My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 258: The rush to open up new land, the prince wants to eat flowers?

I want the horse to run, and I want the horse not to eat grass.

This of course doesn't work.

Inside the Shenwu Palace.

Li Chengqian is checking the latest list of names reported.

This is a list of land registration reported by some prefectures and counties in Liaodong and Silla.

Liaodong is the granary for more than one billion people in the future.

But as of now, there are too few places for development.

In the absence of the Little Ice Age, the warm climate is most suitable for farming.

The first Little Ice Age lasted from the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty.

The second Little Ice Age lasted from the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the early Western Jin Dynasty.

The third time was from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and then to the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty was just established and it still had more than two hundred years to live. The Little Ice Age would also come in more than two hundred years, which means ten generations.

Therefore, it is naturally impossible to give up Liaodong.

The amount of grain grown over two hundred years is truly an astronomical figure.

So, how can we develop the Liaodong land to the maximum extent?

Ultimately, it’s still human resources.

Therefore, Li Chengqian came up with the best way to motivate them, which was to reclaim wasteland and give away farmland.

As long as the land is reclaimed, the people can keep three layers for themselves, and it can be approved by the government, registered, and given a land deed.

In this way, people's enthusiasm for land reclamation will be enhanced to the highest extent.

In fact, strictly speaking, many noble families reclaimed wasteland secretly, and then hid these fertile fields without reporting them to the government, so they were not taxed.

Most of the aristocratic families in the Tang Dynasty today do the same.

This leads to the concealment of population and land.

Not only the noble families, but also the common people in some remote areas were secretly reclaiming wasteland and cultivating crops.

But this is against the laws of the court. Once discovered, not only will the land be confiscated, but there will also be huge fines and imprisonment. There is no security guarantee at all, and buying and selling is not allowed.

Now, Li Chengqian allowed himself to keep 30%, which was like pie in the sky for the people.

With the land deed documents, these land properties can not only be passed down from generation to generation and bought and sold, but also be protected by the government.

As long as you work hard and reclaim more land, you can own hundreds of acres of fertile farmland.

For a family, such temptation is enormous.

After this policy was implemented, a large number of people from the Central Plains were eager to try and prepare to immigrate to Liaodong.

Only when a large number of Han people immigrated to Liaodong could the Tang Dynasty's control over the Liaodong region be fully implemented.

"Crazy, these people are crazy."

"Your Highness, the people of Liaodong and Silla are all running out to open up wasteland. The prices of oxen and farm tools on the market are skyrocketing."

"It is said that the price of a plowing ox has risen to 30,000 coins, and the price of a curved plow has risen to 7,000 coins. The price of hoes, sickles, and rakes has also increased several times."

"Also, I heard that in some places, people have been exhausted to death in order to open up new land."

"Changsun sent a message saying that a large number of people from the Central Plains are entering Liaodong City. They are all heading for Liaodong. The number may have exceeded tens of thousands."

"There is already an endless stream of people coming from Yingzhou, no, from the Tang Dynasty to Liaodong, all of whom are here to open up wasteland."

Li Dejian spoke in an amazed tone.

When the prince first implemented the policy of giving away land deeds for reclaiming wasteland, many officials actually disagreed with it, and some even thought that the prince's approach was too unprofitable.

Li Dejian thought so too.

It is obvious that the people can be conscripted to do labor service to open up wasteland, so why should they give away 30% of their land? And they should also be registered and given land deeds. Isn't this a loss to the government?

But who would have thought that after this policy was issued, all the people went crazy.

The speed of land reclamation was beyond imagination and surprised almost everyone.

The amount of land that a healthy adult can reclaim in a day is limited by many factors, and ranges roughly from one-tenth to one acre.

If it is cultivated land with loose soil and less sand and gravel, or land close to a water source that has been abandoned after years of cultivation, it is easier to reclaim it. It is normal for a strong laborer to reclaim half an acre a day with sharper iron farm tools under normal work.

The soft land formed in some river alluvial plains has less resistance during reclamation, and perhaps even more.

On the contrary, if you encounter barren land with heavy soil, rocks and tree roots, the physical strength and time consumed will increase exponentially.

In wastelands like mountains and hills, clearing rocks and cutting through tangled tree roots is extremely time-consuming.

