Chapter 105: The Fish is Too Big for One Person to Eat

Good and bad are often subjective judgments.

When viewed rationally, Zhang Bing’s actions are enough to make these gentry go to Shanxi Zezhou Prefecture to dig up his family’s ancestral graves.

Zhang Bing, with his extensive experience in officialdom and worldly wisdom, understands that in business, just like in warfare, one should never show weakness.

Even though he needs the gentry for the sale of the garrison’s land, he also knows that if he were to humble himself and beg these people to buy the land, they would undoubtedly take advantage of the situation and drive down the prices.

However, if they come to him seeking the land, then things would be different.

With a sorrowful expression on his face, Zhang Bing continued, “I have often thought that the gentry have made significant sacrifices for the implementation of the national policy. Shouldn’t the court provide them with some compensation? After all, they are all people with large households and businesses, and without thousand acres of land, it’s hard to get a peaceful sleep.”

Liang Jun, Wu Hui, and other gentry nodded in agreement.

Isn’t that the truth?

In the past, the conversation would go something like this:

“How many acres of land do you have, sir?”

“Oh, please forgive me, I come from a prominent family…”

Now, the conversation has shifted to:

“How many acres of land do you have, sir?”

“Oh, I’m ashamed to admit, it’s hardly worth mentioning…”

Without land, how can one be considered a prominent family?

And how can they qualify as gentry?

Just take a look at the term “gentry(富绅)” – it contains the character for “field(田).” If you don’t have land, can you still be called gentry?

In the past, they were riding high with tens of thousands of acres of land!

Now, it’s a pitiful return to the situation of ten years ago.

Zhang Bing sighed and said, “So, you see, we need to buy some land. However, you are more familiar with the situation inside and outside Beiping Prefecture than I am. Those who didn’t have land before and have obtained it now naturally treasure it greatly and won’t easily sell it. As for those who already had land, they have also heard about the new government policies and hope for a better life, so how could they possibly sell their land? Elder Liang, what do you say, how much silver per mu is the land outside Beiping Prefecture now?”

Liang Jun, with a bitter expression, replied, “Before the implementation of the new government policies, an ordinary plot of land cost around five taels of silver per mu, and even the best quality farmland was no more than ten taels. However, nowadays, land prices have skyrocketed, and even high-quality farmland can go for as much as twenty taels. Given these circumstances, it’s quite challenging to acquire a large quantity of land.”

In the past, various means could be used to bankrupt self-sustaining farmers and then buy their land at low prices, but now, that trick doesn’t work anymore.

The head of the Agricultural Tax Bureau supervises land contracts, and any contracts below market prices are not processed. Furthermore, they investigate the willingness of both parties in the transaction. If there is any evidence of oppressing the common people or malicious suppression, they can expect officials from the Prefectural Government Office to come knocking.

With strict control over land transactions and the Single Whip method protecting the interests of self-sustaining farmers, the pressure on them has been reduced, which has curbed the sale of land.

Scarcity drives up value, and with fewer land sales, prices naturally rise.

Wealthy gentry who want to buy land not only face significantly increased costs but can only purchase small parcels of land. They cannot assemble a large piece of land, and when they want to show off, they can only point to the east and say, “These three plots are mine, oh, and by the way, there’s another one to the west, and one to the north…”

It’s a humbling experience.

Zhang Bing nodded slightly, tapped the table, and said, “It’s impossible for people to purchase large amounts of land from farmers, right?”

“That’s natural.”

Wu Hui and the others looked dejected.

Zhang Bing chuckled and said, “So, as the Prefectural Commissioner, I’ve submitted a petition to the court, preparing to sell the garrison lands to provide a foundation for all the gentry.”

“Garrison lands!” Liang Jun, Wu Hui, and the others began discussing fervently.

Everyone knew that there were a substantial number of garrison lands within the military settlement system, and even in some regions, wealthy gentry colluded with garrison officers to divide the lands originally belonging to soldiers. However, around Beiping Prefecture, such incidents were rare.

