Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 293 Further discussion
Zhao Zhen opened his eyes and looked. There were two riders in the front. The one on the left was wearing a bright green cotton shirt with stitched sleeves, a scarlet bag, a pair of black leather boots, and riding a black horse. He had bright eyes and was dark and thin. Who else could it be but Shi Qian?

The one on the right is different, wearing military uniform, silver helmet and silver armor, riding a five-bright yellow horse. Look closer: white teeth, red lips, handsome eyes, eyebrows are always clear, thin waist and broad shoulders like an ape. He doesn't look like a brave tiger minister, but a graceful scholar general.

Seeing Zhao Zhen and his entourage from a distance, the two of them rode forward. Hua Rong dismounted, and the others met on the side of the road, holding hands, and went to the military camp in Jingyang Town.

After some pushing and shoving, Wu Yong said, "Please take the seat at the head, my lord. Brother Hua Zhizhai and Brother Fu Yu will take the main seat on the left, and we will take the guest seats on the right."

Everyone sat down as instructed.

Hua Rong said, "I have heard a lot about your name in Qingfeng Village recently, and I admire you very much. I never thought that I would meet you here one day."

Zhao Zhen also said: "I have heard a lot from the merchants here that there is a young man in Qingfeng Village who protects the area with a silver spear, a bow and arrow on horseback. The strong men from the three evil mountains dare not approach him to rob. I have always wanted to make friends with him, but I have been tied up with various matters in the county and have never been able to rest. If it weren't for Brother Wu Yong to represent me, how could I have gathered with my brothers?"

"We have prepared a banquet today, firstly to welcome you, and secondly to celebrate your appointment as the village chief. From now on, we can be together from time to time."

After saying this, Wu Yong stood up and introduced the several heroes who had come with him. They said they had admired each other for a long time, and then they all went to the back to feast.

The soldiers who came with Hua Rong and their families were also settled in. After drinking until night, Zhao Zhen and others rested in Jingyang Town.

On the second day, Hua Rong found Zhao Zhen and said, "Sir, I have been managing Qingfeng Village for quite a while. The more than 300 men who came with me are all skilled in swords and bows and martial arts. After these people join the army, their families will be settled by you to put their minds at ease."

"When Yun Tianbiao left Jingyang Town, he also took many of his trusted soldiers with him. Unfortunately, he sold all the land to the wealthy families in the town, and there are not many lands in the town. If there are people willing to do business, there are still some vacant shops in the town. If you want to farm, you can only go to Liangshan County or Dulonggang. There are many wastelands in these two places, and you can settle them, but they are thirty to fifty miles away from here."

As the two were talking, Wu Yong came in waving a feather fan. Seeing Zhao Zhen frowning, Wu Yong asked a few questions and said with a smile, "How could you forget, sir? After the disbanding of the Yangyang Town Army, they all moved to various places in Liangshan County to farm. When I was training the imperial army these days, I informed the town that in addition to purchasing land and houses, villages in Liangshan County can also rent 30 acres of land with low taxes and no exorbitant fees. Many landless farmers and fifth-class households have signed up to move to Liangshan and rent farmland in the county. I'm afraid that the rich families here will not have enough farmers to hire to farm next year. I also asked people to secretly publicize the land policy of Liangshan, and many wealthy families are ready to sell their excess land to the government. It will not be difficult to settle the families of the soldiers brought by Hua Zhizhai."

Zhao Zhen smiled and said, "This is the best. The soldiers' families will be on the side, so they can be together during their rest days."

Wu Yong said, "Sir, this Jingyang Town is not a newly built place after all. There are three first-class households with more than 400 mu of land in the town, seven second-class households with 150 to 400 mu of land, and 50 third-class households with 150 to 24 mu of land. These families are different from the Li Ying brothers and Hujiazhuang. They are all farm families. They pass down farming and reading from generation to generation and do not engage in business. Although they have also come to consult Liangshan County's land policy and have said that they will sell the excess land to the government, looking at their expressions, they are all dissatisfied. It's good for us to be in charge of the army now, but I'm afraid these people will collude with outsiders and cause harm in the future."

Zhao Zhen frowned even more after hearing this: "I have never considered what you said. Liangshan County is a newly developed area after all. Most of the farmers originally had no land to cultivate. Now there are so many landlords in Jingyang Town. If we cannot handle them properly, I am afraid that the resistance will be much greater if we expand outward in the future. Do you have any countermeasures?"

