Chapter 852 Still Like a Dream

Chapter 852 Still Like a Dream

In March, the weather warmed up, and the fields outside Jiangling City were busy with spring plowing. The damage and impact of the war could no longer be seen.

Of course, the impact of the war still exists, and it is very profound. Take these busy farmers in the wilderness. Originally, most of them were domestic slave tenants who belonged to various powerful and wealthy families in the city. Now, most of them are farmers registered in the county.

Jiangling City has a population of more than 300,000, and it is not possible to complete household registration and land transfer in a short time. However, the farming season is so fast that there is no room for delay. In order not to delay the following spring plowing, the first round of household registration and land granting is mainly to multi-family households.

Households with multiple households are under great pressure to survive and have a relatively sufficient labor force. Their willingness to participate in labor production is also more urgent, so they have been given priority. As soon as the household registration and land allocation were completed, these households immediately started the spring plowing work in full swing.

As for some single households or those who were unable to establish households, although they did not participate in this round of household registration and land granting, they were not ignored either.

They were organized into a rural commune in units of three hundred men. The government provided public land and farm tools, cattle, grain seeds and other means of production to participate in production. Seventy percent of the harvest went to the government and another third to the people. After that, the government collected It will be reduced year by year, until finally, it will only bear the normal rent adjustment like ordinary households, and there will be no other additional taxes.

Although this arrangement is still a bit burdensome overall, it can be said to be very generous compared to the previous situation of the people in Nanliang.

Because even if these single-person and single-person households are granted land, it will be difficult for them to start normal farming production immediately, and their ability to resist risks is very fragile. If the government carries out special supervision, the administrative costs will become very high. However, if there is no supervision, at least 30% of registered households will often be lost after one season of farming production.

This is the experience gained by Li Tai during his years in power. The proportion of data may vary from person to person and from place to place, but similar problems exist objectively. In order to ensure the normal production and life of the people, while also taking into account the control costs of the government, it is a more appropriate arrangement to adopt the form of cooperatives in these newly occupied areas.

Compared with ordinary military and civilian villages, this kind of rural community organization is also more moderate. In particular, it clearly clarifies the concept of private ownership shares of participating workers. Although it is not large for the time being, it has a trend of increasing year by year. For the people Labor enthusiasm can also have a good motivating and mobilizing effect.

There are large areas of fertile farmland around Jiangling, such as the land exposed after the decline of lakes and swamps. It itself has nutrients accumulated over the years. It does not even need to be left fallow. No matter what crops are planted, you can get a good harvest every season.

Before the Western Wei Dynasty captured Jiangling, a considerable part of the land around Jiangling had been classified as official property by Liang Emperor Xiao Yi, or directly owned by the inner garden. Even the properties of some local wealthy families in Jiangling were mostly invaded, and those who came to Jiangling from Jiankang had even less land.

This also prevents Li Tai from expropriating land from those big landowners and can distribute the wealth and resources more calmly. The people can actually benefit from its rule, which is a more convincing way to consolidate rule than any trickery.

Since the war in Xiangzhou has not yet been decided, Li Tai still needs to sit in Jiangling and personally manage the personnel operations and implementation of government orders in the Jiangling General Mansion. Of course, he cannot neglect the affairs in Taiwan.

"Your Majesty, this is the royal decree drawn up by everyone in the palace. Please review and correct it."

Wang Bao, the penmaster, and several palace officials came to the hall and respectfully presented a document.

Li Tai took the document and browsed it briefly, and couldn't help but frowned. It was not that the article was not well drafted, but that it was too good. It cited scriptures, the diction was elegant, and the writing was brilliant. And precisely because of this, it is more like a literary work than a normal administrative document.

"Nowadays, when the government is in its infancy, there is a lot of unfamiliarity between personnel, the standards of government orders are not clear, and the steps of the regulations are unclear... That's all. Let me point out a few key points, and you can expand and add them later."

Li Tai put this overly gorgeous article aside for the time being, and after pondering for a while, he said: "Now is the time when everything is changing and everything is waiting for improvement. It is especially important to distinguish the importance of things in order to avoid neglecting the small and losing the big. ! The king’s instructions are to encourage farmers to encourage farming and weaving, to encourage learning to promote education, and to encourage officials to reward talents. These three are the most important, and they are the basis of everything. If these three can be managed, The remaining troubles can be cured!"

For example, Su Chuo's "Six Edicts" set the overall tone of governance for the Western Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties. Now the original Jingzhou General Manager's Office has been upgraded to the Daxingtai of Shannan Road. It no longer only manages the military and administration of one government, but is responsible for the entire Shannan Road. Of course, governance and management also require a basic operating program to guide and standardize the decision-making and implementation of government orders.

Today's Li Tai's identity is different from the past. Back then, he could formulate entrance examination laws and trick his colleagues to gain progress in order to get higher. But now he has become the leader of a force. If he rolls up his sleeves and does this kind of thing in person, the majesty of the boss will be lost. How to show it? How to channel the grievances of the masses? You have to pay training fees for raising your own voice. If you raise so many tigers and wolves, can they only lick but not bark?

