Chapter 106 Harvest
The next day was the day for harvest at Su Qiyangzhuangzi's experimental field.
The average yield per mu in this dynasty was 2 dan and 4 dou, with 2 dan in the north and 2.8 dan in the south. One mu, according to the Daqin measurement unit, was 120 jin (360 jin by modern standards, excluding wheat and soybeans).
In the north of the Qin Dynasty, tenant farmers had to pay 50% of the rent to the landlords, while in the south, because the yield was high, the landlords collected 40% to 60% of the yield.
The Su family also has a farm, but they only take 40% of the production, with no deposit, no large scales, etc.
Su Zhenzhen is just an ordinary person. She cannot overthrow a dynasty, not to mention that current productivity does not allow for an industrial revolution.
The Qin Dynasty had 400 million mu of arable land and a population of 60 million, an increase of 20 million people compared to the beginning of the country. However, the average person had only more than 6 mu of land, and the total annual tax paid was equivalent to 20 million taels of silver.
The population increased, but the per capita arable land area decreased by one third. This phenomenon can only be attributed to the fact that land annexation became more rampant a hundred years after the founding of the Qin Dynasty.
Six thousand Jinyiwei were sent to local areas to supervise local officials and officials responsible for land surveying. The Jinyiwei supervised each other, with five to six people responsible for a county.
The task of land surveying was very difficult, time-consuming and labor-intensive, but the reform was impossible to change. Su Qiyang used the death ddl of the performance evaluation system, as well as the Jinyiwei, and unified the land area to forcefully promote the necessary prerequisite for land surveying, which was the reform.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard consisted of 10,000 men, 6,000 of whom were dispatched to other places. They were responsible for guarding the royal family, arresting people, and handling criminal cases. During every festival, there were nearly 2,000 guards on duty.
The Feiyufu and Xiuchundao are really handsome. It is the uniform of Jinyiwei. Jinyiwei usually don’t want to wear it. One needs to be of a certain rank to own the Feiyufu.
The Jinyiwei, who were in charge of investigating disaster relief and catching locusts, and surveying land and going to the countryside, were currently harvesting rice with great difficulty.
Su Zhenzhen felt a little regretful. She looked at Rong Jinchen and said, "Chenchen, you see, they are quite skilled in their movements." It was just a pity that she didn't get to see how the Jinyiwei caught locusts.
Rong Jinchen sat aside, next to Rong Yue and Su Qiyang. They sat in their seats and watched the Jinyiwei help the tenant farmers harvest rice.
Because it was a secret visit, the tenant farmers just thought that the master had too much leisure time to come and watch them harvest rice. What was so interesting about that?
Their master is the Prime Minister of the dynasty. It is said that His Majesty often has meals with him. The tenant who was taking a short rest wondered whether His Majesty used a golden hoe to hoe the fields.
Rong Yue was wearing a black brocade robe with gold cloud patterns. He smiled as he moved the rosewood chair and sat next to the tenant farmer who was wearing a short brown robe and had dark and red skin. "Old man, how old are you this year?" he chatted in a very cordial manner.
The tenant farmer had a dark face and was covered with wrinkles. Seeing that the nobleman did not despise him and was talking to him, he tremblingly wanted to stand up and reply, "Hey, don't move, sit down and talk." Rong Yue smiled.
"I'm fifty-one this year and I can still work for a few more years." He looked to be in his early seventies.
Rong Yue was stunned, "Fifty-one? Where are your wife and children?" The tenant farmer said, "My wife is gone. My eldest son is studying in an academy and is now a scholar. My second son and I farm. My youngest son works as a waiter in a restaurant in Beijing. My daughter is married to a landlord in the suburbs of Beijing and is a housekeeper." He was very proud as he said that he raised all his children by farming.
He added: "It is also thanks to the kindness of the master of the house. There are no exorbitant taxes and heavy chores for the master, and he only collects 40% rent. Most of the land is also top-notch land. Otherwise, how could I afford to send my eldest son to school?" When he said this, his face was full of sighs.
Rong Yue felt a little sad. He was also a widower. "Have you remarried?" The tenant farmer said, "My wife has suffered so much with me. She hasn't had a chance to enjoy happiness for a few days. How could she expect her life to be better? Getting married? Is that something a human being would do?" He nodded. "Indeed, you're a really good man." His face was a little dazed. His Yi'er...
After coming back to his senses, he looked at the somewhat frightened tenant farmer and said with a smile: "After listening to your story, I admire your character very much. These twenty taels of silver are just a small token of my appreciation." Nowadays, even in the capital, ordinary people only have to spend one or two taels of silver a year, and not everyone can afford to eat white rice, white flour and pork every meal.
The tenant farmer's sparse teeth smiled so hard that his eyes almost narrowed into slits. "Thank you, sir. I'm just an ordinary citizen. What's there to admire? Isn't it normal for me to love my wife?"
Su Zhenzhen quietly ate some steamed cheese with sugar, watching them chat with great interest. Rong Jinchen also showed approval of this tenant farmer.
Su Qiyang slowly sipped the Taiping Houkui tea and looked at Rong Jinchen and Su Zhenzhen with satisfaction. His son-in-law should love his precious daughter. Then he put down the teacup, stood up, moved the huanghuali chair forward, sat next to His Majesty, and chatted with the nearby tenant farmers.
Su Zhenzhen poked Rong Jinchen and asked him, "Chenchen, can you ask them for me? I want to know how they catch locusts." She was curious about the Jinyiwei, wearing flying fish uniforms and equipped with embroidered spring swords, catching locusts. "Yeah," the man answered softly, looking at her softly.
At this moment, everyone in the fields was talking about their own things and the atmosphere was very lively. But after a short rest, Rong Yue actually pulled Rong Jinchen and Su Qiyang to go harvest rice together.
Su Zhenzhen:???
no.
Father!
You and my dad are both fifty years old!
Pooh.
Father, you are already fifty years old, and my father is forty! How could you, who live such a life of luxury, do farm work?
But fortunately, she was not called. Su Zhenzhen was now sitting on a huanghuali chair with Bai Zhi holding an umbrella, looking like a wealthy landlord, very majestic.
Rong Jinchen smiled at her. "Qingqing, can you bring me some water later?" Rong Jinchen had just noticed that some tenant farmers' wives would bring water to their husbands. "Okay. I'll bring it to Chenchen, to Father, and to my dad later." Su Zhenzhen was very generous and skillful in carrying the water.
Lu Wu was massaging Su Zhenzhen's shoulders, Bai Zhi was holding an umbrella, and Su Zhenzhen was eating some snacks and looking very relaxed. She even wanted to cross her legs, but she was worried about being in public and couldn't do so. But when she saw Rong Jinchen moving in the fields, with his smooth lines showing through his robe, she felt so happy that she was about to burst into bubbles.
Sure enough, she is the winner in life hahahaha~
Although it is September, the autumn heat is strong, so it is particularly hot today. Su Zhenzhen looks at the most honorable emperor in the world, her beloved husband, His Royal Highness Prince Yan, and her father, who are harvesting rice like tenant farmers.
I couldn't help but think that they were quite down-to-earth. But when you think about it, food is the first necessity of the people, and agriculture is the foundation of a country, so it's not surprising that the emperor attaches importance to farming.
Isn't it a kind of ritual for the emperor to personally go to the fields to pull oxen for spring plowing and for the empress to preside over the silkworm ceremony? It's just that they don't do it for so long.
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