Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 244
Wuzhong, the back garden of the palace.

Xiang Zhuang, holding Xiang Zheng in his left hand and Xiang Zhi in his right hand, was walking by the lotus pond. On a scorching summer day, the room was as hot as a steamer. Xiang Zhuang couldn't stay still, so he simply carried his son to the lotus pond to cool off Well, at this time, it has been more than half a month since the end of the Jiujiang War and the conclusion of the alliance between Chu State and Huainan State.

Xiang Zheng and Xiang Zhi are already six months old. They are chubby, pink and very cute.

Xiang Zhuang didn't deliberately keep a distance from his son like the ancients in this era. Naturally, Xiang Zhuang knew the ancient motto of sticking out a filial son, but no matter what, the two little guys were only six months old, and even He can't even call his father and mother, so why does Xiang Zhuang pretend to be a strict father?
The two little guys look similar, but their personalities are completely different.

Xiang Zheng quietly snuggled into Xiang Zhuang's arms, just staring at Xiang Zhuang with his big black eyes, and he couldn't get enough of them for a long time. He didn't know what the little guy was observing, but Xiang Zhi's attention was completely absent. On Xiang Zhuang's body, there were only small hands like lotus roots waving, desperately trying to provoke the willows on the roadside.

Behind Xiang Zhuang, Wei Yue, Yu Ji and a dozen court ladies followed.

Looking at the back of Xiang Zhuang holding his beloved son, Wei Yue's pretty face is full of happiness and contentment. As a woman, she has the favor of her husband, and now she has two lovely sons. What is there to ask for?Now, Wei Yue only hopes that her two sons can grow up happily.

Of course, Xiang Zhi is already the heir of the former king in name.

Yu Ji's pretty face is also full of indescribable kindness, but unlike Wei Yue, Yu Ji's gaze falls more on Xiang Zhi. Since Xiang Zhi adopted Xiang Yu, no matter the wind or rain, Even when the hailstorm falls, Concubine Yu will insist on coming to Wei Yue's bedroom to play with Xiang Zhi for half an hour.

Not far away, Yingzhen was standing on the attic silently looking into the distance.

Standing behind the guardrail of the attic, you can just see the quiet path opposite the lotus pond. Seeing Xiang Zhuang embracing Xiang Zheng and Xiang Zhi with a happy face, Ying Zhen can't help sighing quietly, Xiang Zheng and Xiang Zhi are already six She is more than a month old, and if she Yingzhen doesn't have a son, she will never be the Queen of Chu.

But what can be done?For more than a year, Xiang Zhuang spent more time staying in Yingzhen's room than in Wei Yue's room. Even if Wei Yue recovers after giving birth, Xiang Zhuang still chooses to stay in Yingzhen's room more often. However, even so, Yingzhen's stomach still didn't move, and there was no movement all the time.

Yingzhen knew that she couldn't wait any longer, and she had to find another way.

All of a sudden, light footsteps came from behind, and Yingzhen turned her head when she heard the sound, Baili Yishui's beautiful figure had already climbed up to the attic, and she blessed Yingzhen again, saying: "Yishui has seen Madam."

"Little sister, you're here." Yingzhen stepped forward and took Baili Yishui's little hand affectionately.

Baili Yishui is now a famous girl in Wuzhong City. The eldest brother Baili Xian is deeply trusted by the King of Chu, and the second brother Baili Mao is also a famous warrior in the army. Immediately climbed to the high branch, and more importantly, Baili Yishui himself is also more charming and glamorous than Huahua.

For more than half a year, the threshold of Baili Mansion was almost leveled by an endless stream of matchmakers.

However, all the aristocratic and powerful families who came to propose marriage were rejected, including even the grandson of Shusunguan. No one knew what kind of wealthy son-in-law Bailishi wanted to choose. Only Yingzhen knew Baili Yishui's Thinking, in the past, Yingzhen would never take the initiative to promote the good things of Baili Yishui, but now, the situation is different.

After the greetings, when Ying Zhen looked back, she saw that Wei Yue, Yu Ji and a dozen court ladies were left on the path opposite the lotus pond, but Xiang Zhuang was gone. Looking at the bright and charming Wei Yue, A trace of struggle suddenly appeared on Yingzhen's face, but when her eyes fell on Xiang Zheng in Wei Yue's arms, her expression immediately became firm.

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When Xiang Zhuang hurried into the side hall, Xiang He had already been waiting for a long time.

"Ziyi, are there any results for the statistics of registered household Qimin?" Xiang Zhuang asked impatiently as soon as he entered the door.

The so-called registered household Qimin refers to the self-cultivated farmers, servants, tenant farmers, etc. registered in the registered household. It is no exaggeration to say that the registered household Qimin is the cornerstone of a country. The source of troops for the army comes from the registered household Qimin. The endowment comes from the number of registered households and Qimin, and the number of registered households directly determines the strength of a country's national strength.

Historically, the reason why Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to attack the Xiongnu in the north was due to the large number of registered households Qimin. It is precisely because of the inexhaustible taxation and the inexhaustible source of soldiers that the Han Empire was able to fight against the Huns. Year after year, he continued to use troops against the Xiongnu persistently, and finally defeated the Huns and fled westward in a panic.

