From this perspective, the reactionary forces are indeed too powerful.
However, at the same time, one thing that must be admitted is that compared with temples, landlords, and wealthy merchants, the lower-level bureaucrats, or grassroots officials, are probably the most reactionary group of people in this era!
Not to mention that they must accept cash, can lend up to a 30% upper limit, etc., the most terrifying thing is that when they implement the Qingmiao loan, they often directly change it to malicious levy. There are also some evil officials who think that this policy is no different from other policies in their hands. They are just a means for them to annex land and extort money... In fact, Qingmiao loan is more convenient to use and has more room for operation.
Therefore, for the common people, monks, Taoists, wealthy merchants, and landlords may still be treated with favors, and can be subject to certain constraints by clans and neighbors. They are kind-hearted people who can use millet and fresh fish as interest. However, the government is a jinx that can easily destroy people's families. They are not short of money, but force you to take out loans. What they lend out are moldy seeds, and when they take them back, they require cash. If you dare to say no, you will be immediately sent to do labor... Even if there are some bullies, evil monks, evil merchants, and evil Taoists, I am afraid they have colluded with the government first before they became evil.
Therefore, once we consider the setting that the imperial power, the government and the grassroots officials are the real villains, even the "helping the rich and the poor" that Fahe used to defend usury will seem to make sense.
After all, the common people are extremely poor, and when it comes to the time of shortage of food and spring planting, they really need to borrow money to make ends meet.
In the eyes of ordinary people, a 30% Qingmiao loan that could easily ruin a family is far less appropriate than a 40% loan from a nearby temple. What's more, a large temple like Shaolin Temple, which has been prosperous for hundreds of years, has its own prestige, military security, and religious appeal.
Of course, the problem arises. Emperor Zhao now wants to emulate Emperor Shenzong and make a living from this. How can he do so peacefully?
"I know what you mean." Zhao Jiu spoke slowly. "I also understand your wit, but there are some things that you can't say too much about... Fahe presides over the discussion of benefiting from one source and helping the rich and the poor. I can only benefit from one source!"
Fahe was originally preparing to defend himself, but he remained silent - because the government had said that they could not say any more.
"Why don't you speak?" Zhao Jiu asked coldly.
Abbot Fahe was completely helpless and could only respond, "I understand."
"You know shit!" Zhao Jiu was furious.
Not to mention that this is inside a military camp, nor how frightening it is to have so many braziers around, and so many soldiers beside the braziers... Even if there were no such things, the official's sudden change of expression was enough to frighten these already nervous people.
"I am terrified." Fahe felt sad, but he could only kneel down helplessly. "The country is in trouble. If the government has any request, Shaolin Temple is willing to give it all. I only ask the government to preserve the temple and not let me become the one who lost the temple..."
"It is a huge problem to concentrate all profits on one source, but the key is to help the rich and the poor. In my opinion, these four words are the most shameless and terrifying in the world, and the things that I, as an official, cannot tolerate the most!" Zhao Jiu ignored Fahe's behavior. He didn't really want to show off his power over a mere abbot of Shaolin Temple. It was too beneath him.
In fact, after saying this, the emperor closed his notebook and looked around proudly: "I ask you people, who gave you the face to say that the 40% interest rate is for the benefit of the rich and the poor? Do you really think that I don't understand people's livelihood? Do you don't understand arithmetic? The poor people have a few acres of thin land, and the harvest is only a few dou of rice and a few buckets a year, but they still can't make ends meet, so they ask you to borrow money to prepare for farming. This time, I borrowed three buckets before the spring plowing, and I have to pay back more than four buckets. When the harvest is poor, won't I be short of four buckets? If I borrow another four and a half buckets, won't I have to pay back six buckets? It's not easy to have a good harvest this year. A few acres of land have an extra three or five dou. Are you going to lower the price together and force the people to sell at a low price, and easily wipe out the three or five dou? So within a year, three dou becomes four dou, four dou becomes six dou; within two years, six dou becomes eight dou, and eight dou becomes one shi... Even if there is no famine, in three to five years, won't they be forced to sell their children and wives, and in ten years, won't they have to sell their land to rent? Who will they sell their wives and children to? Who will they sell their land to? Are you the moneylenders? ! As for the poor people in the market, I am too lazy to repeat the same reason again, so as to avoid being disliked and nagging."
At this point, Zhao Jiu took a long breath, and swept his cold eyes across the room full of people of different appearances, but sneered: "Are you trying to say, even if it is so, it has been like this since ancient times, so what? What can we do? Li Qiong!"
Li Qiong never thought that she would be called out at this time, and stepped out in panic: "Your Majesty."
"What did you say before?" Zhao Jiu said with a half-smile.
Li Qiong suddenly realized and quickly responded: "There were two major rebellions in this dynasty. One was caused by Fang La, and the root cause was the poor people in the southeast market; the other was caused by Zhong Xiang and Yang Yao, and the root cause was the fishermen and farmers in Jingxiang..."
"Did you hear that?" Zhao Jiu suddenly stood up and slammed the table, his voice shaking the whole room. "This is why I am so angry today, because you guys are digging up my roots! I never care about your accumulation of wealth! What I care about is that the poor are forced by you to have no place to stand! Without a place to stand, they will rebel! If they rebel, my throne will be unstable! When I killed Liu Guangshi, some people said that I was chopping off the legs of my own throne. When I killed Du Chong, I was actually chopping off the legs of my own chair. When I imprisoned the two saints and dismissed seventy or eighty court officials, they even said that I was throwing feces on my own throne! Now tell me, by doing this, aren't you just digging my grave?!"
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