Preamble:
Have you ever thought that in those days of famine, a local official would encourage merchants to raise the price of rice? Isn't this adding fuel to the fire? This official is Fan Zhongyan, a famous thinker and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty. His approach was unexpected, but it was a source of wisdom and concern for the people.
Disaster looms
Jiangnan in 1050 was supposed to be a thriving scene. The spring ploughing has just ended, and farmers are looking forward to a bumper harvest year. However, at this moment, a sudden drought completely disrupted everything.
The scorching heat has scorched the earth and lost its greenery. The crops in the fields were completely destroyed, and the farmers' hard work for a year was wasted. What's even more terrifying is that this drought did not end there, but intensified, enveloping almost the entire Jiangnan region.
Zhejiang is one of the most severely affected areas. It was once an important grain producing area in the country, but now it is a barren land. Everywhere you look, you can see dry rivers, cracked fields, and stalks of crops that have been charred by the sun.
In the city, some speculative businessmen took the opportunity to inflate the price of rice, making the already stretched people even worse. They have raised the price of rice to 180 yuan a stone, far beyond the ability of ordinary people to bear.
In the streets and alleys, you can see the figure of hungry people everywhere. They were barefoot, unkempt, and had only begging words in their mouths. Some are even dying and may die at any time.
Seeing that these poor creatures were about to wither away, the imperial court finally realized the seriousness of the situation. If this situation is allowed to continue, it will inevitably lead to irretrievable consequences.
If you are poor, you will think about change
Just when the government and the opposition were in a state of confusion, a prestigious virtuous minister was sent to the front line of Zhejiang. He is Fan Zhongyan. As one of the most outstanding thinkers and politicians of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan was naturally well aware of the current crisis.
Once the situation is not under control, riots are just around the corner. At that time, the rule of the imperial court will also be severely impacted. Therefore, he must find a way to turn the situation around quickly to be the best policy. But how can this be done? Relying solely on government relief is far from sufficient. After all, the financial resources of the imperial court are also limited. If you just blindly distribute relief food, you will soon be overstretched.
So, Fan Zhongyan began to plan a big show. He is well aware that in order to solve the immediate crisis, some unconventional means must be adopted. The traditional approach is no longer viable, and only by breaking the routine can this crisis be finally resolved.
As the saying goes, poverty leads to change, and times of crisis are often times when wisdom is born. Faced with such a tricky situation, Fan Zhongyan began to strategize and carefully plan one action after another. He knew that it would be a contest of wisdom and courage, but as long as he could save the people from danger in the end, it would be worth it.
Lure the snake out of the hole
The first step is to guide the merchants to raise the price of rice. This approach is undoubtedly incredible. However, Fan Zhongyan has his own considerations.
He knew that as long as the price of rice was high enough, it would attract rice merchants from the surrounding area. At that time, although the price of rice in Zhejiang is high, the supply will also be greatly sufficient. This sets the stage for follow-up action.
However, how can we get the merchants to take the initiative to raise the price of rice? Fan Zhongyan knows very well that relying on the government's orders alone will not work. After all, the purpose of the merchants is to make money, and if the price of rice is limited to a low level, they will not be happy.
So, Fan Zhongyan decided to take a more ingenious approach. He first gathered the merchants of the city and mobilized and encouraged them. As long as the price of rice is raised to a high enough level, they can make a decent profit.
Sure enough, Fan Zhongyan's strategy quickly worked. When the price of rice was raised to 180 yuan a stone, rice merchants from all over the world poured into Zhejiang and took the opportunity to make a windfall. They were all salivating for the profits in front of them, and they couldn't imagine that this was just the beginning of Fan Zhongyan's careful layout.
Just when the businessmen were excited about the profits in front of them, Fan Zhongyan made another move. He ordered the opening of the official warehouse and the distribution of relief food to the people free of charge. For a time, the price of rice in the hands of the merchants was ridiculously high, but the rice in the official warehouse was given to the people for nothing. It is conceivable that no one will spend a lot of money on the high-priced rice of the merchants.
Seeing that the price of rice fell all the way, and finally the rice could only be sold to the people at a price of 100 yuan, the merchants were all depressed. They originally hoped to make a fortune in Zhejiang, but they never thought that in the end, they would just change places to sell rice.
However, just when the businessmen returned in disgrace, the disaster in Zhejiang had been completely resolved. Not only can the people buy rice and grain at a reasonable price, but they can also earn income with their own hands to tide over the difficulties.
Cash-for-work
After resolving the rice price crisis, Fan Zhongyan did not stop there. He knew that relying solely on government relief was not enough. Only by allowing the people to support themselves can we truly get out of the haze.
So, he began to arrange work for the victims in the government and temples. Although the pay is meager, it is much better than being idle all day and begging for a living. This will not only provide the victims with a basic source of livelihood, but also allow them to regain their self-worth and dignity.
At the same time, Fan Zhongyan also skillfully took advantage of the prevalence of Buddhist worship in Zhejiang. He organized various celebrations that attracted a large number of pilgrims. This has not only increased the popularity of the local area, but also created more employment opportunities for the victims.
Under Fan Zhongyan's arrangement, some of the victims began to work as incense workers in the temple, responsible for taking care of the incense; Others work as hawkers at temple fairs, selling snacks and souvenirs.
Although the income is not much, at least it can provide food and clothing. More importantly, they have regained their dignity of self-reliance and are no longer passively waiting for relief.
In this way, under Fan Zhongyan's careful arrangement, the disaster situation in Zhejiang was quickly and completely resolved. Instead of passively waiting for relief, people are earning their livelihood with their own hands. And the imperial court, as a result, was spared a riot that could shake the rule.
Epilogue:
However, Fan's wisdom did not happen overnight. The reason why he was able to make such a wise decision was because of his deep insight into the current situation and his personal experience of the suffering of the people. As a local official, he is well aware of the severity of the disaster and knows that the government alone is not enough. Therefore, he had to come up with a solution that worked.
It is precisely with this great emphasis on people's livelihood that Fan Zhongyan was able to break the routine and adopt some seemingly absurd practices. He knows that this is the only way to solve problems, not to solve them. It can be said that it is this spirit that is the fundamental reason why the Northern Song Dynasty was able to stand firm in the turbulent era.
Throughout history, there are not many virtuous ministers like Fan Zhongyan. Not only are they visionary, but they also know how to make a real difference to the people. It is precisely with such a figure that the Northern Song Dynasty was able to leave such a splendid cultural heritage in that turbulent era and become the object of admiration of later generations. And Fan Zhongyan himself was given the nickname of "Wenzheng" by later generations to highlight his outstanding contributions.