National color raw owl

When Feng Polu arrived at Yunshan and learned the bad news, Chu Huan was in Tongzhou for a banquet.

After Chu Huan entered the city, he convened a conversation with the city officials. After that, most of the officials returned to their posts so that the administrative machinery of Tongzhou could continue to operate.

In fact, Xu Qing's departure did not have much impact on Tongzhou's government affairs. When Xu Qing was in power, he devoted himself to the mining industry and did not have much effect on Tongzhou's government affairs. In the past, all government affairs in Tongzhou were handled by various departments Cao dealt with it step by step.

After the death of Zhao Guangqing, the former magistrate of the state, Xu Congyang intervened in government affairs in Tongzhou for a period of time, made some major adjustments to the affairs of the various departments in Tongzhou, and formulated a series of regulations. When Xu Congyang and later Wei Tianqing were in Tongzhou, each The procedures for the affairs of the Si Cao are actually carried out in accordance with the regulations formulated by Xu Congyang. Although Xu Qing has relaxed government affairs after he took power, and the various Si Caos have also slackened, but the general regulations have not been neglected.

Now Chu Huan is sitting in Tongzhou, and he has said that he will temporarily retain the positions of officials. Afterwards, he will go through inspections and promote talents. No one dared to slack off, all the affairs in Tongzhou were in good order.

With the help of Yang Rusong, 500 defenders scattered in the city re-emerged and joined the team. Chu Huan kept his promise. The subsidy and the soldiers were all assigned to Xu Shao and reorganized.

Zhiruo had some hooligans in the city who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to rob, but they did not expect that the order in Tongzhou could be restored in such a short period of time. After Xu Shao led his troops into the city, rangers appeared from time to time in the streets and alleys, but He also arrested hundreds of gangsters who were trying to take advantage of the fire, put them all in prison, and handed them over to Xingcao for interrogation and disposal.

The gentry in the city were all trembling with fear, waiting for the doom to come. For a long time, once the city was destroyed, even if there would be no large-scale massacres, looting was indispensable, and it was often the rich and powerful gentry who suffered the disaster first, but After the Northwest Army entered the city, the military regulations were strict. Not only did they not harass the people, but they also quickly rectified the law and order in the chaotic Tongzhou City. Although they received the ban at the beginning, they didn't know if it was Chu Huan's pretentious gesture. After waiting for two or three days, not only did no Northwest officers and soldiers come to loot and harass them, but Northwest Rangers walked by the street from time to time, promising to The order was stable, which made the gentry in the city breathe a sigh of relief.

For the local wealthy gentry, they don't care who will rule the land, what they care about is who can guarantee their vested interests.

Naturally, they would not feel any regrets when Xu Qing was defeated. What they were worried about next was what kind of policies Chu Huan would implement in Tongzhou.

It is undeniable that Chu Huan's wanton implementation of the land equalization policy in the Northwest won the support of most of the people in the Northwest, but to a certain extent, it also hurt the interests of the local gentry.

Among the three northwestern roads, Xiguan bears the brunt of the full implementation of the land equalization order. Wei Wuji has also begun to implement the land equalization order in Tianshan. As far as Ruobeishan Road, although the land equalization order has not been implemented in a big way, anyone can guess that the two northwest roads have already implemented the land equalization order. With the implementation of the Land Equalization Order, it will only be a matter of time before Beishan Road follows.

Although the implementation of the land equalization order in the Northwest did harm the interests of the local gentry, due to the different environment and current situation, the resistance was not too great. For example, Xiguan was able to implement the land equalization order smoothly. One of the reasons was that in the west Under the attack of the Liang people, the gentry class in Xiguan suffered an almost devastating blow. Not only was their strength weak, it was difficult to fight against the government, but they also needed to cooperate with the government to get what they needed and restore their vitality.

However, the situation in Tongzhou is obviously different from that in the Northwest.

Although Tongzhou is a relatively poor state in Xishan Road, this does not mean that Tongzhou is poor from top to bottom. In fact, the gentry class in Tongzhou is not weak.

Tongzhou has not been able to prosper in the past. The main reason is that Tongzhou’s supporting industries are directly controlled by the imperial court. In Tongzhou, the most revenue-generating industry is naturally minerals. Minerals are not owned by the local government. Putting energy into the mining and smelting of mines means that in the past, instead of being able to draw financial revenue from the most favorable local resources, the local government would have to invest a lot of labor in an industry that could not increase local financial growth.

As a result, it will naturally cause serious pressure on local finance. To support the operation of local finance, it has to rely heavily on agricultural taxation.

Droughts often occur in Tongzhou, and the taxes to be paid to the court are extremely heavy. If the government wants to complete the task, it must rely heavily on the local gentry. The wealthy gentry in Tongzhou have huge land properties. To guarantee one's own interests, one can only place a heavy burden on the people's heads. As a result, the people in Tongzhou have a very difficult life, forming a very barren appearance in Tongzhou. After the burden was passed on to the common people, they still maintained a very strong strength.

