Chapter 102: Arrangement
Editor: Atlas Studios
When Qi Haoran heard that Mu Yangling and the rest were not leaving, he immediately jumped up happily and ran to look for her. “That’s great. We can practice martial arts together in the future.”
Mu Yangling didn’t even look at him. “Dream on. I need to farm. How can I have time to practice martial arts?”
Qi Haoran was stunned. “You’re a girl. Why do you have to farm too?”
Mu Yangling rolled her eyes. “My father has to enter the camp to train. Who else in my family can farm?”
Qi Haoran opened his mouth and thought of Shu Wanniang’s gentle and virtuous appearance. Indeed, she did not look like someone who could farm.
Mu Yangling went up to Qi Haoran and asked, “My father became a section commander. Do you know who the platoon commander is?”
Qi Haoran’s expression turned solemn with a hint of smugness. “I don’t know, but I know who the general of that camp is.”
“Who is it?”
“Me!” Qi Haoran looked up and waited for Mu Yangling to praise him.
Mu Yangling said with her mouth half-open, “This is abusing one’s power for personal gain.”
Qi Haoran jumped up and said, “I’m relying on my true abilities.”
Mu Yangling pursed her lips. “No matter how capable you are, you’re only 12 years old. How can you be a general? Did your Big Brother give you the title?”
Qi Haoran’s shoulders slumped. “I’m only in charge of the 5th Division for the time being. The general in name is still Big Brother, but Big Brother said that I’m in charge of everything in the 5th Division.”
Mu Yangling said affirmatively, “Have all the good seedlings been picked?”
Qi Haoran’s face flushed red as he said angrily, “Isn’t your father still under me? Hmph, even if all the good seedlings have been chosen, I can still surpass them.”
Having heard this, Mu Yangling worried even more about her father’s future. What future could he have in a group of leftover soldiers?
Qi Xiuyuan was obviously handing Qi Haoran 5th Division for practice. Mu Shi was naturally pretty safe in such a team, but he seemed to have no future.
“Then work hard. I’ll wait for you to give my father a bright future.”
“Don’t doubt me. I’m really capable.”
Seeing that his face had turned red, Mu Yangling’s expression turned serious and she said seriously, “I’m serious. You’re only 12 years old and already you can lead troops to war. You’re really capable. I also heard that the soldiers of the 4th Division were previously very cowardly.”
After receiving Mu Yangling’s affirmation, Qi Haoran’s expression improved a lot. He heard Mu Yangling continue, “Perhaps you’re not cut out for studying and can’t compare to Fan Zijin in terms of scheming, but you’re clearly a brave general in war…”
Qi Haoran’s expression stiffened slightly before he felt relieved. Although she didn’t praise him completely, on account that she had more or less spoken the truth, he didn’t hold it against her.
Mu Yangling really felt that Qi Haoran was very impressive. Thinking about the children she encountered in her previous life, what were they doing when they were 12 years old?
A primary school student would look forward to going home to watch cartoons every day after school. If he was naughty, he might even roll around on the ground for a toy. It was very impressive that Qi Haoran could eat, live, and train with the soldiers in the army. He could even bring them out to kill Tartars and save people.
In her previous life, parents who had such a capable son would be so proud.
Of course, children in this era matured very early. It was said that Wu Shancai’s 14-year-old son already had two concubines. Recently, the marriage that had been in discussion had been ruined because his concubine accidentally got pregnant. It seemed that Qi Haoran was also involved in this matter.
Mu Yangling sized up Qi Haoran, with a focus on his lower body. She asked, “Since you’re so capable, there must be many young ladies who want to marry you, right? When do you plan to get married? Let me say this first. My family doesn’t have a single cent now. It’s best if you wait a few years before getting married. By then, I might be able to come up with a congratulatory gift.”
Qi Haoran’s face turned even redder, this time due to embarrassment. He said angrily, “What nonsense are you talking about? Who’s talking about marriage?” As he spoke, he turned to leave. Halfway there, he turned around and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll arrange a good place for your family.”
Not only did that place have gorgeous scenery, it was accessible and the nearby land was fertile. The neighbors were all good at farming.
The land in Xingzhou Prefecture was vast and sparsely populated, and there were more forests than farmland. Under the country’s encouragement to convert forest land into agricultural land, there was truly no lack of land.
However, most of the arable land was in the hands of the squires. Plus, the farmers also owned some. According to Song Zhi’s statistics, the average plot of land owned per household in Mingshui County was less than 10 acres, excluding those owned by the squires. Since 200 catties of wheat could be produced per mu, each household would have 2000 catties of wheat a year. However, if the land in the hands of the squires in Mingshui County was included, the average per household then became 28 acres. From this data alone, one could see that the squires owned a lot of land. Song Zhi told Qi Xiuyuan that this was even without counting the hidden fields. Therefore, adding the arable land owned by the government and the reclaimed land that had yet to be used for agricultural purposes, each military household would receive a sizable plot of land.
In addition, since more than half of the people in Mingshui County had died this time, the arable land owned by the deceased was now ownerless. The emperor tasked Qi Xiuyuan to distribute those to the military households, too.
The title deeds that Minister He and the others had spent so much effort to lure the refugees into mortgaging as collateral were all invalidated. All the transactions made after the military household register was created had become invalidated.
Sure, Minister He and the others could ask the refugees to give back the grains they had borrowed. But now that they were already in the refugees’ stomachs, could they still get the grains back?
Even if someone was willing to return it, Qi Xiuyuan was unwilling. What a joke. If they returned the grains, wouldn’t he have to find grains to feed them instead?
Hence, he decided to let them continue eating the borrowed grains. As for the debt, Qi Xiuyuan pretended not to see that.
When Mu Yangling heard Qi Haoran’s gloating report, she mourned for the few squires in her heart and asked, “Then, Minister He and the others have really been enlisted into the military?”
“No.” Qi Haoran said gloomily, “More than half of their land was confiscated and they also donated a large amount of grains. Hence, Big Brother let them off and made the decision to remove their names from the booklet.”
Mu Yangling was stunned. “They’re actually willing to do that?”
This was so ruthless that it was no wonder the ancient people loathed soldiers so much. If put in their shoes, she’d feel the same, too. Most of the family assets that they had painstakingly accumulated was gone in an instant. In comparison, she felt that socialism was better. Although it was impossible to be fair in everything, at least they maintained fairness on the surface.
Fan Zijin, who was at the side, said with a smile, “They don’t really have a choice. After becoming registered as a military household, their losses will be even greater. Qin Fang is not stupid. Only one-third of the squires were chosen this time. Without the alliance of others, these people won’t be able to rebel.”
Fan Zijin’s gaze shifted, and a mocking look flashed across his eyes. “The person chose well, too. If I didn’t know that Qin Fang had been staying in the capital and hadn’t been to Xingzhou Prefecture, I would have suspected that he had been living in Xingzhou Prefecture. He’s even more familiar with the matters here than Cousin.”
Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows. Did this mean that Qin Fang had spies in Xingzhou Prefecture?
Anger flashed across Qi Haoran’s eyes as well. Snorting, he said, “One day, I’ll pull out that nail.”
Mu Yangling was surprised again. Did this mean that they actually knew who that person was?
“Don’t worry. The emissary is not on their side. Otherwise, the messenger sent this time wouldn’t be so polite to Cousin.”
Seeing that they were mentioning this in front of her without any scruples, Mu Yangling said, “Hey, you guys are too fearless. I think you ought to discuss this in a more private place.”