On the second day after taking office, Fengchang Lujia launched the first shot of his painstakingly planned "Dingli" plan, using the strengths of Confucianism to justify Heifu's seemingly nondescript regency system.
As the economic department that received the most attention from Heifu, Xiao He, the internal affairs minister, was also very busy.
The victory in the south was expected by Xiao He, but he never thought that he, who had never had any military exploits, would be designated by Hei Fu as "the number one civil servant in the Northern Expedition". Not only would he be promoted to the rank of commander of a carriage, but he would also be honored as one of the nine ministers.
A history of treating millet.
Many years ago, Xiao He was rated as number one in political achievements by the Sishui County Supervisor and Censor. He wanted to recommend him to become an official in the court, but Xiao He refused.
But this time, Xiao He hurried on his way as soon as he received the appointment. After arriving in Xianyang, he reported to Hei Fu that he was "sincere and frightened."
Hei Fu comforted him and said:
"Yu and Wang Ben are far apart from Jianghan. Nanyang is more than a year old. The north is strong and the south is weak. However, Xiao He suppresses Jiangling and often sends troops to fill the vacancies. There are tens of thousands of people on the front line, and the baggage and food are relied on Jianghan. You turn to Cao Jingzhou to provide
There is no shortage of food, this is a great achievement."
Lu Jia's lobbying of Bashu for Heifu could be described as a turning point in the strategy of the Civil War.
Chen Ping and Xu Shu occupied two corners for Heifu, laying the groundwork for a pincer attack on the bandits from the Six Nations.
But none of their achievements can compare with Xiao He. Heifu knew very well that without Xiao He's proper coordination, which allowed Nanjun to have a good harvest during the war, and continuously mobilized the southerners to join the war, he would have been able to withstand Wang Ben's several waves of offensive.
But it is absolutely impossible to take control of Xianyang so quickly.
Now that the center of political power has shifted to Guanzhong, it is natural to transfer Xiao He here to continue to use his talents.
Xiao He was in charge of the internal history of grain management, and was in charge of the country's land rent and the income and expenditure of various money and materials. He was also called the "planning prime minister". Under him were Taicang, Jitian and other five ministers, who were responsible for the planning of counties and counties across the country.
and "live within one's means", that is, the state budget.
As soon as Xiao Hefu took office, he was given a show of authority, but it was not his subordinates who showed authority to him, but the red deficit and the precarious national finances...
The various bad debts were handed over to the prime ministers. The more Xiao He looked at them, the tighter his thick eyebrows became.
What Hu Hai and Zhao Gao left to Hei Fu was a mess with ruined neighborhoods, depressed cities, and shrinking economy.
In the past year and a half of the civil war, both sides mobilized hundreds of thousands of people, and killed countless people. While draining the economy of Nan County, it also made Guanzhong miserable.
In order to "suppress the rebellion", Hu Hai repeatedly increased the oral tax and failed to fulfill his promise to reduce rents, which caused widespread complaints. A large number of laborers went to Nanyang and Sanchuan, delaying spring plowing. In addition, Guandong and Bashu rebelled, and food could no longer be as good as before.
Concentrated in Aocang, Guanzhong will bear all the consumption.
No matter how rich the fields beside the canal of Zheng were, they could not withstand such food. After one year, the grain reserves that were still abundant during the time of Qin Shihuang were very little left.
In addition, the bandits from the Six Kingdoms destroyed Xihe and created hundreds of thousands of refugees out of thin air. Xiao He looked at the reward money and food that the army was demanding, and then looked at the dwindling warehouse supplies.
"Wu Zhonghou, you really stuffed a hot potato into my hand..."
There is no other way at the moment. No matter how great Lao Xiao is, he can't produce rice. Fortunately, there is still the autumn harvest in August to save his life. Shu County, which has not been affected by the war, has enough food to rely on.
But they are by no means as numerous as expected. The plank road has been burned, and food transportation in Sichuan is even more troublesome. As for Guanzhong...
