Chapter 25 5. Purpose is an issue

In May of the fourth year of Xining (1071), an incident occurred in the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty where petitioners rioted in the capital.According to official history records, the rioters were farmers from Dongming County in Kaifeng, numbering in the thousands.They first went to Kaifeng Mansion, then to Yushitai, and the most surprising thing was that they rushed into Wang Anshi's private residence. This matter is really big. After Shenzong heard the news, he ordered a case to be opened for investigation, and the case was quickly found out.The censor Zhongcheng Yang Hui reported that the reason why these people petitioned was because they were treated unfairly when the new law was implemented, and the reason was the implementation rules and ultra vires intervention of the Sinong Temple (National Agricultural Committee).Of course, the Kaifeng Mansion refused to accept the case, and the petitioners rushed into the Prime Minister's house in a rage, but were told that the Prime Minister's Mansion didn't know about it.However, Wang Anshi still asked a question: You come, does the county magistrate know?

The petitioners said: I don't know. Then, they went to Yushitai and were persuaded by Yang Hui to disperse. The follow-up of this incident is not very clear, but Wang Anshi was obviously hit.Because according to him, the reform is to let the people live a better life.So, why do these farmers in Dongming County petition?What's more, it's still busy season. Wang Anshi had no choice but to vent his anger on Dongming Zhixian.He said: This county magistrate is too outrageous.Instead of solving their own problems, they push them to the top.If people all over the world were like this, they would come to Beijing to stop driving and beat drums at every turn, and gather crowds to make trouble, then what would be the proper way!Governing the people should be done with sincerity, not to show appeasement.

It seems that he still refuses to review himself. So, what angered the citizens of Dongming County? immunity law. As mentioned earlier, Wang Anshi was most proud of immunity from military service, and Sima Guang hated it the most. Su Shi believed that the core of the new law that could be retained after revision was the monetization of servants.The benefits of monetization have already been mentioned in the first chapter, and the principle is as Su Shi said, those who contribute money do not need to contribute, and those who contribute do not need to contribute money. Excuse me, what's wrong with this?

As for the riots in Dongming County, it was because Deng Wan and Zeng Bu, the directors of Sinong Temple, were messing around.We know that there is a question of how much to pay for the monetization of servants, and the amount is determined by the county according to the amount of property, but Deng Wan and Zeng Bu set another standard in the name of Sinong Temple.People should pay more money, of course they have to petition. So, the error lies in the implementation link, and the policy is all right? Of course there is.Because this law is called exemption from labor, in fact, labor is not exempted, but it is changed to pay.Money, can it fall from the sky?Moreover, as Sima Guang said, the peasants had no money in their hands, and even the landlords did not have much cash.To pay the exemption money, they had to sell food.If everyone sells grain, the price of grain will fall.But the government doesn't care about these, and the reminder is like a reminder.In desperation, I had no choice but to sell the house, the land, and the cattle.

May I ask, is this good for the people or bad for the people? Seriously though, it's just a technical issue.The solution is for the people to choose freely, those who are willing to contribute money will contribute money, and those who are willing to contribute their efforts will coexist.If so, the reform will not fail completely. It's a pity that Wang Anshi still has the Baojia method. The legislative spirit of the Baojia Law is to conduct militarized management of farmers.Wang Anshi stipulated that: Ten families are the guarantors, fifty are the major guarantors, and the top ten guarantors are the capital guarantors.Every two boys in each family choose one of them as Baoding to participate in military training; the big Bao sends five of them in turn to patrol the Baoding every night.Can you see clearly?When the official service law was implemented, farmers had to go to the government to serve as errands.Now I am not working as a errand, but as a soldier and an auxiliary policeman.

This is an extra service out of thin air.How can it reduce the burden on farmers when paying money does not need to work hard?Besides, in the past, running errands and sending letters only happened once in a while, but now they are on guard every day, so how can it not violate the farming season?What's more, if something happens inside the Bao, the Baomin will be jointly and severally liable.No wonder even Zhang Dun said that even if the Baojia Law existed for a day, it would be a disaster. Obviously, the Baojia Law must be abolished if the Immunity Law is to be preserved. However, in Wang Anshi's case, everything was considered.The implementation of the two laws was in December of the third year of Xining, the Baojia Law was established on the ninth day of the lunar month, and the Exemption Law was implemented on the 22nd.It is by no means a coincidence that Baojia comes first and immunity comes later.In fact, Wang Anshi wanted to do everything possible to concentrate wealth and manpower in the hands of the state.Therefore, even if there is the Baojia Law first, the exempt money will not be exchanged at equal value, but an additional 20% will be charged, which is called surplus money.The interest rate of the young crop loan is also 20%, collected once every six months, and 40% after a year, which is a low interest rate.

