Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Where Does Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Get His Money?

As a famous "promising" king in Chinese history, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che was indeed a very "promising" person. He has done many major things in his life, such as fighting many battles. The war against the Huns is a lifetime. , From the time he was beaten until his death, it didn't end.The war against the ethnic groups in South Vietnam and the Southwest was protracted even more, and the vast Southwest and Southeast lands were finally brought under the rule of China.There are also many diplomatic activities. First, Zhang Qian traveled to the Western Regions, and then developed the Western Regions on a large scale. Even going out as an envoy to reward foreign envoys also cost a lot, and a lot of engineering construction was carried out. Counties and counties were set up in the Hexi Corridor and the Hetao Grassland. To rule, to garrison troops in the local casting city, and to stand firm at all costs.There were also two large-scale treatment of the Yellow River, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops to repair the Yellow River from east to west.In addition, his private life is also rich, rewarding the prince, even praying to gods and worshiping Buddha, and enshrining Zen on Mount Tai.

Since it is "promising", it is natural to spend money.Needless to say, wars are made with money. The so-called communication with the Western Regions and the development of friendly relations can't be played without money.As for private life, he spends money like water, doing projects to repair the city and control the Yellow River, and spends a lot of money on everything. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty himself is also a very generous person. Soldiers who have fought battles should be rewarded, officers should be rewarded, Taoists and alchemists who are good at seeking gods should also be rewarded, and visiting envoys from various countries should also be rewarded.All these things require money. Although the Western Han Dynasty accumulated a large amount of wealth after recuperating in the early years, it could not stand up to his way of spending. The money and food accumulated in the Wenjing era were as early as 124 BC in the Han Dynasty in Hetao Zhuchengtun. During the army, it was already exhausted. With the tax rate and agricultural level of the Han Dynasty at that time, it was difficult to support the "promise" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Qin Shihuang tossed for more than ten years, and the Qin Dynasty was tossed away. Emperor Wu of the Han tossed for 54 years. Although there were many troubles in his later years, the Western Han Empire finally survived.

But where did Emperor Wu of the Han get his money? Of course, there are many ways to get money. For example, during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he began to sell officials and nobles. Anyone who paid money needed titles and titles, and officials had officials. For example, increasing private taxes and raising agricultural tax rates. The peasant uprising was forced out.Of course, there are also good things like developing production, such as improving farm tools among the people, promoting new farming methods, and increasing land production.But all of the above can only be regarded as the small head of the money. The cost of the "big head" all comes from one place - economic reform.

The reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was also an important period of economic transition in the Western Han Dynasty. Compared with the light corvee and light tax in the early Western Han Dynasty, and resting with the people, new changes have taken place in the economic form and even the economic model of the entire Western Han Empire during this period. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty timely And the radical economic reform is the key to his ability to obtain sufficient financial support.As for the success or failure of economic reform, there are even more mixed opinions. Financial difficulties in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began around 120 BC.

At that time, the war between the Western Han Empire and the Xiongnu was intensified. Starting from 129 BC, the Han Empire changed from passively defending the Huns to actively attacking the Huns. After that, they successively recovered the Hetao Grassland and the Hexi Corridor. The matter of King Xiutu's obedience.There are a lot of military expenses for war, expenses for rewarding generals, and even expenses for arranging the surrender of the Huns.By 124 BC, the Western Han Empire had spent all the money and food wealth accumulated during the Wenjing period.More serious than this is the problem of the economic policy of the Western Han Empire at this time. A simple sentence is: the meridians are blocked.

In the early days of the founding of the Western Han Dynasty, the country's economy was in decline, so there were two main policies of the Western Han Dynasty.The so-called emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, the main content is to improve the status of landlords, suppress the status of merchants as much as possible, suppress the living space of industrial and commercial people, and encourage land reclamation and agricultural production.However, the policy of light corvee and low tax has made the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business exist in name only, because the tax rate in the early Han Empire was low, not only the agricultural tax was low, but the commercial tax was also low. With the recovery and prosperity of agricultural production, the commodity economy flourished. It is also irresistible.During the period of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty, the original "checkpoint system" was also opened up, allowing free circulation of merchants from different regions, and opening up the mountains and jungles that were not allowed to enter the common people. In this way, there would be no obstacles to the development of the commodity economy.In the early days of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's accession to the throne, the land of China was already full of powerful and powerful people, the new rich were all over the place, and the commodity economy showed a trend of prosperity.

