Handan.

It was the season of spring plowing. On this day, an inconspicuous carriage slowly drove out from an inconspicuous side door of Zhaoguo Palace City under the escort of several guards.

The one sitting in the carriage was nothing but Zhao Dan and Zhao Heng and his son.

Outside Handan City is an endless plain. The return of spring makes green the theme song of this land, and busy pedestrians can be seen walking on the road everywhere.

After the carriage drove about several miles away, the farmland on both sides of the road gradually increased. Many farmers worked in the fields, and many young children in the ridges ran around and pushed and fought.

Sometimes someone accidentally pushed down from the field by his companions and splashed his clothes all over mud, and what followed was a crying and scolding from adults.

What a lively scene in spring!

Seeing all this, Zhao Dan couldn't help but feel emotion in his heart, signaling the carriage to stop, took Zhao Heng off the carriage, and walked towards a farmland not far away.

Although Zhao Dan and his group were wearing casual clothes, their clothes were still very conspicuous, which instantly attracted the attention of many nearby farmers.

Zhao Dan walked to a certain field and greeted an old man who was using a plow to plow the land, "Brother-in-law, I want to ask some questions about some things, don't you know if it's okay?"

The old man was stunned for a moment, looked at Zhao Dan and others, then walked towards Zhao Dan and said respectfully: "I wonder what this gentleman is going to ask?"

These days, the hierarchy between people is very strict, and it can be withdrawn from the clothes. Therefore, just one look, the old man knew that Zhao Dan belonged to a member of the aristocratic class and his attitude was naturally very respectful.

Zhao Dan bowed to the old man and smiled and said, "I am from Wei. My ancestors are from Zhao. Now I heard that King Zhao is recruiting talents, so I want to return to Zhao with my son, and may be able to become an official in the inner history. I see my father farming here. I want to know what this kind of planting is?"

The old man suddenly realized and smiled and said, "It turns out that the talented man has returned. I will not hide it from the gentleman. The one planted in this field is Ji."

Ji, a type of grain in the Warring States Period, was known as the leader of all grains. It is the incarnation of the God of Grain and is widely planted in today's Central Plains.

Zhao Dan smiled and said, "Dare you ask me how my father-in-law earns an annual income?"

When the old man heard this, he immediately raised his head and said to Zhao Dan with some pride: "I will collect two stones every year."

"What?" Zhao Dan was obviously surprised and said, "Can my father-in-law be Ueda?"

Up to the fields is the best land.

The old man smiled and said, "That's right!"

Zhao Dan bowed and said, "Since that's the case, I think my father-in-law's life is quite good."

When the old man saw Zhao Dan asking carefully, he simply stopped arable land and walked up to the ridge to settle the matter with Zhao Dan.

According to the previous principles of Zhao State, the upper fields were only 100 mu, the middle fields were 200 mu, and the lower fields were 300 mu.

Zhao Dan asked again: "In this way, is the father-in-law a farmer a year old?"

Zhao Heng, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but ask, "Father...Wheng, what is a farmer in the year?"

The old man glanced at Zhao Heng and smiled and said, "It seems that this young master does not understand this. The so-called farmer is a person who farms every year."

"What?" Zhao Heng said in surprise: "Is there anyone in this world who are not farming every year?"

Zhao Dan and the old man looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

Zhao Dan touched his eldest son's head and said, "Heng'er, this land is fertile. If it is insufficient, it needs to fallow and raise the fields. Therefore, only the father-in-law's upfield is cultivated every year, and both the middle and lower fields need to fallow and raise the fertility of the land."

Zhao Heng was so embarrassed that his face turned red, but he still asked, "But if it is fallow, how should farmers have food to fill their stomachs?"

Zhao Dan smiled and said, "You can rotate crops. If you rotate crops, you can restore the fertility of the land..."

Zhao Dan said, suddenly shut his mouth and thoughtful.

The others couldn't help but feel a little strange when they saw this.

After a while, Zhao Dan came to his senses and smiled: "I suddenly thought of something and was a little distracted. Please forgive me. By the way, I haven't asked my father-in-law how much I earn and how much I spend?"

The father-in-law smiled and said, "Sir, don't be surprised. I'm just a small citizen. How can I know these methods of calculating these numbers? This year's total amount of money can be seen, but the specific expenses are a bit difficult to calculate."

Zhao Dan couldn't help but feel silence when he heard this, but he quickly laughed and said, "It's okay, I'm so worried... I can do it for my father-in-law."

Then Zhao Dan started to forget.

If one hundred acres of land is produced by two stones per mu, then the harvest of a year is made into chestnut rice and it will be two hundred stones of grain. If one-tenth of the tax is twenty stones, then there will be one hundred and eighty stones of grain left.

Since Zhao State stipulates that adult men must set up their own families, the population of a family will not exceed five.

If five people count, one person's monthly ration is one and a half stone, and five people have ninety stones of food a year, so there is still ninety stones of food left.

After counting this, Zhao Dan couldn't help but say to the old man in surprise: "Brother-in-law, if this happens, your life seems to be quite rich."

The old man was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly, "Sir, I misunderstood. These ninety stones are just the surplus after deducting the food. I also have to sell the grain for farm tools. During the holidays, I also have to buy clothes for my family. In addition, I have to pay taxes and the country, and I also need to pay money for funerals. If there is a surplus of ten stones and twenty stones in this year, it will be a good year. If there is a natural disaster and man-made disaster, it is common to go hungry."

Zhao Dan's face gradually became serious.

Whether it is the child running on the farmland, or even the brand new farm tools in the old man's hands, this old man is actually a relatively good farmer. In the 1940s and 1950s, he may have been considered a rich peasant.

But even such a rich peasant family did not live a prosperous life, so how miserable did the middle peasants, lower peasants and even poor peasants in Zhao State live?

Zhao Dan suddenly felt that his king seemed a little unqualified.

Since his time travel, Zhao Dan has always focused on fighting for hegemony with Qin. Various reform measures have mainly focused on military construction, but they have inadvertently ignored the peasants, the most important group in feudal society.

The old farmer looked at Zhao Dan's expression and seemed to guess what Zhao Dan was thinking, and smiled and said, "Do you think a certain family is in a difficult life?"

Zhao Heng couldn't help but interrupt and said, "Does your father think this life is acceptable?"

"Of course!" the old farmer smiled and said, "Since the old man was born, Zhao State has fought small battles every year and big battles every three years. If he won, it would be fine. When the Wei and Qin people were invaded, he would not even have a harvest, and he might even die! Now our Zhao State has won many battles abroad, and the old man's two sons have made contributions in the army. A while ago, he wrote to him that he had divided the fields in Hedong County and brought his family to Hedong. The power of Zhao State is the blessing of our farmers!"

As he said that, his father-in-law pointed to his grandsons who were playing by the farmland and smiled: "These boys will go to the army to fight when they grow up. They may still be able to divide the fields in Guanzhong!"

There were also several farmers resting around. One of the middle-aged men laughed and said, "What Mr. Ji said is very true. Our Zhao Kingdom is now strong, so life is good. Otherwise, if there were defeats in previous years, who would not starve to death?"

Everyone agreed.

In later generations, many people may think that the so-called prosperous era in ancient times was when everyone was full and warm, and they might have some spare money in their hands.

Actually, this does not exist.

In fact, as long as there is no large-scale famine, it can ensure that most citizens cannot starve to death, which is enough to be called the word "prosperous age".

Zhao Dan seemed a little confused, and chatted with his father-in-law and the farmers for a few more words, stuffed him to his father-in-law and grandson who were playing around with him, and left the farmland after receiving some thanks.
Chapter completed!