Yecheng in Jizhou has not been so lively for a long time, and powerful motorcades from major aristocratic families began to arrive one after another.
And the people who came were not ordinary people, they were all heads of aristocratic families. Even some heads of families who had previously said they were sick and did not come to see Yuan Shang also showed up with licking their faces.
This scene made Yuan Shang himself dumbfounded. He remembered that when Yuan Shao was alive, there had never been so many powerful heads of aristocratic families in Yecheng.
As for Yuan Shao's death, Yuan Shang was in Pangji, Shen Pei, and made a false will to become the lord of the North Kingdom, let alone. These aristocratic families can also buy some face, but it is rare to see the head of the family come forward.
Lu Bu was so happy. He didn't expect that his son-in-law was so clever and could summon all the heads of these aristocratic families. Even the Lu family from Fanyang in Youzhou arrived.
Aren’t you looking down on my status as a refugee from Bingzhou? Aren’t you saying that I’m holding Yuan Shangling’s Beiguo hostage? Why are you here now?
It seemed that it was at this moment that he truly felt like the Lord of the North.
"Cui Yan from the Cui family in Qinghe, Li Zan from the Li family in Zhaojun, and even Lu Yu from the Lu family in Fan Yang are all here. Hahaha, Yunwen, what a good idea. I haven't been so happy for a long time."
Lu Bu smiled from ear to ear when he looked at the registration list of personnel from each government sent by the city gate order.
"Sinong of the General's Office controls the dumping of chemical fertilizers in the entire northern country. I really don't worry about them not biting this piece of fat." Lin Mo glanced at the names on the list and curled his lips with disdain.
Starting two months ago, Lin Mo began to let Zuo Rong let the news out. Because the number of dings and acres sent by each county was too small, the fertilizer supply in the North only provided 200,000 shi.
However, considering that all major aristocratic families have unregistered serfs and acres of land, 200,000 yuan may not be enough, so Lin Mo wants to select a family head from among the northern aristocratic families to be the agricultural director of the General's Mansion, and he will be in charge of fertilizer dumping.
The power here includes the amount of fertilizers applied to Xuzhou, pricing, and even the amount of fertilizers that each major family can receive each season, which are all decided by the General's Office.
It sounds like a money-making job, but the truly discerning aristocratic families have sensed the huge impact this has on the aristocratic family.
You must know that the efficacy of the chemical fertilizer developed by Lin Mo has been widely spread in Xuzhou since it was widely used. In this era, the yield of farmland was decreasing year by year. This was of course due to problems with fertilization.
Using the chemical fertilizer developed by Lin Mo, the annual output can be almost the same. For ordinary people's families, it can still make their families have a surplus of food. But for the northern aristocratic families who have used the Quyuan plow to annex land to the extreme, this That's a staggering difference.
Because these aristocratic families control a large amount of land, the use of chemical fertilizers can greatly increase their harvests. In fact, they have already tasted the benefits of this. Last year, Xuzhou's chemical fertilizers began to be sold to the North. Lin Mo also benefited from this.
Once the position of Si Nong in the General's Mansion is controlled, it will be equivalent to curbing the lifeline of the entire northern country's grain production. He said that your family can only get as much fertilizer as you can allocate this year.
You may not be able to see an exaggerated difference in one or two years, but after three or five years, it is very likely that there will be a huge disparity between the two families who were originally about the same strength.
The reason why the aristocratic family is strong is nothing more than two points, one is cultural monopoly, and the other is its own strength.
This strength includes family money, serfs, soldiers, and food. Among these, food is the most precious.
Naturally, these family heads began to run out one after another. After all, everyone knew that with this position in their hands, it was likely that the family would skyrocket.
For this reason, even the aloof Cui Yan, Li Zan and Lu Yu had to go to the end personally. Whoever gets this piece of fat in their mouths will surely control the other's ups and downs in the next few years.
Even, as long as it is used properly, some small aristocratic families may be annexed, and the land will be taken over by larger aristocratic families.
"Using the control of fertilizers to attract major families is really a clever move."
After putting down the list, he exhaled and looked at Lin Mo, frowning and saying: "The only thing that makes me uneasy is that if the Northern Family is united, they will privately assume that a Si Nong will come out, and then this person will be distributed fairly, then Ruyi The abacus won’t work anymore.”
"Privately, it is possible to assume that it is a Si Nong, but don't worry, my father-in-law, no matter who sits in this position, it will be difficult to hold on."
The old father-in-law's worry is actually that he doesn't understand the darkness of human nature deeply enough.
On weekdays, they can unite as one, which is driven by their interests. Once there is a conflict of interest between them, any alliance will be loosened.