It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne that he discovered that the so-called prosperity was actually prosperity on the surface.Because this kind of prosperity has nothing to do with the government. The big households became rich, but the growth rate of the government's tax revenue did not catch up with the growth rate of private wealth. Regardless of the reason, it was the fault of the Han Empire's "government by doing nothing". The so-called "governance by doing nothing" is to adopt a policy of non-interference in the private economy and encourage its free development. But if freedom is too much, the government loses control of the private economy.Taking industry and commerce as an example, most of the rich and powerful households in various places are from the merchant class. After making a fortune and continuing to do business, they began to buy land and land in order to improve their political status, becoming a new class of landlords. Under the cover of "landlords", They have obtained privileges that are difficult to obtain as businessmen, and it is more convenient for them to profit from doing business.Many people even began to collude with the government and run amok.What's more serious is that it is difficult for the country to obtain tax revenue from them, because the Western Han Dynasty has implemented a low tax rate policy since the founding of the country, and the huge industrial and commercial profits are only a drop in the bucket for tax payment.After they obtained the status of landlords, they used various names to evade taxes through collusion with the government. As a result, their wealth increased like a snowball.Moreover, the Han Empire was too "inactive" for the national economy, so that the management rights of many important industries related to the lifeline of the national economy were manipulated into the hands of wealthy businessmen. Such industries are all controlled by one or two oligarchs. The state neither collects taxes nor supervises them, and completely lets them develop. The consequences of doing so are undoubtedly very dire.

What's more serious is that the Western Han Empire did not escape the inherent economic law of feudal society during this period - the issue of land annexation.With the development of the economy, the gap between the rich and the poor is unavoidable. A large number of new rich classes have begun to merge land, and the number of landless farmers is increasing.The world is talking about the peasant uprisings in the late period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In fact, since the late period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, there have been frequent rebellions of landless tenant farmers.At the same time, there were too many privileged classes in the Western Han Dynasty. Whether it was local princes or meritorious officials, they all enjoyed the privilege of tax exemption and the power to collect local taxes. The country's annual production tax fell to a considerable extent in their hands. inside.Therefore, under the appearance of the full treasury of the Han Empire, what is concealed is the reality of low taxation efficiency and a serious disconnect between national taxation and the distribution of the rich and the poor. These realities are the "internal worries" of the Han Empire. question.

It is unimaginable that, compared with the feudal dynasties of later generations, the monetary policy of the Western Han Empire was quite immature at this time.The monetary policy of the Western Han Empire was formulated in an extremely rough and simple manner from the early days of the founding of the country. Even a wise emperor like Emperor Han Wen did the stupid thing of allowing his favorite minister Deng Tong to mint currency privately. Although he was later stopped by Emperor Han Jing, at this time The currencies in circulation in the Western Han Empire can be said to be varied, including those issued by the central government and those issued by local princes and states.Since the reign of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty, Wu and other vassal states in the south had the right to privately mint currency. Later, although after the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion, the power of the vassals was severely cracked down, and the minting rights of the vassals were returned to the central government, but the vassals mined privately. The copper mountain in the territory is used to mint currency repeatedly.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, another problem with the national currency was the proliferation of counterfeit money.The currency of the early Han Dynasty was simple in shape and easy to imitate. In addition, there were relatively few restrictions on the Shanze mine. Not to mention the princes and nobles, even ordinary unscrupulous businessmen could easily imitate fake coins.The result of mixed currency is the decline of the state's ability to control the national economy.

Therefore, when we talk about the political situation in the early days of Han Wudi's accession to the throne, we must see that he inherited not only the rich heritage left to him by his ancestors, but also a lot of troubles. China in the early days of Han Wudi's accession to the throne was a prosperous economy. China, where life is rich and prosperous, is also a China where the gap between the rich and the poor is becoming more and more serious, land conflicts are emerging, the state's control over the national economy is weakening, and the economic system and taxation system are full of loopholes and chaotic China.Such a China may be able to maintain superficial prosperity for a period of time in the Taiping era, but if there is a slight change in the country, it is likely to be a complete collapse of the national economic system. Pay for it all.

