When Yang Fan, Lin Yueru, and Xiao Niangpi discussed the natural and man-made disasters that caused the current situation, the boat finally entered the Ji Canal and reached the boundary of Zunhua.
Yang Fan was in the grassland during this period, and when he left, there was no autumn harvest.
Now that the autumn harvest is over, farmers have started to flee after paying their taxes because they have nothing left.
Victims were everywhere, on both sides of Ji Canal, in ragged clothes. On both sides of the river were corpses of people who had died of starvation.
Every time a ship came by, these hungry victims stretched out their begging bowls and begged passing merchants for some food.
After all, most of the merchant ships that use Ji Canal are coming from Beitangkou. Official ships all use Dag Kou and follow the Haihe River to Tianjin and Bei Canal to Beijing.
These merchants might also give them some food. If they went to the North Canal to ask for food from the official ships, they would be in danger of being beaten to death with sticks on the spot.
Yang Fan stood up and looked at the abandoned land on both sides of the Taiwan Strait with a heavy expression.
A whip law put all taxes on the land, further increasing the burden on farmers. Farmers abandoned their land and fled.
There are abandoned fields along the way. It's time to plant winter wheat, but the land is all abandoned and there is no end in sight.
Everyone has run away and there is no one left to farm.
A large amount of land was abandoned, exacerbating the disaster and leading to greater food shortages.
"Master, we still have a lot of rations on the ship. The war is over anyway. Can you take some out to help these victims?" Xiao Niangpi said in a low voice.
She knew that the military was Yang Fan's foundation, and she must ensure that soldiers and their families had enough to eat.
Yang Fan estimated that after passing Zunhua and entering his territory, there would be fewer refugees. After all, his territory had a bumper harvest this year, and every family would not be short of food.
"Stop the ship, let the soldiers go down to maintain order, set up a few large pots, and cook some gruel for them to drink. It shouldn't be too thick. People who have been hungry for a long time have poor digestion and are prone to problems." Yang Fan sighed and said.
The world of Ming Dynasty is like this, and I can only change some of the people who depend on me.
How can we manage so many people in the world?
Seeing Yang Fan's face, Lin Yueru said: "Sir, you have allowed millions of people to live a well-off life in the past two years, which is already amazing. Don't worry about the others. They are His Majesty's subjects, and
It's not yours. You don't have to worry."
"I'm just sad. Zhang Juzheng had good intentions and wanted to reduce the burden on farmers. He spread the poll tax into the fields in order to make the tax fairer. Unexpectedly, without good people to implement it, it turned into a bad policy that harmed the people." Yang Fan
He said sadly.
Xiao Niangpi said with emotion: "Since ancient times, reforms to strengthen the country have almost always failed because of the people who implemented it. Without good people to implement it, no matter how good the policy is, it will turn into a bad government that harms the people."
Lin Yueru also said: "Yes, Wang Anshi's reform, in order to combat usury, introduced the Youth Law. Low-interest loans, with an annual interest rate of 20%. The original intention was to reduce the burden on the people. But for the sake of political achievements, local officials forced a showdown regardless of whether the people needed it or not.
When the loan was due and the people could not repay the principal and interest, the interest was compounded, and the people's properties and land were confiscated, causing the people to cry loudly."
Xiao Niangpi said: "At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to resist the Mongols' southward march, financial and military expenditures were very tight. Prime Minister Jia Sidao planned to nationalize the land and then collect taxes based on acres. This would not only increase fiscal revenue, but also reduce the burden on the people. Originally, it was
It's a good thing. But the people below wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to annex the land. They forcibly purchased paddy fields worth a thousand guan at the price of 25 guan per acre. The farmers went bankrupt one after another, and in the end it was the small farmers who were unlucky."
Yang Fan sighed in his heart that the Ming Dynasty was wiped out with just one whip.
The Manchus were also afraid and picked up the poll tax again.
Due to the heavy poll tax, by the end of Kangxi's reign, the people were once again forced into the same situation as in the late Ming Dynasty.
Yongzheng saw that this was not going to work, so he turned back and imitated Zhang Juzheng, and started a small business to work as an owner.
The result was the same as Zhang Juzheng, the effect was good when he was in power. As soon as he died, Qianlong abolished all his policies and returned to the old routine.
In order to create his image as a benevolent king, Kangxi imitated Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty and did not add land tax.
On the surface, it reduced the burden on the people, but he did not touch the head tax. In order to increase the income of the finance minister, he did not increase the land tax and began to sell officials and titles.
By the late Qianlong period, income from selling official positions accounted for 40% of the court's income.
Later, during the Tongguang period, the Taiping Army, Nian Army, and Shaanxi-Gansu rebelled. The Qing Dynasty's finances also went bankrupt. It was the same as the Ming Dynasty now.
But at that time, foreigners came in. They could borrow debt from foreigners for financing. The Qing Dynasty's regular borrowings were several times the fiscal revenue of the year.
Instead, it survived for more than sixty years.
It's a pity that in Chongzhen's era, there was no way to ask for help. There was no place to issue national bonds and no place to borrow money. All we could do was stare blankly.
After the fleet docked, the victims suddenly surged forward. They all stretched out their hands, holding broken bowls, and pushed forward as hard as they could. Yang Fan was unable to get off the boat.
The guardsmen, wearing armor and holding riding whips, shouted loudly and frightened the victims away.
The cavalrymen from the personal barracks on the shore went ashore to maintain order. They set up a few marching pots, fetched water from the river, and cooked gruel.
During this expedition, Yang Fan did not bring whole grains with him in order to keep the officers and soldiers well-fed. All he brought with him was white rice.
The victims did not expect that when a noble person gave out porridge, it was all white rice porridge.
For a moment, I was so excited that I almost started to commotion again.
The soldiers fired several shots into the air with firecrackers before they were restrained again.
These people have probably never eaten white rice more than once in their lives.
"Han Qi, go to the boat and bring over a few jars of pickles. People can't live without salt for a long time. Chop them up and put them into the rice porridge." Yang Fan turned around and said.
The victims were trembling one by one as they looked at these murderous officers and soldiers wearing armor.
These people had just come off the battlefield and were carrying evil spirits.
Under the organization of the army, people queued up to receive porridge.
Every family helped the old and young to come up and use broken bowls and basins to make porridge. The fire-headed soldiers divided the porridge according to the head, and each person received a large spoonful of porridge.
Those who receive the porridge should go to the designated area to drink the porridge and are not allowed to return to receive it again.
Yang Fan's people pay attention to detail and organization and implementation.
Under this management, the porridge was quickly and fairly distributed to the victims.
Some don't even have bowls, because many families only have a few bowls.
Yang Fan gave them the military supplies and stainless steel basins on the ship.
From noon to dusk, the number of people coming to receive porridge has not decreased, but has actually increased.
Yang Fan looked around and saw a sea of people all around, all victims of the disaster who came after hearing the news.
"Let's get on the ship and leave a squadron and a ship of food until they are all gone. Let's save as many as we can. Your Majesty is waiting to be summoned, so there is no time to delay," Yang Fan said.
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