Can you easily increase the income of land several times? Li Hongzhang was a little skeptical about this, but the production efficiency of the factory's machinery was indeed several times that of manual labor, which he knew, and he groaned slightly, and then he asked: "It seems that I haven't heard that Western countries have popularized agricultural machinery?" ”

"If Western countries don't popularize it, we can't popularize it in the Qing Dynasty?" Yi Zhizhi glanced at him with a smile, "Do you know why I attach so much importance to internal combustion engine vehicles?" This is because the internal combustion engine can be used in a wide range of large, medium and small agricultural machinery.

At present, China has been ahead of Western countries in many aspects, such as internal combustion engines, oil refining, electric power applications, electrical telephones, etc., so we should not be arrogant and respect the West in everything. ”

"The prince is teaching." Li Hongzhang hesitated, but couldn't help but say: "But the application of agricultural machinery in China is also very rare. ”

"That's because the time is not right, there is no market, and furthermore, agricultural machinery has not yet formed a complete system, so we have not vigorously promoted the popularization." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "Nowadays, there are many immigrants from several northern provinces, a large number of workers, and a lack of labor, so we must actively develop agricultural machinery and form a complete agricultural machinery system from ploughing, sowing, irrigation, weeding, pest control, fertilization, harvesting, threshing, etc. ”

Having said that, it is easy to know that although a large number of agricultural machinery has been invented, there is still a long way to go before agricultural mechanization can be implemented, and the reason why I say this is only to paint bread to satisfy hunger, to give hope to the gentry who own a lot of land, and to eliminate their antagonism towards the development of industry.

The article "Agricultural Revolution" was soon reprinted by the newspapers of the northern provinces, which caused a huge response in the government and the opposition, and the gentry who owned a lot of land, especially the local gentry who hung the Qianqing brand and the Shuangqian dump card, had a strong interest in the introduction of various types of agricultural machinery, although no one had seen large-scale agricultural machinery operations, but the machine operation could greatly improve production efficiency, which has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

If large-scale agricultural machinery can be operated, it will mean that there is no longer a need to rent a large amount of land to tenants for cultivation, which will undoubtedly greatly increase the income of the land, and there will be no need to worry about the loss of strong labor.

For a time, the Shanghai Agricultural Machinery Factory, which was deserted and deserted, was crowded with people, all of whom were students, businessmen and workers who were commissioned by the gentry from various provinces to explore and understand the performance of various agricultural machinery.

In the face of this situation, Sun Changling, director of the agricultural machinery factory, is happy and worried, happy to be neglected for a long time agricultural machinery suddenly favored, worried that most of the agricultural machinery performance is difficult to be satisfactory, although the performance of internal combustion engine vehicles is remarkable, but the application of internal combustion engine in agricultural machinery has been unsatisfactory.

Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

"The economic crisis will lead to the bankruptcy of a large number of small and medium-sized factories and mining enterprises, accelerate the research and development and application of advanced technologies, and increase the degree of concentration or monopoly of production ......." Yi Zhengxing pondered: "So will the agricultural crisis be the same as the economic crisis?" ”

"That's a good question." Yi Zhizhi nodded, "There are many similarities between the agricultural crisis and the economic crisis, such as the long-term unsalable agricultural products and the continuous decline in prices, which will cause a large number of small and medium-sized farmers to go bankrupt and a large number of agricultural workers ......to lose their jobs. At this point, he asked rhetorically: "Is there a difference between the way the agricultural crisis responds to the crisis and the economic crisis?" ”

Hearing this question, Yi Zhengxing couldn't help but be stunned, he really didn't take this into account, Zhao Liewen and Li Hongzhang were also very surprised, Zhao Liewen said straightforwardly: "Could it be that the agricultural crisis has a different way of dealing with the crisis?" ”

Yi Zhizhi glanced at the three of them and asked casually, "Is there a difference between industrial products and agricultural products?" ”

How can there be no difference between industrial and agricultural products? Industrial goods are not necessary for survival, but agricultural products are indispensable for survival, such as food! Humanity can survive without industry, and humanity cannot survive without agriculture! This is the most essential difference between industrial products and agricultural products!

The room was quiet for a while, and Yi Zhengxing spoke: "It is precisely because industrial products and agricultural products are fundamentally different that they are destined to have different ways of responding to the crisis between industry and agriculture?" ”

"Not bad." "In the face of the economic crisis, the factory's response is to reduce production, because the more you produce, the greater the loss. In the face of an agricultural crisis, farmers have responded by reducing costs and increasing yields, because the more they produce, the less they lose.

