1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 291 The Dishonest Gentry of Hanyang

Zhou Rucheng paced back and forth, pondering for a long time, and said, "Our Zhou family started by raising and selling fish, and my father's fish-raising skills have not been lost. Our family should ask for less land and exchange it for more fish ponds."

"We'll leave it to Father to decide," the Zhou brothers said in unison.

The Zhou family has always been in charge under Zhou Rucheng's leadership. In the past, the Zhou family's prosperity was due to Zhou Rucheng's management of both internal and external affairs, and they had no objection to Zhou Rucheng's decisions.

Of course, the two brothers were also aware of their father's character. Zhou Rucheng had always been domineering, and they couldn't argue with him if they disagreed.

"What's in your satchel? Food from the soup kitchen?" Zhou Rucheng's gaze fell on Zhou Jihong's bulging satchel, and he couldn't help but swallow hard, asking expectantly.

“It’s not food.” Zhou Jihong opened the satchel, revealing several books inside.

"The soldiers who distributed porridge and grain at the porridge stall knew that my family had been to school, so they gave me these books and told us to study hard in our spare time. They said that the Northern King would hold an examination next year, and the content of these books would be on the test."

Upon hearing the words "scientific expedition," Zhou Rucheng's eyes lit up.

After the Zhou family's fortunes improved, their descendants participated in the imperial examinations for generations.

However, the competition for the imperial examinations in Jiangxia County was extremely fierce. Several generations of people took the exams, but only his grandfather passed and became a student.

By the time of his son's generation, only Zhou Jishen passed the imperial examination for the first time, while Zhou Jihong spent money to buy his way into the Imperial Academy.

Zhou Rucheng picked up a few books and flipped through them briefly.

They were all books about geography, mathematics, and things he didn't understand, written in characters that looked like bean sprouts. There were no words about the Heavenly Father or Heavenly Brother in the books.

"Let's eat first."

Zhou Rucheng told Zhou Jihong to put the books away for the time being, and then gathered some scrap wood scattered in the yard and went to the brick stove, which had no iron pot, to start a fire.

After putting the book back in his room, Zhou Jihong took out six fist-sized sweet potatoes that he had received from the town's soup kitchen and put them into the stove to roast.

When the sweet potatoes were almost done roasting, the Zhou father and son each took a wooden stick slightly thicker than chopsticks and stuck it into the sweet potatoes, taking them out of the scalding hot stove.

While the sweet potatoes were cooling, Zhou Rucheng, beaming with pride, recounted to his two sons the story of how their ancestors had made their fortune.

The deeds of the Zhou family ancestors have been passed down through generations, and every head of the Zhou family keeps the deeds of their ancestors in mind.

Zhou Jihong and Zhou Jishen had heard Zhou Rucheng recount his ancestors' rise to wealth countless times before, to the point that they were tired of hearing it.

However, this time the two brothers, Zhou Jihong and Zhou Jishen, listened with exceptional attention, showing none of the impatience that their father usually displayed when he talked about these things.

Because the days when they could live a life of ease and comfort are gone forever, they have no choice but to work hard and struggle for a living, just like their ancestors.

The next morning, Zhou Rucheng took his two sons to see the Jiangxia Qingtian Team and told the land allocation officer that his family only wanted six mu of paddy fields, and would exchange the rest of the land for fish ponds.

Wang Xutao, the map clerk of the second group of Jiangxia Qing Team, was in charge of distributing the land equally in Donghu Town.

Faced with Zhou Rucheng's request, Wang Xutao was quite surprised and asked curiously, "Other families would love to have more land and less ponds and reed beds, but your family is the first to ask for less land and more fish ponds."

Tao Zhenyong, the archer standing next to Wang Xutao, reminded him: "Fish farming is not as stable as farming. It takes at least three years to see any profit. Have you thought it through? Once it's registered, there's no going back."

