"I know that your husband has a grudge against me because of the cement incident a few days ago. Now I assure you that I really admire you from the bottom of my heart and will never use my status as a princess to force you to do anything.
thing."
Through the past few days of getting along with each other, the Ninth Princess had already gotten to know Jin Feng. She knew that Jin Feng liked a straightforward way of talking, so she said directly: "Sir, just speak freely, and you can say whatever you want!"
"Yes sir, in Wuyang's previous letter to me, he mentioned many times that he really admires him."
Qing Mulan said: "Sir, do you think she came to Xihewan really just to see me? In fact, she came to visit you!"
"In that case, I have something to say directly."
Jin Feng saw that the Ninth Princess looked sincere and didn't seem to be hypocritical, so he said directly: "Before the old gentleman told me about farming, he first told me the main reason why the people don't have enough to eat."
"The old gentleman said that the common people today cannot have enough to eat. In addition to backward farming methods, the biggest reason is that excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes are too heavy. The court has to collect grain, local officials also have to collect grain, and bandits and squires are still exploiting them. How can the common people have anything to eat?
How many ounces of oil and water can you withstand such a search?"
Jin Feng said: "So the old gentleman said that if we can deal with the landlords and gentry and return the fields to the people, the people will naturally have enough to eat."
There were many officials in Dakang, and the total salary of officials across the country was a very large expense.
Decades ago, the national treasury began to become empty, and the imperial court had no money to pay salaries to local officials, so it issued a policy to allow local officials to increase taxes based on local conditions as expenses for local government offices.
As soon as this policy came out, it was regarded as completely releasing a beast that devoured the national destiny.
So officials in various places began to create clever names and use various excuses to collect taxes.
Corruption is rampant, and all kinds of exorbitant taxes and levies are endless.
The people could not survive and had no choice but to go into the mountains and become bandits.
The bandits do not engage in production, but make a living by robbing the people, which puts a huge burden on the people everywhere.
Several counties around Jinchuan mainly cultivate mulberry and hemp, and spin and weave cloth. The landlords and squires exploited the people by collecting annual grains from bandits, so the problem of land annexation is not serious.
In the Central Plains, many farmers' land has been annexed by landlords in various ways, and they can only become tenants of the landlords and make a living by renting.
Most of the food grown with hard work every year has to be paid to the landlord as land rent, and then he has to bear various taxes and corvees.
Even in good years, we can only make ends meet.
If you encounter a year of famine, you may not even be able to pay the land rent, and you will have to send your children to the landlord's house as slaves to offset the land rent.
If you don't even have children, you will have to starve to death.
In fact, the money and food collected did not reach the hands of the court, but all went to the mouths of the landlords and gentry.
Although Dakang's farming methods are backward, it has a small population and a large amount of land per capita. If there is no exploitation by landlords, people can naturally have enough to eat.
"What the old gentleman said makes sense. However, many landowners and squires are from wealthy and prominent families. Their inheritance is longer than that of Dakang. They are deeply rooted in the local area. Moreover, some squires have their children serving as officials in the court and various places.
, how easy is it to solve them?"
The ninth princess sighed.
"Yes, it is difficult to deal with them, but they have gathered into a tumor. If we cannot bear the pain to cut them off, they will definitely bring down the whole world."
Jin Feng said: "If Your Highness doesn't believe it, then just wait and see. If the court does not take back the order and continues to increase taxes, thieves and rebellions will be everywhere in the affected areas next year!"
"There are rebellions all over the place. Isn't it too serious?"
The Ninth Princess frowned slightly, feeling that Jin Feng was a bit alarmist: "Since my father ascended the throne, only one place in Jin has rebelled this year. That is because the uncle of the King of Jin is aggressively militarizing, and it is definitely not the case in other places."
The King of Jin was heavily influenced by the late Emperor and wanted to regain the lost land of Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.
No matter when you fight, you fight for money.
Although the King of Jin had great ambitions for revenge, he did not have the matching ability to make money. In order to support the huge military expenditure, he could only exploit the people.
Coupled with the severe drought in Shanxi last year, the people finally revolted.
"Wu Yang, sir once told me a story..."
When Qing Mulan saw that the Ninth Princess' attitude was the same as hers before, she told the Ninth Princess the story of the camel and straw that Jin Feng had told her.
With the intelligence of the Ninth Princess, she naturally understood the meaning behind the story and asked: "Sir, do you mean that this tax increase will be the straw that breaks the camel's back?"
"Now we have added this rain." Jin Feng's face became even more worried: "I still don't know the extent of this rain, but based on what I know so far, at least several counties in Guangyuan County are covered in rain.
Damage scope.
If there is another heavy snowfall this winter, people may not be able to survive this year."
"What should we do?"
Although the Ninth Princess still had some resistance in her heart, Jin Feng's analysis was reasonable and very likely to happen.
"The solution is very simple. The imperial court sent people to investigate the scope of the disaster, mobilized food from unaffected areas in advance, and made preparations for disaster relief."
Jin Feng said: "At the same time, the court can overcome the difficulty by promising to reduce taxes next year, or allow the people to default on taxes for one year, and then lend the people seeds for spring plowing and sowing."
"Sir said it is simple, but it is extremely difficult to implement any of them!"
The Ninth Princess sighed, rubbed her brows and sat down.
"Of course I know it's difficult, but other than that, can your Highness think of any other better way?" Jin Feng asked.
"I..." The ninth princess opened his mouth, then closed it helplessly.
A hint of disappointment also flashed in Jin Feng's eyes.
It is only autumn at this time, the temperature is already very low, and there is a high possibility that this year will be a cold winter.
Winter is a catastrophe for ordinary people. Winter is the time when most people die every year.
Especially in disaster years and cold winter years, the situation is even more serious.
The reason why he told Ninth Princess so much was that he hoped that Ninth Princess could find a way to mobilize some food to deal with the very likely famine.
That might save tens of thousands of victims.
Now it seems that Jin Feng thinks too highly of the Ninth Princess.
She may be sincere and skillful in doing things, but this matter involves too many things, and there is nothing the Ninth Princess can do.
"Oh, Mr. Jin, weren't you talking about farming? Why did you get involved in political affairs again?"
Although Wei Wuya devoted himself to medicine, he had lived for decades and knew very well that this was an unsolvable situation and there was no point in further discussing it.
Then he took the initiative to bring the topic back: "Mr. Jin, you haven't said anything yet. Did the old gentleman tell you how to farm?"
"Sir, are you also interested in farming?"
Jin Feng saw that the Ninth Princess had no choice, so he gave up and turned to talk to Wei Wuya.
"To be honest, Mr. Jin said that I didn't start studying medicine until I was twenty years old. Before that, I had been a farmer."
Wei Wuya said: "Moreover, the old man's ability in tending crops is no worse than that of treating doctors. He has not neglected it in these years. Last year, he and his wife harvested almost 500 kilograms of wheat from the two acres of land they planted."
"So high?" Jin Feng asked in surprise.
He just followed Wei Wuya's words and changed the topic. He didn't expect that Wei Wuya also knew how to farm.
Then can we get some experimental fields with him?