Chapter 21 The third section thanks to the phase transition method

In the first month of the fourth year of Zhiping (1067 A.D.), Zhao Xu, who was only 20 years old, ascended the throne, that is, Song Shenzong.He is a young emperor who is studious and diligent in government affairs.He was extremely dissatisfied with the situation of the country's internal and external troubles, and already felt that "there are so many evils in the world that we must change."He often said to his ministers: "Financial management is the most urgent task today. To raise troops and prepare borders, the treasury must be abundant." So, who will take on this important task?Shenzong is eager to find someone who can help the country.

Wang Anshi's knowledge, political achievements, and character were among the best in the society at that time, and he had a long-standing reputation among feudal literati.When Shenzong was a vassal king, he knew that Wang Anshi was capable, and three months after he took the throne, he was appointed as the magistrate of Jiangning.Soon, he was called as a Hanlin scholar and attendant lecturer.From April of the first year of Xining (AD 1068), Wang Anshi began to enter the court to discuss the state affairs.Once, Shenzong asked him: "If you want to rule the world, what should you do first?" Wang Anshi said: "Choose the art of governing the country first." Shenzong asked again: "How about Tang Taizong?" Wang Anshi replied: "Your Majesty should follow the example of Yao and Shun. How can you be Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty? The Tao of Yao and Shun is as simple as possible but not annoying, as important as it is but not circuitous, as easy as it is difficult. But scholars of the last days can’t inform you, thinking that it’s too high.” Shenzong said with a smile: “Qing It can be said that you are blaming me, I think I am in good health, I am afraid I will not offend you. You can assist me wholeheartedly, and hope that the monarch and ministers will help me in this way."

In February of the second year of Xining (AD 1069), Shenzong ignored the opposition of the elders and ministers, and ordered the 49-year-old Wang Anshi to be promoted from a Hanlin scholar to a political adviser, and often discussed reform matters with him.Once, Shenzong asked Wang Anshi, "What measures do you plan to take first?" He said, "Change customs and legislate standards, this is the top priority now." Shenzong thought it made sense.Immediately, an institution for researching and enacting new laws was established in the central government, named "Department of Regulations and Regulations of the Three Divisions", and Wang Anshi and Chen Shengzhi, governor of the Privy Council, were jointly responsible.Wang Anshi also recommended Lu Huiqing to be in charge of specific affairs.In December of the following year, Wang Anshi was granted the title of Tong Zhongshu's disciple.With the support of Shenzong, Wang Anshi's political reform also started rapidly with his promotion.

The purpose of Wang Anshi's reform is to enrich the country and strengthen the army, "repair our government and punishment, so that the generals will be competent, the wealth will be rich, and the army will be strong" (Volume 220 of "Continued Zizhi Tongjian Changbian").Wang Anshi's reform was different from Fan Zhongyan's Qingli New Deal. He started with "financial management" and "army consolidation".Wang Anshi believes that the root cause of the country's financial poverty is not too much expenditure, but the lack of means to make money and too little production of materials.If there is less production, the people will not be rich, and if the people are not rich, the country will not be strong.The main reason why farmers are poor and unable to engage in production is due to land mergers.Coupled with the heavy corvee on the peasants, they lack the necessary production materials and cannot develop the economy.What is the solution?He said: "Because of the power of the world, the wealth of the world can be generated, and the wealth of the world can be used for the expenses of the world." ("Shang Renzong Emperor Yan Shishu") is to mobilize all labor forces to engage in agricultural production and develop the economy.The premise is "to get rid of its sufferings and suppress mergers, so that farmers are in a hurry."That is to say, the government should restrain land mergers, reduce corvees, help farmers overcome difficulties in production, and provide farmers with the necessary production conditions.Wang Anshi's financial management principle is "the people don't add taxes, but the country uses them."Under the guidance of the Legalists' thought of "enriching the country with agriculture", "financial management should be based on farming", and he regards suppressing land mergers, improving farmland water conservancy, and developing agricultural production as important measures for financial management.At the same time, the army was rectified and the border area was strengthened.

From the second year of Xining (AD 1069), Wang Anshi formulated and promulgated the following major new laws: It was released in July of the second year of Xining.The government of the Northern Song Dynasty set up shipping envoys on the six roads of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jing, and Huai to be responsible for purchasing and allocating property and transporting it to the capital for the royal family and the imperial court.In the past, regardless of the abundance of the year, the distance of the place of production, and the storage in the capital's treasury, the shipments were carried out as usual every year, causing serious waste to the country.Due to the low prices, the farmers also suffered a lot, while the wealthy businessmen reaped huge profits from it.The equal transportation method stipulates that the dispatcher must not only grasp the production situation of the six routes, but also make overall plans according to the needs.Adopt the policy of "relocate expensive and cheap, use near and easy to go", try to buy in the place of origin, the price should be cheap, and strive to "enough for national use, and not short of people's wealth".As a result, the government has saved a lot of expenses, and at the same time, it has also hit the wealthy businessmen.

