Around the Bianhe River, the manors that were once used by literati, officials, and officials for outings and recreation have all been converted into farmland.
When Yang Lin was in charge of this matter, he was very thorough and solved the frequent food crisis in Bianliang in one fell swoop.
Now even if the Bianhe River is blocked, the city will not run out of food immediately.
It was late spring, and there were farmers sweating profusely on both sides of the river bank. Next to the fields were women and children delivering food.
The east wind blew gently, and from time to time bursts of bold singing came from the river covered with white waves. The fisherman laughed and threw the net into the water. The boatman shook the oar vigorously and followed suit.
A few words to echo.
Even in this big city with over a million people, there are countless legends and stories worthy of praise in the marketplace.
Soon after the river channel from Chang'an to Bianliang was renovated, Yang Lin did not choose to take the waterway.
A few fast horses took the lead, leading a team of ten thousand people behind them, heading straight for Jingzhao Mansion.
They passed through counties and counties along the way, so they set up camp on the spot as soon as it got dark, buried pots and cooked rice, just like marching, and headed straight to Xingyang, Zhengzhou Prefecture.
Two days later, at sunset, Xingyang officials greeted Yang Lin with a guard of honor outside the city gate.
The army was stationed outside, and eight hundred personal guards escorted Yang Lin to the gate of the mansion.
Xingyang is located in Gyeonggi Province, close to Kaifeng and Bianliang. The officials here are all familiar with Yang Lin.
Even so, the local government still attached great importance to it. Liu Xinting, the magistrate of Zhengzhou, stood at the front, and behind him were the magistrate of Xingyang, Tongpan, and several Taoist priests from the local Taoist temple.
The head of the yamen inspection in Hebei Province nervously led hundreds of yamen to maintain order.
As soon as the red flag came into view, the welcoming crowd started to stir. The bureaucrats lifted up their robes and walked slowly forward a few steps. The gongs and drums team organized by the local gentry made loud noises, and the sound of firecrackers was densely connected, and smoke was everywhere for a while.
.
The personal guards were lined up on both sides. Yang Lin, wearing a purple-gold official uniform and an official hat with two wings, swayed over.
"Welcome His Royal Highness the King of Yue. Yang Shaozai has worked hard! Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, my disciples sincerely welcome Patriarch Chiyang to visit us!"
After the messy welcome words, Liu Xinting, who was at the front, smiled and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue has traveled a long and hard journey, and his subordinate Zhengzhou Zhizhou led the officials and gentry of Zhengzhou Prefecture to welcome the king."
Yang Lin glanced at him. This Zhengzhou magistrate was very young, with somewhat dark skin, and he did not look like an ordinary scholar.
"Liu Zhizhou is young and can manage such an important place as Zhengzhou. He is very promising." Yang Lin asked nonchalantly. He is in a high position at such a young age, so he is most likely a related household.
When Liu Xinting heard this, he thought to himself, how can he compare with you in terms of how fast he can climb at a young age? He smiled and replied: "This official is just mistaken for being valued by the court. Compared with His Highness, he is nothing.
, and it has more dignity.”
"Oh? Have you seen me?"
At this time, a middle-aged official behind him stepped forward and said with a smile: "Your Highness, Liu Zhizhou built the city in Yunnei and made four great achievements, so he was promoted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
It turned out that they were one of his own. Yang Lin's suspicion suddenly disappeared and he followed them into the city with a smile.
"We have already set up a banquet at a restaurant in the city to welcome His Highness from the dust. Please transfer to a carriage and have a good time chatting and drinking happily when we get there."
When Yang Lin heard this, he realized that this was the first stop of his inspection. If he set the tone, he would eat, drink and have fun in the entire Song Dynasty.
Not to mention that the meaning of the inspection would be lost in this way, even if time does not allow it, it would not be possible to inspect the entire world until three or four years later.
"The banquet is unnecessary. I have been tired from the journey, and now I want to go to the camp to rest. You can just bring the official documents that need to be prepared from the General Secretary."
When everyone heard this, they looked at each other and had no choice but to say yes.
This is near Bianliang, and the officials are very puzzled. It's not that Yang Shaozai is greedy for money, lustful, and romantic. How can he become diligent and honest?
Yang Lin took Lu Qian and other guards, without changing to a carriage, and rode on horseback, led by Mr. Xingyang, to the imperial envoy's camp.
The residence covers an area of nearly an hectare. It was the manor of a local gentry and was divided into a front yard and an east-west courtyard. Now the entire west courtyard has been cleared out and has been temporarily used as a residence for imperial envoys.
After a while, the official documents from Zhengzhou Prefecture were brought over. Yang Lin held a small green melon in his hand and flipped through the official documents.
It very neatly records the problems encountered after the implementation of the New Deal, as well as the solutions.
The original service law of the Song Dynasty was that people took turns to work as servants in prefectures and counties according to their households. The new law changed it to the state and county governments paying to hire people to serve. The recruitment fees were drawn from local taxes, and clear details needed to be reported to the court.
Government households, monk households, etc. that were originally exempted from military service also paid the same amount.
In this way, the problem of labor shortage was solved. During the busy farming period, young people who were assigned to do corvee work went to the Yamen to work as errands. The cultivated land at home was often not taken care of and needed to be rented out, making it difficult to survive this year.
And they went to work as errands, and they didn't get a penny. What kind of work did they do? It can be said that it was all kinds of work, and they had to do all the work. It was also the biggest source of leisure for the officials in the Song Dynasty.
