I am an immortal in heaven and earth

Chapter 365 Are You a Commoner?
"I am a Juren in the 17th year of Yuanfu in the Daning Dynasty. You can't raid my house! Xu Zhiyuan, when you took the Juren exam, you came to me to look at your essays, and I even let you stay overnight!"

Mr. Lu was lifted up, but he was no longer respectable. He was in his sixties, with gray hair on his temples, and had reached the age to take care of his children and grandchildren. His family owned more than twenty shops, more than three thousand acres of fertile land, and seven or eight farms in the countryside, each of which had more than a hundred acres. They were all properties of his sons, nephews, and fellow clansmen.

Relying on such a successful candidate, the Lu family was very uncooperative and refused to give up their land.

Xu Zhiyuan said, "Mr. Lu, don't worry. We won't kill anyone. You used to be a wise man in the village and you wouldn't do anything too embarrassing. Now we have found a job for you and opened a new school. We want you to be the principal of this new school."

"Is this how you invited me to be the principal? You raided my house, arrested my clansmen, and divided up my land?"

"Now that it has come to this, we have to distribute the land equally. This is still a good thing. To put it bluntly, the Great Ning Dynasty is about to fall. Although a centipede may die but its body is still stiff, at the end of every dynasty, aren't the first to die the gentry and landlords like you and me? Instead of waiting for some bandits or peasant uprisings to take your lives, why not do something about it? As a school principal, you are in charge of education. You will be respected everywhere, right? It is precisely because of the friendship we had back then that I came to you first to start a fight."

Mr. Lu snorted coldly: "Then I have to thank you, right?"

Xu Zhiyuan said to himself: "Large aristocratic families are not conducive to equal distribution of land, so now all households must be registered as citizens, and then the land must be equalized. Each household is not allowed to have more than ten people and more than thirty acres of land."

"The Lu family is now going to be split up, with the old, middle and young split into one household, that is, three generations of grandfather and grandson, including wives and concubines."

"It is not allowed to keep maids and long-term workers who are sold by indentures, but those who are hired can be kept."

"If there are people who have sold their bodies by indenture, or are born into slavery, if they are willing and you are willing, then you can register them in the same household register and abolish their slavery."

"If you don't want to, then you can set up a new household registration and divide the land among them."

"The standard for equal distribution of land is that those over fifty years old will receive two mu of land, men will receive three mu of land, women will receive two mu of land, and children will receive two mu of land."

"In addition, we will open a canteen for every 100 households. Elderly people over 70 years old can eat for free, children can eat at half price, and adults can eat for two cents. The canteen will also have 50 mu of vegetable fields, 200 mu of grain fields, a pig farm, and a chicken farm."

"Open a textile factory and recruit female textile workers."

"Open a sugar factory and recruit male workers."

"Opening a bicycle factory..."

Mr. Lu was dumbfounded, but he saw Xu Zhiyuan pointing at something with two wheels and said, "This is a straight-running car. It's very convenient."

Merchants had discovered latex trees long ago. With latex trees, it was no big deal to make bicycles, but it was a test for the steelmaking industry. However, some of the work had been done now, and as the road of technological cultivation had gone further and further, the bicycle had become a "steam bicycle."

It has a small steam heart on it, driving two wheels. It is quite different from the ordinary bicycles we see.

This thing can barely be considered a magic weapon, but the dragon soul inside it can transform into other souls, usually those of cows and horses, referring to the wooden ox and horse.

Xu Zhiyuan rode on the steam bicycle and said with a smile: "Look, this thing is so light and fast."

The steam core spews out hot air, but the sound it makes is much smaller. One reason is because of the rubber, and the other is that a silencer has been added.

However, the sound is still quite loud. Even some people make motorcycles sound like roaring, so the sound of the steam bicycle becomes a kind of "majestic" sound.

Xu Zhiyuan took out the cloth woven on the loom and said, "We can produce hundreds of thousands of these pieces of cloth a month. Now that cotton has been discovered overseas, everyone will have cotton clothes to wear and quilts to cover themselves with. Even if it takes time to promote it now, even linen can now be made with very fine craftsmanship and become high-quality fabrics, not to mention silk."

Mr. Lu was also an educated man who knew the ways of the world. He looked surprised and shocked.

Xu Zhiyuan said: "We could have used this to reap everyone's wealth. The cloth woven by farmers is slow, expensive, and of varying quality. How can it compare to the loom? We did not lose sight of the greater good for the sake of small profits. Otherwise, the world would be in turmoil and all the people would go bankrupt. Now we can only revolt, distribute land equally, and embark on a new path."

"Your family sold the land and donated it, which is actually equivalent to getting a golden ticket to avoid death." Xu Zhiyuan said, "Mr. Lu, do you think this is a good deal?" Mr. Lu sighed and finally softened. He trembled and said, "Is this the method of the immortals?"

"Almost." Xu Zhiyuan didn't know what to say, because there were indeed people practicing cultivation involved here, although most of the work could be done by ordinary people.

