"Your Majesty, what should be done with a married couple with children? Should they live separately in accordance with the law, or should they continue to live together?"
"It is recommended that the couple separate and raise their children separately. However, if they are not willing, they cannot force it. If one party is willing, then let them separate."
"What if a woman is purged and leaves the house?"
"County governments should avoid this situation from happening. If a couple separates, they must deal with property issues. For example, a woman's dowry must be taken away without a penny less."
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, some women will not be able to live without their husbands."
"Then let them die to avoid wasting food. Take the children to the health care hall and raise them carefully so that they can become the pillars of the country in the future."
"Your Majesty, isn't this too cruel?"
"What do you know? Some people only understand what it means to be self-reliant and self-reliant when they are forced to a desperate situation. If you are really in a desperate situation and still don't understand this truth, then there is no point in living. It is just a waste of food."
"Your Majesty, if you act this way, you will suffer ill effects from others."
"I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"
"Your Majesty, how should we deal with the land issue?"
"Ask more details."
"Your Majesty, Wei Chen means..."
After repeated discussions and analysis, policies were issued within three months.
Each county government must strictly fulfill its duties, and must not bend the law for personal gain or tolerate extrajudicial circumstances, otherwise it will be punished.
At this time, Zhou Baoer breathed a sigh of relief, opened up his portable space as usual, and shipped out batch after batch of grain.
When a country is newly established, it is a time when all kinds of waste are waiting to be revitalized. Sufficient food can maintain the operation of the country and stabilize people's hearts.
——
In the year when the new dynasty was established, Chen Erya was sixteen years old.
She had grown up ignorantly until this year, and was promised to another family.
She didn't know what that family was like, let alone met them.
However, she heard that the family was lazy and had no savings whatsoever. Even the betrothal gift for marrying a wife was borrowed from someone else.
The family was waiting for her, a little girl, to marry into his family, take care of the housework, pick mulberries and farm, and earn money for their family.
When Chen Erya heard this, she cried several times behind her family's back. Of course, her family still heard about it, but no one comforted her, and no one told her that she didn’t need to get married.
Just when she was packing a package and preparing to marry into someone else's family, news came from the county government that she was not allowed to marry.
To be precise, marrying a wife is not popular now, no matter how much money you give. Otherwise, the parents and relatives of the groom and the bride will all have to give them a lesson.
Chen Erya's relatives were very dissatisfied when they heard such rules. Especially Chen Erya's grandfather was so angry that his angry eyes almost split Chen Erya into pieces.
Chen Erya shrank his neck and did not dare to say anything. She is just a little girl who can't resist anyone. Neither the family nor the court could do anything about it.
Chen Erya's grandfather thought about it and decided to marry him off. Now that the betrothal gift has been collected, how could it be possible not to send the person back? Is it possible that the betrothal gift has to be sent back? The betrothal gift is almost used up, how can I pay it back
When things got to this point, Chen Erya still couldn't resist. After all, she is just an ordinary little girl who can't do anything.
The day Chen Erya got married was a dark and windy night.
The sky was overcast and there was not a trace of moonlight in sight.
Chen Erya felt that this environment was like her mood, full of despair and darkness.
She had already anticipated the scene when she got married. She would be busy all day long, not only not getting a moment's rest, but also being beaten and scolded by her so-called husband.
Chen Erya walked slowly, lowering his head lower and lower. If this is what happens in the future, what's the point of her still being alive
Looking at the surging river not far away, she felt so unwilling. Why did she come to this world to suffer? It would be better to drown in the lake from the beginning.
Silently looking away, she realized before jumping down that she didn't want to die, nor did she dare to die. She hasn't lived enough, why should she die for others.
At this moment, a group of government officials appeared out of nowhere and grabbed everyone present without hesitation.
When they arrived at the county government office the next day, everyone discovered that their families and relatives had arrived.
Chen Erya knelt on the floor and acted as a sculpture without saying a word, his whole person revealing a sense of frustration.
With a majestic sound, the county magistrate walked in from outside the hall and knocked on the gavel tree with a majestic look.
"Chen Erya, I want to ask you, are you willing to get married?"
At this time, Chen Erya, who was so blessed, suddenly remembered the marriage law mentioned by the government officials not long ago, shook his head and said with a sad face.
"Sir, I don't want to marry, let alone a lazy person. After I get married, not only will I not be able to wear clothes and eat, I will also have to work hard to support them."
After hearing this, the county magistrate nodded slightly and asked another person.
"Wang Gouzi, are you willing to take a wife?"
Wang Gouzi, who didn't seem to be an honest person at first glance, glanced at Chen Erya wistfully and nodded with a smile on his face.
"Sir, of course I think so. I am almost going crazy thinking about it. Although Chen Erya is not good-looking, she is not as beautiful as the girl in the building. However, my parents have said that she can work and is easy to give birth to. She is a good wife.”
When the county magistrate heard these words, his face suddenly turned dark. He actually didn't want to care about this kind of thing, but it was related to his performance and he couldn't ignore it. If someone found out that such a young girl was about to get married, he would no longer need his official title.
