I seek economic hegemony in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 452 The Agricultural Revolution brought about by iron smelting

"The second is that Cao Wei is now threatening the Gongqing family with the land equalization system to make them firmly oppose us."

Zhuge Liang briefly and comprehensively stated the current objections of these people in the Han Dynasty to the equal land system.

After speaking, Zhuge Liang picked up the wine glass and stopped mentioning the matter: "Ji'an, come, let's drink this glass of wine, and we will talk about this later."

Li Heng immediately raised his glass.

Obviously, Zhuge Liang didn't want to mention this matter today.

Zhuge Liang's unwillingness to mention it doesn't mean that others are unwilling to mention it.

Taichang Du Qiong said: "General, Chen Shangshu just mentioned the equalization of land. Now that the matter is serious, I am brave enough to express my thoughts."

Seeing that Du Qiong stood up and spoke out, Li Heng knew that many officials in the Han Dynasty had ideas.

When Li Heng purged the Yizhou family, Du Qiong had something in his hands.

"The Emperor is here, and the Prime Minister is by his side. If you have any clever ideas for reviving the country, why do you need to ask me for instructions? Just tell me."

As soon as Chen Zhi said this, some officials seemed to have been given a shot of blood and nodded repeatedly.

After the atmosphere team enlivened the atmosphere, Du Qiong changed the topic and said: "But so far, there are different voices in the court. They may not be adopted, but I hope the general will listen."

"It is true that the soldiers of Juntian Mansion have brought many benefits to my big man, but from time to time, I feel that this should be improved without affecting the strength of the army."

Li Heng said.

Du Qiong's words were righteous and stern, and his voice was sonorous and powerful.

"General, I feel that under the equal land system, there have been many situations where people have land but cannot complete farming."

"Subsequently, using Jingzhou's soldiers, they marched into the Central Plains and went to Yangzhou!"

It can be said that he has made great contributions.

"We were able to establish a foothold in Jingzhou because the general also implemented the land equalization system in Jingzhou and obtained sufficient soldiers."

However, Li Heng reached a compromise with Du Qiong out of consideration for the overall situation.

In these years, Du Qiong also exerted his energy greatly in Yizhou, helping Li Heng promote the construction of business routes from Chengdu, Chongqing to Jiangling.

The speaker was Chen Zhi who was interrupted by Li Heng just now. He saw that many people were eager to try and thought that the opportunity had come again.

"Thanks to your Majesty's love and the Prime Minister's mercy, the Han Dynasty has been revived. From the temples to the rivers and lakes, everyone worked together, and it is not my fault alone!"

Having said this, Chen Zhi sighed, with a heartbroken look on his face.

"In recent years, the land equalization system and the government army system proposed by the general have made great achievements for the Han Dynasty. The ability to regain Jingzhou is because the government army system provided sufficient sources of troops and improved the soldiers' willingness to fight."

As soon as everyone heard that General Sima had such a grand structure, they immediately became excited and started to make moves.

"Food is the most important thing for the people and food is the foundation of the country. However, the fields are idle every year. This is really a waste."

Li Heng said: "Du Taichang just said it doesn't matter."

At this point, everyone nodded in praise.

"Xiaguan is by no means groundless." Chen Zhi said, "Xiaguan visited more than 30 families in Pi County this year. Twenty-two of them could only cultivate more than 30 acres of land, and there were still more than ten acres. The land was lying idle, so I went to ask the people, and they said they couldn't cultivate it all."

"Yes! It should be perfected!"

Another official put down the wine glass in his hand and said boldly: "Before, it was because the imperial court continued to attack Yizhou. Now the imperial court has recovered Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Guanzhong, and more and more fields are involved."

“For every additional household with equal land, more than ten acres of land are wasted.”

The person who spoke was Fan Jian, the Minister of Household Affairs.

"In this way, the court's tax revenue has also been reduced a lot for no reason."

"Yeah yeah!"

Everyone also followed suit.

"So, you think that the land equalization system divides the land by households, and one family cannot cultivate so much land. This policy needs to be changed, right?"

"Yes, General."

It was Fan Jian who spoke.

"In the past, many people worked together in a manor or a fort, and they could cooperate with each other to cultivate every acre of land." "Then in Fan Shangshu's opinion, how to solve it?" Li Heng asked.

"The lower official thought that we only need to merge them and farm them together."

"How to merge?" Li Heng asked again.

"Merge according to the rules."

In the Han Dynasty, there were twenty-five households in one li.

"After the merger, are you sure that farming will be completed?"

"Based on past circumstances, it's okay."

"How many people did it take to cultivate fifty acres of land in the past?"

"This..." Fan Jian paused, "In the past fifty acres of land, about five adult men worked together to cultivate it."

"Does one person farm ten acres on average?"

"Yes."

Fan Jian said: "Now there are about three to four people in each household who can farm, but according to the current situation, each household still has one to two people working in the workshop, which will also have a great impact on farming. "

"Can each household be allocated less land?"

This time it was Zhu Ju who spoke.

As a surrender minister of Wu State, Zhu Ju actually knew the land equalization system very well, because Zhu Ju is now in charge of the equalization of land in Yangzhou.

"If each household is allocated less land, there will still be leftover land." Fan Jian said, "Now there are more fields and fewer people."

Zhu Zhi said: "According to my understanding, there are many fields, probably because the curved shaft plow was popularized, making it easier to cultivate fields than in the past."

"Yes, but it is a fact that there are many fields, and it is also a fact that people cannot cultivate to their full potential."

"Your Majesty, I have concerns."

This time, it was Du Yu who spoke.

Liu Chan knew Du Yu. Du Yu was the governor of Jingzhou, and his father Du Shu was now an important minister of the Han Dynasty.

"What doubts does Du Qing have?" Liu Chan asked.

Du Yu said: "I am in Jingzhou. The people of Jingzhou are allotted fifty acres of land, but they can cultivate it. Why can't Yizhou cultivate it?"

As soon as he said this, the ministers were surprised.

"Can it be done in Jingzhou?" Fan Jian asked.

"Anything goes!"

The ministers immediately started discussing.

Fan Jian asked: "General, can Jingzhou really do it?"

"can do."

"What about Yangzhou?"

"Yangzhou can't do it for the time being," Li Heng said.

"Why is it only possible in Jingzhou?"

Even Zhuge Liang couldn't help asking at this time.

"Because every household in Jingzhou now has its own farm tools, all the farm tools." Li Heng said, "I just asked Fan Shangshu how many acres of land one person can cultivate on average. It is for this reason."

"Every household has its own farm tools, and all the farm tools?" Fan Jian was shocked, "Is the general serious?"

"How could I talk nonsense about such an important thing?"

"How does Jingzhou do it?"

Du Yu and Li Heng looked at each other, and Du Yu said: "The amount of iron smelted in Jingzhou Iron Smelting Factory now far exceeds that in the past. I remember that the book on blast furnace iron smelting was sent to Yizhou at the beginning of this year."

(End of this chapter)