Window of Opportunity for Reform (Part 1)

  San Yuan County is located in the central part of Shaanxi's Guanzhong Plain, north of the Wei River, about 36 kilometers away from Chang'an. It would take three or four hours to get there on horseback. Su Ning set out early in the morning and arrived at San Yuan County by noon. The county magistrate, who had been notified in advance, was waiting with his subordinates, but fortunately, they didn't put on a show like they did later, with banners and singing and dancing. It was just a group of officials, otherwise Su Ning would have definitely beaten up the county magistrate.

  "Your subordinate Wang Yuan leads a group of officials from Sanyuan County to respectfully welcome the Marquis of Sanyuan!"

  A group of men in green robes stood there, some fat and some thin, all different heights, looking particularly comical. It's got to be said that the aesthetic view of people from the Tang Dynasty is really out. Wearing a whole set of green robes makes them look like caterpillars. If they were good-looking it would be okay, but with this ugly appearance... Shaking his head, Su Ning dismounted his horse, secretly ridiculing Emperor Li's poor artistic taste, while smiling warmly and saying: "County Magistrate Wang has gone to a lot of trouble, actually coming all the way here to welcome me, I'm really imposing."

  Wang Yuan doesn't look fat, his figure is still okay, and his complexion is relatively rosy. At first glance, he looks like a clever person. His eating habits seem to be good too. To be able to serve as the county magistrate under the emperor's feet, one cannot be simple; either they have connections or they have abilities. Wang Yuan may have connections, may have abilities, or may have both connections and abilities. The only thing that is impossible is that this guy is a very ordinary person...

  Those piercing eyes and a calm smile are enough to show that this guy is not incompetent, of course, we also need to see his political ability and performance. If he is qualified, it's not impossible for him to enter the imperial court one day. His own fiefdom is under his rule, with 2,000 acres of land and a mansion under his jurisdiction. Although he is the Earl of San Yuan County, San Yuan County is not something that can be decided by himself alone. Su Ning's significance to San Yuan County lies in being the owner of 2,000 acres of fiefdom and the proprietor of 600 households' food production.

  Wang Yuan was very clear about all the information that could be known about this Marquis of San Yuan County. Since the day Su Ning was enfeoffed as the Count of San Yuan, he had been paying attention to Su Ning. After all, who would want a tyrant to appear in their own county, let alone a tyrant with a title and an official position? That would make it difficult for oneself to do one's job. If they were to oppose him, they might be dealt with; if they were to collude with him, what if the censorial officials found out? Those guys who valued their names more than their lives could also gang up and devour themselves...

  Wang Yuan was just the eldest son of a small family, and in the Guanzhong aristocratic group, he was a minor figure who couldn't even be mentioned. However, he had some natural talent, and through the imperial examination system established by the Tang Dynasty, he passed as a jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations). Through his family connections, he managed to get ahead and secure an appointment in San Yuan County, where he has been serving for two years now. He is always diligent and careful, not daring to be negligent, knowing that working under the emperor's rule has its advantages and disadvantages, and those crazy officials are willing to do whatever it takes...

  When he learned that San Yuan County was granted to Su Ning as a fief, he began to pay attention to this Su Ning. The more he paid attention, the more shocked he became. At the age of 14, he launched a surprise attack on Dingxiang and captured Yang Zhengdao, which led to his being enfeoffed as a viscount. He set fire to Yingshan and extinguished the Turkic people with one fire, which led to his being enfeoffed as an earl. His actual fief was three hundred households, which was already a relatively high level of food income. Many dukes had only five or six hundred households! However, in less than a day's time, his food income suddenly increased to 600 households, leaving Wang Yuan bewildered. An earl? Six hundred households?

  "This is a considerable part of the Duke's fief! Upon inquiry, it was learned that he presented a labor reform strategy in the imperial court, and after being rebuked by Confucius, he retreated to his home to rest. Then, with his clever hands, he revived Du Ruhui, the Marquis of Cai State, who had been pronounced dead by the doctors. The Marquis of Cai State was grateful for Su Ning's lifesaving grace and rewarded him with 300 households from his fief of 1,300 households. Subsequently, Emperor Li allowed Su Ning to enter the Imperial Academy to study..."

