Chapter 624: Stipend Land
Hanlan happily agreed.
When she told her husband about this at night, Hanlan said with a smile, “I see that Her Highness likes the Miao costume very much and has a good impression of us. I heard that His Highness dotes on her very much. Does that mean that he will also have a good impression of us and will exploit us less?”
Only then did Chen Jiacai remember the content of their conversation with Qi Haoran today and his attitude. He nodded and said, “From the looks of it, Prince Qi’s attitude towards us is indeed not bad.”
Seeing him frown slightly, Hanlan asked, “Then what are you worried about?”
“That’s just Prince Qi’s attitude. Even if we can live a better life during his term of office, how long can he stay in Qiannan? He will definitely return to the capital in at least two to five years. To place the fate of the entire Miao clan on one person’s attitude…” Chen Jiacai shook his head. “It’s not lasting, so we still need to develop our own strength.”
As long as they had the strength, what would they be fearful of?
Hanlan pondered.
“By the way, what did Her Highness ask today? Tell me everything.”
Hanlan quickly explained everything from beginning to end and said, “She seems to be especially concerned about farming. She asked about everything from what we planted to how we farmed and harvested. Oh right, she also asked if there are many Miao people who own land, how many are there with a lot of land, and how do those without land make a living. Also, she asked about our fabric. I translated some of the things that can be said and muddled my way through the rest.”
Chen Jiacai thought for a while and said, “You did well. Prince Qi is probably trying to sound out the situation of the land owned by the various Miao stockades.”
At this moment, Mu Yangling was lying on Qi Haoran’s chest. She told him the information she had gathered during the day and said, “No wonder people say that the Miao people are having a hard time. Most of them only have two to three acres of land that can grow grains at most, while the rest are wasteland and unexplored mountains. However, the government office still collects taxes from them. I heard from them that most of the Miao people farm to pay taxes. They made a living mainly by gathering some medicinal herbs or hunting in the mountains. As long as they don’t fall sick and only eat chaff and vegetables, they can survive.”
Qi Haoran held Mu Yangling’s arm and patted her. “Don’t worry, Qiannan residents are exempted from taxes during these three years. They should have a chance to catch their breath.”
Mu Yangling nodded. “I asked about their yield per acre. It’s very low, even worse than our harvest in the north.”
Qi Haoran frowned. “Even if Qiannan is barren, there’s enough rainwater, which means the land should be fertile after a few years. Why is the yield so bad?”
“It’s a problem with the terrain, but there’s also a problem with the way they farm. Because the yield here isn’t good, most of their energy is still focused on the mountain forest. As a result, the farming techniques are very crude and they don’t use their brains. As soon as rainfall increases, it’ll flood. And once the water recedes and the sun rises, the ground will dry up again.” Mu Yangling sighed. “By farming like this, the yield is actually quite low even though it’s strenuous on the farmers.”
It could be said that on the Miao people’s side, only half their efforts were focused on farming, since their livelihood mainly depended on gathering herbs and hunting. As for the Han people, they worked hard to farm, but in fact, because there were few fields, they also led rather tough lives.
Mu Yangling said, “I want to go out and take a look at the fields in Ju Prefecture. Don’t you have stipend land here? I want to see if Dry Rice No. 1 can be successfully planted here.”
Qi Haoran asked, “I suppose corn can be planted here?”
“Yes, corn doesn’t need to be planted on long-cultivated land. Just plant it on the uncultivated land. When Teacher Liu comes, tell him that as the magistrate he is in charge of these things.”
“Then go and take a look since you know more about farming than I do. If you can really increase production, it will be a great merit. There’s no need to be so cautious about violating taboos now. I’ll get Big Brother to issue a decree to praise you after your experiment succeeds.”
Mu Yangling pursed her lips and smiled. “What’s the use of praising me? It’s not like praises can fill the stomach. If you have the ability, confer me an official position.”
Qi Haoran frowned in distress and said, “I’m afraid not.”
Mu Yangling twisted his waist and said, “You’re teasing me again.”
