Chapter 270 No Salary Yet
In March, the grass grows and kites fly.

In the drizzle and muddy road, Zhang Liao rode his horse along the Qinzhi Road in Chiyang.

There is no essential difference between the Chidao and the Qinzhidao, and their construction specifications are similar; but the Qinzhidao specifically refers to the Chidao that runs north from Xianyang, follows the mountain ridge like the Great Wall, and leads directly to Wuyuan.

The fields around Chiyang are in a state of continuous cultivation and reclamation. As long as the animal power is stable, the military and civilians will reclaim as much land as possible.

If you sow a handful of millet, you can at least harvest enough food for two or three days in the autumn.

All we have to do is make sure that during the growth period of millet, cattle, sheep and other livestock are not allowed to enter the fields and damage the crops.

With millet's strong growth potential, it will compete with other weeds for growth.

Cereals have different growth cycles, so you can continue farming after the Waking of Insects... At worst, you can open up the land and grow vegetables.

As Zhang Liao was driving his horse on the road, he saw that mulberry trees had already been planted on both sides of the straight road.

Seeing Zhang Liao slow down his horse, Guan Yu said, "There are few mulberry trees in Guanzhong. The Grand Marshal ordered us to collect mulberry trees from all over the place so as to expand the mulberry fields. He said that the sloping land that is not conducive to cultivation should be planted with mulberry, chestnut, peach, plum, apricot and pear trees."

Guan Yu and Red Hare were now one and the same, Red Hare also slowed down as he spoke: "When I returned to Chang'an a few days ago, I heard that many grapes were found in Shanglin Garden. The Grand Marshal has sent people to maintain the grapes, and after they have tiller branches, they will be distributed to officials and people for planting."

"Grape?"

Zhang Liao had also seen this relatively luxurious fruit. When Luoyang was prosperous, there was actually no shortage of grapes.

But at that time, Zhang Liao's status was not very high and he did not eat much.

Looking at the mulberry forest planted by cuttings in front of me, I saw ox carts transporting river water to irrigate the mulberry forest that protects the road.

Zhang Liao couldn't help but let out a long sigh. When he led his troops through Henei and entered Hedong through Chenguan, he found that the county and county governments under the jurisdiction of Hei Xiong were closed.

It is ridiculous to say that after the county officials were arranged to cultivate the official land, there were no rioters inside and no invaders outside.

It can only be said that the heads of Wang Yun's three clans, 100,000 Huns, and the blood and tears of the rebellious tyrants in Taiyuan and Hedong who were all moved to Guanzhong have made the surrounding forces, big and small, learn to lie dormant.

Especially the Montenegrin Army, which was in internal chaos, showed no signs of improvement.

"Yun Chang, when I came here, I heard people say that the taxes in Guanzhong were quite heavy. Why are the people everywhere so happy to produce?"

“The taxes are indeed a bit heavy.”

Guan Yu explained: "The heavy tariff alone has caused merchants and powerful people to slander us. However, the land tax has been clarified. The land tax for civilians has been increased from four liters per mu to one dou. The water conservancy in Guanzhong has not been dredged, so this year the land tax is unified at four liters per mu."

"What about the people outside the household?"

"In addition to civilian households, there are slave households and military households. Military households are all members of the Grand Marshal's army. The land they receive is the Grand Marshal's private land, which is rented out at a tax rate of 30% per year. For the borrowing of oxen and farming tools, the tax rate is 40%."

Seeing Zhang Liao's doubts about the heavy land rent for military households, Guan Yu explained in detail: "For all military households, the head tax is issued by the Grand Marshal; the head tax for future military households and their wives, concubines and children is exempted."

The tax levied was in the form of five-zhu coins.

Ordinary people needed to earn five-zhu coins by selling agricultural products or working to pay the head tax.

The circulation of Wuzhu coins among the people was not smooth, so collecting head taxes between the pavilions was a long-term task. It was collected continuously from the autumn harvest and collected in installments according to the plan, with 120 coins collected from adults each year in batches.

The biggest function of the mouth tax is to count the actual population and force the people to sell agricultural products or go to work, thereby increasing their interaction with the market.

When Zhang Liao heard what Guan Yu said, he immediately understood.

