Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 117: Meat-Eating Victims

The market is rough, but very lively. In my impression, markets of this size seem to only happen once every few months except for a few big cities such as Kaifeng and Luoyang.

And according to Zhao Guangmei, such markets actually happen every day in Suzhou?A place that had just been hit by floods and was hit by war?
What really shocked Lu Duan was that he saw a large theater tent at the back of the market. Many storytellers and opera singers were already performing here, and each performance stage had three floors inside and three floors outside. Some people even threw copper coins on the stage.

Disaster victims!
Your Majesty, aren’t we here to provide disaster relief?

Except for Kaifeng, I have never heard of anyone being richer than Suzhou!
"Look, that's the school I run over there. Although it's a frontier army and the court doesn't pay the soldiers, since it's a military household, culture and education must be in accordance with the standards of the Forbidden Army."

"Of course, the quality is a bit worse. If you look at the performers in Kaifeng, they are all at the level of apprentices, or even just amateurs and enthusiasts. The current performances here are still in the nature of condolences. So are we the condolence performances? Part of the disaster relief, right?”

"........."

"This is even more true at school. Poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, and almost nothing can be taught. It can only help students barely read and understand numeracy. I have also opened many small subjects such as carpentry, ironwork, and tailoring to strive for success. In the future, when every child grows up, he or she will be able to acquire at least one craft, so that they can do something during their spare time to supplement their family income."

Lu Duan was shocked to the point of being mute. He just followed Zhao Guangmei's lead. He was still shocked at first, but later he couldn't move anymore, and his whole body was completely numb.

Until the two of them found a random stall and started eating noodles, Lu Duan still couldn't calm down. He poured vinegar into the wine glass and took a big sip.

"Your Highness... how did you do it?"

"what?"

"Why is Suzhou so rich? We are obviously here to provide disaster relief, but I look at the scene in Suzhou and in the entire Song Dynasty, I am afraid that there are few places that are richer than this, right? Here, Your Highness, three months ago Before I came, it was said that people were dying of hunger all over the place, and people were already changing their children to eat. A month ago, it was said that there was still war everywhere, rebels were everywhere, and it looked like a doomsday. Your Highness... Could it be that you really have some magical means? ?”

Zhao Guangmei, however, said indifferently: "What magical means come from? They are nothing more than destroying and establishing. The means I used are just ordinary means, nothing special."

"........."

Lu Chang also looked strange for a moment. He didn't know whether His Highness was really being modest or just pretending.

No matter how you look at it, this Suzhou is so unusual.

Zhao Guangmei said with a smile: "Actually, both sides of the Huaihe River are rich and prosperous, and they should be rich and prosperous. The transportation here is convenient, the climate is pleasant, crops can be harvested twice or three times a year, and most of them are plains and hills, with thoroughfares from north to south, suitable for both land and water. The population is densely populated and the industry and commerce are developed. In this place, poverty is abnormal. A mere flood actually only hurts the surface but not the roots. The reason why a small disaster turns into a major disaster is that it is a man-made disaster, rather than a natural disaster."

"This man-made disaster refers to the local gentry. The more disaster years occur, the more they hoard food, inflate food prices and then buy land at low prices, or take the opportunity to sign long-term contracts. These are common methods Yes, this thing is an economic law.

It’s not that there aren’t good people among the wealthy gentry, there are, there must be, but conscience is usually worthless, and even most people can’t sell it for a few cents even if they sell their conscience, but if you want to keep it when no one else wants it, Then this thing is horrifyingly expensive. It is a truly top-notch luxury product. It has always been like this at all times and in all countries. "

"So there is nothing wrong with a proper rebellion. Wealth is destined to gradually be concentrated in the hands of a few people. The way of heaven is always to give more than you can lose. Shang Jun's book says very clearly, 'Use strong to fight strong' Those who are weak must use the weak to defeat the strong. If a country is good, there will be many traitors. People all say that Shang Jun's book is the art of subjugating the country, but I think many of the words in it are really wise sayings, such as this one."

"It's not okay for the people to be oppressed all the time. If they don't break out in silence, they will perish in silence. The rulers of all dynasties have been afraid of the rebellion of the people at the bottom. However, what's wrong with rebellion? If it is suppressed, social contradictions will not exist. Is that so? Why not just guide it? Every rebellion is a process of equalizing wealth and poverty. If you let it out, all social conflicts will disappear. The Mohists have a similar saying, right?"

At this moment, Lu Duan was so frightened that he dropped his chopsticks, because what Zhao Guangmei just said was clearly full of Legalist and Mohist ideas. In the eyes of a Confucian scholar like him, this was simply treason. .

The core of Legalist thought is not to govern the country according to law. The core idea of ​​Legalist is actually that "if the people are weak, the country will be strong, and if the people are rich, the country will be weak." However, the core of Legalist methods of governing the country internally is just two words: "Go away." powerful".

That is to say, the state should do everything possible to torture the wealthy people, try every means to make the rich poor and the poor rich, and then repeat this process to achieve a cycle of poverty and wealth among the common people.

