Liu Song Hanque

Hebei, Yecheng.

After Liu Yizhen returned to Guannei from Yunzhong, he did not go south and return to Chang'an, but turned west and took Cui Hao and others back to Hebei.

Here, Liu Yizhen collected all the yellow books of maps in Hebei, and ordered Liu Yilong and Wang Maide to preside over the "New Deal" in Hebei.

"There is no fake king's land in the world, but every time the land is distributed to the common people, within three generations, these lands will be concentrated again in the hands of officials and nobles."

"A lot of land has been cleared in Hebei this time, and I intend to thoroughly implement the "land reform strategy"."

"Your Majesty, what is land reform?"

"Land use rights are provided to land users free of charge and indefinitely, but land use rights will not be transferable between land users."

The simple six-character summary is "prohibition of land sales."

Although this explanation is not comprehensive, it is enough for everyone to understand the core idea of ​​Liu Yizhen's land reform in Hebei.

Compared with this core, the officials around Liu Yizhen are more concerned about the former - "use the land without compensation and indefinitely".

……

Where does the government collect taxes from?
Without land tax, how should the government and the country live?
If it is just a rough application of the law on the amount of grain to be handed in each year under the land equalization system, it will be a change of soup without changing the medicine, and the so-called "land reform" will be a dead letter.

"From now on, the government can only buy food with currency."

If what Liu Yizhen said before was to make everyone feel "Gordon", then now it is a blow to everyone's head.

"His Majesty!"

Wang Maide, who had been in the center for a long time, quickly stopped Liu Yizhen's whimsical ideas.

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, it has been the principle to collect taxes from the people, how can you exchange them with copper coins?"

"Let's not talk about the rationale, even if His Majesty really wants to implement it, he must have so much money!"

Does Liu Song have much money now?

many!
But that depends on what it is used for.

Because the Yongchu treasure coin made of gold linked Liu Song's currency to gold, and all the gold veins in the country were in the hands of the government. From this perspective, Liu Song's government was extremely rich.

But the essence of currency is actually "debt".

For example, if you earn money today, you will let your boss owe you debts, and these debts will return to you in the form of money, but if you spend money tomorrow, you will transfer your debts to others.

From this point of view, Liu Song is actually not rich, and the gold can only be said to be a kind of mineral resource, not a "currency".

Now Liu Yizhen intends to ask the government to pay for the food grown by the common people, which is essentially accepting countless debts from the common people.

But these debts are basically in the hands of the Liu Song government.

Because since it is a debt, it must be repaid.

Without the vast number of people farming, where will this debt go?
A dignitary?Or is it a workshop that has not developed at all?
If you count on them, Liu Song's financial system will collapse within a few years, and the world that has finally ended will be in chaos again.

For such a result, Wang Maide could not accept it!
"Your Majesty, why don't you spread benevolent government, just reduce and exempt taxes!"

Wang Maide still suggested that Liu Yizhen should not do something too cutting-edge.

Wouldn't it be good to be a holy king steadily in this time when all kinds of wastes are going on?Why do you have to do some ridiculous things?
Liu Yizhen shook his head: "Gou Rixin, day by day."

"The most important adventurous spirit of my Chinese nation cannot be cut off in our generation."

The spirit of adventure, of course, does not only refer to the physical expansion of territory, and the exploration of the unknown.

What's more important is to constantly reflect on the changes and maintain the courage to deal with them at all times.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a hundred schools of thought contended.

At that time, the monarchs and doctors were never afraid of failure, and actively thought about changes under heavy internal and external pressures. Even though there were examples such as Wu and Yue who were prominent for a while but then fell quickly, everyone was still groping to find a way out. Seven behemoths are formed.

Later, the state of Qin changed the most violently. The survivors of Fen VI came out of Hangu and unified the six kingdoms of the Kanto.

The first emperor Yingzheng lived up to expectations, and explored the "emperor system", finding a way out for this land that had gone through hundreds of years of war.

Afterwards, the Great Han Dynasty replaced the Qin Dynasty, and the Western Han Dynasty, which was in danger in the early stage, created the "Great Unification" model with the efforts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and his courtiers, and took the lead in the life-and-death battle of civilization with the Xiongnu.

In the late Western Han Dynasty, when there were many contradictions, everyone still did not act as a salted fish, but formed a new round of reform with "Wang Mang's New Deal" as the main idea.

