Chapter 288: New Regulations

The sunlight by the Zhaqu River was just right. In the third-floor sunroom of the manor, Liu Chengzong, draped in a fox-fur cloak, carefully compared the letters on his desk with the map.

The map spread across the desk had been compiled from the tusi maps seized from the seven counties.

The original maps had been drawn partly in the early Ming and partly in the early Yuan, and the cartographic skill varied wildly, giving the new map in Liu Chengzong's hands a strong fantastical flavor as well.

When the relay soldiers went out with this kind of map, finding a route was like solving a riddle, but they had gradually gotten the hang of it.

If you wanted to know what the area near Nangqian's border looked like, you looked at how Béri had drawn the vicinity of the border, and vice versa.

The scripture-printing craftsmen had carved woodblocks for the seven revised maps, which were printed together to form the very map before Liu Chengzong.

Beneath this map lay another, larger one — the map of Xining Prefecture, which was much clearer, though compared to maps of the Han heartland, it still showed a great degree of distortion.

Liu Chengzong was currently using the letters sent back by the troops erecting the four-sided stelae to locate and mark positions on the map.

He called the road between Xining Prefecture and Kangning Prefecture the Xikang Official Road.

Of course, at present this Xikang Official Road was long neglected and its facilities were extremely incomplete; the four-sided stelae had only just been erected as far as the Yushu Hundred-Household, barely one-tenth of the entire route.

But the full route had already been roughly calculated, and word had been passed via the relay soldiers to the headmen of every tribe along the way, instructing them to produce blank four-sided stelae this winter according to the size of their tribes and the lands they governed.

Those with small territories would make a dozen to a few dozen; those with large territories would make a few dozen to over a hundred; the largest tribe was to make one hundred and seventy-seven large and small four-sided stelae.

The entire length of this road was two thousand two hundred and eighty li. The task of producing the four-sided stelae had already been fully apportioned. When spring came next year, they would simply push forward, erecting and carving as they went. As long as the tribes along the route were mobilized, it would be completed quickly.

However, the area along the Xikang Road was in fact the most unstable in terms of governance. Chengyun had specifically remonstrated on this matter, saying: the various tribal headmen and nobles there had all submitted tribute at the mere rumor of his approach and were not necessarily of one heart.

To ensure the mission's completion, he suggested Liu Chengzong make a promise to demand no tribute the following year, using that as a trade-off to have the tribes along the route provide corvée labor.

But Liu Chengzong did not adopt the suggestion. He did not mind forgoing tribute, but he felt a deep-seated aversion to nobles who submitted tribute at the mere rumor of his approach, simply because they held local power.

If making them provide labor required negotiating terms, Liu Chengzong felt terms could be negotiated — but not now.

He had to wait until someone jumped out and prevented him from completing the road stelae.

The matter was very simple: whoever prevented him from completing the road stelae, he would prevent from remaining a noble.

He only needed one person to jump out and serve as the price, and then everyone would understand what could not be done. Then, once the post station sites were chosen and corvée labor was summoned to build the stations, he would bring up the matter of demanding no tribute.

The purpose of erecting the road stelae was to eliminate the nobles' right to demand unpaid ula labor. Yang Dingrui had already drafted the law: from now on, ula corvée would still exist, but nobles could not demand unpaid ula, and neither could Liu Chengzong.

In their design, the Xikang Road was to have twenty-two post stations, based on one station every hundred li, while also taking into account the difficulty of the terrain — stations on rough sections would be closer together, while those on easy sections would naturally be slightly farther apart.

From now on, a hiring system would be used: for hiring livestock, whether ox or horse, two cash per li; for porters, one cash per li. Unless bearing a document from the Qinghai Marshal's Headquarters, each would have their own boundaries, and porters and livestock were forbidden from crossing stations.

To prevent the exhaustion of men and beasts to death, it was stipulated that all yak ula were permitted to carry one hundred and twenty jin; human ula were permitted to carry sixty jin; horses were permitted to carry only one rider, with accompanying goods not exceeding twenty jin.

At the same time, the selection of personnel for ula corvée was stipulated: quotas were determined by the amount of land, oxen, horses, and sheep. Those who paid more grain and raised more oxen, horses, and sheep would bear more ula corvée; conversely, commoners who paid less grain and raised no livestock would bear less ula corvée.

Moreover, there were also regulations concerning women performing ula corvée. In the past, women had often borne the corvée of porters, and there were frequent cases of pregnant women being assigned ula. Henceforth, local headmen and counties were forbidden from apportioning ula to pregnant women, and both men and women were required to be between fifteen and forty-five years of age.

Beyond this, Yang Dingrui also had requirements for the quality of hired ula. Since ula quotas were determined by land, oxen, horses, and sheep, and foot money was paid, the commoners should use fat, strong oxen and horses to fulfill the hire. If old, weak, or emaciated animals were used to make up the numbers, the authorities and the employer had the right to reject them and order a replacement.

If the authorities and the employer did not inspect the livestock's health at the time of hiring and the animal dropped dead en route, compensation had to be paid according to regulations: five taels for an ox or horse, and one tael for lost saddles and saddle blankets.

