The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 125 On How to Be an Excellent Bandit Leader

At dinner, while Zhu Xiu was making rice with millet rice in pork bone soup, he secretly glanced at the feeble Shi Kuangwei.

After more than a month of nursing care, his injuries have improved greatly, his energy and blood have gradually recovered, and his skin color is as dark as ever, with a hint of rosiness.

There is a layer of short, dense silver hair on the scalp, and the wrinkles on the black face are more than the valleys of Yangjinchuan.

Logically speaking, Shi Kuangwei's health is in good condition. Even if he is not as strong as a dragon or a tiger after being nursed back to health, he should not look like a sick cat with a depressed look on his face.

"Old Shi, are you okay?" Zhu Xiu asked with concern.

Shi Kuangwei glanced at him sideways, and said feebly "Hmm", picked up a pickled radish stick that he usually liked to eat, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

Zhu Xiu put down his bowls and chopsticks and said seriously: "You don't have to worry about Xue Xiuming and Xue Xiuliang. Wei Hu and Guan Tieshi will lead their men to pursue them separately. News should be sent back soon."

Shi Kuangwei said "hmm" and said angrily: "Eat your food and leave me alone, I'm upset."

Zhu Xiu pointed to the small half bowl of untouched millet rice in front of him, "Fanguifan, if you can't eat it, give it to me. Don't waste it."

"Get out of here~" Shi Kuangwei glared angrily and scolded.

Zhu Xiu chuckled and took the bowl, poured some pork bone soup over it, sprinkled with chopped green onion, and ate it with pickles and pickled radish strips.

"You're such a young man, I'm living in poverty." Shi Kuangwei put down his chopsticks and complained angrily. Recently, Zhu Xiu's appetite has increased significantly, and he has become the third biggest rice cook in Jiedu Mansion after Shi Xiangwen and Ma Qing.

Shi Kuangwei stared at him, his dark face solemn, as if he had a thousand words to say.

When the words came to his lips, there was only a deep warning left: "Yan'er was injured trying to save you. You must never let her down in the future."

Zhu Xiu was immersed in eating rice, not noticing his solemn expression, and not thinking deeply about his words. He said casually: "This is natural, don't worry. Da Lang and Yan'er are brothers and sisters with me, and I will take good care of them." "

Shi Kuangwei nodded, his dark face showing a bit of relief: "This is still like a human saying."

Zhu Xiu said vaguely: "By the way, Song Shen and Pei Jin have already checked out the properties of the Xue family. In Anding County, besides the Xue family's mansion, there are two other houses, each in Quail County, Liangyuan County, and Yinpan County. There are many houses and estates.

The Xue family has more than [-] hectares of farmland outside Anding County, more than half of which are prime paddy fields along the river.The other counties combined have occupied more than [-] hectares of farmland, with dry fields and paddy fields occupying about half each.

There are nearly [-] tenant households with more than [-] people in the Xue family's concealment.

I have already asked Pei Jin to organize manpower to re-register these hidden households and include them in the household registration of self-cultivating farmers.

For the rest of the Xue family's business and merchandise, I plan to have the Jiedu Mansion fund half of it, and then find a few well-off merchants to cooperate, take over all of it, and run it together, and the profits will be distributed as usual."

Shi Kuangwei shook his head and sighed: "In Jingzhou alone, the Xue family has occupied more than 100 hectares of fields. Behind these fields, how many people have lost their families and their families because of the persecution of the Xue family."

Zhu Xiu put down his bowl and chopsticks for the second time, burped, wiped his mouth and said: "So, it is absolutely not advisable not to establish a land system, not to suppress annexation, and to allow the free sale of land. Land can be privately owned, but it cannot be bought and sold without restrictions. , must be led and supervised by the government.

I plan to take advantage of the opportunity of confiscating the Xue family, starting from Jingzhou, to re-measure the land, absorb the refugees, establish household registration, and divide the fields.The original ownership of the land remained unchanged, and the fields confiscated from the Xue family were taken out and given priority to those with military merit.

The newly reclaimed land was distributed to refugees and landless people in the state.

Newly registered households can enjoy preferential policies of two years of tax exemption and five years of low tax.At the same time, based on the existing summer tax and autumn grain levy, it will be reduced by another [-] to [-]% to reduce the burden on the people of Changyi. "

"Are you going to get a tax cut?"