Wu Yong said: "We were thinking of this hindrance, so we didn't move rashly."

Hua Rong said: "Isn't it the same as always, collecting taxes based on the amount of land?"

Zhao Zhen said: "Brother, we understand this principle, but the reality is not like this. The rich have more land and more income every year, so they get richer as time goes by, while the poor are just the opposite. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. If this continues, the poor will have no place to live and will probably rise up in rebellion."

"Therefore, since the establishment of the county, I, the military advisor, the county magistrate and others have decided that ordinary farmers in the county can only buy 20 acres of land, and military households can buy 300 acres more. If they buy more, they will have to serve in the county. For example, the Li Ying brothers only kept acres of good land, and the rest were sold to the county at the price of the land." Wu Yong continued, "Unfortunately, not everyone is like the Li Ying brothers. For example, these rich families have accumulated land for several generations. Now they have to give it up suddenly, and I am afraid they will complain. Now it seems that the land policy formulated in Liangshan County at the beginning still has shortcomings and has not taken into account the current situation."

Hua Rong heard this and said, "This kind of land will definitely need someone to work on it, right? As long as the rent for the land in the county is lower, I think the farmers will first rent the land in the county. If the rich families don't have anyone to farm the land, they will just buy it themselves."

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "That's a good idea, but I still need to think about it. After all, it will not be good for your reputation if it gets out."

Wu Yong smiled and said, "Sir, after hearing what Hua Zhizhai said, I think it is feasible, but it does not mean reducing the land rent."

Zhao Zhen asked hurriedly: "Speak quickly, scholar."

"Sir, most people in the world are after profit. I don't think it's necessary to limit the land area, but just the price of land. The government divides farm households into five categories. The fifth-category households with less than 30 mu are considered semi-self-cultivating, and those with 50 to 50 mu are self-sufficient. It's better to limit the land to 50 mu, and buy land below 50 mu according to the current price. The price of 150 to 150 mu will be doubled, and the price of 400 to 400 mu will be doubled again, and the price of 1000 mu and above will be doubled again, and the price of 10000 mu and above will be doubled again, and the price of mu and above will be doubled again. This will naturally limit the purchase of land from the root. The county government only needs to collect taxes according to the area of ​​land."

Zhao Zhen said: "If the price of a paddy field is 5 guan, then wouldn't it cost 160 guan per acre for these mu of land?"

Wu Yong said: "That's right. The county has also recognized the land in the hands of these rich families, and will handle it accordingly. In order to prevent private transactions, land transactions must go through the county government in the future. All private transactions are strictly prohibited. Land cannot be given away in any form. Once discovered, the land will be confiscated and a heavy fine will be imposed. And once the family is divided, if the land exceeds 400 mu, no less than 50 mu must be given to the children to ensure the daily needs of the children after the division. As for marriage, the gift of land will also be subject to heavy taxes."

Zhao Zhen heard this and said, "We need to discuss this with the scholars and the county officials and then promulgate it. In this case, Brother Li Ying will suffer a little. You should discuss with brothers Xiao Rang and return the land to Brother Li Ying."

Wu Yong nodded and said, "There is a way to solve this problem. I came here today to remind you that it's time to prepare for the trip to Tai'an Prefecture."

"Everyone says Mr. Wu Yong is wiser than Zhuge Liang, but I didn't believe it at first. But after seeing him today, I realize that his reputation is truly justified. I heard from the military advisor that the master is going to Tai'an Prefecture to burn incense?"

At that moment, Wu Yong told Hua Rong about Ren Yuan, the pillar of heaven, inviting people from all over the world to sumo wrestle. Hua Rong said, "I have heard of this before. Ren Yuan is a great hero. When the master is leaving, I will take my wife and sister to burn incense together."

Zhao Zhen said, "Today is the 24th. Xuejiu, go and see how many brothers want to go. I will go with you. Let's prepare today and set off tomorrow."

Wu Yong said, "You don't have to go all the time. Leave half of the brothers to take charge and go next year. My dear sir, Brother Hua Rong wants to bring his family with him. I wonder if Madam wants to go?"

"These past few days I have only been thinking about Brother Hua Rong coming. I will go back and ask him and ask him to bring his family with him. If so, we may not be able to reach Tai'an Prefecture in one day. We need to prepare everything we need for the journey."

Zhao Zhen asked Hua Rong to make preparations and he returned to Baishi Manor with his guards.

(End of this chapter)