Liaodong Province is thousands of miles away, not to mention the new fields that will be reclaimed in the future, even if there is existing land that is easy to irrigate, it is a huge amount. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Before the Later Jin conquered Liaodong, Liaodong had a considerable population. The people in Tianjin with whom Li Zhi came into contact generally believed that there were more than 1 million people in Liaodong, and this figure was quite credible.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty did not conduct a census, and no one knows the exact number. "History of the Ming Dynasty" and "Zhang Shenyan's Biography" said that after the Later Jin Dynasty captured Liaodong, "no less than one million Liao people migrated into the customs". The number of such migrations, plus the slaughter of the Houjin Tartars, adds up to more than one million original Liao people.

However, there are also those who believe that the population is larger, and the "Article Chen Essentials and Affairs" and "Ming Jing Shiwen Compilation" say that the fugitive population in Liaodong "to more than 2 million". If this figure is adopted, the original population of Liaodong is estimated to be about two or three million.

But no matter which number it is, it proves that Liaodong has a large number of abandoned mature fields. With a little care, these fields can be transformed into fertile dry fields.

Now these abandoned dry fields in Liaodong Province have all been given to all kinds of personnel under Li Zhi's command.

The distribution of these fields is based on merit points. The longer you follow Li Zhi to do things, the higher the merit score. The greater the contribution of the things you do, the higher the merit points. For example, if Chongzhen joined Li Zhi's family team in the eighth year and has been fighting with the Tiger Ben Army, then the merit score will be higher. If Chongzhen went to Fanjiazhuang to do small business in the eighth year, the merit score would be much lower.

The higher the merit score, the more land is shared. Gu Lao Er got 320 acres of abandoned dry land by virtue of his meritorious service this time. That's a scary number.

Gu Lao Er was also frightened by this number. 320 acres of dry land, how much rent do you have to collect in a year? Gu Lao Er is about to turn over and become a big landlord this time? It's a big deal. So after Gu Lao Er got the news, he immediately set off to Liaodong to take a look at the dry field grange he had shared.

Fortunately, there are now two steamers between Tianjin and Jinzhou, with two departures a day. It is a thousand miles by sea from Tianjin to Jinzhou, and the ship can be driven to it in one day and one night, which is very convenient.

Gu Lao Er stood by the railing on the deck of the steamer, and saw a middle-aged man wearing a cocoon silk cardigan discussing with the two people around him: "The Duchess of Guo gave birth to a son for the Duke of Guo this time, which is really gratifying!" ”

"In this way, Guogong will have two sons and two daughters."

"It's a pity that it's not a son, otherwise Guogong would have three sons."

"Even my daughter is a great joy."

"The day before yesterday, fireworks were set off in front of the Fanjiazhuang official hall to celebrate this, did Brother Qi go and see it?"

Gu Lao Er looked at the middle-aged man carefully, but found that he clearly recognized the middle-aged man. This middle-aged man's name is Qi Gongji, and he is a group of workers who have entered the textile factory in the eighth year of Chongzhen and Gu Laoer. Qi Gongji is much smarter than Gu Laoer, and later Gu Laoer has always been an ordinary worker, but Qi Gongji has risen all the way, and it is said that he has become a director.

At this time, Qi Gongji felt that Liaodong was provincial, needless to say, he must have also gone to check the grange he had shared.

Gu Lao Er went up and bowed to Qi Gongji, and said, "Brother Qi has not seen you for many years, I am Gu Lao Er who entered the textile factory with you!" ”

That Qi Gongji was stunned, looked at Gu Lao Er, and recognized Gu Lao Er. The two used to eat together in the cafeteria, and they really knew each other for a long time, and they became acquainted again in a few words.

"How much land did Brother Qi get this time?"

"Five hundred and forty acres!"