When Shi Kuangwei heard this, he hesitated and said: "In the two prefectures of Jingyuan, the land tax is four cents and four cents for one acre of land, five liters for summer grain, eight liters for autumn grain, three cents for one acre of lower land, and three liters and five cents for summer grain. Autumn grain is seven liters and four combined. To be honest, compared with several surrounding vassal towns, Changyi Army’s tax rate is the lowest.”

Zhu Xiu smiled bitterly and said: "Compared with Fengxiang Army and Jingnan Army, Zhangyi Army's tax rate is indeed not high. But the problem is that Zhangyi Army does not have as much cultivated land as the two families, and the proportion of paddy fields is small. The output of one acre of farmland is only equivalent to People have one acre of middle land.

The population of the two Jingyuan prefectures is too small and the burden of raising the army is heavy. In the next one to two years, a large number of civilian men will be recruited, so the burden on the people must be lightened. "

Shi Kuangwei asked doubtfully: "Why do you want to recruit civilian husbands?"

Zhu Xiu stretched out two fingers: "Build water conservancy projects and reclaim wasteland."

Shi Kuangwei shook his head: "The population of Jingzhou is only so small, and the people have to work in the fields all year round. Now that the salt factory is built, it will also take up part of the manpower. If we want to allocate labor, I'm afraid it will delay the farming work."

Zhu Xiu chuckled and said: "Jingzhou has a small population, so we can get some from other states. Next door to Pizhou, there is less land and more people, and the service is heavy. A large number of people fled to Chang'an. Instead of going to Chang'an, it is better to come to Jingzhou." .”

Shi Kuangwei sneered: "Why do people come to Jingzhou?"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "This depends on our publicity campaign. The price of salt in Pizhou remains falsely high, and private salt is banned repeatedly. The policy of benefiting the people by eating free salt for one year is enough to attract people.

As long as the refugees are willing to settle in Jingzhou, allocate fields, build houses, and distribute farm tools, they will also enjoy the preferential policy of tax exemption for two years and low tax for five years.Five years later, the land registration was transferred to Yongye Tian in the name of the household head, and it could be bought and sold. "

"You kid want to blatantly steal people from Wang Shou'en, the commander of the Jingnan Army?" Shi Kuangwei's face was full of surprise.

Zhu Xiu sneered: "We dare to deceive even Li Shouzhen, why are we afraid of Wang Shou'en? The one who helped Xu Xingsi transport salt to Jingzhou and gave it to the Xue family to sell at a high price, wasn't he Wang Shou'en! Over the years, how many people in Jingyuan Prefecture have Grain flows into Binzhou at a low price, and Wang Shouen has taken advantage of it for so many years, he should be told to spit it out!"

Shi Kuangwei's eyes widened and he suddenly burst into laughter: "Okay! I've tolerated Wang Shou'en, a bastard, for many years! Damn it, the population of Pizhou is three or four times that of Jingzhou. If half of it can be transferred to Jingzhou , I’m not very prosperous!”

Lao Shi was so excited that he coughed violently due to his injuries.

These days, population is the primary productive force. Attracting, retaining, and managing population are the keys to prosperity.

If you want to retain the population, relying on a household registration and land deed will not work, but let the people see the real benefits.

Zhu Xiu stroked Lao Shi's back and said with a smile: "I have preliminary ideas on these issues. I will report to you after I have a meeting with Song Shen and Pei Jin to discuss and make a decision."

Skuangwei shook his head, as if throwing his hands away from the shopkeeper, and said lazily: "No need, all the soldiers' seals are in your hands. Whatever you want to do, as long as you make up your mind, you can do it. I'll wait to see the result, and I don't care about the process." La! I am old and injured, ahem ~ I need to rest ~"

Zhu Xiu rolled his eyes. Could it be that this black guy really wanted to throw all the burden on him?

"By the way, for the excellent paddy fields discovered by the Xue family, you can allocate [-] acres to your own name, and recruit two tenant farmers to take care of them for you." Shi Kuangwei ordered casually as he thought of something.

Zhu Xiu was startled, then laughed and said: "I have room and board in the house, what do I want from the land? I don't want it!"

