Chapter 156: Famine Warning and Response

Land sales and land loans

In the blink of an eye, it was May, and the granary in Lantian County was finally filled with seventy percent thanks to the efforts of Chen Yuru and Cangcao. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info For this result, Luo Yan is quite satisfied. Although he had less money on hand, with food, Luo Yan also had confidence in the face of the impending large-scale famine.

It's just that the happy days have only been passed for a few days, and Luo Yan has to face a very troublesome thing - someone wants to sell the land.

As early as half a month ago, Luo Yan had greeted each household, and if someone bought or sold the land, he would bring it to him first. I don't mean anything else, I just want to know why. What's more, if there is a forced buying and selling involved, Luo Yan can also mediate.

Land annexation was a source of dynastic turmoil, and Luo Yan didn't want that 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. As the first land sale in his tenure, it is not a good thing that he has been in office for more than a month.

There were two kneeling men in the hall. A thin figure, the sackcloth on his body had long been tattered, and he barely used a few rags to sew it up, and it was washed cleanly. As for the other, the body is a little blessed, and the difference between the poor man next to him is heaven and earth.

Come to think of it, these two are sellers and buyers.

Let the two of them raise their heads and talk, but they didn't expect that the person who bought the land could be regarded as an acquaintance, and this person had threatened him in the county government before. There is no reason for the earth to have a bad feeling in my heart.

Luo Yan asked the people, "Why did you sell the land, can you tell me?" ”

The people were busy kowtowing to Luo Yan and said, "Lang Jun is good." Some time ago, there was no food at home, so the small one borrowed a bucket of grain from Squire Wu. Now my mother-in-law is seriously ill again, and she has no money to treat her for a while. The small one is to do some coolies in the city, and he can't get a few dollars a month. Coupled with the benefit of borrowing grain, sooner or later the family will have to be brought down. After thinking about it, he simply sold some of the few acres of thin land at home, which was better than this. ”

This person's reason is very simple, two words, no money. Since there is no money, then you can only sell the land. It's a big deal, and in the end, when there is no land, I will go to be a tenant. This has been the practice of ordinary people for many years.

Looking at Squire Wu, who looked stunned at this time, Luo Yan didn't say much. The deal between the two parties has been reached, and if you block it at this time, you will be at a loss. After being silent for a while, Luo Yan nodded and motioned to Hu Cao to take someone down to handle it. And he stayed in the hall to think carefully about how to deal with this matter.

Unexpectedly, this land transaction is just the beginning.

For four consecutive days, Hu Cao reported to Luo Yan a total of more than a dozen land sales, all on the grounds that there was no food at home. And the price of grain in the city, which Luo Yan has been paying attention to, has also risen from 30 wen per bucket at the beginning to 40 wen in just a few days. Considering all the circumstances, Luo Yan knew that I was afraid that ****** was coming soon.

In the face of such a thing, Luo Yan's ability alone naturally cannot be solved, and the entire Guanzhong region must be reasonably coordinated in order to survive this disaster steadily.

couldn't help but say, Luo Yan locked himself in the back office, ordered no one to disturb, and spent a day writing two notes to Li Shimin.

The first letter is about the signs of famine. Combining the current food prices and the daily lives of the people, Luo Yan analyzed in detail the possibility and scope of the famine. As for the second letter, it was Luo Yan who came up with a way to fight against land annexation, that is, 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 may not block it in any name. Although there are still many things that need to be improved, Luo Yan only asked to test under his own rule to see the results.

After the two notes were written, Luo Yan sent someone to send them to Chang'an quickly.

If it is an ordinary official, I am afraid that the note handed over will have to go through a process before it can reach Li Shimin's hands. However, Luo Yan has a special identity after all, and before the messenger left, Luo Yan instructed him to go directly to Sun Wuji, the chief secretary of the ministry. With his name and the ability of the eldest grandson Wuji, it must be that Song Shu can be sent to Li Shimin soon.

Sure enough, the messenger found the ministry and heard that it was Luo Yan's recital, and the eldest grandson Wuji put down what he was doing and rushed to the Taiji Palace. Fortunately, it was not late, and he entered the palace smoothly, and within a while, the eldest grandson Wuji found Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, the music from the fast horse sent by Luo Yan. I'm afraid there's something urgent. Hurriedly saluted Li Shimin, and the eldest grandson Wuji handed over Luo Yan's two copies.

I heard that Luo Yan, who had not moved for more than a month, actually had two letters at once at this time, and Li Shimin was also interested. As a result, the chamberlain handed over the note, and Li Shimin began to look at it seriously.

originally thought that Luo Yan would say something good, or something to do. Who would have thought that the more Li Shimin looked at this first note, the more shocked he became. If it is really according to Luo Yan, I am afraid that this Guanzhong area will have a headache for more than half a year.

