Taiheiki

Chapter 166 Wheel Plow
"Mengde, you have quite the nerve!" Cao Cao laughed. "Very well, I'll relay your words to Yuan Shao and the others. I just hope you won't go back on your word!"

----------------------

After seeing Cao Cao out, Wei Cong breathed a long sigh of relief. The news brought by this uninvited guest was truly astonishing. However, judging from the journey from Luoyang to Jiaozhou, the success or failure of Yuan Shao's operation in Luoyang was already decided. All he could do now was wait for good news. If it succeeded, he would offer generous gifts to see if he could resolve his legitimacy issue through this route; if it failed, he would have no choice but to leave Cao Cao in Jiaozhou for a few years to avoid the limelight. In any case, he wouldn't need another freeloader, and he could consider it repaying a favor from the past.

"Men, pass down the order to thoroughly investigate the guests from the north. Any news from Luoyang, whether morning or evening, must be reported immediately without delay!"

"Here!"

After issuing the order, Wei Cong returned to his room and began processing official documents again. In a sense, all the difficulties Wei Cong was facing boiled down to one thing: a lack of manpower. Yes, Panyu during the Han Dynasty was probably one of the largest foreign trade ports in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the problem was that the scale of overseas trade at that time could not be compared with that of later generations. When Wei Cong conquered Panyu, the total population of this city, which later became famous as Yangcheng, was only a little over 20,000, most of whom were farmers from the surrounding areas.

This population is certainly insufficient to realize Wei Cong's blueprint of a "commercial trade, shipbuilding, and handicraft center." A shipbuilding industry alone, capable of launching dozens of ships over 100 tons annually, along with its upstream and downstream sectors of woodworking, bamboo work, ironwork, rope making, and sailmaking, would require tens of thousands of artisans, not to mention other service industries and trade. Therefore, to realize Wei Cong's vision, the non-agricultural population of Panyu City alone would conservatively be over 100,000.

To feed such a large non-agricultural population, the first problem to solve is food. Thanks to the dense network of rivers in the Pearl River Delta region, the logistics costs for bulk goods are very low. Considering the vast tracts of fertile land waiting to be developed, as long as individual agricultural productivity can be increased and there is enough surplus grain, the city of Panyu can easily feed not just 100,000 people, but even 500,000, simply by trading salt, fish, and handicrafts.

Therefore, Wei Cong's first priority was to develop new farmland outside Panyu City. Following his usual practice, he would first establish a demonstration farm, and then promote it further once it proved successful. However, he didn't want to engage in small-scale farming of a hundred acres per household; that would be too wasteful of manpower. The limited population should be used in the city for higher value-added commerce, handicrafts, and service industries. What he wanted to develop outside the city was a larger-scale, more technologically advanced estate-based economy with greater surplus products per person.

The curved-shaft plow, which appeared in the Tang Dynasty, laid the foundation for small-scale farming by individual households. Compared to the earlier straight-shaft plow, the curved-shaft plow had a smaller and lighter frame, and was easier to turn and maneuver, making it more flexible and saving manpower and animal power. This allowed even an ordinary family of five to independently complete agricultural production on a small plot of land with limited manpower and animal power. The economic base determines the superstructure, and the self-sufficient individual farming economy gradually replaced the manor system that had existed for nearly a thousand years from the Han to the Tang dynasties, becoming the dominant mode of agricultural production in China.

China's traditional small-scale peasant economy had many advantages, such as its extremely high yield per mu (a Chinese unit of land area, approximately 0.165 acres), which is undeniable. Ancient Chinese agricultural yields were far higher than those of ancient and medieval Western Europe. According to the Roman-era *Clemera's Agricultural Treatise*, the ratio of grain harvest to sowing in Western Europe was 4-5 times, and according to the 13th-century English *Henry's Agricultural Treatise*, it was 3 times. However, according to the *Qimin Yaoshu*, in 6th-century my country, millet harvests were 24-200 times the sowing amount, and wheat harvests were 44-200 times. According to the *Bu Nong Shu*, the highest rice yield in the Jiaxing-Huzhou region during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties reached 4-5 shi (a unit of dry measure), equivalent to 901-1126 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.5 kg) per mu today, higher than the current rice yield in California, USA. Undoubtedly, the land productivity of ancient Chinese agriculture reached the highest level of ancient society.