"Then can my Lu family participate in this?"

"As long as you are an ordinary citizen, it's fine. Are you an ordinary citizen?"

"I am an ordinary person, I am an ordinary person!" Mr. Lu said, "This magic of the gods? It is so ingenious, it must be the general trend of the future. Can ordinary people really get in touch with it? If they are, it will be difficult to govern."

"Aren't you just an ordinary person?" Xu Zhiyuan said, "Mr. Lu, don't be so narrow-minded. Look further ahead. In this way, you and I can have a half-teacher relationship. I have a Confucian technique for cultivating righteousness. You can practice it regardless of your age. As long as you have righteousness in your heart and care about the people of the world, you will make rapid progress."

If Lu Juren had great ambitions twenty or thirty years ago, he would have wanted to laugh when he heard these "righteous" words. He was so old, but he still believed this. It can be seen that Xu Zhiyuan's eyes were firm, and it didn't seem like a joke. He couldn't laugh himself, and sighed for a long time: "The village is dying and I won't accept it!"

Finally, he said, "I am old, and only suitable for retirement. I can no longer work, so I can only teach and educate people. Now I am afraid that my rotten Qi will corrupt these students. Your things are too new and too good. I am not worthy of them. But I have a student in Jinghu Academy. You can go find him. He was also a Beijing official in the past, but was demoted for criticizing court officials..."

"Then you have to be the principal, and then you can recruit people. You have to be the principal. To be honest, you are a benchmark, a role model, and an example for others. We are not here to kill or rob everyone, and we don't respect talents. Don't lose your life for a little bit of money. As long as people are here, there will be green mountains and green hills, and there will be no worries about firewood."

"Just like you, Mr. Lu. Isn't your best skill to write a book about literature? You haven't published it in 30 years. Can't you continue now? Or make a big splash and shock the world?"

"Maybe." Lu Juren said, "You guys can copy whatever you want. I'll accept any high-sounding excuses you give me. History will determine what the future holds. I have nothing to say."

After saying that, he stepped forward to pacify the members of the Lu family who were still resisting. The militia organized by Chen Gongming began to take over this place. He confiscated the weapons of the able-bodied slaves of the Lu family, and some of the people who specialized in household registration were now being registered and distributed land.

The main branch's direct descendants were so angry that they vomited blood, but those side branches and illegitimate descendants had no means of making a living, so they were very happy to have the land divided according to the population.

"This land is not yours forever. It will be redistributed every five years. Adults will make up three acres, and the elderly will take back two acres. In addition, after the farming season is over, there will be some construction work, such as reclaiming wasteland, repairing ditches, paving roads, and repairing bridges. Another thing is that children under the age of fourteen, both boys and girls, must go to school. Even adults must learn to read and count. We will open a night school..."

The plans Xu Zhiyuan came up with were almost all the same as those of his predecessors. When he talked about it now, these people all said: Building bridges and roads are great merits, but as for night schools and the like, can scholars like us be teachers?
……

In fact, most of the middle and lower class people benefited from the land reform. As for bloody fights, they were inevitable. Most landlords were afraid of death and sensible. However, when it came to dividing the land, the peasants would fight and could not even divide it.

Some of these fields are close to the water, some are neatly laid out, and some even have ancestral graves next to them. It may be a small matter, but it can also be a huge matter. If it is not made clear on the spot, it can lead to decades or even generations of hatred.

I'm not criticizing them for being short-sighted; this is a real benefit.

Xu Zhiyuan cut the Gordian knot and talked to a few fellow villagers. He learned that some of the troublemakers were ruffians and hooligans who thought the more they made trouble, the more they seemed to be right and the more benefits they could get. They had been extorting and bullying ordinary people for a long time. So he arrested all of them, big and small, and sent them to Jin Chan for control. He made his fortune by doing this. All the ruffians, hooligans and bullies were sent to labor reform.

This time, the people really applauded and reported the incident quickly, even reporting trivial grudges.

There is nothing that can be done about it. In the past, there was no official who specifically stood up for the common people. Now, if one is caught, they would like to bring out all the grudges of eighteen generations of ancestors and seek justice.

Xu Zhiyuan felt shocked, but did not take it lightly. Instead, he dealt with each case one by one. It was said that even a judge could hardly judge family affairs, but now he could see through everything clearly and was extremely fair. He gave each family a copy of the verdict, and posted another copy in the ancestral hall for everyone to know. If they made a fuss again at that time, they would be unreasonable.

Although Yushan and Changde counties had been governed a long time ago, Xu Jia relied on the Fox Fairy Hall. Those widows, widowers and orphans had their own limitations. Now they are governed in a grand and upright manner, which is different from the past.

This time Xu Zhiyuan ruled one clan at a time, and these clans often occupied a village or township. As a result, before he arrived, many villagers tied up the landlord's family, beat those who resisted, and waited for Master Xu to come and divide the land.

(End of this chapter)