Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five: Planning the Future

After taking a bath and having dinner, Zhao Cheng came to his small study. Guihua added two more lamps inside, making the study brightly lit. He sat down at the desk, spread out a large sheet of paper, and used paperweights to hold down the corners. This was a map of the land he had annexed from the Chen Tang estate, which Zhao Cheng had ordered the steward to redraw.

The map was clearly drawn using primitive pictographic methods, without a scale or symbols. Mountains were drawn as mountains, and rivers as rivers. It did not conform to Zhao Cheng’s modern map-reading habits and was not precise. The work he planned to do tonight was to redraw the map.

Zhao Cheng reached out, and Jianxi hurriedly opened the wooden box he had brought, which contained a set of rulers, compasses, and set squares. These tools were made by the craftsmen in the mansion according to the prince’s instructions. They were made of the finest brass, intricately carved, and coated with a thin layer of gold, making them shine brightly. He picked one up and shook his head; the craftsmen had spent a lot of effort on the decorations, showing the prevailing luxury in society.

Zhao Cheng picked up a ruler and drew the framework on the paper, marking the directions. After a few days of investigation and inspection, he had become thoroughly familiar with the geography and hydrology of his entire 'territory.' Reconnaissance and obtaining military topography were basic skills for a special forces soldier, so these tasks were not difficult for him. After half an hour, a charcoal-drawn topographic map appeared on the white paper, showing rivers, villages, ditches, forests, roads, and even the small paths used by farmers in the countryside.

"Jianxi, can you understand this?" Zhao Cheng wiped his hands with a towel and asked Jianxi, who was standing beside him.

"I can get a general idea, but I don’t quite understand some of the symbols," Jianxi said, smiling sheepishly.

"Copy this onto parchment. I need a break; my wrist is sore!" Zhao Cheng said, taking the teacup offered by Guihua.

"Second Master, this is such delicate work. My hands are rough and clumsy. I’m afraid I won’t do a good job. Why don’t we let the steward in the office do it tomorrow?" Jianxi said, looking embarrassed. Copying the map without rulers or compasses, using the finest brush, was not an easy task.

"This isn’t difficult. It’s simpler than drawing flower patterns. Let me do it!" Guihua looked at the map and volunteered.

"Jianxi, aren’t you ashamed? You boasted so much, acting like you could do anything, but today you’ve been outdone by Sister Guihua. As punishment, you’ll have to grind the ink for her!" Zhao Cheng teased, scratching his face with his fingers.

"How can I compare to Second Master? You know everything, and I can’t catch up no matter how hard I try!" Jianxi pouted, but he was also puzzled. He hadn’t seen the prince learn from anyone, yet he seemed to know so much. It seemed the prince must be a god descended from heaven. He obediently went to grind the ink.

Zhao Cheng drank some water, opened his notebook, and looked at the results of his recent 'research.' As he read, his mood grew heavy. The so-called prosperous and wealthy Song Dynasty was not as happy for the common people as history claimed.

According to the system, the Song Dynasty divided the national population into two major categories: main households and tenant households. Urban residents were called Fangguo households, and rural residents were called rural households. Rural households were further divided into main households and tenant households. Main rural households were those who owned land and paid summer and autumn taxes to the state. Tenant households were those who did not own land, or even farming tools, and rented land from landlords, also known as tenant farmers or floating tenants. They were registered in the household register and became official residents of the state, paying personal taxes and summer and autumn taxes, and performing corvée labor. This system changed the status of tenant farmers, freeing them from slavery, which was a form of progress. However, the Song Dynasty’s land policy allowed officials to purchase land and become landlords, and landlords could become officials through the imperial examination system. Officials and landlords merged, occupying most of the land in the country. The royal family, nobles, officials, and landlords continuously expanded their landholdings.

Zhao Cheng had planned to use the free time before the New Year to inspect his 'territory,' survey the land and water conditions, and prepare for the spring plowing. However, what he saw was shocking. There were no landlords on his land, not even upper or middle-class households. Households with ten to eight acres of farmland were rare. In other words, almost all the people working on his 400 hectares of land were tenant farmers.

