The situation around Yingtian Mansion has been inspected. It is impossible for Zhao Jun to visit all the rural areas in the country. If he goes there, he may not be able to visit them all in his lifetime. He can only visit the more typical county houses in various states.
Judging from his research, the situation of land annexation is indeed serious and has almost reached a very dangerous level.
Yingtianfu is the Henan region and is part of the North China Plain.
There are a lot of vast fields here, but most of the owners of the fields are landlords. The good and good fields are controlled by the landlords. Most of the fields owned by the farmers are ordinary fields and bad fields. The people live very hard and are exhausted every year. They can barely survive to make ends meet.
Moreover, a considerable number of people became tenants and slaves of landlords and worked for them. Many people are wearing coarse cloth shirts, their faces and bodies are covered with mud, their skin is dark, their faces are sallow and their muscles are thin, and they are surrounded by poverty.
At least for so many days, Zhao Jun didn't see many people with adequate food and clothing, not a single decent house, and not a few wealthy households.
Their houses are all dilapidated wooden houses or rammed earth houses. The better ones can build a rammed earth wall that will fall down as soon as it is pushed. Ordinary people can only barely have a fence, while poor people have a dilapidated wooden house with almost no place to stand.
Zhao Jun did not see the so-called prosperous age of Renzong, but only saw the hunger, poverty, pain and numbness hidden under this prosperous age. It is spring plowing, and the countryside seems to be full of life, but everything is still.
The only thing that seems to have some advantages is that the clan power in the north is not serious, and the official laws of the villages in various places are still greater than the clan laws.
Because when Zhao Jun came, it was in the stage of spring plowing. The government sent people from the yamen to various villages to supervise the people's farming with the local household heads and Jiatou. These rural servants and officials shuttled between the villages to promote farming and also Solve certain difficulties.
When widowed mothers remarry and relatives live apart, there will be certain abandoned fields. However, if the fields are uncultivated, taxes will still have to be paid under the name of the household. Some people abandon the fields to others to avoid taxes.
Then these rural servants and official servants will be registered, and through the "one field, two owners system" system, the household heads will be helped to sell their fields and find landlords or other laborers to buy them for farming and avoid wasteland.
After all, if the system was completely bad, the country would have collapsed long ago.
Therefore, although the land annexation in the Song Dynasty was indeed serious, and the upper class sucked the blood of the lower class, it also gave rise to private land sales and the possibility of easier access to fields for labor, thereby reducing the occurrence of abandoned land and reduced food production.
When the power of the northern clans is not particularly strong, if the first industrial revolution can be developed in the Pingdingshan area through the nearby coal mines and iron mines, then there will be no shortage of labor, and a large number of young people can be recruited in Henan, Hebei and other places. Strong laborers.
Zhao Jun recorded all these things one by one. The first industrial revolution seemed to be quite beneficial. After the young adults were absorbed, the landlords in Hebei and Henan were short of labor. Accordingly, they would definitely improve their treatment to keep these young adults. For It can probably help a lot with the lives of ordinary people.
After leaving Yingtian Mansion, we passed through Huiting Town under Gushu County and paid another tax before entering the territory of Huainan.
February is approaching, Huainan East Road, Bozhou Fuyang Town is not a big town, but its trade is quite developed. Many ships are moored at the pier, and workers are coming and going carrying goods. Before they get close to the pier, there is a wave of The strong medicinal fragrance hits your nostrils.
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, Bozhou has developed a wholesale industry of medicinal materials. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was one of the four major pharmaceutical capitals.
Merchants traveling from north to south gather to sell medicinal materials across the country through canals. Even foreigners with blond hair and blue eyes come to Quanzhou and Guangzhou to buy medicinal materials, which shows how big the market is.
Fuyang Town is connected to the canal. From the town to the west, there is a small river that passes through Fu County and joins the Huanshui River. Then it enters the Whirlpool Basin through a tributary and goes to Qiao County, the capital city of Bozhou.
According to the original schedule, Zhao Jun's ship should have passed through Bozhou to Suzhou, and then traveled south by land to Haozhou, Shouzhou, Luzhou, Chuzhou and other places. Because of the drought in Huainan the year before last, these places were the most severely affected.
But now he planned to follow the branch road into Qiao County.
However, his ship had just left Fuyang Town less than an hour ago, and was still more than thirty miles away from Fuyang County when it was blocked.
Because the river in front was too narrow, a ship rolled over and blocked the river.
Originally, this kind of tributary was actually no narrower than the canal, but the width of the canal is fixed at more than 20 meters, and some of these natural rivers can be as wide as 100 meters, and the narrowest part is only more than 10 meters or even a few meters. It is very difficult for this situation to happen occasionally. past.