The intention of the reform has been clearly revealed. In fact, as stated at the beginning of this book, the primary task of Song Shenzong and Wang Anshi's reforms was to solve the financial crisis.Therefore, as the supervisory official Liu Zhi who was sent to Hengyang, Hunan Province to guard the salt warehouse said, butchers and merchants also entered and left the Zhengshitang in order to make money; in order to make profits, the government had to sell needles and threads.It is an indisputable fact that the government is desperately trying to make money and make a fortune. For example, the law of exchange.

After reading the second chapter of this book, you will know that the Market Change Law is a reform that directly led to Wang Anshi's first resignation as Prime Minister.It is rare for these four people to have the same opinion, but the executive officer Lu Jiawen cannot be blamed for this method becoming a street rat.In fact, Wang Anshi has already admitted that this reform is to compete with private capital for profits.It’s just that, in his opinion, since the government’s profits are small and the businessmen’s profits are big, there is no need to have moral and psychological burdens.

The country advances and the people retreat!No wonder the public resentment boiled over. The question is, why? Because Wang Anshi is a nationalist.In his mind, national interests are higher than the interests of the people, higher than personal interests.Therefore, even if the new law does benefit and enrich the people, it is secondary.Even if the people get the convenience and benefits, they are still free riders.The primary purpose is to enrich the country and strengthen the army. That being the case, Wang Anshi certainly doesn't care about the satisfaction of the people.When the Baojia law was tried out, Han Wei, the prefect of Kaifeng, reported that farmers cut off their fingers and even wrists in order to avoid being a Baoding.The emperor was taken aback, but Wang Anshi said lightly that even if such a thing happened, it would not be surprising.He also said, if everything is obeyed by the common people, what is the meaning of the existence of monarchs and officials?

This is almost cold-blooded. On the one hand, it is cruel, on the other hand, it is narrow-minded.Whether it is the Green Crop Law or the Market Change Law, to put it bluntly, it means that people cannot see people making money.Yes, there will be people lending money when there is a shortage, and there will be people earning the price difference when the goods are in and out.So it is very simple: instead of letting the people take advantage of it, it is better to let the country benefit. The people don't pay more and the country has enough. This is the mystery. It seems that enriching the treasury by making the cake bigger will not be considered at least for a while, because it comes too slowly.The immediate solution is to re-slice the cake.It was private loan interest and commercial profits that Wang Anshi had his eye on and fixed on.Moreover, since the private capital mentioned here has been labeled as a "family of mergers", there is no need to have moral and psychological burdens.

Annexation is a wonderful word in China, which is used to praise or disparage heaven and earth.For example, Qin Shihuang's annexation is called the great cause of unification, and the merchants and landlords are heinous.The mystery, I am afraid, can only be explained by Marx's point of view: the reason for the existence of the agricultural empire is not elsewhere, but only because the self-sufficient small farmers are potatoes.They must be carried in a sack and receive the rain and sunshine from above. This makes it clear.In order to ensure the legitimacy of the imperial power and the stability of the regime, the empire must not allow potatoes to be carried in other pockets, nor allow potatoes to become a giant.Therefore, the merger house must be suppressed, or even slaughtered.It's just that the heroes of the rivers and lakes kill the rich and help the poor, and Wang Anshi kills the rich and helps the country. However, as stated in the volume "Great Song Revolution", one of the reasons for the economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty was that the countryside did not suppress mergers, the cities did not impose curfews, the imperial government kept wealth from the people, and private capital was quite active.Although this may not be able to produce the germination of the so-called capitalism, it is moving towards modern times after all. Should we stop it? What's more, being rich is not necessarily unkind, businessmen are also citizens.Competing for the market and profits with the annexed houses, and even hurting fish in the pond like traffickers and pawns, how can it be said that it is not competing for profits with the people?What's more, those things that are not allowed to be done by private capital have to be taken over by the government.Is it necessarily good for the government to monopolize the market and operate finance? We shall soon know this.

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