Ch. 356..360: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 356-360

Chapter 356: Chapter 356: Reform (3)_1

"It’s all your fault!" Ma Dalang was indignant, dredging up old grudges.

"How is it my fault?" Yan Shi protested anxiously.

...

The couple argued all the way back home, without seeing anyone else.

Lin Ziyin was incredibly busy. Even in modern times, when she was lecturing, she would have assistants by her side. Unlike here, even the smallest matters required her direct involvement.

To construct a practical steam-powered plow as soon as possible, she spent almost all of her time in the courtyard, even during the New Year holidays. It was quite odd that both Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan insisted on watching her assemble the machine when the parts were delivered, but during the whole New Year period, Lin Ziyin didn’t see anyone from them.

Yet, both Wang Residence and Si Family sent her New Year’s gifts. Even the Luo Family surprisingly sent New Year’s gifts.

The gifts from the three residences were very generous. Lacking such deep resources, the Lin Family straightforwardly sent some of the food products they made in their workshop as return gifts.

Luckily, the Lin Family made a variety of foodstuffs, and their packaging was also fine, all of which were perfectly presentable.

The merchants near the Northern Land also sent New Year’s gifts, to which Lin Ziyin responded with their family’s produce.

The recipients were overjoyed. After all, the Lin Family’s roasted goods, pastries, and sauces were all highly sought-after products on the market, and all were very useful during the New Year period.

Merchants who lived far away gradually arrived starting from the ninth day of the first lunar month. Similarly, they brought New Year’s gifts, and the Lin Family returned their own products. After all, any day before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month was considered part of the New Year celebration.

"Miss, it’s chaos outside." Qiaoqiao, carrying a cup, hurried in from outside.

"What’s happened?" Lin Ziyin calmly put down the part in her hand, then stood up and asked.

"The Prince ordered the government offices to post a notice. All residents of the Northern Land are allowed to reclaim wasteland." Qiaoqiao explained the situation briefly, seeing Lin Ziyin’s strong interest in the matter, she continued with a detailed explanation of the news from the notice.

Lin Ziyin didn’t expect Chu Suifeng to be so efficient and to come up with a detailed plan so quickly. No wonder he had disappeared these past few days. However, recalling the price reformers had paid in the past, Lin Ziyin began to worry for Chu Suifeng.

This reform, which was biased towards the commoners, would inevitably touch the vested interests of some deeply rooted powerful families in the Northern Land. Would those people simply stand by and watch their interests being harmed?

The answer was, of course, no. Since they wouldn’t just stand by and watch, they would inevitably come into conflict with Chu Suifeng. Perhaps a great shift was about to occur in Feng City and no one knew what the final outcome would be.

"Miss, how can you remain so calm?" Seeing Lin Ziyin’s indifference, Qiaoqiao became more anxious, "After seeing the news, the workers were restless. Everyone wants to reclaim more land for their families."

Lin Ziyin’s thoughts were pulled back. She thought for a moment, perhaps this could indeed affect the business in her workshop, after all, the villagers were very passionate about reclaiming the wasteland.

"Then let’s take a holiday." Lin Ziyin said with a smile, "Even you guys can cultivate some wasteland in farther areas."

"Miss, we do not need to." Qiaoqiao looked stunned, then shook her head to decline, "The notice says that privately owned slaves aren’t allowed to reclaim wasteland."

That’s how it is! After thinking it over, Lin Ziyin could understand Chu Suifeng’s intentions. If privately owned slaves had private property, they might harbor ill intentions towards their owners.

Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Reform (4)_1

Forget it, she was just too kind-hearted and overlooked the fact that this place was not a lawful society under the red flag. Here, not to mention the Northern Land, but the whole of Daqin, or even the whole world, the servants were the lowest class of people. They had no private property.

At most, she would just give more wages to the servants at home in the future.

"When the weather gets a bit warmer, everyone can work half a day and take half a day off within a month. Of course, the wages and bonuses will be reduced accordingly. Those who wish to work half a day can do so, while those who wish to work full time can work for the whole day. They are free to choose," Lin Ziyin said.

"Yes, Miss." Qiaoqiao responded weakly.

Upon hearing this, Hong Ying and Lun Luo sighed inwardly. They thought Miss Lin was still too soft-hearted. In their opinion, it was better for the household to have private slaves. This would prevent the occurrence of villagers working while also worrying about their homes.

Moreover, if the villagers cultivated more land, they would certainly take time off in the future, whether to plant or harvest, focusing on their fields. If this was the case, it would certainly impact the workshop’s business over the year.

Master Lin and Lin Changshu agreed with Lin Ziyin’s approach, for farmers held their land in high regard. Their concern for the land was, in their view, perfectly reasonable.