  Within a few days of his arrival in Chang'an, his value had already skyrocketed to the point where he was either a god or a devil. Wang Yuan saw right through this and knew that this young man was not someone to be trifled with. Despite his youth, he couldn't be underestimated. Wang Yuan had a premonition that this ruthless character who could burn 30,000 Turkic soldiers to death with one torch would not be an easy target. He quickly tried to curry favor with him, thinking that in the future, there might be opportunities to advance his own career, as his family couldn't provide much more support for his official path.

  King Yuan couldn't help but laugh: "Marquis San Yuan is joking, my humble county is poor and destitute, to be able to receive a noble like Marquis San Yuan is an honor for the entire county! Marquis San Yuan has traveled far and must be tired, I have already prepared a welcoming banquet, although it's just some ordinary food, please do us the honor of accepting."

  Su Ning smiled and waved his hand: "This wine banquet is not urgent, I came here to inspect the sealed land and check on the lives of the tenants. This is the most important thing. County Magistrate Wang, has the spring plowing in San Yuan County ended?"

  King Yuan was startled in his heart, but then he smiled and said: "It's not over yet. The population of the Great Tang is small, and this San Yuan County can't be an exception. There are many lands but few people, and spring plowing is slow. However, I have specially instructed the sealed land of San Yuan Bo to expedite the handling. Your tenants were among the first batch to start farming, and now they have finished 80% of the farming. The remaining will also be completed in the next few days. You don't need to worry."

  Suning felt a sense of relief and said, "The county magistrate has a good heart, but it's just as well. We don't need to plant the remaining two-tenths with wheat, let's plant this instead!" Suning took out a package of rice seeds from his bosom and showed it off: "This is a great thing! Although there isn't much quantity, this time it's just for trial planting. But if the trial planting succeeds, that would be boundless merit!"

  Wang Yuan caught a phrase, trial planting? What kind of crop seed is this? Infinite merit? How can that be? So he asked: "Third Lord, what is this? Does it need to be tested?"

  Su Ning smiled and said: "County Magistrate Wang, remember, after this thing is planted, you must send someone to guard it day and night, and assign the most experienced old farmer to take care of it. When autumn harvest comes, if the trial planting is successful, not only will it be a great merit, but County Magistrate Wang, with this achievement, you can expect a high promotion!"

  The place where these grains were first tried was roughly the same as the window of reform and opening up in later generations. San Yuan County was like Shenzhen, a window for the reforms of the Great Tang Dynasty, and it was naturally the source of all changes in the Great Tang Dynasty. If San Yuan County's status is elevated, wouldn't Wang Yuan also rise with the tide?

  Wang Yuan was shocked, and then smiled all over his face: "Although the official does not understand what San Yuan Bo said is why, but if there really is that day, the official will never forget the kindness of San Yuan Bo."

  Su Ning waved his hand, pulling Lai Fu inside: "Don't thank me, that's what you deserve. As long as you take good care of it, by the autumn harvest, you'll naturally understand! Now, please have County Magistrate Wang take me to the fiefdom to take a look. Then find some experienced old farmers to plant these seeds, and I'll personally supervise them to do a good job."

  Wang Yuan agreed verbally, but in his heart he was drumming up a small beat. He had heard that this San Yuan Bo Shi came from a famous family and had excellent skills, but what kind of medicine was being sold inside the gourd now? As soon as they met, he promised that Wang would be promoted, was it just for these seeds? What kind of crop were these seeds anyway? Why were they so important?

  Forget it, anyway, let's satisfy San Yuan Bo's request first.

  At the word of command, officials immediately went to arrange everything on the land. These things didn't require Su Ning's presence, and he wasn't willing to wait either. He even somewhat enjoyed the treatment where everything would be prepared for him. No wonder everyone wants to come to Tianchao to be an official - this treatment is quite generous! How evil capitalism is, it's not a place for humans to stay at all!

