Save the Bachelor of Heaven

 Chapter 3382 3384 [Rent reduction and interest reduction]

 As for the conquered lands abroad, things were not peaceful either.

 Many people organized groups to rebel against the imperial court. They didn't dare to face the army's spears and cannons, so they secretly resorted to tricks and stumbling blocks. Such as posting slogans, pickpocketing trains, harassing the army, damaging railways, etc.

 Similar incidents are simply endless and difficult to prevent.

As for the Middle East, Persia, Tianzhu and other places, although they have surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and are willing to submit, they are just like the Yu clan in the north. Submission is only in name. Behind closed doors, people can still be their own kings.

Hence, the Qing Dynasty seems to have unified the world and is extremely powerful, but in fact it is surrounded by dangers and is far from being as indestructible and impregnable as it seems.

 So what Xiang Nan said is very true. The Qing Dynasty is currently suffering from internal and external troubles, and it absolutely cannot relax, let alone be complacent.

“At last, your trip was not in vain.” Xiang Nan nodded, “Remember my words, ‘Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival, arrogance is.’ So live in sorrow and die in happiness.

If any of you who succeeds to my throne in the future cannot work hard to govern and strive for self-improvement, but is unwilling to make progress and indulges in pleasure, then please do not burn incense and worship me. I don't want to see you even under Jiuquan. "

 “I don’t dare!” All the princes knelt down and said.

 …

 In February of the 37th year of Qianlong's reign, the southern line of the Asia-Europe Railway was finally closed.

This railway starts from Sarajevo in southern Europe, passes through Istanbul and enters the Middle East, passes through the Ottoman Empire to Persia, and then passes through the Bukhara Khanate, Kokand Khanate, etc. to reach Ili in the Western Region.

 It has been built since the 29th year of Qianlong's reign and has been built for eight years now. The total length is 12,000 miles, which can be said to be quite long.

After the opening of this railway, the Qing Dynasty’s control over Central Asia, Persia, Tianfang, Southern Europe and other places will surely reach a new level. After all, after the railway was opened to traffic, the Qing garrison went to Central Asia, Persia, Tianfang, etc. to quell the rebellion, which took only seven or eight days at most.

Furthermore, Xiang Nan is also preparing to build two more railways.

One line runs from Mosul to Cairo, connecting the Asian and African continents; the other goes from Tehran south through New Delhi, passing through Tianzhu to Bagan and Vientiane.

 In this way, South Asia and Southeast Asia will also be connected as one.

 It should be noted that Tianzhu is also quite rich in natural resources. The reserves of coal, iron ore, copper ore, gold ore, manganese ore, gold mine, etc. are among the highest in the world.

 More importantly, Tianzhu’s rice has been famous since ancient times, and it has always been a major grain exporter. After the railway was opened, a large amount of rice produced in Tianzhu could enter the Central Plains and be sold to the people at a low price.

Just like Egypt’s modern pie subsidy policy, with subsidies from the Egyptian government, each pie only costs 20 cents RMB. These big cakes guarantee the bottom line of survival for poor people and allow them to continue to survive.

 …

 In March, Xiang Nan issued a decree and promulgated a policy of rent reduction and interest rate reduction.

It stipulates that landlords are only allowed to charge 25% of the land rent, and no more is allowed. It stipulates that the annual interest rate shall not exceed 1.5%. If the interest payment exceeds double the original amount, the principal and interest will be suspended. If the interest payment exceeds twice the original amount, the principal and interest will be suspended.

This policy was publicized in newspapers and became known to the people all over the country. For a time, the people were excited and excited. The landlords and wealthy people almost vomited blood.

 In ancient times, landlords could collect 50% to 70% of the people's annual income by collecting rent every year. Gu Yanwu, a great scholar in the Ming Dynasty, lamented, “The people in Wuzhong have ten percent of the land, and ninety-nine are tenant farmers.…At the age of one, there is only one harvest of autumn crops, and the harvest from one acre cannot be more than three stones, and the young ones can only have more than one stone.

 The price of private rent is as high as two or three bushels per stone for a heavy person, and as low as seven or eight bushels for a small one. The tenants work with all their strength for a year, and the excrement is clogged with work. The fee for an acre is only a few bushels, and the income is only a few bushels. There are people who pay the rent today and beg for money tomorrow. "

 This shows that the people's burden is heavy. After paying the land rent, there is almost no surplus, and they are forced to borrow money to survive. It’s no wonder that an ancient poem says, “There is no idle land in the world, and farmers are starving to death.”

By reducing rent to 20%, farmers can retain 80% of their income. In this way, the people's life will be much better, at least they will have enough to eat.

Another thing that the people hate deeply is Gao Li's loan, also known as loan sharking.

 Private lending was very active in ancient times, and the interest rates were very high, usually with annual interest rates above 60%. Even if you can't pay it back, you'll still have to pay interest and compound interest. If you lend a chicken, you can get a cow back.

In "The White-Haired Girl", Yang Bailao borrowed five yuan from Huang Shiren, and in the end the interest rate was as high as twenty-five yuan. It can be seen that the exploitation of Gao Li's loan has reached a point where the common people cannot afford it.

 Therefore, Xiang Nan issued an edict to correct these two evil acts that harmed the people.

 …

But in fact, all dynasties have known that land rent and interest are quite detrimental to the people, so many dynasties have tried to reverse this phenomenon.

For example, Wang Mang's new dynasty stipulated that credit is interest-free and the loan interest rate is "no over-tithe", that is, the annual interest rate does not exceed 10%.

During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and the Qingyuan period of the Song Dynasty, the maximum interest rate standard for private loans was specifically stipulated, which generally did not exceed four cents per month. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the standard was generally three cents per month.

 During the Northern Song Dynasty, the "Young Miao Law" proposed by Wang Anshi's reform was to allow the state to lend money to the people to prevent the people from being exploited by Gao Lidai.

 However, these policies could not be resolutely implemented in the end.

 First, because of the collusion between officials and businessmen, officials colluded with businessmen, gentry, and landlords and failed to abide by the law, which resulted in the people having to continue to be exploited;

Second, the imperial court failed to crack down on corruption. Many emperors in the past dynasties were incompetent and only cared about their own enjoyment without caring about the lives of the people. Naturally, their actions were ineffective and the exploitation of the people became increasingly serious;

 Third, the people are ignorant. Even if the court has policies, they may not know about them, and naturally they will not think of fighting for their own rights and interests;

 So throughout the dynasties, although the court had legal restrictions, the law enforcers were unable to comply with the laws, and the people were ignorant and unfamiliar with the laws. As a result, these laws were in name only. Naturally, Gao Lidai continued to be banned, and the situation became more and more intense.

 …

 Hang Nan believes that his policy can be implemented.

Firstly, the circulation of newspapers helps to promote policies and communicate them to higher levels, preventing officials from getting in the way; secondly, the increase in literacy rate also makes the people no longer as easy to fool as before; thirdly, the supervision department and the department of supervision are independent Operation has also led to anti-corruption. I dare not say that no one has slipped through the crackdown, but it is also a great deterrent to hundreds of officials.

Hence, under this influence, Xiang Nan believes that his policy can be implemented. To this end, he also specially sent an inspection team to inspect various places and accept complaints from people.

If there are landlords' rental, businessmen plus loans, and officials, they will not be neglected. If the inspection team is also corrupted, then the crime will be increased by knowing the law and breaking the law.

Xiang Nan wants to use severe punishment to tell everyone that he is not joking and is serious about it.

 (End of this chapter)