In the afternoon, Zheng Man, a county official, came to Shangyuan with a batch of ploughing cattle, farm tools, and grain seeds.

"What's going on? What am I missing? ”

When he saw that the warlord Zhou Changming was leading many villagers to diligently dig ditches in the fields, Zheng Man's eyes widened in surprise.

He remembered Zhou Changming's disgust and resistance to Li Tai and his party yesterday, why did he take the initiative to help so enthusiastically after only one day?

Li Tai was not in the mood to solve Zheng Man's doubts, and when Zheng Man arrived and had no time to receive the materials, he first pulled the person aside and asked in a deep voice: "How much does Zheng know about Zhao, Shi and other wealthy families in the township?" ”

"The Zhao family is a large family in the township for a long time, and most of the original villages in the west are their clansmen. His clan is the most prosperous family, and he has served as the party leader of this realm for generations. Shi's surname is Hexi Hu, it has been two generations since he moved in, and his Jingzhao branch is the most powerful, and he was the governor of the state and county in his early years. ”

Zheng Man replied after hearing this, and then said nervously: "Could it be that these two families make it difficult for Langjun?" ”

"They incited the villagers to provoke, and I taught them a lesson. Because Lord Zhou Shu came to apologize in person, the matter has been revealed, and I will no longer pursue it. ”

Li Tai pointed to Zhou Changming, who was leading the crowd to dig a ditch in the distance, and explained slightly.

"I see."

Zheng Man also noticed several wounded villagers lying in the camp, and guessed that there should be a fight between them, and it was clear that Li Tai's side had won.

"There are several big households in this realm, and the Zhao family is still down, and Wei is not out of the township. It is best not to make friends with the historian, his family is strong and evil, and his reputation is even across the state and county, and in the early years, he dug holes and built statues, and even the state and county officials had anything to do with him. Li Lang is a famous and talented person, and this local tyrant is not the same, and entanglement too much will damage Qingwang. ”

Zheng Man comforted Li Tai for a few words, and said: "Zhou Changming, this person, this person is not a wealthy family in the township, and the eastern thief Kou realm has been in the unification for three years, and the powerful in the township have all retreated to Luoxi. Although he is rude and unrenowned, he is fair and often arbitrates in the township. In the future, if there is a nostalgia for trouble, Li Lang can deal with him. ”

Li Tai nodded after hearing this, after some negotiations before, he had changed his opinion of this Zhou Changming a lot, and when he saw that the other party really did what he said, he led the township soldiers to help dig a ditch, and he felt that this person was a rare township righteous man.

Skipping this topic, Li Tai pointed to Luoshui in the distance and said: "It's the flood season now, and the villagers' cultivation will also be finished, why is the amount of Luoshui still not abundant?" ”

After the previous village fight, Li Tai also realized that the river water source is also one of the basic elements of farming, so he rode his horse to Luoshui to take a look, only to find that the amount of Luoshui is not large, and large stony beach riverbeds are exposed in many places.

In addition to the basic needs of farming, the water-to-spinning wheel needed for his farming plan was also powered by water flow. Originally, I thought that the manor was close to Luoshui, and it should not be difficult to use water. But looking at the amount of water in this Luo, even if it can be leveled to the left and near the neighbors, the water flow power is not enough to drive the spinning wheel.

Zheng Man glanced to the northwest, and sighed: "Luoshui is not abundant, because the water source of the upstream river meander has been blocked by people, Luoxi has the Hussar General Zhao Gui Manor, and Luodong is the Liangchun Garden of Kaifu." These two are both big Taiwanese subordinates, each with thousands of songs, and the villagers don't dare to fight bravely, so they can only tolerate ......"

When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but be a little dumbfounded, thinking that going out of the city and farming in the countryside would be able to avoid personnel disputes in the Western Wei Dynasty, but he didn't expect that living in seclusion in the countryside would also be suppressed and sanctioned.

He thought that he could drive the weaving and printing money at full power by making a large spinning wheel out of the water, but it seemed that he was still a little taken for granted.

The water spinning wheel was invented in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the water resources in Guanzhong are naturally not as good as those in the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, and the hegemony and monopoly of limited resources have always been the privileges of the powerful and powerful. The villagers resist and reject him, and they have to start with the water source, which shows that the preciousness of water resources has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Guanzhong.

It seems that even if you want to be a big landlord in Guanzhong with peace of mind, you must have the protection of power from above!

Needless to say, Zhao Gui is also a general of the unified army among the warriors in Beizhen, and it is obviously not something that Li Tai can afford to provoke now.

Even if they don't care about their power in the future, for now, if these two people dare to directly build a dam to stop the water, the villagers can only pinch their noses and endure it. Before the Li Tai Manor was reclaimed, the big villagers instigated the villagers not to allow them to use water. It is also clear which is stronger and which is weak.

Large-scale use of water power seems to be no longer a thought of at the moment.

In order to avoid inadvertently provoking the existence that he couldn't afford to provoke, Li Tai asked what other manories of powerful generals were nearby, only to know that the entire Wuxiang County was almost divided by the powerful nobles.

There is a mound across the north of the original, which is the manor of Kaifu Yujin. The original east is the territory of Dugu Xin's family, and if Paul Baolu took a bigger step yesterday, the boundary stone might be planted in Dugu Xin's house.

After learning this, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh that Guanzhong was really shallow. Especially near this Huazhou City, it is even more noble and noble. If it weren't for Yu Wentai's care for Gao Zhongmi, it would be difficult for them to gain a foothold in Zuojin Township.

But in any case, if you come to it, you will be safe, and you can't give up Lu's dream because others are arrogant.

