living in 16th century england

Chapter 52
Don't look at Matthew running around all day with nothing to do.His men are not so idle, such as the butler this side of London.

A mansion built with painstaking care, and a well-maintained farm.In a blink of an eye, he was given away by the young master and had to move.No problem, just in time for some new ideas.How to make the house livable is also a subject of knowledge, and he already has some experience.

That's what the young master is good at. He only asks, and we have the final say on how to fix it.This level of in-depth participation is actually quite cool, anyway, the masons are hired to do the work.

According to the young master's request, the house can only be built on a high place.Run to the "new" farm by the Thames River to find the highest point - a gentle slope highland.Make a circle of 50 meters and start to dry.It has only been repaired for two months, and the house has not even been roofed.He was also notified to go to the farm near the palace to have a look... Damn it, since when did the young master belong to that place?I do not know how?Do I want to be neighbors with the king in the future?

The speed of the young master's prodigal family is fast, and the speed of earning property seems to be even faster.

Given that the person delivering the message was also wearing the Hawkins uniform, there is no doubt about its credibility.The steward quickly called a farmer to go with him.This is a... farm head arranged by him. When he is away, he is responsible for the daily farm work arrangements. The farm is a collective labor, and no one can take care of it.

Fortunately, it is not far away.It's a pity that I left for a while.I just met a group of people riding horses, and they really knew each other.The housekeeper ran into the field without saying a word.

"Ha, it's him again, hold on! Hold on...and tie me up again."

After all, the butler is forty, how can he run taller than a tall horse?He was quickly caught up, and was skillfully tied up into a rice dumpling face down.

The two guards clapped their hands: "The task is completed, what else does the princess want?"

"Hehehe... Let's go, go to the small garden."

A guard tried his best to pretend to be vicious: "Let us go when we are far away."

The other looked helpless.

Zhuangtou had a weird expression, but he waited obediently for about 10 minutes before untying the rope.

The housekeeper was a little embarrassed, his hands and feet were numb, he had to move around, and said stiffly: "Not bad... I made another rope today."

Zhuangtou: "You might as well not go out."

The housekeeper was helpless: "You thought I wanted to go out, didn't I take you to meet the baron? It will be convenient after we get to know each other."

The two continued on their way, and after a while, the farmer couldn't help asking: "I heard that after the surplus grain in Plymouth is sold, all the workers will take the big money?"

The butler stopped in his tracks: "Who did you listen to?"

Zhuangtou was taken aback: "...Isn't there a ship to load the food, a sailor told me."

The housekeeper thought to himself, the young master is right, there is no impenetrable wall.

"It's like this. 60% of the grain sales this year will be shared by everyone. As long as it is our young master's manor, it will be like this. But don't spread it."

Zhuangtou's eyes were a little dull: "It's all like this?... What do you mean? We have it too, this year?"

The housekeeper said contemptuously: "One mu of land only collects more than 100 pounds, leaving ration seeds, how much surplus food can there be? After paying taxes, how much money will you have? You don't know when you ship it?"

Zhuangtou was dizzy for a while, and he suddenly regretted it. If he had known... he would not have worked abroad.But in the first half of the year, the owner of the manor was not a baron!
The housekeeper: "I've already done the math. Your village is worth 142 shillings, divided among 39 people, not counting children..."

"Three shillings and sevenpence each."

Zhuangtou said happily: "So many?"

The housekeeper looked disdainful: "A lot? Do you know how much the yield per mu in Plymouth is? At least 240 pounds, and most of them are wheat. They take three or four times as much as you."

Zhuangtou was dumbfounded.

The butler woke him up with a slap: "Remember! Don't spread the word!"

In the 16th century, England's wheat planting area was only 20.00% of the agricultural land area.

But during this period, agricultural technology was undoubtedly developing rapidly.The seed-to-harvest ratio quickly increased to 1:9, and the yield per mu increased rapidly.Otherwise, England would not be able to become a grain exporter, and the population would not be able to increase significantly.In addition to technical reasons, there must be institutional advantages.

In the Middle Ages, England was land tenure.That is, the land in the whole country belongs to the king.Then it is divided and sealed and sealed again, until the laborers.From the perspective of property rights, there are actually multiple property owners.The kings, lords, vassals and knights are layered on top of each other, and the land they own is getting smaller and smaller, and finally the one who works is called a serf.

At the same time, there is also an open field system, which can be understood as a public area.Farmers can use it for farming and grazing.In short, it was very messy.

The so-called enclosure refers to the elimination of public power on a piece of land and its own privately owned property.Therefore, enclosure has always been an adjective.

Matthew felt that it was land feudalism changing to land private ownership.

This earth-shaking change is tantamount to a revolution.Although the time of change began earlier, the Tudor dynasty was undoubtedly the key point.So Henry VII must be a master of both internal and external training.So Henry VII abolished a large number of old nobles who owned a lot of land.So Henry VII is on the side of most British people.And finally laid the foundation for the rise of Britain, a small border country.

