At this moment, there was a burst of crying on the small steamer and the pier, with people calling mother and father, and children calling for meat. It was extremely miserable. Huang Chao couldn't stand the fuss, and he thought of his wife and children for no reason, and he began to sympathize with the old man. He comforted Peng Shou'an and said: "Old Peng, don't be sad. When the work here is finished, we will go to Lingao together. You go to visit your son, and I will also spend time with my son and talk about family happiness together." .”
Peng Shou'an felt his heart heat up, and suddenly found that the Australian chief had become approachable, and he couldn't help but said: "I just hope that these things will be completed soon, Lianyang and other places will be peaceful soon, and the people will be healthy."
After this incident, the attitude of Yigan Jiangren has changed to some extent - the whole family is in the hands of the Australians, and it is really hard to think about it and not contribute.
Peng Shouan returned to Yangshan, and Huang Chao gave him an instruction asking him to cooperate with Yangshan County Magistrate Wang Chuyi. Zhou Liangchen's hat of "Director of Yangshan County" was given to him, and Zhou Liangchen changed his hat to that of Director of Lianzhou County - not to mention he was quite happy, after all, "state" is so much higher than "county" Half level.
Peng Shouan traveled all night and returned to Yangshan County to officially take office. Wang Chuyi was gearing up and preparing to "suppress the bandits." However, he did not know the local situation and only did the basic work of arranging National Army soldiers to patrol along the road. In the past few days, the National Army has dispatched patrol teams composed of locally recruited Dingzhuang, Yao people, and the National Army every day to conduct security patrols along the old post roads and "Ji Dupu" roads in Yangshan County. First, it declared the existence of the new regime, encouraged the people, and calmed people's hearts; it also gave a group of wavering local wealthy gentry an opportunity to get closer to the organization - these people would be extremely powerful once they rebelled. But fortunately, they are basically "good people", and they are most concerned about the safety of their own homes. As long as they are not given the opportunity to be deceived, it is not easy to embark on the road of "rebellion"; the second is to initially understand the situation in the local villages.
During the patrol, they initially established the Baojia system in this area, eliminated the remaining bandits, and concentrated on arresting a group of rural "criminals". The security situation in the county was generally stabilized. Although the naturalized cadres agreed that this stability may only be a temporary situation, the situation was still much quieter than before the recovery of Yangshan County.
The next step is to eliminate "unsettling factors" in the county.
The Yao people, the biggest source of instability in Yangshan, have now ceased to exist. No matter the Yao people in Yonghua or elsewhere in the county, after hearing about the tragic defeat of Badai Yao and being "recruited" by the National Army - equivalent to being hostages - they now have no desire to fight. However, the bandits and "powerful" people in the county began to get ready to take action.
Yangshan, like all counties where Yao and Han live together, has a very weak sense of political existence. Not to mention the Yao villages, which are basically "self-contained", there are also Han villages, which are slightly more remote, and the county does not care about them. Not on. The disputes between the Yao and Han people for many years have long taught the people that "the government is unreliable." The county government had neither prestige nor force, so it was often looked down upon by local powerful men.
The Senate had just arrived, and the treatment was not much better than that of the Ming Dynasty. The illustrious martial arts of the Australians are just "legends" to the local emperors here. Except for the Yao people who really suffered at the hands of the Australians, all the heroes "disapprove" of it.
Although this mixed patrol was "very effective", it began to hit a wall when it came to the specific implementation of county administration work.
Wang Chu entered the city one by one. In addition to public security, his first priority was to collect "reasonable burdens." In addition to giving him a team and a squadron of national troops, the Senate provided him with very little material support. Whether it is to feed the National Army, provide relief to the people, or repair the dilapidated county town, money and food are urgently needed.
In addition to part of the money and food seized from the battlefield, most of it will naturally fall on the local people. "Reasonable burden" is a temporary tax before a formal tax system is established. Although it is very crude, it is easy to collect and can alleviate financial difficulties in the short term. Therefore, it is a necessary tax for the administrative officials of the "new area". Generally speaking, there is not much resistance to expropriation, as long as the local wealthy gentry is summoned to "give instructions". It can be roughly solved.
But in Yangshan, the "reasonable burden" collection model actually failed. Wang Chuyi sent people out to "give instructions" and apportion "reasonable burdens." As a result, except for some villages closer to the county seat and along the main transportation lines, which reluctantly agreed, more than half of the villages in the county shied away with excuses. There are various reasons, but it is simply that there was a Yao chaos in the previous stage, everyone suffered too much, and there was no money or food to pay. However, the Yao people in Yonghua and other places agreed to pay on time, but they strongly demanded that Wang Chuyi's county government: "Control the salt dealers."
When Wang Chuyi took office as a new official, he was unable to move without money and food. He was eager to solve this problem.
Peng Shou'an, the land lord, came back, and Wang Chuyi immediately came to ask for advice.