After doing a quick calculation on the abacus, Xiao He sighed.
He knew that Heifu had made a promise to the people of Guanzhong to halve the land rent, and the Xihe area was exempted from rent directly. Seeing that it was impossible to increase revenue, the only thing left was to reduce expenditure, and...
Xiao He gritted his teeth and said: "Tear down the east wall and mend the west wall!"
…
On the third day of August, Xiao He personally went to the Shaofu to visit Zhang Cang.
"When he was young, he also wanted to go to Lanling to study with Xun Qing, but his father passed away and he could not make the trip. He often regretted it. Later, he served as a minor official in Surabaya. He often heard the decrees of Xianyang and those who handed over the plan praised Zhang Jun for his erudition.
It is widely known that his math skills are unparalleled in the world."
Zhang Cang, who was slightly younger than him in Xiao Hechao, bowed and said: "He is now promoted by Marquis Wu Zhong and appointed as governor of Su Neishi. He has just entered Xianyang and has no clue about everything. I hope Zhang Jun will give you some advice."
Because he was asking for help, and knowing that Zhang Cang had a close personal relationship with Hei Fu, Xiao He kept his attitude very low.
Fortunately, Zhang Cang was a practical person and did not dare to make excuses. He had also heard about Xiao He's reputation as a "official" for a long time. The two of them sat down and talked about arithmetic first without mentioning anything else.
What Zhang Cang didn't expect was that Xiao He actually read through the first volume of "Nine Chapters on Arithmetic" that he had written previously, which was the practical mathematics parts such as Fang Tian, Corn, Shafen, Shao Guang, Shang Gong, and Uniform Loss...
"Marquis Wu Zhong liked this book so much that even during the fierce battle with Wang Ben, he had it printed in Jiangling. He often ordered his subordinates to read it thoroughly. Those who do not count square fields and millet are not allowed to be literary officials."
Xiao He said with a smile: "He is lucky enough to learn all the calculation techniques in it. It's a pity that the second volume of Pythagorean, surplus and insufficient, etc. is too profound. He is busy with official duties and it is difficult to master the calculations. But just relying on the first volume is enough to rule several counties.
That’s it.”
Obviously, Xiao He scratched Zhang Cang's itch. Although it was their first meeting, after a few words, the two of them felt like they had met at a late date, and they quickly reached a consensus:
"During the time of the First Emperor, there were already many shields in the old Qin Dynasty, but why was the shielding of wealth especially so important?"
Zhang Cang once served as an official in Zhisu Neishi, and he knew very well how the world's finances operated.
The system initiated by the First Emperor has indeed brought countless benefits to the world: he concentrated such a large population under one political power, destroyed customs and defenses, made cars and carriages run on the same track and wrote books with the same text, unified coins, weights and measures, and created a large national market
, the economic scale has reached an unprecedented height.
Unlike the Confucian scholars who only knew how to criticize, Zhang Cang did not hesitate to praise the good aspects of Qin's government.
But his words changed: "But what's increasing at the same time is the government's expenses."
The Qin Dynasty was a big government. It abolished feudalism and established prefectures and counties. It personally participated in the economy in various fields, such as collecting salt, iron, wine, and sugar for official operations. It also set up a large number of Qin officials in the local areas to take care of every little thing to extend its tentacles.
Go to the grassroots level.
But these huge officials made the bureaucracy expand several times compared with before unification. The annual salary alone was enough to become a huge burden. The reason why Qin collected more than half of the rent was not only to use it for wars almost every year, but also to
Used to support a large number of officials.
"indeed so."
Xiao He, who had received a salary for more than ten years, nodded. He had a document in his hand, which was the internal history of the government of millet. It counted the fiscal expenditures of each county, which were used for official salaries, public expenses, and city construction. The grain was converted into half a tael. From
From the 26th to the 36th year of Qin Shihuang, the amount of money increased from 400 million to 1.2 billion.
"Three times? What's this?"
