Chapter 864 Pilot

Chapter 864 Pilot

Chapter 864 Pilot
"It's still quiet here." Shao Xun was lying in the courtyard of Shanglin Garden.

The gate of the courtyard was open, and looking up one could see the towering mountains, deep river valleys, dense forests and well-maintained farmlands in front of him.

Sometimes, he felt that he had something in common with the scholars: they both liked the scenery of countryside and mountains.

Half lying in the yard, listening to the rustling wind in the woods, looking at the golden farmland, sniffing the fragrance of flowers and fruits, I felt relaxed and happy.

That's the feeling of relaxation.

Of course, he has another "intense" way to relax, which is not known to outsiders, although this "state secret" has been known to many people.

"Grandpa!" The children gathered around him, chattering and laughing.

Shao Xun waved his hand, took the little daughter, who was less than two years old, from the wet nurse, and looked into her bright eyes quietly.

Song Yi stood at a loss not far away, as if everyone's eyes were on her.

This girl was born in April last year and was born to Song Yi.

In August, Liu Yena gave birth to a son.

In October this year, Yang Xianrong gave birth to a son.

Three or four years after the disaster, Shao Xun had nine more children. If the one in Yin's belly is counted, there are ten in total - the daughter born to Yang Xianrong had died young, and the child Wang was carrying would not be able to return to her ancestral home for the time being.

In the previous ten years, he had only twelve children in total.

As long as Cao Pi doesn't go to war, he will be powerful and will have children.

The eldest daughter, Fu Bao, stood not far away. She was fifteen years old this year and was no longer as naughty as before. She had grown into a graceful and ladylike girl.

Shao Xun was a little dazed. In his memory, his eldest daughter was still a naughty child who got into trouble all day and was spanked with a ruler. How come she had grown up so big in the blink of an eye?
Is it because we care too little about our children?

In addition, there have been people hinting at me lately. Damn it, my cabbage has been targeted by others, and a bunch of will-o'-the-wisp teenagers are competing fiercely.

"Fu Bao, come here." Shao Xun said as he handed his little daughter back to the wet nurse.

"Grandpa." Fu Bao walked over slowly. His posture and appearance were impeccable. He didn't look like the naughty child who used to hide in the bamboo forest.

Shao Xun was speechless and said, "I heard from your mother that during the Double Ninth Festival, someone competed in poetry in front of you?"

When this matter was mentioned, Fu Bao, who had been so graceful just now, covered his mouth and laughed, saying, "They are all fools."

Shao Xun couldn't help laughing. It was still a familiar taste. The previous ones were all fake.

Liu Xiaohe came over with two plates of dried fruits. She smiled when she heard this and then complained, "How can you get married in the future if you are like this?"

Fu Bao didn't take it seriously and just said, "Grandpa, can you give me a place as big as Shanglinyuan in the future?"

"What do you want this for?" Shao Xun picked up the raisins with one hand and ate them casually, while with the other hand he held Liu Xiaohe's hand tightly, and then they interlocked their fingers. The whole process was an unconscious action, part of muscle memory and instinctive reaction.

Liu Xiaohe felt a little embarrassed to do this in front of her daughter.

"I live in the garden. From time to time, I can go to the palace to see my grandparents, and I can also visit my grandparents and eat the snacks they cook." Fu Bao said.

"Your little mouth is as white as honey." Shao Xun sighed, "But your grandma keeps talking about you, saying that you haven't visited her for a few days."

Fu Bao blushed and said, "I've been learning calligraphy recently, so I've been delayed. I'll go this afternoon. I've also written a letter for Grandpa."

Shao Xun nodded and continued to lie there, too lazy to move.

Fu Bao brought a small stool over and sat aside obediently.

Shao Xun looked at Liu and smiled, "Fu Bao is nothing like you, but he knows how to please people."

Liu pretended to be angry: "You still remember the slap I gave you that day."

"Without that slap, I wouldn't have my good girl." Shao Xun said shamelessly.

Liu glared at him, then said cautiously, "I have already sent someone back to Hebei. There should be news back before the New Year. The Liu and Hua families should have no complaints."

