Dahan first prince

Chapter 277
"Minister of the Shaofu Chengyan, I would like to pay my respects to my family."

Walking into the Phoenix Hall under the leadership of Chun Tuo, Yang Chengyan put aside his doubts for the time being and bowed to Liu Ying.

But seeing Liu Ying stood up with a gentle smile, bowed to Yang Chengyan in return, and then called Yang Chengyan to sit down, and then began today's theme.

"I have been farewell to Chang'an for several ten days. Although all the affairs of the Shaofu have been reported in letters, I still want to meet Yang Gong in person to ask the details."

After saying something softly, Liu Ying smiled and lowered her head, laid out a roll of blank bamboo slips, picked up a pen, and then raised her head to look at Yang Chengyan.

Seeing Liu Ying's posture, Yang Chengyan couldn't help but sit up straighter. Even the previous plan of "Congratulations to Liu Ying for winning the battle" was temporarily put aside by Yang Chengyan.

"Ask at home, minister, tell me everything..."

With a serious face, he bowed his hands to Liu Ying, and after pondering his words for a while, Yang Chengyan told Liu Ying about the work that the Shaofu was responsible for during the past period.

"At the beginning of spring last year, the Shaofu bought a granary and tens of thousands of stones of grain from Mi Jia, a grain merchant in Xiguan, according to the order of his family;"

"By the end of last year's autumn harvest, the grain obtained by the Shaofu from the grain merchant Mijia was sold separately to the people in the counties and counties of Guanzhong;"

"Furthermore, according to the order of the family, we will share millions of stones with Qi and Chu; and because the family went out to suppress the rebellion, all the food and rice spent by the army will also go out of the Shaofu."

"When Yingbu was in chaos, Shaofu's last year, all the "grain and rice official camps" were all reported; the grain and rice were all sold and used up, and the position of the grain merchants was also settled. The Shaofu had all the money before it The three baht will also be paid to the grain merchant Mijia."

"Based on the time of the autumn harvest, there will be no money in the Shaofu, and there will be no more three baht coins, and no rice."

"Following the order of the family, the Shaofu minted five baht of money in the past half a year, and it was also used after the autumn harvest to buy rice and grain for the people to enter the house..."

As Yang Chengyan's gentle tone reached her ears, Liu Ying also roughly recorded Yang Chengyan's report, then raised her head and smiled at Yang Chengyan.

The meaning in Yangcheng Yanhua is also very easy to understand in summary.

——In the half a year since the implementation of the 'Official Grain and Rice', the Shaofu under the control of Yang Chengyan has hardly made a dime!

But even so, it didn't affect Liu Ying's heartfelt joy, and nodded slowly to Yang Chengyan, expressing that she recognized Yang Chengyan's work in the past year.

This may be a little strange.

The government of the Shaofu has been working on food and rice for half a year, but in the end they didn't earn a dime. What's there to be happy about?
Even if she didn't blame Yang Chengyan for this, it seems that Liu Ying should shake her face a little to remind Yang Chengyan that she didn't do her job well?

But in fact, the account of the Shaofu official's grain and rice is not calculated like this at all...

Judging from the books alone, the current financial situation of the Shaofu is almost the same as before the implementation of the government-operated grain and rice policy, or even worse.

——No matter what the previous Shaofu said, there are at least 10,000+ ten thousand three baht coins!

Although the three baht coins have lost any value after Liu Ying started to lay out the unified currency system, but it is better than now, there is not even a three baht coin in the internal funds!
As for the food, it was about the same as before.

In the past, there was no grain storage in the Shaofu; but now, the Shaofu only used the existing copper in its hands to mint a batch of five baht coins newly introduced by Liu Ying, and then used the money to buy back some grain.

Therefore, in terms of food, the situation in Shaofu does not seem to have improved much.

Since the money and grain reserves are the same as before "approximately zero", why is Liu Ying happy about this, and even expresses her approval of Yang Chengyan?
The answer to this question may confuse many people.

——As early as when the government-operated grain policy was launched and the government decided to ban the grain merchants in Guanzhong with Shaofu, when the "official monopoly of the grain market in Guanzhong" was achieved, Liu Ying did not expect to make money in the first year!

According to Liu Ying's most pessimistic estimate at that time, let alone the first year, in the first three to five years after the Shaofu officials ran the grain and rice, everything to make money and store grain was put aside first, just to stabilize Heel, let the policy go forward steadily, don't let this policy go bankrupt, it is already very satisfying!
why?
Because Liu Ying launched the official grain and rice policy, the original intention was not to make money!