Therefore, the problem facing Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was not only the war against the Huns and the dream of unifying the country, but more importantly, the comprehensive integration of the national economy, and there was only one way to integrate it-reform. The economic reform of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty really started in 120 BC. The motivation for the reform was originally to raise funds for the great expedition against the Huns in 119 BC. The sector with the most lucrative quasi-profits: salt and iron.This reform also has a name: Yantie Guanying. At that time, the salt and iron industry was equivalent to today's petroleum and mining industries, and it was a huge profiteering industry that controlled the lifeline of the national economy.Needless to say, the iron smelting industry has a large demand and a stable market. Under the recuperation of the Han Dynasty, it is completely possible to seek huge profits.As for the salt industry, in the feudal society, it was a highly profitable industry with huge profits. The cost of cooking salt was extremely low, and salt was a daily necessities for the common people, so it was a complete seller’s market. In the hands of a wealthy businessman.For these two profiteering industries, the tax income of the previous government was extremely limited, and the rich businessmen who got rich from this industry had long been associated with the government and even local tycoons. Huge profit sharing.Therefore, for many years, the government basically turned a blind eye and closed one eye, completely governing by "doing nothing". At this point, "doing nothing" will no longer work.During this period, the Han Empire’s war against the Xiongnu had huge expenditures year after year, reaching the point where it could not make ends meet. However, this year, misfortunes never come singly. The Yellow River broke out a flood that has not happened in a century, and the Guanzhong area was plagued by locusts again. Able to borrow money from rich local households in Chang'an.In such a stretched situation, it is natural to take action, and the salt and iron industry with huge benefits has become the target of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The decision to operate is well made, but how to operate is a difficult problem.The interests of the salt and iron industry are huge, and the upper and lower levels have long become an interest group. The country is not mine, but the interests of salt and iron are mine.Therefore, from central officials to businessmen from all over the world, once the country wants to operate, they will definitely form a group immediately and vow to carry out "free operation" to the end.In such a monolithic way, it is absolutely impossible not to talk about methods and methods. Fortunately, beside Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there is a person who can talk about methods at this time, and he is the famous Sang Hongyang. As a well-known reformer in history, Sang Hongyang was regarded as a "traitor" at the time because he was from a merchant family.As a person who came out of the business system, he knows the way inside best.As early as 13 years old, Sang Hongyang "entered the palace". The biggest advantage of this person is that he can use his brain and be able to calculate.First of all, he knows how to calculate accounts, large and small financial expenses, he can count them clearly when he turns his head, and his memory is also very good, especially things related to numbers.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to pay attention to him in the early days of his accession to the throne. As the "servant" in the palace, that is, the "secretary" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he was able to clearly deduce the daily expenditure of the country's various activities, and even pointed out which expenditures could be avoided. , which expenses are unavoidable.For example, when the Minyue Kingdom invaded the Eastern Ou Kingdom and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to intervene, Sang Hongyang was thousands of miles away in Chang'an City, but he clearly calculated the daily property expenses of the frontline troops and the final financial budget. The actual expenditure was verified to be exactly the same. At that time, Sang Hongyang was only 15 years old. Today, he is also an absolute mathematics prodigy. Not only can he count, Sang Hongyang can also talk, especially when it comes to financial issues, he is so excited that he can't stop talking for days and nights.Later, when Wei Qing seized the Hetao area, the Han court discussed whether to build a city for defense there. Prime Minister Gong Sunhong and others resolutely opposed it on the grounds of huge costs. Sang Hongyang stepped forward, quoting and citing extensively, which made Gong Sunhong, a veteran of the officialdom, speechless, and finally had to agree to this suggestion.Interestingly, after this court meeting, Gongsun Hong, who was originally an "anti-war faction", has since become a resolute "main combat faction", actively supporting Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in various wars against the Huns.Although he acted according to the wind, he was indeed scared by Sang Hongyang. A person who can calculate and speak at the same time will naturally become the instigator of this crucial reform.Of course, Sang Hongyang is not only able to say and count, but also very good at hiding. He was not in the forefront of such a big matter that involved the whole body. At that time, his job was still only "servant", responsible for implementing reform policies. People, Guo Xianyang and Kong Zhi, and Sang Hongyang, the prime ministers at the time, were the ones who hid behind their backs and came up with ideas. Sang Hongyang's idea is