On February 22, the 14th year of Chongzhen, it was another day of spring flowers.

On an avenue near the north of Chengdu, dozens of officers and soldiers in armor were galloping on horses, and a red flag fluttered above the team, embroidered with a golden word "Shu". The rape flowers on the side of the road are already in full bloom, like a golden carpet spread over the green fields. The cavalry walked through the sea of flowers, but the murderous aura of the whole body faded, as if they were not rushing to the battlefield, but going out of the city for an outing.

Uncle Yang, a farmer in his 40s, was walking on the road with his trouser legs and a basket on his back. His three sons and three daughters, as well as a dozen young people from the same village, fell behind him with laughter and laughter.

Second Uncle Yang thought indignantly, young people are like this, as long as they have a full meal, their spirits are very full, and they don't care whether there is rice in the pot for the next meal!

The sound of horses' hooves behind him attracted the attention of Second Uncle Yang. He looked back, and quickly instructed the young man behind him to retreat to the side of the road, ready to kneel at any moment. In these years, those who can ride horses are either nobles or officials and soldiers. If you accidentally annoy the nobles and soldiers, you will lose your head.

Soldiers! Second Uncle Yang called softly, but his tone was extremely stern:

"Kneel down for me, don't look up!"

The sound of horses' hooves approached, but it became sparse, and finally stopped in front of Second Uncle Yang. Second Uncle Yang didn't know what was going on, and he didn't dare to look up, so he had to tremble all over, waiting for the verdict of fate in fear.

"This uncle, are you going to go to the field?" A young man's voice asked.

"When Childe asks you something, you all raise your heads and talk back!" Another voice commanded.

Second Uncle Yang raised his head hesitantly. Under the red flag, a red-robed young man sat on a white horse. There are two middle-aged people next to him, one is rich and the other is thin. The red-robed young man was smiling and very kind, which made Second Uncle Yang's heart put in his stomach.

"Returning to my son, I am taking my children and villagers to turn over the soil and prepare to raise seedlings. Childe, we are all good citizens! ”

The young man laughed, but there was no malice. He continued to ask Second Uncle Yang, are you all Zhuang households in the Shu Palace?

Second Uncle Yang nodded hurriedly, and even said that it was exactly. The young man asked him about his family's population, cultivated land, seeds, rations, and the situation of the people in the village, and Second Uncle Yang answered honestly.

More than a dozen people in the village ran out to join the rioters, and they were all hungry. A few came back a few days ago, and the rest seem to have gone to Xinfancheng. The rioters did not rob the people in the village. They are all neighbors who have lived together for several generations, and they are not easy to rob. It's just that the head of the village was beaten and ran away, and he hasn't come back these days.

His family has three sons and three daughters, an old lady and a mother-in-law, a total of nine people, and they have planted about 20 acres of land. Although there is less land, it is barely enough to plant. The main reason is that there is less water in the ditch in recent years, and there were several fights in the village next door last spring for water. This year's seeds are still available, but the rations are not enough, so we can only eat them until June and July, and then we will only be hungry. There are farms everywhere, and there is nowhere to dig up wild vegetables.

The boy nodded as he listened. After listening to him, he said to Second Uncle Yang that this year, the kings of the Shu Mansion will only collect fifty percent of the rent. If there is a shortage of rations, Second Uncle Yang can let his son join the village protection team in the village. Each member of the village guards will receive a subsidy of 20 catties of millet per month, and at the end of the year, there will be a reward of two taels of silver, and they will also be in charge of food and accommodation during the training period. In addition, the head of the village that ran away will not come back. In the future, the head of the village will be elected by the dealer himself. Now there is a shortage of people in Wangzhuang on the other side of Pengshan County, if there are many people in the family and there is little land, you can also apply to move there. Regardless of men and women, one person has five acres of land, and those who do not have a house to live in borrow a few taels of silver for settling-in expenses.

Second Uncle Yang's simple brain simply couldn't accept so much information at once. However, he still grabbed a few key words from the young man's words. For example, the village protection team, fifty percent of the rent, twenty catties of grain, two taels of silver, and so on. He didn't know who the young man was, and he didn't know if what he said could be counted, anyway, what the young man said was a great thing, so he hurriedly kowtowed and thanked him.

"There's a notice here, you look at it first!"

The rich Xiucai took out a piece of paper full of words from the leather bag hanging under the saddle and handed it to Second Uncle Yang.

Second Uncle Yang now wants to know what is written on the paper, but he is illiterate. There is only one Zhuang Tou who can read and write, but unfortunately he was also beaten away.

"Soon people from the palace will go to each village to post notices, and read the contents of the notices to everyone!" The young man left a word and went away with the cavalry.

