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Chapter 237: Autumn Fu II
"I think this year I'm afraid I'm going to have a hard time filling out the latest chapter." Liu Youren said with a solemn face, "These Australians are trusting others."
"Mr. Liu, you are worrying too much. Regarding the food requisition, what we did in the past and what we should do now are still the same. What's the trouble? Could it be that Lao Ba suddenly changed his nature?" Zhang Youfu consoled him.
"Humph, I don't know about Lao Ba," Liu Youren said with a cold face, "The person who is the best at relying on people's power, and now he relies on the big tree of Australians, it's really serious. Just watch, something will happen. It's not over until you come." After saying that, he stomped away.
Zhang Youfu refused to stay and hurriedly reported to Wu De again.
Wu De smiled enigmatically and just said: "You have to remember one thing from now on. I am on a business trip and have to walk a long way. So there is no need to come to me again for the time being."
"Yes, yes," Zhang Youfu didn't understand what he meant, so he just responded.
"But if you have anything, you have to report to my secretary Chu Yu at any time, do you understand?"
"I understand, I understand." He knew Chu Yu. She was originally a maid of the Gou family, and now she was the eldest daughter of Wu De's side. Zhang Youfu knows that Australians are not afraid of women taking charge of affairs, and there are also women who appear as leaders.
Wu De gave another face-to-face lecture. Zhang Youfu nodded repeatedly.
Finally, Wu De asked again: "Have you joined the Tiandihui?"
"Yes, in fact, the small fields are not enough." Zhang Youfu said. He joined the Tiandihui purely for the purpose of cheering, but after joining the Tiandihui, he was really dedicated. From time to time, people would come to guide his long-term workers in farming, and they would also send fresh things like fertilizer from time to time. Now, the crops on his dozens of acres of land are growing very well. good.
"You tidy up a house, and the Heaven and Earth Society will send people to live in your house to provide guidance at any time."
"Yes." Zhang Youfu knew that this was someone who was spying on him, but they had to send people to his home. Obviously, there was a big deal to be done in the matter of collecting grain. He asked tentatively;
"Every time the young man talks to grain farmers, do you want to tell him?"
"He is helping you farm the land and doesn't care about other things. Remember, if you need help, go to Chu Yu."
Chen Minggang himself was very happy when he heard the news from Zhou Qi that Mr. Xiong had agreed to collect taxes this year. He had his own calculations. Although he had reaped a lot of benefits through his efforts in collecting grain in the past, the benefits were still slightly inferior to Qiongshan County, Chengmai, and Wenchang, which were counties with larger populations and more land. Most of the local landowners formed strongholds to protect themselves, and the imperial court's prestige was not very visible here. A harvest harvest, excluding the profit sharing for his minions, would only bring him two to three hundred dan. This income is a bit small for Chen Minggang, who has been to Qiongshan Fucheng and Guangzhou and has seen a lot of the world.
Now there happens to be an Australian. This group of Australians are hard-headed and usually polite, but they won't even blink if they commit murder or set fire to someone. Whether it was attacking Goujiazhuang or wiping out bandits, killing people and robbing things was absolutely unambiguous, frightening even the big local households. This time, Chen Minggang felt that he had a big backer.
The government is a place where people can be bribed at will, but Australians don't seem to be able to be bribed. Chen Minggang is a very observant person. He feels that Australians are polite, honest and trustworthy on the surface, but in essence they are a group of people who put interests first.
Australians will defend things and people as long as they can bring them enough benefits.
This time, in taking over the grain and taxation, he wants to give the Australians enough benefits, and at the same time make full use of their "power" to make a good fortune in recent years.
Chen Minggang felt that judging from the efficiency of the government and the military preparedness of the Australians, even if the Ming Dynasty could drive away the Australians, it would have to be at least three to five years later. Maybe the Australians would be like the Francois. It is not possible to live in Lingao permanently.
Even if the Australians pack up and go away in the future, Chen Minggang will not suffer any loss. At worst, his reputation is too bad and he will resign. He will just let his apprentice Zhou Qi act as a puppet for a while, and then let his son take over - as long as he has Yu Linzhu in hand, Whoever becomes the emperor's office secretary belongs to his family. Anyway, his family has already experienced two dynasty changes since the Song Dynasty, and there may not be any changes after a few more.
Chen Minggang had this wishful thinking, but he still had to find out how to please the Australians, how big their appetite was, and how far they would allow him to go.
He asked Zhou Qi to call several of his apprentices and the county's food delivery men to his own courtyard - Qiu Hong's home. After his wife made a big fuss last time, Chen Minggang simply crossed Minglu and lived in Qiu Hong's house in a grand manner. He also said hello to the county's fast class leader and asked them to take care of him. Although my wife and family were angry, there was nothing they could do. Zhang Wu tried to cause trouble several times, but was suppressed by the class leader. Zhang Shi was concerned about the comments of his colleagues and could no longer support his brothers and sisters in causing trouble. The two sides fell into a cold war.
