Primer on the Zheng Economy

The Zheng Empire, as with all regimes in this time period, is ultimately an agrarian economy. A wide array of crops are grown in the fields and homesteads, while the mountains, rivers and seas also teem with life and wealth for the harvesting.

Agriculture
Main Article: Agriculture in the Zheng Empire

The agricultural economy of the Zheng Empire is characterised by a few main forms.

On one hand, there is still a solid base of small-scale, free farmers, that own their lands either individually or in common with their villages.

However, with the prominence of the Great Clans, the phenomenon of wealthy families consolidating land into larger and larger estates has become very serious. These large estates make extensive use of tenant farmers, in a way not unlike modern-day sharecropping, and generate enormous profits for their owners - profits which are often difficult to tax.

Industry
Main Article: Industry in the Zheng Empire

Currency
The Zheng Empire's economy is not in fact very fully monetised. Especially in the vast areas outside of the cities, barter trade is still highly common, and taxes are generally paid in kind where crops are concerned.

That said, an Empire-wide system of currency does exist, using both bronze coins and precious metals either as loose silver or cast into ingots. These are the units of metallic currency that are generally used: