Zhenguan Wenzong System

Chapter 159 Premonition of Famine and Response

Land sale and land loan

In the blink of an eye, it was May, and thanks to the efforts of Chen Yuru and Cangcao, the granary in Lantian County was finally [-]% full.For this result, Luo Yan is quite satisfied.Although the money in hand is a little less, but with food, Luo Yan also has confidence in the face of the imminent large-scale famine.

It's just that within a few days of the happy days, Luo Yan had to face a very troublesome thing - someone wanted to sell the land.

As early as half a month ago, Luo Yan had greeted the individual Cao, and if anyone bought or sold land, he would bring it to him first.Nothing else, just want to know why.What's more, if it involves forced buying and selling, Luo Yan can also mediate it.

Land annexation is the source of turmoil in a dynasty, and Luo Yan does not want this to happen under his rule.

Early in the morning, Luo Yan, who had just had breakfast, was shocked by the news brought by Hu Cao to the county government office.As my first land sale in office, it has been more than a month since I took office, which is not a good thing.

There are two people kneeling in the hall.One was thin and small, and the sackcloth on his body was already in tatters, so he mended it with a few pieces of rags and washed it clean.As for the other one, his body is a bit fatter, and he is covered in silk. Compared with the poor man next to him, the difference is heaven and earth.

Come to think of it, these two are the seller and the buyer.

Asking the two to raise their heads and talk, they didn't expect that the person who bought the land could be regarded as an acquaintance. This person was the one who threatened him in the county government before.There was a bad feeling in my heart for no reason.

Luo Yan asked the common people: "Why did you sell the land, can you tell me about it?"

The common people hurriedly kowtowed to Luo Yan, and said: "Your Majesty, please tell me. Some time ago, there was no food at home, so the young one borrowed a bucket of food from the Wu squire. Now my mother-in-law is seriously ill again, and there is no money for medical treatment. Even if I do some coolies in the city, I can't get much money a month. In addition to the interest in borrowing grain, sooner or later the family will be ruined. After thinking about it, I simply sold some of the few acres of Susukida in the family. It’s better than this.”

The reason for this person is very simple, two words, no money.Since there is no money, it can only sell the land.The big deal is to become a tenant when there is no land in the end.This has been the common practice of common people for many years.

Looking at Wu Xiangshen with a sullen expression at this time, Luo Yan didn't say much.The deal between the two parties has been reached, if I block it at this time, it will be a loss for myself.After being silent for a while, Luo Yan nodded and signaled Hu Cao to take him down for processing.And he stayed in the hall to think carefully about how to deal with this matter.

Unexpectedly, this land transaction was just the beginning.

For four consecutive days, Hu Cao reported to Luo Yan a dozen cases of land sales, all because the family had no food.And Luo Yan has been paying attention to the price of food in the city, which has risen from [-] yuan a bucket at the beginning to [-] yuan in just a few days.Based on all the circumstances, Luo Yan knew that, I'm afraid, **** is coming soon.

Faced with such a matter, Luo Yan's ability alone cannot solve it. The entire Guanzhong region must be properly coordinated in order to survive this disaster steadily.

Inexplicably, Luo Yan locked himself in the back office and ordered no one to disturb him. He spent a day writing two memorials to Li Shimin.

The first one was about famine portents.Combining the current food prices and the daily life of the people, Luo Yan analyzed the possibility and scope of the famine in detail.As for the second letter, it was Luo Yan who came up with a way to fight against land annexation, and that was land loans.In the name of the government, the land is used as collateral for loans, and the people can redeem the land at any time, and the government must not block it in any name.Although there are still many areas that need to be improved, Luo Yan only asks to experiment under his own rule to see the effect.

After the two memorials were written, Luo Yan sent people to Chang'an quickly.

If it is an ordinary official, the memorial handed in may have to go through a process before it can reach Li Shimin's hands.But Luo Yan had a special status after all, before the messenger left, Luo Yan told him to go directly to Sun Wuji, Minister of the Ministry of Officials.With his name and Changsun Wuji's ability, presumably the memorial can be delivered to Li Shimin soon.

Sure enough, the messenger found the official department, and heard that it was Luo Yan's memorial, so Changsun Wuji put down what he was doing and rushed to Taiji Palace.Fortunately, it was not too late, and they entered the palace smoothly, and it took a while for Changsun Wuji to find Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, Luo Yan sent the memorial from the fast horse. I'm afraid there is something urgent." After hastily bowing to Li Shimin, Changsun Wuji handed over Luo Yan's two memorials.

Luo Yan, who had heard nothing about it for more than a month, suddenly had two memorials at this time, and Li Shimin also became interested.As a result, Li Shimin began to read seriously the memorabilia handed over by the servant.

At first, I thought that Luo Yan would say something good, or that he was going to do something wrong again.Who would have thought that with regard to this first memorial, the more Li Shimin looked at it, the more frightened he became.If Luo Yan really followed what Luo Yan said, I'm afraid that the Guanzhong area would cause him headaches for more than half a year.

