Chapter 22: Creating a Registry (Seeking Recommendations and Favorites)

  The sky was just slightly bright, and Pang Gang led Da Zhuang, Gou Sheng, and Li Xian's father and son, five people riding on the five horses that Pang Gang had bought at a high price from Ling Shan Wei Suo, galloping southeast.

  He rode his horse along the river and observed the condition of the land from Wanghai Castle to Lingshanwei. In fact, the soil quality of these lands was not bad, but due to years of neglect of water conservancy, irrigation was inconvenient, and the exploitation by the Wei officials made these originally good fields mostly barren. The north of the Ming Dynasty was like this, with little rain and drought, agriculture relied entirely on irrigation, where there was water it was fertile land, without water it was a desert, and the dependence on the irrigation system was extremely high.

  However, there is actually a river around Wanghai Building. Ten miles away from Wanghai Building, near Lingshanwei, there is a river that flows directly into the sea. It's just that the water conservancy here has been neglected for many years, making it impossible to irrigate the land within dozens of miles, so the original good fields have become wasteland.

  Along the road, you can still see the remnants of the original irrigation ditches built for farmland, but now these ditches have been abandoned and only faint outlines remain.

  Looking at the deserted land, Li Xian said with a heartache: "Sir, it's really a pity to let these lands lie waste like this. If we could divert the river water into this area, we could turn thousands of acres of wasteland into fertile fields!"

  Looking at Li Xian who was heartbroken and frustrated, Pang Gang let out a light sigh. The kind of brick wells and water conservancy that can be used for irrigation are not something that any ordinary family can dig and build. The amount of manpower and resources invested inside is enormous.

  Of course, if the government and the Wei authorities dredge and repair these canals, they can make this area a fertile good field. Unfortunately, it is now in the late Ming Dynasty, and the governance of the Ming Dynasty has completely collapsed. The officials and the wealthy collude with each other, shifting the grain taxes that should be paid by themselves to the military households and civilians, making farmers and soldiers unbearable and fleeing, resulting in a large number of farmland being abandoned without cultivation.

  This is also the result of the ruling class's excessive exploitation of the lower classes, on the one hand, a large number of farmlands were abandoned and uncultivated, on the other hand, grain prices have been rising year after year, causing people to live in misery and hundreds of thousands of peasants rose up in revolt.

  After the Chongzhen period, the country's fiscal revenue had already dropped to less than 40 million taels per year. However, in the Jiangnan region alone, there were nearly a hundred salt merchants with assets of several million taels. The annual fiscal revenue of an entire country was actually no match for that of a single merchant, which shows just how strained the finances of this dynasty were.

  Pang Gang hesitated for a long time before asking Li Xian, "If we were to dredge these waterways all the way to our Wang Hai Fortress, how much time would it take and how many silver taels would be required?"

  "Your Honor, if we were to divert water from the river to Wang Hai Castle, it would require at least 500 laborers and a minimum of 8,000 taels of silver; otherwise, it is absolutely impossible."

  "Hiss......" Pang Gang took a deep breath, five thousand two silver coins was not a small amount for himself now, his current total assets were only over two thousand two, this wasn't even enough to repair an irrigation canal.

  Pang Gang thought for a moment and asked: "If we don't finish the canal all at once, but instead build it as we go, how much silver do you think we'll need initially?"

  Li Xian thought for a moment, "Now our Wanghai Fort has only 300 households, first we can open up about 1,000 mu of land, plus the construction of water channels, in that case we will need around 1,200 taels of silver."

  "Good!" Pang Gang still thought this plan was good. "As long as we can repair part of the irrigation canal before May and replant some of the land, our grain supply will be basically self-sufficient next year." Pang Gang did not hope to become rich overnight, he knew that with the current manpower and resources, he could only take it one step at a time. However, he was confident that within two years, he could turn this barren land into a fertile one.

  As long as you make a name for yourself, the refugees nearby will come in droves, and the increased population will add to your own strength. At that time, not to mention a small Wanghai Fort, even the entire Lingshan Garrison can't stop your footsteps.

  After inspecting the land, Pang Gang led his men back to Wang Haibao and gathered more than 60 households. Looking around at the densely packed military dependents, he saw that they were all disheveled, with yellow complexions and thin skin, their clothes tattered like sacks. Suddenly, a strong sense of responsibility surged up in Pang Gang's heart - the future of these impoverished military dependents was now in his hands; could he really lead them to a better life?

