A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 729 Jiahe Bailong
On the banks of the Hao River,
The rice leaves were tinged with a golden hue.

The Osmanthus Ball Rice is about to ripen.

"In another two weeks, it will be time to harvest."

Li Shimin lowered his head, held a heavy bunch of rice ears in his palm, carefully counted the grains, and his face was full of smiles.

"These heavy ears of rice are so pleasing to the eye, a truly fine harvest."

Luo San, who was accompanying the emperor, told him, “These rice paddies are fertile and well-watered. The seedlings are planted during the Qingming Festival and harvested after the Mid-Autumn Festival. In a normal year, the yield can be nearly two shi per mu. This particular rice paddy is cultivated by the Situ family with ample fertilizer, so the yield per mu can be five or six dou more.”

When it comes to rice cultivation, Luo San is an expert. He used to rent eighteen mu of rice fields from Wuji Temple and took excellent care of them.

Li Shimin also had his own small plot of land in the south of the city, where he would hold a spring plowing ceremony every year and personally plow a row of land. However, the emperor was an amateur when it came to farming, especially rice.

While the Guanzhong Plain is primarily known for its wheat and millet, there is a traditional rice-producing area at the foot of the Qinling Mountains south of Chang'an, along the banks of the Bashui River, which has been passed down for thousands of years.

Pig manure, bedding straw, stove ash, pond mud, and even oil cake left over from oil pressing can all be made into fertilizer to enrich the fields and increase production and income.

"This land retains water and fertilizer well, and can yield up to three shi per mu. This doesn't even include the additional income from planting a crop of radishes or rapeseed after the autumn harvest."

Li Shimin was astonished by the yield of three shi of rice per mu and asked, "How many steps are in one mu?"

Of course, the emperor was not ignorant of the five grains, nor did he not know how big an acre was. What he was actually asking was that fields were now divided into large, medium, and small sizes.

The smallest mu (a unit of land measurement) was one hundred paces, according to the Zhou dynasty system. The medium mu (another unit of land measurement) was two hundred and forty paces, according to the Han dynasty system. The largest mu (another unit of land measurement) was three hundred and sixty paces, according to the Qi dynasty system.

Generally, when referring to a mu (a unit of area), we are referring to a medium-sized mu.

“One step wider, two hundred and forty steps longer,” Luo San replied.

This is one mu (a unit of land measurement) in Han Dynasty China, and it is also a standard one mu.

The yield of rice per mu is three shi. Li Shimin did some mental calculations. One shi of rice can produce seven dou of unpolished rice, so one mu can also yield two shi and one unpolished rice. At present, one shi of white rice in Chang'an costs two hundred coins, and one shi of unpolished rice costs one hundred and twenty coins.

The yield of this acre of rice is equivalent to a bolt of silk.

Given that the average yield per mu is only one shi nowadays, a yield of three shi per mu for rice is truly astonishing.

"Your Majesty, the rice grown here is all Osmanthus Crystal Rice. It sells for a good price in Chang'an. One shi of wheat can be exchanged for three to five dou more."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin laughed and said, "This is truly a treasure land."

The rice paddies along the thirty-mile stretch of the Hao River cover tens of thousands of acres and can produce 60,000 to 70,000 shi of rice a year.

"If the Shibian Reservoir is completed, it will add a lot more paddy fields. It won't be a problem to produce 100,000 shi of rice a year just along the thirty-mile stretch of the Hao River," Li Yi said with great enthusiasm.

"it is good,"

Li Shimin bent down, plucked a rice stalk, and carefully put it away.

"I will take this auspicious grain back to Chang'an and treasure it."

The Guanzhong Plain is indeed rich and prosperous, and this reputation is well-deserved.
Both banks of the Wei River, especially along the Baiqu line in the north of the Wei River, are irrigated wheat fields. The land is fertile and the water supply is plentiful. In summer, the wheat fields ripple like waves.

At the foot of the Qinling Mountains and along the banks of the Bashui River, rice-growing areas are filled with the fragrance of ripe rice every autumn harvest.

only,
The Guanzhong Plain, stretching for eight hundred miles, could hardly support an imperial capital with a population of one million.

Having just experienced a period of great turmoil, Chang'an's population is not yet large, and the food supply problem is not yet severe.

During the prosperous Kaihuang era, whenever there was a flood or locust plague, the Sui emperor would lead his officials to Luoyang to collect grain.

Transporting grain from Sanhe in Guandong or Jianghuai to Guanzhong was time-consuming and costly, with transportation expenses being several times that of the grain itself.

