Chapter 23: Moving to Qian'an New Village

Li Siqing took a long wooden pole with a sharpened end and drove it firmly into the mud by the riverbank, unfurling a small flag at its top. Two eunuchs pushed a small cart and began moving along the riverbank in opposite directions.

With a wave of Li Siqing’s hand, a group of eunuchs approached with a team of able-bodied laborers. One eunuch instructed, "Follow the line from this flag and clear a path inward." Another eunuch, holding a compass, carefully led the way forward, while the laborers behind carried long wooden poles. Whenever the eunuch signaled, they would plant a pole into the ground.

Each cart was operated by one eunuch pushing, with two others walking on either side holding long poles. The pusher counted aloud as they moved, while his companions ensured the cart maintained a straight course.

When the pusher reached the count of four hundred and eight, he halted. The accompanying eunuchs drove their pole into the ground and unfurled a flag, signaling the next group of laborers to begin clearing the road.

Bi Zisu watched, puzzled. Never too proud to ask, he turned to Li Siqing and inquired, "Commander Li, is this cart used for measuring distance?"

Li Siqing replied, "Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy, you are correct. Each rotation of the cart wheel is five feet, which equals one pace. Four hundred and eight rotations equal four hundred and eight paces. Eight paces are allocated for the road width. His Majesty decreed that this distance ensures every family has access to all parts of the land." The 'foot' he referred to was the standard construction unit, approximately thirty-two centimeters.

Bi Zisu asked again, "Then why do those heading inward not count their steps?"

Li Siqing explained, "Those heading inward must first establish a straight line; that is the priority. Afterward, we will construct cross-roads every six hundred and eight paces, each also eight paces wide. For now, we must finish this main road. Building the cross-roads will take time, but we will use the carts to measure those distances as well."

Bi Zisu nodded. Seeing that Li Siqing had matters well in hand, he felt relieved. He turned to the Magistrate of Qian'an and asked, "How many able-bodied laborers can you recruit at most?"

The Magistrate winced at the thought. One hundred copper coins a day amounted to three taels of silver a month—several times the pay of an ordinary soldier (the Imperial Guards earned more, about one and a half taels, while typical frontier soldiers might only see seven or eight mace). Plus, they had to be provided with a meal. Since his county was only of medium size, he replied, "Your Excellency, this county can provide at most two thousand men."

Bi Zisu pondered this and said, "That will suffice. The refugees from Liaodong will arrive soon. Your people will first clear the roads and then build some shelters. Once the first batch of refugees arrives, there will be more hands to assist with construction."

The Magistrate nodded in agreement. Bi Zisu added, "As for the wages, we will pay every five days. We must pay in silver coins; otherwise, counting out one hundred copper coins a day is too troublesome. You must inform them."

The Magistrate hesitated, then asked, "Your Excellency, could you perhaps allow me to distribute the pay to them?"

Bi Zisu shot him a sharp look and asked, "Are you trying to use this to offset their labor service tax?"

The Magistrate dared not speak further, but Bi Zisu had already grasped his intent. The Magistrate had hoped to have the local men perform their compulsory labor service on the construction site, while pocketing the wages provided by the Imperial Envoy for the county treasury. Bi Zisu despised such behavior, but he understood that since the Magistrate had asked separately, he likely intended to put the money into the county coffers rather than his own pocket. Moreover, he would have to work with this Magistrate for a long time to come. He asked, "How many of these men still owe labor service?"

The Magistrate replied with relief, "All of them owe service, with one month remaining for each."

Bi Zisu mused for a moment. "How about this: you collect sixty coins a day from their pay as tax, but I will still pay them forty coins directly. After a month, their service will be considered fulfilled. How does that sound?"

The Magistrate was overjoyed. Although he could only keep sixty coins, five hundred men meant eighteen hundred coins a month, and the number of laborers would only increase. It was a handsome profit. He bowed to Bi Zisu and said, "I thank Your Excellency for your understanding. It is truly difficult for the minor officials in the county to support their families, and this county has few other ways to generate revenue."

Bi Zisu smiled. "There is no need to explain, Magistrate. I understand. His Majesty has said that in the future, funds will be allocated by the imperial court for minor officials. Under the current circumstances, it is difficult for them to work with peace of mind, let alone prevent them from causing trouble for the local people."

At that time, the income of minor officials was extremely low, and the so-called yamen runners were essentially performing labor service with no salary at all. Consequently, they had to resort to corruption and petty graft just to survive. Xu Guangqi, Bi Ziyan, and others had spoken to the Emperor about this, but the Emperor noted that until the treasury was more robust, paying them a proper salary was not yet feasible.

Bi Zisu watched as the road was cleared step by step. The road occupied eight paces, forming rectangles six hundred paces long and four hundred paces wide. Each rectangle covered one thousand mu, enough to be divided among twenty households.

Water channels were dug along the roads, and trees were planted beside them. Naturally, the riverbank was not yet fully reinforced, and the "houses" were little more than simple shacks. There was no choice; with no extra men or materials, the people of Qian'an had done well just to clear the roads.

Once the roads were organized, the refugees from Liaodong arrived in batches. This particular group consisted entirely of families with members serving in the Imperial Guard. Each family was allocated fifty mu of land and granted a three-year tax exemption. Upon their arrival, Bi Zisu distributed livestock and farming tools—one ox and two sets of tools per family—along with monthly grain rations.

Regardless of the family size, each was allotted fifty mu. This forced some of the larger clans to split up to acquire more land. According to the regulations, land could not be sold or rented out; it had to be cultivated by the owners themselves. If left uncultivated, it would be reclaimed and redistributed.

This was the first attempt by Zhu Youxiao at land reform, aimed specifically at breaking the traditional hold of large clans. Since the refugees had already lost their homes, implementing this change here proved easier.

The refugees began clearing the wasteland. The officials were clear: the tax exemption lasted three years, but all livestock, tools, seeds, and grain rations had to be repaid within that period, albeit without interest.

As more refugees arrived, those without family members in the Imperial Guard were provided the same supplies but received only a one-year tax exemption. This prompted many to inquire whether they could send their sons to join the army.

The answer they received was that recruitment would begin in the winter, starting with the militia. After training locally, those who performed well would be directly drafted into the Imperial Guard.