Liaodong Province is thousands of miles away. Not to mention the new fields that will be cultivated in the future, even the existing land that is easy to irrigate is still huge.
Before the Hou Jin Dynasty captured Liaodong, the population of Liaodong was considerable. Folks in Tianjin whom Li Zhi contacted generally believed that there were originally more than one million people in Liaodong, and this number was relatively credible.
Of course, no census was conducted in the Ming Dynasty, and no one knows the specific figures. "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "The Biography of Zhang Shenyan" said that after the Hou Jin Dynasty captured Liaodong, "no less than one million people from the Liao Dynasty migrated to the customs." Such migration numbers increase
The total number of people who were massacred by the Houjin Tartars in the Liao Dynasty was probably more than one million.
However, some people think that the population is larger. According to "Tiao Chen Ya Wu Shu" and "Ming Jing Shi Wen Bian", the number of people fleeing in Liaodong is "more than two million." If this number is accepted, the original population of Liaodong is estimated to be between two and three million.
Around 10,000.
But no matter which figure it is, it proves that Liaodong has a large number of mature fields that have been abandoned. With a little care, these fields can be turned into rich dry fields.
Nowadays, all these abandoned dry fields in Liaodong Province have been given to various personnel under Li Zhi.
The allocation of these fields is based on merit points. The longer you work with Li Zhi, the higher the merit points. The greater your contribution to the things you do, the higher the merit points. For example, if you join Li Zhi's servant team in the eighth year of Chongzhen,
If you have been fighting with Huben's army, your merit points will be high. If you went to Fanjiazhuang to do small business in the eighth year of Chongzhen, your merit points will be much lower.
The higher the merit points, the more fields will be allocated. This time Gu Laoer got 320 acres of abandoned dry land with merit points. This number is a bit scary.
Gu Lao Er was also frightened by this number. Three hundred and twenty acres of dry land, how much rent do you need to collect in a year? Gu Lao Er is about to become a big landlord now? This is really a big deal. So Gu Lao Er got the news
After that, he immediately set off for Liaodong to see in person the farmland he had been allocated.
Fortunately, there are now steamship services between Tianjin and Jinzhou, with two departures every day. It is a thousand miles of sea route from Tianjin to Jinzhou, and the steamship can be reached in one day and one night, which is very convenient.
Gu Laoer stood by the railing on the deck of the ship and saw a middle-aged man wearing a cocoon silk cardigan discussing with two people around him: "The Duke's wife has successfully given birth to a son for the Duke. When
It’s really gratifying!”
"In this way, the Duke will have two sons and two daughters."
"It's a pity that he is not a son, otherwise the Duke would have three sons."
"Even having a daughter is a great joy."
"Fireworks were set off in front of Fanjiazhuang's official office to celebrate the day before yesterday. Did Brother Qi go and see it?"
Gu Laoer took a closer look at the middle-aged man, and found that he clearly recognized this middle-aged man. This middle-aged man was called Qi Gongji. He was a group of workers who entered the textile factory with Gu Laoer in the eighth year of Chongzhen. Qi
Gongji was much smarter than Gu Laoer. Later, Gu Laoer was always an ordinary worker, while Qi Gongji rose through the ranks and was said to have become a director.
At this time, Qi Gongji felt that Liaodong Province was missing. Needless to say, he must have gone to check out the farmland he had been allocated.
Gu Laoer went up and bowed his hands to Qi Gongji and said, "Brother Qi, I haven't seen you for many years. I am Gu Laoer who entered the textile factory with you!"
Qi Gongji was stunned for a moment, looked at Gu Lao Er, and recognized Gu Lao Er. The two used to eat together in the cafeteria, and they were really old acquaintances, and they became familiar with each other again after just a few words.
"How much land will Brother Qi get this time?"
"Five hundred and forty acres!"
Gu Laoer clapped his tongue and said, "How much rent will Brother Qi earn from the more than 500 acres of land in a year?"
Qi Gongji smiled and said, "It's indeed impressive!"