The speed of reclamation is greatly affected by the quality of agricultural tools. If you have a fine and sharp iron plow or hoe, you can break and turn the soil more efficiently.

If there were only simple, blunt stone axes, wooden plows and other primitive farming tools, efficiency would be greatly reduced.

In normal corvée labor to reclaim wasteland, it is naturally impossible for everyone to work very hard. Even if there are supervisors, they will try their best to be lazy. An average adult can only work on a dozen or so acres of land a day, or even less.

But now, without a supervisor, almost the whole family is working hard to reclaim the land.

This is doing things for yourself, how can it be the same as being forced to do things by the government?

Some people are worried that policies will change, so they work really hard. It is not uncommon for them to die of exhaustion from continuous high-intensity work.

Li Chengqian heard the report, but he didn't look anxious at all. Instead, he showed a confident smile. He walked to the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the guards patrolling outside the palace, and said slowly: "This is just the beginning. The people have been depressed for too long. With such an opportunity to stand out and earn a fortune, they naturally have to fight with all their strength."

The land of Liaodong is probably the most honest and clean now. There is no more oppression from the nobles and no more corrupt government. Everything starts from scratch and all policies are implemented from top to bottom.

This is the happiest time for people living in Liaodong.

If you don't work hard to save money now, when will you do it?

Li Dejian scratched his head, still somewhat puzzled: "Your Highness, the price of goods has risen so much that oxen and farm tools have become several times more expensive. Many poor people simply cannot afford them. Sooner or later, the speed of land reclamation will slow down. Besides, exhausting people to death is no small matter."

"Once this matter spreads, the noble families in the Central Plains will definitely make a fuss about it."

At present, Li Chengqian’s reputation in the Central Plains, especially outside Chang'an, can be said to be very bad.

In this era, information is blocked and communication is restricted. All people can hear and see is what others say.

Previously, Li Chengqian became famous throughout the Tang Dynasty because of his invention of the curved plow. But now, in order to undermine the influence of the crown prince, many places have begun to fabricate all kinds of lies to secretly target the crown prince.

These methods were basically in the form of rumors. For example, the curved plow was not made by the prince at all, but by a craftsman whose skills were discovered by the prince. Not only did the prince not use him, but he also locked him up in a dungeon and tortured him. In the end, he obtained the technology to make the curved plow and kept it for himself.

Also, the prince is very fond of men. He cannot fall asleep at night without a few men around him.

Anyway, no matter how outrageous it is.

The local government officials are all lackeys of the aristocratic families, so they naturally turn a blind eye to such things.

When a scholar kills someone, his pen is the best weapon.

It doesn’t matter even if it spreads to Chang’an. Who can find out the source of these messy rumors?

For the time being, Li Chengqian can't do anything to them.

Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly and interrupted him: "Don't panic, I have already made arrangements. The ironware factory has prepared a large number of farm tools and curved plows. They will be released all at once this time to stabilize prices. As for the oxen, notify the local government offices and rent them to the people at a reasonable price."

"As for tiring myself to death, there's really no way around it."

Working yourself to death is actually sudden death. Who can stop someone from seeking death?

In fact, there are not many people who really die from exhaustion. It is only because this way of death is very strange that it has become widely circulated.

“Your Highness has thought it through!

Li Dejian thought for a moment and then said, "It's just that it will be autumn in a few months. It may be a bit troublesome to recruit soldiers to attack Baekje by then."

"Because of the land reclamation, His Highness previously approved a large number of soldiers to go home and help. During the battle, will the soldiers be completely distracted and only think about the land reclamation, which will affect their morale?"

It is impossible that all the soldiers under Li Chengqian had occupational diseases. Most of them were farmers.

Because of the problems with the implementation of this policy, for an ordinary family, one laborer can represent dozens of acres of fertile land.

Normally, if you reclaim half an acre of land every day, you will have fifteen acres in a month.

If you hand over 70% and keep 30%, you can still have four or five acres of land.

You can have ten acres of land in two months.

In this era, the output of ten acres of land, even after paying taxes, can barely support an ordinary family of five. If you do some side business, you can live a good life and even have a bite of meat during festivals.

Therefore, Li Chengqian specially approved that the soldiers under his command could go home to help reclaim wasteland.

