Chapter 842: Teaching and Executing

The third year of Taiping.

Tens of thousands of troops besieged Jiangzhou Fucheng, but were defeated one by one by Aaron leading his soldiers, and after that, there were no major incidents.

In the blink of an eye, the fourth year of Taiping arrived.

Jiangzhou Fucheng.

A middle-aged man dressed like a merchant walked into a shop: "Do you have feathers for sale here? I need three peacock ones, three white crane ones, ten colorful sparrow ones..."

The waiter was startled, but the shopkeeper nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, we do, but peacock feathers are precious and are all in the warehouse; I will personally accompany the guest to take a look!"

He then led this middle-aged man to the warehouse and pressed against a wall.

The middle-aged man's body trembled: "To be able to fear no death, they must at least have had their minds confused by Daoism!"

Although there were Treasure Talismans buried by a Grandmaster and arrangements made in advance, if other Anti-Kings were to capture Jinshi City first, seize the Black Tortoise Lake Dragon Qi, and incidentally cut off the dream of moving the capital, trapping the Great Song in the north, that would be the most fatal thing.

"I heard... Diyou of Yangzhou Fucheng has already captured Zhoushan Prefecture and proclaimed himself 'King of Wu'!"

The sharpness of the King of Liang's military edge is already known throughout Jiangnan.

The middle-aged merchant said worriedly: "I fear the next step will be to attack Jinshi City!"

This silver was snow-white, marked with patterns, and was high-quality Official Silver cut into pieces.

Zhou Ping's family originally only had a few acres of poor fields; when natural disasters struck, he could not pay the taxes and had to borrow money, then mortgage the land. At this moment, looking at these fields, there seemed to be flames in the depths of his eyes: "These are all high-quality paddy fields!"

"Rest assured, one mountain cannot hold two tigers; the King of Wu may not necessarily be willing to have the King of Liang stab him in the back while attacking Jinshi City."

As for military affairs, in the third year of Taiping, the Imperial Court sent an Imperial Envoy to lead the armies of surrounding prefectures to encircle and suppress them, but they were beaten to a pulp, so that naturally goes without saying.

This issuing of Salt Tickets based on household registration, while simultaneously cracking down on private salt, shows his intentions clearly!

"This is not the key point; the key is the Land Measurement... Historically, whenever a dynasty reaches its end, there is much hidden land... Heavy penalties for exceeding a thousand acres? How heavy is the penalty?"

The young Daoist asked.

Council Hall.

Among these, there were forces secretly cultivated by the Chongming Dao!

At the same time, he felt secretly smug in his heart.

"At this time, we cannot let the King of Liang's army move!"

Seeing Zhou Ping firmly refuse to accept it, the two yamen runners behind him were the same; they were both frightened and clicked their tongues in private: 'We have truly never seen a clerk who doesn't take money...'

For the Chongming Dao, Jinshi City is the vital point!

Fan Jin had just finished handling a matter and returned to report to Aaron, only to see Aaron listening to Cao Man's report: "This time, the land survey has been reasonably well-coordinated by all parties... The population census has also had results, both can increase by thirty or forty percent; this is all Qi Number! Congratulations, Prime Minister, congratulations, Prime Minister!"

And the Land Deed is the proof!

But if new Land Deeds are issued without collecting the old ones, that would be the behavior of a fool.

In ancient times, salt and iron were state-monopolized, and salt was even more important than iron because people have no strength if they do not eat salt.

But such fields are undoubtedly high-grade fields!

So, looking at the statistics, one knows there must be a problem!

The Taixue training is extremely fast, and by having the experienced lead the new, constantly supplementing with new people, it has now become the main source of officials in Jiangzhou Fucheng!

The trained Imperial Academy Students all start as the lowest-level clerks, then are promoted based on merit to serve as officials, or even County Magistrates and high-level staff in the prefecture!

The most critical thing is that they do not teach the Four Books and Five Classics, which makes the scholars in the prefecture very dissatisfied.

