With the signing of documents between the two countries, the war-torn Central Plains finally ushered in a brief period of peace.
Refugees are no longer fleeing everywhere, and some severely damaged places have slowly resumed production and are gradually gaining vitality.
Subsequently, Xiao Yuan transferred back Sun Qi's troops stationed at Hengyang Pass and carried out a second military reform.
This time, the general's military rank and military exploits were more concrete, which once again boosted the morale of the military.
In terms of local governance, although Xiao Yuan demoted Liu Changqing, he adopted his suggestion and sent a letter to Xu Zongcheng who was far away in Chu, asking him to clear the land again and quickly correct the farmland and water conservancy laws.
Because the Jiangnan area had just been conquered, many people were still under Wu Chu's policies, and a series of problems needed to be solved. Xu Zongcheng was bound to have a heavy responsibility. Xiao Yuan also encouraged him in his letter and did not hesitate to speak.
After receiving the king's personal letter, personal encouragement, and entrusted him with a big task, Xu Zongcheng suddenly became very motivated. He took Xiao Yuan's letter in his hand and read it back and forth several times. Then he carefully put it away and said to the officials: "Everyone, we have an important task. Body, whether the Chu region can be brought under great control requires the concerted efforts of colleagues. This time, officials at all levels must go to the countryside in person..."
After hearing this, all the officials couldn't help but look at each other, and then they all bowed down.
Xu Zongcheng decided to start with the clearing of land, because in the past Chu land, on the basis of the powerful people annexing fertile land, there was also a lot of concealment. To put it simply, some powerful people owned thousands of acres of fertile land, but the official documents only had a hundred acres, so they could avoid paying taxes. , and some people clearly cannot make ends meet, but official documents record that they have a lot of fertile land and have to pay heavy taxes, which is miserable.
This policy will clear up a large amount of hidden land and increase fiscal revenue. At the same time, countless farmers will be exempted from high taxes and receive real benefits for the people.
Danyang County, Yongli County.
This place had experienced civil strife in the Chu region, and the government offices had been smashed. It can be said that after the county magistrate took office, there was no place to work.
At this moment, Xu Zongcheng also arrived here and was checking the official documents of the county magistrate in a rented house.
While flipping through the pages, he asked casually: "How is the progress of the government's renovation?"
"We are rushing to work. There was a lot of turmoil in Wynn at the beginning, and the government office was seriously damaged. It was in ruins." The county magistrate stood below and returned respectfully.
"Have the local county annals and past official documents been collected again?"
"Here, a lot of things were burned down, not much remains."
In this regard, Xu Zongcheng didn't say anything, and asked: "How is the process of clearing the land?"
"The decree has been promulgated in all villages in the county and is being implemented. However... there is a large family in the city who are very resistant to it and led their servants to intercept it," the county magistrate said.
Hearing this, Xu Zongcheng closed the official document in his hand and looked up at the county magistrate: "What do you mean? He won't let the country clear the land?"
"Yes, I was very resistant and used force several times." The county magistrate replied truthfully.
"How much land did he have according to the official records of the Chu State?"
"The official document says it's more than 700 acres."
"What's the actual situation?"
"At least several thousand acres."
"This is unreasonable!" Xu Zongcheng was furious. This was a complete false report.
Just like what the prime minister Liu Yuzhi said at the time, the powerful annexed the fertile land and enslaved the people, but the poor people worked day and night, not only had no harvest, but they also had to pay the world's taxes.
In anger, he immediately stood up and stared at the other person: "What do you do in Wuwei Mansion?"
The officer of the Wuwei Mansion in Yongli County was startled, and he quickly lowered his head and said: "Yongli... Yongli is only one county, and now is the period of implementing various policies. The Wuwei Mansion is really short of manpower. You can take this as a lesson..."
Hearing this, Xu Zongcheng took a deep breath and said decisively: "Immediately transfer people from Danyang County to arrest this person who concealed the land and openly resisted the government. Behead him in public! To clarify the national law!"
ah! ? The county magistrate was shocked when he heard this and stammered: "Behead...behead?"
"Go and do it immediately! There is no doubt about this decree! Anyone, high or low, who dares to make false statements or conceal things or do things poorly is going against the Qin State! Going against the king!"
With his words like this, the county magistrate dared to hesitate and quickly replied: "Yes, yes, I will go and deliver the message right away."
"In addition, I will take my official letter to the military headquarters and request the assistance of the Yanqi garrison. This time, drastic measures must be taken. All counties in Chu must solve all farming problems before spring plowing next year." Xu Zongcheng said.
"Yes Yes……"
Although he is a civil servant, he also has a thunderous approach to getting things done.
The letter was delivered very quickly, and within a few days, it arrived in the army.
However, Yan Qi did not dare to agree to this kind of military deployment in private. Instead, he immediately sent a letter to the royal court asking for Xiao Yuan's instructions.
This time, it was the Falcon from the military aircraft battalion. Xiao Yuan quickly received it and without much hesitation, he directly gave an accurate instruction.
Subsequently, a large number of troops began to pour into Chuzhou from the garrison areas.
Under such circumstances, anyone who dares to openly defy the government is no different than seeking death.
After some time, Xu Zongcheng went down to a certain village. After learning about the land clearing situation here, he also started talking with the local people.
People did not know his specific identity, but they only knew that he was an official. An old farmer said excitedly: "In the past, my family only had a dozen acres of thin farmland, but we had to pay taxes on a hundred acres of fertile land. Now, the government has cleared the land again, and we have Every household will be able to have enough to eat in the future..."
"Okay, okay." Xu Zongcheng nodded repeatedly and said sincerely: "The people have farmland and a place to live, which is what our Qin country hopes for..."
From this we can see the importance of re-clearing the land in Jiangnan, but in the court, some people still came out to impeach Xu Zongcheng.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that Xu Zongcheng has committed several killings in his governance of the Chu region. This is far from his original gentle approach. Is there any suspicion of harsh governance?"
Xiao Yuan was very clear about the situation in between. Even if Xu Zongcheng did something like killing someone, it was definitely for the sake of the people's livelihood. After hearing this, he immediately refuted the minister and said: "Then let's Just kill him, no one is an exception when it comes to the unification of political orders across the country."
"There are many powerful people in the Chu region who hide the actual acres of land. They only report taxes on a thousand acres of land. Who will pay the remaining taxes? They can only plunder them from the people who are suffering! The people have no enough food to eat. We have to bear the heavy taxes that hide the land. This phenomenon must be completely changed!"
"The imperial court fully supports Xu Zongcheng's bold move! It is also my intention!"
After he finished speaking, the minister swallowed his saliva and hurriedly bowed down: "Yes, yes, what the king said is absolutely true, but the humble minister did not think carefully."
(End of chapter)
