Throwing troubles to others is the benefit of those in power.

Looking at Zhang Huangyan's frozen face, Li Xiao felt very happy. Why didn't he realize the essence of being an official so early that he had to deal with various complicated official duties all day long?

Li Lin wanted to go to Xiangshan, but he didn't have time to accompany his son. Poor little guy. The weather is nice today, and it's a good day to visit Xiangshan.

"Commander, this is your family matter...!" Zhang Huangyan roared helplessly as he watched Li Xiao walk out of the office door.

"Sir, you can trust me, you can trust me, sir!" Li Xiao saluted Zhang Huangyan and ran away without looking back.

"This...!" Thinking about Li Hu's violent temper, Zhang Huangyan felt dizzy.

At the same time in Jinling, Li Hao was also dizzy.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's decrees could only reach the county level, and the remaining places basically belonged to clan autonomy. Only places like Liaodong did not have local clan power.

The political structure of the Ming Dynasty was that one big family led a group of small families. Then officials sent by the imperial court managed a group of big families.

This political structure has been in Jiangnan for many years. It can be said that it has become deeply entrenched. It is extremely difficult to shake it.

Yang Sichang was killed, and several of his capable men were also killed. Then officials at all levels in Jiangnan basically went on strike!

Those who can write a resignation letter are considered good, but most of them are non-violent and non-cooperative. They don't say leave or stay. Anyway, they just carry on when they are in office, and when the government orders come, they shirk the blame.

Moreover, he is afraid of wind, water, and sunlight, and will die if he steps out of the house.

The subordinate officials under them are even more disobedient. They don't collect taxes and even divide the official land. What will I eat?

Li Xiao's new decree was generally resisted by Jiangnan bureaucrats.

What's even more outrageous is that some guys even lobby the farmers in the countryside and make up some sensational rumors. The most cruel rumor is that the marshal wants to collect a poll tax in order to fight the war, and all the babies in confinement have to pay the tax.

"Ninety percent of a year's harvest must be paid to the commander-in-chief, and the remaining 10% is given to you idiots."

"Then people must not starve to death?"

"How could the commander care so much in order to fight the war? The Liao army had so many cannons, and one cannon shell was enough to produce a year's harvest of several acres of land. How could the commander fight the war if he didn't collect taxes?

The gentlemen in the yamen are actually working with the villagers. The one who is now in charge of Jinling is the Marshal's younger brother.

You have been forcing us all day long to allocate all our official land to you so that we can collect more taxes. You know, the eldest boss sees you as pitiful and only receives 60% of the rent from the official land, so that you hard-working people can finally have something to say.

Let’s eat.”

The old farmers in the countryside are illiterate and have no more sources of information. Many of them have never left their villages more than ten miles away in their entire lives.

When the capable county officials said this, they immediately started making noises. They didn't have a good look on those northern boys who came to the countryside.

Some people with good personalities would even curse in local dialects. Those young boys from the north wouldn’t understand them anyway!

Reform can be said to be difficult, and Li Hao did not expect that the resistance would be so great. No wonder the eldest brother dared not poke the hornet's nest in Jiangnan.

Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hunan and Hubei are all in chaos. As for the mountainous Jiangxi, many places have already begun to dominate the mountains.

Totally out of control!

At this time, the only thing Li Hao could stabilize was the Jinling City.

"Fourth Master, these sons of bitches have done a great job. Not to mention the county magistrates everywhere, even the governor's office in Jinling City has no staff to order the meal every day. If this continues, Jiangnan will be in chaos.

"

The veins on Li Hao's neck popped out. He did not expect that Jiangnan officials would do something so ruthless. And they were so united that the six provinces came to a halt almost instantly. Not to mention the promulgation of the imperial decree, even Jinling City could not leave.

Li Hao, who was depressed, actually had no good solution. He found that his elder brother's methods could not be implemented at all. Various government orders of the imperial court must be implemented by officials, but the problem now is... there are no officials.

All officials in Jiangnan went on a collective strike, and anarchy quickly emerged in the power vacuum. Li Hao felt that soon he would not even be able to control Jinling City.

I thought simply and didn't consider that Jiangnan, the Donglin Party's home base, would be so difficult to deal with.

I thought of sending a telegram to Li Xiao, at least asking him to send more troops. Now that there is only one battalion, we can only ensure the safety of ourselves and the attachés. It is absolutely not enough to suppress the place.

Fortunately, Li Xiao had already dismantled Jiangsu's security forces in advance. Now there are only 1,200 security forces in the entire Jiangsu Province.

There are more than 200 people in Jinling, which is quite crowded. In places like Wuhu, there is no security force at all. It depends entirely on the local government officials to maintain security!

"What? There's nothing we can do?" I was wandering around the office like a donkey, when suddenly a voice sounded from the door of the office.

Li Hao raised his head fiercely and his eyes widened immediately.

"Why are you here?" Li Hao personally moved a chair and ordered the guards to make tea.

Shi Kefa sat down on the chair and looked at Li Hao helplessly shaking his head.

"Sir, you must also know about my current situation. It's really... a bit embarrassing. You have been an official in Jiangnan for a long time. Please give me some advice. I would like to thank you here." After saying this, Li Hao said to him.

Shi Kefa bowed deeply.

"Hahaha! Young man, you are too impatient." Shi Kefa smiled and took the tea from Li Hao's hand.

"You are reckless, please...!"

"Oh, how old is Brother Hao this year?" Shi Kefa interrupted Li Hao, still with a smile on his face.

