Capital Datang

"Switch out?" The businessman was taken aback when he heard this. He had been doing business in other places during this period of time, and he had just returned two days ago, so he didn't know much about the recent events in Chang'an, and he couldn't understand what the third brother was talking about.

The young scholar has been studying in Chang'an and knew what his third uncle meant, but he also asked with a serious face: "Third uncle, you have to think clearly, even though the imperial court promulgated the land replacement law, and the ratio is still low. It is extremely high, but the land in Liaodong and Goguryeo is really difficult to manage!"

"Da Lang, I've been thinking about this matter for several days, and I've figured it out very clearly. Our Zhou family's land is mainly in the vicinity of Luoyang, and together they have more than 5000 mu of land, and we usually employ hundreds of people. The farmers are farming, but you are also aware of the current situation. Many farmers are not willing to rent land to plant, but are going to work in factories. Although they are usually a little tired, their income is more cost-effective than farming. People kept withdrawing the lease, and now there are hundreds of acres of land that are left unused because no one is planting. If this continues, I am afraid that the fields around us will have to lose money to operate."

Hearing what the third brother and nephew said, the businessman seemed to understand half-understood, and asked anxiously: "Sir brother, I am very aware of the decrease in farmer households, and the newly opened factory here has been recruiting people, but you and What happened to the land replacement that Da Lang mentioned?"

Hearing the businessman's question, the fat rich man and the scholar looked at each other, and finally the scholar explained: "Uncle, the Land Replacement Law is a new decree promulgated by the imperial court. Didn't we destroy Goguryeo a while ago? The land is now ours, but there are relatively few people there, and the climate is a little worse, so that a lot of land is uncultivated, so the imperial court is in the densely populated roads of Guannei, Hedong, Hebei, and Henan. Promulgated A land replacement method. As long as someone is willing to hand over the existing land to the imperial court, the imperial court will set aside a piece of land for this person in Liaodong or Goguryeo. Moreover, the area of ​​this land varies according to the quality of the field, but the minimum It is also ten times the original land.” Capital Datang 131

"Da Lang. What is the replacement ratio?" The businessman immediately asked again.

The scholar immediately replied: "Uncle, the ratio is very complicated, but to put it simply, the upper field is one to twenty, the middle field is one to fifteen, and the lower field is one to ten, but because the land quality in Liaodong and Goguryeo is not good The same, so there will be some changes in the middle, for example, if we exchange Shangtian for the cheapest mountain land in Liaodong, the ratio may reach one to thirty or even higher."

Hearing this land replacement method, the businessman pondered for a while, and then said: "My third son, our ancestors used to live by farming. It took several generations of hard work to save the [-] mu of land. Although the income from the industry and commerce that I am in charge of has increased greatly now, and I don’t value the production of the [-] mu of land, but it is the foundation of our fortune anyway, do you really have the heart to just trade it out like this?”

Hearing the elder brother's earnest words, the fat rich man also fell silent. There are three brothers in his family. Since the elder brother is not a legitimate son, he can only be in charge of industry and commerce that is not valued by the family.The second elder brother is the eldest son, but he is extremely intelligent. He embarked on the road of studying and became an eighth-rank official. Unfortunately, he died of illness a few years ago. Fortunately, the elder nephew in front of him inherited his father's intelligence. He has been admitted as a scholar at a young age, maybe in a few years, their old Liu family will be able to produce another official.And as the youngest child of his father, he is also the most loved, and he will inherit the ancestral property of the family. Of course, all the expenses of the second brother's family will be borne by him and the eldest brother, so he is responsible for the land in the family. With absolute right of disposal.

When the two elders were indecisive, the young scholar suddenly said: "Uncle, I think the third uncle's plan is good. Although our ancestral property is important, if it can be exchanged for a richer family property, the spirit of the ancestors in heaven I will definitely agree."

When the fat rich man heard his nephew supporting him, his eyes immediately lit up. He is an uninitiated person. When he heard his elder brother objecting, he immediately forgot all his previous plans. Now that he heard what his nephew said, his mind suddenly cleared up. Some showed a firm expression and said, "Brother, I have decided that instead of letting the fields left by our ancestors go to waste, we should replace some of them with land from Liaodong and Goguryeo. Maybe we can take the opportunity to make a fortune."

