Chapter 1247: Shared Wealth

Chapter 1247: Shared Wealth

Chapter 1247: Shared Wealth

At a banquet, half of the people were eating and drinking happily, while the other half found the food boring and finally left in a hurry.

After the banquet, Shao Xun invited several people to the Yu Ri Tower for a discussion.

The main body of Guanfeng Hall is divided into the main hall and side halls on both sides.

There is a rear hall to the north of the main hall, which is the emperor's bedroom.

To the west of Guanfeng Hall is Lichun Terrace, to the east is Secret Pavilion, and to the south are the garden pavilions and several small ponds that were renovated after the lakes were dredged.
To the north of the rear hall is the Yu Ri Tower, which is the tallest building in the entire Bianliang Palace and overlooks the entire city.

Guanfeng Hall, Lichun Terrace, Secret Pavilion, Yuri Tower and others are surrounded by city walls. As a building group, Yuri Tower itself is part of the north city wall, and outside the north city wall is the area where Huangnu Palace is located.

After the "hosts and guests had a great time", it was already dark. Shao Xun led a group of people to the top of a tall building and overlooked the lights of thousands of homes in Bianliang.

"I keep my word." Shao Xun's voice came in the evening breeze: "Some people say that today, our power is weak, and what we said before can no longer count. However, a man cannot stand without trust. I said that the land in Jiangnan will not be measured, so I will not measure the land, and this word still counts."

"There are many good farmlands in Danyang, Xuancheng, Kuaiji, Wu, Wuxing and other counties. You can buy houses and gardens for yourselves and pass them down to your descendants as a permanent inheritance. This is my reward for your concerted efforts over the past 30 years to help me achieve my great cause."

"Don't be embarrassed, this is what you all deserve. I never eat alone, we share the hardship and the wealth. However--"

At this point, Shao Xun changed his tone and said, "The occupation of farmland cannot be done in a disorderly manner. I will issue the "Edict on the Land Affairs in Jiangnan" in a few days. You can read it carefully and follow my orders."

"Also, although the five counties of Danyang, Kuaiji, Yixing, Wu, and Wuxing have good fields and abundant products, there are lakes and swamps everywhere, and rivers and streams are crisscrossed. There are still many uncultivated wastelands. If the northerners suddenly leave, they may find it difficult to adapt. I heard that Du Hongzhi has not been farming for many years because he is worried that he will be infected with diseases and die. You should also warn your children and nephews. They are all handsome young men. It is not easy to raise them. If they die one day, wouldn’t you feel sad?"

"Beyond these five counties, there are many mountains and swamps, and places with deep bamboos and trees, which are daunting. Since the Eastern Wu, they have been determined to conquer the Shanyue people, and they have registered tens of thousands of households at a time, but have they conquered them all? I heard that one of the responsibilities of the Xin'an governor is to control the barbarians. This time, when we attacked Wu, the descendants of the Shanyue chieftain also raised an army to help, and they have a large number of people. It's just that they changed their name. Now they are no longer called Shanyue, but barbarians. When your family goes to Jiangnan, think about how to deal with the barbarians. Lu Shiyao was right just now. The Jiangdong clans have already figured out some ways, that is, to deter the barbarians with a large army, and then set up schools to recruit the children of the barbarian chiefs. Over time, the number of barbarians has gradually decreased."

"Where there are dense forests, there is less flat land, and the grain production may not be abundant. I don't know if it is enough to feed our families. Fortunately, the rivers in the Jiangnan water town are well connected, and boats can be used even in the deep mountains. You can build manors and forts in strategic places. In addition to providing enough food and soldiers, you can also collect more wild products and transport them to famous cities and towns. This is also a source of income."

"Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are all the foundation of the country. This is not the first time I have said this, you should keep it in mind. There is nothing shameful about making money, and I have not seen any son of the noble family think that making money is shameful. On the contrary, there are a lot of people who light lamps and settle accounts at night, which is good. I like to see your family business prosper and have many descendants."

