A Clash of Gods - Chapter 77
Chapter 77 On the Farmland
The village Gu Qinghan mentioned was not big. There were low mountains near the village, with dense camphor trees and oaks, which were essential materials of charcoal. In fact, in the place within a hundred miles, the camphor tree was the most common tree. And the charcoal made of camphor wood produced here was famous all the time. In winter every year, some camphor charcoal would be sent to the capital from Jiangling.
At the foot of the mountain, there were dozens of scattered houses. In the distance, it was a large area of farmland. At dusk, Yang Ning still saw some peasants ploughing on the farmland. The crops on the land had been collected, and there was nothing on it. Under the sunset, it looked boundless.
“Aunt, it’s late autumn now, and the crops have been collected. Why are they still ploughing?” Yang Ning rode the horse next to Gu Qinghan and asked.
Gu Qinghan smiled. “You have never been to the farmland, so you naturally don’t know. After the crops are collected, the peasants break up soil with a hoe, and it will be easier to plant grain in the coming year.”
“I see.”
After they got off the horses, they walked forward along the raised path through fields. There were not many peasants on the farmland, but noticing that two strangers taking horses walked on the farmland, they couldn’t help looking at them.
“Aunt, where is your hometown in Jiangling?” Seeing that Gu Qinghan looked around calmly, Yang Ning asked, “Is it far from here?”
“No.” Gu Qinghan seemed to be in a good mood. “Like the Qi family, the Gu family is also a noble family in Jiangling. The two families are on good terms here. Even now, my family’s prestige is just second to the Qi family’s here.”
Yang Ning immediately understood that perhaps the third lord married Gu Qinghan because the two families were old friends and they wanted to maintain the foundation in Jiangling. Gu Qinghan spoke casually, but Yang Ning knew that the Gu family was just second to the Qi family, so her family must be quite powerful in Jiangling.
The Qi family had comparable prestige in Jiangling, and there was nothing to be said against it. After all, the two Marquises of Honor were pillars of the country. Even in the whole country, there were few families which could be put on a par with the Qi family, let alone in Jiangling.
The Gu family was obviously the most powerful family in Jiangling except the Qi family.
Gu Qinghan explained, “The land of the Qi family is mainly in the north of Jiangling, near Jingzhou City. The Gu family’s is in the south of Jiangling. After we walk to the south from Jingzhou City, there is a river dozens of miles away, which is named Moon River. Many years ago, after crossing the river, everybody should listen to the Gu family.”
The imperial power would be ineffective in the counties.
Yang Ning had heard of this old saying long ago and understood what it meant. In ancient times, the local despotic gentry’s influence was more effective than the emperor’s decree. When the rules set by the imperial court were carried out in every area, the local officials had to cooperate with the local gentry. Without their support, the officials could hardly do anything in the area.
Beyond question, both the Qi family and Gu family were part of the local gentry in Jiangling then and had a say in that place.
Judging from what Gu Qinghan said, before the Qi family gained fame as they got the title of Marquis of Honor, it should be equal to the Gu family in Jiangling. The Qi family had great influence in the north of Jiangling, while the Gu family was in the south. But later a member of the Qi family became a marquis, so the Gu family couldn’t compare with them. However, the Gu family still had a deep foundation in Jiangling.
Yang Ning thought that Gu Qinghan had such a family background, so no wonder she married into the marquis’ family, and she was favored by the Dowager, so she could be in charge of the family affairs.
Seeing that an old man was sitting on the ridge in the front, Yang Ning walked forward and smiled. “Sir, you haven’t finished your job?”
In fact, the old man had noticed Yang Ning and his partner earlier. Yang Ning was ordinary, but Gu Qinghan was pretty, with tender and fair skin. The old man knew that the two were not from ordinary families at a glance and answered with a smile, “Where are you going? Are you lost?”
He thought that the two wouldn’t walk on the farmland and must have got lost.
“Yes, we have a trip in Jiangling and got lost,” Yang Ning responded conveniently. Gu Qinghan rolled her eyes at him and thought this child not only became smart but also got sophisticated. He made no scruple of telling a lie and did it naturally.
“Where are you going? I know this neighborhood and can show you the way.” The old man was warm-hearted.
Yang Ning thought Gu Qinghan was right and the people here were unsophisticated as the old man was so kind. Then he moved forward and squatted next to the old man. After glancing at the land, he asked, “Sir, you must have a good harvest this year, right? Have you collected all the crops on the land?”
“Not bad.” The old man laughed. “We have collected all the crops. I am ploughing so that we can plant grain next year.”
