Rebirth of Wu Ba Spring and Autumn

Chapter 317 Abolition of the Well Field System

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, roads and canals criss-crossed to divide the land into squares, shaped like the word "well", so it was called "well field".

The well fields belonged to the king of Zhou and were allocated to the common people. The lords were not allowed to buy, sell or transfer the well fields, and had to pay a certain amount of tribute.

The lord forced the common people to cultivate the well fields collectively, with private fields around them and public fields in the middle.

In essence, it is a system of land private ownership, because in the three dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou (Western Zhou), all land belonged to the state!
"Your Hu's words are wrong."

Qing Ji shook his head and said, "How can a country be strengthened by blindly following the ancient system?"

"Taking the State of Lu as an example, the State of Lu carried out taxation reforms, regardless of public land or private land, all taxes are paid by the mu, which has actually established private ownership of land."

"Since that's the case, why can't our country of Wu go a step further by abolishing well fields and opening rice fields so that the people can buy and sell and recognize private ownership of land?"

"Your Majesty!"

Even Dazai Jizha couldn't stand it when he heard that Qingji wanted to turn the land that originally belonged to the state into private land.

"The system of well fields is not unreasonable. If the land is changed from state ownership to private ownership, it is inappropriate, please think twice!"

Is it wrong to abolish the well field system and allow the free sale of land?
What's wrong?

Ji Zha didn't say anything, and actually couldn't find any decent reason to refute.

Because the tax and service system of Wu State is tribute, assistance, and thorough.

All of them work on the public land, and their income is all owned by the lord, while their private land income is all owned by individuals, which is a kind of labor tax.

The well field system was implemented in the Zhou Dynasty, which was not only used as the salary level unit for the princes and officials, but also as the calculation unit for controlling the common people.

The land under the well field system is not allowed to be bought and sold, and can only be inherited by the same surname according to the patriarchal relationship of concubines and concubines.

The so-called "well field" is a square field with a certain plan, area per mu and boundary.

A square field with a length of [-] steps and a width of [-] steps is called a "field", and the area of ​​a field is [-] mu. It is used as a "husband", that is, the land cultivated by a labor force.

Mine field planning is inconsistent in different regions.Some places use the decimal system, and some places call a "well" with nine square fields.

Because the nine square fields are placed together, it happens to be in the shape of a "well", so the name of the field comes from this!
The area of ​​a well is one mile square, and one hundred wells is ten miles square, which is called a "cheng", which can accommodate [-] laborers.

Ten thousand wells are a hundred miles square, called a "tong", and can accommodate [-] laborers.

Between fields and fields, Li and Li, Cheng and Cheng, Tong and Tong, there are irrigation channels of different sizes called Sui, Ditch, Wei and Hui.

Parallel to the channel, there are also vertical and horizontal passages called diameters, boundaries, roads, and roads.

The size, depth and width of various channels have certain specifications.

"Your Majesty, I think that there is nothing wrong with the reform of abolishing the well fields and opening up rice fields so that the people can buy and sell."

Sun Wu, the royal censor, got up and said, "The well field system has already collapsed!"

"With the extensive use of more advanced agricultural tools, such as Quyuan plows and oxen, and the fact that the king has encouraged the reclamation of wasteland over the years, attracting refugees from all over the world to Wu, the cultivated land in our country of Wu has doubled."

"Thousands of wells work together to cultivate, and the collective labor form of ten thousand dimensional couples has long been outdated."

"Furthermore, in the first reform of the State of Wu, households were organized to equalize the people, and one household was established as the labor force. At this time, if the well fields are abolished and the rice fields are opened, so that the people can buy and sell, it is the right time!"

Fan Li, the internal historian of Zhisu, followed up and said, "Your Majesty, what the Yushi doctor said is very true."

"The inherent well field system is no longer applicable to the state of Wu. The well field system has already collapsed!"

"When King Gong of Zhou Dynasty was in power, many high officials forced the common people to reclaim open land other than well fields."

"The fields reclaimed in this way cannot be square and square, nor can they have a certain area. They are private properties that are kept from the public office and are not taxed. They are private fields!"

"People have soil and fields, but you have them. People have people, and you take them back."

"In the past, when King Huan of Zhou took Zheng Guo's land, he got the land of Su Qiu's resentment in Wang Jinei as an exchange. There were endless fights and lawsuits between ministers and officials for the land!"

"For example, Jin Queqi seized the five fields of Yiyang, but Queji competed with Changyujiao for the field; Zhou Ganren competed with Jin Yanjia for Yantian; Jin Xinghou and Yongzi competed for the land of Yan, I don't know how many."

"And opening and cultivating a large number of private fields will inevitably require a lot of manpower."

Fan Li talked eloquently, and said, "However, the people are not willing to devote all their efforts to the public land! Just like the third Huan of the Lu Kingdom, they bought the people's hearts by expanding the land without increasing the tax amount."

"In this way, the slaves have fled from the public office to the private door, is it the same?"

"good!"

Qingji nodded slightly.

Fan Li's words are so logical that no one can argue with them!
As a time traveler, Qingji knows that private ownership of land is the mainstream trend of history.

Not to mention slaves, they are free farmers who only have the right to use the land in their own name, but not the ownership of the land.

How does this make it?
This has greatly affected the enthusiasm of farmers.

The use of iron and the promotion of cattle farming brought convenience to people to open up vast mountains and forests and build large-scale water conservancy projects.

The area of ​​arable land and agricultural output have increased substantially, and the development of agriculture has made it possible for the small-scale farmers with one household as a unit and the small peasant class featuring self-employment to become the foundation of society!
"Ji Ran, Wen Zhong."

"Chen is here!"

Right Prime Minister Ji Ran and Zuo Prime Minister Wen Zhong hurriedly got up after their names were read.

"The two of you will be solely responsible for this matter."

"Sir, obey the king's orders!"

As a result, the next state of Wu will abolish the aristocratic well field system, open fields and borders, abolish slavery, state ownership of land, and implement private ownership of land. The state recognizes private land ownership and allows free trading!

……

After taking a short break, Qingji, surrounded by his ministers and guards, came to a thatched hut step by step.

At this time, many farmers were enjoying the cool in the grass shed and chatting with each other.

"You are?"

"Your Majesty is here, don't you hurry up and pay your respects?"

When they heard that Qingji was the king, the peasants in the hut became uneasy, and knelt down one after another, saying, "The grass people see the king! The king will last forever!"

"Don't be too polite."

Qing Ji gave a little support, then sat in the middle of the crowd, looked around, and said, "Second and third sons, don't be cautious. I'm here, I just want to know, do you have any objections to the latest decree issued by the government?"

"This……"

The farmers couldn't help but looked at each other, afraid to speak.

Qingji also knew what they were worried about, so he smiled slightly and said, "I, the Wu Kingdom, don't get offended by words. Therefore, I hope that the second and third sons can speak freely."

"Your Majesty is magnanimous!"

One of the old farmers bit the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, the grassroots dare not criticize the state affairs, but the government's new policy prohibits us and other farmers from entering the mountains, rivers, lakes and swamps to make a living. It is really wrong."

"Like me and other farmers, in my spare time, I can go to the mountains to cut firewood, hunt, or go fishing in the lake, and then sell the products in the market."

"However, with the new policy of the national government, we, the farmers who rely on mountains to eat mountains, and water to eat water, dare not take half a step closer to mountains and rivers!"

(End of this chapter)