This edict issued to the inside of the platform is to tell the civil and military subordinates what they should focus on. If you want to make progress, you have to focus on these points. Don’t worry about four or six. , I don’t know what you are busy with!

The three points raised by Li Tai are more straightforward. To encourage farmers is to work hard to promote the development of productive forces. To encourage students to educate is to do a good job in ideological construction. To encourage officials is to actively consolidate the organizational structure and expand the ruling class. .

Productivity is everything. This is true for small households, and it is also true for a power and a political power. If productivity cannot develop in a healthy and orderly manner, no matter how large a power is, it will be empty and fall apart. If the ideology is not done well and the people's hearts are not aligned, the team will be difficult to lead and internal friction will be serious. If the ruling class cannot expand in an orderly manner and does everything in small circles, it will naturally inevitably become separated from the masses and eventually become a tyrant.

With the guidance of these three programs, the content of the following work will naturally be standardized. For example, the ongoing efforts to establish households and grant farmland and establish rural cooperatives in Gangneung fall into the category of persuading farmers. As for encouraging students to study, we need to wait for productivity and order to be further restored before we can organize and establish school buildings and admission systems on a large scale among counties.

In terms of job promotion, Li Tai plans to organize a talent selection examination for the entire Daxingtai area of ​​Shannan Province in the middle of this year. The counties and counties will recommend a certain number of talents to Xiangyang based on their respective registered populations to conduct a unified examination. Selection.

When many people talk about the imperial examination, they often focus on opening up paths for talents to rise. However, from the perspective of rulers, the diversity of talent acquisition is also conducive to consolidating their rule.

There is no universal talent selection system, the powerful clans are at odds with each other, and the clan system of the king and the horse sharing the world is undoubtedly not conducive to the expansion of imperial power and the stability of the regime. Not to mention the hardships of the emperors of the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties, even the Zhenbing Emperor, who was born and raised in the Gao family, would not be able to bear it if he was surrounded by Zhenbing!

The new prefix Li Tai has just been established, and of course it is eager for talented people to join in an endless stream. Recommendations by prefectures and counties can not only enrich the talent pool, but also observe and review the degree of obedience of local forces to Xingtai's rule. It can also prompt these local powerful factions to leave the countryside and release local resources, which can be said to be of great benefit. One harm.

The imperial examination, or the early imperial examination system, was never a method of class struggle, but a manifestation of the expansion of central power. In the past, in places like yours, if you were a powerful person with strong military and horses, you could become an official if you were famous, but now, no matter what kind of famous bastard you are, you must at least take the entrance exam and let people see what kind of thing you are.

The cultural and educational level of the Southern Dynasties was higher than that of the Northern Dynasties. Of course, it was not because southerners loved learning more, but because of social development. The commerce in the Southern Dynasties was more developed. A large city like Jiankang was short of food after being troubled by Hou Jing for a while. Even basic survival and strategic materials such as food had to be obtained through market transactions.

Living in such an environment, being illiterate and unable to count means losing the possibility of independent living. Of course, the trend of seclusion and shelter in the Southern Dynasties was more serious than that in the Northern Dynasties, and it is true that most people were slaves with no personal freedom.

A good cultural and educational foundation is also one of the reasons why Li Tai dared to try to implement the imperial examination system. Even if the powerful local families were too lazy to respond, they could still recruit some talents from poor backgrounds. When the ruling team expanded, I would still have thousands of options. Way to deal with you!

With the guidance of these three kings' teachings, the wisdom of the masses was also stimulated, and various targeted suggestions were piled on Li Tai's desk for him to choose and adopt.

Even though many of them are old-fashioned ideas, there are also some eye-catching ideas, especially the perspective based on the local people's livelihood environment in Nanliang is very valuable, and it is also quite inspiring for Li Tai. Even if he has the ambition to cure Jingxiang, he still has to find out where the real problems are and make some regional adjustments and changes to some policy details in order to prescribe the right medicine.

Just as he was wandering in the ocean of wisdom of the masses and choosing truly beneficial strategies, the war in Xiangzhou also took a new turn. The news of Wang Lin's surrender was sent back to Jiangling by Liang Shiyan, who came with this news. Also present were Wang Lin’s envoys.

Wang Lin's envoys mainly include two people, one is his long history name Pei Zheng, the other is the military general Han Shao, and the others are the soldiers who follow them to protect them.

When he came to the outside of Jiangling City and saw the city and the people coming in and out, which looked very familiar at first glance but looked slightly different upon closer inspection, Pei Zheng couldn't help but burst into tears. He sighed and said: "What a great city, what fools can't defend it?" …”

Han Shao, who was originally from Huainan, had been moving around since he joined Wang Lin's army, and he didn't have much affection for Jiangling or the original court in the city. But he also looked very worried at the moment. He was looking at a crowd of people in front of the city gate in a daze. A person who had just flashed through his mind but seemed to have no chance of appearing here kept flashing in his mind. figure.

The group did not stay outside the city for long and were soon introduced into the city, but their arrival still attracted the attention of some people outside the city.