“After collecting the crops, you can have enough food and clothes next year, right?” Yang Ning laughed. “I hear that it is the fiefdom of the Marquis of Honor here and you pay far less tax than elsewhere.”
On the way, Yang Ning heard from Gu Qinghan that the three thousand families of tenants paid taxes under the control of the Marquis of Honor, and the government didn’t interfere in their taxes.
The emperor showed mercy to the common people and collected thirty percent of their crops as the tax in the past, but in recent years, there were wars frequently and the tax was forty percent of the crops. However, the three thousand families of tenants of the Marquis of Honor paid twenty percent as the tax all the time and it never changed. Among all the officials who had fiefdom, the Marquis of Honor definitely collected the least tax from his tenants.
For the Marquis of Honor, his mansion was never a luxurious place and his fiefdom was in the hometown while the peasants were all fellow countrymen, so he made use of the fiefdom and did the fellow countrymen a favor.
The old man just smiled. “We can put up with it.”
Standing next to them, Gu Qinghan was smart and observed his speech and expression carefully. Noticing the old man was reluctant, she thought there was something amiss, so she asked softly, “Sir, how many people are there in your family?”
“I have two sons, and there are nine people in my family.” The old man showed a smile.
“How much cropland do you have?” Gu Qinghan was a woman and couldn’t squat recklessly like Yang Ning, so she had to stand beside the old man and ask him.
The old man raised his hand and pointed ahead. “Here is all the cropland of my family. We have eight mu.”
Gu Qinghan nodded slightly. She knew well about the situation here. The fiefdom given by the late emperor those years was good cropland after being selected. There were three thousand families in the fiefdom, and it didn’t mean that every family had only one mu. Jingnan was a main grain-producing region with much cropland. One family of peasants here had about ten mu or at least four or five mu of cropland.
This old man’s family had eight mu and was a relatively well-off family among peasants.
“How much grain can you get on one mu of land every year?” Gu Qinghan asked carefully.
The old man wouldn’t doubt that Gu Qinghan had other intentions and just thought these two strangers had an interest in farming all of a sudden. So he explained, “The weather is favorable with timely wind and rain these two years, so we have a good harvest. On the land of eight mu, we get two or three dan of grain each mu.”
Yang Ning was clear that one dan of grain was about sixty kilograms. This old man had one hundred and eighty kilograms of grain each mu. Compared with the grain production per mu later, it was quite low, but at this time, because of the restricted agricultural technique, it was a high production.
Gu Qinghan asked, “So you can get more than twenty dan of grain from the land of eight mu every year? I hear that Marquis of Honor collects twenty percent as the tax. Your family can have much left, which is enough to eat.”
Yang Ning also thought, normally, the old man had one thousand kilograms of grain each year after paying the tax. Although nine people in a family was a large number, it was enough for them to eat.
But the old man sighed. “If it’s like you said, we won’t worry about our food and clothes.”
“Sir, what do you mean?” Yang Ning and Gu Qinghan exchanged a glance and then he asked instantly, “Is it not true?”
The old man just shook his head and then smiled. “I don’t want to say. It’s pointless to say more. Where are you going?”
Gu Qinghan found something wrong, so she wouldn’t leave easily. She asked warmly, “Sir, so you can’t have so much grain left after one year?”
Seeing that this man had pretty eyes and brows as well as a sweet voice, the old man smiled bitterly. “If we have twenty dan of grain each year, of course it is enough for a family to eat. If we eat less, we can even have some left, but… Alas, after one year, we can keep no more than ten dan. We have many people in the family and can only eat less rice but have porridge most of the time to survive.”
“It’s impossible.” Gu Qinghan furrowed her beautiful brows. “How can you have only ten dan left?”
Before the old man replied, they heard somebody knock a gong in the distance. Yang Ning and Gu Qinghan were attracted at once and saw a middle-aged peasant knock a gong while shouting, “Luo has come. Everybody, come back to the village. Luo has come…” His voice was loud and spread far away.
The old man sitting on the ground instantly got up and grabbed his hoe. Then he didn’t forget to tell the two, “Leave the village first. It’s not a right place to stay.” He didn’t say more but lifted the hoe and ran to the middle-aged man. Yang Ning and Gu Qinghan saw that not only him, but all the villagers working on the farmland also grabbed their tools and went to gather around the middle-aged man.
“Aunt, there seems to be something wrong in the village.” Yang Ning frowned. “Let’s go and have a look.”
Gu Qinghan’s pretty face was full of doubts. Hearing Yang Ning’s words, she nodded immediately. “Let’s go and have a look. Who is Luo? They seem to run back because of Luo.”
They found that a group of peasants gathered and ran to the village at the foot of the mountain, including the old and the young, as if their house were on fire.