The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

"Then it still doesn't exist, does it?"

Li Chengqian couldn't help but say, "These plots of land are scattered all over the country, far away in Jiangnan and other places. Do you really think you can travel to different regions just for twenty acres of land?"

Zhang Wenyuan remained silent, but that was the best answer he could give.

As Li Chengqian said, it's impossible to run around everywhere for twenty acres of land, right?

If all 100 acres of land were divided into one area, then from the perspective of the people, moving would not be out of the question. After all, for the people, wherever the land is, that's where they are.

In a situation like this, twenty mu are in Jiangnan, twenty mu are in Jiannan, and ten mu are in other places. You still have fifty mu left in your hometown. How would you choose?

I would definitely choose the fifty acres back home. After all, nobody knows what the situation is like there. If I don't leave my hometown, I can at least have fifty acres. If I go there, it's very likely that I'll end up with nothing, wasting a lot of time and money, which would be a losing proposition.

"Then... is the fifty mu of land allocated to the fourth son in the vicinity a permanent land grant or a private land grant?" Chen Huai'an asked a crucial question.

Zhang Wenyuan remained silent, but gripped his cane even tighter.

"Sir..." Li Chengqian looked at Chen Huai'an, hesitating to speak.

The other party is the Minister of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue was in charge of the empire's population and well-field system. All matters concerning taxes, corvée labor, tributes, expenditures, and reserves were consulted with him.

Under the equal-field system, the allocation of land and the administration of government decrees and general accounts were all handled by the Ministry of Revenue.

This incident is clearly a serious dereliction of duty by Chen Huai'an.

"Why is it that I, as the Minister of Revenue, have never heard of such a thing?" Chen Huai'an stroked his chin, finding it somewhat ridiculous. "I am quite certain that since I took office, including my predecessor as Minister of Revenue, no one has ever tampered with anything."

"After the equal land distribution decree was issued, we strictly enforced it. At least from the perspective of the approvals I made, there were no errors in the allocation of 100 mu of land to each adult male."

"Please calm down, Your Excellency." Zhang Wenyuan's body trembled slightly, clearly sensing the young minister's displeasure, though it wasn't directed at him. "I have some education myself and have served as a county magistrate. Please forgive my bluntness, but you certainly enforced the Equal Fields Edict strictly. However, the documents that reached you might not have been complete, or they might not have been effective when they reached the lower levels."

"The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the population and well-field policies of the entire country. The amount of land allocated to adult males and the amount of land distributed to permanent households under the equal-field system are indeed determined and approved by you."

"But in reality, the distribution of land was carried out by the prefectural and county governments, and the village heads!"

"Ah..." Chen Huai'an immediately understood.

Under the current system, adult males who reach the age of being granted land will apply for land registration.

The village head was responsible for verifying household registrations and property ownership, and specifically for allocating and collecting land.

The county magistrate reviews and registers the land, and the county magistrate presides over the allocation of land within the county. After the prefecture integrates the land, it is filed with the Ministry of Revenue of the Ministry of Personnel, which means it ends up in his hands.

It's likely that something fishy was already going on before he approved it, and during the process of completing it.

Strict enforcement was indeed carried out.

Tell me, did you get a share of the 100 acres of land?

As for how far away they are, what does that have to do with them?

Whether you plant it or not is your own business!

Anyway, the land has been allocated to you.

Chen Huai'an asked calmly, "Which county does your Xiaoxi Village belong to?"

Zhang Wenyuan silently uttered a sentence: "Reporting to Your Excellency, our Xiaoxi Village belongs to Wannian County."

"Wannian County, okay, I understand." Chen Huai'an didn't say much, but his simple "I understand" almost brought tears to Zhang Wenyuan's eyes.

While some villagers from Xiaoxi Village were indeed recruited to work elsewhere, the majority remained, relying on their small plots of land to make a living. The county's actions, which were deceiving and misleading, made their lives truly difficult.

After all, these past two years have been marked by natural disasters.

If Chen Huai'an hadn't defied public opinion and insisted on not using corvée labor, but instead opted for work relief, coupled with the fact that Xiaoxi Village was relatively simple and honest, and the villagers were united, those who were recruited to work would often help other villagers, and many would have been unable to bear it long ago.

This is also why countless people were so angry when they learned of Chen Huai'an's death.

Because they knew very well that Chen Huai'an was still young and had only recently taken office. If they gave this young minister a few more years, and the emperor a few more years, everyone would eventually see hope.

And now, in just a few years, hope has arrived in Xiaoxi Village!

"..."

"I'm sorry, this was my negligence. I will give you an explanation!" Chen Huai'an said earnestly to Zhang Wenyuan. "This is my promise!"

Zhang Wenyuan was extremely terrified: "No, no, no, this humble subject knows that Your Excellency is unaware of this matter, otherwise you would never have tolerated it."

"How can you be held responsible for the mistakes made by the county officials?"

Meanwhile, the villagers who had been secretly watching over the area also heard these words. Many of them had tears in their eyes and then subconsciously worked even harder.

"If a child is not taught, it is the father's fault. If the teaching is not strict, it is the teacher's laziness. If the subordinates are not good, it is the superior's responsibility!" Chen Huai'an only said this one sentence.

Li Chengqian was somewhat frightened.

For the first time, he felt that the man... was so terrifying.

But that statement makes a lot of sense, hmm... I should remember it.

Zhang Wenyuan didn't dare to speak; there were some things he couldn't interfere with.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Chen Huai'an clenched his fist and exhaled a breath of stale air. "You just said you lack seeds and farming tools?"

"Yes...yes." Zhang Wenyuan quickly replied, "It's not a big problem. With your strong promotion of the curved plow, the village has raised money to buy a few. In addition, the price of ironware has come down now. If we pool our resources and take turns using the farm tools, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"As for the seeds... we can borrow them."

"Heh..." Chen Huai'an looked at Zhang Wenyuan, "Old sir, you're not telling me the truth."

"How can a few curved plows be enough for so many villagers? These things are meant for tilling the fields during busy farming seasons. How can you possibly manage to use them all?"

"Won't this delay the farming season?"

"And there are also iron farm tools. These are used in rotation, just like before. There are only a few of them. Even if each household has thirty acres of land, you can't possibly use them all, can you?"

"Your Excellency has misunderstood." Zhang Wenyuan had a better understanding of Chen Huai'an's personality and replied with a smile, "This kind of thing has always been the case, it's not a big problem."

"It's like oxen. Our Xiaoxi Village only has three oxen, and they are used in rotation."

"Things are so much better now than before. With the curved plow, farming is much faster, and the price of ironware has come down. If everyone saves up, they'll be able to afford it someday."

Things will get better.

"..."