Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 106 Exchange
Liu Daogui took out the spoils and the money and food sent by Liu Muzhi and distributed them to the soldiers.

Including the 782 brave warriors recruited from the city of Prophecy, everyone has a share.

"If you are willing to stay, we will be brothers from now on. If you don't want to stay, it's up to you." Liu Daogui took the route of elite troops, preferring to have fewer than acceptable ones.

"Joining the army is much more interesting than staying in the city to retire." A young man from the Cao family stepped forward and bowed.

"We are born to fight." Another young man from the city stepped forward and saluted.

With these two people taking the lead, others came forward one after another.

Some people were given money and food and were unwilling to stay.

"Please forgive me for joining the army, but I still have an old mother to support at home..."

"I'm used to being lax and can't stand military discipline."

"It's okay, it's okay. Give him three more liters of grain. If you have any difficulties in the future, you can come to me." Liu Daogui understood them very well.

There is no righteousness in buying and selling.

Everyone has his or her own difficulties, and it is very kind of you to be able to come together to provide assistance to Langya County.

"I will always remember your kindness in joining the army!"

For others who wanted to leave, as long as they had a legitimate reason, Liu Daogui would give them some more money and food. It wasn't much, just a token of his appreciation.

A total of 531 people stayed, exceeding Liu Daogui's expectations.

Divided evenly into eight buildings, the strength is greatly improved.

Liu Daogui personally delivered the compensation for the fallen soldiers to their homes, and according to custom, he also distributed 100 mu of land so that their families could make a living.

Each village head is also responsible for taking care of these orphans and widows to prevent them from being bullied by others.

These days, life and death are unpredictable and human life is as cheap as dust. The families are even calmer than Liu Daogui.

"Agui, can't you leave some extra money?" Liu Zun felt distressed.

The spoils of war and the money and food sent by Liu Muzhi were all squandered.

"How much can I eat and use by myself? It's better to spend it on the soldiers."

"I can see that you two brothers are both capable of great things." Liu Zun sighed and suddenly changed the subject, "Well, I've been a little short on money lately, and I've been supporting seven or eight women..."

"The fox's tail is showing, right?" Liu Daogui reached into his arms, but there was nothing. "Let's go to the Cao family and borrow some..."

The two of them went down the mountain with more than twenty pieces of equipment and rode their horses towards the city.

The ice and snow on the ground have melted, and the cold wind is no longer so cold. The villagers have come out to reclaim the wasteland, using oxen and iron farm tools.

There is no threat from bandits and the scene is peaceful.

"You want to organize all the people in the city into eight buildings?" Cao Ji frowned.

"A pile of scattered sand will be eaten by others sooner or later. Only by pulling together can we survive. As long as your Cao family agrees, this matter will be halfway successful. After it is completed, you will be the Sima of the Eighth House, and the masters of the Brown and Green Houses will be disciples of the Cao family."

Since it is a merger, the benefits must be shared equally and bundled so that the Cao family can also get a piece of the pie.

Cao Ji's brows relaxed. "It doesn't matter if Cao and Liu become one family from now on. I'm just afraid that other people in the city may not agree."

Liu Daogui had thought of this a long time ago. With the eight buildings there, the people in the city had no external threats and their lives were extremely comfortable.

"Those who wish to join the Eight Pillars will be given 50 mu of land per household, with a 30% tax. Those who do not join will be taxed 50%. The people have sharp eyes and will be able to distinguish between the good and the bad."

"The problem isn't with the common people, it's with the powerful," Cao Ji said, hitting the nail on the head. Anyone who wants to gain control of the land will inevitably have to deal with the powerful.

Liu Daogui laughed and said, "No matter how powerful the Lanling tyrants are, can they compare to Jiangzuo? Don't worry, the people have sharp eyes and can tell the difference between good and bad. I won't force them. Lanling has plenty of land. Let's start with the city of Qi."

At present, the conflict between the Lanling people and the land is not so acute, as there are large tracts of wasteland around Mount Niqiu.

In the Lanling area, the so-called powerful people are actually just larger clans, which are incomparable to those in Jiangzuo.

"There is another problem. The land of prefectures and counties all belongs to the court. What if the court intervenes and wants to take back the land of Lanling?" Cao Ji was quick-witted and always asked the key questions.

However, he had never been in the officialdom and had no idea about the court's attitude towards the prefectures and counties north of the Huai River.

"You think too highly of the imperial court. Unless the capital is moved to Luoyang, it will never truly manage the Central Plains. The imperial court only wants to maintain peace in the Jiangnan region, and behind closed doors, it will focus on internal strife."

How could the noble families, who had abandoned even the ancestral lands of Luoyang and Xuchang, possibly manage Lanling?

Not to mention the counties in Huaibei, even the Shuzhong area north of the Han River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has no interest...

Moreover, even if the court wanted to manage these areas, given its slowness in acting, it would take at least two or three years for the court to implement them. Who would know what the world would be like in two or three years?
Cao Ji was silent for a moment, then he cupped his hands and said, "The Cao family is willing to follow you."

The marriage has been decided, the benefits have been given, and the status has been given. If the Cao family still doesn't behave, Liu Daogui really doesn't know what to say.

"There's no time to lose. The notice will be posted tomorrow!"

We always have to be prepared for both situations. In order to prevent rebellion, Liu Daogui dispatched two more Xuanchi troops into the city to guard the four city gates. Liu Zun and Liu Heibin each led fifty cavalrymen to patrol the city.

Unexpectedly, the city was unusually peaceful. There was not even a single complaint, and no one jumped out to cause trouble.

The village heads brought people to check the households and were very cooperative.

After sending people to investigate, they learned that the people of the city of Qi were originally required to pay 40% of their land rent to the Cao family. Those who did not have land also had to pay a tax on land and a tax on people.

The Suanfu tax was a 100-coin annual tax on people over the age of 15, and the Koufu tax was a 20-coin annual tax on children under the age of 15. If you didn't have money, you could work as a servant in the Cao family...

Liu Daogui didn't expect that there were so many tricks involved, and the Cao family never mentioned it.

No wonder the refugees outside the city are unwilling to enter the city. All crows in the world are black.

However, compared with Jiangzuo, the Cao family is already very kind.

In the second year of Taiyuan (377), the imperial court changed the land tax to a population-based tax, with each man paying three dan of rice per year. Princes and those in service were exempt from paying.

In the eighth year of Taiyuan (383), it was increased to five stones per man!

If a household has three husbands, including father, son, brother and daughter, the total income is fifteen shi.

In the early stage, it was still bearable. After a great victory at the Battle of Feishui, there was no trouble in the world, the weather was good and the harvest was plentiful. The people were happy and prosperous, and grain and silk were plentiful. Almost every family had enough to eat.

However, as the powerful became more and more unscrupulous in enclosing land, the common people had less and less land. Unable to bear such high land rents, and still having to bear heavy corvee labor and other miscellaneous taxes, they sold themselves to the powerful nobles as retainers and servants, which intensified the powerful's annexation of population and land...

Even if the people of Yucheng were willing to cooperate, the difficulty of verifying the population was far beyond Liu Daogui's imagination.

First, there are not many people under his command who can read and write, and even fewer who can do accounting, so efficiency is low.

Secondly, the bamboo slips, knives, pens, etc. required to verify household registration are very valuable.

Although paper had appeared a long time ago, it was only used as a toy for sects to practice calligraphy and had not yet been widely promoted.

However, everything has a process, and there are always more solutions than problems.

Liu Daogui borrowed more than fifty people who could read and write from the Cao family before he could barely carry out the work, and the efficiency was a bit slow.

(End of this chapter)