Chapter 49 The Heaven of Huangzhou is the Heaven of Master Shen
Yuan Zhongyi is dead!
This big news quickly stirred up waves in the already isolated and remote Huangzhou. The aftermath reverberated among the mountains of Dabie, triggering a series of chain reactions.
The fastest responders were the squires who had not originally sailed the Yangtze River merchant fleet and had chosen to cooperate with Lord Tongzhi in exchange for the seeds of new species.
These people didn't ask any questions, and immediately rallied around Master Tongzhi and did whatever they were told. Even the distribution of donations went smoothly.
However, those squires who originally chose to follow Yuan Zhongyi's lead became divided.
A small number of people chose to take advantage of the situation immediately. No matter how Yuan Zhongyi died or whether the person who killed him was Liu Xiyao's Jiang bandit, they just assumed it was Liu Xiyao who did it, and then immediately paid the money to Lord Tongzhi. Express cooperation.
The other part is a little more stubborn and wants to get to the bottom of things and try to find the truth.
But this is easy to handle, because when they come to Huangqikou Town and other estuary docks, they will be stopped by the patrol boats of the Shen family's servants.
Moreover, Shen Shuren also used his power to assign officials to his confidants and captains, such as "Thousands of Tuan Lian Hus" and "Hundred Lian Hus of Tuan Lian", so that they would be more confident in enforcing the law.
According to the imperial court regulations, personnel appointments at this level will not leave any procedural flaws. This is because the establishment officials of the regiment training and guard station are not valuable in nature, and they do not need to be paid by the imperial court like regular officers.
With the name of Huangzhou Regiment Training, Shen Shuren had the right to assemble troops and appoint officers during wartime. Even if he was obviously nepotistic, no one could accuse him.
What's more, captains like the Shen family, who have been fighting for many years on the Yellow Sea, are indeed capable of managing their servants and private soldiers.
Those squires who wanted to leave Huangzhou by water all received this reply: "No going out of the river! From now on, civilian ships in the Huangzhou boundary are allowed to sail in the Xishui and Qishui rivers, but they are not allowed to go to the Yangtze River!"
Faced with the obstruction, some wealthy gentry who did not believe in evil tried to reason: "Master Baihu, we are different from Mr. Yuan's fleet. We paid two lijin at the beginning. Master Tongzhi said that anyone who paid lijin will be imprisoned." You can’t go back on your word if you’re protecting someone.”
The hundreds of Shen family members who blocked the road immediately retorted: "It's too late! That was the old calendar before Mr. Yuan's accident! Lijin was collected in one trip. When this happened, Lord Tongzhi ordered, I won’t charge you any more fees for the time being.
All we ask is that the river defenses be strictly sealed, and no one is allowed to trade out of the river. If there is a local shortage of any materials, the regiment training navy will be responsible for armed escort. Anyone who insists on leaving the river will be punished as a conspiracy to collaborate with thieves and benefit the enemy!"
Facing the dazzling knife, these wealthy gentry were frightened, but they were unwilling to say: "Master Baihu, please calm down! We just want to go to Jiangxi to get some supplies, so why are we involved in collusion?" You can't wrongly accuse good people."
All the Shen family members looked matter-of-fact: "Why are there no suspicions of conspiracy? Let's talk about Yuan Zhongyi. It doesn't matter if he is dead, but all the supplies on his fleet were robbed by Liu Xiyao's people!
I heard that there are some improved varieties brought back from Fujian! If Liu Xiyao promotes planting and breeding, it will be a huge asset!
Liu Xiyao is rampant now because the people of Huanggang have been robbed of poverty by him. He cannot feed so many soldiers, so he has to continue to invade Qishui and other counties.
The most important thing now is to strengthen the wall and clear the country! It doesn’t matter if you die, as the enemy will be defeated with the property and materials on the ship, it will not ruin the overall situation of Master Tongzhi! If you don’t retreat, don’t blame the swords and guns for waiting!"
Speaking of this, everyone knew that this hurdle would definitely be impossible to overcome. The remaining members of the Yuan family returned to the county one after another and discussed countermeasures behind closed doors.
A richest man named Wang in Qixian County said: "Otherwise, let's cooperate completely with Mr. Tongzhi and just tolerate it for two years. We will give him whatever he wants."
