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Nong Dianzhang was a third-rank official, and he also had a seat in the hall. He was in charge of the government affairs of Xijing. After hearing what Qin Mu said, he was the first to bear the brunt, so he hurriedly took the hu and bowed, saying: "Your Majesty, during the Kaibao period of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty, thinking of the dilapidated Zhongguan, also issued an order to prohibit logging in the northwest. However, the effect was minimal, and the order was abolished within a few years.
I think that the reason why the ban was abolished in the early Song Dynasty was not only that local officials did not pay enough attention to it, but also that it was restricted by objective factors. Take the early Song Dynasty as an example. As the war gradually subsided, the country gradually became peaceful, people's livelihood quickly recovered, and people bought property and built houses, which required a large amount of wood.
Moreover, Emperor Taizu of Song encouraged his meritorious officials and dignitaries to buy mansions and keep beautiful concubines. High-ranking officials and nobles all built large-scale projects, and the demand was even greater. Zhao Pu, who claimed that he could rule the world with half of the Analects of Confucius, sent his family to the northwest to cut down large amounts of timber.
From the prime minister to the common people, everyone had a demand for timber, but logging was prohibited only in the Northwest. Unscrupulous merchants also raised the price of timber, making the people in the Northwest overwhelmed, and eventually the logging ban became as worthless as a piece of waste paper.
Your Majesty, our dynasty is going to ban logging in the northwest, and we are also facing similar problems. Your Majesty encourages industry and commerce, and with the promotion of new crops, people's livelihood has recovered rapidly. In the past, due to frequent wars, the destruction of residential buildings was extremely serious. In another year or two, people's livelihood will recover, and in the next ten years, the people will usher in a peak period of large-scale construction.
Please forgive me for being so bold. I am worried that although your majesty has issued a ban, if the needs of the people are not taken into consideration, your majesty's ban may be difficult to maintain in the future."
Nong Dianzhang needs to take precautions first. It is better to say it now than to be unable to resist in the future and be punished by the emperor.
Qin Mu certainly knew that since there was demand among the people, it would be impossible to stop it by force, and that a two-pronged approach of blocking and dredging was necessary.
The main needs of the people for wood are as firewood and as building materials.
The amount of materials used in building houses was extremely astonishing. Most buildings of this era were made of wood. For example, in a two-story building, except for the outer walls which were made of bricks and stones, the stairs, the second floor floor, beams and columns were all made of wood. Some even had wooden outer walls.
Qin Mu had already had a plan for this and had made some arrangements in advance, otherwise he would not have mentioned this matter today.
At this time, Yu Chenglong came out and said, "Your Majesty, in order to implement the decree prohibiting logging, we must first reduce the demand for timber among the people. Your Majesty, as far as I know, in northern Shaanxi, ordinary people have the old habit of living in caves.
Since ancient times, northern Shaanxi has been a place where Han and Hu people live together. There are often wars, and the people often have to migrate for refuge. In such times, even the rich families are unwilling to build mansions. Most of them live in earthen kilns several meters high. When war breaks out, they abandon them.
Earthen caves are easy to dig. They are low-cost, labor-saving, and warm in winter and cool in summer. I think if cave dwellings are vigorously promoted in places suitable for digging caves on the Loess Plateau, such as northern Shaanxi and Longyou, it will greatly reduce the dependence of the people on wood. "
After listening to Yu Chenglong's words, Qin Mu couldn't help but nod repeatedly. He had never been to northern Shaanxi. The last time he went to Longyou, although it was also the Loess Plateau, the people there did not have the habit of living in caves, so he didn't even think of caves as a low-cost and easy method.
"Well, what you said is very much in line with my opinion. I know that it is very difficult to ban logging in the northwest, but as the northwest is becoming increasingly devastated and soil erosion is becoming more and more serious, the silt carried by the Yellow River is increasing, posing a huge hidden danger to the downstream.
Throughout the dynasties, huge amounts of manpower and material resources were spent on controlling the floods of the Yellow River, but the results were minimal. The late Yuan Dynasty even lost its country because of the efforts to control the floods of the Yellow River.
It can be seen from this that just starting from the lower reaches of the Yellow River, no matter how much manpower and material resources are invested, it is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, this policy of treating both the symptoms and the root cause must be implemented, otherwise the money and grain that Daqin spends on managing the Yellow River in the future will also be a bottomless pit.