Although the land tax of civilians was very low, they had to sell agricultural products at low prices in order to obtain the five-zhu coins to pay the head tax.

The head tax was collected after the summer harvest. If a family did not have enough five-zhu coins in reserve, they could only sell at a low price in order to obtain five-zhu coins.

This is similar to the household tax system currently implemented in Yan and Yu states. The land tax is also low, but the land rent is very high. The cotton and silk stipulated in the household tax replaced the Wuzhu coins, giving silk monetary significance.

But the same thing happened. Because of the war, many people actually lacked looms. If they wanted to obtain the household tax quota of two kilograms of cotton and two pieces of silk, they could only sell agricultural products at low prices or sell their labor.

Hei Xiong did not refer to Cao Cao's relatively mature household tax system, but instead actively restored the Han system, attempting to mint coins and restore the market.

As for the head tax that Black Bear paid on behalf of the military households, this money will definitely be used for a specific purpose and will not be handed over to county agencies.

Perhaps in the future, when the Ministry of Agriculture compiles national accounts, the head tax of military households will appear on the books, but it will not be used as a deployable resource.

Zhang Liao thought of some tricks of the court, so he asked, "Yun Chang, how are the salaries of the officials distributed?"

"Now, the food consumption of officials, civilians and military households in Guanzhong is calculated, but no actual salary is paid."

Guan Yu also felt a little toothache, but he also knew that the grain reserves in Guanzhong were almost gone.

Now, if anyone dares to mess with the black bear, the black bear will bring the person to his house for a meal.

After finishing the spring ploughing, people will most likely have to eat wild food.

Fortunately, there were enough animals and they were adequately distributed among the grass-roots, so when we were almost starving to death, we could still survive by eating meat.

This is different from the past. In the past, when there was a widespread food shortage, the lower-class people had no livestock to provide food, and food was often a resource monopolized by the powerful and wealthy.

In addition, the spring rainfall in Guanzhong this year was normal... As long as there is water, the grass and trees in the wild will be lush and they can survive for two or three months by eating grass. If there is insufficient rainfall and there is a trend of drought, black bears will not sit idly by.

By then, it will most likely be the turn of the people of Jingzhou to be unlucky.

Zhang Liao frowned as he listened, somewhat unbelieving: "Since the Grand Marshal sent troops to Guanzhong in August, it has been seven months, and there is no salary?"

"Well, initially it was just the centralized distribution of wartime rations."

Guan Yu did not smile, and spoke as calmly as possible: "At that time, the Tiger Tooth Army and the accompanying civilians all distributed rations in this way, and the people of Guanzhong, Hedong, and Taiyuan were no match for the Grand Marshal. So no matter how the Grand Marshal divided it, everyone had to bear it. However, Zhong Yuanchang's Sili Xiaowei Yamen stopped supplying rations since the Grand Marshal withdrew his troops in the first month of this year."

Zhang Liao listened and nodded slowly: "No wonder I heard that Zhong Yuanchang's wife and concubine sold the Zhong family's property. It turned out that they were trying to raise money and food for Zhong Yuanchang."

Those who could work for Zhong Yao were generally not poor, and it was not difficult for them to raise their own food.

From Zhong Yao onwards, everyone was gritting their teeth and persevering.

The Sili Xiaowei's office can be disbanded, but an explanation must be given.

If they disband because they are hungry, they deserve to be bullied in the future.

We are gritting our teeth and holding on now, all for the future.

Hearing that Zhong Yao's wives and concubines were selling their property, Guan Yu instinctively smiled and said, "As for the salaries of officials next year, I heard that there are roughly two ways to pay them. The first is that the officials in the three prefectures of Guanzhong will have their salaries reduced to five-zhu coins; outside the three prefectures, the salaries will be half of the money and grain; in addition, after the autumn harvest this year, the Grand Marshal will sort out the merits and grant the title and salary according to the military merits and titles, which will also be half of the money and grain."

Increasing the circulation of currency and converting Wuzhu coins into salaries was not an innovation but an old practice from the Han Dynasty.

As for the collection of head tax, if the people do not divide their households according to the law, double head tax will be levied; this type of punishment also includes men and women who do not get married after they reach marriageable age, and they can also be fined.