It was announced in September of the second year of Xining.The prefectural and county governments lend money and food to the main households in summer and autumn every year, mainly to the owner farmers and semi-owner farmers.According to the level of households, different amounts of loans are given, and the loans are repaid after half a year with two cents of interest.Because this money is issued when it is not received, it is also known as "green crop money".The Young Crops Law helped farmers survive the famine and solved the difficulties in production. At the same time, it also restricted the powerful landlords from using usury to exploit farmers.The young crop method was first implemented in Hebei, Jingdong, and Huainan roads, and gradually pushed to other roads.

Also known as the "Treaty of Farmland Interests", it was promulgated in November of the second year of Xining.This law encourages farmers in various places to reclaim abandoned fields, construct water conservancy projects, build embankments, and repair polders [weihanweihan].To build a large-scale water conservancy project, financial resources are insufficient, the government can borrow money, and the interest is one cent.If one state and one county cannot do it, they can join forces to build it.Seven years after the implementation of this decree, more than 10,700 water conservancy projects have been built nationwide, irrigating more than 361,000 hectares of private land and more than 19 million hectares of official land.This has played a powerful role in promoting the development of agricultural production.

Also known as the Immunity Law, it was enacted in October of the fourth year of Xining (AD 1071).This decree abolished the regulation of the Song Dynasty that civilian households took turns serving as servants (also called official servants) in the state and county governments according to the level of households, and replaced them with local government-funded employment.The required expenses are paid by the households that originally accepted the service according to the amount of their assets. Official households, monks, and Taoist households that used to enjoy the privilege of exemption from service should also pay "service assistance money" according to the law, and the amount is generally half of the exemption fee. "The disadvantages of harming farmers, there is no way to be a servant."The reform of the official labor law, "the farming time will not be seized and the people will be equal."This allows farmers who work in shifts to spend more time and energy on agricultural production.

It was promulgated in March of the fifth year of Xining (AD 1072).The state allocated 1.8 million yuan to set up a promotion department in Kaifeng, the capital city, with two supervisors and one promotion officer.Later, Yiwu was established in 19 larger cities including Hangzhou, Yuezhou, Yangzhou, Chengdu, and Guangzhou.Funds from the state will be used to purchase items that are temporarily backlogged in the market at a fair price, and then put them on the market when there is a shortage of goods. Vendors of all walks of life can pay collateral in the market, buy certain goods on credit in batches, and sell them. After half a year or a year, according to the agreement The price plus interest is one or two cents, and the loan is returned to Shiyiwu.The implementation of the Market Exchange Law has played a role in regulating the market and stabilizing prices, thereby restraining the monopoly of wealthy businessmen on commodity transactions.The revenue of the treasury has increased significantly, and in just two years, the interest money has reached 960,000 yuan.

Also known as the "Fangtian Equal Tax Treaty", it was promulgated in August of the fifth year of Xining (AD 1072).In response to the problem of uneven land taxation, in order to ensure the country's financial revenue, the decree stipulates that from September to March of the following year, the county will send officials to clear the land, with 1000 steps from east to west, north to south, that is, 41 hectares, 66 mu and 160 steps as a side. .According to the fertility and barrenness of the land, it is divided into five grades, and the tax collection standard is set.Because the decree violated the powerful landowners who occupied a large amount of land, they tried their best to obstruct it, and the survey work progressed slowly and was forced to stop later.

Also known as "Zhijiang Law", it was issued in December of the third year of Xining (AD 1070).A total of 92 generals were set up in various military centers across the country, each leading about 3,000 troops.Choose people with superb martial arts skills and rich combat experience as the main generals to repair armor, train troops, build fortresses, and strengthen border defense forces.The art of war changed the chaotic situation of "the soldiers don't know the generals, and the generals don't know the soldiers" in the past, and improved the combat effectiveness of the army. While implementing the "Art of War" to rectify the army, the peasant households were organized: ten families were one guarantor, five guarantors were one guarantor, and ten guarantors were one metropolitan guarantor. Long, both keep long.There are two males in Fan's family, and one of them is Baoding.During the slack season, Baoding practiced martial arts intensively and took turns patrolling at night to maintain law and order.The implementation of the Baojia Law strengthened the government's control over the localities. In addition, there are laws and regulations such as the Horse Protection Law and the Military Weapons Supervision. It can be seen from the above-mentioned new law that financial management and army consolidation are the main contents of the reform, and the central link is to develop production and create more wealth.Wang Anshi presided over the reform in the second year of Xining until Shenzong died of illness in the eighth year of Yuanfeng (AD 1085). The new law was implemented for 16 years. Wan" ("Song History An Tao Biography").Wang Anshi's reform achieved remarkable results in enriching the country and strengthening the army, and also reversed the predicament of "poverty and weakness" in the Northern Song Dynasty to a certain extent.