The villagers who worked were always anxious. Honestly, if the Lin Family did not give everyone time off, the villagers might feel unhappy, but they would certainly not be willing to give up their jobs. One mu of land would yield only so much crops, but working for the Lin Family, disciplined work would bring in two taels of silver each month. Two taels of silver would be a year’s income from five mu of land.

The villagers knew what was more advantageous to them.

Luckily, the Lin Family was benevolent, willing to give everyone time off, and even provided two options for everyone to choose from.

"I think we should hire a few more people from the marketplace to cultivate the land. The wages from the workshop should be enough to afford this. Plus, it saves energy," said Lou Zheng as soon as he arrived home and was drawn into conversation by Mrs. Zhang.

"Yes, Dad, that’s what I was thinking too." Wu Dayou added, while Madam Wei was cautiously standing by, fearing that her father-in-law might insist on her cultivating the land. Cultivating land was tiresome and dirty. It was not that she was lazy, but why should they choose the tough work when there were easy jobs available?

"You two stop whispering, I’ve already thought things through," said Lou Zheng waving his hand. "There are seven members in our household, and altogether we can cultivate more than fifty mu of land. But I don’t intend to cultivate that much all at once. Everyone in the family should be working, if the land cultivated is too much, we won’t have time to handle it all."

"Exactly. Right now, we already have more than ten mu of land. If we add fifty more mu, even if we worked day and night, we wouldn’t be able to manage all of it," Mrs. Zhang nodded in agreement.

"Dad, as long as we have enough to eat, it’s fine. Cultivating land also requires us to pay taxes. New land doesn’t yield good crops anyway, it’s such a hassle," argued Wu Eryou, who was more inclined towards working in the workshop which was easier and paid more.

"I will ask Ziyin, to see how much land we should cultivate," Lou Zheng said out of habit.

"Are you senile?" Mrs. Zhang swiftly interjected, "Why are you involving Ziyin in our family matters?"

"What’s wrong with asking her?" Lou Zheng retorted unhappily, "You guys don’t understand, she’s very smart. Whatever she suggests to plant in our land will surely be the right choice."

"Fine, ask if you must, but don’t interfere with her important tasks. Haven’t you seen how busy she is, not even having time to celebrate the New Year?" Mrs. Zhang cautioned him.

"I am just going to ask briefly. It won’t take much time," said Lou Zheng, patting his clothes and then heading out.

Chapter 358: Chapter 358: Reform (5)_1

Snow was dancing in the sky, the snow on the ground reaching knee-high. It was a considerable amount of snowfall after the New Year, nobody knew what kind of year this would turn out to be.

Bracing against the snow, Lou Zheng arrived at the big courtyard, a place that held a sense of mystery, as only the Lin family were allowed to enter. It was Lou Zheng’s first time here. The courtyard gate was tightly closed. He knocked forcefully on the grand door.

With a creak, the door opened revealing Qiaoqiao’s small head, "Uncle Lou Zheng?"

"Is your mistress home?" Lou Zheng asked.

"Yes." Qiaoqiao nodded, "So, it turns out that Uncle Lou Zheng is also here to find the mistress?"

Could it be that others have gone in too? Lou Zheng, suspicious, followed Qiaoqiao into the house.

In the room, he noticed several people huddled around Lin Ziyin. What caught Lou Zheng’s attention wasn’t how many villagers were present but the lump of metal sitting in the room.

"Ziyin, what are you busy with?" Lou Zheng asked curiously.

"Mechanics, this is for tilling the land." Lin Ziyin instructed the servant to tighten the screws.

"What?" Lou Zheng was so taken aback he was at a loss for words. He circumnavigated the lump of metal several times but couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

"Lou Zheng, did you come for the land reclamation matter too?" Bai Chunsheng was the first to ask.

Only then did Lou Zheng remember his mission, "Yes. Ziyin, how much land do you think would be suitable for my family to cultivate?"

Everyone in the room broke into peals of laughter; every single person that had visited had asked the exact same question.

"Uncle, since you’ve come to inquire, I will tell it straight. You should strive to reclaim as much land as possible. If it gets too overwhelming, you can always hire help. Next year, apart from the rice, you can plant corn, and beans are even better. With any amount of beans needed for my workshop, any empty edges of your field should be planted with other beans. Sunflowers and sweet potatoes should also be planted, and if we can’t manage, we can hire help.

In Lin Ziyin’s view, to expand her workshop, sufficient raw materials were essential, and she undoubtedly couldn’t rely solely on her family for supplies. Only if the people of the Northern Land all took action, there would be a constant supply of raw materials for the workshop.