This set of regulations from Yang Dingrui primarily constrained the noble headmen, though to a certain extent it also raised the transport costs for the Qinghai Marshal's Headquarters. Relatively speaking, however, their costs did not increase by all that much.

Because they had carts. Except for those treacherous paths where carts could not pass and ula had to be hired, goods on the main roads could be transported back and forth by cart, at a cost far lower than using men and beasts.

If ula corvée were used entirely, to travel from the northern end of the Xikang Road to the southern end, one hundred and twenty jin of goods would require four thousand four hundred cash in foot money.

The reason Liu Chengzong was inwardly itching to have the northwestern nobles jump out and resist him, so that he could annihilate them and intimidate the rest, was not merely because hiring ula would cost money in the future, but because of the main event that would follow.

He intended to completely abolish slavery within his territory, while also allowing former slaves to remain in their masters' homes. From then on, however, the hiring system would also apply, with the minimum cost of hiring a servant being one thousand two hundred cash per month.

Liu Chengzong and Chengyun had put their heads together and pondered for a long time over the question of how much copper cash they would need.

Before they had even tallied that figure, they found their pillar of tax revenue in the servant industry that would follow the abolition of slavery.

Liu Chengzong's thinking was this: the institution of slavery was already backward in this era, but hiring servants was not.

In the future, even if the nobles of this land were gone, the custom of hiring servants would remain; only the employers might become former slaves.

People all yearn for the life and habits of nobles. No one, in their daydreams of the future, imagines themselves living the life of a slave.

Since it could not be stopped, the two brothers had to find a way to collect some money from it. So Liu Chengzong prepared to issue a minimum industry wage standard and employment contracts. The minimum wage for hiring a servant would be twenty cash per day, settled monthly; if the employer was unsatisfactory, the contract could be dissolved at the government office.

At the same time, since the servant's employer was already ostentatious enough to hire a person, they would also have to pay a hiring tax of twenty cash per day to the Qinghai Marshal's Headquarters.

If any household was truly that wealthy, the authorities would let them hire as many people as they liked.

With such a law, Liu Chengzong would transform from a staunch abolitionist into a champion of hired servants.

The wealthy households of Kangning Prefecture had best hire servants with all their might. If each county produced one thousand servants, seven counties would collect fifty-one million in hiring tax alone in a single year, and another fifty-one million cash would enter the market through food, clothing, housing, and transport.

And this would not affect other industries that required hiring. The handicraft trades would also need to hire, but Liu Chengzong could set the minimum wage for apprentices above one thousand two hundred cash, while charging less hiring tax or even none at all.

In the past, out of two hundred thousand people, one hundred ninety thousand were slaves and tralpa; in the future, out of two hundred thousand people, one thousand servants... Liu Chengzong felt his estimate was too low.

Regardless, it would be best if there were no servants in the future. Even if they still existed, it would not be a bad thing for Liu Chengzong — and that was enough.

But this decree could not be issued lightly. Before issuing it, he needed more preparations, such as tallying the number and property of nobles in each area and sealing the passes of the seven counties. Once issued, some nobles would surely rebel or flee. Those who rebelled would be conveniently wiped out; those who tried to flee must be prevented from escaping.

Even if they escaped, their property must not escape with them.

At the same time, Yang Dingrui also proposed reforms for the temples. Considering the large base of believers, abolishing them outright would be far too callous.

Thus, under the law, the Qinghai Marshal's Headquarters permitted the common people to believe in Buddhism, and the scope was quite broad. Worshipping Buddha at home was no problem; no one cared which sect you worshipped, and even worshipping the Future Buddha was fine.

But Liu Chengzong wanted to ban private temples. From now on, the family temples of nobles everywhere were to be torn down, and every effort was to be made to eradicate the influence of Hinduism and Bön. One of these two religions provided hierarchy, the other provided bloodshed.

Liu the Lion was immensely enthusiastic about religious reform. He considered it a boundless merit for the world, and one that would meet with very little resistance.

In any case, given the cultural level of the one hundred ninety thousand slaves and tralpa in Kangning Prefecture, they were far from being able to understand the Dharma, let alone distinguish between sects. If you gave the statue of the Most High Lord Lao a haircut and set it there claiming it was a Buddha, they would believe it.

From now on, the requirements for entering a temple would be very high. To send a child into a temple to become a monk, one would have to register for a ordination certificate at the government office.

How does one obtain a registered ordination certificate? Pay up.

Shirking work won't do, oh no. A person alive must create wealth. At the very least, they must pay the authorities the equivalent of thirty years of wages and taxes for five servants before they can distance themselves from the troubles of the mortal world.

Liu Chengzong had calculated it: exactly one hundred and thirty-five jin of silver, about the weight of a person. Hand that over, and you can become a monk.

Buddhist devotees are the elite among men. If you can't even come up with this pittance and still wish to serve the Buddha, are you worthy? Better to stay in the mortal world, serve your parents, and raise your children.

"Marshal, those words — I, Chen Shifo, raise both hands in approval!"

Long resentful of his old father's act of donating the family fortune to a temple, Chen Shifo clapped and laughed: "Immensely satisfying!"

