My players are all actors

Chapter 215

Although Chu Ge was prepared that his changes would fail, he never expected that he would fail to such an extent.

The first thing I saw was the impeachment memorial from Yushitai flying like snowflakes.

Many of these memorials are aimed at other laws.Chu Ge didn't read it carefully, because the other laws and regulations were still based on Wang Wenchuan's original approach, and Chu Ge probably knew the content of the impeachment, so there was nothing new about it.

He is more concerned about what kind of repercussions his improved young crop method will cause.

As a result, Chu Ge almost lost his breath when he saw the memorials of these officials impeaching the New Youth Law.

Some people say that he is "gaining his private name at the expense of the state treasury", that is, taking the state's money and throwing coins crazily to gain a good reputation for himself.

Some people also said that he was "seeking cronies at the expense of the national treasury", that is, using the state's money to spread coins crazily.

Others said that he committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, because the Young Crops Law not only did not bring any income to the treasury, but caused a large consumption of stored grain in various places, seriously endangering the local food security, and may even cause military rations during wars. Insufficiency, the evil consequences of insufficient relief food during a famine...

And these impeachments of Yushitai are obviously not the most suffocating.

After hastily flipping through these documents, the court meeting followed.

In the court hall, there was another wave of officials besieging, and this time the words were even more exaggerated, and all kinds of shit bowls were crazily put on Chu Ge's head.

It was also mixed with a lot of attacks on his personal morality.

If it wasn't for Wang Wenchuan being upright and not afraid of slanting shadows, being honest and law-abiding, having a lot of experience in governing at the grassroots level, and having a high original reputation, and changing to a less clean ass, I'm afraid he would have completely lost control of the situation at this time.

Of course, even if there is nothing wrong with Wang Wenchuan's personal morality, these officials can always find a place to attack him.

What made Chu Ge feel even more chilled was that the way the emperor looked at him also changed.

Originally, the emperor trusted Wang Wenchuan very much, otherwise it would not have been possible to support his reforms intermittently for ten years.

At least in the first two or three years, the emperor's recognition of Wang Wenchuan was very high. After all, the new law has just been implemented. Even if there are some minor flaws, the emperor will think that it can be changed slowly, and will not just give Wang Wenchuan a slap down.

But Chu Ge changed the green seedling method and sent it.

Under the questioning of the emperor and the officials, Chu Ge wanted to struggle again.

He took advantage of the gifted skills of generous speeches, and at this time, he explained in detail his motivation for improving the young crop law, especially repeatedly stating that his move was a great thing that benefited the country and the people. Although going out will temporarily reduce the national storage, but in the long run, it is conducive to agricultural development.

With the development of the economy in the future, these grains will definitely be recovered, so as to achieve the goal of "the country does not increase the tax, but the people use it".

The talent effect of generous statement is indeed useful.

Chu Ge could clearly feel that some officials were rendered speechless by his refutation, and the aloof emperor was also quite moved.

Therefore, the emperor was very moved, and immediately made a decision to dismiss Wang Wenchuan as prime minister.

Chu Ge's first reform attempt died tragically in the first year.

……

Back to the original starting point.

Chu Ge was a little skeptical about life.

"No, my plan was perfect, why is the result not as good as Wang Wenchuan's original plan?"

In Chu Ge's view, his improved Young Crops Law can effectively prevent the problem of forced apportionment by officials, and it shouldn't cause the country's financial crisis, right?

What he issued was an interest-free loan, not a free gift for charity.

Since the loans are given to farmers, will farmers pay them back in the future?

How did it become a waste of public and private interests?

Chu Ge realized that there must still be huge problems in the young crop method he improved, so after calming down, he calmed down and analyzed it carefully from the beginning.

And the best entry point is what those people at Yushitai attacked themselves.

"These officials, the attack on me is actually two points.

"The first point is that I have brought losses to the country, and the storage in various places is declining rapidly. In this way, if a disaster occurs in the future, it will lead to insufficient food funds for disaster relief.

