Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

To carry out a series of institutional reforms,

And it completely abolished slavery.

The system of allotted land distribution evolved into the system of allotted land plots.

To put it simply, it's the public land contract responsibility system.

In name only, public fields still belong to the state.

However, wealthy farmers are allowed to contract out projects.

Land taxes are collected through land contracting agreements.

Several decades later,

Contracted land has essentially become private land.

Contracts can be traded and transferred.

The landowners even added their own names to the land.

The owner of the field,

He is known as the Lord.

Those with less land,

It's called "Little Master".

Those who own more land,

It is called "Daimyo-sama".

The term "famous name" was thus born.

The nicknames were actually those of a small landlord and a self-cultivating farmer.

If there is insufficient labor force in the household

They also rent out land to the poor.

Tenants then emerged.

The land owned by the daimyo

Besides the directly managed farmland

The rest were all rented out.

They then transferred the imperial court's taxes and corvée labor to the tenants.

Above these famous names,

There are also true manor lords.

You must pay an annual tribute to the manor lord (manor lords are generally only found in border areas).

Therefore, the manor lord was the local overlord.

The famous figures were all powerful and influential people.

It is still evolving.

After the manor lords obtained economic privileges,

They began to seek political and military privileges again.

Xiaoming deposited the land with Daming.

The daimyo entrusted the land to the lord.

The lord entrusted his land to powerful nobles.

Therefore, everyone paid tribute to their superiors.

The highest rank belonged to the tax-exempt nobility.

They simply stopped paying taxes to the imperial court altogether.

Half of the country's land,

None of them require tax payment.

The other half of the land,

The Emperor dispatches members of the Imperial Family or close confidants to manage the area.

To ensure the stability of the central government's tax revenue.

However, members of the royal family and their confidants took the opportunity to seize power.

The remaining half of the land is becoming increasingly feudalized.

The Emperor sought to centralize power in order to suppress lords.

He also revived the system of state officials, which involved the central government sending prefectural and county officials to local areas.

This thing was completely ruined by the Fujiwara clan.

The Fujiwara clan, acting as regents due to their status as maternal relatives, allowed anyone who wanted to become a prefectural or county governor to simply pay money.

Chapter 3205 Iwami Country

Since the position of local official was purchased...

Why bother trying to manage it?

Someone with a sense of responsibility

Let your son or nephew take over the position in your place.

This is called "eye generation".

Those who lack a sense of responsibility

As long as the prefectures and kingdoms pay their taxes on time and in full

They were too lazy to bother with the location anymore.

They all stayed in Heian-kyo, living a carefree and happy life.

At this time, Iwami Province,

The State Administration was located in Heian-kyo.

They didn't even send a substitute.

All local affairs,

They were all handed over to local officials to manage.

In the position of a department-level official,

It was also controlled by local powerful clans.

It can even be passed down from father to son in a hereditary manner.

The Masuda clan was the most influential powerful clan in Iwami Province.

They are also the officials with the most say in the matter.

Two hundred years ago, their ancestors were just small merchants.

They used the money earned from business to buy land and cultivate it.

He grew from a minor lord to a major lord.

Their land,

It is not the largest number in Iwami Province.

But they're wealthy from business.

By bribing the Fujiwara clan,

He bought a position at the provincial level.

Furthermore, the tradition was passed down from father to son, generation after generation.

.....

Iwami Province, the capital city.

Its specific location,

It is roughly located about 18 ri southwest of the city of Ota in later Japan.

It is about four or five miles from the coastline.

The core area is a small mountain town.

The officials in charge of the department worked within the city.

Their residences are distributed around the mountain town.

Outside the city, besides residential areas,

There are also commercial areas and the like.

The Imperial Guard is having a blast in Heian-kyo.

The meeting was chaired by Masuda Akiaki, the head of the cabinet officials.

Masuda Akiaki said in a somber tone:

"We just received news that the French Emperor has passed away."

Everyone was astonished upon hearing this.

She then wiped away her tears and wailed.

Their grief,

It wasn't entirely an act.

Emperor Shirakawa gradually transformed into Emperor Emeritus Shirakawa and then Emperor Retired Emperor Shirakawa.

She outlived her own son.

He also controlled his grandson.

He also dealt with disobedient relatives of the emperor and lords on several occasions.

The officials in Iwami Province,

To keep his position,

Bribes had to be offered to the confidants of Emperor Shirakawa's confidants.

A new emperor chooses his own ministers.

Now that Emperor Shirakawa is dead

Emperor Toba will inevitably start a new administration of government.

They would have to send people to Heian-kyo again to offer bribes.

The powerful figures mourned for the French Emperor for a moment.

They then discussed the matter of bribery.

This thing can't be rushed.

We must wait for the imperial court to establish a proper team.

Figure out who the new elites are.

Then try to get close to the new elite's confidants.

Send the money to the people who are actually in charge.

No need to send too many.

Because there was an annual tribute.

They only offer token gestures at crucial moments.