Sun Chuanting and his bodyguard were walking along the Zhanghe River in Wuqing County and were shocked by the bustling scene of land reclamation.
These days of war and chaos, the bureaucracy and the gentry don’t know what will happen tomorrow. They are becoming more and more short-sighted when thinking about things. They only think about how to oppress small farmers with no background. The water conservancy facilities in various places are in a mess. But if there is a little natural disaster, small businesses can be saved everywhere.
When a disaster turns into a catastrophe, and the tragedy of refugees fleeing the famine and leaving their families behind is revealed, where will anyone be able to develop new fields and build water conservancy facilities?
But when we arrived in Wuqing County, water trucks were being loaded and repairing canals, and tens of thousands of people were working enthusiastically within sight. The poor farmers did not feel forced at all when repairing the canals, and they were all proactive. Especially some of them, shouting
He was arranging things, as if doing this physical work was a great joy.
Sun Chuanting saw a woman carrying two buckets of water to the construction site and passing water to other farmers. Her cheerful attitude of ownership made people feel that good days are just around the corner. A cylindrical waterwheel was placed on the bank of the Zhang River.
A few farmers resting by the water wheel experimentally shook it and drove some water into the canal. When the farmers saw the water, they all smiled happily.
Who took the lead in building this water conservancy project? In Ming Dynasty, there are still people organizing such a large water conservancy project, and there is such a vigorous place?
Is this still the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign, when war was in chaos?
Sun Chuanting stopped the team and sent three soldiers to the construction site to ask which family was building the canal.
The three soldiers asked for a while and then ran back. Sun Chuanting quickly asked: "Have you asked which family it is?"
The soldier half-knelt on the ground and replied loudly: "Let me ask clearly, sir, it was Li Zhi, the left governor of Tianjin, who reclaimed private land and built the canal."
Sun Chuanting was stunned, why was it Li Zhi again?
This Li Zhi fought so hard that the Tatars were frightened by the news. How could he be so provocative in construction? The canals being built by more than 10,000 people looked like a big project at first glance. Moreover, this was what Sun Chuanting saw on the official road, and what he couldn't see.
I wonder how many projects there are left? This is a big deal.
Sun Chuanting stroked his beard and thought for a while, then said: "This Li Zhi is building private land to make profits for himself. Why are these people working so enthusiastically and happily?"
The soldier said: "Sir, it is the slack season now, and those people have nothing to do. But when they work for Li Zhi, they can get one or two or five yuan in silver a month, and they are paid every half month without any arrears, so the hired farmers
Each one of them worked hard. Moreover, some of these farmers were newly hired tenant farmers by Li Zhi, and they would plant the fields for them when they were opened, so they were very happy."
Sun Chuanting thought for a long time and asked, "What's so exciting about being a tenant farmer?"
The soldier said: "I also asked, and those farmers said that the tenant farmers of the general's family are completely different from other families. First of all, there is a lot of land, and each man or strong woman can get twenty acres of land. Secondly, the land is good, and there are
Canal irrigation can provide enough water, and the general also divides the grazing cattle to ensure a good harvest. Finally, the land rent is small, including the tax on military land. The general only collects 30% of the land rent, and the remaining 70% of the farmers can keep it. Calculated in this way
, farmers can become rich in less than a year!”
"Because of this, the tenant farmers who were assigned fields were so happy."
After hearing this, Sun Chuanting was stunned for a long time, and said sarcastically: "This Li Zhi killed the Tatars ferociously on the battlefield, how could he be so kind to the farmers when he returned to Tianjin?"
However, he did the math and roughly settled Li Zhi's account, and spat: "But Li Zhi can still make money by opening a new field. He can make a lot of money."
Sun Chuanting seemed a little jealous of Li Zhi's organizational skills. He snorted coldly, waved his sleeves and said, "Let's go! Go to Fanjiazhuang and have a look!"
When they reached the boundary of Fanjiazhuang, Sun Chuanting became more and more surprised.
It seems that there were not many fields on the Fanjiazhuang boundary, and some dry fields that were irrigated by wells were abandoned because of the flight of military households. However, large canals were opened along several small rivers to irrigate new fields. Those new fields had already been
Winter wheat has been harvested, and a low-growing broad-leaved plant has been planted.
