The Emperor is Above

Chapter 104: A cruel government is more ferocious than a tiger!

The princes have their own countries, and the officials have their own families.

He was given titles and appointed as a minister, each to guard his own land.

Qing Yi was promoted to the rank of sergeant and was given a fiefdom of two miles in area. He was very excited.

The word "fang er li" here refers to a length and width of two li each, not two square li.

He couldn't stop smiling, "The area of ​​the fief is two miles, just enough to enclose the entire lonely hill. This is the only place suitable for building a house among the dozens of miles of wasteland around. This will prevent other nobles from competing with me for it in the future."

In fact, Qing Yi was not just trying to stop other titles from competing, but the wood spirit and the dragon claw locust tree spirit both mentioned that Guqiu could be used to grow spiritual medicines, so he just took this opportunity to include the entire Guqiu.

Not only can it better keep secrets, but it can also prevent the ministers from granting fiefs to others to oppose themselves. Anyway, the dragon claw locust tree spirit is guarding the fief, so there is no need to worry about safety even if you live alone.

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhengjia burst into laughter and said, "Brother, you still need to study more. The royal system has long made it clear that the title and the ministerial title are only calculated based on the flat land, and the mountains, hills, forests, foothills, rivers, swamps, ditches, canals, cities, suburbs, roads, and lanes are counted as one third at most.

All the dukes and vassals have the duty to defend the land for the monarch. Since Guqiu is your fiefdom, it will not be given to other dukes and vassals. Therefore, Guqiu originally belongs to you. Even if we calculate the area of ​​the fiefdom, the entire Guqiu is two li square, so we only need to calculate one li square at most. "

"So that's it!"

Qing Yi looked as if he had realized something, and his expression became even happier. "That's even better. The terrain to the southwest and south of the solitary hill is the flattest, and is the most suitable place for cultivating farmland. I'd like to trouble you to move with me to demarcate the boundaries of the fiefdom."

As the king's envoy, Xu Zhengjia was not only responsible for delivering the documents of enfeoffment, but also for supervising the demarcation of the boundaries of the fiefdoms by the nobles. He immediately agreed with a smile.

Hundreds of villagers in Guqiu had already seen the arrival of the Flying Eagle Guards and learned from Daniu that Qing Yi was promoted to sergeant. Naturally, they did not argue anymore and excitedly found tools such as rulers and ropes to help.

First, four stones carved into stone pillars were used to determine the boundaries of the four corners of the burial mound. Xu Zhengjia took out a few pieces of black iron engraved with runes and embedded them in the stones. He solemnly warned: "Don't move these stones casually in the future. If you expand the burial mound without authorization, you will be severely punished."

After determining the four corners of the mound, the remaining work was simple. Just use ropes to straighten the four corners and draw the boundaries. Chai Yong and dozens of young and strong men completed it quickly.

Xu Zhengjia looked around at the villagers who were all delighted. They were indeed happy from the bottom of their hearts. He couldn't help but praise them repeatedly: "It's not easy for these people to follow you to Guqiu regardless of the danger of Jiming Marsh. There are not many nobles and ministers in the country who can get along well with the people like you. I really admire you."

Qing Yi was looking at the runes on the stone in front of him, and he couldn't help but smile when he heard Xu Zhengjia's praise: "Respect the old and the young, and you will be as kind to each other as one family.

Come to think of it, I have to thank my brother. These past two days, everyone has been arguing about who will become the leader. I was just worrying about it when my brother came. "

"Respect the old as well as the young, and respect the old as well as the young of others?" Xu Zhengjia muttered this sentence, his eyes lit up, and he quietly remembered this sentence in his heart. Then he asked curiously, "Brother, you are not going to take all these villagers in as your subjects, are you?"

"Of course it is!" Qing Yi nodded naturally, "A sergeant is given a title and has 400 subjects. This number is more than enough."

Xu Zhengjia warned him sternly, "Brother, I advise you not to do this. For hundreds of years, the State of Xing has granted land to its people, and has set up a hundred acres of farmland to feed a family, and pays 30% tax every year.

Although the 30% tax paid is not a small amount, the hundreds of people in Guqiu also have more than 5,000 acres of land, plus your fiefdom, it is nearly 10,000 acres.

If they all become your subjects, the original land granted to the countrymen will be taken back, and the subjects of the nobility are not allowed to occupy the granted land without permission. This is really not worth it. After all, the pavilion in Guqiu will still be under your jurisdiction in the future!"