Looking at the golden rice fields,
Li Shimin asked Luo San, "How much grain do people have to pay per mu (unit of land area) when they farm now?"

"In Yusu Township, the imperial court's tax system levies a fixed amount of two shi of millet per adult male per year, and a household tax of two zhang of silk and three liang of cotton. However, the adult males in our township are generally only allocated about forty mu of land, with twenty mu designated for permanent cultivation of mulberry and hemp, and the remaining twenty mu for rice and wheat."
One mu of grain field yields one dou of millet, while one mu of mulberry field yields one chi of silk and some cotton.

The imperial court also levied a tax on households every year. Every three years, during the "big year," the tax was tripled. In the "small year," the average tax per household was 200 coins, while in the "big year," it was 600 coins.

The village had a community granary, but contributions were voluntary. Generally, upper-class households contributed one shi (a unit of dry measure) of millet, middle-class households seven dou (another unit of dry measure), and lower-class households four dou…

Luo San counted on his fingers as he reported to the emperor, item by item.

These are the overt taxes and levies, but there are also some apportionments from government offices and local governments, such as money for paper and pens for bookkeeping and accounting, and so on. There are quite a few of them in total.

In addition to grain tax, there will also be an additional levy for rodent damage.

The able-bodied men of the tax household were also required to perform twenty days of free labor for the imperial court each year, and middle-aged men who were over eighteen but not yet adults were also required to perform some miscellaneous tasks.

Now, the imperial court wants to levy another two liters of grain from the public granaries.

The two-liter surcharge may seem small,
It can be added layer by layer.
It still increased the burden.

The imperial court said that the tax would be levied at two liters per mu, but local governments would also take advantage of this to collect taxes from birds, rats, and other pests. Every official tax would be subject to additional deductions by the prefectures, counties, and townships.

Therefore, the actual amount of grain that the people contributed from the two liters of public granary grain may have been three or even four liters.

Li Shimin frowned.

If each household could cultivate 100 mu of land, the burden would be manageable. However, if they only had 30 or 40 mu, the burden would be quite heavy.

If a household has several able-bodied men but only owns forty mu (approximately 20 acres) or even less, then they must pay rent and taxes, household tax, and perform corvée labor.

It's very arduous.

In such circumstances, it is quite normal for ordinary people to choose to abandon their registered residence and flee their homes, attach themselves to powerful landlords, or even hide in the mountains and forests.

As Li Yi once said, for ordinary people, life is simply about survival.

Of course, even wealthy rural landlords couldn't escape being exploited.

The main problem was the exploitation of public funds and public land. In order to ensure the interest on public funds, the government would not lend the money to poor people. Since there weren't many merchants willing to borrow public funds, the government often ended up levying taxes on wealthy households and forcing them to borrow public funds.

County officials and money collectors would take advantage of their positions to embezzle public funds and lend them out for personal gain.

The landlord clearly didn't need a loan, but he was forced to take out a government loan with a monthly interest rate of eight percent, which almost doubled in a year.

Rural landlords were forced to accept the land as collateral, but they would often turn around and lend it out at high interest rates, making another profit from the poor. The same was true for government-owned land and official land; these were all rented out by the government, but not to ordinary people, especially not to the poor who had no property. They were given priority to wealthy households, so that the rent was guaranteed regardless of the circumstances.

Landlords themselves rented out their land and were unwilling to rent government-owned or official land, even though the rent for those lands was high, as it was a duty.

In addition, when the imperial court or local governments needed to undertake any major events, whether it was fighting a war or repairing a city, they would often solicit donations or loans from landlords and wealthy households.

These are not national taxes.
But these are all real burdens.

Not to mention the exploitation by petty officials and their cronies; if you get into a lawsuit, they'll be squeezed dry.

During the Sui Dynasty, township officials were appointed and even granted judicial powers, but why were these positions eventually abolished? Similarly, the Tang Dynasty quickly abolished township officials such as township heads and assistants.
Although the township-level organization was retained, the five village chiefs took turns going to the county government office to assist the county in managing the township.

Ultimately, the more government offices there are, the greater the harm and burden on the people.

Luo San owned over two thousand mu of land, earning more than a thousand shi of rent annually. As a rural landlord, he was precisely the kind of person the clerks and officials in the government would exploit.

However, because he was Li Yi's man and had previously served as the Grand Minister of Agriculture for the Kingdom of Dai under Li Yi, the county dared not exploit him. Public funds, public land, and official land would not be allocated to him.

All the fundraising efforts were merely symbolic.

In the countryside, landlords and wealthy families would try to curry favor with officials and powerful clans, and try to get their clansmen into government positions; otherwise, they would have little security.

