Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 170 The true intentions are revealed: Equal land distribution and relocation of people

The guests, who had arrived with trepidation, were surprised by the Han Prime Minister's magnanimity and grace. They were all delighted and felt a sense of warmth and joy, with some even becoming somewhat smug.

Cao Wei is powerless to attack us.

Even with Ji Han in charge, we are still needed.

if not?
Hey, ruling the world requires people!

How could the Shu Han dynasty, with only the manpower and resources of one province in Sichuan, rule such a vast empire?

Are we relying on those 50,000 or so petty officials in Sichuan?

The geographical barriers alone made it impossible to rely on the people of Shu to govern the world.

Relying on the people of Kanto?
Cao Wei shared so much profit with the gentry of Guandong and made so many compromises and concessions.

Since your Shu Han cannot give them what they want, and you will not share weal and woe with us, the powerful clans of the land where the Han Dynasty rose to power, and conquer Guandong, are you going to continue to oppress Guanxi like the Later Han and Cao Wei?

The sudden rise of Shu Han can be said to be the popular choice of most of the Kansai region.

The people of Guanzhong welcomed the royal army with food and drink, not only because Guanzhong was the place where the Han Dynasty rose to power and the people of Guanzhong missed the Han Dynasty, but also because the Guanzhong region and Guandong region had been in opposition for hundreds of years and their contradictions were irreconcilable. They would fight each other during the transition between order and chaos, which had long been a tradition.

Ying Zheng unified the six kingdoms and suppressed the Guandong region.

After Liu Bang entered Guanzhong, he suppressed the Guandong region.

When Liu Xiu moved the capital to Luoyang, the tide turned, and the people of Guandong began to fight against those of Guanxi, and the people of Guanxi gradually faded from the political stage.

During the more than two hundred years of the Later Han Dynasty, apart from the Liang and Dou families and the Yang family of Hongnong, Guanzhong almost never produced any high-ranking officials or prime ministers. They were looked down upon by the Guandong region, yet they had no choice but to serve as a military shield for the Later Han court and the Guandong gentry.

Those from the east rise to high positions, while those from the west sink to low ranks.

This led to a political pattern where prime ministers came from the east and generals came from the west.

The term "general" sounds impressive, suggesting that Kansai and Kanto were evenly matched. However, in reality, the generals from Kansai were all eager to curry favor with the people of Kanto and desperately wanted to shed their inferior status as Kansai warriors.

For example, Xin Pi and Dong Zhuo, both disciples from Yingchuan in Longxi, are examples.

The people of Guandong controlled the central government, suppressed the rise of the people of Guanxi, and intensified the conflict between the Han and Qiang people, leading to the century-long Qiang rebellion.

After causing trouble, they proposed abandoning Liang five times, prioritizing the interests of their neighbors and only seeking benefits for the Kanto region, while shifting all the difficulties and disasters onto the Kansai region.

This contradiction had been accumulating for hundreds of years and could not be resolved in a short time. After Cao Wei compromised with the Yingchuan gentry, Guanzhong completely faded from the political stage, and even generals could not emerge, let alone the Three Dukes and prime ministers.

This explains why, after the Han Dynasty returned to Guanzhong, powerful clans such as the Wei and Du families of Jingzhao voluntarily offered up some of their household registrations to show goodwill and actively seek cooperation with the Han Dynasty.

They need the political resources of the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty needs their governance capabilities. Their relationship with the Han Dynasty is one of mutual benefit when they cooperate, and mutual harm when they separate.

During the banquet, amidst laughter and conversation, the Prime Minister methodically explained how the court planned to govern Guanzhong and how the various ethnic groups present needed to cooperate in governing Guanzhong.

For example, all the laborers conscripted by Cao Wei from Guanzhong were sent back to their hometowns.

For example, the imperial court will organize manpower and allocate grain and fodder to relieve the people of Guanzhong and ensure that they can survive until the autumn harvest. However, this requires the cooperation of local aristocratic families to collect the first autumn tax and to re-register the households.

The major clans of Guanzhong are not limited to those present here.

However, the families present were among the most powerful and influential clans in Guanzhong.

If the most powerful clans, such as Wei, Du, Jin, Ji, Su, and Ma, cooperate in collecting taxes and registering households, it will be difficult for other minor powerful clans to mount violent resistance.

As for the cooperation needed from Westbrook and others, as long as they don't interfere or act insincerely, they will already be a tremendous help.

Otherwise, these local powerful clans could simply send people to spread rumors that the Han Dynasty was planning to impose heavy taxes of 50% or 60%, or that they would marry their wives and daughters to soldiers, which would be enough to scare the people into fleeing to the mountains or becoming hidden households in the clans' fortified estates.

Alternatively, excessive enforcement can be used; there are always solutions.

