Eight Hills in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Vol 4 Chapter 4987: Selling land into slavery for 35 dou

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Liu Muzhi listened calmly to the argument between the two, and slowly said: "Mr. Tao, there is no need to remind me of this. These matters are handled by me single-handedly. You can think of it as a courtesy to the powerful family." This kind of concession and compromise, because our Jingba brothers are not literate and do not know how to govern, let them want to directly serve as officials after returning to their hometowns, the result is a mess, and even triggered many conflicts with the powerful people in the village, Yu Gong, these A lot of things are supported by you aristocratic families."

Yu Yue's face turned pale and sweat began to form on his forehead. He instinctively wanted to deny it, but when he saw Liu Muzhi's cold eyes, it was as if a sharp arrow was about to penetrate his heart, and Yu Yue was so scared that he moved his lips. He swallowed his words directly and murmured: "This, these are not our Yu family, they are led by Xie Hun and the others. I, I am just..."

Liu Muzhi waved his hand and interrupted Yu Yue's words: "Yu Gong, I am not here to question you today. In fact, these things were done by the Xie family, the Wang family, including top aristocratic families like your Yu family. It was agreed upon that we should use some of the common people's side branches, as well as the small and medium-sized powerful landowners in Wudi who have been affiliated with big families like you for a long time, to not cooperate with the Jingba brothers who returned home, or to cause conflicts and frictions, and finally to lead to a government ruling. , I have hundreds of such case files here, seventeen of which involve your Yu family."

The sweat on Yu Yue's head became more and more, and he simply gritted his teeth and said: "Since you have found out clearly, it should also be clear that these are the Xie family who took the lead and other aristocratic families followed up. Besides, even without us, I mean, those powerful people in Wu who rented our manor and put their names under our families are not economical. This has been the order of Wu for hundreds of years. The land deeds have been divided since the Yuan Emperor. With various aristocratic families, as well as the Wudi family affiliated with the aristocratic families, why would those sergeants come to Wudi to seize these claimed lands after the Jingba Party's establishment of righteousness was successful? "

Tao Yuanming smiled slightly: "Because there is only one emperor and one courtier. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Nandu family had contributed to the founding of the country, but it has been a hundred years. The success of the Eighth Party in Beijing is equivalent to surrendering the country and destroying the country." Jin, if you come back to life, then you, the Nandu family, could seize the fields of the powerful people of Wu, and now the Jingba brothers have come to occupy your century-old manor, so what is there to complain about?"

Yu Yue's teeth chattered and his hands clenched into fists, but he had no words to refute.

Tao Yuanming turned to look at Liu Muzhi, with the expression of gloating and half-smiling still on his face: "Brother Mu, although I am not a native of Wu, I have to say something fair about this matter. , it seems like what I said just now, the situation of the Jin Dynasty a hundred years ago is very similar to the current situation after the Jingba Party established its righteousness and restored the Jin Dynasty, so the brothers of the Jingba Party went to take the manor and fields of Wudi, at least those who were in Tian There is no problem in losing land after the Shidao Rebellion. However, the problem is that the Jingba brothers have no political talent, but the Nandu family did. After taking the land, can they manage it well? That’s the root cause.”

Liu Muzhi nodded: "I agree with your statement. Many of our Jingba brothers are illiterate farmers who join the army. They have been fighting and have no conditions to be able to read and write and handle official affairs. Even when they arrive, In the countryside, it is not easy to manage a village, a township, or even your own family's fields. Therefore, we can only make concessions to the noble families and nobles and allow the Jingba brothers to use their fields again. They sold it back to the aristocratic family in Wu, and they moved to a new place like Jiankang in Jiangbei. "

Having said this, Liu Muzhi looked at Yu Yue: "To be honest, Mrs. Xie and Queen Wang do not support such a deal. It is Xie Hun from the Xie family, Xi Sengshi from the Xi family, Wang Hong from the Wang family, and Wang Hua, as well as Zhang Yu of the Zhang family, and of course you, Mr. Yu, are also indispensable. It was decided jointly by you, the noble families and the powerful representatives of Wu. If your land deed in Wu is not recognized, if you do not continue to be responsible for it, To manage Wudi Manor, then you will not cooperate with these Jingba brothers, so that they will not be able to gain a foothold. Considering that the chaos will be stopped and the country is in dire straits, there can be no more internal strife at this time. Although I am very angry about such a deal, I also Had to compromise.”

Yu Yue gritted his teeth: "We have also reciprocated. Whether it was the imperial court wanting to gather grain for the Northern Expedition, or sending troops to the Southern Yan Dynasty, when did we have no children to join the army, and when did we not provide grain to send out men? The new place you have conquered is enough for resettlement. Meritorious soldiers, but the land of Wu is the foundation of the noble families like us. If you want to rob it like this, don't blame the noble families who will unite to resist. If you find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan com, both sides will suffer. , can the Jingba brothers get any benefits? "

Liu Muzhi nodded: "Yes, what you said makes sense, so we compromised and gave in, and then the situation that Mr. Tao just mentioned happened, letting aristocratic families, powerful people, and scholars take charge of these villages. So the imperial court wanted to increase taxes and levies, so you intensified your efforts and exploited you at every level. The taxes we increased fully considered the people's ability to bear it, and would never make their lives unsustainable. But you can charge a The tax on rice and grain became three dou, or even five dou, and then forced the people who were originally allocated fields from the imperial government to sell their land into slavery and become your farmers' tenants again. This is our The problem is, are you from aristocratic families?"

Yu Yue's face was covered with sweat, and he kept wiping the sweat with a handkerchief: "Brother Mu said too much. We didn't add so much. At most, the court would take one dou, and we would also take one dou. This is the cost of escrow, because it also includes the exemption of their labor service and transfer of taxes. I don’t think it’s really pushing them too hard.”

Liu Muzhi sneered and said: "The imperial court will collect one dou, you aristocratic families who live in the county and Jiankang will receive one dou, and then the village owners and stewards will receive another one or two dou. Isn't this just an extra three to five dou?" If Mr. Yu is really interested, after I return to Jiankang, I can show you some detailed files to show you how much more taxes your dealers will charge you, the Wudi family. Will you understand why the Three Thousand Steps you brought out will treat you like this whenever they get the chance? Is it just because of what happened in Jiangzhou this year? I can tell you clearly, if you hadn't forced them to do this? How could they be willing to leave their homes and come to Jiangzhou to fight with you after selling their land? Do you really think that they joined the army voluntarily like Sima Yuanxian's relatives?" (End of Chapter)

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