Even though Li Qi made lavish remarks about business, he had to admit that food was always the foundation of ancient dynasties. No dynasty dared to despise this. This shows the importance of food, and the price of food also directly affects commodity prices, and even the entire economy.
system.
The Commerce Bureau has won the power to regulate currency, but if the Commerce Bureau cannot control food prices, it will not be able to carry out macro-control of the national economy.
However, because the Song Dynasty did not suppress land annexation, landlords owned more and more land. In other words, they could raise food prices at will. Coupled with the failure of Wang Anshi's previous reform, this phenomenon was intensified.
, especially the Young Crops Law, which was originally a focus of reform and was extremely beneficial to the country and the people. However, due to improper law enforcement and excessive interest rates, local governments forced people to borrow money from the court in the form of usurious loans. As a result, the people could not afford to repay the loans.
Interest can only repay the land to the landlord, so that the land in the hands of the landlord has increased sharply. This is really a good intention but a bad thing.
Even for the imperial court, it was extremely unfavorable. There was a lot of bureaucracy and officials protecting each other. When the imperial court was in urgent need of food, they would sell substandard food and extort high prices from the imperial court, resulting in an empty treasury.
In fact, not only Li Qi, but also all those who carry out the reform will take action on food. This is unavoidable. This is also the key to the success of the reform. As long as food is involved, it is a must-win for the ministers of the DPRK. However, regardless of
No matter what, Li Qi must do this.
Therefore, he set this as a necessary condition for his re-election. He used this as an excuse to force conservatives like Song Moquan to take the lead in raising the issue of food prices. In this way, a large part of the resistance was reduced, and then he could do
To be able to do it with ease.
Song Moquan was the first to stand up and said: "To report to the emperor, I believe that the imperial court should issue an order to strictly control food prices and this trend must be stopped."
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible."
Huang Xinren hurriedly stood up and said: "Now is the period of agricultural recovery in our country. If we forcibly limit food prices, it will undoubtedly damage the interests of farmers and reduce farmers' enthusiasm for farming. In addition, the economic construction of the economic sector will be micro-economical."
I may intensify the transfer of farmers to businessmen."
Li Qi secretly laughed when he heard this, "Song Moquan, you actually played the double act for me, let's see who can outplay whom."
Obviously, Song Moquan did this intentionally. In fact, Li Qi did not ask him to say this. The reason why he said this was just to give other conservatives an excuse to object, to silence Li Qi's words first, and to block Li Qi's progress.
Grain reaches out.
Song Huizong frowned and said: "What Huang Aiqing said makes sense. If the imperial court forcibly reduces the grain supply, I am afraid it will cause dissatisfaction among the farmers." He glanced at Li Qi as he spoke, and said: "Li Qi, as an economist, you
So... this matter has something to do with you, what do you think?"
Li Qi smiled and said: "Weichen thinks that what Song Xueshi and Yantieshi said are very reasonable. However, Weichen thinks that the most important thing today is not the price of food, but the improvement of the country's food reserves. In the past few years, the army has grown year by year.
During the expedition, the granary was empty. It was time to replenish the granary. If the imperial court had sufficient granaries this year, then Fengxiang would not be in the same situation as before. Moreover, as long as the country reserves enough grain, then the problem of grain prices will be solved.
It’s solved easily.”
Song Moquan's eyes widened when he heard this, and he thought to himself, "Oh no, I've been fooled by this guy again. It turns out that the price of food is just a lure, it's really hard to guard against."
Song Huizong nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. Food storage is the top priority of the country. So what are your plans?"
Li Qidao: "Now the Green Crops Law has just been abolished, and the imperial court has not come up with a complete set of agricultural laws. As a result, all kinds of inexplicable exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes have appeared in agriculture. The ministers are very worried, so they have been thinking hard at home recently and finally came up with it.
We have developed a new system of constant level positions.”
