warring states careerist

Chapter 12
After a few seemingly unintentional questions and answers, Shi knew what he wanted to know the most.

On the whole, it is far more complicated than I imagined, including the functions of the village community such as redistribution of land and granting land, the selection of soldiers during the expedition, the difference in tax rates between noble fiefdoms and monarchy, and so on.

But because this is near the capital of the Song Kingdom, the situation is much simpler for the nearby villages.

Not in a hurry, seeing that it was getting late, he bid farewell to everyone, left those children who were reluctant to part with the story but didn't want to eat, and followed Wei back to the courtyard of the small thatched cottage.

Lu Hua at the door was already waiting impatiently, and she scolded her elder brother, "Why did you come back so late? You are not hungry, aren't others hungry?"

Wei grinned, didn't say much, and let Zhu Shi enter the courtyard.

For a simple dinner, Lu Hua and Wei's father had recovered from his illness and ate together.

Although there was no wine, there was laughter and laughter, and he asked about the uses of various farm tools in the courtyard from time to time. These primitive farm tools were somewhat different from the ones he knew, and many of them didn't even know what they were used for.

Lu Hua often explained various farm tools in a cheerful tone before her father and brother answered, and finally let go of her courage and made a joke.

"I thought you knew a lot, but there are also things you don't know."

"My family is a shoe maker. If it comes to awls, leather scissors, and top fingers, I know it. Everyday meals are exchanged for money. When I was young, I always thought that corn grew in grain and rice shops."

The people accompanying the guests all laughed, pointed to a few bare wooden sticks standing beside the courtyard wall, and asked, "What are these for?"

"Smashing sticks. Corn, beans, and wheat must be smashed with this stick to remove the grains."

Shi put down the half-eaten corn and rice, walked to the wall, picked up the wooden stick, looked at it for a while, and said, "Bring me a hemp rope."

Lu Hua didn't know what to do, so she hurriedly got up and took out a length of hemp rope from the pile of firewood.

Shi took a smashing stick, compared it and recalled what he saw in the grain smashing field when he was a child, found out the length, stomped hard with his foot, and broke the stick.

The wooden stick was worthless, and Wei didn't feel sorry for it, but he didn't know what to do.

The two broken wooden sticks of different lengths were connected by the hemp rope, and the best length was formally condensed after 2000 years of history, and a flail wielding with both hands was made.

Using a little force with both hands, the rope drove the short stick in front, flew from behind with the sound of howling wind, and hit the ground heavily, making a crackling sound.

"In this way, you don't have to bend down when smashing. Otherwise, if you use a straight stick, you have to bend down if you want to smash more."

The people in the courtyard are all peasants, and Gu Shu has been beaten for several lifetimes to hand them over.After Shi said a little, Wei understood the meaning of it. He didn't eat anymore, ran over and waved it a few times, and praised: "It's really a good thing. A hemp rope, when the wooden stick that hit the grain in front falls, it will all be broken." Lying on the bean stalks, if you don’t bend over with a long stick, you can only hit it with the front part... This is really a good thing.”

After waving for a while, he couldn't help asking: "Shi, you don't even recognize those farm tools, how can you think of them?"

Shi thought about the will of heaven as the Mohists often said, and sighed: "Mr. Mo Di once said that the principles of all things are interlinked, and this principle is the will of heaven. For example, if water flows down, if you water it, you cannot make the land higher than the ditch. Once you know the will of heaven, it is not difficult to apply the principles to all things."

Everyone knew about Mozi's reputation, and they had never seen a real person, but when they saw Shidu who called himself Mozi, they were all amazed.

Shi said again: "This thing saves effort, you might as well wait for those people to come to listen to the story, and then tell the neighbors, so that they can also benefit. Mr. Mo Di once said that doing the world's righteousness is like building a wall." The same. The strong ramming the earth, the weak one carrying the soil, and the women cooking and delivering water, each doing his best, can bring order to the world. I can’t farm, so I can only do such things.”

Lu Hua scratched her head and said, "Little brother, what Mr. Mo Di said, does it mean that those who farm the land can only farm the land, and those who make shoes can only make shoes?"

Shi laughed and shook his head, "How do you know whether a child will be tall or short before he grows up? How do you know that your brother can't do well when he bends a bow and shoots arrows, drives a car and wields a weapon? It's just that he doesn't have a car, where is he?" How about a bow? Just like you, you want to learn from me how to cure diseases and save people, how do you know if you can learn it before you learn it?"

Lu Hua nodded half-understood, as if she understood, but also didn't seem to understand.

But after the doubts passed, I became happy again, thinking that after all, you still haven't forgotten what you promised at the beginning, and that's good.

After saying this, he went back to the meal and continued to dig out the remaining corn with a spoon.

When the dinner was about to end, Shi finally said, "Actually, I have something to do when I come here this time."

Wei patted his chest and said: "You saved my father, as long as I can do it, I will agree. If I can't, I won't agree, but I will try my best."

I thought for a while about Miss Qianjin and Qixing Longyuan in the story of Wu Zixu that I said before. I don’t know if people at this time are like those in the story. If they don’t agree with each other, they feel that giving money is an insult and commit suicide. ...

