Chapter 1629: It May Not Be Available
Manbao was startled and said, "I don't want to turn the official land into private land. Wouldn't that be a pest to the country?"
She said, "I just want to manage the tenants and official land myself, cultivate more carefully, and get a better harvest. If I don't become an official in the future, or change my official position and official land, I will definitely return the original official land."
Liu Huan said, "I also said that you are not that kind of person. Grandfather did not doubt it. He just said that the management of official land is very complicated. If you want to manage it yourself, you can only apply for registration at the Ministry of Revenue first."
Bai Shan said to Man Bao, "That's probably fine. I'll go with you when I have time later."
Manbao rolled his eyes and said, "Sir's official farm is right next to me. Let's call him along."
Mr. Zhuang doesn't worry about the official land at all. All his attention is now on studying and teaching the prince and his three disciples. Shouldn't the official land be treated like a salary, where he can just collect his share when the time comes?
But Manbao was full of confidence. Besides, there were many people from the Zhou family in the capital. When it came to farming, they were much better than him. So after thinking about it, he nodded.
Then he said, "It's not easy for you to come out of the palace. Since you have already mentioned it to Liu Shangshu, just leave this matter to me. I will go to the Ministry of Revenue to apply for the formalities."
Manbao and Baishan both breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it was an exception, and they were still a little embarrassed.
Mr. Zhuang smiled at them, comforted them and let them go play, keeping the matter in mind.
The reason why he took the initiative to take on this matter was to find out more details.
He didn't know much about the management of official fields, but as far as he knew, official fields had always been managed by the Ministry of Households. After the summer and autumn harvests every year, the Ministry of Households would calculate the rental output of each person and pay it together.
Even for local officials, there are dedicated people in the government office who are responsible for this matter. However, compared with Beijing officials, most local officials can manage their own official land.
After all, it is under our jurisdiction, which is very convenient.
Unlike officials in the capital, their official fields have spread to Yongzhou, Shangzhou, Liangzhou and other places.
Therefore, except for some officials who have a lot of official land and are required to manage it themselves, most officials are managed by the Ministry of Revenue.
Because the management cost is quite high, it would be better to hand it over to the Ministry of Revenue to save a lot of effort.
When Mr. Zhuang went to the Ministry of Revenue, the official in charge of official land only glanced at Mr. Zhuang and gave him two forms to fill out.
Then he said, "Master Zhou needs to use her seal to confirm that it is her intention."
Mr. Zhuang knew at a glance that someone had already greeted him, so he smiled and asked about Zhitian's current situation.
Although the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the official land of officials of all ranks, the rank of the official in charge of this matter is not high, only the seventh rank, slightly higher than Mr. Zhuang.
Because Mr. Zhuang came to apply for self-management, he also wanted to explain some precautions to him, so he took the opportunity to talk about the management of this official land.
Mr. Zhuang returned to Chongwenguan with a pensive look on his face, and then called Manbao over. Of course, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were also having lunch, so the three of them were called over together.
"Manbao, you have a total of 1,000 acres of official land. With so much land, have you figured out how to cultivate it?"
Manbao immediately said, "Don't we have tenant farmers? Just tell them when the time comes. My father wants to take care of it himself."
Mr. Zhuang said, "Maybe there will be no tenant farmers."
Manbao's eyes widened, and Baishan also looked up in surprise, "How come there are no tenant farmers?"
"Because it's difficult to hire tenant farmers," Mr. Zhuang said, "Why do you think the Ministry of Revenue is so lenient? They'll give you the official land immediately if you want to manage it yourself?"
He said, "Because official land is not easy to manage at all."
It's not just difficult to manage, it's a waste of time and effort and not worth the effort.
Although most of the official land was good farmland, people from the Ministry of Revenue said that few tenant farmers were willing to rent it. "The court rarely provided them with good seeds and farm tools, but the rent was fixed, ranging from two to six dou of rice per mu, depending on the fertility of the soil."
Bai Shan calculated and said, "That makes sense."
Mr. Zhuang nodded and said, "But this must be given. If you rent someone else's land, the owner might give you some good seeds and farming tools, but the court has nothing, so they don't like to rent official land."
"Many tenant farmers are forced to rent land, so if you want to manage your official land yourself, it will probably be difficult to recruit tenants."
Manbao said, "You have to see it in person to know."
Bai Shan calculated the days and said, "Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away. I heard that a foreign vassal will be visiting the court this year, so they'll have a few extra days off. Why don't we go to Yongzhou and have a look?"
Manbao's eyes lit up and he immediately said, "Okay, okay."
Even if you don't go to see Zhitian, it's nice to go to Yongzhou for a visit.
Bai Erlang also wanted to go. "It's not far anyway. We can get there in half a day. We can even stay a few more days in the countryside. I heard that the lamb ribs in Yongzhou are especially delicious."
Bai Shan and Man Bao wanted to go even more.
Mr. Zhuang, who had much more to say, was silent for a moment before simply handing a booklet to Manbao. "Although the official land has been given to us to manage ourselves, there are also requirements. For example, all rent and taxes from the tenants cannot exceed six dou of rice, and the sub-rent cannot exceed 60%."
This was also the only measure the court took to protect tenant farmers.
Manbao agreed, and after reading the regulations, he said to Bai Erlang, "They can actually ask for 60% of the rent. That's really unfair! I thought everyone would ask for 40%. Isn't that what your family always asks for?"
"It depends on the area." Bai Erlang didn't know much, but every year the village head would come home to report on the situation, so he listened in and said, "In some areas, my father also takes 50%."
Manbao was curious, "Why is it different?"
Bai Erlang: "How should I know? How about I ask my father for you when we get back?"
Bai Shan said: "Because the places are different, the soil and fertilizer are also different."
He said, "Luojiang County is where I live after all. Even if it's just to keep good relations with my neighbors, I should collect less rent and taxes. In other places, I should collect less from poor land and more from fertile land. Right now, my family collects 40% rent and taxes in the Longzhou area, and only in some places does it 50%."
Manbao and Bai Erlang were stunned when they heard this.
"Grandmother said that even if we don't live in Longzhou now, it's still our hometown, where our family is, so we should still manage the local area well." Bai Shan said meaningfully, "Even rabbits don't eat grass near their burrows. Generally speaking, those who charge high rents even in the area around their own home will probably not last long. Even wealthy families should be more tolerant of their tenants."
It was a very realistic problem, but for some reason, Manbao felt a chill in her heart. She thought to herself: Isn’t this the exploitation described in some books in the encyclopedia?
Bai Shan had obviously thought of this as well. After looking at Man Bao, he said, "It may not be a bad thing for the tenant farmers if you manage the official land yourself."
See you at 4 p.m.
(End of this chapter)
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