Chapter 364: All Are Children of Farmers

Xu Jia originally also wanted to see blades and soldiers, and have some heads rolling.

But Father Xu persuaded him: "Yushan is your old home, and also where our clan resides. If we cannot even win the hearts and minds of the people in our old home, nor gain their virtuous words, then how can we lead a core force?"

"Leave this matter to me. I am also a provincial graduate, and a landlord, but I also have lofty ideals. I will go and persuade them."

Fellow clansmen and fellow villagers, unless they are truly heinous tyrants, it is indeed difficult to deal a lethal blow. It is not because of some minor conflict that "you already have the way of death." The Kingly Way and the Saintly Way have never been a rule of terror and suppression.

Xu Jia's Dao Kingdom is even more so. Perhaps one should worry less about the people and labor them less, but in these chaotic times, how can one remain aloof from the world, and not labor one's heart and strength to build a beautiful home?

With Xu Zhiyuan personally setting the standard, plus Chen Gongming leading five hundred Daoist children carrying flintlocks to recruit soldiers in Yushan and Dexing counties, basically anyone with a bit of insight knew that this was a major undertaking.

The timid trembled, while the bold had already come to join. Many an old mother at home grabbed her son's hand and said: "Master Xu is distributing land to us; we have nothing to repay him with. What could he possibly want from us poor folk? It is nothing more than our lives. Now that the world is in chaos, the fact that we can still have a mouthful of rice and clothes to wear is already much better than before. If you sell your life for him, he will not treat you unfairly."

Yet, when these young men who were prepared to sell their lives arrived at the recruitment center, they learned that those who were too young were not wanted, only sons were not wanted, those newly married without offspring to carry on the family line were not wanted... those who were too short were not wanted, those with flat feet were not wanted...

So much so that most people were sent straight home, feeling insulted: "What is wrong with my flat feet?" On the spot, they performed a set of boxing techniques and recited a poem.

But they were still cruelly rejected.

Why was it so crazy? Because a sign read: "It is glorious to join the army." It was not just the glory on the surface; the substance was that they would be issued a set of training uniforms, a set of undergarments, and a pair of shoes on the spot.

Although there is no petrochemical industry yet, and armor is basically what it has always been, without much high-tech, it could not be helped that this stuff was linked to Talismans and Magic Tool refining. This path, which is neither immortal cultivation nor science, is becoming increasingly wild.

This looked like a mix of ancient and modern, a jumbled mess, but it was surprisingly aesthetically pleasing. These qualified men put them on right there and then, looking like Heavenly Gods descending to earth, like Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals; even their footsteps became louder.

Then they were dragged off for training: training to turn left, turn right, march in place...

Whenever they got their left and right mixed up, it would draw mockery from the onlookers: "These blockheads, I'm afraid their brains have gone wrong; how can they not even tell left from right?"

The dormitories they lived in were actually the enclosure buildings the Daoist children had built themselves when they were constructing the Daoist temple earlier. It had long been much improved, with bunk beds and water from wells dug into the ground...

Once they arrived there, they were divided into squads, platoons, companies, and battalions. Two squads made a platoon, two platoons made a company, and two companies made a battalion.

From then on, they ate, lived, and trained together. Here, they would undergo drills, learn to use flintlocks, understand tactical command, obey orders, and also learn martial arts, breathing techniques, and receive the "Lingbao Daoist Citizen Register," or rather, they should be the "Lingbao Daoist Soldier Register."

The "Soldier Register" is distinct from the "People Register," more in line with the way of slaughter. Through war and training, one can "gain experience" and thus level up, just like that kind of war game. The corresponding stars are the Broken Army Star, Greedy Wolf Star, Seven Killings Star, Fluorescent Star, Flying Scythe Star, Calculation Star... and so on, all baleful stars and demon stars.

These were all designed by Xu Jia. It is not that slaughter increases experience, but rather that by borrowing the characteristics of the Heavenly Star Gods, a war similar to a sacrifice is granted. Thus, one gains levels, and coupled with the experience of life and death, the person themselves will undergo a transformation.

………

The recruitment work was completed quickly. The work in all of Yushan and Changde proceeded quite smoothly, or rather, very smoothly, and everyone cooperated actively.

Chen Gongming recruited a full two thousand soldiers from good families, plus one thousand militia self-training teams to maintain order in the two counties.

Those Daoist children who had been to the island, learned magic, and fought against the natives—or rather, three years had passed, and they had grown up a lot. They should no longer be called Daoist children; they had also become the most suitable grassroots non-commissioned officers.

Just as Xu Jia had stipulated, establishing branches in the army, these Daoist children were undoubtedly the most supportive of Xu Jia. Many had already completed their cultivation in the Human Immortal Early Stage and entered the Human Immortal Middle Stage. Like the disciples over in America, such as Li Rentai and his ilk, if it weren't for the addition of thermal weapons, he would not be able to beat these people.