After waiting for a few days, the food supplies from various places arrived. There used to be nearly 30 grain merchants in Lingao County. There were two groups of people. One group was responsible for all households. They were generally small rural landowners. Because they had colluded with Chen Mingang or had many children in the countryside, they were able to run rampant in the countryside. Come on. This errand; the other group are green-skinned gangsters from urban and rural areas who have settled down, and there are also prisoners who have been exiled here to act as thugs during the food requisition.
This time we came to the gathering to discuss, but half of the people were already missing. It turns out that most of these people have colluded with bandits. This time the anti-bandit campaign launched a large-scale mass campaign to "digging out the roots of bandits". Several were executed and arrested, and some had nothing to do with the bandits. They were just collecting food in the past. The accumulated public anger was huge, and the masses took the opportunity to label him as colluding with the bandits and executed him. The work team was also happy with this, as it justifiably killed several local toubob forces.
After receiving these food shortages, everyone still has lingering fears about the movement in the countryside, and is simply afraid of the Australians. In particular, a female thief named Du Wen made everyone fearful. It is said that a few of those who have tasted her iron legs will basically have to be eunuchs in their next life.
It turned out that I was very anxious, not knowing what the future would bring. Now that I suddenly received a notice from Chen Shuban to come to a gathering to discuss the matter of food requisition, I couldn't help but feel refreshed. Baba put on decent clothes and came to discuss matters.
This group of people gathered together like flies and flies, and they all told about the changes that had happened around them in the past year. Who died, who was captured, and their whereabouts are still unknown. This time they can gather again, and I heard that they can continue to live together. The food collection matter is about to start, and it feels like the sun is clearing from the clouds.
When Chen Minggang saw that everyone was here, he coughed and got to the point.
What he was talking about was that Australians would take over the grain and tax this year. They had already heard about this matter when they came. When everyone heard that they were working for the Australians, not only did they not feel ashamed or angry about being "open traitors", they were all very happy - now they could get in touch with the Australians. Not only can he continue to do his job, but he can also take the opportunity to make a fortune.
"It's just that we haven't figured out the temper of the Australians yet. We've called everyone here to discuss a proper charter before we can talk to their leader."
Everyone discussed it for a while. Since the Australians were responsible for the overall responsibility this time, the original contractors would no longer handle it. Although subcontracting on the second level was not a bad idea, everyone agreed that it was the first time to work for the Australians. , it’s better to be careful. Instead of using your brain to "wear hats" on subcontracting, it is better to go all out and focus on urging collection. The only way is to collect a substantial amount of food and salary for the Australians.
"But how much is good?" someone asked.
"I heard from Chief Xiong that the reasonable burden should be collected together. This is three thousand public stones." Zhou Qi introduced.
"This is missing." If this was all they had, why would the Australians bother to collect food and gifts? Obviously they have great expectations.
"That's right, it has to be doubled before the Australian man will realize our man's ability."
"This requires an increase in the amount of rice consumed. It turns out that adding three dou to one stone is definitely not enough." There were quite a few people among them who were good at mental arithmetic, and they immediately calculated the numbers.
A food clerk named "Xiao Hu from the Umbrella Shop" said: "Master Ba, I think if this is just a case of business as usual, I'm afraid we won't be able to make any big profits."
The benefit to the county magistrate must come from it, and the "reasonable burden" of the Australians is also a large amount. Naturally, they want to take this opportunity to make a small fortune. If Xiao Gui and Cao still follow the usual practice, it will only consume more rice.
Although it is not a big deal to consume more rice, the small households with no means have been overwhelmed. No matter how hard they are, they will not be able to squeeze out much profit and water. They may even seek grievances from the Australians. Naturally, big households can afford it. Not to mention that they themselves consume less rice and pay less. There are also many hidden fields that are cultivated privately and fields that are shaded by others. It’s just that they have received a lot of benefits on weekdays for no reason. If you add this, the other party will definitely be unconvinced, and it will be difficult to get along with him in the future.
Zhou Qi said: "I'm afraid there will be some who are unwilling to join in. If we let the Australians take action, they will end up like Goujiazhuang. Let's see who dares to pick on the neck -"
"This must be done." Chen Minggang shook his head, "It's not difficult to instigate. In the future, everyone will continue to hang out in Lingao. What will you do if the Australians leave?"
"Umbrella Shop Xiao Hu" said: "We have to come up with a reason so that we can speak to the big business owners and make them have nothing to say. We will have room for change in the future."
Chen Minggang nodded. Xiao Hu had a good understanding and was much smarter than several of his apprentices. It's a pity that this person is a lame and can't get on the stage. Thinking of this, he glanced at Zhou Qi and couldn't help but feel bored with him. ,.
