Good people and bad people are often just emotional evaluations.
If one were rational, what Zhang Bing did would be enough for these gentry to go dig his family's ancestral graves in Zezhou Prefecture, Shanxi.
Zhang Bing has been in official circles for a long time and is well-versed in the world. He knows that talking about business is like fighting a war. The last thing he can do is to show weakness.
Although the merchants were selling farmland, Zhang Bing relied on the gentry for help. But Zhang Bing also knew that if he was humble and begged these people to buy the farmland, then these gentry would be arrogant and keep the price of the farmland extremely low.
But if they were asked to beg him, then things would be different.
With a look of sadness on his face, Zhang Bing continued: "Zhang thought more than once that the gentry made great sacrifices for the implementation of national policies. Can the court provide some compensation? After all, each family has a big business and does not have thousands of acres of land. I can’t sleep well.”
Liang Jun, Wu Hui and other gentry nodded repeatedly.
is not that right?
In the past, when we touted and met with each other, it was always:
How many acres of land do you have in your hands?
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm from a wealthy family...
Nowadays, when we praise and meet with each other:
How many acres of land do you have in your hands?
Hey, I'm ashamed, I'm not worth mentioning...
Without acres of land, how can one be considered a wealthy family?
How can he be worthy of the title of wealthy gentry?
If you don’t believe me, look at it. The word “富gentry” or “富gentry” all has the word “田” in it. If there was no field, would it still be called “富gentry”?
In the past, there was endless glory, with twenty to thirty thousand acres of land in hand!
It's miserable now, and it's like going back to ten years ago.
Zhang Bing sighed and said: "So, we need to buy some land. But you know the situation inside and outside Beiping Mansion better than me. Those who did not have acres of land before, but now have acres of land, naturally cherish it very much and will not buy or sell it easily. And those Those who already own fields have heard about the new policy of the imperial court and are looking forward to a better life. How can they sell their fields? Mr. Liang, tell me, how much is the price per acre for the fields outside Beiping Mansion now?"
Liang Jun's mouth was bitter as he said: "Before the whipping method and the national policy, the average land was five taels of silver, and the good farmland was only more than ten taels. But now the acres are getting more and more expensive, and the good farmland is as much as twenty taels. , even so, it is difficult to purchase in large quantities.”
In the past, various means were used to bankrupt farmers and then buy their fields at low prices, but this method no longer works.
The Agricultural Tax Department is in charge of land deeds, and will not process land deeds that are lower than the market price. Not only that, but the willingness of both parties to trade is also needed to be investigated. If there is a problem of bullying the people and malicious suppression, then wait for the Chief Envoy Si Yamen to come Bar.
Strict control over land transactions, coupled with a whip law, protected the interests of homesteaders and reduced their pressure, which curbed the sale of land.
Things are rare and valuable, so when the quantity of land sold is reduced, the price will naturally rise.
When a rich gentry wants to buy land, not only does the cost increase a lot, but he can only buy small pieces of land that cannot be connected into one piece. When showing off to others, he can only point to the east and say, these three pieces of land are my home. Yes, oh, by the way, there is another piece of land to the west, and there is... to the north...
It's so sad.
Zhang Bing nodded slightly, knocked on the table, and said: "It's impossible for everyone to buy farmers' fields in large quantities, right?"
"It's natural."
Wu Hui and others were dejected.
Zhang Bing laughed and said: "So, I, the Chief Envoy, wrote to the court to sell the farmland and give all the gentry a foundation to settle down."
"Tuntian!"
Liang Jun, Wu Hui and others immediately started talking.
Everyone knows that there are a large number of farmland in the garrison system. Some wealthy gentry in other areas even colluded with the garrison officers to carve up some of the farmland that originally belonged to soldiers.
But around Beiping Mansion, this phenomenon is rare.
Mainly because Zhu Di had been in charge of Beiping Prefecture for a long time, and because the military offensive against the Tatars had always existed in the early Ming Dynasty, the guard system could only be strengthened, not weakened.
