The fourth year of Zhengxing is the year of Guimao Rabbit.
On the Lantern Festival, a grand celebration was organized on both sides of the Luoshui River. In addition to setting off fireworks and firecrackers, there were also ironworks.
This was a very novel performance in this world.
When Xue Bai was in Yanshi, he smuggled a large amount of iron stone from Wuyang to smelt it. Although he didn't know much about casting technology, he talked about a few general directions. After so many years, the blacksmiths learned to build blast furnaces and wind boxes, and the craftsmanship was still good.
I have made great progress, and by the way, I also have such a fancy job.
It was night, the Tianjin Bridge spanned the Luoshui River, and a flower shed with a height of more than ten feet was erected beside the bridge.
The garden shed has two floors. It looks round from a distance, but is actually octagonal.
"Do you know why this garden shed is shaped like this?"
"Why?"
"When the saint was in his dormitory, he ordered the heavenly master Li Xiazhou to make gunpowder and smelt iron tools. Therefore, the iron flower has a deep connection with Taoism. This octagonal flower shed is a gossip. It is said that one yuan gives rise to two rituals, and two rituals give rise to four images...
"
The group of people talking were all wearing the same blue robes. Their clothes were not luxurious, but they were very clean. They were traveling together.
These are junior students from various counties in Luoyang Prefecture.
They are neither the children of powerful people who can be admitted to the Imperial Academy, nor are they talented people whose talents are as high as those of state officials. Most of them are children of ordinary families who are diligent in studying and have good talents. Last year, they had an extra way out.
Yuan Zhiyuan was among them. After listening to his companions' talk, he couldn't help but ask: "Lin Ji, how do you know so much?"
Lin Ji was the youngest among the students, but he looked miserable every day. Before he could answer what he said, someone else had already spoken for him.
"Because Lin Ji also came from the 'Jimin Society' in Yanshi."
"Jimin Society?" Yuan Zhiyuan said: "How can a shed society have such a name? It must be avoided by Taizong."
He was born as a slave in a noble family. He had heard little about folk affairs, but he knew a lot about various kinds of culture.
Lin Jidao: "Although Jimin Society did not avoid Taizong's name, it was fulfilling Emperor Taizong's aspirations."
As he spoke, he pointed to a few people beside him and said: "In this child examination, several of the candidates in Luoyang Prefecture were raised by the Jimin Society. We are all children of refugees. We were originally starved to death in the wilderness.
Or we were sold into slavery, but it was the Jimin Society who raised us and provided us with education."
Yuan Zhiyuan became curious about this and was about to ask again when a burst of cheers suddenly sounded from the front.
"good!"
He looked up and saw a group of shirtless men pushing a large wind box together.
After that, the flower maker held a long flower stick in his hand, scooped up the iron juice, and quickly ran under the flower shed. The other flower maker also picked up a wooden stick and slammed it with his flower stick filled with iron juice.
Iron flowers soared into the sky.
"good!"
Yuan Zhiyuan also shouted, not loudly at first. As the sparks on Luohe became brighter, his voice gradually grew louder, and finally he let out a shout.
He felt an unprecedented freedom.
~~
In the bright hall, Xue Bai was also looking at Luo He. The bright lights seemed very close to him, but also seemed very far away.
Li Xiazhou, who was standing next to him, was wearing a Taoist robe with wide sleeves and was blown by the wind.
"With our current smelting technology, the objects His Majesty mentioned can be made gradually." Li Xiazhou pointed to the scene of iron flowers being forged in the distance, "Pindao didn't just do this flower work."
Xue Bai asked: "Is there any new progress?"
"Boiler." Li Xiazhou said: "Pindao feels that with the boiler, the steam engine may be about to make great progress."
"Um."
Xue Bai wanted to give some more advice to Li Xia on Monday, but after much deliberation, he had already said a few things about what he understood, and the rest could only be explored slowly.
I have experienced this kind of thing many times. Sometimes I feel that I am just a few centimeters away from a breakthrough, but I still can't make a breakthrough for several years.
