xian had read "The Wealth of Nations" in his previous life, and it was said in it that a pretentious monarch, whether it is a big country or a small state, or a fief, has to perform various obligations and pay at the same time. a lot of cost.

For example, the first expense of a monarch is to try to maintain his dignity. Therefore, a certain amount of money and silk must be used to repair the mansion, make clothes and crowns, maintain the chariots and horses for traveling, and give gifts to the nobles who know each other during the New Year. These things are precisely what Zhao Wuxi is most economical about. Ji Qiao appreciates this very much. Diligence and frugality have always been praised by the wise men in the world. comment.

More important is the second obligation, which is to ensure the security of the territory, for which the monarch pays a lot of money to keep the territory free from the tyranny and remorse of neighbors and pirates. Therefore, Wu Xie needs to raise standing soldiers, train them every other day, strengthen the city, and make war weapons.

The third duty of a monarch or state is to establish and maintain the functioning of public institutions and works. Sanyi's official offices, prisons, and subordinate officials from the city to the pavilion opened roads, dredged rivers, dug ditches, and built water conservancy equipment beneficial to farming. There is also Zhao Wuxi's plan to imitate Confucius and Shaozhengmao's private schools, revive public schools, and promote Mongolian education among the Chinese people, all of which belong to this aspect...

With the three-pronged approach, the money and silk in the treasury will be consumed so quickly.

Since he came to Pubei, Ji Qiao was worried about his dwindling savings, but Zhao Wuxi ignored it and led his troops outside to fight in all directions.

After holding it for a long time, he spit it out quickly: "If it's okay on weekdays, Zigong runs a lavish business in Taoyi, and can exchange thousands of stone grains every month to send to Zhendi. This is the harvest of Pubei in half a year. It is younger than before, but it will not suffer from famine, and it is also due to the fact that some of the food can be distributed to the central capital.”

"But once the war starts, for example, this time, Si Kou mobilized thousands of people, and only traveled a hundred miles to fight in the territory of Lu for a month, but he still spent several gold per day."

When it comes to financial issues, Ji Qiao is ruthless. He strictly controls every expenditure, and every account must be carefully calculated with the students of mathematics. Zhao Wuxi's housekeeper is not So good!

As Sun Tzu said, if you use a military method, you can drive thousands of chariots, ride a thousand leather chariots, carry a hundred thousand armors, and feed grains for thousands of miles. Thousands of gold, and then a hundred thousand teachers will be raised. These war raw materials come from a small amount of accumulation in the arsenals of Zhen and Linqiu, as well as the day and night production of the newly built artisan workshop.

In the past six months, Zhao Wuxi has indeed been "struggling with the military", but Ji Qiao's words implied that he would disband some of the recruits after the war, which he would never agree to.

So Wu Xie retorted: "Mr. Ji is not bad, the most expensive thing in the world is war, but the most profitable thing is also war!"

Wu Xie has the confidence to say this. The gold jade and Lu Palace treasures carried by Yang Hu, except for the Dadong Baoyu and the Boqin Great Bow, which are the weapons of the state, had to be returned to the Gong Palace, and the rest were transported back to Luqiu. To the outside world, it was said that it was divided up by Yanghu and the rest of the party, and "disappeared". In addition, under the pretext of suppressing Robber Zhi, the arsenal in the west of Qufu City was basically emptied by him, and the weapons and armor worn by the soldiers during the battle were replenished. There is even a lot of surplus, which can be used to equip Yi soldiers. In the end, when chasing Robber Zhi, he also seized part of the looted money and silk, and half of it was returned to Zhongdu and Kancheng. After the remaining inventory is placed in the treasury, it is enough to offset the cost of this battle.

He finally said: "Don't forget, Mr. Ji, the population we have lost is far less than that of the more than 1,000 pirates who were captured. This generation can be reduced to subordinate ministers and engaged in the cultivation of public land and the reclamation of wasteland. All returned to the government treasury, which is another huge income.”

