Chapter forty-ninth the big knife to the head of the family
After Li Shanchang paid his respects to Zhu Yuanzhang, he seemed to glance at Zhang Ximeng inadvertently, with a hint of provocation.
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help but cheer up. This person named Li was not an ordinary person and he had to be dealt with carefully.
Jia Lu, on the other hand, was still there and didn't care at all. Zhang Ximeng was too young and Li Shanchang's status was too humble. It was just a fight between children, so he didn't need to care about it.
"Your Majesty, I have some insights after studying the land distribution strategy. I believe that this method should be derived from the method of equalizing land in the Northern Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties. I don't know if I am right?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded subconsciously in agreement.
Ever since Chen Sheng and Wu Guang shouted out that the princes and generals Xiang Ning had the right to do anything, the people on this land no longer obeyed the nobles. If you dare to make it impossible for us to survive, I will fight with you to the death!
The emperors of the Han Dynasty, who were well aware of the power of the people, pursued the policy of cracking down on powerful powers, suppressing annexations, and responded to the voices of the people. This led to the great achievements of conquering the Western Regions, destroying the Xiongnu, and sealing the wolf to Xu.
After experiencing the great chaos of the Three Kingdoms and the Five Husbands at the end of the Han Dynasty, in order to better stabilize people's hearts and gain the support of the people, starting from the Northern Wei Dynasty, an expressly stipulated land equalization system emerged.
As the successors to the spirit of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties all continued this path...and by the early Tang Dynasty, the equal land system was more complete.
A Dingkou can get Yongye field and Koufentian. Yongye field is used to grow mulberry and hemp and can be passed on to future generations. Koufentian is used to grow food. After the death, it needs to be taken back and then redistributed.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the land equalization system was followed, the fiscal and tax collection was based on the rent-yongtiao system, and the military system was based on the government soldiers... The combination of these three is the whole secret of the Tang Dynasty's heroic army that swept across the world.
When Zhang Ximeng wrote the land allocation method, he introduced the thinking of the Tang Dynasty... except that he replaced Yongye field with ration fields, and added the provision that ration fields were exempt from land rent.
Of course, a transformation of this scale cannot be concealed from an experienced official like Li Shanchang, so Zhang Ximeng admitted it frankly.
"Mr. Li, can you give me some advice?"
Li Shanchang smiled and said, "It's not about giving advice, I just have a few questions... Mr. Zhang, everyone should have this ration field, right?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "That's right."
"Then I would like to ask, if a child is born in a certain family, and an old man happens to die, what should we do with this ration field?"
Zhang Ximeng was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood.
The ration fields are to ensure that the people have basic food and clothing. In other words, if a child is born and the number of people in the family increases, more ration fields will be given to them. However, if the land is given to the living, it will not be taken back to the dead. As a result, some people's family
The number of acres will only increase, and when it reaches a certain level, his land granting method will be difficult to maintain and fall into the same collapse as the Tang Dynasty's land equalization system!
Zhang Ximeng understood what Li Shanchang meant, but he was also confused.
"Mr. Li, what happened to the Yongye fields in the Tang Dynasty? Isn't it true that 'all Yongye fields are passed down to descendants and are not limited to receiving and granting'?"
What Zhang Ximeng said comes from "Tongdian of the Tang Dynasty" and is also the understanding of Yongye Field by many people in later generations. They believed that it belonged to the people and could be passed on to future generations.
But as Li Shanchang said, if it is really passed on to descendants and only given but not received, the equal land system will definitely not be maintained!
Seeing Zhang Ximeng thoughtfully, Li Shanchang secretly smiled in his heart. After all, he is a young man and has never experienced actual government affairs. Not only has he been a scribe for many years, he also specializes in land taxation and is very professional.
I saw Li Shanchang smile indifferently and read calmly: "The prince's permanent estate is one hundred hectares, the official's first rank is sixty hectares, the prince and the minister's first rank each have fifty hectares, and the Duke's official land is 50 hectares."
Forty hectares each of the second rank of the official official, and thirty-five hectares each of the second rank of the official official if the county official is in charge... Any leftovers will be collected, and those who are short will be given more. All Yongye fields are passed down to descendants, and there is no limit to collection and grant, that is, descendants
Those who commit crimes and are expelled will not pursue the land they inherited."
When Li Shanchang finished reading, Zhang Ximeng suddenly understood... He immediately understood what was going on. It turns out that Yongye Field, which can be passed down to descendants, is only limited to officials. Ordinary people, I'm sorry, your Yongye Field will still have to be taken back after death.
of.
But if this is the case, why did it get the name Yongye Field?
Li Shanchang said calmly: "Yongye Field began in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and it is indeed stipulated that it does not need to be returned... but only to the men who were allocated Yongye Field for the first time. If they cannot catch up, that is to say, future generations can only inherit it from their ancestors. Of course.
, if the population is prosperous and the population is increasing, and the court still has free land, it will also grant Yongye Field according to the maximum amount, but if the land is not enough... then there is no other way. "
Old Li talked eloquently, and everyone, including Zhu Yuanzhang, listened attentively. This man really talked about the key points.