In any case, progress is a good thing. Xue Bai knew that with his own guidance, the development of productivity would be accelerated, although many things would take a long time to see the results.
At least this gave him the confidence to make the Tang Dynasty strong during his reign. Even if he did not make changes or solve the problem of land annexation, he could still be evaluated as a wise king by relying solely on the development of productivity.
He might be able to relax and enjoy the prosperous age that will slowly come.
But whenever he thinks like this, Xue Bai feels empty and has lost his ambition.
Sometimes he seemed to be able to see that one day he would rule an extremely powerful Tang Dynasty. He even had pictures in his mind of trains crossing the vast territory and the poems of the Tang Dynasty being sung thousands of miles away.
But if the intensifying class contradictions are not resolved, and a powerful dynasty does not have an appropriate system, it will be like a bomb that gets bigger and bigger. When it explodes, it will fall apart...
"Bang!"
A ball of fireworks exploded in front of Xue Bai, scattering light all over the sky.
The Lantern Festival passed like this.
The young emperor ushered in his fourth year on the throne.
In the past few years, the stable environment that should have been established has been established. Things such as recuperation and recuperation, and agriculture that focus on people's livelihood have been done. The development of productivity is in a gradual process... The time for change has gradually matured.
It just depends on whether Xue Bai still wants to make drastic changes.
~~
Shouan County.
Lao Yuantou squatted beside the hundred acres of land allocated to him by the government, feeling a little worried.
This land is not considered good, in fact it is considered wasteland, far inferior to the fertile fields that the Cui family asked him to cultivate.
Of course, he can do it if he wants to, but after some calculation, renting cattle, buying farm tools, digging canals to divert water or carrying water for irrigation is a big burden for him.
After thinking about it, he thought of the Chun Miao Loan that Du Wulang had told him.
Although he was worried that if he borrowed more money, he would encounter a bad year and repeat the misfortune of the past, he still gritted his teeth and decided to do it.
The next day, Lao Yuan got up early and set out for the county seat before dawn.
When he arrived at the county government office, he saw many farmers squatting on the street opposite the gate, so he went over and asked, "Are you here to borrow a spring seedling loan too?"
"Yes, originally there was an official in the county who said that we could get it at Fenghui Branch, but he wasn't here and we didn't know what to do."
"Who's coming?"
"Shao Wenyuan, it is said that he had an affair with the little widow and was raped in a pig cage by his husband's family."
"Then let's go to Fenghui?"
"I went there yesterday and was told that the county office would send people to various villages to work with the cattle."
Just as he was talking, the door of the county office finally opened, and some officials came out shaking their heads. Seeing many people gathered here, they stepped forward and scolded: "What are you doing here? Are you going to cause trouble?"
"Master Chai, we want to ask about Chunmiao Loan..."
"I told you! Everyone is waiting in the countryside. The county will send people to pull cattle and farm tools to each village. Who told you to come to the county office?!"
After saying this, everyone started to disperse.
Upon seeing this, Lao Yuantou followed them and dispersed, preparing to go back to the village and wait.
After walking a few steps, I met a sedan swinging towards me. A follower next to me stepped forward and said, "Old Yuan Tou, why are you here?"
"The villain is here to borrow spring seedlings."
"Wait."
The attendant then returned to the sedan chair to talk. Old Yuan Tou looked over and saw that it was Zong Han, the chief bookkeeper.
Zong Han gave a few instructions, and the attendant responded and said to Old Yuan Tou: "The chief secretary is concerned about you and asked me to take you there."
"Thank you, by the way, is it true that the annual interest rate is one cent? The villain's fields are very uncultivated, and I'm afraid that if something happens..."
"The annual interest rate is one cent or two cents. It depends on the land area. Just follow me."
"Okay."
Old Yuan Tou also followed the other party to Fenghui Bank in Nancheng of the county.
The entourage entered and said, "The sect leader asked me to come. This is from Xiangshui Village. I want to borrow Chunmiao Loan."
"The Xiangshui Village County Office has paid out the money and distributed it to each household."