Does private ownership lead to subjective initiative (non-typo) production enthusiasm?Not all, obviously, this only works for homesteaders, but there is a limit to the area that homesteaders can work.Ineffective for tenants, serfs and hired labor on privately owned land, the big landlords themselves actively have a fart.They will end up actively squeezing endlessly.

Matthew believes that as long as a considerable part of the fruits of labor are owned by the laborers, they will definitely have production enthusiasm and subjective initiative.It is enough for him to guarantee this.

As long as there is enough land, he can do many things even if he only concentrates 40% of his wealth.What's more, this is just one of his industries.

Was he concerned with the happiness of the farmers of England?Not at all~ Anyone who sees the extremely rubbish yield per mu will feel that it is profitable and there is a lot to do.

England has fewer people and more land, which is a huge advantage.Therefore, he can completely guarantee that there will not be a tramp while making a big circle, and all of them will be left as farmers.Of course, in Andrew's case, it is manifested as not collecting rent.Selling food and wine is also quite profitable.

If you want more surplus grain, there are two ways, grabbing farmers’ rations or increasing the yield per mu.It is everyone who knows what is the right choice.

The reason for persuading Andrew is to unite the Hawkins family. With the climate, the Hawkins family can in turn ensure smooth business operations.

Obviously, Matthew would only take it so seriously if the land was his own.

So he will not go to lease the land.Church that, is a stopgap measure.

Of course, if the term of the land lease agreement can be written for 200 years, it is actually fine.But I don’t know what this stick is. At this time, the land lease agreement was in 2000, and it is said that there are still 5000 years left.But so magical, it has exceeded his brain capacity.

Under what circumstances would a landowner agree to a millennium lease?
The era when the landlords themselves could not protect themselves.Uniting all blood relatives is the most feasible way to elevate the bottom class in this era.If you get a coke, you can be beaten at the door.He can't be powerful if he fights alone, and any gang of robbers can crush him to death.

When the housekeeper and Zhuangtou saw Matthew, he was standing on a small hill.The south of Greenwich is considered a hilly terrain, with many low hills.

The housekeeper was a little out of breath, and said, "Master, why are you here?"

Zhuangtou ran over to take a look, and said involuntarily, "Master?"

Immediately he panicked, Fake, it was the former master, so he called the young master again and pretended to be dead.

Joseph had some impressions of the farmer, but he didn't bother to pay attention.

Matthew said: "You came just in time. This manor is now mine. The one in Richmond now belongs to Baron Joseph Graham."

He pointed with his hand: "See...there is a small stream over there, build a reservoir, and then build a mansion nearby. The area does not need to be too large, but it must be exquisite. Let's build a small building. You can see it at a glance." The tall ones. By the way, don’t cut down those trees, they can keep out the wind and rain.”

The housekeeper immediately became dizzy, and said that he was okay when he was practical, how can he fix this "tall"?
Matthew said earnestly: "If you don't know it, you can learn it. Ask more experts, find a few painters and artists...you can ask someone to design it."

Joseph couldn't help asking: "Mr. Hawkins, isn't there a house in the manor? It's rare for you to come here again, why bother to build?"

Matthew was also polite: "Your house doesn't even have a toilet, I'm not used to it."

Falk!Joseph blushed, but did not dare to refute.The baronial title of the Isles of Scilly seems to be a little higher than him, but he is already famous.He has heard many legends.Speaking of which, he only met this person a few times, but the first time he went bankrupt, he still had lingering fears.

Matthew: "There is no need to hire masons from outside. There are some construction teams in Plymouth. You should plan it first and wait until they arrive. Finish the current one, and it will be almost done."

The housekeeper is confused again, do you really want to live there?
Matthew's purpose is actually not complicated. First, the manor is indeed in the best location.Second, maybe it can be sold to the king again.Third, there are several Plymouth construction teams that will be idle soon.Fourth, turning an experienced mason into another profession is a losing business.Fifth, find a market for the bricks in the brick kiln.Sixth, he needs to cultivate a construction army.Seventh, the construction industry is very profitable.Eighth, he will build sanitation extensively in England.Such as sewers, toilets.

There is a short term and a long term.But there is one more important one:
He didn't want to be worth millions of gold coins and be killed by the plague for no reason.

Is there something wrong with Matthew's thinking?

Before the great stench in London in the 19th century, an engineer spent years trying to persuade Parliament to approve the construction and repair of sanitation facilities to no avail.After killing an unknown number of people, it was approved in only 18 days.

Just such a garbage dump and septic tank, someone actually told you that it is called "foggy city" in a euphemistic name.Crazy stuffing you with private goods, but people at the time are stupid and mainstream.

Only when the safety of bourgeois life and property is threatened, they will find ways to improve it.

Matthew felt threatened the first day he came to this world.Especially when the priest threw him in the dirty "holy water".Therefore, he will definitely build circles of plague defenses for himself when he is able.

If the British benefited, it was only incidentally.

(End of this chapter)