The main reason was that Zhu Di had been stationed in Beiping Prefecture for a long time, and with the ongoing military campaigns against the Mongols in the early Ming Dynasty, the military settlement system had only been strengthened, not weakened.

Facing Zhu Di’s strict military rule, not many officers dared to take land away from the soldiers.

Liang Jun silenced the lively discussion and asked Zhang Bing, “Your Excellency, garrison lands belong to the state and the soldiers. How can they be sold? Not to mention whether the garrison soldiers would agree, it seems the imperial court wouldn’t approve of it either, right?”

Zhang Bing smiled and said, “Our current Emperor is an insightful ruler who understands the losses suffered by the gentry. He not only agreed to sell garrison lands but also, to accommodate all of you, offered a low tax rate of 1/20 for three years.”

“Is this true, Your Excellency?” Liang Jun, Wu Hui, and the others were suddenly excited.

In these times, the opportunity to purchase a significant amount of land was already a pleasant surprise, and the prospect of low taxes made it even more enticing!

“As the Prefectural Commissioner of Beiping, I would never deceive you all, and besides, without the approval of the court, who would dare to engage in such risky business?” Zhang Bing replied with a serious tone.

Liang Jun, Wu Hui, and the other gentry had smiles on their faces and were elated.

Although there weren’t many garrison lands around Beiping Prefecture, there were still one to two million mu of land. And if you moved a bit further north, there could be three to four million mu.

With so much land, why worry about not being able to buy it?

Although the location was a bit remote, what did it matter? If needed, they could arrange for some servants and relatives to move there. Whether they personally went or not, the land would be there, the crops would be there, and the money would be there.

“Your Excellency, we don’t dare to inquire about the details of the military settlement system and the soldiers’ situation, but we’d like to know when these garrison lands can be sold and how the prices will be determined,” Liang Jun inquired with a composed demeanor.

Zhang Bing smiled and proposed, “This year, the garrison lands are already filled with crops. We can determine the land quality and pricing based on the condition of the crops and soil fertility. What do you think?”

“That sounds excellent!” everyone promptly agreed.

Zhang Bing nodded slightly and said, “As for when the garrison lands will be available for sale, it doesn’t depend on me but on all of you.”

“What do you mean, Your Excellency?” Wu Hui was somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Bing raised his glass, took a sip, and explained, “Selling the garrison lands not only compensates the gentry but also supports the new army policy. To implement this, we need to ensure that the garrison lands can be sold. If you, gentlemen, cannot take over this batch of garrison lands or if you take too little, causing a large portion of the garrison lands to go fallow, then the sale of garrison lands will not proceed.”

“Your Excellency, how many garrison lands are there?” Wu Hui asked again.

After a moment of thought, Zhang Bing replied, “In total, there are three million mu, and you need to secure at least two million two hundred thousand mu. If you cannot, then the sale of garrison lands will not proceed, and the low tax benefit will be forfeited.”

“So many?!” The gentry were somewhat surprised.

Among the gentry present, there were only forty families, and even if the land was inexpensive, each family would have to come up with tens of thousands of taels of silver. Who could afford that all at once?

Zhang Bing smiled, raised his wine cup, and said, “Whether it can be done or not depends on all of you. Come, let’s toast to success!”

Everyone raised their cups, wearing smiles on their faces, although their hearts were heavy.

During the meal, Zhang Bing left in a hurry.

The others looked to Liang Jun, hoping he could provide reassurance.

After pondering for a while, Liang Jun relaxed and enjoyed his meal. He only took a few bites and sighed as he looked at the large fish in front of him, “I’m getting old; I can’t eat this much anymore.”

Wu Hui’s eyes lit up as he understood. He pounded the table and said to everyone, “What elder Liang means is that the forty of us can’t handle this batch of garrison lands alone. Why don’t we invite more people? There are more gentry in Beiping Prefecture than just us forty families, right? Haha, my friends, we’re on the path to prosperity. Let’s toast to that!”

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