The cave dwellings that Yu Qing mentioned are very suitable for ordinary people in the Loess Plateau. I think the court should promote them. At the same time, Xijing can recruit some skilled craftsmen in construction to design the layout and arrangement of the cave dwellings, so as to improve the practicality, safety, lighting, ventilation, moisture resistance and other aspects of the cave dwellings, so that the people will be more willing to accept them. Nong Qing, this matter will be left to you to implement. "
"I obey your order." Nong Dianzhang had no choice but to stand up and answer. He thought for a moment and then said, "Your Majesty, it is not difficult to promote cave dwellings among ordinary people, but I am afraid that some wealthy families are not willing to accept them. And it is precisely these wealthy families who consume the most wood to build luxurious houses. In addition, other places are not suitable for digging cave dwellings except the Loess Plateau. Therefore, I think that cave dwellings cannot fundamentally solve the dependence of the people in the northwest on wood, and it will still be difficult to ban logging in the northwest."
Qin Mu didn't want to waste time, so he said directly: "I will say a few things now. First, the Minister of Agriculture should set an example, organize manpower, increase the intensity of coal mining, and then promote the use of honeycomb coal in all states and counties to reduce the amount of firewood burned by the people in the city as much as possible.
Second, promote reinforced concrete construction. I have already made preparations in this regard and will soon strive to build a cement plant in each state to increase the supply of raw materials.
Third, impose taxes on timber to increase the cost of using timber.
Fourth, forestry inspection offices should be set up in all counties and prefectures to strengthen the supervision of timber within the territory, and scientifically cut down trees, and indiscriminate cutting is strictly prohibited. At the same time, the responsibility should be implemented on the head of each village. No matter whose tree it is, if it is to be cut down, three saplings must be planted for every tree cut down, otherwise a fine will be imposed.
Fifth, strengthen the management of the land on the Loess Plateau, prohibit further reclamation, prohibit overgrazing, and when the population increases and the existing land is not enough for cultivation in the future, the court will be responsible for relocating the people.
Sixth, to encourage tree planting, I will order every household to allocate a special fund. No matter who you are, for every 100 trees planted, if they survive the second year, you will get two dragon coins as a reward.
Seventh, March 12th of each year will be designated as Arbor Day. All officials in the northwest must take the lead in planting 20 trees each year, and ensure a 70% survival rate. This task will be included in the performance evaluation. "
After Qin Mu finished speaking, he asked Sima An and others if they had anything to add.
Sima An pondered and said, "The reinforced concrete buildings that Your Majesty mentioned have never been seen by the people. It may not be easy to promote them. If Your Majesty wants to promote them, I think you should do some pilot projects in various counties and let the local people know about them first."
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Of course, do you have anything else to add?"
Li Yuan thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, changing a concept is the most difficult. Throughout history, the Han people have been accustomed to wooden houses. Even if we do pilot projects in various counties, I am afraid that the people may not be willing to follow suit.
I think that if this policy is to be implemented smoothly, it can only be driven by profit, so that it can play a practical role. I suggest that in addition to increasing the tax rate on wood and raising the cost of using wood, we can provide subsidies according to the birth policy, give certain subsidies to families who use reinforced concrete to build houses, or reduce the corresponding sharp taxes. In this way, I believe that the people will be moved by the profit, and it will be much easier to implement. "
The Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue immediately said with a bitter face: "Mr. Li, using silver and money to subsidize will greatly increase the expenditure of the national treasury..."
Qin Mu waved his hand and said, "Yang Qing, this is a major event that will benefit the present and future generations. There is no need to worry about the gains and losses of the moment. Besides, the northwest has suffered a serious population loss. Now the land is vast and sparsely populated, and there is a lot of wasteland. Once the prohibition of random land reclamation is implemented, the wasteland will become valuable. Then the wasteland can be used as compensation, and the national treasury does not have to pay for it."
"Your Majesty is wise, this is very good, very good."
Seeing that Yang Chao acted like a miser, even Sima An and others couldn't help but curl up their lips and smile slightly.
In fact, as Nong Dianzhang said at the beginning, the imperial court in the Song Dynasty had already realized that soil erosion in the northwest was serious and that preventive measures needed to be taken.
However, although Emperor Taizu of Song issued a ban on logging, there were no corresponding measures to implement it, so it was not successful. In addition, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the upper reaches of the Yellow River were still controlled by foreign races, and there was no condition like the Qin Dynasty now.
On this day, Qin Mu discussed this matter specifically with the ministers present, racking his brains to formulate various implementation details and finalize the matter.
The various clauses of the five-year plan he formulated had to be implemented one by one from easy to difficult, which not only took time but some clauses also required opportunities.
For example, it is easier to reach a consensus on an issue like controlling soil erosion, so we put it forward first and finalize it.
As for the others, he is building momentum and will launch them when the time is right... (To be continued...)
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