Warring States Survival Guide-Chapter 361 - 249: Simple Task (Part 3)

If the interest rate is too high, they can’t pay it back next year, they will still die.

The villagers quieted down, and Guotai Lang said directly, "This is basic ration, no interest, and no repayment required."

"Then what do we need to do?"

"You just need to register." Guotai Lang knew he couldn’t speak too complicatedly with these villagers, so he spoke loudly, "As long as you acknowledge you are Wanjin people and comply with Wanjin laws and regulations, you can receive basic rations—it’s the government’s responsibility not to let Wanjin people starve, per Lord Nozawa’s instructions."

After a pause, he quickly added, "Of course, if you want to eat your fill, you still have to work!"

The villagers had no objections, as working for food was only natural. Though they didn’t have much else, they had plenty of strength. Someone quickly shouted, "Can we also lease the paddies outside the manor?"

"Yes!" Guotai Lang immediately replied, "They will be fairly leased to everyone for cultivation according to the number of strong men in each household."

The villagers burst into excitement again and couldn’t help whispering among themselves. The riverside fields were top-grade. Previously, the rice harvested would be entirely taken by the Northern Frame, and any reduction needed to be supplemented by the whole village.

An old man, quite astute, thought for a moment and cautiously tested, "Sir, how much annual tribute do we have to pay?"

The villagers instantly became quiet again. If the tribute was too much—more than six parts to the government and four to the people for each town’s acreage, plus some lumber, bundles of bamboo, mulberry fibers, or shoulders more costly such as horse loans or soldier food rice—leasing or not leasing would be the same.

Guotai Lang immediately laughed through the loudspeaker, "This question is quite complex; everyone, please be patient while I explain. Wanjin no longer collects annual tribute, not only for the fields divided for everyone to cultivate, but also your previous leased fields no longer require tribute, though agricultural tax still must be paid... only food needs to be submitted, none of the other miscellaneous contributions are required."

"How much food do we need to pay?" Someone shouted from within the crowd. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Collecting agricultural tax is a highly technical job, as each household’s labor situation varies and each year’s harvest might differ. This year might be a bumper crop; next year could yield no grains at all, and a mistake with the "five parts government, five parts people" could cause farmer bankruptcy and debt lasting three generations.

For instance, if disaster struck this year, and the farmers barely harvested enough to eat, and you take half their yield with "five parts government, five parts people," they would have no choice but to eat wild herbs, and if that’s not enough, they’d have to fight you.

Alternatively, some might secretly hide and falsely report yields, or even the whole village might conspire to hide output to pay as little as possible, but the government doesn’t have the manpower and energy to check each field’s actual yield.

Therefore, it’s challenging to establish a convincing agricultural tax standard ensuring farmers won’t go bankrupt. Luckily, Harano copied successful practices which have solved this issue in practice, and until now, no village in Wanjin has raised a rebellion wanting to hang him on a streetlamp.

On the contrary, farmers have started saving and can support industrial and commercial development.

Guotai Lang immediately began introducing Wanjin’s policy: "How much food should be collected? Currently, we adopt a floating agricultural tax; after reserving enough food, it’s levied starting from surplus, calculated at 15% of output from state-run farms and model households..."

This question is very complicated and Guotai Lang needed to explain what "state-run farm" and "model household" meant and why it had to be so complex, speaking until his mouth was dry.

The villagers listened intently; they lacked knowledge, but they weren’t foolish—they could discern good from bad. Even if some couldn’t hold back from discussing with neighbors, they’d be immediately stopped, and hearing Guotai Lang’s example of the Chita Peninsula’s agricultural tax situation, someone couldn’t help exclaiming: That little?

With such favorable terms, the villagers listened yearningly yet doubtfully, feeling that with these conditions, Wanjin could even organize them to attack Nongzhen City and they’d give it a go; yet the Wanjin people didn’t seem interested, seeming just to want them to live well and farm properly.

Guotai Lang said no more; overspeaking was unnecessary; it was about action.

He directly began giving orders through the loudspeaker for villagers to line up to process their registrations, distributing rations to each household without needing further urging, finding that villagers who were hiding at home all came out and obediently lined up.

After spending most of the day, these Ise people were finally re-registered as Wanjin people, and Guotai Lang started giving directives: "Alright, with nothing much during winter, coincidentally our village looks like a pigsty, filthy and messy; now begin cleaning, shoveling out all the garbage and debris!"

The villagers of Matsuyama village, looking at the buckwheat beans just handed to them, had no objections and began organizing groups by the "work team" to start working.

Guotai Lang wiped his sweat, nodding silently.

Simple task, this village was easily won over; henceforth, this village was part of the Wanjin system.