Several men kept putting the corn in the big tray, while Liu Saner was personally observing the stars on the scale rod, reporting numbers one by one. Another literate servant had already moved a horse stool and sat on it, holding small wooden boards as mats, putting a piece of paper on it, and holding a tube of brush in his hand, constantly recording.

Looking at this scene, Wang Laoshi couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion...

He was not from Northeast China at first, but in fact, this situation is not only not uncommon here, but is very popular. After thirty years of counting around him, none of the foundations were here.

Wang Laoshi's hometown is Ji*nan Prefecture, Shandong Province. This place in Shandong could have been called wealthy in the north, but it was the main battlefield in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. He fought and killed people almost the same, and there was no rooster crowing thousands of miles away. Later, Emperor Taizu ascended the throne and moved a large number of people from Huguang, Sichuan and other places to fill Shandong. After more than 30 years of rest and recuperation, he recovered some vitality. However, a few years later, the Jingnan Campaign started again. The future Emperor Yongle, the King of Yan, fought with his nephew for the throne and life saving, and his dog brains were all out.

But from the Beiping and the Nanjing city of the capital, Shandong was the only way to go, so it became the main battlefield again, and it was defeated by the people for thousands of miles of land.

After Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, he began to fill Shandong again.

Wang Laoshi's ancestors were moved from Shaanxi Governor Siping * Liangfuzhuang * Lang to Shandong Governor Si Ji* Nanfu Yucheng. Their entire village was made of Shaanxi Han, and such a powerful tradition came to Wang Laoshi's generation, and one mouth was still a slight and thick Qin opera.

Living well in Shandong, at least much better than in my hometown. Since Zhu Wen turned the glorious Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty into white land with a torch at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the status of Shaanxi in Guanzhong has been declining in the entire China and has never risen again. Not only is it political status or economic share, but also the climate has become harsh during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. At that time, the water and grass were abundant, the land was fertile, and the forests were everywhere, and cattle and sheep were gradually becoming drought, cold and barren. Especially in northern Shaanxi, which once raised an extremely glorious civilization, it almost became a barren land.

However, in Shandong, a family of young people farmed land, in addition to the imperial grains they had for the government, there was still a lot left. In addition to filling their stomachs, they could also leave some left. The high-ranking officials who opened grain and rice shops in the city went to the countryside to collect them, went up to sell some money, and cut two kilograms of pork during the Chinese New Year, and pulled three feet of red cloth. It was also round and round. For ordinary people, this life was enough to be happy.

In this way, it will be a hundred years.

When it comes to Zhengde's dynasty, it will not work. To be precise, the small farmers like Wang Laoshi, who are the farmer, can no longer survive.

The cause, if you talk about academic matters, it is called land annexation.

There is a common truth throughout the ages. The closer you get to the capital, the more intense the land annexation will be - this is reasonable. Because in the capital, there are many powerful people, such as the core of national power, there are many powerful people. Following the founding emperor, the founding emperor, the old heroes and heroes, the newly rising ranks, the Jinshi, became officials, and the civil officials who had money. Even the families and relatives of these powerful people are also some big names who cannot afford to offend.

But in the minds of Chinese people, buying a house and land is the most important part after it becomes more developed.

Adopting the principle of proximity, these powerful people extended their claws to the nearest place they could get - Jingji. However, the surrounding area of ​​the capital was so large that it was divided up soon, so that with the Lian family's financial resources, they only gained a lot of real estate. After the capital was finished, it was the Northern Zhili, and the Northern Zhili was finished, it was Shandong.

Moreover, the local officials in Shandong are extremely lucky and competitive. Although the literary style of the entire northern region is indeed much worse than that in Jiangnan, Shandong is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, and the poetry and books are passed down from generation to generation. It is the province with the most literary style of the entire northern region and the most Jinshi every year. After these officials from Shandong became prosperous, they also wanted to go back to their hometown to buy a house and make plans for generations.

Therefore, in the Zhengde period of the middle Ming Dynasty, the intensity of land annexation in Ji*nan Prefecture, Shandong was not much worse than that in the capital.

At this time, the life of the small farmers is becoming more and more difficult.

For example, in the village of Wang Laoshi, there were 500 families, who were originally self-cultivated farmers. If the government collected 2,000 stones of imperial grain here in a year, then one household would have four stones of grain. However, later, more than half of the village, such as 300 households, were merged by officials and gentry. Due to the tax loopholes in the state, these people did not have to pay rent and tax, but the grain that the government had to collect could not be short of. So the tax on these two thousand stones of grain fell on the remaining two hundred families, and an average of ten stones of grain per household!

