The reason why Wang Anshi’s reform failed

When people are sick, they need to see a doctor, and when the country is in trouble, it needs reform. Correct reform is a good medicine for eliminating accumulated shortcomings and a guarantee for introducing the new from the old. However, among the officials in ancient Chinese dynasties, most were conservative and few advocated reform; many were muddle along and few were enterprising. This shows that Wang Anshi's reform is valuable. Wang Anshi attempted to achieve the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army through reforms. Wang Anshi had a profound and significant impact on his thinking and on the course of Chinese history. This reform has always attracted the attention of historians. Wang Anshi's reforms aroused much discussion both at the time and in modern times. Unfortunately, Wang Anshi's reform had little effect, and the Song Dynasty did not become stronger as a result of the reform. After the death of Song Shenzong (1085), the new laws were abolished, and 42 years later, the Northern Song Dynasty perished.

I think there are three main reasons for the failure of Wang Anshi’s reform:

1. The reform did not hit the current shortcomings

Song Shenzong was the sixth emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty. When he came to the throne, the country was already facing a serious situation. The first is the fiscal crisis. The state's fiscal revenue cannot make ends meet, and the fiscal deficit is expanding year by year. During the Qingli period of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, fiscal expenditure exceeded expenditure by more than 3 million yuan. In the second year of Emperor Yingzong's rule in Song Dynasty, this number reached more than 15 million yuan. Secondly, there is the serious threat of foreign invasions in recent years. The military flag of the Song Dynasty had never been unfurled on the northern grasslands. Since Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi first defeated Gaolianghe and then failed to regain the sixteen states of Youyan, the Song Dynasty completely lost its military initiative. He was defeated by Xixia and Liao many times. After the Tanyuan Alliance in 1004, the Song Dynasty used "sui coins" to buy peace every year. Not only did the military threat from the north not disappear, but it also aggravated the financial crisis. Thirdly, the peasant uprisings continued, which greatly shaken the feudal rule of the landlord class. In the fourth year of Chunhua reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty (993), the Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun uprising broke out. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, there were countless uprisings, large and small. The big ones include Wang Lun, Zhang Hai, Wang Ze's Uprising, and Xu Bing's Uprising. As for the small-scale peasant uprisings involving dozens or hundreds of people, there are countless small-scale peasant uprisings. The country is facing a huge crisis. There are several reasons for this situation: First, there are too many redundant officials, which has caused a heavy financial burden on the country. The Song Dynasty ended the separatist situation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In order to prevent the recurrence of "disasters of vassal towns", the method of "dividing power" was adopted. The prime ministers of the Song Dynasty were in name only, only in charge of political affairs and had no power to interfere with the economy and military. The military was managed by the Privy Council. Finance is managed by three departments. The three departments do not ask each other, and the result is: low administrative efficiency, overstaffing, and everyone checking each other and passing the blame. The Third Department, the Privy Council, and the Zhongshu Province each have their own set of institutions and a group of officials. However, the original six ministries, nine temples, five prisons and other institutions still exist, resulting in serious institutional overlap. People at that time said that "when the Ministry of Civil Affairs is idle, matters go to the Tribunal; when the Ministry of Household Affairs is idle, matters go to the Third Division; when the Ministry of War is idle, matters go to the Privy Council." As a result, a large number of officials were added. During the reign of Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty (1004-1007), there were more than 10,000 officials, and during the reign of Song Renzong (1049-1053), there were more than 20,000 officials. At that time, the country's population was only tens of millions. Not to mention that there were too many officials, the Song Dynasty also pursued "high salaries to support integrity", and the salaries of officials alone greatly increased the financial burden. The second is redundant troops. In the military system of the Song Dynasty, the army was divided into two types: the forbidden army and the Xiang army. The Forbidden Army guards the center, and the Xiang Army is responsible for the local areas. The number of the Forbidden Army must be equal to the number of the Xiang Army, that is, for every additional person in the Xiang Army, the Forbidden Army must also add one person. Generals lead the army, but "generals do not specialize in troops", and only the Privy Council has the power to send troops. As a result, generals cannot effectively command and train the army, so the Song army's combat effectiveness is extremely low. On the one hand, in order to cope with the military pressure from Xixia and Liao, the Song army had no choice but to pursue numerical superiority and maintain a large army; on the other hand, in every year of famine, it had to absorb a large number of hungry people into the army to prevent peasant uprisings. As a result, the number of troops gradually became astronomical. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, there were only 220,000 troops. By the reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty, the number had increased to 1,162,000. The large number of Song troops could not make up for the qualitative disadvantage. The Song troops were never a match for the fierce Xia and Liao cavalry. They could not break the military pressure and increased the financial burden. According to Cai Xiang's calculation, military expenditure accounted for five-sixths of the national income at that time; according to Zhu Xi's calculation, military expenditure accounted for seventy-eight percent of the national expenditure. Even Shenzong of the Song Dynasty said: "The only people who impoverish our country are soldiers." Third, land annexation is serious. On the one hand, the state did not interfere with land annexation during the Song Dynasty, and the landlord class, especially the large landlord class, was able to occupy large amounts of land.