Peng Shou'an himself smiled bitterly after hearing the current situation he introduced. It was the same situation when he first arrived in Yangshan three years ago. Although there was no trouble caused by Ba Paiyao, the situation he faced was the same as the shaved head of County Magistrate Wang in front of him.
His method is no different from the traditional approach of Chinese bureaucrats for thousands of years, which is to "go around." Fortunately, the powerful only want to do whatever they want on their own "one-third of an acre of land" and do not dare to openly rebel. Both parties can always maintain a tacit understanding.
Now it is after the great chaos, and the Australians are new arrivals. It is inevitable for these powerful people to "bully students".
Peng Shou'an thought over and over again and said: "The student has two strategies, one civil and one military. I don't know which one the master wants to hear?"
Wang Chuyi secretly scolded this sour guy for really knowing how to take advantage of Joe. However, now his eyes darkened and he couldn't live without the former county magistrate. He said, "Let's talk about both of them and see which one is easier to use."
Peng Shou'an smiled and said: "These two strategies cannot be said to be good or bad. Each has its own pros and cons, so I asked the county magistrate to weigh it..."
"Okay, okay, tell me quickly." Wang Chuyi couldn't help but urge.
"The first is cultural policy. The local powerful families are unwilling to pay because they think the amount levied is too large. Speaking of which, it is indeed a bit difficult to ask them to pay money and food immediately after the chaos. I can invite some local gentry masters Serve as a lobbyist, talk privately with each village, and come up with a number - both parties can be satisfied, and it is convenient for both public and private matters."
This is actually the most traditional and appropriate approach. After all, the local tyrants are not plotting to rebel. No matter how much they despise the county magistrate, they dare not despise the court behind him. If everyone negotiates good terms, everything will be easy to talk about.
Speaking of benefits, although I have to collect less money and food, after all, the terms are negotiated peacefully, there is no need to use knives or guns, and the society remains stable. For a county with a complicated environment like Yangshan, it is a good choice. After all, forced expropriation requires the use of force, which is a very difficult thing for a purely migrant magistrate. Not to mention the risk of going into battle, if there is a "civilian uprising", the future will be ruined and it will be impossible. Even a good life cannot be saved.
Wang Chuyi naturally couldn't accept this strategy. As for Peng Shouan, he has already figured out the Australian governance ideas these days, and of course he understands that Wang Chuyi will never accept this "cultural policy".
Then the next step is naturally "Wu Ce".
"Wu Ce" means suppressing bandits.
"Suppressing bandits?" Wang Chuyi asked in surprise. He was obviously talking about reasonable burdens, so why did Mr. Peng get involved in suppressing bandits?
Suppressing bandits is the right thing to do - after all, the main purpose of his current rush to collect reasonable burdens is to expand the strength of the county's national army.
"I don't know what I know. The banditry in Yangshan has always been in collusion with the powerful. As long as I suppress the bandits, I don't have to worry about them not paying the money or food."
"Okay, Lao Peng, please tell me carefully." Wang Chuyi suddenly felt that the former county magistrate was of some use.
Peng Shou'an immediately said: "There are mainly two types of banditry in Yangshan: water and land. The one on the water is Feng Haijiao who is entrenched in Qinglianwei, and the one on land is Sun Dabiao who is entrenched in Dawangwei. Counting the original county government offices. Zhang Tianbo, these three people are called the Three Hegemons of Yangshan.
"These three tyrants are actually colluding with the powerful people in the county - Sun Dabiao himself is a big businessman. He opened seven or eight kinds of businesses such as salt stores, cloth stores, grain stores, etc. in Dalangwei. He is considered a wealthy businessman. Behind his back, What he did was a bandit's business. As for Feng Haijiao, although he was a veteran water bandit for many years, he was also from a local wealthy family. He only got into this business after he was defeated. As for Zhang Tianbo, it goes without saying that he He is the head of the fast class in this county, and can be regarded as the "chief of thieves" in the county. Anyone who is a good guy from all walks of life who messes around in this county must pay "incense" to him. These three people work together, compete with each other, and even worship each other. Got it right..."
Wang Chuyi thought that you knew so clearly, why didn't you punish these people in the first place? ! But he was a naturalized citizen after all. He had seen a lot of similar things under the Ming Dynasty. He knew that the county magistrate wanted to be an official in a peaceful manner, and the local powerful people could not be offended, not to mention that the emperor was so far away. place. He was patient and listened to him continue.
"...Although Zhang Tianbo is just a fast shift leader and not a clerk in a household, the county has to rely on him to collect grain. When some village warriors refuse to accept grain, they rope in Sun Dabiao and Feng Haijiao. Drag hundreds of bandits to surround the stronghold. The strongholds generally don't dare to disobey, and they have to pay some amount. So although Zhang Tianbo has a bad record, he can collect the grain and tax every year, so naturally he, Zhang Tianbo, also has to line his own pockets, but... …”
"Just what?" Huang Chao was a little impatient with Peng Shou'an's nagging tone.
"It's just that every year the autumn grain is not delivered on time, always one or two months behind schedule."
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 407
