Three Kingdoms

Guanzhong.

Li Yuan's manor.

Li Yuan tilted his head slightly, looked at the steward, and said, "But if you have any ideas, you might as well speak up..."

The steward laughed a few times, then pointed in one direction and said, "My lord, do you know where this place used to be?" 』

"Um? ” Li Yuan raised his eyebrows, a little impatient. When I saw Zhuang He in the manor in such a situation, I was already feeling unhappy. Isn't it possible that he was still a little interested in following the riddle?

The steward noticed Li Yuan's impatience and did not dare to continue to make excuses. He immediately said: "This is the Xue family's field..."

"Which Xue family?" Oh..." Li Yuan was stunned for a moment, then realized, "Is it that Xue family? 』

"Exactly... Now there is no one in charge in the Xue family. This land... Haha, naturally there is a lack of care..." The manager nodded and bowed, "Now that the current situation is abnormal, this land of the Xue family is even more... Haha, so , if we can take advantage of this good opportunity... then our Zhuangzi can expand to the other side of the mountain..."

"Hiss... Xue family..." Li Yuan frowned and looked into the distance. After pondering for a while, he shook his head and said, "Don't touch that place... Don't ask why, anyway, you just like your Zhuangzi!" Also, don’t use food and grass to lend money..."

"Well? This..." The steward's eyes widened.

When will food be sold at a high price, even at the price of gold? Is it harvest time? On the contrary, it is during disaster years or even during major disasters.

So whose family will have the most food? Is he a farmer who works hard every day without a day off? No, he is a manor owner who exploits a large amount of grain and grass every year. And these grains and grasses, which are not very expensive on weekdays, can be taken out when a disaster strikes, and the wheat and millet that are pressed into the warehouse and will rot in another two years can be replaced with anything that can be exchanged, such as cloth. Brocade, gold and silver treasures, even more land and lives.

So the manor steward saw that Zhuang He in the manor was severely affected, but it was not as sad and nervous as an ordinary people's home. This was the reason why.

Because the steward knows that any such natural disaster is the prelude to a feast...

However, now that Li Yuan said that no loans were allowed, the manager really wanted to pull open Li Yuan's head to see if it was blocked by any dirt, and he actually wanted to give up this golden opportunity.

"Your Majesty..." The steward clicked his tongue, "This Xue family... I can still understand it if I am young, to a certain extent... but this matter of lending... other villages..."

Li Yuan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about other people's affairs, just do your own thing!" Also, build this shed in the middle of the village as soon as possible. Don’t stare outside all day long. You’ll forget what’s going on inside! Can it be done? If you can't do it well, someone else will do it! 』

"only! I’ll definitely do it next time! Please rest assured, Lord! ” The steward responded repeatedly.

Li Yuan pulled out another grain seedling and frowned at the roots of the grain seedling. "If this Zhuang He dies, don't worry about replanting it. Wait until someone comes to inform you before replanting... The style of the shed, first Send someone to the Cavalry General to watch and learn..."

Li Yuan explained a lot and then left, leaving the manor manager who was a little confused.

So confused.

If he hadn't been afraid that Li Yuan would go crazy and change his position, he would have really wanted to open Li Yuan's head and look through it to see if it was as rotten as Zhuang He in the field...

Isn’t there anyone who doesn’t take the opportunity to make a fortune during a natural disaster?

So what are they doing with the food and grass they have worked so hard to save every year?

You know, if we lend money at this time, most farmers will not be able to repay it. After all, it is a disaster year, so the "good people" everywhere will not even force farmers to repay the loan immediately, and they may even laugh. Hehe said that as long as the interest is repaid first, he can continue to give another loan. After all, the court must be stable, right? After the interest is collected first, the principal will be returned. After another loan, the interest will be compounded. When the amount is large enough, it can be collected at your door...

By the time……

Isn't that wonderful?

What a great field! The steward of the manor stood blankly, looking at the Xue family in the distance and the fields of ordinary farmers further away. He made two grunts in his throat and sighed.

With such a master in the stall, could it be that the Li family is on the verge of a dead end?