On the other hand, large landowners used their political power to evade taxes and shift most of the national financial burden to poor people. In order to cope with the fiscal deficit, the Song Dynasty imposed a large number of taxes. Zhu Xi believed that "the ancient methods of carving and peeling are all available in this dynasty." As a result, a large number of farmers sold their fields to big landowners and became tenants. The gap between rich and poor is getting worse day by day. It can be seen that the main problems faced by the Song Dynasty were: 1. Excessive financial expenditure. 2. The military system is unreasonable.

However, Wang Anshi did not start reforms from now on, and ignored the problem of excessive financial expenditure. He did not regard reducing expenditure as his first priority, but took increasing revenue as his own responsibility. In "The Book of Yun Yun", Wang Anshi pointed out: If a person closes the door and does business with his son, even if he earns all his son's money, the family will still be the same as before and not rich. Wang Anshi believes: The rich Those who make their country rich will benefit the country; those who want to make the country rich will benefit the world. If they want to make the world rich, they will benefit the world. Only when production develops and everyone in the world becomes rich can the country be truly prosperous. Wang Anshi hopes to increase fiscal revenue and clear the fiscal deficit. Perhaps in the eyes of today's people, Wang Anshi's economic thoughts are great and modern. However, it was far ahead of its time. In ancient societies where the development of productive forces was very slow, it was impossible to develop production rapidly and increase the national economic aggregate all at once. Although Wang Anshi's economic thought was great, it could not be realized in the Song Dynasty more than a thousand years ago. Therefore, although Wang Anshi's reforms helped the Song Dynasty's fiscal revenue, it could not solve the problem, as if it was the opposite direction.

As for the issue of the military system, since the Song Dynasty regarded the prevention of armed rebellion as the top priority when the country was founded, it was impossible to let people who knew military knowledge develop the military. Due to the limitations of the Zhao family, Wang Anshi could not be in the military system. There are big moves on the issue.

2. Wang Anshi’s improper employment

Wang Anshi is famous for his stubborn character and lacks the temperament of a statesman. Wang Anshi was headstrong and self-willed, and he rarely listened to the opinions of others during the reform process. Wang Anshi himself said: "There is no need to fear changes in the sky, no laws to the ancestors, and no compassion to discuss." The first two sentences are of course correct, but what about the last sentence? Of course it’s not pity if the argument is wrong, but what if the argument is right? The ministers who opposed the new law at that time, such as Ouyang Xiu, Han Qi, Su Shi, Sima Guang, etc., were not completely conservative. These people all participated in the "Qingli New Deal" and were the people who presided over reforms. During the implementation of the new law, they saw the shortcomings and errors of the new law in practice and put forward many opinions, some of which were completely correct. If Wang Anshi could seriously consider these opinions, unite well, and amend some regulations, perhaps the reform would be effective. However, Wang Anshi had no tolerance for others. In the second year of Xining, not long after Wang Anshi became the counselor, Lu Jiaqing wrote a letter to impeach Wang Anshi, and Wang Anshi immediately went to court to beg for resignation and gave up his son. In the third year of Xining, Han Qi wrote a letter criticizing Qingmiao Fa, and Wang Anshi "claimed that he was ill at home" and gave up his son again. In the seventh year of Xining, Wang Anshi resolutely resigned from the post due to Zeng Bu's opposition to the Municipal Change Law. Such impulsive actions were not the behavior that a politician presiding over reform should do.

