Chapter 338: Port Opening (V)

The great households of this era were quite different from those of later generations. In later times, even the wealthiest might hire a few dozen staff for their mansions and call it enough; but in this age, the household staff of a great family were counted in the hundreds, and numbers reaching a thousand were common. Every kind of service profession was fully represented, with a vast array of specialties — tailors and private opera troupes were standard fixtures.

So, Mahjong Tiles were no challenge for a great household.

Upon learning that the item was temporarily out of stock, several great families immediately summoned their carpenters and carvers — if they couldn't get it, they'd just make it themselves, damn it.

Though the bamboo Mahjong Tiles hastily carved on the spot weren't as smooth and high-class as the sample, they could still be played, couldn't they? So in just a few days' effort, the great households' "domestically raised" carving teams swiftly went into production: it cost next to nothing, and sets had to be sent over to all their relatives and old acquaintances.

After receiving this news, Yu Bende's mood was very urgent. But urgency was No Use — he now had a more pressing matter to deal with: the Yu Clan's own people had started quarreling among themselves.

The current situation was that the Yu family's Eldest and Second Brother declared Mahjong to be a fine business, while Yu Bende insisted that Toilet Paper was better: though the trade seemed a bit low in prestige, it undoubtedly had greater prospects for growth, and so they all began to argue.

After two days of quarreling, the pressure transmitted from the toilet paper trial users suddenly intensified: the great households could produce Mahjong themselves, but they could not manufacture this Soft Paper, so the pressure from the clients was naturally channeled their way.

This turn of events actually helped the Yu Clan settle on a project: if they didn't seize the moment, they would give offense. More frighteningly, if some Gentry family disregarded public opinion and was willing to wade into the "toilet paper" mire — with the workshop not yet open and the profit chain not yet in operation, the Yu Clan could very easily invite a saturation strike...

So Yu Bende made a prompt decision: no more choosing — they would go into the toilet paper business. This suited their family's status!

Once their thinking was unified, the Yu Clan immediately sprang into action.

First, the Eldest Brother, who worked as a low-ranking Yamen Runner at the county office, was Responsible For liquidating the family assets: though the Yu Clan had accumulated wealth over generations and their Family Fortune was quite substantial, coming up with over ten thousand taels of Silver in cash all at once was impossible. Besides the stores buried in the family vault, they would also have to pawn several properties and borrow from friendly households to make up the sum.

The Second Brother, an unemployed idler, began the preliminary preparations, such as recruiting workers.

And Yu Bende himself was Responsible For dutifully reporting his Achievements at Xiong Dao's residence, finalizing the workshop's follow-up matters, and providing all manner of professional consultation on the Land Requisition.

At this moment, inside Luo Garden, the tense atmosphere of a demolition Command Post prevailed.

The four walls of the main hall were entirely covered with Land Requisition Maps, upon which blocks of different colors had already marked all the land along the shore of Gaoqiao Town.

These color blocks represented different categories of land. Not only was the area and Terrain of each plot marked, but information including the landowner and the person in actual control was also displayed, clear at a glance.

In the side rooms, the accountants were hard at work, and verified data was still being delivered in a steady stream. Xiong Dao's ambition was enormous; a one-square-Kilometer core area was far from satisfying his desire. He hoped to use this opportunity to complete the survey of as much surrounding land as possible.

Although large-scale Land Acquisition in the Jiangnan region sounded fantastical — ordinarily, anyone below the stature of Grand Secretary Xu Jie wouldn't dare entertain such a dream — but who was Xiong Dao? Behind him stood an ambitious Empire, so Master Xiong was determined this time to test the market and see just how deep the waters of Jiangnan truly were.

The complex work of intelligence gathering was very time-consuming. Merely copying records from the County Yamen had taken several days, and they still had to be verified one by one afterward.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were not only bullies and Gentry who had brazenly Occupied Official Land, but also a large number of mid-level Landlords, Tenant Farmers, and Owner-Farmers. Many households scraped by on a few scattered mu of land, with all sorts of property rights involved; fraudulent registrations and hidden fields were numerous. In short, the work, equivalent to a small-scale land census, was tedious and would require a long time to perfect the data.

So when Yu Bende came calling with Silver, this was the scene of bustling activity he saw. Fortunately, his two disciples were right here serving as temporary consultants, so old Yu quickly got a clear picture of the situation.

After meeting Master Xiong in the study, Yu Bende first produced the first installment of 5,000 taels of Silver as share capital, and then he signed the contract on the spot to establish the toilet paper workshop.

Next, it was time to get down to business.

After following Xiong Dao into the main hall, old Yu first spent a while carefully studying the map's color blocks covering the walls: he had never before seen such a direct method of presenting information, but he quickly adapted and was full of praise for this method of notation.

Next came Xiong Dao's briefing. Holding a Pointer, Xiong Dao gestured at the map while laying out his entire Planning.

It was only then that Yu Bende finally grasped the true scale and purpose of Master Xiong's large-scale land acquisition — the information he had received before had been vague and partially concealed. The reason it was now being disclosed to him was that they had signed a contract and become one of their own.

However, after listening to Xiong Dao's grand ambitions for a while, Yu Bende couldn't take it anymore: "How many people are we going to make enemies of?"

So he couldn't help but interrupt Xiong Dao's explanation: "To be frank with you, Master, acquiring land in this manner offends far too many people. It is truly somewhat shocking to hear."