However, such high yields per acre come at a cost: extremely high labor input from farmers. In other words, the maximum amount of land that each farming household can cultivate is very limited; this is what is meant by intensive farming. The limited arable land means that even with high yields per acre, each farming household has very little surplus. Furthermore, the military mobilization capacity of a society dominated by traditional smallholder farmers is very low.

Almost all ancient peoples recognized a very simple fact—a nation or country must possess a sufficiently strong military to survive and avoid being conquered by other races and enslaved. However, the strength of military power is not simply equal to the size of the population, and not everyone is suitable to be a soldier.

Simply put, small landowners or wealthy farmers were considered the best soldiers by all ancient peoples in the East and West. This was because, unlike the truly wealthy and urban residents, they were not weakened by a comfortable life. The arduous agricultural life not only tempered their physique and will, but their extensive experience in fieldwork also taught them how to take care of themselves between marches and battles. Compared to poor farmers, they ate better, were stronger, had money to provide their own horses and pack animals, better weapons and armor, and might even have some education and be literate. These were all important conditions for becoming outstanding soldiers.

This raises the question: what exactly constitutes a small landowner or rich peasant in this context? We can use the treatment of archery guilds in the Northwest during the Northern Song Dynasty as an example: In the second year of the Jingde reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, the famous general Cao Wei, after defeating Li Jiqian of the Western Xia, realized that the war in the Northwest would be protracted. He proposed to Emperor Zhenzong that local people be organized into archery guilds: "The archers are all local people, familiar with fortifications and tunnels, fluent in the languages ​​of the Qiang and Hu peoples, and able to endure cold and hardship. In case of alarm, they can serve as the vanguard alongside the regular army. Grant them idle land within their territory, permanently exempt them from rent, and provide them with harvests in spring and autumn, while sending troops to protect them during the busy farming season!" In other words, grant them land, permanently exempt them from taxes, and send troops to protect them during the busy farming season.

Later, the Western Army of the Song Dynasty often recruited soldiers from these skilled archers and horsemen who were familiar with the local conditions. The compensation was "two qing of land, plus fifty mu for those with horses." Obviously, the latter fifty mu was for raising horses. In other words, when the Northern Song Dynasty recruited a cavalryman in the northwest who had his own horses and equipment, the compensation was that his family would be allocated land in the border area as official land according to their family size, and his family would be exempt from rent and taxes forever. This land could be passed down to his descendants. In addition, he would be given two qing and fifty mu of land. One mu in the Song Dynasty was roughly equivalent to 0.91 mu today.

At that time, the highest-ranking household in the five-class system of households in the Northern Song Dynasty was required to own 400 mu of land. Any member of the Northwest Archery Society who joined the army with his own horse and equipment likely owned more than 400 mu of land (he alone owned 250 mu, and other family members also owned tax-exempt land). Even infantrymen owned no less land than second-class households (between 150 and 400 mu). Most importantly, these archery society members did not have to pay taxes or perform corvée labor. In other words, if only land ownership was considered, every soldier fighting desperately on the battlefield in the Western Song and Western Xia armies were first- or second-class household owners, while the poor third, fourth, and fifth-class households were only fit to pay taxes, perform corvée labor, and transport grain in the rear.

那这是不是因为大宋的特殊情况呢？好像还真不是。东罗马帝国的军区农兵权益如下：步兵拥有150摩的税粮土地，折合约300亩地；骑兵拥有720摩的税粮土地，折合约1440亩地。这些土地都可以免除农业税（步兵免除1920kg税粮，骑兵9216kg税粮）。

In addition, a peasant soldier receives an annual cash allowance of 1-12 nomisma (depending on years of service), equivalent to 55.2g of gold. Regular soldiers receive an additional 6 nomisma of logistical support annually during their service. This figure seems so exaggerated as to be unrealistic. Based on current gold prices, very few readers of this book could earn more than 650 grams of gold in a year, let alone hundreds or thousands of acres of tax-free farmland.