"The second point is that I think I am seeking personal gain for myself. Some people say that I am gaining fame, while others say that I am seeking profit for cronies.

"Although these conservative officials will try their best to attack me, their attacks should not be groundless and must hit my weakness.

"And the emperor trusted me so much, but he dismissed me in the first year... This shows that their attack has indeed taken effect, and the emperor no longer trusts me.

"In other words, objectively, my new young crop law did cause these consequences?
"No, this is an interest-free loan, why would it cause losses?
"Could it be that... the 20% interest is essential?"

After Chu Ge thought hard, suddenly a light flashed in his mind, and he suddenly became enlightened.

He is a liberal arts student, and he doesn't have a deep understanding of economics, so when he came up with the idea of ​​an interest-free loan, he didn't have any knowledge of economics to support him.

At this time, after some reflection, he suddenly realized that interest-free loans were simply not feasible in this era.

Why does Wang Wenchuan have to set the interest at 20%?

Is it just to make money for the country?

You know, according to memory fragments and historical records, Wang Wenchuan had been in the local area for 20 years, and he had tried the young crop method as early as when he was the county magistrate.

Many people said that Wang Wenchuan's reform should be piloted first, and then implemented nationwide.

But what they don't know is that Wang Wenchuan has already conducted a pilot project, and the effect is excellent.

It is precisely because Wang Wenchuan's pilot project when he was the county magistrate made him famous that he was able to enter the center of the imperial court smoothly, be favored by the emperor, and initiate reforms.

It can also be said that at the beginning of his reform, it was what everyone expected.

Chu Ge pushed backwards, thinking that the 20% interest was the key to the failure of the young crop method. However, after in-depth analysis at this time, he found that Wang Wenchuan's approach actually had other deep meanings.

There is a key word in this, called "risk control".

Chu Ge made an interest-free loan wishful thinking, and believed that in an ideal state, this could promote agricultural development and protect the interests of farmers, thereby indirectly increasing tax revenue for the country.

But what if some farmers fail to pay due to poor harvest?
As long as there is one farmer who does not make it, won't the country lose money?
As a comparison, you can actually consider the interest rate of private lending.

The interest rate of private lending is as high as 100% or even 200%. On the one hand, it is because wealthy businessmen and big households are greedy and want to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, but on the other hand, the reason is that this kind of borrowing is too risky and the cost of default is too high.

Take the 20% interest of the green crop method.

In the most ideal situation, all ten rural households repay their loans, and the government will earn 20%.However, what if one or two out of ten peasant households fail to repay due to various reasons?Then this loan is basically tantamount to a waste of time.

In ancient times, the agricultural economy was actually very fragile, basically depending on the sky for food.When planting seeds, how can farmers be sure that the weather will be good this year?
If the harvest is good, everyone will be happy; but if the harvest is poor, widespread defaults are almost inevitable.

Therefore, there is a very important reason why the interest rate of those high-value private loans is set so high is that there are too many people who default on the contract.

If the interest rate is set low, it is almost certain to lose money. Even if it does not lose money, the income in this process is too low, and no one will bother to fiddle with it.

If the interest rate of the young crop method is set below 20%, the possibility of loss is already very high.

Chu Ge made an interest-free loan. As long as a farmer fails to enter the country, he will lose money, which is even more troublesome.

He re-studied Wang Wenchuan's previous young crop method plan, and found that Wang Wenchuan had a sense of risk control.

For example, he stipulated that farmers who borrow money must be matched by rich and poor, with 10 people as guarantees, and the loan amount is divided into five grades according to the assets of each household.

In short, it is necessary to collect the grain with interest.

Originally, Chu Ge thought it was a bad law, because from the perspective of later implementation, after the officials forced apportionment, the poor households could not repay the young crop loans, causing the rich households to bear joint and several liabilities, and finally led to everyone going bankrupt together, and all of them were forcibly confiscated by the officials. The treasury is gone.

