Chapter 29 Jia Sidao buys public land

The "Biography of Traitorous Officials" in "Song History" has four chapters in total, listing 15 treacherous officials, including 7 of their children, for a total of 22 persons.Among them are Cai Que and Zhang Chun who practiced the new law, Cai Jing who encouraged Huizong to squander, Huang Qianshan and Wang Boyan who were in trouble with Li Gang, Qin Hui who put Yue Fei to death, and Han Tuozhou who was determined to conquer the north.On the eve of the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, Jia Sidao, who was an important military officer and governor of Taishi Pingzhang, was the queen.When we re-examine their deeds today, it is difficult to prove that each person's "loyalty and treachery" is indeed as listed by the historians.However, it is a fact that the above 15 people were considered by the contemporaries and historians to be intolerable by public opinion.Moreover, by placing them behind the history of a dynasty, it is obvious that these treacherous ministers should bear the moral responsibility for the fall of the dynasty.

Jia Sidao, "Don't be down and out, play bloggers, don't behave well", has already become a typical example of a traditional villain.Moreover, his elder sister, Concubine Jia, favored Lizong Zhao Yun, and was promoted through nepotism.Later, he became a minister and a general, and became a generation of powerful ministers.Personally, he loves sensuality. When he was young, he often held lanterns on the West Lake for banquets. In his later years, he even set up pavilions and pavilions to fight crickets with concubines.His most significant blunder in state affairs began in 1259.At that time, he went to Hanyang to command the military as the right prime minister and privy envoy.He secretly sent an envoy to seek peace from Kublai Khan, who attacked Ezhou as the emperor's younger brother, and promised the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty to be a minister and pay money, but Kublai Khan refused at first.It just so happened that in the fall of that year, Meng Ge, the Mongolian lord who later called Xianzong, died.Kublai Khan wanted to go back to his country to fight for the throne, so he hastily promised it.When the Mongolian soldiers withdrew to the north, Jia Sidao bluffed his victory, returned to the court, entered the young division, and was named a duke.Next year, Kublai Khan proclaimed himself emperor and established Yuan Zhongtong, and sent people to collect coins from the Southern Song Dynasty, but he was detained by Jia Sidao.After this, Kublai Khan no longer accepted the Southern Song Dynasty's request for peace.

But Jia Sidao really had the ability to whitewash the peace, so after more than ten years, Zong Zhao Ji succeeded him in 1264, and he was already a little emperor who was less than 3 years old.Jia Sidao appeared on the table as a veteran of the three dynasties. In the spring of 1275, the Yuan army (which was called the Yuan Dynasty in Mongolia in 1271) had captured the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Kublai Khan’s conquest of Japan), he also prepared his ships and marched towards Wuhu, but his appeal to Boyan for peace was rejected, and the army on the river collapsed without a fight, so he had to retreat to Yangzhou.At this time, the court of Lin'an was in danger, and the ministers asked to kill Jia Sidao to apologize, and the ruling Empress Dowager Xie demoted him to be a training envoy of the Gaozhou regiment.Demotion and exile in traditional politics often conceal the motive of assassination in prison.The author who originally wrote the biography of Jia Sidao could probably end with "Going to Zhangzhou".Just because Jia Sidao was such a treacherous minister, it was Zheng Huchen, the county lieutenant who volunteered to send him to him, who wanted to write and execute him privately.This person can leave a name in the history, and also commends the traitor and loyalty, and has been passed down by history readers through the ages.