How can I not have complaints? It's just a few.

Shao Xun didn't want to say it, so he just nodded and said, "Nanyang State has been eliminated. Dunzheng (Liu Mi) can be the governor of Chenliu and look after Bianliang for me. This position is very important. If he can handle all the matters well, I won't be stingy with the official title. Kunwu is not young anymore, and the Lishi prefecture has just been vacated, so give it to him."

"Kunwu" is Liu Qing, the son of Liu Mi, who is over 30 years old and has been studying and managing his business at home. Later, he served as a county lieutenant for two years, but eventually resigned and returned home to study and manage his business.

It can be seen that he doesn't really want to be an official, but Shao Xun repeatedly pulls him out and forces an official position on him. I wonder if Jia You would be furious if he saw this.

"You've only bribed me with one move in all these years." Liu looked at the man speechlessly, but there was still some joy in her eyes.

"Don't be afraid of getting old--" Shao Xun said.

"As long as it works." Fu Bao continued.

Shao Xun glanced at her, and then they both laughed.

"My uncle has become the prefect of Chenliu. I guess he will have to hold a grand banquet and won't wake up for three days." Fu Bao said again.

"How can you talk like that?" Liu was angry.

Fu Bao pretended to be scared and hid behind Shao Xun, saying, "Grandpa, I'll speak for you. You must give me Shanglin Garden in the future. It's so beautiful here."

After saying that, he massaged Shao Xun's shoulders.

Shao, who had deceived women for half his life, was dizzy and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay. From now on, I will make you Princess Pingyang."

Liu gently hit Shao Xun and said, "Be careful with your words and actions."

Shao Xun closed his eyes and bathed in the sunshine, as if he was living in a time of peace and prosperity.

******
In the afternoon, Shao Xun changed the position of the recliner.

There is no wind today, and the warm sun is shining, it feels so comfortable.

This time, the people sitting next to him changed to his eldest son Jin Dao and his second son Huan Lang. Le Lanji and Lu Xun chatted and laughed while preparing tea and snacks for Shao Xun.

"Golden Knife." Shao Xun closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, saying, "I have been in charge of Shanglin Garden for more than a year. I took over halfway last year and I was not in charge. How have you managed it this whole year?"

Jin Dao's expression tensed up, knowing that the critical moment had come. After calming himself down, he said, "Shanglin Garden only has a small amount of flat land at the foot of the mountain, no more than a hundred hectares. There were originally more than 903 households of civilians in the garden. During the first month of the year, we conducted another inventory and found dozens more Qiang people who had fled here, totaling 4568 households and people. There were also soldiers, but they were not included in the household registration."

"I will divide all the flat land at the foot of the mountain among the three hundred households. I will also search for more than 120 hectares of flat land in the valley inside the mountain and divide it among the remaining 600 households."

"A family in the mountains only has 20 mu of land, and most of them work in the fields. It must be difficult for them to make a living, right? Isn't this favoritism?" Shao Xun asked.

"Yes." Jin Dao nodded, and then said, "So I cleared the weeds near the river valley and planted a garden."

At this point, he paused, and seeing that Shao Xun had no intention of asking questions, he continued, "There are flat lands in the garden, but they are too small and too fragmented. There are also sloping lands, which are not suitable for growing millet and wheat, so we grow garden vegetables."

"What kind of garden vegetables are planted?" Shao Xun asked.

"Mainly sunflowers, onions, melons, leeks, taro, shallots and other types of vegetables. The more they are, the more they can be harvested several times a year." Jin Dao replied.

"Are you serious about planting?"

"Yes."

"Let me ask you, in which month are the chives harvested in Shanglinyuan?"

"Sometime between September and October."

"How do you grow it?"

"My son, plant melons in your garden, and plant shallots beside them. You can harvest them in September, otherwise they will not be good."

Shao Xun finally opened his eyes and asked, "Who taught you this method of planting melons and chives?"

