In April of the 31st year of Qin Shihuang, Zhang Cang, who was in Xianyang, ushered in two major events in his life!
One is that he is a master of the classics. It took him several years to compile the first half of "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic"!
The first half of the Nine Chapters on Arithmetic has a total of six volumes, which are all about the application of mathematical knowledge in practice. The "Fangtian" chapter involves the precise measurement of acres, the "Millet" chapter is about the proportional conversion of grains, and the "Fafen" chapter is related to the actual application of mathematical knowledge.
"Shao Guang" and "Shang Gong" are related to the calculation of civil engineering quantities, and "Jian Shu" involves the reasonable apportionment of taxes. Each volume not only contains formulas and algorithms, but also practical examples, with tens of thousands of words.
In addition, Zhang Cang also wrote a booklet called "Abacus" in his spare time, which specifically talks about the usage and technical formulas of abacus.
These two books were presented to the First Empress of Qin by the imperial censor. The emperor was full of praise for them and even allowed Zhang Cang to enter the palace. The eunuchs planned that Qin Shihuang would read a large number of memorials every day, and almost every one of them involved money and food.
He habitually asked his visitors to recalculate the amount, but the calculation was slow and the emperor was too impatient to wait. The abacus, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, is a powerful tool for quick calculation.
Because of this opportunity, Qin Shihuang got to know this big fat man named "Zhang Cang", and thought that he would be a scholar in charge of books and books. With a wave of his hand, he transferred Zhang Cang to the post of governor of Su Neishi.
Internal historian Lingcheng, rank six hundred stones...
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qin Dynasty was the national finance department of the Qin Dynasty. It was in charge of the country's land rent and the income and expenditure of various money and materials. It was also called the "Ji Xiang". Under it were Taicang, Jitian and other five ministers, including Zhang.
Cang Ze was in charge of Duzhi and was responsible for planning and "living within one's means" matters for counties and counties across the country, which was equivalent to the Development and Reform Commission in later generations.
After taking office in early April, Zhang Cang discovered that this was really a hard job, so why? Because like the situation Heifu faced in Jiaodong, the entire Qin Dynasty was also on the verge of financial crisis...
The emperor sent him to govern Su Neishi, hoping that Zhang Cang could use his expertise to solve the financial loopholes that had plagued the court for several years.
As soon as Zhang Cang checked the internal accounts, he suddenly felt a toothache. After feeling very anxious, he couldn't help complaining in a letter to his good friends Hei Fu and Zhang Han:
"Your Majesty destroyed the six kingdoms and collected a large amount of the six kings' treasures. It was a good time, but for more than five years, almost every year was occupied. Even the Jinshan and Zhuhai were squandered!"
He began to list the financial expenditures of the Qin Dynasty over the years to Zhang and Hei: "In the twenty-sixth year, twelve golden figures were cast, a large-scale construction project was built in Beiban, Xianyang, imitating the palaces of the Six Kingdoms, and the world's richest people were moved to 120,000 households in Guanzhong!"
Although these people also brought a lot of wealth with them, the relocation and food rations of hundreds of thousands of people put a heavy burden on the fiscal year, and ended up with a deficit.
In the twenty-seventh year, the emperor listened to the alchemist's advice and was determined to seek immortality. He built the "Ji Temple" and the front hall of Ganquan Palace in Weinan, and also built a corridor from Xianyang to Lishan Mountain, which was equivalent to the emperor's exclusive closed highway. With this,
At the same time, he also built Chidao across the country and inspected Longxi and the Northland in the spring. Fortunately, Heifu diverted the emperor's attention to finding the Queen Mother of the West and suspended the palace complex in Weinan, so that the financial deficit of the Shaofu was not so big.
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In the twenty-eighth year, the emperor was determined to open up the northwest, so he ordered Zhang Han to build a straight road, and also inspected Daibei and Shangjun. Although Heifu used troops to spend his time, it was only a small battle and did not consume much money and food. This year's revenue and expenditure were miraculous.
The ground is level.
It was different in the twenty-nine years. The emperor sent 300,000 people to conquer the Huns, and sent food from thousands of miles away. They paid for internal and external expenses, chariots and armor, and spent thousands of gold per day. The tens of thousands of cattle and sheep captured by the generals were simply not worth the huge army.
