Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 108: Enclosure! Fubing System + Eight Banners Enclosure + Western Knights Manor!

If history had developed normally, the war between Song and Jin for Qinzhou would have taken place three years later.

At that time, both the Mongols and the Jin were exhausted from fighting each other. The Song Dynasty sent 3,000 elite soldiers to attack Qinzhou City at night to see if there was any advantage they could gain. However, they were taught a lesson by the Jin army commander Shi Mo Zhongwen and suffered a crushing defeat.

This gave Shuhu Gaoqi, who had been promoted to the position of Prime Minister, an advantage: "When I led 3,000 soldiers to guard Qinzhou, you couldn't defeat the Qinzhou defenders. I took 3,000 soldiers away, and you still can't defeat the Qinzhou defenders. Isn't your Song State too weak?"

So, Shuhu Gaoqi persuaded the emperor and other ministers to formulate a national policy for the Jin Dynasty: "What we lost in the north must be made up in the south." In other words, if the Jin Dynasty couldn't defeat the Mongols, could it still defeat the Song people? What we lost in the Mongols must be made up in the Song Dynasty.

Although Shuhu Gaoqi was later killed in the internal strife of the Jin Dynasty, the national policy of "losing the north and making up for the south" that he formulated continued to be implemented, and the Song and Jin dynasties began a war that lasted for ten years.

Now Zhao Shuo changed history. Not only did he attack the Jin three years earlier, but he also signed the Da'an Agreement with the Jin, which was comparable to the Jingkang Agreement. The Song Dynasty did not just send 3,000 elite troops to attack Qinzhou at night, but directly dispatched a 100,000-strong army to take Qinzhou by force.

Of course, it would take a long time for Zhao Kuo's edict to be transmitted to Chengdu, 3,600 miles away, and for him to gather an army of 100,000 mainly infantry in Sichuan to attack Qinzhou, and the outcome would not be determined in a short time.

Let’s not talk about the Song-Jin War, let’s talk about Zhao Shuo first.

Just when Zhao Kuo's edict was issued from Lin'an, Zhao Shuo led the main force out of Yehu Ridge and arrived outside Huanzhou City.

Guo Baoyu, Shi Tianni, Zhang Rou, and Yan Shi, the four Han army commanders of the Eight Banners, had received orders long ago and were waiting in Huanzhou City.

Upon learning that Zhao Shuo had arrived, they went thirty miles out of the city to greet him.

Guo Baoyu, Shi Tianni, Zhang Rou, Yan Shi, together with Geerle, Suhe, Hairige, Altana, Machibieduwen, Hedaheibatur, and Shimomingan who came with Zhao Shuo, are Zhao Shuo's core team.

Zhao Shuo gathered them here to discuss how to settle the Eight Banners of the Han Army.

Of the three prefectures of Fu, Huan, and Chang, Fuzhou was the most populous and the wealthiest, while Huanzhou was the smallest and the poorest. Therefore, Zhao Shuo planned to use Huanzhou as a pilot for reform. If successful in Huanzhou, he would then expand the reform to the other two prefectures.

Before Zhao Shuo, Shi Tianni had been appointed as the governor of Huanzhou to carry out preparatory work.

Why is it Shi Tianni?

Because, among all the generals under Zhao Shuo, Shi Tianni is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable.

If it weren't for Zhao Shuo's butterfly effect, Shi Tianni would have failed the Jin Dynasty's imperial examination this year, sighing, "Is literary talent the only way a man can establish himself? If I were to encounter a wild cock crowing at night, with a million followers, fame and fortune would be easily within my grasp."

Although Shi Tianni was a failed Jinshi, it was still quite remarkable!

According to the Jin Dynasty system, before passing the imperial examination, one had to pass the provincial examination first.

The Jin Dynasty's imperial examinations were held every three years. Only about two hundred people from across the country passed each provincial examination. Then, from these two hundred or so, twenty to forty Jinshi (Jinshi) were selected.

In other words, on average, less than seventy people can pass the provincial examination every year.

With Shi Tianni's level, it should be no problem for him to get into Tsinghua University or Peking University in the future.

"Tian Ni!"

After arriving at the Governor's Mansion in Huanzhou City, Zhao Shuo first called a meeting of all the generals and asked, "Have you figured out the situation in Huanzhou?"

"I've figured it out," Shi Tianni said. "Huanzhou is nearly 400 miles in radius. Excluding wasteland, tidal flats, and woodlands, 80% is pasture and 20% is arable land. The pastures are rich in water and grass, capable of supporting millions of livestock of all kinds. Arable land is relatively scarce, only 6.92 million mu."

"What about the population?"

"Originally, Huanzhou of the Jin Dynasty had 10,000 standing troops. Together with their families, the total population was approximately 50,000. Since our army captured Huanzhou, many of the families of the military households have fled, leaving only about 20,000. The remaining civilian population is approximately 428,000.