"The man who just entered the city seems to be Pei Zheng, the Marquis of Yiling. I, Wang Lin, are outside. Why did he enter the city?"

In front of the city gate, a local person from Jiangling looked at Pei Zheng and his entourage who were led into the city by the armored soldiers, and said in confusion.

An insider said after hearing this: "Wang Lin's army has been trapped in Xiangzhou for a long time. His teachers are exhausted and unable to do anything. They are even besieged by the army of King Taiyuan, so he sent an envoy to surrender. Marquis Pei thought he was his envoy."

After hearing this, everyone around them had mixed emotions. On the one hand, they were happy that Wang Lin surrendered and Jiangling could be saved from military disasters. On the other hand, they were a little sad. Wang Lin was the leading general in the country. Even he was unable to defeat the Wei army. It seemed that Liang Zuo was really unable to survive.

Soon Han Xie, a doctor from Xingtai, led a group of people to enter the city gate. Jiangling Shiliu, who was still talking and sighing just now, hurriedly closed his mouth. They have been Liang people for a long time, so they are inevitably sad about the decline of the Liang Dynasty, but this does not mean that they are dissatisfied with their current life, and of course they will not advertise Nanliang as a lonely old man to cause trouble for themselves.

Since King Taiyuan was still in charge of Jiangling, the newly appointed Xingtai Lang officials like Han Xie also had to come to Jiangling to take orders and assist in the decision-making and implementation of various government orders.

Whether it was the previous Jingzhou Military Mansion or the current Tai Mansion, the daily work of these subordinate officials has always been busy and fulfilling. Therefore, one of the criteria for selecting the Tai Mansion Lang Officer this time is to be young, strong and flexible. If I am afraid that my old age and weak strength are not enough for such a busy work.

After Han Xie entered the office from outside, he went back to the Zhitang, which was reserved for the officials. He first reported to Pei Hong, the left prime minister of the Zhitang, and then returned to his seat and sat down.

"If there is an apostle from Xiangzhou who wants to surrender, he needs to send Ichiro from the government to guide him to the hall. Who can do it?"

An official from outside the hall hurriedly walked in and shouted to the officials in the hall.

At this time, most of the officials in the hall were busy writing at their desks. Only Han Xie, who had just sat down, was looking around for some leisure, so Pei Hong's eyes naturally fell on him.

When Han Xie saw this, he did not explain that he had just returned home and had not even had time to take a sip of hot tea. He directly stood up with his hands on the table, took the Zhu batch of approval papers from Zuo Cheng before entering, and then hurried out of the hall.

At this moment, Pei Zheng and Han Shao had been led outside the front hall of the mansion. This palace was renovated from the original palace of Emperor Liang. The front hall was the reception pavilion where the officials of the Liang Dynasty waited for the emperor's summons. After Pei Zheng walked in and looked at this familiar building, he couldn't help but have more thoughts in his heart. Roaring.

"If the Liang family officials could have been so diligent back then, would the state affairs..."

Pei Zheng looked at the people who were going in and out of the mansion and couldn't help but sigh. Although he felt a little sour and sad emotionally, he had to admit that the General Manager's Mansion now looked more energetic than the original Nanliang Court.

Han Shao didn't have as much sadness as Pei Zheng. He just felt a little embarrassed and a little envious when he saw the well-armed soldiers inside and outside the governor's house.

Generals of Han Shao's level were not eligible to enter the imperial palace when Emperor Liang was in power. Now he couldn't help but look at the hall with curiosity. After they were introduced into the hall, no one came to ask about them. Out of boredom, Han Shao walked to the throwing pot behind the screen on one side, grabbed a few arrows and started playing with them.

"May I ask if your Majesty is the envoy from Xiangzhou?"

Han Shao was feeling annoyed that the spout of the tossing pot was too small and he always missed when he suddenly heard a familiar voice in his ears. His body froze immediately, but after briefly recalling it, he still felt that the voice was still different from what he remembered. But he also put the remaining two arrows in his hand back to the throwing pot, and then turned around to go out of the screen and go with Pei Zheng to visit the King of Taiyuan of Wei State.

After receiving a nod from Pei Zheng in response, Han Xie bowed slightly and said, "A certain Han Xie, now Xingtai Lang, has been ordered..."

boom!

Before Han Xie finished speaking, he heard a loud noise from the side, and the bamboo screen suddenly cracked, and the fragments fell straight in his direction. Although he was a Langguan, he also had a sword. After hearing the sound, he subconsciously drew the sword in his hand and shouted loudly: "What crazy guy dares to... ah, ah... you are a human or a ghost! Is this real or is it a dream? ?”

When Han Shao heard the familiar name, he couldn't wait even after walking a few feet.

He punched the screen that blocked his view, and immediately a young man with a taller figure and a more mature appearance appeared in his field of vision. For a moment, the blood in his body seemed to solidify, his hands and feet lost the strength to move, and his whole person seemed to be trapped in a trance. In the nightmare, only tears could not stop rolling down from my eyes.