"No matter. It's not as if we need to see results in a single day. We'll take it slowly," Xiong Dao said upon hearing this, using his Pointer to draw a Circle along the riverfront zone outside Gaoqiao Town. "We'll first secure the core land around the port, then gradually expand."

"Even so..." Yu Bende stroked his sparse beard as he mused, "May I ask, Master Xiong, is the true principal behind this land acquisition and Port Opening Cao Jiangjun of Fujian?"

As early as the initial trading days at Tangzhuang, Xiong Dao had raised the banner of acting as an agent for a certain Pirate leader in Fujian. After Cao Chuan received Recruitment and Amnesty, this banner was formally unfurled: the business was growing larger, more and more migrants were being accepted, and if Cao Chuan's side hadn't been granted amnesty, the Hangzhou Station would have run into problems. So by now, any observant person could inquire into Xiong Dao's background.

And now, when Yu Bende asked this question, Xiong Dao immediately understood his meaning: the enemy forces are too strong — if there's any hidden boss, now's the time to reveal it.

"The principal is indeed Cao Jiangjun." Xiong Dao nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Recently, our General, by the grace of the imperial court, has been granted the rank of Vice General and established his command in Xiamen. Old Yu, is that enough?"

"More than enough, more than enough!" Yu Bende had not expected that general in Fujian had already established his command, and he hurriedly nodded repeatedly.

The meaning behind Xiong Dao's words was something Yu Bende, as a man within the system, could understand: a general explicitly assigned a fief by the imperial court was a proper, bona fide Regular Army. The Ministry of War would create a Military Register for them and even issue some Military Pay — no longer one of those unregistered ghosts who, after surrendering, didn't even have an Establishment.

In a certain sense, the Cao Family Army's status was now equivalent to that of the Guanning Army and the like — a legitimate army recognized by the Ming Dynasty.

Under such circumstances, even the great ministers of the current court would not lightly try to manipulate a commandery-establishing general who held heavy troops, let alone ordinary Gentry — if pushed too far and the Cao Clan were driven to revolt again, who would bear the blame for the collapse of the Southeast Half Wall? Did they really think Chongzhen wouldn't execute people? Hadn't so-and-so been sliced to death...

Therefore, as long as Cao Chuan didn't stir up some huge scandal like rebelling and raising a banner, matters like simple forced demolitions and relocations, market bullying, or forcibly seizing a commoner's daughter — the court wouldn't even bother to inquire.

That was why Yu Bende said it was enough: since the boss was sufficiently formidable, Xiong Dao's port-opening plan would, at least on the official front, face no open obstruction.

One must know that historically, after Zheng Zhilong received amnesty, he likewise engaged in massive land purchases and built luxurious mansions in Fujian — a Chinese-style expansion, the same for both civil and military officials.

Seeing Clerk Yu nodding repeatedly, Xiong Dao continued his briefing. After he had finished pointing at the map and explaining the entire plan, Yu Bende first begged his pardon, then silently studied the map alone for half a day before finally putting forward his suggestion.

Clerk Yu first divided the relocation targets into two parts. He did not divide them by Official Field and Private Land, but rather ingeniously categorized the people by property: Commoners and Officialdom.

Here, Commoners included all Owner-Farmers, Tenant Farmers, and Landlords, while Officialdom included everyone whose power base was above that of a mid-level Landlord.

Here, Clerk Yu proposed a strategic concept: all Commoners would be handled by himself, his disciples, and the Land Brokers, while all Officialdom would be dealt with by Xiong Dao personally.

Yu Bende's thinking was very clear: what are the strengths of a petty official? Deceiving superiors and deluding subordinates, intimidation and fraud, collusion and networking, oppressing the common people. Exactly — all the skills of a petty official were useless before the Officialdom.

However, when it came to dealing with those illiterate, tongue-tied Commoners who regarded a half-mu of land as greater than the sky, that was where the petty official could be put to use.

One must realize that these Commoners were very numerous. If Xiong Dao's elite troops went door-to-door, it would actually be a Waste of Resources. It was precisely a local, well-connected petty official like Yu Bende who was the right professional for the job — in the eyes of the Commoners, he was a very big official indeed.

"Old Yu, ah, old Yu, truly worthy of an old hand at these duties. This plan is excellent and formidable!" Xiong Dao couldn't help but burst into loud laughter after hearing it. "Rest assured, as long as you work hard, I can even reward you with shares in the workshop in advance."

At this, Xiong Dao reached out and clapped old Yu on the shoulder, then walked over beside the map and Smashed his fist down on a certain plot representing the shoreline: "I'll start by making an example of Zhang Sutan tomorrow!"

And Yu Bende promptly sidled over as well, smiling as he used the Pointer to Circle a certain plot of land: "Master Xiong, please allocate the Silver. Tomorrow I shall pay a visit to Zuo Family Village."

"Good, Good. We may lack for other things, but Silver we have in abundance."

That night, in a courtyard of the Back Residence of Luo Garden, Xiong Dao paced back and forth in his room while dictating the contents of a telegram.

The telegraph operator Sitting In at one side swiftly transmitted the message: Send fifty additional Action Team Members to my location... Bring along 200,000 taels of Silver en route as Start-up Capital... Please monitor Public Opinion closely... Report at any time...