Zhang Cang also asked someone to collect the Shaofu's expenses over the years: "He smiled and said, from the initial 200 million yuan to 1.8 billion yuan, it has increased nine times!"
The Shaofu appointed by Zhang Cang was in charge of the private treasury for the emperor. In addition to land rents, which theoretically accounted for the majority of the world's wealth, the rest included mouths, city taxes, taxes on mountains, seas, and ponds, government-run salt, and iron.
The income from wine, sugar, silk, gold, tin, and lacquer all went to the Shaofu, which was used to support the huge palaces and institutions under the name of Qin Shihuang, and provide all the food, clothing, daily life, and hunting.
In other words, in the entire fiscal plate, government expenditures account for two-thirds of the total fiscal plate. What does this mean?
"Inflation. In the past ten years, the royal family's expenses have expanded rapidly."
In the more than a hundred years after Shang Yang's reform, the proportion of Qin's royal family consumption was actually very small: Qin's law canceled the support of the huge princes, and those who had no merit were not allowed to belong to the country. However, during the reigns of Qin Xiaogong, Qin Hui, and Wu Wang, palace concubines
Very few, the number of people serving them is only a thousand.
However, by the time of King Zhao of Qin, as Qin had acquired the capital of the imperial industry, in order to show the style of a great country, the palaces and gardens were quietly expanding. Ganquan, Zhangtai and other palaces and gardens were completed at that time. By the time of King Zhuang Xiang, this
The king has been in Handan all year round, and when he returned as king, he brought not only Lu Buwei, but also the extravagant customs of the East. The Qin royal family was completely separated from simplicity.
When the First Emperor unified the world, this trend reached its extreme. The First Emperor accepted all the concubines of the six countries, and even disliked the small Xianyang Palace. Every time Qin defeated the princes, he wrote about the palaces and palaces, and wrote Xianyang on the north bank, south of Wei, since
From the east of Yongmen to Jing and Wei, the palaces and houses are complex and belong to the Zhou Pavilion. The beauties from the princes and bells and drums were obtained to fill it. As the emperor's career was completed, the first emperor's arrogant and extravagant heart also flourished. In addition to the palaces near Xianyang, there were even more
There are three hundred miles of inner palaces, temples, and roads connected to each other. There are not enough curtains, bells, drums, and beauties.
At one time, there were dozens of palaces in Guanzhong. Yichun Garden, which previously amazed Yuan Yong and other Nanjun country bumpkins, was just the tip of the iceberg. The largest Epang Palace covered an area of more than thirty miles. There were well-known concubines and women in each palace.
Some came from the six countries, or were newly selected from the people, numbering in the thousands, and the number of palace servants and maids who supported them also reached hundreds of thousands!
Just for this huge population, the masters are well-clothed and well-fed, and the slaves at least live like middle-class people. How much clothing and silk do they need every year? Not to mention the human resources and finances consumed in building the palace, brick by brick, all of which are made by the people.
Although among these many concubines, Emperor Qin Shihuang actually slept with very few, and most of them were martyred by Hu Hai in the end, leaving only many temple maids still in various palaces.
Although there were many palaces, Emperor Qin Shi Huang never stayed even one night in them.
But for the emperor, they are necessary, which represents his vanity, his wealth, and his power!
And his face!
Unlike the Ming Dynasty of later generations, the royal family of the Qin Dynasty did not have to support many descendants, but only one person. However, the ambition of this person alone was enough to make the whole world fall to the ground.
In order for His Majesty, the First Emperor, to have a bright face and to make the barbarians and despicable people envious and praise him, isn't it natural for the common people in Guizhou to have their lives stripped away?
"Should it really be necessary?" Zhang Cang shook his head. This was a doubt he had long ago, and now it is finally solved.
"If it's for the dignity of the whole country, that's okay."
"If it's just one person's vanity, no!"
Part of the personal vanity of the First Emperor, in addition to the beautiful palaces, there are also many wonders and buildings, which are flashy and unrealistic, like reliefs carved on the face of the First Emperor, and the twelve golden figures are like gold foil stuck on them.
