Prancing Horse Xiliang

Chapter 78 The Foundation of Governance
The sun came out from the clouds and poured warm sunlight on Kaikai's white snow.

The snow has begun to melt, but the land has not yet thawed.

There was not much snow in the winter last year, but the only heavy snow in five or nine days covered the ground tightly.In some places, the snow even reached the knees, and neither the common people nor the bandits could go far.

Luo Zheng, Xun Yu, Xu Chu, Zhao Yun and others stood on a high ground to check the terrain on both sides of Zhishui.

Hundreds of personal soldiers scattered around, wearing armor and holding spears, focused on guard.

At that time, the snow had not yet melted away, and the surrounding fields were flat and still covered in silver. Even small animals such as rabbits and mice had nowhere to hide, and even thieves were not worried about someone coming to attack and assassinate them.

Luo Zheng pointed to the ground branch water that had already begun to thaw, and said to everyone: "With this heavy snow, the amount of water in the spring branch water this year will definitely be very abundant. I am not afraid that the river will dry up and there will be no water to irrigate the farmland."

Xun Yu caressed his beard and smiled: "In spring, there is no need to worry about running out of water, but a branch of water is only one of the smallest branches of the river. After all, the amount of water is too small. When it comes to summer, if there is not much rain, the water level will probably drop."

Luo Zheng pondered for a moment, and said: "Can you build a reservoir in the upper reaches of Zhishui, block the river and build embankments to gather the water, so that no matter how much rain, even if there is a severe drought, you can open the gate to release water and irrigate the farmland."

Xun Yu said: "Building a reservoir is of course beneficial to irrigate the farmland, but my lord does not know that once the reservoir is built, the mountain will be infiltrated by water for a long time, and it will easily collapse. It may be washed away by mountain torrents, and then both sides of the river will become a whole country, causing a huge disaster."

Luo Zheng was awe-inspiring, he didn't expect to have so much knowledge in building a reservoir.

However, as a modern person, the most indispensable thing is new ideas to solve problems.

Luo Zheng thought for a moment, and said: "This is easy to handle. Find someone who has studied geography to conduct field surveys, choose the location of the reservoir to be built in a place where the mountain is not easy to be infiltrated, and then organize civilians to dredge the river in time every year, repair the ditches, and clean up the water. The silt accumulated in the reservoir can avoid floods caused by flash floods.”

Xun Yu said: "There is another problem. Zhishui originates from Laji Mountain, flows through Lingju, Yunjie, and Zhiyang counties, and joins the river in the northwest of Jincheng. If a reservoir is built, the downstream Yunjie, Zhiyang, etc. The county is bound to suffer a severe drought, isn’t it harming others and benefiting oneself.”

Luo Zheng said with a wicked smile: "This is easier to handle. The people under the rule of the Huqiang School lieutenant are sparsely populated, and the people are less than a thousand households. The people in Yunjie and Zhiyang counties have no water to irrigate their farmland, so let them move to Lingju. , this general distributes farmland and grain seeds to them, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment in Lingling, and can properly reduce or exempt taxes in the first few years, wouldn’t it be a multiplicity of actions.”

Xun Yu didn't say a word, it must be that this method is a bit too vicious, and it's unreasonable.

Luo Zheng comforted: "If you don't need to take it to heart, Yunjie and Zhiyang counties have been fighting for years. Either there are separatist warlords who extort excessively, or they are plundered by bandits. The life of the people may not be easy. Moved under the rule of this general, this At least the general will not exploit the people like other warlords, so for them, it may not be a good thing."

Xun Yu cupped his hands and said, "Since that's the case, I'll find someone to discuss this matter carefully, and then ask the general to make a decision."

Wu Yi next to him couldn't help but said: "This is not a long-term plan. Even if the general forces the people of the two counties to move to Lingju, what will happen to these places in the future? If there is no water source, the farmland will be abandoned and farming will be impossible."

Luo Zheng said confidently: "This is not a problem. Jincheng County is rich in water flow. There is a river passing through Jincheng in the south, and three tributaries of Huangshui, Zhishui, and Tongshui in the north. The rivers are scattered from north to south, almost running through the entire county. It will be settled in the future In Liangzhou, this general will recruit civilians to build water conservancy projects, and the river will be enough to irrigate a million hectares of fertile land."

Wu Yi cupped his hands and said, "It turns out that the general has made a plan long ago, so he's talking too much."

Luo Zheng glanced at Wu Yi, feeling a little pissed in his heart.

Wu Yi had already occupied [-] mu of land on the north bank of Zhishui, and he knew it.

Xun Yu would not hide this kind of thing, he had already reported it to him.

Luo Zheng used to be a farmer, and he absolutely doesn't like these aristocratic families who wantonly enclose land.

This is also the main reason why Wu Yi has always been disliked, but he didn't show his thoughts.

