Without letting Emperor Chongzhen wait too long, Qian Zongshu's slightly aging voice rang again.:.../

"Your Majesty, the second thought of the old minister is that the court will do whatever it takes to make the Northern Zhili and Shandong chaotic, and the more chaotic it will be better... Only in this way will the Tiger and Leopard Army fall into the quagmire of quelling civil strife, and there is no way to take care of us, and even further strengthen its military strength..."

"In the eyes of the old minister, as long as the chaos in Northern Zhili lasts for a year, the court can use this year to restore finances, train the army, and have the strength to fight against the Tiger and Leopard Army."

"Mr. Wang of the Ministry of Revenue just said that the various wealth of landlords and gentry in Jiangnan is far beyond the imagination of the court. As long as the court receives the support of these people, it will be possible to raise tens of millions of taels of silver at will..."

"With the money, we can train the army, build muskets, and even buy artillery more advanced than the Tiger and Leopard Army from the Francs... In this way, the court has the strength to fight against the Tiger and Leopard Army..."

Before Qian Zongshu could finish his words, the expression on Chongzhen's face was covered with shock.

Of course, this shock was not because of the army Qian Zongshu's mouth, but ten million taels of silver.

For Emperor Chongzhen, even though he lost to Wei Zheng many times, he never admitted that Wei Zheng was better than him.

In Chongzhen's eyes, there is only one reason why Wei Zheng could defeat himself again and again, that is, silver. If he could have the same amount of money as Wei Zheng, with his own ability, he would never be defeated by Wei Zheng.

Therefore, in the hearts of Emperor Chongzhen, one of the biggest heart problems was silver.

With the money, you can train the army and build weapons... Finally, defeat the Tiger and Leopard Army and defeat the Wei Zheng in military terms.

Now, I suddenly heard that I could get tens of millions of taels of silver that I had never dared to think about before without taxes. This made Emperor Chongzhen, who was already thinking about silver, shocked.

Then, he directly interrupted Qian Zongshu and said, "Qian Aiqing, what you said is true. The court can really raise tens of millions of taels of silver from the gentry and landlords in Jiangnan in a short period of time..."

Qian Zongshu said without thinking, "As long as the publicity of the court is in place, the old ministers can be sure that for the sake of their own wealth and life, the landlords and gentry in the Jiangnan area will definitely donate generously for the court... As for how much money can be raised in the end, Lord Wang of the Ministry of Revenue knows best?"

After listening to Qian Zongshu's answer, Chongzhen quickly turned his attention to the Minister of Revenue, hoping to get a positive answer.

Without disappointing Chongzhen, the Minister of Revenue said confidently: "Your Majesty. After hundreds of years of accumulation, the amount of wealth that landlords and gentry in the Jiangnan area has definitely exceeded our imagination. Therefore, as long as they generously donate to raise 10 million taels of silver, there is no problem..."

After receiving a positive answer, Emperor Chongzhen's confidence became even stronger. Before Qian Zongshu could output his third thought, Emperor Chongzhen's murderous voice rang out in the hall...

"You all have heard of it. I can tell you clearly that for this ten million taels of silver, I don't mind killing people. Therefore, I hope you all can work together to carry out publicity..."

"As for Qian Aiqing's second idea, all departments of the court must cooperate unconditionally. Especially the Jinyiwei and the Dongchang. If I were to know who did not cooperate and make trouble, I would not mind killing people... In addition, at the critical moment, I allowed Qian Aiqing to use officials who had already lurked into the Northern Prince's Mansion... In short, there should be no mistakes in this major event..."

After Chongzhen's murderous imperial edict was finished, all the court officials' expressions became serious.

At this moment, Qian Zongshu spoke again...

"Your Majesty, my third idea is to train the army... Although the Tiger and Leopard Army intercepted most of the soldiers arranged by the court on the border, these border officers came to Nanjing. The court should immediately form and train 100,000 well-equipped soldiers based on these officers. In addition, in order to increase the firepower of confronting the Tiger and Leopard Army, if it is impossible to build it, the court should immediately send people to foreigners to buy more advanced artillery and equip the troops..."

With the strong and iron-blooded intervention of the Tiger and Leopard Army, the land reform in Beizhili never encountered any obstacles and began to be implemented step by step.

And just as ordinary people were looking at the land that had just been divided and fell into madness, the landlords and gentry who had been taken away gathered together with resentment and unwillingness to vent their dissatisfaction with the Tiger and Leopard Army.

Although during the entire land redemption process, the Tiger and Leopard Army gave them no lower than the market price. However, in the eyes of these landlords and gentry who regarded land as their lifeline: if the land is still in their own hands, they can earn a considerable income every year. Not only that, the land is in hand, the tenants who cultivate their own land will listen to themselves unconditionally.

