Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 289 Rural Research
"Sister~ Brother-in-law?"

Lan Yu asked with a mournful face, "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Shut up!"

Chang Yuchun, who was on night duty, stared wide-eyed like a door god, scaring Lan Yu, who had been driven out, into not daring to breathe.

Lan Yu felt very wronged, but she was genuinely afraid of her brother-in-law.

He stood timidly to the side, at a loss.

"Go back to sleep first." Chang Yuchun, the gatekeeper, whispered in his throat, "Remember this, if you dare utter another word, I'll smash your sand pot!"

With her brother-in-law's guidance, Lan Yu felt relieved and hurriedly left.

Chang Yuchun stood guard outside the Ming King's bedroom door with his eyes fixed on it, while his ears twitched slightly as he listened to the sounds coming from inside.

When King Ming went out to a banquet, he returned with a charming young woman.

That idiot Lan Yu has no sense of propriety and is still foolishly trying to get closer.

What, do you want to go in and get a basin, pour water, and hand out towels?
Half an hour later, the guards who were on duty came to relieve Chang Yuchun.

Back in his room, his brother-in-law was already fast asleep, sprawled out on his back.

He was lifted to the corner of the bed, and Chang Yuchun lay down, panting, but found it difficult to fall asleep.

He had heard noises coming from inside the house twice before, which had already made him furious.

After kicking his brother-in-law who was grinding his teeth, Chang Yuchun, who had been tossing and turning in bed, finally managed to fall asleep with difficulty.

He really misses his wife, Lan, who stayed behind in the old camp.

The next morning, Lin Dao, with his strong biological clock, woke up on time.

He skillfully tidied himself up and prepared to go out to wash up.

"You~~~"

From the bed came Cao Miaoqing's soft voice, "Don't you have anything to say?"

Lin Dao stopped in his tracks, turned his head and said, "When I leave, you'll come with me."

"I still have my mother to support at home~~~"

"Take Luo Guanzhong home later, and he will arrange for someone to escort your mother out of the city."

As soon as Lin Dao left, Cao Miaoqing, who had covered her face with her hands, chuckled to herself under the thin blanket.

She never expected that she would be so bold.

They had only met once, yet he didn't hesitate to give himself to her.

In this era, it's absolutely phenomenal.

She made a high-stakes investment without hesitation.

He risked everything.

Cao Miaoqing thought back carefully and realized that the man's domineering aura and unparalleled confidence had deeply attracted her.

Women always need to find someone to rely on.

Lin Dao's domineering presence, and his treatment of nobles as if they were ants, undoubtedly shook her heart.

After resting for a while, Cao Miaoqing, having straightened her clothes, hurriedly searched for scissors.

She wanted to preserve and cherish the most precious memories.

Cao Miaoqing is a talented woman and a socialite, not a girl from a humble background.

This is not the indifferent modern world.

After washing up, while eating breakfast, Lin Dao gave Shi Nai'an a few instructions.

He then looked at Luo Guanzhong, who had come with him, and asked, "Have you thought this through?"

"Yes."

The young Luo Guanzhong bowed respectfully, his expression open and honest: "I am willing to seek the well-being of all people under heaven!"

"I am willing to do my part so that the people of the world will no longer suffer from natural disasters, man-made calamities, and the pain of war!"

In his early twenties, Luo Guanzhong did not yet possess the composure he had when writing "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

At the height of their youthful passion, they were caught in a chaotic era.

It's impossible for him to indulge in pleasure and escape everything like Yang Weizhen.

After a night of deep thought, he finally decided to follow the King of Light and save all the people of the world!
"To save all living beings" is the propaganda slogan.

Similar slogans have been used in every dynasty, but in reality, they were nothing more than a means of changing dynasties and seeking credit for following the emperor.

In this day and age, who else, besides Lin Dao, who has an extremely high moral standard, truly cares about the people?
Lin Dao is a time traveler, and with no worries about the future, he is able to maintain a very high moral standard.

If it were the natives of different times and spaces, or those time travelers who were born into different worlds, wouldn't they all be acting in their own self-interest?

"Make arrangements for the personnel."

Lin Dao instructed Shi Nai'an to "send Luo Guanzhong's family back together."

Shi Nai'an put down his chopsticks, stood up, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "I accept your command."

After breakfast, Lin Dao went out for another stroll.

However, this time they went not to the city, but to towns and villages outside the city.

They conducted investigations in various regions under the guise of purchasing agricultural products.

The results of the investigation will directly affect how Lin Daoli will arrange his actions after arriving in Jiangnan.

The investigation in the city is almost complete, and the results are quite disappointing.

The vast majority of gentry, wealthy merchants, and scholars were either henchmen of the Mongols or equally cruelly exploited ordinary people.

They lived a life of debauchery, enjoying the blood and flesh of the people, yet had no intention of serving them.

Lin Dao looked down on them, but he would make arrangements for them when he brought a large army later.

He would never compromise like Old Zhu.

If you leave rotten flesh untreated, it will only spread throughout your body.

The best time to dig out the rotten flesh was at the founding of the nation.

Outside a village in a town in Qiantang County, Lin Dao carefully examines the crops in the fields.

Before encountering the portal, Lin Dao's knowledge of crops was mainly limited to what was in the bowl.

Today, his understanding of crops has undergone a complete transformation.

There's no other way; food is the most important thing for people.

"If it has a shell."

"One mu should yield three hundred jin."

The red soil of Jiangnan yields about 300 catties per mu, which is absolutely unparalleled in this era.

Meanwhile, the yield per mu in the north is only a little over 100 jin.