The middle-aged man no longer hesitated and bowed respectfully.

"This policy is good... but to succeed, there must still be officials willing to execute it. Two years have passed... are the King of Liang's core officials already fully prepared?"

Seeing this scene, Zhao Da was also surprised in his heart: "This is just tea money, just tea money!"

Zhou Ping thought about these things silently and led the two yamen runners to the ridges of the fields outside the town.

"The government has just posted a notice... Due to the blockade of salt routes by other prefectures, Salt Tickets will be issued to each household according to their household registration, and salt can only be purchased with a ticket... In addition, there will be a forceful crackdown on private salt peddlers!"

"What are you doing? Don't harm me!"

The disadvantage of the Pseudo-Liang not winning the hearts of the great families lies here; without the cooperation of the great families, they even secretly cause trouble. Before the Land Measurement, even tax collection was difficult!

The middle-aged merchant was convinced and added: "The Pseudo-Liang only uses commoners as officials, which has greatly lost the hearts of the people, especially the hearts of the great families... I see that their internal strife is not far off!"

The middle-aged merchant shrank his head.

"Why do you say that?"

It is truly very difficult to clarify household registrations!

"Hehe..."

Scholar Zhao married again and had children, passing down the family line through poetry and books, gradually accumulating literary Qi.

"The King of Liang previously emphasized military affairs and neglected civil administration... Now, the military and political systems are gradually becoming complete; this is truly terrifying!"

A few days later, Zhou Ping, who had become dark and thin, returned to the prefecture with the land report signed by the Zhao Family.

"Senior brother is absolutely right!"

Aaron sneered: "This is truly worthy of execution!"

The young Daoist asked.

Moreover, the Daoist Gate puts in desperate effort to investigate, and they can always find some clues.

Fan Jin felt a chill in his heart.

Fortunately, Xulingzi does not seem to be good at governance, which caused the Anti-King in Jiangzhou Fucheng, despite being the first to rise up, to drag things out for a full two years!

Zhou Ping is also relatively timid, and still grateful for the King of Liang's grace, so he did not dare to reach out.

The young Daoist was silent and began to ponder.

This is also a key object representing the change of dynasties!

"The government has ordered that after measurement, the old Land Deeds of each family must be handed over, and after verification, they will be exchanged for new Land Deeds... or the old Land Deeds will be stamped with an official seal! Once the entire prefecture's measurement is complete, unregistered land will be confiscated! Those who conceal more than a thousand acres will also be heavily punished!"

"This is as it should be; that it has actually dragged on for two years already shows the internal administration is in chaos," the young Daoist said with a smile, his tone somewhat relaxed.

"Say no more!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother!"

Since ancient times, when starting a rebellion, the first rule is that one must not leave the followers with a way to retreat!

Therefore, one must collect the old Land Deeds, or at least stamp them with the new dynasty's official seal... that way, even if the Imperial Court later recovers this area, one look at the Land Deed and you are a rebel!

In order to keep their land, the commoners have no choice but to follow the Liang Wang Army to the very end!

Indeed, quite a few clerks became corrupt; with a wave of their pens, high-yield fields became medium-yield, medium-yield became low-yield, and they even helped to conceal the reports!

But they were soon discovered, and the perpetrators were beheaded along with the landlords!

There are bloody examples of this!

Ever since Xulingzi requested the royal mandate and led armored soldiers to suppress the Five Night Sect, while the major Daoist lineages were shocked, the label of "Daoist bandit" was pinned on him.

"Then have you uncovered any other news, such as that Liang Wang Army?" the young Daoist asked coldly.

As he spoke, he tossed over a piece of silver.

Cao Man and Fan Jin felt a chill in their hearts, knowing this Daoist possessed unfathomable abilities and must have discovered something.

The young Daoist said rapidly: "The northern war is nearing its end, and my sect has made a firm decision that we must mobilize the Great Song Dragon Qi to move south; before that, we must first sweep away the snakes and dragons in the south!"