This young man is naturally Zhu Pingjian. At the request of Liao Daheng, he went to Peng County and Xinfan County to help in the war. Last night, a fast horse rushed in from the north gate of Chengdu Mansion and brought shocking news: "The thieves attacked Luoyang last month, and King Fu was killed!" ”

The death of King Fu caused a shock far greater than the suicide of the superintendent Yang Sichang a few months ago. The Sichuan people had a grudge against Yang Sichang, and they all said that he drove the thieves into Sichuan, so he died, and some people set off firecrackers on the street to beat gongs and drums. King Fu was killed, but it caused a lot of discussion in all walks of life of the Sichuan people.

Who is King Fu? Don't say that the gentry in the city know, even the people who are in the upper grades know it. That is the favorite son of Emperor Wanli, the Emperor of the Apocalypse and the uncle of the current emperor!

The dispute between concubines and lovers in the Wanli period, after repeated hype by bad literati with ulterior motives, has long been fermented and amplified into a national entertainment topic in the Ming Dynasty: Zheng Guifei bewitched the emperor and wanted to make her son and son the crown prince, the righteous man and gentleman resolutely resisted, and the traitor finally failed. The upper class of the academic community has recognized this as a contemporary version of the separation of loyalty and treachery, but the lower class of the common people are more interested in how Zheng Guifei seduced the emperor, such as whether she used charm in bed. Has she been cultivating in Zhongnan Mountain for thousands of years? One of the male protagonists in this national entertainment incident is Zhu Changxun, the lucky king who died tragically in Luoyang.

The governor's yamen also blew up. King Fu was killed, and all the officials inevitably gathered at Liao Daheng's place to mourn collectively. Everyone cried bitterly, and it wasn't all for show. A simple and cruel fact has been laid bare in front of them: the emperor can't even keep his own uncle, so who else can he keep? Can he keep the Jingshi and the Jiangshan Sheji passed down from his ancestors? For the first time, the desperation of the Ming Dynasty entered the minds of many officials, and some rebellious thoughts also broke into their hearts uncontrollably.

Zhu Pingjin also received the news of King Fu's killing for the first time last night. Liao Daheng sent his request through Master Li's liaison: please ask the prince to step out of the palace and go to Xinfanpeng County.

Zhu Pingjin knew the tragic fate of King Fu through the history books, but he didn't know if the prince of King Fu could escape like real history. If the prince of Fuwang failed to escape, then the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty would have to be rewritten. He closed his eyes and thought for a quarter of an hour, then jumped out of the large tub, dried himself, and slipped into the comfortable bed.

The princess recuperated, and Zhu Pingjin simply moved to Changchun Palace to live. He wanted to take a break, but there was more to it than he had imagined. My mother was reprimanded by the king of Shu, so she angrily handed over all the power of the Wang Zhuang of the Shu palace to him, leaving only the business of the palace to continue to take care of. So Wang Zhuang's accumulated affairs a few days ago lined up in front of Zhu Pingjin. With the person in charge, Changchun Palace is as lively as in the past.

Only those who should be managed, and those who should not be managed are resolutely ignored! Zhu Pingjin used his work experience in his previous life to set a basic rule for himself.

What should I do? Zhu Pingjin thought about it again and again, and set a general range for himself to manage: one tube of grain sowing and harvesting; the restoration and reconstruction of the second management of Wangzhuang; The three-pipe protection team was formed.

Of these three tasks, the restoration and reconstruction of Wangzhuang is the top priority. Through the restoration and reconstruction of Wangzhuang, the reform of Wangzhuang's management system was realized.

At present, the 11 counties of Dujiangyan Irrigation District are dotted with Wangzhuang. Of the total 2.8 million mu of cultivated land in the Dujiangyan irrigation area (Note 2), the Shu Wangfu covers an area of about 1 million mu, the county palaces cover an area of about 800,000 mu, and the left guard of the palace covers an area of more than 60,000 mu, accounting for about 70 percent of the cultivated land area in the irrigation area.

In the cultivated land occupied by the Shu Wangfu, the self-owned and the donated accounted for about half, and the situation of the county palaces was almost the same. In these lands, there are nearly 200 kings in Shu Wangfu, and there are more than 100 kings in each county. The management mode of each royal village is like the traditional landlord's manor, which directly corresponds to the palace, resulting in a variety of palace management affairs.

Zhu Pingjin's reform method is to simplify the complex, and take advantage of the destruction of Wangzhuang by the campaign to eliminate the five beetles, and realize the hierarchy of Wangzhuang below the county level.

A county and a big village, the village is also called the county village.

There are a number of middle villages under the big village. Zhongzhuang is also known as Xiangzhuang.

There is a small village under the middle village, and a small village is a natural village, so it is called a village.

Dazhuang is a management and coordination agency, generally stationed in the county seat. Zhongzhuang is the core of management, responsible for collecting, transporting and storing grain, and managing the households. Zhongzhuang is also the core of defense, and if necessary, fortress fortifications should be built, at least to hold the granary. The village implements the autonomy of the household. The election of the owner of the village abolished the system of appointment by the superiors, and was elected by the farmers themselves.

In counties with a small area of land, such as Jintang County, Zhongzhuang was built first. After covering more land, improve the organization of Dazhuang institutions.