Zhang Liao was puzzled and asked, "Only the money and grain are discounted in half? No discount for silk and silk?"

"I don't know the details. I heard that someone proposed this, but the Grand Marshal rejected it. He planned to use the collected silk and silk to reward the officials with winter and summer clothes."

Guan Yu could not help but sigh and said: "The Grand Marshal is definitely not a money-loving person. Now the neighbors are afraid of his tyranny, so all the soldiers and civilians in Guanzhong can return to the fields. After the summer and autumn harvests, who can stand up to us?"

Seeing Zhang Liao in deep thought, Guan Yu did not disturb him, and the two of them rode side by side.

Both of their mounts are the best horses in the world, and when they gallop, their four hooves move in a forward-turning mode, so the riding posture is very stable.

After walking for more than ten miles, they arrived at a small pavilion and rested under the wooden shed outside the pavilion.

There were guards at the post station who would come forward to feed the horses, but it was not dinner time yet, so if they wanted to eat they could only use the food they brought with them; if they really wanted to cook and use the fuel from the post station, they had to pay for the fuel.

They were on a business trip, and were provided with accommodation at night and two meals a day along the way; the horses were fed free of charge.

Guan Yu had no shortage of money recently. With Black Bear's permission, when he was recruiting soldiers in Hedong, Liu Bei sent someone to deliver a generous thank-you gift.

The thank-you gift was a return gift to the five thousand Wuhuan followers, but some of the local specialties that came with the thank-you gift were for Guan Yu, including twenty stones of tea, which made Guan Yu financially free.

During this temporary break, Guan Yu brewed a pot of tea and drank it and ate wheat cakes with Zhang Liao.

While eating the cake, Zhang Liao said, "When I led my army from Liyang and marched west, I sent a letter to Cao Gong and swore to serve the north for the rest of my life and not to be his enemy. Looking at the actions of the Grand Marshal, do you have any intention of sending troops to the Central Plains in the near future?"

"This……"

Guan Yu glanced around and saw that there were only a few of their respective followers under the wooden shed, while the headman and guards of the post station were all in the distance.

Guan Yu said, "Wenyuan also knows that Liu Yuzhou has long been determined to fight against the traitors. Now I am temporarily serving in Guanzhong, and Wenyuan can guess the specific purpose. But the Grand Marshal's use of troops is unpredictable, and the specifics are not something we can guess."

"Brother, I have no intention of guessing what the Great Sima is thinking."

Zhang Liao explained: "If the Grand Marshal goes to fight against the barbarians this winter, I will have to sell all my property to support my troops. Otherwise, I will have to dismiss most of my troops."

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu advised: "The Grand Marshal seems to have a lot of contact with Lü Fengxian's former subordinates. Even if Wenyuan can't be of great use, it won't be difficult to provide for his subordinates."

"Just in case."

Zhang Liao took a sip of tea and said, "I have been away from home for more than ten years. My brother has been supporting the family and taking care of my mother. Logically, I owe a lot to my mother and brother, so I dare not ask for any family property. But my warriors have followed me for more than ten years, and I feel uneasy if I just leave them alone."

Now Zhang Liao's troops were temporarily settled in the Wenxi area, on both sides of the Sushui River.

Zhang Liao had to thank the generosity of the Hedong gentry, because most of the gentry joined the rebellion, so after being forced to migrate to Guanzhong by Black Bear, large tracts of fertile farmland were left in Hedong.

There are many unowned fields on both sides of the Sushui River. With the help of Guan Yu, Zhang Liao's troops have begun to station troops on both sides of the Sushui River for spring plowing. Planting some millet, wheat, and soybeans can also produce good crops.

However, in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops, food supply must be guaranteed.

It is not difficult to feed a thousand strong men, but it is difficult to feed a thousand warriors who need to maintain training and combat effectiveness.

As for the part of the business run by Zhang Liao's brother, sacrificing development prospects to support the army can only sustain it until winter.

Guan Yu had no interest in Zhang Liao's troops. He thought about it and said, "Wenyuan, don't worry too much. From what I know about the Grand Marshal, since you have come from afar to surrender, the Grand Marshal will never wrong Wenyuan."

(End of this chapter)