There are people guarding the rice fields and paddy fields. Even at night, they are reluctant to go home.
They have to drive away the birds that steal food, and they also patrol around, holding things like pouring basins and bangles in their hands, to scare away wild boars and wild boars.
Or simply form a hunting team and hunt down all over the mountains and plains.
Wild boars are not easy to deal with. They eat a variety of foods, have a big appetite, and have a bad temper... One bad move can destroy a large area of crops, and the elderly and children are easily injured if they encounter them.
Therefore, there were several thousand-household camps, and they simply dispatched soldiers and horses to hunt wild boars, protect crops, and enrich the food at the same time.
Everyone's hearts were tense, and they were both excited and worried... Even if everyone has done their best, farming is still a matter of God's face.
If it catches up with the harvest season and there are heavy rains for a few days, the grain will not be harvested, and it will rot and mold, and the harvest will be sharply reduced.
Therefore, the closer to the harvest, the more nervous I become - almost like a coder who is about to put a certain work on the shelves - I can't say it is exactly the same, I can only say it is half the same!
Every day when I come out of my house, I look up and see the sun hanging in the sky, shining brightly, and I feel like I have a treasure.
Since the Tang Dynasty, the law of two taxes has been implemented. The Yuan Dynasty also collected summer and autumn taxes in the hometown of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the yield of summer grain is not as high as that of autumn grain, it is like playing a game. If you can avoid wasting a life, you will not waste a life.
.
With a bumper harvest of summer grain, the pressure in autumn will be less. If all the pressure is placed on autumn grain, no one can afford it if something goes wrong.
Just like this, looking forward to, looking forward to, God is always smiling... Finally, the rice and wheat are mature.
An old farmer stretched out his dark fingers and gently twisted off a few wheat grains, but he was reluctant to tear off a whole ear of wheat.
He rubbed it in his hands, then put it in his mouth and bit it.
The vicissitudes of life showed a big smile.
"Damn it, you little bastards, go to work in the fields!"
All the farmers, as if they had received the imperial edict, got up from their homes before dawn, rushed into the fields with sickles in hand.
If you are fast, someone is faster!
Look, a large area has been cut.
Get to work!
Some people may wonder, the crops are in the fields, why is there any need to be in such a hurry?
It really comes in handy.
It must be harvested early, dried early, and then stored in the warehouse. Only then can you feel relieved.
If there is heavy rain during this period, harvesting will not be successful and everything will be over.
Take Asan next door as an example. They have vast arable land, but they are still stuck in the stage of traditional agriculture. Their peculiarity is not only that their per capita grain is less than 200 kilograms, but they also export a large amount of food in exchange for money. At the same time, almost 30% of their grain is
It will rot in the fields and cannot be recovered at all. This is caused by the backward infrastructure in rural areas and the lack of enough harvesters and warehouses.
Therefore, for the people of Chuzhou, it is necessary to race against time.
Zhu Yuanzhang personally took the lead in going to the fields. There was nothing particularly important and he was not allowed to disturb him. He did not live in the yamen, so he just watched in the fields and worked with the others.
Not surprisingly, Ma also mobilized women to steam steamed buns, make steamed buns, carry wooden barrels, and deliver meals to the people working in the fields, just like ordinary rural couples, without any sense of the dignity of the owner.
It seems that Ma's own words are true. The two of them were born as animals and were not born to enjoy happiness.
But I still enjoy it and enjoy it.
Zhang Ximeng didn't have to work in the fields, but he was busy like a spinning top.
News kept coming from one village after another, how the output was, whether it agreed with the estimate, whether it was necessary to send personnel to help... He was going all out to deal with it.
Because they were too busy with official duties, Li Shanchang and others were rescued again and took command together with Zhang Ximeng.
Gradually, Lao Li showed a look of horror, and he showed more respect for Zhang Ximeng.
This guy is simply amazing!
Everyone knows that collecting land taxes is the most difficult thing. There are resistance to taxes in various places. The people are unwilling to pay, and the subordinate officials want to take advantage. The two sides are fighting for it, and conflicts are constant. Some people will be forced to death every year.
But this year's situation is very different.
Notices have been posted in various places, one in each village, and there are people who explain it to everyone, telling everyone how the tax standards are set and how to pay the land tax.
Everything has been explained clearly.
When it was time to harvest, the people worked all night. It took less than half a month to harvest the rice and wheat, and 80% of the grain was put into the warehouse.
When there was still some grain left to harvest, old farmers from some villages gathered in the threshing floor and discussed.
"Secret Uncle Zhang, our village has to pay a total of one thousand one hundred stones and five buckets, so we have already calculated it. The superiors have been so kind to us, so we cannot let the superiors bother us, so we will pay it ourselves!"
The old man in the middle nodded, "It's a good thing to repay kindness. Who will send it?"
"Me!" A little old man replied simply: "Second uncle, we have many servants, many fields, and livestock and carriages, we will send them!"
Uncle Zhang thought for a while and said after careful consideration: "You are willing to do things for the big guys, but I can't do anything wrong to you. I'll find another thirty young men in the village to follow you. By the way, bring more food and take it."
