Urban Sims

Spring is coming.

Everything is coming back to life, the flowers and grass are getting greener, and there are more and more birds chirping in the forest.

Under the warm sunshine, the frozen land and roads became muddy.

Glenland, a territory located on the eastern edge of the Voorhees Kingdom, has quietly undergone many changes.

For example, the lord has changed from the original Baron Connor to the younger Baron Downey, and the butler of the territory has changed from the original Butler Bunode to the young and terrifying Butler Ryan, who is the same age as Baron Downey, All are only 18 years old.

Regarding these two young figures, the citizens of Glenland are all talking about it in private. They wonder what kind of fate awaits them?

Will Baron Downey, like Baron Connor, give them a better spear when they encounter a war, and give them a piece of bread that will not starve to death when they encounter a famine? When there are large beasts, knights are sent to drive them away and protect their livestock and crops.

Everything is unknown, and many elderly citizens are even praying in their hearts. They don't need much mercy from the new lord. They just hope that they can leave a way for them to survive like the previous Baron Connor.

Now is the beginning of spring again, and the spring sowing season is coming soon. The news that all the people who are about to run out of food at home are sitting at home and want to hear the most news is that the new lord can allow them to continue farming and rent money for the previous year. Tenant the land so as not to delay this year’s spring sowing.

…

In the castle meeting hall.

Sitting in the first chair, Donnie, dressed in bearskin, held a parchment proclamation in his hand and frowned heavily.

"Ryan, if these "Agricultural Reform Ordinances" you wrote are really implemented, will those lazy farmers in Glenland really become even more lazy?"

In the enlightenment education that Downey received since childhood, the only stereotype he had about farmers was that they were lazy.

It is precisely because farmers are lazy that they have to work three days a week and do all kinds of love work. They also have to pass all kinds of strange taxes to collect all their spare money, so that they will not be idle. , wandering around the territory.

"Donnie, I've explained to you many times that those poor farmers are so busy that they have no chance to be lazy. Does it mean that you are lazy when you are tired from work and take a few days' rest? Absolutely not! On the contrary, in order to solve the problem of a year's work, In order to feed and clothe themselves, to raise their children, and to pay taxes, the burden on them is already very heavy. Now we will lighten some of their burdens so that they can have extra food to replenish their nutrition and sufficient rest time to restore their physical strength, so that they can achieve a higher level. Farm the land with the highest efficiency, thereby forming a virtuous cycle and increasing the agricultural output of the territory..."

"Donnie, I'm here to give you a guarantee. After the implementation of this "Agricultural Reform Ordinance", if the growth rate of Glenland's total agricultural output this year does not exceed 30%, or the tax collected by the tax officer will increase, If the growth rate is less than 10%, these reform regulations will be abolished immediately! But if these growth goals are achieved, then this regulation will continue to be implemented and modified and adjusted!"

"this……"

Downey was still a little hesitant. He was completely opposite to what Zhou Ming thought. He believed that after the implementation of the "Agricultural Reform Ordinance", there is no doubt that farmers' labor enthusiasm will not increase, but will immediately decrease and become even lazier.

The survival goal of these farmers is nothing more than to ensure that they do not starve to death. The remaining food at home is only enough for one year's rations and seeds for the next year. Any extra will be basically donated to the church and will not be kept in their hands. How many.

If we follow the provisions of Lane's "Agricultural Reform Ordinance": reduce land rent by 20%, reduce the rent of cattle and farm tools by two-thirds, and abolish the weekly labor system, just these three items, those farmers who have greatly reduced their burden will soon He would just wander around the territory and not focus on farming at all. After planting enough food for almost a year, he would have nothing to do.

but--

Another way of thinking, from Ryan's perspective, what he said seems to make some sense. Moreover, it's not like Ryan didn't take this issue into consideration, so in the "Agricultural Reform Ordinance" he formulated, in addition to the three core articles, there are six more articles. Additional provisions.

