One hall, two worlds.
A group of people in the east were very excited and noisy like a vegetable market, but a group of people in the west were shocked and confused, and it was as quiet as a cemetery.
What are these foreigners doing?
What is a field roll?
One million acres?
Twenty stones of grain for one acre?
Isn’t that twenty million stones of grain?
King Yan has so much food, how can the price of food still be high?
Is the food in our hands worthless?
One question after another is like a poisonous flame burning the powerful hearts of Pingjiang and Jiaxing.
Some people couldn't stand it any longer, so they abandoned their dignity and humbly went to seek help from an acquaintance of a foreign gentry.
Zhou Xian from Pingjiang Prefecture saw that his clan uncle had finished registering and was squeezed out of the crowd, so he hurried forward.
"Uncle Ninth, although our Zhou family is divided into separate houses, we are still of the same blood. Even if we don't share the same fate, for the sake of our ancestors, you always give your nephew a hand..."
Zhou Jiufu, who came from Lin'an, looked at his nephew with pity, shook his head and sighed, "How do you ask me to pull you? Don't blame me for being cruel. If you want to blame me, I can only blame you for seeking your own death. Why don't you do anything wrong? You have to go against His Highness King Yan." What? Is Your Highness an ordinary person? A person who just tried his best at a meeting with Ningmen and made all the ministers docile. Do you think you are very capable and can defeat the elite people in the court!? You still want to fight with Yan His Royal Highness is playing tricks and scheming. Isn’t that just the birthday man hanging himself because he doesn’t want to live too long?”
These questions made Zhou Xian blush, as if there was a lead hanging on his head, and he couldn't lift it up at all, so he could only beg weakly.
"Uncle Jiu, it's useless to regret what happened now. My nephew doesn't ask you for anything else. Can you explain the farm system and land certificates to my nephew and see if there is any room for redress."
Zhou Jiufu glanced in the direction of King Yan and thought for a moment. It was not a secret anyway. King Yan only asked that it not be revealed in advance. Now it should be fine.
After all, we are of the same race, so I can help if I can, "Hey, people's hearts tend to soften when they get old, that's all, I just want to talk to you."
After a lot of talking, Zhou Jiufu knew everything and explained in detail, "His Royal Highness King Yan also said that the fields are not simply rented to farmers for farming. It seems that a cooperative model will be trialled, which is likely to increase the value of the fields." I don’t know much about the specific content of yield and efficiency. It’s probably like hiring workers in a workshop. As long as the farmers contribute, other seeds and agricultural tools are all the responsibility of the farm cooperative. Those of us who bought the field certificates only need to collect money every year. Just fine."
The Pingjiang gentry on the side felt dizzy after hearing this. It took them a while to understand, and then they began to discuss it in various ways.
"Is it still possible to play like this? It's neither Guantian nor Mintian..."
"After all, this is half the income from renting land in the past. It's not cost-effective."
"Haha, of course you won't get as much income as before when you have to pay taxes. Don't you think about it, the system created by His Highness King Yan will allow someone to evade taxes?"
"That's right. It means that the taxes of landlords and tenant farmers are paid by the farm. No one can escape. It is also easy for the government to collect taxes, and most people save themselves trouble. In fact, it is a good thing." Z.br>
"Twenty kilograms of rice buys an acre of field coupons, and then the stable income is at least six buckets per year, which is equivalent to three cents of interest per year. In fact, it is not bad. After all, the money and grain are left alone, and the coupons can also be bought, sold and transferred..."
These days, there are no banks. If you put your money in a bank, you have to pay a storage fee. With the conservative thinking of Chinese people, they generally do not invest all their money in risky industries and commerce. Therefore, there is a lot of wealth among the people. Either it's cellaring, or it's buying land.
But firstly, the land is limited, and secondly, King Yan obviously wants to restrict annexation. Now this field roll can maintain its value like actual fields, and can also generate stable income. It is indeed a good way.
More and more gentry wanted to understand this and gradually became tempted.
"This kind of cooperative does not sound unusual at first. It is similar to the way we hire long-term workers to farm the land. However, judging from the design of the farm system, it is probably not that simple. I am afraid there is another mystery.
Machines may really improve field yields. "
Zhao Mengqi thought seriously about agriculture. He didn't understand technological aspects such as the hybridization of fertilizers and pesticides, and he couldn't study them overnight. He had to think of ways from the business model.
China is basically a self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy with one household, men farming and women weaving, and this model has been continued in later generations. Zhao Mengqi has no illusions about radical changes, but only in areas with suitable conditions, based on the success of later generations. Explore and improve based on experience.
"I have to admit that we have completely lost this time. The affairs of the world are unstoppable. It is said that those who understand the current affairs are heroes. I think it is better for us to surrender as soon as possible."
"What Brother Zhou said makes sense. I guess King Yan won't kill us all, right?"
"It's hard to say. King Yan gave us a chance before, but now we have to bow our heads when the overall situation is decided. Is it useful?"
"No matter what, we can't just sit back and wait for death. How about we test King Yan's attitude by buying land certificates?"
"Hmph, I have to go to you. I can't do such a spineless thing. Let's see what this King Yan can do to me!?"
"That's right, if you bow your head so easily, then all the money my family invested will be wasted. It's going to be hard and hard, but you will succeed. As long as you persevere, we will never lose!"
After a period of discussion and quarreling, this group of powerful men developed a rift and fell apart.