Having said that, he asked, "But even without becoming monks, people will still donate money to the temples, won't they?"

"You're right."

Liu Chengzong frowned in thought for a moment, then his brow suddenly cleared. With an air of nonchalance, he waved his hand and said, "Donations are fine — I support that. In any case, for every tael donated, the government takes five mace, and the other five mace stays with the temple for its operations."

He believed that as long as he held the power of appointment over the temples, keeping temples in Kangning Prefecture would benefit him.

After all, any high ground he did not occupy would naturally be occupied by someone else.

Moreover, if something ever happened in the future that required raising funds or supplies from the common people beyond regular taxes, or even rousing the people to do something, the abbots could still provide a measure of support.

"This... Marshal." Chen Shifo said, "This is lifting a rock only to drop it on your own feet. In the future, the people will accumulate grievances over this."

"No, no, no."

Liu Chengzong shook his head and said, "How does that saying go? The body is a boat, and donating money to a temple is storing up hidden virtue for the other shore, to be reincarnated into the next life. No problem with that, right?"

Chen Shifo nodded in a daze, "No problem."

"But this money was earned by the passengers on this life's boat. You're allowed to ride the boat — who gave you permission to touch things on the boat? Allowing you to take half and save it for the next life is already pretty good. You should be content with what you have and be happy, right?"

Liu Chengzong turned and looked Chen Shifo up and down. "How do you make others believe it?"

He lowered his voice and spoke in a patiently coaxing tone: "You could write a scripture. We need to excise and revise the bad customs brought over from India, from the shamans."

Having said that, Liu Chengzong's expression turned solemn. "I have decided to rule the country by law. According to our legal code, there must be statutory scriptures. Who is a god and who is a demon — only when we confer the title of god are they a god. Without that conferral, they are illegal. What to do with illegal demons, monsters, and evil spirits? Arrest them and throw them in jail, then execute them after autumn."

Chen Shifo clapped and laughed heartily. "The Marshal speaks most amusingly."

But Liu Chengzong cut him off, his face utterly expressionless. "You think I'm telling a joke?"

Chen Shifo hurriedly composed his features and shook his head repeatedly. "I wouldn't dare."

"The Marshal's Code of the Qinghai Marshal's Office, which inherits from the Great Ming Code, under the criminal law article on crafting demonic books and demonic speech, states: 'All who fabricate prophetic texts, demonic books, and demonic speech, as well as those who disseminate and use them to delude the masses, shall be beheaded. If anyone privately possesses demonic books and conceals them without delivering them to the authorities, they shall be caned one hundred strokes and exiled for three years.'"

Liu Chengzong said, "Do you know how this law should be applied? Go read the scriptures. Send over all the scriptures you consider compliant and those you consider non-compliant. There will be dedicated soldiers to inspect them."

"We will never announce which scripture is legal, but we will decide which scriptures are illegal."

For some reason, Chen Shifo's mind went to the burning of books and burying of scholars. He hesitated repeatedly, then still forced himself to speak. "Marshal, you must consider what later generations..."

"I'm only twenty, and you're already telling me to consider my posthumous affairs? Someone who says such things — shouldn't you go home and prepare your own funeral arrangements?"

Liu Chengzong's tone carried a mix of teasing and scolding, so Chen Shifo wasn't too frightened. He waved his hand and smiled apologetically. "No, that's not it. It's just that such matters, when passed down to later generations, don't sound very good."

"Burning a few scriptures and killing some people — what's so bad about that? Could it possibly sound worse than being a roving bandit? I'm a roving bandit chieftain of the Great Ming, hah."

Liu Chengzong gave a short laugh, put away the frontier soldiers' letter, and frowned as he asked Chen Shifo, "The farmland figures from the various counties still haven't been tallied and submitted?"

Seeing him shift into work mode, Chen Shifo also hurriedly straightened his expression and answered, "Not yet. Of the seven counties, only Nangqian and Markham have roughly tallied their grain fields and pastures. The township officials in the remaining five counties went out later, so they haven't been tallied and submitted yet."

As he spoke, Chen Shifo thought for a moment and said, "Nangqian County has thirty-two thousand mu of grain land, three thousand mu of vegetable land, and six million two hundred thousand mu of pastureland."

"Markham has eighty-four thousand mu of grain land, thirteen thousand mu of vegetable and orchard land, and twelve million four hundred thousand mu of pastureland. The farmland isn't much in either place."

Liu Chengzong shook his head.

Less than one mu per person on average, paired with a yield of ninety jin per mu in ideal weather — no wonder the population was sparse and people viewed life and death with indifference.

They needed a great many farming tools and had to open up more farmland, but the cost of transporting them from north to south was too high — not because of the corvée labor, but because of the iron.

Just then, the guard at the door announced, "Marshal, Assistant Prefect Zhou from the Naval Command has arrived. He says he is bringing the eunuch Zhang Yuanheng, who was dispatched by the imperial court to the Tea and Horse Office."

Liu Chengzong smiled at the name. "Assistant Prefect Zhou has found a colleague sent by the imperial court. Have them come up to see me."