Chapter 471: The Devastation

Liangzhou is the former Wuwei County. At the end of May of the eighth year of Dazhi, Emperor Zhang Huan of the Tang Dynasty arrived at the city where he started his career under the escort of 20,000 Yulin Army. The final stop for Zhang Huan's trip west was the Dayuan Governor's Office, which is the Shiguo Capital of the Nine Kingdoms of Zhaowu. There he would meet with Dashi Caliph Rashid. This was the formal meeting between the two countries more than a year ago. It was in October, and there was still five months left before, so there was enough time for him to inspect the way.

In Tianbao County, Zhang Huan came to inspect the two sides of the Shiyang River with dozens of local military and political officials, accompanied by the governor, governor, county magistrate and other local military officials. Sixteen years ago, when Zhang Huan was in charge of Wuwei, he placed more than a thousand Han military households in Tianbao County. They reclaimed land along the Shiyang River, causing wheat fields to appear on both sides of the originally deserted Shiyang River.

More than ten years have passed, and the scene here has not changed much compared to that year. The population of Tianbao County is still about a thousand households, and half of the Han and Qiang each account for half, maintaining the traditional situation of Han farming, Qiang and herds. The wheat is about to mature at the end of May, and the golden wheat waves are rolling under the blowing of the gentle wind.

"Your Majesty, Tianbao County was ravaged by the Tubo army. The people of the Tang Dynasty died and fled. At that time, it was almost an empty city. Later, after the Tang army regained Hexi, many people who fled to Longyou returned to the county one after another. With the help of the army, they rebuilt their homes and replanted the land, and then slowly returned to the current scene. It was really not easy."

The county magistrate of Tianbao County was named Wang, a native of Chang'an. He was about thirty years old. He was a scholar who passed the imperial examination held separately in Longyou that year. He was promoted from the county magistrate of Changdu County to the county magistrate of Tianbao County the year before yesterday. Although he was only thirty years old, his years of hard work made him very old, as if he was forty. His official uniform was washed white and very worn, which shows his hard work as an official.

Zhang Huan always had a special feeling about Tianbao County and Liangzhou. In order to prevent the people there from being poisoned by corrupt officials, he had to arrange for the inspectors to go to Liangzhou to secretly investigate public opinion every year, which was quite satisfactory. Especially the magistrate of Wang County, who had to support two generations of elderly people and four children. His family was very poor. Since he could not afford to hire a worker, it was said that he and his wife had to go to the fields to farm in person.

Zhang Huan nodded. He came to a wheat field and looked up at a huge water truck next to it. This was the water truck he had seen back then. The new water truck had become very old and was squeaking. Under the water truck, more than a dozen resting farmers were sitting on the ground. Seeing the large group of officials and soldiers coming, they were so scared that they could dodge far away. Zhang Huan looked at the wheat field from afar, then walked to the water truck and found a stone to sit down. Then he waved his hand to order everyone to sit down. Poor people did not bring seat cushions, so they had to sit on the ground. Zhang Huan smiled and asked the magistrate Wang again: "Is the real-name land in Tianbao County started?"

"Report to Your Majesty, we started after receiving the Ministry of Revenue in mid-March. The Liangzhou Land and Fields and Muji Department was presided over by the Liangzhou Land and Fields and Muji Department and assisted by our county." Speaking of this, the magistrate Wang glanced at the Liangzhou Land and Muji Department sitting not far away, and he meant that he should answer the emperor's question. However, when the other officials saw that the emperor had no intention of asking others, no one dared to talk too much. Zhang Huan did not want to ask others. He continued to ask the magistrate Wang: "Then tell me, how is the real-name land system in Tianbao County done?"

Seeing that the emperor was only staring at him, the magistrate Wang had to smile and said with a wry smile: "Report to Your Majesty, most of the farming farmers in Tianbao County are military households. According to the military household standards, they can obtain 50 acres of land for each household. Military households have registered when granting land, and each household has a land deed. For non-military households, they also register and grant land according to the standard of 30 acres of land. More than 100 Qiang people who farmed were treated equally and did not discriminate. Therefore, the real-name land system in Tianbao County is relatively simple, and it can be completed on-site verification in just one month."