The commoners' attachment to land is far beyond anything else.

The single word "kill" made both Cao Man and Fan Jin shudder.

It was only recently that they truly began to check household registrations and perform Land Measurement, as well as replace the Land Deeds.

"There really is... the most unlikely guess now seems the most likely to be true... that Xulingzi might be able to refine soldiers using Daoism!"

Fan Jin cupped his hands: "The Zhao Family certainly deserves punishment, but is exterminating the family too much? They are, after all, a family of a Presented Scholar..."

Aaron waved his hand: "If we don't kill until their hearts turn cold... how can we push through the policies of Taxation on Land and Head and Collect Grain Uniformly? Killing more now is to ensure less killing in the future; it is a benevolent policy!"

"My Great Liang sacrificed two years of favorable timing and a massive amount of manpower, only to exchange it for a mere thirty percent increase?"

Zhao Family Town.

The young Daoist smiled: "Let the two kings in the south fight each other, then my Great Song can leisurely lead a great army south and reap the benefits; this is the general trend, and also an open strategy!"

Aaron sneered, holding a dagger in his hand, slowly and methodically slicing a piece of fresh meat.

"Previously, it was widely announced, and they signed and acknowledged it... to conceal it again is to oppose the government, and their hearts deserve to be punished!"

These two yamen runners were both retired from the military; they carried waist sabers, and their expressions were cold and fierce, making people look upon them with fear.

"The Liang Wang only wants to eat the salt profits? Issuing Salt Tickets to every household? No... the Liang Wang's heart, I fear, is to take the opportunity to check the household registers?"

But the Liang Wang and Xulingzi clearly would not care about this.

The middle-aged merchant muttered, knowing full well the severity of the situation.

Finally, several decades ago, someone from the Zhao Family passed the examination to become a Presented Scholar, and they annexed most of the nearby land, after which the small town became Zhao Family Town.

The Liang Wang Army fought without fear of death and was extremely elite, which made many people secretly shocked.

Zhou Ping's eyes were attracted for a moment, and then he became angry.

Cao Man opened it, and the first thing he saw was the Zhao Family of Zhao Family Town, who had hidden two mountain strongholds in the deep mountains, plus the land of Xiaoyue Valley, totaling two thousand acres!

With the previous announcement, deliberately concealing farmland is opposing the government, and that is a crime!

'How did the Prime Minister find out? But by following the clues, one will surely catch the slip-up; after all, the fields cannot run away...'

And the "Daoist bandit," naturally, was referring to the evil Daoist Xulingzi.

A passage suddenly appeared on the ground, and the middle-aged man walked in; not long after, he arrived at an underground room.

His own Daoist Lineage is too deeply intertwined with Great Song; if he cannot preserve this half of the Dragon Qi, he will inevitably suffer a Backlash!

Conversely, if he preserves it and opens the Southern Song dynasty, he can later use this merit to offset most of the Backlash and cut ties in advance.

The young Daoist gritted his teeth: "Since ancient times, Daoism and Dragon Qi cannot coexist! What virtue or ability does Xulingzi have? I still say the same: even if he can open some nets with evil arts, there must be limitations... when tens or hundreds of thousands of troops are truly engaged in battle, involving the ownership of the True Dragon of the world, the rejection the Daoist suffers will also be unprecedentedly strong; he will certainly be unable to do this!"

"I don't know, but the Liang Wang's army suppresses without mercy... previously in the prefecture and counties, the Zhang Family, Li Family, and Xie Family have already been convicted of 'communicating with foreign enemies' and the entire family was executed!"

Especially those "Hidden Households" who relied on landlord gentry and were never on the official Yellow Register!

But no matter how they hide, these people must eat salt!

This is a matter of life and death for the Chongming Dao!

He is the chief person in charge of intelligence for the Chongming Dao in Jiangzhou Prefecture, while the middle-aged merchant is just an external Disciple who works hard outside.

This batch of clerks who took office, especially the Land Measurement clerks, received many enticements when they went to the countryside.