You can imagine how heavy this burden is. The people in the pass are not as vast as those outside the pass, with hundreds of acres of land, and their family is only twenty or thirty acres of land. With the low grain output in this era, these taxes are fatal.

On the contrary, those families who have become tenants are much happier. They rely on others and only need to pay rent to their masters every year, and the rent is much lower than the taxes of the court.

Finally, the day before the 29th year of Zhengde, Wang Laoshi's family was arrested by the government for not being able to hand over the food of the emperor. They were first locked up in prison and beaten up Wang Laoshi's father's legs, and then they only wore a single garment and put them in shackles at the county yard. Wang Laoshi and his father were trembling with cold at the yamen and their faces were blue and purple, while several officials sat in the door, stalking at them while slid at the wine, and pointed at them, making waves of ridicule.

Wang Laoshi's father is not young anymore. His legs were broken and he was tortured. His body could no longer hold on. And how cold is the winter in Shandong? Under the low temperature of more than ten degrees below zero, the old man was frozen to death before midnight. Wang Laoshi will never forget the miserable situation of his own father's arms being frozen into a popsicle in his life.

This also developed his extreme fear of the government, and he has not changed until now.

Wang Laoshi was beaten and also injured his vitality by the cold. Later, after returning home, he was bedridden. The family had no choice but to sell a thin cow that he regarded as his life and get medicine for him. He was only cured for two months, but even so, his right leg was still a disease that he had been limping all his life. Later, he gave him a nickname called Wang Crook.

My father's body had no money to be buried. Wang Laoshi was still a little lucky that in winter, the body would not rot. Otherwise, it would be known to everyone in all corners of the country, which would make people poke the backbone and never raise their heads up for the rest of their lives.

But the family really couldn't even get a lot of money, so in the end there was no way, so they had to wrap the old man's body with a broken mat, move it to the ancestral grave and dig a nest and buried it.

Wang's brother cried in front of the grave, cursed all the gods and Buddhas from the government to the heavens, and then left home angrily. He told Wang that when he made a fortune, he would definitely come back and kill all these corrupt officials.

Wang Laoshi, who was cowardly, almost fainted from being scared and quickly pressed his mouth. His brother sneered twice and left. From then on, he disappeared.

After a long time, there was no news. Wang Laoshi knew that he must have died outside.

After understanding these things, Wang Laoshi discussed with his family or found a wealthy family to contribute the land.

The so-called contribution is also a special symbol of this era. It refers to poor families taking the initiative to dedicate their land to a large household, and then under their protection, they no longer have to pay royal grain and national taxes, but they just need to pay rent. The goal of contribution is usually to be a scholarly family in the local area. Such a portal has not made a fortune for a long time, and the master's family has not yet become a shady person. Generally, they are very good people, and after all, they are scholars, so they still need some face.

Unexpectedly, before he had time to offer, he waited for the edict of Emperor Zhengde to announce the immigration to the Northeast from Shandong, Shaanxi, Henan and other places.

For these farmers in China who have a strong rural concept, they are naturally reluctant to leave, but this is the emperor's decree. Whether they want to or not, it is the emperor's decree. If you want to go, you have to go, and you won't be able to go. The amount of immigrants is given by the superiors, and the list depends on the local government. Those who have connections and power naturally spend money to manage their own affairs. However, if you think of Wang Laoshi's family, who are poor and have a ban on the government, naturally become the primary target of attack.

So in May of the 30th year of Zhengde, Wang Laoshi took his wife, son who had just been in full moon, and his mother who had cried blindly because of his father's death. He pushed the cart and pulled the few remaining possessions, joined the vast army and came towards the northeast.

In the next twenty years, whenever Wang Laoshi thinks of him, he sighs about his luck.

When the government said that it would immigrate to the Northeast, no one came. According to folk sayings, the Northeast is extremely bitter and cold and extremely poor, and the food is not as good as the seeds that are sown. Heavy snow in winter can bury people, and even more fierce and cruel Jurchens appear everywhere, horse thieves are rampant, killing people and robbing people. In short, if you go, you will die.

Therefore, everyone regards it as a daunting path, but Wang Laoshi did not expect that when he arrived in the Northeast, he would be reborn.

If he was in the pass, he would be a tenant in his life. When he arrived in the northeast, the family would be divided into more than 100 acres of land. The land here was fertile and unimaginable. Although he could only harvest one season of grain a year, this season was already higher than the yield in Shandong. With Wang Laoshi's hard work, he had a bumper harvest in the first year of his visit. Not only did he return the grain from the government, but after paying enough imperial grain, there was still a lot left.

