Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 430 The Only Way Out for the People

The sky was getting light, and soon it turned pale. The clear glow of the sky awakened the people living along the Wei River.

There are many fertile plains in Guanzhong. The closest one to Chang'an is Xiliuyuan, 32 miles southwest of Chang'an. Xiliu here is not where Zhou Yafu stationed his troops, but the location of Xiliu Temple in Shanglin Garden, where the emperor could hunt.

The scale of Shanglin Garden at that time was much larger than that of Yunyang Palace. Not only were there many palaces, but it also included Kunming Lake, Hao Lake and other ponds that could be used to train naval forces. Unfortunately, many palaces were destroyed in the war.

After Liu Bei ascended the throne, he ordered the people to reclaim farmland. Except for the land near Kunming Lake, which was more than 40 miles in circumference, most of the other gardens were divided out for the common people to cultivate.

Guanzhong had been deserted for a long time, and all kinds of grasses and trees could be cut down and used as firewood to meet the people's needs for winter.

Over the years, craftsmen have built large and small waterwheels to divert the Wei River into channels to irrigate fertile fields, making it possible to grow wheat in many water-scarce areas.

Now in April, wheat has entered a critical period of maintenance. In addition to paying attention to the weather, farmers must also prevent insect pests every day, otherwise the harvest will be reduced.

In order to have a good harvest, many people got up before dawn and rushed to the fields with farm tools. Agricultural students and farm officials also got up with thick papers to record in detail the weather changes, soil moisture, and the damage caused by insects, birds and animals to the farmland every day.

Near the common people's farmland, there were a few acres of land specially designated as test fields where agricultural students, agricultural officials and clerks personally cultivated.

When Your Majesty ascended the throne, he had already issued an order that agriculture should be the priority in all things. If someone can exhaust all means to use effective and feasible methods to increase millet and wheat yields and promote their effectiveness.

At least one could get a thousand gold coins, at most one could be granted the title of marquis of ten thousand households. Even if only ten people can put it into practice, all ten of them can be granted the title of marquis of a thousand households.

Of course, the prerequisite is that it can be effectively promoted. If anyone dares to falsify the information, the whole family will be punished and exiled to Jiaozhou to cut wood for life.

Even though the punishment was severe, it could not outweigh the emperor's reward. When the officials who were proficient in agriculture and sericulture heard about this, they were overjoyed.

He originally wanted to use the people's farming to study how to increase the harvest, but he was blocked by the imperial edict from the court that it was not allowed to disturb the people's farming land.

Agricultural officials and clerks simply reclaimed a few acres of land and studied farming day and night. Even if it took a lifetime, as long as they succeeded, they could leave their names in the world and their descendants could inherit the title.

Therefore, the agricultural officials and agricultural students got up early every day, checked the changes in the fields, and then got busy dealing with various chores at the 9th hour. At noon, they took time to return to the fields for a walk, and then it was evening.

Sometimes when I help people weed, I would ask the old farmers who have been farming for many years, in Guanzhong, apart from soil and water, what other reasons may cause a sudden decrease or increase in the harvest?
Thousands of agricultural students transferred from Qing and Yan were scattered across the 800-li Guanzhong plain. Some of them immersed themselves in studying the impact of water sources on millet and wheat, some observed the soil, some looked at wheat, and some simply looked for other edible things. They first fed them to the caught wild rabbits, and if they died suddenly after half a month, they would try it themselves.

Anyway, the emperor's original intention was to increase food. There are so many mountains in Guanzhong, so all he needs to do is carefully look for things that can be cooked and eaten.

After some attempts, the wild beasts were fine after eating the herbs, but dozens of agricultural students died suddenly. After Liu Bei learned about the situation, he immediately ordered to stop Shennong's behavior of tasting hundreds of herbs.

Compared with the vigorous attempts of the agricultural officials, the common people were much calmer. For them, life was getting better day by day, and they could earn something from their daily work. Rewards from the emperor and titles of nobility were too far away from them.

The thing they could see and touch the most was the land under their feet. Unfortunately, the land divided by the government did not belong entirely to them. They could not buy or sell it privately, nor could they pass it on to their descendants.

