No matter when and under what conditions, people must know how to make trade-offs, and the three-cropping rice may have great merit, but they turn around and leave, what should these people in Jiangnan do? Watching them starve to death? Lu Zifei can be ruthless to the enemy, the wicked, and the enemy, but these simple and unpretentious people who support the Great Song Dynasty Lu Zifei can't do it, so he stopped in Yangzhou.

Song Qi's official position is the emperor's secretary in later generations, Zhao Zhen mentioned this young man many times, and after listening to it a few more times, he thought how good it was to make the emperor never forget, in Luoyang, his family and other families in the Great Song Dynasty seemed incompatible, doing things antelope hanging horns, people couldn't scratch their heads, and the things that their family took for granted didn't work in the homes of other rich and powerful people,

He obeyed to read more and learn more, but he didn't know what the problem was, except for the two days when he was uncomfortable on the boat, the rest of the time was reading, writing, and learning, and he could still do it without shame to ask, and if he didn't understand something, he would ask himself until he figured it out.

His advantages are obvious, self-confidence, methodical work, quick brain response, and the way to solve many things breaks the thinking of ordinary people, such as the drought in the south of the Yangtze River, he is the only one who wants to dig up the Yangtze River,

The shortcomings are also obvious, he likes to enjoy, he is easy to be impulsive, sometimes he is very naïve, like a child who does not grow up, and he has arrogance in his bones, Song Qi feels that he doesn't even take the imperial power in his eyes, and he wants to be close but dare not get close.

Song Qi as a messenger, his arrival alarmed the Yangzhou prefect Yamen and Huainan East Road transfer Yamen, the transfer envoy heard that Song Qi had another task, after the visit left, Huainan East Road made him anxious, he wanted to sit in charge of the transfer department, Song Qi emphasized on the drought, the government must come up with a feasible plan, Jiangnan must be stable, he is writing an excerpt to the court, when necessary, open the ordinary warehouse in time, relief the people, drought relief work pushed back and forth and finally fell on Wang Anshi, the stunned head.

Wang Anshi has been out early and returned late for the past few days, constantly investigating the situation in Yangzhou, and when Lu Zifei saw him three days later, he rubbed his eyes and said, "Are you Brother Jiefu?" How did it get like this, you won't go from village to village to check! ”

Wang Anshi raised his head and said, "What else can you do if you don't do this?" The drought is still severe, I see that many people are ready to flee with their families, the disaster and the lack of morale, it is easy to have an accident, and they will occupy the mountain as the king of the last resort, and start the business of robbing houses and houses, now run more, work harder, as long as they can prevent this bad beginning, it is worth it. ”

Lu Zifei said: "It is better to teach people to fish than to teach people to fish, the usual warehouse can slow down for a while, but it can't last next year's autumn harvest, what should you do if the usual warehouse is finished and the grain is not yet ripe?" Even if you run to death, it won't help. ”

Wang Anshi said: "When things really developed to that day, there were still people who had food, and they couldn't do it if they didn't take it out. ”

Lu Zifei looked at him and said, "You are fighting those rich people and grain merchants!" You have thought about the difference between ordinary people rushing into the houses of rich people to rob things and those robbers, with the first time, there is a second time, and when the ambition is big, then the uprising begins. ”

Wang Anshi said angrily: "I told the prefect about the seriousness of the matter, and he said to me lightly, 'I know', you take someone to understand the specific situation first, and then write a detailed report to me, what do you say I can do with a few small officials, there is no other way than to run one by one?" ”

Lu Zifei said: "On the first day, I met the waterwheel you told you, did you get it?" ”

"It's being done, the work under the craftsmen is too slow, I'm afraid it's too late."

Lu Zifei said: "Then dig up the Yangtze River, go back and tell your prefect again, it won't rain yet, and in a few days it's like you said, if there is water, it's useless, what's the use of water when the crops are dead." ”

In fact, Lu Zifei has not been idle in the past few days, he has walked and seen a lot of places, the well can be drilled, the tool is very critical, the hoe can not be dug down to a certain depth, he thought of a very famous tool, Luoyang shovel, Nanxing took the drawings he drew to the blacksmith shop to fight three times, and now the two of them went to find the old man they met that day.

"Childe, your thing is really easy to use, those of us who haven't read books don't have such good brains as you, and when the mud comes out, it means that it is very close to the water source, and you are about to draw water, you are our benefactor."