very simple, but everything hits the crux of the salt and iron problem. At that time, the policy of "salt and iron official operation" mainly consisted of four simple items: first, the business income of boiling salt and smelting should be brought under the management of the government, and the income from it should supplement taxes.Second, the government recruits salt households and distributes salt cooking utensils and living expenses.Third, strictly investigate the private operation of salt and iron in various places, and crack down with iron fists.Fourth, the state set up iron officials in various places to manage iron monopoly affairs. The contents of these four items seem ordinary. The first item is the purpose and purpose of the reform, and the latter three items are the basic methods. Among them, the second and fourth items play a key role.Article 2 The recruitment of salt households by the government is a wicked and ruthless move, because the key to the salt merchants' dominance lies in the control of the "salt households" of civilians everywhere.Salt households are all attached to various salt merchants and exploited by them. As early as the reign of Emperor Han Jing, there was a price difference of nearly 5 times between the purchase price of table salt and the final selling price. However, after the reform, the government provided The basic living expenses and the means of cooking salt utensils are equivalent to pulling the poor class lower than the merchants, and firmly grasping the salt in their own hands with more favorable policies.The source of the salt industry is cut off, and it will be difficult for salt merchants to think about it from now on.The establishment of iron officials in various places to be responsible for the sale of ironware has quietly exploited the rights and interests of the previous ironware merchants, and firmly grasped their original exclusive privileges.Without two or four, the so-called iron-fisted crackdown on private salt and iron operations is simply impossible.And the government's monopoly of salt and iron trade can only be a daydream. Sang Hongyang's policy is both dark and ruthless, and it is impossible not to attract opposition.Needless to say, the merchants in the salt and iron industry, according to unofficial records, some merchants had already bought killers at that time, preparing to kill Sang Hongyang.On the court side, there were also objections everywhere. Officials who had previously made profits in the salt and iron trade opposed it, and those veterans from the Wenjing era also opposed it, because this violated the ancestral system and competed with the people for profit.Of course, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had thought of this a long time ago, and his method was simple-"kill the chicken and show it to the monkey", find a ruthless person to supervise, and punish anyone who dares to prick it.The ruthless person that Emperor Wu of the Han found was Zhang Tang, the number one cruel official in the Western Han Empire at this time. There have been different opinions about Zhang Tang in later generations. Some said he was a "model of clean government" and some said he was an "executioner", because this man was indeed a clean official and his family had no money left when he died.But he was also brutal.He is from Xi'an, and his father is Chang'an Cheng. Influenced by his family, he has liked law since he was a child.When he was a child, he not only killed the mouse because the mouse in his house stole food, but also wrote a clear judgment for the mouse in accordance with the law of the Han Dynasty. , At that time, his father was dumbfounded.As an adult, Zhang Tang once worked with Ning Cheng, a famous cruel official in Emperor Han Jing's era. Ning Cheng was the number one ruthless person at that time, and there was a saying that "I would rather meet a tiger than Ning Cheng".Under the influence of this old leader, Zhang Tang also developed a decisive and vicious style.He was appreciated by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty because of the famous "Queen Chen Witch Case" in the early days of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Empress Chen was jealous of Wei Qing's sister Wei Zifu's favor, so she used witchcraft to curse Wei Zifu in the harem. After the incident was revealed, Zhang Tang was in charge of the trial. As a result, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty realized the power of this cruel official, and then his official position rose steadily. In the period of economic reform, he was already the censor of the Tingwei Department (Minister of Justice and head of secret agents) in charge of judicial power throughout the country. For this person, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once favored him to the extreme. Every time Zhang Tang met, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty discussed political affairs with him, often talking from morning to night, and even forgot to eat in excitement.The reason why he is so favored is that Zhang Tang is extremely powerful and efficient, and the things that can be done today will never be overnight.The second is that he is vicious. Anyone who Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wants to punish must be put to death. The most important thing is that he is obedient and his cleverness is often used to distort the provisions of the law. If it is too much, he can find a legal basis, and the things that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty confessed, no matter how vicious, he can complete it extremely beautifully.And he respects the leadership quite a lot, but when dealing with major cases, he always asks for instructions early and reports later, and dares to take the blame for the leadership at critical moments. Such a capable and obedient talent is