The broad-leaved plant Sun Chuanting knew was the sweet potato that Hong Chengchou failed to promote in Shaanxi. Because the sweet potato harvest was high, Hong Chengchou forced farmers to plant sweet potatoes in Shaanxi, which almost triggered a civil uprising. However, the rotation of sweet potatoes and winter wheat is a good plan. After harvesting the winter wheat
Planting sweet potatoes in the last few months can fill up the half-year agricultural slack period. Those sweet potatoes will make people uncomfortable if they eat too much, but they are good pig food for feeding pigs.
But what surprised Sun Chuanting was not the sweet potatoes, but the wealthy villages near Xintian.
There are no thatched huts in those villages. They are all brick and tile houses, which are very sturdy. Moreover, those houses occupy a large area. It can be seen that they were added after a period of time. The bricks and tiles used in the new rooms and the original rooms are
The colors are a little different and combined together.
These farmers live well.
Not only that, when those farmers walked out of their own yards, their short brown shorts and jackets were not patched, and they were either brand new or semi-new. The farmers all looked good, and they were by no means as thin as the farmers in other places. Those farmers’ yards
Dried meats such as bacon and fish were hung inside. These meats that farmers in other places could not eat during the New Year seemed to be common things that farmers in Fanjiazhuang ate every day. Sun Chuanting observed along the way and saw several farmers sitting leisurely with their trousers rolled up.
Smoking cigarettes in the yard.
Can farmers afford dry tobacco? In Shaanxi, even small landowners cannot afford dry tobacco!
As Sun Chuanting walked, he had the illusion that he was not in the Ming Dynasty.
When Sun Chuanting passed by a township market, he was even more shocked. The market was bustling with people, and the people buying things were all nearby farmers. In the market, there were people who killed pigs and sold meat, chickens and ducks, and vegetables and condiments.
, those who sell iron pots and pots, those who sell cloth and needlework, those who sell tobacco and tea, those who sell rice wine and shochu, and even those who sell fruits and melons, all are doing well. Those people carry bamboo baskets to buy goods, and return home loaded with goods, and
Vendors in the market were haggling over prices, which was very lively.
A township is more prosperous than the markets in other counties.
There is a small winery next to the market. It is noon, and there are already many farmers inside with their sleeves rolled up, drinking and eating vegetables, making loud noises. The shop is overcrowded, and the tables have been placed on the road outside. Three waiters are standing between each table.
He shuttled back and forth like a butterfly, collecting money and serving food, he was very busy.
Sun Chuanting took a closer look and even found four people selling horses beside the winery. The horse sellers had smiles on their faces and shouted at the people passing by from time to time.
Those four horses were all pack horses, not good horses, but this was the first time Sun Chuanting heard that someone would sell horses in a rural market town. At first glance, all the private fields around here were Li Zhi's private fields, but there were no landlords. Could it be that Fanjiazhuang's
Among the farmers, some are so rich that they want to go out on horseback?
Sun Chuanting quickly calculated in his mind. If the land rent was 30%, the couple would farm forty acres of land. If one out of ten was a good farmer, they would be able to harvest fifty dan of grain a year. After excluding the land rent, there would still be seventy taels of silver.
I can really afford a horse for seventy taels of silver, and that doesn't even count the harvest from sweet potatoes.
Sun Chuanting then remembered that he had indeed seen someone riding a horse on the official road just now. He had not noticed it just now and thought it was the Jin gentry family coming out of the city. Now that he thought about it, these people riding horses might be local farmers.
The more Sun Chuanting watched, the more shocked he became. Thinking about Shaanxi, a land thousands of miles away, where people were living in dire straits, Sun Chuanting seemed to have traveled through two worlds.
Sun Chuanting stopped on the official road beside the market and sighed absently: "This Li Zhi went into battle to kill one enemy against a hundred. He didn't expect that managing the territory could also benefit the people. He is really talented in civil and military affairs! No wonder the emperor thinks so highly of him!"
If he had Li Zhi's ability to protect the country and the people, how could there be any rogue thieves in Shaanxi? Even Sun Chuanting, who had always been conceited, was also shocked at this time and took another high look at Li Zhi. Gritting his teeth, Sun Chuanting shook his head and said
:
"If you mount your horse to kill slaves and dismount your horse to enrich the people, Li Zhi is so talented that he can even be a prime minister!"
