Faced with this situation, Zhao Jun ordered local governments to immediately organize people to eradicate the locust plague as soon as it was discovered, and spread rumors that locusts were not a punishment from God, but a gift from God, because eating locusts can nourish yin and yang and prolong life.

You should know that in ancient times, both the government and the people were quite awed by locusts, believing them to be messengers from God. Therefore, let alone wiping them out, even if they watched the insects filling the sky and eating their rice, they would not dare to act rashly.

But now Zhao Jun not only broke this traditional feudal idea, but also gave it a meaning that the public likes and hears. In addition, since it is a rumor spread by the official, its credibility naturally increases.

For a time, locusts were everywhere like rats crossing the street, and everyone was shouting and beating them, and the disaster was greatly alleviated.

Due to the combined effects of several factors, the amount of farmland in various parts of the Song Dynasty increased greatly, and with the addition of peanuts, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, the people's demand for land in the hands of landlords dropped significantly, and land prices naturally fell as well.

It can be said that the imperial court half bought and half forced the landlords to hand over the land in their hands, and imposed restrictions on those who bought land from the government, which greatly benefited the lower classes.

Although there were some corrupt officials who colluded with the landlords to enrich themselves on the land reclaimed by the imperial court, the fate of such people was generally the same.

So it can be said that the current policy of the Song Dynasty is to transfer a large amount of land from landlords to farmers, and complete a reform that can solve the problem of land annexation without the need for a change of dynasty.

Under normal circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for a dynasty to achieve this.

However, the Song Dynasty was very strict with landlords, and there was no such thing as tax exemption for Juren and Jinshi, so it was difficult to form the Jiangnan gentry group like that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Secondly, through the great victories over the Western Xia and Liao dynasties, and the promotion of commodity economy and foreign trade, the importance of the landlord class further declined.

Simply put, the landlords in the Ming and Qing dynasties were tied to the officials, so it was extremely difficult for the emperor to promote reforms.

The officials and landlords of the Song Dynasty may have had conflicts of interest, but they were not completely tied together. Without official protection, the landlord class was nothing more than a lamb to be slaughtered in the face of the state apparatus.

Zhao Jun was very happy to hear that Lincheng's policies to benefit the people were very effective. He then asked Zheng Yong, "How many landless tenant farmers are there in the county now?"

"The county doesn't know. In our township, there are a total of 1,7246 households, with a population of 11,332. Last year, there were over 500 landless tenants, but this year there are only over 400."

Zheng Yong replied, "The government gives priority to these landless tenants. It doesn't matter if they have no money. The government will hire them to repair rivers and roads and reclaim wasteland. In a year, they can buy three or four acres."

"Very good, this is what the court wants to see."

Zhao Jun became more and more satisfied. Although almost all of the Song Dynasty's financial resources were used to subsidize agriculture after the first year of the Qingli period, the effect was significant and the money was not wasted.

Then he continued, "So what does your farmers' association do on a daily basis? What are the daily tasks?"

"I just convey the county's government orders, and then collect information about the number of fields and people in the village, and which families have how many acres of land and how many houses. Sometimes when there are disputes between villages, I will also help to mediate."

Zheng Yong mustered up his courage and said with a wry smile, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the Magistrate, but this Farmers' Association is a tough job. Not many of us want to do it, and I was nominated by my fellow villagers. If it weren't for my fairness and the trust of my fellow villagers, I would have quit long ago."

"This job is truly difficult. Not only are there no benefits, but the higher-ups simply assign tasks to you without understanding your difficulties. The people below want your help, but when you don't, they blame you."

Zhao Jun thought about it and quickly understood the reason. He said, "They might even think you're taking advantage of this. Am I right?"

"Isn't it!"

Zheng Yong clapped his hands and complained, "Those families with more than ten acres of land that don't meet the requirements want us to help conceal their claims. Those without land want us to help approve the land as soon as possible. How can we do that? The county government has given us another task, so we're stuck on both sides."

"The original intention of the imperial court to let farmers form farmers' associations was to hope that there would be someone to help farmers, to be able to directly communicate with the government and solve farmers' problems. Now it seems that although it has been of some help, it has indeed made the farmers' associations more difficult."

Zhao Jun pondered for a moment and said, "I understand what you're talking about. The court will make certain changes to allow the Farmers' Association to better serve as a bridge between the government and the farmers."

"Thank you, Master Zhi, thank you, Master Zhi."

Zheng Yong expressed his gratitude profusely.

"Well, I've noticed that there are a lot of outdated customs and habits in rural areas these days, like the one we encountered today about eating out the whole family. Do you think this is right?"

It was only at this point that Zhao Jun got down to business, his gaze looking into the distance.

I saw that the riot in Dongyang Village in the distance had subsided, and the villagers who did not know what happened were released. The second and fourth sons of the Liu family, who were the masterminds, and the eldest son who concealed the incident were all arrested by the government.

Every household has hidden in their own house. Now the whole Dongyang Village is in a panic and many people don’t even dare to come out.

Although this matter has nothing to do with them, in essence, they are taking advantage of others' misfortune.

Even though cannibalism is a traditional bad custom, under this unspoken rule, the second and fourth sons of the Liu family holding this banquet are in itself a way to shut them up. Even though they vaguely guessed that the death of the third son of the Liu family was unusual, cannibalism is the shortest way to go, so they are also tacitly approving the occurrence of this bad custom.

Therefore, Zhao Jun also felt sad about the ignorance of the villagers, and for a moment he also personally understood why Mr. Lu Xun was able to write such famous masterpieces as "Diary of a Madman", "Call to Arms", "Wandering" and "Blessings".

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!