Sang Hongyang was born into a wealthy businessman family during the Western Han Dynasty. Sang Hongyang, who had mental arithmetic skills since childhood, entered the palace at the age of 13. Since the third year of Yuanshou (120 BC), he has successively held important positions such as Da Sinong Zhongcheng, Da Sinong, and Yushi Dafu, and won the favor of Emperor Wu. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the state treasury suffered a serious deficit due to the use of troops against the Xiongnu for consecutive years, and the family wealth left by Wenjing's rule was exhausted. When the country's finances were facing serious difficulties, under Sang Hongyang's proposal and leadership, the Western Han Dynasty carried out a series of economic system reforms. These fruitful reforms replenished the treasury of the Western Han Dynasty.

First of all, Sang Hongyang moved 725,000 poor people who suffered from the disaster to today's Inner Mongolia, southern Jiangsu and other places. All food and clothing for the victims in the resettlement areas were provided by the court, as well as production and living expenses, and they were escorted by officials along the way. At that time, Inner Mongolia was the border area where the Han Dynasty was at war with the Huns, and southern Jiangsu was located in the south of the Yangtze River, which was also an underdeveloped area at the time. Immigration to land reclamation not only develops agricultural production in the resettlement areas, but also provides a guarantee for consolidating border defense. At the same time, the lives of the disaster victims are arranged. After production development, it can also increase the country's economic strength and fiscal revenue. It can be said that it accomplishes multiple things with one stone. This method has been used throughout the Chinese dynasties to this day.

The economic wizard has been influential for two thousand years, and many policies are still in use today

Secondly, the imperial court issued white deer skin coins and platinum coins. White deer skin coins are made of white deer skin, one foot square, with colorful patterns painted around them. One piece is worth 400,000. The imperial court stipulated that the royal family must use it as a gift when they make a pilgrimage to the emperor or engage each other. This is actually a redistribution of property among the princes and clans within the ruling group, and a lot of hard currency flows into the national treasury. This is an effective means of currency intervention in special periods. Nowadays, many countries issue various commemorative coins and other items. Some are for collection, and some can actually be regarded as the real version of the White Deer coin. In this way, a large amount of currency is collected into the national treasury and the amount of money in circulation is reduced.

The economic wizard has been influential for two thousand years, and many policies are still in use today

Once again, it is the national monopoly of salt and iron. This is a policy that does not require too much introduction. To this day, reneging on the franchise is still a basic national policy of our country. Through the salt and iron monopoly, the imperial court mastered necessary living materials and production materials in one fell swoop, providing a strong guarantee for the replenishment of the national treasury. It is no exaggeration to say that this policy is enough for Sang Hongyang to continue to brag about it forever.

Secondly, it is to implement calculations. Min refers to Min money, and every thousand coins is called one Min. Suan Min is a tax collection method that calculates the tax amount according to Min. One calculation is twenty yuan. Specifically, those engaged in business are taxed based on their turnover; those engaged in loan sharking are taxed based on the amount of the loan; vehicles and ships are levied a pass tax, with ordinary people paying one tax per vehicle, double for merchants, and one tax per vehicle for ships with a length of more than five feet. This tax system is of epoch-making significance.

Finally, it was stipulated that merchants with municipal registration and their families were not allowed to occupy land.

After Sang Hongyang's economic reforms achieved results, he further improved the relevant systems and introduced some new policies, which are refreshing.