Chapter 332: Restarting the Sale of Official Titles

Guanzhong, Baishui County.

"Big brother, let's go back!

This ghostly weather could freeze a person to death; there shouldn't be any merchants passing by."

In the biting cold wind, a thin young man wearing a tattered cotton-padded jacket said tremblingly.

That they had managed to become mountain bandits to this extent could be considered a miracle.

They were all honest and simple men; if it weren't for the lack of grain at home, they wouldn't have thought of doing this business without capital.

Just looking at the weapons in their hands, one could tell this was a grass-roots team.

Aside from a few people holding broadswords, the rest were holding bamboo spears.

After thousands of years of development, every mountain top in the Guanzhong land was basically bare.

The few mountain forests were all occupied by noble clans.

Even if they wanted to make long spears, they couldn't find suitable round wood.

Bamboo grows fast and is widely distributed; cheap bamboo spears became the favorite of mountain bandits, outlaws, and rebel armies everywhere.

"Wait a little longer!

Catching this season of the old grain being eaten and the new one not yet ripe, if there is no harvest for a long time, this year's days will be hard to endure."

The middle-aged man leading the group said helplessly.

In recent years, natural disasters in the Guanzhong land have been continuous.

When grain shortages first appeared, the landlords, in order to annex land, were very generous in lending grain.

If you couldn't pay back the money, it was simple: take the land to pay off the debt; if that wasn't enough, become a long-term laborer to slowly pay back the money.

If that still wasn't enough, one could sell oneself into slavery.

In this process, the government not only did not provide disaster relief but instead continuously increased the Liaodong military tax.

After a few years of tossing and turning, not only did self-cultivating farmers go bankrupt, but some wealthy households and small landlords also could not withstand the pressure and joined the ranks of the bankrupt.

Watching the grain stored in the granaries continuously decrease, and the natural disasters still not stopping, the old masters also became stingy.

Those who cared about the family reputation just put on a show of disaster relief, but more chose to watch coldly from the sidelines.

The masters didn't need so many servants and maids; in this season of the old grain being eaten and the new one not yet ripe, even if one wanted to sell sons and daughters, one couldn't find a decent family.

Bankrupt farmers could only seek their own way to survive; there even appeared the tragic sight of exchanging children to eat among the people.

The strict household registration system restricted the movement of disaster victims.

Noble clans, for the sake of their own safety, successively organized civil corps to cooperate with the government in suppressing popular uprisings.

Bloody massacres temporarily suppressed the contradictions but could not solve the predicament of grain shortage among the people.

To fill their stomachs, the common people either went into the mountains to become bandits or fled to other lands.

"Big brother, in this season, there are not many merchants.

The ones we encounter in a day are basically poor ghosts fleeing from famine; there is simply nothing to rob.

Instead of waiting bitterly here, it's better to gather the villagers and do a big job, directly robbing the Juren Huang.

I think with the grain stored in the Huang family, it should be enough for us to survive this disaster year."

The thin young man Bai Liu said eagerly.

After becoming mountain bandits, limited by their own strength, they couldn't provoke the merchant caravans escorted by armed guards and could only rob lone merchants.

The harvest was naturally not high; maintaining a livelihood was difficult, and they were still far from living a good life.

Compared to the initial expectations, it was completely a world of difference.

Especially recently, more and more peers joined in the robbery business, and merchants didn't dare to act alone, so the gains from looting were getting less and less.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"The Huang family is a big clan in the county, and the civil corps alone has hundreds of people.

A few days ago, they also slaughtered more than five hundred people in the Qingshui Mountain Stronghold; this is not something we can provoke!"

Bai Er immediately scolded angrily.

In troubled times, a thriving population is a sharp weapon.

The Huang family could pull out a civil corps of hundreds, directly making the mountain bandits and outlaws in the county avoid them.

The Qingshui Mountain Stronghold, which didn't have eyes, paid a bloody price for its recklessness.

"If we don't rob the Huang family, then go to the Zhou family to borrow grain.

Now in Baishui County, those two families have the most grain stored.

The Wang family and the Gou family opened their granaries to release grain earlier, and we have also received their favors, so it would be unrighteous to go and borrow grain from them again."

Bai Liu proposed again.

Mixing in the world of Jianghu, one must prioritize righteousness.

It's not that their moral integrity is high, but mainly because if the stronghold wants to be stable, it must rely on the word "righteousness" to restrain the little brothers below.

Once the high-level officials take the lead in abandoning righteousness, the little brothers below will have no psychological barriers to betraying them.

Of course, the main thing is that there is a better choice.

There is more than one big family in the county, so there is no need to do unrighteous things.

"Borrowing grain from the Zhou family is indeed a good idea.

However, although the Zhou family's population is not thriving, the eldest of the Zhou family is an official in another place, and even the county magistrate has to give them some face.