Lu Zifei said with a smile: "Uncle is serious, I also dedicate a little bit of strength, it's good to be able to help you, don't say anything benefactor, I want to ask the uncle, I see that there are many people here who are raising silkworms at home, why are your lives still so poor, the price of good silk in Luoyang City is about the same as gold." ”

The old man handed the shovel to his son, sat on the mound and said: "The son doesn't know, we raise silkworms and draw silk, what we have in our hands is only raw silk, silk is not woven by us, each small farmer does not raise much, the purchaser comes to find all kinds of faults, the government has to collect taxes, pay taxes and see, they have not left anything, silkworm raising is more tiring than planting crops, those small things are the same as children, they need to be carefully cared for, the family is inseparable from people, the adults in the common people's families are laborers, a person raising silkworms has no income and what to do with it, spinning." , no one was busy during the time of stirring silk, and the whole family had to go into battle together. ”

Lu Zifei said: "Then I see that you still have all of them at home!" ”

"That's no way, the annual tax of the Yangzhou government has raw silk, and raising a little by yourself is just enough to pay taxes to the family, if you want to buy someone else's from elsewhere, it will be expensive, it is worthless in your own hands, in the hands of others, it is the same as what the son said, and the price of gold is the same, and the hard people are dead."

Lu Zifei asked: "Where did so much silk on the market come from, there are only a few places where the Great Song Dynasty produces more silk." ”

The old man said: "Of course, it is those who are officials and big families, they have endless fields, hundreds of poor people help them raise, and the price is also set by them, the silk in the hands of our small households is finally in their hands, and then woven into silk and sold to dignitaries, ordinary people's raw silk is not less than what they produce, and they collude with the government to suppress the price too low." ”

Lu Zifei said: "Uncle means that if the price is high, you are still willing to raise silkworms and produce silk, right?" ”

"Of course I am willing, Yangzhou, Hangzhou is close to Jinghu generation, the price of grain has never been as big as the north, the price of raw silk is higher than the income of growing grain, and it is cost-effective to buy grain with the money from selling raw silk."

Lu Zifei said: "How does the government collect taxes on raw silk, how many are ten?" ”

The old man stretched out three fingers and said: "Draw three, draw three, for us is to smoke so much, for those rich people to draw two, what can the people do, Yangzhou's raw silk is better than Chengdu's raw silk, but look at people's side, they are all relying on mulberry and silkworm breeding than our Yangzhou life." ”

The tangle of this problem lies in the land annexation, the emperor does not give the officials of Zhishi a reward for official positions, and gives the land if there is nothing to do, the more land the family has, the less land the common people have, this is a problem that the emperor has never been able to solve, the officials and the people compete for profits, and if you want to suspend the continuation of this situation, there is only one way, that is, to reduce the number of people who farm the land, so that people feel that farming is not the only way out.

If you don't farm the land, then do business, the profession of a merchant is now set as a cheap industry, you can't wear silk, the father is a businessman, the son can't participate in the imperial examination, in this era when everything is inferior and only the reading is high, the old man's thinking is to starve to death and can't do business, what kind of speculative things to do, this will make the ancestors shameful, want to change the situation, there is a long way to go.

Lu Zifei said: "I see that the prestige of the old man in the neighborhood is quite high, the old man has never thought of uniting with the neighbors, your village is more closely connected with the village, everyone is looking up and not looking down, there is no problem in people and trust, you gather the raw silk, so that you have the capital to confront them, the price will not be their family's final say, your own profits will slowly become larger, and there will be other ways out in the event of natural and man-made disasters." ”

The old man ate a rice ball made of brown rice in his mouth and said: "Childe's idea is good, we have thought about doing this before, but our arms can't twist our thighs, and the people in the government don't allow us to unite, and no one can get out of that big net on our heads, and it's useless to unite, and the color of raw silk is not good for a few years, and it is even less valuable at that time." ”

When Lu Zifei said this method, he thought of a person, Wang Anshi, who was known as the reluctant minister in later generations, although the 'Xining' reform he presided over failed, but his achievements in the local government were very dazzling, he loved the people like a son, served as an official, and benefited one party, and the people spoke highly of him, daring to stand out for the people and fight for profit.

Wang Anshi panted and said: "Hanzhang, the prefect agreed, and he really handed over the task of disaster relief to me." ”

You're really a idiot, can't you see such a big pit? Well, the credit belongs to others, and you are guilty of failure, because you are the main person in charge, and your prefect is worried? You just lick your face and say, "My lord, I can do it, don't you have a little political acumen?"

"So what are you going to do, do you have an idea?"

Wang Anshi said: "Of course, you said that the Yangtze River has been dug up, we will go and observe it now, see if it is suitable there, and I will gather people to start as soon as possible." He saw that Lu Zifei didn't want to deal with him, and muttered, "Did I say something wrong?" ”

"It's not easy for your father and mother to raise you so big, how did you get into the Jinshi? Digging the Yellow River, without the water map of the Ministry of Industry and professional personnel, you and I dare to dig it, I said that the excavation is to be fully prepared, not in that brainless mess, do you understand? ”