Chapter 1,222 The Great Immigration

Liang Yi was dumbfounded and pondered for a while: "Actually, there is another way... Then the Song Dynasty... can it provide some assistance to the country?"

Su You started to bury more food for Liang Yi again: "We are just chatting, things are not necessarily as bad as I said, come here, eat food, eat food..."

Liang Yiduo wanted to refuse, but he couldn't resist Su You's enthusiasm. He put the sweet and sour pork into his mouth, and it tasted like wax. It was no longer as sweet and delicious as before.

Su You said: "As a responsible big country in the Song Dynasty, people's livelihood in Xixia is in decline, so assistance can be provided."

Liang Yiduo Mi just looked happy, but then he heard Su You say: "However, the aid from the Song Dynasty must be from countries that recognize and yearn for the political system and etiquette of the Song Dynasty. For your country, it seems that apart from Guishang and He

Li Qing, is there no one else? The commander must understand this, right?"

"If the monarch of your country takes the initiative to make a request to help Xixia provide relief to the people's livelihood and implement the Han system, then of course I, the Song Dynasty, will have no shirk from the responsibility!"

"Brother Liang, as a direct descendant of the Liang family, you should perhaps tactfully advise the superiors not to go all the way, lest others fail to help even if they want to..."

Liang Yi felt like crying. Why didn't you tell me earlier? This road is already dead!

He picked up the wine glass and said: "The prince does not take advantage of a foreign country. He earnestly and sincerely advises each other, and every sentence is reasonable. I feel so ashamed."

"I borrowed the Duke's fine wine and gave it to the Duke. I don't dare to stay in the Song Dynasty any longer. I have to tell the Duke of Xia's kindness to everyone in the court."

Su You also picked up the wine glass: "I don't really believe that the Queen Mother and the Prime Minister of your country can listen to advice, but for the sake of his country and his people, Brother Liang should do his best, both emotionally and rationally."

"Su You doesn't dare to be pretentious, but...just like what we did at the stall outside the hospital just now, I asked the Queen Mother of your country to never use the country's destiny to impede her again."

"Winning once, twice, or even three times in gambling is actually of no use, because as long as you lose once, you will face the catastrophe of annihilating the country..."

"Commander Du, I have said all that Su You can say, and there is one last sentence, that is, if one day, Commander Du encounters an obstacle that cannot be overcome, remember that in the Song Dynasty, there was still Su You, an old friend."

Liang Yiduomi was really moved at this moment: "If the two countries were not ministers, Yiduomi would only follow Yixi Weishe and listen to the teachings every day. It is a pity that as the Duke said, the situation cannot be controlled by others."

Su You also lamented: "Yes, sometimes the situation does not depend on people's will and prayers. Su You was just like when he was in Weizhou. Although his original intention was to develop domestic affairs and people's livelihood, when foreign enemies invaded, he had to protect his family."

It is our unshirkable duty to defend our country."

"You didn't listen to my advice last time. This time, I really hope you will change. Brother Liang, Su Youya doesn't want to see you on the battlefield again."

…

In the spring of the fourth year of Yuanfeng, in the first month of Xinhai, Feng Jing was informed of Heyang, Sun Gu was informed of the Privy Council, and Han Zhen, a direct bachelor of Longtuge, was informed of the affairs of the Privy Council.

The first thing Sun Gu did when he took office was to ask him to move to the center of Sichuan and be assigned to Jinghu, to Zhejiang and Zhejiang to be assigned to Nanhai, and to Bianjing to be assigned to Hebei.

This discussion caused an uproar, and the courtiers who had not yet had time to go to work signed up to request the court to discuss it.

As a last resort, this year everyone had no choice but to discuss the possibility of this proposal because Old Man Sun started work early.

Sun Gu took out reports from three places. Among them, the Jinghu Road Transfer Department promised to give immigrants 100 acres of land, the Hebei Road Transfer Department offered 100 acres of land, the Nanhai Road Transfer Department offered less, and the Hebei Road Transfer Department offered less.

There are eighty acres in Ding, but that area has three crops a year, so it’s more than two hundred acres inland!

Sun Gu spoke plausibly at the court meeting: "In the Song Dynasty, the population is mainly concentrated in Bianjing, Shuzhong, Zhejiang and Hangyang. In these three places, land is already very tight. Take the acres of land in the middle of Shu as an example. The rights have been passed down for many years.

The property has been broken into pieces, and there are at least five households in one acre of land.”

