According to legend, Dayu created such a land system after he led the Chinese ancestors to tame the river and thus became the common ruler of the world.

The original larger piece of land is divided into nine smaller pieces of land using roads and ditches. The income from the middle piece of land must be turned over to the state. This is public land.

As for the rest of the land distributed next to public fields, the ownership still belongs to the state and the profits belong to the people who cultivate it. This is also private land.

This system was vividly called the "well field system" by later generations because the roads and ditches formed the character "well".

Legend has it that the well-field system was used from the Xia Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty to the Western Zhou Dynasty, which spanned a full thousand years. It can be said to be a very long-lived land system.

It's just that every system has its rise and fall, and the same is true for the well-field system that has been used for thousands of years, and its demise began in the late Western Zhou Dynasty.

At this time, King Zhou Li, who "guarded the people more than the rivers", had just passed away, and the Zhou royal family, which had been a republic for fourteen years, ushered in a new master, who was later King Xuan of Zhou.

In the early years of his reign, King Xuan of Zhou was self-denial, diligent, and good at accepting advice, creating a situation of "King Xuan's resurgence";

But all this was just a flash in the pan. The seemingly powerful Zhou royal family finally fell into irreversible decline after waging war against others.

Of course, it was impossible for King Zhou Xuan to see Wang Ji under his rule decline like this. Unwilling to do so, he began to abandon the well field system that had been in place for thousands of years and instead levied taxes based on acres of land in order to make himself rich.

.

This is the famous saying in history, “One thousand acres is not enough.”

It can be said that King Xuan of Zhou tried his best to reverse the decline of the Zhou royal family, but unfortunately nothing could be reversed by him. The protagonist of the world stage had changed from the Emperor of Zhou to the princes of the East.

In the struggle for hegemony that took place during the Spring and Autumn Period, changes in the land system were also an important reason for the growth of national power.

Whether it was the "making land" implemented by the Jin State or the "initial taxation of acres" implemented by the Lu State, they were taking advantage of changes in the land system to rule more effectively and enhance their own strength.

At this point, the Qin State, which is located in the west and far away from the east, seems a bit backward. It was not until 408 BC, which was one hundred and eighty-six years after the "first taxation of acres" in the Lu State, that the Qin State began to implement this similar nature.

of reform.

Recalling the records he had seen on the prime minister's residence in his mind, Gongsun Yang had some doubts in his heart.

Forty-three years have passed since the seventh year of Duke Jiang of Qin. How come these original Qin people are still doing similar things to the people of Shandong hundreds of years ago?

As his thoughts flowed here, Gongsun Yang slowly took a step forward and asked softly to the two old men in front of him: "I wonder if the two elders have heard that the original Qin government once promulgated the 'first lease of grain'"

A decree?"

"First Tenure? What is that? I've never heard of it." Upon hearing this question from Gongsun Yang, the two old men only had doubts on their faces.

Looking at their clueless expressions at the moment, and then looking back at the public fields that had been declared deserted, Gongsun Yang felt somewhat clear in his heart.

Although the "First Lease of Grain" had been promulgated more than forty years ago, the Qin State's internal turmoil and external conquests over the years have made the implementation of this law not very smooth.

After thinking about this clearly, Gongsun Yang's eyes suddenly moved, and an idea emerged in his heart. Perhaps this was an opportunity for him and even the Wei State to conquer the hearts of the people of Qin Dong.

Freed from the excitement in his heart, Gongsun Yangdang bowed to the two old men in front of him again.

"Today, I would like to thank the two elders for answering my questions. This is my kind consideration."

After a while, the carriage Gongsun Yang was riding continued toward the west, and only the two old men were left on the land.

Weighing the piece of cloth in his hand and looking at his companions standing beside him, a smile from the heart appeared on the faces of the two old men.

If this piece of cloth were exchanged at the market in the city, it would be enough for two families to use it for a long time.

Thinking of this, the two old men looked towards the disappearing carriage in the distance, and a look of gratitude could not help but appear in their eyes.

…

Wei State, its capital city is Anyi, and its palaces.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has arrived."

In the main hall, beside the ears of Wei Hou Wei Feng, who was reviewing memorials, a voice of report rang out.

After quickly reading the memorial in his hand, he put the writing pen aside and saw Wei Feng quickly raised his head to look at the person coming.

"Please invite the Prime Minister to come in quickly."

"Here"

After Wei Marquis Wei Feng said these words, the palace attendant who reported the situation hurriedly left. Soon after, a calm figure appeared in front of him.

"My lord, Sun Qi, pays homage to your Majesty."

"The Prime Minister does not need to be polite."

After raising his right hand to help Gongsun Qi, Wei Feng turned around and took a roll of bamboo slips from the desks behind him without any nonsense, and handed it to his prime minister.

"The reason why I summoned the Prime Minister here today is not for anything else, but for this report from the land of Qindong."

"As long as the Prime Minister takes a look at this bamboo slip, he will know the specific reasons."

Seeing that Wei Feng attached so much importance to this matter, Gongsun Qi immediately stepped forward and took the report from Qindong from his hands.

As his eyes shifted to the report in his hand, and each seal character came into view, the expression on Gongsun Qi's face changed in twists and turns.

From the shock when we first met, to the solemnity when we saw each other again, to the joy that appeared on his face at the end.

After a while, I saw Gongsun Qi put down the report in his hand and said in an extremely excited voice: "I would like to inform you, Your Majesty. I believe that this report is the way to win over the people of Qin Dong."

Keeping his gaze fixed on Gongsun Qi in front of him, a smile appeared on his face. Wei Feng immediately raised his right hand and made an invitation gesture.

"Prime Minister, there is no need to convene, just sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

He bowed to Wei Feng, and before he could sit down completely on the seat, Gongsun Qi's face immediately turned solemn.

"Judging from the contents of this report, although the Qin State had already promulgated the 'First Lease of Grain', its implementation was not in place and could even be said to be very slow."

"This is why even today in the Qin State, there is still a phenomenon of sluggish public land and the prevalence of private land."

"Your Majesty, I believe that if you want to change this phenomenon, only the method proposed by Prime Minister Li Kui back then can work."

Hearing Gongsun Qi mention Li Kui, a look of understanding immediately appeared on Wei Feng's face, "What the Prime Minister said is..."

"Granting fields?"
Chapter completed!