The matter of clearing the father-in-law has been settled, but the matter of land reclamation still has to be dealt with.
No one wants to open up wasteland, especially if there is land, who would be willing to go to that trouble?
Generally speaking, the yamen would arrange some prisoners who had been sentenced to hard labor to do the preliminary work of opening up wasteland, and occasionally other prisoners would be asked to do it together.
It's just that most of these prisoners have to wear shackles on their hands and feet, so the efficiency of this work is greatly reduced.
The only thing that can comfort people is probably that they don't have to pay wages.
The amount of fertile farmland cleared this time is significantly larger, and in their county alone, there are more than a thousand acres of farmland. How can this not be surprising?
Speaking of surprises, in front of the Holy Master, it might be more surprise than joy, at least for now.
After all, this would make Emperor Jingwen feel that his subordinates were deliberately trying to fool him, which would make him angry.
Apart from fertile farmland, there is nothing but wasteland.
There is not less wasteland, but more.
Why?
It's because some people used fertile land to pass it off as wasteland, and they missed paying taxes and grain for several years.
The land reclamation policy of Dazhiguo is tax-free for the first three years.
The main thing is that everyone who practices this kind of crops knows that the land must be nourished, otherwise it will have no energy and not much food will grow.
In the first three years, they were basically cultivating the land. Regardless of whether an acre of land produced ten kilograms of grain or a hundred kilograms, it all belonged to the owner.
Even so, no one is willing to open up wasteland.
Because in the wasteland allocated by the imperial court, it was really so barren that it was not much better than a desert.
Not only that, even if ordinary people clear up wasteland, they may not be able to keep it if it eventually turns into medium or fertile farmland.
In short, the work is done, but the ultimate benefit is not necessarily yours.
Therefore, no one is willing to open up wasteland.
Even if the court offers a three-year tax exemption policy, the people are not willing to do so.
Because land reclamation requires a lot of investment, do you think it’s enough to just loosen the soil?
This process can be troublesome.
First of all, the stones and debris in this wasteland must be cleared one by one.
After that, we have to find a way to get the water source. It would be better if it is close to the river. If it is far away, haha, then we will have a lot of work.
In addition, the land needs to be loosened, nourished, and fertilized. You don’t think that by lighting a fire and plowing the land again, the land will be well cultivated.
Generally speaking, it is not cost-effective to open up wasteland. Only those who have no other choice will choose to open up wasteland.
Of course, if the geology is not so bad, some people will still be willing to cultivate the wasteland. After all, it is easy to get rewards in this case.
Cheng Jingzhou has been busy with this matter in the past few days.
There are a lot of wastelands in Feng County. Some locations are okay, but most of the wastelands are not in good locations. The main reason is that there is no water source. This is a big problem.
How to grow food without water?
Whether growing wheat or sorghum, lack of water is a big problem.
Cheng Jingzhou has consulted many people and read a lot of books about this, but he still has no clue.
When Xie Rongzhao brought him soup, he accidentally knew why he was worried and mentioned it in passing.
"I remember that astragalus likes dry places, but I don't know if it can be grown here. And the price of astragalus seems to be quite expensive."
One sentence made Cheng Jingzhou suddenly enlightened!
Yes, why is he only thinking about solving the water source problem, but not thinking about whether he can plant different crops?
Cheng Jingzhou slapped his forehead: "It's me who's in trouble! My dear, I'm lucky to have you, thank you for reminding me. You are simply my lucky star!"
Only then did Cheng Jingzhou think of adapting measures to local conditions. After all, compared with long-term and expensive methods such as building canals, if you choose the right plants, you can save time, effort, and worry.
Of course, not all wasteland can be used to grow medicinal herbs.
There are still places where, judging by the soil, food can still be grown, but ditches need to be dug.
Ordinary people have to perform labor service once or twice a year, which varies according to local needs.
In Feng County, it happened once before, and sometimes twice in some years.
Each period of labor usually lasts from twenty to forty days.
This is stipulated by the law of Dazhi, and the longest period cannot exceed forty days.
What if the construction period is longer?
This is easy to handle, we just need to change the batch of people to do the labor service.
Moreover, in the north, labor arrangements are usually made after the agricultural slack. For example, after the autumn harvest, when wheat is planted, there is basically no farm work in the fields, and labor can be performed at this time.
But the time of labor is usually only forty days. No matter how long it is, the weather will be too cold, not to mention the suffering of the people. If it catches up with the early cold years, the soil may be frozen and digging cannot be done.
So, sometimes you can't do whatever you want.
After spring plowing, it is also the slack time for farming, so labor can also be arranged at this time.
Cheng Jingzhou, the county magistrate and the chief registrar decided to dig three canals first based on the actual situation.
After all, there are rivers in Feng County, so in a sense, there is no shortage of water sources.
Once the canals are dug, the people will ultimately benefit.
Not only that, if they encounter a heavy rainstorm, they can also find ways to avoid rising floods.
This water channel is delineated based on the actual geographical location and conditions.
Originally, the previous county magistrate also thought about building canals, but the county had no income and no money, so he gave up.
Don't think that if you do hard labor and don't pay others, you can do it in vain.
You have to take care of three meals a day, right?
Not only that, but a place to live had to be arranged, and hundreds of people came to work. Just eating here would make the county government poor in a few days.
I'm not afraid now.
There is money in their treasury.
Not to mention the taxes and fines that were voluntarily paid in the past, just the taxes collected this spring are much more than in previous years.
Therefore, the county can fully bear this part of the cost, and there is no need to report it to the higher authorities.
After taking office as the county magistrate last year, he failed to get approval, so he gave up the idea. This time, although Cheng Jingzhou calculated that the county had money, he still handed over the discount.
After all, it costs a lot of money to repair the canals, and we can't let these people live in such poor conditions. Not to mention having meat every day, they have to eat once every seven or eight days, otherwise their bones won't be able to bear it.
Cheng Jingzhou himself was a little cautious.
This year, Feng County reported the results of the Qing Dynasty early. He thought that this matter would be exposed in front of the emperor, so it shouldn't be that difficult for him to apply for some money to dig ditches.
All in all, if you can use the money in the treasury, use the money in the treasury first. As for the money in your own county government, you should keep it first. In times of great disaster, the court may not be able to take care of it for a while. They are.
