If this day wants to kill you, you can only accept it.
In fact, the only way to deal with natural disasters is to do our best and leave the rest to fate. This has been true throughout history, both in China and abroad.
Soon, Wang Anshi wrote an article and published it in the news newspaper of the genuine bookstore.
The general content is that natural disasters are natural phenomena that no one can avoid, and the only thing we can do is to enhance our ability to resist natural disasters.
The imperial court, which had undergone reforms, had a stronger ability to resist natural disasters. Wang Anshi also regarded this natural disaster as a test of the new policy.
Furthermore, the people can rest assured that the court will soon introduce relevant policies to rescue more people and prevent them from suffering from famine.
As soon as this report came out, all the evil spirits came out.
In the eyes of many people, Wang Anshi was challenging God.
Any store.
"test!"
...
...
A middle-aged man put down the newspaper and said with a cold smile: "Since Mr. Wang is eager to be tested, why don't we lend him a helping hand."
This man was named Liu Ping. He was one of the first victims of the exemption law. He spent thousands of strings of cash to escape. In his decades of life, this was the first time he suffered such a big loss, and he has always remembered it in his heart.
A middle-aged man beside him, also dressed in silk, said, "Brother Liu, I think we should be more careful. At least we need to see what the authorities say."
Liu Ping smiled and said, "Haven't you noticed? The grain price has skyrocketed, and the grain in the grain shops has even run out. Don't you know who's behind those grain shops?"
A person on the other side said, "We are not trying to cause trouble. In a disaster, ordinary farmers will try to store food. There is less food on the market, so it is reasonable for the price to rise. If you are not allowed to raise the price, then we will not sell. This is not illegal. Aren't the public security, procuratorate and courts supposed to protect individual rights? This is our legitimate rights!"
Liu Ping said coldly: "This time we must not only earn back the fines, but also take revenge."
It’s not easy!
It’s really not easy!
These landlords have really suffered a lot in recent years. They feel uneasy if they have even a penny left at home. Finally, they get this opportunity.
Moreover, this is actually a common trick used by the landlords.
Normally, if they were hit with two sticks, they would quickly retract their heads and hide in the
In fact, many dynasties that wanted to carry out reforms in the middle of their reign usually ended in failure as long as they encountered natural disasters.
Because the wealth of the people is ultimately in the hands of the landlords. At the same time, and most importantly, the emperor, as the largest landlord in the world, is often unwilling to take out money. After weighing the pros and cons, the emperor can only go along with the landlords and everyone preserves their strength.
This is the truth.
Rich mansion.
"This Wang Jiefu is really afraid that the world will not be in chaos. Now that a natural disaster has occurred, not only is he not afraid, he even dares to provoke. This is really unreasonable."
Wen Yanbo slammed the news report on the table and said angrily.
"I've read this article, too." Fu Bi was also furious. "Could it be that he is so arrogant that he thinks he can fight against God? He is really hopeless."
Wen Yanbo added: "It's a pity that the emperor believed his words. But if natural disasters continue, we will see how Wang Jiefu ends up."
Previously, many people used this opportunity to petition the emperor to rescind the reform, of course for political purposes, because they knew that the emperor wanted to take back the three provinces and six ministries, and his main purpose was to handle state affairs personally and control power, which would weaken the power of the literati and break the balance between imperial power and prime ministerial power.
But then again, whether it is Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, or anyone else, they all still firmly believe in the cycle of nature.
Speaking objectively, if this cycle is broken, the entire Confucianism will be destroyed.
They had not explicitly opposed the emperor's official system reform before because they could not come up with sufficient reasons. After all, Zhao Xu was under the banner of streamlining the official system.
Now that God has made it clear, they will of course stand up and oppose the emperor's reform of the official system.
Originally, they had not thought of Wang Jiefu, because in their opinion, Wang Jiefu was actually a victim, and the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures was abolished.
Unexpectedly, Wang Anshi jumped out again.
Then we must clean it up together.
Wang Anshi's three shortcomings have had a profound impact on Confucianism.
Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and others were very opposed to it and even felt disgusted. They absolutely could not tolerate the spread of such ideas.
Boom boom boom!
There was a knock on the door.
The servant immediately went over to open the door, and then said to Fu Bi, "Sir, it's Minister Liu."
