The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1158: Opening up the fields and abolishing the well fields [Please subscribe*Please vote]

The key is that you can't do everything according to etiquette standards like Li Si did.

It's simply a walking ruler.

"It's useless for Lord Tonggu to keep pestering me. There's no money in the treasury. How can I give you?" In less than a cup of tea, Li Yao reappeared.

"That is Lord Li Yao's business and has nothing to do with me!" Li Si said lightly.

"Fuck~" Li Yao was speechless.

"The army's southern expedition costs money, the various government offices also cost money, your salaries also cost money, the local government offices also cost money to govern, and now you need money to reform, too. Where can I steal it for you?"

"You all just ask for exorbitant amounts of money every day. Who has ever thought about how much you spend in a year?"

Li Yao was helpless.

Wasn't it just that a lot of money was made at the Unification Ceremony? As a result, everyone came to the Zhisu Neishi Yamen every day to beg for money like sharks smelling blood.

"I spend money on serious matters!" Li Si said seriously.

"Whoever asks for money should do something useful!" Li Yao rolled her eyes.

"Your Excellency knows that in order to open up fields and abolish the well-field system, we need to buy back the fiefdom land from the original landlords and gentry. Forced expropriation and rectification will cause unrest..." Li Si slowly persuaded him with both emotion and reason.

"I understand what you said, but I really don't have the money. What you want to buy is not one or two pieces of land, but dozens or hundreds of acres. If it were really dozens or hundreds of acres, I would pay for it out of my own pocket, but what you want to buy is all the well fields in the world!"

Li Yao sighed.

The price of land in the world is an astronomical figure.

He could understand Li Si's difficulties, but who could understand his difficulties?

"Or you can kill them all!" Li Yao looked at Li Si and instigated.

"Although I expected that I would die, I didn't want to die so soon!" Li Si rolled his eyes.

Reforms will inevitably affect the interests of many people, but he has not yet pushed these people into despair, and no one is thinking of going all out.

But if he really wanted to forcibly take back all the fiefdoms and fields, he would not even be able to see the sun tomorrow.

"I don't want so much at once. I'll start with Chu, buying one county at a time until I reach a balance between income and expenditure. After five years, all the fields in the world will be connected by roads, and your Grain Administration Office will make a lot of money."

"If you have a plan, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Li Yao calculated quickly. He could afford the money to buy the land one county at a time.

Moreover, the Qin State's early policies of opening up fields and abolishing the well-field system brought considerable benefits.

Therefore, you would first spend a part of your money to buy a county, then open up fields, and then you would make the money back the next year. You could then use the money to continue buying, and repeat this process. Within five years, you would be able to take back all the fiefdoms in the world.

"You didn't even give me a chance to speak!" Li Si was speechless.

"Nonsense, you come here and say you want to buy all the land in the world. I won't run away and wait for you to suck me dry!" Li Yao was also helpless.

As the two men walked away, Ying Zheng and others appeared.

"Do you understand?" Ying Zheng looked at Zhang Han, Gai Nie and others.

"I don't understand it, but I think it's amazing!" Hei Bai Xuan Jian decisively admitted that he didn't understand it.

Zhang Han and Gai Nie frowned, they roughly understood what was said.

But they didn't understand the key to how to make enough money from the purchased fiefdoms to continue buying more.

But looking at the looks of Li Si and Li Yao, it was obvious that they knew how to do it and were confident of success.

"I don't understand either. I thought Li Si would follow Shang Yang's example and make drastic reforms to forcibly take back all the fiefdoms." Ying Zheng sighed. He gave Li Si this power, but it was obvious that Li Si was still afraid of death, and was even more afraid of affecting the stability of the world, so he chose a gentle approach.

But Ying Zheng didn’t quite understand how to do it specifically.

But they soon understood.

After receiving the money from the Ministry of Grain and Internal Affairs, Li Si and Li Yao soon submitted a petition to leave Chu.

"Be careful!" Ying Zheng did not stop them. He also wanted to know what Li Yao and Li Si were planning to do.

In other words, the nobles of the entire Qin Dynasty were waiting to see what Li Si and Li Yao would do, waiting to see the joke.

After receiving approval, Li Si and Li Yao soon set off for Chu.

"My Great Qin has bought this fiefdom. Please name your price, Viscount!" Li Si's first stop was just a small town.

"No, Qin law protects private property. I have also studied Qin law!" The other party was very tough.

The Qin State protected arable land and personal property, and the fiefdom was the other party's private property. Even if Li Si was the Qin State's Chief Justice and the leader of the reform, he could not forcibly deprive it.

"Lord Tonggu didn't mean that!" Li Yao spoke.

They had discussed it on the way here, one of them would play the good guy and the other the bad guy.

"Mr. Viscount doesn't cultivate his own fiefdom, does he?" Li Yao asked with a smile.

"Lord Neishi knows that these are the only fiefs we have. If they are taken away from us, we will even have difficulty maintaining our titles in a year!" The Viscount sighed. If there were other ways, he did not want to offend Li Si and the Neishi Yamen.

But once they lose their fiefdom, it will be difficult for them to survive.

"Mr. Viscount, you have misunderstood. Lord Tonggu means that you will give up your fiefdom and let the people cultivate the land in cooperation with you. The people will be responsible for farming and you don't have to worry about anything. You will get the majority of all the profits and the government will get a small portion." Li Yao explained.

It is equivalent to that the nobles lend the land to the government, the government hires people to cultivate the land, and then the profits are divided equally among everyone.

The Viscount was confused. What was the difference between this and his previous fiefdom?

In his previous fiefdom, he also asked tenant farmers to cultivate the land, and then the tenant farmers handed over most of the crops, and the rest belonged to the tenant farmers.

Now it’s just that the tenant farmers have become government officials, and the government is paying for the rent.

"You... are the money-giving boys?" the Viscount asked in confusion.

"Don't worry about this, Viscount. You just need to know that your fiefdom can get so much income every year, and the government will deliver the money on time every year." Li Yao said with a smile.

The Viscount was puzzled, but looking at the contract document that should have the official seal, he did not find any problems.

"Are you two sure that as long as we sign and seal, I can get this much money from the government every year, and the land will still be mine?" the Viscount asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Li Yao nodded with a smile.

"Okay, I believe you two. If you two dare to play tricks on me, I will make you pay for it even if I report it to Xianyang or to His Majesty!" said the Viscount in a timid tone.

"Don't worry, Viscount. It's written in black and white, and it has the official seal. It can't be faked!"

Li Yao smiled and took the Viscount's hand to sign the document.

The Viscount stamped the document in confusion.

As for what Li Si and Li Yao did with his land, that was not something he could control.

All we can say is that he rented the land to the government. Whether the government can make money or not, it must pay him the money promised in the contract.

(End of this chapter)