That year, the first time in years, the whole family had to eat openly and eat as much as they wanted.

For Wang Laoshi, that was the happiest day. He gave birth to three children with his wife and saved money to buy a cow. His life was harmonious and beautiful.

He originally thought that such a life would last forever, but the good times did not last long. As more and more farmers came to cultivate the Northeast, the taxes collected by the court became heavier and heavier. Gradually, life was less abundant, but it was still good. If this continued, it would be at least safe to live a lifetime.

But unexpectedly, the Jurchens came.

The Jurchens came roaring on war horses, and the mace in their hands were stained with blood. Many people in Wang Laoshi's village were killed. Some were beaten to their heads by the mace, and some were trampled into meat paste by the Jurchens with huge horse hooves. Even worse, they were tied to the back of the horse with ropes, galloped wildly, and came back from outside. The whole body of the person tied behind the horse was already stabbed on the ground, and was covered in blood and no more good meat. But the person was still alive, screaming miserably, which made people tremble.

Women are even more miserable. Their beautiful women are possessed by the officials and transported back to the Jurchen land as spoils. They may be spared from death, but they will spend the rest of their lives in pain and humiliation. More women are directly raped by those beast-like Jurchen soldiers. After venting, they will be hit by a blow and their brains burst!

The people were also killed, the food was robbed, and the house was burned, but Wang was clever and fled south with his wife and children as soon as he heard the news, and escaped his life.

He fled quite far away. He fled directly to Zhubang City. Fortunately, although the prefect of Zhubang City was not responsible, he was still a good official and tried his best to help the victims. Wang Laoshi's family did not starve to death, but he was already skinny.

He didn't want to come back. This honest man was really afraid. He wanted to come back, even if he was going back to the pass to beg for food, he would be more forced than to die here. But later, after the news of the Wuyi army collecting all the lost territory and reconstructing the ruling order came, Wang Laoshi hesitantly came back with others.

Because they heard that the Wu Yi army was as powerful as a heavenly soldier and general. Tens of thousands of people beat hundreds of thousands of Jurchen troops to the point of being beaten, and the Jurchens would never dare to come. Moreover, the Wu Yi army was kind and righteous. If they went back now, they would give grain to plant oxen. If there was no food to spend the winter, they could also manage the government to borrow food. The three-point interest was much better than those black-hearted merchants who gave us loans...

Wang Zhen was half-believing and half-doubting about these statements, but when he returned to his home in Fotiwei, he believed what he saw and heard along the way. These Wuyi troops were so powerful that there was no movement during the march. Their sturdy body was like an iron arhat. Even he could see that they were elite soldiers.

And when he returned to the village that had become ruins, the actions of Wu Yijun confirmed the rumors.

The government lent Wang Laoshi grain to grow food, and sent people to help them build houses, and began to redistribute land. Wang Laoshi gritted his teeth and made a rare decision to lend a plowing ox from the government, which also gave him an additional fifty acres of land.

Even Wang Laoshi felt that the government of Wuyi Army seemed a little different from the original government. The big men above were not so arrogant, but they were very kind, and it was not so difficult to enter the yamen. I heard that Tuolunwei had also changed the county magistrate, and he was from the Qin family, the former largest family in the county. In the past, Wang Laoshi's second boy worked for the Qin family in the county town. People said that Mr. Qin was a great charity.

After spending this cold winter safely, Wang Laoshi was thinking about farming before spring began. He was naturally thinking about planting wheat, but before he could start, officials from the county came over and said that they could not grow wheat. The superiors sent orders to plant something called corn.

Corn? What's this? I haven't heard of it!

This was a big deal about food. The villagers started to make trouble, but they didn't expect that the government showed a rare toughness this time. They arrested several troublemakers and were shackled at the county government office for three days, almost slaughtering them to death. Now they were all honest. Moreover, the government also promised that if the thing they planted was not successful, they would definitely provide relief for another year. In this way, the boiling public grievances were suppressed.

Wang Laoshi was naturally extremely dissatisfied, but what he was even more afraid of was the government's kingly law, so how could he dare to show it?

However, despite his dissatisfaction, he also worked hard to serve this crop called corn due to the duties of the farmers and his desire for food.

This is the lifeblood.

Seeing these yellow corn particles slowly developing into tender green seedlings, growing taller and bigger, their doubts gradually faded away, and became full of hope. It seems that the men in the government said it is right, and this crop is not bad!