Next to him, the richest man named Xu in Huangmei County retorted worriedly: "What will happen next? The government is always getting more and more ugly. Seeing that we are easy to bully, it will only get worse."
The richest man Wang shook his head: "I didn't say I surrendered completely, I just tolerated it for two years. I think Shen Shuren has made it clear that he wants to block the Yangtze River, so he just openly raised the flag. I heard that the Shen family is the dominant one in the Yellow Sea and has far-reaching power on the water. Compared to people from small places like me, if he wants to block it, he will definitely be able to block it. Now if we resist, we are seeking death.
It is better to wait until he has defeated Liu Xiyao, or the officers and soldiers from other prefectures in the imperial court have put Liu Xiyao and Lin Chenggong in a pot, and opened up the land route, then we can go out to report to the official via the Yinghuo Mountain Trail. Until then, we can just be patient.
I heard that Liu Guoneng, who is stationed in Ye County across the mountain from the north, has an old feud with the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo. Although Liu Guoneng is a bandit anyway, he has been trusted and used by His Majesty, and he will serve the imperial court as if he were given chicken blood. Maybe Can he really break Liu Xiyao and save us?
Even if Liu Guoneng can't count on him, there are Anlu governor Shi Kefa on the other side of the mountain in the east, and Huang Degong and Huang Zongzhen under Shi Futai's tent. I heard that they are all loyal and brave ministers. After a year or two, they can't defeat the British. When the mountains are destroyed, the vines are cultivated.”
After hearing this, the richest man Xu shook his head disdainfully. Apparently he had better information than the richest man in Qixian County, and sighed:
"It's okay to count on Shi Kefa, but how dare you count on Liu Guoneng? You said that there is no one in your family and the information is not well-informed. I have long heard that earlier this year, during the time of the test, His Majesty treated all the generals recruited by Xiong Wencan. , I have many doubts.
Liu Guoneng was so jealous at that time that the imperial court did not allow him to allocate military pay, money or food. Later, it was Shen Shuren who made a direct remonstrance during the audition in the palace and advised the emperor to only punish the culprits and praise him anyway, so the emperor deposed him as a second-level junior. The name of the crane tail.
But later I heard that His Majesty partially listened, restored some supplies to Liu Guoneng's Ministry of Energy, and also allowed Liu Guoneng's only son to study at the Nanjing Imperial College. I heard that Liu Guoneng was very grateful to the Shenshu man. Do you expect Liu Guo to open the road to Tongbai Mountain and follow Shen Shuren is going against it, so he’d better accept it sooner or later!”
Since these rabble can't agree with each other internally and no one is convinced by anyone, there is nothing to say.
They decisively chose to go their own ways and deal with Chen Shuren according to what they thought was the most reliable method.
Unfortunately, it turns out that the group that chooses to fight will not end well.
Xu, the richest man in Huangmei County, felt that it was not feasible to wait for other imperial troops to open the road, so he chose to send his own people to cross the Dabie Mountains to report to the officials. At least he wanted to inform Yuan Jixian and Yuan Daotai who were in Yunyang first.
After all, they have no clear evidence to prove that "Yuan Zhongyi was not killed by the Liu Xiyao Jiang bandit", and there is insufficient evidence to directly accuse Shen Shuren of running rampant in the area. The first step is to find the powerful victim, clarify the doubts, and let the victim come forward to investigate.
Unfortunately, the richest man Xu's attempt to find out finally ended up with all the people who delivered the letter being captured or intercepted by the thieves.
Later, the richest man Wang of Qixian County heard that Mr. Xu had sent a messenger but failed, so he decisively chose to betray his accomplices to submit a letter of surrender to Shen Shuren, and told Shen Shuren that the other party was trying to contact the outside world in order to distance himself.
Chen Shuren was also unambiguous, and immediately opened a court to arrest the richest man, Xu, and questioned him on suspicion of being a traitor. Did he want to send people to the depths of Yingshan to collude with the bandits, betray the military information of Huangzhou counties, and seduce the bandits? Come to attack.
The other party tried his best to deny it, but the evidence was there, and it was impossible for his dead confidants to come back alive to testify.
