The establishment of Yong'an Canal brought a great harvest to Huai State. Sun Shuao also often goes to various farmland irrigation areas to check the effectiveness of irrigation canals.
Sun Shuao drove around a ditch and drove for half an hour. There were thousands of acres of fertile farmland on both sides of the irrigation ditch. It looked very pleasant. After walking along the ditch for several miles, Sun Shuao suddenly asked the driver to stop.
Sun Shuao got out of the car and looked at the surrounding fields. The fields here were much worse than those he had seen before, and it seemed that they had not been irrigated for a while.
"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong here?" the attendant asked.
Sun Shuao said with a bad look on his face: "Of course something is wrong. At this time when the seedlings are in need of water, there is plenty of water in the canals. Why isn't it here?"
The attendant said, "Do you want to ask, Your Majesty?"
Sun Shuao shook his head: "No need, there are people in the fields over there, just go and ask and it will become clearer!"
Several people continued to move along the river channel, and soon saw several strong men patrolling above the river channel.
"What do you do?" The strong man saw that the guard beside Sun Shuao was powerful and had a sharp sword at his waist. He quickly shouted vigilantly, and everyone patrolling around him also rushed over.
One of the guards looked angry and said, "How brave!"
These guards are all Yulin guards who were killed in the sea of blood from the corpse mountain. They were specially sent by Wang Yong to protect Sun Shuao. They are just a few strong men. How can they withstand the murderous intent of these warriors who have fought a hundred battles? The strong men felt a sense of fear rising from their hearts, and they suddenly became a little submissive, no longer as arrogant as before.
Sun Shuao waved his hands, and then said: "Brothers, don't be afraid, I just want to ask you some questions, please come forward and talk!"
Those people were a little scared and wanted to run away. The guards next to them glared at them so that they didn't dare to run away. After hesitating for a moment, they came forward and asked, "What do you want to ask, sir?"
"Let me ask you, this is the time when the seedlings are being irrigated. Why is the canal blocked?" Sun Shuao asked.
The man looked at everyone and seemed to have some scruples.
"What are you looking at? Just say it!" The guard next to him glared at him. The man didn't dare to hide it anymore. Said quickly.
"This is the Zhang family's land in the east of the city. Only after the Zhang family has finished irrigating it, will it be everyone else's turn."
"Then I see that the Zhang family has finished irrigating, so why haven't those farmlands been irrigated yet?"
"That...that..."
"Say!" Sun Shuao's voice was not loud, but he was not angry and intimidating, which made people feel fearful.
"Yes, the Zhang family has taken a fancy to their land and wants to buy it." The man said quickly, not daring to hide it.
"Take them with you, go to the Zhang family, bring the head of the Zhang family, and inform the people to draw water. If anyone dares to stop it, go directly to the city to report to the officials. If the officials don't care, then come to me, I am Sun Shu'ao, the Prime Minister of the country. Make the decision for them!"
"Here!" Several guards immediately grabbed the men and went to Zhang's house, while the other two guards called the people out from door to door, gathered in the open space in the village, and told them what happened.
Soon the carriage arrived from afar, and several guards were seen escorting the head of the Zhang family over.
"Are you the head of the Zhang family?" Sun Shuao asked, looking at the fat middle-aged man in front of him.
"It's me, who are you? How dare you catch me? If you have the sense, let me go quickly, or else be careful with your head!" Zhang Yuan said with an arrogant look.
"Hahaha!" Sun Shuao laughed and said, "If you want my head, then let's see what you are capable of!"
"Come here!"
"exist!"
"Zhang Yuan cut off the ditches, occupied the water sources, and robbed the people's fields. He was punished by the law and the staff was fifty, and then he was thrown into prison to await trial!" Sun Shuao ordered.
The two attendants immediately pushed Zhang Yuan to the ground and were about to start fighting. When Zhang Yuan saw that they were serious, he immediately shouted: "My brother is Dr. Zhang Shu, you can't beat me."
"Zhang Shu, right? I am Sun Shuao!"
Hearing this, Zhang Yuanshun, who was still shouting at first, was so frightened that he froze, and soon he was reduced to wailing under the beatings with the sticks.
Sun Shuao beat Zhang Yuan severely in front of the people, then took the people back to the city and ordered his attendants to collect information about other wealthy families.
Early the next morning, Sun Shuao, who had stayed up all night, went in to see Wang Yong.
"Sun Shuqing is here in such a hurry, can you use breakfast? Come and give a portion to the Prime Minister." Wang Yong said with a smile.
After Sun Shuao expressed his gratitude to Wang Yong, he handed over his hand and said: "Your Majesty, when I visited the people, I found that the land in the country was being annexed seriously. The big households oppressed the small households and forced them to sell their land in order to expand. If we don't do it, There will be restrictions, and when the time comes, the fields of the rich will be stretched across the country, and the poor will have no place to stand."
"And in the end, those landless people had no choice but to become slaves of wealthy families, officials and nobles to survive!"
Wang Yong's face was solemn. He knew very well what the foundation of the country was.
"Does the Prime Minister have a solution?" Wang Yong asked.
Sun Shuao said: "I don't have a permanent solution, only a temporary solution!"
"It's okay for the prime minister to speak frankly!" Wang Yong said.
"Please give an order, your Majesty, to move the properties of large nobles and nobles five miles outside the city. No nobles or nobles are allowed to buy property within five miles of the city!"
"Why is this?" Wang Yong was a little surprised.
"Your Majesty, most of the fields of the nobles and nobles are close to cities and ditches. The irrigation of rivers must first focus on their fields, and then other people. If the nobles and nobles are left here, it will be difficult for the people to irrigate. Therefore, it is necessary to Move these people further away."
"In addition, please give me an order that each household can own up to a thousand acres of land. After the land exceeds a thousand acres, the tax will be increased by 30%!"
"Prime Minister, even if this edict is issued, it will not have much effect on those nobles and nobles. They can completely divide the family property among others and divide it into households, but in fact it is still controlled by their clan!" Wang Yong shook his head and said.
"Your Majesty, this is indeed true, but people's hearts can change." Sun Shuao said, "In the beginning, this method is naturally feasible, but if time passes, or the person who controls the land dies, who will own the land? Is it his son or the family?"
"According to Huai law, this land will naturally belong to its heirs, but will the original clan agree? There will definitely be trouble by then. As long as the government divides the land according to the household registration, the land will naturally belong to the registered people. Your Majesty feels that these noble families What will happen next?”
"If a large family becomes a small one, the power of the noble family will be weakened."
"These large households have been split into small households, and their power has been dispersed. Naturally, they can no longer oppress the people of small households."
"The Prime Minister's strategy is really wonderful!" After hearing the story, Wang Yong immediately understood that this strategy is a test of human nature, but human nature is the least able to withstand the test!
"Then act according to the Prime Minister's policy!" Wang Yong agreed with Sun Shuao's suggestion and issued an edict.
...
Sun Shuao, the prime minister of the Huai State during the Spring and Autumn Period, was a famous politician, strategist, water conservancy engineer, and economist. He was known as Sun Shuzi, Yongan Jun or Yongan Gong in history. Because he built the Yongan Canal and assisted Huaicheng Gong to dominate, he was also known as Guan Zhong. The first phase of Spring and Autumn. Later generations called it "Huaixiang's long-term achievements, eternal peace and prosperity for thousands of families. His great achievements are the same as those of Dayu, and his great achievements are the highest in China." - "Cambridge History of China, Spring and Autumn Chapter, Sun Shu'ao"