This is completely incompatible with the Confucian idea of ​​governing the country by one family and being a saint within and a king outside.

There is no such thing as Confucianism and Legalism. Legal studies since the Han Dynasty have long lost this fundamental thought at the core of Legalism. Then Lu Duan was horrified to discover that His Highness the King of Qin actually picked up this thing!And he did it even better than Qin Shihuang.

He really wiped out all the wealthy gentry in Suzhou and Bozhou by supporting the common people to rebel!

In fact, Lu Duan has never read the book Shang Junshu. In the Five Dynasties, the etiquette system has long since collapsed. The so-called banned books, who is the score? With their long history of officials in the Lu family, this book in their family It really existed, but after reading it, he threw the book away, thinking that Shang Yang was nonsense.

In the past, if he knew that the king was secretly reading Shang Jun's book, he would definitely stand up and criticize him. If the prince read Shang Jun's book, it would be like the sky is falling. For the sake of the people and the country, even if it is a dead remonstrance. Do whatever it takes.

But at this moment, watching His Highness King Qin in front of him openly discussing how to strengthen himself, and even actually using the hands of rebels to strengthen himself, he couldn't say anything.

His Highness the King of Qin came with you to provide disaster relief. Look at their Suzhou, and then look at your Yangzhou. How can you have the nerve to say that they are going against the grain?
And if His Highness the King of Qin is not acting in a perverse way, then who is the person who is really acting in perverse ways?
I heard Zhao Guangmei continue to talk: "These things, in fact, the long-term pain is worse than the short-term pain. A small number of local tycoons have been killed, and a large amount of land has been vacated. The landlords still have a surplus of food. If you share the surplus, everyone can I immediately felt at ease and took out a cent of the money jar buried in the landlord's backyard. With everyone having money, the economy would naturally recover.

Of course, the premise is that I can really control this so-called rebellion. The leaders of the rebels, large and small, must be my own. And to be honest, the reason why I dare to do this is because Huainan is a military region. , I'm really not afraid of them making trouble below, they can't get out of control. Those so-called rebels also understand this. Few fools are really arrogant enough to think that they can defeat Gao Youjun, so they will behave more sensible. . "

When Lu Duan heard this, he suddenly became furious. He slapped the table impulsively and said, "But if this money was stolen, they would spend it like running water. After spending it, wouldn't they still be poor? If the prosperity of Suzhou City is based on this To prove it, wouldn’t it be like a mirror, a flower in the water, a moon in the water?”

Zhao Guangmei was not annoyed, and actually laughed off Lu Duan's sudden rudeness, and even patiently explained to him: "Why are they the flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water? Didn't I turn them into soldiers? The trading company is here You have also seen the investment. In the future, when there is slack farming, there will often be labor in the city. If it is both slack farming and labor shortage, then we should train them."

Lu Duan chuckled and said: "With such a ragtag group of people, what's the use of training? Does Your Highness think they can fight?"

"Who told them to fight? Who said that being a soldier means you must fight? The exercise itself is the purpose. People gather and money gathers, and people scatter money. The gathering of people alone is enough to create wealth and push the economy into a positive cycle. , do you think, why do I want to set up that school and theater troupe? Do I really care about the mental health of these disaster victims? This thing is to allow them to go to the city as much as possible during the off-season. The city walls are gone and come to watch the theater. Ah, it’s in vain if you don’t see it.”

"........."

Lu Duan was stunned. This was the first time he heard such a point of view that shocked him.

Being a soldier, practicing, but not fighting.What kind of soldier is this?
"Your Highness, by doing this, isn't it a waste of rice and food? Even if they are all border troops, doesn't the imperial court need to spend money to raise troops?"

"No need."

"........."

"Look, they don't pay taxes, they still have land, they don't have to do corvee labor, and they can still work for me. I take care of the food and pay them. Isn't this just military pay? And even though they don't pay taxes, But you can think carefully about these four words: unified purchasing and unified marketing. I can tell you very clearly that the business houses will make a lot of money by supporting them."

"Then...then...then when you are training, don't you get military pay? Even if you don't, isn't there any cost to the court? Training for the sake of training, isn't it a waste of money?"

Zhao Guangmei quickly waved her hand and said, "No, no, first of all, they can't defeat the regular army of the Southern Tang Dynasty, but they can certainly defeat the ordinary thieves and bandits. At least it will be beneficial to local security."

"Secondly, training does not necessarily cost money. It is very convenient to use this name to let them do some work, such as transporting grain, building roads and bridges, repairing river embankments, etc. It is more efficient than recruiting Civilians are much better off, and it’s worth giving them some military pay. You know, there are too many officials in our Song Dynasty who dare to embezzle money, but those who dare to embezzle military pay, I have never heard of anyone who has such courage."

"Thirdly, these people are soldiers after all. Even if there is no war, it is much better to choose from here when the imperial army needs to expand its army than to choose directly from the refugees. How can it be said that it is useless?"