These fields would have been ours! They all belong to the Li family!

Just like the Great Cold Kingdom in later generations believed that everything in the world belonged to them, under the influence of the ideas of small-scale peasant economy, these nobles of the Han Dynasty also believed that the land in the world was the best, and it was originally theirs.

China developed from the dynasties of ancient times, Xia, Shang and Zhou, right?

"Under the sky, there is nothing but the king's land; on the shore of the land, there is nothing but the king's ministers." "Isn't this correct?

The Duke of Zhou used the land of the world to enfeoff the princes. This is also true, right?

Nowadays, most of the gentry's surnames can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, or even earlier. This means that these lands were originally enfeoffed to their ancestors, so is it wrong for their descendants to take them back now?

Just like the kimchi of the Great Cold Underworld, no matter which pot it is in or who is making it, it all belongs to the Great Cold Underworld!

Is this wrong?

Everything seemed right.

It seems like everything is wrong too.

So which link is the problem? It's like talking to people from the Great Cold Underworld about the origin of kimchi or other historical issues. Do those clamors really don't understand, or do they pretend not to understand?

This is a very interesting question.

Fei Qian has not appeared in the meeting hall for several days. Of course, this does not mean that Fei Qian is hugging him at home, but that Fei Qian went to Sanfu to check on Zhuang He's damage.

The little fat bird Pang Tong was also busy with the work of keeping out the cold in Guanzhong's fields, and was often away from the city. He worked in the fields with Zao Zhi, so Xun You was the only one left in the meeting hall.

After all, some documents and such need to be handled by manpower.

Every day when the General Office of the General Hussars opens its official office, it is just like at the school gate every working day morning. Countless people either hold, carry, or simply carry, and then gather at the Piao. Before the Qifu Yamen, he handed over the matter solemnly and said that his own affairs were the most important...

Which child is unimportant?

All are important. For the parents of this child, naturally their own child is the most important. But for schools, it's just children in different grades.

Therefore, Xun You also divided the writing levels into different levels. If he really followed what these people said, he would probably be too busy to finish it, and he wouldn't be able to do it well either.

Xun You believes that for the moment, the most important things are two things, one is military and the other is disaster resistance.

Among all things, the importance of military situation ranks first. No matter when, even if other things are half done, when military situation arrives, you must first put it down and turn to deal with military situation.

Another one is the current disaster resistance.

Although disaster relief is not as important as military affairs, it is still urgent. Whenever Pang Tong, who is mainly responsible for disaster relief, has any needs, Xun You needs to arrange them immediately, because the weather is really not a thing. If he is not careful, he will be mischievous and cannot be caught.

After finishing the first two matters, Xun You started to deal with other matters. However, as he was busy, Xun You's hands slowed down and his brows wrinkled, "Wen Shu, come here!" 』

Wang Chang, who was assisting at the bottom of the meeting hall, raised his head, stood up and came to Xun You's side.

Xun You handed the document in hand to Wang Chang and said, "Go and investigate. How many people are selling land these days?" Then come and report something..."

Wang Chang looked down, glanced up and down, frowned slightly, bowed his hands in agreement, and immediately turned around and left.

Xun You watched Wang Chang leave and dragged another document. He just glanced at it twice, but felt a little uncomfortable. He sighed, stood up, walked back and forth in the hall twice with his hands behind his back, and then looked at The empty central case, the position belonging to the Cavalry General, sighed slightly...

Outside the hall, the sky was gloomy, and the low clouds seemed to be pressing down on the top of the head. There seemed to be a force rolling in it, and it seemed to foreshadow something.

Near Meiyang, Fei Qian was taking Zhuge Liang to check the cold protection conditions of the farmland.

Meiyang was originally a fiefdom given to Guo Si. After Guo Si died, it became an ownerless land. It naturally became a place for Feiqian to farm, and even the "Red Emperor Palace" was established...

Fei Qian did not let Zhuge Liang return to Wuguan, but stayed with him temporarily to act as a scholar.