They are:

All miscellaneous taxes on farmers have been cancelled, except for the hunting of game animals in the territory and the cutting down of trees.

If farmers' fields are abandoned on a large scale and production is abnormally reduced, the lord will take back the land use rights.

The excess grain produced by the farmers' fields should be purchased by the lord at a reasonable price.

Farmers can use grain to purchase livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses at a discount from the lord, as well as farming tools such as hoes, sickles, and heavy plows.

Farmers are allowed to trade goods with each other and exchange the goods they need without being taxed.

The private property of farmers was recognized and protected by the lord and could not be taken away at will.

According to Lane, these six items not only increase farmers’ enthusiasm for production, but also ensure their enthusiasm for consumption.

Only when farmers consume their extra agricultural products in various forms will they have the motivation to expand and increase production!

For example, a few strong cattle, a set of useful farm tools, a sturdy house... are all goals that encourage these farmers to increase production and consumption.

If the farmers have achieved all these goals, they are collectively running into a well-off society, and there is no other need, then it’s time to encourage children. If you have two, you will be punished. If you have three, you will be rewarded. The more you have, the more you will have. , the more rewards there are, the population will increase, and the demand will increase. What should we do? We can only continue to increase production.

There are also many new consumption projects in education, medical care, entertainment and other fields.

In short, according to Ryan's "production-consumption spiral theory", the agricultural output of Granville will only show an upward line, continuously improving, growing, and expanding.

Downey was indeed deeply attracted by this theory, but he also had some concerns. Whether the farmers would really enter into the behavioral logic of this production-consumption theory as Ryan expected was really still unknown.

If farmers only want food and clothing without desires, and have no motivation to consume extra, then wouldn't all the "price" he paid be in vain?

"How do you know if you don't try it, Donnie, don't you think we are doing something that no one in this era has tried? If we succeed, what will it mean? If the experiment fails, it is just a loss It’s just a small amount of money and food, we are still young, why not give it a try?”

Zhou Ming's words ignited the ambition in Downey's heart. That's right, it's only a year. That little money and food is only equivalent to a very small part of the food stored in the castle's granary. This is a slight loss to him. It's still bearable.

"Okay! Just implement this "Agricultural Reform Ordinance" for one year. If it works well, continue to implement it. If it doesn't work, forget it."

Donnie finally nodded.

the next day.

Zhou Ming personally led more than a dozen tax officials, riding horses, and issued the "Agricultural Reform Regulations" to the villages and towns in the territory, standing in front of those thin farmers, and offering them word for word. was read out.

Land rent has been reduced from the original 50% to the current 30%?

The rental price of cattle farming tools is reduced to one-third of the original price?

Cancel the three-day weekly work during busy farming periods?

Just these three items were like a series of powerful thunderbolts, which stunned all the farmers. Whether it was the townspeople of Qiangwei Town or the farmers of the other ten villages, after hearing the content of this order, they all seemed to appear As if they were hallucinating, some shook their heads desperately, or looked at each other, saying that it was impossible for such a good thing to happen to them.

After the steward Ryan finished reading and left the village, there were still many farmers who were in a daze, thinking that they were dreaming, and after pinching themselves hard, they realized that the dream was so real, so he pulled others and asked , did I just hear it wrong? What on earth did Butler Ryan say?

Zhou Ming also suffered from similar problems. After seeing him, several farmers who knew him boldly stepped forward and asked similar questions. Zhou Ming answered a few times at the beginning, but he didn't bother to explain later, the lord Whatever orders have been issued, you just have to follow them and don't ask too many questions.

Whether the farmers believe it or not, the nine items in the "Agricultural Reform Regulations", after the old tax system was completely cleaned up, the new tax system established and controlled by Zhou Ming began to strictly implement these regulations one after another. Go down.

During this drastic agricultural reform, all the farmers in Glenland soon noticed the obvious changes that had happened to them.