In the third year of the Xingqing reign of the Song Dynasty, in August, Sichuan, Chengdu Fulu, Mianzhou.
It was in the afternoon, ten miles outside Mianzhou City, at a crossroads next to the official road, on a big tree with its bark peeled off. Pedestrians going north and south were reading the announcement around the bark of the tree. Someone shook his head and read, But he is a farmer in his thirties with his trousers rolled up.
The literary style of the Song Dynasty was strong, so this country farmer had a rough understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics, and it was no problem to read and write.
"A notice was issued by the Secretary of Sichuan, ordering people from all walks of life in Sichuan: Wang's army is going to the north. The old land of China in Hexi is in ruins and is waiting to be renovated. People are urgently recruited to immigrate there. Anyone who wants to immigrate to the land in Hexi is given 10 acres of water to irrigate their fields. The property will be given forever. The wasteland belongs to the government, and the cattle will be cultivated by the people. The value will be replenished according to the needs of the people, and taxes will be exempted for three years. The Immigration Branch of the Sichuan Production and Construction Department will make a register and transfer it to the Hexi prefectures, provide rations, boats and trucks, and send the officials to move it. , order them to settle down. Those who come on their own will have their travel and expenses reimbursed, and everyone should know about the supply of rice and grain to all places in Hexi..."
After the middle-aged man finished reading, the onlookers around him exclaimed.
"Ten acres per person! My family of five only has less than 15 acres of land. Is this true?"
A middle-aged man holding a hoe and wearing shabby clothes immediately screamed out.
Sichuan Fourth Road and Chengdu Fulu Road have the largest population, reaching 5 million people. Each person has an average of less than three acres of two acres, and each household has only about ten acres of cultivated land. Now this person is granting 10 acres of land, which is really scary.
Besides, a family of three, with young and strong laborers and oxen and plowing tools, can only cultivate 30 acres of land. No matter how much you give, you won’t be able to plant anything.
"Brother Gao Er, what's so strange about this! The news just came back that the army has taken over the land in Hexi. Liangzhou, Guazhou, and Yumen Pass have all been occupied by the army!"
Another middle-aged man with his trousers rolled up and a basket on his back squatted on the ground, his forehead covered with wrinkles.
"Lao Meng is right! All the people in Hexi have been killed by the Tatars. No one is farming in Hexi. The government and army have occupied Hexi, so someone must farm!"
The young and tall young man is full of high spirits.
"Brother Xiao Yi, how do you know?"
The old man in white satin clothes asked in surprise.
"Leader Li, don't you know? My Erlang joined the army on Lizhou West Road. This time he went to Xixia to defend the city and made military exploits. He was granted 50 acres of land in Liangzhou. He wrote a letter urging me to go to Liangzhou. I still have to discuss it with my father."
Brother Xiaoyi couldn't hide his pride in his eyes.
Granted 50 acres of land, from now on, he will at least belong to a middle-class family.
"Brother Xiao Yi, you speak lightly! Your Erlang is an officer and has weapons, guns, and artillery, so he can protect himself. The Tatars kill people like crazy. What if we go there, unarmed, and encounter the Tatars?"
The second year of high school is already excited, but he refuses to relax.
"Brother Gao Er, look how scary you are! No matter how ferocious the Tatars are, they still have officers and soldiers. The officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty today are not what they used to be! Let's go. Maybe the government will issue swords and guns. Can't we still serve as militiamen to protect our families? ?”
Brother Xiao Yi said with a smile, and the face of the second grader became much softer.
I am young and powerful, so what are I afraid of?
What are you afraid of when you meet those Tatars? Just fight them!
"Who says it's not the case? In the past century of the Song Dynasty, has any official army retaken Hexi? This is the first time! The Emperor of the Song Dynasty is in Hexi, are you still afraid of a ball?"
Niu Er, a local idler who was squatting on the ground and wearing shabby clothes, burst out laughing.
"No matter how powerful the Tatars are, won't they be beaten away by the army? Otherwise, Xixia will also be destroyed! Whether you go to Hexi or not is up to you, but I, Niu Er, will go. By then I will become Go to the house, ask for a wife, and have two fat boys, don't be greedy!"
Niu Er's words made all the villagers laugh and feel alive in their hearts.
This guy speaks directly and doesn't know how to avoid any taboos.
"Hexi is not far from Sichuan. Let's go back and talk to the villagers. If we want to go together, we can have someone to take care of us when the time comes!"
Lao Meng has great appeal. When he said this, everyone nodded.
“What if the county refuses to let me go?”
The sophomore was uneasy and asked again.
"You son of a bitch, go and sue him! If Sichuan's system of setting up a department doesn't work, let's go to the emperor to sue him! I heard that the emperor is in Hexi. If we sue him then, how can he, a son of a bitch, still be an official?"
Niu Er squatted on the ground and supported everyone.
"When we really arrive in Hexi, we will be unfamiliar with the place, and life will probably be difficult!"
As a sophomore in high school, I thought about it and still felt a little uneasy.
"Each village, town, and county is its own entity, with officials and dedicated personnel responsible for it. When we get to Hexi, people in the same village are divided into one village, and people in the same county are divided into one county. They are still old acquaintances. Along the way, there are government assistance, official and military escorts, and Officials from Sichuan and Hexi are supervising all the way. How could they let you starve to death from exhaustion?"
Lao Meng understood it very carefully and gave the sophomore class some relief.
What he didn't know was that the method of keeping the same village and county the same and assigning officials to take charge was all proposed by Shi Songzhi, the new governor of Wuwei County, Hexi Province.
"Now that all the immortals are gone, who will farm the land for me in the future?"