Think back half a year ago, at the beginning of spring in the 11th year of the Han Dynasty, what was the scene of the grain market in Guanzhong?
——The rice stone is more than [-] yuan, and the price is steadily increasing at [-] yuan per stone per month!
Among the common people in Guanzhong, nine out of ten families can't afford rice or food. The situation has become so serious that if the court doesn't take action, the people will tear up the trees and eat the bark, dig the walls and eat the soil, and even the point where they cannibalize each other. !

Look again now?
The price of grain in Guanzhong, when the Shaofu government-operated grain and rice policy was launched, was unshakeable at [-] yuan per stone. After the autumn harvest, it has dropped to "sell it to Shaofu for [-] yuan per stone, and buy it from Shaofu for [-] yuan." Every stone', down more than half!

The class of owner farmers, semi-owner farmers and half-tenant farmers who were on the brink of destruction have been pulled back by the government-run grain and rice policy!
With the support of the official grain and rice policy, from the beginning of spring to the autumn harvest last year, although Liu Ying dare not say that every household in Guanzhong can eat enough, she dares to guarantee that at least [-]% of the people in Guanzhong have eaten in the past six months. [-]% full!
It may sound like "ninety percent of the population eats [-]% full" is not something worth showing off, but in fact, this indicator is infinitely close to the standard of "governing the world" in the feudal era, that is, the "Taiping Year"!

Although it has not yet fully achieved the governance of the world, and it is far from the legendary "prosperity", but even so, it is enough to make Liu Ying feel happy.

Because just one year ago, the people's livelihood in the Han Dynasty was still at the indicator line of 'one step back and you will fall into troubled times';
Half a year ago, when the price of grain in Guanzhong was booming, the Han Dynasty was already standing on the edge of the cliff called "Troubled Times";

And when a policy of "government grain and rice" brought the Han Dynasty back from the edge of "troubled times" in just half a year, and even overfulfilled the task, making the Han Dynasty, at least in Guanzhong, infinitely close to the "rule of the world" Degree, also known as Liu Ying how disliked?
How can Liu Ying not approve of Shaofu Yangchengyan, which has perfectly completed the theme task of "stabilizing grain prices in Guanzhong", and at the same time allowed the government-run grain and rice policy to gain a firm foothold, and has done a good job in continuing to promote the policy steadily?
In the face of these two "historical missions", the rest of Shaofu's achievements in the past six months are too numerous to enumerate.

——Last year, that is, the 11th year of the Han Dynasty, was the first time that the Han Dynasty did not issue a large-scale additional three baht coins at the same time as the rebellion of princes and kings with different surnames occurred since Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, resulting in continued substantial inflation. ;
——Last year was also the year when the central government showed its determination to "unify the currency system" for the first time since the son of the third generation was beheaded in Xianyang;
——It was still last year, and it was the first time since Qin Shihuang died in the sand dunes that the land of Sanqin ushered in a year when "food prices did not rise but fell"!
In the face of so many milestones, Shaofu took the opportunity to buy grain and granaries to throw the inferior three baht money in his hands to the merchants, and the Central Committee of the Han Dynasty "had fought a battle, but did not starve and lose half of it" and other harvests , it is not enough.

Of course, what reassures Liu Ying the most is that in just half a year, the Shaofu's government-run rice policy has formed enough policy inertia to support the continued advancement of this policy in the visible future.

For example, in the past six months, although Shaofu seems to have 'didn't make any money', on the other hand, Shaofu did not pay a penny, and it got enough granaries to feed the entire Guanzhong grain market;

Just like this year, after the incident of "storing grain on behalf of the people in the Shaofu", the people in Guanzhong almost no longer have the possibility of affecting their basic living security due to fluctuations in grain prices;
Even a year ago, those who were still poor could starve to death, and the treasury of the prime minister's government and the government's internal funds would be deducted from officials' salaries in every war. And it has improved a lot, and in the future visible to the naked eye, it will get better and better.

The life of the people is getting better and better, and the financial situation of the central government is getting better and better. In addition, this year, the Han Dynasty solved the last internal separatist force - Huainan Wang Yingbu...
Perhaps it can be said: Liu Ying is happy that the dilapidated carriage of the Han Dynasty has been completely renewed under her own improvement!
Although on the surface, the car hadn't started moving yet, it was still parked in the same place when the car was still in tatters;

But Liu Ying is very sure: when this brand-new car drives, the speed at which the Han Dynasty will move towards the "prosperous age" will reach a level that will make the whole world dumbfounded!
What's even more 'coincidental' is: the moment the carriage started to drive, the person sitting on the shaft and driving the horse must be Liu Ying who is in power...

"Ah~"

"It's not a waste of work..."