"Reporting to my superior, I have made up my mind and will not go back on my word. My family has been raising and selling fish for generations. The Holy Dynasty has been doing good deeds by giving land to ordinary people. In the future, everyone's life will surely be prosperous. When everyone's life is prosperous, they will be able to eat meat. By then, my fish will be fully grown, and I'm afraid they will be sold out before they even leave Donghu Town," Zhou Rucheng said hastily.

"You have a pleasant way of speaking."

Wang Xutao buried himself in the booklet, whispering and discussing with several members of his group. After they finished discussing, they reached a consensus. Wang Xutao pointed to a fishpond half a mile away and said to Zhou Rucheng.

"There is a good pond near Tianluokeng, the right size. It's just a pity that there are no medium-grade paddy fields near the pond, only high-grade ones. To make it easier for you to work, we will allocate six mu of second-grade high-grade paddy fields to your family. Do you agree?"

Zhou Rucheng is a local and knows the situation of the fields near Tianluokeng.

The high-quality paddy fields near Tianluokeng, if carefully cultivated, can yield at least two and a half shi (a unit of dry measure) in a normal year, and can also be rotated between rice and wheat, allowing for two harvests a year.

As long as the father and his two sons work hard and manage these six acres of high-quality paddy fields well, they will definitely have no problem making a living.

Furthermore, by taking care of fewer fields, he can dedicate more energy to the fishpond. Once the fishpond starts producing fish, their lives will be much better.

After careful consideration, Zhou Rucheng nodded firmly and said, "Thank you for your consideration, sir. I agree."

"If that's the case, come with me to plant rice and ponds." Wang Xutao closed the booklet and led Zhou Rucheng to plant rice and ponds.

On the way to plant rice and ponds, Zhou Rucheng walked and asked cautiously, "The proclamation says that after the land is distributed, each farmer in Jiangxia County will receive two shi of coarse grain and seed grain in the first year, as well as a resettlement allowance equivalent to two taels of silver. Farm tools will also be distributed free of charge. When and where can we collect these things?"

Zhou Rucheng now owns nothing but a dilapidated house. He is very concerned about whether and when the money, grain, and farming tools promised by the Northern Palace to the farmers of Jiangxia County will be distributed.

“These matters are not under the jurisdiction of our Qingtian Team. Farm tools and grain will be distributed by the Farmers' Association of Donghu Town, and resettlement allowances will be distributed by the Farmers' Association Credit Union. If the grain rations are insufficient, you can obtain a voucher from the Farmers' Association and borrow grain from the Farmers' Association Credit Union. The annual interest rate for a shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain is half a dou (another unit of dry measure). The Farmers' Association will issue a notice regarding the specific distribution dates. I see that you are an educated person and should be literate, so please pay attention to these matters.” Wang Xutao patiently answered Zhou Rucheng’s questions. “Thank you for your guidance, sir.” Zhou Rucheng kept Wang Xutao’s words firmly in mind.

After marking the boundaries of the pond, Wang Xutao took out a fish fry ticket from his cotton satchel and handed it to Zhou Rucheng, saying, "The pond owner can use this ticket to collect fish fry. Keep this ticket safe. Once the fish fry arrive, the farmers' association will take you to collect them."

Zhou Rucheng clutched the fish fry ticket and repeatedly thanked Wang Xutao.

The people from the Qingtian team were so easy to talk to, patiently answering Zhou Rucheng's questions, and so meticulous in their work, even considering the fish fry issue for them. They also promised to provide rations and help with planting, claiming that the interest on the grain was very low.

All of this demonstrates that Beidian intends to establish a long-term foothold in Jiangxia County.

If these beneficial policies can be implemented effectively, people will be able to make a living.

The Zhou father and son both abandoned their thoughts of causing trouble and fleeing their hometown, and decided to try to make a living first.

The surviving local gentry and wealthy households in Jiangxia County were isolated and unable to make a difference, so they behaved rather obediently.

The surviving local gentry and wealthy families in Hanyang County, which is separated from Jiangxia County by a river, were not so obedient.

