Chapter 182 Undercurrent surging
The heads of various families were filled with thoughts, but they dared not say anything on the surface, for fear of making Tian Ze unhappy, and they all applauded.
"Envoy Tian is wise!"
"We bow to thank Envoy Tian!"
"Don't worry, Envoy Tian. We will definitely do a good job in the land reclamation."
……
Listening to the flattery and promises of this group of people, Tian Ze felt nothing in his heart.
He continued, "Since there is no problem with the overall area, let's discuss the second question, how to divide it."
As soon as these words were spoken, the heads of the noble families fell into a strange silence again, and the surroundings were filled with an unconcealable smell of gunpowder.
"It's all up to you, Lord Envoy!"
The stupid ones were still pondering in their minds, while smart people like Ju Zheng had already spoken in unison.
Are you kidding? How to divide it is not up to them. It’s all up to Tian Ze to decide.
"Haha." Tian Ze smiled slightly when he saw that these people were quite tactful.
If you want to eat meat with him, you must at least put yourself in the right position.
He may not care who said it just now, but he remembers clearly who didn't say it or who said it late.
"In that case, then Ze will talk about his ideas."
"Although Ze comes from a noble family, he has always believed that noble families should not be parasites that exploit the people, annex land, and monopolize culture and officialdom. Instead, they should be leaders in expanding territory, protecting their hometowns, and educating the people." Tian Ze said calmly.
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present couldn't help but feel their faces slightly heated up.
"With power comes responsibility, and with effort comes reward. Therefore, how much land you can get depends on how much you can contribute."
"I have all the land, water, agricultural seeds, agricultural tools, and oxen. The only thing I lack is people. You are all smart people and should understand what I mean."
Tian Ze gave a slight signal, and Chen Gong came down and handed everyone a piece of white paper and a pen.
"Everyone has a piece of paper in front of them. Write down on the paper the number of people that can be attracted to the Northeast within two years. Afterwards, based on the number you fill in, these 50 million acres of land will be distributed to everyone in proportion," said Tian Ze.
"I don't want these people. You can choose your own. So don't worry about anything else. Even if there are changes in the future, I will give you a better choice and you will be satisfied."
When they heard Tian Ze's words, a gleam of light flashed in the eyes of Ju Zheng and others.
They vaguely felt that behind Tian Ze's words was another huge fortune, and it might be even greater than it was now.
They have already felt the benefits of being the first to try something new. With such temptation in front of them, how can they not give it a try?
"Of course, the total number cannot be less than one million. Otherwise, it will be distributed according to the ratio of fifty acres per population."
Although he knew that this would never happen given the style of these people, Tian Ze still made a patch.
Everyone present looked embarrassed.
If it weren't for Tian Ze's efforts over the years, this would not be a difficult task. Every family has thousands or tens of thousands of servants and hidden households, and the world is full of refugees.
However, most of the people they had hidden away have now been confiscated, and it is now more difficult to recruit people from all over the country.
As if he had guessed everyone's thoughts, Tian Ze continued with a smile: "Of course, the population I'm talking about is not only Han Chinese, but it can only be Han Chinese."
"If the number of people we attract exceeds the number we fill in, I will give you the extra land in a certain proportion two years later. Of course, the proportion will be relatively lower."
Ju Zheng, who was still a little confused, suddenly had a bright look in his eyes: "What the envoy means is..."
"The Hu people who are educated can also be counted as the population." Tian Ze said directly, almost naming the Eastern Xianbei, Central Xianbei and Bingzhou Hu Lu.
Simply asking the recruited Hu people to work is not a long-term solution, as the population under Tian Ze's rule is still relatively scarce.
Especially the noble families present here, Tian Ze is still counting on them to go out and occupy territory. Tian Ze controls the majority of the world's population, and he is not very interested in the few people in the hands of the noble families under his rule. With the few people they have, what can they do? If they want to go out and build a country, don't they need tens of thousands of people? You should know that there are countries like Wusun in the Western Regions alone with a population of hundreds of thousands.
"The requirements are not high. After one year, if you can speak Chinese, recognize Chinese characters, wear Chinese clothes, and identify yourself as a Han Chinese, you can be counted as a Han Chinese."
"Also, I don't care what method you use to attract people. I don't care who they are. Old, weak, sick or young, as long as they can breathe, they count." Tian Ze said in a deep voice.
"But you are not allowed to rob me, and you are not allowed to abduct the people under my command. Otherwise, if I find out, I will confiscate your property."
"We understand!" everyone said in unison.
Seeing that no one hesitated this time, Tian Ze nodded with satisfaction.
"Okay, let's get started. For one stick of incense, you are not allowed to whisper to each other or peek at others."
Ju Zheng smiled bitterly. Only then did they understand why they were asked to sit so far away after arriving. So that's how it was.
The test of humanity has begun.
Ju Zheng felt that the pen in his hand was of great weight, and his mind was constantly calculating various possibilities.
He understood that this move of his might determine the fate of his family for the next few decades or even hundreds of years.
Xianbei, Southern Xiongnu, Wuhuan, Central Plains, South...
Suddenly, Ju Zheng seemed to have thought of something. He raised his head abruptly and met Tian Ze's meaningful eyes.
As expected of Ju Shou's cousin, he is really smart and reacted so quickly, Tian Ze thought to himself.
Although the families present here are not big clans, and some are even only second-rate families, most of them are still smart.
After Ju Su came to his senses, many people also reacted.
You can use any method! They are not the only ones!
The Wuzhong Tian family has so many aristocratic families in the world who have the same ancestors and close ties, and they are no exception!
It would be fine if the land given by Tian Ze was small, but that’s 50 million acres of land!
In a normal state, most of the farmland is shared by only twenty or so families, and it is all fertile land. Not to mention that there is a bigger bait waiting behind.
Ju Zheng knew that the opportunity was not to be missed, so he gritted his teeth, feinted twice, and directly filled in a number. Then he quickly put down his pen, folded the paper in half, and handed it in.
Soon, after a stick of incense had passed, Zhang Zhao opened all the papers expressionlessly and read out the registrations one by one in public.
"The Sun family of Zhuo County has a population of 100,000."
After Zhang Zhao announced the bid of the first family, everyone gasped and looked at Sun Chen, a man with white hair and a kind face, in shock.
"Lord Zhengyang is really courageous. He is not afraid of being overwhelmed." A sinister voice came quietly, and only a few people around could hear it.
However, Zhang Zhao immediately reported the second family.
"Yuyang Chu clan, 80,000 people."
"Hiss!" Another breath of cold air.
Although the Yuyang Chu family offered a lower bid, in terms of power, they were far inferior to the Zhuo County Sun family.
Before everyone could react, Zhang Zhao named the remaining families one by one.
Most of the noble families were sensible people and their bids were not low. Only four or five families were foolish enough to offer a price of 20,000 to 30,000 people.
After they realized what was happening, they regretted it so much that they even thought about committing suicide. Two of the elderly ones vomited blood and fainted on the spot.
After flipping open the last note, which was also the first one handed in, Zhang Zhao's pupils could not help but be a little shocked: "Guangyang Ju clan, population 200,000."
(End of this chapter)