With two thousand five hundred Daoist soldiers training in full swing for two months, the county officials and gentry of the surrounding counties were all terrified. Some reported to the imperial court, denouncing them for treason and rebellion.

Because of the massive closure of post stations, these denunciation documents were slow, and by the time the court's reply arrived, it had already been more than half a month. And it was not the Emperor's decree, but the central government's: ordering the County Magistrates to recruit soldiers themselves, execute the rebels, or perhaps offer amnesty.

There was no other reason; there were too many rebellions, and they could not manage them all. They were even somewhat angry: "Your Jiangnan West Circuit didn't suffer any disaster, why are you joining in the fun and rebelling? It's one thing for the Central Plains to rebel; this year is the third year of abnormal weather—spring floods, summer droughts, plagues, famine..."

Don't look at the Jiangnan West Circuit as if it were peaceful; outside, it had already turned into a slaughterhouse, especially in the Central Plains region, which had basically reached the point where people were eating each other due to the great famine.

The court officials believed that the Jiangnan West Circuit had no basis for rebellion. If there was a rebellion, it must be that the officials of the Jiangnan West Circuit were incompetent, and they should send officials to pacify the region and inspect the Jiangnan West Circuit.

Furthermore, the court had no money, and the Emperor had passed away only a few years after ascending the throne. Now the top priority was to install the seven-year-old Crown Prince as Emperor.

A young Emperor is good; a young Emperor means no one pointing fingers, and one can reach the pinnacle of power. Many officials have worked their whole lives without being able to realize their ambitions, political ideals, or even just giving up.

But now with a young Emperor, that is wonderful. As long as I control the young Emperor, can't I change the laws however I want, and reform however I want?

They believed that the external rebellions were temporary. As long as they held power in the center and implemented their own policies, the world would surely be at peace. They were completely unable to see that the entire Great Ning Dynasty was already a corpse rotting and decaying; they were the maggots wriggling inside the corpse, excitedly devouring the rotting flesh.

And so, Xu Jia had originally thought that Yushan and Changde were his own governed territories, where Immortal Hall disciples had long been preaching, and he himself had manifested and spread the Dharma, so there was a corresponding foundation. Just as Father Xu Zhiyuan said, this was his old home, and it might not be so smooth in other places. But he didn't expect that when it came time to conquer cities and seize land, it would be so simple.

Arriving in Wuzhou, the Wuzhou officials had already abandoned their seals. The people in the city tied up the landlords and brought them out, their eyes shining with light, asking: "Which one is Master Xu?"

Xu Zhiyuan originally did not participate in conquering cities and seizing land, but because his popularity was extremely high, Chen Gongming brought him along.

This is a good thing, but not entirely a good thing. The higher one is lifted, the harder one falls. Many people even set up their own agricultural societies, blindly following the trend. In fact, they were just Grass-Head Kings of a sort, using the name to drink wine from big bowls, divide gold by the big scale, and eat meat in big mouthfuls.

They combined the Equal Field Land Reform with the image of bandits and Green Woods, and some spread stories of gods and ghosts, taking the opportunity to fish for benefits. In short, it could be considered a dance of demons.

When Xu Zhiyuan arrived in Wuzhou City, he entered the Yamen and summoned the people of local repute to inquire about matters. First, he presided over the Equal Field work. Then, he felt that it was too slow to distribute land one by one like this, and if he let them distribute the land themselves, it would affect the image of his own team and easily lead to too many problems.

Thus, it was necessary to train a group of people to go to each village to guide the Equal Field work, and also to send people to protect their safety and health.

Xu Zhiyuan took out a mirror and used it to cast the "Thousand Mile Courtyard Round Light Technique" Magic Tool. He used the Divine Abilities of the two little ghosts, Duowen Child and Guangmu Child, to synchronize sound and image, and asked Xu Jia for a strategy.

Xu Jia did not expect his father to encounter such a problem so early, and said: "This is our problem. If we don't have enough manpower, we must do subtraction, not blindly expand, thinking of taking over everything. We need to digest. Father, you stay in Wuzhou for half a month or a month, solve the problems in Wuzhou, invite the common people to judge cases together. Besides the Equal Field, we must also practically solve some problems for the common people. We are here to distribute land, but are we only here to distribute land? Do we leave after distributing it, or do we leave our people behind to continue working, so they don't make a comeback?"

"Where does our superiority manifest? How does our system make a city, along with the tens of thousands of people in the countryside, identify with us and believe that we are truly different from them?"

"Maintain the operation of Wuzhou, then solve employment for the common people, and start major construction. Just give the orders, and let the local people who are willing to manage things handle the rest of the projects. Promote and appoint some trustworthy people, and then go to the next place."

