Xi Zhicai did not directly point out the flaws in Jia Xu's plan, because it was indeed a perfect scheme.
The oversight that Xi Zhicai mentioned was a consequence of Jia Xu's successful plan.
Liu Hong and Xi Zhicai both noticed this.
"The amount of each curved plow that His Majesty has set is very reasonable. People who can afford it will buy it, and it will not have a significant impact on their lives. Those who participate in its promotion and production will also benefit, and the court can save a lot of energy. It can be said to be a win-win situation for all three parties."
Xi Zhicai paused for a moment, then continued, "However, after the promotion of the curved plow, the powerful families and clans have not gained any benefit. In fact, some have suffered heavy losses. What was supposed to be a win-win-win situation for all three parties has now become a win-win situation for only the common people and the court. This will have a great impact on His Majesty's subsequent plans."
Liu Hong nodded. He had originally intended to use the promotion of the curved plow to let powerful families benefit from it, thereby popularizing the assembly line production method and preparing for the promotion of other things in the future.
Most importantly, in the event of war, the imperial court can immediately transform these assembly line workshops into military workshops, thereby achieving the goal of producing a large amount of military supplies in a short period of time.
This is because people with different perspectives will look at things differently. Xi Zhicai had always followed Liu Hong and was deeply influenced by him, so his views on issues naturally aligned with Liu Hong's.
However, Liu Hong did not blame Jia Xu. After all, Jia Xu's starting point was to fleece the powerful and wealthy families. The fact that he was able to perfectly remove the emperor and the court was enough to show that Jia Xu's strategy was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Liu Hong smiled and said, "Zhi Cai is right. Powerful families and clans have been of great help to the development and expansion of the Han Dynasty. However, some things should not be taken too far!"
Xi Zhicai nodded slightly, "Your Majesty is right!"
"Then tell me! How can we remedy this?"
"promise!"
Then Xi Zhicai said slowly, "Now the promotion of the curved plow is nearing its end. People in various places who are able to buy it have basically purchased it. Those who are unable to buy it still cannot afford it even if the price is lower."
Your Majesty might order the government to buy back the remaining curved-shaft plows from powerful families and then rent them out to the people at a low price. The rest could be transported to the Guanzhong and Guanxi regions and distributed to displaced people for land reclamation.
Liu Hong nodded, then laughed and said, "That's a good idea, let's do it that way!"
Subsequently, the Ministry of Personnel issued a series of imperial edicts, which were sent by the Imperial Guards to various regions, requiring local governments to begin repurchasing curved plows from those powerful and wealthy families at a price of 270 coins.
In Jizhou, Liu Yan was no longer as high-spirited as he had been a few days earlier. He hadn't expected the market to be so saturated. His previous focus on expanding manufacturing had resulted in a large number of unsold curved plows piling up in warehouses.
Because he offended those powerful and influential families, no one was willing to sell grain to him. Although he sent people to buy some grain from the people at high prices, it was still far from enough, so much so that the official granaries are still not full to this day.
You must know that if it weren't for a disaster or an imperial order, using the official granaries to store grain without authorization would be a serious crime, and even Liu Yan would not have escaped punishment.
A series of difficulties followed one after another, and Liu Yan began to secretly regret his greed.
"Sigh... If we had followed Wenhe's advice and manufactured in small quantities, we wouldn't be in this predicament today."
Liu Yan couldn't help but sigh, and Liu Zhong, standing beside him, also looked worried and remained silent.
Just as Liu Yan and his companion were sighing deeply, a servant from the mansion rushed over.
"Your Excellency, a troop of Imperial Guards has arrived outside, saying they have an imperial edict!"
Liu Yan's expression shifted, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
"Please let them in!"
"promise!"
Soon, a troop of Imperial Guards was brought in, and the officer leading the troop came before Liu Yan with an imperial edict in his hand.
The imperial guard officer raised the imperial edict in his hand and looked at Liu Yan, "Liu Yan, Governor of Ji Province, hereby issues an imperial edict!"
Liu Yan bowed slightly before the imperial edict and said respectfully, "Your subject, Liu Yan, obeys the imperial edict!"
The Imperial Guard officer then unfolded the imperial edict and loudly read its contents aloud.
After hearing the contents of the imperial edict, Liu Yan was stunned and his face turned pale instantly.
"Prefect Liu, receive the imperial edict!"
After the Imperial Guard officer finished reading the imperial edict, he noticed that Liu Yan was standing there blankly, not taking the edict for a long time. He couldn't help but remind him and then handed the edict to Liu Yan.
"Your Majesty's decree is obeyed!"
Liu Yan then came to his senses and, with slightly trembling hands, took the imperial edict from the officer of the Imperial Guard.
After Liu Yan received the imperial edict, the Imperial Guard officer spoke:
"When we came to Jizhou, His Majesty instructed us to stay here temporarily to assist Governor Liu in his work."
Now that Governor Liu has received the imperial edict, we should hurry and follow His Majesty's orders to repurchase the curved plows as soon as possible, so that we can report back to His Majesty soon!
Liu Yan nodded weakly. "Alright! You've all come from Luoyang and must be exhausted. Please rest for a day, and I'll make some arrangements. We can begin tomorrow!"
At Liu Yan's instruction, a servant from the governor's mansion led the Imperial Guard to the back hall for their accommodation.
Back in his study, Liu Yan sat weakly at his desk, staring blankly at the imperial edict before him, his mind a complete void.
"Owner?"
Liu Zhong quietly entered the study and, seeing Liu Yan's appearance, his eyes were filled with concern and worry.
"Ha! It's all over! Everything's over!"
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