But after Chu Ge canceled these risk control measures, he found that the interests of the country could not be guaranteed at all.

Moreover, from the perspective of officials and the emperor, Wang Wenchuan, played by Chu Ge, deserved to be dismissed from the prime minister.

First of all, you keep saying that the new law is for the purpose of enriching the country and strengthening the army. Is the country rich?

The New Green Crops Law provides interest-free loans, and the grain that has been put down cannot be collected, and the country will become poorer instead. Moreover, in the event of a natural disaster, the food for disaster relief will not be enough.

Secondly, who will be the biggest beneficiary of this interest-free loan?
Since it is an interest-free loan, there is too much room for interest.For example, officials can distribute grain and secretly transfer it to wealthy households through some means, and wealthy households can use the grain to lend usury.

Under such a grassroots organization, how can we be sure that these grains can be accurately distributed to poor farmers?
If there is 20% interest, then even if the grain is transferred to rich households, they have to find a way to pay back the 20% interest.Coupled with the provision of ten households as a guarantee, at least it can ensure that the country will never lose money.

But now, some officials have colluded with wealthy households to enrich their own pockets and use the grain issued by the new green crop law to lend money. This blame must still be borne by Wang Wenchuan, played by Chu Ge.

Therefore, the speech officials scolded him for taking the money of the country to buy himself a good reputation, and using the money of the country to benefit his cronies for personal gain, which is really not wronging him.

Because in the eyes of the common people, it is estimated that he really has such an image...

Naturally, the evil consequences of the reform can only be borne by him, the implementer of the reform.

After figuring this out, Chu Ge also understood why he was dismissed in the first year.

Although he took the gift of generous speeches, he spoke words and righteous words in the court, but in the end he found that they were meaningless.

Because no matter how much he said, in the face of the bloody reality, he would only continue to strengthen the image of "a traitor who seems loyal".

As for why the emperor dismissed his prime minister in the first year?Why did Wang Wenchuan's trust in the emperor's heart be hit hard in an instant?
You can understand it from the perspective of the emperor.

You, Wang Wenchuan, keep saying that the country is rich and the army is strong, but where is the money?Not only did they not get any money, but they spent money like water.

It’s all about spending money, the key is that you have earned a good reputation yourself. Who knows if those people who harm the public and benefit themselves and lend usury with the grain of the young crop loan are not your people?Many of them are new parties, right?

It is harming the interests of the country, it is gaining a good reputation for itself, and it is profiting for its new party...

Are you going to heaven?

Are you going to rebel?

If the emperor can even bear this, then there is really a ghost.

……

After an analysis, Chu Ge felt very frustrated.

Because he found that after going around in a circle with great effort, he went back to Wang Wenchuan's old road.

Wang Wenchuan's method, although the world was full of criticism, and many farmers' families were ruined, but at least it persisted intermittently for ten years, and after all, it filled the national treasury.

After the national treasury was filled, at any rate, it also won several victories in the northwest and regained some land.

Although these lands were later sent back by conservatives in power, the money and food in the treasury finally continued the life of the Qi Dynasty for a period of time.

And what about Chu Ge?

The operation was as fierce as a tiger, and he was raped in less than a year, and it did not bring income to the country, which made it easier for the gangsters in the middle.

Perhaps the only good thing is that the peasants at the bottom didn't scold him, but... reforms are always scolded, so what kind of merit is it to not be scolded?
The key is to get things done.

"If you do this, won't you fall into an endless loop?
"With interest-free loans and no performance review, the result is that the national treasury is even more empty, and the country's food is filled with various moths, and it is difficult to distribute it to farmers;
"Set a relatively low interest rate, and the officials will always find a way to raise it;
"Setting a 20% interest rate, plus some risk control, although it is true that the loan of the Young Crops Law can be recovered and increase the country's income, but there will inevitably be excessive implementation by officials, causing the destruction of some farmers' families...

"No solution!"

At this moment, Chu Ge felt as if he was walking alone at night.I saw a fork in the road, and one of the roads said "this road is not open", so I went to another road, and after walking, I found that it was also a dead end.