Everyone left one after another. Li Yuanwai shook his head and muttered.
"Except Mr. Li, there are many people farming. As long as you reduce the rent more!"
Niu Er stood up, still smiling.
This stingy man, it would be best if no one planted the hundreds of acres of land he had at home, and it would be best if all of it was left uncultivated.
"We might as well not collect rent! Do you think the government's taxes are a joke?"
Officer Li glared at Niu Er, turned around and left with worries.
As long as you have land, you have to pay taxes, and you have to pay taxes according to the amount of land. The poor have immigrated, who will give them land to farm? How to pay taxes?
"No matter how much taxes you pay, your son will not only eat and drink well, but you will only have several concubines! I am still a bachelor now! Bah!"
Niu Er looked at Yuan Li's back, spit on the ground, and turned to leave.
No matter whether others go to Hexi or not, he decided to go anyway.
…………
Chengdu Fu Road, Mianzhou, Fuguo, Brazil County, the wasteland outside Xicheng.
"Everyone is standing still, let's start the roll call now!"
Jiang Wanli opened the roster in his hand and began to shout:
"Brazil County, Li Zhi!"
He originally worked in Xiangyang Prefecture on Jinghu Road. He was recommended by Shangguan Xiangyang's general magistrate Shi Songzhi and came to Sichuan to prepare for immigration and was responsible for leading Mianzhou immigrants to Hexi.
There are dedicated people in charge, and each person is responsible for a state, a county, or even a prefecture according to the population of Sichuan.
"Going back to Xianggong, I met Xianggong Jiang in Lizhi, Lower Basi County."
A Confucian scholar in his forties came out and bowed his hands.
"Li Zhi, what is the immigration situation in each township in Brazil County? Are the women and children clearly recorded?"
Jiang Wanli nodded and asked Li Zhi.
"Back to my husband, there are 476 households with 1,963 immigrants in Brazil County. Among them, there are 286 children under 10 years old; 175 people over 10 years old and under 15 years old; and 1,502 adult men and women. A total of 1,963 people, all present. Please check, sir."
Among the 1,963 immigrants in Brazil County, almost none are over 50 years old, and many are young adults in their twenties and thirties who are single. It seems that the single problem has plagued the land of Sichuan.
"Xian Zhao, Li Dayi, start checking!"
Jiang Wanli nodded, and the two attendants went down and began to check one by one according to the roster provided by Li Zhi, very carefully.
You know, when they take these immigrants to Hexi, there will be as many people as they arrive when they leave. Except for force majeure factors such as illness, death or accident, if you neglect your duties, you will be held accountable, and you may even have to lose your hat.
"Mr. Sir, there are 286 young children and 175 middle-aged children, a total of 461 people. The survey is correct!"
"Mr. Sir, there are 1,502 adult men and women. The survey is correct!"
Officials Zhao Xian and Li Dayi came back and reported them one by one.
"Okay! Li Zhi, take the people of Brazil County and wait on the spot."
After Jiang Wanli gave his instructions, he shouted again.
"Changming County, Deng Huiteng!"
"The villain Deng Huiteng from Changming County has met your husband!"
"Deng Huiteng, the immigration situation of various townships in Changming County..."
Checking the number of people one by one in each county, it took more than half an hour to wait for eight counties to come down. Jiang Wanli and others were sweating profusely.
Like other prefectures and counties, the majority are young and middle-aged bachelors, and the immigrants are mostly poor families with many brothers and little land.
"Mother-in-law, there are 509 young children, 363 middle-aged children, and 3,663 adult men and women immigrating to Mianzhou. There are 4,265 immigrants in Mianzhou!"
After the officials finished counting, they reported to Jiang Wanli and handed over the roster.
4265 people! It seems that the number of immigrants is good, and it can be felt that not everyone can be willing to be poor.
"Folks, when we go to Hexi, we only need to bring clothes and other valuables. Don't bring other things, pots and pans. The court will distribute them. As for the food of each family, it will be transported by oxen and horses, so there is no need to carry it on your shoulders. Big guys. The less stuff you have on you, the better, so it’s easier to travel.”
Jiang Wanli warned carefully and did not forget to comfort him.
"Small children will be transported by carriages on flat roads and horses on post roads. Our number has been reported to the Sichuan Zhizhi Department, Lizhou Rongsi and Lintaofu Rongsi, and there are officers and soldiers to support us along the way. As for the water for everyone’s meals, the stations along the way are also prepared, so there is no need to worry, the 4,265 people from Mianzhou will definitely reach Hexi safely!”
"We have 4,265 people in Mianzhou. When we get to Hexi, we still have 4,265 people! No one can be missing!"
Officials also began to encourage the immigrants.
"Let's go!"
After Jiang Wanli finished his instructions, he waved his hand, and dozens of carriages came out. Young children got on the carriages one after another, and some immigrants kowtowed in the direction of their hometown, reluctant to leave.
A team of officers and soldiers escorted them, the wheels were rolling, and the immigrants were meandering northward. The official roads were full, and the eyes of many people were full of hope.
The capture of Lanzhou, Lintao Prefecture, and the capture of Hexi made the people of Sichuan rejoice, but for the poor people of Shu, they were most interested in immigrating to farmland and changing their appearance.
Throughout the ages, the poor have always been the most numerous in the world.
Just like in the Song Dynasty, commercial taxes were much higher than land taxes. This was due to the monopoly on tea, wine, vinegar, salt and alum, the ubiquitous layers of commercial taxes, and the evasion of land taxes by the powerful.
How can commerce be developed? In a farming society a thousand years ago, there were no steam engines and the industrial base was basically zero. How could commerce be developed?
The amount of land and taxes are the real people's livelihood.
