Jinting Han people

Chapter 155: Testing and Household Adjustment (4k)

In the late January of the first year of Yuankang, King Sima Rong of Liang packed up his convoy and left Chang'an, and the official announcement that King Sima Lun of Zhao had taken over Chang'an was also issued to the counties of Yong and Liang.

After receiving the announcement, Liu Xian acted calmly. Just as he had always believed, being afraid is useless, it is better to do your best first.

Therefore, he governed Xiayang step by step. On the one hand, he continued to recruit refugees from Xiayang, and on the other hand, he presided over matters such as land distribution, agricultural encouragement, and mulberry taxation in the county.

In reality, managing local water and soil is neither easy nor difficult. The key is to empathize with the feelings of ordinary farmers and common people, understanding their needs and dislikes, and then providing targeted solutions. Thanks to Li Mi's six months of instruction and the forced time spent working in the fields, Liu Xian empathized with the farmers' needs. Consequently, Liu Xian's policies were well-received by the people of Xiayang.

Liu Xian first promoted bean planting on a large scale in Xiayang. This was an idea he had when he first came to Xiayang.

Compared to water-intensive wheat or low-yielding corn, growing beans is a good alternative. While their yield per acre isn't as high as wheat, it's significantly higher. They also have a shorter harvest period, allowing for other crops to be planted. Furthermore, although the reason is unclear, growing beans not only doesn't consume soil fertility but actually makes the field more fertile, making it suitable for farming. Most importantly, locusts don't particularly like soybeans, primarily grazing on the stems and leaves of bean sprouts. This means that even a locust plague won't significantly reduce yields.

Of course, growing beans also has its drawbacks: for example, soybeans aren't as tasty as wheat or corn, and aren't as easy to digest. Weeds easily grow in bean fields, and tending to them requires more effort than for regular crops. People often enjoy brewing alcoholic beverages, but compared to crops like wheat, corn, and sorghum, soybeans aren't as suitable for brewing.

But Liu Xian believed that as long as the conditions were suitable, these flaws could be ignored. The villagers needed to be well fed first, so why be picky about taste? Even if they couldn't make wine, it would save food waste. And the patience to carefully care for crops was something ordinary people possessed.

Therefore, when he distributed the land, he took the initiative to distribute soybeans to the people as seeds, and he also set an example by planting 300 acres of soybeans in his salary land.

In order to dispel the concerns of ordinary people and increase their love for bean food, he also opened a stone workshop in the county government to make stone mills, which he then sold to ordinary people at a fair price and taught them the skills of making tofu.

Although tofu had been invented for nearly two hundred years, its shortcomings, such as poor storage and complex production, kept it from becoming widespread, limiting it to the wealthy and powerful. However, these issues were alleviated once the supply of beans increased. He even considered making fermented black beans as a local product from Xiayang and selling them in Hedong and Jingzhao.

With Liu Xian's vigorous promotion, half of the farmland in Xiayang County was successfully converted into bean fields, which is the largest in Guanzhong.

At the same time, Liu Xian made up his mind to exempt the Longmenjin Ferry from tax.

There have been three major ferry crossings between Hedong and Guanzhong since ancient times. They are Fengling Ferry facing Tongguan, Puzhen Ferry with the best terrain and a floating bridge, and Longmen Ferry between Xiayang and Fenyin.

Longmenjin actually has the worst ferry conditions. Legend has it that when Yu the Great was controlling floods in ancient times, he cut through the mountains to build a road. The river used to flow rapidly between the Lüliang Mountains and the northern Shaanxi Plateau, but only at Longmen Ferry did it become a plain, and the river became calmer. It may offer the most magnificent scenery of the three crossings, but the conditions are naturally more difficult.

Due to Xiayang's long decline, the Longmenjin Ferry had become virtually deserted, save for the people of Fenyin, and was even briefly occupied by Wang Lin and Sun Xi. But now that the rebellion had been quelled, Liu Xian was determined to revive the ferry, even at the cost of offending the other two major ferry crossings, Puban County and Huayin County.

So he simply waived the checkpoint tax at Longmen Ferry, then instituted corvee labor and built numerous inns outside Xiayang County, encouraging merchants from Bingzhou and Guanzhong to cross the river through Xiayang. If they did business in Xiayang, they would only be charged the market rent for the land they occupied. He also issued a notice promising that businesses in the Xiayang market would be tax-free for two years.

Liu Xian's decree proved to be highly effective. By June, word had spread that nearly half of the merchant caravans from Hedong coming to Chang'an for business chose to cross the river via Longmen Ferry, and the market in Xiayang gradually prospered. At least they no longer had to travel to Hedong to buy enough paper.