Zhang Ximeng was especially deeply touched, because it is unreasonable to only grant Yongye fields without harvesting them. In other words, Yongye Yongye is only the first batch to catch up, and those who follow can only depend on God's will.
Although doing this is completely different from Juntian’s original intention, if you think about it carefully, is there a better way?
Zhang Ximeng shook his head helplessly, he couldn't think of it at the moment.
"Mr. Li, according to what you said, there is no difference between Yongye field and Koufen field?" Zhang Ximeng asked humbly.
Li Shanchang smiled and said: "There is still a big difference. In actual work, the Yongye Field awarded for the first time does not need to be handed back. There may be Yongye Field later. Logically speaking, it should be handed back and re-divided...
...But most likely not. After all, the clerks and servants who do things also want their own heads! Not to mention the Yongye field, even the land divided by mouth, after one or two generations, you won't be able to take it back."
Zhang Ximeng listened very carefully, chewed Li Shanchang's words carefully, and continued to deduce, he finally figured out the reason... Assume that the grandfather of the family was the first generation to get Yongye Field, a total of 20 acres, and he had three sons.
After his grandfather died, he gave these twenty acres to his eldest son.
There is still a shortage of 40 acres.
At this time, the court still had extra land, so it made up forty acres and gave it to the second and third sons.
But in the third generation, the three brothers also had three sons, so there were nine children.
The grandfather's permanent land was only passed down to the eldest grandson of the eldest son, so there were eight children who needed 160 acres of permanent land.
In addition to the forty acres of the previous generation, one hundred and twenty acres must be begged from the court.
But by this time, the imperial court could not provide 120 acres of Yongye farmland, and there was no more land left, so the land equalization system collapsed.
Of course, there is another situation where another family is too unlucky to give birth to so many boys. As a result, the third generation only has one boy. At this time, the court can theoretically take back some Yongye fields from this family and allocate
The one that gives people Dingduo.
But the question is who is willing to hand over their land for nothing?
They will definitely think of various ways to refuse to hand over the land.
Furthermore, in the age of peace and prosperity, the population will increase, and the land will definitely not be enough.
At that time, as Li Shanchang said, after the population grows, let alone allocating land in Yongye Taikou, any family who has been assigned land will not let go until death. Unless they can't survive, they will risk their lives!
At this time, the government officials also want to take back the land and divide it equally according to the population... It is completely a tiger's mouth grabbing food, just wait and fight with every household!
Regardless of how honest the people are, it must have really affected their lives. These people will not be polite.
It is common for hundreds or even thousands of people to fight on a large scale over water sources or a piece of land, and it is common for them to fight to the death.
Anyone who dares to enter the village and ask for land will be beaten to death and your body will be scattered everywhere.
In a word, when there are more people and less land, and the madness rolls around, no matter how good the laws are, they cannot withstand the cruel reality.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ximeng's expression became solemn. Looking at what he wrote, it didn't seem to be that clever!
Can the ration fields be cancelled? Just divide them equally?
Zhang Ximeng shook his head again, because if the ration fields were cancelled, they would have to pay for the food all at once, which would be an absolute nightmare for the poor people with little land.
"Mr. Li, what advice do you have? Please give me some advice." Zhang Ximeng asked humbly.
Li Shanchang thought for a while and said with a smile: "I dare not give you advice. Although after several generations, this strategy may not be effective, but now it seems that there is no better one than this... I only have two suggestions,
First, tell all the people that the ration fields are only for this time. In the future, people will breed in the ration fields, regardless of the ration fields. As for other acres, maybe a time limit can be added."
Zhang Ximeng asked: "How much is appropriate?"
"For example, redistribution should be done once every ten years. Because within ten years, the population will grow and there will be many more young people. If they are not given land, they will have a hard time surviving and even become refugees."
Zhang Ximeng nodded again. It may not be easy to redistribute the acres equally once every ten years, but this idea is still right. It changes every ten years, every twenty years, and naturally it can also change every thirty years. Let’s assess the situation!
But Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said: "I remember Mr. Zhang suggested that the more acres of land, the higher the land tax... If the land acres are redistributed every ten years due to the increase in population, will the amount of land tax be reduced?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded helplessly, "My lord is wise, indeed."
"Is that... appropriate?"
Before Zhang Ximeng could speak, Li Shanchang said: "Ten years of success is not a short period of time when you are in charge. If you manage it properly, you should have achieved dominance. If you need to change your ways, it may not be impossible."
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent and subconsciously looked at Zhang Ximeng, only to find that Zhang Ximeng nodded slightly, naturally agreeing.
"Okay then!" Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to agree, "Mr. Li, you are so proficient in the matter of dividing land, so I have to be the one to watch this matter!"
Li Shanchang hurriedly saluted, "Thank you for your trust, I am willing to donate 300 acres of land starting from my own home as an example! Your superiors can rest assured that from now on, there will be no shortage of soldiers, horses, money, food, and civilians... If you can't do it,
I am willing to take responsibility for my humble position!"