It's no wonder that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Grand Canal was considered one of the most important matters in the world.

Lin Dao squatted on the ridge of the field, carefully examining the ears of wheat in front of him.

It lacked the heavy, weighty appearance he had seen on screens in the modern world.

Many of the shells were even dented.

Lin Daodong understood that this was due to a lack of fertilizer. Both phosphate and potassium fertilizers were deficient.

There are still some ways to obtain phosphate fertilizer, but potash fertilizer...
The Central Plains are truly lacking.

The corresponding mineral resources were rich in minerals, which existed in the Western Regions during the Han and Tang dynasties, and even during the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

However, during the Ming Dynasty, it became a luxury that could only be seen but not obtained.

The Ming Dynasty failed to completely destroy the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and failed to seize the former Mongol Yuan territory.

The elite army that had conquered new territories was ultimately destroyed by internal strife and by a foolish emperor and scheming ministers.

It can only be described as a tragedy.

Lin Dao would never make such a mistake.

He not only wanted to conquer the territory of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, but also to expand it as much as possible!

Living space is never saved; it's always carved out with swords and spears.

Lost in thought, several farmers came over carrying hoes, eyeing him warily.

Lin Dao clapped his hands and stood up. "How are taxes collected here?"

The farmers were unaware of his identity, but seeing his extraordinary demeanor, they hesitated to speak for a moment.

Lin Dao took out a few banknotes and handed them over.

"to be honest."

The farmers' honesty was truly shocking.

On the surface, the taxes levied by the Mongol Yuan dynasty were not high.

At its lowest point, the official standard was only three liters per acre.

Later generations used this as a basis to say that the Mongol Yuan dynasty was wronged and that there was no tyranny at all.

Such arguments are best dismissed with a laugh; anyone with a sound mind would never believe them.

It's like how it's explicitly forbidden to charge exorbitant bride prices, but who doesn't have to pay a large sum to get married?
The official taxes are not high, but the additional levies are.

First, there are the costs associated with rats and boats, which are additional expenses on transportation taxes. These also have to be paid by farmers and are usually more than twice the regular tax.

In addition, there were various exorbitant taxes and levies levied at the provincial, circuit, prefecture, state, and county levels.

The amount collected is usually more than ten times the regular tax.

All these amounts to almost half a stone gone.

However, this is not the end; in fact, it is only the beginning.

The tax collectors, skilled in using methods such as skimming and robbing, could extract one or two bushels of tax from each acre of land.

If we include the remaining grain, there was basically no more than one bushel left.

In the north, for the local people, this meant a complete crop failure.

Unable to pay taxes and going bankrupt, the only option became for the entire family to sell themselves into slavery.

This is also the main reason why the Red Turban Army developed rapidly in the north.

Since we were all doomed anyway, rebelling against the tyrannical Yuan dynasty was better than being enslaved for generations.

The yield per acre is higher in the south, so life should seem better than in the north.

But in reality, the real killer move targeting farmers is yet to come.

The real killer move is the tax farming system.

Semu merchants were responsible for collecting taxes at all levels.

They handed over the taxes and grain to the Yuan court ahead of schedule.

This is not because they want to be righteous people, but because they want to earn more money.

Anyone who has run a business knows that the purpose of doing business is to make money, and to make more money.

Semu merchants contracted to collect taxes, and in order to recoup their costs and earn more profits, they went to great lengths.

The south was a particularly vulnerable target for exploitation.

According to Lin Dao's understanding, the self-sufficient farmers here will go bankrupt within five years at most.

Because I simply can't afford it.

It wasn't just about food; the Mongol and Semu people did the same in every place where they could make money.

It's like a salt tax.

Within just a few decades of the founding of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, salt taxes skyrocketed thirtyfold.

This is just the official figure; in reality, when it reaches the grassroots level, it is increased several times over.

The tea tax was even worse, bankrupting all tea farmers in the south.

With a tea tax as high as 100%, plus collusion between Semu people and Han tea merchants to drive down prices, even borrowing money at interest couldn't withstand it.

There is also commercial tax.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, some people criticized the excessively high commercial taxes, the incompetence of the imperial court, and the fact that it was competing with the people for profits.

But during the Mongol Yuan dynasty, commercial taxes increased twentyfold compared to the Southern Song dynasty!
Apart from street vendors, all the shops in various places were owned by wealthy and powerful nobles.

Even street vendors had to pay a hefty city gate tax when entering the city.

Having learned about the local situation, Lin Dao asked a question.

"Can you survive as tenant farmers (serfs)?"

What should you do during weddings, funerals, disasters, or illnesses?

The farmers fell silent.

After a long while, someone finally responded.

"If there is a daughter in the family, then arrange a marriage between her and another family."

"If not, then wait for the master to send out a maid."

Leaving aside the matter of arranged marriages, the master's family would send away maids, which is what is often mentioned in Dream of the Red Chamber, and what the maids feared most: "being dragged out and matched with a young man."

“Last month, Master Wang’s household sent out a maid.”

"It was the madam who sent the message, saying that she seduced the master and was then assigned to a short, ugly man."

"Tsk tsk~~~"

"A beautiful flower was stuck in cow dung."

Shi Nai'an, who was standing nearby, was slightly moved and made a note of the matter.

"If you get sick, just tough it out."

"If you really can't bear it, then that's fate."

“We used to have a few acres of poor land. We borrowed money from the temple to pay for my sick grandfather’s medical treatment and medicine.”

"My grandfather died, and the temple took away our land. My whole family can only work as tenants for Master Wang."

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao frowned.

"temple?"

(End of this chapter)