"Doesn't there be a large-scale household in Tianbao County that exceeds the standard?" This is the key question that Zhang Huan wants to ask.

"Tianbao County is mostly newly reclaimed land, so there are almost no large households. Only two households have reclaimed land because of their large population, each with more than 50 acres and 100 acres. One household has divided it into three households to solve the problem of exceeding the standard, while the other household has donated to the county to run schools. The subordinates have reported to him for the application for a medal, and all the filing forms have been sent to the court."

When the county magistrate saw the emperor in contemplation, he suddenly plucked up the courage and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say, " or not."

Zhang Huan looked at him in surprise, then nodded and said, "If you have anything, just say it!"

Seeing that other superior officials were looking at him nervously, but some words were in his heart for a long time. He said unhappy. He said in his heart: "Although this real-name land system can solve the problem of partial land occupation, it can only be effective for small and medium-sized landlords. However, for those big landlords who occupy thousands of acres and tens of thousands of acres of land, they directly infringe on their core interests. In order to preserve the land, they will inevitably use various means. The most common method is to bribe officials to join forces to fake and reduce the land. If the matter is serious, they may resist by force, which will cause turmoil in the world. The land problem has always been extremely difficult to solve. If you are not careful, you will poison future generations. Your Majesty, you must be careful!"

Zhang Huan looked at this loyal and straightforward lower-level official. He nodded in praise and said to the officials around him: "As the magistrate of Wang County said, the land problem has always been extremely difficult to solve. Almost all social turmoil, the change of dynasties was caused by excessive land annexation. In the past, Emperor Ai of Han changed the reign and wanted to restrict land annexation to preserve the Han Dynasty, but he could not do the law, and ended up with the result of the Han Dynasty being usurped by Wang Mang. Emperor Xuanzong of this dynasty also realized the serious consequences of land annexation and issued several orders to limit the land.

Because the accumulated problems were too deep and the land merger finally triggered the Anshi Rebellion. Throughout history, there are examples of successfully solving land. For example, in the early Han Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty, this is because of the sparse population and the large land, and the contradictions are not deep. I have also worked hard to solve this land problem. Now the Tang Dynasty occupies a large area and has a sparse population. After a long-term resolute civil strife, it makes it much easier to solve the land problem than in the Kaiyuan Tianbao period. At the same time, I have taken the initiative to promote industry and commerce first and then change the land.

The strategy of land has guided a way out for wealthy families. They can also set up workshops to develop trade and keep their families rich, which greatly reduces the possibility of wealthy families being desperate. Moreover, if these wealthy families can obtain the land deeds purchased at that time, the court will also provide tax reduction compensation after establishing industry and commerce. Taking a step back, the Tang Dynasty gave the powerful people a high land standard and it is already sufficient to enjoy it. The key is the word "greed". Think about it, a family owns ten thousand hectares.

Land, what do they need so much land to do? The harvest in a year will never be eaten for several lifetimes, and a large amount of land that no one cultivates is desolate. If I do not change this situation, there will be a bad precedent before, and the land annexation of our Tang Dynasty will inevitably become more and more intense in a hundred years. At that time, I could only watch the Tang Dynasty fall into the demise of the country, so it is better to feel pain early than to suffer late. If I do not change now, I will never have a chance to change in the future. Even if I have to pay a heavy price, I will never regret it."

After saying that, Zhang Huan stood up, patted the dust on his body, and said to the officials on both sides: "Okay, it's getting late now. I'll take a night off in Tianbao County and continue to head west tomorrow."

At the same time Zhang Huan set out from Chang'an to Shattered Leaves, a carriage in Xiangzhou, Hebei Province rushed into the city gate under the protection of a hundred guards. Pei You was sitting in the carriage. He received an urgent letter from his family. Xiangzhou Land Tianmusi and Xiangzhou Tuanzhuang Army both sent people to the Pei family and began to formally investigate the real-name status of the Pei family.

