Chapter 136: Yuan Li's Revenge

Yan Commandery.

Fushi Village.

Zhao Xu stood on a field ridge, with Government Office officials and the village's Village Head and Village Security Chiefs beside him.

After the Northern Di's Autumn Hunt failed, Yan Commandery returned to tranquility.

Seeing that the autumn harvest was imminent, he came to the fields this day to take a look.

After all, the people regard food as their heaven; in troubled times, it would be very dangerous if one could not achieve self-sufficiency in grain.

At the same time, he was also here to clear his mind and relieve his worries.

These days, Yang He reported that many merchants were crying out about being robbed by bandits while passing through Fanyang territory.

It seemed as if, overnight, bandits in Fanyang had sprouted from the ground.

They reported the cases to the Fanyang government, but all they received was a single word: "Wait."

Such robberies occurred frequently during this period, causing the merchants to suffer heavy losses.

Some merchants sensed the trickery hidden within and simply gave up on business in Yan Commandery.

Others had the Prince's Mansion transport their goods directly to their destinations.

They were unwilling to bear the risks of transport any longer.

Regarding this, he naturally understood what was happening.

Yuan Li was playing dirty with him.

Of course, he did not yet dare to act openly.

But such dirty tactics were his specialty.

After all, he was a shameless person who could take the heads of commoners and pass them off as the heads of Northern Di to claim merit.

In general.

Due to the division of regions in Yanzhou, people from Yan Commandery must pass through Fanyang if they want to head south.

Now, his trade routes were under threat.

He pulled his thoughts away from this vexing matter.

He looked toward the golden sea of rice.

Under the blowing of the breeze, the drooping rice ears swayed gently.

This made his mood much more pleasant.

Fortunately, the Northern Di's Autumn Hunt had come early.

At that time, the rice was still green and could not even be lit by fire.

If they had come now, and fought for a few more days, the Northern Di would surely have set fire to the fields, and he would have suffered heavy losses.

After all, the grain eaten by the commoners before the harvest was either purchased by the Prince's Mansion from the Rich Clans or confiscated from the Zhang, Huang, and Du families.

If they could not bring in the harvest, these stored grains would soon be exhausted.

"Your Highness, these rice grains are all plump; after the autumn harvest, it seems there will be no need to purchase grain from the south anymore." Liu Fu went down into the field, plucked an ear of rice, and examined it.

"Take advantage of the clear weather and have the villagers cut the rice quickly; who knows if the Northern Di might come again." Zhao Xu said to Feng Zheng.

He was the Village Head of Fushi Village, and the autumn harvest fell within his duties.

"Your Highness, there is no need to urge the villagers; they are all keeping it in mind." Feng Zheng laughed.

The rice was ripe, and the villagers were happier than anyone.

Zhao Xu nodded; the land system currently implemented in Yan Commandery was basically the same as the contemporary household contract responsibility system.

The commoners signed contracts with the Prince's Mansion as households, stipulating their years of cultivation.

In this way, the more they worked on their own fields, the more they harvested, which maximized their enthusiasm.

At the same time, the Government Office extended its administration into the villages.

It was not like before, where imperial power did not reach the countryside, leaving the gentry to manage the rural areas and causing chaos and disorder in local governance.

Through the decrees issued by the Government Office, the Village Head and Village Security Chiefs had to act according to orders, or else they would face punishment.

"The commoners farming for themselves is one aspect, but you Village Heads and Village Security Chiefs must also urge and supervise in a timely manner, provide convenience for the villagers, and come to the Government Office if there are any difficulties." Zhao Xu took the rice grains handed over by Liu Fu.

These rice grains were all plump and full, a joy to behold.

Fan Zheng nodded; since the arrival of Yan Wang, he, as a Village Head, felt the changes in the countryside most deeply.

The officials of the past would never dare to hold their noses in the air like they used to.

Instead, they were truly and genuinely doing things for the commoners.

With such an atmosphere, he, as a Village Head, and the village's Village Security Chiefs naturally dared not slack off, and they spoke their minds.

They were the same when facing Yan Wang.

So he said: "Your Highness, there is a problem in the village; it sounds big, but it is actually not that big."