"This kid is twenty-two this year, what are you...!" Li Hao was confused and didn't know why Shi Kefa came up and asked his age.

"Why haven't you married yet at such an age?" Shi Kefa asked doubtfully.

Li Hao was speechless. I'm already furious. You old guy actually asked me why I didn't marry a wife.

"When I was young, I studied on Changxing Island. Later, my elder brother asked me to work on the team. Then I traveled around the world to find places suitable for laying railways for the Ming Dynasty.

Later, my leg...!" Li Hao patted his injured leg: "This leg is disabled and it is impossible to recover. So...!"

"Hahaha! Brother Hao is indeed the pillar of my Ming Dynasty!

In the army, he fought against the Tatars and refused to be left behind. He traveled all over the world and worked for our Ming Dynasty Railway. Although he was plotted by villains, he could still revive his spirit and his will was as strong as steel.

Brother Hao, there are not many boys like you nowadays. My Dewei family has a legitimate daughter, and this year is the 28th year of her life. If you don’t mind, how about marrying you?" Shi Kefa still had a smile on his face.

Li Hao understood that this old fox would not let go of the rabbit before he saw it. You can ask the old fox to help, but you have to agree to his marriage. However, it is not Li Hao's decision to marry the Shi family.

In a political marriage, Li Hao does not have much say.

However, if the old guy can really help him get out of his current predicament, Li Hao is willing to agree to this marriage. After all, the Shi family is also a family that can speak out in the political arena of the Ming Dynasty. Especially in the railway field, the Shi family has a deep foundation.

The most important thing is that Miss Shi Jia is also a socialite in the capital. Li Hao met her at the New Year banquet. She is indeed gentle, virtuous and beautiful. The most important thing is that she was taught by the old guy to have good poetry and writing etiquette. She has already been

The object of competition among the dandies in the capital, I heard that Zheng Sen's cousin is quite admiring of this Miss Shijia, and has already said that he will not marry anyone who is not a Miss Shijia.

"Old Shi! To be honest, you know everything about my family. My parents are not here, so my eldest brother is in charge of the house. A brother is like a father. If my eldest brother doesn't nod..., I will only let down your good intentions.

"Li Hao spread his hands, he was telling the truth.

If Li Xiao doesn't nod his head, I'm afraid Shi Kefa won't dare to do it either.

"This matter is simple. As long as you agree, I can go to the Marshal to propose marriage. My daughter is gentle and virtuous, and she is a perfect match for you. I am sure your elder brother will agree." After getting the answer he wanted, Shi Kefa was satisfied.

nodded.

"It's just that chaos is about to break out in the south of the Yangtze River, and I really don't have the intention." Li Hao looked sad.

"Hahaha! Silly boy, these are all trivial matters. We are our own family now, how could I see you in danger?"

"I don't know...Grandpa Shi's plan is going to work out?"

"Actually, you see that the officials in Jiangnan are trying to deal with you, but Jiangnan may not be able to cause chaos. First of all, your eldest brother has the foresight.

This spring, some grain was subsidized to farmers in the name of tax rebates. Although it was deducted at all levels, it was distributed to ordinary people, and they were able to survive the spring famine.

In other words, almost no people in Jiangnan are hungry this year.

The people of Ming Dynasty are the best people. As long as they are fed, they will never oppose the imperial court. No one is hungry, and only those who are crazy will rebel against those corrupt scholars. Rebellion without the participation of farmers can only be called a rebellion.

Furthermore! Even though the officials are on strike, local affairs are being handled in an orderly manner.

Imperial decrees can usually only be conveyed to the county level. The rest has to rely on the clan elders. This is something that can't be helped. I think the authority of the clan elders in the countryside is greater than that of the imperial court.

Although officials at all levels went on strike, they did not go on strike. Therefore, the corpses of the officials were on top of them, but the local villagers were not affected at all as they were farming and harvesting.

so……!"

"So as long as I get rid of these clan elders, even if those officials go on strike, there won't be any chaos?" Li Hao's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes! You just need to summon the elders from the countryside and tell them the court's true intentions. I believe they will all support you.

Starting from the First Emperor, the national tax on imperial grain has been paid for thousands of years, and now it is waived by the Marshal. It is truly an eternal achievement!

With this alone, the local elders will support you unconditionally. When the time comes, you want to allocate land and harvest crops after autumn. No matter what you want to do, they will be your most loyal supporters."

"Yeah, why didn't I think of this level?"

"Haha! You have lived in Liaodong for a long time. Most of the villagers there are immigrants, and there is no rural clan power at all. How do you know this!

My second idea for you is that since these officials are unwilling to work, simply fire them all so that they don’t have to sit on top of their bodies!"

"But...the imperial court can't send so many people." Li Hao was a little dumbfounded. Everyone has been dismissed. Who will do the work? There are hundreds of county magistrates in the six provinces of Jiangnan. Where can I find so many people?

Zi replaced all the officials.

"Haha! You can leave your position open. Some people really want it. Some people are just pretending to show it to their fellow division commanders. If you really kill their officials, what else can they do for a living?

As long as you issue an order of dismissal from office, I guarantee that people who come to ask for mercy will crowd out your threshold. Even if there are too many people resigning, you can also order the local patriarchs to govern themselves for a period of time.

Anyway, there is no need to collect taxes. You only need to send people to buy food every year. If you let it go for a year or two, there will be no big problem. When your elder brother has more talents in his pocket, it will not be too late to gradually enrich Jiangnan officials."
To be continued...