Every year, ordinary people are obliged to do "titles" such as Li Zheng, household head, and village clerk to help go to the countryside to collect taxes; there are "positions" such as elders, archers, and young men to be responsible for catching thieves; there are Chengfu, manpower,
Serving officials of the right brands under the names of hand strength, Sancong and so on.
Some of them are relatively famous, such as the County Caosi and Cuilu in the county-level yamen; the Zhou Caosi and Kongmu in the state-level yamen, together with the miscellaneous officials, Yuhou, pickers, etc. equipped at all levels, are too numerous to count.
It has to be borne by ordinary people, and the key is not to pay them.
On the contrary, the gentry's family did not need to do corvee. Now if the gentry wants to continue to be exempted from the corvee, they have to pay money.
After paying the money, the local government used the money to hire people to work as errands. The government errands changed from temporary workers to regular workers, and they were no longer voluntary, but worked for wages. In the past, the errands who complained all the time,
It has become a delicious pastry.
As a result, rural residents who were originally on a rotational basis returned to their hometowns to work in agriculture. Households that had enjoyed the privilege of being exempted from labor had to pay labor fees. Many farmers were exempted from labor. This increased the government's income and also provided money to those who were idle in society.
Eat in one bite.
However, the gentry will have to bear an additional portion of the labor costs. These people are not fuel-efficient, so naturally they do not want to suffer this disadvantage.
This article is actually very similar to Wang Anshi's original draft law, but it is more thorough and cancels the draft law that is most harmful to the people.
Wang Anshi did not dare to completely cancel it at the beginning, because the financial situation did not allow it at the time, and the court could not find the money to support the servants. Moreover, if you cancel this, there are so many jobs in the government office, wouldn't it mean that the noble officials would have to do it themselves?
Dry.
Wang Anshi did not dare to completely offend all officials, so although his new law was very advanced, there were compromises everywhere.
Yang Lin is different. First of all, he relied on force to gain power, and he offended all the old officials. You don't agree? Yes, either resign and get out, or be killed. The reason why the gentry in Jiangnan often rebelled is because they have been moved.
This big piece of cake, the heavenly privileges of the scholar-bureaucrat family for hundreds of years, was crushed to pieces by Yang Lin.
Secondly, the business tax rate is now several times higher than before, so Yang Lin has the confidence to do so.
Yang Lin and his confidants often talk about the earth-shaking new law, and the change lies in this.
Nowadays, by paying a certain amount of money, ordinary people can get free time that was unimaginable before. They can use this time to do their own work and make money to support their families. With the money, the imperial government can recruit people to work as errands, which can expand the number of employees and reduce the number of people employed.
Idle people in society not only keep the state machinery running normally, but can also nip various crises in the bud.
The reason why Wang Anshi failed in the first place was that it offended the interests of the scholar-bureaucrats. After he was demoted, the first thing that was changed was the recruitment law.
This was the prototype of the civil service system in later generations. Yang Lin could not imagine any better way. Since the Qin Dynasty, Han people had been born with heavy shackles of corvee, and it was only now that they were broken.
This is the best policy to save the time and benefit the people, but the resistance is also great. It is conceivable that if Yang Lin encounters something unexpected at this time, this new law will become a short-lived historical dust. It may not be reappeared in the world for a thousand years.
Yang Lin turned to the back and found the record of the resistance encountered by the government. It was indeed filled with details.
Various cunning methods were used to fight against the government, especially the gentry and the temples.
The reason why folk Buddhism is so popular is because there is no need to pay taxes on the land of temples. Many officials and gentry linked the land in their names to temples, or even their own temples.
Liu Xinting was very decisive in his methods. It is recorded in Gongwenshan that he arrested and confiscated many gentry houses, but he was very troubled by the problem of monks.
Yang Lin chuckled, took a big bite, threw the melon handle away, and said, "Let Liu Xinting come see me."
After a while, Liu Xinting entered the courtyard and saw Yang Lin lighting the lamp and reading official documents, but there were still cups and plates on the table that had not been cleared away. He couldn't help but admire him secretly.
Sure enough, the rumors were slanderous. How could a person like Shaozai be a greedy and lustful person? This is simply a model of a good official in our time.
"Your Highness."
Yang Lin waved his hand and said: "Look, it is recorded here that Shiquan Temple in Xingyang actually has three thousand hectares of fertile land under its name. There is only so much arable land in Xingyang. If rent is not paid in so many places, how much money does the court lose every year?"
Liu Xinting looked troubled and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, this Shiquan Temple is a famous temple built in the Han Dynasty. Hui Ke, the second ancestor of Zen, once practiced here. It has a long history and a long-lasting sect. It can be said that Zen has a profound charm, a long history, and a long history.
The fire is passed down from generation to generation and lasts forever.”
Yang Lin patted the table impatiently and said, "I heard you introduce the temple. If you don't want to be a prefect, do you want to change your career to a tour guide?"
Although Liu Xinting didn't know what a tour guide was, when he saw that Yang Lin had lost his good temper outside the city, he accused him repeatedly.
Yang Lin pointed to the word "Shiquan" on the official document and said attentively: "I will give you one night to calculate the money they owe, without missing a penny. Lead the troops to collect it tomorrow and get it before noon.
Without money, your position as the governor of Zhengzhou will not be guaranteed, and you may be charged with dereliction of duty."
Liu Xinting was sweating profusely. This change of face was too fast. While he was still in a daze, Yang Lin said impatiently: "Does Liu Zhizhou have such confidence that he can figure it out in just one night?"
"Ah? I am stupid and can't do it. One night is already very short."