Zhang Xiucai's nickname is Zhang Lin. He passed the scholar examination at the age of sixteen and ranked high.
Anyone who knows a little bit about the imperial examination will understand that at such an age, if you can pass the exam, you will naturally have a bright and unlimited future. Zhang Lin once thought that he could become a high school scholar, become an official in the court, help the country, and make some achievements from then on.
Guangzong Yaozu, leaving his name in history.
But then it seemed like he was cursed. He failed to pass the exams many times, let alone Jinshi, and even failed to pass the Juren exam.
At first, Zhang Lin thought that his knowledge was not enough, so he studied hard, visited famous teachers everywhere, and studied stereotyped writing.
It’s just that he has been busy for ten years and still has achieved nothing. He should have failed the exam.
Later, Zhang Lin gradually understood that at that time, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty was declining. Officials from all over the country were vying to form cliques for personal gain and wanted to gain fame. Learning alone was of no use. Many students like him had no way to serve the country.
You have to hook up with someone first, such as Dong Lin, such as the Eunuch Party. If you still want to squeeze in when no one recommends you for shelter, isn't that fanciful? What's more, even though they are both named Zhang, he and Mr. Zhang Zhifa are still at odds with Zhang Ge.
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Although the elders would not pay attention to him as a scholar, it is very difficult to take a step forward.
Zhang Lin, who was busy at the age of 30, finally gave up the plan to continue taking exams. With some property in his family and his reputation as a scholar, he could live a stable life.
Time flies by and Zhang Lin is approaching his forties. Most of his life has passed and he still has accomplished nothing.
He was brilliant in his early years, but then fell into decline for a long time. His reputation as a scholar was both his pride and the source of his pain. At that time, Zhu Yiyuan said that scholars were not special and had to hand over excess land. He was furious.
But what Zhu Yiyuan does and says these days makes him look like a powerful person.
In this case, then take a gamble. If you succeed, you will be glorious throughout the ages and leave your name in history. If you fail...if you fail, don't think about anything. In life, you cannot die with the grass and trees!
After much deliberation, Zhang Lin finally made up his mind.
First, all the farmers in Dazhuang Village were gathered together, and then registered according to the population of each household.
"Listen up, everyone, tell the truth how many people there are in your family, because the land is divided according to the number of people. If you want to take more, others will get less. We are all fellow villagers, and you can't deceive anyone by lying."
Everyone nodded and said impatiently: "Okay, we all understand, Zhang Xiucai, please hurry up."
Zhang Lin nodded, writing as fast as he could, and quickly registered everyone. However, facing an old man, he couldn't help but stop writing, rolled up his eyelids, and looked at this man with a wry smile.
"Third uncle, your family is a big one, with five sons and more than a dozen grandsons. Your family is the most populous in our Dazhuang Village. Everyone knows this, why do you only report four people?"
Other villagers also asked: "That's right, Mr. Zhang, if you have a large family, you must report it truthfully. You also said that many children will lead to blessings, and the family will not be separated even after death!"
"You fart!" the old man cursed angrily, "I'm not a fool. One household can only have twenty acres. Do you want to starve our family to death? Divide it, divide it all, the boss, the second, the third, the fourth, all of them
After they were separated, only the fifth child, who is not married, and the old girl who is still unmarried are at home. Counting the old couple like us, there are four people, not one more."
Who said that the common people were ignorant and their immediate interests were at stake? They calculated clearly. Houses were separated overnight.
Zhang Lin secretly nodded and admired Zhu Yiyuan's strategy of dividing the land, and many large households took the initiative to divide their families.
Now that the families are separated, even brothers will gradually drift apart.
Take this Mr. Zhang for example. He has five sons and a dozen grandsons. When something happens, he doesn't need other relatives. Just pulling these people out is enough to run rampant in the village.
At this time, in order to allocate more acres of land, the four elders all split up and lived alone. Each family had one pot, and it would never be the same again.
Over time, we will definitely become distant.
From one large family to several small ones, the cohesion between the clans has declined, but Master Zhu's control has undoubtedly increased.
The purpose of splitting up large households is to better control the local area.
Zhang Lin can naturally appreciate the power of it. It is just like a favor order, it is an aboveboard conspiracy. Not only will the villagers not object, but they will actively cooperate with it.
I really had to give in.
