Chapter 148 The landlord's family has no surplus food!
That night, Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu, after discussing in low voices for a long time, finally gave Hei Fu, who was sitting opposite them, an answer at his residence in the east of the city.
"Dongzhang can yield three hundred stones."
"Xizhang can produce two hundred stones."
"The remaining fifteen hundred stones have to be paid by a thousand households in the township. One and a half stones per family is not too much..."
Zhang Bo cupped his hands towards Hei Fu and said, "Youyou, this is the result of our discussion."
Hei Fu sighed in his heart and looked at Chen Ping, who was sitting upright at the end of the hall.
Sure enough, just as Chen Ping expected, the Zhang family, which owned half of the cultivated land in the township, was only willing to pay a quarter of the requisitioned grain.
Fifty years ago during the reign of King Zhao of Qin, Fan Ju once proposed a "Order for Raising the People". The basic idea was that Qin State had a vast land but a small population, and could not fully develop its fields and resources, so it needed to attract people from the east of Mount Wei.
migrant.
Han and Wei are located in the Central Plains, with cities facing each other and densely populated. The population and land situation of the Qin State are exactly the opposite. They have more people and less land. The "Lai Min Order" metaphorically says that countries such as Han and Wei,
The land is narrow and the people live side by side. Because of the lack of enough land, a large number of people have poured into the mountains and swamps to develop wasteland. Even so, each family can only be allocated twenty or thirty acres like the Chen Ping family.
Barely maintaining a living, there are still a large number of people who have no land and can only work as sharecroppers, do business, wander around, and work as slaves.
This country's land is not enough to support its people. It seems that the people of Qin were not enough to live up to their land!
Therefore, in the Han and Wei dynasties, the problem of land annexation has arisen. Local tyrants often occupied most of the local land, and a large number of landless people became tenant farmers.
"The rich have vast fields, but the poor have no place to stand." This is not the situation in Qin, but the current situation of Han, Wei, and Qi.
Under this situation, Heifu was ordered to collect grain, and the bulk of the grain output was naturally the Zhang family and other local tycoons, but now, they are unwilling to bear too much of the share.
Zhang Bo still had a chubby face and said something to him, "There is no surplus food in the wealthy family. The rations that were previously provided for the tours and soldiers have been emptied out."
Heifu didn't believe this at all. If he hadn't investigated clearly, he wouldn't have paid a visit.
"Really? How did I hear that Dongzhang has 20 hectares of land in Hufu Township and can earn 4,000 shi per year? Xizhang has 10 hectares of land and can earn 2,000 shi per year?" Heifu said with a smile.
"In addition, Zhang Zihu was an official in Xianyang and often exchanged letters with his family. I heard that he predicted that there would be a war between Qin and Wei a few years ago. Er Zhang started to buy grain and accumulate millet three years ago. Now there are two granaries.
, at least four to five thousand shi of food..."
The amount Heifu estimated was almost the same as Zhang's food reserves. Zhang Bo's face suddenly stiffened. Then he put away his smile and said firmly:
"So what? These grains were saved by my two brothers frugally, one grain at a time, for fear that war would break out and the family would starve to death. The Zhang family has a big business and has many people to feed.
, there are hundreds of servants and maids alone, and the moon eclipse is 500 dan. Is it possible that You You still wants Zhang to give away all the 2,000 dan of grain?"
This is my plan, Heifu thought. The wheat will be ripe in May and harvested in July. Even if we spend two thousand dan, the Zhang family will have enough food left to eat until then.
But he said with a smile: "Of course not, it's just that the two families are the top sages in the village. Why not give a few more to make up one thousand, which will not only reduce the burden on the people, but also have additional benefits..."
"What!" Asking Zhang Bo to give him food was more uncomfortable than cutting his flesh, so he immediately slapped the table and roared.
Zhang Fu, who was more shrewd than him, stopped the impulsive clan brother and asked, "May I ask You You, what's the benefit?"
"Title." Heifu smiled, pointed to the crown above his head and said, "I am no longer in charge. The warrior Dongmen Bao outside the door is already wearing a hairpin. This Zhong Ming sitting below me,
They are already of the highest rank, so I dare to ask you, what kind of title do you have?"
Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu were a little embarrassed. Although they were local officials, they were only given the title of "gongshi" after the surrender.
"As expected." Hei Fu sighed, looking worried for the two of them: "Qin is different from Wei, everything has to be based on title. Just like what Lord Shang said, his wealth must match his title. The two monarchs
He enjoys the wealth and honor of a great official, but only has the title of a public servant. This is incompatible with the name and reality."
Zhang Fu responded: "But the title of Qin is difficult to obtain, and it cannot be obtained without beheading in battle. Most people in the village, whether rich or poor, are soldiers... Could it be that there are other ways to travel?"
Hei Fu held up his palm and said: "However, the Qin State has a system of worshiping nobles with millet, which is implemented in times of famine and war. This policy may benefit the Zhang family!"
"Nei Su is honored?" The two men looked at each other.
Heifu knew that they would not believe it easily, so he nodded to Zhong Ming and asked him to explain the situation in two pictures.
"This official is from Hanoi County."
Zhong Ming handed over to the two Zhangs: "More than thirty years ago, when I was not yet born, Qin and Zhao fought in Changping, Shangdang, and the Zhao army was besieged by the Qin army. At that time, the King of Qin heard that Zhao's food road was dead, and he arrived in person
In Hanoi, each level of civil nobility was granted to those who were fifteen years old or above and they rushed to Changping to block Zhao's reinforcements and food supplies. In addition, the wealthy and powerful households in Hedong and Hanoi townships who were able to contribute thousands of kilograms of grain to serve as military rations were all given nobility.
At the first level... in Wen County, where the subordinates are located, there are three families who donated millet, thousands of stones, and were promoted from the rank of scholar to the rank of public official."
"Is there such a thing?" Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu were from Wei and did not understand the Qin system very well.
"This is true, and it is not an isolated case."
Heifu answered: "Twenty years ago, in the third year of this king's reign, locusts came from the east, covering the sky, and Guanzhong was desolate. Nanjun and Nanyang were also infected with the plague, and each county was short of food. So the king gave an order,
The common people had to pay a thousand shi of millet to be promoted to the rank of nobility. There was a merchant in this county who offered a thousand shi of millet at that time and was promoted to the rank of a nobleman..."
Heifu was talking about none other than the Yuan Bai family, whom he had dealt with when he was serving as a corvee in Anlu County, and who had given him a lot of money for free.
"In the battles against Zhao and Yan a few years ago, people from counties and counties near the front line were invited to offer millet to pay homage. This was a common practice. If I am not mistaken, General Wang has asked your Majesty for instructions and will also surrender to Qin.
In the Wei region, the order to worship the princes of Neisu has been implemented, but it has not been issued in time."
This seems to be the "buying an official position (desiring) a title" criticized by later generations, but it is not the case, because Shang Yang established the title to encourage farming and fighting, and farming was to obtain more food. The local farmers of Qin worked hard and made the fields
Good harvests are sometimes rewarded with first-level titles. In counties and counties newly occupied by the Qin State, Neisu is given a title because there are very few people with titles in the area.
It is a good deal to get a thousand grains and feed a thousand soldiers for more than half a month.
Moreover, the title earned from internal millet will not exceed that of a senior official, and will not harm the foundation of the military title system.
After talking about the nobility system of Neisu, Heifu added: "That's why I said, since the two Zhangs will eventually provide food, it is better to give more, collect thousands of stones, and say that they are from the same family, and then the title will be reissued."
, which family gets it first, you two will discuss it yourself..."
"In this case, it's not a bad idea."
Zhang Cang, who was far away in Xianyang, wrote home. He often talked about the extremely important titles in the Qin State. Now that they heard that offering a thousand grains would have a good chance of winning the title, the Zhang brothers' minds became active.
After lowering their heads to discuss, the two of them made a decision. They all had to donate food anyway. There was no benefit in offering 600 shi. However, if they had a chance to win a knighthood by donating 1,000 shi, it was better to pay more. Anyway, because they were prepared
Early in the year, the family accumulated thousands of grains, so there was no shortage of food at all.
"good!"
After receiving the answer, Heifu breathed a sigh of relief, but just when the Zhang brothers thought that the matter was over, he suddenly said: "Nowadays, there is no harvest, and the people in the countryside don't have much food left in their homes. If each household contributes only one stone, they can barely feed themselves.