  Li Yuan, wearing a small flag uniform, was actively maintaining order on the side. Since he decided to follow Pang Gang, he had been actively showing himself off. Although Li Yuan's temper was somewhat violent, he wasn't stupid; in his heart, he clearly understood that his future was now closely tied to this hundred-household leader. At this moment, he stood at the edge of the crowd and shouted loudly: "Everyone be quiet! The hundred-household leader is going to give a speech, no one is allowed to speak anymore!"

  Looking around at the numb and yet longing eyes, Pang Gang had an inexplicable feeling in his heart. This was perhaps the helplessness of the ancient Huaxia people? Their fate has always been in the hands of one ruling class after another, even if they overthrow a dynasty, another new rising dynasty will emerge with a new ruling class, repeating the cycle endlessly.

  "Fellow villagers, after these days of interaction, I believe you all know me now. I am the new hundred households of Wang Haibao, in short, your parents' official. From now on, we will be together in this place to live a life! Maybe you all have doubts and don't understand some things, it's okay, what you don't understand can be raised now, and I will answer them one by one for everyone!"

  After Pang Gang finished speaking, there was a silence around him. The military dependents just looked at him quietly and didn't make a sound, creating an awkward atmosphere. Pang Gang's face also started to change color gradually.

  Just as Pang Gang was about to lose his temper, Li Xian, who was standing beside him, whispered to himself that things were not going well. He was just thinking of speaking up to break the deadlock when a young man standing in the back row asked softly: "Sir, what arrangements do you have? We'll follow your orders. But I'd like to know how you want us to do it and what's the point of doing it this way?"

  As soon as the sound rang out, Li Xian, who was about to speak up, couldn't help but look at that guy with admiring eyes, secretly praising the kid for having a good eye.

  Indeed, as soon as Pang heard someone speak up, his face immediately cleared up and he smiled loudly: "This official naturally has a plan. Today, this official has already gone to inspect the barren land outside the city, which is over ten miles away. Originally, it was a good field, but due to the collapse of the irrigation canal, water could not be drawn from the nearby river for irrigation, so it was abandoned. As long as everyone works together to reopen the canal and bring in water, by June, everyone can start tilling the land and planting crops! This time, the cost of opening up the canal will be borne by this official, and the seeds and farming tools needed for cultivation will also be provided by this official, so everyone doesn't need to worry at all!"

  The military households looked at each other in dismay, could it be that there really is such a good thing as manna from heaven?

  At this time, the young man standing behind him began to speak again, with a suspicious tone asking: "Sir, are you really going to give us those seeds and farm tools for free?"

  Pang Gang glared at them with a scowl, saying in an ill-tempered tone: "Do you think I'm running a free porridge shop? You're dreaming! Let me make it clear to you, the good land you've reclaimed is naturally yours. I guarantee that no one will disturb you. In the first year, I'll only collect half a dou of grain per mu from you, in the second year, one dou, which will be used to repay the seeds and farming tools I lent you. From the third year on, I'll collect two dou per mu, and it won't go beyond that! Do you all understand?"

  Everyone heard that and couldn't help but think, "This is right!", as there's no such good thing in the world. Now, this Mr. Pang has set out conditions that are quite harsh on the surface, making it clear that they have to pay grain taxes from the first year.

  But thinking carefully, it's not too severe, as long as the harvest isn't too bad, this big fire can still be afforded, and it's very likely that there will be surplus grain in the future. According to this way of speaking, opening up wasteland is still feasible. Although Mr. Pang looks like a petty person, but in the eyes of the military households, he is more credible than those officials who speak extravagantly, giving them a real and trustworthy feeling.

  After finishing speaking, Pang Gang took out a blank notebook and sat on a stone bench to start registering. However, Comrade Pang Gang would not use a brush pen; he took out a goose feather pen from his pocket, dipped it in ink, and started writing. He registered the sixty households one by one according to their military household register, noting each household's year of registration, military service status, place of origin, family members, men and women, adults, etc., and issued two copies of the official document.

  As they watched Pang Gang writing swiftly, the faces of the soldiers showed a hint of reverence. They had not expected that this hundred-household leader could not only trap and kill enemies on the battlefield but also wield his brush with skill off the battlefield. Was this the legendary combination of civil and martial prowess?

  In ancient times, limited by the constraints of dissemination channels, people who were good at writing and literature were always respected by others. This move by Pang Gong has unintentionally enhanced the image of his soldiers in their minds, which is something that Pang Gong did not expect at this time...