Although the rent-labor-tax system had many limitations, it was particularly useful during times of war and turmoil. Its key advantage was its simplicity; it eliminated the need to calculate household assets, inventory land quantities, or assess land quality.
Taxes should be levied directly on able-bodied men.

It's always easier for the state to control household registration than to control land or property.
It was also difficult for lower-ranking officials and powerful figures to deceive their superiors and subordinates.

It can guarantee basic tax revenue.

However, in the long run, the land tax system based on the equal-field system, which unified the country under the Tang Dynasty, was inherently flawed after the Tang Dynasty unified the country.

While issues such as the primary customer and the two tax laws may exist, these issues must be addressed.

"What is the attitude of the merchants and artisans of Yusu Town towards the new policies that the court is going to try out?" Li Shimin asked.

"We firmly support the new policies of the imperial court."

Li Shimin carefully examined Luo San's face. "With the new policy being implemented, the taxes on passage, residence, and transportation are much more than what the original assembly management office collected, right?"
Are the merchants really willing?

Luo San answered honestly, "In the past, everyone spontaneously built a market here, organized gatherings and management, and charged a certain fee."
Actually, everyone has been feeling uneasy, afraid that the policy might change at any time, which makes them feel uneasy.

The imperial court has now established towns and cities, encouraged industry and commerce, and levied commercial taxes, which are indeed higher than in the past, but all of them are borne by merchants. Just as ordinary people pay taxes to the emperor for farming, it is only right that we, as merchants and traders, pay commercial taxes.

"Two-hundredths of the tax is for transit, three-hundredths for residence, and four-hundredths for transportation; I believe this is quite reasonable."

Holding the stalk of rice, Li Shimin also felt that the commercial tax was indeed not high.
"Wu Yi, after you return to the capital, quickly organize people to draft a commercial tax regulation and make it public."

Commercial taxes must be unified nationwide in the future, and cannot be levied arbitrarily by different localities.

The purpose of formulating commercial tax regulations is not only to clarify how to collect commercial taxes and protect merchants and travelers, but also to combat tax evasion and ensure tax revenue.

far away,

A Qinghai steed galloped by.

A group of people chased after them.

"Is that the Princess of Daning County?" Luo San looked alarmed. "Oh dear, why is the princess riding out on a big horse? It's too dangerous."

As he spoke, he quickly ran towards them.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Third Brother, don't be surprised. Shuniang can ride a horse. Look how steadily she rides."

Li Shimin looked up and was surprised. "Your wife is only five years old, right? How can she ride this horse so fast?"

"That girl is quite mischievous. She started riding a pony when she was three years old, and now she rides a big horse and shoots a slingshot. She's quite skilled at both horseback and archery. She can hit the target every time she shoots a bird with a slingshot from thirty paces away."

"Wow, good heavens!" Li Shimin exclaimed in surprise. "Crown Prince Chengqian is about the same age as your aunt, but he doesn't have the skill of riding a horse and shooting birds."

While talking,
Li Shu had already ridden her horse up to the group, and Xu Luoren quickly stepped forward to stop her.

Xu Luoren was skilled at judging horses, and his family used to be in the horse business. Several of the emperor's finest horses were presented to him by Xu Luoren.

"Isn't this the Qinghai horse that the Tuyuhun Khan gave to Situ? The county princess actually tamed it?"

The chili pepper was wearing a pomegranate red dress.
The little boy riding the big horse looked incredibly dashing.

Li Shu said smugly, "Horses are easy to train. Even the most disobedient horse can be dealt with by iron whips, hammers, and knives."

But this little white dragon is very obedient to me and not fierce at all.

This Qinghai horse, with its bluish-white coat, was also known as the Qinghai Dragon Steed, so the girl called it Little White Dragon.

"Grandpa, Grandpa Luo's food is ready, it smells so good, let's go back and eat."

Li Shimin stepped forward and said, "Girl, give your uncle a ride."

The girl smiled and said, "Then you'd better sit tight, the little white dragon runs very fast."

Li Shimin leaped onto his horse.

Xiao Shu said again, "Hold on tight, don't fall."

Li Shimin then smiled and hugged her. Little Li Shu kicked the horse's belly and called out to Qinghai Cong, "Little White Dragon, go back."

The Qinghai horse obediently started running.

Golden waves of rice rippled in the breeze.
The white dragon horse carried Li Shuhe and the emperor, galloping through the waves of rice.

As the sun sets,

Li Yi's father could only follow behind, walking on his own two feet.

"Slower."

(End of this chapter)