"But if everyone reclaims the wilderness, who will be left to hire?" Lou Zheng worriedly asked.

"Not a problem." Lin Ziyin waved off, "Most people won’t be reclaiming land in a large scale right away. If we act first, we will have an advantage, right?"

"We also can’t manage if the planting exceeds our capabilities." Bai Chunsheng was also concerned. According to Daqin’s law, one could not irresponsibly abandon any regularly cultivated land that was reclaimed, or they would face imprisonment.

"I hope everyone can cultivate as much as possible, but if you’re worried, you can go off your personal circumstances." Lin Ziyin said with a gentle smile. The machinery was still in the experimental state. She did not wish to disclose the details too early in case she gave the impression that cultivation with machinery won’t be a significant issue.

Still, it was necessary to proceed step by step. Steam machinery, for now, was still in the testing phase. Coal had not been transported yet, and there was not enough time to test the machinery. If the experiment fails later on, the disappointment among the villagers could turn into resentment against her.

Everyone agreed. After all, reclamation was their personal matter, and it seemed inappropriate to trouble Ziyin about it. Eventually, everyone circled the new machinery again.

As for the manual weed removal machine, pesticide tub, soil flipping machine, and seed sowing machine, Lin Ziyin did not hesitate to clear everyone’s doubts.

Chapter 359: Chapter 359: Reform (6)_1

"That sounds great. If we have all these good things, farming wouldn’t be that laborious anymore," Lou Zheng slapped his thigh as he spoke. Just think about it, spraying pesticide could be completed on dozens of acres of land within a day; how efficient would that be. Also, sowing beans is equally convenient; within a day, a person can cover seven or eight acres. So it would only take a few days to cover dozens of acres. He would also have cultivated the land and cleared out weeds...

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and in a split second, he was determined to clear out more for cultivation this time.

Land reclamation is a good thing for commoners, but for the aristocratic families, it is not so much of a good thing.

"Father, I have no idea what the Prince is thinking, suggesting that the commoners should clear land for cultivation. If everyone were to cultivate their own lands, to whom would we lease our land? Should we cultivate it ourselves?" Li Jiesong spoke up in constant criticism of Chu Suifeng after he saw the proclamation that had been posted. "He must be looking for trouble intentionally, I refuse to believe that the aristocratic families would agree to this!"

"Shut up," Marquis Li snapped at his son’s insensate ramblings, glaring at him in anger. From his observations over this period, he had found that his eldest son was utterly incompetent, whereas his second son had demonstrated exceptional abilities in managing affairs.

"Issue this command, due to ill health your Marquis is unable to receive guests at present. No one in the residence is allowed to leave," Marquis Li dismissed coldly.

"Father," Li Jiesong reproachfully glared at Marquis Li. "Even if you do not want us to get involved in the Prince’s affairs, we will not object, but why should we be grounded?" The first among the courtesans of the Drunken Moon Building and Li Jiesong had just begun to foster a warm relationship recently; keeping him confined to the residence would leave him feeling stifled.

"If you dare leave, you shall henceforth leave this residence and take nothing from it," Marquis Li was firm in his decision.

"Father, I did not really say anything. If we’re not allowed out, then I will stay within. " Li Jiesong was terrified. Leaving him without a livelihood, expecting him to move out, and providing him with nothing to spend - such conditions were absolutely not acceptable.

"Hmph, the Prince is inviting the peasants to clear out land and cultivate it, clearly intending to cut off our livelihood," In the backyard of the Drunken Moon building, the heads of several aristocratic families of Feng City had gathered to discuss their plans. Necessarily, their conversation was speculating about the new land reform of King Ling.

"Without commoners and free men to lease and cultivate, our estates will certainly be abandoned."

...

Everyone was incensed at Chu Suifeng’s new reforms. All the people in the backyard, lit by candlelight, were all filled with indignation.

"Elder Zhang, what do you think we should do?" A portly, big-eared man couldn’t help but ask the old man who was sitting in the middle.

Upon hearing this, all the people arguing momentarily fell silent, and looked at the old man.

"The entire Northern Land is the Prince’s land grant, and we are his people. If the prince wishes to do something, or reform something, it’s only natural for us to cooperate fully." The man known as Old Zhang was actually named Zhang Da. He was the head of the finest aristocratic family in Feng City. Since the Zhang Family was involved in various businesses and was one of the most prominent and native to Feng City, they possessed significant influence among the nobility.

Everyone was taken aback by Zhang Da’s words, all of them looking at him in confusion.