Having been brothers for so many years, this is the first time a shrewd businessman sees the third brother's expression, and he can't help being a little surprised, but he is not someone who easily changes his mind, so after thinking about it, he objected: "Third brother, have you thought about it?" No, in places like Liaodong and Goguryeo, what if there is a large piece of land? Not only are there few people there, but the climate is also bad. Let alone hiring people to farm the land, even if you find people, the annual harvest will be a lot. Big problem!"

"Brother, listen to me first!" The fat rich man heard his brother's words and saw his nephew's encouraging eyes, so he said bravely, "I think so, our family's more than 5000 acres of land, only 500% is the upper field, 5000% is the middle field, and the other [-]% is the lower field. Anyway, it is hard to find tenants now, and the harvest of the lower field is low. More than [-] mu of land, think about how big it is!"

Twenty-five thousand mu, that is, 250 hectares, such a huge piece of land, not only the fat rich man looked greedy, but even the shrewd businessman was a little moved. But thinking that these are all useless wasteland, he still shook his head firmly. .

But the fat rich man went on to say: "Brother, as for the harvest question you just mentioned, I have already inquired about this clearly. Although the climate in Liaodong and Goguryeo is a little bit worse, you can still grow a crop in spring and summer. Whether it is wheat or soybeans, they can grow very well, and I also heard that the land there is extremely fertile, much more than our place in Guanzhong. If it is planted well, it will be much more per mu than here... "

Hearing the third brother's chattering narration, the shrewd businessman got a little impatient and interrupted, "Where's that man?"

The fat rich man was not angry at all when his conversation was interrupted by the elder brother, and he said with a smile: "Don't worry, elder brother, manpower is not a problem, have you forgotten how close is Goguryeo?"

Hearing the third brother's rhetorical question, the businessman was also taken aback.He usually does business in many places.Although I have never been to Goguryeo, I have been to Dengzhou. I know that Dengzhou and Goguryeo are across the sea.But when he thought of Dengzhou, he immediately had a feeling of enlightenment, and blurted out: "Third brother. You want to buy slaves to farm the land."

"Brother really is a big business man, so he guessed right on time!" the fat rich man exclaimed excitedly.

However, the businessman immediately said with some concern: "Third brother, although it is a good way to use slaves to cultivate, but you have more than 2 mu. If you want to cultivate all of them, you will need at least a thousand slaves. Let alone the cost. , even if we are rich, it is not easy to gather so many slaves!"

"Uncle, it doesn't take so many people at all. In addition to promulgating the law of land replacement, the imperial court also recommends the use of rough planting. The field does not need to be so fine. The link of farming can be saved, plus Use more animal power. The land that one person can cultivate is three or four times that of before, and if you calculate more than 2 mu of land, there are only a few hundred slaves, and the three uncles exchanged so much land, not just as arable land!" See It was a bit difficult for third uncle to explain, so he rushed to speak.

"Oh, what else can you do if you don't farm the land?" The businessman asked curiously.

Seeing that the elder brother was a little loose, the fat businessman and the scholar looked at each other, and then said excitedly: "Brother, you may not have read the latest newspaper, which said that Liaodong and Goguryeo are rich in minerals, especially the coal mines. And iron mines have been discovered several times, if we can also find a mine on the land we replaced, then is our family still afraid of lack of money?"

"Just kidding, do you believe what people say?" Businessmen have heard of newspapers, but they haven't had the time to understand them carefully.Capital Datang 131

"Uncle, you don't understand this. The newspaper is run by His Royal Highness Qi Wang, and the words on it are almost gold, and I also heard that the people of Qi Wangfu have discovered a large iron mine in Goguryeo, and it is open-air. Mining, the reserves are astonishing, and now many aristocratic families in Chang'an City are discussing with His Royal Highness King Qi about cooperation in mining!" Hearing that the uncle slandered the newspaper, the young scholar immediately said displeasedly, he is the Tang Dynasty A loyal reader of the daily, he must read almost every issue, and he has always regarded Qi Wang Li Yin as the most suitable heir to the Tang throne.