Fu Bi said, "Please ask him to come in."
After a while, Liu Shu hurried in and said, "Mr. Fu, Mr. Wen is here too. That's great."
Fu Bi asked, "What's the matter?"
Liu Shu said: "Wang Jiefu was too much of a bully. He published such an outrageous article in the newspaper. Some people wanted to refute his theory in the newspaper, but the Ministry of Rites refused to allow it to be published on the grounds of publication censorship."
"What?"
Wen Yanbo was even more furious.
This is really too much!
Fu Bi asked, "Does Junshi know about this?"
Liu Shu said: "I didn't see him today."
Sima Guang naturally went to settle the score with Zhang Fei. When he saw Wang Jiefu's article, he was furious. Moreover, he knew that this was also written by Zhang Fei. After all, they had worked together before. If Wang Anshi wanted to write such an article, he would not start like this and come up with an eye-catching title.
"Master Sima, please calm down and listen to my explanation."
Zhang Fei lowered his sleeves to block his spit and said, "Now that things have come to this, we should unite as one and help the country and the people overcome the difficulties. This is also what the rule of law pursues. It is meaningless to blame this and that."
"Why is it meaningless?"
Sima Guang blew his beard and glared, "If you don't understand, you can ask me first why I colluded with Wang Jiefu."
Damn! You can refute me with this? I don't believe it. Zhang Fei asked humbly: "It's not too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been lost. I hope Sima Xueshi can enlighten me."
"you!"
Sima Guang stamped his feet in anger, "Why don't you think about this? If we are not afraid of the sky, then what does it matter if many people starve to death? The reason why Wang Jiefu said this is because he did not want to take money from the national treasury to help the people. He wanted to keep the wealth he had collected.
How can you not understand such a simple truth? You say you are doing this for the country and the people, but in fact you are misleading the country and the people. "
Sima Guang actually said it very obscurely. Wang Anshi was only secondary. The key was still the emperor. If the emperor did not even respect heaven, he would dare to do anything. Who could restrict him?
In fact, all of this was an open conspiracy, and everyone knew it. Wang Anshi was a Legalist and wanted to help Zhao Xu get rid of all constraints, but Sima Guang and others were firmly opposed.
When Wang Anshi pointed out the three deficiencies, he was putting the matter on the table.
Historically, Wang Anshi won. Although his reform failed, he did help the emperor free himself from his constraints. But now the situation has changed and he did not win.
Zhang Fei said: "But Wang Xueshi has said that he will adopt the method of work-for-relief to help the people overcome the difficulties."
"Don't worry."
Sima Guang said: "He will definitely not touch the money in the treasury. He may even issue paper money, because in his opinion, the death of a few civilians is not a big deal.
For example, when he was working on flood control in Hebei last time, did he feel any guilt for wasting money and manpower? Impossible, I know him too well, he always thinks he is saving the country and saving more people.
In fact, he is dragging the entire country into the abyss.”
Zhang Fei blushed when he heard this. He was really fooled by the old man. But this was not Wang Anshi's idea, but his. He nodded and said, "I roughly understand what Sima Xueshi means, but I have another question, that is, if everything must be constrained by God's will, then what is the point of the legal system?"
Sima Guang's expression froze.
Zhang Fei said: "The law of the legal system is to protect the interests of the monarch, the country and the people."
Sima Guang thought for a moment, "No, in this disaster, the people need relief. The law can only ensure that their interests are not encroached upon, but it cannot require others to provide relief to the people."
Zhang Fei said: "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The interests of the people are also the interests of the monarch and the country. If we can use this crisis to improve the laws in this area, it can be considered a gain."
Sima Guang stroked his beard, as if thinking about something.
Zhang Fei quickly struck while the iron was hot and said, "And I think that these two are not contradictory, because as long as it is a natural disaster, no matter how we deal with it, the monarch, the country, and the people will suffer losses, which will serve as a warning, and the only thing we can do is to try our best to minimize the losses.
Therefore, it is meaningless to refute Mr. Wang now. It will only be more meaningful to discuss this issue after the fact, taking into account the country’s losses.”
Sima Guang said: "In other words, you can guarantee that Wang Jiefu will really take out money to help the people."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Master Wang promised to provide relief to the people and would never let them become homeless."