In just a few decades, relying on clever taking and forceful seizing, they have annexed tens of thousands of acres of land.

Once the Zhou family is robbed, it will inevitably lead to the government's suppression."

Bai Er said with some hesitation.

This mountain bandit team was all villagers from the village.

Everyone followed to join the group in order to survive in the famine year.

Once the imperial army suppresses them, with families in tow, how to withdraw becomes a problem.

"Big Brother, the world is so chaotic right now, and those people from the White Lotus Sect are proclaiming all day long that the White Lotus Holy Mother has descended to the world.

It is said that they raised troops in the south and have already made a big stir.

Now Guanzhong is dry and lacks rain; I think it won't be long before they launch a rebellion again.

We are going to borrow grain, not to slaughter the whole Zhou family.

With rebels in front attracting firepower, the court can't take care of us!"

As soon as Bai Liu's voice fell, everyone's faces changed drastically.

"When did you hook up with the White Lotus Sect?"

"They are rebels; once involved, it will mean the execution of the nine generations!"

Bai Er immediately questioned.

Rebelling and becoming a mountain bandit are not the same concept.

During the feudal dynasty period, mountain bandits and outlaws in the localities had never been cut off.

Officials in local yamen were all masters of covering up.

For the sake of their own assessment, as long as no big trouble was caused, they would pretend not to see.

After all, dispatching troops to suppress bandits consumes money and grain, and officials also need to calculate costs.

Except for those who didn't have eyes and hit the muzzle of the gun and were suppressed by the court, more had to wait until they were fat before taking action.

The suppression before this was mostly just putting on a show, taking the opportunity to scrape money from the people.

The mountain bandits were also very cooperative; seeing the imperial army killing their way over, they would immediately retreat into the deep mountains and old forests to hide.

Once the money for suppressing bandits was collected, that was the money of the government officials; every day the war was delayed, it was cutting meat from the old masters.

After tossing and turning for a few days without results, the team would withdraw.

The ruthless ones would also slaughter a down-and-out village, taking their heads to pretend to be mountain bandits to count as military merit.

The floating wealth was divided by the imperial army generals, and the vacated land was the reward for the gentry masters supporting the suppression of bandits.

After the imperial army withdrew, the mountain bandits started business again.

Seemingly the two sides had no connection, but in reality, mountain bandits and outlaws were all sharp weapons for gentry and officials to make money.

In some periods when the court's administration was clear and there were no common people becoming mountain bandits, they would also arrange for people to become mountain bandits.

Of course, such things would generally be separated by a few layers and would not be directly related to them.

Unless it was the end of the dynasty, local gentry, for the sake of their own reputation, would generally not be directly related to these dark forces.

"Big brother, I was just pulled over by a friend to listen, and I didn't really join the White Lotus Sect.

Now the believers of the White Lotus Sect are all over Guanzhong, and there are many people who have had contact.

Moreover, contacting them is not without harvest.

Many intelligence reports were obtained from that side.

It is said that the rebel army in the south has captured Nanjing and is about to seize the world.

If the rebel army really fights over, we join in, and maybe we can fight for a wealth."

Bai Liu explained immediately.

Hearing that the rebel army captured Nanjing, others didn't have much reaction, but Bai Er was shocked.

Compared to the little brothers who hadn't seen the world, he, the mountain bandit leader, had seen some things.

When he was in the army, he often heard his superiors chanting about the world of flowers in Jiangnan, among which Nanjing appeared with high frequency.

As one of the two capitals of the Great Dayu Dynasty, if Nanjing fell, it would absolutely be a matter of poking a hole in the sky.

If handled poorly, it would really change the dynasty.

"Forget it!

These things, I won't argue with you for now.

However, contacting the White Lotus Sect must be highly vigilant.

They want to rebel, we won't stop them, but letting us join is not okay.

Shaanxi is close to the Nine Borders, and the border garrisons may kill their way over at any time; it is by no means something we can resist.

A mountain stronghold like ours, the border garrison only needs ten armored soldiers to easily suppress it."

Bai Er sighed and said.

Only after mixing in the border garrison did he know the power of the border garrison.

Their mountain stronghold had also made a name for itself in Baishui County, but it was still a grass-roots team.

It wasn't that he didn't want to train his little brothers, but purely because the grain supply was insufficient.

Everyone had difficulty eating their fill, so they couldn't withstand training at all.

Capital, Taihe Hall.

"Your Majesty, the Huguang battlefield is winning victory after victory, and the main force of the rebel army has been attracted there; now is the best time to reclaim Jiangbei.

..."

As soon as the early morning court started, officials presented the strategy to quell the rebels.

The plan was proposed by Li Mu and his uncle, but that didn't mean they had to rush to the front line.

The nobility faction being able to stand firm in the court naturally didn't just have those few nobility big shots; below there was also a group of little brothers.