But unfortunately, due to the limitations of the times, Wang Mang lost miserably...

But even so, the new leader after Wang Mang, Emperor Han Guangwu, still did not give up looking for a way to change, such as setting up the capital in Luoyang, guaranteeing the interests of big landlords and big aristocratic families was the result of his reforms.

Although such a price is the decline of imperial power, it has to be admitted that the living standards of the people in various places during the Eastern Han Dynasty were generally higher than those in the Western Han Dynasty.

Then came Zhang Jiao.

If Wang Mang's transformation is the limitation of the times, then the Yellow Turban Rebellion caused by Zhangjiao is the limitation of class.

So Zhang Jiao... died.

Then to Cao Wei later.

Even though Cao Pi's "Nine Grade Zhongzheng System" was criticized by later generations, it has to be admitted that this is also a kind of change.

He gradually took back the power that had gradually been scattered in the localities since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and established "Zhongshu Sheng" and other power institutions, intending to strengthen the imperial power step by step.

But he happened to meet a Sima family who loves to pick peaches, and the achievements of the Cao family were swallowed by Sima.

Sima Yan is definitely not a mediocrity if he can successfully usurp the throne and establish the "Taikang rule".

After stealing the imperial power, Sima Yan made the decision to "use the vassal king to control the place", hoping to prevent the tragedy of Cao Wei from happening to his descendants...

Afterwards, History slapped Sima Yan resoundingly.

The Rebellion of the Eight Kings, the Chaos of the Five Husbands, and the Fall of China...

What's more terrible is that Sima's coveting of power has let people with lofty ideals know that reform is not important, power is important.

What a mess!

people, country...

Is it important to have Lao Tzu's authority?

After that, there was a series of reincarnations, the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Liu Song Dynasty, Xiao Qi, Nanliang, and Nanchen.

In addition, the Northern Wei Dynasty, which insisted on Sinicization, was also taken astray...

After that, there will be no more scenes in the land of Huaxia, such as "Wang Mang's New Deal" and "Yellow Turban War", which will go through fire and water for change.

Liu Yizhen lightly tapped the table with his finger: "Actually, I have already thought about the next question."

"In fact, the root of the problem is where the money will come from."

He waved his hand and pointed to the east.

"There!"

"Over there by the sea."

"There too."

Liu Yizhen pointed to the west again: "Outside, there are countless wealth we want to get!"

"But first, we need the capital to get that wealth back."

"What we want to use is not the blood of the soldiers, let alone sharp knives, or even artillery, but something more advanced!"

Liu Yizhen pointed to his head: "Thinking."

Among the crowd, Liu Yizhen found Cui Hao and Chao Shangzhi: "Cui Hao, Chao Shangzhi should have told you what he has seen and heard over the years, what do you think?"

After Cui Hao came out, he remained silent for a long time. After a while, he said in a tone of surprise or rejection: "All the changes brought about by the workshop really left me dumbfounded."

"As His Majesty said, you don't need to be bound to a piece of land anymore. Even if you don't farm, you can still go out to study, as long as you work in the workshop every day."

"Such a change will undoubtedly make the people more free, but..."

Cui Hao's tone became low: "Has Your Majesty ever noticed those workshop owners?"

"Maybe some are good people, but most of them are ungrateful people!"

"They secretly conceal the number of workers and deduct wages. If workers make mistakes, they can't help but beat them!"

"Can't Your Majesty see such a change? Does Your Majesty necessarily think that such a world will be better than it is now?"

After hearing this, Liu Yizhen didn't look at Cui Hao, but at Chao Shangzhi.

Chao Shangzhi told him what Cui Hao had seen and heard. Rather than saying that Cui Hao was questioning himself, it would be better to say that Chao Shangzhi was questioning himself.

"I know."

Liu Yizhen stared into Chao Shangzhi's eyes, and Chao Shangzhi didn't back down at all, as if he wanted a clear answer from Liu Yizhen.

"As for whether that world will be better than it is now..."

"There's no such thing as good or bad."

Hearing Liu Yizhen's answer, Chao Shangzhi's eyes were obviously astonished.

"In the world, there is no such thing as good or bad, only inevitable."

"But because of its "inevitability", it can actually explain one thing, that is, it will definitely be better than it is now."

