Chapter 52 Section VIII

However, in the middle of September in the fifth year of Xining, the most noteworthy event was perhaps the visit by Sima Mengqiu and others to Shi Yue on September 12th. Shi Yue, who received the name card from Sima Mengqiu and others, personally greeted them outside the gate, and led the four of them directly to the garden for a banquet. This made Wu Conglong and Fan Xiang flattered, and even Chen Liang was moved.After all, Shi Yue's reputation is so high that it can be compared with Wang Anshi and Su Shi. The garden of Shi Yue’s mansion was different from before, because he felt that Shi’an and his wife were too busy, so he invited several servants and flower servants to help. The servants were chosen by Tang Gannan himself, but the servants were It was recommended by Feng Jing, so although the garden is not big, it still has a rhythm in the tranquility, a stream of flowing water trickles out from the stone eyes, and the lush green grass and mossy moss make it quite mountainous.On the bank of the Quqiao in Hengtang, there is a green pavilion with tables, chairs, wine and food. Shi Yue invited everyone to sit, and then he himself took the main seat, and Pan Zhaolin sat next to him.

Shi Yue picked up the wine and said with a smile: "I have heard about Mr. Sima for a long time, and I have wanted to ask for advice for a long time. Unexpectedly, I got my wish today. Mr. Wu, Mr. Fan, and Mr. Chen are all heroes of the Song Dynasty. If we meet today, there must be some kindness." Teach me, Mr. Shi is not talented, so I would like to offer you a cup first." Everyone said they didn't dare, and raised their glasses in return. After drinking a glass of wine, Sima Mengqiu said: "Students have always been unknown, but Mr. Shi seems to know the students already. The reason for this is that the students are ignorant. Please ask Mr. Shi to explain this maze."

Shi Yue said with a smile: "Good material is beautiful, it's hard to give up. Mr. Sima has traveled between Lianghuai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang for a year, and I don't know how many people praised him." He deliberately stopped, but did not explain.He laughed again and said, "With Mr. Sima's ability, he will be able to teach me something, and I hope he will not hesitate to teach me." Sima Mengqiu didn't want Shi Yue to be so straight to the point, so he quickly said: "Students are dull, I'm afraid I will disappoint adults." Shi Yue sighed: "The problem of being in a high position is that you don't know the sufferings of the people. People like us wear silk and satin all day long, eat delicacies from mountains and seas, sit high in the temple, sit and discuss, the people's love Who can empathize with the suffering? The example is the magistrate of a small county. There are very few people who can really go deep into the people, and those who dare to report the facts are even rarer. "Bianjing News" claims to reflect the suffering of the people, but in fact it is also But it is limited to Kaifeng. The imperial court's laws and regulations are enforced in all directions, even if there are good officials to implement them, the customs and customs of different places are different. Observing the orders is for the sake of examination and promotion, and there is no fear of illness. This is human nature, and the one who suffers in the end, It’s still about the people and the country. Although I have the heart to be close to the people and understand the real implementation of laws and regulations, I can’t get away from being in the court. Mr. Sima is a person with a heart, and I hope I can speak out.”

What he said made everyone move.Sima Mengqiu got up and bowed, and said solemnly: "Master Shi is so knowledgeable, it is really a blessing for the people of the court. Such a student boldly speaks out, if there is something wrong, please forgive me." Shi Yue stretched out his hand and said, "But it's okay to say." Sima Mengqiu said eloquently: "Since the second year of Xining, His Majesty summoned Wang Xianggong to the court and presided over the reform. It has been nearly four years. The so-called reforms include the six-way uniform transportation method, the farmland water conservancy method, the green crop method, and the exemption from military service. Law, Baojia Law, Baoma Law, Market Change Law, Exemption Law, and Arrangement Law, etc. There are countless other detailed laws. Among them, the Green Crop Law was extremely controversial. After Mr. Shi improved it, there were three more. Laws: Green Crop Law, Bank Law, and Cooperative Law. In less than four years, so many decrees have been promulgated one after another. One law is still in dispute, and another law is issued again. It was originally too harsh. However, the implementation of local officials has changed a lot. It is more likely to attract opposition. But in all fairness, there are merits in the new law. For example, the exemption law was opposed by the government and the opposition, but the students have traveled between the north and the south in the past few years and finally discovered the mystery. It turned out that the northerners opposed the exemption method, while the southerners Not much against it.”