  The land of Guanzhong is indeed a thousand miles of fertile soil, the heavenly state. Looking around, there are patches of green fields, crisscrossing paths, and a vibrant atmosphere. It's probably noon, so people have gone back to eat lunch. The chimneys of the houses by the fields are all emitting smoke, and there aren't many people inside. Some families have cows, some have horses, and the mud-brick houses are surrounded by fences. This is similar to Su Ning's old home in the past, except that this place is much larger.

  "Is this my fief?" Su Ning asked, pointing to the vast land. Wang Yuan nodded and stretched out his hand to circle around: "This is only a part of it, your fief is 2,000 mu of land, just look at how much there is! Even if you ride a horse and circle around, it would take some time. The emperor's favor towards you can be seen from this!"

  Su Ning smiled and said: "County Magistrate Wang is overpraising me. Such a large piece of land, how many people are cultivating it? How many people rely on these fields to make a living?"

  Wang Yuan said: "Your 600 households of food fiefs are arranged here, with a total population of 1,963 people, including 362 able-bodied men. There are 27 oxen and 16 horses. These 2,000 mu of enfeoffed land are all very good fields, with an annual yield of over one dan per mu, up to one and a half dan, which is a very high yield."

  The average yield of grain per mu in the Tang Dynasty recorded in historical books is about one stone, and only a few arable lands can reach a yield of about two stones, which is the yield of the good fields in the capital. Li Er's special care for Su Ning can be seen from this, and it was arranged so quickly, and the cultivation was arranged immediately. It seems that these tenants are also hardworking! However, with their own seeds, they don't need a few years, they can all live a rich life!

  After a while, several small officials brought a group of old farmers with gray and white hair to Su Ning's presence. There were about fifty or so people. The small official said: "Third Yuan Bo, these are all old farmers with rich experience in farming, almost all of them have more than twenty years of farming experience. Take a look, is it suitable? This is the Third Yuan Bo, the owner of this fiefdom, and also your master!"

  Su Ning nodded and walked over to the old farmers, smiling at an elderly-looking man and asked: "Old sir, how old are you this year?" The old man looked at Su Ning's young age, with a warm smile on his face, and replied in a gentle tone: "In response to your question, I am fifty-six years old."

  Su Ning nodded and smiled, "How many years has it been since that land was cultivated?" The old man replied, "I started farming at the age of eight, except for the time I fled during the war, I have already farmed for 40 years. Although I am getting older, I still have the strength to farm." The old man's anxious appearance made Su Ning feel a pang in his heart. At such an advanced age, he still had to farm? This was not the kind of scene that should appear during the Zhenguan era...

  "Magistrate Wang, how much does a head of cattle cost now?" Su Ning asked Wang Yuan.

  Wang Yuan was taken aback and replied: "A fine ox is worth about four guan of money, a second-rate ox is worth about three guan of money. What does San Yuan Bo need?"

  Su Ning nodded and said, "Yes, there are only 27 oxen among these tenants. The money is not a lot, but it's still enough to buy 200 oxen. I'll send the money over, you go contact the imperial official in charge of selling cattle, 800 taels of silver, you go tell the imperial court that it was me who bought them, do you understand?"

  Suning finished speaking, but Wang Yuan didn't respond for a long time. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but rather he was really scared. Two hundred head of cattle? That's a huge sum of money! What did this Earl want to do? The old men were also frightened and had no idea what Suning wanted to do, buying so many cattle. What could this young master possibly be up to?

  "How can our tenant farmers not have oxen to plow the fields? At your age, sir, you still need to work in the fields, it's really a sin! Although we can't have many, at least we should have some oxen, so the elderly don't have to work so hard. At this age, one should be enjoying life, and this large piece of land will be mine, and yours too. Those oxen are my gift to you as a token of our meeting, and in the future, I'll still rely on you for food! Hahaha!"