Expenses. In this year, Zhi Su Nei Shi tried his best to meet the supply of military rations. When it came to rewarding the soldiers, he could no longer come up with money, so the Shaofu had to pay for it.
Thirty years seemed like nothing happened, but new counties were established, garrison troops were stationed in the fields, the Great Wall was built in Shuofang, the emperor inspected Bashu, opened a five-foot road to the southwestern barbarians, and sent envoys and merchants to the western regions, all of which wasted a lot of money, and the fiscal deficit was
No improvement at all...
The border areas are troubled and the projects are frequent, which means that a large number of corvee garrison troops are needed, and young and middle-aged men frequently serve, which will inevitably affect the field operations. Although the Qin Dynasty collected land rent across the board, no matter how much you collected or how little you collected, it was only one stone and a half per mu!
However, all the food available to the people can only fill their stomachs, and their desire to buy will naturally be greatly reduced. The private market is in a slump, and accordingly, the city tax, which accounts for the majority of the Shaofu's income, has also begun to shrink, and the income of government-run workshops has also dropped sharply.
Not to mention, in order to solve the fiscal deficit, from the administration of internal history, the Shaofu to the local counties, there is only one method adopted: increasing the oral tax!
In the worst twenty-nine years, some places even imposed additional taxes three times, forcing poor people to strangle their newborn babies...
This is an endless cycle. As he seeks his own political power, Zhang Cang is horrified to see that the empire seems glorious and powerful, but within it, a huge crisis is already quietly sprouting!
After counting the five years, Zhang Cang couldn't help but get angry at Hei Fu in the letter:
"There are many things going on in the world, but you only get half of the credit!"
Of course, these are angry words. Anyone who knows a little bit about Qin Shihuang knows that His Majesty is impatient and does not want to make the world peaceful for a year. Even if there is no western expansion proposed by Hei Fu, there will be a southern expedition. Even if he does not send people to the Western Regions to find
The Queen Mother State of the West will also go to the East China Sea to seek immortality.
The road to Lingnan is long and full of miasma, which will cost more money and food, and may cause more casualties. Wushi Luo's passage to the Western Regions brought back some silk and sugar from the Central Plains and the countries in the Western Regions, and the possibility of earning foreign exchange is huge.
of the East China Sea, but found nothing...
And Heifu's idea of southerners guarding the south and northerners guarding the north also saved a lot of corvee costs.
Besides, if it weren't for the composting method pioneered by Nanjun, which increased the harvest by half a stone per acre of land, the people would have been forced to survive by the heavy land rent, and even bandits would be born in Guanzhong!
After getting angry in the letter, Zhang Cang also calmed down. What happened in the past is in the past. He must now concentrate on living within his means this year. He can no longer let the fiscal deficit continue, nor can he pass the losses on to the people.
!
But looking at the many things His Majesty the Emperor was planning to do this year, Zhang Cang's temples began to hurt again.
Originally, he hoped that in the thirty-first year, the imperial court would calm down, but the tree wanted to be peaceful but the wind did not stop. In the early spring, the relationship between Qin and Yuezhi broke down because of the murder case of Prince Yuezhi, who was sentenced to death. Prince Yuezhi frequently had conflicts with
The Huns were approached by Maodun Chanyu, who seemed to want to pick up the plan proposed by Maodun to "form an alliance among the three Hus to resist the powerful Qin".
At Li Xin's suggestion, Qin Shihuang decided to take a pre-emptive strike and issued a proclamation at the end of February, condemning the Yuezhi King for improperly educating his sons and betraying the vassal alliance. With Li Xin as general, he sent an army of 100,000 civilians to attack the Yuezhi!
Now two months have passed, and good news comes frequently from the west. Li Xin defeated the Yuezhi King on the bank of the Black Water, beheading thousands of people. Qin Shihuang was so happy that he named the battlefield "Wuwei". Li Xin led his troops to rest and prepare there.
Further attack Zhaowu City, the capital of the Yuezhi.
Although the Xiongnu Maodun Chanyu sent people to attack the Qin army's small town in Yanze, massacred all the garrison soldiers, and burned the city, Zhang Han, the commander of the Northern Territory, was also dealing with them to prevent the Xiongnu from supporting the Yueshi...
