Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 153 Liaodong Farming Policy
How to implement the well-field system is a very complicated matter.

All the ministers knew that it was impossible to completely copy the ancient system. Wang Mang's failure in reforming the system had already proved this.

So they began to discuss and launch their own well-field system plan.

Although Zhu Youjian had a plan in mind, he did not say it out at this time. I plan to let the government and the opposition discuss it carefully and listen to everyone's opinions.

The topic of the well-field system can completely cover up the various reforms he proposed. Completely cover up the Mokan Law, the Martial Law Law, and the affairs of Liaodong.

At the same time, after the well-field system was proposed, no one objected to the state ownership of land anymore——

The state-owned land outside the customs was thus determined.

After the meeting was over, the ministers were allowed to discuss the well-field system with others. Zhu Youjian said:
"What is the current policy on farming?"

“How is output distributed?”

Sun Chengzong was practicing farming in Liaodong, so of course it was up to him to answer:

"According to the regulations set during the Yongle period, the officers and soldiers in the field were divided into fifty acres, and they paid twelve shi of regular grain and six shi of surplus grain every year."

"Each army received fifty acres of land as one share, and were given cattle and farm tools, and were taught how to plant trees, and were given rent and taxes."

"Now there are more than 5,000 hectares of military settlements, with more than 10,000 points, and a harvest of 180,000 shi of grain every year."

Zhu Youjian listened to this number and calculated in his mind. Fifty acres of land in Liaodong could harvest an average of 75 dan. If he paid 18 dan, the tax rate would be 24%.

This tax rate is not high, Zhu Youjian asked:
"The soldiers who cultivated fifty acres of land only had to pay eighteen shi of grain. Where did the rest of the grain go?"

"Do other health stations also have this system? Why are military households fleeing one after another even though the tax rate is not high?"

This problem was really too big. Sun Chengzong thought that the Liaodong generals' Yang Lian farmland would have to be moved to the interior, so he replied:
"A lot of the land raised by border ministers were actually military villages."

"In addition to paying grain, the soldiers stationed in the fields also have to pay the border ministers."

"Liaodong's newly established garrisons are in a better situation. There are indeed some military households in the border towns who have fled."

Now Zhu Youjian understood that it was still the general who invaded and forced the military households to flee.

If this were not the case, how could the military households be so poor that they would have to flee if they had land to cultivate?

He even felt that it was right to move the general's Yanglian farmland to the interior. Zhu Youjian said:
"All Liaodong's land that is raised and cultivated will be moved to the interior."

"From now on, the Land Affairs Department of the Hujun Prefecture will collect grain specifically. Other than that, no one is allowed to collect taxes from the soldiers in the field."

"Officers in the field do not pay any extra land except for the surplus grain."

After setting this system, Zhu Youjian asked Sun Chengzong:

"Can this policy be implemented in Liaodong?"

This is a great thing to reduce the burden on the officers and soldiers in the field. If there is no interference from the generals, it can certainly be carried out.

Sun Chengzong thought of the various policies the emperor had introduced to rectify the generals in Liaodong, and knew that as long as he completed that matter, this matter would be a matter of course.

Just thinking of his previous promise, Sun Chengzong said:

"Your Majesty has reduced the burden on the officers and soldiers in the field, and I would like to express my gratitude to them."

"But His Majesty said before that all the remaining grain will be collected, so I dare to ensure that Liaodong is self-sufficient in food."

"Now that they are all converted into military camps, they collect 18 dan per cent. Even if there are 10,000 hectares of cultivated land, only 360,000 dan of grain can be collected."

"The soldiers of Liaodong cannot be self-sufficient with these grains."

This is a change of law to ask for pay. Zhu Youjian frowned and calculated carefully. He needed 20,000 hectares of military garrison in Liaodong to collect 720,000 shi of grain to meet the needs of the soldiers.

But this is only the food for the soldiers. If horse feed is included, more land is needed.

Land cannot be created out of thin air, but after it is nationalized, it can be reclaimed. Zhu Youjian said:
“How many people are needed to cultivate ten thousand hectares of land?”

"Can the rest of the Liao people reclaim wasteland?"

Sun Chengzong did the math and replied:

"There are about 50,000 or 60,000 households of 300,000 Liao residents. Each household can farm fifty acres, so 20,000 households of Liao residents are needed."

"The remaining 30,000 to 40,000 households can reclaim wasteland."

"But most of them don't have cattle, seeds, or farm tools, so they need the government to provide them."

As long as it can be cultivated, the length of the area currently occupied by the Ming Dynasty outside Shanhaiguan in Liaodong is about 400 miles, and the width of the flat coastal plain is about 30 miles, which is 12,000 square miles and 45,000 hectares of land.

Although it is impossible for all of this land to be used for farming, if you include the hills to the west, there is a lot of land that can be cultivated. There are definitely people hiding the 10,000 hectares of cultivated land now.

Thinking again that some new crops such as sweet potatoes can be grown on land that was not suitable for farming before, Zhu Youjian said:
"I authorize the people of Liaodong to reclaim land outside the customs."

"The cultivated land will be exempted from all taxes for the first three years. After three years, it will be treated as a military camp."

"To identify who cultivated these lands, they only need to pay for the restoration of Liao land for more than ten years. After the restoration of Liao, the land will be distributed to them."

"The wasteland is confirmed by household, and each household has the highest mine field." When they heard about the mine field again, the ministers were excited. Xue Fengxiang, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, offered advice:

"In the fourth year of Hongwu's reign, for farming in Henan, Shandong and other places, those who were given cattle by the officials would be taxed 10% and 50%, and those who provided their own cattle would be taxed 30%."

"Your Majesty should treat the land provided by the government for farming cattle and seeds as a separate matter, and charge it with a tax of 10% and 50%."

