big song poppi

Chapter 22 0021 [Measuring the Field]

Zhu Zhengze's skin was dark, with several calluses on his rough palms.

Not like a scholar, but more like a farmer.

Standing there quietly at the moment, not speaking.

Han Zhen looked him up and down, and asked, "I have a job here with a monthly salary of [-] Wen. Would you like to do it?"

Zhu Zhengze's reaction seemed to be half a beat slow. After a few seconds, he shook his head: "If it's a job, what should I do with the family's fields?"

Han Zhen was speechless for a moment.

The chief at the side couldn't see it, and scolded: "You ramming goods, since you have wages, why don't you rent the land to others to grow?"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhengze thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Good!"

It's really stupid to read.

There is no way, there is only one scholar in the village, let's make do with it.

Anyway, I don't expect him to do anything, as long as he can write.

"Since you agree, you will be a village secretary from now on, and will follow me and be responsible for recording documents."

After explaining a few more words to Fang Sansan, the three of Han Zhen took paper, pens and tools and went out to measure the field.

The tool used to measure fields in ancient times is called a step bow, which looks like a drawn long bow.

The distance between two bow feet is one bow.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the official standard was that five feet was one bow, and 360 bows were one mile.

The step bows are made by the government and distributed to counties and villages. It is a felony to make step bows privately.

This is to prevent some big landlords from deliberately making their bows bigger so that they can measure more fields for themselves.

Xiaowang Village is in the middle of the mountain, so the fields are scattered, a few acres here, a few acres there, and some are even on the mountainside.

Han Zhen's plan is to take the mansion as the center point and measure it from top to bottom.

When the group came to the halfway up the mountain, Han Zhen pointed to a field in front of him and asked, "Whose field is this?"

Before the village chief could answer, he saw a man and a woman from a family walking towards the field with hoes on their shoulders.

Seeing the three of them holding walking bows, the two of them looked puzzled, the man stepped forward and asked cautiously: "Li Zhang, what are you doing in my field?"

"Measuring the field."

Hearing Li Chang's words, the man's face changed, his eyes were full of surprise.

Seeing this, Han Zhen smiled and comforted: "Don't be nervous, just measure the field and ask some questions."

The man said anxiously: "What does Mr. Xiao Lang want to ask?"

"What's your name?"

"Wang Xiao."

"How old are you?"

"24... No, it's 25."

"What are the names of the members of the family..."

After questioning and answering, Wang Xiao explained the situation at home carefully.

He didn't dare to hide it or make it up, because the head of the village was next to him, they belonged to the same village, and they knew each other well.

After asking, Han Zhen turned to look at Zhu Zhengze: "Have you written it down?"

Zhu Zheng nodded.

Han Zhen was still a little worried, and looked at the paper with his head.

Not to mention, Zhu Zhengze is dull, but he writes very beautifully in small script, and according to the format he said earlier, he recorded all the information of Wang Xiao's family verbatim.

Han Zhen nodded in satisfaction, and began to measure the field with his step bow.

After measuring, the three hurried to the next field, leaving Wang Xiao and his wife staring at each other.

The woman wondered, "What are they doing?"

"Who knows, as long as our family has a lot of land."

After muttering something, Wang Xiao started to work with a hoe in his hand.

……

With the help of the head of the village, the land survey and household registration can be carried out at the same time, and the progress is extremely fast.

Even if it is an uninhabited field, the village head can tell exactly whose family it is, how many people it is, and when it fled into the mountains.

By noon, Han Zhen had already measured one-third of the fields in the village.

The progress is faster than he expected, and it is estimated that all the measurements will be finished before the evening.

At this moment, the three of them were sitting and resting under the shade of a tree.

"Second brother Han, we are here to help you."

Ma Sangou's voice sounded.

The five trotted to the shade of the tree, and the monkey immediately handed over a cloth bag and a jar of water.

Opening the cloth bag and seeing steamed buns inside, Han Zhen took out two and handed them to Li Chang and Zhu Zhengze beside him.

"Thank you Xiaolang... the village chief."

The head of the village took the steamed buns and thanked them.

Zhu Zhengze looked at the steamed bun in his hand, got up and ran.

This sudden scene made everyone stunned and looked at each other in blank dismay.