This Changpingcang was a granary set up by the ancient Chinese government to regulate grain prices and store grain to prepare for shortages to supply official needs and people. It mainly used the law of value to adjust grain supply and give full play to the role of stabilizing the market value of grain. In the market grain
When the price of grain is low, increase the price of grain appropriately and purchase large quantities. Not only will Taicang and Ganquancang, the large grain storage warehouses of the imperial court, be full of grain, but also the warehouses in border counties will be full. When the market price of grain is high, lower the price of grain appropriately.
Selling at a reasonable price. This measure not only avoids "low price of grain hurting farmers", but also prevents "high price of grain hurting the people". It plays a positive role in stabilizing the grain market and consolidating the feudal regime, and to a certain extent reflects the aspirations of the people.
interests and desires.
Song Huizong snorted and said, "Please tell me more specifically."
"Yes!" Li Qidao: "About Changpingcang, I believe you all know better than me, so I won't say more. This is a new type of Changpingcang, which is controlled by the imperial court according to certain supply conditions and price conditions.
, issuing loans with grain as collateral to the majority of landowners, but this kind of loan is an incentive loan and cannot add compensation to the lender. In other words, when the grain harvest is good and the market price of grain falls, the farmland
The owner can choose to return the grain to the court, and the court cannot seek to make up for the difference. In this way, farmers will not lose money, the grain will not be bought at a low price, and the price of grain will naturally not fall, and the court can use this to reserve grain; when the grain harvest fails,
If the market price of grain is higher than the price at the time of the loan, the farmers can sell the grain on the market, make a certain profit, and then repay the loan and interest to the court. This will not harm the interests of the farmers, and the court can gain profits and use it during the harvest season.
The obtained grains are subject to macro-control to prevent people from hoarding grains for valuation, killing three birds with one stone. More importantly, this method can encourage farmers to farm, and can also protect their cultivated land from being annexed by others."
Cai Jing's eyes lit up when he heard this, but he was also surprised and said: "This---this is what you came up with?"
Of course I don't have this ability, I just learned it from books, but at this time I can only think of it. Li Qi smiled and nodded and said, "No, I just figured it out."
Jiang Daoyan said: "But if the people are unable to return it, what should be done?"
Li Qi smiled and said: "Chiang Yushi, there are always losses and gains in doing business. Who stipulates that the court must make money when doing business, so this is too unfair to the people. If the court does not want to lose money, naturally
We have to help farmers improve their environment and conditions. As long as the farmers make money, the court will also make money. You can't say that the court can't lose money and the people can't pay back the money. You have to seize people's houses and rob their wives. This is definitely not a business.
The truth is, if there is a natural disaster, the imperial court will provide free disaster relief."
Jiang Daoyan was robbed of his white spot by Li Qi, so he had nothing to say.
Huang Xinren smiled and said: "Although this method is often used to close positions, it is similar to Wang Anshi's Green Seeding Method. However, the original Green Seeding Method has become a tool for many people to make money. The key lies in this loan. Many people
Local officials forced people to borrow money from the government and raised interest rates at will. In addition, many officials used blackmail in various ways to claim credit. The people were miserable. It was undoubtedly empty talk and had little operability. This is what the Qingmiao Law stopped.
root cause."
Li Qi exclaimed: "Master Huang is really good at every word. However, we can only blame Wang Anshi Xianxiang for his improper execution at the beginning. He thought too simplistically, which led to that situation. This is his own fault."
Cai You said calmly: "So, the economic envoy seems to have a way to prevent this situation from happening?"
Li Qi smiled and said: "All man-made situations can be prevented. Isn't this the case everywhere now? I don't think so. This is about the improvement of the system and not the method of closing positions.
Therefore, perfecting the system is the guarantee for the feasibility of reform. The imperial court can hand over this job to four departments to check and balance each other. First, the central government agencies such as the Third Bureau, the Bureau of Commerce, the Ministry of Menxia and other departments will set the settings for each region according to the conditions of each region.