In the final analysis, the biggest reason for the large-scale peasant uprising at the end of the Han Dynasty was forced by these powerful landlords.

The annexation of land at the end of the Han Dynasty was definitely the most exaggerated era in Chinese history. The powerful landlords used various means to forcibly annex and occupy the land of the people. The people who lost their land had no way of life. What else could they do if they did not rebel?
Some large landlords even occupy thousands of hectares of land, and there are tens of thousands of land tenant farmers.

And these tenant farmers attached to powerful landlords are not registered in the government's household registration, so they don't have to pay taxes to the government on a per-capita basis. This has caused the landlords' powerful warehouses to run out of food and rot, while the imperial treasury is getting more and more empty. .

The treasury is empty, and the ruler can only continue to increase taxes and squeeze the people desperately.

When the common people were forced to have no way out, they either sold themselves into slavery, attached themselves to the powerful landlords and became tenant farmers, or rebelled.

It can be said that a vicious circle has been formed in the land consolidation at the end of the Han Dynasty.

The powerful landlords are getting stronger and stronger, while the imperial court is getting weaker and weaker.

The final result is chaos in the world, the combination of powerful and powerful, and the separatism of the princes.

Although Luo Zheng understood these things, he couldn't change them, so he didn't trouble Wu Yi.

These aristocratic families are not only the biggest landlords, but also have another identity, that is, scholars.Few of the common people in this era were literate, and the scholar-official class was almost entirely composed of these aristocratic families.

Not many poor people can read and write. If they want to govern the country, they must rely on these aristocratic families.

If you want to compete on stage, you must not offend these aristocratic families to death.

Luo Zheng thought for a while, and said to Xun Yu: "Wen Ruo, you should draw up a decree as soon as possible. There are many unreasonable places to pay taxes on a head-to-head basis. Remove all the messy taxes that can go, and the land tax should be paid per mu of good land. How much grain, how much to pay for the second field and the new field, should be adjusted according to the different crops and harvests according to the actual situation, and try not to increase the burden on the people. Our ancestors shouted every day that the people are rich and the country is strong, and the country is strong and soldiers Prosperity, the prosperity of the army will make the world prosperous, but forget it after shouting. Only when the people are truly rich can our warehouses be filled and the army strong.”

Xun Yu nodded happily, "Your general is wise, to be honest, the court's taxes are not only numerous, but also very unreasonable. Right now, farming is ruined, and the people can't live any longer. It is true that taxes should be reduced to give the people a chance to recuperate."

Luo Zhengdao: "So, in the future, our governance strategy will revolve around the core of how to make the people rich. Making the people rich is the foundation of the general's governance. Anyone who dares to touch this bottom line will damage the foundation of the general. It must not be taken lightly. Especially those powerful and unkind landlords, they must be punished vigorously. Wen Ruo will also draw up a decree for this general in the future. First, the landlords can take the land, and they can open up wasteland by themselves. The people’s land property, let alone raising a large number of tenant farmers privately. The people have become tenant farmers, who will the general find to collect taxes in the future? If you want to farm, you can spend money to hire people who want to earn money to work, and you can’t force them ;Secondly, clearing up the land, the powerful landlords should pay the land tax, and not a single grain should be handed over to the general, and those who dare to report the land privately and evade taxes will be severely punished."

This is the foundation of governance, so Xun Yu naturally had no objection, he cupped his hands and said, "I obey."

Wu Yi's complexion is a bit ugly, although these are the court's decrees, but Luo Zheng has changed slightly.But at this moment, speaking from Luo Zheng's mouth, it feels like it is targeting Wu, how can I feel comfortable in my heart.

Luo Zhengyue said that his head was brighter, and he added: "Also, aristocratic families are not allowed to raise private soldiers and slaves, let alone build soldiers. Those who dare to raise private soldiers and build soldiers will be punished as treason .”

Xun Yu suddenly looked distressed, and said: "General, I'm afraid there is something wrong with this decree."

Wu Yi's face was also ugly, if he didn't let him raise private soldiers, wouldn't his five hundred private soldiers be confiscated?
Luo Zhengdao: "How do you say this?"

Xun Yu said: "It's been a tradition since ancient times for families to support scholars. Today, powerful families are rising together. As long as they have the conditions, wealthy families will recruit private soldiers to prevent chaos. Liangzhou is constantly fighting, bandits are rampant, and powerful families If you don't raise private soldiers, you won't be able to protect the clan well. If the general enforces this order, it will only force the powerful clan to take risks."

Luo Zheng was startled, so he had no choice but to be kind and said: "Then let it go first."

Xun Yu breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Luo Zheng would be eager for quick success, regardless of the consequences.

Wu Yi also heaved a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the five hundred private soldiers were saved.

Otherwise, as Xun Yu said, the army in Xiliang is in chaos, and there is no power, how can the clan survive.

(End of this chapter)