Lu Duan's face was already a little pale at this moment. From the standpoint of a civil servant, especially a young man who had been an official for many years, he only felt a third of hope from Zhao Guangmei's words just now, but he had a sense of hope. A full seven points of horror.

This is digging into the roots of the Civil Service Group!
"No, no, no! Then according to what His Highness said, those landlords and powerful people who were killed and separated from their families during this famine, and even the county government officials, all deserved their death and deserve to die?"

Zhao Guangmei smiled disdainfully after hearing this: "They must have died in vain. Even in my opinion, most of them do not deserve to die. In disaster years, they annex land and hoard food. Is this an economic law? Although Bad, but it is true that the crime does not lead to death, but... Lu Duan, if they don't deserve to die, should the poor people in Guizhou who were affected by the disaster die?

Why can't the wealthy gentry die in vain, but the poor Guizhou leader can die?The death of a wealthy gentry is a man-made disaster, and the death of a victim is a natural disaster?If the death of a landlord can lead to the survival of a hundred poor people, then do you think this landlord should die?
The world has always been flooded with blood first, and then there is peace in the world. You can't reverse the cause and effect. We study Confucian classics to deceive others. If we deceive ourselves, that would be stupid. "

When Lu Duan heard this, his face became paler, and even his lips were slightly blue. It was obvious that today's conversation had seriously shaken his outlook.

After all, he is a new Jinshi. Although he has a good family background, he has not been baptized by Huaihai and is still very simple in some aspects.

"But...but if this happens, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue, will not be able to collect money or grain from them. You, you are still shaking the foundation of the dynasty."

Zhao Guangmei ate the noodles without raising her head and said: "The Ministry of Household Affairs does not collect what the commercial banks collect. One-third of what the commercial banks collect is given to the court. Besides, the merchants are essentially from the Song Dynasty. Believe it or not, when the time comes, Just the amount paid to the court will be more than the two taxes in previous years?"

Lu Duan was obviously a little confused, and couldn't help but murmured repeatedly: "How can it be the same? How can it be the same? The household is the foundation of the country, and the household is the foundation of the country. How can we get rid of the household? How can it be compared to the Ministry of Finance..."

But Zhao Guangmei suddenly knocked on the table and whispered in his ear: "Lu Duan, should the Ministry of Households support the Song Dynasty, or should the Ministry of Household Affairs support the Song Dynasty? If there are problems with the two tax laws, should they be changed? Is it this tax law, or should private production be forced to adapt to the tax law?"

When Lu Duan heard this, he was finally completely stunned and couldn't say anything. Only his trembling hands showed that he was not calm at this time.

"Think about it, I'm a little busy today, so I won't go shopping with you anymore. You can go around on your own, watch more, listen more, ask more, think more. When you think about it, come and talk to me again. Think carefully about what you should say."

With that said, Zhao Guangmei stood up, patted Lu Duan on the shoulder, paid and left.

Lu Duan was sitting alone in his seat staring at the untouched noodle in front of him in a daze, as if he were a statue.

After a while, the waiter came over and said cautiously: "That...that...this distinguished guest, you see our store is full, can...can we share a table with you?"

"A table fight?"

Lu Duan was stunned for a moment, and then he saw a father and daughter following the waiter. Then he nodded numbly, then lowered his head and ate the noodles with big mouthfuls, thinking of finishing the noodles quickly and going around.

I heard the two people sharing the table say: "Dad, where is this? It smells so good."

"This is called a restaurant. It's a place that specializes in eating delicious food."

"It smells so good. I feel hungry when I smell it. Dad, why didn't you bring me to eat before?"

"In the past...in the past...hey~, from now on, dad will always bring you to eat."

After that, the man raised his hand high and ordered a large bowl of rice noodles with broth and sauerkraut. However, Lu Duan, who was sharing the table with them, stopped unconsciously and stared straight at it. Looking at this father and daughter.

The father's face looked wrinkled, and his clothes were dirty and torn. The straw sandal on his right foot even showed a pair of toes. He had a big bowl of meaty noodle soup. He only took two bites and said he was full. No. After eating, I looked at my daughter with eyes full of love.

And that girl, with two braids, was wearing brand new and clean clothes, and her walking shoes were even embroidered with two flowers. While she was eating meaty noodle soup, two lines of mucus flowed slightly from her nostrils. Underneath, the crescent-like eyes seemed to be shining with light.

Lu Duan was suddenly startled. He seemed to realize belatedly that the bowl of noodles in his hand was made of broth, and even had a few small pieces of minced meat on it. The rice noodles in the hands of the father and daughter opposite him were also made of broth. It's broth, with meat sauce on top.

This small shop is not big, but it is extremely crowded. It is lunch time, and it is actually full inside and outside. This shop that sells meat soup noodles and meat soup noodles is extremely busy. It's hot, and most of the diners who come here to eat seem to be similar to the father and daughter.

It seems... they all seem to be disaster victims.

Meat-eating victims.

(End of this chapter)