He said to the servant next to him, "Quickly call all the chief officials of the three provinces and six ministries, and ask the Ministry of Households to bring up the inventory of this year." Changsun Wuji said: "You come and take a look. If what Luo Yan said is true, I'm afraid life will be difficult in the future."

The people suffered, and the highest rulers of the country were not easy.If a natural disaster is not handled properly, civil uprisings will follow.No matter how hard you try to govern in office, as long as the people are hungry, they can rebel at any time.

Seeing Li Shimin's expression, Changsun Wuji hurriedly took the memorial and began to read it.As for Li Shimin, he opened Luo Yan's second memorial.

Although Luo Yan thought very well in his heart, his idea still created a big problem for Li Shimin.Land loan ah, is not so easy to implement.If one is not good, the end is to be smashed to pieces.Li Shimin couldn't help but smile wryly at this moment, Luo Yan, what should I say about him.Let's talk about compliments, and ask yourself a difficult problem.As for reprimanding, they are all for the good of Datang.It's really Luo Yan's usual style.

The servant Li Shimin knew from his expression that this matter was very urgent.After leaving the main hall, he summoned a few guards and ran towards the three provinces and four ministries separately.As for himself, he rushed to the household department in person.The treasury that Li Shimin explained must be clearly explained to the Minister of the Ministry of Households in person.Li Shimin has not personally explained what to bring when he summoned the minister.This time I specifically explained it, which means that this matter is very important.

Soon, the chief officials of the six ministries of the three provinces all arrived in the main hall where Li Shimin was resting.After gesturing for everyone to sit down, Li Shimin asked Changsun Wuji to pass the memorial to several others to read one by one.And those who have seen it all think quietly.Luo Yan didn't have the habit of writing memorials as a ball of flowers, even so, this memorial was an essay of thousands of words.By the time these people finished watching, half an hour had passed.

During this period of time, everyone who had to think about it had thought about it, and Li Shimin didn't wait for these people to think about it any more, and asked, "How credible is what Luo Yan said?"

It's not that Li Shimin doubted Luo Yan's ability.After all, this is a major event, and it concerns the focus of government affairs in the next six months, so we must be cautious.

Feng Deyi panted and said: "If the price of food in various places is as Luo Yan said, I am afraid that this matter is true in all likelihood. Those merchants have always been cunning, and they are far more sensitive to this kind of matter than me. A lot. It’s only early May now, and the price of food has risen to [-] yuan. Before the autumn harvest, I’m afraid it will cost hundreds of yuan. At that time, who can afford it.”

Nodding, the Minister of the Household Department said at this time: "The food price he said is not false. It's just that Chang'an has always been expensive, and the increase in the past few days has not been large, and it is only four or five yuan. It has to go up a lot. In the land of Gyeonggi, it is rare to have rice under [-] Wen."

The Ministry of Households is in charge of the world's money and food, and it collects a lot of information about this, so its words are very convincing.

However, when Li Shimin heard such confirmation, his complexion became more and more ugly.

"According to this, this famine is unavoidable. Then, what should we do next?" Although there are precedents for dealing with the famine, it still involves central coordination and local treasury The filling cannot be generalized. "How is the treasury now, let everyone know first?" Li Shimin turned his attention to the Minister of the Household Department.

"Last year's Turkic incident, the treasury was almost empty. Fortunately, more than half of it was replenished later, but, relying on the treasury alone, I am afraid that after dealing with this matter, there will not be much left. The provinces and ministries still have some plans. It will be affected." The Secretary of the Household Department is not without worry, once the treasury runs out of money, the next day will be very difficult.

"As stable as possible, all repairs in the palace have been stopped. It can also save a lot of money and food." Li Shimin is setting an example. Every year, repairing the palace and daily consumption in the palace are not a small sum of expenses. .With such a statement, the Ministry of Finance can also breathe a sigh of relief.

Fang Xuanling said: "Once there is a famine, there will be a large number of refugees. After several years of corvee, these refugees can be properly recruited and paid for by work. It can also reduce a lot of consumption."

Nodding his head, Li Shimin said, "Yes. Luo Yan also brought another memorial this time. It also mentions work for relief. In addition, he also wants to borrow money from the common people in the name of the government and with the land as collateral. You see , is this method feasible?"

As soon as Li Shimin said it, several people's expressions changed.They all stopped and said: "Your Majesty, this matter must never be done. Competing for the interests of the people is not what a benevolent king does."

Obviously, there are representatives of some aristocratic powers here.Often the time of famine is the best time for land annexation.Before many people became refugees, what they did most was not to abandon the land, but to sell their land.No one would be willing to leave their hometown if they were not pushed to a dead end.

Li Shimin naturally knew the benefits behind Luo Yan's proposal.Just wanted to take this opportunity to test the reaction of these senior officials, but unexpectedly got such a fierce response.Helpless, Li Shimin could only compromise and say: "Luo Yan has already given sufficient reasons for this matter, and I will let you read it one by one later. However, no matter what you say, Luo Yan invited you to try it in Lantian. Once this is done, it cannot be changed.”

(End of this chapter)