There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 153 Strategies for Managing Sacred Trees
  After more than two days of traveling, Lin Feng and his guards arrived in Shenmu County on March 20.

Wang Qin got the news and was already waiting outside Shenmu County with Hong Tu and others.

"Sir, I have finally come to see you. I am completely confused about the management of the county." Wang Qin stepped forward and greeted him.

"Haha, finally there is something that our Wang Qin is not good at." Lin Feng joked.

"Sir, you are joking. There are too many things that I am not good at in my humble position." Wang Qin said modestly.

"You have done a good job in planning to capture Guidebao and Shenmu County this time." Lin Feng affirmed.

"Thank you for the compliment, sir. Let's go to the county government office first." Wang Qin replied while asking Lin Feng to go towards the county government office.

When we came to Shenmu County Government Office, the layout of the county offices in the Ming Dynasty was similar. After entering the gate and passing through a corridor, we came to the county government office courtyard. There was a lobby in the front and six rooms on both sides.

Lin Feng walked into the county government hall and sat down, and asked Wang Qin: "Have you understood the situation in Shenmu County?"

"My lord, we have already passed the preliminary examination. Shenmu County Magistrate Chen Zeqiang is somewhat similar to our former Fugu County Magistrate Zhang. He doesn't take care of things very much, he just likes to be greedy for money, and he doesn't have any serious evil intentions."

"Oh, I know County Magistrate Chen. I met him at the state government office. This kind of person is the representative of mediocre officials." Lin Feng interjected.

"The real power in Shenmu County is basically in the hands of Dian Shi Jiang Mingjie. He is a local. Several generations of his family have served as officials and Dian Shi of Shenmu County. It can be said that his influence is deep-rooted.

He was greedy and vicious, and took advantage of the opportunity of being in charge of the criminal title to collude with the big families of sacred trees, oppress the people, occupy the fields, and plunder the family property. It can be said that he did all kinds of evil. "Wang Qin then reported.

"Oh, is this very similar to our previous Ding Dianshi? Killing this kind of person can win the hearts of the people of Shenmu very well." Lin Feng said.

"Yes, I thought so too, so I just impounded it and waited for you to come and deal with it." Wang Qin replied.

"Wang Qin, you have done a good job. It seems that you are becoming more and more mature. A public trial will be held tomorrow to mobilize the people of Shenmu to complain and take revenge. If we want to occupy Shenmu for a long time, we must win the hearts and minds of the people." Lin Feng explained.

"Understood! Sir, should I leave this matter to a humble official? I don't have much experience." Wang Qin replied.

"Let Fang Xiaoyu handle this matter. He has been the leader of a fishing team before and is more experienced." Lin Feng thought about the arrangement and said.

"Yes, I will prepare in a moment." Fang Xiaoyu, as the captain of the personal guard, naturally followed him and immediately came out to take orders.

"Are there any available people in Fugu County?" Lin Feng asked. To govern a county, you need to find several local officials to assist.

"Sir, Song Weifu, the household secretary of Shenmu, said that he knows Su Shunnian and Su Dianshi from Fugu and is willing to join us. Do you want to meet him?" Wang Qin continued.

"Okay, let's summon him for a meeting." Lin Feng agreed.

Soon Song Weifu was brought over.

As soon as Song Weifu met him, he knelt down and paid homage: "See you, Mr. Lin County!"

"You call Song Weifu? Does this name imply that you want to become an official and make a fortune?" Lin Feng asked.

"Your Majesty, my father gave me the name Xiaoren. I don't dare to engage in corruption or bribery." Song Weifu replied.

"Do you know Su Shunnian?" Lin Feng asked next.

"The younger one and Su Sili, oh, now Su Dianshi are both household clerks in the county under Jiazhou. They have been in contact with each other when working in Jiazhou, and they also have some correspondence with each other. He respects you very much, the county magistrate. I told you a lot about your deeds, which made me admire you very much and envious that Su Dianshi met the Ming Dynasty." Song Weifu replied.

"So, you are willing to take refuge in me?"

"Yes, I am very willing!"

"I am no longer a magistrate of the imperial court, but a rebel. Are you willing?"

Song Weifu hesitated for a moment, and then said firmly: "Yes, I am willing!"

"Tell me the reason." Lin Feng couldn't let him fool him.

"The younger ones are responsible for collecting taxes on households. Now the imperial taxes are getting heavier year by year. The big households in Shenmu County have occupied most of the fields. They pay very little taxes. It is already very difficult to collect taxes. Last year we did not collect all the taxes. , the younger one has been severely reprimanded and fined half a year's salary, and now life is difficult.

This year we will definitely not collect enough taxes, and we will definitely be punished even more severely. Even if all taxes are confiscated, the people below are already overwhelmed, and there are many violent resistance to taxes. Sooner or later, everyone will rebel, so it is better to follow the adults and rebel. "Song Weifu is quite smart and his analysis makes sense.

"The reason is quite sufficient. Okay, since we are hiring people, I will appoint you as Dian Shi, responsible for taking the lead in the affairs of the sixth house of the county government." Lin Feng ordered. This person seems to be available, so I will use it first.

Anyway, the power of Shenmu County is in your own hands. If you don't use it smoothly, or you have other intentions, you can replace it at any time.

"Thank you, sir!" Song Weifu said in surprise, and he was also glad that he pressed the right treasure. "Song Weifu, since your Excellency has accepted you to join, let me tell you that Mr. Lin is the governor of our Zhenming Army. Our army has defeated the main force of the Yulin Guards, and the entire northern Shaanxi is now our world." Wang Qin said While introducing.