The Prime Minister further announced that the Han Dynasty would deploy troops to cultivate land in Guanzhong as a base for a long-term presence. However, the Han Dynasty would strictly enforce military discipline, and all ethnic groups need not worry that the soldiers would harass the people of Guanzhong.

Whether military discipline was strict or not, the guests present had no way of knowing at the moment, but the fact that the Han dynasty was garrisoning land in Guanzhong was within their expectations. The fact that the Han leader mentioned it to them was both an announcement and a way of giving them face.

They occupy the most fertile land in Guanzhong and have the best water resources. If the Han Dynasty wants to establish military settlements in Guanzhong, it will inevitably have to cultivate land near their fertile fields and share water resources with them.

Thus, conflicts over water and land between the soldiers stationed in the agricultural settlements and the tenant farmers of various ethnic groups were inevitable, requiring coordination and obedience from all ethnic groups.

Seeing that none of the tribes had any objections, the Prime Minister composed himself, ordered someone to bring out a map of Guanzhong, and then solemnly announced:
The Han Dynasty will organize manpower to repair the Zheng Guo Canal in the north of the Wei River, dredge the Chang'an Canal in the south of the Wei River, and open up twelve ponds in the areas circled on the map.

The most important matters of the nation are agriculture and war. These water conservancy projects will be the lifeblood of agriculture in Guanzhong. The imperial court has many professionals in this field who will lead the planning and core aspects of the projects.

However, a large amount of work, including the collection of materials and the recruitment of labor, will be entrusted to the powerful clans along the project route.

Upon hearing this, the guests at the table finally felt a slight unease, and the joyful expressions on their faces faded slightly.

All the previous matters did not involve the core interests of the various ethnic groups in Guanzhong.

After all, they had occupied all the fertile land and absorbed all the population they could. No matter how much the Ji Han registered households or reclaimed wasteland, it wouldn't affect them at all.

However, they don't actually need this water conservancy project, because they already have the best water resources, but the Prime Minister now needs them to contribute manpower, effort, and funds to build it together.

more importantly…

How many people did the Shu Han state plan to send to cultivate the land? And how much land did they plan to cultivate?

Such long Zheng Guo Canal and Cao Canal, so many large ponds and reservoirs...

Even if the Shu Han dynasty deployed all of its hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians who were both farming and fighting, and settled them in the fields along the project route, it would be impossible to utilize them all.

Du Jian glanced at the great calligrapher Wei Dan, and seeing the shameless old man still grinning foolishly to the side, he frowned slightly before mustering his courage and saying:
"Prime Minister, Guanzhong has just been pacified, and it is a time when everything needs to be rebuilt."

"And the construction of water conservancy projects is of paramount importance among all the projects that have been abandoned and need to be rebuilt. It will benefit the present generation and the next hundred years."

"If the imperial court truly desires to make Guanzhong a land of plenty and the foundation for the restoration of the Han dynasty, then the construction of water conservancy projects is an essential policy."

Before raising any objections, Du Jian layered on many layers of armor before bracing himself and continuing:
"His Majesty and the Prime Minister have placed their trust in my Du family with sincerity and have disregarded past grievances."

"Such a gracious favor is something we, the Du family, should repay with our utmost sincerity. We are also duty-bound to fulfill all the matters ordered by the court."

"However, I believe that Guanzhong has an insufficient population, and building such a large-scale water conservancy project at this time would not be worth the cost and would only damage the national strength of the Han Dynasty."

"For example, the Zheng Guo Canal and the three ponds at its head."

"The canals and weirs are all located north of the Wei River, but the population of north of the Wei River is only twenty or thirty thousand, less than half of that of the counties south of the Wei River."

"Does the Prime Minister intend to send all 100,000 soldiers and civilians to cultivate land north of the Wei River?"
“But the fields in the counties north of the Wei River are even more barren and infertile than those south of the Wei River. Why doesn’t the Prime Minister send people to reclaim the wasteland in the south of the Wei River first?”
"If so, Jian can make the decision to offer the Du family's twenty acres of poor land near Baqiao to the Han Dynasty, so that the Han military settlements can be connected into one area."

“I am frugal in my study of Du Fu’s Laws, and I am not well-versed in the classics. In addition, I am old and senile, and my thoughts may be incomplete. I humbly beg the Prime Minister to forgive me.”

The "Greater and Lesser Du Laws" were the Du family's school of thought, written by Du Zhou and his son Du Yannian. However, they were further developed and popularized by the Guo family of Yingchuan during the Later Han Dynasty. When Du Jian was puzzled by the Prime Minister's water conservancy project, he brought up the Du family's school of thought, implying that the Du family was useful to the country.

As far as he knew, the Shu Han dynasty indeed lacked people who were proficient in law, or rather, the Shu Han dynasty lacked all kinds of talent.

