Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 899 0894 [The acres of land in Jiangxi are getting smaller and smaller]

Luoyang Imperial City, imperial meeting.

Bai Chongyan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, took the work report sent back by Wei Liangchen and said to the emperor and all the ministers present: "This time in Zhangtian, Jiangxi, a lot of hidden fields were found. Although the inventory has not been completed, the total area of ​​cultivated land is estimated to be Reduce millions of acres.”

Many hidden fields were identified, but the total cultivated land area was reduced?
The ministers were startled when they heard this.

When Zhu Ming first learned about this situation, he also felt it was very outrageous and even suspected that Wei Liangchen was indiscriminately clearing his father.

Bai Chongyan took the field report and continued: "During the former Song Dynasty, Jiangxi's field roots and fields were very chaotic, and there were many duplications in official statistics. The gentry and the big families colluded with the officials, which aggravated the confusion and spread taxes to ordinary people. Next. In addition, for the sake of political performance, officials in the former Song Dynasty deliberately increased the number of acres of land and forcibly allocated taxes according to the tax amount. By the Ming Dynasty, Jiangxi officials had difficulty in checking the acres of land and could not figure out the actual amount of cultivated land. The tax amount was generally based on the area of ​​​​the former Song Dynasty. collection."

Prime Minister Liu Yao couldn't laugh or cry, and concluded: "In other words, we have clarified the land acres in Jiangxi, but the total land tax in Jiangxi will be reduced."

"Yes," Bai Chongyan nodded, "land taxes will be reduced by about two-fifteenths, and the number of farmland acres will be reduced by about six million (Song acres). These six million acres of farmland in Jiangxi were added out of thin air by the officials of the former Song Dynasty. If it weren’t for this time, no one would be able to figure out how much the increase was, not even the local officials and gentry.”

Fang Mengqing sighed: "For more than a hundred years, farmers in Jiangxi have been subject to expropriation of land and taxes!"

Ju Ming tapped his fingers on the table: "Actually, it's not just Jiangxi. Sichuan and Zhejiang also have similar situations, but they're just not as outrageous as Jiangxi."

It's not just outrageous, it's downright outrageous.

Due to slight differences in statistical units in the past dynasties, all cultivated land areas are converted into square meters.

During the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the total cultivated land area of ​​Jiangxi was 2665 billion square meters (excluding Jiujiang, Poyang, Jingdezhen, Shangrao and other places, which belonged to Jiangdong Road at that time).

During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, the total cultivated land area in Jiangxi was 2473 billion square meters.

During the epidemic in New China, the total cultivated land area in Jiangxi was 2927 billion square meters.

From the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, to the Republic of China and New China, the cultivated land in Jiangxi has been increasing. Even after the reform, land was occupied to build commercial housing and infrastructure, but the total area of ​​cultivated land in Jiangxi has always been increasing.

If Jiujiang, Shangrao and other places are included in the cultivated land in Jiangxi during the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the total area actually exceeded that during the epidemic period in New China!
This is impossible because the vast southern Jiangxi area was not fully developed until the middle of the Ming Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was still a continuous primitive mountain forest.

It's definitely not a statistical error.

Take Fujian as an example. During the epidemic in New China, the area of ​​cultivated land doubled compared to the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song Dynasty!
Not to mention the low development level of Fujian in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was famous for its large number of people and limited land. A large number of Fujian farmers even went to Guangdong to reclaim wasteland.

Comparing the two, you can see how outrageous the number of acres in Jiangxi is.

On one side, Jiangxi's wealthy families are hiding their land, and on the other side, Jiangxi's cultivated land has been falsely increased by millions of acres by officials.

The life of farmers in Jiangxi can be imagined.

Bai Chongyan continued: "Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, due to the effective promotion of sweet potatoes and corn, hundreds of thousands of acres of new mountainous land have been added in Jiangxi. In the past two years, the new mountainous land in Nangan Prefecture has increased rapidly. There are not many wealthy families there, and the government They also encouraged reclamation of wasteland, and both prefects managed it effectively, so this time the land was cleared at the fastest speed.”