In addition, the Huanzhou Herdsman has 4,000 herders, with a total population of approximately 20,000. They are only responsible for raising horses and livestock, and we need to provide them with the food and cloth they need to survive."

Zhao Shuo pondered and said, "Don't worry about the Herdsmen Supervisor for now. They hand over their horses and livestock in exchange for grain and cloth from the government, so we're generally making a profit. The problem now is the farmers. Of the 448,000 ordinary people, 430,000 of them must be farmers, right?

Huanzhou has 6.92 million mu of land, so doesn't that mean each person has 16 mu of land? That's quite a lot!"

Shi Tianni shook his head slightly and said, "Your Highness, you don't know. Huanzhou has a cold climate and arid land. It's completely incomparable to our hometown in Hebei. I've done some research. Except for the land along the river, the other land produces less than 100 kilograms of grain per mu. In a normal year, it only produces about 80 kilograms."

To be frank, Huanzhou is located at the junction of agriculture and animal husbandry, where the grass is the most lush. However, these arable lands are not very suitable for growing crops, and the crop yield per acre is extremely low.

The yield of one acre of land is 80 kilograms of grain. After deducting the cost of seeds, the harvest is only 70 kilograms.

Sixteen acres per person means an annual income of 1,100 kilograms of grain.

It sounds like a lot, but the land was not distributed evenly, so the majority of the population certainly didn't live a good life.

If the court's taxes were any heavier, the situation would be even worse.

Zhao Shuo asked, "What about the tax revenue of the Jin Kingdom?"

"According to the laws of the Jin court, the people were required to pay approximately 10% of their income. However, in reality, after adding up all the various levies and taxes, they only collected about 70%.

Of course, most people can't afford it.

"People with some means would find ways to delay their payments. People with less means would borrow money at high interest rates to pay their taxes. Those with even less means would sell their children and wives, and when they had nothing left to sell, they would either hang themselves or sell themselves into slavery."

Zhao Shuo asked, "Then how do you think we should collect taxes?"

"I am in a very difficult situation." Shi Tianni lowered his head in shame and slowly explained the difficulties.

In the past, when he was in Yongqing, Shi Tianni thought he was a man of both civil and military talents. Once he got the chance, he would become a general or a prime minister, marry the daughter of a prominent family, and reach the pinnacle of his life.

However, he did not do the first task Zhao Shuo gave him well.

How to collect taxes?
Zhao Shuo had previously told Shi Tianni that he did not intend to let the Han army's Eight Banners soldiers farm, but to let them serve as professional soldiers.

Huanzhou was responsible for resettling Shi Tianni's Wanhu.

In those days, a family needed fifty strings of cash a year to make ends meet. Although the Eight Banners soldiers now had ample armor and weapons, both armor and weapons would eventually break. The cost of these items would still have to come from these taxes.

In addition, soldiers need to eat meat and train, so they need more supplies.

Roughly speaking, an Eight Banners soldier needs to have an income of at least 100 strings of cash a year.

Seven or eight households support one soldier. If we collect 30% tax, it should be enough.

But the problem is that land is not distributed equally.

For middle-class families, even collecting 50%, let alone 30%, would be a great benevolent policy.

However, for the poor people who make up the largest population and have the least land on average, asking them to pay a 30% tax would be like asking them to die.

Zhao Shuo had instructed us to manage the three prefectures of Changfu, Heng as our fundamental territory. We couldn't let the people under our rule suffer because of taxation, could we?
Shi Tianni even thought of referring to the military system during the Tang Dynasty.

He simply used a knife to force the people of Huanzhou to divide up the land. Then, he collected taxes directly at a rate of 30%.

But then again, there is no talent!

Even if the land in Huanzhou was really divided, who would collect the taxes?
It turned out that the officials of these three states were frightened by the forest of skulls and ran away.

Forget the Mongols. Even the Han Chinese and the Han army were mostly poor peasants, and few could read. Those who could barely read could not understand the complicated accounts and could not serve as tax collectors.

After finishing talking about these difficulties, Shi Tianni felt even more ashamed, his face flushed, and he lowered his head deeply.

If he hadn't known Zhao Shuo's temper, he would have knelt down and apologized long ago.

Zhao Shuo raised his chin, motioned Shi Tianni to sit down, and said, "Actually, this isn't Shi Tianni's fault. Being able to figure out Huanzhou's situation in such a short time is already very good. Come on, everyone, how should we collect taxes in Huanzhou?"

"..."

Guo Baoyu, Zhang Rou and Yan Shi looked at each other with frowns.

If Shi Tianni couldn't do anything about it, they were even more helpless. The unresolved tax issue in the three states affected the placement of their troops, which made them extremely anxious.