When these corns finally mature, the entire Northeast land fell into ecstasy.

It turns out that the government is really not lying. Not only is the corn produced high and easy to survive, but everyone also found that this thing is really delicious after tasting it!

Wang Laoshi was so excited that he had not fallen asleep for more than half a month. He thought about how to take care of the grain, when to harvest, and when to enter the warehouse. He also asked his son to go to the county town. He heard that there were many notices posted at the county government office, teaching the people how to clean up the corn.

Later, another county official came down, and one village after another. He personally handed it to the common people how to clean up the corn! Only then did they realize that the corn could be cooked and eaten, ground into noodles and steamed steamed buns like steamed buns. It could also be cooked porridge, fried, and used as vegetables. The corn rods can be eaten as feed for livestock, and after drying, it can be used as firewood. Adding this thing to the house when building a house can make the adobe house stronger and more solid. These farmers were very open-minded.

They didn't even know when they should harvest, so they bravely came to ask the officials, but the officials said they were not in a hurry and would harvest them when they were almost yellow. It was only then ripe.

Wang Laoshi secretly calculated that this calculation shocked him - he could actually make four stones of food in one acre of land!

Wang Laoshi was stunned at that time. God, when he was in Shandong, the best water irrigated land was only a stone and a half!

There are many "smart people" like Wang Laoshi in the entire Northeast. After determining the corn yield, they almost fainted - they were impacted by huge happiness.

It is precisely because of this that the high yield, easy to serve and multi-purpose corn has been accepted by countless farmers in the Northeast almost overnight.

All the farmers, scholars, gentry, officials, and in short, all groups in the jurisdiction of Wuyi Army accepted this thing. Some knowledgeable people who stood high enough realized that this year is undoubtedly a year of great harvest!

Wu Yi Army and Wu Yi Bo's second year in charge of the Northeast!

A great harvest is coming!

Wang Laoshi's thoughts were interrupted by Liu Saner's loud voice. It turned out that before he knew it, the large trench of grain had been weighed.

Liu Saner held the account book in her hand and walked to the Lord Zhang and shouted: "Mr. Zhang, let's weigh it. There are 1,160 kilograms of corn cobs and 2,300 kilograms of corn poles."

"Drink!" As soon as Liu Saner finished speaking, Lord Zhang, the green-robed official, had no reaction, and the untouchables watching were already in an uproar!

Acre of land produces more than 1,100 kilograms of grain? More than 1,000 kilograms, this is how fast it is to be five stones and six stones!

How much rice can be produced in a year in the boundary of Jiangnan? It’s better to plant it for two seasons! This is a season!

When will the Northeast be comparable to the fish and rice hometown in Jiangnan?

Peng Shanhu was already numb at this moment. He came to the Northeast all the way, but he didn't know how many unbelievable things he had encountered. He was really dumbfounded.

The Lord Zhang looked at them, but ignored them. He also took out an account book, which was filled with numbers. Lord Zhang searched for a while and found the part in Xiaowang Village. After a long time, he looked carefully and said in a deep voice: "Wang Lao Shi, the third day of November of the 51st year of Zhengde was registered in Tuolunwei County. There were four men, two men, two women, and one ox at home. They divided the land into 330 acres! That's right?"

Wang Laoshi nodded quickly: "The lord is right, it's 330 acres."

"Yes!" Lord Zhang nodded: "Your acre of land, if you don't get the corn cob, you will produce a total of 1,160 kilograms. I just took a look. The land around your village is all by the river. I think the situation is similar. Therefore, the land in your village is calculated based on this yield!"

"According to the tax rate set by Mr. Wu Yi, 30% of the 10% transaction." He calculated carefully for a while and said, "One acre of land is 348 kilograms! Three hundred and thirty acres, a total of 114,840 kilograms, which is 604 stones of grain. In addition, you borrowed a plowing ox from the government last year, paid 100 stones of grain, and received relief grain plus 10 stones of grain. It was a three-point profit. A total of 16 stones were needed, which was 720 stones! How about it, I am not right?"

Wang Laoshi naturally had some calculations in his heart and said quickly: "My lord is right."

The Lord Zhang smiled and said, "One acre of land produces 2,300 kilograms of corn stalks, and this must be handed over. Based on 30%, one acre of land is 690 kilograms. In this way, the total of your 330 acres is 227,700 kilograms, totaling 1,200 shi!"

The onlookers all gasped. A family, six people and one cow, actually handed over hundreds of stones of grain and thousands of stones of straw?

Is the people of the Northeast all the merchants?
Chapter completed!