Naturally, thunderous tactics are needed in wartime. After Shen Shuren found out the opponent's behavior, there was no need to examine the specific motive as to why he sent the envoy over the mountain.
The richest man Xu was immediately beheaded in public for being a traitor, and all his property and fields were confiscated and used as military supplies.
Yuan Zhongyi's death was just suspicious, but this gentleman Xu actually had his whole family killed by Tongzhi with military law. Two bloody cases, one dark and one clear, were placed in front of them, and the rest of the people were completely awakened, knowing that this yellow case was The sky of Zhou is Mr. Shen’s sky.
Along the Yangtze River, the Huangzhou Mountain District has completely entered into the logic of talking with a sword, and everything is in the service of suppressing thieves!
If you want to return to the logic of a peaceful and prosperous age, you must first share the same hatred with Master Shen and annihilate all the bandits entrenched in the surrounding mountainous thoroughfares, otherwise there will be no need to talk!
These two years must be endured no matter what, and we must not be the first to stand out.
…
He took two waves of human heads as sacrificial knives to establish his power, and it only took Chen Shuren half a month.
Counting the days, it’s not yet the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Although this year's autumn grain has not yet reached the harvest season, the military rations that each county should pay have been calculated very smoothly in advance, and each county has sincerely stated that they will not default on any arrears.
After calculation, Shen Shuren will soon be able to get 150,000 shi of military rations - considering that the cultivated land in Huangzhou now controlled by the government is only 350,000 acres, being able to get 150,000 shi of military rations is already a very good result. .
According to the official tax of the imperial court in previous years, the whole government only had a tax of 60,000 to 70,000 dan, and Chen Shuren only had a regular tax of over 40,000 dan for the little land he had.
Even if the three additional taxes are taken into account, it is four times the regular tax. The total tax collected from the land in Chen Shuren's hands will not reach 200,000 dan, not to mention that poor governments in these mountainous areas often cannot collect it all.
Chen Shuren was able to collect all the grain when the harvest was not very good, but this year the major gentry had to restrain their hands and temporarily withhold cooperation. Many wealthy gentry listened to Chen Shuren's order and lowered the rent of their tenants. , the farmland that escaped famine was completely rent-free, ensuring that the farmers could survive, and most of the remaining land was given to the government.
With enough grain bags, Chenshu people are confident. Although it is not yet the slack season after the autumn harvest, Chenshu people have also begun preparations to recruit troops and expand their regiments to train armaments.
Zhao Yunfan, the magistrate of Qizhou, has been performing relatively well recently, so Shen Shuren has gradually transferred the logistics work of money, food and military supplies to him to help him handle it, and asked him to calculate the appropriate size of the military expansion in Huangzhou.
Zhao Yunfan was also worried. He did some calculations for his colleagues all night and reported with a sad face:
"Sir, if each soldier consumes one and a half dan of rations per month, 150,000 dan of military rations is enough to feed 100,000 people per month, which means that 8,000 people can be fed for one year.
However, group training cannot completely deprive the family of food rations to support the family. If you provide some subsidies to the family, you will have to maintain a standing group training year-round, with a maximum of five or six thousand people.
The lower official has repeatedly investigated and found that Liu Xiyao's tribe already had tens of thousands of people before they invaded Huanggang. Recently, he has been looting everywhere, not engaged in production, and has also forced young men from the occupied areas to join the army. Everyone is relaxed.
When Mr. Xu was killed in Huangmei County, some of Mr. Xu's relatives and old relatives followed him, and they ran away in fear of the crime. They might have surrendered to Liu Xiyao to report the news. If Liu Xiyao learns that you are doing this in various places in Qixian County, I am afraid he will rob The invaders invaded before the autumn harvest and harvested all the food we had grown for the whole season.
Nowadays, there are only so many regular soldiers in the regiment training. If you rely only on the sailors and servants brought by the adults, I am afraid that you will not dare to fight with Liu Xiyao in the field to protect food. The situation is serious and we must not ignore it! Although the source of troops is easy to say, the ordnance and armaments are seriously insufficient. The officer has reminded you several times before, but you..."
Chen Shuren waved his hand confidently: "Don't worry, I have already made arrangements for this."