Interest. This interest setting was also one of the reasons why Wang An Shixian's phase transformation method failed. Since the situation in each place is different, the interest rate naturally cannot be the same. You cannot set the interest rate in Shaanxi based on the benefits of the areas around the Yangtze River.
That is obviously a way to deceive the people, and farmers can also pay for it with grain without having to compensate for the price difference. This can also effectively prevent this phenomenon. Once the interest rate is set, the emperor will authorize it and distribute it to various places.
Local governments will do the publicity on their behalf, but our Bureau of Commerce will review, lend, and set farming plans. The money and food are not in the hands of the government, and then the three departments will make the final revenue and expenditure and statistics. The Ministry of Punishment can specifically legislate on this and inform the people, so as to
Play a supervisory role.
As a result, local governments have no money to pass on. When they promote, they will never be stupid enough to falsely declare interest. Our Commerce Bureau can also supervise whether people are forced to come when they come for loans. However, the government will
After the interest is notified to the people, this also restricts the Commerce Bureau from falsely reporting interest. When the Commerce Bureau reports the people's loans to the Third Division, the Third Division approves the payment and can preliminarily calculate how much can be recovered next year, thereby limiting
The Bureau of Commerce exploits the public for personal gain. On the contrary, the records of the Bureau of Commerce can also supervise the three divisions. In addition, after the Ministry of Criminal Justice enacts legislation, a supervisory department can be established to specifically review agriculture. Of course, this is only a preliminary structure.
The specific plan needs to be discussed in depth, and must be refined into many departments in order to achieve all-round checks and balances. No one department will be allowed to monopolize grain rights, in order to build a huge agricultural management organization and promote the development of agriculture in the Song Dynasty.
"
Cai Jingdao: "Your Majesty, I very much agree with the economic policy. This method will undoubtedly improve the previous Qingmiao method and Changpingcang, and it is very feasible. Now the imperial court is determined to revive Jiangnan, but there are Fang La thieves who are causing trouble, and the people there are
We are suffering from it and the farmland is abandoned. If this method is adopted, it will undoubtedly help the people there and revive Jiangnan agriculture faster."
Zhao Huan also stood up and said: "My son, I second the proposal."
Li Bangyan and others also stood up.
Seeing that most people were unmoved, Li Qi said with a smile: "Your Majesty, this law benefits the country and the people, but only hurts the wealthy people who make loan sharks. I believe that only they will disapprove of this law, because this law
It can very well prevent them from harming the people."
When Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty heard this, he almost laughed, nodded and said, "What you said makes sense."
"Wei Chen also agrees."
"I second the proposal."
...
The other ministers heard that it was okay. If they didn't stand up at this time, it would be a loan shark, so they quickly stood up and expressed their approval. Because Li Qi did not let the Commerce Bureau monopolize power, it was not unacceptable to them.
Li Qi struck while the iron was hot: "Your Majesty, the country's grain reserves are related to the country's major plans. There is no need to delay. A decree should be issued as soon as possible to encourage agricultural production. Not only that, the court must also encourage grain imports, exempt grain import taxes, and provide benefits to those who transport grain to our country.
Foreign merchants are given preferential treatment, and we, the Song Dynasty merchants, must be encouraged to plunder neighboring countries, oh no, import grain from their countries, even through smuggling, to fill our country's reserves. In addition, private merchants must be strictly prohibited from exporting to foreign countries.
Exporting grain must be severely punished as a warning. Merchants and farmers should work together to revitalize the agriculture of the Song Dynasty in the shortest possible time."
Song Huizong nodded frequently when he heard this, and said: "Yes, yes, it should be so. Ahem. Since all your beloved ministers agree with Li Qi's method of always closing warehouses, well, Li Qi, you should hurry up and draft a charter.
Present it."
"I obey my orders."
Li Qi felt relieved.
(The coming is fierce, foodies, try your best, see if you still have monthly votes, vote for the little chef.) (To be continued...)