As for the money that the Tiger and Leopard Army compensated for itself, it can be earned back in up to five years with the harvest of the land.

So, for them, in any aspect, they lost money in this transaction with the Tiger and Leopard Army, and they lost a lot...

Just as dozens of people gathered together to vent their dissatisfaction and resentment in each other, a housekeeper suddenly walked in.

After whispering a few words in the ear of the head of the Ou family, the head of the Ou family directly showed a thoughtful expression on his face.

Then, he directly said to the group of landlords and gentry sitting in front of him: "Everyone, all are quiet... The county magistrate Ou, who has just taken office in the county government, is here... Let's go to welcome him together... If you have any questions later, please ask Ou directly... Ou is my husband's brother, he is his own person, and he will never harm everyone..."

After some compliments, the county magistrate who had just taken office sat without surprise in the position that should have belonged to the head of the Ou family.

Looking at the landlord and gentry with different expressions in front of him, the county magistrate asked directly: "Brother, why are there so many people in the family, and they are all very famous gentry in the local area... You have something to do..."

In front of his brothers, the head of the Ou family would not hide it and directly expressed everyone's dissatisfaction with the Tiger and Leopard Army.

Then, dozens of pairs of uneasy eyes gathered on the county magistrate as if they had been discussed.

In the eyes of these landlords and gentry, their gathering today can definitely be called a ruthless person. If the county magistrate stood on the side of the tiger and leopard army, then what awaited them would be the family scout and extermination of the clan.

Therefore, everyone focused their attention on the county magistrate. Once the county magistrate turned against him, in order to survive, these landlords and gentry did not mind killing the county magistrate here directly.

What made these people breathe a long sigh was that the county magistrate not only did not feel dissatisfied, but instead showed a very agreeable expression.

Then, under everyone's confusion, he explained slightly angrily: "You are dissatisfied with the Tiger and Leopard Army, and I am also dissatisfied with the Tiger and Leopard Army... You should know that in this so-called land reform, all the 10,000 acres of fertile land under my name were given to me by the Tiger and Leopard Army.

I took it. You also got a lot of compensation from the yamen. However, in order to support the Tiger and Leopard Army, I expressed my sincerity, but I didn’t get a single tael of silver... The entire ten thousand acres of fertile land were gone overnight..."

Looking at the county magistrate in front of him with a look of grief and anger, everyone was no longer wary of the sudden arrival of the county magistrate.

At this moment, the head of the Ou family said, "Brother, are we just watching the Tiger and Leopard Army share our land with those tenants... You must know that without land, we will sooner or later eat the whole country... You are the county magistrate, so you must think of a solution for everyone..."

The words of the head of the Ou family immediately resonated with everyone.

Dozens of mouths were opened, and they all shouted that the county magistrate would find a way for everyone...

When everyone focused their eyes on everyone again, the county magistrate, who looked embarrassed, finally spoke...

"There is a solution, but it is impossible to do it even with the strength of my official, no matter how capable he has..."

Speaking of this, the county magistrate seemed to have thought of something, and a mysterious color flashed quickly on his face. Then he continued to say to everyone: "You don't know, what the Tiger and Leopard Army did in Northern Zhili has caused dissatisfaction among all the gentry in Northern Zhili, and even the court who moved the capital to Nanjing knew..."

"I and many officials who originally belonged to the court have received secret decrees from the court, asking us to form an army by ourselves and drive the Tiger and Leopard Army out of Northern Zhili... The court said in the secret decrees that as long as everyone is willing, after driving the Tiger and Leopard Army away, the land that should belong to everyone will still belong to everyone. In addition, the court will also give everyone a seventh rank or above as a reward. As for other rewards for silver and land, of course, there will be no less..."

After the county magistrate finished speaking, Oujiazhengtang fell into tranquility.

All the heads of the Ou family were stunned by the news brought by the county magistrate.

Of course, there are also people who respond quickly. Just when everyone hadn't reacted to the shock brought to everyone by this news, a voice suddenly rang in the main hall.

"Sir, isn't this a rebellion... If it fails, we will all be confiscated by the Tiger and Leopard Army..."

After hearing the words "Collection of the house and the destruction of the clan" and rebellion, everyone immediately reacted from the shock and focused their attention on the county magistrate again.

The county magistrate shook his head and replied: "No, this is not a rebellion. Don't forget that the Tiger and Leopard Army is also the army of the court. We fought the Tiger and Leopard Army according to the imperial court's secret order. We must not be said to be a rebellion..."
Chapter completed!