In order to lead the restoration, reconstruction and reform of Wangzhuang, Zhu Pingjin also established an informal Wangzhuang leadership organization in Shizifu, which was called the Wangzhuang Management Bureau of Shu Wangfu. The director of the bureau was Cao Sanbao, who betrayed Zhu Pingjin, and the deputy directors were Li Chongwen and Li Sixian.

The stewards of Dazhuang in the eight counties of the irrigation district are still held by the old men in the past. The Dazhuang stewards of Renshou County, Pengshan County, Shuangliu County, Yazhou County and Mingshan County were concurrently served by Li Chongwen, Liu Hongting, Li Sixian, Hong Qihui and Cao Santai respectively; Peng County and Xinfan County will be arranged after the chaos has been quelled.

The team is established based on Wang Zhuang. Each county set up a brigade to protect the village, and Zhongzhuang set up a squadron to protect the village, and it was first carried out in Renshou, Pengshan, Shuangliu, Yazhou, and other prefectures and counties where Zhu Pingjin had a foundation.

The reform of the management mechanism of Wangzhuang can reduce the number of Wangzhuang under the direct leadership of the Wangzhuang, reduce the exploitation of ordinary households by the Wangzhuang manager, and ensure the realization of the main function of Wangzhuang, which is grain rent.

At the same time, the implicit intention of the reform was to make the county-level Wangzhuang a shadow state or shadow county government. When necessary, the Dazhuang of the state and county can jump directly to the forefront, relying on the military and economic power at his disposal, replacing the local officials appointed by the Ming court and becoming the actual ruler of the state and county.

Zhu Pingjin took Shuangliu County under his direct subordination, and used the attendant eunuch Li Sixian to concurrently serve as the steward of Dazhuang in Shuangliu County, which also served this purpose. Shuangliu County is located in the south of Chengdu, close to Fucheng, and is also a hub connecting Yazhou, Renshou and Pengshan. If you don't put your own reliable people here, Zhu Pingjin can't sleep at night.

The restoration, reconstruction and reform of Wangzhuang is indispensable to an important area, that is, Xinfan and Peng counties north of Chengdu. Zhu Pingjin is anxious to move forward, but he is concerned about political implications. Liao Tycoon's request immediately made Zhu Pingjin overjoyed.

Peng County and Xinfan County are the birthplaces of the "Five Worms" civil unrest. After the officers and troops cleared the perimeter of the provincial capital, the rebels retreated into the county seat of the two counties and formed a confrontation with the officers and soldiers with the help of the city walls. This state of confrontation put the governor of Sichuan, Liao Daheng, in a dilemma.

Peng County and Xinfan County are located in the irrigation area, and Wangzhuang is dense. Liao Daheng had the intention to attack, but he was worried that he would hurt the interests of the palace too much, causing cracks in the interest alliance that he and Zhu Pingjin had just established. But as the confrontation continued, he was more worried about his own political future. For example, Chen Shiqi, who has already been appointed as the deputy envoy of the Sichuan military garrison, will he talk about the stalemate between the two counties, and even refuse to pursue Chen Huainian's task on this basis?

Therefore, Liao Daheng, who was in a dilemma, asked Zhu Pingjin through Master Li, hoping to use the royal government's control over the villagers to divide the villagers from the chaos and achieve the goal of weakening or even eliminating the chaos people. It just so happened that Zhu Pingjin was also anxious to solve the Wangzhuang problem in the two counties, and the two hit it off.

Zhu Pingjin promised Liao Daheng to go out in person, but all the dealers who participated in the rebellion were disposed of by the palace itself. Regarding Zhu Pingjin's request, Liao Daheng agreed. Arresting and killing all the farmers who were in trouble in the two counties is something that a fool would do.

Note 1: Dafengzhuang, Xindu County, the name changed by Taizu himself.

Note 2: The irrigated area of Dujiangyan Irrigation Area was 2.82 million mu in 1949. In view of the fact that the agricultural development in this area was extremely early and sufficient, and the area of irrigation area was limited by the topographic trend, it is presumed that the cultivated land area of Dujiangyan irrigation area did not change much from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a large number of branch canals were built for irrigation canals, and Longquan Mountain was opened, and the area of irrigation canals was finally greatly increased.

Because of the high unit output and high production efficiency, irrigation areas can not only feed a large number of people, but also free up a large number of manpower for commercial and handicraft labor. Under the combination of factors, this has created the wealth and prosperity of the land of abundance.

It should also be noted that the irrigated area of the Dujiangyan Irrigation Area is not equal to the cultivated area of the Dujiangyan Irrigation Area, let alone the cultivated area of the Chengdu Plain. The Chengdu Plain (in the narrow sense) is 8,000 square kilometers, equivalent to an area of 12 million mu. Even if the utilization rate of cultivated land is only 50% (in fact, it is far more than that), there are 6 million mu of cultivated land in the Chengdu Plain.