naturally the easiest dog in the eyes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, in the early stage of economic reform, it was Zhang Tang, the "hawk dog", who escorted Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's reforms.Not long after the salt and iron official camp started, Zhang Tang collected all kinds of bad deeds from high-ranking central officials to local opposition groups at an extremely fast speed, especially all kinds of evidence that they colluded with salt and iron merchants and even accepted bribes. evidence.After the reform began, those who did not speak out were put on hold for the time being, and those who dared to speak out and objected were arrested based on the evidence of their crimes, and those who dared to object were executed without pardon. After several officials were punished one after another, everyone became dumb. Everyone is dumb, and things will be easy to handle.Since 120 BC, the salt and iron official camps have been promoted throughout the country. In that year alone, they quickly accumulated huge wealth for the country. According to historical records, "there are hundreds of millions, all of which are the blessings of salt and iron."It should be noted that in the second year of the Yantie official camp, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made great achievements in conquering Mobei with all his might, beheading nearly 100,000 Huns, and forcing the Huns to go northward in embarrassment. The big head is thanks to salt and iron. With the victory of the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC, the Huns who had been raging in northern China for a hundred years stopped, and the border of the Han Empire ushered in a period of real peace.However, the continued turmoil in the economic reforms within the Western Han Empire has intensified since then. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who had tasted the sweetness of the reform of salt and iron, was determined to carry out all-round economic reforms to the end. The reason was simple-he needed money.Although the Xiongnu fled, they needed money to drive them all out. The separatist regimes of the southern vassal states were still there, and they needed money to unify the north and the south.Zhang Qian came back from the Western Regions, and needed money to reconnect with the Western Regions, open up the Silk Road, win over the countries in the Western Regions, and cut off the living space of the Huns.Even Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty really wanted to live another 500 years, 1000 years would be even better. He asked the gods to worship immortals and find the way to longevity, and of course he had to buy it with money.The deeper reason is not money. The government's expenditures are stretched, and the powerful and wealthy are beyond the control of the government. Who will be the emperor in the long run?It is necessary to establish the state's absolute control over finances and control the lifeline of the national economy, so economic reform is not only a matter of money, but also a matter of power. For the issue of money and power, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty continued to implement the second reform: currency system reform. Compared with the counterattacks received by the reform of the currency system, the earlier Yantie official camps were basically regarded as pediatrics.Because the salt and iron official operation can only offend those officials and businessmen who are engaged in this industry at most, and the currency reform offends almost the rich people in the whole country.Because minting coins privately at that time was not an illegal act, but an unspoken rule of the national economy. It was an open secret, but anyone who had some money, a relationship channel, and money was tight, would find a way to mint some money to spend.In those days, there were no money detectors, let alone anti-counterfeit watermarks, so it was very convenient and easy to do this. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty couldn't tolerate such "very convenient and easy". If a country even has the power to mint currency for a long time, it may not be a problem of the emperor's name, and it is estimated that the country will not be far away.This is something that ministers and even rich people don't feel. Anyway, the country is not mine. You are your emperor, and I cast my money. Why do you care so much? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to take care of this issue, whether the method should be gradual or evil. In 119 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first issued an edict to mint "buckskin coins" as the country's common currency.The so-called buckskin currency is the white deerskin with the palace garden on the currency. This kind of white deerskin is exclusive to the central royal family.In particular, if the local princes want to make money, they must buy white deerskin from the central government. The price of each piece of white deerskin is clearly marked: 400,000.Love to buy or not, it is impossible not to buy, you can only grit your teeth and have to buy.In this way, the rich money reserves of the local princes flowed continuously to the central government in this way, and it was difficult for local wealthy businessmen to afford the capital even if they wanted to mint coins privately. The white buckskin coin naturally aroused opposition, and it was stronger than last time. This time, it was Yan Yi, the Minister of Finance of the Han Empire, who took the lead in the opposition.Of course, Yan Yi himself had no malicious intentions, but thought that the price of 400,000 was too high, and it was a disguised form of blackmailing the princes.This person was a well-known upright official in the Western Han Dynasty. He served as the Minister of Finance for