Therefore, the ship cannot move forward.
If you want to take a detour, you can only go back to the canal, go from Yongcheng to Linhuan County, and then go upstream along the Jishui River to Qiao County.
This obviously requires a long journey and is not worth it.
Therefore, in the end, we could only choose to trust the efficiency of the government's actions and organize manpower to pull out the overturned ship as soon as possible and clear the channel.
"It seems we can't walk today, so let's take a stroll in the nearby village first."
Zhao Jun raised his head and glanced at the sky. The sky was gray. It had rained in the past few days. The spring rain was like oil, moisturizing the earth and making the whole world become gloomy.
But it was actually still early, probably around two or three o'clock in the afternoon. It was just a long way from Fuxian County. It would take a day to send back letters and organize the manpower, so I definitely couldn't leave.
But it doesn’t feel like waiting on the boat, so I might as well go for a walk.
After Zhao Jun gave the order, the big ship put down the small boat. Jiang Dalang, Huang Sanlang and other guards, and more than ten people protected him ashore.
There happened to be a river beach nearby. Because it was still raining lightly, everyone went to the river beach with umbrellas. The ground was slippery and muddy, and a house could be vaguely seen through the green trees and grass on the slope.
I think people often come to the river beach. A path goes up the slope. When you get up the slope, you have a clear view ahead. You can see a village not far away. There are hills and hills, fertile farmland, and the densely packed houses in the village are as compact as a village. Small town size.
It is the time of spring plowing, and many farmers are working in dry field nurseries, cultivating seedlings, and taking care of rice seedlings, waiting for the wheat harvest in May before inserting them into paddy fields.
The Huainan area has been dominated by rice cultivation since the Song Dynasty, and this is not only the case in Huainan, but also in Henan. Historical data records that "a county with mountains and rivers is the most important place for fish and rice in the west of Beijing."
Most of the rice cultivation in the northwest region of Beijing was promoted during the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Jingdong region, more rice is grown in various states.
Zhao Jun walked on the rural road in the fields and looked around.
An old farmer came out of the side field ridge. He was a little frightened when he saw more than ten people and wanted to go around.
Zhao Jun greeted him and asked with a smile: "Old man, where are you going?"
When the old farmer saw that Zhao Jun was dressed neatly and there were more than a dozen guards with knives around him, he thought he was sending someone, so he hurriedly said: "My lord, the young man has just returned from working in the fields and is going back to rest."
"oh."
Zhao Jun smiled and said: "We are passing businessmen. Because the boat in front of us capsized and we couldn't pass, we came down for a walk. We happen to be thirsty. If it is convenient for me, can you allow us to sit at home? We are willing to give some copper coins." "
As he said this, he winked at Jiang Dalang.
Jiang Dalang understood and took out twenty or thirty coins from his arms to hand it over. The old farmer said hurriedly: "It turns out that there are a few members outside. They don't need that much. They don't use that much. They just drink a few bowls of water. The few members outside and the little boy Just come over here."
In fact, the old farmer could still detect something strange. Although the old farmer stayed in the countryside all year round, he had once made a fortune when he was young and had some experience.
Looking at the clothes the other party was wearing and the knife he was holding, it was obvious that they were not owned by the businessman.
Although the Song Dynasty legislated against the private possession of weapons among the people - just like other dynasties, the "weapons" here have a limitation, which refers to "armor, crossbows, spears, iron, equipment, etc., which are not allowed to be owned by private persons according to the order."
As for "bows, arrows, knives, spears, and short spears, these five matters are privately heard." In other words, private individuals can legally possess bows, arrows, knives, spears, and short spears.
In Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival", there is a weapons store next to "Sun Yangzheng Store", and a person who is probably a customer is trying to draw a large bow.
Apparently, weapons such as bows and arrows were openly sold. In "Water Margin", many heroes carry a simple sword with them in the rivers and lakes, because the simple sword is also a weapon that can be held by the people.
The problem is that normal businessmen don't dare to openly bring so many knives when they go out, usually just whistle sticks. Moreover, the opponent's clothes were bulging, and he looked like he was wearing inner armor. This was not something that ordinary people could have. If he was caught, he would be beheaded.
But there are so many people on the other side, and if it is really a desperado, it is obviously not a good thing to offend the other side. Anyway, there are many villages around here, and there are so many merchant ships on the river. His home is not far from the river. If there is really an attack, just shout and the whole village will come, so the old farmer is not afraid.
Immediately he took Zhao Jun to his home.
His home is by the small river outside the village, which is a tributary of the river where Zhao Jun sails. Next to it is the village and farmland. Many farmers are walking in the countryside. Although it is drizzling, it is still a "green mountains and white rivers" , the smell of rain like smoke in the sound of Zigui.