The main thing is to let Zhuge Liang adapt for a period of time, especially to change some of Zhuge Liang's working methods. Fei Qian doesn't want Zhuge Liang to become like what happened in history, and then eventually die of exhaustion.

Therefore, Fei Qian took Zhuge Liang away from the General's Mansion and arrived at Meiyang. On the one hand, he wanted Zhuge Liang to have a practical look at the fields, and on the other hand, he also took this opportunity to instill some ideas.

Just like now, Fei Qian was discussing food issues with Zhuge Liang.

Food is important.

Because food is important, it can be cultivated, and the fields where crops grow are also important.

Then, together with the noble surnames who own a large amount of land and control the production, harvesting and handing over of food, local powerful people become important...

Is this chain correct?

If there is a mistake, where is the mistake?

"My lord, do you want to ban the sale of your land?" Zhuge Liang stood aside and looked up at Fei Qian and asked.

Fei Qian laughed and said, "Since the beginning of the enfeoffment of Duke Zhou, the sale of land has been prohibited." 』

"Why?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Fei Qian raised his head slightly and smiled but did not answer.

Zhuge Liang frowned and followed Fei Qian's gaze, thoughtfully.

In China, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the rapid increase in productivity and the development of commodity production, land sales had already begun to appear. In the late Warring States period, when the Qin State implemented reforms, Shang Yang announced that "except for the well fields, the people can trade." After Qin unified China, Qin Shihuang "ordered the head of Guizhou to seize the land", which marked that the feudal rulers officially recognized the legality of land sales.

Subsequently, after the long-term development of the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, the large landowners, mainly local gentry and powerful people, became extremely expanded.

During the Qin Dynasty, although land annexation was not yet too drastic, the situation had already begun to emerge where "the rich had fields stretching across the country, while the poor had no place to stand." From the unification of the Qin Dynasty to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in only eighty or ninety years, big landowners appeared frequently. Not only did Qin and Yang who "used the land for farmers use a state" and "people who used farm animals for their business" appeared, but once Ordinary big landowners such as Bu Shi, who could pay 200,000 yuan to the government, also appeared, such as the Shuzhuo family and the Wankong family, who became rich by smelting iron and doing business, and then bought fields, and even "hunting in fields and ponds" Le, a businessman and landowner who wants to be a king.

In other words, throughout the Han Dynasty, everyone's ultimate goal was land.

Being an official is for the sake of land, being a general is also for the sake of land, and even those who do business will ultimately focus on the land...

Therefore, in the Han Dynasty, the complete prohibition of land sales was to stand on the opposite side of the world. Fei Qian was naturally not that stupid, and brought a system that could not be realized even in later generations to the Han Dynasty for use. So Fei Qian only stood on the moral high ground and strangled the slightest signs of growth...

At first, land annexation in the Han Dynasty, except for some bureaucratic landowners who enfeoffed, most of them were developed through economic means in the process of land sales. That is what Sima Qian said, "The most powerful farmers and livestock, workers and merchants, for Most of these people who have become rich through power did not have much political power when they started. They neither had any titles nor enjoyed any salary. Therefore, they can generally be called ordinary wealthy people and have not yet reached the level of powerful people. situation.

"In the system of Qin and Han Dynasties, the feudal lords entrusted the king with food and rent tax, and the annual rate per household was two hundred. The ruler of a thousand households will receive 200,000 yuan, and he will be hired to pay for the pilgrimage. The common people, farmers, industrialists, and merchants earn two thousand yuan per year, and a million-year-old family has two hundred thousand, and even more, they rent and pay for it, and the food and clothing are so good..."

Fei Qian said slowly, "...therefore it is said that horses with two hundred hooves are herded on land, cattle with a thousand hooves and horns, sheep with a thousand feet, pigs with a thousand feet in the lake, water with thousands of rocks and waves of fish, and mountains with thousands of chapters." There are thousands of jujube trees in Anyi; thousands of chestnut trees in Yan and Qin; thousands of orange trees in Shu, Han and Jiangling; thousands of hagi trees between Heji and Xingnan in Huaibei; thousands of acres of lacquer in Chen and Xia; thousands of mulberry trees in Qi and Shandong; thousands of mulberry and hemp in Weichuan. Mu Bamboo..."

