"Zihuan, do we really want to go to Uncle Zilian's house to find Mao Jie?"

"Now that we have come out, we must get things done."

"What should we do if daddy can't find us this afternoon?"

"Let's talk about it then..."

When the two came to Cao Hong's mansion, they had to say that Cao Hong's aristocratic temperament was indeed outstanding. Even the ring on the door of the mansion was made of gold, and the dark door leaves gave people a solemn feeling.

"Should we go in directly to find him?" Cao Zhen asked, looking at the imposing door.

"Let's wait for Mao Jie to come out. It's not good for Uncle Lian's family to see him." Cao Pi hesitated for a moment, thinking that if Cao Song knew that he deliberately contacted Mao Jie, he might not simply get beaten.

Simple.

"What do you want to do with him?" Cao Pi didn't tell Cao Zhen what he was going to do all morning. Cao Zhen finally couldn't help but asked out of curiosity.

"I want to see what he said about the method of storing grain, and why Weng Weng dislikes him so much." Cao Pi kept staring at the door of Cao Hong's mansion and said without looking back.

"You just want to know why Weng Weng is unhappy?"

"From Qiao County to Juancheng, so many people are starving to death because they can't eat. If Mao Jie can really find a way to solve this problem, it will be a good thing for his father and the people. We should find a way to get his father to agree.

Mao Jie’s method of storing food."

Cao Zhen thought of the corpses he saw along the way, the wailing sounds he heard, and thought about Cao Pi's words. Cao Pi saw Cao Zhen thinking silently and stopped talking.

After a while, there was a noise from the side door, and Mao Jie was thrown out of the door by several guards. Along with Mao Jie being thrown out, there were more than ten bamboo slips. Cao Hong walked out of the side door and yelled at Mao Jie,

Pedestrians passing by heard the noise and stopped to watch.

After Cao Hong was satisfied with the scolding, he closed the door and returned home, leaving only Mao Jie picking up bamboo slips on the ground. The pedestrians felt that there was nothing good to watch, and they all continued to do their own things. Cao Pi hurriedly pulled Cao Zhen to help.

Mao Jie picked up bamboo slips together.

"Thank you, thank you so much." Mao Jie kept his head down to pick up the bamboo slips, completely unaware that the people helping him were two children.

"Mr. Xiaoxian, you're welcome." Cao Pi responded.

"Hey! Who are you? How do you know me..." Mao Jie looked up and found that the people helping him were actually two children. One of them even said his first name, which made him feel a little confused.

"Sir, come with me." Cao Pi looked around and found no one familiar. He took Mao Jie to an alley where few people passed.

"Sir, my name is Cao Pi, and I'm here to ask you for advice on how to store grain." Cao Pi introduced himself while looking at Mao Jie's confused look.

"Cao Pi? Are you the son of the envoy? Are you the wise Cao Pi?" After receiving Cao Pi's affirmative answer, Mao Jie recalled the story of Cao Pi that Cao Cao once told. Mao Jie knew that Cao Cao valued this son very much.

I often use it to show off to my subordinates, "You came to me for a way to store food?"

"Sir, you may think it's ridiculous, but that's what I think." Cao Pi looked at Mao Jie's troubled expression and smiled, "Sir, you are willing to talk to so many colleagues, but you are not willing to teach me a thing or two?"

After much hesitation, Mao Jie picked out a bamboo slip and handed it to Cao Pi. After reading the contents on the bamboo slip, Cao Pi understood why Cao Song hated Mao Jie so much and why Cao Hong threw Mao Jie out of the house.

Door.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the gentry provided manpower support for themselves by recruiting private households. These private households included people who had committed crimes and escaped, and people who had no money left. The existence of these people allowed the wealthy families to have their own power, but this would lead to

The country's land taxes will become less and less, and the power in the hands of the gentry will become greater and greater.

With the advent of war, there were more and more disaster victims and wasteland. The local nobles would take advantage of the war to take advantage of large tracts of land and hand it over to their tenants for cultivation. The nobles collected money from the tenants, and many small tribes borrowed money from them.

A wealthy family took the opportunity to become a wealthy family, and a wealthy family took the opportunity to become a wealthy family.

The redundant land in the hands of the gentry is likely to be left uncultivated, and eventually fertile land will turn into wasteland. Even if many disaster victims want to make a living through farming, they will face the embarrassing situation of farming without land.
p>

The core idea of ​​the grain storage law proposed by Mao Jie is to reclaim wasteland for the victims to cultivate, count private households and return them to the state, develop the agricultural economy to ensure military reserves, and return grain to the people within a certain time limit. Although this method can indeed effectively improve

The combat effectiveness of Cao Cao's military group is tantamount to pulling Cao Cao into the opposition of various noble clans.

"Sir, what are the other bamboo slips written on?" Cao Pi asked after reading the contents on the bamboo slips.

"I copied some cases and allusions from the previous dynasty and this dynasty as a reference." Mao Jie replied.

"Sir, doing this is good for the people, but it may not be good for his future career." Cao Pi said after digesting the content on the bamboo slips.

"Turning a blind eye to the current situation is tantamount to pushing the common people into a sea of ​​fire. If you can accept my opinion, I don't care whether you become an official or not." Mao Jieyi said righteously.

"Sir, you are very righteous." Cao Pi was full of admiration for Mao Jie.

"Young Master is interested in ways to improve people's livelihood at such a young age?" Mao Jie felt a little surprised when he saw Cao Pi's mature speech and behavior.

"I saw too many tragic images on the way from Qiao County to Juancheng, so I wanted to share my father's worries and do something for the people." Cao Pi replied frankly.

