Crowned the New Han Dynasty

Chapter 1046: Attracting farmers and craftsmen, reducing taxes and allocating land

"Teaching by giving lectures can allow the general to grasp the situation in various places, and further understand the trends of the clan, and even control the situation of the aristocratic family!"

Sun Xiu's opening words made Chen Zhi narrow his eyes and look at this subordinate carefully.

Sun Xiuru was unaware and continued: "In the past, the general promoted the workshop, but there was not enough labor, so he guided the tenant farmers to get out with government guarantees. However, the tenant farmers have been attached to them for many years and have lived a stable life. Many people are unwilling to leave. The general did not force him, but offered guarantees and many benefits to those who were willing to leave. These people were in the minority, but the family was still unwilling to let them go, and used the people of the clan to restrict them. This was actually caused by poor communication between the upper and lower levels. Yes, aristocratic families and clans stand between the common people and the government. Proclaiming this to your sons may alleviate this problem."

Speaking of this, Sun Xiu still couldn't help but feel emotional when recalling the huge situation in the past few years.

What he was talking about at this time was the new law for tenant farmers.

…………

"New law for tenant farmers?"

To the south of Youzhou and to the north of Jizhou, there is Zhangwu County, which is under the jurisdiction of Jizhou.

At this moment, a carriage and horse had just arrived, and the county magistrate in the city immediately came out to greet him. He called himself an envoy, but it was an envoy sent by Luoyang to Youzhou. Passing by here, the envoy looked at the desolate scene inside and outside the city, and couldn't help but ask why. I took these four words as the answer.

The magistrate of Zhangwu County said: "It is this method, this is the root of the decay inside and outside Zhangwu City." While speaking, he invited the envoy in.

The messenger's surname is Wen and his first name is Qiao.

Wen Qiao entered the city, passed through the streets and alleys, came to the Yamen, sat down, and continued to ask questions.

The county magistrate sighed, pointed to a pavilion outside the Yamen and said, "Is that tower visible to you?"

Wen Qiao nodded and said with a smile: "I see, could this building be related to the law of tenant farmers? As I walked along, I saw that there were very few people on the street. Logically speaking, Jidong is considered stable, under the governance of the King of Hejian. , with the Hejian Kingdom as a barrier, there is no need to worry about the stone thieves coming, but the population is not large, could it be that they were all attracted by Youzhou using the so-called tenant farmer method?"

"That's right!" The county magistrate looked back and said with a wry smile: "To be honest, the owner of that pavilion is named Wang. His ancestral home is very close to that of Shijun, both of whom are in Taiyuan."

"A branch of the Taiyuan Wang family?" Wen Qiao understood immediately, "The Taiyuan Wang family branch in Youzhou is closely related to the former general Wang Jun. Could it be that the Wang family in Guixian County came from Youzhou? "

"Your Majesty is indeed shrewd, that's right!" the county magistrate praised, but there was no smile on his face. Instead, he sighed, "A few years ago, when General Zhengbei had a great victory, no one in Youzhou dared to say anything. Coupled with the dangerous situation around him, Luoyang was besieged several times, and it looked like the world was about to fall, so he took the opportunity to implement some reforms. This method he had implemented in Daijun in the past was to promote workshops, especially iron smelting. thing."

Wen Qiao nodded and said, "I also know about this. I heard that the single-stem cannon and the rumored Pingxing cannon were all forged during that time."

Magistrate Zhangwu then said: "After taking Youzhou, Chen Zhengbei's plan was even bigger. The scale of this workshop was increased to a higher level and more manpower was needed, so he repeated his old tricks to make Youzhou The aristocratic family released their tenant farmers to work in his workshop." Wen Qiao said with a smile: "This is a bit taken for granted. What the workshop needs is not ordinary people. It is difficult for ordinary people to do it. They must master a certain craft, at least. Only those with a craftsmanship background will do!"

Just as Wen Qiao said, Chen Zhi's expansion of his workshop in Youzhou will be larger and require more manpower. Even if such people are educated with the advice of tea, they will have to go through a period of training, let alone several years. When we got down, the tea to encourage students to learn had already been exhausted.

Magistrate Zhangwu didn't know how to persuade tea, but he knew how Chen Zhi made it, so he said: "There are not enough manpower, so General Zhengbei naturally focused on the craftsmen and craftsmen throughout Youzhou."

Wen Qiao understood immediately. He was from the Wen family in Taiyuan. He had been ordered by Liu Kun to go south to deliver messages, and then stayed in Luoyang as a liaison. He also knew the border affairs in detail, so he said: "Youzhou is a border area. The number of craftsmen cannot be compared with those in the hinterland of the Central Plains, but they are not necessarily behind in mastery of skills. It’s just that most of the craftsmen population in the border areas are in the hands of aristocratic families.”

Magistrate Zhangwu nodded.

This is also easy to understand. Those who have skills and do not want to become refugees have to find a seller for this skill. Therefore, driven by natural and man-made disasters, a large number of craftsmen gather under the aristocratic family registration, which is very important for the promotion of Chen Zhi’s workshop. The plan was severely hindered.

But then, Wen Qiao added: "The tenants have been following the master's family for many years, and they will definitely not want to leave. Otherwise, they will lose their protection. A simple decree may not be feasible."

Magistrate Zhangwu smiled bitterly and said: "How else can we say that the general conquering the north can dominate the north? In the new tenant law, the general listed many rules, including tax exemptions and exemptions for craftsmen, as well as dividing fields and land. There is even a way to teach the children of craftsmen, and the general government can provide money and effort for them to learn!"

"To study?" Wen Qiao's expression changed slightly, "Can the son of a craftsman study to study? That's incredible. Faced with this kind of temptation, even the tenant farmers who advocate a stable life will not be tempted! Just according to what you said , It will cost a lot of money to conquer the North General’s Mansion, where did all this money come from?”

Magistrate Zhangwu had no way of knowing, so he just shook his head, but let Wen Qiao remember it in his heart.

Naturally, they didn't know that Daijun's booming commercial expansion and the bandit suppression operations throughout Youzhou provided Chen Zhi with ample financial resources to support him in completing this reform.

Then, Wen Qiao asked again: "Will everything go smoothly next?"

Magistrate Zhangwu shook his head and said, "It's a pity that the aristocratic family is unwilling to let go."

"For the family, whether they are tenant farmers or craftsmen, they are family property. Even if General Chen offers compensation, he will not let it go easily." Wen Qiao knew the reason very well. He was also a person with a good background, "Finally, How did it develop? With Chen Zhengbei's acting style, he will definitely not give up. Since a family has moved south to Zhangwu, the outcome should be clear."

Magistrate Zhangwu said: "At that time, General Chen was in great power, and no one dared to touch the bad luck easily, but the family was unwilling to give in, so they finally took the opportunity to unite and boycott, hoping to put pressure on Chen Zhi and force him to negotiate. End the new law and maintain stability."

Wen Qiao sighed and said: "Needless to say, it must have failed in the end, and it may have been self-defeating. Chen Zhixing made a thunderous move to eliminate the obstacles in one fell swoop, which forced many families to move south."

The county magistrate was stunned, smiled bitterly and nodded.

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(End of this chapter)