Soon, Zhu Zhengze came back and sat down panting.

Han Zhen couldn't help asking, "What are you running for?"

As usual, Zhu Zhengze was stunned for a few seconds, and then he replied out of breath: "The village chief is sorry, but because my mother is not yet hungry, I can't bear my mother's hunger, so I am a little anxious."

He is a pure and filial person.

"Eat."

Handing him another steamed bun, Han Zhen turned around and asked, "Did all the family take it?"

"Here we go."

Monkey and Xiaochong nodded.

"Is there any news from the county seat?"

Hearing Han Zhen's question, the Li Chang beside him couldn't help pricking up his ears.

Ma Sangou smiled proudly: "The gang of thieves and birds in the county government were scared out of their wits. I heard from the people in Xiaochong Village that the city gate has been closed since we left. On the way back just now, I went to take a look, and it hasn't opened yet."

Han Zhen couldn't help but nodded, it seemed that it was almost the same as what he expected.

The reason for this is that the defense of the county is empty.

The Northern Song Dynasty was a typical example of strong cadres and weak branches. There were no troops stationed in the county seat, and the only defensive forces were a few government servants and archers recruited from the countryside.

What's the use of just a dozen archers?

The combat power is not as good as the nursing home in the home of a wealthy gentry.

It's no wonder that Song Jiang was able to traverse three states and ten counties with only 36 bandits under his command.

If he hadn't met Zhang Shuye, he might have been able to enjoy himself for a while.

Moreover, in the next period of time, there will be no peace in the county town. I am afraid that there will be some open and secret struggles, and no one has the energy to pay attention to this remote village.

"Second brother Han, just rest, we will measure the fields for you."

As Gu Song said, he was going to get the walking bow on the ground, but was stopped by Han Zhen: "No, I have another task for you."

"What mission?"

Several people's eyes lit up immediately.

Han Zhen waved to them, and said seriously: "Go to the mountain, carefully examine the terrain in the mountain, and come back and tell me."

This is just in case, if the officers and soldiers call, Xiaowang Village can't hold it anymore, and they won't be blinded by retreating into the mountains.

"it is good!"

Seeing his serious expression, Ma Sangou and the others dared not neglect, and nodded in response.

Han Zhen warned again: "Be careful, don't be brave when you encounter wild animals. If you encounter escapees, you can tell them about the situation in Xiaowang Village. As long as the escapees are willing to go down the mountain, they will promise to plant two acres of dry land and return five buckets of rice."

Two acres of barren land and five buckets of rice, this is Han Zhen's method of attracting fleeing households.

There are countless barren fields in the village, and there will always be a day when they will be allotted, but when that time comes, these methods are no longer needed, and the fleeing households in the mountains will spontaneously go down the mountain to seek refuge.

"Second Brother Han, let's go."

The five of them took the plain knife and went straight to the mountain.

The head of the village chewed on the steamed buns, and thoughtfully said: "The village head wants to catch up the escaped households in the mountains?"

"That's right!"

Han Zhen said with a smile: "The head of the village can tell the villagers that if they can attract a fleeing household, they can come to me for a regular reward. If the fleeing household is a blacksmith or a scholar, the reward will be doubled!"

Relying on Masangou and the others alone will not be able to bring in a few fleeing households, and we still have to mobilize the power of the masses.

Moreover, they are outsiders, and let Ma Sangou and the others talk about the hype, and the fleeing households probably don't believe it. They just want to trick them into going down the mountain and arrest them from the government to collect rewards.

But if the villagers of Xiaowang Village tried to persuade them, the effect would be completely different.

"really?"

Li Zhang stood up with a jerk.

A family who flees the same money, and blacksmiths and scholars double it. This money is equivalent to giving away for nothing.

Who doesn't know how many escaped families in the mountains?

You must know that life for fugitives in the mountains is not easy, and many necessities are not available in the mountains.

Always need salt, right?

Reclaiming wasteland also requires farm tools, right?

There are none in these mountains, so you can only find familiar villagers to exchange them.

Han Zhen nodded and said, "Sure enough!"

After receiving a positive reply, the chief's hands were shaking with excitement. If it wasn't for the need to measure the fields, he would have gone to the mountains by now.

(End of this chapter)