As a result, except for the person involved, Chen Erya, the two families who were originally going to get married were all blocked.
Moreover, all of them were dragged outside. Except for the female family members, all of them took off their pants and made mistakes in front of everyone.
After being slapped, I didn’t even mention the pain, it was embarrassing. Many people around them whispered, making them feel embarrassed and wanted to die.
After finishing the fight, he dragged a group of people who were crying and shouting to the court again, and the magistrate told everyone.
"Everyone, I have already said that men and women under the age of 22 are not allowed to perform the rites of Zhou Gong, let alone marry. If anyone dares to break the law, I will definitely make it difficult for you to walk around."
Many people were trembling after hearing such words. Those who originally wanted to get married behind the back of the county magistrate all gave up their thoughts when they saw these two families.
The magistrate snorted coldly and said again.
"You two families are so audacious that you dare to violate the laws issued by the imperial court. It is said that from the moment the new dynasty was established, there was no such thing as marrying a wife. If you violate it again, it will not be as simple as a slap in the face. .”
After this simple trial, Chen Erya returned home with his family.
The whole family has no labor force, and they still curse and blame each other all day long.
Chen Erya, the only intact person, had to take care of them. He was busy all day long, but he was so happy that he laughed secretly.
She is not unfilial enough to laugh at her parents and relatives, but is just happy that she finally doesn't have to get married.
Moreover, in order to get better care, these family members who used to be aloof from above all spoke out to please her, which made her feel very happy.
Not long after, another policy was issued.
The land is vast and sparsely populated, and no one is farming. This is a big deal.
Therefore, the current stage is to start dividing the land so that ordinary people can own a certain amount of land and live a good life.
There are regulations on the division of land, and the land with the title deed does not care. Whoever owns it belongs to whom, and the standards for land annexation have not yet been reached.
However, the remaining wasteland will be divided according to head. If there is more land than what is allocated by the national government, it will not be divided, and the excess will not be taken away.
However, if there is less land than the land allocated by the national government, then the state will make up for it. Of course, whoever's field belongs will fall on his head, and no one else can take it away.
Although Chen Erya's family has fields, there are very few. The land allocated to the family members was not even enough for the men, let alone the women. Therefore, Chen Erya's family won the honor of dividing the land.
This is how the land is divided. Regardless of men, women, old or young, as long as they are five years old or not dead, they can get 20 acres of land. You can choose either farmland or mulberry fields.
Someone came from the yamen and asked how much land the family owned in total and whether they wanted to divide the family now.
Everyone was stunned when they heard the word separation.
The people in the yamen said that if the families are not divided, the fields cannot be divided. Brothers and sisters who are married, or who are over 22 years old, must not stay together.
For the sake of the family's fields, the old man decided to divide the family. He stayed with the oldest one and separated the rest.
As for the family's fields, they were also assigned to each family according to the old man's preference.
Chen Erya's parents were not the eldest, so they naturally belonged to the group that was separated. From today on, they cannot live here and must move out as soon as possible.
The family took the time to build a thatched house, moved in happily, and waited for the Yamen to divide the fields.
Their family did not receive much land from the old man, just over three acres. After all, Chen Erya's father is neither the eldest nor the youngest, so he is not valued by his parents at all.
The people in the yamen were very efficient. After all the fields were transferred, they began to divide the fields.
The land allocated from the old man belonged to Chen Erya's father, so he was given more than ten acres of land.
As for the other people, including Chen Erya's mother, brother, sister-in-law, niece, Chen Erya, and the younger brother and younger sister, each of them was allocated 20 acres of land.
Chen Erya's father was so happy that he couldn't help but count. If he calculated it carefully, his family had more than 100 acres of land.
The people from the yamen looked at Chen Erya's father with pity and said.
"These lands belong to them. Even if you are the head of the family, you cannot interfere. Don't even think about transferring the ownership. These fields are recorded in the yamen. You can only plant them, not sell them. To be precise, these fields are What I have lent to you temporarily is not given to you directly.”
Chen Erya's father was frightened when he heard this. However, he didn't take it to heart. Their land was his own land.
When they found their respective places, everyone looked at each other. Because the lands are separate, families cannot live together if they want to farm.
These lands cannot be left uncultivated. If they are left uncultivated, they will be punished, and the state will take back the land and distribute it to those who need it more.
Chen Erya is not keen and cannot detect some of these things. She just spoke nervously, wanting to live in the farthest place, the land that belonged to her. There are 15 acres of mulberry fields and five acres of farmland, which is enough for her to live on.
Chen Erya's mother, brother, and sister-in-law also left the family after discussion and went to their fields. As for the remaining minor children, I don’t know if it’s a coincidence. Girls can live with their mothers, while boys can only live with their fathers and take care of the fields.
——
In the capital, in the imperial study.
Liang Guchun bowed deeply and said with a smile.
"Your Majesty is really good at using the fields as bait to make each clan willingly fall apart and reduce the trouble for the local magistrate."
Zhou Baoer smiled slightly and said nothing.