It is not the purpose of this book to speak for treacherous ministers, that is, to expose the moral truth in traditional politics, nor is it the theme of our re-examination of history today.We present a story of Jia Sidao because it contains an important link in China's financial history and economic history, and it cannot be summarized by Jia's personal behavior, hobbies, life and death. Judging from various signs, the material civilization of traditional China had reached its peak in the Song Dynasty.Zhang Zeduan's "Surfing the River During the Qingming Festival" was written on the eve of the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty.From the picture, it can be seen that the commercial development of Bianjing and the living standards of households above the middle level, as well as the buildings, boats, vehicles and bridges, are not inferior to those of any inland city in China in the 20th century.That is to say, the traffic of ships, loading and unloading of goods, and the operation of various craftsmen may at least be similar to any city in Western Europe at that time.And one and a half centuries later, Marco Polo arrived in Lin'an of that day, and Hangzhou of today within 32 years after the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty.He once said: "There is no doubt that Quinsai is the most beautiful and noble city in the world." The wide streets of Hangzhou, with canal traffic and stone ditches for drainage, have given Venice (the world's first city of that day) first-class city) tourists with a good impression.And what he can't leave his praises is that China's wealth is manifested in its sheer size.Not only are there many towns and cities in the cities, but there are also countless towns in the countryside, which are not found in Europe.

Marco Polo's narrative is provocative, and ordinary readers suspect his exaggeration.However, recently French scholar Jac-ques Gernet compared his recollections with contemporary Chinese documents such as "Capital Records", "Mengliang Records" and "Old Stories of Wulin", and found that many details in them can be confirmed by each other.After he sorted it out, the 13th-century Hangzhou that he assembled was indeed lively, rich and prosperous.So far we can still find out the names of the thoroughfares, streets and bridges of that day, and the locations of the shops selling the best paper fans in the alleys.The population of Hangzhou gradually increased from less than 200,000 in the early 12th century to over one million.And the largest city in Europe that day had a population of tens of thousands, which was already incredible.So Gernet asked: At that time, China was the richest and most advanced country in the world. Even if only half of the country was preserved in the Southern Song Dynasty, it still had a population of 60 million, covering an area four times the size of France today. Would the Mongol invasion represent a dramatic setback in history?

In fact, Adam Smith wrote "Original Rich", more than 200 years ago.When he wrote the book, he also went to Marco Polo to admire China for about 500 years. "Original Rich" has already pointed out that although China came to the fore 500 years ago, it will not be able to continue its advantages since then. Smith did not mention the reasons, but he has already pointed out that China's legal system must have a crux that hinders the people from continuing to increase their wealth. We bring up the story of Jia Sidao today to point out that the crux of the problem is that the traditional Chinese bureaucracy focused on controlling a large number of farmers, lacking the ability of modern organization and technology, especially the lack of appropriate ideology to manage commercial finance.The above two chapters have gradually mentioned the situation in the Northern Song Dynasty.At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, finance and taxation had reached the point of exhaustion.Not only is Hangzhou's inner prosperity useless in state affairs, but the agricultural wealth in the Yangtze River Delta cannot be mobilized either.Jia Sidao's outrage was not solely due to his miscalculation of the enemy's situation, nor was it because of his extravagance and obscenity, but most of it was because he advocated "buying public land" in the last two years of Li Zong Zhao Yun, which was tantamount to confiscation Some of the assets of the rich went to food for the army.And he presided over the issuance of the last credit currency, causing prices to rise again. "History of the Song Dynasty" "Biography of Treacherous Officials" said that Wang Yao, who had the same reputation as a veteran with him, blamed him for his death to the Empress Dowager Xie, who was in charge of the court, saying: "I don't know how many gentry and grass are there, and your majesty can't do it. "It can be seen that people in the field, including the sects above the middle level, already hate him to the bone.

To mention the background of this situation, we have to start with King Kang Zhao Gou's southern crossing as emperor. Zhao Gouzhi became the future Emperor Gaozong, but at the beginning there was no support from the legal system or public will.He was supposed to go to the Jin army as a hostage, but only because his father and brother were taken captive, he proclaimed himself emperor.Except for the recognition of Zhezong's widow, the so-called Empress Meng of Yuanhu, his imperial career has no legal basis, and he is not supported by powerful officials in the south.His subordinates are both the master of the war and uncertain, and he himself has no money and no soldiers. This can also be regarded as the consequence of the excessive centralization of power in the Song Dynasty.So he had just returned to Hangzhou from his tour in Yangzhou, when an officer serving as a guard of the palace rebelled and forced him to abdicate, and made his youngest son, who was more than one year old, the emperor.Wait until Han Shizhong Qin Wang, he can restore.And he was still panting, and was chased by the Jin people to find a boat to escape. It was not until 1135 AD that the Taimiao was built in Lin'an, and it was not considered as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.At that time, all the southern provinces were also in the hands of rebels and bandits. Most of Gaozong's army was reorganized from these troops. At that time, it took about ten years to suppress the chaos and seek peace.Therefore, the Southern Song Dynasty never had a chance to rationalize the reorganization of fiscal and taxation from the beginning.