The right to dump chemical fertilizers, held in the hands of aristocratic families, is equivalent to a sharp sword that can kill their opponents. Lin Mo does not believe that they can bear to hold the sword in their hands without using it.
"not to mention"
Lin Mo paused and smiled: "Even if they have agreed in advance, I still have a way to divide them. My father-in-law will know it during the dinner."
"You can always come up with something new for me." After saying that, the corners of his mouth raised.
There are more than one hundred and thirty heads of each family gathered together. This means that in addition to Bingzhou, there are more than one hundred and thirty powerful families of all sizes in the three states.
It doesn't sound like too much, but if you really think about it, these are just the family heads, their family children, disciples and former officials, it is a shocking number. If you also count the serfs and soldiers kept in captivity in their mansion, , simply outrageous.
Yuan Shao's 700,000-strong army was supported by more than 130 powerful families.
The Yuan Mansion is very large, but the banquet hall cannot accommodate so many people.
However, when the Autumn Harvest Festival was held in previous years, it was not held in the banquet hall, but in a huge open space behind the main courtyard.
The empty terrace is paved with neat blue bricks, and a running water channel runs around it. At the entrance, there is a white marble statue of a tiger with a gluttonous pattern, which is full of power.
There are table tables placed inside, with six columns on the left, six columns on the right, and three main tables in the middle.
After nightfall, all the masters of the houses were led by their maids to sit down at the designated positions. Although he was a puppet, Yuan Shang, who still held the title of Lord of the North, naturally sat on the main seat in the middle.
Lu Bu sat on the left side, and Lin Mo sat on the right side, shaped like guardians on the left and right.
The Autumn Harvest Festival in the North is a more lively feast than the Chinese New Year. Except for the three people on the main seat who have five tripods and six guis in front of them, everyone else has three tripods and five guis in front of them.
Of course this is not Lin Mo being stingy. In the Han Dynasty, an era of great etiquette, people were also particular about eating. Five tripods and six guis were the standard for marquis dining. Among those present, Lu Bu was the Marquis of Wen, Lin Mo was the Marquis of Lanling, and Yuan Shang was the Marquis of Ye. Marquis, the heads of other major aristocratic families do not have marquises, so it will certainly not be wrong to supply them according to the standards of scholar-bureaucrats.
After everything was prepared, Yuan Shang, with dull eyes, began to read feebly about the grand events of this year, how the harvests in each county were, and how much taxes were paid. In summary, he could only describe the word "goodness".
This is probably like some pale opening remarks in meetings in later generations. Everyone shook their heads and smiled happily, but in fact they were smiling with smiles on their faces and MMP in their hearts. Who has time to listen to your BB? We want to hear who Sinong of the General's Mansion gave it to.
Lin Mo himself also yawned repeatedly and dozed off with his chin on his head.
After talking for almost half an hour, we finally came to Lin Mo's favorite show, the singer's dance session.
Each and every one of them is wearing thin and exquisite figures, looming, dancing to the sound of silk and bamboo. Although it is not as dynamic as the Douyin dance of later generations, the dancers of this era also understand men and know what everyone wants to see.
Holding one is so addictive that the person watching is in high spirits. No wonder the old father-in-law likes to watch the little girl dance, tsk tsk, it’s really good.
However, these aristocratic family heads, of course, sneered at this, feeling that the two men, Weng and his son-in-law, were from refugee backgrounds and could not reach the upper echelons of society.
An hour and a half later, the exciting dozen or so dances came to an end. The heads of the aristocratic families finally puffed up their chests and made it to the finale of the night, choosing the general's office.
In this era, there are usually routines for public selection for a certain position, that is, literati compete for talent and generals compete for martial arts.
Therefore, each of them is flexing their fingers and preparing to write quickly.
However, Lin Mo obviously wanted to give everyone some new tricks as Lao Yue said.
"Everyone, the position of agricultural clerk in the General's Office is related to the interests of the entire Northern Kingdom. Only a person with high moral integrity and selflessness can be qualified for the position."
When Lin Mo stood up and shouted, two rows of maids held a piece of silk cloth and placed it in front of the heads of the aristocratic families, "So, I think we should give up the old way of literati competing for wealth, and instead let everyone vote in a referendum. Please vote Write down the name of the person you have in mind, then close it and put it away.”
The heads of the family looked at each other, what kind of fuss was going on?
Of course they don't know the secret ballot election method of later generations. Whether it's fair or not depends entirely on people's hearts.
Many family heads did not agree with this method. Lu Bu shouted proudly: "If you don't want to write, you can leave it blank and it will be treated as a waiver."