This is a method that can increase the amount of grain collected and is also conducive to the promotion of new crops. Zhu Youjian said:
"Then we will formulate a policy for farming outside the customs in accordance with the provisions of the founding of the People's Republic of China."

"The original military settlements strictly followed the provisions of the military settlements. The land currently owned by the people is still cultivated by the people. However, the land is temporarily expropriated as state-owned, and the nature of their farming belongs to the civilian settlements, which is the land contracted by the government to the people. Because Liaodong is now under military control, and food collection is based on the military garrison."

"In principle, people are still allowed to cultivate the original land, but the maximum limit per household is fifty acres. If the land exceeds fifty acres, it will be contracted by families with spare capacity, and the land will be returned to them after the land is restored."

"Strive to reclaim 10,000 hectares of wasteland in five years and cultivate 20,000 hectares of farmland in Liaodong to achieve food self-sufficiency."

"Prior to this, the imperial court will continue to support Liaodong with food and salary. The provinces that are currently collecting Liao's salary will be exempted year by year in the future, and strive to be completely exempted in five years."

After confirming the policy of farming, Zhu Youjian thought that it was impossible to eat all the grain harvested in the farming by himself, and said:

"After the soldiers and people in the field paid the grain, they could use the rest of the grain themselves, but they could not buy or sell it freely."

"It can only be collected at a unified price by the granary of the Hujun Mansion and authorized merchants."

"This price is called the minimum purchase price of grain."

"When it is sold, it is called the maximum selling price of grain."

"The price difference between the two cannot exceed 30%."

"The price is set by the Army Guard and adjusted every year."

"Corn, soybeans and other grains are designated as strategic materials, and the Hujun Mansion has the right to control them."

"Anyone who violates the regulations and even smuggles money into the country will be punished as a smuggler of arms or even a spy."

Determined to block Houjin's supplies, Zhu Youjian formulated this system and asked Sun Chengzong:

“Is this policy feasible?”

"Can Liaodong control grain?"

Sun Chengzong felt a little dizzy listening to the new terms Zhu Youjian kept saying. Fortunately, these words were straightforward and easy to understand. He just thought about it for a while and figured it out.

Although he didn't know if it would work, he knew it had to be implemented.

Because if all the food in Liaodong is not collected, the Liaodong army will never be able to solve the food problem, let alone restore the Liao land and entrust well fields to the heroes.

The matter of the well-field system will inevitably attract the attention of both the government and the public. Restoring the Liao territory in the future will be a major matter of concern to everyone. It was impossible for Sun Chengzong to back down because of difficulties, so he said to the emperor:

"After I arrive in Liaodong, I will inform the military guard Bi Zisu."

"Let him build a government affairs office to control Liaodong's grain."

He didn't care that Sun Chengzong pushed the matter to others. When Zhu Youjian heard that he agreed, he immediately continued:

"Mao Wenlong said before that Hou Jin was so poor that he 'killed the Han people who had no food'."

"So the first task in Liaodong is to block all supplies, especially grain and iron, so that no trace can flow through."

"A list of all strategic materials will be drawn up for unified control by the Liaodong Protectorate."

"The connection between Liaodong and Hou Jin must be completely cut off. Hou Jin's channels for obtaining supplies must be cut off and they must continue to be impoverished."

He was very sad about the Han people who were killed in Liaodong, but Zhu Youjian could not sell grain to Hou Jin because of this——

Not only did the Ming Dynasty lack food, but even if Hou Jin bought food, the food would not fall into the hands of the Han people, and the Han people in the occupied areas still could not escape their tragic fate.

What Zhu Youjian needs to do is to increase the material blockade against Houjin to make them even weaker. Then a small army was sent to attack to rescue the fallen Liao people.

In short, we must do everything possible to weaken Houjin so that they cannot invade the Ming Dynasty and pose a greater threat.

　"Manchu Old Documents":
　　Volume 24, July of the sixth year of Tianming (the first year of tomorrow’s Qi):

　　On the 14th, in advance of the land distribution, an order was sent to each village saying: "

　　One hundred thousand tracts of land were allocated in the Haizhou area, and 200,000 tracts of land were allocated in the Liaodong area. A total of 300,000 tracts of land were conscripted and distributed to my troops stationed here.

　　As for the fields of my people, they are still cultivating in my place. In the eastern part of Liaodong, the fields of Baylor ministers and wealthy families are largely deserted! This barren field is also included in the 300,000 fields that I have conquered...

　　Today, I plan to give five acres of land for grain cultivation and one patch of land for cotton cultivation per acre of land...

　　Volume 61: The ninth year of destiny (the fourth year of tomorrow’s enlightenment):

　　(Twenty-first day of the first lunar month) According to the Khan's edict: Han people living with Zhu Shen who have five dou of grain per mouth shall be included in the number of people who have food. Those who have four dou and three dou of grain per mouth shall also be counted. Among the people who have food, if there are no cattle or donkeys, they will be taken as slaves.

　　On the 21st, he sent a letter saying: "According to the Khan's decree: Anyone who steals and kills cattle and horses, burns stored grain, and builds houses is a bachelor who does not cultivate the fields, has no food, does not settle down, and is in exile. These people have no food. When the beggars and bachelors who heard about traveling were discovered by the Shen and Han people, they were immediately captured and sent away. If there were wives and children, the wives and children would be rewarded to the person who captured them; if there were no wives and children, the captured person would be rewarded with three taels of silver. Because of this, since Liaodong, , the Han people are constantly running away, spies are running rampant, and they are not diligent in farm work, so the superiors are angry and order them."

　　On the 27th, selected personnel were sent to various places to kill the Han people who had no food.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)