In addition, the reason why Qin Shihuang was able to sweep Liuhe and dominate the world, apart from the powerful weapon of the farming and warfare system, was that the number of registered households owned by Qin State at that time far exceeded that of any country in the Kanto region. Even more than the combined total of the six Kanto countries.

Before Qin Shihuang ruled the world, the total population of Huaxia was about 3000 million, of which the population of Qin State was about 1000 million, but most of these 1000 million were self-cultivated farmers, servants, tenant farmers, etc. The total population of the six countries is about 2000 million, but among the 2000 million, the number of registered households is less than half!
Some people may ask, where is the other half of the population?In fact, the other half of the population has become domestic slaves, servants, or tenant farmers of aristocratic families. For example, Tian Wen of Qi State, one of the four sons of the Warring States Period, Meng Changjun, has 3000 diners alone. To feed so many diners, there must be How many properties, how many tenant farmers?

However, the domestic slaves, servants, and tenant farmers of the aristocratic families are not included in the registered households. These domestic slaves, servants, and tenant farmers only need to be responsible to the master’s family. , They do not have to pay taxes, even when the state collects land taxes, the tenant farmers of aristocratic families do not have to pay taxes.

Because of this, Qin's unification of the world is the general trend.

This shows how important the number of registered households is to a country!

As early as when he had just succeeded to the throne, Xiang Zhuang had already instructed Xiang He to start investigating Qimin, the registered household in Jiangdong. Now several months have passed, the Seventh Route Allied Forces retreated, Jiujiang was pacified, and the relationship with Huainan Kingdom The covenant has also been signed, and the investigation work of registered household Qimin should almost have results, right?
However, Xiang Ta seemed to be in a low mood. After paying respects to Xiang Zhuang, he took out a booklet from his sleeve and handed it to Xiang Zhuang. Now Jiangdong's paper industry is quite developed, and all the books in circulation have been sold. It is made of paper, and paper is also used in official documents, booklets, notices and so on.

Xiang Zhuang took the booklet, feeling a little uneasy for a moment.

It was only after he opened the booklet that Xiang Zhuang finally knew why he was in a low mood. The first page of the booklet recorded the investigation results of Qimin, a registered household in Wuzhong County, Wu County. Wuzhong County is the leading county in Jiangdong. In Xiangzhuang's mind, there are at least [-] registered households in Wuzhong County, and at least [-] Qimin, but Xiangzhuang was stunned by the result.

In a majestic Wuzhong County, where the King City of Chu is located, there are only more than 5000 registered households, and less than [-] Qimin!
"Ziyi, isn't that right?!" Xiang Zhuang shook the pamphlet, and said in surprise, "Wuzhong is such a great city, it is crowded with people in leisure time, how could it be possible that there are only more than 5000 registered households, less than 3 Ten thousand people?! Impossible, absolutely impossible, Ziyi, there must be something wrong with your investigation."

Xiang He shook his head and explained: "Your Majesty, there are indeed only more than 5000 households in Wuzhong, and the population of Qimin is indeed less than [-]. This is true. The reason why Wuzhong City is crowded with people when it is free is that But it is because there are too many aristocratic and powerful families gathered here, plus their domestic slaves and servants, the number is even greater."

Xiang Zhuang slapped his forehead immediately when he heard the words, and said with a wry smile: "How did the widow forget this?"

Now Xiangzhuang continued to scroll down, but the more I turned, the more frightened I was, especially when I turned to Kuaiji County, the number of registered households in each county was only one, two thousand or even a few hundred, and the population of Qimin was also the same. There are only five or six thousand or even more than a thousand people. What the hell is it a county? It's clearly a slightly larger market town!

Turning to the end, the final figures of this big inventory are in sight.

There are more than 21 counties in the three counties under the Chu State, the number of registered households is only 960, and the population of Qimin is 89. This number is far from the expected number of Xiang Zhuang. Xiang Zhuang originally thought that Jiangdong's registered household, Qi Min, had at least 920 million or even more, but unexpectedly, there were only more than 200, not even 80 million!
Putting down the loan book, Xiang Zhuang said with a dignified expression, "Zi Yi, is this final figure credible? Is there any discrepancy?"

Xiang He sighed, and said helplessly: "Your Majesty, this number is definitely wrong. The number of registered households in the thirteen counties of Wu County is probably not bad, but the number of registered households in more than [-] counties under the jurisdiction of Danyang County and Kuaiji County However, the number of households is totally unreliable, especially in the [-] counties under the rule of Kuaiji County, the actual number of registered households must be far more than the number on the household loan book."

Xiang Zhuang said in a deep voice: "You mean, the county magistrates of the counties under Kuaiji County lied about the number of registered households?"

Xiang He nodded, and said again: "I once secretly went to Shanyin County under the rule of Kuaiji County, and found that the clans of various surnames under the rule of Shanyin County were extremely repulsed by the investigation of registered households Qimin, and the county magistrate of Shanyin County was The local clan children also ignored the official documents issued by the county magistrate, but the county magistrate wanted to investigate, but was found to have died violently at home a few days later. Don’t dare to check it out any more.”

"How unreasonable!" Xiang Zhuang said angrily, "Is there any law for this?!"

Xiang He sighed again, and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty may not know that there is a folk song circulating in Shanyin County, saying that the elders of the three clans are the kings of Shanyin, and what they say is the law!"

(End of this chapter)