If the Ming Dynasty had this ability, how could it have subjugated the country?
After Zhang Lin sighed, he worked even harder. After registering all the villagers, he calculated the number of plots to be divided...
From a single person's five acres of land to a family's maximum twenty acres, the number of households in each grade is clearly known.
Then the ten old farmers recognized by the villagers as being the best at farming were asked to divide the acres.
Zhang Lin was not directly involved, but only supervised from the sidelines.
After the old farmer made the divisions, Zhang Lin asked each household to come and draw lots.
In this lottery, we are not competing for which plot of land, but for the order of selection.
Whoever is lucky enough to be ranked first will be chosen first.
Because Zhu Yiyuan made it clear that the number of acres he requested was not dead.
The situation of each field is different, some are fertile, some are barren, some are easy to irrigate, and some can only rely on the weather for food.
In this way, if each person had five acres and each household had a cap of twenty acres, the difference would be huge.
Therefore, when dividing the land, the old farmers take care of the condition of the land. If it is good fertile land, each person can get four acres of land, and the upper limit for each family is sixteen acres.
On the other hand, if it is lower-grade farmland, the upper limit per household may be relaxed to 30 acres.
In other words, the output of each piece of land must be basically the same.
Even so, it will be much easier for those who get the top-grade fields.
So being able to draw a high position, be the first to pick, and get the land you like is more joyful than anything else, just like celebrating the New Year.
Those who are less lucky and can only choose later will frown.
Especially the old farmers who divided their fields, their faces were even darker.
Because Zhang Lin directly told them that you can't draw lots, just wait until the villagers finish choosing, and then give you the remaining pieces.
Several old farmers simply stopped working, "What are you talking about? If we had known this, we wouldn't have divided the fields."
"Yes, we have worked hard to divide the fields. If we are not lucky, we will admit it. Why don't we be allowed to draw lots? Didn't Mr. Zhu say that we must be fair? How is this fair?"
These people all turned their anger on Zhu Yiyuan.
However, Zhu Yiyuan was not in a hurry. He rushed over with a smile. After listening to the complaints of several old farmers, he said: "You guys, please stop being busy. Dividing the fields is only the first step. The most important thing for us next is to protect the fields.
So I decided to choose the most respected people in the village to serve as the three elders... The three elders I am talking about are not just three, but ten, or even more. It is also possible. The three elders of the village are the heads of the village, and they can get extra money every year.
Two taels of silver, which is not much money, is considered as a reward for the big guy. Just treat it as doing things for the villagers."
When these old farmers heard this, they suddenly woke up. It turned out that they had hidden this trick!
The old farmer who cooperated with the proper division of land was highly respected and selected as the three elders of the village. The three elders of the village were between Zhu Yiyuan and the villagers, connecting the past and the next.
When the villagers had something to do, they responded upwards, and when Zhu Yiyuan had any requests, they also conveyed it downwards.
In normal times, we have to organize people to work, which is very hard for people at the lowest level.
They don't receive a monthly salary, but a subsidy of two taels of silver per year, which is really not much.
But after these old farmers heard it, it was completely different.
Because in the past, the people who had the final say in the countryside were the wealthy gentry and educated rural sages.
They controlled the local area, and the imperial power did not extend to the county, but the county had the final say.
This is the group of people we are talking about.
Zhu Yiyuan destroyed big families and brought scholars to the same level as ordinary people... It was refreshing to do this, but the question is what to do next?
Destroy and then establish. You have to stand up, and you need someone to take care of things, connect the upper and lower, and mobilize the people.
Zhu Yiyuan's arrangement is to let these old farmers come forward.
"That Mr. Zhu, are we considered officials?" an old farmer asked, rubbing his hands.
Zhu Yiyuan smiled and said, "It doesn't count."
The old farmer was puzzled.
Zhu Yiyuan continued: "You are indeed officials under my rule. In the future, as our career grows, the best among you will be promoted to take charge of a county, a prefecture, or even a larger place. But it's not a problem. But
…”
"As officials, we must not be the same as before. We must not be greedy or oppress the people. We must truly do things for the people, serve as officials for one term, and benefit the folks. Everyone is watching!"
When these old farmers heard this, they looked at each other and nodded in unison, "I understand, Mr. Zhu thinks highly of us. We can't let the fellow villagers poke our spines. We will take this job." This chapter has been completed!