The "Jingzhiqian", "Zongzhiqian", "Monthly Pile Money" and "Board Account Money" extracted from the "Shihuo Zhi" in "Song History" are mentioned in history textbooks.In fact, this represents the method of raising funds when the dynasty was first established.Generally, additional surcharges are added from the existing tax amount.At the beginning, twenty-three texts were added to the thousand texts, and later it was increased to fifty-six texts.In addition, the handling fees for official affairs were collected comprehensively, which was combined with the penalties for illegal activities.Then order local governments to provide regular supplies to the nearby garrisons, "posting every month."These titles gave the Southern Song government a chance to gain a foothold, but they were not the focus of fiscal history.It was the 13th century and the end of the Southern Song Dynasty when Li Xin wrote "Miscellaneous Records of the Government and the Field since Jianyan".He also mentioned that in the early Northern Song Dynasty, Southeast only supplied 2 million strings to Bianjing every year.By his time, excluding Sichuan, the economic and total production of money in the southeast had reached 14.4 million.However, what he did not point out was that the Southern Song government sold public land in the early days, and later relied on printing banknotes and forced purchases of materials (and purchases) from the people. The government also has no way of balancing its expenditure with taxes and patents on salt, wine, and tea.

The banknotes of the Southern Song Dynasty have been studied in detail by Quan Hansheng.That is to say, in the case of Huizi (there are Chuanyin, Huhui and Huaijiao respectively used in other areas), the circulation increased by 32.5 times from the hundred years after Gaozong (AD 1163-1263).However, the meeting was originally supposed to be a "boundary" every three years. During the period, the old currency was exchanged for the new currency. Among them, there were cases of exchanging two for one and five for one, so the depreciation should also be calculated as accumulation.However, sometimes the government also sells gold and silver to return the legal currency, and sometimes the old and new circles use it at the same time, so its legal value cannot be calculated.Judging from the information provided by Mr. Quan, it is normal for a pebble of rice to be worth 3 min in the early Southern Song Dynasty. After 100 years, there are words of 340 min, 700 min and 1000 min per peg, and the currency has depreciated by more than 300 times.Those of us who have experienced the hyperinflation of money today may not think this is a big deal, but in the conditions of narrow markets and traffic congestion in the Middle Ages, it was already an extreme threat.A stone of rice is worth a million, which is shocking enough.Moreover, currency depreciation is tantamount to raising taxes in disguise, and the burden is often passed on to the poor.The government is already stretched, and the items that should be paid can only be deducted.Quan Hansheng pointed out an example: In 1235, a court official resigned to supervise the dispatch of military horses. The reason he pointed out was the depreciation of currency and the shortage of military expenditure. . "Song History" "Bing Zhi" mentioned recruiting soldiers, and there is another passage like this: "Suo Si Mo Neng understands his ideas, turns the people into soldiers, or speaks willingly to lure, or lies to Jia Zhou, waiting for the crowd of traffickers to come. Carry it away; or buy a sailing boat, and the whole boat will rush to the subordinate; or let the military girl be seduced by the road, and stab them. Since there are no farmers in the field, and no business travelers on the way, they often gather dozens of young and strong, and then Dare to enter the market.” This passage was written on the eve of the dynasty’s fall, and the author also said that “officials lowered money very generously.” Readers can infer the general consequences of inflation based on the circumstances before and after.

