Chapter 359: Wasteland must be given to tenants for cultivation
"A group of unruly people actually despise the official positions granted by the imperial court." Ying Zheng said angrily.
The three acting village chiefs were too frightened to say a word.
This is when the First Emperor is angry. Who is not afraid?
Li Si immediately said: "Your Majesty, please calm down."
Ying Zheng let out a breath and said, "Forget it, it's just because Qin An has improved the lives of the people that he looks down upon a small village official."
Seeing Ying Zheng's thorough understanding, Li Si breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Your Majesty, this is actually a good thing, and it proves that doing business is a correct choice.
The court can consider giving some benefits to businessmen to allow them to expand their business. "
"Your Majesty," Feng Quji said, "There is still a lot of wasteland that has not been reclaimed. Once too many people go to do business, it may not be a good thing for reclaiming the wasteland."
Ying Zheng frowned slightly and said: "Food is the most important thing for the people, and the people's hearts are food. Without food, everything is in vain.
The postponement of trade can allow the common people to take the lead in reclaiming wasteland. After the steam engine is built, it will be too late to support the common people in trade. "
The acting village chief wanted to speak, but he was worried that he would say the wrong thing, especially since his identity was completely unqualified to speak to Ying Zheng.
Finally, he gritted his teeth and bowed: "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Ying Zheng looked at the acting village chief in surprise and said in a deep voice, "Say."
"Reporting to your majesty, in fact, reclaiming wasteland and doing business have nothing to do with it. No, in fact, there is a relationship." The acting village chief said nervously.
Li Si on the side said: "Don't be nervous, speak slowly and carefully."
The acting village chief nodded, took a deep breath, and said: "Your Majesty, there are currently a lot of wastelands that are ownerless. You can buy these wastelands from the government by spending a little money.
In fact, this is not the best way. "
"What do you mean?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Your Majesty," the acting village chief explained, "by selling the wasteland, it seems that the court or the local government received a large sum of money, and the people can grow food again. It's like killing two birds with one stone."
"Isn't it?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Of course not." The acting village chief said, "Although the court or the government received money, it lost a piece of land. If you want to get this land back in the future, you will probably have to pay several times or even dozens of times the price.
People who buy land are basically wealthy people, who have no shortage of land. After they bought the land, they hired farmers to farm it for them. Small people called the farmers who farmed the land tenants, and the families with large land ownership were called landlords.
Tenants had to pay fees to farm land for the landlord, although the court had enacted new tax laws.
However, there are still landowners who secretly take more and the tenants refuse to give it back. The landlords can take back the land and prevent the tenants from cultivating it. "
"How dare they do this? Aren't they afraid of being blamed by the court?" Ying Zheng said angrily.
"Your Majesty. What's the reason?" the acting village chief said, "The landlord has paid the agricultural tax as the court said. The extra grain given by the tenants can be directly claimed by the landlord as a gift from the tenants.
Even if some tenants sue the landlord, they will only receive some punishment, and they are not afraid at all.
However, the tenants could not lose the land.
Instead of doing this, it is better to rent all the wasteland to the people for free in the name of the court or government, with priority given to people who have no land at home.
There are several advantages to doing this. First, it can let the people know how good the court is and achieve the people's support.
Second, it can prevent landlords from exploiting tenants too much. Tenants also have no land. Farming for the landlords who exploit themselves is not as good as farming for the court.
3. The imperial court can purchase the people’s food as soon as possible. If the people farm their own land and no longer need to be exploited by landlords, there will definitely be more food. After the court collects this food and adds it to the autumn harvest, it can control food prices.
In the future, grain merchants will lose their opportunity to control grain prices.
And the fourth point is that after people sell grain and have money in their hands, they will consume it, which can promote the development of commerce. "
Feng Quji frowned slightly and said, "In this way, the imperial court has touched the interests of landlords all over the world. I'm afraid this will cause landlords all over the world to tell the truth."
Ying Zheng knew the seriousness of this matter. He looked at the acting village chief and said solemnly: "I didn't expect that a little village chief like you would have such thoughts.
Then you must have seen the disaster behind this incident. I believe you must have a solution. "
"Reporting to your majesty, this is actually not the villain's idea, but sir." The acting village chief said, "Last time when the villain went to reclaim the wasteland, the gentleman saw it and told the villain about it.
The teacher also said that in fact, if this matter is not handled well, it will lead to disaster. If it is handled well, it will be a good thing for all the people in the world, and it will be a good thing for the Qin Dynasty. "
Qin An’s idea?
The expressions of Ying Zheng and the others softened a lot. Since it was Qin An's idea, there must be a solution.
"Tell me, what is Qin An's solution?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the method is actually very simple, which is to transfer interests." The acting village chief said, "The landowners think that the more land they own, the more money they will make. The court can use other interests to divert the attention of the landowners from there. Order the food and move it away.”
"The solution you want to talk about is not to engage in business, right?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Your Majesty is wise," the acting village chief said, "The gentleman said that everyone refused at first because the businessmen were not welcome.
But once the court supports merchants and then cultivates merchants in various places, it is best for the landowners to see that the merchants are making a lot of money.
At that time, even if there was no need for the court to speak, the landowners would come to ask for business.
Most people can't stand it when their friends who were just as rich suddenly become richer than themselves. "
Ying Zheng nodded slightly and said, "You can try this method. Li Si, Feng Quji, what do you think?"
"Report to Your Majesty," Li Si said, "Actually, we are already doing this."
"Huh?" Ying Zheng frowned, "Why don't I know?"
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Feng's caravan, Wei Chen's properties, Qin An's workshop, and the properties of General Lu and Young Master Hu Hai, they all made a lot of money and food.
Nowadays, the textile industry is also on the rise. It won't be long before the price of cloth will be driven down. At that time, everyone will look to the court.
As long as the court makes a decision that is beneficial to businessmen, I am afraid that all landowners will do business as a result. "
Feng Quji said: "What I'm most afraid of now is that these landowners are so greedy that they not only want to do business, but also want to annex all the land."
Ying Zheng nodded and said: "Some people are indeed very greedy. Such people need to be treated properly."
"Your Majesty, you can't touch them." Feng Quji said, "Today we are like Shang Yang's reform, we need to build trust in the trees."
Some people died, but not completely...
