Zhang Heng checked the eucalyptus booklet, which was sent by the subordinate county, and consulted with the people who recorded the affairs and joined the army.

They went to the county to explore and had a better understanding of the situation.

The general who recorded the incident and joined the army explained the situation: "In fact, they are not considered bandits. They are just refugees who cannot afford food and have no choice but to do it..."

Zhang Heng fell silent after listening.

In fact, it is not some evil force, it is just a problem of refugees.

The Song Dynasty did not suppress annexation, so the heroes and generals annexed land.

Over the past century, land sales and pawning have been quite common, the trend of land concentration has accelerated, and the number of farmers losing their land has increased.

"The rich have a field of hope, but the poor have no land to stand on. Those who are powerful have no field to cultivate, and those who have land have no land to cultivate."

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The burden on farmers is also very heavy.

In addition to paying taxes according to the prescribed amount, taxpayers also have burdens such as "transfer" and "transformation".

In addition to the two taxes, there are also Dingkou tax, various miscellaneous taxes, corvees and errands.

This is another heavy burden in addition to taxes.

Zhang Heng knew this very well, because the three brothers sold their fields and came to Bianjing to make a living because they could not afford to support themselves.

If he hadn't had the talents of later generations and his prophetic ability, which would have made him what he is today, otherwise he would probably be like these refugees, either robbed or starving to death.

How to manage this kind of thing?

Zhang Heng knew how to manage it, but couldn't bear it.

They are just poor people.

He had carried out many projects in the past just to provide food for the refugees, but he could only take care of some of the refugees. There were so many refugees, how could he possibly take care of them!

The New Deal that the imperial court is currently promoting is nothing more than a farce in Zhang Heng's opinion.

If the roots are rotten, just sprinkling water to clean the dust on the leaves will not solve the problem at all.

Moreover, people like Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu exaggerate. It is a good idea to let them be public officials to criticize the government, but to let them come to power to preside over the government is just a joke.

Therefore, Zhang Heng had no idea of ​​becoming his teacher to famous people like Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu from the beginning.

These people are well-known and can make trouble, but using their talents to make changes is just asking for death, so why should he get involved in this.

Thinking of this, even with Zhang Heng's will, it is inevitable to feel discouraged.

But Zhang Heng was Zhang Heng after all. He was only temporarily frustrated and then he did what he could do.

The world is declining, but if there is heat, it will shine. Just like a firefly, it can shine a little in the dark without waiting for a torch.

The problem of refugees is ultimately a land problem, but ultimately it is a food problem.

As long as the refugees have a mouthful of food to eat, they will not hang their heads on their waists and do things like losing their heads at any time.

Just how to provide food for the refugees was a question that the civil and military officials in the court wanted to know, and Zhao Zhen also wanted to know.

Of course they actually know, they just don't want to do it.

If you ask the civil and military nobles of the Manchu Dynasty and the clans to take out all the land they occupy and distribute it to the refugees for farming, and then the government will also unify the taxes and leave a mouthful of food for the refugees, the matter can probably be solved.

.

But how is this possible?

Good wealth is hard to part with!

If you want to touch their land, you will kill them!

Don't think too much about things you can't do, think about things you can do.

Zhang Heng set his sights on business.

The British Industrial Revolution originated from the steam engine. The development of the steam engine led to the rapid development of the British textile industry. Therefore, capitalists raised sheep for wool. Raising sheep required a large amount of pasture, so a large amount of land was annexed. Farmers who lost their land could only run to the city, but instead

Cities brought a large amount of labor force, so the vigorous industrial revolution began.

Today's Song Dynasty is very similar to Britain at that time.

Although there was no steam engine, it was still land annexation. A large number of refugees came to the city to make a living, but there was no technological progress, so there were not enough jobs to accommodate them, so they could only survive by stealing.

What if he, Zhang Heng, could take advantage of these cheap labor forces?

Zhang Heng thought hard for many days, but still couldn't find a good way. Today, no industry can accommodate such a large number of refugees.

Unless there is an industrial revolution!

But this cannot be achieved overnight. Distant water cannot save nearby fire. The current problems must be solved now.

More than a dozen cases attracted Zhang Heng's attention, but after investigation, it turned out that they were actually refugees who had not enough to eat and turned into bandits.

So Zhang Heng was relieved and thought about how to help the refugees have enough to eat.

But the solution had not yet been thought of, and soon there was news that Wang Lun, a thief captured on Jingdong Road, was rebelling.