Sima Guang suddenly realized that this guy didn't give a direct answer, so he couldn't help asking: "When I mentioned paper money just now, you didn't seem to object."
Wow. He is indeed Sima Shenshen. Zhang Fei could only answer truthfully: "That's because Sima Xueshi guessed it right. Wait, Sima Xueshi, don't get angry. Listen to me. I have already persuaded Wang Xueshi to issue a kind of paper currency that can be supervised by the public security, procuratorate and courts."
Sima Guang was about to lose his temper, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but ask again: "What do you mean?"
"Tax money."
Zhang Fei said: "As the name suggests, it is a kind of paper money that can be used to pay taxes. In this way, the public security, procuratorate and courts can better supervise. Because if it is ordinary paper money, it actually belongs to administrative policy, and the public security, procuratorate and courts are not very good at intervening. But if it is a tax currency, it includes tax laws, and the public security, procuratorate and courts can supervise it well."
Sima Guang frowned and said, "If they regret it, what are you going to do?"
Zhang Fei said: "First of all, Sima Xueshi's question can be applied to any policy, so this is not a problem.
Secondly, when faced with a disaster, the people may not be able to pay taxes, but if there is a large-scale tax exemption, this will benefit many large landowners and profiteers, and the national treasury will suffer heavy losses, and more extreme measures may be used to make up for the financial shortfall. However, if work-for-relief is combined with tax coins, it can accurately help some poor people, and the court can use this to build more works that benefit the people.
Finally, we must believe that the public security, procuratorate and courts can do it, and judging from the situation in Hezhong Prefecture, the public security, procuratorate and courts can still do a good job of supervision. The salt notes there are more complicated than the tax notes and are also difficult to supervise. "
After hearing this, Sima Guang couldn't help but think seriously.
He really hadn't thought that far ahead. For example, if a disaster occurred, what would happen to this year's tax revenue? Would he implement large-scale tax exemptions?
This will indeed give many big landlords and big profiteers opportunities to take advantage.
Using tax money for work-for-relief can not only help the people get through their current difficulties, but also enable them to pay this year's taxes without causing too much loss to the country.
That sounds perfect indeed.
Sima Guang thought for a long time, then looked at Zhang Fei again and said, "I will trust you for once."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Master Sima, I am always trustworthy."
Sima Guang just chuckled twice.
In fact, this kid often lied to him, but the results were often beyond his expectations, so he could only trust Zhang Fei.
But when Sima Guang returned, he heard that the Ministry of Rites had banned all newspapers from publishing articles about the disaster. He immediately regretted trusting Zhang Fei. What Wang Anshi did was inhumane!
The entire conservative faction was blown away.
The scholars and officials among the people were also furious.
Only you are allowed to speak, and we scholars and officials are not allowed to speak.
This is intolerable!
Memorials impeaching the Ministry of Rites flew in front of Zhao Xu like snowflakes.
Zhao Xu also realized that he might have stirred up a hornet's nest, and immediately took the initiative to ask about the matter in the prime minister's report the next day.
What is going on?
How come I don’t know anything?
Wen Yanbo started by directly targeting the Minister of Rites Wang Gui, saying that only Wang Jiefu was allowed to publish articles, but no one else was allowed to do so. "As the Minister of Rites, do you take me, the Prime Minister, seriously?"
It was the first time for the conservatives to realize that the Ministry of Rites had considerable power, and they felt somewhat regretful that they had not fought hard for this position.
"His Majesty."
Wang Anshi immediately stepped forward and said, "It was I who asked Minister Wang to do this."
At present, there are only two Pingzhangshi, and the six ministries are under the Zhengshitang. Without the permission of the Zhengshitang, the Ministry of Rites cannot do this.
Zhao Xu asked: "Why do you do this?"
Wang Anshi said: "I was ordered to preside over disaster relief, but there are always some villains who intend to disturb the people's hearts. They should be punished, but for the sake of the overall situation, I did not bother with them. I just prohibited them from publishing articles that would affect the people's hearts. This is all for the sake of the overall situation."
Wang Gui also echoed, "Your Majesty, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."
"It is you, Wang Jiefu, who has truly disturbed the people's hearts."
