Chapter 23 Chapter 23 The Short Board of Wang Anshi's Reform

Regarding the famous "Wang Anshi Reform" in the history of the Northern Song Dynasty, there have been many disputes among historians for many years.Detractors believe that the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty began with Wang Anshi's reform. Because of Wang Anshi's reform, the Northern Song Dynasty was divided into a new party and an old party.Supporters believe that Wang Anshi's reform has great courage, the significance of the progress of the times, and far-sighted thinking.The failure of the reform was not because the reform itself was bad, but because the reform was obstructed by the old school, which led to a disastrous failure.But as a great reformer, Wang Anshi is entitled to be respected by future generations.

Whether Wang Anshi's reform was right or wrong, one problem must be clarified, what problems existed in the period when the Northern Song Dynasty developed to Wang Anshi's time. Summarizing all the problems in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty into one sentence, it is estimated that there should be 6 words: lack of money, weak soldiers, and bloated. These 6 characters should be the most important problems faced by the Northern Song Dynasty in the two dynasties of Song Renzong and Song Shenzong. The Song Dynasty is famous for its developed economy, and later generations have always used the rich song to describe the Song Dynasty, but during Wang Anshi's reform period, the poverty in the Northern Song Dynasty was really poor, to be precise, the country was poor.

Why was the Northern Song Dynasty so poor?Mainly the serious fiscal deficit.Compared with government expenditure, the annual government revenue is almost negative.Based on the average value of Song Renzong's 40-year reign, the annual income of the Northern Song Dynasty was as high as 130 million taels of silver, but the annual expenditure was about 150 million taels. If this continues, bankruptcy is only a matter of time . The reason why the Northern Song Dynasty was so poor is actually very simple, there are too many places to spend money.The first is the issue of civil servant salaries.The Northern Song Dynasty was a dynasty that emphasized civility over military affairs, and adopted a policy of favor and support for civil servants. In the Northern Song Dynasty, if you were a civil servant, life can be said to be very comfortable.Even if you start out as a sesame mung bean official, do nothing, and slowly build up your qualifications, you will probably be able to survive to a second- and third-rank retirement in the end. As for the salary, it is even fatter.If the salary of the prime minister of the Northern Song Dynasty is converted into RMB at the price of rice, it is estimated that he can get 1 million RMB a year.In addition, ordinary civil servants have various welfare subsidies, such as overtime pay, food subsidies, heating expenses, and summer expenses.It is the most common Bapin county magistrate, with a monthly basic salary of 15 Guan, which is equivalent to more than 10,000 RMB. Today, it is also a full gold collar.In addition, the organization of the Northern Song Dynasty was bloated. Since Song Zhenzong, the imperial examinations in the Northern Song Dynasty have been expanding enrollment. Compared with the scene of thousands of troops competing for the single-plank bridge in the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty, the admissions of the imperial examinations in the Northern Song Dynasty are much more relaxed.In the Song Renzong period, it even reached the point where there was one Jinshi in three or five people.There are many admissions, and of course there are many officials.Wang Anshi said in his memorial to Song Shenzong that the number of official positions in the Northern Song Dynasty in the early days of Song Shenzong was almost six times that of the Northern Song Dynasty when the country was founded.

As for the weak soldiers, it is better to understand.The Northern Song Dynasty has always implemented the army building strategy of "strong stems and weak branches". The number of forbidden troops controlled by the central government was a full 1 million by the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Water Margin, Lin Chong was said to be the "coach of 800,000 forbidden troops", but it was actually a shrinking figure. .There are too many soldiers, but the quality is so low. The imperial army in the Northern Song Dynasty was basically recruited through recruiting. They usually trained laxly, and even received taxes and food every month. They had to hire people to bear the burden for them, let alone fight. Almost like a group of soldiers.The Northern Song Dynasty tabooed border generals and special soldiers, and had extremely strict control over border military forces, plus a military command system in which soldiers did not know generals and did not know soldiers. If you want to win foreign wars, you can only dream about it.