One thousand, two hundred dan! Don’t let it fall short when the time comes, and it will disgrace our Shangwan Village.”
The little old man nodded and stood up to make arrangements, but Uncle Zhang stopped him again.
"Tell me, let every household carefully select the best grains, but no grains are allowed, let alone sand, gravel and straw sticks. Do you understand?"
"clear!"
The little old man turned around and went down, and the other old farmers also dispersed. That night, the whole village continued to be busy, and the women took bamboo baskets and carefully sifted.
Put the selected grains into bags. Each bag is full and the weight is far beyond the regulations.
Even so, everyone still needs to be more prepared.
"This is for the superiors. If it is mixed with bad things, then you have no conscience. You will only be able to give birth to daughters in this life, not sons!"
Faced with a possible eternal curse, no one dares to be careless.
Before dawn, the team transporting food left the village and headed straight for Chuzhou City.
On a small flag in front of the motorcade, there are four crooked words written on it: Pay food to repay kindness!
The common people took the initiative to pay their land taxes in advance, and they paid in excess!
It's simply something you can't even dream of.
But it happened in Chuzhou.
Wherever the convoy carrying food passed by, it attracted countless eyes. Some people came over with water and dry food and took the initiative to ask. When they learned about their plans, they couldn't help but give a thumbs up!
"You did it right, you did it well! The superiors have been kind to us, and they are very kind! We must repay the favor!"
"How should I repay the favor? It's better not to pay more for the food, so that the higher-ranking soldiers can eat well and kill the Tatars with all their strength."
"In the final analysis, it is not about allowing us all to live a stable life and have enough food and clothing."
Soon, families with abundant food and supplies from various villages took the initiative to take the lead and flocked to Chuzhou with their land and tax.
Faced with this situation, do you think Li Shanchang can not be frightened?
In the past, taxes and rations that might not be collected if forced at knifepoint are now being sent to them on their own initiative.
With people's hearts like this, there's nothing to hesitate about.
Being in the top position is where destiny belongs!
In order to avoid confusion, Li Shanchang immediately discussed with Zhang Ximeng that he could not allow all places to send food blindly. It would be bad if it was repeated or it was too late to send it to the warehouse.
Therefore, they temporarily stipulated that several villages were required to discuss in advance and obtain an order to transport, either three thousand stones, five thousand stones, or at most ten thousand stones, to be shipped together and sent to the designated warehouse.
They would then issue a receipt for payment of grain and tax before returning to the village.
Zhang Ximeng naturally agreed and asked Zhu Yuanzhang for instructions.
Lao Zhu also agreed, but he added that he would personally meet all those who took the initiative to send food, treat them to a meal, and ask about the situation in the village.
Furthermore, if there is someone who is really smart and can do things, he can stay and serve as an official.
From a farmer to an official all of a sudden, this is what Lao Zhu did.
Zhang Ximeng also agreed. After all, he was able to organize the transportation of several thousand kilograms of grain. He was capable and had outstanding abilities. He was by no means a nerd.
As long as you properly examine it, you can use it boldly.
After coming out of Lao Zhu's place, Zhang Ximeng suddenly realized something.
OMG!
Isn't this the grain chief system?
Zhang Ximeng vaguely remembers that many people regard the grain chief system as a backward fiscal and taxation system... They feel that it is common for grain chiefs to transport grain to designated areas, which is inefficient, lacks management, and leads to a backlog of arrears.
This also caused the financial distress of the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty.
Even the grain chief system was regarded as evidence that Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply conscious of small farmers, did not understand finance, and had whims.
This is a bad policy that many people are gritting their teeth and hoping to reform.
These views are correct, but before you think so, can you be a little sure? When Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the world, land distribution was fair and law enforcement was strict.
The common people took the initiative to pay land taxes, and some areas were transferred to the hands of wealthy households with more fields. The wealthy households took the initiative to transport grain to Taicang... How many officials were saved, and how much corruption and harm to the people were avoided?
The grain chiefs from various places will also be promoted and reused by Lao Zhu, and some can even become chief envoys and ministers of the six departments. In addition to the imperial examination and the Imperial College, there is another channel for promotion.
How glorious!
Why does a good government collapse?
The land annexation left many people unable to make a living, but the large gentry households took the opportunity to avoid land tax and passed on all the land tax that originally belonged to them to the common people.
In this case, who would be willing to take the initiative to pay for food?
At the same time, the court hall was crowded with people, who was willing to give him the position of Chief of Grain? After all, so many Jinshi were not enough!
All the foundations have been destroyed, and the grain chief system has naturally become a bad policy.
Can Zhu Yuanzhang be blamed for this? Zhang Ximeng grinned helplessly, Zhu Yuanzhang should be blamed. If you didn't establish the Ming Dynasty, how could the Ming Dynasty perish?
Zhang Ximeng shook his head and went straight to Changpingcang. He had no time to think about messy things. He had to quickly count how much grain had been harvested!