Not to mention those Mongolian thousand households. If the Mongols could collect clear taxes, could Temujin give the three states of Fu, Huan and Chang to Zhao Shuo?

Zhao Shuo said, "Since you're all silent, I'll say a few words. Actually, collecting taxes isn't difficult. Most of the nobles on the grasslands are illiterate, yet they can still collect tribute from the tribes. It's a simple principle. Collecting taxes from many households requires specialized officials. But what if you only collect taxes from a few, or a dozen households? It's a simple matter of calculation; anyone can do it."

Shi Tianni seemed to realize something vaguely and said, "What the Prince Consort means is..."

Zhao Shuo said, "In the Han area, I plan to implement two systems. The first system is the Fubing system you just mentioned, Shi Tianni. As our territory expands and we have more talented people, we will definitely implement the Fubing system in most places. The second system is the Eight Banners Enclosure System that we will implement in Huanzhou." "Enclosure? How do we enclose it?"

"It's all under control!" Zhao Shuo said, "From today on, all pastures in Huanzhou will naturally belong to the government. However, all arable land will belong to you, Shi Tianni, the head of the Wanhu. Then, it will be distributed according to the size and fertility of the land. Ordinary soldiers will get one share, heads of ten households will get two shares. Heads of a hundred households will get five shares, heads of a thousand households will get thirty shares, and heads of ten thousand households will get three hundred shares. From now on, these lands are yours!"

Shi Tianni asked, "In other words, the land of the ten-household, hundred-household, thousand-household, and ten-thousand-household units is calculated separately from the soldiers? A ten-household unit, plus the nine people under his command, actually has eleven plots of land? A hundred-household unit has five times as much land as an ordinary soldier? A ten-thousand-household unit has three hundred times as much land as an ordinary soldier?"

Zhao Shuo said: "Yes, that's what I mean."

The distribution system formulated by Zhao Shuo actually has no essential difference from the Meng'an Mouke system of the Jin Dynasty, the hereditary marquis system of the Han army implemented by the Mongols in the Central Plains, the military household system of the Ming Dynasty, and even the Eight Banners enclosure of the Qing Dynasty.

The ten-household, hundred-household, thousand-household and ten-thousand-household officers of the Eight Banners of the Han Army were in charge of military affairs and also served as tax collectors.

The soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Han Army obtained the arable land that the Han people valued most.

Those who have constant property have constant perseverance. Only when the land is truly distributed into the hands of soldiers can they burst out with amazing fighting power.

However, as long as the world remains at peace for a long time and the population grows, problems will surely arise.

However, how could Jin Taizu Wanyan Aguda, Yuan Taizong Kublai Khan, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and Qing Dynasty Huang Taiji be stupid people?
To put it bluntly, this thing is really useful for conquering the world!

As for after he takes over the throne? Then he can gradually make changes. There is no system in the world that can be implemented once and for all.

Moreover, Zhao Shuo wants to conquer the entire world.

No matter how fast the population explodes, it is not as fast as the expansion of Zhao Shuo's power. There is simply too much empty space on this earth.

Zhao Shuo will lead the most elite Han and Mongolian warriors to Central Asia, West Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America to occupy countless lands.

With so much land, are you afraid there won’t be enough to go around?
In addition, Zhao Shuo also planned to adapt to local conditions and gather ten, twenty, thirty, or even a hundred households together to build a large manor.

In this way, the manor can produce wine and vinegar, build a mill, raise chickens and ducks, and grow some cash crops... It has a bit of the flavor of a Western aristocratic manor.

In this way, both farmers and Eight Banners soldiers could obtain much more income than the original calculation.

Of course, this meeting is just a rough outline, and the details will be added later.

Zhao Shuo asked, "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

"What about the original owner of the land?" Before Shi Tianni could say anything, Zhang Rou asked with concern.

Yan Shi also said: "Yes, it's okay for the rich families. But the common people are already struggling to make a living. Taking away their land is not a good idea, right?"

Guo Baoyu was very thoughtful and said, "Does the Prince Consort mean to allow these common people to lease the land of the Han Army's Plain Yellow Banner?"

Shi Tianni asked, "Then what percentage of rent should we set?"

very good!

After listening to their questions, Zhao Shuo nodded secretly in his heart.

If an ordinary person heard that an entire state of land was given to him, he would definitely be overjoyed and would be eager to grab the land immediately.

However, Zhang Rou and Yan Shi were chivalrous and liked to stand up for the weak. Their first thought was about the livelihood of the common people.

Guo Baoyu and Shi Tianni also carefully considered the details and showed no greed at all.

He is indeed a famous figure in history, and is someone who can accomplish great things with Zhao Shuo!