There is no doubt that the court began to attack the Pei family, but what made Pei You feel a little scared was that the night before he set out, he received news from the Chu family, Cui family and Fang family one after another. These three families were investigated almost the same day as the Pei family. Pei You immediately realized that the so-called real-name land system was actually a carefully planned huge conspiracy, with the goal of targeting the land of major families.

Xiangzhou was the former Ye County, and the capital was Anyang County. The Pei family's original sect was located in the north of Anyang County. It was a large residential group with a river of protection, high walls, and arrow towers, just like a city in the city. In addition to the Xiangzhou original sect, some of the Pei family's descendants were distributed in Chang'an, Weizhou and other places, with more than 500 legitimate and illegitimate families in various places.

At this moment, the big family house was shrouded in an atmosphere of fear. More than 300 people came to the investigators, and the Pei family's account and all the books were controlled. Before Pei You arrived, the investigation team had conducted a full ten days of investigation. In fact, the so-called investigation was just a process of confirmation. The land distribution of the Pei family was controlled by the court eight years ago, and was distributed in six large manors in Xiangzhou, Weizhou, Bozhou and Weizhou.

"The head of the family is back!" Pei You's arrival was like a ray of sunshine that penetrated the dark clouds. The Pei family smiled and placed all hope on the head of the family.

"The head of the family, they came in a fierce manner. Thousands of soldiers surrounded the Pei family, and we can't stop them." Pei Dai, the brother of Pei You, stayed in the Pei family and was in charge of daily family affairs. When the head of the family came back, he hurriedly stepped forward to complain.

Pei You waved his hand and said nothing more. He had a gloomy face and rushed into the Hanshui Hall of the Pei family like a whirlwind. This is a place where the Pei family gathered. Now it was requisitioned by the investigators as a temporary account inspection. Various books and documents in the Hanshui Hall were piled up. Even old accounts that had turned yellow decades ago were turned out. Several large nanmu boxes were filled with land deeds. More than thirty investigators were sorting out the books and land deeds. The information that had been found was numbered by them and neatly marked them. A young official was inspecting back and forth with his hands behind his back, constantly giving instructions.

Even though Pei You was almost in his old age, a sense of anger still rushed over to his head when he saw this scene. The Pei family had not yet been defeated! He dared to be so rude, and he shouted when he entered the door: "Who is here on duty?"

The official turned around and suddenly recognized Pei You. He hurriedly stepped forward to salute, "He is a member of the military service of Xiangzhou Land and Land and Musi, and meet Pei Taibao."

Pei You stared at him with anger, and after a long time he squeezed into his teeth, "A little seventh-rank official dared to search my Pei family. You are so brave!"

Yang Shan's face turned solemn. He took out a paper from his arms and straightened his waist and said with a high voice: "It is true that the subordinates' official position is humble, but the subordinates are on orders. This is the supervision order issued by the Land and Land Supervision. The subordinates are only performing their duties. Please forgive me."

Pei You was choked and couldn't say a word. After a while, he said angrily: "I have returned home. Can you still investigate in front of me?"

"I dare not take the job in a humble position." Yang Shan bowed and bowed and replied in a humble manner: "The above only stipulates the time for our entry, but does not stipulate the end time. If Pei Taibao feels inconvenient, we can suspend it for a few days and give Pei Taibao a peace of mind."

After saying that, he immediately turned around and ordered: "Take away the found boxes, seal the rest on the spot, and come again next day."

Everyone immediately cleaned up and left a list of the information they took away. The investigators immediately withdrew from the Pei Mansion. The clouds disappeared. Dozens of important Pei family figures from the Pei family came to Pei You to appeal.

"The head of the family, they checked the account books secondly. Our land has been marked out by them with red lines." A white-haired tribe member was so anxious that his tears were almost falling. "They said that our Pei family could only get 1,100 hectares of land, and they must be distributed to each house according to the standards. The head of the family, so that our Pei family is really finished."

Another tribe member also said anxiously: "There has also been news from Bozhou that there are mahogany stakes inserted in the land of our manor, with the words "Land and Acres of Land and Acres". Our manor deacon went to discuss with them, but was even beaten by them."