Wen Yanbo pointed at Wang Anshi angrily and said, "This punishment from heaven has arrived, yet you are trying to make an enemy of heaven. What is your intention?"
Wang Anshi explained: "I am not trying to be an enemy of nature. I am just speaking the truth. Since ancient times, all wise rulers have encountered natural disasters."
Wen Yanbo said: "I wonder if there is any wise ruler who has never made mistakes. If there is a warning today, we should correct it immediately to prevent the disaster from spreading."
At this point, he turned to Zhao Xu and asked, "Your Majesty, do you think what I said is correct?"
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "What you two said makes sense."
Now he didn't know how long the disaster would last, and he didn't dare to refute what Wen Yanbo said.
What the imperial power fears most is natural disasters.
Wen Yanbo immediately said, "What I said is exactly what the article wanted to discuss, but it was banned by the Ministry of Rites. However, it is better to prevent people from speaking than to prevent rivers from flooding. His ban caused a flood of tabloids in the streets, and the content of the tabloids was even more sinister, which gave those villains with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of it."
As he spoke, he took out a tabloid and said, "Your Majesty, this is what I bought from a peddler when I came to the Imperial City this morning."
The eunuch beside Zhao Xu immediately came over, took the tabloid with both hands, and then presented it to Zhao Xu.
After reading it, Zhao Xu found that the content was criticizing the Ministry of Rites for prohibiting others from publishing articles, and extended various speculations, even suggesting that the court's actions were tantamount to killing people to cover up crimes. He could not help but frown and ordered the eunuch to take the tabloid to Wang Anshi.
After reading it, Wang Anshi could not help but say, "This kind of tabloid is really abominable. Your Majesty, rest assured that I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Can you find out?"
Wen Yanbo smiled coldly and said to Zhao Xu: "Your Majesty, there were many things that happened in the past few years, but there was not a single tabloid on the street. This is because all major newspapers were able to publish articles normally, making it impossible for tabloids to survive. At that time, no one would believe in tabloids.
Moreover, according to the rules set by the court, articles must be signed with real names. Those who can publish articles in newspapers are all well-known scholars and officials. They cherish their reputations like birds cherish their feathers, so how dare they write carelessly? Even if there are accusations, they are loyal and courageous. Your Majesty should also accept frank opinions. Now that they are prohibited from publishing articles, it will allow villains to take advantage of the situation. This is not worth the loss."
Zhao Xu also felt that what Wen Yanbo said made sense. He had arrested tabloids before, but had never completely banned them. Moreover, the more they were banned, the more rampant they became. On the contrary, after the newspapers came out, the tabloids disappeared. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said, "What Duke Wen said makes sense. I also believe that the scholars and officials are truly concerned about the country. However, the Ministry of Rites did this out of consideration for the country. After all, this is a special period, and a slightly overreaction is understandable."
Having said this, he looked at Wang Gui and said, "Minister Wang."
"I am here."
"For the time being, those qualified newsagents will be allowed to continue selling newspapers, but the Ministry of Rites can also think carefully about how to formulate the regulations for this publication."
"I obey your command."
After leaving the palace gate and waiting for Wen Yanbo to leave, Wang Anshi bowed and said to Wang Gui: "Brother Yu Yu, this time it is Anshi who has dragged you down!"
Wang Gui hurriedly helped Wang Anshi up and said, "Jiefu, please don't feel guilty. If I don't agree, I won't agree. It's a pity that Wen Kuanfu is still a skilled man!"
In this matter, he definitely supported Wang Anshi, because it was his idea to change back to the three provinces and six ministries. If he didn't support it, who would support it?
Still sharp? Wang Anshi was startled and asked abruptly, "Brother Yu Yu, have you seen anyone selling tabloids?"
Wang Gui stroked his beard and said, "Not really."
Wang Anshi said, "Oh no! We have fallen into a trap."
Wang Gui asked hurriedly, "What trap did you fall into?"
Wang Anshi was annoyed and said, "I was really careless. Nowadays, so many people have movable type printing plates. Even tabloids should not copy it by hand. This must have been written by Wen Gong at the last minute. Alas, Wen Gong is still as skilled as ever! If it were Sima Junshi, he would definitely not do this."
I thought to myself, it’s a pity for that old man, he would rather die than be the prime minister.