Mainly nobility and military generals, but there were also some civil officials.

These people were mostly descendants of nobility, or they entered the officialdom through the imperial examinations, or they entered the officialdom through the grace of their fathers.

Although they held civil positions, they were not accepted by the civil official group.

Their innate background made their relationship with the nobility closer, becoming the power of the nobility faction among the civil officials.

Because of being squeezed out, most of these people held positions in marginal departments, and their right to speak in the court was limited.

No matter how low the right to speak of an official was, as long as they had the qualification to speak in the great hall, they were valuable.

Without deep research, everyone knew clearly that this military strategy was concocted by several big shots of the nobility faction.

"Your Majesty, what Lord Liu said is reasonable.

The main force of the rebel army is contained in Huguang; now is indeed the best time to reclaim Jiangbei.

The imperial army in Henan, Shandong, and other places should exert force together, taking the opportunity to reclaim Xuzhou, Huaiyang, and other places, pushing the battle line back to the Yangtze River; strategically, everything will come alive.

By then, we will launch a pincer attack on the rebel army from north and south; it won't be long before the White Lotus Sect rebels can only be quelled!"

Wan Yuxuan supported first.

The buttocks determine the head; he, the Minister of War, bore too much pressure.

Not being replaced was mainly because the position was too hot, and no big official in the court was willing to take over.

Not only did he have to take the blame for the unfavorable war, but he also had to face the nobility's seizure of power, and at the same time, he had to withstand the firepower of the civil official sprayers.

As long as the situation could be saved, no matter whose proposal it was, he would support it.

By this moment, it had nothing to do with party affiliation; it was purely for his own name before and after death.

No matter who blocked the way, that was his enemy.

"Lord Wan, the Ministry of Revenue has no money!"

Minister of Revenue Pang Chengjie immediately complained.

He jumped out to oppose it, which was also determined by his buttocks.

The court had long been unable to make ends meet, and the Ministry of Revenue wished to spend one copper coin as ten.

At present, the most capable troops in Shandong and Henan were still the border garrisons drawn from the north, among which the Liaodong cavalry performed the most brilliantly.

Letting them risk their lives required paying money and grain first, and then these people would move.

They had seen too many routines of fooling and defaulting, and now they didn't buy it.

Theoretically speaking, they could also delegate power to the localities, letting the two provincial governors raise money to quell the rebellion.

How could it be that the two places were too close to the capital; if power was really delegated, Emperor Yongning would not be able to sleep.

In fact, the several Viceroys in the south made him unable to sleep.

It had nothing to do with whether they were loyal, purely the Emperor's instinctive suspicion.

Moreover, the north was different from the south, having just been robbed by the Hu Ren, and there were starving people everywhere below, and rebellions occurred from time to time.

There was a mess to clean up; even if power was delegated, it would not be easy to raise money and grain.

In recent days, the border garrisons seemingly had no big moves, but they had quelled quite a few small-scale rebellions.

Either someone in the locality paid money to invite them to take action; or they waited until the rebel army finished robbing before jumping out to pick peaches.

"If there is no money, find a way to raise money.

The national affairs are difficult; everyone should bear a little more.

Lord Pang, what ways does the Ministry of Revenue have to raise money, hurry up and propose them!

Once the opportunity to suppress the rebel army is missed, the price that needs to be paid later will not be just this little bit."

Chief Grand Secretary Wan Junhui spoke slowly.

At the critical moment, he, the Chief Grand Secretary, had to stand up and express his position.

Fortunately, this military proposal would not damage the interests of various factions in the court, and everyone wanted to quell the White Lotus Sect rebellion as soon as possible.

A group of civil officials in the issue of suppressing the White Lotus Sect rebels had interests consistent with the nobility faction.

The only interest-related party was the border garrison troops, among which the Liaodong Garrison was the main one.

However, the right to speak of military generals was not high to begin with, and the court rarely listened to their opinions when making decisions.

Moreover, now that people were not at the scene, even if they had different ideas, they had no chance to speak.

The relationship network established in the court by relying on interest delivery was simply unreliable.

Out of consideration for the big picture, the civil officials didn't even think about it and made a decision for them.

"If you want to raise money, I'm afraid the only way is to open up donations!

Not only is the qualification of a government student not enough, but higher-level fame must also be opened.

If the donation amount is high enough, one can also be directly granted an official position.

Involving the appointment of officials, the specific implementation rules still need the Ministry of Personnel to participate in the formulation."

As soon as Pang Chengjie finished speaking, it immediately caused a huge uproar in the court.

"Lord Pang, do you know what you are saying?"

"Which of the lords present here did not study hard in the cold window, experiencing thousands of hardships, to be able to stand in the court.

Now a group of merchants, as long as they take out a little money, can be on par with us.

Where do you put the scholars of the world?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 333 =====