Some are unwilling to lose their assets and want to fight to the end; some think that they can keep a little bit and want to surrender and admit defeat; and some are in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.
At this time, one million acres of land were basically subscribed and divided up, and several gentry from Changguo County, Qingyuan Prefecture wanted to discuss with King Yan.
"Your Highness, we also want to buy farm rolls, but as you know, we are all islands and don't have much farmland. We can't produce much food. Do you think you can let us use the money from selling seafood this time?" Change the tabaki."
Changguo is actually the Zhoushan Islands in later generations, and the nearby waters should be the largest fishing ground in China's offshore waters.
In order to fill the food gap this time, Zhao Mengqi not only ordered the Fenghua Army to carry out large-scale fishing in Taihu Lake and the Yangtze River, but also placed large orders with the gentry of Chang State, purchasing seafood at the price of ten coins per catty.
Due to preservation and transportation problems, the market for seafood is limited, so marine fisheries have not developed much. Seafood does not sell for much in normal times, and fishermen are not very motivated to catch it.
However, King Yan's big business was ruined. Seeing the profits, these businessmen and gentry immediately organized a large number of fishermen to fish. In just half a month, more than 6 million kilograms of output broke out, and as long as King Yan did not stop, acquisition, the catch will continue to increase.
Zhao Mengqi, whose surname is not Zhu, will not give up on the sea. Whether it is military or trade and fishery, he has corresponding plans. After hearing the requests of these "sea people", he laughed.
"Yes, right now, because of the shortage of food in the disaster area, we are asking for food to be exchanged for field rolls. Later, you can buy it with money, and it will be open to the public for sale. Even ordinary people can buy only one acre."
"However, if you rely on the mountains to live on the mountains, and on the sea to live on the sea, you are guarding the cornucopia of the sea, but you want to invest your money in the fields. Isn't this a small gain at the expense of the near?"
"In the past, your catch could not be sold, and the rest could only be piled on the beach and left to rot. But I have a way to solve the problem of preservation and transportation of seafood so that it can be sold to inland areas. With this, in the future, The more you catch, the more you earn, so you should invest your money in upgrading your fishing capabilities, such as getting better and bigger fishing boats, improving fishing tools and fishing methods."
After listening to this, several people were still a little confused, "Your Highness, in addition to making salted fish and dry goods, how can this catch be preserved for a long time? As the old saying goes, "No firewood is sold for a hundred miles, and no wood is sold for thousands of miles." This seafood has been transported to Inland, you have to sell it for the price of silver to get your money back. How many people can afford it? "
"Haha, you don't have to worry about this. I have many solutions. For now, I plan to build several large shipyards and seafood processing plants, etc. If you believe in me, you are welcome to join us when the time comes."
Several people exchanged glances with each other, and then nodded, "The common people will naturally believe in His Highness, so let's keep the money and join His Highness's workshop when the time comes."
Let's not talk about whether we can make a lot of money, just doing business with future officials is enough to impress them.
After Zhao Mengqi convinced several people in Changguo, he turned to look at everyone, "If you are interested at that time, you are also welcome. Basically, just like Tianjuan, the new workshop will issue stocks. In addition, as I said just now, The Taihu Project will stimulate many industries. I am afraid that it is difficult for you to work alone. Moreover, many people are unfamiliar with some industries and do not know how to operate them. Therefore, I am also preparing to build related workshops and shops. If there are industries that you are optimistic about, You can just buy stocks and invest, and you don’t have to worry too much. You’ll just pay the money when it matures. Of course, if you lose money, you have to admit it.”
The hall burst into laughter, "Haha, with your Highness's wisdom and vision, how could you lose..."
"Even if you are really unlucky, you have to admit your losses. In business, there are always profits and losses."
"Oh, my family is not very rich. In order to buy land certificates, I have already spent all my money on grain. But I don't want to miss the opportunity to make a fortune with His Highness. It seems that I have to sell my family's land."
The person who said this may not actually believe that King Yan's stocks can make money, but he understands that King Yan is now promoting the Jingjie, and sooner or later it will be his turn, so he wants to take this opportunity to find out.
The other gentry woke up one after another and suddenly became quiet. They looked at King Yan with uneasiness in their eyes.
Zhao Mengqi's mind changed and he realized the true purpose of this question, so he settled down and thought about it seriously.
Now that we are facing a formidable enemy, it would indeed be much better if internal problems could be dealt with through gentler means rather than the outbreak of conflicts.
So he said cautiously, "Pingjiang Prefecture and Jiaxing Prefecture have begun to cross the border, and land transactions have been frozen. Let's not talk about other places for the time being. If the land has a legitimate origin, whether it is on the tax roll or not, I will We support the imperial court to purchase at market price. This policy is only effective before the local border begins."
Zhao Mengqi said that there was no need to worry that the court would not have money to buy land, because he planned to convert all official land into new-style farms and sell the land rolls, and the money would be solved.
In fact, there will definitely be many powerful people who are unwilling to lose their profits and hand over control of their fields, but it never hurts to minimize the number of opponents.
After receiving a direct reply from King Yan, many gentry were finally able to let go of their worries. The knife in King Yan's hand was too sharp, and it would be difficult to avoid being cut. However, if you ask yourself and follow King Yan's approach, you will Most of the profits can still be preserved, and the loss is only the part that should have been paid to the court. If you can endure it, it is not unacceptable to give up the car to protect the commander.
After all, if you insist on confronting King Yan, the consequences will be disastrous. The powerful Pingjiang people in front of you are living examples.