Zhao Shuo said, "Let's take 40%. The people who lost their land can either make a living or rent your land. Of that, 30% will belong to you and 10% will belong to me. The remaining 60% will belong to the people. What do you think?"

"Absolutely." Shi Tianni calculated the numbers in the blink of an eye and said, "On average, about seven households support one soldier, and a soldier's income is three times that of an ordinary farmer. They have to provide their own armor, weapons, horses, and training, so the expenses are actually quite high.

Therefore, their actual income is only twice that of ordinary farmers.

The soldiers are engaged in a bloody business, while ordinary farmers have no worries about their lives. This distribution is already very fair.

A farmer has 1,100 kilograms of grain per year. If he pays 40% tax, he still has 660 kilograms of grain, which is enough to meet his basic needs.

Six hundred and sixty kilograms of food is certainly not a lot to ensure food and clothing.

But it’s definitely not too little.

In modern society, before the reform and opening up, the food rations for workers doing heavy manual labor were only 50 kilograms per month and 600 kilograms per year.

The food ration for light manual laborers and children is about 30 kilograms per month, and 360 kilograms per year.

The saved food can be used to buy clothes, farm tools and other things.

Moreover, Huanzhou doesn't have much else, but it has a lot of livestock.

With the involvement of these large livestock, there is actually not much heavy physical labor.

"Six hundred and sixty kilograms of food a year is more than enough!" Zhang Rou, who understood the hardships of the lower classes best, was delighted and said, "If in Hebei, there really was one person who could provide six hundred kilograms of food a year, I wouldn't be able to support even eight hundred people, let alone three thousand."

Yan Shi was also very happy and said, "Although we have taken their land, as long as the income is roughly the same, I can guarantee that the vast majority of the people will be happy. I'm just worried that after a while, some brothers will become greedy..."

Zhang Rou sneered and said, "They used to be impoverished farmers. Now, they have money, women, and seven families supporting them. If they're still greedy, or if they think that thing on their necks is too much of a hindrance, we'll help them move it!"

Guo Baoyu said, "We also have to worry about the wealthy and powerful. If this happens, they will suffer a great loss. Who knows, they will suffer a great loss."

Zhao Shuo didn't care at all and said, "The Eight Banners must encircle the territory. If anyone disobeys, I don't mind killing them until there is a river of blood."

In the following month, the enclosure movement in Huanzhou was carried out vigorously.

Because this place was too poor and many wealthy families had fled in previous wars, there were not many bloody incidents that could actually trigger a large-scale military crackdown.

In other words, more than 300 heads were chopped off to complete the enclosure.

The situation in Changzhou is different from that in Huanzhou.

Changzhou was much smaller than Huanzhou, but it had much more arable land. Zhao Shuo took 1.8 million mu of land as official farmland, and the remaining 6.92 million mu was distributed to Guo Baoyu's Zhenghong Banner.

Because Changzhou was rich, there were many wealthy families and local tyrants left. Guo Baoyu had to chop off more than 500 heads before he could divide the land.

Then, there is the most prosperous Fuzhou.

Fuzhou had too much arable land, and the land used to accommodate Zhang Rou's Zhenglan Banner, Yanshi's Zhenghei Banner, and half of the Xianghong Banner totaled 1.37 million mu.

These 370,000 acres were also taken over by Zhao Shuo as official land.

The resistance in Fuzhou was also the fiercest. It took nearly two thousand heads to suppress the dissatisfaction of the formerly wealthy families.

Of course, the vast majority of people not only had no dissatisfaction, but were overjoyed.

First, for farmers who were extremely poor, the government directly distributed relief grain, and they only had to pay it back with 10% interest after the autumn harvest next year.

Secondly, although the land is nominally gone, there is actually much more land that can be cultivated, and instead of paying 70% of the income, now only 40% is required.

Is there such a good thing in the world? What does it matter whether these lands are nominally yours or not?
Moreover, if farmers want to own their own land, there are ways. They can practice martial arts diligently and join the army!

The son-in-law still has more than three million acres of official land that has not been divided.

I'm not afraid of you dividing the land, I'm just afraid that you don't have the ability to do it.

Just thinking about this kind of day can make people laugh, and everyone is grateful to the prince consort for his great kindness.

As for the Jin Dynasty court? What the hell is that? Is it edible?

Of course, the happiest people were the Eight Banners soldiers.

Ordinary Han soldiers of the Eight Banners Army have made a fortune since joining the army. Almost all of them have started a family, and now they have been allocated land and become landlords.

Who has ever thought about such a good life before joining the army?
Although the actual income is only twice that of ordinary farmers, there are still spoils of war to be shared!
These are just basic benefits. If you want to get rich, you have to rely on war!
Didn’t everyone make a fortune during the Battle of Zhongdu?

(End of this chapter)