Zhuge Liang said: "So my lord, you want to break off the "Su Feng"?" 』

Fei Qian shook his head and said, "What's harmed is not the "plain seal", but the desire for "real seal"!" 』

Pure landowners are not terrible.

Just like the Zhuo family of Sichuan and Sichuan, wasn't it also powerful for a while, and then what about now?

Therefore, these "Sufeng" families, relying on their own economic power, not only exploited and enslaved the poor peasants at will, but also began to collude with the bureaucrats, "riding around the princes" and "arbitrarily ruling in the countryside" and became powerful powers who dominated the country. is the most real trouble.

The current problem of the Han Dynasty is these powerful nobles who have been closely integrated with politics.

"On top of doing the king's law, on the bottom, the officials are in chaos, and they are also serving as servants, invading the fishermen, and acting as wolves for the common people..." Fei Qian said, "What is the use of such people?" 』

The emperors of the Han Dynasty also took action against these powerful people. For example, Liu Bang "moved the local area to Chang'an". Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also sent governors to patrol to monitor whether the local powerful people had "staggered the land and houses, used the strong to bully the weak, used the masses to oppress the few", etc. crimes and then punish them, but the effect of these measures is extremely limited.

Although these various measures have executed some powerful families and confiscated the land and property of some powerful families, they have not grasped the key points and only inhibited their development for a while. When the limelight passed, another wave of attacks came back.

So now Fei Qian has changed his approach.

Implement the "Lending Law".

The hotly released "Law of Lending" stands on the commanding heights of morality, indicating that the world is a people of the Han Dynasty, and as a nobleman, we must set an example for the Han Dynasty, so those who are greedy for money are the behavior of low-level people, exposed. His despicable character.

In particular, charging high interest rates on loans and extorting people's wealth is tantamount to exposing the ugly faces of those black sheep among the gentry. Therefore, in any year of disaster that is declared, local private loans are not allowed to be collected. An interest rate exceeding 5% can only reflect the dignified demeanor of the Han gentry, who regards money as dirt...

As soon as this order came out, many people's jaws dropped and they looked at each other in shock.

All nobles need to be polite. Can those who don't want to be called nobles still be called nobles? Therefore, morality, benevolence, loyalty, etc. are all things that the nobles talk about and smear on their bodies. But now Fei Qian is equivalent to asking the local nobles to choose their surname. Is it for face or profit?

Zhuang He, a common man, was hit by a disaster. Once it is judged to be a disaster year, the interest on loans during that year must not exceed 5%. Those who exceed it will be severely punished. Is there a problem with this? Feiqian did not prohibit interest rates on loans in ordinary years, but only strictly prohibited interest rates in disaster years. Is this still a problem?

Who has questions?

Isn't this law a reflection of the moral principles pursued by the nobles? Isn’t this a benevolent move? Isn't it for the loyalty that the country and the country should have?

Therefore, Fei Qian's order was issued, and suddenly the land of Sanfu in Guanzhong fell into silence.

Who dares to say that this law is not good? I'm afraid I'll be called a fool on the spot! But I have to say something nice against my will and advocate this law for Fei Qian. It hurts my heart and I really can’t open my mouth...

Fei Qian looked at the archway standing in the distance, half-smiling.

When a place is sealed to someone, most people will build a new archway at the end of the land to indicate that this is someone's private land...

He wants to build an archway and become a wealthy man, but he also wants to eat the flesh and blood of ordinary people. Is it such a good thing?

"This is the law of loan orders..." Zhuge Liang said, "Maybe it can be suppressed... but..."

Fei Qian smiled and said, "Is there any flaw?" 』

Zhuge Liang nodded, then looked at Fei Qian, "Could it be..."

Fei Qian laughed loudly, and did not directly answer Zhuge Liang's question. Instead, he pointed to a group of people hurriedly arriving in the distance ahead, "Here comes the Qiao sacrifice wine..."