In addition, Liu Xian built a ranch north of Xiayang City, restored the county's iron ore industry, which had been abandoned for nearly twenty years, and constructed a water mill by the river... Although within a year, due to Xiayang's limited manpower, many of these projects were only rough sketches, compared to when he arrived, Xiayang had undergone tremendous changes.

In August, when Cao Yuan, Xin Ran and his party from the Zhengxi Army arrived in Xiayang, they were extremely surprised.

Because according to the records of the Western Expedition Army, Xiayang should be a small county with only about 300 households. In reality, with such a number of households, it is reasonable to say that only a few miles around the county seat are cultivated. However, as they traveled, they found that this was not the case.

While residential dwellings were few and far between, they were still visible. The fields along the official road, though some abandoned, were still largely cultivated. It looked similar to the population of Heyang County to the south. However, the road was crowded with pedestrians, and from time to time, horse teams laden with goods passed by.

And when they saw the outside of Xiayang City, they were even more surprised.

Xiayang City had been renovated, and the gaps and cracks had been largely patched, giving it a brand new look. To these outsiders, this was par for the course, perfectly normal. However, the market outside the city had reached a considerable size, almost covering the same area as the city itself. While not quite as large as the markets in Chang'an, it was comparable to those in larger counties like Linjin and Anyi.

Wang Fen, the Fengyi Inspector General who led the group, exclaimed, "Last year, when I came here, I took the small road from Fenyin. I never imagined that in just one year, such a huge change would take place."

Xin Ran, who was in the lead, did not feel the same way. He was indifferent to the scene before him and even felt a little annoyed. He really did not want to come to Xia Yang.

As a close friend of Sun Xiu, the Chief Clerk of King Zhao, he also gained power as Sun Xiu took control of the Zhengxi Army Headquarters, and was offered the lucrative position of Ji Cao Yuan in the Zhengxi Army Headquarters. Ji Cao, as the name suggests, was responsible for collecting all the supplies under the jurisdiction of the Zhengxi Army Headquarters, and it was self-evident how much profit there was in it.

At this time, he should have been living a life of luxury in Chang'an, sending his men to allocate taxes to the counties and then signing the account books.

But a few days ago, Sun Xiu came to see him in person and said with a smile: "Deyu, I have something to ask you to do for me."

Xin Ran was baffled, but couldn't refuse, so she could only ask, "What's the matter?"

"To collect household tax in a county."

"Ah? Why?" Xin Ran's face was full of suspicion. He could just let his subordinates handle this matter. Why should he go there in person?

Sun Xiu grinned, stroking his chin with one hand, his eyes narrowed into slits as he replied, "Hehe, because the county magistrate of this county is very important, and someone must be able to control the situation."

Xin Ran was familiar with that expression; it was the look Sun Xiu would make when he wanted to play a trick on someone. Then, Sun Xiu pulled two items from his pocket, handed them to Xin Ran, and said, "Take these two and go to Xiayang to collect taxes. Let's see how the Xiayang County Magistrate reacts."

So Xin Ran came here. He naturally knew Liu Xian's identity, but now that the Hou Party had already controlled the entire court, he didn't pay much attention to Liu Xian. He just felt that this trip was very tiring.

Why didn't this person, who had offended Duke Lu, commit suicide earlier to save everyone's trouble? This was Xin Ran's truest thought.

So when he arrived at the Xiayang County Government Office with his subordinates, the murderous look on his face frightened the welcoming officials.

As the county magistrate, Xi An immediately sensed something was amiss and asked, "Xin Zhuan, have I done anything wrong?"

Xin Ran turned a blind eye and simply glanced at the people around him and asked, "Why isn't your county lord here?"

This was clearly a rebuke to Liu Xian's rudeness. In ordinary counties, when encountering a visitor from the Western Expedition Army, they would all be servile and fawning, surrounded by a large crowd. Yet, in Xiayang, the county magistrate was the one who received him. This further deepened Xin Ran's dissatisfaction, and he realized that the Duke of Lu had a good reason to dislike this man.

Xi An replied, "Reporting to Xin Zhuan, two Hu tribesmen in the north of the county are fighting and injuring many people. Our county lord has gone to pacify them and has not yet received the news of your arrival. I have sent someone to inform them. They will be back in about an hour."

Faced with this reason, Xin Ran had no way to protest and could only snort heavily to express his dissatisfaction.