Shi Kuangwei glared and cursed: "Are you stupid? You wanted to give the Xue family's land to the Yajun, but you, the commander-in-chief, didn't want it. Who dared to ask for it? You took it first, and then they took it. Only when I feel at ease will I be grateful to you, miss your kindness, and work hard for you! Idiot~"

Zhu Xiu scratched his head, looking confused. He really hadn't thought about this problem.

Shi Kuangwei folded his sleeves, leaned on the bed, and said lazily: "I know you kid, you want to come up with a fair, reasonable, just and complete system, and use rules and regulations to restrain the army, officials, people, merchants and other messy things. thing.

But have you ever thought about it, the world has been in chaos for a long time, the country's rules, regulations, laws and ethics have collapsed to pieces, and even the imperial court has a lot of bad policies that are difficult to get rid of. How can the small Changyi Army tolerate the Taipei? How disciplined?The best and most practical rule is profit!Whoever can benefit from you will follow you steadily. "Zhu Xiu nodded and remained silent.

It's not that he doesn't understand the reason, it's just that he wants to bring the Changyi Army from extensive development into an era of refined development governed by systems as soon as possible.

Therefore, starting to formulate rules from the source of benefit distribution is the best opportunity.

Shi Kuangwei said leisurely: "You treat Zhangyi Army as a bandit den, and you are the new bandit leader. The first thing to do now is not to set rules for bandits, big and small, but to give them benefits and let them recognize them." you!

Later, when your position is stable and your prestige is established, you can set the rules and transform this bandit den according to your vision. Do you understand? "

Zhu Xiu pouted. Although Lao Shi's words were a little rough, they were still to the point.

Shi Kuangwei sighed: "The plate of the Zhangyi Army is still too small. If you want to become bigger and stronger, the first key is to introduce people. But there are more people, and more food. Have you ever thought about how to solve the food problem?"

Zhu Xiudao: "There are two main methods this year. One is to gather the retreating Yawai soldiers and start reclamation near Zheleng City. The second is to find Fengxiang Army or Jingnan Army and exchange salt for food. On the Jingnan Army's side, once If our policy of attracting refugees to settle down works, Wang Shouen will definitely turn his back, so if you want to get food from him, you must act quickly."

Shi Kuangwei rubbed the stubble on his chin, thought for a while and said, "I'll write a letter later, and you can send someone to Pizhou to try to get tens of thousands of grains of grain back from Wang Shou'en."

Zhu Xiu unconsciously rubbed his chin: "In addition, the [-] kilograms of salt shipped to Pizhou to be sold to private salt dealers has been loaded. Bi Zhenhai will set off early tomorrow morning. Wang Shouen exchanged grain for salt, and we sold the salt to Pizhou The private salt dealers in the state sell salt at a low price, and the people will definitely only buy private salt, so who will Wang Shouen sell the high-priced salt to?"

Zhu Xiu and Shi Kuangwei looked at each other and laughed evilly.

Wang Shouen happily exchanged the salt. He wanted to sell it at a high price and make a lot of money. He never thought that the private salt dealers in Pizhou were also big customers of Changyi Army. The salt they sold was produced by Yangjinchuan Salt Factory. Wang Shouen will definitely not make a penny.

Unless he is willing to reduce the price of official salt to the same price as private salt.

This operation is a bit like the way the Americans sold arms during World War II and made money at both ends.

Anyway, it was Wang Shouen who lost in the end.

"You can only take advantage of this once, so act quickly!" Shi Kuangwei warned solemnly.

"I know." Zhu Xiu rubbed his hands.

The aunt who helped in the house came into the house and cleared away the dishes. Zhu Xiu made a pot of tea and each filled a cup.

The two guys were holding tea cups and drinking. The candlelight in the room was swaying in the night wind.

Shi Kuangwei tucked his cloak tightly, glanced outside the room, and said softly: "Li Shouzhen is really going to rebel?"

Zhu Xiudao: "Before, there was an evil star flashing in the northwest of Ziwei Star, a celestial warning. I was not sure at first, but when Bi Zhenhai came back from Chang'an and talked about it, I concluded that Li Shouzhen was ready to take action!"

"What's the matter?" Shi Kuangwei asked hurriedly.