When Shi Yue and Pan Zhaolin heard this, they couldn't help being stunned. In the past three years, no one had ever told Shi Yue about such a thing. He thought about it for a while, but he didn't understand why the southerners were not very opposed, but the northerners were very opposed. .Immediately asked: "Why is this?" Sima Mengqiu sighed: "Because the situation in the south is different from that in the north. Most of the people in the south are richer than the people in the north, and the corvee of the people in the south is also heavier than that in the north. With the implementation of the exemption method, the ordinary people in the south can bear it more. Therefore, the exemption from corvee, as long as the court is not mediocre and mediocre, the common people find it convenient. But the north is different. Fourth and fifth-class households, single households, and female households have to pay half of the service allowance and two-tenths of the exempt money, making the poor even poorer and making the situation worse, and the treasury is actually rich because of this. Therefore, the poorest people in the north , was greatly affected by the Exemption Act. In particular, two-tenths of the surplus money for exemption from service was said to be prepared for disasters in famine years, but in fact it was collected every year and almost became a regular tax, and in some places it was even increased to ten 4, 5 out of 10, deeply harming the people. The south is fine, but the people in the north are really suffering unbearably, but there are especially many government households, customers, and fourth- and fifth-class households in the north, so the world is boiling. Since the implementation of the new law, the northern Some people are not even willing to grow mulberry and raise cattle, because if they have mulberry trees and cattle at home, they are regarded as wealthy households, and they will pay more for exemption from military service. The annual income is not as much as tax money. But in the north, it is better than poverty. Households objected more strongly to first-class households and official households. Many official households were originally exempted from military service, but now they also have to pay exemption money, so naturally they are unwilling; while first-class households are because they pay the most. There are so many people and their interests are entangled, so it is naturally confusing. If we really want to say that we are appealing to the poor people, there are not many. Otherwise, there is no need to attack the exemption law in an all-round way, and only need to improve the labor assistance law. In all fairness, for southerners In other words, at least the exemption law is not a bad law. For the north, if it can cancel or reduce the service allowance and exemption money for fourth- and fifth-class households and customers, then it can be accepted even if it has disadvantages.”

When Shi Yue heard this, he couldn't help but feel ashamed when he thought that he had always thought that the exemption law was disturbing the people, and even thought of uniting with the old party to suppress this law.He sighed and said: "I am not a pure father, others can't say this for me." Xuan remembered that Su Shi originally opposed the exemption from military service, but after arriving in Hangzhou, he gradually did not hear his opposition. The hatred of the law is deep in his bones, and he finally fully understands the reason for it. When Pan Zhaolin heard this, seeing Sima Mengqiu being so fluent in the ups and downs, he also felt a little bit inferior to himself.

Sima Mengqiu continued: "Another example is the two laws of Baojia and Baoma. They are implemented in the north of the Yellow River. The two laws in the south of the Yellow River are unheard of, and they are harmless at all. Where the Qingmiao Law is implemented properly, the people will benefit from it." benefit. What the people in the south are suffering from is the farmland water conservancy law.” When these words came out, everyone was shocked. "How is this possible?" Chen Liang asked everyone's aspirations. "How is it impossible? In order to claim credit, the local officials dug ditches indiscriminately, recklessly built ditches, and falsely reported figures. They forced the people to borrow money from the imperial court. Only by planning in a unified way can we see its benefits. What's the use of all counties cultivating indiscriminately?"

This question made Chen Liang speechless.Shi Yue nodded, and said: "The imperial court has already known about this matter, and will send commissioners to the two Zhejiang and Huaihe Rivers to oversee water conservancy repairs." Sima Mengqiu continued: "Master Shi improved the green crop method. Although it is a good method and the disadvantages are reduced a lot, it is not without disadvantages. For example, if it is not a big county, there is only one bank in a county, and the bank lends out in spring. If it is recovered in autumn, if it is not for the wealthy households, there will be no such a large amount of principal. And the wealthy households also have unscrupulous people, who would rather fail to open the bank, and secretly lend usury by themselves. To curb this situation, one must rely on the ability of local officials On the one hand, we are cracking down on usury, and on the other hand, we have wealthy households in the county jointly fund and set up banks; on the other hand, we invite big merchants and peddlers from other places to set up banks, so that local wealthy households have no profit. This kind of thing may be implemented well in wealthy places. In poor places, it all depends on the ability of local officials. How can the meager profit of young crop money to impress wealthy businessmen? The poorer the place, the higher the risk of borrowing money. The second is those who are extremely poor The farmers are not willing to borrow money from the bank, and the government cannot force them. The promotion of cooperatives is not ideal. As a result, the poorest people still have to borrow usury. Therefore, if there is a good place to improve the green crop law If the magistrate is mediocre, then everything is fine, but if the magistrate is mediocre, then it can only be said that it is better than nothing."

