"Master, this plan may be feasible. In addition to lowering the tax rate, we can also increase the cultivated land allocated to the people of Chu."
"We occupy a lot of Chu land, and it is more than enough to give more to the Chu people. However, the Chu army has limited cultivated land, so I think the Chu people will come to surrender to Qin in the end."
Shen Bing understood what Yang Duanhe meant.
The statement about the cultivated land area method is indeed correct. Huaibei is a large plain. Although the total area is not as large as Huainan, it has more cultivated land than the entire Huainan combined... Huainan, especially south of the Yangtze River, is mountainous. The production conditions at this time It is difficult to farm.
Therefore, even if we engage in a "price war" with the Chu army for farmland, we can still survive.
But Shen Bing did not agree with this.
Seeing that Shen Bing was silent, Fusu asked:
"Is it inappropriate for the deputy general to plan this?"
Shen Bing did not answer directly, but asked:
"I dare to ask you, sir, if you were a citizen of Chu... and learned that Huaibei has once again lowered tax rates and increased cultivated land, would you come down because of this?"
Fusu answered without thinking:
"More arable land means more harvests. Why not come?"
But Yang Duanhe slapped his head and said in sudden realization:
"I am confused, but this plan is not feasible."
Fusu looked at Yang Duanhe with a puzzled expression.
Yang Duanhe cupped his hands and explained:
"Sir, the deputy general had a similar strategy before."
"The rice-pounding water tanker was free of charge at first and no one cared about it. Later, the cost gradually increased and attracted Chu people to come in droves..."
Fusu couldn't help but wonder:
"Why is this?"
Yang Duanhe replied:
"Maybe the people of Chu would think this way: If the cost will be lower tomorrow, why don't we wait until tomorrow?"
"There will be tomorrow after tomorrow, so I keep waiting."
"On the other hand, if the cost is getting higher day by day, the people of Chu will think: If the cost is higher tomorrow, won't it cost more to wait until tomorrow? So they rush to pound it."
Fusu said "Oh" and said:
"There are other statements like this...but they are reasonable and reasonable."
This can be said to be something in psychology. We use empathy to put ourselves in the shoes of the people, analyze their psychology, and then seize this psychology to formulate correct plans.
Fusu had never seen anything like this among the sage books he had read in the past, and it felt very fresh for a while.
But after thinking about it, Fusu said again:
"But this dispute between Qin and Chu is different from pounding rice."
"Pounding rice is just a competition between us and the people, and the tax rate is Qin, and Chu is competing with Chu people."
"If our tax rate is higher than that of Chu, why would the people of Chu leave their homes and risk their lives to come down?"
Shen Bing nodded and secretly praised Fusu. He was worthy of being a young master. He got into the mood so quickly and asked questions.
There are indeed some differences between the two, and even Yang Duanhe couldn't answer the question raised by Fusu.
Shen Bing thought for a while and said:
"My subordinates think that taxes cannot be reduced for two reasons."
"First, as the general said, lowering taxes will make the people of Chu wait for them instead of lowering taxes."
"Because everyone knows that if our army lowers taxes, the Chu army will also lower taxes. Then the people of Chu can just wait for the tax reduction in Chu land with peace of mind."
Fusu and Yang Duanhe nodded repeatedly, they already understood this.
"Secondly, our country, the Qin Dynasty, is governed by Legalism. It is just like the sun is rising. If we lower taxes uncontrollably at this time... we will not only be unable to take advantage, but we will also be in trouble."
Fusu said "Oh" again, then nodded and said:
"rational."
"If taxes are reduced in Huaibei, it will attract not only the people of Chu in the Chu region, but also people from all over the Qin State."
"I'm afraid that it will cause great chaos. People from all over the world will come to vote for it, and no matter how much land it is, it won't be enough."
This is exactly what Shen Bing wanted to say.
Huaibei has a flat terrain, complete water conservancy facilities, and fertile land. If the tax rate is significantly lower than that in other areas...how can people from other areas of Qin not come?
Even if the Qin State has a strict household registration system and passes laws to prevent the movement of people, how can the people of Qin maintain a balance in their hearts?
Why can those Chu people who surrendered have more and better land and lower tax rates, while those of us who have contributed to Qin have higher tax rates?
Does that mean that dedication to Qin is useless?
There may even be a saucy operation:
The law of Qin does not allow the people of Qin to go to Huaibei. Then I will sneak into the territory of Chu and become a citizen of Chu, and then I will come to Huaibei and surrender as a citizen of Chu...
On the other hand, the Chu people who came to surrender before will also be psychologically unbalanced: those who came earlier will be allocated less land and have higher tax rates, while those who came later will be able to allocate more land and have lower tax rates... Then Do I have to run back and surrender again?
Therefore, instead of increasing in number, the people of Qin would flow back into Chu.
The situation in the Chu State is different. The Chu State is a dying country and all regions are enfeoffed. Although such random tax rates have an impact, they have little impact... It's a broken pot.
But if Qin did the same thing, it would affect the whole country.
After thinking about this, Fusu couldn't help but frown and asked:
"Then, from the perspective of the lieutenant general...how should we respond?"
Shen Bing said without thinking:
"The tax rate remains unchanged, and land and homesteads are reduced."
"Only in this way can we stop the people of Chu from waiting."
Fusu said again:
"But……"
But needless to say, if the interests of Huaibei decline instead of rising, it will make the Chu people unable to wait, but it will make Huainan suffer.
If the benefits are not as good as those in Huainan, the people of Chu will naturally not come to invest.
Shen Bing replied:
"Our tax rate may not be as low as that of Chu State, but the benefits may not be as low as those of Chu State."
Fusu asked puzzledly:
"how do I say this?"
Shen Bing replied:
"What if Huaibei can grow more food in the same piece of land?"
Fusu said:
"This statement is reasonable."
"If Huaibei can grow more grain, then even if the tax rate is higher than that of Chu State, there will still be more grain surplus after paying the tax."
"But...how can we grow more food?"
Shen Bing did not answer, but shouted to the guards outside the tent:
"Go and ask Xu Ying to come."
The bodyguard responded and ran away.
Soon Xu Ying arrived at the tent and respectfully saluted Fusu.
Shen Bing said:
"Sir, the young master would like to know whether more food can be grown on the same piece of land."
Xu Ying said "Oh" and replied:
"Young master, it was the deputy general who taught me the method of fertilizing the old man in Handan."
"That is to say, man-made fertilizers are used to enhance the fertility of the land."
"Lao Cheng used this method to apply more, medium and less fertilizer in various places, and found that the fields with medium fertilizer grew best."
"Although the harvest has not yet begun, it is estimated that the harvest will increase by at least half a percent."
Fusu couldn't help but look at Shen Bing in shock. Although half a percent was a small amount, if it were like this across the country, it would not be a small number.
What's more, if you use the method of retting, you don't need to leave the fields, and the harvest will be increased by more than half.