Qinghe County is located in the Heilonggang River Basin, although it is located in a warm zone, it is rich in natural resources. However, due to the low-lying terrain and poor water discharge, Qinghe County has always had frequent drought and flood disasters, and it belongs to the low-lying alluvial and marine plains. Therefore, during the Tang Dynasty, the farmland in Qinghe County was generally seriously damaged by salinity, and there was not much fertile land that could be used for cultivation.

Li Sheng's visit in the past month learned that some of the fertile land in Qinghe County was already in the hands of Cui, Zhang, Li and other families. However, the people who have no land have also become the farmers of the family. This result made Li Sheng very indignant, and in the early years of Wude, the Tang Dynasty implemented the enslavement system of "Rent and Yong Tune" on the basis of the "Juntian System", and cooperated with the implementation of the "Juntian System". It is stipulated that Ding Nan will be granted 100 acres of land at the age of 18, 20 acres of Yongye field, and 80 acres of land.

However, it was only a little more than ten years after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and there was a land annex in Qinghe County, how could Li Sheng not be angry. The harm of the family family has reached such a point, no wonder Li Shimin is so jealous of the family.

After a month of visits and investigations, Li Sheng also determined the root cause of the land annexation in Qinghe County. The inherent vulnerability of the smallholder economy, the inability to resist family power and bureaucratic power in the face of natural disasters, is the main root cause of land annexation.

What annoyed Li Sheng the most was that if he wanted to solve this problem, he had to fight with the family. Unless Li Sheng didn't see this, when the monk hit the clock for a day, wait for Li Shimin to recruit himself to return to the dynasty to finish his work, and let the people of Qinghe County be oppressed by the family. Li Sheng thinks that he can't do it, and he can't choose to ignore it.

Li Sheng is also very worried about how to solve this problem in the past few days. It is really difficult to solve this problem, and the love of ancient people for the land is definitely beyond the expectations of modern people. Modern people want to make more money in business when they have money, which is exactly the same as the psychology of ancient people who bought more land when they had money.

You want to break the land out of the hands of the family, unless you kill him. Otherwise, don't try to spit out an inch of the land they ate into.

The more Li Sheng understood, the more troubled he became, the people had no land, and in order to survive, they could only farm for the family. After stripping away the taxes they had to pay and a part of the rent to be handed over to the landlords, there was very little grain left. Although you don't starve to death, it's impossible to get enough to eat. If there is a famine year, people will starve to death, that's for sure. If the people can't survive, the only way to go is to riot.

Li Sheng definitely didn't want to see this kind of result, but if he wanted to solve this problem, he had to go to the opposite side of the family. Li Sheng hid and hid, but he still had to fight with the big family, and Li Sheng was also very helpless about this result.

Qinghe County Ya, Li Sheng wandered for a month, and finally stopped going out. He summoned all the officials in the county government and prepared a meeting.

In ancient times, the meeting was called the court council or assembly, and the court council was a meeting presided over by the emperor, with the participation of civil and military officials, and it was a meeting that decided major national events. This includes a wide range of meetings, and it can also be an ordinary meeting presided over by the emperor, a discussion meeting presided over by a department leader, or a meeting presided over by the governor of a state or a county.

Usually, like the assembly presided over by the county order, generally only the county lieutenant and Liucao participated. Like the low-level warehousing and taxation officials, they are not eligible to participate. It was the first time that all of them had been invited to a meeting like Li Sheng.

In the hall of the back office, more than 30 officials gathered together, Li Hongcai and Cui Mingchuan looked back and forth, these low-level officials in the hall, because they didn't know what they were doing today, they were all asking each other in a low voice, making the entire back hall a buzzing sound. Li Hongcai and Cui Mingchuan both frowned, and they were quite prejudiced against Li Sheng's approach.

Li Sheng was alone and entered the lobby of the back office, still holding a stack of papers in his hand, which was the speech prepared by Li Sheng, and some data from his own investigation.

"I've seen the prefectural commander."

The hall was full of officials, except for Li Hongcai and Cui Mingchuan, all of them got up to greet Li Sheng.

Li Sheng walked to the main seat and sat down, and said, "Let's be exempt!" I don't care much about the number of courtesies, and if there is such a meeting in the future, everyone should not be polite. ”

Li Sheng spoke very kindly, which made the officials in the hall very fond of him. It was the first time for many officials to see Li Sheng, and they were very surprised by Li Sheng's age and attitude. Out of respect for Li Sheng, the county commander, they still saluted before sitting back.

