The Song Dynasty increased the price of rice right when famine was raging, so why were the poor people still grateful?

Even during the difficult times of famine in the Song Dynasty, a mandarin made the decision to increase the price of rice. It may sound unreasonable, but why is this person constantly thanked by the poor?

Solve difficulties in a strange way. This mandarin was Pham Trong Yem (989 - 1052), courtesy name Hy Van, posthumous Van Chanh, a prominent politician, military leader and educator during the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127). Pham Trong Yem is a famous and honest mandarin with the saying: "First of all, the world will be happy, the next world will be happy and peaceful" (roughly translated as "Worry before the worries of the world, be happy later with the joy of the world." ). He was born in Tu Chau to a family whose father was a mandarin who held many different positions in the Northern Song government from the early days of its establishment.

In 1015, during the reign of Song Chan Tong, he passed his doctorate and went to Quang Duc army to become an official. During the Song Nhan Tong period, he assumed the position of private spy. Then, in 1038, Pham Trong Yem assumed the position of military strategist and deputy envoy of Shaanxi.

In July of the 3rd year of Khanh Lich (i.e. 1043), he was promoted to senior deputy minister, chief advisor (or deputy prime minister). From this year, he participated in proposals to reform court affairs, but this reform quickly failed due to opposition from mandarins in 1045.

Since then, Pham Trong Yem was demoted and successively became an official in places such as Dang Chau, Hang Chau and Thanh Chau. However, he still made many great contributions and was loved by the people. The story below is an example.

In 1049, when he had just assumed the position of governor of Hangzhou, Pham Trong Yem had to face famine. This is truly one of the unforeseen great disasters. However, this famous official has a very unique way of handling things.

Not long after Pham Trong Yem took office as governor in Hangzhou, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions encountered serious famine. This situation affects Hangzhou, where this official has just arrived to manage. Due to the effects of famine, people's lives are extremely difficult.

At that time, Pham Trong Yem made a timely decision to open a warehouse to export food relief to people overcoming difficulties. However, this is not a good way. Because instead of decreasing, the number of people affected by hunger continues to increase.

After learning about this, Pham Trong Yem realized that opening a hunger relief warehouse for local people was not the way to solve the root problem. This is like a superficial scar that will not heal unless treated.

Additionally, something more disturbing happened. That is the food trade at high prices that began to appear in Hangzhou. Specifically, rice traders took advantage of the famine to make huge profits. The original selling price of 100 VND for a bushel of rice has been increased to 120 VND. This makes the already difficult people in distress even more miserable as they are forced to buy food at high prices.

After hearing the news of rising rice prices, Pham Trong Yem's followers were very angry and believed that these profiteers needed to be severely punished. However, unexpectedly, the famous mandarin of the Song Dynasty not only did not stop him but also increased the price of rice to 180 VND per barrel.

This decision of Pham Trong Yem made his followers incomprehensible. They even thought he was confused. However, after witnessing this official's way of solving the problem, everyone had to admire him.

To completely solve the problem of food crisis due to famine, Pham Trong Yem has proposed three major strategies. First, he increased food prices. This attracted food traders from all over the country to Hangzhou for the purpose of making a profit. When a lot of rice was shipped to Hangzhou, Pham Trong Yem ordered the warehouse to open and export food. This causes rice prices in the market to drop sharply.

The selling price is at a peak of 180 VND down to 100 VND. As a result, at this price, many people can buy rice to eat. As for the profiteers, they had no choice but to transport rice and leave with sad faces.

Second, build irrigation projects and open up many job opportunities. In addition to solving the food problem for the immediate famine, the Pham family mandarin also built many construction projects and irrigation projects to create jobs for many local people.

People in Hangzhou enthusiastically participated in the construction of these projects. Although the salary is not much, this stable source of income helps them overcome difficulties in droughts and crop failures and do not have to rely on help from others.

Third, organize dragon boat racing to promote the local economy. In addition to the above two urgent tasks, Pham Trong Yem also specially organized a dragon boat racing competition. This not only helped people in Hangzhou regain the joy of life after the famine disaster, but also attracted many people from other areas to watch.
In particular, the contest attracted many wealthy people to Hangzhou, helping to bring significant economic benefits to this locality. The three strategies proposed by Pham Trong Yem interacted with each other and ultimately resolved the immediate crisis. From this story it can be seen that this official was always calm, alert and thoughtful throughout the process of helping people in Hangzhou overcome famine.

The methods he proposed not only alleviate immediate difficulties but also ensure stability and bring long-term benefits to the people. Pham Trong Yem's ability to resolve crises is truly a lesson for future generations.

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