Originally, this place was not called by this name, but later a "Zhao Scholar" appeared in the town; after he passed the examination, the commoners flocked to rely on him, entrusting their land to him, and for a time he became a great landlord.

"Exterminate the families of the people on this list! Confiscate all the land for Military Farming!"

Not only that, to cooperate with this land inspection, a team of the Liang Wang Army was also dispatched and stationed in the town!

At the very least, the spirit is different now; they truly consider themselves the people of a rebel!

Not only that, they were also very obedient to commands; the discipline and ruthlessness they showed when they spread throughout the prefecture to suppress private salt merchants made people look upon them with terror!

On both sides of the road, the fields were connected, and a small river like a jade belt flowed slowly by.

Although the Beast Taming Technique cannot tame too many Animals, taming a few hawks or birds can serve as aerial eyes during wartime, and can also serve as aerial photography drones for Land Measurement during peacetime!

With this, the general data of the entire prefecture is in his own mind, and it cannot be hidden much at all.

This is the power that makes the great landlords dare not play little tricks and directly kill the Land Measurement clerks!

The kind that would howl loudly if you just squeezed it a little.

A young Daoist sat cross-legged on the bed.

"No wonder they say it is easy to conquer the world but hard to govern it... these Imperial Academy Students go down, and they are deceived, enticed, or assassinated..."

This is what the young Daoist found most shocking.

"Prime Minister..."

The Chongming Dao is divided into Inner Sect and Outer Sect; even if the other party is younger, coming from the Inner Sect, they are still a Senior Brother!

"What has that Daoist thief done now?"

The young Daoist being sent here clearly possesses a certain level of talent, and even more so, knows that the government's Yellow Register cannot be relied upon.

Aaron tossed out a memorial: "To execute without instruction is cruelty! But to execute after instruction is upright and the execution of the King's Law!"

Aaron had previously killed a True Person of the Chongming Dao, so there was a blood feud in this regard, and he would not be polite to him.

He only took a rough look; there was still a team of Imperial Academy Students, all capable officials from the Ming Calculation department, to perform the actual measurements.

There were threats, gifts of money and land, and even gifts of women.

The government also seemed to have always used the Daoist policy of governing by non-action, which might be due to a shortage of officials.

The young Daoist opened his eyes, a trace of Light seemingly flashing through them, and asked indifferently.

Controlling the salt routes means controlling the people's livelihood!

But now that the officials are gradually being replenished, it is truly alarming!

Clearing out thirty percent more land and population allows for the collection of much more tax and Corvee Labor; this is indeed strength, this is Qi Number!

At this moment, a blade swung, a piece of flesh was tossed into the air, caught by a hawk swooping down, and quickly eaten.

A steward named 'Zhao Da' nearby was all smiles: "Only these one thousand two hundred mu near the shore count as paddy fields; everything further out is mountainous land, newly reclaimed, and very barren..."

"This is impossible!"

"Besides checking the household registers, the False Liang has recently been conducting Land Measurement..." the middle-aged man laughed.

The 'Bombardment Dao' of the Supreme Dao also simultaneously shook the world with its might!

As he spoke, he also felt strange: "If this King of Liang had attacked on all sides from the beginning, with the advantage of his army, the south would certainly have been in ruins, and perhaps my Great Song would have truly been blocked in the north... From this, it can be seen that the Heavenly Mandate is with Song, not Liang!"

Land Deed!

An oil Lamp was lit in the basement, and there seemed to be a breeze; the furnishings were very simple, with only one bed, one table, and one stool.

Regardless of whether they were commoners or wealthy families, they could all hide their old Land Deeds and wait for the day the King of Liang was finished to take them out and continue using them.

The middle-aged Junior Brother wiped his sweat and said.

However, this also provided him with an excuse to act!

Still the same saying: executing without instruction damages the hearts of the people, so one must find an excuse to kill! Even to the point of forcing the gentry to actively rebel!

(End of this chapter)