Relevant information about the world in this book

According to the calculations above, this book establishes that in a year of abundant harvest, one dan of grain is valued at one hundred coins, while in a year of disaster, one dan of grain is valued at three hundred coins or more. In areas with a high population relative to arable land (such as Qizhou, where the capital of the Xin Dynasty is located), one dan of grain is also valued at three hundred coins. One thousand coins are equivalent to one gold piece. This is the basic economic setting of this book

In a certain town of Yue County, with a population of 400,000, the able-bodied laborers consume three jin of grain daily, requiring a total of ten dan of grain annually. The number of women and children is halved. Fertile land yields three dan per mu, while barren land yields two dan per mu, assuming one harvest per year. (Jia Yi once mentioned a figure of one hundred stones for one hundred mu, and I believe an output of three hundred jin per mu is considered high.) A household of ten people, plus one livestock, requires approximately seventy dan of grain annually. If calculated based on an average of five mu of land per person (with half being fertile and half barren), in a year of abundant harvest, a household can yield one hundred twenty-five dan of grain. In a year of disaster, this yield is halved, approximately sixty dan.

However, in order to prevent it from being overly exaggerated to a certain extent, I will first write some relevant content and the constraints of the book for the subsequent writing, so that the esteemed readers can have a general understanding of the world described in this text

Qingzhou: 8 million households, extending 800 li in length and 700 li in width, comprising five prefectures, twenty counties, and one military garrison; equivalent to the Shandong region

Nanning: 6 million households, extending 800 miles in length and 1,800 miles in width, comprising four prefectures, fourteen counties, and two military towns; equivalent to the regions of Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hainan.

East Sea: 5 million ding, extending 900 li from east to west and 800 li from north to south, with four prefectures, seventeen counties, and two military garrisons; comparable to the area of Jiangsu north of the Yangtze River

Jinyang: 7 million households, extending 800 miles in length and 800 miles in width, with four prefectures, seventeen counties, and two military garrisons; comparable to the region of Hubei north of the Yangtze River

Youji: 5 million households, extending 1,000 miles in length and 800 miles in width, comprising four prefectures, sixteen counties, and three military garrisons; it is comparable to the southern region of Hebei and the eastern part of Shanxi.

Chengyu: 6 million households, stretching 1,400 miles vertically and 1,600 miles horizontally, encompassing four prefectures, fourteen counties, and two military garrisons; this naturally refers to the region and literature surrounding Chengdu and Chongqing

In years of abundant harvest, officials collect land tax according to the Shier tax system, while in years of disaster, the tax is reduced by half or exempted.

The fifteen prefectures have a population of approximately 100 million, comprising 66 prefectures, 276 counties, and 32 military towns. During the mid-period of the previous dynasty, it was surveyed that there were about 1.5 billion acres of arable land across the fifteen prefectures. In the new dynasty, conflicts arose between the various states, leading to the abandonment of most fertile lands that were left uncultivated due to the rivalries among different powers. For instance, if a prominent family fell out with neighboring families, their influence would be confined within one prefecture and four counties, with three counties surrounding the prefecture. The county town, along with numerous forts and stockades, formed a complete sanitation system, where only the fertile lands within this system would be cultivated. Consequently, the amount of arable land has sharply decreased. Furthermore, the vast areas south of the Huai River and north of Nanning are rich in fertile fields, while other regions have fewer and poorer fields.

Assuming that years of disaster and abundance alternate. In two years of disaster and abundance, grain merchants can profit 240,000 gold. Tax revenue amounts to 48,000 gold. In addition to other commercial taxes, approximately 100,000 gold can be collected over the two years, including book taxes. Therefore, the annual tax revenue for the central city (including land tax, household tax, and commercial tax) is approximately 100,000 gold (based on a 60-40 split between local and central authorities, it is considered normal for a complete and powerful central government to have an annual revenue of 10 million taels of gold, so this should not be regarded as insignificant)

In years of disaster: Each household receives sixty dan of grain and millet, is exempt from land tax, and still needs to purchase an additional ten dan of grain and millet to meet basic needs. The entire region would then need to utilize stored grain or purchase an additional four hundred thousand dan of grain from elsewhere.

In a bountiful year, a household harvested one hundred and twenty-five dan of millet, from which twenty-five dan were collected as tax, seventy dan were consumed, leaving a surplus of thirty dan. The total land tax collected from the entire district amounts to approximately one hundred thousand gold. The total surplus grain in the entire district is about one million two hundred thousand dan

Nanping: 12 million ding, extending 800 li in length and 1,200 li in width, comprising five prefectures, twenty-four counties, and four military towns; it is equivalent to the northeastern region of Guizhou, the western part of Hunan, and the area south of the Yangtze River in Hubei

Jingjun: 8 million households, extending 800 miles in length and 1,200 miles in width, with five prefectures, twenty-four counties, and two military garrisons; it is comparable to the eastern regions of Jiangxi and Hunan.

Yongning: 10 million ding, stretching 1,000 miles in length and 700 miles in width, comprising five prefectures, twenty-three counties, and one military town; it is equivalent to an area that includes a corner of Anhui along with parts of Henan and Hubei.

Southern Fujian: 5 million households, extending 800 miles in length and 800 miles in width, comprising four prefectures, eighteen counties, and two military garrisons. This is equivalent to the regions of Fujian and Taiwan.

The world described in this article is similar to the territory and topography of China. However, due to my lack of time to study history, there are many fabricated elements in what I have written, which may give it an air of being fictional.

Fen County: 5 million ding, stretching 1,200 miles vertically and 700 miles horizontally, with four prefectures, twenty counties, and two military towns; it corresponds to the southern part of Shanxi and the region of Henan

Nanzhao: 3 million households, extending 1,400 miles in length and 1,800 miles in width, with six prefectures and eighteen military districts; corresponding to most of the regions of Yunnan and Guizhou

Assuming that 78% of the collected taxes are allocated for civil affairs and 23% for military preparations, a medium-sized city can allocate 20,000 taels of gold for military expenses. Among these, equipment and military supplies each account for half, leaving only 10,000 taels for soldier maintenance. It is assumed that the city implements a conscription system. The annual salary for infantry (including archers and water troops) is 3 taels of silver, while cavalry receive 5 taels of silver annually. Each soldier requires an annual grain allowance of 1 tael of gold, and each warhorse requires 3 taels of silver for feed (as Han Yu mentioned, a thousand-mile horse consumes about 120 jin of grain in one meal, which is quite astonishing). Therefore, based on the financial capacity of the city, it can approximately maintain 1,500 infantry and 500 cavalry. In a city burdened by excessive military expenditure and heavy taxation, the tax system during prosperous years is 30%, while in years of disaster, it is 10% (calculated based on prosperous years), with a commercial tax rate of 30%. The total tax revenue is about 180,000 taels of gold, of which 40,000 taels are used for soldier maintenance. With an annual salary of 2 taels of silver for infantry, it is possible to support 13,000 soldiers.

Yuejun: Eight million households, stretching eight hundred miles, spanning fourteen hundred miles, with five prefectures, twenty-three counties, and one military town; it is roughly equivalent to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions south of the Yangtze River

Qinzhou: A population of ten million, extending 1,200 miles in length and 900 miles in width, comprising four prefectures (one capital and three auxiliary) along with eighteen counties and six military garrisons; it is comparable to the western regions of Shaanxi and Shanxi.

The fifteen prefectures of the realm are: Su Chuan: 3 million households, extending 1,400 miles in length and 800 miles in width, comprising three prefectures, ten counties, and two military garrisons; it corresponds to the eastern region of Gansu and the area around Ningxia