"So, where is the crux of the problem?
"No matter what kind of policy, when it comes to the bottom, there are people who sing crooked scriptures.

"Wang Wenchuan's original policy is already a very appropriate policy considering all aspects of the situation. If every official can strictly follow the laws and regulations like Wang Wenchuan, then all places will be governed in an orderly manner like when Wang Wenchuan was the county magistrate.

"The counties have been governed well, isn't the new law a success?

"However, people with character and ability like Wang Wenchuan are very few among the officials of the entire Qi Dynasty. Or to put it more exaggeratedly, only he himself is such a person.

"It's not going to work, so I'll think of another way."

Chu Ge was very melancholy. After thinking about it, he re-planned two paths.

"To solve this problem, in the long run, the final analysis is to rectify the administration of officials.

"No matter how well the regulations of the new law are formulated, if the government is not clear enough, the people below will always sing crooked scriptures. As a minister, no matter how good the rules are, the people below will always find loopholes to exploit.

"In the end, I took all the blame for it myself.

"In ten years, if I can rectify the administration of officials, weed out a group of people, and arrange some people with ideals, abilities, and support for the new law to serve as grassroots officials at all levels, then the new law may succeed.

"Wang Wenchuan didn't dig deep into this point at the time. I don't know if it was because he was dark under the lights and ignored this point, or was there some other reason?
"In short, this one can be tried.

"If the way to rectify the administration of officials does not work, there is only one last resort.

"That is to follow Wang Wenchuan's old path.

"Although Wang Wenchuan's method has been overweighted by officials at all levels, causing many poor and rich households to go bankrupt, at least the country has money and food.

"This will at least help me win the battle of Niuzhu ten years later.

"...Unexpectedly, I would eventually become the kind of person I hate the most.

"'No matter how hard it is for the people, I will bear the blame', right..."

Chu Ge smiled self-deprecatingly.

For the second method, he is actually very contemptuous.

I watched a lot of historical dramas before, and many high-ranking officials in the imperial court just used the excuse of "the people should think about the imperial court" to extort and extort money, making the people's livelihood difficult.

Officials of the feudal dynasty, using the rhetoric of "suffering the common people", continued to do evil one after another.

Chu Ge is of course critical and opposed to this.

But when it came time to act as Wang Wenchuan, he realized that thinking was one thing, but doing it was another.

In this slice of history, what will happen if he cannot push the new law?
The result was that the Jin soldiers went south. Without Zhao Binfu, even with Yu Jiaxuan, it was impossible to rely on a clinking poor Qi army to stop the Jin soldiers in Niuzhuji.

At that time, it will not be a matter of some poor and rich families going bankrupt, or a matter of the whole dynasty being slaughtered.

Thinking of this, Chu Ge started the game again.

This time, he changed his strategy again.

The content of the new law will still be implemented according to Wang Wenchuan's original plan.

The change of Chu Ge this time is mainly due to the addition of the provisions of "rectification of officials" in the new law.

The first is to strengthen the performance evaluation of officials. The promotion is determined by the performance of the evaluation, and cannot be promoted based on seniority, years, or background. It is strictly stipulated that to be a Beijing official or an official in a core department, one must have a certain number of years of grassroots work experience.

The second is to reduce the hereditary status of officials. To be kind, one must pass the exam.

Chu Ge originally wanted to add a few more, but after thinking about it, it would be nice if these two could be done.

According to his expected situation, if it can be implemented smoothly, the official management of the entire Qi Dynasty will be improved within five years, and a group of officials who can really handle affairs will be selected. Also get good results.

Ten years is not long, but it is not short either.

Chu Ge thought about splitting the ten years into two five years, the first five years to rectify the government, and the second five years to enrich the country and strengthen the army, plus Yu Jiaxuan's line of training soldiers a little bit to win the battle of Niuzhu, It shouldn't be a big problem.

(End of this chapter)