Youzhou is a vast area with few people, so you don’t have to worry about the problem of too many people and not enough land.
Based on the number of people registered in the household, the amount of farmland and the per capita labor efficiency, those who reach adulthood at the age of 15, regardless of gender, are divided into 15 acres of Yongye land and 5 acres of mulberry land.
(Han system, one step is wide and 240 steps long is one mu, and one step is six feet. One foot in Han Dynasty is equivalent to 23 centimeters in modern times, one step is 1.38 meters, and one mu of land is 457 square meters. One hundred acres is one slope.
, one pour is equivalent to 4.5 hectares in modern times.)
The social status of women in the Han Dynasty was not low, and the court had special regulations recognizing women's property ownership and inheritance rights.
Liu Xiang divided the fields between men and women, so he would not be criticized.
The end of the Eastern Han Dynasty coincided with the Little Ice Age, and with endless wars at the end of the dynasty, food would be extremely scarce. Liu Xiang stipulated that only food could be grown in Yongye Field.
The upper field tax is one for ten, the lower field is fifteen and one, and the mulberry field is taxed one for thirty.
Land taxes were higher than those in the Han system, but Liu Xiang abolished all kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, so the people were much better off than before. If there were no natural or man-made disasters, at least they would be able to fill their stomachs, and there would still be some money left over, and they would slowly accumulate it, and their lives would be better.
It will get better and better.
There were too many various taxes in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. There were more than twenty kinds of taxes in total, and most of them were based on per capita taxes.
For example, calculating the fortune and oral food.
To calculate the fortune, you need to pay one hundred and twenty money every year from the age of fifteen to the age of fifty-six.
You need to pay 20 qian every year from the age of seven to fourteen. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, you need to pay oral food at the age of one. Many people can't afford it, and their newborn babies are killed or abandoned. This is the history book.
It is recorded in the book that “when children are born, they are often killed.”
What other taxes are there? Household taxes, flat taxes, military taxes, and sacrificial taxes are all poll taxes.
The imperial court did not care whether the people produced anything or not, they had to pay taxes as long as they lived, so there were a large number of runaway households and hidden households where powerful landlords hid.
Liu Xiang wants to abolish all these poll taxes and only collect taxes based on land property.
If every common person understands this truth by cultivating local grain and paying taxes in proportion, it will reduce many opportunities for officials to take advantage of others and reduce the exploitation of powerful families.
The more names there are, the less clear the people will be, and the more opportunities there will be for officials to become corrupt.
A simple and clear tax system is what the people need.
Liu Xiang could not eliminate official corruption, nor could he prevent the emergence and growth of powerful families.
He also knew that no matter what kind of land policy, it could not prevent the problem of land annexation. This was a problem that many wise men had not been able to solve for thousands of years.
The real solution to land annexation was actually the Industrial Revolution.
After the industrial revolution, the emergence of various factories led to the prosperity of manufacturing and commerce, which not only solved the livelihood of landless farmers, but also gradually drew the attention of wealthy people away from the land, thus solving the problem of land annexation.
It was impossible for the Han Dynasty to carry out an industrial revolution, and Liu Xiang would not be like a fool to study steam engines, but he could expand his workshop and set up a primary factory with assembly line operations to create greater profits and hope to alleviate land annexation.
If you can only establish rules, the final result will definitely be the demise of the people and the government. You must learn to use benefits to attract a group of people and use benefits to drive these people to follow you forward.
Liu Xiang made another note on the slip, and counting that the time was almost up, he put away his pen and ink and walked out the door.
Today is the day of public executions. A simple high platform has been set up outside the city of Hunu County. The prisoners will be executed there. Liu Xiang wants to go and have a look.
The heads of each family and those who committed the most heinous crimes will be taken to a high platform and executed.
The rest were demoted to slaves and served hard labor everywhere. If people complained later, they would be punished again.
Liu Xiang's purpose is to let the people express their resentment. He just sells well to the people so that they have a good impression of him. He then distributes some benefits to the people so that the poor people become a vested interest in him.
Or, completely tie up Liu Xiang's chariot.
When the land deeds in the hands of the people were stamped with the seal of General Anping's mansion, Liu Xiang's interests were bound to theirs.
With these dark thoughts in my mind, I looked at the more and more people gathering together with a smile. Most of them were the three elders and respected people in the village nearby. The other people followed behind, looking a little uneasy.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
Three gongs sounded, and the soldiers surrounding the stage shouted in unison:
"Quiet! Bring someone to commit crime!"
Liu Xiang had no intention of ascending to a high platform. What he looked like was not important to the people. As long as the people recognized Anping General Liu Xiang, his name would be fine.
He didn't want to be shot down on the high platform. The fox slave had only been settled for a few days.
Cherishing life is a virtue!