Qi Haoran chuckled and turned over to press Mu Yangling under him. Mu Yangling pushed him away and said, “I have something else to tell you.”
Qi Haoran reached out to kiss her and muttered, “What’s more important than this?”
Mu Yangling covered his mouth with her hand and panted. “Chief Ji’an’s eldest daughter, Hanlan, is a smart person. She stopped me from asking about the Miao stockades. When she translated, she deliberately missed out a lot of information and even misled me.”
Qi Haoran stuck out his tongue and kissed her hand, making Mu Yangling’s heart skip a beat and blush. She hurriedly retracted her hand. Qi Haoran leaned over and kissed her lips fiercely before parting slightly. He said in a muffled voice, “Isn’t this normal? If it were me, I’d do the same if someone came to inquire about my military camp…”
After saying that, he reached out and pulled down the bed curtain, and completely sealed his lips over Mu Yangling’s.
The next day, after Qi Haoran went out, Mu Yangling also went out immediately. Xiao Ting was sent to his side to serve him. Mu Yangling said, “Let’s go to His Highness’s stipend land to take a look.”
As the Prince of Rong, Qi Haoran’s fief and stipend land were in the suburbs of the capital, Pingjiang Prefecture, Jiankang Prefecture, and other places. Here was the stipend land he was allocated as a general of Qiannan. After his term of office ended, these fields would no longer be his.
Although he was a supreme-grade Prince, he was only a second-grade General in Qiannan. Therefore, the stipend land he was allocated was in accordance to that.
Even then, a second-grade official was allocated quite a lot of stipend land.
However, Xiao Ting, who was standing in the field, was so angry that his face turned green. He pointed at the governor who had come to measure the land and was so angry that he could not speak. “This is His Highness’s stipend land? It’s just a small piece of land and three lousy mountains?”
Xu Zhi was also quite angry, but he had no choice but to lower his head and say, “Not only is Ju Prefecture poor, but there are many mountains and few arable lands. Stipend land is allocated according to the same standards from the previous dynasty since the Imperial Court has yet to set a new salary system. Considering General Qi is a second-grade official, he is rightfully allocated these.”
“Bullsh*t. Our master is the biological brother of the Emperor, a Prince of Great Qi. Does this land look like it’s even a hundred acres? Besides, it’s all sandy land. Look, the rocks there are almost the size of a head. Look at those three mountains covered densely with trees. What are we going to use them for?”
Xu Zhi was so angry that his face turned green. He finally understood what an unruly slave was. Likewise for Mu Yangling, who got out of the carriage at this moment.
Xiao Ting immediately went up to her and complained, “Your Highness, they are bullying our lord because he came from a foreign land. They are using such lousy land to patronize us.”
Xu Zhi’s face was indignant, and his hands under his sleeves were clenched into fists. Clearly, he was extremely furious. Mu Yangling stood at the edge of the field and glanced at him before looking away at the stipend land.
Xiao Ting glanced at Xu Zhi smugly.
Spring and Autumn looked at him sympathetically. Xiao Ting did not understand the character of the Princess Consort and had gone overboard.
Mu Yangling walked down from the field and squatted down to pinch the soil. The soil was gray, probably because it had rained a few days ago, dissipating with a pinch.
The position she was standing in was quite strange. Under her feet was her husband’s stipend land, while the carriage was on the road, and over there was someone else’s stipend land. Unlike here, the fields over there were not connected, but segregated. Clearly, it belonged to different families.
Moreover, on that side, more than half of the land had yellow soil, and only a small portion had gray soil. On this side, it was the opposite. Not only were they connected, but there was also very little yellow soil. From the looks of it, it only occupied less than a quarter of the land. The plots of land were also segregated.
Mu Yangling turned around and asked Xu Zhi, “Is that also stipend land?”
Suppressing his anger, Xu Zhi nodded. “Yes.”
“Who owns them?”
Thinking that she wanted to occupy those lands as well, Xu Zhi replied unhappily, “All the officials of the prefecture, including the magistrate who hasn’t taken office yet.”
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