At the same time, the Wusun tribe, which had been feuding with the Yuezhi for generations, surrendered to the Qin Dynasty and began to attack the northwest of the Yuezhi under the persuasion of Qin merchants. The Yuezhi did not have the breadth and depth of the Xiongnu, and they were in a dilemma for a while.
From this point of view, this war will be won by the end of summer at the latest.
All the government offices in Xianyang were rejoicing, but the officials who were in charge of Su Neishi had a sad face. Even if everything went well, it was a long way to Hexi. The money and food collected last year with great difficulty were now flying out like running water.
What is even more terrifying is that after Qin Shihuang heard the good news from the west, he decided to wait until Li Xin destroyed the Yuezhi and when the weather was cool in early autumn, he would start his repeatedly postponed eastern tour plan!
In one day, he conquered Liuhe, defeated the Xiongnu, and destroyed the Yueshi. These things were truly unparalleled. He was more qualified to be granted Zen status than the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors!
After hearing the news, Zhang Cang's heart almost stopped. With trembling hands, he calculated the accounts: Zheng Yueshi spent one-third of the financial income of Zhi Su Nei Shi, and the rest could not make ends meet.
He reported to the governor of Su Nei: "If we don't want the officials in Xianyang to be unable to pay their salaries, and we have to patrol the east to enshrine Zen, we can only pay for it from the Shaofu!"
But the Shaofu also complained endlessly, saying that the conquests in various places would only take at least a year, but the Lishan Mausoleum project undertaken by the Shaofu had lasted for more than ten years.
Although Qin Shihuang wanted to seek immortality and immortality, he was also making preparations to create his own afterlife.
As His Majesty proclaimed himself emperor, the specifications of the Lishan Mausoleum were also expanded again and again, and more and more tricks were added: for example, terracotta warriors and horses with first-class proportions and vivid faces should be fired to guard the imperial mausoleum; for example, the underground palace should be made as huge and gorgeous as no less than
In Xianyang Palace; for example, when mercury is refined, it is compared to hundreds of rivers and seas, so that the tomb has astronomy on the top and geography on the bottom.
The huge tomb has turned into a ferocious monster with a mouth full of fangs that cannot be fed no matter how much money is stuffed in it!
When the leaders of the Zhisu Neishi and Shaofu units were put together, they found that each other was at the end of their rope. Even if the counties and counties were asked to increase the levy money, they would not be able to make up for this year's big hole, so they had to think of new methods.
The Shaofu Supervisor came up with a clever idea: "Nowadays, there are many sugarcane growers and sugar boilers in the south. The Ba family in Bajun regained their wealth, and the Tang family in Nanjun also accumulated a lot of money. The rich and powerful people in the southern Chu land often used this to make profits.
Brown sugar is very popular in all counties and counties, and can even be sold as far as the Western Regions, and is sold to Zhu Hujun at high prices. We might as well ask Your Majesty to follow the example of wine and salt, and nationalize the brown sugar workshops in each county, and make them exclusive to the government!
"
They were also desperate to start the burgeoning sugar business. In recent years, the north had to deal with heavy corvee levies, and the economy was somewhat depressed. However, the south became prosperous because of the sugar industry, but it suffered from insufficient population.
The plantation owners began to clamor for war against the southwestern Yi and Baiyue to plunder slaves.
Zhang Cang listened and held a moment of silence for Heifu. Everyone knew that the so-called Nanjun Tang family was Heifu's family, which almost controlled the sugar industry in Nanjun, Yuzhang. But Heifu strictly ordered his family to
We can't go to these two places. At most, we have opened a few loss-making branches in other places without crazy expansion.
It was precisely because of Heifu's low profile and restraint that the imperial court tolerated this. It was only now that the young man was forced to have no choice but to slaughter the unfattened sheep.
Just when Zhisu Neishi and the Shaofu decided to pursue this matter even if they severely offended Heifu, at the end of April, a piece of news came from Jiaodong, which made it difficult for both families to take action...
"The governor of Jiaodong County said that a large gold mine was discovered in Qucheng Township, Huang County! Please ask the Shaofu for permission to set up officials to mine it, and immediately mobilized two thousand soldiers from Linzi to station in Qucheng to guard against tyrants and illegal mining in Guizhou.