If you want to change the law and reform, you must first have people who want to change the law and reform. From the perspective of employment, it can be said that Wang Anshi employed people inappropriately. This is also an important reason that historians have always considered as an important reason for the failure of Wang Anshi's reform. Han Jiang, Lu Huiqing, and Lu Jiawen were all talents selected by Wang Anshi personally, and they were also the backbone of the reform faction. But in the end, some people were used inappropriately, and some betrayed the reform. For example: Han Jiang, a scholar who knew nothing about military affairs, volunteered to serve as governor of Xixia's military affairs, but he failed miserably. In the fourth year of Xining (1071), Xixia captured Ningjun City, and Han Jiang dismissed Dengzhou. Lu Jiawen was appointed by Wang Anshi as the Municipal Yi Secretary to implement the Municipal Yi Law. However, Lu Jiawen engaged in corruption, buying and selling from businessmen, and lining his own pockets. After the incident was revealed, Wang Anshi continued to protect Lu Jiawen, which could be described as unknown to others. Lu Huiqing was originally a collation of Jixian Academy and a minor official. In order to satisfy his personal ambitions, he claimed to support the reform. Under Wang Anshi's recommendation, he rose through the ranks until he became involved in political affairs. After becoming a political advisor, Lu Huiqing was always in trouble with Wang Anshi and obstructed the reform.

3. The new law itself has many problems

From the second year of Xining to the fifth year of Xining, six new laws were promulgated under the chairmanship of Wang Anshi. In order to ensure that farmers can survive during the lean period, stimulate production, crack down on usurious capital, prevent land annexation, and stabilize grain prices, the Young Crops Law was implemented in September of the second year of Xining.

Its main content is: 1. Exchange the grain and rice in Changping Guanghuicang into cash and lend the cash to urban and rural residents; 2. Set up Changping officials in each road to manage this matter; 3. The specific method of borrowing is: 1. Based on the local average in the previous ten years Grain prices are used as the standard, and loans are made twice a year; ② Urban and rural residents, except for idlers, can borrow; ③ Borrowing is limited according to the amount of family capital; ④ An additional 20% interest will be added when returning.

By the time of Wang Anshi, the Changping Guanghui Granary in the Song Dynasty had long been in vain. There was too little grain in the granary to stabilize grain prices and relieve the people, so the green crop method was adopted instead. The essence of the Green Crops Law is to use financial means to stabilize food prices, replace private lending with the government, help people survive the difficult period of drought, and prevent big landowners from taking advantage of the situation to annex land. However, there are many problems with the implementation of the new law this time. First, it seems too little to exchange grain and rice from Changping Guanghuicang for cash. Use grain and rice to stabilize grain prices. If grain and rice are not enough, is it enough to convert them into cash? The second is that there were many technical problems in the specific lending process that could not be solved at the time. If farmers have extra money, they don't need to borrow money. Farmers who borrow money borrow money to buy grain to tide over the lean period. After the autumn harvest, they sell the grain to pay back the money. If there is a bumper harvest, they can still pay back the money. What if there is a bad harvest? Is it to extend the loan period? Or should it be treated as bad debt? The government back then simply couldn't handle the problem the way banks do today. Third, although 20% interest is not considered usury, the interest rate is not low either. Modern people can use borrowed money to invest, expand reproduction, and obtain more money. At that time, farmers could only use limited money to purchase daily necessities and could not use it to expand reproduction. Therefore, when repaying the money, the 20% interest was This is a very high debt for farmers, not to mention that if food prices fall after the autumn harvest, it will increase interest rates in disguise. Fourth, the Green Crops Law stipulates that urban and rural residents can borrow freely, but because the Green Crops Law makes huge profits, in fact Most local officials in Shanghai forced farmers to borrow money. Even Wang Anshi himself admitted: "There is a problem in suppressing the relationship." Therefore, the Green Crops Dharma's name is to save the people during the lean years, but it is actually the government lending money for profit. Ouyang Xiu once criticized: "What's the name of Jique? It's just for money lending!" Han Qi also said: "Officials lending money with interest is the same as the Yuan Dynasty's suppression and annexation, and the meaning of relief is absolutely contrary to cruelty." It can be seen that the Young Crops Law did not achieve the purpose of suppressing mergers, but only allowed the government to make money by lending money. This result is probably contrary to Wang Anshi's original intention.

