In the middle and late March (lunar calendar) in the south of the Yangtze River, rice is usually planted shortly after the rice is planted, however, the proportion of rice planted here is only three or four percent, and other crops are mainly mulberry trees and cotton, and some are planted with vegetables or fruits.

Guo Wendong still has some understanding of agriculture, and it is because mulberry leaves and cotton are more profitable that many people are reluctant to grow rice.

I only heard Fang Jieli speak: "Young Master, not only is there a large demand for cotton and mulberry leaves in the Ming Dynasty, but they can also be exported overseas, which is more profitable than planting rice." In the future, after recovering the cultivated land from the tenants, it can be completely planted with mulberry trees and cotton. ”

He was looking at things from a purely economic point of view.

Guo Wendong asked: "This is originally a rice field, right?" ”

Fang Jieli said: "Yes, I heard that this mulberry and cotton field has only been replanted in the past ten years. ”

Guo Wendong asked again: "Can Jiangnan be self-sufficient in rice?" ”

Fang Jieli said: "That shouldn't be, in many places in the south of the Yangtze River, grain merchants often have to transport grain from other places, and the grain cultivated by the locals cannot be completely satisfied. In the past few decades, the price of rice in Jiangnan has been rising. Young master, let's use the money we earn from selling mulberry leaves and cotton to buy rice, which is more than enough. ”

If this is the case, in his previous life, Guo Wendong checked some information, and Jiangnan, as the land of fish and rice, was still in short supply of food.

In the peaceful and prosperous era, there is obviously no problem with this practice of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, assuming that planting mulberry trees can earn three taels of silver, and planting rice can only earn one or two silver, then the money from the sale of mulberry leaves can be used to buy enough grain and there will be a lot of surplus, no matter how this account is calculated.

However, in the late Ming Dynasty, natural disasters and wars repeatedly invaded this twilight empire, and the normal agricultural production in the northern regions was greatly disrupted, and the Ming Dynasty experienced a nationwide food shortage. As a result, less and less grain can be purchased from other places, but the people's demand for grain is unlikely to decrease, and it is normal for the price of rice to rise gradually.

Guo Wendong has a plan in mind, after recovering the cultivated land and cultivating it directly, at least 70% of it must be used to grow the main grain, and it is necessary to ensure that there are sufficient grain reserves first.

Next, Guo Wendong walked in the ridge and inspected the grain planting.

Coming to the rice area, most of the rice fields here have just been transplanted, and the seedlings in the fields are neat and orderly, and there are a few farmers who plant late rice who are busy planting seedlings, and many of them are the elderly, young people, and women at home.

At this time, people are not like modern people, modern living conditions are much better, there are many people who are obese and fat, and there are almost no malnourished people, as long as they are not physically disabled, it is impossible to even solve the problem of food and clothing when they go to work.

Except for a few wealthy people in Nanjing, the peasants Guo Wendong saw were not obese at all, most of them were thin and dark-skinned, and many of them were malnourished and thin-skinned.

There are many field laborers that Guo Wendong sees with dull eyes, as if they are already disappointed in life and the future, just barely surviving in the world.

The happiest of the children are the children who come with their families, playing innocently on the ridges and in the nearby streams.

These peasants were either yeoman farmers, because the government continued to raise taxes because of the huge military expenses required by the successive wars; Either they are tenants, and the landlords mainly charge high rents.

If a few landlords with good character were to collect lower rents, it would be the greatest blessing for the peasants.

The sound of the gong came out, and it was the family of Guo Mansion who was striking the gong.

The peasants who were working nearby looked at the house where the gong was being struck.

Jia Ding shouted loudly: "Li Yuanwai has already sold the land to Guo Gongzi of Qingxiu Hall. Guo Gongzi has something important to announce, and everyone will gather in the village after lunch. ”

This is Guo Wendong's arrangement.

Has the land changed owners? The farmers who learned the news were first surprised, and then looked forward to it.

"Guo Gongzi is really capable, and he can save Li Yuanwai's eldest son with foreign medicine."

"Li Yuanwai is not a thing, the land rent is high, I hope Guo Gongzi is a good person, and the rent will be reduced."

"I heard that in Qingxiu Hall, if you don't treat the sick without money, Guo Gongzi may not be better than Li Yuanwai."

"I'll know in the afternoon, I hope it can be lowered."

…………

The tenants working in the fields were talking.

Subsequently, Guo Wendong came to the area where mulberry trees were planted.

In the mulberry fields, the green mulberry trees are luxuriant, more than two meters tall, and most of them have bloomed.

Mulberry trees have great economic value, mulberry leaves can be used for both medicinal purposes and as food for silkworm raising, and mulberry wood can be used to make agricultural tools, furniture, musical instruments, etc.

The mulberry leaves are harvested in late autumn, and for the tenants who plant mulberry trees, it is not suitable to take back the land until the mulberry leaves are picked when the frost falls.

Guo Wendong went to the place where the cotton was planted, which was planted in mid-to-late April (referring to the Gregorian calendar) and harvested in November, and like the tenants who planted mulberry trees, the land could not be reclaimed until late autumn.

It's cotton planting season, and many farmers are busy in the cotton fields.

Just now, the tenants had been notified of the tenants here, and the peasants were talking.

They are talking about who Guo Gongzi is, and they all hope that Guo Gongzi can reduce the land rent. For Guo Wendong and his entourage who walked on the ridge, many people saw it, but no one knew it.

"This is Guo Gongzi who bought this land."

After hearing the farmers' conversations, Fang Jieli introduced them loudly.

It turned out to be Guo Gongzi! The busy farmers stopped for a moment and stepped forward to speak out.

"Guo Gongzi, Li Yuanwai, a person with no conscience, collects sixty percent of our field rent, and the whole family is still not full of food at the end of the year, please collect less."

"Guo Gongzi, please be merciful and reduce the land rent!"

"Guo Gongzi, can you lower the land rent?"

……

The peasants are asking questions, which is basically equivalent to pleading, and everyone has a bitter expectation in their eyes, in Guo Wendong's view, the peasants of this era are too pitiful.

Fortunately in the Jiangnan region, some peasants can barely make ends meet, and even if they can't eat enough, they won't starve to death.

In many areas of the north, many peasants were literally starving to death and were forced to attach themselves to Li Zicheng to participate in the rebellion.

Guo Wendong responded loudly: "I am a person with a conscience, and I will definitely think about you and ensure that your future life will definitely be better than before." When we hold a meeting, we will announce specific things to everyone. ”

Although he did not disclose the specifics, many farmers were smiling when Guo Wendong answered.

After inspecting for a while, Guo Wendong and his entourage came to the big village.

This big village is called Dongxing Village, and there are thousands of households, and the cultivated land in the village is seven or eight thousand acres.

However, most of the cultivated land has long since ceased to belong to the people of the village.

At the beginning of a dynasty, the benefits were redistributed, and the peasants were reborn and received a share of the arable land.

However, land annexations can become more and more severe over time.

Some of the peasants voluntarily sold their farmland, and more of them were the landlords who took advantage of the land, and more and more peasants lost their land, which was the law of almost every feudal dynasty.