Looking out from the raised windows, the sun shines on the streets in late autumn. In addition to the white cloth banners that can still be seen everywhere, Gushi City is gradually returning to normal.

The sadness on the faces of people coming and going is slowly disappearing, replaced by the heavy pressure of real life. The dead are gone, but the living have to continue to live, and it is impossible for them to indulge in the past for a long time.

It is all for life, and as the eldest son of a big family, life not only means one's own life, but also means the survival, rise and fall of a family.

Chen Gu subconsciously wanted to sigh, but heard the voice of the long outside: "Mr. Tan Er is here, my master has been waiting inside for a long time."

"Mr. Tan is here, please take the seat."

"Mr. Chen is so polite. I heard that Mr. Chen is asking me, how could he not come?" Tan Zheng also had a wisp of black beard, with a fair face, and looked a little rich and gentlemanly, so he bowed his hand.

Chen Gu estimated that the other party should have heard some news, so he sent a letter to invite him and agreed immediately for convenience.

After a while of greetings, when the food and drinks came, there were only two people left in the room, and their followers and servants were all waiting behind closed doors.

"I'm afraid Mr. Tan has heard some rumors, right?" Chen Gu picked up his glass and took a sip. "I thought this was just a rumor intentionally spread from Caizhou or the ant thief, and he was distracted from our relationship with the military commander. But later he asked my Erlang, and he was hesitant and refused to speak out. Until someone sternly pressed him, he told the truth. Military commander did have this intention."

As soon as Chen Gu said that, Tan Zhengshi, who had just picked up the wine glass, couldn't help but shake his hand, and he fell down half a cup, as if he was not aware of it, and said in a trembling voice: "What if this is the case?"

"Well, it's true, it's not like the wind." Chen Gu snorted heavily, "Gushi was in a dilemma, the ant thief passed through the border, the Caizhou army came in, our Chen clan paid money and food, and also sent people to help the war, which cost more than a hundred. Now the military commander wants to do this method, which is undoubtedly cutting off the foundation of our gentry."

Tan Zheng was frightened by Chen Gu's words, and even his hands and feet were a little cold.

Yincheng is no match for Gushi, and the Tan family is also incomparable to Chen family.

Yincheng is located in the southern part of Guangzhou, close to the Dabie Mountains. It has the least presence in the entire Guangzhou. Except for one of the Tan clans who once passed the imperial examination and went out to be an official, this branch is now in Chang'an, there is nothing worth mentioning.

Gushi is at least considered an important place in eastern Guangzhou, and the population of Gushi is much larger than that of Yincheng, and the Chen family is also well deserved to be the gentry of Guangzhou.

When Jiang Feng led the Gushi army to resist the ant thieves, the Chen clan also supported it strongly, and it was not an exaggeration to describe it as being favored by the emperor.

If Jiang Feng even wants to take action now, how can the Tan family in Yincheng avoid it?

Seeing that Tan Zheng was so scared that his face was pale, Chen Gu's heart also relaxed a little.

If it can arouse strong opposition from the gentry of Yincheng, there is still room for debate.

Chen Gu didn't believe that Jiang Feng really dared to take the big slander of the world, and really wanted to attack the gentry and clans of Gushi Yincheng. Even though the Yuan family in Caizhou has gone now, Guangzhou is still under the rule of the Yuan family. If the Jiang family really wanted to act so recklessly, the Chen family would be better off than to welcome the Yuan family into the city.

Tan Zheng was not without knowledge, but the news came too suddenly, which made him feel at a loss.

Before, he only knew that Gushi's army had repelled the Caizhou army, which was far beyond the expectations of everyone in Yincheng. He was originally entrusted to the Huang and Du family in the E-Huang and Du family, but unexpectedly, the Huang and Du family in the E-Huang and Du family hurriedly retreated because Anzhou was attacked by Nanyang.

In panic, Yincheng was still waiting for Caizhou to take over. Unexpectedly, the domineering Caizhou army was defeated by the originally unworthy Gushi army. Now the Gushi army has entered strongly and taken over the rule of Yincheng.

The Tan family was originally anxious because of their previous indifference to the Gushi Army. Now they suddenly heard that the Jiang family wanted to conduct a policy of conducting a land investigation, which was simply to dig the roots of the gentry.

The so-called land inspection means verifying the existing land in various places.

Since Emperor Taizong, the equal-field system was implemented. In addition to private land in gentry, most of the land in various places was owned by the state. However, with the popularity of annexation after the Middle Tang Dynasty, a large amount of land was changed from public land to private land. A large number of farmers were not granted land and had to become tenants and farmers. At the same time, the original Yongye land was purchased by gentry and wealthy families but did not change households, which made the rent and tax still fall on the original farmers, and eventually forced a large number of farmers to go into exile, which also became the biggest source of refugees. Therefore, this land grant system was basically abolished in various places.

