On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 254 Difficulties in Livelihood
As we all know, there are five of the Four Heavenly Kings, which is common sense.

Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that there are four of the three heroes of the Xu family.

He was able to single-handedly cultivate Cui Che, Yang Xuangan, Li Mi, Wang Shichong and other great ministers of the Sui Dynasty.

Cui Che recalled his mentor Xu Wenyuan, and thought:

It's great that Da Sui has you.

Just when Cui Che lamented that there are many loyal and good teachers, Sun Anzu, a native of Dongyang (now the old city of Shandong) in Beizhou, had a sad expression on his face.

Sun Anzu was 22 years old at the time, and his ancestors had been farming for generations. Four years ago, after turning [-], Sun Anzu applied to the county government for land allocation.

According to the Land Equalization Order promulgated by Yang Jian in the second year of Kaihuang, Sun Anzu should have been allocated 80 mu of public land and 20 mu of Yongye Tian as private land, totaling 100 mu.

But when it is actually distributed, there is only a mere 20 mu of public land, and as for Yongye Tian, ​​there is not even a single mu.

At that time, the officer of the county government asked Sun Anzu to wait patiently. As a result, he waited for a full four years, but the remaining 80 mu of land still hadn't even been seen.

100 mu of land should have been granted, but only 20 mu of land was awarded.

However, the rent adjustment after granting the land, that is, three shi of corn, two zhang of silk, and three liang of cotton per year, is not less than a penny.

That's what worries him now.

In the Sui Dynasty, as a Ding, you can apply for the allocation of land, but you can only be counted as a Ding at the age of 21, and you have to start paying taxes and serving corvee.

In other words, the people of the Sui Dynasty could have a three-year tax-free period after receiving land grants.

In the past three years, Sun Anzu has cultivated 20 mu of land. He does not need to pay taxes or serve corvee, so he can live comfortably.

But now that he is 21 years old, when the tax comes this autumn, he has to rely on a mere 20 mu of land, and bear the tax that should have been borne by a monogamous couple with a total of 140 mu of land.

Not to mention having to find time to serve the country with 20 days of corvee.

It’s okay not to go, but you have to pay money, three feet of silk or three feet, seven inches and five cents of cloth every day, and the amount paid for 20 days is called losing Yong.

Sun Anzu reckoned that after working hard for a year, he could not even satisfy his food and clothing after paying the rent adjustment. How could he still have money to lose to Yong as a substitute laborer? The 20-day corvée would definitely be unavoidable.

He didn't expect the government to make up for the [-] mu of land he deserved.

Since the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed Qi 16 years ago, during this period, there has been a Yuchijiong Rebellion in Hebei, which quickly subsided in only 80 days and did not cause much damage.

After so many years of rest and recuperation, the population in the Sanhe area including Hebei, Henan, and Hedong has grown.

Due to the existence of Yongye Tian and the fact that the imperial court rewarded the dignitaries with public land from time to time, for example, Yang Jian had previously granted Cui Che more than 1 mu of public land.

There are fewer and fewer public lands, and it is difficult to satisfy the growing population.

Beizhou was originally Qinghe County, Jizhou, which is a densely populated area in Hebei. Only the children of the Cui family in Qinghe were able to grant 80 acres of public land and 20 acres of permanent land.

Not to mention poor families like Sun Anzu, even some petty gentry have to accept the reality that there are too many monks and too little food.

Sun Anzu is married, but even the males can only get 20 mu, so the government doesn't have any land for the women.

Sitting by the edge of the field, when Sun Anzu was upset about the autumn tax, Dou Jiande, a friend from the same county, came to find him.

"Don't sigh here."

Sitting beside Sun Anzu, Dou Jiande patted his shoulder affectionately and said with a smile:

"Isn't it the autumn tax, I'll pay it for you!"

Dou Jiande and Sun Anzu are both farmers' children, but their family backgrounds are different.

Sun Anzu is not the eldest son. After his father passed away, 20 mu of Yongye land was left to his elder brother. Sun Anzu and his wife could only rely on 20 mu of public land to survive.

And Dou Jiande is the only son in the family. Not only that, his parents are both alive. His father, Dou Qing, owns 80 mu of public land, 20 mu of Yongye farmland, and his mother also owns 40 mu of public land.

When the Dou family's parents applied for the land grant, it was a time of war and chaos, so naturally there were so many unowned lands that could be granted in full.

Moreover, Dou Jiande is younger than Sun Anzu, he is only 20 years old now, and he is still in the tax-free period.

Therefore, even though Dou Jiande, like Sun Anzu, was only allocated 20 mu of land, he did not have to bear the tax, and his parents also had 140 mu of land. After paying the tax, the family still had a lot of surplus.

However, Sun Anzu was unwilling to accept this kindness.

Dou Jiande is famous for his boldness and righteousness in Dongyang County.

When I was eight years old, I saw someone who lost his father and had no money to bury him, so he gave him his cattle.

When he got home, Dou Jiande worried that his father would take the cow back, and lied that the cow was lost.

His father, Dou Qing, was furious and wanted to beat him. Fortunately, the man was uneasy, so he brought the cow to Dou's house and explained to Dou Qing what happened.

When Dou Qing heard that his son had given a cow to help the poor, he praised Dou Jiande greatly, and also told people that since it was a gift, it could not be taken back anyway.

With such a father's teaching, it is not difficult to understand that Dou Jiande can develop a bold and righteous temper.

Sun Anzu rejected Dou Jiande's kindness, he said seriously:
"You can pay this year's autumn tax on my behalf. What if you wait until next year? You can't help me forever."

Dou Jiande was silent for a while, and then asked:

"What are you going to do?"

Sun Anzu pursed his lips, thought for a long time, and finally said frankly to Dou Jiande:

"I heard that Yan Guogong despised money and valued scholars, so he planned to go to Anping County to try his luck."

If these words fall into the ears of others, I'm afraid they will ridicule Sun Anzu:
It is true that the Duke of Yan is worthy of being a scholar, but you are also worthy of being a scholar with a muddy leg!

Even if it was his wife, Sun Anzu never mentioned this idea.

But Dou Jiande was different, he did not laugh at Sun Anzu.

Don't look at Sun Anzu living in poverty, but he has strength, he dare not say that he has fought all over the country, but it is true that he has few opponents.

Otherwise, Dou Jiande would not make friends with him.

Dou Jiande asked:
"When are you leaving? I'll see you off then."

Asked about the time to leave, Sun Anzu was discouraged again. He looked at the corn ears in the field, full of helplessness, and saw that it was almost the time of autumn harvest. If he left, he couldn't leave work to the pregnant Liujia. wife.

This is also the reason for his melancholy. He wanted to go to Anping County to try his luck, but he couldn't get away from the busy farming.

Dou Jiande noticed Sun Anzu's embarrassment, and he said seriously:

"Go tomorrow, and leave the farm work in the field to me."

Sun Anzu still wanted to refuse, but was stopped by Dou Jiande, he said with a smile:
"Yan Guogong's name is like thunder, and I also admire it very much.

"You are a strong man, tall and extraordinary, stay in Anping for a while, if you find a chance to let Duke Yan see you, he will definitely take you into his residence.

"When you gain a firm foothold under Duke Yan's command, I will come and join you.

"A man should not bury his head in the fields, but should have lofty aspirations.

"In the future, you and I will work together under Yan Guogong's command, gain fame, and get a wife and son, wouldn't it be great!"

At this time, there are only the two of them in Tianlong, otherwise they will definitely be ridiculed by others:
Two fools!

(End of this chapter)