"Don't be afraid of having too many children. Just ask for more land from the barbarians. Give each child a manor, and expand southward step by step. The south is vast, enough for you to build manors for hundreds of years. I have many children, and they will go south with your descendants in the future."

As Shao Xun was talking, he asked everyone to sit down.

The table is covered with floral carpet, which is magnificent.

"However, although the land will not be measured, the population still needs to be counted. Taxes will be levied on each household and stored in the government offices of each county. Every year, a batch will be sent to Danyang and Piling, and then transferred to Bianliang by the two Duzhi officers of Guangling and Hefei. Let me be frank with you, those who do not pay taxes will be punished according to the criminal law, and their property and family members will not be protected."

"In addition to taxes, we will also send people to repair official residences, post roads, and canals. This is the responsibility of the governors, and you should obey the orders of the court. If a rebellion suddenly breaks out in the south, the court will recruit soldiers to suppress the rebellion, and it cannot be shirked. Even if there is a major war in the north, it is possible that the southern soldiers will be recruited to go north. You should know this."

"In short, I share wealth and honor with you. The key is 'share'. You can become rich and powerful in Jiangnan, but you can't make me poor. Otherwise, how can the country last long? Your wealth and honor can't last long either."

After saying that, Shao Xun patted the table and said with a smile: "That's all."

When he said this, he did not avoid the surrendered people from Jiangnan, but said it openly.

The northern officials listened thoughtfully, while the Jiangdong surrendered people were a little surprised, especially Lu Wan.

In his opinion, Emperor Liang knew a lot about the geography of Jiangnan, at least much more than Sima Yan did after he conquered Wu. Moreover, this man was strong but also generous, knowing how to share the benefits with others and not leaving himself alone.

With such skills, great fighting ability and high prestige, Jiangnan probably won't be able to make a comeback.

Lu Wan sighed inwardly, thinking that after returning to Jiangnan, he would have to seriously persuade the major families to give up the confrontation. Now the most important thing was to minimize the losses and try to avoid the destruction of families in this wave of land division.

What the northerners want is land, not your life.

Emperor Liang also wants the land, and he doesn't want your life, otherwise he would have killed you all instead of exiling you.

As long as you survive the first and most ferocious wave of liquidation, the subsequent dangers will be much smaller.

He just mentioned the co-governance of the old and new clans, which is not impossible. It's just that the targets have been changed, that is, the northerners occupy the land of the old clans, and the old clans go to reclaim the wasteland.

Northerners and southerners are not completely opposites. As long as the issue of land ownership is resolved, there is even the possibility of cooperation between the two sides.

This may be a more realistic approach, and it is also what Emperor Liang hopes to see.

As for the resentment of the southerners after their land was seized, it may erupt from time to time at first, causing local unrest, but over time, the older generation passed away, and the new generation gradually accepted reality, and the contradictions would gradually disappear. After a few generations, the resentment may only exist verbally, and by then there will be more exchanges between the northern and southern clans, and they may even intermarry and no longer be distinguished from each other.

After all, we lost the war! Lu Wan looked at the lights of Bianliang with a gloomy look, and slowly made up his mind. It's not that the Lu family has no chance to return to Luoyang, Bianliang, or even the ancestral land of Wujun. As long as these things are done well and they become officials in the Daliang Dynasty, there will always be a way.

Emperor Liang has already promised to appoint one or two members of the Lu family as officials. He is so trustworthy, so this matter must be true.

Persuading the great families in Jiangnan was also to help Lu himself.

******
On October 11, Shao Xun continued to take action. He summoned the Supervisor of the Imperial Household Cai Cheng to Lichun Terrace and first asked him about the rye incident.

"I planted one mu in Yanzhi Mountain and harvested one hu and eight dou. I also planted one mu in Yuyang State and Mayi County, and the harvest was about one hu and seven or eight dou. I also planted half an mu in Luzi Garden in Chang'an, but the harvest was not very good, only more than seven dou. In total, the four places harvested more than six hu of rye." Cai Cheng said, "According to your majesty's instructions, I planted another four mu in Yanzhi Mountain, Yuyang State, and Mayi County in the fall. This is winter rye. Luzi Garden is not planted anymore. Next spring, I will select one mu of good land in Zuoguo Garden in Xihe, and find another half an mu of mountain land in Diaoyin County to plant. This is spring rye."