Jia Sidao's plan to buy land was implemented in 1263, a hundred years before Gaozong abdicated as the Supreme Emperor, and 13 years before the Yuan army entered Lin'an.The area for buying land is limited to the six counties from Pingjiang (Suzhou) to Jiaxing, which is the most affluent area in the Yangtze River Delta between Jiangsu and Zhejiang today.The land purchased was 1/3 of the 200 mu of each household (that is, 800 mu must be sold for 200 mu, and 1400 mu must be sold for 400 mu).The price was paid according to a complex formula in banknotes in gold and silver for the monk's degree (tax-free and resalable) and for the body (diploma of honorary title).The purpose of buying land is to avoid the need to make chu (that is, banknotes) and peace purchases in the future. It is expected that the rent collected will be able to solve the financial problems of the day.Jia Sidao first advocated with his own property of 10,000 mu.The results of its implementation have undergone numerous criticisms.Today, there is only a passage in "The Wild Words of Qidong" written by Zhou Mi, which tells us that this is a very grand plan to be implemented in a very short period of time (3.5 million mu has been purchased after half a year).The biggest technical difficulty lies not only in the purchase of land, but after the land is bought, the bureaucracy has no definite way to control the management so as to reap the fruits.As soon as Jia Sidao fell, all parties have requested to return the original owner.It was also suggested that the tenant farmers should be rewarded with official land and conscripted from them.

However, these official lands were never returned, and the Yuan Dynasty used them to reward the royal family for meritorious officials.Even 100 years later, the Zhu Ming Dynasty did not deal with it reasonably, and it still became the issue of official land and heavy endowment in the Susong area in the future. With the dual experience of the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, we know that when the administrative system of an agricultural country is mature and cannot fully manage and exert the effectiveness of the most advanced economic sectors under its jurisdiction, the only way is to switch to commercial control. There is a way out.At this time, the functions of the government are becoming more and more complicated, the need to introduce special skills is increasing, and its funding must also be expanded.Because it exceeds the scope of old-style agriculture, it cannot be dealt with by existing taxation, and has to issue public bonds. Therefore, it has caused representative politics, independent judiciary and a series of other organizations and movements. As is the case in advanced countries, this kind of development is only possible when the civil economy is mature, its organizational structure can produce leadership, and it can become the center of gravity of politics.In the case of Europe, this is the rise of capitalism.That’s why the French historian Fernand Braudel once said: “The success of capitalism lies in its collusion with the state, and it becomes the state itself.” China has not yet reached this stage in the 20th century, let alone the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century.As for the old-fashioned bureaucracy, it is difficult to control its resources precisely because it lacks economically close ties with the rural areas it controls (like feudalism or Feudal).Recent research by British historians found that during the Tudor and Stuart dynasties, feudalism had already collapsed, and capitalism had not yet appeared. The royal family managed real estate with a bureaucratic organization, and countless technical problems occurred, which was not caused by corruption and incompetence. generalizable.In this way, Jia Sidao's death and family destruction are no longer discussed. To regard him as the main cause of the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty is to simplify history in the name of morality. Today we re-examine this period of history, which in itself is not enough to make the Chinese feel elated, but it should also make people feel depressed.We must remember that the Mongols destroyed the Song Dynasty in 1279, but within a hundred years, Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty gathered his concubines from the three palaces and fled to Mobei when Xu Da's army approached the city, becoming a dynasty that was expelled from the country, and there is no previous historical record.It was only with these experiences that Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang desperately went back to the past.His fiscal and taxation policies are all based on the most backward sectors in the economy, which is quite different from Zhao Song Lixin's spirit.This is still a long way from what I said in the "opening remarks" that today's China is "after the rain and the sky is clear", but these links can be coherent.If we read history with this perspective, we can better understand the characteristics of China's great history.Jia Sidao is also one of the important links. It is difficult to understand the depth and twists and turns of history without a thorough study, so it is also difficult to see the long-term rationality of Chinese history.