Shi Yue remained silent for a long time before he said: "This is already the case in the south, but it's more complicated in the north." Unexpectedly, Sima Mengqiu smiled and said, "That's not necessarily true." "Why? The North is poorer than the South." "Although the north is poor, there are also advantages in the north. First, the people in the north are simple and honest, and there are fewer things that are owed and not repaid, and the risk is naturally much lower; Even customers are willing to borrow. There are more borrowers than those in the south, and the profits are higher than in the south. Partnering to open money houses. In order to collect more interest from the money houses as their own political achievements, local officials will allow these money houses to lend money to businessmen for profit, extract taxes from them, and pay them as young crop tax money. So the north is actually no better than the south. Difficult. Since the establishment of the bank, it has lent money to businessmen and then made profits. This kind of thing has happened everywhere, regardless of the north and the south. According to the students, there are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the profit of the bank will increase. Businessmen are willing to open it, which is conducive to the promotion of the Green Crop Law; the disadvantage is that students worry that these banks have limited capital, and in the end they will have no money to lend to make young crop money. , turn a blind eye to this, and the money bank only needs to be profitable, so the green crop method exists in name only, and the farmers who need funds for production still have to borrow usury. This is it. However, as far as the students can see, such things are only a phenomenon in a few places."

"Then, what good strategy can Pure Father have?" Although Shi Yue felt that capital's pursuit of maximum profit is a normal phenomenon, it may not be a good thing if the positive side of the young crop method is ruined.Let too many farmers go bankrupt, and the industrialization level of the society cannot accommodate so many labors. The final result can only be social turmoil. In this sense, Shi Yue hopes that the Young Crops Law can effectively solve some problems of farmers.But it is not so easy to solve the problem of allowing private capital to flow into agricultural production effectively.

