NOVPUB"Military... Force... Grant land?"
Kuluka the Monkey widened his eyes, stared for a long while, and finally made out the words on the book. He thought carefully for a moment before speaking, half in surprise and half in joy.
"Your Highness, are you truly going to distribute land to the Samurai?"
"Of course! Before the decisive battle with the Royal Army, I personally promised the Northern Army: if we win this battle, we shall grant rewards and bestow titles. Distribute fertile lands! Today, I have established a Kingdom in the lake region, and it’s time to fulfill those promises. The Head Warrior has mentioned it to me, even the Samurai of the trusted aide are growing impatient!"
As he spoke, Xiulote glanced at the Head Warrior beside him. Bertade had been quiet until now, but he smiled and spoke then.
"These lads dare not speak directly to Your Highness, always pestering me with questions, so much so that my ears are calloused. And it’s the same with other divisions. These legion warriors have followed Your Highness in battle, bravely and loyally to the death; they are indeed Your Highness’s greatest foundation!"
"Distributing land is what the military heart desires, and we must not fail to do so. Only by settling the Samurai down, getting them rooted in farmland, and having them own land, houses, and families within the Fief can I truly establish a firm foundation in the lake region!"
The young King nodded, then pondered aloud.
"For the ranks of the Samurai and the Nobility, I have a detailed plan. Warriors shall advance based on military merit, and the amount of land they own will be tied to their rank and title. This will create a clear path of advancement, giving hope of ascension to all the Samurai, Militia, and even Slaves of the Fief!"
Speaking of which, Xiulote smiled slightly. Undoubtedly, this system was inspired by the Warring States and Han military meritocracy. Land belonged to the Monarch, who would then grant it based on military merit, bestow it according to titles, and also reclaim the old lands of the Nobility.
The young King had contemplated this system for several years. However, within the Mexica Alliance, the Great Nobility were deeply entrenched, affecting all aspects of the Alliance, thus such radical reforms had to be handled with extreme caution, or they might end up like Shang Yang.
Only now, with the lake region as his Fief, controlling a loyal and powerful legion, had he taken out the plan again. Most of the old Nobility of Tarasco had been destroyed in the war, and the rest were too weak to resist. As the old order of the Kingdom crumbled like clay, it was like a blank canvas, and he truly had the opportunity to comfortably design a new system!
While pondering, Xiulote opened the book. The first few pages covered records and planning on land output. Only by clarifying the agricultural system and understanding the output and labor cost could he define the rights and obligations of Samurai and Nobility of different ranks. In essence, what rank should hold how much land, how many Agricultural Slaves should work the fields, and how many warriors should go on campaigns.
"Today, one man with a family of five manages a hundred mu and annually harvests one and a half dan."
The young King turned the first page, recalling the memories he had fought to remember. This was Li Kui’s estimation of agriculture during the Warring States period. A dan here equals about 20 liters, holding 24 jin of grain. The mu during the Warring States era were small, three and a half equaled one standard mu. So, in the era of land grants in the Qin State, the fertile lands of the Yellow River basin typically harvested once a year, and one able-bodied individual would cultivate about 5-6 mu, with an average yield of around 120 jin per standard mu.
The next sentence under Xiulote’s finger read, "Ten hu per mu, this is called good land, a common term throughout the land." This record was from the Wei-Jin period, with one and a half mu equaling a standard mu, and one hu roughly equivalent to half a dan during the Warring States, i.e., 12 jin. Meaning, a standard mu of high-quality land at the time would produce about 180 jin.
Thus, during the entire Qin and Han period of land grants, the Yellow River region’s land yield peaked at between 120-180 jin. However, Qin had little water and the land was mostly mediocre, producing much less, around 100 jin. The agricultural technology of the Qin and Han periods was not yet developed, and the south had not been cultivated, in fact, the per unit yield was much less than that of the Lake Region’s Milpa. The number of land grants in military honors should thus be adjusted accordingly to the current situation.
Xiulote continued to ponder, his gaze drifting toward the distant homeland. During the mid-Ming dynasty in this era, because American crops had not been introduced, the north usually had one harvest per year, while the south had two.
In the north during the Jiajing era, due to the constraints of soil and water, especially rainfall, there were many thin and dry fields. "The land in the north is poor, each mu yielding but a few dou."; "Getting five or six dou per mu is a cause for celebration." Each dou being 18 jin, this meant, the water-scarce northern ordinary land yielded about 90-120 jin per mu.
For northern fields along lakes, where water is plentiful, like Huaiqing Prefecture, Zhangde Prefecture, and Minzhou Wei, along rivers, "the land yields ten hu or eight hu per mu", "a large mu yields three or four dan." According to "Chinese Historical Grain Output per Mu Research," one dan in the Ming dynasty was slightly more than 180 jin, with one large mu about three standard mu. Thus, the yield of good northern fields in the Ming dynasty was slightly more than one dan per mu, about 200 jin.
Therefore, in this era, the Celestial Empire’s northern dry lands yielded 90-200 jin of original rice, and it took about 3-4 mu to fully support one able-bodied individual. This was similar to the high-yielding Milpa of the Lake Region, which was located in a tropical area with plenty of rainfall. Each mu of Milpa produced about 80 jin of corn and beans, and approximately 200 jin of pumpkin.
In reality, ancient civilizations in America, with corn, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, were never outshone by any country from the old world in terms of food production during this era. This is also why the Stone-Bronze Age civilizations of America could sustain populations ranging from millions to tens of millions with relatively small land areas.
