"Big buckets come in and small buckets come out!"
"Selling at a low price, selling at a high price!"
"Years of disaster make more money than years of good harvest."
Li Shimin looked at the article in the Mo Periodical with a gloomy face.
The article "Three to Five Buckets More" published in the Mo Periodical was Li Fuzi's version in classical Chinese. After the Mo family became rich, Li Fuzi left his teaching job in the Mo Family Village and volunteered to be the chief editor of the Mo Periodical when he was bored.
This suited his character, and he was always doing well. This time, when he saw Moton's overpriced version in vernacular, he gave Moton a good scolding. Then, he personally wrote a classical version and signed his name on it without hesitation.
This was approved by everyone in the Mo family. After all, this article had offended too many people. Li Fuzi did this to protect Meton.
The difference was nearly three times. The farmers worked hard for a year, and the money they earned was only enough to fill their stomachs. If something happened to them in the middle, the family would have to borrow money to survive. Moreover, the interest at this time was very high. If they couldn't repay the money, the family would definitely go bankrupt.
"Pande!" Li Shimin said in a deep voice.
"I am here!" Pande replied.
"Go to Chang 'an immediately to investigate the price of food in Chang' an in the past year," Li Shimin said.
Pande hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. The phenomenon mentioned by Li Fuzi happened in the previous dynasty."
Just as Li Fuzi protected Meton, Meton did not agree with Li Fuzi to directly confront these interest groups. Instead, he brought forward the time to the Sui Dynasty.
Li Shimin suddenly sneered and said, "You don't know what kind of person Li Duo is, but I don't know. If it was about the previous dynasty, he would not even look at it."
Back then, Teacher Li was called a weird scholar because he criticized the current political situation. He was ostracized by the mainstream of Chang 'an and had to live in seclusion in the Mo Family Village. Now that he had the Mo Journal in hand, he was like a fish in water. How could an article signed by him be covered by the previous dynasty?
Li Shimin was sure that Teacher Li was mocking the past and the present. There must be something strange about the price of food in Chang 'an.
Pande was very efficient. Soon, the price of food in Chang 'an for twelve months in a year was placed in front of Li Shimin's desk. The highest price in April and May, when there was a shortage of food, was thirteen coins per dou. The lowest price was only five coins per dou during the harvest season in summer and autumn.
"How preposterous!"
The more Li Shimin looked at it, the angrier he became. He slammed the desk heavily. The bloody facts reported in the Mo Journal in front of him made him lose face. He had always thought that the price of food in Guanzhong was five coins per dou and that people could afford to buy food and eat. He did not know that it was just a word game.
Five coins per dou was only the lowest price of food in Chang 'an. Meton used to think that the price of food in the Tang Dynasty was very low. But after coming to the Tang Dynasty, he realized that it was absolutely the historians who glorified the rule of Zhen Guan. They just reported the lowest price. This lowest price might be the lowest price of food in the past years.
"What about Chang Pingcang? Has the Chang Pingcang I set up become a decoration? "Li Shimin roared.
Pande smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, Chang Pingcang only buys and sells food according to the market price. Most of it is for disaster relief or loans to the people."
Chang Pingcang was a place in ancient times that specialized in stabilizing the price of food. Usually, people would buy food when the price was low and sell it when the price was high. However, it seemed to be a good thing. At that time, transportation and communication were extremely poor, so the effect was very limited. It was possible to use it only in times of disaster or when the price of food was abnormal.
It was almost impossible to adjust the price of food according to the price fluctuation in the market in time.
Teacher Li's literary talent was very good. In a short article, he described the mood of a farmer from joy to despair incisively and vividly. After reading it, people could not help but sympathize with him. At the same time, they also hated the illegal food merchants.
Since the concept of compulsory education was mentioned, Teacher Li's reputation in Chang 'an was like the sun at high noon. He had become a big shot in the education circle. Coupled with his position as the chief editor of the Mo Journal, it added fuel to the fire. Once "Three to Five Dou More" was published, it immediately exploded in Chang' an. After all, the price of food fluctuated too much. It not only affected the farmers but also the citizens of Chang 'an. After all, who could store so much food at home?
In any era, food was the most important thing for a country's stability. Therefore, when Li Shimin summoned the courtiers, many of them knew about Li Shimin's intention.
The Mo Journal was now an important source of information for the people of Chang 'an. Although the officials usually received more information than the ordinary people, it was still not enough compared to the Mo Journal, which specialized in collecting information. In addition, the Mo Journal was of high quality and the content was detailed. It was a must-read for the officials. Of course, the officials had already seen Teacher Li's article.
"Dear officials, today, my son asked me a question. What is the meaning of the phrase 'cheap grain hurts the farmers'? You are all knowledgeable people. I wonder which one of you can answer for me! "Li Shimin suddenly asked a question that everyone knew.
The courtiers immediately understood. Today's discussion was indeed about this.
The Minister of Agriculture, Su Lingnong, immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this phrase comes from the Book of Han. It means that if the price of food is too low, it will hurt the farmers."
Li Shimin immediately nodded and praised, "Minister Su is indeed a knowledgeable person. You hit the nail on the head."
Su Lingnong smiled bitterly and had to play along with Li Shimin. He said, "The Minister is just abiding by his duty. Naturally, he is particularly concerned about the knowledge related to agriculture."
"Today, I read Teacher Li's' Three to Five Buckets More 'and felt a lot of emotions. The harm of cheap grain hurts the farmers is too great. It is really distressing!" Li Shimin said.
The courtiers suddenly fell silent. They could not help but look at the two ministers in front of them, Du Yan and Wei Changde.
The people around Chang 'an joked, "Wei Du of the south of the city goes to Tian Chiwu." The Wei Family and the Du Family were the biggest landlords in Chang 'an. They were also the biggest grain merchants in Chang' an. The grain merchants in Teacher Li's article were simply based on them.
"Your Majesty, this is a matter of the previous dynasty. Naturally, such a thing will not happen in our dynasty." Du Yan had to bite the bullet and say.
Li Shimin's mouth twitched. He sneered and said, "The past is the teacher of the future. Naturally, our dynasty will not repeat the mistakes of the past. Food is the foundation of the country. It is the most important thing. Let's discuss how the Tang dynasty can avoid the phenomenon of cheap grain hurting the farmers!"
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