"With this general trend, it is enough."

"With momentum, things will only get better and better in the future..."

Thinking like this, Liu Ying only smiled slightly, and praised herself shamelessly in her heart, but she didn't forget the business in hand.

"How about storing grain on behalf of the people?"

"After last year's autumn harvest, how much food did Guanzhong get? And how much was the storage for the Shaofu?"

After asking a few more questions in a relaxed tone, Liu Ying lowered her head with a slight smile, and once again assumed the posture of writing vigorously.

Seeing Liu Ying's expression became more and more relaxed, Yang Chengyan was inevitably infected. Although his tone was still serious, his face was more relaxed and freehand.

"According to the rough plan of the Xiangfu, last year's autumn harvest, Guanzhong got grain and rice, or nearly 3000 million [-] million shi;"

"Among them, the government treasury of Xiangfu entered the agricultural tax, a total of 200 million shi."

"There are more than [-] million stones, and those who stored the Shaofu for the people's generation got nearly [-] million stones..."

After hearing that "more than 3 million shi of grain in Guanzhong, more than 2 million shi has been stored in Shaofu by the people", Liu Ying breathed a sigh of relief as if she was relieved.

But seeing Yang Chengyan smile shyly, he bowed to Liu Ying sincerely.

"This should be the merit of the family."

"After receiving the order from the family, the minister implored the minister's office to publish the official document, telling the people of Guanzhong: If the grain from the autumn harvest is stored in the Shaofu, the storage fee will be [-] yuan; if it is sold, it will be [-] yuan."

"When it is known that the price of Shaofu's grain sales is [-] yuan for stones, the people of Guanzhong will leave without changing their expressions. Except for the rations they keep for the winter, the rest will be stored in the granaries of Shaofu in various places in Guanzhong. Most of them will not sell it. Rice things..."

Hearing Yang Chengyan's unflattering compliment, Liu Ying's pen also heard it, and immediately burst into laughter.

If you want to talk about the grain and rice run by the officials of the Shaofu, which item Liu Ying values ​​the most and is also the most worried about, it is undoubtedly the item of grain storage on behalf of the people.

Liu Ying is well aware that storing grain on behalf of the people is just a 'special policy for a special period', or an expedient measure;

Unlike the main part of government-run grain and rice, that is, the "official monopoly of the grain market", the policy of grain storage on behalf of the people will not last for too long.

But it is this temporary policy that will not exist for a long time and will be abolished sooner or later, but it has given Liu Ying countless sleepless nights.

The reason is simple: to monopolize the grain market, you need money; and today's Han Dynasty Central, it can be said that it has everything, but no money!
Under this premise, using the idea of ​​"storing grain on behalf of the people" to try to avoid the bankruptcy of the government-run grain and rice policy due to "shortage of funds" has become Liu Ying's only choice.

It is precisely because of this that Liu Ying is always worried about this.

——Monopolize the market, but you can't buy and sell by force!
——Storing grain on behalf of the people, but you can't force the people!
If the people don't want to save life and death, but have to sell their grain, what should they do?

If there are enough people like this, and the Shaofu cannot afford the grain in their hands, forcing the common people to sell their grain to others, or even to the Kanto, then the policy of official management of grain and rice will be tantamount to premature death?

But now, after hearing that 'people don't want to lose half, so almost all choose to lose [-]%', Liu Ying's worries about storing grain on behalf of the people finally dissipated.

Of the [-] million shi of grain, [-] million shi were 'stored' in the Shaofu, which means that this year, the Shaofu basically does not need to spend money to buy grain.

——There are more than [-] households in Guanzhong, with a population of more than [-] million. The monthly grain consumption is tens of millions of stones!

The winter rations kept by the common people are to be eaten from mid-August when the autumn harvest occurs, to February and March when the next spring begins.

In the past half a year or so, the nearly ten million shi of grain that has not been deposited in the Shaofu will basically be eaten by the people into their stomachs.

As for the second half of the year, the common people only need half of the more than [-] stones of grain stored in Shaofu, which is enough to fill their stomachs.

Even if the common people decide to sell the remaining [-] million shi, it will be in the spring and summer of the next year.

"Um······"

"Qi, Chu, Jing, Yan, Dai, Zhao, Liang, Huainan, Changsha..."

"If I remember correctly, the population of Kanto should be much larger than that of Guanzhong."

"If you send ten million shi of grain to Kanto, you will definitely be able to sell it."

"It's really not possible. At worst, I can earn less and sell it cheaper, and I can easily lower the price of food in the Kanto, so that the people in the Kanto can live better..."

(End of this chapter)