In the first half of the seventh year of Xuanwu, from the beginning of the first month to May, it was all smooth weather!

Even in the arid Northwest, there were several rains in the spring and summer of this year, and the crops in the Northwest were able to grow in clothing!

Tens of millions of people around the world are excited to see the crops growing and ripening, and they are looking forward to the early arrival of the harvest season.

By the end of the fifth lunar month, the wheat in Henan had already ripened, and hundreds of thousands of rebel soldiers who had returned to their hometowns had already begun to harvest their crops! Qin Hui has already spread the good news of the harvest to Yanjing!

In Yanjing, because of its proximity to the Northland, the wheat here is still not ripe, but the wheat has also turned yellow.

On May 29, Zhao Chen left Yanjing City with more than 100 guards to inspect the farmland around Yanjing.

They went west, observing and questioning, and by the afternoon of this day they had come to the village where they had been last winter.

In front of you is an endless wheat field, the sun shines on the wheat field, and pieces of golden light emit out!

It was hot, and the soldiers were sweating, but they were all excited.

There is a wide canal on the side of the road, almost a small river! The clear water of the river flows inside, and there are small ditches next to it that lead the water to the fields!

Zhao Chen squatted down, scooped water with his hands, and then washed the dirt off his face.

The river water was cool, and Zhao Chen felt a burst of refreshment.

The soldiers also squatted down, and some filled their skins with water, and it took a while for them to leave.

After walking for a while, there were several old farmers in the field ahead who were tending to the crops.

It was a hot day, and the two old farmers were wearing hats.

Soon, they heard a voice in the distance and immediately looked ahead.

After seeing Zhao Chen, one of the old farmers showed a surprised expression on his face, and after a while, he said in surprise: "Look, is that person Your Majesty?" ”

Another old farmer next to him carefully identified it, nodded violently, and said, "Not bad!" It's Your Majesty! He was the one we met with His Majesty last winter! That's right! ”

The two old peasants were overjoyed, and they immediately left the farmland and headed for the road!

It didn't take long for them to come to Zhao Chen and the others!

"Your Majesty! Is that you? It's really you! The two old peasants were ecstatic and fell to their knees.

"Are you Qian Shirong?" Zhao Chen helped the two old farmers up, looked at one of them, and said with a smile.

"It's the grass people!" The old farmer laughed.

It turned out that he was the village chief Qian Shirong that Zhao Chen had met last year!

"Your Majesty, you really kept your promise and came here again!" Qian Shirong said excitedly.

"It's about to be the wheat harvest season, I'll see how the wheat grows in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!" Zhao Chen said.

"Your Majesty, the wheat grows well! This year, we were able to have a bumper harvest! Qian Shirong said.

"Oh? How much wheat can be produced in one acre of land? Zhao Chen said.

"There can be at least 200 catties of wheat in one acre of land!" Qian Shirong said.

"Two hundred pounds? Very good! Zhao Chen nodded.

For the modern society of later generations, 200 catties is considered to be extremely poor! In the north of later generations, the yield of one mu of wheat was thousands of catties, but in this era, agricultural technology was backward, and two hundred catties was already a bumper harvest year! Of course, 200 catties is not enough to feed the family, but the population of this era is far less than that of later generations, and the per capita land area is more than ten times that of later generations, so although the average yield is low, the amount of land is large, and it is enough for the people of the world to eat!

"Your Majesty, we have been following the landlord for decades, and we have never seen such a bumper harvest! In the past, there was only a maximum output of more than 100 catties per acre! But this year, the land is our own, and we've been staying in the fields a lot since last winter! After planting wheat, we are afraid that we will not be able to take care of the crops, and some people even sleep in the fields at night! Now there are no ploughing cattle in the village, and there is no cow dung, so we go and collect bird droppings! Sometimes several people fight there for guano! The little ones in our family were driven to the mountains and told to go to the mountains to collect guano! When I used to work for the landlord, who could be so attentive? It is because of this that this year can have a bumper harvest! Qian Shirong said with a smile on his face.

Zhao Chen nodded!

Now the land belongs to the peasants themselves, and it is normal for the peasants to be several times more enthusiastic about farming than before, and for the crops to be harvested more than before.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's grace, my family has divided more than 20 acres of land, if it is calculated, our family will be able to harvest 4,000 catties of wheat this year, and after harvesting wheat, we can also plant sorghum, beans, and harvest some things! This year, I won't have to worry about not being able to eat anymore! Your Majesty, last year, the imperial court gave us a lot of food, and the people in our village have already discussed it, the imperial court treats us so well, we can't take the things of the imperial court in vain, we have to return this grain! Qian Shirong kept laughing and said.

"The imperial court is to serve the people, the people can't eat, and the imperial court should provide disaster relief! This year, there is no agricultural tax in the imperial court, but from next year, many places may have to collect agricultural tax again! Zhao Chen said.