"His Royal Highness King Qi!" As soon as Li Min was mentioned, the shrewd businessman was shocked. After all, this prince is the God of Wealth in the eyes of businessmen. No matter what kind of business, as long as he has a relationship with King Qi, he can immediately make a lot of money.

"Da Lang, since you know about His Highness's investment invitation, can we let our family also participate in it?" The shrewd businessman asked his nephew's hand frantically.

Hearing the uncle's words, the scholar immediately smiled wryly: "Uncle, I also heard this news from a classmate. He is from a family of officials and officials, but he is not qualified to participate. With the little wealth of our Liu family, how can we participate in this event?" A big business?"

The businessman was too happy just now. Hearing what his nephew said, he immediately came to his senses. He hurriedly let go of his nephew, smiled a little embarrassedly, but still asked hesitantly: "Third brother, although there are many mines in Liaodong and Goguryeo, But what if we can’t find the mine, don’t we have to farm in the end?”

The businessman didn't realize that his current tone had revealed his heart. He had obviously agreed to the land exchange, and thinking that the land he exchanged might have minerals, he was no longer satisfied with the little income from farming.

"Brother, I've thought about this too. It's best to find minerals. If not, then we can buy some slaves for good fields. We don't need to spend a lot of effort to cultivate most of the other lands. Instead, we will build pastures and let slaves Grazing, and then you build a canning factory there, and the cattle and sheep produced in the pasture are slaughtered and made into cans, and then shipped to the inland for sale, anyway, it is near the sea, and it is cheaper to go by sea!" The fat rich man said very excitedly.With so much land, the money earned from grazing alone is more than the original income of more than 2000 mu from farming.

The businessman didn't expect that his younger brother was really thoughtful. No matter what the replacement land did, it seemed to be more cost-effective than the 2000-odd mu of land. Now he finally had no reason to object. After thinking about it, he could only say: " Well, anyway, my father left all the fields to you back then, and you were so thoughtful, so you have no reason to object as a brother, but..."

Speaking of this, the business-savvy eyes glanced at the fat rich man and the young scholar, and said with a little dissatisfaction: "But Da Lang, this idea is not something your third uncle can think of. It must be you who is playing tricks again, isn't it?"

"Hey, uncle is indeed an uncle, so I know that my nephew's tricks can't be hidden from you!" The scholar said with a cheeky face after hearing this. These days, he has learned a lot about the imperial court's policies through newspapers, and the newspapers have a lot of opinions on him. The reports of Liaodong and Goguryeo made him quickly see the opportunity, so he urged his third uncle in his hometown to replace some of the fields at home, but he was worried that his uncle would not agree, so he and his third uncle co-starred in this scene. play.

Just when the three uncles and nephews were talking happily, at the table behind them by the window, there was a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old sitting there, listening to all their conversations attentively, and On the opposite side of the young man, a child about ten years old also listened very seriously.

"Ninth Brother, now you understand why I want Yanbei and the others to add so many descriptions of Goguryeo and Liaodong's customs and customs in the report on the Goguryeo War?" The young man suddenly asked with a smile. He is naturally our King Qi. .

"I understand!" Li Zhi, who was opposite, nodded, "When the newspapers reported the Goguryeo War, they spent a lot of time describing the minerals and fertility of Liaodong and Goguryeo. This seemingly useless description is actually very important. This step allows those who read newspapers, while being attracted by the Goguryeo war, to have a general understanding of the customs and customs of Goguryeo without knowing it, what kind of food can be grown there, and what kind of minerals are there. In this way, after the imperial court's land replacement law was promulgated, the first thing people thought of was the rich mineral resources and fertile land in Liaodong and Goguryeo, so that more people could be attracted to participate in the land replacement!"

"Haha~, Brother Jiu is right, but with the consent of the newspaper report, we still need to confirm the information that these people are going to Liaodong, so I sent people to find out a few mines, and openly recruited people to buy shares. In this way, Let Liaodong and Goguryeo have more mines become a fact, let those who have doubts dispel their doubts, and there will be more people who are willing to go to Goguryeo!" Li Yin said proudly.

"Sixth Brother, are there really so many minerals in Liaodong and Goguryeo?" Li Zhi asked worriedly.

When Li Yin heard this, he smiled and said: "You can understand these things yourself after you return to the palace, now you come with me, Brother Six will bring you to see the real world today!"