Otherwise, how could someone as mediocre as Ma Su, or as despicable as Yang Yi, whose talent was immediately apparent upon first meeting, be so highly valued by the Han chancellor?

The Prime Minister smiled and said:
"Lord Du was a man of profound thought for the Han Dynasty, a truly loyal and virtuous man of the country, and worthy of being a descendant of the eleven meritorious officials of the Qilin Pavilion."

"As for what Lord Du said, if the results of water conservancy projects are not commensurate with the costs, it will only damage the national strength of the Han Dynasty. I also deeply agree with this."

"But these water conservancy projects still need to be repaired."

Why?
"This is the reason why I have invited you all to the Prime Minister's residence today to discuss matters."

The prime minister's expression grew increasingly serious.

The guests present all felt a chill run down their spines.

But the Prime Minister continued speaking with a serious expression:

"Guanzhong is a fertile land stretching for thousands of miles, a land of abundance."

"However, Dong Zhuo burned and looted in front, and Li and Guo fought in the rear, leaving only one in ten people alive in Guanzhong. Fertile fields were abandoned and the land was sparsely populated."

"Given the current situation, even if all 100,000 soldiers and civilians of our Han Dynasty were stationed in Guanzhong, we still could not fully realize the benefits of a hundred li."

"His Majesty was well aware of this problem. Therefore, on the day he returned to the old capital, he decided with Liang and a group of ministers to relocate the people from Anding, Longyou, Shuzhong and Hanzhong who wished to relocate to Guanzhong to cultivate the land and defend the border."

"Regardless of whether they are Han, Qiang, Man, or Di, all will be registered as households and their land will be distributed equally to enrich the fertile land of Guanzhong. "The current large-scale water conservancy project is precisely for the purpose of settling and pacifying the newly relocated people."

"Only by dredging canals, building dams, and clearing ditches can we ensure that people have stable property and regular occupations."

"With sufficient water resources, agriculture can flourish."

“Once water conservancy is completed, people can live and thrive.”

"If this is the case, immigrants will be able to take root in the new land of Guanzhong, and the fertile land of Guanzhong will thus regain its former glory as the land of abundance."

See the picture poorly.

The heads of the various aristocratic clans present were completely dumbfounded when they heard the rest.

Migrants?

Equal field?

Regardless of whether they are Han, Qiang, Di, or Man?

They want our help to build water conservancy projects?

If the Shu Han dynasty had forcibly relocated a group of Han people from Shu and Hanzhong to Guanzhong to cultivate land, that would have been fine, since the court would have been blamed for the relocation of people.

There's so much wasteland in Guanzhong, you can cultivate it as you like, just don't come and steal my fertile land.

But now you're saying that regardless of whether they are Qiang, Di, or other barbarian tribes, all those who wish to migrate should be moved to Guanzhong to cultivate the land. What do you mean by that?
Just as people from Kanto look down on people from Kansai, believing that people from Kansai are uncultured and lack manners.

For the same reason, the people of Guanzhong looked down on the Qiang and Di peoples of Anding and Longyou, considering them to be uncivilized Rong and Di tribes.

With so much wasteland in Guanzhong, it could be turned back into fertile land in just a few years. Why is it that none of the Qiang, Di, Rong, and Di peoples around Guanzhong left the barren and sparsely irrigated Anding and Longyou to enter Guanzhong?

Is it that they don't want to?
Was it Cao Wei that prevented them from leaving the prefecture?
No, it was the powerful clans and wealthy families in Guanzhong who forbade it and resisted.

The Han dynasty practiced a system where prefectures were considered equivalent to states.

People from this county are often very wary of people from other counties.

Even if the fields in Guanzhong are left to rot, they will remain in Guanzhong's cauldron and cannot be touched by outsiders from other prefectures and counties.

If even the Han people are like this, what about the Rong and Di tribes?!

Even when Cao Cao moved the people of Wudu in Hanzhong to Guanzhong to cultivate land, it was only a migration to Chencang, which was almost uninhabited and had no large clans, and the land was reclaimed near Chencang.

Now, Ji Han not only wants to relocate people, but also wants to move these people to the core area of ​​Guanzhong, around Chang'an, and even more so, he wants the powerful clans in Guanzhong to provide manpower and resources to build water conservancy projects for the immigrants.

What is this thing called?

And what about equal distribution of land?
This is truly cutting into the flesh of the powerful and wealthy families in Guanzhong.

Because if the land is distributed equally and the taxes are lowered, some of the hidden households in their fortified villages will inevitably succumb to the temptation and become registered households of the imperial court, receiving the land granted by the court.

However, no matter how surprised or resistant they were, no one was willing to raise any objections at this moment.

But clearly, the originally lighthearted and joyful atmosphere of the banquet was completely gone, replaced by a dull and oppressive atmosphere.

The Prime Minister, of course, knew what the guests were thinking, so he said in a gentle voice:
"Gentlemen, there is no need to worry."