Xi An then asked, "If you are in a hurry and can't stay in Xiayang any longer, then let's start reconciling the accounts now. No matter what, County Lord Liu will definitely be back in time."

This was exactly what Xin Ran wanted, so he nodded in agreement. Then, he followed Xi An to Liu Xian's study. The two of them compared the account books and calculated the taxes that Xia Yang should pay this year.

As a close friend of Sun Xiu, Xin Ran naturally possessed a unique skill: exceptionally fast mental arithmetic. He could easily grasp the desired result from just a few glances at any account. Consequently, Sun Xiucai particularly admired him and appointed him to manage the affairs of the Ji Cao.

To determine the amount of taxes to be paid this year, the first thing to do was to confirm the number of households in Xiayang. Xi An looked through the household register and replied, "Two hundred and eighty-six households of adult males, and one hundred and thirteen households of lower adult males."

Upon hearing this, Xin Ran's eyelids fluttered, and he asked, "County Magistrate Xi, that's not right. I was walking here today, and I only passed the south side of the city, but I saw more than 300 households along the way. Your county should have more than that number of people, right?"

Xi An's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "Xin Zhuan is correct. This is the number of households in Xiayang during the first month of this year. It's already August, and during this time, the county lord has been recruiting refugees, so nearly two hundred more households should have returned home."

“Then why isn’t it counted?”

"According to custom, the household registration is counted annually, and taxes are calculated based on the number of households last year. There's nothing wrong with that, right? Otherwise, are we going to make the newly settled people pay taxes even if they have no harvest and are hungry?"

This is indeed the common practice in all counties. Xin Ran thought about it and did not delve into it further. Instead, he started the household survey based on the number of households.

The household tax system was a new taxation system pioneered by Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei. During the Han Dynasty, taxes were collected in cash. However, towards the end of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo's excessive minting of large sums of money led to the collapse of the national monetary system. Cao Cao then simply changed the tax system, eliminating cash and collecting only in-kind taxes.

Taxes were divided into two parts. The first was the land rent, which required a uniform annual payment of four liters of millet per mu of land, regardless of good or bad harvests, equivalent to a tax of three-tenths. The second was the household tax, or head tax, which required each household to pay two pieces of silk and two cotton towels.

This system continued until the reign of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin, when it was slightly modified. The land rent remained unchanged at four liters of millet per mu, but the household tax was changed to three bolts of silk and three catties of cotton for households with able-bodied males. For households without adult males, the tax was halved.

Therefore, Xin Ran calculated the result and said to Xi An, "This year your county will have to produce 1,027 pieces of silk and 1,027 catties of cotton."

Xi An shook his head and said, "Xin Zhuan's calculations are incorrect, aren't they? Our county is a border county. According to the decree issued by Emperor Wu, we only need to pay two-thirds of the household tax."

Xin Ran glanced at him, seemingly surprised by his lack of tact, her expression becoming a little stiffer. But she finally nodded and smiled. "Haha, you're right. I was just joking. Your annual household tax should be 685 bolts of silk and 685 kilograms of cotton."

At this point, he paused slightly and smiled, "I know you're in trouble. Looking at the past account books, not only are we not collecting taxes from you every year, we've even sent some emergency aid from Fenyin. But this year, the country is in turmoil, and there's been a lot of material loss. Many soldiers are waiting for winter clothing, and the military commander is helpless."

"So this year, the military will not collect rent from Xiayang's fields. However, all counties in Guanzhong must pay this year's household tax, not a single horse less."

"This is a matter of national importance. Violators will be punished. Do you understand?"

Xi An, hearing the thorn in Xin Ran's words, had already guessed that he was Empress Jia's man, specifically coming to Xiayang to cause trouble. Faced with this threat, he remained undaunted and said directly, "Xin Ran, the household tax was collected last month and is currently stored at the county government office. If you wish to recruit, you can simply go to the government treasury and count it."

Xi'an was confident. Under Liu Xian's current governance, there was no corruption problem in Xiayang County. The treasury had the required amount of taxes, neither too much nor too little.

Six hundred and eighty-five rolls of silk cloth were now neatly stacked in the treasury, like a perfectly square mountain. And six hundred and eighty-five kilograms of cotton yarn, packed in bags weighing twenty-five kilograms each, were piled beside the silk cloth. Under these circumstances, Xi An was eager to see what tricks this official from the Western Expedition Army could come up with to distort the truth.

Then Xi An saw it.

After Xin Ran counted the items in public in front of the county officials of Xiayang County, he clapped his hands calmly. An attendant immediately took out a copper ruler and a wooden scale from the package.

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(End of this chapter)