"My Lord Governor, congratulations!" Song Weifu immediately paid homage again.

"Okay, now that you have joined our Zhenming Army, you are one of our own, no need to be polite. Please hurry up and tell me what suggestions you have for governing Shenmu County." Lin Feng asked.

"Sir, Shenmu County is located in the transition zone from hills and forest grasslands to deserts and steppes. The basic soil is windy sand soil and soft loess. Most of the land can only be used for livestock breeding, and it is not very suitable for farming.

However, Shenmu County is rich in mineral resources, including coal, quartz sand and other mineral reserves. The Zheng family has already opened many mines. I think developing mineral resources is a good industry for the development of Shenmu. "Song Weifu is worthy of being in charge of household housing, and he is very familiar with the resources of Shenmu.

"What kind of person is this Zheng family?" Lin Feng asked.

"He made his fortune by bribing Jiang Dianshi, bloody oppression of miners, and seizing mineral-bearing land from the people. He was a very cruel man. He had several lives on his hands, and many were injured and disabled. But the Zheng family There is a team of dozens of servants, which still has a certain fighting capacity." Song Weifu continued to introduce.

"Where is this Zheng family?"

"Due to the need for mining, the Zheng family did not settle down in the county. Their home is in Daliuta Town. The yard covers an area of ​​dozens of acres, much like a Wubao."

"Wang Qin, you lead a team of cavalry to destroy this Zheng family. Capture the main members of the Zheng family alive if they can, and kill those who can't. The family's warehouse is sealed first, waiting for me to check it in person." Lin Feng ordered. road.

"Understood, I will gather the team immediately." Wang Qin took the order and left.

"Are there any other big investors in Shenmu who are rich and unkind?" Lin Feng then asked.

"Yes, the Zheng family mainly occupies the mineral resources outside Shenmu City, and the Guo family mainly dominates the market in the county. This family is originally from the same clan as the Guo family in Fugu County, and the largest grain and oil store in the county is Yihe Hao. They opened it.

The Guo family often hoarded food, buying it at low prices during the harvest, and selling it at high prices when there was a shortage. They also issued usurious loans, forcing many poor county residents to death, and even more people were forced to sell their fields and sons and daughters. "

When Lin Feng heard this, he realized that this was not just enemies not getting together, but also the Guo family's Yihe account. Aren't they a ready-made bank? They had saved up so much property and sent it to themselves. Killing him would quell public anger.

So he ordered: "Xiaoyu, you take your personal guards to capture the Guo family for me. Song Dianshi, you can follow and lead the way. Don't let the Guo family go. I'll be here later."

"Yes!" Fang Xiaoyu and Song Weifu responded.

After the two left, Lin Feng stayed alone in the Shenmu County government office and began to think about how to govern Shenmu County in the future.

This is a place that the Zhenming Army wants to occupy for a long time. It cannot just grab it and leave like Yulin City. It must come up with a complete policy strategy.

Referring to his own policy strategy in Fugu County, Lin Feng considered adopting the strategy of "cleaning up the backlog of cases, cracking down on large households, reducing taxes, winning over people's hearts, developing mining, and accumulating wealth."

Clean up the backlog of cases and crack down on large households. Just like when he was in Fugu, he relied on the Ming Dynasty Law to clean up the unjust, false and wrong cases accumulated in the execution room. These cases were basically committed by large households in collusion with the county government.

After reviewing the case, we can crack down on large households reasonably and lawfully in accordance with the law and seize their property. This is what Lin Feng pays more attention to. He must not imitate the rogue bandits and confiscate homes and exterminate families for no reason. This will only push all the wealthy gentry to the opposite side.

The educated people in the Ming Dynasty were basically gentry and wealthy families. If these people were resolutely opposed to themselves, it would be very difficult to rule the occupied territories.

Reduce taxes and win public support. That is to cancel the extra payment sent by the imperial court and win the support of the people. Just kidding, he is a bandit in the eyes of the imperial court, so why should he still impose taxes to suppress him?

Moreover, now that Zhenming Army's finances are very healthy and supported by the Zhenming Group, a major moneymaker, there is no need for this tax increase to support it.

Of course, the normal summer and autumn taxes on fields still have to be levied, otherwise it will not work if the rice is grudged and the rice is grudged, and the people's appetite is spoiled.

In addition, commercial taxes must be strictly collected. This will be the main source of Zhenming's military tax in the future, and rules must be established from the beginning.

Develop mining and accumulate wealth. It is to make full use of the rich mineral resources in Shenmu County. By confiscating the Zheng family's industry and vigorously developing mining, this can make money much faster than farming.

In particular, Shenmu is rich in quartz sand ore, which is the main material for firing colored glaze, and is very needed by Zhenming Chemical Industry. After firing the city colored glaze, you can also sell it at a good price.

However, an important prerequisite for developing mining is to keep trade routes open. Otherwise, the markets in Fugu and Shenmu counties alone will not be able to digest too many mineral products.

Expanding the market depends on how well Li Xiongzhen does in Luoyang. When Lin Feng thought of this, he began to care about Li Xiongzhen's trip to Luoyang.

It's a pity that communication is so inconvenient in this era. Luoyang is so far away that it takes at least ten and a half months to send a letter. During this period of time, I have been marching and fighting, and I have not received any news from Luoyang so far, and I don't know if it went well.

No, I must study the technology of wireless telegraphy when I go back this time to see if it is possible to develop simple wireless communication technology. Otherwise, when the territory becomes larger in the future, communication will be a big problem.

It's a pity that no practical technology in this area can be found in the space. I used to be a liberal arts student, so I really had a headache with these technical issues.

　Switching to normal updates, two updates today.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)