"Your Majesty, I don't know how much agricultural tax there is?" Qian Shirong hurriedly asked.

"It won't be more than one percent!" Zhao Chen said.

"So little, then we can afford it." Qian Shirong laughed again.

"Do you know why the imperial court collects taxes?" Zhao Chen said.

"This ...... The grass people are stupid and don't know. Qian Shirong said.

"The imperial court has an army of millions, guarding the north! It is precisely because of the presence of a large army that the Jurchens cannot invade, we Han people can live and work in peace and contentment in Yanyun and the Central Plains, we can have our own land, and we can eat enough! However, this million-strong army fights the enemy, they also need military rations, and the soldiers who die in battle also need pensions! These military rations and pensions come from taxes! In addition, the local government has to build water facilities, which also cost silver, and this silver also comes from taxes! In addition, the imperial court built roads, and some places were affected, and the imperial court wanted disaster relief, and all kinds of places needed to spend money! The state is also forced to collect taxes! I hope you understand! Zhao Chen said.

"I see! After this tax goes up, it is also for ourselves, of course we have to pay for it! Qian Shirong said.

"In any dynasty, it is impossible not to collect taxes! But unlike previous dynasties, we collect taxes not for the pleasures of officials, but for the common people! In the future, we will let the people monitor the use of tax revenues. Zhao Chen said.

"Let the people supervise?" Qian Shirong was stunned for a moment, not understanding what it meant.

"In the future, we will select people of high moral standing from among the people to supervise state affairs, and the use of the state's tax revenue, and every payment will be reported to these people!" Zhao Chen said.

"This ......" Qian Shirong felt unbelievable, and asked the people to supervise the government, which was something that had never happened before, and he had never heard of it!

He is just an ordinary peasant in this era, his knowledge is limited, he only thinks it is incredible, he doesn't know whether this is good or bad, he even thinks that this is a blasphemy against the imperial power and the imperial court, and he didn't dare to say much at the moment, so he hurriedly lowered his head.

Zhao Chen smiled slightly and continued to walk forward.

"When will the wheat be harvested?" Zhao Chen said.

"I have to wait for half a month." Qian Shirong said.

"Are your granaries ready?" Zhao Chen said.

"It's all set! Every household has prepared a large granary! Qian Shirong grinned.

"When I harvest wheat, I am most afraid of rain, and when the time comes, I will come here again, and I will help the villagers harvest wheat together!" Zhao Chen said.

"Ahh Qian Shirong's face showed an expression of ecstasy! For the people of ancient times, the arrival of the emperor was a great joy! Qian Shirong never imagined that his village would be able to receive so much favor from the emperor!

"By the way, those Khitan people in the village, how are their farmlands grown?" Zhao Chen said.

"They also plant a lot of farmland! We are all poor, and now we all have land, and our hearts are on it, and they are no exception! However, Your Majesty, we have been supervising the Khitans and will never let them rebel! Qian Shirong patted his chest and said.

"You don't have to supervise them! When the country has money, schools will be set up in various places, and the children of the villagers can be enrolled, even the children of the Khitans! They all learn the culture of our Han people and wear our Han clothes, and after a long time, there is not much difference between them and our Han people! Zhao Chen said with a smile.

Qian Shirong nodded as if he didn't understand.

They kept walking towards the front, and for a full hour, the number of villagers beside Zhao Chen became more and more, and almost all of them had bright smiles on their faces that were only available in the harvest season.

"Your Majesty, stay in our village tonight, and we'll prepare a feast for you!" Qian Shirong said.

"Well, I'll rest here today! But don't prepare a feast, I just want to eat the farmhouse food here! Zhao Chen said.

"Okay!" Qian Shirong laughed.

That night, Zhao Chen stopped in the village.

In fact, the wheat is not ripe now, and the people in the village are living in a very bitter cold, and it is impossible for them to prepare a "feast", just some simple meals! Zhao Chen and the guards all carried dry food with them, and they even had to take out their own dry food and let the villagers cook.

Early the next morning, Zhao Chen left here and continued to move forward.

Its realization in the entire Yanjing court, the most important thing is to harvest wheat, the officials of the court, from Zhao Chen down, have gone to Yanyun to inspect the situation, ask the people if there are any difficulties, and help the people to prepare for the harvest! If it rains during the wheat harvest, it will be terrible, and the garrisons are ready to enter the area to help harvest the wheat!

It wasn't until the fifth day of the sixth month that Zhao Chen returned to the palace.

He first went to the Taiji Palace to greet Zhao Ji, and then came to the small courtyard where Zhiyueru was.

The summer is scorching, there are many trees in the yard, and it is quite cool, and at this moment the broken moon is embroidering in the shade under the trees.

Zhao Chen didn't alarm her, came behind her, and found that she was embroidering a pair of mandarin ducks.

Say:

There was something going on in the evening, and I came back late. I'm sorry..