There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 60: New Year Overtime
Jingzhou City was under the rule of the Han army.

The people were celebrating the Spring Festival happily, and the new policies of the General's Mansion gave them a respite.

It’s not that life will get better all of a sudden, but there is hope. You don’t have to pay back the high-interest loans borrowed from landlords or the levies and levies paid to the government.

Without the burden of taxes and the exploitation and oppression of landlords, the General's Mansion was also allocated land. Life was definitely much better than before.

At least, this Spring Festival, many families were willing to buy some meat and oily food, so that their children could eat some oily food after a year of hard work.

"General, I have prepared a detailed list of all the land surveys and land divisions of the wealthy families and gentry since our Han army seized control of Jingzhou, Songzi, Zhijiang, and Yidu last year. Please review it!"

The first person to report on his work was Chen Xinghuai, the new regent clerk of the General's Mansion.

Chen Xinghuai was the legitimate son of the Chen family in Jingzhou. It happened that the head of the Chen family at that time wanted to surrender and offered his legitimate son to the General's Mansion as a talent.

In order to repay the favor and also to use him as a hostage, Nie Yu first gave him a clerk. Because he did a good job and had the title of scholar, he was appointed to take over the class of his cousin Nie Lin.

The ability is useful, you can be a hostage, and you can even buy horse bones for a fortune. Why not do it?
When Chen Xinghuai first heard that he had become a rebel and had to work for him, he was naturally unhappy. He had passed the imperial examination at a young age, and his bright future in life had just begun.

In the blink of an eye, not only did he become a traitor, but he was also listed on the list and was about to be tortured to death?

Chen Xinghuai couldn't resist, because disobeying his father's orders was unfilial. He had originally wanted to play it safe and wait for a suitable opportunity to turn from evil to good, but at least he couldn't really become a thief. That was until he saw the high-quality imitation jade seal that Nie Jieren was holding and playing with...

"Jingzhou Prefecture has merged with Yidu, Zhijiang, and Songzi counties, as well as the villages and towns within them. The land surveys have been basically completed, and the refugees and tenants in each county have all been allocated land and registered. Eleven new towns and villages have been merged, and town officials have been appointed. The town officials are tentatively designated as town mayors..."

Chen Xinghuai handed over the land register and household registration book in his hand, and explained at the same time.

He was born into a local "child prodigy" family and had the ability to remember everything he saw. In addition, he studied very hard, so he easily passed the college entrance examination at a young age. Last year, in order to calm down, he did not take the exam again, but retired and went home to study hard.

To be honest, without that high-quality imitation imperial seal, those scholars, including this scholar, might not be able to do their work seriously.

While listening attentively, Nie Yu carefully flipped through the land register and household registration book in his hand. He really didn't expect that his territory was not big, but he had so many people and land.

The total number of households currently counted is over 20. Assuming 5 people per household, the population is over 100 million. The amount of land surveyed is even greater, reaching more than 4 hectares, which is equivalent to 400 million mu.

This is obviously inconsistent with the documentary records of the Jingzhou government office, from the land to the household registration. The household registration is easy to explain because many refugees have flocked to Jingzhou, and many domestic slaves have been released. In addition, many mountain people have voluntarily moved down the mountain to settle down. If they do not move down the mountain, they will not be given land and will be taxed more.

The arable land area is really hard to understand. According to official documents, compared with the land that has been actually surveyed, the difference between the two is at least one-third (the actual difference can be as high as half).

My goodness, is this the so-called prosperous Qing Dynasty?

Why does it look a bit like the late Ming Dynasty?

After Chen Xinghuai finished his work report, officials at all levels of the General's Mansion began to report one after another.

The main areas of responsibility were civil affairs, primarily land distribution, household registration, and household registration. Further down the line, there were also tasks like digging canals for local villages and towns, repairing official roads, and mediating disputes between villages and towns. "Li Chen, you want to be a road construction officer in Yidu County?" Nie Yu asked, looking at the petition in his hand.

Road construction officer is not a specific official position, but just a common name at present, because the General's Office is planning to plan and build some official roads in the new village and town administrative divisions to open up the relatively closed traffic environment of each village and town and strengthen the connection between the village and town and the county seat.

Naturally, there must be officials to manage and be responsible here. At the same time, they can also create many lucrative jobs for the people and make full use of the surplus labor force in Jingzhou.

Li Chen, currently a mere clerk in the General's Office, quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "General, I wish to go to Yidu County and build a road connecting the towns and villages with the county seat. This way, the people won't have to travel across mountains and hills, and face the oppression and exploitation of local tyrants and evil gentry in order to pay their due taxes. Similarly, the government can leverage the convenient transportation of the road to ensure that government orders reach the towns and villages without hindrance, preventing them from being manipulated by the landlords."

Well, it seems that it is not just a facade. He has done his homework and knows why he built the road.

Looking at the other party's resume again, the descendants of the Jingzhou Li family were not heirs of the main house, but were side branches that started their own businesses after he ordered the family to be forcibly divided.

However, these big families in the capital have their own way of living, and with the clan temple as a bond, they can maintain secret contact at least within this generation.

Nie Yu didn't care about it, because it was only this generation. By the next generation, the huge land and real estate would be gone, and the family business would be split up, and the patriarchal bloodline would also be wiped out.

In history, he was not the only one who split up a large family in this way. Whenever the power of the gentry and nobles became too strong, they would be purposefully split up by the dynasty.

The ancients were not stupid, they knew that clans would become too powerful to be eliminated!

"Go find the old man! See what position the old man arranges for you. Others who want to follow you can also go with you as long as they pass the performance assessment." Nie Yu did not object to this. After all, his father had already reviewed it, so there shouldn't be any problem.

It just so happens that the local area also needs more grassroots officials and fresh blood to join, and since these young scholars are willing to go, it is naturally a good thing.

At worst, Uncle Liu is still watching over there, so even if there are any problems, it won’t be a big deal.

The civil officials reported for more than an hour before the Secretariat and the military generals spoke.

Feng Xiuyong said first: "General, a few years ago, I ordered the Secretariat to recruit 10,000 soldiers. Now the recruitment quota has reached 10,000, all of whom are from good families in the prefecture. Another 1,000 soldiers will be recruited as extra-staff battalions to train artillery and grenadier battalions."

"The firearms workshop is working at full capacity to cast the red cannons (cannons). With the barrels prepared by the general, they should all be cast this month."

"We've also been practicing throwing new hand grenades. While they're not as powerful as the Red Cannon, they shouldn't be underestimated. Once the Qing troops arrive, we'll surely be able to achieve a surprise victory!"

"Well," Nie Yu nodded, clapping his hands in approval. "Mr. Feng and everyone in the Secretariat have worked hard. Please continue to do your best. This general has a feeling that the Qing troops should be arriving soon."

“I dare not say it’s hard!”

Feng Xiuyong and all the officials in the Secretariat stood up and bowed.

(First chapter, my hands hurt a bit, I'll update it in the evening)
(End of this chapter)