After a pause, he said: "Some of the villagers' farm tools have not been replaced for many years and are difficult to use; this will affect the autumn harvest. At the same time, sowing for winter wheat must begin immediately after the harvest, and the village does not have enough draft oxen to plow the fields. Relying only on human labor, I fear it will delay the sowing time, and the wheat will not grow well next year."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fu said: "Your Highness, this is a problem currently faced by the entire Yan Commandery. This subordinate has seen that the steel from the Armory is excellent; could we use this steel to forge farm tools to sell to the villagers?"

"A while ago, the Armory was fully occupied with making Armor and Weapons, and its own steel production was only just enough. Now, it is estimated that some can be spared." Zhao Xu pondered for a moment.

Military is military, and production is production; both are important, and neither can be neglected.

After all, without the military, one cannot protect production, and without production, one cannot provide supplies for the military.

However, there are many commoners in Yan Commandery; if the Armory were to forge farm tools, it would be a waste of resources.

Because the Armory had more important things to do next.

Therefore, the forging of farm tools could only be moved to the countryside.

"In this way, the Government Office will select some blacksmiths from various cities, and the Armory will provide them with steel ingots so they can use the steel ingots to forge farm tools." Zhao Xu said.

He had seen the villagers' farm tools; most were made of pig iron, and the quality was very poor.

If high-quality steel is used to forge farming tools, the productivity of the commoners in Yan Commandery will be improved.

Liu Fu and Fan Zheng were both delighted upon hearing this.

"As for the matter of plow oxen, I have an idea," Zhao Xu said.

Because the commoners of Yan Commandery are basically all tenant farmers for the Rich Clans, they naturally have no plow oxen in their hands.

Furthermore, the plow oxen confiscated after exterminating the Zhang, Huang, and Du families are all in the hands of the Prince's Mansion.

At the same time, after other Rich Clans lost their land, he also had the Government Office purchase their plow oxen.

Therefore, the plow oxen in Yan Commandery are now basically controlled by the Prince's Mansion.

This period of time has also become a burden for the Prince's Mansion, because oxen require people to herd them.

Taking advantage of this autumn harvest, he had originally intended to solve this problem.

"Please enlighten us, Your Highness," Liu Fu had also been worrying about this matter.

But if one were to sell the plow oxen to the commoners, the commoners are so poor they don't even have pants, so where would they get the money to buy oxen?

"Commoners who want plow oxen can seek to purchase them from the Government Office," Zhao Xu said.

Liu Fu sighed; he had thought Yan Wang had some novel idea.

Zhao Xu ignored Liu Fu and continued, "I know the commoners have no Silver, so the commoners do not need to pay the Silver all at once now. They can take the plow oxen home first and sign a contract with the Government Office. For example, if one plow ox costs ten taels of Silver, they can pay back one tael every year and pay off the Silver for the ox within ten years. If they feel they have the ability, three or five years is also fine."

Feng Zheng and the headman's eyes lit up instantly, and they were so happy they were scratching their ears and cheeks.

The Prince's Mansion collects rent at a rate of one-tenth.

For every household with six mu of land, collecting two shi of grain per mu, that is two hundred and forty jin.

Currently, one shi of grain in Yan Commandery is one tael of Silver, so after deducting the rent for this season, there is an income of more than ten taels.

After further deducting the rations and expenses for a family for half a year, they can save at least two taels of Silver.

This is just for half a year; in a year, they could even save four taels.

They wouldn't need ten years; they would pay it off in two or three years.

"Your Highness, this small one would like to buy two oxen," Feng Zheng held up two fingers.

"Dream on, each household is limited to purchasing one," Zhao Xu rolled his eyes; he had guarded against this very thing.

As the group was talking, they saw Chang Wei approaching with a squad of Cavalry.

Dismounting, Chang Wei was full of anger, "Your Highness, that bastard Yuan Li sent people to sneak into the south side of Yuanyang County and burned quite a lot of the rice in the south."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xu's temper, which had already been suppressed because trade was being obstructed, flared up instantly.

"Bring the troops and horses to Yuanyang County; for however much of my rice he burned, I will make him spit out just as much."