"The policies of registering households, equalizing land distribution, and military reclamation that Liang just mentioned only apply to the newly relocated people from Guanzhong."

"The people of Guanzhong are not yet at peace, and the fields are overgrown and in disarray. It is a time when everything needs to be rebuilt, and we should let the people rest."

"Therefore, the imperial court will not re-register the households of the people in Guanzhong within three to five years, nor will it implement the equal-field policy on a large scale."

"Furthermore, neither the land of the various clans is surveyed, nor are the past land rights of the land owned by the various clans traced back."

"Furthermore, a policy of land reclamation will be implemented."

"All unclaimed wasteland shall be permitted to be cultivated by all clans within three years, and shall be their hereditary property."

"The imperial court will implement the equal-field system in the future."

"For example, Du Gong's clan had a thousand households, and each household should have six hundred hectares of land."

"If Lord Du owns four hundred hectares of land, the court may allow Lord Du's clan to acquire another two hundred hectares of land."

“If the Du family owns a thousand acres of land, then they will not accept the land, nor will they return it; they may sell the land.”

When the Prime Minister finished speaking, the heads of the various clans at the banquet finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then they all looked at each other and pondered.

They did not distribute land equally, register households, or measure land acreage. They did not trace the past ownership of land and even allowed them to reclaim wasteland within three years. Furthermore, when the land was distributed equally in the future, their ownership of the reclaimed land would be recognized.

All of this not only does not infringe upon their interests, but actually benefits them.

But... it's impossible to have only rights and no obligations, right?

Of course not!
The sheer volume of information overwhelmed everyone present, leaving them staring at each other, unable to make sense of it all.

However, Du Jian, an elder of the Du clan, quickly grasped the meaning behind it.

Although the Han chancellor's move was ostensibly to benefit the various ethnic groups, his true purpose was quite clear.

This means first making concessions to various ethnic groups to pave the way for the future implementation of the equal-field system. Three to five years later, a population census and land survey will be conducted to clarify the two key tax bases: land and population.

Why?

As the Han chancellor said, even powerful families like theirs had to participate in the equal distribution of land.

Those with surplus land are not granted land, nor are they required to return it. They may also choose to sell the surplus land that exceeds the amount allocated for land distribution.

For those with insufficient land, the allocation will be increased to ensure that the average number of acres of land is reached.

In this way, these aristocratic families had to take the initiative to go to the imperial court to ascertain their land holdings and population.

What if we don't determine the ownership of the land?
If you can't even determine the property rights, then it's unclaimed land, and the imperial court will distribute it all as public land.

Could we report more acreage when submitting the report, and then secretly cultivate the land afterward to reach the falsely reported acreage?

If you manage to avoid being caught, yes, it depends on how lucky you are. And... the Han Prime Minister will probably continue to improve this aspect to prevent anyone from taking advantage of loopholes.

Can we underreport the acreage?
Of course.

Anyway, the imperial court will take stock of your household registration and then make up for the land loss according to the household registration. In the end, you will still have to pay taxes according to the land area allocated for equal distribution.

As for whether the hidden account holder will continue to be a hidden account holder?

Maybe.

However, even those who lived in seclusion still had to pay taxes and perform corvée labor to the aristocratic families, and the taxes and labor were quite heavy.

Unless they are born with a lowly nature, once the situation stabilizes and they no longer need the protection of fortified villages, and the imperial court promulgates the equal-field system and offers more favorable tax and corvée policies than the aristocratic families, the vast majority of hidden households will voluntarily come out and become registered households.

Do you dare stop them from registering their households?

Then we should just take legal action.

Doubts about the Han Dynasty's determination to govern the country by law?

The head of Ma Su, who was beheaded the day before yesterday, is probably still being displayed among the various camps.

In this way, after returning home, the various tribes will surely organize manpower to reclaim wasteland on a large scale, so as to confirm more legal land when the Han Dynasty implements the equal distribution of land and registers households in the future.

So, where should we cultivate wasteland?
That must be near water conservancy projects such as the Wei River, the Cao Canal, and the Zheng Guo Canal!

Therefore, when the Prime Minister said that all ethnic groups should contribute manpower and resources to repair the Zheng Guo Canal, dredge the Chang'an Canal, and build ponds, it became a matter closely related to the ethnic groups in Guanzhong, rather than simply a matter of the court's excessive plundering of people to relocate to the border.

By acknowledging the legitimacy of the interests of the powerful clans in Guanzhong, and by recognizing the legitimacy of these interests, the court naturally acquired a defined amount of land and registered population, thereby expanding its tax base.

This is a conspiracy.

That's quite a skill!
Eh… Elder Du suddenly paused. How come things like building water conservancy projects and relocating people to the border, which were initially difficult to accept, seem to have been overlooked?
(End of this chapter)