However, after the Huang Chao Rebellion, there were the current ants and thieves, and the gentry and wealthy families in various places were also affected. Some vassals implemented the method of inspecting land to alleviate the pressure caused by floods, droughts, and invincible refugees, that is, inspecting land in various places, checking land that had not been moved before illegally relocated and households in the transaction, and later newly reclaimed land was not reported to the government to avoid rent and tax, and then collect it back to the country and then distribute it.

In fact, to inspect the land, we need to inspect the three types of land.

The first category is the newly reclaimed fields that have not been reported. According to regulations, the newly reclaimed fields will not be subject to rent and tax for three years. How many fields that have not been reported and taxed for the past 100 years? Gushi is still in the hinterland of the plain, but counties like Yincheng, which are more than southern areas, have been reclaimed in recent decades. If they are all taken back to the country, the gentry will suffer heavy losses.

The second category is to convert public land into private land, which needs to be divided into two categories. One is to convert land approved by the government. This is naturally no problem. However, more often it is the gentry and local clerks who have made names or moved flowers and trees to change their hometowns privately. This situation has become more and more intense since the late Tang Dynasty, and it is also the fundamental reason that the country is invincible and can be granted. It is quite prominent in various places.

The third category is the Yongye land originally allocated to farmers. Due to floods, droughts, births, old age, sickness and death, or being forced by gentry landlords, farmers have to sell their land. However, after the gentry bought the land, the rent and tax still fell on the farmers. They either hid the tenants from the government or forced the farmers to flee. This is also a major cause of the rise of refugees.

The method of land inspection that Jiang Feng wanted to launch will naturally not solve the fundamental problem of land annexation, but it can obtain the land he needs in this way, and it is reasonable and well-founded.

If the newly reclaimed land has been leaked for state rent and tax, the tax should be paid, and the penalty should be confiscated. No one dares to say that it is wrong. If the public land is changed to private land, if it colludes with officials and private land, it will not only be invalid, but also punish officials and gentry. If the land is not changed to the household, the country will be leaked, and the state rent and tax should be punished and confiscated.

Everything has to be said to be based on the law, but this kind of thing depends on whether you have enough strength in front of the gentry.

If an ordinary official is from a local gentry, he will naturally not complain to his family. However, if you do not have the support of a gentry and cannot even handle daily affairs, how can you manage it?

Only a warrior like Jiang Feng, who is a military man who is born in the army, can rely on a powerful army to blatantly force the gentry to the palace.

Every aristocratic family is based on the foundation of a large landlord. Without land, even if your family has a wealth of wealth, you cannot become a aristocratic family. The land has been passed down for generations. This makes sense. Everything depends on the land.

It can be said that every gentry will inevitably increase its own land through these three methods. The history of growing from an ordinary wealthy family to a prominent family is actually a process of constantly seizing land through these means, but each has its own focus.

For example, the Chen family obtained land by changing their household registration and purchasing non-replacement households, while the Tan family mainly obtained land by reclaiming but not reporting, and reclaiming more but reporting less.

Over the past hundred years, the government has not failed to implement the strategy of prosecuting the territory, but either the officials and the gentry worked together and passed by perfunctorily, or they ended in vain and stubbornly.

Especially in recent decades, the rule of the Xu family has been mainly concentrated in Dingcheng, Guangshan and Le'an counties, and its influence in Gushi and Yincheng is relatively weak, so the situation in these two counties is even more prominent.

Now that Jiang Feng suddenly wanted to conduct a local inspection method, it naturally frightened the local tribes such as the Chen family and the Tan family. This guy has strong military force as a backing. If he violates his slightest defiance, he will just accus him of a crime and confiscate the family and exterminate the family.

After a long time, Tan Zheng came back to his senses and suppressed his panic and nervousness in his heart and asked: "Mr. Chen has a solution to help me."

Chen Gu shook his head, "Duke Tan, you also understand the character of the commander-in-chief of the army. He has defeated the Caizhou army now and is in full swing. It is probably rare to listen to others' advice. If he wants to go against his will, it is difficult to explain."

"With Mr. Chen's intention, we can only obey the military commander and let him slaughter?" Tan Zheng didn't believe that Chen Gu would be so generous. Land is of course important to the Tan family. Is it not important to the Chen family? So why did this guy invite him from Yincheng?

Have you come to taste the steamed mutton from Zhengyanglou?

"That's not true. Lord Guanjiang probably was a little arrogant after this battle, but he seemed to have forgotten that if the support of the gentry such as Wuwo was for him, how could he win this battle so cleanly?" Chen Gu lowered his voice, "He is from a warrior, so he naturally doesn't know the weight of our gentry in the countryside. If he left our support, he would probably have no one to implement his strategy for the gentry."

Chen Gu's words made Tan Zheng's eyes lit up. This is reasonable. No matter how good the words Chen is, someone will have to be executed. We can't let the military commander measure the land and check the classics themselves, right? This job is not simple. No one can do it. Time, manpower and material resources. The key lies in who will do this for you. The county clerks are all fellow villagers in the village, and many of them are children of their own tribes. How can they be directed towards foreign warriors like you?
Chapter completed!