"He was late in dividing the land, so it's not his. Oh, he returned home and settled in last year."
"Tian Deed."
When Old Yuan asked for the deed to the field, he felt that this scene seemed familiar. He looked at the hand extended by the other party, worried that he would not be able to pay it, and would lose the field again, so he asked: "Is it really a one-cent annual interest?"
"The annual interest rate is one cent, which is levied with the autumn tax. It is paid in full at the end of the year. In case of floods or droughts, there is an extension of one year."
The clerk from Fenghui Bank said solemnly, without much expression on his face. But if Old Yuan Tou didn't understand, he would say it again, and finally let Old Yuan Tou put his fingerprint on the deed.
Not long after, Lao Yuantou left Fenghui Bank holding a bag of money.
Following what others told him, he returned to Xiangshui Village and waited for two days. Sure enough, the government sent someone to rent out cattle, farm tools, and spring seedlings.
Old Yuan Tou did some calculations. After buying all these things with the money he borrowed and planting the fields, he still has half left, just in time for the autumn harvest. There is no need to pay rent this year. After paying off the spring seedling loan, if there is still some left
, life will be better next year.
But not every farmer is as lucky as him.
"Listen, the imperial court doesn't have that much money. If you haven't received it yet, you haven't caught up."
After the county official said this, he sat there guarding the cattle, waiting for the farmers to bring money to rent. However, those farmers had not borrowed the Spring Miao Loan, so they whispered to each other, not knowing what to do.
Lao Yuantou had been away from home for many years and was not familiar with them. He was in a hurry to drive his cattle and didn't mind other people's business.
The next day, he met fellow villagers who had all borrowed spring seedling loans and started farming one after another.
After asking about it, I found out that another person from the county came to solve the problem. They said it was "similar to Chunmiao Loan" and they could get the money by pressing their fingerprints and depositing the land deed.
Old Yuan Tou said: "That's what happened. It's convenient for you. You don't have to go to the county again."
Two months later, Lao Yuantou dug a lot of wild vegetables in the mountains and went to the county school to see his son.
Although the county school provided room and board, the Yuan family was not wealthy after all. Yuan Zhiyuan usually took on small chores such as writing and doing calculations to earn some money to supplement his expenses. Fortunately, now that Dongdu's business is booming, there are always people on both sides of the Luoshui River.
You can find work.
Generally speaking, their food and clothing are not as good as the slaves in the Cui family, but they are better than living a life of hope, dignity, and happiness.
Finally, Yuan Zhiyuan said: "Last time I saw Du Langjun, he also said that if he had time, he would go to Xiangshui Village to meet my grandpa."
"How can I bother Mr. Du to come over?" Old Yuan Tou rubbed his hands and asked hesitantly: "How about I go to see Mr. Du?"
"Then I'll take grandpa there."
The father and son actually walked to Luoyang City on the same day, slept in Datongpu in the post house at night, bought two steamed buns, and didn't spend much money in total. They didn't arrive in Luoyang until the next day.
After tidying up their appearance beforehand, they went to Du's house to ask for an audience.
Du Wulang had no airs at all and met them immediately. When he found out that they were coming on foot, he was deeply moved.
"I wanted to go to Shou'an County to see you, but I've been slacking off during the Chinese New Year and have already gained two pounds."
"How can I let Mr. Lang make a trip? I should come and pay homage to Mr. Lang."
"I don't have anything else to do." Du Wulang said, "I just wanted to go over and ask you how you are doing lately."
"Okay." Old Yuan Tou said: "The fields have also been planted. At first, the land was very uncultivated. It was not easy to open up the wasteland. It took two months of work before it looked like something, but the little man felt comfortable looking at it."
Du Wulang smiled cheerfully and asked again: "By the way, this is the first year that the imperial court has issued a spring seedling loan. Can you take it?"
"I've got it. Not to mention it's a great harvest year. As long as the villain is willing to use his strength, it will be better if you understand."
"Have everyone in the village received it too?"
"Yes, there are more than fifty households in Xiangshui Village than last year. They all say that the interest rate is lower this year. In the past, if they wanted to borrow money, the interest rate would be high."
