Tiger Owl

Chapter 112 Inspecting the Military Fields
There were many military farmlands outside Nanchang city, cultivated by the families of soldiers from Nanchang.

Gan Ning led Zhao Yun on horseback along the official road, with endless wheat fields on both sides.

"Military land is the foundation of our military system. First of all, after a soldier joins the army, his family will become a military household. Only military households can be granted military land, with each household having 20 mu of high-quality land. In special circumstances, the amount may be slightly increased."

"May I ask, my lord, what constitutes a special situation?" Zhao Yun asked with a smile.

"It mainly depends on the number of people the soldier needs to support. For example, if there are many children in the family and parents, then the soldier is generally not allowed to join the army. But if there are brothers in the family, then the soldier can join the army. In this case, the military farmland will be allocated an extra three to five mu, but not too much, otherwise it will make other soldiers feel unfair."

Gan Ning pointed with his whip at the wheat fields on both sides of the official road, which were turning from green to yellow, and said: "These two sides are military fields. The land deeds belong to the army. Soldiers' families can cultivate the land for free and are exempt from land taxes. If a soldier dies in battle or is discharged from the army, the land ownership will belong to the military households."

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment and then asked, "What if the soldiers surrender to the enemy?"

Gan Ning nodded. "This is indeed a thorny issue. The handling methods are different in each place. Huang Zu directly confiscated the military land and made them pay back taxes. We are not so harsh here. In this case, the military households are converted into civilian households and cultivated government land. The government land is also tax-exempt, but they have to pay 40% rent."

Then, a village appeared ahead, with a military flag flying over it. This was the village of military households, inhabited entirely by military families.

"This village is full of military households, let's go take a look."

Gan Ning, accompanied by Zhao Yun and escorted by dozens of personal guards, rode off the official road and galloped along the path towards the village. Farmers who were working in the fields had already run back to the village to report the news.

When the village head heard that his lord had arrived, he led all the villagers out to greet him.

Gan Ning smiled and said to everyone, "General Zhao and I have come to inspect the military fields and also to visit our fellow villagers."

The village headman quickly said, "Please come inside, my lord!"

Seeing a large, vigorous tree at the village entrance, with its canopy spread out, Gan Ning smiled and said, "Let's sit under this tree for a while! We won't go into the village."

Everyone hurriedly ran home to get mats and spread them on the ground. Gan Ning sat down on the ground and invited everyone to sit down as well. Everyone politely declined, and in the end, only a few old people sat down.

"This year's harvest looks promising. Let's estimate how much wheat can be produced per acre this year."

"Reporting to my lord, we have been discussing this year's wheat yield these past two days, and we estimate it will exceed 500 jin per mu."

One jin in the Eastern Han Dynasty was less than half a jin in later times. A yield of 500 jin per mu is equivalent to more than 200 jin in later times. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the wheat yield per mu in the north was equivalent to more than 100 jin in later times. Therefore, a wheat yield of more than 200 jin per mu was already quite good.

Gan Ning nodded and then asked, "Has everyone started using the curved plow?"

"Reporting to my lord, we have put them into use and they are very effective. They are much better than straight-shaft plows. In the past, two people could plow a maximum of thirty mu of land, but now with curved-shaft plows, we can plow fifty or sixty mu. They are simply too practical."

The curved plow appeared last autumn and was first promoted around Nanchang County. Gan Ning also knew that everyone praised it for being convenient and easy, and most importantly, it greatly improved the efficiency of farming, which would greatly increase the income of ordinary people and the grain output.

During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, although a large number of northern farmers migrated south, the vast south still had a large amount of land but a small population. If the curved-shaft plow were widely promoted, the efficiency of tilling would double, the amount of arable land would double, and the grain yield would also double. Therefore, a small innovation in agricultural tools, coupled with the advent of the waterwheel, was a revolution in agriculture and had a great benefit to population growth.

"Please let us know if you are facing any difficulties. If they are common problems, we will try to find a solution."

An elderly man said, “There is a problem that everyone hopes to improve, and that is that we receive too few letters from home. We really long to receive more letters from home.”

Gan Ning smiled and said, "I will find a way to solve this problem, and we will see results soon. Does anyone else have any other difficulties?"

A woman said, "We also hope to build a school so that our children can have the opportunity to study. Every time my husband writes a letter, we can't find anyone to read it to us. We have to take our chickens and ducks to the neighboring village to ask someone to read the letter to us."

These words resonated with many people, who said, "Not only do you have to carry things, but you also have to be humble and smile ingratiatingly before people will read or write to you."

Gan Ning nodded. “Many new schools will be built in the second half of this year. There should be one nearby. In addition, I will soon restore post stations and relay stations. There will be one post station every twenty li and one relay station every hundred li. Everyone can go to the post station to send letters and mail things. Ordinary people will be charged a fee, but military households will be exempt from the fee.”

Post stations were basic communication facilities set up by the Han Dynasty throughout the country. Due to war, they were abandoned in many places, except in the south, where they were slightly better. The alliance between Gan Ning and Jiangdong included a clause to restore the land and water post stations. Many post stations and relay stations still exist, but they were abandoned and can be restored through repair.

Everyone chimed in with their suggestions, which Gan Ning had recorded one by one.

Zhao Yun remained silent throughout, listening attentively to the conversation between his lord and the soldiers. He deeply felt his lord's sincerity and care for the soldiers and civilians. It was a heartfelt concern, a patient listening ear, a way of solving their problems, and a way of treating the soldiers' families as his own. How could the soldiers not risk their lives for such a lord?

If Gongsun Zan had possessed even a fraction of the benevolence and righteousness of his lord, he would not have ultimately met his demise.

As they left the village, Gan Ning smiled and said to Zhao Yun, “I require all generals to care about their soldiers, not only the soldiers themselves, but more importantly, their families. They should do their best to solve their problems. If they can’t solve them themselves, they should report them. The soldiers will see this and remember it. On the battlefield, every soldier will fight with all their might against the enemy. They are not repaying a debt of gratitude; they are defending this system so that their families can live in peace and no longer be displaced.”

'They are not repaying a debt of gratitude; they are defending the system that allows their families to live and work in peace.'

These words deeply moved Zhao Yun; it was the first time he had ever understood why soldiers fought.

He bowed and said, "I will keep your words in mind, my lord. I will certainly care for the soldiers and their families as you do."

Gan Ning went to great lengths to subtly increase Zhao Yun's loyalty to him. Loyalty was not just about rewards; it also required Zhao Yun to accept and acknowledge his ideas and governance style. Since he hadn't spent enough time with Zhao Yun, he wanted to take advantage of this gathering in Nanchang to spend more time with him and communicate with him so that they could get to know each other better.

Gan Ning pointed east with his whip and laughed, "This place is only twenty li away from the largest horse farm in our Yuzhang County. We have nothing to do this afternoon, General Zilong, would you like to come with me to take a look?"

Zhao Yun readily agreed, "This humble servant is willing to accompany my lord."

The group quickened their pace and galloped towards the horse farm.

(End of this chapter)