The banditry in Tongzhou is naturally very rampant, but the Tongzhou gentry group is quite united in order to ensure their own interests. In the case of Tongzhou's weak military power, the Tongzhou gentry have their own strong Zhuangding guards. , enough to suppress many bandits.

Although the Zhuang Ding Nursing Regiment in Tongzhou can deal with the local banditry, it is naturally powerless to resist the Northwest Iron Cavalry with its huge combat effectiveness.

After a few days, seeing Chu Huan's gentle attitude and protecting his own property and personal safety, the gentry immediately thought about what to do next in Tongzhou. In the past, many decrees in Tongzhou had to be communicated with the local gentry before they were promulgated. In fact, many decrees are difficult to implement without the support of most gentry, and participation in local political affairs has become a matter of course for local gentry.

The Tongzhou gentry naturally wanted to find out about Tongzhou's next policies and guidelines, so the Tongzhou gentry jointly presented an invitation to Chu Huan, inviting Chu Huan to participate in the reception banquet held by the local gentry.

The banquet was held at the most prestigious Hong family in Tongzhou City. The Hong family was the richest man in Tongzhou. The courtyard was spacious and dozens of tables were set up for banquets. Not only the powerful gentry in Tongzhou came to the banquet, but also the prominent literati Su Lao in the city were also invited. And to.

When the lights first came on, the courtyard was full of excitement. Chu Huan just set up a table in the inner hall, and a dozen people gathered around a big round table. All the people present were famous gentry and elders in Tongzhou.

Now that Chu Huan has come to this day, he is naturally very clear in his heart that the hearts of the people are very important, but in order to digest a place, he must also blend in with the local gentry. Even if he cannot get along with the gentry, he must not easily become an enemy with the local gentry.

Without their support, it may not be difficult to do everything, but once the local gentry opposes, many things will be in great trouble.

On the wine table, there was a staggering of cups and cups, and everyone praised Qin Guo and Xu Qing for their cruelty. The people of Tongzhou were living in dire straits. If the soldiers came today and there was no crime in autumn, Tongzhou would be like rain after a long drought.

Chu Huan naturally responded to these scenes with a smile and didn't say much. After drinking for three rounds, Huang Lan, the Patriarch of the Huang family, got up and raised her hand to signal everyone to calm down. It’s really radiant, and everyone here is really lucky to be able to meet Chu Du...Now I have a few words, I want to say to you, what do you think?”

The door of the hall was open, and Huang Lan's voice was loud. When it spread, everyone fell silent immediately. The people in the courtyard all turned their door lights to the hall.

"Chu Du...!" Seeing that everyone was quiet, Huang Lan looked at Chu Huan with a respectful expression. Chu Huan had already raised his hand with a smile and said, "Master Huang, it's okay to say."

Huang Lan clasped her hands together, and said: "Chu Du, this is actually the case. This time your army came and drove away Xu Qing's gang of corrupt officials. I am grateful from all over Tongzhou. The old man and everyone After discussion, in order to thank Governor Chu and the brothers, they are willing to donate a batch of money and food, if Governor Chu agrees, we will send the donated money and food to your army camp within three days."

Chu Huan remained calm. In fact, this kind of thing was expected by him. As the saying goes, it is good to save money and eliminate disasters. After the Northwest Army took Tongzhou City, Qiu did not commit any crimes. The gentry in the city did not suffer any losses. Extremely rare thing.

Everyone is smart, and the gentry have self-knowledge. Under such circumstances, Chu Huan’s reticence does not mean that there is nothing needed. Although the Tongzhou official warehouse has been occupied by the Northwest Army, everyone knows that the Northwest is short of money and food. Tongzhou Guancang can't fundamentally solve the problem. It would be extremely unwise for the Tongzhou gentry under the eaves to pretend to be deaf and dumb at such a time.

Chu Huan knew that these people were smart, so he wouldn't wait until he spoke.

Sure enough, the Tongzhou gentry offered to donate money and food, which not only fundamentally benefited both parties, but also seemed cordial and harmonious in terms of face.

Chu Huan got up, clasped his hands together, and said with a smile: "Everyone, everyone knows that the Northwest Army entered the customs for the sake of the people of the world. Thanks to your love, they even donated supplies. The governor should not have accepted them, but... ..To tell the truth, everyone knows our situation, the governor will not do anything to save face, this time accepting your donation, he will naturally return it." Clearing his throat, he said loudly: "But today Come here, I have one more matter, I want to discuss it with you...!"

"Chu Du please tell...!"

Everyone said in succession.

"The governor is straightforward and doesn't beat around the bush. As you all know, the Northwest is now implementing land equalization...!" Chu Huan didn't finish speaking, when he heard a "wow", he saw that the courtyard was approaching the hall door. On one of the tables, a person suddenly yelled and spit out a big mouthful of filth, obviously caused by drinking too much alcohol, several people around him jumped away one after another, with expressions of disgust on their faces.

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