Chao Shangzhi still had confusion in his eyes at this time, but he seemed to be a little more determined than before.

"But the premise is that we have to be worthy of that era."

Liu Yizhen pointed to his own head: "It matches here."

In the end, Liu Yi was really speaking to Cui Hao, and he was also speaking to the officials.

After understanding what Liu Yizhen meant, all the officials in Yecheng began to use this place as a test field step by step.

When the "land reform" policy was promulgated, not to mention the local people, even the people in the surrounding areas were red-eyed when they heard such policies.

This... isn't it too much!

Who is His Majesty's own son?
A place in Hebei that has been occupied by foreigners for so long...why?
And the people who got the land also went from disbelief at the beginning to ecstasy at the end.

Although not tradeable.

But this field will belong to his family in this life and in the next life!
Not to mention that the government has clearly stated that it will use copper coins to buy grain in the future, which undoubtedly gives the people a full sense of security.

But then another problem arose—

At this time, everyone's ideological awareness is generally not enough.

In particular, many people who used to be tenants for aristocratic families suddenly had land, and some negative thoughts gradually rose in their hearts.

"The bullying I have suffered... must be recovered from others!"

As a result, many people left the farmland that they had been rushing to before, and went to find other landless people to cultivate for themselves, wanting to be landlords themselves, and bullying others from above.

But apparently, their wishes came to nothing.

Just a few months later, a workshop named "Jizhou Iron and Steel Company" opened grandly.

The so-called "company" first came from "Datong" written by Confucius.

"The public is the wealth of several people; the company is the meaning of transshipment".

Among them, the government is the most arrogant, occupying 50.00% of the shares.

After that is Liu Yizhen, occupying 20.00%.

The remaining 20.00% was divided among the high-ranking officials of the Liu Song Dynasty.

The last [-]% is the turn of Hebei families such as the Bohai Gao family and the Qinghe Cui family.

Once Jizhou Iron and Steel Company was established, it attracted countless people.

Needless to say, the minimum working hours here are generally higher than the market wages.

The salary is not high enough, and there are various benefits.

Not to mention various benefits, the company even promised to waive the tuition fees of some workers' children, and even provide future living security for workers who have worked for 30 years...

The government and the emperor were responsible, this first national workshop, ah, no, the company instantly became the sweet pastry in everyone's eyes.

farming?

Who farmed for you!
Not to mention people without land, even people with land want to sneak in and get a job!
In just one month, Jizhou Iron and Steel Company has recruited more than 1 employees and conducted training for them.

Some employees who had just joined the job did not understand, pointing to an iron lump that kept spitting out white steam and asked the official: "What is this?"

"It's called a steam engine, and it was invented by His Majesty some time ago."

"What is the use?"

"You will know later! Come and learn what "force" is."

"..."

Another month later, a workshop called "Jizhou Textile Company" also opened quietly.

Unlike iron and steel companies, after all, salt and iron have been government-run since the Han Dynasty, but textile companies are an important economic lifeline for private workshops.

Its opening undoubtedly took away a large number of workers from small workshops, and caused countless workshop owners to hug their heads and cry, saying "I can't survive".

At this time, I don’t know which damage plug made a note——

"Although government companies have good benefits, the quality of the workers they recruit is also high."

"And those with high quality are often Han Chinese! Don't forget that there are still a large number of Hu people in the northeast and north!"

"..."

"..."

As a result, a mighty campaign to go north to snatch people began.

Liu Yizhen, who was repairing a heavy machine shirtless in Yecheng, also smiled knowingly when he heard the news——

"The time has finally come."

"The king was ordered to suppress the evil, and asked him to prepare his troops and prepare to send troops to the northeast to attack Goguryeo!"

"Here!"

"Call Fan Daoji again, I have something to give to him and the Habayashi Army."

When Fan Daoji came to Liu Yizhen's side, he saw Liu Yizhen playing with a very ugly long and thin iron rod in his hand.

"Fan Daoji."

"The minister is here."

"Do you know why I let the Habayashi cavalry only practice riding and shooting, instead of rushing into the crowd with a spear?"

"I don't understand."

Liu Yizhen raised the iron rod in his hand, and there was a muffled sound towards the sky.

Looking at the gunpowder smoke coming out of the gun, Liu Yizhen said melancholy: "Because the times have changed!"

"This time, it's our turn to use gunpowder to open other people's doors!"