"Mr. Zihuan is very similar to Mr. Zizhao." Mao Jie suddenly smiled.

"My second brother?" Cao Pi had a puzzled expression on his face and looked back at Cao Zhen, who was also confused.

"Young master, don't you know?" Mao Jie and Cao Pi looked at each other, and Cao Pi was obviously more surprised than Mao Jie.

……

"Two young masters, this is the Dong'aling Mansion." Mao Jie said to Cao Pi and Cao Zhen, and knocked on the courtyard door. The servant who opened the door saw that the person who came was Mao Jie, and welcomed them.

Go in.

"Xiao Xian, how was your discussion with General Cao?" The speaker was Zao Zhi, whom Cao Pi had met before. Zao Zhi looked expectant at this time, hoping to get good news from Mao Jie, "Zi

Mr. Huan, Mr. Zi Dan, why are you here?"

"Mr. Boxiao, we are here to ask you for advice." Cao Pi replied respectfully.

"Ask me?" Zao Zhi looked at Mao Jie, who looked innocent.

"Mr. Xiaoxian just told us about his farming strategy, and we are very interested in it." Cao Pi's answer made Zao Zhi change his face.

"Wait a moment, Xiaoxian, please come with me." Zao Zhi solemnly greeted Mao Jie and walked into the inner hall.

"What's wrong?" Mao Jie asked doubtfully.

"You are confused. Master Zizhao's study with me will already arouse the envoy's suspicion. Why did you bring in other young masters?" Zao Zhi said anxiously.

"Didn't you already agree to let Mr. Zizhao follow you? Besides, Mr. Zihuan is the same as Mr. Zizhao. He came to me on his own initiative," Mao Jie replied.

"Took the initiative to find you?" Zao Zhi asked doubtfully.

"I went to see Cao Hong today, and just as you expected, he kicked me out. Then Mr. Zihuan found me. He said that he was very interested in the grain storage method." Mao Jie showed a helpless look and asked

Zao Zhi explained everything he experienced today.

"I don't have high expectations for Cao Zilian. Even Cao Wenchao and Cao Zihe are not willing to help us, let alone Cao Zilian." Zao Zhi looked contemptuous, and then asked about Cao Pi, "You tell him

Have you heard about the farming policy?"

"I just mentioned it briefly. I think Mr. Zihuan has a reputation for talent, and he also showed compassion for the people during the conversation. Mr. Zizhao happened to be here, so I brought him over." Mao Jie replied.

After hearing this, Zao Zhi frowned and paced back and forth in the back hall with a melancholy look on his face.

"Bo Xiao, why are you so pessimistic? Is there any reason for you not to adopt such a method that benefits the people?" Mao Jie asked, looking at Zao Zhi's frown.

"Xiao Xian, please don't be too naive. Your Majesty's foundation in Yanzhou is not stable now. Yuan Shu and Tao Qian are around Yanyu, and the Cao clan has made great military achievements. Our move may not be able to easily convince you." Zaozhi responded.

.

"Then what do you think we should do?" Mao Jie suddenly lost confidence after hearing Zao Zhi's answer.

"The farming policy and the grain storage method are mutually exclusive, so we can only place our hope on the envoy." Zao Zhi said firmly.

Zao Zhi and Mao Jie walked out of the inner hall. Zao Zhi took out two bamboo slips and gave them to Cao Pi and Cao Zhen. The words "Tuntian Ce" were clearly written on the bamboo slips in thick ink.

Cao Pi opened the bamboo slips. The contents of the bamboo slips included a series of issues such as the location for reclamation of wasteland, the storage and transportation of grain, and the utilization rate of agricultural tools. Cao Pi was attracted by the art of dividing fields mentioned in it.

The art of dividing the fields is based on the actual harvest, with the proportion of government, six, and four people being paid. Tenants pay more grain in good harvest years, and less grain in poor harvest years. This is similar to the method of counting cattle and grain that is still used by the Han Dynasty.

There is a big difference. The oxen calculation stipulates that the government rents oxen to tenant farmers for use, and the tenant farmers pay thirty taxes per cent of grain based on the number of oxen rented.

The art of dividing the fields proposed by Zao Zhi was a wartime measure to collect grain. The art of dividing the fields required the people to be gathered in one place to cultivate wasteland. In a good harvest year, a lot of food could indeed be obtained, but it would also be inevitable.

harming the interests of non-tenant farmers.

"Sir, I think farmers should not be forced to farm," Cao Pi said after reading the contents on the bamboo slips.

Zao Zhi turned pale after hearing what Cao Pi said. Cao Pi knew that Zao Zhi had misunderstood what he meant. He continued: "The people are content with their country and are unwilling to move lightly. We should follow the will of the people and uniformly manage the tenants who are willing to reclaim wasteland.

As for the people who are not tenants, they should not be forced to leave their homes, otherwise the people will be resistant."

Cao Pi remembered what Cao Shuo had said before Cao Cao went to Yangzhou to recruit troops. It was later proven that Cao Cao did not recruit too many soldiers from Yangzhou. The tenants recruited under the farming system were the same as those recruited from Yangzhou.

"What you said makes sense, but it's really inconvenient to manage." After thinking about it, Mao Jie came up with the disadvantages Cao Pi mentioned.

"So a corresponding official system should be established to manage tenants."

"The method proposed by Mr. Zihuan is feasible, but the establishment of the official system is not something we can decide. I will write down your suggestions in a table and submit it to the envoy." Zao Zhi showed a sad face and said with a smile, "It seems that the young master is not only

Just as there is a quick wit in the rumor, there is also a heart to care for all people."

"Sir, you are overly complimentary." Cao Pi said modestly. "I don't know that my second brother..."
Chapter completed!