Li Tai cleaned up his mood, and looked at the means of production sent by Zheng Man, and when he saw that there were five ploughing oxen, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he thought of the ox power driving the spinning wheel.

Although not as low-cost as hydraulic, it is far more efficient than hand-cranked pedals. It is nothing more than adding several axle structures to change the direction of action of the force. Even with only junior high school mechanical knowledge, such a transformation can be completed.

"May I ask Zheng Zheng, is there any other cow power in the county that can be rented?"

Hearing Li Tai's question, Zheng Man said again: "There is a surplus of cattle in the county, but there are only a few households in Hexian County who receive land, and even fewer are willing to rent cattle for farming. Especially when he is not busy with farming, he has to force the high-ranking households in the county to collect rent. The tax on cattle is very expensive, and the five cattle I brought are enough for Li Lang Manor to cultivate this season, and it is just a burden to add to it. ”

Wuxiang County should have been regarded as the core area of the Western Wei Dynasty, but there were only a few thousand households in Juntianhu, which shows the seriousness of the situation of the population in Guanzhong.

Li Tai had no leisure to worry about the people's livelihood and finances in the Western Wei Dynasty, and after hearing this, he asked: "How much does this batch of loaned animal materials need to be returned after the autumn?" ”

After Zheng Man heard this, he took out a book, and said to Li Tai with some embarrassment after seven calculations: "Where you lease, you need to return 1,700 stone of corn grain after the autumn, and if all miscellaneous kinds of grain are folded, you need to add another 300 stones, and you can only cancel the account with 2,000 stones of grain." ”

"So much?"

Although Li Tai was more prejudicial than a bandit, he was also shocked when he heard this figure, five ploughing oxen, all kinds of farm tools, and various grain seeds of less than 100 stones, just for a few months on credit, even required a lease fee of 2,000 stone of grain!

It is no wonder that such an important production animal power as cattle has to be forcibly apportioned and rented by the government, where can ordinary small families afford it!

Although he knew that it was impossible, Li Tai still held the illusion of saving things in case, and asked again: "Can these rental fees be discounted?" ”

Zheng Man sighed with a complicated expression, avoided talking about it, and just said: "This quarter's rent collection is indeed slightly heavier than in previous years, just because of the defeat of Bishan and the huge consumption of materials. After the autumn, Daxingtai will gather the crowd to read, Wuxiang is in Benyi, and after the autumn, the army needs to lose 30,000 stone grain, and the palm prints of the government office and the lower ones are also distressed......"

"If one household can transfer 2,000 stones, it is not difficult to count enough!"

Li Tai said in a sullen voice, he has entered the township quite late, and it is still a matter of whether he can collect 2,000 stone of grain this year.

"So I advise Li Lang to be compassionate about animal power, just use it enough, there is really no need to rent more."

Zheng Man also said a little embarrassed, the rural households are reluctant to rent cattle, Xungui Manor has sufficient animal power, and Li Tai's demand here is definitely a big customer.

Zheng Man returned last night, and he was highly praised by the county, and ordered him to serve this big dog from ploughing to harvesting, especially after the autumn, he must collect enough to return to the loss as soon as possible.

Li Tai stood in the field, and for a while he only felt malice coming from all directions. After entering the township for such a short time, the villagers resisted and rejected, the nobles enclosed the land and dominated the river, and the government had to increase the rent and extort money, which was simply not satisfactory.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again: "Even if you have to lose this way, the annual income of the government should be far from the order of the governor of Daxingtai, right?" ”

Zheng Man sighed: "It's not a secret, the county office maintains it on a daily basis, and it costs money, and the rent adjustment of the average land is a constant number, and the large households can't enter and leave the official warehouse, even if they add the public land and all kinds of miscellaneous income, they still owe nearly 10,000 stones compared to the governor's order." The county respects and the princes to discuss, only after the autumn to ask for the big households, if the big households do not sympathize, I am afraid that they will be guilty and go to work! ”

"If I say that I can help the county to make up for this number, how can the county lieutenant general benefit me?"

Seeing Zheng Man's sad appearance, Li Tai also felt that it was not easy to be an official in the Western Wei Dynasty, and everything had to look at the faces of the powerful families under his rule, which was really aggrieved.

Zheng Man's eyes widened when he heard this, and he stepped forward and grabbed Li Tai's wrist and said in a trembling voice: "Is Li Lang's words true? ”

Li Tai even beat the drum in his heart and couldn't be sure about the return of 2,000 stones, saying that if he wanted to replenish the food gap of nearly 10,000 stones, it would only be bragging. But he has a lot of lice and is not afraid of biting, and he has to owe it anyway, so it is better to owe it to Dali, and it is better to owe it to the creditors to respect him.

"There is a surplus of animal power in the county, and there should be manpower in the soldiers. These kinds of operations are insufficient, and the strength cannot be exhausted, so the yakura has failed to harvest. You may as well rent these kinds of pawns to me, and I will return them to the supplement. ”

It was a while since he came to this world, and Li Tai also realized that the private use of public weapons in the Western Wei Dynasty was really not a big crime against taboos.

In order to achieve the performance target, even the county order has to go to the countryside to beg for big households. Why not pack and rent out the surplus manpower and animal power of the county government, which can not only maintain dignity, but also achieve goals?

"It's not that I can't trust Li Lang, but it's a big deal......

"I understand, I won't let Zheng take the risk from you, and you have your own strategy to convince the county honor!"

Li Tai said, his eyes fell on the farm tools sent by Zheng Man, long plows, short pears, and so on. Then the next thing is, summon, Quyuan Plow!