several years.But Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty didn't care about this. Economic reform is very important. Whoever blocks my way will be killed by me. Besides, there are already many objections. I am about to kill the chicken for the monkeys to see. The upright Yan Yi did just that. "chicken". In 117 B.C., Zhang Tang, the "Hawk Dog", came forward again and imprisoned Yan Yi at the behest of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After a trial, he tried his best but failed to find out that Yan Yi was charged with the crime. In the end, he simply gave Yan Yi a "belly slander" The crime, that is, although Yan Yi did not talk about treasonous actions, he opposed economic reform in his heart. Under such a "crime of wanting to add", Yan Yi was executed. The effect of "killing chickens" is significant, and the "monkeys" really stopped. In 113 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the "Shuiheng Duwei", which was the first institution in Chinese history that was specifically responsible for coin casting.Since then, the privileges of local vassal states to mint currency have been completely abolished, and the right to issue and mint currency has been firmly controlled by the government.This is an important step in the "centralization" system of Chinese feudal society. While reforming the currency system, Sang Hongyang, who was already the "Nong Zhongcheng" of the Han Empire, began to "smear" the vested interests again. This time his policy is "counting money" and the additional policy is "successful money". According to the modern meaning, it is to increase business tax and personal income tax for industrial and commercial persons. The so-called "counting money" is nominally aimed at the common people all over the world, but in terms of policy, it is mainly aimed at industrial and commercial people.The meaning of counting is to require industrial and commercial persons to report their property, and then the government will collect personal income tax from them through accounting of their property.In the policy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, every 4,000 yuan of property of a big businessman was regarded as a "one calculation" and taxes were levied. Ordinary small businessmen and handicraftsmen took 2,000 yuan as a "one calculation" and taxes were levied. It should also be regarded as property and subject to personal income tax.It can be seen from the policy that the poorer, the less to pay, and the richer, to pay more. The main object of tax collection is the "newly rich class" of the Western Han Dynasty since the Wenjing rule - the merchant class. Of course, Sang Hongyang also knows that expecting these rich people to worry about the country and actively support the country’s construction is basically a nonsense, so in addition to counting money, Sang Hongyang also "considerately" arranged additional policies for them—— Tell me. The so-called denunciation, to put it bluntly, is to encourage reporting and exposing. Any businessman who conceals property and evades personal income tax, as long as someone reports and exposes, once verified, not only the offender will have his property confiscated, and he will be sentenced to a felony. half of the property.That is to say, in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, even if you were a pauper, as long as the report was approved, it was definitely not a fantasy to get rich overnight. With such a good policy, it is natural not to confess. In addition, many people have the mentality of "hating the rich".For those who were exposed, the Han Dynasty government has only one attitude-it would rather believe what they have or not. You have to get money even if you squeeze it dry.As a result, many wealthy businessmen were "squeezed dry" in this way. In the policy of "reporting money" and "counting money", Sang Hongyang also has a quiet policy: it is strictly forbidden to occupy land.In other words, for industrialists and businessmen, land is illegal property. Those who have land in their hands have two options: either it will be confiscated by the government, or you can dispose of it and sell it to farmers at a low price.As a result, the trend of land annexation that began in the era of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty began to ease, land conflicts eased, and a large number of landless peasants were able to live in peace.At that time, when the Han Empire was attacking from all sides, this move undoubtedly played a role in stabilizing the internal affairs of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. With the full implementation of "counting money" and "reporting money", the powerful class formed in the Western Han Dynasty since the Wenjing era suffered a heavy blow. They had no money to earn, and their property was exploited by the government. They had to worry about eating and sleeping every day. I am afraid that if I am not careful, I will be reported.Those who were businessmen in those days were so low-key that they couldn't be more low-key. No matter how good the business was, they couldn't let people know that their family was rich even if they were killed.Corresponding to this is the huge wealth accumulated by the Han Empire. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty later traveled north to Mobei. Chen Bing 180,000 provoked the Xiongnu at the border, which frightened the Huns so that they did not dare to fight. Wan, opening up the Silk Road, all of this comes from the financial support of various economic reforms. The last major financial reform during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the famous equal loss in history. The so-called equal loss is not new in Chinese history, and the feudal dynasties in the subsequent dynasties have also implemented this policy. For example, in the famous Wang Anshi reform in the Song Dynasty, this is also an important item.The equal-loss policy began in 115 BC, and it was only a pilot project in the Chang'an area. It was not until 110 BC, when Sang Hongyang became the Minister of Finance of the Han Empire (Da Si Nong), that it was really implemented nationwide.The goal of equal loss is the imbalance of prices in different regions, and the problem of speculative profiteering by businessmen. The government has set up "equal loss officials" in various places to order farmers to turn over the goods that were originally used for trading as goods, so as to adjust the goods in various places. different items needed.Another additional policy of Equal Loss is "leveling", that is, setting up a "leveling" agency at the center to buy and sell items exchanged in various places to stabilize prices.The implementation of this policy ended the "pricing power" of wealthy merchants over important goods since the Wenjing era, stabilized prices, and eased the burden on the common people. The economic reforms in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty achieved good results at that time. It is recorded in the "Book of Han": "For the accumulation of warehouses, the soldiers will receive their salaries, and the hungry will receive relief." ".In other words, the economic reforms of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty focused on increasing the country’s income as much as possible without increasing taxes on ordinary people, and establishing the central government’s absolute control over the national economy.From the results, he did. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who completed the economic reform, had to face a dilapidated situation in his later years: the country had frequent natural disasters, uprisings occurred frequently, the household registration in the whole country was halved, and taxes were reduced sharply.In the war against the Huns, there was also a shameful situation where Li Guangli was defeated and surrendered to the enemy. Why? Naturally, there are many reasons. Some people attribute the reason to the fight against the Huns, but it must be noted that the real deterioration of the economic situation of the Han Dynasty occurred during the "interval" of the war with the Huns, that is, after the end of the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC. period, so the war against the Xiongnu cannot be a "scapegoat" for the failure of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's later rule.Although the Han Dynasty used troops many times afterwards, the country did not get a rest, but the scale and cost of the war could not be compared with the previous large-scale battles in 119 BC.From the Battle of Mobei in 119 BC, which severely damaged the Xiongnu, to Li Guangli's battle against the Huns again in 100 BC, the 19 years between was the 19 years when the Huns temporarily retreated to Mobei and were unable to go south. The main battlefield of the Han Dynasty's foreign war ——The anti-Hungarian battlefield is already a temporary peace.This should have been an opportunity for the Han Dynasty to recuperate, but in the past 19 years, the Han Dynasty has not stopped for a single year. Needless to say, it is necessary to fight and pull through the Western Regions. Five-fifths, the wars in Nanping, Nanyue, Dongyue, and Southwestern barbarians were also protracted, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty himself began to pursue the technique of longevity, building a lot of construction, and nothing inside and out was cheap.The climax of economic reforms was also at this stage. Every year, relying on "the people don't add taxes to the country", temporarily supported the finances of the Han Empire.But the long-term stability of a country is the same as a person's health, which requires a combination of work and rest.The so-called economic reforms and policy adjustments are like continuous tonics, or even stimulants, between frequent exercise.Friends who are familiar with medicine understand that a person who only relies on tonics and stimulants and never rests is doomed to collapse. The Han Empire, which has never rested in 19 years, is also destined to be in trouble. The biggest mistake of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is that he missed the best opportunity for 19 years to recuperate. At that time, the national economy of the Han Dynasty was not only dragged to the brink of collapse, but internal conflicts became more numerous. Even his eldest son, Prince Liu Shi, died in his own hands in the court turmoil. Among the many reforms carried out by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in order to save finances and strengthen the rule, one reform was not a tonic, but a stimulant.Although it is a temporary tonic, the harm to the empire is a double-edged sword-the Yantie official camp.The original intention of the salt and iron official operation was to allow the state to control this huge profiteering industry, but in the later period, following the great success of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, blindly raising the price of ironware actually became the exploitation of ordinary people, and what was even worse was that there was no competition in the monopoly industry. , The quality of ironware has declined greatly, not only the quality of folk ironware utensils has declined, but even the quality of weapons used by troops has also declined.The most profound influence on the fate of the entire Western Han Empire is that in the later court, those who control the salt and iron control power control the country's politics. The most famous gravedigger - Wang Mang.This is probably something Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who was bent on building a unified empire, would never have dreamed of under Jiuquan.