The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 67 Take it from the people and use it for the people
"These past few days, Supervisor Kang has spent over three hundred taels of silver on me. Please tell me the good news first. If it's not good enough, I will have no choice but to send you to Seoul, Korea..."

Liu Zhaosun nodded to Jin Yuji and signaled the beauty to leave.

Jin Yuji stood up and took a few steps, then turned back to Liu Zhaosun, clasped her hands together, and retreated.

Liu Zhaosun knew that she wanted to go to Guiyuan Temple to burn incense and pray for him, and he couldn't help feeling warm in his heart.

Kang Yingqian was not afraid of going to Seoul to be... He just sighed that Liu Zhaosun had such a confidante. He smiled and shook his head, then slowly put down the teacup and said slowly:
"The good news is that the 60,000 mu of farmland you mentioned earlier, Lieutenant General Liu, I have visited and investigated in the past few days and found that it is indeed unowned land. There are also military farms under the names of several generals and lieutenants, which add up to 50,000 to 60,000 mu."

"Also, I learned from Commander Yang that there's a farm thirty miles south of Kaiyuan City. It's been cultivated for decades and is top-quality land, probably ten thousand acres. He's willing to help us get it."

Liu Zhaosun nodded repeatedly. This news was indeed good. He felt excited at the thought that the Liao people could own their land.

If these self-cultivating farmers are trained into an army, their combat effectiveness will be improved by several levels.

People can only exert greater energy when they defend their own vital interests.

It should be noted that land and wealth are the most important tools to bind soldiers.

The so-called manors and fields are the fields owned by princes and nobles.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang appointed princes to guard the four directions. The princes of the previous generations all had great military and political power and were very powerful.

Since the Jingnan Campaign, several emperors have continued to weaken the power of the princes, such as administrative power, financial power, and of course the most important power is military power.

By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the princes and relatives of the royal family had been greatly reduced. They could no longer engage in business or take the imperial examinations like normal scholars and common people. Under oppression, they could only rely on religion or literature. Of course, those descendants of the Zhu family who had no artistic talent could still continue to have children in the palace.

By the late Ming Dynasty, the number of princes and their relatives was too large, and gradually became a heavy financial burden on the court. Some provinces even had to spend one-third of their financial resources to support their princes.

The subsequent Wanli Reforms loosened the power of the princes in the hope that these parasites could play a role for the country. Restrictions on the princes' employment were relaxed, such as allowing them to take the imperial examinations and engage in business... However, these reforms came too late.

Liu Zhaosun thought for a while. As far as he could remember, there didn't seem to be any vassal kings in Liaodong during the Wanli reign, but Kang Yingqian just mentioned that it was a farmland. This was really strange.

Just as he was about to ask which prince's farmland this was, Kang Yingqian put down his teacup and sighed:

"Think of how brave Li Chengliang was back then, it seemed as if all of Liaodong belonged to his family. Now, the music has ended and the people have dispersed. I watched him entertain his guests, and then I watched his building collapse. His descendants can't even protect his land."

Only then did Liu Zhaosun realize that this was the Li family's property. Li Chengliang was granted the title of Earl of Ningyuan, and his son Li Rusong inherited it. He did not expect that the court would reward the Li family with so much land. This was only in Kaiyuan, and he must have some in other places as well. No wonder Li Chengliang could support three thousand servants.

"General Kang is saying that these ten thousand acres of fertile land have also become ownerless?"

Seeing Liu Zhaosun asking, Kang Yingqian smiled and said, "That's not the case."

"Doesn't the Li family still have Li Ruzhen? He's back from the capital. The emperor originally wanted him to replace his brother Li Rubai to guard Liaodong and lead the Liao garrison to reinforce Kaiyuan. But now that Kaiyuan is secured by us, this gentleman has returned to Shenyang."

Liu Zhaosun was surprised and asked, "He doesn't want all this land in Kaiyuan anymore?"

Kang Yingqian laughed:
"To a dandy like him, ten thousand acres of land is nothing. He doesn't feel bad selling his father's land! This man is a playboy, greedy for pleasure, and worthless. He just wants to return to the capital as soon as possible to enjoy himself. He can't stay in Liaodong for a single day. I estimate that he will return to the capital soon."

Liu Zhaosun marveled at this and secretly felt sorry for Li Chengliang. Li Ruzhen was truly a spendthrift, throwing away over 10,000 acres of fertile land. Li Chengliang, a servant, had painstakingly built up such a vast fortune, only to have his sons, each one more incompetent than the last, squander it in just two generations. He silently vowed that when he had a son himself, he would find a top-ranking Jinshi (a jinshi) scholar to teach him to study hard.

Seeing that Liu Zhaosun was interested in this man, Kang Yingqian narrowed his eyes and said with a half-smile:

"Li Ruzhen is nothing but a drunkard and useless."

"A few years ago, when Li Chengliang was still alive, Li Ruzhen was the commander of the Capital Pacification Office. He was very arrogant and domineering. The Five City Military Commission and the six government offices did not dare to provoke this young man."

"It is said that he once entertained an officer from Jizhou who had come to Beijing to make a living. In his drunken state, he set off a musket in his home as if it were a firecracker. The sound was like thunder, and the people nearby were so frightened that they ran around everywhere, thinking that the gunpowder at Wanggongchang had exploded."