"My husband." Le Lanji came over with a tray in her hand and said, "I saw Jin Dao worried day and night, and I couldn't bear it, so I invited several farm managers from Nanyang. This method of growing melons with leek has been practiced in my family for many years, and there is absolutely no problem. According to the old people, leek can drive away insects, and the melons will grow more fresh and sweet. But it is rare in Pingyang, and many people don't understand it."

"Your mother is really worried about you." Shao Xun said, "But it seems that you really went to the fields to check it out. You didn't stay in the room all day playing. That's good. What are you planting in the garden now?"

"Only turnips and violets."

"Violet?"

"Father, you don't know that there are many of these plants in Bingzhou. I saw that they can grow even in the cold winter, so I collected their seeds and planted them in the vegetable patch in early winter. They can be harvested in early spring and are more delicious than those grown in the wild." Jin Dao said, "In fact, it is a wild vegetable that can be eaten by humans, cattle and sheep."

"It seems like you really put your heart into it." Shao Xun said with relief, "Is there an orchard in the mountains?"

"Yes." Jin Dao said, "I planted many fruit trees. In summer and autumn, I sent people to Pingyang City to sell them. I earned more than a million yuan."

"It's quite a lot." Shao Xun said, "But can you afford to support these 200 soldiers under your command?"

"Can't afford it."

"How much does one soldier cost?"

"A soldier needs more than 70 hu of grain, three pieces of silk, and two sets of clothing each for spring and autumn."

"You've said too little." Shao Xun said, "At least the equipment and military supplies for these 200 soldiers were issued by the Fifth Sergeant. If we really want to raise all of them, we still need some."

"Yes."

"Father, let me test you again." Shao Xun asked again: "Do you know the tax system of this dynasty?"

"I know." Jin Dao said, "Men (over 16 years old) pay 16 mu of land as rent, and pay 13 liters of grain per mu; women (over 15 years old) pay 61 mu of land as rent, and pay 65 liters of grain per mu; the rent for men of the lower class (- years old, - years old) is halved, and women of the lower class, the elderly and the young are exempt from the rent. For remote areas, the rent will be determined according to the circumstances..."

"In addition to rent, there is also a tax on the household. If a male is the head of a household, he must pay three pieces of silk and three catties of cotton. If a male or female is the head of a household, the tax is reduced by half. In remote areas, it can be offset by money, wax, leather, etc., depending on the circumstances."

Shao Xun nodded and asked, "Do you think that given the current situation in the country, it is possible to implement such a tax system?"

"Absolutely not. It's almost impossible." Jin Dao shook his head.

"why?"

Jin Dao hesitated.

"Why?" Shao Xun asked.

"Because the wealthy families occupied the land, the household registration is unclear and the acreage of the land is unknown." Jin Dao said.

"It seems you know." Shao Xun's expression eased a little, and he said, "If your father could collect taxes, why would he do this? Starting next year, you will count the households in Shanglinyuan and divide them into three categories according to the number of people. Each household will pay rent, labor service, and tax."

"What is mediocre?" asked Jin Dao.

"Yong means forced labor." Shao Xun said, "There must be a fixed number of days each man must serve each year."

Jin Dao was a little confused and said, "How can we do this when the world is still unsettled?"

Shao Xun smiled with satisfaction and said, "You are willing to ask this question. I will implement it in Shanglin Garden first."

How can you establish a tax and service system when the world is not pacified and large-scale wars are not over?
There was never enough money and food, and the number of days that able-bodied men and women had to perform corvée labor was certainly longer than in peacetime, and it was not fixed at all.

You establish a system and then arbitrarily increase taxes and labor service. Isn't that damaging your prestige?

Therefore, he decided to carry out some pilot projects, and Shanglinyuan, a place with more mountainous areas, was one of them.

These 900 households were the pilot subjects to determine the final amount of rent, labor service and tax.

"Jin Dao, I didn't intend to let you do this." Shao Xun patted his son's shoulder and said with relief: "But you understand the people's sentiments and are good at farming, so I will let you try it. Don't let me down."

"Yes." Jin Dao suppressed the excitement in his heart and responded.

Le Lanji looked at her son with some pride, but there was some sadness between her brows.

(End of this chapter)