Du Wulang just asked a few questions casually. Come to think of it, Luoyang Mansion is now at the foot of the emperor, so there can be no trouble. The court is most worried about other places.
Nowadays, some local officials have corrupted the Chunmiao loan, loaned money to relatives at high interest rates, or simply neglected their duties. This is why Fenghui Bank approved the money, but there are still many people in the world.
In Xiaozhou County, Fenghui Bank does not have coverage or does not have the manpower.
"As long as Shouan County is doing well." Du Wulang turned to Yuan Zhiyuan and asked, "What about you? How are you preparing for the exam?"
"Students have confidence."
Yuan Zhiyuan agreed, thought for a while, and then asked: "Lang Jun, I heard that the Cui family has been pushed to the forefront because of me?"
When this matter was mentioned, Du Wulang felt a little guilty towards Cui Dong.
Yuan Zhiyuan passed the county examination, and the reason why he became a slave of the Cui family was also revealed.
The Cui family took advantage of the calamity and lent a handful of grain to buy the land owned by the old Yuan Tou. Later, they also bought people as slaves. In the past few decades, there have been countless people like this who escaped from their households and were hidden as slaves.
Including, when the imperial court reduced the number of temples, the Cui family protected many monks.
These are not serious sins, and they are generally done by wealthy families, but this is a typical example. The Cui family happened to be pushed to the forefront, and they could only admit that they were unlucky.
Du Wulang could no longer help Cui Dong out of friendship, because he knew that Xue Bai wanted to use this matter to implement the New Deal.
I'm afraid this time it's not a minor reform, but a tax law.
Of course, I am afraid there will be considerable opposition in the court.
"It's not because of you." Du Wulang came back to his senses and said to Yuan Zhiyuan: "But because... the general trend is."
~~
The next day, Yuan Zhiyuan returned to the county school from Luoyang.
In the dormitory, Lin Ji was discussing something with his classmates.
"I would say that the root cause of the incident lies in land annexation."
"The rich and powerful families annexed fertile land and hid the population. The court could not collect taxes, but its expenses increased day by day. The national treasury had no money, and its control over local areas naturally weakened, and chaos emerged."
"If we want to eradicate the long-standing abuses, there are only two ways. One is to clear out the acres of land and collect taxes according to the amount of land; the other is to simply take the land back to the court and re-divide it..."
Yuan Zhiyuan asked: "What are you talking about?"
Lin Ji turned around.
He is still very young, and although he always pretends to be mature, his demeanor and words still inevitably reveal some childishness, and his thoughts are also naive.
But what he has is enthusiasm.
"We are talking about the topic of policy discussion, which is to change the old tune and replace the bad with the new!"
Yuan Zhiyuan asked: "Is this a question asked by Mr.?"
"No." Lin Jidao, "This is the title of this year's Spring Festival."
They are not yet qualified to take the Jinshi examination. Yuan Zhiyuan always feels that it is still far away. He has to pass two more exams before he may be eligible to study in the Imperial College and then take the provincial examination.
Now that he is preparing for the exam, he has gradually lost his energy because he realizes that the gap between himself and those students is too big.
Even compared to Lin Ji, he felt inferior. Although Lin Ji was born in a poor family, he went to the school of Jimin Society, and all he learned was how to run a country and help the world. And he spent too much time trying to figure out how to serve.
My dear, I have too many distracting thoughts.
"It seems that the imperial court really wants to change the law." Yuan Zhiyuan said, thinking of what Du Wulang said about "the general trend."
"It's not that I want to." Lin Jidao, "It's that we have started a long time ago. In the past two years, the court has promulgated many new policies. We will gradually see the results gradually."
~~
Shouan County, Xiangshui Village.
It was already dark when Lao Yuantou came back. He saw that Liu Fu's house at the entrance of the village was still bright, so he looked inside and found many people gathering around to gamble money.
The bets among the villagers were very small, and they didn't have much money in total, so they passed it around in each other's hands.