Some families can’t even wait until the wheat is ripe for the summer harvest. Since the two princes have already paid out a thousand dan, why not also give out the 1,000 dan grain that is to be distributed equally to the farmers in the village first!"
"What!"
As soon as these words came out, the two Zhang's faces looked horrified. Zhang Bo even jumped up and pointed at Hei Fu: "Hei Fu, don't go too far! Do you think I, Zhang, are weak and can be bullied?"
But Heifu looked at Chen Ping. He had used up the strategies for the word "jue" written on his palm. Next, he had to look at Chen Ping...
Chen Ping immediately stood up, bowed respectfully to Zhang Bo who was furious, and Zhang Fu who was silent: "You two gentlemen, please don't be impatient. The intention of wandering around is not to let the Zhang family come out in vain, but to let the Zhang family go out in vain."
During the lean season, when people had no food to pay at home, they first lent the surplus food at home to a thousand households in the city, each with one stone. They made a contract with them, and it would not be too late to take it back when the summer and autumn harvests are harvested...
…”
"Loan grain to the villagers?" Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu were both stunned. As a big household in the village, he often borrowed grain, money and silk. However, he had never loaned one stone to every household in the village at once.
There have been.
This is the true meaning of the word "loan" written by Chen Ping on his palm. It is also a common thing in previous years. Er Zhang should be familiar with it, but it will take a lot of words to convince them to pay the grain first.
So Chen Ping said: "When Ping was studying in a neighboring county, he heard such a story. In Qi State, there was a man named Dong Guochang. His family had ten thousand gold and he had great ambitions. His disciple was poor and asked for help.
Dong Guochang refused to give it, and threatened to say, "I plan to save up to ten thousand gold, and then use the money to go to Linzi to ask for an official position." Afterwards, everyone in Qi said that Dong Guochang cherished what he had not yet obtained, but was unwilling to help him and he would starve.
This was unkind, so Dong Guochang finally saved ten thousand gold and sought an official position in Linzi. However, when he returned to his hometown to serve as an official, the locals disrespected him..."
After telling this story, Chen Ping added: "Now the two monarchs are willing to pay a thousand shi of grain to obtain the title of Qin State, but are not willing to lend an equal amount of grain to help the country party tide over the difficulties. If this matter is spread, there will be a lot of criticism.
How is this different from Dong Guochang, a native of Qi, who condemns the countrymen? You must not only pursue a title but lose the local respect..."
After talking, Zhang Bo was still thinking about it, but Zhang Fu was already deep in thought.
Heifu also praised Chen Ping's eloquence. These scholars from the Central Plains always like to tell a fable first when persuading others.
Seeing that Er Zhang had begun to consider the matter, Chen Ping continued to persuade him: "What's more, haven't you heard about Mengchang's cunning rabbit's three caves?"
"In the past, the King of Qi abolished the position of Lord Mengchang, and Lord Mengchang had to retreat to Xuedi. The people of Xuedi had been favored by Feng Nuan for burning their coupons. When they heard that Lord Mengchang was coming, they helped the old and young and walked dozens of miles to greet Lord Mengchang. This is
This is where Feng Nuan taught Lord Mengchang his benevolence and righteousness. From then on, Lord Mengchang had another place to live in besides the Linzi court."
Zhang Bo was uneducated and was in a daze when he heard it, but Zhang Fu knew the story. His eyes lit up, he looked at Chen Ping and said, "What do you mean..."
"Yes, the Zhang family's grotto is, firstly, in Zhangzihu, Xianyang; secondly, it is the official position and title in Qin; thirdly, it is the local hometown and the gratitude of the local people..."
When talking about "gratitude", Chen Ping looked at Heifu. He was also very grateful. He was grateful that Heifu once again gave him a stage to express himself. This was the second time.
He stabilized his mind, faced everyone in the hall, and talked eloquently: "Therefore, today, Zhang's loan of grain is not for grain, but for benevolence and righteousness!"
Chen Ping spread his hands and said with a smile: "When the autumn harvest comes, not only will we be able to recover thousands of stones of corn, but we will also get the gratitude of the township party. This is a strategy that kills two birds with one stone. Why wouldn't you do it?"