Zhao Jun followed the old farmer to his house. There was only an old woman in the yard. She said that the eldest son got married and separated and lived in the east of the village. The second son worked in the county town. There was only an old couple in the house.
After drinking the water, what the old farmer was worried about did not happen. Zhao Jun just sat there and chatted with them, asking how last year's harvest was, what difficulties the family had, and whether the local officials had done anything illegal or oppressive. The activities of the common people.
Because he was not sure about Zhao Jun's details, the old farmer did not dare to say more. He just said that the weather last year was good and the harvest was okay. The county magistrate handles cases impartially, and the police officers are also very good. Except for the fact that the second son is unmarried, there are no difficulties in the family.
Zhao Jun has heard this a lot these days, some of which are true and some of which are false. The most fake things were about the county magistrate's handling of cases. When I was in Yingtian Mansion, most people said good things about the county magistrate.
They generally didn't suffer much bullying. After all, there were so many people in a county, and it was impossible for everyone in the county to be bullied by officials, landlords, and government servants.
Even if they know that officials are corrupt, landowners are bad, and government officials are shady, they dare not speak freely in front of outsiders who don't know the details.
Only those who have been truly oppressed will complain.
Just like in Yingtian Mansion, I met a small landowner whose family was in decline.
This man's surname was Yu, and he had a conflict with another landlord named Li. Landlord Yu's wife happened to be holding her son. Landlord Li wanted to beat them with a whistle stick. Landlord Yu's wife wanted to scare him and raised the child. Shout, you’ll hit me if you have the guts?
As a result, landlord Li really hit the child with a stick and beat him to death.
Where can the landlord stop now?
Report to the official immediately.
But Landlord Li had a good relationship with Chief Xiao of Songcheng County, and they had some private arrangements. The Chief actually forged a private reconciliation contract between the two families, reported to his superiors that the two families had reconciled, and got away with it.
At that time, county magistrates and other officials in the county were all floating officials, and they were often transferred out shortly after serving. The main person handling affairs was the subordinate staff in the county. Except for the county magistrates in particularly large counties, most counties were The chief bookkeeper and the county lieutenant assist the county magistrate in handling cases.
Therefore, to a certain extent, the chief registrar was basically the second most powerful person in the county. Ordinary people could not even see the county magistrate, so the case was ruled to be settled.
The landlord dispersed all his wealth and went around asking for help. However, the county magistrate at that time was transferred not long after, and the original county-level judicial system was in chaos. Bribery, dereliction of duty, and solicitation of bribes occurred one after another. Even the officials and documents responsible for the trial were missing, which directly caused this incident to end. Let it go.
If Zhao Jun hadn't heard from the landlord, who had already lost his family fortune because of this incident, and then wrote a letter asking the Constitutional Yuan to immediately issue an order to have the Beijing East and West Road Criminal Division investigate thoroughly immediately, the case would probably have been It can never be cleared up.
Therefore, as a stranger, it is not easy to ask something from the mouths of local people.
The two chatted casually about some domestic matters. Seeing that Zhao Jun couldn't get anything out of the question, he was ready to leave soon.
At this moment, a heartbreaking cry suddenly came from outside: "Zhou family, you don't have to die well! You don't have to die well!"
It was a female scream, full of panic and anger, as if she was trapped in a cage.
Along with this cry, other voices came from outside: "Why did she spit out the cloth?" "Hurry and stuff it back, stuff it back" and "Don't let her scream."
Zhao Jun said quickly: "Go out and have a look."
Everyone immediately left the yard and saw a group of people coming from the village.
They were carrying a pig cage, with a woman in the cage. At this moment, those people were placing the pig cage on the ground, and then hurriedly stuffing back the strip of cloth that the woman had vomited out.
Soon the woman was gagged again, and the men carried her forward, heading towards the river in Zhao Jun's yard.
"What a sin!"
The old farmer also followed them out.
Zhao Jun hurriedly asked: "My father-in-law, do you know what is going on?"
"What a stupid thing the Zhou family did."
The old farmer sighed, and was a little secretive. He just said: "Axia is a poor woman. She has committed a crime by marrying into the Zhou family."
"Then it seems there is injustice involved."
Zhao Jun frowned and said, "Dalang, go and stop this person."
The old farmer said hurriedly: "Executive members, please don't be reckless. The Wang family is involved here."
"Wang family?"
Zhao Jun smiled and said: "It doesn't matter whether it's the Wang family or the royal family. I always like to meddle in other people's business. I will take care of this matter."
He said and waved his hand.
Jiang Dalang and others rushed out in response, blocking the passage and not allowing the other party to pass.
(End of chapter)