The Shandong area suffered from severe famine, and the people complained.

Wang Lun led hundreds of people to kill the Yizhou inspector Zhu Jin and occupied the Yizhou area.

This incident caused panic in Bianjing.

There are various rumors among the people in the market. Some people even say that Wang Lun has led an army to attack Bianjing. There are even people who don't know the truth pack up their packages and start running away.

Li Shu was also panicked when she saw this, but not that Wang Lun would lead an army to attack the capital.

Wang Lun had a bone in the back of his head, not a brain failure. How could he come to Bianjing to seek death?

What he was worried about was the instability of the people. If a large number of people really fled, then he, the prefect of Kaifeng, would be in trouble.

Li Shu quickly sent people to post notices to calm the people, but it was better not to post them, but there was a problem with this post.

Some people only listen to what they are told, and if the government does not say anything, they feel that the problem is not a big one.

As soon as the officials spoke, they immediately felt that the matter was serious, so more people ran away.

Li Shu was worried. If she kept running like this, Bianjing would be gone!

When the market dries up and taxes decrease, his bright future will be over.

So Li Shu quickly asked Zhang Heng for advice.

Zhang Heng then came up with a strategy, which was to mobilize various people to go to the public to announce the news.

These people are the servants of relatives of Kaifeng Yamen's officials, distant relatives who record affairs and join the army, distant nephews of a certain prime minister, and so on. Through their mouths, something like this:

[Wang Lun has died not long ago, and the officials have ordered Dongtou to enshrine Li Miao. Cao Yuanzhe, the leader of Zuoban Palace, led 100,000 troops to quell the rebellion. In about ten days, Wang Lun's head will appear at the top of Bianjing City.

】

[My master said, let us eat well, drink well, sleep well, and don’t worry about anything. If we do, we should worry about what we are going to eat tonight]

[It's a shame to escape. Let's not say whether Wang Lun will come over. There are many refugees outside, and Bianjing City is safe there. It was fine at first, but when I ran out, I was robbed. 】

[Have you never heard of it? Lao Li from the east end of the west alley ran away with his family, and then they were robbed on the road. Hey, his daughter was robbed, his son had his head cut off, and his wife didn’t know where he went.

I escaped with my life, but unfortunately I have gone crazy]

...and so on.

The tricks weren't surprising, and they were quite messy, but they were really easy to use, and Bianjing immediately felt at ease.

Li Shu thanked Zhang Heng repeatedly.

Zhang Heng didn't mean to take credit, he just smiled modestly.

In fact, all his thoughts were on Wang Lun's rebellion.

In fact, Zhang Heng had only forgotten it for a moment. When the name Wang Lun was mentioned in his ears, he had already remembered it.

Wang Lun is still very famous. This Wang Lun is actually the prototype of the white warrior Wang Lun in "Water Margin", and the idea of ​​the entire Water Margin did not come from the water in Liangshan, but from Wang Lun's rebellion.

Zhang Heng paid attention to this matter, not because of the impact of Wang Lun's rebellion, but on the aftermath of Wang Lun's rebellion being suppressed.

What he was worried about was that there was a severe drought in Shandong and a severe drought in Jianghuai. If not, Wang Lun would have no foundation for rebellion. Wang Lun would be defeated by then, but what about the refugees?

As long as they have something to eat, they will not think of rebellion.

Zhang Heng thought for a long time, and now the problem lies in the country. There is a severe drought in Shandong and a severe drought in the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. The refugees have no food to eat and there is no money to spend. Therefore, there is no way to solve the problem by focusing only on the country.

Zhang Heng looked abroad.

The various handicrafts, agricultural products, artworks, daily necessities, etc. of the Song Dynasty are among the most advanced in the world. If these things can be exported overseas...

After thinking about it this way, Zhang Heng had some ideas.

The problem of the Song Dynasty was that land annexation and natural disasters created a large number of unemployed farmers, also known as refugees. These people could not find jobs and naturally could not afford to support their families. Such people would naturally become a hidden danger to society.

The entire Song Dynasty had formed a huge social involution. Here, there were insufficient jobs, fields were occupied, and the extra people had no jobs, no money and food, and naturally they had no way to consume.

Therefore, within the Song Dynasty, products were produced but could not be sold, a situation similar to an economic crisis, and the court had already fallen into a fiscal deficit.

In fact, under such circumstances, it would be easier for the imperial court to collapse.
To be continued...