Gu Lao Er smashed his tongue and said, "Then how much rent does Brother Qi earn a year for this more than 500 acres of land?" ”

Qi Gongji smiled and said, "It's really impressive!" ”

Gu Lao Er said: "According to the yield of eight buckets of wheat per mu of land, fifty percent of the land rent, this is..." Gu Lao Er calculated carefully, and said after a while: "This year is more than five hundred taels of silver!" ”

Qi Gongji smiled and said, "There are not so many. ”

Qi Gongji drew a picture on the palm of his left hand with his right index finger and said: "First of all, the weather in Liaodong is cold, and spring wheat is planted. I heard from an old Liao farmer who lives in Tianjin that the yield of wheat in this spring is quite low, with an average harvest of only seven buckets a year. ”

The great development of Liaodong had not yet begun, and almost all the passengers on the ship, except for a few officials who went to Liaodong on errands, went to see the assigned grange. When everyone heard Qi Gongji's words, they felt that he was very knowledgeable, so they all gathered around and listened to Qi Gongji's accounting.

Qi Gongji looked at the boatmen gathered around him, and said with a smile: "And these seven buckets of wheat don't count the seeds, this kind of seed still occupies one bucket and five liters, and it only has five buckets and five liters of income." ”

"Five hundred and forty acres of dry land can only be harvested with five buckets and five liters..." Qi Gongji couldn't calculate, took out a small abacus from his sleeve, crackled a few times, and said: "I can only collect three hundred stone wheat." If the land rent is 50%, it is the land rent of 150 stones. ”

Everyone was very happy when they heard Qi Gongji say that he could collect 150 stone rent. This expert is reliable, 540 acres can calculate 150 stone land rent, then his own grange can also collect a lot of land rent.

However, before everyone was happy for a second, they heard Qi Gongji say loudly: "But! ”

Qi Gongji dialed the abacus a few times and said: "However, the rice flour ground out of spring wheat is bitter and unpalatable, and one stone can only be sold for two taels of silver." The rent of one hundred and fifty stones was only three hundred taels of silver. ”

When everyone heard Qi Gongji's calculation, they all took a breath and felt that the silver in their hands was a lot less.

However, Qi Gongji said loudly: "And! ”

Everyone sighed in their hearts, and looked at Qi Gongji together.

"Moreover, the yield of the dry land in Liaodong is so low, if the tenant farmers each plant 20 acres of dry land and pay 50% of the land rent, they will starve to death. Therefore, if you want to collect 50% of the land rent, you must prepare four ploughing oxen for every two tenant farmers, and buy the seed drills, harvesters and other machinery of the grandfather, so that each tenant farmer can cultivate 200 acres of land. ”

"The price of four ploughing oxen is one hundred taels, and the price of various machinery is two hundred taels, and the total price is three hundred taels, which can be used for ten years. With these machines, two tenant farmers could cultivate 400 acres of land. This group of agricultural machinery is discounted by 30 taels per year, and my 540 acres of land will be matched with two groups, with a discount of 60 taels per year. In this way, the annual income I can account for is only two hundred and forty taels. ”

When everyone heard the accounts of Qi Gongji, they were so anxious that they scratched their ears and cheeks. It turned out that this account was carefully calculated, and it was much less than originally expected. Qi Gongji is a large household, and 540 acres of land can only be recorded in the account of 242 taels of rent. The other smaller farmowners will be even less profitable.

The crowd stood on the deck of the ship, thoughtful, and for a moment no one spoke.

Suddenly, someone shouted: "No matter how much he has, don't say that there are two hundred and forty taels, that is, there are one hundred and twenty taels of rent, which is several times more than my work as a worker in a textile factory." If this abandoned field is reclaimed and a tenant farmer is found, I will quit my factory job and go to Liaodong to become a landlord! ”

When everyone heard this, they laughed, and they all became happy.

Although the harvest of the fields in Liaodong is low, the number of acres that cannot be divided this time is too huge. No matter how thin the ground rent is, it can also bring huge income.

Qi Gongji smiled and looked at Gu Er.

Gu Lao Er said with a smile: "My family has divided 320 acres of land, and according to Brother Qi's calculation, I can get 140 taels of rent a year." ”

"That's a lot higher than what I earn now. This is double my current monthly income! ”

Qi Gongji laughed: "Then congratulations to Brother Gu for being well-off!" ”