If one of Wang Anshi's reforms had all the benefits without any harm, it would undoubtedly be the "Farmland Water Conservancy Law".
In the seven years since its implementation, more than 10,000 water conservancy sites have been built across the country, which can irrigate more than 36 million acres of civilian farmland, and a large amount of wasteland has been reclaimed into farmland.
Fu Xingzhong presided over the dredging of mountain and river weirs, and he brought the "Farmland Water Conservancy Law" with him.
Moreover, the government does not need to spend too much money on food, because it can be "divided into acres". That is, according to the villages through which the mountains and rivers flow, money and people are paid according to the number of acres of land, embodying the principle of "who benefits, who shares the share".
Under normal circumstances, as long as the government does not mess around, the people will actively cooperate.
Specific to each village, there must be countless small disputes. For example, my family's farmland is clearly far away from the canal, so why should I share it with you? For example, if the canal passes by and takes up a ridge of my family's land, the government should compensate me.
These minor disputes can be handled by the villagers themselves, and the government only needs to force them to do so.
This is the literal meaning of "spreading a small amount into an acre".
The essence of what Yongzheng did was to change some local taxes into national taxes and link them to land properties in order to stabilize tax collection (it was also tried in the Southern Song Dynasty and achieved certain results).
Zhang Juzheng instituted a whipping method, and the corvee was converted into silver taels, which was called "Dingwei money".
In the Ming Dynasty, "Dingwei money" was used for local expenditures and did not need to be handed over to the central government.
In the second year after Chongzhen ascended the throne, he thought about handing over proportional amounts. But until he hung himself from a tree, it was only implemented in some areas.
Yongzheng came very hard. All provinces across the country had to hand over "Dingwei money" and spread the "Dingwei money" into the land tax. This is the so-called "divide the Dingwei money into the acres". Some provinces paid less and others paid less.
The proportion is large, and the overall average is about 80%.
For example, a city wall in a certain county collapsed, and corvees were required to repair the wall.
During the Ming Dynasty, the county collected 10,000 taels of Dingwei money, which could all be used to build the city wall.
After Yongzheng, 8,000 taels needed to be handed over to the central government first, leaving only 2,000 taels left for the local government to handle matters.
What should I do if the project funds are not enough?
Either increase taxes or apportion.
It means that nothing has changed, the corvee still has to be levied, and the landlord just pays an extra amount. The landlord will pass the loss on to the tenants.
So, it is purely to collect more taxes.
There are also benefits: the central government's finances have increased, household registration management has been relaxed, social population mobility has become more active, and most ordinary people do not have to bear the burden of money.
By the way, no matter how powerful Yongzheng was, the system of sharing land was not implemented nationwide. The reform was completely completed during the Guangxu period. The driving force of the reform was that the Qing government was short of money and forced the provinces that had not implemented it to hand it over.
…
Fu Xingzhong took several officials and more than ten soldiers to inspect the Hanzhong Basin by boat and horseback.
Whenever he arrives at a county, he first contacts the county magistrate and convenes a meeting with local officials.
Then he visited Shanhe Weir on the spot and discussed the situation with local gentry. There were many country gentry who came as free attendants.
According to Zhu Guoxiang's plan, the improvement of the mountain and river weirs will be completed in three years: in the first year, the original weirs and canals will be dredged; in the second year, the section from Baocheng to Xixian and Nanzheng (Hanzhong Prefecture) to the city will be excavated.
The section was solidified; in the third year, the Shanhe Weir was extended to Yangzhou.
After the project is completed, the Shanhe Weir will be completely integrated into the Hanjiang River system, which will benefit the entire Hanzhong Basin.
The food supply in the Hanzhong Basin is very likely to double as a result!
"Double" is not an adjective, but a statement of fact. There is a huge difference in yield between dry fields and paddy fields. And in disaster years, dry fields are likely to have no harvest.
The preliminary preparations for the Shanhe Canal were carried out in conjunction with Zhu Guoxiang's farmland order. Because the construction of the canal was allocated according to the acres of land, the number of acres must be determined first, otherwise it is unknown how many wealthy households would be transferred to the corvee.
After visiting for more than a month, Fu Xingzhong returned to Hanzhong Fucheng with a thick set of drawings.
"A great victory, a great victory, the general wiped out one hundred thousand enemy soldiers in Zitong. There is no strong enemy on the road to Chengdu, and the troops are empty. It depends on the message..."
More than a dozen officials took the rubbish and read it throughout the city, then went out of the city to preach, and then went to other states and counties.
The city of Hanzhong was abuzz with excitement, and countless people rushed to tell each other.
These days, good news comes one after another.
Sometimes when a good news report comes from the front, Zhu Guoxiang deliberately breaks it into several copies and releases them separately seven or eight days apart.
Even if Ju Ming detached hundreds of soldiers to occupy a remote empty city, he could use them alone to publicize it. It was as if those small county towns were really garrisoned by a large number of officers and soldiers.
This creates an atmosphere: the rebels always win battles, and great victories come every once in a while, and the officers and soldiers simply cannot resist them.
Not long after Fu Xingzhong entered the city, he saw hundreds of people standing in front of the cloth and watching. Some scholars were reading loudly, and the people standing outside could hear it.
"If this continues, Mr. Zhu will be the emperor!"
"How can the rebel army be won without fighting?"
"It's not that the officers and soldiers didn't fight, it's that the general was very powerful. Didn't you hear Lubri say that the general led hundreds of cavalry and charged into the formation, killing thousands of officers and soldiers, all the way to the Chinese army's formation, and chopped down the banner?
Was the enemy commander captured alive?"