News of Jiangxia County's policies on land distribution and the establishment of farmers' associations spread like wildfire to Hanyang County across the river.

The restless gentry of Hanyang County gathered in Caidian to discuss countermeasures.

Caidian was originally named Caidian, a ferry crossing on the lower reaches of the Han River. It was named Caidian because a family surnamed Cai came here to open shops and form a market.

In the 28th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign (1763), officials of Hanyang Prefecture and County believed that this place was very close to Hanyang City and belonged to the outskirts of the city. Suburban areas should be called "dian" (甸), so they changed the "dian" (店) in Caidian to "dian" (甸), meaning that Caidian was the capital area of ​​Hanyang.

However, these are all ancient history from the Song Dynasty. At present, the most influential family in Caidian, and even the entire Hanyang County, is the Wang family, and the person in charge is Wang Shukun, a student from Hanyang.

In fact, the Wang family of Caidian was only a second-rate family in Hanyang County six months ago.

However, during the more than three months that Beidian was stationed in Hanyang County, the county's top gentry and wealthy households were basically wiped out through public trials.

In Shu, where there are no great generals, Liao Hua is the vanguard; in Hanyang, where there are no great gentry, Shu Kun leads the charge.

As a result, Wang Shukun was elected as their leader by some of the panicked and uneasy local gentry in Hanyang County.

When the Northern Palace first entered Hanyang, it severely punished the powerful local gentry of Hanyang Prefecture. Apart from two families who had fled in advance, almost none of the powerful local gentry escaped punishment.

As for the minor gentry, as long as they honestly handed over half of their wealth, unless they had a notorious history of misconduct, they were only given a warning.

Several months ago, when the Northern Palace punished the powerful local gentry of Hanyang Prefecture.

Wang Shukun still harbored a gloating, wishful thinking mentality.

They felt that the elimination of the powerful and influential families in Hanyang County who had been suppressing them was not entirely a bad thing for the middle-class families like themselves.

Their Wang family could take advantage of the situation to replace the original top-tier gentry and wealthy households in Hanyang County and rise to power.

For this reason, Wang Shukun did not hesitate to send several of his clan's collateral descendants to the North Hall, hoping they could enter the North Hall and become holy officials and holy soldiers.

What's infuriating is that the Northern Palace would rather recruit new soldiers from remote villages and accept refugees from Jingzhou than accept the sons of local gentry from Hanyang.

Now Wang Shukun finally understands why the Northern Palace doesn't want the local gentry from Hanyang County.

Ghostly shadows were cast between the beams and pillars of the Wang Clan Ancestral Hall. Twelve sandalwood chairs surrounded a cracked offering table, where the surviving gentry of Hanyang County gathered together.

Wang Shukun remained silent, simply grinding the tobacco with his withered fingers.

"All the land deeds in Jiangxia County were burned by that scoundrel Peng Gang on the Binyang Gate tower. Peng Gang, that damned bastard, I thought it was just a show to win people's hearts, but who would have thought that he would actually distribute land to the peasants."

Not only did those out-of-town peasants from Guangxi and Hunan get their share, but the local peasants from Jiangxia County got theirs too!

Hu Zaoyan, who rushed over from the intersection, was the most impatient. He slammed his hand on the table, making the cups and saucers clatter, and spoke first.

"I used all 300 mu of sandbar land I owned in Baishazhou, Jiangxia County, to fill the bellies of those peasants! Damn it! That's fertile land that could grow gold! Giving such good land to those peasants is simply a sin!"

Although the chilling winds of the "Land to the Tillers" law have not yet truly reached Hanyang County.

Jiangxia County and Hanyang County are separated only by a river, making travel between them very convenient. There are quite a few gentry from Hanyang County who own land in Jiangxia County.

Many local gentry from Hanyang County who owned land in Jiangxia County have had their land confiscated and distributed.

Hu Zaoyan is one of them.

(End of this chapter)