"The Imperial Court has exempted us in the Northern Land from paying taxes, replacing them with the original military salary and grain. But ever since the early days, everyone in all areas knew that due to the weather, the crops grown aren’t as successful from year to year. Now that commoners and freemen are clearing out land for cultivation, without spare hands to manage, it would be reasonable if we can’t pay the taxes," Zhang Da sighed.

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed. That’s right! What could Prince Ling do even if he was powerful? The Imperial Court wouldn’t intervene, and there were external threats from the Tatars. Without the support of these aristocratic families, Chu Suifeng wouldn’t achieve much, probably even having insufficient military wages and grains. They all just had to halt or delay their tax payments in unison, certainly, Chu Suifeng wouldn’t be able to hold out, then he’ll have to bow to them.

Chapter 360: Chapter 360: Reform (7)_1

Under the candlelight, the family heads were laughing wildly and arrogantly, oblivious to the fact that everything they discussed would soon be reported to Chu Suifeng after they dispersed.

"Your Highness, they dare to delay their taxes!" A military general angrily stood up and said, "Are we to let them continue to play dumb?"

"What business does the Zhang family control?" Chu Suifeng asked. Since he was resolute in managing the Northern Land properly, how could he let a few people ruin his plans? Aristocratic families? At best, they were just wealthy upstarts who hid behind their silver, thinking they were the greatest in the world.

This time, he, Chu Suifeng, would teach these people a lesson.

"Hold off for now. If they refuse to pay taxes, we’ll close down their shops." Chu Suifeng answered.

"Your Highness, this may not be wise." One of his strategists put forward his concerns, "The Northern Land lacks grain, and the Zhang family controls most of it. If all the aristocrats stop their businesses, it will inevitably lead to chaos."

"No matter, if they don’t want to do business properly, we’ll replace them." Si Jinhan responded with a cold laugh, "So long as His Highness gives someone else a chance, someone will definitely replace these troublesome people."

"If the old don’t go, how will the new come?" Chu Suifeng thought out loud, a figure appearing in his mind.

"Are you interested in other businesses?" The next day, in the study, Chu Suifeng asked Lin Ziyin a question as soon as they met.

"What business is Your Highness referring to?" Lin Ziyin asked.

"Grain, cloth, tea, anything sold in the market, you can pick a few and try." Chu Suifeng answered casually.

"Is someone causing trouble for Your Highness?" Lin Ziyin was more direct.

"You could say that." Chu Suifeng nodded.

"Your Highness doesn’t have to worry." Lin Ziyin laughed, "A country cannot grow if it isolates itself from the world. The large families in Feng City have dared to confront you solely because they control the market. If you break their monopoly, what can they do?"

"Breaking a monopoly is not an overnight task, and I have not yet found suitable replacements." Chu Suifeng said thoughtfully.

"With so many merchants coming and going in Feng City, are you worried about not finding replacements?" Lin Ziyin spoke from the standpoint of a friend, "Your Highness could encourage these traveling merchants to establish themselves here. While they are not from the Northern Land and might face various inconveniences, don’t forget they have substantial backing, their own supply chains, and their own networks. As long as they receive favorable conditions and benefits, they won’t overlook any opportunity."

Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan nodded; it was indeed so. Merchants were driven by profits. As long as enough incentives were provided, there was little fear of not finding suitable replacements.

"If Your Highness wants to play it safe, you could also start with the smaller elite families, encouraging them to collaborate with these traveling merchants. This way, during the transition between the old and the new, you will undoubtedly be the beneficiary." Lin Ziyin continued. In her opinion, competition leads to pressure.

The stubborn old families in Feng City who had been reaping benefits for years while trying to control Chu Suifeng were simply dreaming.

Though Chu Suifeng hadn’t tackled these people over the years, according to Lin Ziyin’s analysis, it wasn’t because he was too soft nor because he was incapable, but because he hadn’t found the right opportunity.

With the Imperial Court now cutting off Chu Suifeng’s support and her being this atypical catalyst, Chu Suifeng has been forced to accelerate his reforms. Without much thought, Lin Ziyin could guess that Chu Suifeng was determined to implement a series of reforms.

The Northern Land might undergo earth-shattering changes soon.

"What would happen if the Imperial Court cut off trade here?" Chu Suifeng asked.

"Then it will depend on how determined Your Highness is." Lin Ziyin said with a smile, "For a region to be peaceful, the needs of the people for food, clothing, and shelter need to be catered to. If Your Highness can handle these areas, even if someone cuts off trade routes, what impact could it have on the Northern Land? After all, the unique advantage of Feng City is that it’s a trading hub. Even if we lose the Imperial Court’s trade route, there are still merchants from other nations willing to come by sea. It’s just that Your Highness shouldn’t focus solely on land but also pay attention to waterways."