During the Song Dynasty, transshipment envoys were set up on various roads to transport all property to the capital, except what was necessary to stay in the local area. The results often resulted in: too much material, a backlog of goods, and falling prices. At the same time, big businessmen took advantage of the opportunity to buy and transport items to areas where supplies were scarce and sell them at high prices, causing financial losses to the country. For this reason, the Equal Shipping Law was issued in July of the second year of Xining (1069). Its main contents are: 1. Set up a shipping envoy to take charge of the wealth of the six southeast routes; 2. Shopping according to the principle of "moving the expensive to the cheap, using the people and the people far away", It is hoped that this will reduce the burden on the people of Southeast Sixth Road, stabilize prices in the capital, and prevent speculators from making the difference.

The proposal of this economic control method reflected Wang Anshi's great and advanced thinking, but it was unable to achieve the intended purpose at the time. I would like to ask: How can a shipping agent quickly understand the price of goods in various regions without modern communication tools? Even if he knows, how can he know how many items to buy to stabilize prices (the calculation of this number is difficult for today's economists) It’s all very complicated.) At that time, Su Shi believed that the equal loss method was nothing more than competing for profits with the people. Fan Chunren also said: "The law of equalization will trap groceries on all roads, buy cheap and sell expensive, and deprive merchants of any profit." This law greatly inhibited the development of private commerce at that time.

Big businessmen in the Song Dynasty often controlled some industries and formed monopolies. The result of monopoly is to inflate prices, put small businessmen in unfair competition, and then lead to a large number of bankruptcies. For this reason, the Market Yi Law was promulgated in the fifth year of Xining (1072). Its main contents are: 1. The establishment of the Municipal Yi Service (later changed to the Municipal Yi Department). 2. The Municipal Yi Department purchased unsalable goods, and small merchants paid them in cash. Silver was used as collateral to borrow goods or cash from the market. 20% interest will be added on return.

The original intention of the Market Change Law was to crack down on businessmen, stabilize prices, and help small businessmen. But in fact, it did not achieve such an effect. The first establishment of the Market Change Division was just for the state to control the market and create a monopoly on behalf of big businessmen. The monopolized market situation remains unchanged, and prices are unlikely to remain stable. Second, officials control business, and they are likely to use their power to buy at lower prices and sell at higher prices during transactions. For example, Lu Jiawen, who manages the Department of Economic Affairs, did this.

As a result, private commerce was greatly affected. Even Wei Jizong, who most advocated the market change law, said: "If you express your anger and complain about it, those who want to eliminate the market change and destroy Gupeke are not as good as the original proposal, and the people in the city will be overwhelmed." "

In addition to the above new laws, the labor exemption law was also implemented to replace the original labor service law, which eliminated compulsory labor; the square field equalization tax law was implemented to clear land and equalize taxes; and implement farmland water conservancy. Law to encourage the construction of water conservancy projects. These new laws have more or less positive effects. However, due to Wang Anshi's unstable power, local officials' lack of dedication to the implementation of the new laws, and the great obstruction by big bureaucrats, the effects of these new laws are not great. For example, the square field equalization tax law requires clear land and equal taxation. But in fact, due to the opposition of powerful landowners, Qingzhang could not settle the matter. Generally speaking, these new laws have not achieved the purpose of developing production and expanding the country's economic aggregate, but have deepened the plunder of the people.