Shao Xun calculated that the seed-to-harvest ratio was 1:4, and Luziyuan was only 1:3, which was a bit miserable. In terms of yield, it had no advantage over the millet grown by Tuoba Xianbei.

Let's observe further, this year is likely to be a very cold winter, let's see how the growth goes.

He quickly passed over the matter and said, "How many gardens does the Shaofu have now? How many gardeners are there?"

"There are 35,000 gardeners and nearly 150,000 people in the nine gardens of Xi, Guangcheng, Shanglin, Luzi, Sangzi, Zuoguo, Huainan, Caizhou and Yanshan."

"We can find land in Jiangnan to build a few more gardens." Shao Xun said, "Although I will not go there, gardens must be built."

The wolves from the north came south to share the meat. Shao Xun was the leader of the wolf pack. Was there no meat to eat? Of course not.

"What places did your majesty take a fancy to?" Cai Cheng asked.

"First, there is a mountain ruin called 'Guzhu' at the junction of Wuxing and Yixing counties, where 'Guzhu Garden' is located. This is the former land of the Qian family of Changcheng. After Qian Feng died, many of the farmsteaders were annexed by the Shen family. You should send someone to ask the Shen family for the land and people. This garden does not need to be large, just a few dozen miles in circumference, and have a thousand garden households."

"How does this garden make a living?"

"Tea."

Cai Cheng didn't ask any more questions and just replied yes.

"Secondly, we will take Jincheng and build the Puzhou Garden, employing the former inhabitants of Langya as gardeners, and recruiting some servants from the scattered wealthy families, expanding the number of gardeners to 3,000. This garden will only be used for growing rice and wheat."

"Third, after taking Kuaiji County, I want to build a 'Yanxi Garden'. The vines produced here seem to be different, with excellent quality, suitable for papermaking. After the war, we can occupy an area and set up 2,000 garden households."

"Fourth, send more people to investigate and build a garden, mainly to grow banana and kudzu for weaving. There are many kinds of kudzu, and banana and kudzu seem to be the best. I really like it. It can also be sold in the north. You should pay more attention to it."

"I obey your order." Cai Chengying said.

After conquering Jiangnan, he built four gardens, three of which produced tea, banana, and rattan paper respectively, in order to make money through commercial farming.

Puzhoujin was probably for the purpose of intervening in Jianye. At the same time, this place was an important battlefield in the war against Wu and had certain significance.

After these four gardens were built, the Shaofu had thirteen gardens at his disposal. This was the private property of the royal family, and looking at the whole world, the Shao family was also the largest manor owner.

Moreover, this is just Yangzhou. What about Jiangzhou? Maybe it will also have gardens. Cai Cheng was already subconsciously thinking about how to manage it in the future.

"Aren't you going to Jiangnan to buy a manor?" Shao Xun asked with a smile after finishing discussing business.

"I haven't had time to think about this." Cai Cheng replied.

"Sima Xi (Prince Wuling) has a manor in Jiangcheng, which is pretty good. I have decided to give it to you. You can send one or two sons south to take over quickly. If you don't have capable people, I will let Danyang County help take care of it, and I will give it to you after it is on the right track." Shao Xun said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward." Cai Cheng said with tears of gratitude.

The most troublesome thing for a man like him who came from humble beginnings was that he did not have enough talents to manage his family business. In addition, the land tax in the north was very strict, and he did not have much property. To put it bluntly, even if he went south to grab a piece of fertile land, he could not use it effectively.

This is the shortcoming of the upstarts, their foundation is too poor.

The emperor obviously considered this issue and thoughtfully cleared away the worries of these founding brothers. What else can we say? It is worth all the hard work over the years.

"Okay, no need to act like that." Shao Xun said with a smile, "I said we will share the wealth, go down."

"Yes." Cai Cheng bowed again and slowly retreated.

(End of this chapter)