Baofeng was originally named Longxing County. During the Huizong period, it was renamed Baofeng by imperial decree due to the presence of Ruci official kilns and iron smelting yards. Ruzhou is a place rich in resources and products. The land between it and Jiaxian County is fertile due to the Ru River.
In the county government office, Wang Xiaolie sat in the middle, looking at the people sitting on both sides, silent in thought.
Among the kiln workers who came, more than 600 people volunteered to join the army, and the remaining more than 2,000 people were placed here. In addition to them, there were also family members of the army and other officials' families, all of whom were gathered in this area. This place actually became Wang Xiaolie's base.
After pondering for a long time, Wang Xiaolie said: "Our family members, along with the kiln workers, have all moved here. It can be said that the future safety of this area will directly affect the morale of the army. Our army must ensure the safety of this place."
Xie Li Nong Chashou: "Zhizhou, if there is no big city, how can we ensure the safety of the place? Even if our entire army is here, there is nothing we can do."
Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "How can the army be here? Our army has to fight in various places to pacify the area around Ruzhou. If the army is stationed here, wouldn't it become a country soldier? From now on, we will have to rely on ourselves to defend these places."
After hearing this, there was a lot of discussion below. Isn't it a joke to rely on the people to defend themselves?
Wang Xiaolie raised his hands to signal everyone to stop talking. Said: "Do you think that the people can't defend it by themselves?"
Seeing everyone nodding, Wang Xiaolie said: "That's not the case. As long as they are organized, the people's attack may be insufficient, but the land and the people can still be secured. The most important thing is to get them to organize themselves. Today, we will call the villagers from each village. They all went to Baofeng County Yamen to talk about this matter."
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie was silent for a while. He added: "In the coming days, we will set up a school in Baofeng County, and let Muramasa and other relevant personnel come to classes and learn how to organize. To be honest, we organized so many people and learned so much in such a short time. When it comes to knowledge, some people will learn it quickly, some people will learn it slowly, and some people will even learn it not at all. This is normal, and people cannot be exactly the same—"
After hearing this, someone asked: "What should I do if the official of Zhizhou cannot learn?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "I've said before that I'm not a harsh person. It's normal for some people not to learn, and it won't do anything. Just change someone else to learn. What I'm afraid of is that some people can't think of it after being replaced. , causing trouble. So I made it clear in advance so that you are prepared."
Seeing that everyone was silent, Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Actually, I don't need to worry about these things. What I worry about is that the things I arranged must be done. If it is done, everything will be easy. If it is not done, someone will have to take responsibility. It’s just that—it’s just that I worry too much.”
Everyone was silent, no one spoke. Having been with Wang Xiaolie for several months, everyone knows his style of doing things. Being kind now does not mean being soft-hearted when dealing with people later. There must be goals for doing things, rewards for overachievement and penalties for underachievement. There are few exceptions.
Looking at everyone's expressions, Wang Xiaolie smiled. Said: "This is my problem. I always like to say ugly things first, which will inevitably make people unhappy. Today is the oath of everyone, so we should rejoice and work hard. When I say this, everyone feels depressed ”
Zhang Jun on the side said: "Zhizhou is too worried. We all follow Zhizhou and we should do our best to do things. How dare we think of anything else!"
Wang Xiaolie looked at Zhang Jun and nodded lightly. Since following him, Zhang Jun has mastered everything he learns in the army, and no one else can compare with him. His academic performance is so impressive, and his mentality is naturally different from others.
After being silent for a while, Wang Xiaolie said: "Now let's talk about how to arrange the next step and how to organize it in general. Now each village has a village of fifty households, and each village has its own village leader. Next, within a month, every village will be organized. Every village leader must choose a deputy village leader, an archer, and an accountant from the villagers——"
Someone asked below: "Zhizhou officials, what is an accountant?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "He is the one who keeps accounts for the village. Since every village has public land, public grain, and official affairs, it is natural that the accounts must be remembered clearly. This accountant is the one who keeps accounts for the village. In the past, every person in the court It will be recorded for several years, hence the name.”
Wang Xiaolie didn't know where the accountant came from. He just had such a position in the village in his previous life, so he copied it. After much deliberation, there are several positions that are indispensable in the village. A village leader is the village chief in his previous life. There is also an archer who is actually the militia company commander in his previous life. Another thing is to remember. Without an accountant, the accounts would be unclear and village affairs would be easily controlled by the village leader.
This set of reforms is actually to transfer the village system from the previous life and make appropriate changes. The most important thing is to use public land to private land, abolishing the landlords that were common in the countryside in the past, and setting up officials to directly manage the government.