Old Yuan Tou also wanted to go up and have some fun, but after all, he was different from others. He wanted to provide a son who was studying. After thinking about it, he finally held back.
Before going home, he took another look at the wheat. The summer grain was almost ripe, which made people full of longing.
"Dong dong dong!"
At night, there was a knock on the door suddenly. Lao Yuantou stood up and opened the door, and saw a shirtless Liu Fu standing outside.
"Old Yuan Tou, your son is a scholar, are you literate?"
"I……"
Old Yuan Tou still wanted to speak, but a deed was delivered to him. Liu Fu couldn't wait to ask: "Look, how much interest is written on this IOU."
"Two points?" Old Yuan Tou said, "I still recognize these two characters."
"Then what's the word after this?"
The two of them looked at it under the moonlight for a long time, but finally could not recognize the words.
Finally, Old Yuan Tou said: "Just tell me, what happened? Is there anything wrong with the IOU written by the county office?"
"Today, two people came to the village to gamble. I overheard them saying that this was not a spring seedling loan from the county office, but a loan shark from Mr. Hu."
"Who is Hu Gong?"
"You say he is a great person." Liu Fu looked frightened.
Old Yuan Tou comforted him and said that such a thing was impossible and how could the government lie to people.
He also followed Du Wulang's words and said that this is the emperor's feet. Who dares to take the idea of Chunmiao Loan?
"Don't worry, my son will come back after taking the exam in two months. I'll ask him to show you this IOU..."
In the blink of an eye, the summer grain was harvested, and Xiangshui Village was full of joy, but the joy was mixed with uneasiness.
On this day, Lao Yuantou was working in the fields when he heard someone quarreling at the entrance of the village from a distance.
The sound became louder and louder, so he went over to take a look with his sickle in hand.
"See clearly, this is the IOU signed by you in black and white, one thousand dollars, two cents interest per month. Now four months have passed, you need to pay back one thousand eight hundred dollars!"
"No, no, we borrowed the spring seedling loan from the county office."
"Don't make a mistake. What you are borrowing is our Alang's money. The note is clearly written on it. If it doesn't work out, you will give your land to me, Alang. Do you want to default on the debt?"
"But I can't read."
"Illiterate? It's only natural to pay back debts, so just use these grains to pay them back and move!"
"..."
Lao Yuantou stood by the field stalks and looked around. He saw that the debt collectors were numerous and armed with knives, which was very scary.
He then shrank back again.
After this incident, Old Yuan Tou was in fear for two days, fearing that someone would come to collect his debts, take away the grain he had worked so hard to grow, or take over the fields he finally cultivated.
“Tuk-tuk-tuk.”
When the knock on the door rang again, he shuddered subconsciously.
Opening the door, there was a clerk standing outside.
"Old Yuan Tou, right? I'm just here to tell you that you borrowed Chunmiao Loan and it's okay. Those folks are just too stupid and were coaxed into borrowing loan sharks at usurious rates. Fortunately, the harvest this year is good, so there's nothing to worry about.
"
"Yes, yes." Old Yuan Tou did not dare to say anything.
The clerk added: "I heard that there are many people gambling in your village, right?"
"Yes, yes."
"To tell you the truth, many people lost their Chunmiao money in gambling and went to borrow money again." The clerk lowered his voice, "You said that living a good life honestly is better than anything else.
Bar?"
"Yes, yes."
Old Yuan Tou sent the young official away and returned to the couch to sit down in a daze.
After sitting for a long time, Liu Fu crept into his room and waved: "Old Yuan Tou, I have to go."
"Where to go?"
"I was just about to ask you." Liu Fudao said, "I understand now that there is no way to do anything in this world without a backer. I heard that you are familiar with the manager of Jinping Bieye, can you let me go?"
Old Yuan Tou said: "Do you want to defect to the Cui family?"
"I asked someone to read the IOU, and I also tricked the dog-gut eater. I borrowed too much, and the harvest was small. If I gave him all the food, it wouldn't be enough to pay him back. I'm afraid I'd have to ask for help from my mother-in-law, so I might as well give it to him.