So in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, the war against Xixia was repeatedly defeated.The Song Dynasty deployed 400,000 Beijing troops to guard Xixia, and famous generals such as Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi guarded it. It could only restrict Xixia's attack, and it was basically useless to destroy Xixia.In the end, an agreement and terms were reached, and a sum of old coins was added in vain. By the way, there is also the issue of old coins at the end.Everyone today talks about the friendly exchanges between the Song Dynasty and the Chanyuan of the Liao Kingdom after the alliance between the two countries.In fact, after the signing of the Chanyuan Alliance, the Liao Kingdom has been looking for various excuses to ask the Song Dynasty to increase the annual currency, especially demanding that the Song Dynasty return the 17 counties in Guannan that Chai Rong occupied from the Liao Dynasty.For every unreasonable request made by the Liao Kingdom, the Song Dynasty chose to calm down in most cases.By the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, the yearly coins given to the Liao Kingdom had reached 500,000, and the yearly coins given to Xixia were also 100,000.The result of spending money to buy peace is a surge in national financial expenditure.

The Northern Song Dynasty was so kind to scholars, so how about the country's work efficiency, just one word, slow.The characteristics of the officialdom in the Northern Song Dynasty were that the organization was bloated and there were many officials. There were about six or seven people in charge of a good thing, and the final result was that everyone didn't care.Not to mention daily life, it is such a big event in the Northern Song Dynasty's war against Xixia. The government agencies in the Northern Song Dynasty were procrastinating in transmitting official documents and reviewing the battle report, which made Fan Zhongyan, who was fighting on the front line, very angry. No matter how urgent the matter is, it will always take ten days and half a month for you. When you approve it, the battle on my side is over.This is true in war, let alone in normal times.

This was the problem that the Northern Song Dynasty faced before Wang Anshi's reform. The country was poor not because of low income, but because of spending more.One is to spend money to raise officials, until the end, the officials will not be able to work.The second is to spend money to raise soldiers, and the soldiers will not fight until the end; the third is to spend money to buy peace. Who knows that the price of buying peace keeps rising, and it is becoming more and more unaffordable.However, Song Shenzong himself was also a very ambitious emperor. In the early days of his ascension to the throne, he was young and energetic and wanted to start a career. Therefore, on the recommendation of Ouyang Xiu, he met Wang Anshi, who was eloquent and analyzed the current situation. All made Song Shenzong feel enlightened.In 1070 A.D., Song Shenzong officially issued an edict, with Wang Anshi as his prime minister, to reform the country.

The content of Wang Anshi's reform has been criticized continuously in all dynasties. If we want to discuss right and wrong, we have to look at what laws Wang Anshi has changed. The content of Wang Anshi's reform, politically, the establishment of the Three Divisions and Regulations Division is actually to gather power.In the past, there were many prime ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there were many constraints in doing things. With this, it will be easier to handle.Wang Anshi is in charge of the reform. Economically, there are a few that everyone is familiar with: Fangtian equal tax law, farmland water conservancy law, equal transportation law, young crop law, labor law, horse breeding law, and military law is Baojia law.

It seems to be very good to explain the provisions of these reforms.For example, the Fangtian Average Tax Law is to clear the land and recalculate the taxation, in order to find out the situation of the big landlords concealing the land and reduce the burden on farmers; the Farmland Water Conservancy Law is to stipulate that the common people raise funds to build water conservancy projects in various places, and the government makes up for the shortage. The above; the method of equalization means that the state monopolizes the "logistics" of goods, and takes the average price to reduce the hoarding of merchants; the method of green crops means that the state lends rice to farmers in disaster years, and the farmers repay according to the interest determined by the government after the harvest; the method of raising horses , the common people are responsible for raising horses, and the tax is reduced or exempted; the military Baojia law is to organize farmers into Baojia, cultivate in farming season, train in leisure time, and organize into the army to fight in wartime.

On the surface, every content of Wang Anshi's reform seems to be for the sake of the common people, taking into account all aspects of the production and life of the common people, it can be said to be painstaking, so, once it is actually implemented? Let's take a look at the decree itself in light of the actual officialdom in the Northern Song Dynasty. Let me talk about the farmland water conservancy law first.This law stipulates that the local farmers themselves should raise funds to build water conservancy projects, and the government will make up for the rest. Farmers will repay the debts owed by the government in the coming year. The common people have no concept of how much the project will cost. Landlords and officials have the final say, as much as they say. For a project worth 1 million yuan, there is no conscience at the booth. If they dare to quote 2 million yuan to the common people, the common people will suffer in vain. , but also to pay back the money from the government...

