Sifang County.
Although the issue of allocating land tax to each household encountered great resistance, Yun Zheng still did not go to Jingyang Prefecture.
He had a plan to deal with it, but he also wanted to see how Tuo Huan and Ji Ran would deal with it.
Hou Shikai had not yet arrived in Sifang County, and Yun Zheng did not stay in the palace all day.
The weather has not yet warmed up, but preparations for spring plowing have already begun in various parts of the interior.
In his spare time, Yun Zheng also took Chen Luoyan and Miaoyin to the fields to see whether the spring farming in Sifang County would be affected by the issue of equalizing the land tax.
Because of the obstruction of the mountains in the Beilu Pass area, it is still much warmer inside the pass.
Winter wheat is basically grown here, and there is no need to wait until spring to plant all crops like in Shuobei.
However, looking up, I saw only a small amount of winter wheat planted on the vast land in front of me.
There are still large areas of land where no crops grow, but people can be seen working.
...
...
Yun Zheng walked to the field and squatted down to check the green wheat.
He didn't mistake the wheat for leeks, but he didn't know whether the wheat was growing well or not.
He asked Chen Luoyan and Miaoyin, but the two women obviously didn't know either.
They have never worked in the field, so how can they know how the wheat is growing?
"Your Highness, how about I send someone to ask him?"
Shen Kuan asked proactively.
"good!"
Yun Zheng nodded and instructed, "Be polite to others and don't scare them."
Shen Kuan agreed and immediately sent someone to call over a few old farmers who were hoeing the fields not far away.
The Royal Guards did not conceal Yun Zheng's identity.
Yun Zheng brought so many people with him. Even if he could hide his identity as a prince, he could not hide his identity as an official.
Upon learning that the prince had summoned them, several old farmers quickly put down their hoes and carefully followed the guards towards this side.
"I have met the prince and the princess..."
When they came in front of Yun Zheng, several old farmers knelt on the ground tremblingly, but were stopped by Yun Zheng.
"Don't be nervous. I just don't know anything about farming. I'm here to ask you."
Yun Zheng smiled kindly, pointed at the wheat in the field and asked, "Are these wheats growing well?"
Facing Yun Zheng's question, several old farmers looked at each other, as if they did not dare to answer, or were afraid of giving the wrong answer.
"Just tell the truth!"
Shen Luoyan said, "The prince is here to check on the farm work. Whether it's good or bad, you can speak up boldly."
After Shen Luoyan's consolation, an old farmer with a hunched back finally plucked up the courage to answer, "Your Highness, the wheat is growing well. If there are no disasters, we should be able to have a good harvest..."
"What yield per mu is considered a good harvest?" Yun Zheng asked again.
Old farmer: "For the top-quality land in Sifang County, if the harvest exceeds 200 kilograms, it is considered a good harvest. If it exceeds 220 kilograms, it is considered a great harvest."
I...damn!
Yun Zheng was a little dumbfounded.
Is more than 220 kilograms considered a good harvest?
This output is too pitifully low.
fertilizer!
Yun Zheng suddenly missed this thing very much.
It’s a pity that his ability is limited and he can’t make fertilizer.
Manure and wood ash are more reliable.
Yun Zheng smiled bitterly in his heart, and pointed at the land they had been hoeing before and asked, "Why aren't these lands planted with wheat? Isn't it a waste to leave so much land empty?"
The old farmer knew that the prince in front of him definitely didn't know anything about farming, so he explained carefully: "Part of this land is for growing corn and sorghum according to the court regulations, and some of it is for rotation..."
The yields of corn and sorghum are much higher than those of wheat.
The standard for a bumper corn harvest is 250 kilograms, and the standard for a bumper sorghum harvest is 300 kilograms, both of which are much higher than the standard for a bumper wheat harvest.
Of course, these are the standards for superior land. The standards for a good harvest on inferior land are even lower.
According to the court's regulations, fine grains such as wheat must be planted, but they cannot be planted too much either. There are strict proportional restrictions on how much or how little to plant.
In addition, some land needs to be rotated to grow various beans, that is, legumes.
Because the land fertilized by rotation of legume crops will be more fertile, other crops will grow better next year.
The old farmer tried hard to explain so that the prince wouldn't misunderstand that they were being lazy and leaving the land unused.
In the Dagan Dynasty, deliberately leaving land idle was severely punished.
Listening to the old farmer's explanation, Yun Zheng suddenly understood.
If he hadn't taken this trip, he wouldn't have known there were so many twists and turns here.
There is a lot of knowledge to be learned about this kind of land.
We still can’t separate ourselves from the masses!
Yun Zheng sighed in his heart and asked again: "Are these lands yours or belong to some landlord?"
Talking about this, the old farmer showed a rare smile on his face.
"To answer your Highness, this was sold to me by Mr. Wu from South City. Mr. Wu is a good man, but I don't have much land..."
When talking about Master Wu, the old farmer's face was full of gratitude.
Looking at the smile full of gratitude and satisfaction on the old farmer's face, Yun Zheng and the others felt both amused and distressed.
This is really like being sold out but still happily helping others count money.
Damn it!
If I don’t teach these bastards a lesson, I’d have no right to be the King of Jingbei!
Yun Zheng swore secretly in his heart and asked again: "Do you have oxen for farming?"
When asking this question, Yun Zheng suddenly realized that his question was too stupid.
If there were oxen, why would these old farmers work so hard to hoe the fields?
Where did people get oxen for working when they didn’t even have land in the past?
The old farmer did not dare to laugh at Yun Zheng's stupid question, and answered honestly: "I don't have a working ox, and I can't afford to rent one for the time being, but when I earn enough money, I will definitely buy one..."
Perhaps because he now has his own land, the old farmer, who doesn't know he has been cheated, is full of hope for his future life.
He seemed to think that as long as he had his own land and worked hard, he would be able to afford to buy oxen.
But he didn't know that under the new tax system, no matter how hard he worked, the grain he harvested would at most be enough to keep his family from starving to death.
A working ox was something they could only dream of but not reach.
That's wishful thinking!
Yun Zheng sighed silently in his heart, turned around and told Shen Kuan: "Tell someone to buy a working ox or a mule and give it to this old man."
"yes!"
Shen Kuan accepted the order.
"Your Majesty, you can't do that!"
The old farmer quickly refused, "It would be worth my life to be able to speak to the prince. I can't accept it..."
"This king didn't give it to me for nothing."
Yun Zheng interrupted the old farmer and said, "You answered my question and helped me understand farming. This is my thank you gift to you!"
“This…this…”
The old farmer didn't know what to say or how to refuse. He was flustered and excited. Then he knelt down in front of Yun Zheng with a bang, crying and shouting with tears in his eyes: "I bow to thank the prince for his great kindness..."
Listening to the old farmer's cries, Yun Zheng felt inexplicably sad.
“Get up!”
Yun Zheng stepped forward to help the old farmer up, and patted the extremely excited old farmer: "This animal is given to you by me, but whoever sees it gets a share. If these people want to rent your animals in the future, you have to charge less rent."
"I will remember the prince's instructions..."
The old farmer nodded repeatedly, wiping his tears with his dirty sleeves...
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