"Master, please think of a solution! Our Pei family had more than 100,000 hectares of land, but when it was reduced to 10,000 hectares of land, you promised that the court would not move our land again. Now the army is gone and the land is gone. Why do you explain to the ancestors of the Pei family?"

Everyone was talking, their tone became sharper and sharper, all of whom were accusing Pei You of agreeing to hand over the army without authorization. Pei You's face was swollen like a pig's liver, and sweat flowed down his forehead. He finally couldn't help but shout, "Enough, stop me!"

The room suddenly became quiet, and at this moment, a cold voice suddenly came from the door, "The head of the family has such a big temper, as if all the responsibilities are on us."

Pei You turned around suddenly and saw the fourth brother Pei Jia who had not seen for a few years appear at the door. Next to him, Pei Mingyao, the second son of the eldest brother, was followed by Pei Mingyao. Pei Jia was originally the Secretariat of the Court, and was later moved to the governor of Weizhou. Pei Mingyao was demoted to the county magistrate of Wenxi County, Hedong due to the beating incident of Wu Yuanheng. In the process of competing for the head of the family, the two of them and more than 70 clan members had a quarrel with Pei You. In anger, they moved to Weizhou and divided the two thousand hectares of land in Weizhou. As a condition, they did not establish another head of the family. On the surface, they still recognized the Pei family as their original sect. Unexpectedly, the real-name land system also had an impact on the land of Weizhou. Pei Jia and Pei Mingyao could only retain less than 200 hectares of land, and the rest were all taken away. The angry Pei Jia and Pei Mingyao rushed to the Pei Mansion of Xiangzhou, but happened to meet the Pei family to investigate. They refused to stand up and just waited to see Pei You's joke.

"Fourth brother, what do you mean? When will I put the blame on everyone?" Pei You looked at him and said coldly.

Before Pei Jia could speak, Pei Mingyao next to him said sarcastically: "Uncle Second, when things have come to this point, we must find the person responsible. Since Uncle Second said it is not everyone's responsibility, is it my father's responsibility?"

Pei You snorted heavily, disdaining to talk to him. At this time, Pei Dai saw that the scene was frozen and hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Now is the moment of life and death of our Pei family. Only by uniting with sincerity can we overcome difficulties, but don't have internal strife at this time."

"I have my own idea about this. Now I want to go to the manor. If you are willing to go, please go with me. If you don't want to go, please restrain yourself."

After saying that, Pei You ignored Pei Jia and walked out of the mansion with great strides.

Xiangzhou is close to the Yellow River. Anyang County is about 200 miles away from the Yellow River. There are many tributaries in the territory. Among them, the Huan River runs across the territory. There are a large number of fertile fields distributed on both sides of the Huan River. The Pei family has two large manors on the south bank of the Huan River, about 4,000 hectares of land. The nearest manor is ten miles away from Anyang County. In less than half an hour, Pei You led more than 30 tribesmen to the manor.

The manor was built in an endless wheat field. It was dusk, and the gorgeous sunset shone on the rolling wheat waves, making people feel as if they were in a golden ocean, extremely magnificent. Pei You looked at this plump land in a complicated mood. He knew that it would not be long before this land would no longer belong to the Pei family. Pei You suddenly knelt down slowly and touched the land that nourished the Pei family with generations. For decades, he had never missed these wheat fields as much as he is today. Perhaps because of his loss, he actually felt an indescribable melancholy of parting. Before he knew it, Pei You's eyes were wet.

At this time, the Pei family and several deacons who were managing the manor heard that the head of the family had arrived, all rushed to see the greeting. Pei You glanced at them and asked with a gloomy face: "Are some people from the government coming to ask about the manor recently?"

The Pei family, who managed the manor, sighed and said, "Report to the head of the family, there was an army coming to measure the land ten days ago. They asked us to cooperate, but we ignored it. However, those damn tenants heard that the land would be distributed to them, and they helped the army identify it. Our Pei family's land was completely controlled by the military, saying that they would take it all away after harvesting the wheat, hey!"

A deacon ran to the edge of the wheat field and pulled out a wooden stake and handed it to Pei You, "Master, look at this."
Chapter completed!