When people were no longer able to cultivate the land, the land would be taken back by the imperial court and redistributed to the landless people. Therefore, even if the descendants reached the age for land distribution, they might not necessarily be able to get the good land that their ancestors had cultivated for many years.

This is also the reason why many people envy the soldiers and assistants who can be selected to join the military office. In addition to not being able to be bought and sold, the land allocated and the cultivated land rewarded for meritorious service will always belong to the soldiers and can be passed down from generation to generation. "I heard that the military office of Gaoling County has issued an order to select and recruit 400 new assistants. The military offices in other places in Guanzhong seem to have issued such an announcement. It would be great if I could be selected as an assistant!"

The dark-skinned middle-aged man patted his tired waist and sighed.

When his companion who was weeding with a sickle heard this, he laughed and said, "Your eldest son and second son were not selected to join the military office because they were too thin. It is difficult for you, an old man, to join the military office."

The merciless ridicule of his companions did not embarrass the middle-aged man. Instead, he laughed at himself and said, "Who knew that a warrior could be so respected by the court? Even the emperor cherishes his soldiers so much. If we don't seize this rare opportunity to become soldiers and fight for merit on the battlefield to win land for our descendants, we may never have another chance."

"It won't be long before the land in the world is occupied by powerful families again. When our descendants encounter famine or disaster, they can only sell their wives and daughters to survive."

"We need to have a hundred acres of military farmland, plus rewards for meritorious service. Even if our descendants encounter drought, they will not starve to death with the accumulated surplus food."

There was deep envy in the middle-aged man's words.

This is something that many people already know. As long as the Han Dynasty exists, the soldiers can keep their land.

Whenever any powerful person seizes military land by trickery or force, the soldiers and their descendants can report it to the military headquarters. If the military headquarters does nothing, they can report it to the prefect. If the prefect protects the powerful person, they can report it to the state government.

If the above methods do not work, then there is no need to "go through the court" and go directly to Kyoto to report to the Secretariat, present the matter to the emperor, and let the Liu emperor handle it.

Such laws were spread by word of mouth among military officers and legal officials when the military government distributed land.

At present, the total number of combat soldiers and auxiliary soldiers in all provinces and counties in the world is 430,000. Liu Bei suppressed all the evil-minded people in Guandong and Guanxi by treating his soldiers well.

This is also a prerequisite for the reform—there is a strong and victorious army stationed in each county. Before they have combat effectiveness, it is enough to make the powerful people in the world tremble with fear and shudder every day.

In particular, the central army also maintained a strong combat capability. Once encountering a local rebellion that could not be extinguished, the tens of thousands of central troops camped in Sili would immediately advance, and even the hardest bones could be smashed to pieces with a heavy hammer.

"Sigh..." The companions who were farming in the fields couldn't help but sigh. There was no harm without comparison. They were far inferior to the soldiers.

"But now that the world is pacified, the original three counties with one military headquarters have been changed to five counties, which undoubtedly makes it more difficult to select auxiliary soldiers, let alone combat soldiers? If you don't keep your body fit enough to carry a load and walk several miles, you can't even reach the threshold."

The companion smiled bitterly and shook his head.

If common people want to be auxiliary soldiers, they can get in if they work hard to train their endurance, but there are not enough vacancies.

But if you want to become a soldier, you need to be physically strong. This condition alone has stumped many people in Guanzhong.

However, there are still many people who want to send their children and grandchildren to the military. Having been accustomed to the fraud of corrupt officials, they understand that only by producing soldiers in the family can the safety of the whole family be guaranteed.

What's more, the sons of soldiers who fought in the war and the agricultural students who became minor officials in the villages and were transferred from various places, weren't they the sons of soldiers who died in battle?
Compared to the wealthy families who could become officials, they could work hard and gain something, and could even climb up a step. This must be because the emperor, who was among the powerful and wealthy, had found a way to open up a path for the common people.

Any old farmer with a little knowledge would be able to fail to see this.
(End of this chapter)