Facing Zhu Di, who was strict in running the army, few officers dared to divide the sergeants' fields.
Liang Jun stopped the noisy crowd and asked Zhang Bing: "Sir, the fields in the guard station are national property and belong to the sergeants. How can they be sold? Not to mention whether the soldiers in the guard station will agree or not, even the imperial court will not pass it. Bar?"
Zhang Bing smiled and said: "The current emperor is a wise master. He is aware of the losses of the gentry. He not only agreed to the merchants' sale of farmland, but also gave a low-tax strategy of twenty-one tax for three years in order to take care of you."
"Sir, are you serious?"
Liang Jun, Wu Hui and others suddenly became excited.
These days, the purchase of a large amount of real estate is a huge surprise, not to mention the benefit of low taxes!
"As the chief envoy of Peiping, I will not deceive you. Besides, without the permission of the imperial court, who dares to say or do such a thing that will kill your head?"
Zhang Bing's face darkened and he said seriously.
Liang Jun, Wu Hui and other gentry were all smiling and overjoyed.
Although there are not many cultivated fields around Beiping Prefecture, there are one to two million acres. If you go further north, there are three to four million acres.
With so many acres of land, are you still worried about not being able to buy land?
Although the place is far away, it’s a little far away
, But what does it matter? If it doesn’t work, arrange a few servants and relatives to move over.
Whether you go or not, the fields are there, the food is there, and the money is there.
"Sir Zhang, the guards' command and the whereabouts of the sergeants are the secrets of the imperial court. We dare not find out. However, we still need to know when the farmland can be sold and how the price will be determined."
Liang Jun asked calmly.
Zhang Bing smiled and said: "This year, the Wei Institute's fields are full of green seedlings. You can tell whether the land is fat or thin at a glance. How about we use the green seedlings to grow, the soil is fat and thin, determine the good and bad fields per acre, and price them accordingly?"
"So, very good!"
Everyone quickly replied.
Zhang Bing nodded slightly and said: "As for the time for the farm merchants to sell, it does not depend on me, but on you."
"What do you mean, sir?"
Wu Hui was a little confused.
Zhang Bing picked up a glass of wine, drank it down, and said: "The business of selling farmland is to make up for the losses of the gentry, and to maintain the new army strategy. If you want to implement it, you need to ensure that the farmland can be sold. If you can't take over this batch There may be less farmland taken over, resulting in a large number of farmland being left uncultivated, so the merchants selling the farmland may as well not do it.”
Liang Jun, Wu Hui and others nodded to express their understanding.
"May I ask, sir, how many farms are there?"
Wu Hui asked again.
Zhang Bing thought for a moment and said: "There are three million acres in total, and you need to take at least 2.2 million acres. If you can't, then the farming business will not implement it. The benefits of low taxes will naturally not exist. .”
"so much?!"
The gentleman was a little surprised.
There are only forty gentry here, and each family owns more than 50,000 acres. Even if the land is cheap, the family will have to pay hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Who can afford this in one go?
Zhang Bing smiled, picked up the wine glass, and said, "Whether it's feasible or not depends on you. Come, let's have a drink!"
Everyone raised their glasses with smiles on their faces, but their hearts were very depressed.
Zhang Bing left the table in a hurry after finishing his meal.
Everyone looked at Liang Jun, hoping that he could give him reassurance.
Liang Jun thought for a while, then relaxed and ate happily. After only eating a few mouthfuls, he looked at the big fish in front of him and sighed: "I'm old, I can't eat so much by myself."
Wu Hui's eyes turned, he understood, knocked on the table, and said to everyone: "What Mr. Liang means is that if the forty of us can't feed this batch of farmland, can't we find some more people to come over? The gentry in Beiping Prefecture, and It’s not just our forty families. Haha, everyone, we are going to be prosperous, come on, let’s win!”