"Taking Wuzhou is simple, the officials have all run away, but what is there to govern with? They made a mess of things, scraping the land three feet deep. After we leave, can the people live well?"

Xu Zhiyuan heard this and suddenly realized. Understanding where the priority lay, he stayed in the county government office and began to work wholeheartedly. As for the land distribution by those pretending to be them in other places, there was no need to worry; just tell the people that he was still in Wuzhou, how long he would stay in Wuzhou, and where he would go next.

For a time, those who were muddling through became very conspicuous in this state of "stillness." Many people discovered that they were not Master Xu's team at all and cursed them loudly. Some were thick-skinned and took the initiative to come to Wuzhou to offer their services, saying they had already mastered such-and-such a place, completed the Equal Field in such-and-such a place, and hoped that Master Xu would appoint them as officials...

These were all clowns. Once Xu Zhiyuan was no longer in a hurry, he would naturally use the method of the "Dharma Realm" to conduct a "Night Trial of the Yin" in Xu Jia's name.

During the day, he would judge cases and distribute land; at night, his Primordial Spirit would leave his body and go to the City God Temple. Even the City God could only obediently come to welcome Xu Zhiyuan, respectfully saying: "Master Xu."

Thus, Xu Zhiyuan could obtain corresponding intelligence from the City God and achieve clear insight into everything.

Half a month after taking Wuzhou, the people in Xinzhou could not wait any longer. The Xinzhou officials, knowing they could not suppress the public sentiment and finding it difficult to escape, took the lead in surrendering, voluntarily stating their willingness to distribute land. Even the gentry, landlords, and various clans in the city hoped that they could "distribute their own land" and not let outsiders raid their homes to distribute it.

Of course, this plan was too well-calculated, and it was basically impossible to muddle through. However, Xu Jia was very disappointed; not a single battle had been fought. Were these officials of the Jiangnan West Circuit all spineless? This was actually Xu Jia's misunderstanding. The Prefect of Nanchang in the Jiangnan West Circuit was someone who understood military preparedness. He had long received news that someone was rebelling, so he actively trained troops, trained three thousand naval soldiers in Poyang, and raised twenty thousand infantry.

Why did they have so much money to train troops? Because these gentry and clans were all afraid. They were afraid that they would come to distribute their land and revolutionize their lives. Xu Jia's side actually didn't kill many people, but they described it as killing everyone they saw—men taller than a wheel were killed, and women were married off to the mud-legged peasants as wives...

But they forgot that Poyang was also Xu Jia's territory. The Shunji Little Dragon King of Poyang was a clone of Ao Jia of the South Sea, and the Poyang Water Mansion was the Earth Office Yamen of the Jiangnan West Circuit, in charge of all demon and ghost affairs.

This Nanchang Prefect's large naval ships, while training, were swept into the middle of Poyang Lake by a gust of wind. Then a dragon appeared and said to the officers and soldiers on the ships: "Master Xu asked me to tell you to go back to your old homes. Land is distributed by head count: three mu per man, two mu per woman. If you go back and immediately take a wife, you can get five mu of land."

Then it pushed the ships onto the shore, and the officers and soldiers took off their armor and ran away. The ships were then transported to Raozhou in the night.

It was not just the naval forces; among the infantry, there was also a gradual spread of talk that could not be stopped.

"My family has seven people: my grandfather, my father, my mother, my brother, my sister-in-law, me, and my nephew, me... If I go back and take a wife, I can get five more mu of land, and if I have a big fat boy, I can get two more mu. This seven mu of land—one mu of good land costs eight taels of silver to buy, and it takes three years for a family to reclaim it. Where am I going to find these fifty-six taels of silver?"

"My father and mother can't farm the land; their bodies are weak, and they were dragged to death by illness in their early years. Now it's just my brother and sister-in-law with three children. If I don't go back, if the land is distributed, my brother won't be able to finish farming all that land, and it will definitely be taken back. If I farm with my brother, we will definitely be able to finish it."

At this time, farming was already intensive, with a single season's yield per mu being about two to three hundred catties, and an annual yield per mu of over five hundred catties; an individual's annual food ration was about eight hundred catties, so for an adult, three mu of land was actually enough to sustain a person, at least enough to not starve to death.

Of course, this is without considering the messy taxes and corvée labor.

However, Xu Jia distributed land, and even gave it to the elderly, children, and women; although they were allocated less, two mu each, they consumed less food, so this was surplus, a profit, at least ensuring they had food left over every year, and as for how much was left, having enough for next year's rations was no problem, which increased the farmers' ability to withstand risks.

It was not like before, when farmers tilled the land but did not even have enough for their own rations, and still had to borrow seeds; the Green Sprout Loan seemed well-intentioned, but in reality, it was a mountain pressing down on the farmers.

Now that there is such hope, how could everyone not yearn for it?

These Military Officials are all the children of farmers.

(End of chapter)