Nanganfu is southern Gansu, which was formed by the merger of Nan'an Army and Qianzhou (Ganzhou) in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The degree of desolation there can be seen from the setting up of county-level units.

Counties such as Chongyi, Quannan, Dingnan, and Xunwu have not been established yet, and the county seats are all on the scale of villages and towns. Some places are simply small villages, with only a few dozen households in the village.

Ju Ming said: "Written the results of Jiangxi's land expansion into an edict and tell the world. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the people of Jiangxi can pay six million acres less in land tax, and hundreds of thousands of acres of dry land have been added!"

This result is really dumbfounding.

The imperial court made great efforts to establish land in Jiangxi. As a result, the number of acres decreased and the total land tax also dropped sharply.

Thankless!

Which dynasty's monarchs and ministers are willing to do this?

Zhu Ming said to the ministers: "This is very worthwhile. The Ming Dynasty is not the Sui Dynasty, and I am not Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. I will not blindly ask for an increase in the number of acres. It is as much as it should be. The court seems to have suffered a loss, but the hidden land of the rich family has been It was found out that the people in Jiangxi paid more taxes. How much less tax could the people of Jiangxi pay? The people in Jiangxi have become richer. As long as they pay taxes according to the law, the whole of Jiangxi will become richer."

"When people have extra money and food, they are more willing to cultivate wasteland for production and buy commercial goods. Industry and commerce will be more prosperous, and commercial taxes can also be collected. Gentlemen, please think about it, is this true?"

This is true benevolent government, and the ministers are convinced: "Your Majesty is wise!"

The discussion on Jiangxi matters has been completed.

Zhang Guangdao, Secretary of the Ministry of War, said: "Yang Zaixing conquered Annan and won several battles. He has conquered Shenglong Mansion, the capital of Annan. The leader of Annan promised to return the lost land of the former Song Dynasty and ceded the important gates of Menzhou and Langzhou. In addition..."

Zhang Guangdao's expression was a little strange: "In addition, Lord Annan, please give your biological mother to me, the Ming Dynasty Emperor, as your concubine."

As soon as these words came out, all the cabinet ministers were stunned.

Huan Guo, the Minister of Rites, sneered: "They are indeed barbarians, and they dare to call themselves Little China in the South of China."

Zhang Shuye, who was already old, asked: "Even if you want to offer a beauty, you should offer a young woman. Why do you offer the Queen Mother Annan?" Zhang Guangdao explained: "Yang Zaixing said in the victory document that the Queen Mother Annan had a vision when she was born. Shi Zeng concluded that it was of great value. The Lord of Annan was so frightened that he did not dare to leave his biological mother behind. Since the woman was over thirty years old, it was not convenient for her to be presented to the Holy Emperor, so she boldly presented it to me, the Ming Dynasty Emperor."

"It's really funny." Zhao Quan, the cabinet minister, laughed.

Chen Dong said: "The Lord of Annan violates human ethics and filial piety. This woman must not be accepted."

"The one who violated filial piety is the Lord of Annan. What does it have to do with our Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Ming said with a wicked sense of humor, "This woman can be taken in. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, we must aggrieve the Supreme Emperor."

Huan Guo asked: "Your Majesty understands the six classics, don't you know that the two sons are riding in the boat? The Lord of Annan is as shameless as Duke Hui of Wei!"

Ju Ming said: "It is not Duke Hui of Wei who marries his mother, but Duke Xiang of Qi who marries his sister. With your comparison, do you mean to compare the Supreme Emperor to Uncle Wei Zhao?"

"I don't dare, it's just that it goes against human ethics and filial piety." Huan Guo said.

Ju Ming said: "As I said, the one who violated filial piety is the leader of Annan, and has nothing to do with my Ming Dynasty."