"Hiss..." Qing Yi couldn't help but frown. Once all the villagers became his own subjects, he would lose more than 5,000 acres of farmland, which he didn't want to see. He immediately said in embarrassment,
"I didn't think about this problem, but even the elders in the village have joined in and clamored to become the leaders. I still have to discuss this matter with them. If it doesn't work, I will recruit 20 private soldiers first."

When the old man Bai and the old man Hei learned that Qing Yi was promoted to sergeant, they watched happily nearby. But when they heard his concerns, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Especially the old man, whose white beard trembled with laughter. He leaned on a cane with one hand and pointed at Qing Yi with the other and laughed, "Qing Yi, haven't you heard that the people have wealth? Without enough manpower, what can you do with just land?
We in Guqiu will become your subjects, and you can also recruit people from other places to settle in Guqiu. Wouldn't that make us have enough manpower?

"Lao Hei, I and a few other old guys had already sent messages to our relatives long before we left Huaiqiu. If they felt that they couldn't make a living, they could just come to Guqiu to make a living."

Hearing what the old man said, Qing Yi frowned even more: "Old man, you must be joking. There are dangers everywhere near the lonely hill and Jiming Lake. Every autumn harvest, there are wild people harassing us.

You can see that it is already very difficult for the people in Huaiqiu to follow me to Guqiu. How can others who have no ties to me easily come to Guqiu to settle down?"

"Hey, Qing Yi, you don't understand! You should know that a tyrannical government is more ferocious than a tiger!" The dark-faced Hei Weng said with a complicated expression.

"Among the nobles and ministers in various parts of our Xing State, who is as kind-hearted as you? These people not only exploit and oppress the people in their territories, but also make the people in the Tingli State under their care bear many labor services in addition to paying taxes.

Ploughing in spring, herding in summer, harvesting in autumn, and hunting in winter are only the most basic labors. There is also the endless labor of retting hemp for the title of nobility, collecting ice, cutting wood, building houses, and even going to war with the army.

The old man also sighed and said, "Old Black is right. I followed the caravan and traveled to almost all the countries in the Northern Wilderness decades ago. The laws that the kings and people of Xing State have signed to allow free migration are considered the best.

Other countries even strictly prohibited the migration of Chinese people, causing many Chinese people to risk hiding in the mountains and swamps due to the oppression, or even simply cutting their hair and getting tattoos to join the wild settlements.

Over the past twenty years, Huaiqiuli has been run by you and your son, and all the relatives have been extremely envious. Unfortunately, there was not much reclaimed land around Huaiqiuli at that time, and it was difficult to make a living if you migrated here.

Now we have moved to Guqiu. Although there are many dangers near Jiming Lake, the land is more fertile and we can cultivate land within a radius of dozens of miles. At least they can have enough food to eat.

Lao Hei and I wanted to talk to you about this a few days ago. Now that we have settled down, it would be best to send someone to Maoqiu Pavilion to ask them how they are preparing. "

Xu Zhengjia heard the old man Bai and Hei Weng complaining about the titles of ministers and couldn't help feeling ashamed. After all, as a captain of the Flying Eagle Battalion, he also had the title of a lower-ranking official. Although it was not as excessive as the old man Bai and Hei Weng said, the lives of the people under his rule were also very difficult.

Just as he was about to walk away to avoid embarrassment, he heard the old man's last words and was startled: "Today when we passed by the sky above Xiema Pavilion, we saw a group of more than 300 Chinese people, wandering around the east side of Xiema Pavilion and not daring to move forward. Could they be the relatives you two elders were talking about?"

"I'm afraid it's them!" The old man and the black man looked serious, "I didn't expect that they would rush here so quickly after the spring plowing. I'm afraid something happened outside.

Now the forty miles of wasteland from Xiema Pavilion to Guqiu are full of beasts roaming everywhere. We have to send people to help them quickly, otherwise they will be scared back."

Qing Yi couldn't help scratching his head when he heard this. Although the distance from Solitary Hill to Xiema Pavilion was only forty miles, it would take at least a day to walk there.

Feeling awkward, Qing Yi's eyes lit up when he saw the Eagle Guards feeding a few falcons. He said to Xu Zhengjia with a thick face, "Brother, how about you take some people over there to say hello first, and I'll bring some people over later?"

PS: Today's update is late. I would like to apologize to everyone. I have to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau with my girlfriend to register for marriage at noon, so the second update will not be until the evening. Thank you all for your support.

(End of this chapter)