Wenren Sheng's attack immediately terrified his opponents.
He then sent his students into the countryside to post notices:
"We will not seize your land or grain. We only want the common people to be free to go wherever they wish."
"The common people were born between Heaven and Earth. Naturally, they have the right to walk between Heaven and Earth."
When it came to arguing, no one could outtalk Wenren Sheng.
Besides, he had the power of the sword.
And he had a whole group of students helping him make his case.
With both measures working together, no one dared oppose him.
Before long, the people of Guanxi streamed into Guan Dong.
Some found work, some went into business, and some took up farming.
In short, Guanxi's powerful clans soon faced labor shortages and a lack of tenant farmers.
Left with no choice, they had to start treating people like people.
They could no longer say things like, "If you won't tenant the land, plenty of others will."
Land rents fell to an unprecedented thirty percent, even twenty percent, or just ten percent.
And that was not all. Some people even paid others to farm their land! What? They paid you to cultivate their fields?
How could that be possible?
It was possible, because some land could not be left fallow. Once abandoned, it would be completely ruined.
Some land could lie fallow or be rotated, but some could not.
It had to be cultivated continuously and constantly maintained.
Orchards, for example.
If no one maintained or cared for them, the fruit trees would die. And it took three to five years before fruit trees could bear fruit again.
Medicinal herb fields were the same.
With no other choice, the powerful clans unprecedentedly improved the treatment of tenant farmers.
For