The prisoners headed by Zhang Ju were escorted by soldiers to the high platform, and the secretary began to roll the names one by one and announce the charges.
The people below the stage were in a commotion. They were all nobles. In the past, they were high and mighty, and would be whipped for the slightest collision. Now, these nobles were slumped on the stage, like dogs with broken bones.
The people watching were a little at a loss, but an inexplicable sense of pleasure welled up in their hearts, making them breathe a little faster.
After the charges were announced, the soldiers escorting them acted as executioners, preparing to kill them.
The secretary on the stage stared at the rising sun.
"Noon has arrived, it's time to verify your identity!"
After the inspection, the soldier pushed the prisoner's neck onto the anvil, raised his sword high, and waited for orders.
"cut!"
Following the order, heads were cut off one by one with the heavy sword and rolled down the table along the anvil. Blood spurted out from the neck, staining the table red.
The people in the audience leaned back one after another, and exclamations came and went. Suddenly, a loud shout came from the crowd:
"color!"
Everyone thought this man was mentally ill, but they also dispelled the fear of watching the execution.
Liu Xiang also heard the cheers and was a little confused.
Cai is indeed a word used by Han people to express their appreciation, but as for execution, is it praising the executioner for his skill in beheading?
Liu Xiang had already seen the reaction of the people, so he decided to go back. There were more than a hundred criminals to be executed, and he didn't want to waste time here. Besides, there was nothing interesting about beheading, and he was a little disgusted.
The land allocation order will be announced after the execution, and people will be sent to each township pavilion to read it. The land will be allocated to farmers who have lost their land in units of pavilions. Farmers who have insufficient acres will make up for it, and those who exceed the number will not be taken back. If the land is insufficient, it will be moved to
A nearby village pavilion.
The extra fields were taken back to the general's government, and they were either arranged to be farmed or farmed by slaves, and they were reserved as fields for military merits to be rewarded in the future.
The decree on abolishing exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes will also be announced at the same time, including the abolition of all head taxes, the abolition of land apportionment, the abolition of household property apportionment, the abolition of service money, and the abolition of military property apportionment.
All past rent and tax arrears will be waived.
From now on, those who make usury loans will have their masters and subordinates killed, their property confiscated, and their families reduced to slaves. People are encouraged to expose the loan sharks, and 10% of the criminal's family property will be given as a reward.
Anping General Mansion offers interest-free loans that can be repaid in two years. Applicants need to be guaranteed by five neighboring households. If there is fraud, all property and fields will be confiscated and they will have to perform hard labor to compensate for the crime.
Liu Xiang also issued an order to form a militia group, with the township as a unit, to form a militia group to train, farm during the busy time, and train during the leisure time to guard against wild beasts and bandits. It will be controlled by the three elders in the village and the veterans who have returned home from retirement. The General's Tiqi
Supervise and recruit soldiers from the militia in the future.
When Liu Xiang returned to the Hunu County Yamen, he was blocked by Zhang Zhao. He looked at Liu Xiang with a complicated expression, without any of his usual impatience, and hesitantly said: "Yicheng, you...are you really
Rebellion?"
Liu Xiang nodded.
"That's right, brother Yuanhou also has a great contribution to seizing the city recorded in the merit book. When will he come to claim it?"
Zhang Zhao lowered his head and waved his hands, but stopped talking.
Seeing this, Liu Xiang asked again: "Is Mr. Zhang okay? Is there peace at home?"
"Everything is fine. The folks in the pavilion have organized themselves to defend themselves. The invading refugees have been dispersed. The refugees cannot stand the fight. There are no injuries. They are all fine."
"I will allocate the fields to the poor people. From now on, the villagers in the pavilion will have their own fields, exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes will be abolished, and the powerful landlords will be arrested. The villagers will have a good life, and everyone will have enough food and clothing."
Mr. Zhang no longer has to use his own furniture to help others pay taxes, and he no longer has to starve to feed his neighbors. Isn't this good?
Lushui Pavilion has convenient irrigation and has cultivated many paddy fields. It can grow a lot of food every year, but it still makes people hungry. Is it because the people of Lushui are too good at eating? It is because all the food they have grown has been taken away.
You have to pay for farming, you have to pay for chopping firewood, you have to pay for fishing, you have to pay for building a house, you have to pay for feeding chickens, ducks, cows and horses, you have to pay for adults, you have to pay for newborn babies.
My brother Yuanhou also suffered from hunger and cold. I remember when I was young, my brother fainted from hunger because of the lack of food at home.
Later, Zhang Gong took his fellow villagers to rob Hu people outside the Great Wall. He was injured all over and several people died. Only then did he save some money and life gradually became better.
Zhang Gong suffered a lot of injuries, many of his fellow villagers became disabled, and there were several more widows in the pavilion. My father became weak and sick, and eventually died of an epidemic.