Sima Mengqiu smiled wryly and said: "What good strategy can I have? Originally, the poorer the county, the more money it needs for young crops, but in some places, the result is that the poorer the county, the less willing the banks are to lend money for young crops. On the contrary, Fu County does not have such a problem. If it really wants to be solved, it must rely on the conscience and ability of local officials. Or add a clause in the bank law, farmers who meet the loan conditions but the bank does not lend money, can appeal to the government for help. However, according to the students Looking at it, these are details, but in fact, Wang Xianggong’s reform path was completely wrong. This is a deadly chain. If Wang Xianggong’s reform can really succeed and the financial revenue can really increase, it will not be enough to solve the problems of the Song Dynasty. " What he said was truly shocking.Even Shi Yue never completely denied Wang Anshi's reform.However, Shi Yue didn't dare to draw conclusions about Sima Mengqiu's suggestion.Shi Yue is not an expert in financial affairs. It is difficult to evaluate the consequences of adding such a rule. "Then pure father's opinion is..." Shi Yue and Pan Zhaolin glanced at each other, not expressing their opinions in a hurry. Sima Mengqiu said with emotion: "The disadvantage of the Great Song Dynasty lies in redundant officials and soldiers. To solve the two problems, we must first clarify the administration of officials; if we do not clarify the administration of officials and eliminate redundant officials, it will not be enough to support the people; if we cannot support the people, we will If you can't cultivate the foundation of the country; if you can't cultivate the foundation of the country, it will not be enough to show off your martial arts. Wang Xianggong reformed the law and ran in the opposite direction, how can he achieve his way?" Shi Yue, Pan Zhaolin, and even Su Shi and Fan Chunren have seen this principle, and it is not unusual.At that moment, Shi Yue asked: "I think Wang Xianggong's reform, although it is unsatisfactory to focus on increasing income and not on throttling, and to emphasize laws and not personnel affairs, it seems to be not enough to run counter to it. What's more, since Wang Xianggong came to power, he has also tried to eliminate Redundant soldiers, it cannot be said that they are not as good as this." Sima Mengqiu smiled lightly, and said, "I will speak for Lord Shi one by one." "Wang Xianggong's reduction of the forbidden army is a fact. However, the military expenditure in the Northwest requires hundreds of millions. What's the point of reducing the income here and spending ten times there? And the trend of redundant officials has intensified in the past four years. For example, during the Jiayou period, there were dozens of benefactors, and three hundred people in Zhiping, but now there are four or five hundred people. Officials ask for land and homes one by one, for their children and grandchildren, who will plan for the country? Wang Xianggong established the law Each general has ten or twenty army generals and training officers, and each state has its own general manager, seal jurisdiction, capital prison, and prison prison. There are repeated officials, and hundreds of redundant officials are added. In order to implement the new law, All roads added more than 40 people to raise officials, each opened a mansion and office, and the cost increased. At the beginning of the country, there were no more than 300 people in the third class. During the Tianxi period, it increased to more than 4,200, and now it reaches 10,000. More than 1,000. In the Jingde period, there were only 39 officials, but now it is 230, an increase of seven times. In the Jingde period, there were only 165 people, and now it is 695. Five Twice that of that time. The number of Chengyi Lang increased from 127 to 369, and that of Feng Yilang increased from 148 to 431. The trend of redundant officials continued unabated. .And the imperial court treats scholar-bureaucrats generously, and the rewards are endless. Even if Wang Xianggong can manage money, the income will not be enough to pay for what he spends..." Sima Mengqiu described these figures one by one, like a treasure, obviously he was very careful in normal times.Wu Conglong and the others didn't know how to look carefully, but Shi Yue and Pan Zhaolin were startled.Shi Yue had a personal experience of what kind of treatment an official in the Song Dynasty could enjoy.In addition to the salary, there are spring clothes, silk, cotton, winter silk, and millet, as well as the food and clothing of the servants, as well as salary, song, charcoal, salt, and the so-called "increased supply" and "support". House money", "horse money", "tea, wine and kitchen ingredients"...there are so many names that even Shi Yue himself can't remember.Every year, there are special gifts for Jiaotian, the emperor's birthday, the empress dowager's birthday, the empress dowager's birthday, and the queen's birthday.The so-called "Hundred Officials" absorbed a large part of the money the country collected from the people.Of course, it cannot be said that these redundant officials are Wang Anshi's fault, but it is also true that Wang Anshi's reform did not curb the growth of redundant officials at all. Sima Mengqiu paused, and then said: "The taxation of this dynasty is seven times that of the Tang Dynasty. Who knows the suffering of the people? The wealth of the world is lost to the capital, and the local government cannot keep its own money for construction. The imperial court raises soldiers and officials. Expenses account for nine-tenths of the annual income. If we don’t get rid of redundant officials and soldiers, what about nurturing the strength of the people and cultivating the foundation of the country? Nowadays, the affairs of the country are chaotic and have no clue. Immediately and hastily deploying troops is even more eager for quick success and instant benefits. " Speaking of this, Shi Yue understood the general idea of ​​Sima Mengqiu. Although this man was outstandingly talented and had profound insights into state affairs, he was also a figure of that era. His insights were only based on Fan Zhongyan's insights.He and Pan Zhaolin looked at each other and knew that the other party thought the same as him, so he couldn't help but smile.Eliminate redundant officials, is it so easy to remove redundant officials?Wang Anshi may not have been unable to see this, it may be that Fan Zhongyan's failure taught him a profound lesson, and he was unwilling to challenge the entire bureaucracy alone.But then again, I really want to solve the problem of Song Dynasty. Shi Yue has to face this stubborn disease! "One day, I will face this problem." However, history has not given Shi Yue much experience on this issue, because when Shi Yue was born, the problem of redundant officials was a thousand times more serious than in Song Dynasty. But in any case, this matter is not what he has to face now.He smiled and stopped Sima Mengqiu's topic: "Things can be light, heavy, slow, or urgent. Many things, although they should be done in principle, but in practice, they need to take a little more detours to achieve the final goal." Sima Mengqiu was about to continue talking about his views on redundant officials, and put forward a package of tough measures to eliminate redundant officials. Hearing what Shi Yue said so lightly, he couldn't help being dumbfounded.He chewed this sentence carefully, trying to understand Shi Yue's meaning.Fan Xiang, who had been listening to Sima Mengqiu, smiled slightly and said, "Master Shi, I probably understand what you mean." Shi Yue glanced at the young man with a smile, "Oh?" "We are going to a place. There is a huge boulder blocking the way in front of us. We can't kick it away in a hurry. At this time, it is more useful to spend some time to prepare tools and gather people to move the boulder together than to use the bravery of a reckless man. Many." Fan Xiang made another metaphor. "Haha... Zhong Lin is really a smart person." Shi Yue laughed. Sima Mengqiu suddenly understood, clasped his fists and said, "The students have been taught." Chen Liang added next to him: "If you have spare time while preparing tools, you can also build a carriage, so that after moving the boulder, you can speed up the road and make up for the time." Shi Yue nodded slightly: "That's right." Then he said to Sima Mengqiu: "There are too many officials and soldiers, and it is difficult to solve it in a hurry. Do more things that are beneficial to the country before, and it is not too late to move them when the time is right. The pure father has many talents, so he must be patient and wait for the opportunity. Today's son is a sage, a hero, and it is time for him to do a lot." Sima Mengqiu nodded in agreement.