Therefore, the agricultural crisis is more conducive to promoting the research and development and application of advanced technologies than the economic crisis, and it is also easier to increase the concentration or monopoly of land and production. ”

Yi Zhengxing reacted very quickly, "In this way, once the agricultural crisis breaks out, won't it last much longer than the economic crisis? ”

"Don't rush to conclusions, it's not too late to draw conclusions after detailed research." Yi Zhishu said slowly: "China is not only a big agricultural country, but also a large country with a large population, and we must pay enough attention to the agricultural crisis...... ”

Before he finished speaking, the secretary Zhang Mengqiu reported softly at the door: "The big shopkeeper, Sun Changling of the Agricultural Machinery Factory is asking to see him outside." ”

"Let him in." Yi Zhizhi said with a smile: "I haven't talked about agricultural machinery yet, this Sun Changling arrived first." ”

Seeing that he stopped talking, Li Hongzhang pondered and said: "China is a country with a large population, even if it develops industry, the population that the factory can accommodate is limited, and the popularization of agricultural machinery is bound to further promote the high concentration of land. ”

"It's a very acute question." Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "However, the fundamental reason for land concentration is not the popularization of agricultural machinery, but the private ownership of land. Land annexation is serious, high concentration is the source of chaos in the past dynasties, the popularization of agricultural machinery has not been promoted before, and the situation of serious and high concentration of land annexation still exists. ”

"Before the establishment of Yuanqi, the situation of land annexation in China was equally serious, but with the continuous expansion of territory and large-scale immigration in recent years, the situation of land annexation has been greatly alleviated." Li Hongzhang said unhurriedly: "But once the popularization of agriculture continues, it will inevitably aggravate the situation of land annexation, and I am afraid that this account will be planted on the head of the big shopkeeper in the future." ”

Yi Zhizhi smiled contentedly, "I don't care about the name of the person in front of me and behind me, but the land problem is a fundamental problem, and it must be properly solved ......." ”

In order to ensure the state's tax revenue, maintain the small peasant economy, and consolidate the rule, the feudal rulers of the past dynasties have taken various measures to curb land annexation, such as the uniform land system implemented from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty measured the land of the whole country, and collected taxes according to the number of people and acres of land, and the apportionment of the Ding into the mu in this dynasty.

These measures are palliative, not curative, and can only achieve short-term results, but cannot really prevent land annexation at the root, because the root cause of land annexation is private ownership of land.

Zhao Liewen couldn't wait to ask: "Does the big shopkeeper have a way to properly solve the land problem?" ”

"There's an immature idea, you can consider it." Yi Zhixiang is a rare modest, "The root of land annexation lies in private ownership of land. However, private land ownership is the basis of constitutional government, and private property rights of land are the basis of private property, and if citizens' private property rights in land are not guaranteed and may be deprived at any time, the protection of all other private property rights may be in vain, and if individuals do not have the protection of private property rights in land, the protection of all other private property rights of individuals will also be in vain!

This has become a dead knot, which is the fundamental reason why all dynasties have not been able to solve the land problem! Can we get out of this circle? ”

Speaking of this, he caught a glimpse of Sun Changling, who was dressed in a suit, stepped into the room, immediately stopped talking, and after he saw the salute, he stretched out his hand and pressed it twice, pointed to the seat to signal him to sit down, and then continued: "How can we protect the private property rights of land and prevent land annexation from becoming more and more serious?"

We might as well look for the reason from the land annexation, or in other words, from the reason why the peasants sold their land, and the reason is very simple, that is, private ownership of land!

It is precisely because land can be bought and sold freely that a large number of farmers lose their land, because farmers are in a weak position in the market economy, and their ability to resist risks and disasters is weak.

It can be said that private ownership is the root cause of peasants' land sales! To prevent land annexation from becoming more and more serious, it is necessary to restrict the peasants from buying and selling land freely! How can it be restricted without touching private ownership of land? There is only one possibility that the land is owned by the state, and the ownership of the land is in the hands of the state, and the peasants do not have the right to buy and sell the land they cultivate freely, only the right to cultivate! ”

"The commons?" Li Hongzhang lost his voice and said: "How much public land do you need?" ”

Yi Zhishu glanced at him and said, "Didn't you give the imperial court thirty percent of the shares?" The imperial court can allocate a part of the funds to buy land every year, or it can buy a large amount of land at the market price in times of famine, which can not only relieve disasters but also alleviate land annexation, and over time, the state will control more and more land. ”

The idea is just crazy! But I have to say that this method can indeed solve the problem of land annexation once and for all, but the country has to pay a huge price for it, Zhao Liewen muttered: "I'm afraid that the imperial court may not be willing to spend such a big price to solve the land problem........" ”

Yi Zhengxing said with a smile: "Such a good thing, what is the imperial court not willing?" As long as Yuan Qi gives money and shares, the imperial court will naturally have a thousand wishes. ”