Gu Laoer said: "Based on the yield of eight bushels of wheat per acre and the land rent of 50%, this is..." Gu Laoer calculated carefully, and after a while he said: "That's more than 500 taels of silver this year.
Land rent!”
Qi Gongji smiled and said, "Not that many."
Qi Gongji drew a picture on the palm of his left hand with his right index finger and said: "First of all, the weather in Liaodong is cold, so spring wheat is grown. I heard from an old Liao farmer living in Tianjin that the spring wheat yield is quite low, with an average of only one crop a year.
A harvest of seven measures."
The opening of Liaodong had not yet begun. Except for a few officials who were on errands in Liaodong, most of the passengers on the ship were going to see the farms assigned to them. After hearing Qi Gongji's words, everyone felt that he was very knowledgeable, so they all gathered around.
Listen to Qi Gongji settle accounts.
Qi Gongji looked at the boat passengers gathered around him and said with a smile: "And these seven buckets of wheat do not include seeds. This kind of seed takes up one bucket and five liters, so the profit is only five buckets and five liters."
"The yield of five hundred and forty acres of dry land, five buckets and five liters, can only be harvested..." Qi Gongji couldn't calculate, so he took out a small abacus from his sleeve, cracked a few times, and said: "Just
It can harvest 300 shi of wheat. If the land rent is 50%, it will be 150 shi of land rent."
Everyone was very happy when they heard Qi Gongji said that he could collect 150 shi in land rent. This expert is reliable in accounting. If he can calculate 150 shi in land rent for 540 acres, then his own farm can also collect a lot of land rent.
.
However, before everyone was happy for a second, they heard Qi Gongji loudly say: "No!"
Qi Gong then made some calculations and said: "However, the rice noodles ground from spring wheat are bitter and unpalatable, and one stone can only be sold for two taels of silver. The land rent of one hundred and fifty dan is only equivalent to three hundred taels of silver."
After everyone heard Qi Gongji's calculation, they all took a breath and felt that their hands had lost a lot of money.
However, Qi Gongji loudly said: "Moreover!"
Everyone's heart skipped a beat and they all looked at Qi Gongji.
"Furthermore, the yield of dry land in Liaodong is so low. If each of the tenant farmers cultivates 20 acres of dry land and pays 50% of the land rent, they will starve to death. So if you want to collect 50% of the land rent, you must prepare four tillers for every two tenants.
cattle, and purchase the Grand Duke’s drills, harvesters and other machinery so that each tenant farmer can cultivate 200 acres of land.”
"Four oxen cost 100 taels, and various types of machinery cost 200 taels. The total cost is 300 taels and can be used for ten years. With these machines, two tenant farmers can cultivate 400 acres of fields. This set of agricultural machinery every year
At a discount of thirty taels, my 540 acres of land will be allocated to two groups, and the discount will be sixty taels per year. Calculated in this way, the annual income I can record is only two hundred and forty taels."
Everyone was scratching their heads and scratching their heads anxiously when they heard Qi Gongji's account. It turned out that after careful calculation, the amount was much less than originally expected. Qi Gongji was a big family, and only 240 acres of 540 acres of land could be accounted for.
Ten taels of land rent. The income of other smaller farm owners is even lower.
Everyone stood on the deck of the ship, deep in thought, but no one spoke for a while.
Suddenly someone shouted: "Whatever, let alone two hundred and forty taels, even the land rent of one hundred and twenty taels is several times more than what I paid as a worker in a textile factory. If this abandoned field is reclaimed,
After I came out and found tenant farmers, I quit my job in the factory and went to Liaodong to become a landlord!"
Everyone laughed when they heard this, and everyone became happy.
Although the harvest of the fields in Liaodong is low, the number of acres allocated this time is too huge. Even the smallest land rent can bring huge income.
Qi Gongji smiled and looked at Gu Laoer.
Gu Laoer said with a smile: "My family has been allocated 320 acres of land. According to Brother Qi's calculation, we can get 140 taels of land rent a year."
"This is much higher than my current income. This land rent has fully doubled my current monthly income!"
Qi Gongji laughed loudly: "Congratulations to Brother Gu on your well-off life!"