Kang Yingqian concluded:
"Don't worry. This man is useless. Even if he doesn't leave, he won't be able to keep these farmlands in Liaodong. Now that all the Li brothers are dead, the huge family property will eventually turn into nothing. That's why I said this is good news and told Lieutenant General Liu to pay attention. This farmland is right next to Lieutenant General Liu. It belongs to us! We can't let others take it away."

Kang Yinggan spoke so many words in one breath that his mouth was dry. Just as he was about to ask the maid to pour tea, he realized that he was in the general's mansion and there was no maid around to serve him.

Liu Zhaosun called a fat maid to pour tea for Lord Kang. Kang Yinggan looked at the maid for a few seconds and saw that the girl was big and fat, so he shook his head repeatedly.

Liu Zhaosun looked out the door, speechless. After the Hongwu reign, granting land to meritorious officials became rare, and most of the land acquired by nobles was seized.

In the nine northern frontiers, the so-called farmlands were actually mostly seized military settlement land and civilian land.

It seems that Li Chengliang must have occupied a lot of people's land. In his later years, Li Chengliang was severely impeached by censors. One of the charges was that he privately occupied people's land and military land.

Liu Zhaosun knew that these farmlands would be swallowed up by the surrounding wealthy families. He thought that instead of that, it would be better to take them from the people and use them for the people. He tried to get the land under the name of the Ningyuan Earl into his own hands.

Anyway, Li Rusong was dead and Li Rubai had just committed suicide, so Li Ruzhen basically didn't care about anything.

To feed more than 3,000 soldiers and 7,000 to 8,000 Liao people in the city, 60,000 acres of farmland, plus the 10,000 acres that Marin had rented to him before, a total of 70,000 acres of land, is enough to feed so many people.

Liu Zhaosun knew that Kang Yingqian had something else to say, so he patiently asked:

"So what's your bad news?"

Kang Yingqian chuckled and looked at Liu Zhaosun awkwardly:

"The bad news is that half of the 60,000 acres of land I mentioned earlier has already been occupied. Only 30,000 acres are left for us, and most of them are abandoned land."

Liu Zhaosun flew into a rage and slammed the table and stood up:

"Who occupies it? Do they have the title deed?"

Kang Yingqian laughed and motioned Liu Zhaosun to sit down before saying:

"It's those military leaders under Ding Bi. Most of these lands belong to General Ma. When General Ma was defeated, they assumed he would die, so they seized the opportunity to occupy them. Naturally, they didn't have the land deeds. When we were fighting in Kaiyuan, they also sent troops to the surrounding garrisons to seize some land. The two commanders didn't dare to say a word. Liu Zhaosun, do you really think all the military leaders in Liaozhen are as soft-hearted as you?"

Liu Zhaosun felt a little unbelievable. These fields were clearly in Kaiyuan, so how could it be the turn of other Liao towns to occupy them?

I have to say that Ding Bi's hands are quite long.

"Ding Bi again! How dare this bastard do this?!"

Kang Yingqian said coldly:

"Why wouldn't he dare? If Lord Xiong hadn't come to Liaodong, the remaining 30,000 acres would also be theirs."

"This Ding Bi is no ordinary man. I've heard he's a notorious corrupt official in Liaozhen, and he has a close relationship with the Tartars. He owns land and shops in Kaiyuan, Tieling, Shenyang, Liaoyang, and Shanhaiguan. I don't think he's a general, but more of a businessman."

Liu Zhaosun's face was gloomy. He didn't have a good impression of Ding Bi. He remembered that he had a fight with this man when they first met in Shenyang.

I didn't expect to meet you again in Kaiyuan. It's really a narrow road for enemies.

"This man also has a shop in Kaiyuan City, specializing in selling ginseng and dried mink fur to the south. He's making quite a profit. I've even been there, and his business is booming."

When Liu Zhaosun saw the look in Kang Yinggan's eyes, he knew that he wanted to start with these shops, retaliate, and stab Ding Bi in the back.

Liu Zhaosun thought that the most urgent task at the moment was the fields, and controlling the trade in shops could be delayed for the time being. Moreover, Kaiyuan's business was prosperous, and if Ding Bi's shop was attacked directly, it would inevitably have a bad impact on other merchants. Business needed stable order the most.

"First, arrange for the Liao people to cultivate the 15,000 acres of land. Seeds, fertilizers, farm tools, oxen, and the like can all be purchased in Kaiyuan City. General Xiong will also send some seeds and farm tools to Shenyang."

After Liu Zhaosun finished speaking, he looked up at Kang Yingqian. This ruthless civil servant already had a ferocious look on his face.

"Lieutenant General Liu still wants to endure it?"

"Ding Bi, this bastard, is getting more and more aggressive. Not only did he bully General Ma, he even dared to bully me. If you continue to tolerate this, I will no longer be able to be a lieutenant general!"

After Liu Zhaosun finished speaking, he turned and looked towards the door and said to his personal guards:

"Take this official's order and go to the North Gate Barracks. Have Li Yuchen from the Cavalry Battalion lead his troops over!"

(End of this chapter)