Li Sheng saw that everyone sat down and said, "I don't have so much nonsense, and my personality is straightforward, so I went straight to the point." I have called you here today, and there is one thing I would like to discuss with you. For more than ten years, disasters have continued, and many farmers have mortgaged or sold the land granted by the government in order to survive, and today we are going to discuss how to get the land back and distribute it to them. Now you can express your opinions and suggestions. ”

As soon as these words came out, the whole house was shocked.

You look at me, I look at you, and no one dares to speak. Li Hongcai was also shocked, Li Sheng was very direct, and he threw thunder when he came up. If this thing is really implemented, the family will definitely blow up the nest in an instant, and it will definitely cause a strong resistance.

"Lord Prefectural Order, if you want to recover the land you sold, it's not easy to do. If it is really implemented, I am afraid that there will be trouble. ”

Li Hongcai still spoke, as a county official, he had to speak, as the adjutant of the county order, it is his job to answer the questions of the county order and raise questions or suggestions on major events.

"The law of the Tang Dynasty stipulates that no one has the right to buy or sell the Yongye Tian and Kou Fen Tian granted by the government, and those sitting here will not know about it, right?" Li Sheng said: "Where is the torture Cao? What are the penalties for buying and selling land without permission? ”

The official in charge of criminal Cao in Qinghe County, named Zhang Xiang, is a very capable middle-aged man. He heard Li Sheng call his name, and stood up.

"Lord Yu County, sell the land granted by the government privately, if it is verified, one mu will be ten acres, twenty acres plus one. Those who buy and sell a huge amount of money will be punished with a hundred battles. And Harada will be returned, and the principal will be confiscated. ”

Li Sheng was very satisfied with Zhang Xiang's answer, nodded, and asked again: "If the person who occupies the land exceeds the limit, how should he be punished?" ”

"Those who occupy more than the limit shall be punished with 10 acres per acre, 10 acres plus 1 grade, and those who exceed 30 acres shall be punished by 60 acres. Those who are more than 100 acres shall be sentenced to one year's imprisonment. ”

"Good!"

Li Sheng was even more satisfied, and said: "Since there is the law of the imperial court, then tell me how to deal with the land sale and purchase in this county?" ”

Cui Mingchuan didn't open his mouth since Li Sheng posed for a problem. Because of the problem Li Sheng said, his Cui family bought the most land. Cui Heng, the head of the Cui family, has not stopped loving the land since he became the head of the Cui family for more than ten years. Under the implementation of Cui Liu and some subordinate housekeepers, the Cui family's extra fields in Qinghe County have exceeded 20,000 mu. If according to the law, one acre and ten whips can be counted, and Cui Heng can be beaten into pulp. If according to Li Sheng's idea, all of them will be returned to the people, and there will be no need to whip them, and Cui Heng will be distressed to death.

Cui Mingchuan didn't dare to speak about this matter, saying anything awkward. According to the law of the Tang Dynasty, as a county lieutenant, he should enforce the law impartially, recover the land bought and sold, and return it to the peasants. In terms of affection, he is the fourth master of the Cui family, and it is his responsibility to protect the interests of the Cui family. Cui Mingchuan can't say anything now, so he simply doesn't speak.

"Lord County Order, according to the law of the Tang Dynasty, the fields should be recovered and returned to the people. But as you know, buying and selling land privately is a common phenomenon. If I open the mouth in Qinghe County first, then we will become the target of public criticism, not to mention the official position, even the squires of Qinghe County are unwilling. If all the squires are gone, how are we going to manage the township? ”

Li Hongcai said this, Li Sheng had thought about it before. The squire is also a force in the family. These people are some educated small landlords, or retired and returned to their hometowns, or small and medium-sized officials who have been idle in the countryside for a long time to recuperate, as well as clan elders and some influential figures.

These people are similar to officials and different from officials, similar to the people and above the people. The gentry class had a high political status in ancient times, playing the role of the imperial court and government decrees in the township society and leading the implementation. If there are any decrees and decrees in the court and the government, if you want the people to know about them, the role of the squire is indispensable.

This is also the disadvantage of the lack of cultural knowledge, and the number of literate and literate people among the common people is very small and negligible. Then the decree came to him, and he was illiterate, didn't you give it in vain? It is difficult for the officials to read it one by one, and in this case, how many officials will be required to do it. So the presence of the squires was revealed, and they could help with this, and in doing so, they showed their status and prestige.

The status of the gentry is also reflected in the economy, they own more land, more real estate, bear more taxes, and most importantly, they have the ability to dominate the people. For example, taking the lead in building canals and roads, donating money for disaster relief, providing relief in times of famine, and stabilizing people's hearts. Therefore, the squire had an unshakable position in ancient times.