He said to the attendant beside him: "Quickly go and call the chief officials of the three provinces and six departments, and ask the household department to bring up the number of reserves this year." After finishing speaking, he said to the eldest grandson Wuji with a very serious expression: "You can also come and see." If what Luo Yan said is true, I'm afraid that the future will not be easy. ”

The people suffered, and it was not easy for the highest rulers of the country. If a natural disaster is not handled well, it will be followed by a civil uprising. No matter how hard you work in office, as long as the people are hungry, they can rebel at any time.

Seeing Li Shimin's expression, the eldest grandson Wuji hurriedly took the song in his hand and read it. As for Li Shimin, it was Luo Yan's second recital.

Although Luo Yan had a very good idea in his heart, his idea still gave Li Shimin a big problem. Field loans are not so easy to implement. If one is not good, the end will be shattered. Li Shimin couldn't help but smile bitterly at this time, this Luo Yan, how can I say that he is good. If you want to talk about compliments, you will have problems for yourself. If you want to talk about reprimanding, everyone is for the good of Datang. It's really Luo Yan's consistent style.

The inner attendant Li Shimin's expression knew that this matter was very urgent. Out of the main hall, he summoned a few guards and ran to the three provinces and four departments. As for himself, he personally rushed to the household department. The treasury that Li Shimin explained must be clearly explained to the head of the household department. Li Shimin has not yet personally explained what he wants to bring when he summons the minister. This time it was specifically explained, which means that this matter is very important.

Soon, all the chief officials of the three provinces and six departments arrived in the hall where Li Shimin was resting. After signaling everyone to sit down, Li Shimin asked the eldest grandson Wuji to hand over the recital in his hand to several other people to read one by one. And those who have seen it all think quietly. Luo Yan does not have the habit of writing the recital as a ball of flowers, and even if it is, this recital is also an article of thousands of words. By the time these people finished reading, half an hour had passed.

During this time, everyone who should have thought about it was almost the same, and Li Shimin didn't wait for these people to think more, and asked: "How credible is what Luo Yan said?" ”

It's not that Li Shimin doubts Luo Yan's ability. After all, this is a major event, and it is related to the focus of the court's government affairs in the next half year, so we can't be cautious.

Feng Deyi panted and said: "If the price of grain in various places is like what Luo Yan said, I'm afraid that this matter is true." Those merchants have always been cunning, and they are far more sensitive to this kind of thing than we are. It's only early May, and the price of grain has risen to 40 wen. Before the autumn harvest, I'm afraid it will cost hundreds of papers. When the time comes, who will be able to afford it. ”

Nodding, Tobe Shangshu said at this time: "The grain price he said is not false. It's just that Chang'an has always had expensive rice, and the increase in the past few days has not been much, and it is only four or five cents. But when converted to the local level, I'm afraid that this number will rise a lot. In the land of Gyeonggi, there are very few rice that is less than 40 wen. ”

The household department is in charge of the world's money and food, and it collects a lot of information, so it is very convincing to speak.

It's just that when Li Shimin heard such a confirmation, his face became more and more unsightly.

According to this argument, this famine cannot be avoided. So what exactly is to do next? "Although there are precedents in dealing with famine, it also involves the overall planning of the central government and the abundance of local government coffers, so we cannot generalize." How about the storage now, let everyone have a bottom in their hearts? Li Shimin turned his gaze to the book of the household.

"In the case of the Turks last year, the treasury was almost empty. Fortunately, more than half of it was added 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, and they are afraid that they will all be affected. "Tobe Shangshu is not without worries, once the treasury is empty, the following days will be very difficult.

"Stabilize the place as much as possible, and all the repairs in the palace have been stopped. It can also save a lot of money and food. Li Shimin can be regarded as leading by example, and repairing the palace and daily consumption in the palace every year is a large amount of expenses. With such a statement, the household can also breathe a sigh of relief.

Fang Xuanling said: "Once there is a famine, there will be a large number of displaced people. After a few years of forced labor, these displaced people can be appropriately recruited and paid for relief through work. It can also reduce consumption a lot. ”

Nodding, Li Shimin said, "Hmm." Luo Yan also brought another note this time. It also mentions cash-for-work. In addition, he also wanted to borrow money from the people in the name of the government and using the land as collateral. Do you think this is possible? ”

As soon as Li Shimin spoke, several people changed color. They all stopped and said, "Your Majesty, this matter must not be allowed. Competing with the people for profit is not what Renjun does. ”

Obviously, there are some representatives of the family's forces here. Often the time of famine is the best time for land annexation. Before becoming displaced people, many people did not abandon the wasteland, but sold the land. If you are not cornered, no one will be willing to leave their homeland.

Li Shimin naturally knew how good Luo Yan's proposal was. I wanted to take this opportunity to test the reaction of these high-ranking officials, but I didn't expect to get such a drastic response. Helpless, Li Shimin could only compromise and said: "Luo Yan has already said enough reasons for this matter, and I will let you see it one by one later." However, no matter what you say, what Luo Yan asked, trying to implement this matter in Lantian can't be changed. (To be continued.) )