Liaodong has a population of three million, and Silla has over one million people, so the number of able-bodied laborers must be over one million.

During this period, from the age of fifteen to sixty, people are basically considered to be in the labor force.

This means that every day, at least 400,000 acres of farmland can be reclaimed, and 70% of it will be in the hands of the government, or 280,000 acres, of which will be in the hands of Li Chengqian.

In one month, that’s 8.4 million acres.

Of course, there aren’t actually that many. After all, land reclamation is not just about digging the soil, it also requires the construction of water conservancy projects.

But this number cannot be lower than two million acres per month.

There is a huge gap between the theoretical and actual values, not because of corruption, but because many laborers have their own fields to cultivate. It is impossible to ask all employees to go and reclaim wasteland. What if the existing fertile land is not used to grow crops?

However, this number is also very large.

This is in addition to the existing fertile farmland.

Also, because land reclamation was too tempting, Li Dejian was worried that it would affect morale.

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "No problem. We will announce it then. During the battle, the income from land reclamation will not be counted. This will also help everyone to maintain the fields well, so that the soldiers can fight with peace of mind."

In fact, we don’t have to worry about morale issues now.

Many people only saw that Li Chengqian mobilized the enthusiasm of the people in this way, but failed to see the other side.

In fact, the interests of the Silla people in Liaodong are now tied to Li Chengqian.

This policy was issued by Li Chengqian, and the people are not stupid. If the prince is gone, will anyone recognize these land deeds obtained through land reclamation?

This is the people’s will and opinion.

The will of the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty has been thoroughly rooted in the hearts of the people of Liaodong.

"Your Highness is wise." Li Dejian bowed.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and then asked, "By the way, how is the cotton I asked you to find now?"

Li Dejian replied: "It has been confirmed. There were many plants planted in Gaochang Kingdom, and there are also many in the Tang Dynasty."

"I have asked someone to buy some. It will be delivered soon and the garden will be full of plants by then."

At this point, Li Dejian expressed some anticipation: "I heard that after the flowers bloom, they will turn into a blanket of white snow. I imagine it will be extremely beautiful."

Li Chengqian laughed a little and said, "I asked you to get some cotton, not for viewing."

In the south of the Central Plains, around the 2nd century BC, cotton was introduced from India to Hainan Island and Guangdong and Guangxi regions via Southeast Asia. At first, cotton was mostly used as an ornamental plant in these areas, and then it was gradually used for textiles.

In the north, cotton was introduced from the Western Regions along the Silk Road. Around the Southern and Northern Dynasties, cotton fabrics gradually appeared.

During the Tang Dynasty, cotton planting and textile technology had not received much attention from the rulers, and cotton planting and textile technology had not been promoted.

It was not until the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty that cotton planting and textile industry prospered on a certain scale in some places in the north, but the impact was not great.

It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, vigorously advocated cotton planting and set up relevant institutions to promote planting and textile technology. Cotton planting was carried out on a large scale in the Central Plains, laying a solid foundation for the prosperity of the cotton textile industry in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Kublai Khan obviously made great contributions to the development of cotton.

Although the Yuan Dynasty was in chaos, Kublai Khan also made contributions in some aspects.

It is also because of these relationships that the Yuan Dynasty was recognized as part of the traditional dynasty of the Central Plains. Even Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, recognized the orthodox status of the Yuan Dynasty.

The most important thing here is that the Mongol Empire was almost destroyed at the hands of Kublai Khan, who led the Han people to the north to conquer Mongolia.

For the Central Plains, the most difficult thing is to find traces of the Mongolian tribes in the vast desert.

Since ancient times, when the Central Plains dynasties attacked Mongolia, most of their energy was spent on finding people.

However, Kublai Khan said that even if others didn't know where his brothers were hiding in Mongolia, how could he not know?
He directly massacred the Mongolian holy land of Karakorum, burned down his own hometown, and destroyed his own nest.

For this reason, Kublai Khan is called the biggest traitor in the history of the Mongol Empire.

Li Dejian was a little confused.

Can cotton be eaten?
He had heard about eating flowers. It was quite popular in Jiannan Road, and the local natives loved eating flowers the most.

Jiannan Road is Yunnan in later generations, but there was no name Yunnan at that time.

So, the prince wants to eat flowers?

(End of this chapter)