Fortunately, before the story was told, he took out fifteen shovel coins from his body, and before putting them on the table, Wei asked, "What is this for?"

"I want to borrow two acres of land. It will be used for one spring and autumn. You must accept this money. The Mohist's righteousness is not for future rewards. If you don't accept it, you will break the righteousness in my heart."

Wei didn't know what the rules of the Mohist school were, but guessed that there were so many rules of the Mohist family, and seeing that Shi said it solemnly, he glanced at his father and put away the money.

On average, one mu of land can harvest a week's worth of grain. The Song Kingdom already has some privately owned land that can be bought and sold, but the price of renting land is too high.

There is a tithe for each mu of land, which is about one and a half copper coins. These fifteen copper coins are already the income of one mu of land.

Lu Hua wondered: "You just said you don't know how to farm, what do you need land for?"

Shi mysteriously took out the bag of seeds from his bosom, and deliberately looked towards the door. Such a solemn atmosphere deliberately created made everyone hold their breath before the meal, solemnly.

"I once met a strange man who gave me a bag of seeds. It is said that this bag of seeds can save the world. I can only plant them here. You also know that the nobles in the office are greedy and I don't want to be taken away by them. "

Lu Hua thought to herself, what kind of person would you call a strange person?She didn't pay attention to this packet of seeds, but just lamented that the village community is so big and there are so many strange people.

What Wei cared about was not the bag of seeds, but the four words greedy and insatiable.

Greed, at this time, has a very special meaning, and it is even more special for these village farmers.

The original one-out-of-nine labor labor of farming public land is normal, and it is also customary and accepted.

However, the harvest under the grant of land is subject to taxation, and the behavior of the monarch and nobles trying to deprive farmers of part of the land is called "greedy" at this time.

Greed at this time is not only the meaning of later generations, but also an ignorant awakening that private property belongs to one's own inviolability.

After cursing a few words in a low voice, everyone's minds were focused on the precious seeds, and their eyes were full of curiosity.

"Want to see?"

Several people nodded again and again. After thinking for a while, they stretched out their fingers and squeezed out a seed from the package, holding it in the air.

At this time, the golden crow will not fall, hanging obliquely between the sky and the earth, it has long lost the aura of burning like white at noon, like blood and like fire.

All kinds of clouds stagnate in the windless sky, dyed with the color of fire.

The short dung wall actually blocked the sun shining in the west from the west, leaving only a faint light slanting in along the top of the wall.

Under the slanted sunlight, the seed merged with the sunset light, and it was hard to tell whether the bright yellow color was the color of the seed itself or the embers left by Hou Yi.

The surface is smooth, round and crystal clear, just like the pearl of Mo Nan, a specialty of the Song Dynasty.It is not slender like Mai Na, nor restrained like Mai Na, so that the hemp-colored bran completely blocks the fine powder inside, but reveals the essence inside under the pale yellow jade.

The same is clear, the color is like the sun and the moon, but it is not as small and delicate as rice, and it is not as clear as rice. Layers of separation, high and low are different.And if this thing is food, people can eat it, and animals like chickens, pigs, pigs, and dogs can also eat it, and it has never been as distressing as feeding polished rice to animals.

In terms of color, it is the closest relative to millet, but its appearance is much more majestic, and the baby boy's little finger-sized body makes the farmer even more delighted.

But big is not necessarily good, for example, the beans are plump, very much like those concubines from your noble family.However, the yield of the round bean is very low, and there are not many grown except for making soup.This seed is no smaller than a bean, but it is only jade-like and not round, like a farmer's thin cheeks, revealing such an indescribable shabbyness.This humble appearance will always produce more than beans.

Big is not necessarily good, but sometimes it is not good.For example, corn is as small as an ant's egg. If your hand accidentally falls in the dust, it is troublesome to pick it up, especially when it is harvested. The old and weak women sit cross-legged on the ground, refusing to work hard and die with the dust. It's not clean either. After the autumn rain, the sprouts in the yard are verdant, and it hurts to look at them.There is no such danger for this seed, and if it is accidentally knocked over, it will be picked up by a three-year-old child.

The hemp of the five grains is mostly used for clothing rather than food. I said before that when this strange man gave him seeds, he could relieve the suffering of famine in the world. Naturally, they are eaten.

But this kind of seed, Rao Wei has gone to war, and he has also been to Qilu Weizheng. He has seen a little bit of the world, but has he ever seen such a seed?

Since I haven't seen it, what the strange person said must be true.What's more, this kind of seed is not of this kind. It is said by strange people that it can save the world from the suffering of famine, and the yield will be abundant.

Wei guessed that if the grains were as big as millet millet and were so big, one mu might harvest one and a half stones.

The tithe tax has long been fixed, and the extra half of the stone belongs to the farmers themselves... If the public land is also planted, the government and nobles have enough for their annual expenses, maybe they will be exempted from the tithe tax.

Such a simple but mysterious seed under the setting sun is enough for Wei to have a good dream.

When the courtyard wall finally blocked the last rays of the setting sun, Wei Cai woke up like a dream, with a trembling throat, and asked with the innate devotion to food of the peasants of Zhuxia: "This...what is this called?"

(End of this chapter)