Fang Tian average tax law.It is said that it is necessary to clear the land, but don’t forget that the land annexation in the Northern Song Dynasty has reached a very serious level at this time. Most of the bureaucratic landlords are the beneficiaries of the land annexation. If it is carried out, a lot of people will be offended.The way not to offend people is to transfer the excess land to the common people and falsify accounts.You, Wang Anshi, are not afraid of offending people. Are everyone the same as you? Of course, some people may ask, wasn’t Zhang Juzheng’s land also cleared when he reformed?Why can others be successful?In fact, it is very simple. The first item of Zhang Juzheng's reform is to pass the examination, which directly grasps the lifeblood of officials' promotion. If you don't listen to me, I will take your job. This supervision method is more ruthless than Wang Anshi's establishment of the three divisions. Much more, Zhang Juzheng climbed up from the bottom for decades in those years, and he can see through all the officialdom. How can a scholar like Wang Anshi, who is rote, can fully grasp it. The following is the young crop method, which is the only plan that Wang Anshi has successfully practiced locally.That's what he did when he was a magistrate, and it was very successful, and the common people were very happy.But think about it carefully, this law stipulates that ordinary people borrow money from the government, and in the second year, they will repay according to the interest set by the government. It is absolutely possible to raise the interest rate and lend usury at the mercy of the country. It is estimated that if this is the case, wages will basically remain unchanged. As for the recruitment law, it is to let the common people pay money instead of labor.The question is, how to calculate the amount of money, how much do you say?What should I do if the lion asks for a lot of money? The Baojia law was even more developed. It was obviously a reference to the government military system of the Tang Dynasty, but the government military system in the early Tang Dynasty had land security. What protection could the Northern Song Dynasty give farmers?Incorporated into the army to fight in wartime, it is almost vulnerable. Looking at these provisions of Wang Anshi's reform, one can draw a common conclusion: the intention is good, and the original intention is to love the people, but once it is implemented, if someone has no conscience, it will be a disaster for the common people. Later facts proved that most of the officials had no conscience. It is not fair to say that Wang Anshi's reform has achieved nothing over the years. The biggest achievement is the increase in taxes, but how did the taxes increase? Here, we must talk about Wang Anshi. For thousands of years, posterity has always said more about this reformer, but Wang Anshi himself has an unavoidable weakness: paranoia, even to the extreme. On this issue, Song Shenzong himself has experience. Wang Anshi has a tough personality. During his administration, he could gallop through the palace without hesitation.Even for Song Shenzong himself, he often took the leader as an improper cadre, quarreled when he said that he quarreled, and turned his face when he said he would turn his back on him. Many times, Song Shenzong was so angry. This is true for leaders, let alone subordinates.Most of the people Wang Anshi sent to the localities to carry out the reform were his capable disciples. As for the assessment of the reform, Wang Anshi's method is also quite simple: look at the tax revenue of local officials.I don't care about the process, you have to get me money. Therefore, during the 10 years of the reform, the revenue of the treasury in the Northern Song Dynasty continued to increase, but the problem was that many farmers across the country were forced to go bankrupt, and almost every state and county had fled famine.This is normal. What Wang Anshi wants to reform is to be able to collect money. What officials want is to be able to keep their officials. In order to keep their officials, they have to force the people to pay money.However, there are so many opportunities to make money in the new law. You can make money while collecting money, and you can get promoted and get rich at the same time. Why not do it?Therefore, Wang Anshi's policies have basically gone out of shape when they are implemented at the local level. But Wang Anshi himself didn't think so. On the contrary, in his later years, he was almost paranoid about the new law's employment of people.As long as you say that the new law is good, you are a loyal minister, and as long as you say that the new law is not good, you are a traitorous minister.This bastard practice of unilateralism has turned a large number of insightful people in the court, and even many friends who supported the reform at the beginning, into opposing the new law.And the reformers he appointed were all opportunists like Lu Huiqing, Zhang Chun, and Zeng Bu. In the end, he resolutely posted the "Picture of Refugees" on Song Shenzong. Later, some people said that this was to slander Wang Anshi's reform, but according to the historical materials at that time, the scene was real. In 1076 A.D., Wang Anshi asked himself to resign and return to the field. Song Shenzong, who was struggling with the reform issue, finally couldn't bear the huge pressure and agreed to play. That was the year Wang Anshi resigned, and Wang Anshi's reform came to an end. But the aftermath of Wang Anshi's reforms really affected the politics of the Northern Song Dynasty.Since then, the political arena of the Northern Song Dynasty has been divided into two parties, the old and the new. They have fought against each other for many years, and the internal friction in the Northern Song Dynasty has never ceased.Afterwards, the new law and the old law went back and forth several times, and the result of the changes from day to day was that the Northern Song Dynasty was seriously injured, and finally it was easily taken over by the Jin Dynasty, which rose on behalf of the Liao Kingdom.