Now, their son-in-law has the right to be arrogant.
The heads of the family were troubled, and they prepared a lot of poems and songs that could not be used, but in the end they still wrote down a name honestly.
Compiling the list takes time, and the waiting process is boring and unbearable. Many family heads can only drink in depression.
After all, the name that will be announced later is the person who can determine the family's future destiny.
Zuo Rong walked towards Lin Mo with a piece of silk cloth, only to react when he met his angry look, and hurriedly walked towards Yuan Shang.
Of course, Yuan Shang did not announce the results after reading it. He was not qualified. He just waved weakly at Lin Mo and said, "Marquis Lanling, please announce the name of Si Nong of the General's Mansion for me."
All the family heads craned their necks to look at Lin Mo. Some swallowed, some held their breath, nervous expressions appeared on their faces.
Lin Mo looked at the list on the silk cloth and couldn't help but want to laugh. With just such a move, their true colors were revealed.
The three people who received the highest votes were Cui Yan, Li Zan and Lu Yu. This should also be the number of supporters behind the three of them.
Of course, there is still a fourth person, Xin Ping, who should be voted by the Henan Gang. Unfortunately, although they are in high positions now, the votes of the Henan Gang are pitifully small, because the heads of the aristocratic families of the Henan faction are in the north. That’s too much.
Therefore, the position of Sinong in the General's Mansion can only be held by Cui Yan, Li Zan and Lu Yu.
Judging from the number of votes, Cui Yan was first, Lu Yu was second, and Li Zan was third.
This actually represents the strength of the three companies.
If you want to divide them, it is best to let Lu Yu take this position, but considering that he is from Youzhou, and now Yuan Xi still occupies Youzhou, he can only settle for the next best thing and let Li Zan take the post.
"The position of agricultural clerk in the General's Mansion will be taken by Li Zan from the Li family in Zhao County!"
As Lin Mo shouted out the final answer, some people cheered forgetfully, but more people looked disappointed. Not only the Henan faction, but also people from the Hebei family looked at Li Zan unhappily.
Li Zan stood up and bowed to Yuan Shang first, "Thank you, General, for your trust. I will fulfill my duties from now on and will not neglect my duty."
Then, he handed over to the heads of each family, "You can rest assured that from now on, I will enforce the law impartially and make reasonable allocations based on the actual situation of each family."
Cui Yan's eyes twitched and he glanced at Li Zan; Lu Yu was the youngest and had the weakest qi-raising skills, and the dissatisfaction in his eyes was not hidden at all.
All this was seen by Lu Lin and Weng's son-in-law, and he was happy in his heart.
The fertilizer business is, of course, extremely profitable. If Li Zan is elected directly to take over, the treasury's income will indeed be greatly affected.
However, judging from their behavior in front of them, it can be predicted that the internal fighting among the northern families will become more and more serious in the future.
Group together? nonexistent.
In fact, in Lin Mo's opinion, as long as they don't vent their anger through the same nostril, they can be easily dealt with.
Man, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
Lu Bu crossed his arms and looked at the expressions of the family heads, wanting to laugh.
You idiots are nothing but playthings in the hands of my son-in-law.
Soon, the general took a pen and brought a tray to Li Zan. On it was the seal and green ribbon of Sinong of the general's mansion. Li Zan looked at the silver seal and green ribbon in a daze.
The other family heads are almost bleeding out.
Yuan Shang stood up and handed all the silver seals and green ribbons to Li Zan in person. This was a simple procedure. There were still procedures such as making a list and warehousing them, but those were obviously not the focus.
After Yuan Shang sat back, some family heads began to toast Li Zan, and it seemed that he had a sense of being welcomed by everyone.
Many people were awake. Fortunately, Lin Mo did not count them in person. Otherwise, if Li Zan's name was not written just now, how could he need fertilizer in the future?
Cui Yan did not toast him, but looked at Lu Bu and Lin Mo from the corner of his eyes.
If the emperor's blood edict put great pressure on Cui Yan, then Li Zan's victory over Si Nong of the General's Mansion solidified his idea.
When the time comes, the Northern Kingdom will change its owner, and you, Li Zan, and Lu Lin will approach each other. My Cui family has made great contributions to the government, so we want to see how Cao Cao employs people.
Thinking about it, it's not bad. I didn't become a farmer in the General's Mansion. If I propose a marriage, it won't attract anyone's attention.
Cui Yan felt that maybe God was also helping him.
Don't scold me, these chapters are either foreshadowing or confrontation with aristocratic families, there is no way to skip them.
Also, it will be updated tomorrow night.
(End of chapter)
