According to their original idea, His Highness would call them over just to scold them for a while. After all, the head of the Eastern Palace is His Highness the Crown Prince, and the income from the bank accounts for a large part of the Eastern Palace. However, they did not expect that His Highness the Crown Prince would actually interfere in the cultivation of the farm.
"Any questions? From now on, if you follow me, it's best to tell me in person if you have any questions. Once we resolve them, there won't be any other problems. But if you don't tell me in person and mess things up behind my back, don't blame me for being rude to you."
Facing these people, Li Xiang did not behave very friendly. He also knew that these village heads were old hands. If you don't treat them harshly, who knows what they will do.
From some TV dramas, Li Xiang also knew that these village heads were all deceiving their superiors and subordinates. They levied heavy taxes on the tenants and reported less and concealed information to the masters. In the end, they made the masters thinner and enriched themselves.
"Your Highness, we now have more than a dozen farms totaling tens of thousands of acres of land. If anything goes wrong, it will not only affect the income of the Eastern Palace, but may even affect the grain prices in Chang'an..."
Tian Kui is an honest man. He has followed Li Chengqian for many years and has been in charge of Li Chengqian's farm for many years. After hearing what Li Xiang said, his eyes were full of worry. He is loyal to the Eastern Palace and does not want to see Li Xiang get into trouble.
Most of the grain produced by the land of large families has to be sold, and it is impossible to eat it all. Take the Eastern Palace as an example. The grain from these tens of thousands of acres of land is not a small amount in Chang'an City. If all the harvests are lost, it will have a certain impact on the price of grain. If someone wants to make a fuss about this, Li Xiang may be in trouble.
"Are you saying that Your Highness doesn't understand farming? You just do whatever Your Highness says. Do you still want to teach Your Highness how to do things? We just do whatever Your Highness says. Do you need to express your opinion?"
Zhang Xifa looked at Tian Kui with a sidelong look and looked at Li Xiang with a smile. It was obvious that he was a two-faced person.
Li Xiang also knew what this guy was thinking. The farmland of the Prince of Han's Mansion was changed to the farmland of the Eastern Palace. This guy was very scared in his heart. He was afraid that Li Xiang would remove his position. After all, you are Li Yuanchang's manor. It will not be your turn to be the head of my place.
Now, in order to continue working in this position, he must show his loyalty. Not to mention Li Xiang distributing seeds, even if these lands are left empty for a year, he will obey obediently. As for whether those people below will starve to death, this is not within his consideration.
"Shut up right there! Your Highness, don't listen to him. He's from the Prince of Han's Mansion and doesn't share the same aspirations as our Eastern Palace..."
Tian Kui said a little excitedly.
"Fuck..."
Zhang Xifa wanted to fight back, but when he saw Li Xiang's gloomy face, they both shut their mouths at the same time.
"Are you done? If you are, then I will tell you that from now on, all of you will obey Tian Kui. Tian Kui is the chief steward of the manor, and Zhang Xifa is the second-in-command. You will report here once a month and register all the tenants. I will forgive you for your past deeds, but starting with me, the steward, you'd better clean up those messes. If I find out, it won't be as simple as dismissing you."
Li Xiang knew that all the people below him were not clean, but there was no one available now, so he could only use them temporarily and see the results.
After hearing what Li Xiang said, the people below were also trembling with fear. They didn't expect that the young master was only thirteen years old, but he was so knowledgeable about things. They had never heard that our prince had been to the farmland, so how come he seemed to know everything there?
The slaves on each farm reported false numbers in order to get more food when the time came. For example, if three acres of land needed one person, they would report two people, and the food for the extra person would be eaten by these people.
Li Xiang had seen the account books of the Eastern Palace last year. These people had eaten up at least 40% of the money. This was even after Li Chengqian killed two village heads. If he had not done so, he would probably have only handed over 40%.
"Come out."
Seeing that these people were frightened, Li Xiang immediately waved his hand, and more than 30 guards came out from the side. The village leaders present huddled together, wondering what these people were doing. Were they going to kill people today too?
"This is the patrol team from the Eastern Palace Farm. Starting today, they will carry my orders and go to each farm to verify the data you submit. So don't mess around like you did before. If there's even the slightest discrepancy, you know the Eastern Palace's way of doing things."
When Li Xiang said this, he had to thank Li Chengqian. In the past, Li Chengqian was a loner. Once he found out that someone under him was cheating with money, he would immediately chop that person to death.
But even so, these people still took the risk. After all, there were so many village heads, and at most one or two unlucky ones would be killed, and the rest of the people still had to make money to live.
These people looked at the farm guards in front of them, and a thousand horses were running through their hearts.
Scholars are not easy to come by these days, and those who can read and do accounting are even rarer. These people must earn a lot of money a year, so asking them to go to the fields to check this matter is really a waste of their talents.
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will cooperate with the guards."
Tian Kui was the first to agree. He had nothing to worry about. After all, he never took dirty money. Compared with ordinary people, his income was not low.
"I also..."
Zhang Xifa and others also quickly expressed their loyalty, as Li Xiang's heavy punch was aimed at them.
When the farm harvested grain, the Eastern Palace would send people to watch over it to prevent them from stealing the grain, so there was no way to cheat at this time.
The only thing that could be falsified was the number of slaves. After the grain was harvested, all the slaves would receive their rations for the next year. At this time, they would falsely report the amount and hire a group of people from outside, and then take the grain back and pocket it for themselves. This was also the most money they earned in a year.
Except for Tian Kui's farm, everyone else had made some changes. Li Xiang was able to promote Tian Kui to the position of general manager because he had done some investigation in advance.
"Of course, if your numbers meet the target during the harvest season, I will double your salary. If you can meet the target for three consecutive years, I will guarantee that your children will have a good family."
After Li Xiang said this, the people present lost their patience...