"I heard that the general knows magic. He learned the magic from overseas from Prime Minister Zhu."
"I have known for a long time that Xingyuan Mansion...no, it should be called Hanzhong Mansion City. It was captured by the general who invited meteorites."
"Don't talk nonsense. The general is both civil and military. Fighting relies on strategy and martial arts. Capturing the enemy commander alive among thousands of troops is a peerless general. Xiang Yu's resurrection is nothing more than that."
"Han Erlang, you've also read a book, why don't you become an official soon? You still have time to come and watch Lu Bu with us."
"I went to ask for an official in the past two days. I knew that Zhu Xianggong could succeed. I was watching the stars for Xianggong Zhu a few days ago. Yesterday, I got the horoscope. The guest star invaded the Ziwei Palace and the Ziwei star was dim. This was a sign from heaven to the Song Dynasty.
It must perish, a new king has arrived, and the dynasty will soon change!"
"Didn't you say last month that the Emperor's Star is so bright that rebels will perish?"
"This moment is the same as that moment. The stars are unpredictable, and it is difficult for ordinary people to understand them. They change day and night, let alone more than a month later?"
"..."
Fu Xingzhong was amused and continued walking to Zhu Guoxiang's residence.
But he saw more than twenty scholars gathered outside the Yamen.
These guys had been holding a wait-and-see attitude. When they learned that the entire Chengdu Fulu army had been wiped out and that the rebels' occupation of the Chengdu Plain was a foregone conclusion, they finally couldn't help themselves and came to seek an official position.
Suddenly, an official came out and announced: "The Prime Minister (Zhu Guoxiang) asked me to pass on a message. All the kings are the pillars of the country. If they have talents, they must be reused. There will be another exam after the spring of next year. Please come back next year.
.”
The scholars seemed very anxious. If they wait until next year, all the good jobs will be taken up.
Now everyone is beginning to regret that they should not have waited and waited. Those scholars and officials who were quick to engage in thieves, and have reached the highest level of Zhizhou, are actually being compared with subordinates!
A scholar asked: "Can we still sign up at this time to be field inspectors in various counties? We don't want anything. We will bring our own expenses and inspect each county, just to check for errors and omissions and gain some political achievements."
"That's right, that's right, bring your own money to be an inspector, it won't cost Zhu Xianggong any money or food!" The other scholars agreed.
The subordinate officer said: "Everyone, wait a moment."
The official went in to ask for instructions, and came back after a while: "Mr. Manager said that you can be an inspector, but you are not allowed to take the opportunity to harass the local area, and you are not allowed to eat for free in the countryside. Once such behavior is found, you will be punished.
The roster will never admit anyone! If you are willing, just come in and get your badge."
"Yes, yes!"
When a group of scholars poured in and could easily become officials, they watched with cold eyes. Now that it is more difficult to become an official, they are so enthusiastic that they are willing to work as inspectors at their own expense just to accumulate political achievements before being officially hired.
Fu Xingzhong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. With these guys eager for political achievements watching, it is estimated that clearing the land will go more smoothly, and officials and landowners will be caught if they are not careful.
After waiting for a moment, Fu Xingzhong was invited in.
Zhu Guoxiang asked his entourage to watch the tea and asked with a smile: "How was the investigation?"
Fu Xingzhong held out a thick stack of drawings, pulled out the top one and said: "This is the mountain and river weir map from Baocheng to the northeast of Nanzheng (the first phase of the project). According to the old map preserved in the early Song Dynasty, many places need to be omitted.
Change, after all, things have changed over time.”
Zhu Guoxiang asked: "What is the attitude of the people?"
Fu Xingzhong said: "The gentry were the most active and were willing to provide money, food and people. If there were disputes, they would mediate on their own. The common people were more indifferent, but they did not resist it."
This stems from Zhu Guoxiang's popular prestige and has never gone back on his promise, so his credibility is directly boosted.
To put it bluntly, the Zhu family and his son may have been exterminated by the imperial court, but the built mountain and river weirs have always been there, and the landlords can enjoy their benefits for a long time.
Zhu Guoxiang could get the gentry and landowners to work together to build weirs, but officials in the Song Dynasty could not do it. Because their credibility was so poor, even if they made fantastic claims, the landowners did not believe in the government, and they always felt that those guys wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.
"How much food is needed for one period?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.
Fu Xingzhong said: "After taking into account the people's apportionment, the Jinglue Mansion still has to allocate 5,000 guan in money and 8,000 shi in grain."
"Yes, I will raise funds as soon as possible." Zhu Guoxiang expressed satisfaction because it is so cheap.
It was so cheap, so of course the common people paid the bulk of it.
Zhu Guoxiang added: "The Ministry of Economic Affairs has officially established the Water Conservancy Department, and you will be fully responsible for it. I will transfer some subordinate officials and officials to you. It is best to start construction as soon as possible and complete the repairs before spring plowing."
The water conservancy project connecting the two counties has two main weirs and many branch weirs. The construction period is very tight in one winter.
Even if all the villagers join forces to fight, if there is heavy snow, they will probably not be able to complete it.
Fu Xingzhong pointed to the drawings and said: "It is guaranteed to dredge the two main weirs, but the branch weirs may not be able to do so. Especially the branch weirs that connect the two main weirs and the Han River are almost completely blocked, and it is no different from re-excavation.
"
Zhu Guoxiang said: "You don't have to worry about how much you will build this year. The rest will be dug after spring plowing next year."
"yes!"
Fu Xingzhong was very ambitious, and serving as an official under Zhu Guoxiang was much more interesting than serving as an official in the Song Dynasty.
There are many things that he wanted to do but could not do before.