The story told by the monarch and his minister is very famous in the Book of Songs.

But it was Duke Xuan of Wei who married his father's concubine and gave birth to three sons: Gongzi Ji, Gongzi Qianmu, and Gongzi Wan.

When Prince Ji grew up, he asked to marry the princess of Qi.

Duke Xuang of Wei heard that the princess was very beautiful, so he snatched the fiancée of his son from his mother-in-law when she was getting married. The princess was then called Xuan Jiang.

Duke Xuan of Wei and Xuan Jiang gave birth to two more sons: Gongzi Shou and Gongzi Shuo.

Young Master Shuo wanted to succeed to the throne, so he snitched all day long and instigated Duke Xuan of Wei to kill Young Master Ji.

Prince Shou couldn't bear it, so he pretended to be Prince Ji and died on his behalf. Prince Ji did not want to live, so he revealed his identity and was killed by an assassin.

Prince Shuo successfully succeeded to the throne, but was driven away by Prince Qian Mou and fled to his uncle Qi Xianggong.

In order to help his nephew regain the throne, Duke Xiang of Qi actually married his sister Xuanjiang to Gongzi Wan, and used Gongzi Wan's power to kill Qian Mou.

Well, this relationship is a bit messy.

It goes something like this: Xuan Jiang's new husband is not only her stepson, but also the half-brother of her original fiancé, and the son of her former father-in-law and first husband's marriage to his aunt.

By the way, Xuan Jiang's brother Qi Xianggong also played very fancy-not only did the brother and sister have sex, but he also killed the brother-in-law of the victim.

Seeing that the ministers couldn't stand it, Ju Ming smiled and said: "According to the information sent back, the leader of Annan is addicted to wine and sex, and may not live a long life. His uncle Du Yingwu became more and more favored, and not only gradually took control of the government , and was awarded military power last year. If the Queen Mother of Annan marries the Ming Dynasty, and the leader of Annan has a slight surprise, his uncle Du Yingwu will most likely wear a yellow robe!"

Huan Guo hesitated to speak. He couldn't stand the behavior of Lord Annan, but at this moment he felt that he could accept this woman.

He actively supports external expansion!
After the imperial meeting dispersed, Liu Yao convened the ministers for a meeting in the cabinet and warned: "This matter will not be brought to light, and you must not spread it outside."

"It will never be spread to outsiders!" the ministers said.

They are all important ministers of the cabinet. They certainly don't dare to talk about such a bizarre incident. They also have to preserve the perfect moral body of the Supreme Emperor.

But Zhu Ming happily ran to tell his father the good news. The father and son were cleaning the BMW in the secret room: "Dean Zhu, I got you another concubine."

"As I get older, there are too many women to deal with." Zhu Guoxiang did not refuse, and even swallowed quietly.

Ju Ming said: "It was donated by the Annan Kingdom. I heard that she is the most beautiful woman in Annan. Moreover, this will help to annex Annan. This woman's identity is very special."

Zhu Guoxiang walked down the steps: "Since it will help the country, I can accept it. It's just an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks."

"Then it's settled." Ju Ming smiled cheekily. He wanted to see his father's expression when he learned the truth.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "Half of the Wangchuan Villa has been built. I plan to move there in the spring of next year. I will no longer care about Luoyang."

Ju Ming said: "Come back and see me occasionally."

"It depends on the situation. If you get bored over there, come back." Zhu Guoxiang continued to scratch the car.

Just when his son left the secret room, Zhu Guoxiang suddenly asked: "Isn't that Vietnamese beauty a widow again? Don't ruin my reputation!"

Ju Ming said: "Don't worry, a foreign woman will not be spread in Luoyang."

"That's good... No, you are really a fucking widow again!" Zhu Guoxiang was quite angry.

Ju Ming laughed, opened the door and escaped from the secret room.

(End of this chapter)