Thanks to Wen Yanbo's operation, major newspapers regained the power to publish articles.
Behind these newspaper publishers, there is more or less support from the literati. Newspapers cannot do without literati. Without the support of the literati, no articles can be published.
There is only one newspaper that is special, and that is Fengyue Newspaper.
The literati were not stupid either. After the emergence of newspapers, they also realized that in order to continue to maintain their hegemony over public opinion, they must own this newspaper.
In addition, Zhang Fei did not monopolize this technology, but instead sold movable type to others, and the literati soon established their own newspapers.
Suddenly, public opinion reversed.
They did not dare to face the emperor directly, so they could only vent their anger on Wang Anshi and criticize his three inadequacies thought.
They are now only thinking about how to completely eradicate this "cancer".
Its purpose is still to limit imperial power.
However, to make matters worse for Wang Anshi, reports of drought came from Huaibei and Hebei, especially from Huaibei, where the Qingmiao Law had been implemented for a long time without any supervision from the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs.
Now the disaster and the repayment period just happen to coincide.
Many people who borrowed money for the seedlings suddenly fell into despair.
At the same time, prices in the capital began to rise wildly, and the citizens were complaining bitterly. The citizens did not grow food, they needed to buy it. Who could afford the food at this price now?
This provided conservatives with material to attack the New Deal.
Wang Anshi was outnumbered and was criticized by them. This was why he admired the Legalists, because he knew in his heart that he was an outsider and without the support of power, it would be difficult for him to win the final victory.
How could Wang Anshi possibly defeat such an open struggle?
Hurry up and find Zhang Fei to discuss countermeasures.
"well."
Wang Anshi sighed, "This is all my fault. I was so careless at that time! I fell into Wen Yanbo's trap."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Master Wang is not careless, but is falling into the opponent's trap."
Wang Anshi asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Fei said: "I have read some of those articles. They were all written by their own people for their own people to read. The reason why Wang Xueshi regretted it is because Wang Xueshi is also a native of this mountain. But in fact, the people now don't care who is responsible or what happened.
The only thing the people care about is how the court will help them. As long as we come up with corresponding policies, Wang Xueshi will soon be able to take control of the initiative. "
The common people don’t care about the three and four deficiencies. But you, Wang Anshi, care about them. That’s because you, Wang Anshi, are also a scholar-official, so you are surrounded by the opinions of the scholar-officials.
Wang Anshi said: "I have arranged for people to survey the river, city defense, river defense and other fortifications. Since this money must be spent, we must do some fortifications that are truly beneficial to the country and the people."
When using work-for-relief, the money must be spent wisely!
"Of course."
Zhang Fei said: "But we can announce the main plan first. At the same time, Wang Xueshi should quickly send people to the Huaibei area to delay the collection of the Qingmiao money. After the relief policy is determined, we can discuss these debt issues."
Wang Anshi nodded, and then said with a little embarrassment: "But you should know that the Qingmiao money all comes from the Changping Warehouse."
Changping Warehouse is the main government office for disaster relief. Now all the money has been used for lending. If the money cannot be collected, Huaibei will not be able to provide money for disaster relief.
There is no such problem in Hezhong Prefecture. The Procuratorate led by Su Che will investigate whenever it has time. No one dares to mess around.
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "But we are issuing tax coins. As for grain, I have prepared a bill. If it is passed, it will force the landlords to hand over the grain."
Under Zhang Fei's planning, Wang Anshi immediately organized a new round of public opinion offensive.
He joined forces with the Three Departments, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works to officially announce a disaster relief plan, which would involve large-scale repairs of the main rivers and canals in Hebei, the capital, and Huaibei.
But he did not specify the specific amount or what the remuneration would be used for.
Without the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures, he had to consult the court before issuing tax coins and how much money to issue. It was no longer a matter for him to discuss with the emperor.
Every two days, the Procuratorate suddenly published an article pointing out the problem of rising prices in the capital and reassuring the citizens that the Procuratorate would soon submit a new bill covering grain and alcohol to the Legislative Council.
Wang Anshi's article was within everyone's expectations.
But the sudden intervention of the procuratorate really caught everyone off guard!
What Food Bill?
What is the Liquor Tax Act?
(End of this chapter)
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