Ji Qiao spread his hands and said: "It is true, if there is no such income, I am afraid we will not be able to support the spring seeding next year. But even so. Si Kou has to think about it on behalf of the ministers. If there is no new income, Sanyi will arrive in the autumn of next year. In July, the treasury will be deficient and it will not be possible to maintain armament expenditure!"

This is no longer a petty fight when they became a town, but it is related to the food and clothing costs of more than 30,000 people in Sanyi, and their life and death! If the governance is broken, Zhao Yang, who is in the lower palace, will not come to shelter and help in the aftermath.

But since Zhao Wuxi dared to spend money lavishly, he naturally had the idea of ​​open source.

"No farmers are unstable, no soldiers are uneasy. No workers are not rich, no business is not life, no scholars are not prosperous! Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are the pillars of the country. Both are indispensable. Although the first priority is to encourage the revival of agriculture, industry and commerce are not It will not be pulled down. This is the way to maintain expenses before the autumn solstice collects taxes, fu, and Qiujia. Mr. Ji, don’t forget that the craftsmen from Lucheng, plus the Jin and Song countries, came one after another. , and gathered in this war. There have been more than five hundred people."

Speaking of this, Ji Qiao's mood was a little better: "Indeed, there are a large number of them, and they are specialized in various industries. From now on, we can be self-sufficient in any handmade goods, and we don't have to rely on outsiders!"

Self-production and self-selling should save money than buying from outside, but Zhao Wuxi thinks more long-term.

Zhen and Yuncheng have a vast area, fertile fields, and Luqiu is slightly inferior, so he wants to specialize in craftsmanship and build it into a handicraft center in Yanzhou!

He began to describe the grand blueprint in his heart to Ji Qiao: "The things that have been made by hand have condensed into new values, so they are generally more expensive than the raw materials. In this way, I am responsible for the idea of ​​open source, Gongshuo and Baibai from the artisan workshop. The workers turned these ideas into reality, and Zigong, relying on the trade routes and contacts opened up by his extravagant business, sold new goods at a high price in Taoyi and made a profit. Then he used the profits to buy the raw materials that Sanyi lacked. Shipped to Pubei for processing..."

Jiqiao, on the other hand, is responsible for throttling expenditures and distributing expenditures for public agencies, people's livelihood and military affairs. In this way, a virtuous circle can be formed.

Now that Zhao Wuxi has a stable territory, some improvements in productivity must naturally be put on the agenda, such as improving iron smelting, improving agricultural tools and weapons, and making them more efficient.

But this requires a lot of copper and iron. The tragedy is that there are basically no copper mountains in the state of Lu, and there are not many left in the treasury. Without a shirt, you can't learn to steal your feet, and go to the temple to melt the ritual vessels? Therefore, it can only be purchased privately from outside ~www.readwn.com~ such as Wu and Chu nobles. There are a few iron-producing mountains in the state of Lu. Although iron is now called "bad gold", it is not cheap.

In addition, leather, feathers, and salt are all lacking in Sanyi.

In order to exchange for the above, it is obviously not enough to rely on Zigong's extravagant business in Taoyi, as well as future agricultural taxes. There are also characteristic industries belonging to Sanyi, and there are goods that can be exchanged. Let them Only by forming an industrial chain with the imported raw materials can complete the "primitive accumulation"!

Wu Xie said: "After Lu Taoweng's survey, Zhendi has the most and the best clay, so the porcelain kiln should be built there, and the first kiln will be produced after the winter solstice. I hope it is no worse than the finished porcelain. This is the first piece. money-making stuff."

"And the second piece is the 'hemp paper' that I am trial-producing in the craftsman workshop. After half a decade of research and development, the first batch of finished products has been made... Gong Xi Zihua likes to write in a brief book, thinking it is useless, and at the same time It goes against the ancient system, the first one is against mass production, and now he is there waiting for me to argue, Mr. Ji would like to come and see it with me?")

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