However, the largest share of fiscal expenditure was war.
"Starting from the 30th year, the First Emperor ordered that the taxes on the salt, iron, sugar and other industries of the Shaofu should also be used to supplement the history of millet management to increase the needs of the war."
The First Emperor's ambition was too great. He conquered everything in the southeast and northwest within ten years. After paying a huge price, the empire's territory was indeed bounded by the East China Sea in the east, wading through quicksand in the west, Daxia in the north, and all the northern households in the south. But the finances were
More and more difficult.
In the past wars with the Six Kingdoms, we occupied mature agricultural areas with rich populations and arable land. After copying the Qin model in these areas, we could immediately collect taxes to expand fiscal revenue.
But South Vietnam, the Xiongnu, the Western Regions, and Haidong are all foreign lands. After the conquest, the population and land that can be used to pay taxes are too small to make up for the war expenses. At the same time, the transportation of grains that are hundreds or even thousands of miles long is almost impossible.
One hundred thousand people are waiting for food, and large-scale infrastructure construction on the border has become a financial black hole.
The consumption of each of these four great expeditions was equivalent to the fiscal revenue of the Qin Dynasty for one year, and the two battles of Lingnan were equivalent to two years...
In the end, the war will completely drag down the already unhealthy finances. Although the increase in the sugar industry, wool textile industry, opening of the Western Region, etc. have slightly increased the Shaofu's income, this is just a drop in the bucket, or even just a salary to put out the fire!
Thirty-three years later, the empire's finances were unable to make ends meet and had to rely on temporary measures to increase taxes and fees. Land rents were maintained at half or even two-thirds of the red line for a long time. In addition, rents from the city, salt, iron, and sugar
The price of silk is also rising, and the coins are becoming increasingly inferior and thinner.
These value-added taxes will eventually be passed on to the heads of Guizhou, making their lives increasingly difficult.
This is the truth behind the Qin Dynasty’s public and private revenue and expenditures that have skyrocketed over the past ten years.
This is also the truth why people all over the world feel that their burdens are getting heavier and their lives are getting harder and harder!
Royal expenses, redundant official salaries, and war expenses became the three big mountains that crushed the finances of the old Qin Dynasty and worsened the people's livelihood all over the world.
Speaking of this, Xiao He also expressed his intention: "How can I win the trust of Marquis Wu Zhong and let him be the prime minister? I believe that the current task is to prohibit cruelty and violence, stop excessive wealth, strengthen local farmers, save redundant officials, and promote frugality. What we must do
Yes, just like Foolish Old Man, move these three mountains away one by one!"
"Zhang Cang knows what Mr. Xiao did today!"
Zhang Cang, who was both in the financial department, also had a close relationship with Xiao He, who was in love with him:
"Now that the emperor is absent, the royal expenses that account for a large part of the young manor are no longer useful. Instead of wasting money and food, it is better to open the garden, let the palace be used for other purposes, and liberate the many maids confined there... This is so heavy
It’s time to move away from the mountain that makes the world breathless.”
He patted his plump body: "So, Zhang Cang's first blow after taking office will be to strike at the Shaofu himself. From now on, the Shaofu will no longer be the emperor's private treasury!"
"Then Marquis Wu Zhong..." Xiao He hesitated, anyone else would take these things as his own, right?
"Hahaha, Xiao Jun, don't worry, Marquis Wu Zhong is not good at women. After he entered Xianyang, he had no money to take and no women, so he sealed them all and handed them over to the young master. He also said..."
Zhang Cang stood up and told Xiao He what Hei Fu said.
"Wu Zhonghou said that in the old days, the Qin Dynasty worshiped one person in the world."
"Nowadays, Jiuzhou is in ruins and people's livelihood is in decline. It's time to use one person's greed and savings to contribute to the people of the world!"
…
ps: Coded at the airport, there is only one chapter today. Please stay at home from tomorrow and resume normal updates.