Li Sheng threw out this question at this time, although it was beneficial to the people, but it touched the interests of the squires and the family. To tell the truth, there is not a squire who does not occupy too much land, and these extra lands are either cultivated without permission or bought and sold. If Li Sheng really wanted to be measured according to the law, every squire would have to be pulled out and beaten to death. The big family will also be like Cui Heng, who can be beaten into meat puree.

Li Sheng knew the joints, Li Sheng didn't want to target anyone this time, he just wanted to reduce the pressure on the people, so that they could have fields to plough and have food to eat, so that they would not starve to death. For the squire Li Sheng, he really didn't want to do it, and he didn't dare to dig his own grave.

"Lord Li, you don't understand what I mean, I mean that you are not allowed to buy and sell land, and all the land bought and sold must be recovered and returned to the people. For the land obtained from the reclamation, not only will I not hold him responsible, but I will also write to the emperor and exempt him from taxes. However, they must return the land obtained from the sale, which is not negotiable, and this is a matter of the law of the imperial court. The officials can not hold them accountable, but they can't be allowed to oppress the people, right? ”

As soon as Cui Mingchuan heard that Li Sheng was not held accountable, he knew that Li Sheng was not coming to the Cui family. But Cui Mingchuan also knew that if he wanted his eldest brother to eat in the stomach, he would not spit out the field again. Cui Mingchuan also knew that Li Sheng's matter would definitely be implemented, although Li Sheng took it out to discuss this matter, but if he wanted to stop Li Sheng from doing it, he would never be able to. Although Li Sheng is young, judging from the last incident, Li Sheng is the kind of person who will not give up if he does not achieve his goal, as long as he determines the matter, no one can stop him.

"Master Li, Ming Chuan thinks that this matter is feasible. If the people have their own farming, there will be no disorder. The people have food, and their hearts are not troubled. This is the way to maintain stability and benefit the people. The squire of Qinghe will definitely understand the hard work of the Hou Ye. ”

Li Sheng never expected that Cui Mingchuan would stand up and support him, since the last time Cui Mingchuan brought Cui Liu, Cui Wenguang, Cui Liang and a group of people from the Cui family to justice, Li Sheng felt that Cui Mingchuan was a strong man with a broken arm to protect himself.

Cui Mingchuan is the fourth master of the Cui family, Gu Li Sheng investigated, the Cui family's land in Qinghe has exceeded 50,000 mu, and the wine obtained from the sale has exceeded 20,000 mu.

"County Lieutenant Cui, as far as I know, the fields that the Cui family bought and sold in Qinghe County have exceeded 20,000 mu, I wonder if County Lieutenant Cui wants to be the leader?"

The officials in the hall all looked at Cui Mingchuan, wanting to see how he answered. Except for a few officials from other places, the others did not say that all of them occupied the land too much, but most of them had the behavior of buying and selling and occupying the land too much. If the Cui family bows their heads, they will naturally return to the people.

"Marquis Li laughed, the Cui family is not in charge, and the officials naturally can't influence the Cui family's decision. However, there are 2,000 acres of land under the name of the lower official, and I am willing to hand over all the extra fields, leaving only the land granted by the imperial court. As for the others, the lower officials can't be swayed. ”

Cui Mingchuan's move is very good, he put aside the Cui family and took the lead in setting an example, and no one can find fault. Li Sheng also saw what Cui Mingchuan meant, he threw out all the excess fields, that is, told Li Sheng, I won't take this job, I can't do it.

Who is Li Sheng, how can he let him run away. said with a smile: "Lieutenant Cui should be a model for us, and such a self-sacrificing character is worth learning from us." However, as the county lieutenant of a county, Cuixian Lieutenant has important responsibilities, how can he not give full play to his spare heat, I think the work of the Cui family master will be handed over to Cui, how about it? ”

Li Hongcai, this guy, is definitely the kind of guy who is loyal on the surface and dark on the inside.; Li Sheng's words just fell, and if he didn't give Cui Mingchuan a chance to open his mouth, this guy instantly made up the knife.

"Lieutenant Cui, with noble character, is admired by this officer. Since County Lieutenant Cui supports Li County's decision-making, he will definitely spare no effort to persuade the Cui family master to return to farming for the people, so the pressure on us is much less. Thank you. ”

Cui Mingchuan wanted to scold, as soon as these two sang and harmonized, he was trapped by them. Cui Mingchuan wants to pick a son, but he can't do it completely.