"It's called prosperity, but it's actually detrimental to the country."

"On the one hand, Hebei's bare land is thousands of miles long, Jinghu Lake is underdeveloped, and the vast hectares of fertile land in the South China Sea have been reduced to elephant gardens; on the other hand, thousands of people are cultivating it, and thousands of people are feeding it, depleting the land's power to support the population."

"The way of heaven is to take the surplus and make up for the deficiencies. Just like the minister's plan, the prosperous place can reduce the burden; the land without people can be cultivated. Only then can the people live a better life."

Wang Gui was very dissatisfied with the Privy Council's interference in Zhongshu's affairs, and said: "The purpose of managing government affairs is to keep things clean and not to concern the people's livelihood. The emperor and Song Dynasty are financially prosperous now, so why create more trouble? The way of heaven is to make up for the deficiencies with surplus, but it is like the flow of water.

Next, we should follow the principles of nature. Human interference may undermine the success of the work and make it in vain."

Cai Que said: "From a logical point of view, what Sun Shuxiang said is irrefutable. Relocating the landless and unemployed people in the three places and enriching the newly opened areas in the Song Dynasty seems to be beneficial, both in terms of consolidating and stabilizing the place and solving the burden of the three places.

"

"However, Your Majesty, it is too troublesome to actually implement this matter."

"First of all, population growth involves the performance appraisal of officials. They have worked hard to make the local population grow, and now they are about to move people away. How should this performance appraisal be conducted?"

"Population also involves taxation. In our dynasty, Ding tax and local tax are the main types of taxes. This again involves the performance of local officials. Population migration will definitely lead to a sharp reduction in Ding tax."

"Also, the landless people are dependent on the powerful and landlords. If these people move away, what will happen to the land of the powerful and landlords? Who will cultivate it for them?"

"With these three items in mind, if this policy is to be implemented, it will definitely encounter huge resistance from the local government."

"This is only considered from the perspective of Bian, Shu and Zhejiang. Let's talk about Jinghu, Hebei and Nanhai."

"First of all, these immigrants have traveled thousands of miles along the way. Will the water and soil be safe? How will food and accommodation be provided along the way?"

"Even when they arrive, in addition to cultivating the land, they may also need to learn new planting methods and lifestyles. Are they similar to the local pronunciation? Are there any differences in customs? Will there be conflicts with local people?"

"Jinghu Nanhai is already wild and remote. When new immigrants arrive, the local state capital will definitely move them to a more remote place. Are there any bandits? How to prevent them? Has the local area prepared cattle, seeds, housing, and agricultural tools for them?

"

"The landless people in Bianjing are busy with handicrafts and trafficking. Can they farm? Can they raise cattle? I'm afraid it will not be easy for them to work in agriculture."

"And the obedient people in the Song Dynasty are mostly quiet and honest people. The so-called parents are here and they don't travel far. And those who dare to leave their hometown are not very peaceful people."

"If we want to relocate the quiet people, I can't help but think of the Battle of Yaqian. A move to Yaqian can bankrupt a small family, let alone the ordinary people who are moved thousands of miles away and never come back?"

"If we use naughty people, we can't help but think of the refugees in various places causing chaos and soldiers revolting in the past. Normally, it would be too late for Ansui to be safe, but now we have to give them such an opportunity. Aren't we afraid that they will turn into bandits?"

"So when I saw Prime Minister Sun's memorial, although it looked wonderful, Zhongshu felt that this matter was actually very difficult. It was too difficult..."

Su You listened a little funny on the side. The Great Song Dynasty was a strange combination. The so-called conservatives and reformers, in terms of administrative methods, were not necessarily conservative in the conservative sense, while the reformers were radical.

Rather, it should be said that each is conservative in its own way and each is radical in its own way, which is more in line with the facts.

For example, the bad government in history that abolished Li Zheng Ya Qian was initiated by Han Qi, a famous conservative figure, and was not Wang Anshi's initiative.

It was Zhang Fangping's policy to insist on banning tea and wine in central Sichuan; it was Zhang Fangping and Chen Xiliang's idea to ban salt in Hebei.

Having been immersed in the political affairs of the Song Dynasty to this day, Su You feels that the difference in the political views of the two groups should be defined more in the order of "strengthening the country and enriching the people" or "enriching the people and strengthening the country".

Therefore, there are today's differences of opinion between Sun Gu, Wang Gui, Cai Que and others.
Chapter completed!