In this era, people are no stranger to this. Wang Anshi carried out the reform and implemented the Baojia system, and the management was much stricter than this. It’s just that in the past, the countryside was divided into five classes of households, and most of the burden legally fell on the upper class households, and the crops from the upper class households were transferred to the lower class households. Now that villages are divided, the fifth class of households has actually been eliminated, and the government has simply shouldered the burden of officials directly.
Thirty percent is used as tax, and each person earns 50 jobs per year. The burden on the countryside is actually not light. But it's much lighter than before. The most critical one is the abolition of the fifth-class households, turning the previous exploitation of lower-class households by upper-class households into taxes. There were fewer landowners in the countryside, but the government received much more money and food. This extra money and food is Wang Xiaolie's capital for reform.
Without the Jin army's southern invasion, it would not be easy to carry out such reforms. No matter how small a business is, it cannot be given up for a while. To build a new village, you have to abandon your previous family property, which will inevitably face opposition. It's different now. The most important thing for everyone is to survive. As long as we survive, we should carry out any kind of reforms.
In carrying out such reforms, the economic and political roles are secondary, and the most important is the organizational role. From top to bottom, organize all the people under the rule. As long as they are organized, they can protect themselves from the Jin soldiers' attack. Only by protecting yourself can you support the army in the battle.
What consequences will such reforms bring? Wang Xiaolie didn't know either. That is a future matter. The most important thing now is to make full use of human resources and strengthen our own strength. Anyone who stands in the way of this will be swept away.
There are landowners in the countryside. How should we treat them? Just let it be. The newly built villages recruit military families and homeless people. At this time, there was a lot of land in the world, and there was no need to compete with landlords for land. Their ability to compete with these government villages is their ability. If you can't compete, there is still another way, which is to bring money to the county or state city and engage in industry and commerce.
After Wang Xiaolie finished explaining his thoughts, everyone remained silent. It’s not that I don’t have an opinion, it’s just that I can’t understand it for the moment.
After everyone discussed for a while, Wang Xiaolie said again: "Nowadays, there are fifty households in a village, and the county cannot control it. Townships must be established under the county. The previous system is no longer used. Now there are ten villages and one township, and the township is divided into lizheng. .Besides Li Zheng, there is an inspection and an accountant. Li Zheng is appointed by the county government and cannot appoint local people. The village where Li Zheng is located must build fortress walls and set up granaries. When the enemy invades, all the people in the township Everyone has to hide here.”
After hearing this, Yang Shen on the side said anxiously: "Zhizhou, if this is the case, this township has become a village, which is inconsistent with the imperial system."
Wang Xiaolie said: "At this time, the officials don't know where to start, so why should we be bound by the system. In autumn, the Jin army may come south. Without the stronghold wall, how can the people deal with the Jin army? With the stronghold, The wall can be defended for a few days by patrolling with strong men. In a few days, our army will be able to arrive. If the Jin people came south and couldn't grab anything, why did they come here? "
After hearing this, several people on the side fell into deep thought.
Wang Xiaolie said it right. If you can't grab something, what will the Jin people do? At this time, the biggest appetite of the Jin people was just to occupy the land north of the Yellow River in the Song Dynasty. The areas south of the Yellow River are here to rob.
Yang Shen said: "If that's the case, will the corvées in the countryside this winter be building fortress walls?"
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "For the rest of this year, there are three things to do. The first is to build a home for each family, so that it can withstand the severe cold of winter, and don't freeze to death. The second thing is Build a village wall to ensure your own safety. Another thing is that each village organizes its own organization to reclaim wasteland. Once the land is cleared, don't miss the next spring plowing. If we do these three things, we will be much easier next year."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Wang Xiaolie added: "It is precisely because we have to arrange these people first that our army has been stationary these days. In the past few days, we have arranged the officials in the townships and villages. When each village starts working, we will prepare to pacify them." It’s the state border.”
Shao Ling said: "I sent people to Niu Gao and Wang Jun a few days ago, but there has been no reply. I don't know what they think."
Wang Xiaolie said: "No matter what they think, if they don't want to accept the order, then let's attack with a large army. Wang Jun is in Shenggai Mountain, which is still far away. Let's march to Lushan County first. I heard people say that Niu Gao is a wise man. Those who advance and retreat will not fight to the end."
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie shook his head. In his own memory, Niu Gao should be a righteous man who fought against the Jin Dynasty, and should not go against himself, the magistrate appointed by the imperial court. It's been so many days and there has been no reply. I really don't know what he thinks. If he were to fight against himself, he would have no choice but to send in a large army to suppress him. At that time, Wang Xiaolie would be a little undecided on how to deal with Niugao.