Clearly, while the advanced agricultural technology of ancient China allowed for higher yields per unit area and a larger population, it also significantly reduced the number of military landlords suitable as high-quality soldiers after the Song Dynasty. This is the real reason why border regimes after the Song Dynasty were able to repeatedly defeat the weakening Central Plains empires. Indeed, the populations of the Western Xia, Liao, Jin, Mongol, and Later Jin dynasties were only a fraction of those of the Central Plains empires, but their military landlord populations suitable for military service were not much smaller, and even more numerous. The army that followed Wei Cong across the Five Ridges and occupied the five commanderies of Jiaozhou probably did not exceed 17,000 men. Including those remaining in Yuzhang Commandery and under Zhao Yannian's command, the total number would not exceed 20,000. This constituted Wei Cong's main force for a considerable period. With the income from confiscated properties, salt production, fishing, copper mining, and trade taxes in the five commanderies, supporting 20,000 men in a short time was not difficult.

Ultimately, land still needs to be allocated to them. It wouldn't be unreasonable to use the lowest rank of "Gongshi" among the twenty ranks of military merit as the starting standard. However, if the soldiers who can be supported by 100 mu of land per family are sent on long expeditions or the war is prolonged, their families will fall into bankruptcy, which will affect the expansion of Wei Cong's military group.

Therefore, Wei Cong simply imitated the standards of the Northern Song Dynasty's archery guilds, allocating 400 mu (a Song mu was much larger than a Han mu) for infantry and 600 mu for cavalry. Additional land was allocated according to family size, allowing them to cultivate it themselves, tax-free. To cultivate such a large area, it was necessary to use larger animal-drawn farm implements, such as horse-drawn wheeled plows, and to adopt a crop rotation system. This allowed farmers to raise more horses, which, even if not for war, could be used as riding horses.

This land could not be divided equally among future generations. In such a military family, only one person in the next generation could inherit the family business. The rest of the children, who were physically strong and had received basic military training, could join Wei Cong's army and fight for their own future.

————————————————————

"Installment payment for a house?" Wei Cong's gaze lingered on a document, his expression somewhat strange. He hadn't expected to see such a thing in a government document from the second century AD. For a moment, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But as he continued reading, he realized that he himself seemed to be the instigator—it was he who had recently come up with the business of buying fishing boats on installment. This would provide orders for his newly built shipyard, increase employment opportunities, and provide enough ships and sailors for future expeditions to Jiaozhi, which would only require temporary conscription.

Wei Cong only paid some copper coins—no, in fact, he paid very little and probably even made a profit. The fishermen who applied for loans didn't receive a single penny. Their loans were immediately transferred to the shipyard, which then used the money to buy timber, various equipment, pay craftsmen's wages, and so on. Most of the money ended up back in Wei Cong's hands after going around in circles. The fishermen also had to pay 20% interest per year. This interest rate would be considered outrageous in modern society, but in ancient times, it would be considered extremely generous.

"This kid's name is Qin Ke, right? He's a prisoner, how come he's so smart?" Wei Cong's brush hovered in the air. The terrible memories left by being exploited by real estate developers before his transmigration made him hesitate, but in the end, he still put the brush down.

"Anyway, this time I'm not the one being harvested, but the one being harvested! Let him try it out, at least it can speed up infrastructure construction!" He muttered to himself as he quickly wrote his instructions.

————————————————————————

The Prefectural Governor's Office of Nanhai Commandery.

It was already May, and the summer sun in Lingnan shone brightly in the courtyard, as if scorching. Even the cicadas in the banyan trees seemed to be chirping weakly. People hid under the eaves and in the shade of the trees, wearing thin clothes made of silk or linen, and fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans. Only after the sun set and the weather cooled down would the streets become lively again.

"I'm not as energetic as I used to be!" Zhang Xu yawned and apologized to Kong Gui. "I woke up once during the night and couldn't fall back asleep. I didn't fall asleep again until dawn. I'm so tired!" As he spoke, his eyelids drooped, as if he was about to fall asleep again.

Kong Gui smiled and said, "I also had trouble sleeping at night a few days ago, and Magistrate Wei gave me some dried herbs to brew with hot water and drink. I tried it a few times and it worked. Why don't you take some back and try it later?"

“A gentleman does not take what others cherish; isn’t that a bit inappropriate?” Zhang Xu asked hesitantly.

"What's the big deal? I still have plenty left. Even if I run out, I can just ask him for some more. He said they're nothing precious, just some local herbs!"

"Then I shall accept!" Zhang Xu sighed. "It's strange, really. Besides leading troops into battle, Wei Mengde can also govern the people, fish, and make salt. Now he can even prescribe medicine for insomnia. Is there anything in the world he can't do?"

(End of this chapter)