What surprised him even more was the methods used by the previous owner, Chen Tang. In just three to four years, he had completed the acquisition of tens of thousands of acres of land, eliminating nearly a hundred landlords in the surrounding area, turning them into the proletariat, and making these exploiters into poor peasants.

The methods Chen Tang used to deal with these landlords and wealthy households were unimaginable to modern people. The method was to make them serve as officials. According to Song Dynasty law, officials in the yamen had to be first-class landlords with assets of at least 200 guan. They enjoyed the privilege of being exempt from taxes and could be granted official titles, with promotions every three years, up to the rank of chief military commander. Additionally, local officials such as village heads, household heads, clerks, and even elders, archers, and strong men, had to be second-class or at least third-class households. This system was actually a privilege granted by the government to landlords, aiming to expand the feudal ruling base of the Song Dynasty.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, landlords competed to serve as officials and village heads, as they could use their positions to plunder wealth and advance their careers. However, by this time, their good days were over. The corvée system became increasingly chaotic, and if there was any damage to the official goods they transported, they had to compensate. If village heads and household heads failed to collect taxes, they had to pay the shortfall. Chen Tang used this to bankrupt many landlords.

For small farmers with only a little land, the methods were even more direct and simple: high taxes and usury. He collected taxes and lent money at interest rates of two to three times, forcing them to sell their land or borrow money to pay taxes during poor harvests. With the help of three consecutive years of locust plagues, he acquired all their land.

Their fate was the most tragic. After selling their land to landlords and becoming tenant farmers, they could not immediately cancel their land ownership or change their household registration. They still had to pay taxes and continued to borrow money, even using their children as collateral. The final outcome was that they became 'White-haired Girls' due to their inability to repay debts. Tenant farmers were oppressed by both the government and their landlords, and many chose to flee or become bandits.

As Zhao Cheng read and thought, he realized two serious problems. First, officials were busy exploiting the people and supplying the palace, leaving no energy or 'extra' money to build water conservancy facilities. The ditches were blocked, and large households were unwilling to pay for repairs, turning paddy fields into dry land. This reduced the land's productivity, and only one crop could be grown instead of two.

The second problem was more serious: a lack of labor. There was land but no one to farm it. Chen Tang’s estate originally had over 800 tenant households, with more than 1,000 adult males. After a few years of 'management,' the number of households had halved, and there were now fewer than 500. Even those who remained were restless, with no food for the next day, making it difficult to survive the New Year. Some tenant farmers were already planning to leave, unwilling to sign new leases, and there was a risk of further loss.

"If this problem isn’t solved, even with more land, it will only be left fallow. Finding so many tenant farmers at once is not easy," Zhao Cheng said, pacing restlessly. "Can both problems be solved together?" He thought for a while but could not come up with a good solution. He couldn’t force them to stay just because he was a prince; bullying the poor, especially those who couldn’t even afford food, was something he could not do.

"Second Master, the map is copied!" Guihua said suddenly.

"Oh, good. You can rest now!" Zhao Cheng said absentmindedly.

"Second Master, how can we rest if you don’t? That would be too disrespectful!" Jianxi said.

"No, you’ve all worked hard today. The night watchmen can take care of things. I just want to be alone for a while. You should all get some rest," Zhao Cheng waved his hand.

"Yes, Second Master, you should also get some rest," Jianxi said, seeing Zhao Cheng’s low mood. He didn’t dare say more, pulled Guihua out, and then instructed the night watchmen to be vigilant before returning to his quarters.

"The dam should be built first, then the main canals should be dredged to bring water to every plot of land. With the dam, the water flow will increase, and the water power can be harnessed. The mill and brewery can be moved to the riverbank, and more can be built," Zhao Cheng said to himself, pointing at the map and thinking. One by one, ideas formed in his mind, planning for the land that belonged to him. This might just be his starting point, but he was determined to take a solid step forward!

In the early morning, when Guihua quietly entered the small study, the prince was asleep at the desk, snoring softly, with a smile on his lips, as if he had a pleasant dream. The candle on his desk had burned out, leaving a small flower of wax. The map on the desk was now marked with many new symbols. The brazier at his feet was almost extinguished, with only a few sparks still struggling to stay alive.