"Bi Zhenhai saw Li Shouzhen with his own eyes at the Grand Master's Mansion in Chang'an! Li Shouzhen secretly sneaked into Chang'an without even his daughter-in-law Mrs. Fu knowing about it. Also, Wang Jingchong, the inspection envoy of the Fengxiang Army, suddenly led his troops to Sanguan and urgently reported that Shu The military knocked on the pass, and this matter also revealed something fishy!"

Shi Kuangwei frowned and said: "It is indeed suspicious that Li Shouzhen secretly appeared in Chang'an. However, there is nothing wrong with Wang Jingchong's troops leaving Chencang if it is to defend against the Shu army."

Zhu Xiu smiled: "If that's the case, it's my blessing to show up the righteous army, and secretly let the Shu army help out."

Old Shi didn't know that Wang Jingchong was one of the generals who followed Li Shouzhen in rebellion.

This time the Shu army knocked on the pass, nine times out of ten it was a smoke bomb released by Li Shouzhen, just to force Jiao Jixun to withdraw his troops and break the siege of Zhangyi.

Counting the time, it’s almost time for Li Shouzhen to raise a flag of rebellion.

Shi Kuangwei said worriedly: "Li Shouzhen's gang members are all over Guanzhong and Hedong. If he rebels, he will definitely be powerful. The Hezhong army occupied Tongguan and defended Guanzhong. It will be difficult for the court to suppress the rebellion."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "It can take as little as half a year, or as long as one and a half years. Li Shouzhen will definitely lose! This old boy is born with poor fortune and has no destiny to achieve hegemony."

Shi Kuangwei's eyes were strange and he didn't understand why Zhu Xiu was not optimistic about Li Shouzhen.

According to his speculation, it is impossible for Li Shouzhen to overthrow the Kaifeng court, but it is not easy for the court to suppress the rebellion, and Guanzhong may be in chaos for a while.

Zhu Xiu spat out the tea froth in her mouth. With the luck of Uncle Guo and tea dealer Chai Rong suppressing her, it was difficult for Li Shouzhen to succeed.

This guy was destined to be a tragedy from the moment he raised his flag of rebellion.

Guanzhong was in chaos, and the court's attention was entirely focused on countering the rebellion, and it naturally had no time to pay attention to Hexi.

For Chang Yijun, this is a God-given opportunity for rapid development.

"We have a deal with Li Shouzhen, so don't be dragged into the water by him and treated as an accomplice of the rebels." Shi Kuangwei reminded.

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "Without evidence, Jiao Jixun and Wang Jun can only file a black complaint at most. Even the letter written to Li Shouzhen is fake."

Shi Kuangwei nodded and squinted: "By the way, what exactly was written in that letter? Why didn't you let me read it?"

Zhu Xiu blinked and smiled dryly: "It's nothing, I just complimented Li Shouzhen a few words in your tone. Your injury has not healed, so I still don't take care of it to prevent your blood pressure from soaring."

Shi Converse thought deeply and seemed to understand the meaning of the spike in blood pressure: "Did you write the letter?"

Zhu Xiu hastily denied it: "Tao Wen raised the knife, I just polished it from the side. If you want trouble in the future, you should also go to him."

Shi Kuangwei snorted coldly and gave him a look of disdain.

A figure ran in with some panic, it was Shi Lingyan.

She was still tightly wrapped in a quilt, only her head was exposed, and she pursed her lips pitifully: "Zhu Xiu, you sleep with me tonight."

Shi Kuangwei's eyes widened instantly, and he felt his heart thumping violently several times, a rush of hot blood rushing to his forehead, and his blood pressure soared to the extreme.

Zhu Xiu wailed, held her waist and begged for mercy: "Auntie, please spare me! My waist hurts after sitting all day. I have to have a good rest tonight and we'll talk about it tomorrow!"

"I don't care! The one in the afternoon, do it again!" Shi Lingyan grabbed his arm and pulled it out involuntarily. Before going out, she still waved to Shi Kuangwei and smiled sweetly.

Lao Shi's hands were trembling, and he put down the teacup tremblingly. He shook his head and murmured to himself: "What a sin. The young people who are doing sin today. The world is declining."

(End of this chapter)