Chapter 52: Yun Zheng passes by and no grass grows
Yun Zheng made up his mind to stick to it. As long as he didn't let Xiao Dahu escape, he would have won the greatest victory.
Xiao Dahu did not lead his army to break out immediately, which made Yun Zheng underestimate him. Lack of food was his biggest weakness, and continuing to shrink in Xijing City would only make his strength weaker.
In contrast, Yunzheng is not so anxious. The supplies that have been prepared for five years are being transported here continuously from Yanmen Pass. As part of the relay race, Yunzheng will have a fully staffed team again after the spring.
army.
The results of the Song Dynasty's efforts in recent years have quietly been revealed. There were continuous wars in the north, but there was no increase in domestic taxes. With a large amount of food support from Lingnan, the emperor even ordered to reduce or exempt Shaanxi's money and grain.
This was such an amazing achievement that Sima Guang even wrote a Wanmin Zhezi to pray for the emperor's merits and blessings. Yun Zheng also signed his name on the Zhezi.
However, even under the brightest sunshine, there are places where the light does not shine.
The refugees finally arrived in Xijing on a sunny afternoon. The appearance was so miserable that it was unbearable to see. Thirty thousand people crawled on ice and slept in the snow in extremely cold weather to reach the war-torn Xijing. After the final headcount, only a few people were left.
To 25,000 people, that is to say, a full 5,000 people have died on the less than a thousand miles journey from Yanmen Pass to Xijing.
Wang Anshi himself was also ill, and his fever persisted. Since the heavy snowstorm began, he had been moving forward nonstop. He knew that once this army of refugees stopped at a certain place, they would never be able to reach Xijing again.
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There may be a way to survive by moving forward, but there is no other way except death if you stay where you are.
When Wang Anshi, with parched lips, saw Yun Zheng, his deeply sunken eyes seemed to be filled with will-o'-the-wisps. He pointed at the refugees and shouted at Yun Zheng: "Don't let them die again!"
Yun Zheng could not give this guarantee to Wang Anshi. In fact, Wang Anshi himself knew that Yun Zheng could not do this at all. The reason why he shouted out was that he had seen too many deaths these days, which almost made his spirit collapse.
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When the soldiers saw the refugees, they couldn't help but whisper and point. They were extremely impressed by the men who could walk here from thousands of miles away with bare feet.
Only Chen Lin's expression remained very calm.
These people have different reactions when they see the refugees than ordinary people do when they see the refugees. The common people only feel sympathy when they see the refugees, but when officials and emperors see the refugees, they seem to see turmoil and unrest.
In Chinese history, there are only two types of people who have ambitions to compete for the throne. One is the wealthy family, such as Yang Jian, Li Shimin, etc.
The second is rogues, such as Liu Bang, Zhu Yuanzhang, etc. These are the wealthy families who have something to rely on to gain power, while rogues have no scruples and are brave enough to take risks.
What do powerful families rely on? Our country has been founded on agriculture since ancient times. Land is the only tool of production and the only basis of power. However, among the four people, farmers suffer the most. Our country’s inheritance system is based on the principle of equal shares among all sons.
Even if the master is a big farmer, after passing the law again and again, the land will be subdivided, and the land will be subdivided from big farmers to small farmers. The production of the land can no longer sustain the life of the family, and the taxation is mainly based on land tax, and the farmers have been severely taxed.
The result of oppression is as Chao Cuo said:
'You can't take shelter from the wind and dust in the spring, the heat in the summer, the rain in the autumn, the cold and the cold in the winter, and rest every day... If you work hard like this, you will still be affected by floods and droughts... Endowments will be collected from time to time... When the owner sells it at half price,
The deceased received double the interest, so some people sold their land and houses to pay off their debts to their descendants.'
Without their land and without any means of production, these people have no other option but to become refugees.
China has been an agricultural country since ancient times, and China's agriculture is very immature.
The immaturity of technology can hinder the development of productivity, and the cultivation of too small land makes it difficult to improve technology.
As a result, farmers of course have no savings, and reproduction can only be repeated on the same scale. However, the soil fertility is limited, and the harvest is diminishing. If the same land is cultivated every year, the harvest will not be the same.
It does not decrease every year.
In the Western Han Dynasty, during the era of Emperor Wen, "the harvest from one hundred acres was no more than a hundred stones." In the Eastern Han Dynasty, productivity seemed to have improved, and "three dendrobiums per mu could be harvested." From the Three Kingdoms to the Jin Dynasty, the harvest from one mu "may not be enough to cover the planting." This dropped to
In the Tang Dynasty, "one hectare produced more than fifty dendrobiums of rice". In the Song Dynasty, under Taizong, "about three dendrobiums per mu" were harvested, and during Shenzong's reign, "about one stone per mu was harvested". However, according to Lu Huiqing, "the harvest was about one stone per mu".
Come four, five or six fights." Productivity was so low, coupled with floods and droughts, and heavy taxes, that the people "abandoned their fields and migrated to become idlers."
The number of idlers has increased, and poverty has become a common phenomenon.
The reason why Wang Anshi fell ill was purely because he had close contact with the lowest level of refugees. It was also through this long journey that he gained a very pertinent understanding of the composition and causes of refugees.
Looking at these refugees crying for survival in the cold wind, and then thinking about my own reform creed that was full of loopholes, I felt ashamed and angry, and finally fell ill.
However, what worries him most is that once the refugee crisis occurs, the generalization of poverty will imply that great chaos will soon occur in Song Dynasty society.
During Wang Mang's time, "people in all directions were hungry, cold, and poor, so they became bandits and gathered in small groups. They often thought about the ripe old age and returned to their hometowns. Although the people were in the tens of thousands, they did not dare to occupy a small city, so they turned to plunder and seek food, and they just robbed themselves."
During the era of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty, "there was frequent famine, and the people moved to the valley."
"As for Yongjia, the mourning and chaos are very serious. To the east of Yongzhou, there are many people who are hungry and hungry. They even sell each other and move around, which is countless." This eventually caused the refugees to cause chaos.
In the era of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, "the people were poor, their financial resources were exhausted, they could not survive the cold and despair of living in peace, and their death was imminent, but they could still live longer by plagiarizing. So they began to gather together as a group of thieves."
During the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, "thieves and thieves all over the world came from hunger and cold." Taxes were heavy and labor was heavy, and many people abandoned their fields and did not cultivate it.
His followers started a rebellion, destroyed fifty-two counties in six prefectures, and killed two million civilians."
This kind of history can prove that most of the rebellions caused by poverty are started by gangsters. They have no "property and life", and their lives are unstable. They have never tasted the joy of life, and the pain of death is not terrible.
They are the most willing to take risks. From a narrow escape, they are suddenly above the sky. Although they have no power individually, they can roam the world in groups. Gentlemen are afraid of them causing trouble, and farmers are afraid of them. They are in Chinese society.
Above, it is the people who have transformed into foreigners, and they have become a hidden force.
Refugees have played an important role in Chinese history. They often turned into rogue bandits, plundering the least resistant farmers first, leaving the exhausted rural areas unable to even survive. After the destruction of the countryside, the government
Due to the reduction of land tax, the finances were also becoming increasingly poor, so exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes had to be imposed to rob the people. However, all the levies were ultimately passed on to the farmers.