Chapter 1173

First Volume, Chapter 1173: Preparing for the War of Public Opinion

Every household has its own hard-to-recite scripture; the greatest hardship for local common people is not going hungry, but being forced to serve as spies and informants.

In the water villages of Jiangnan, as long as no disaster strikes, landlords and county officials can extract the people's flesh and blood without being too cruel, and the common people won't starve.

If the war were merely about fighting for cities, the local common people would not be so fearful.

But with so many soldiers defending the city, an enormous logistics system is required to sustain them, and nearly every aspect of logistics depends entirely on the support of the common people.

From carrying materials and military rations over mountains and rivers, to surveilling enemy movements, even directly ambushing and blocking enemy forces.

Once the common people are drawn into the war, for the enemy to win, they must cut off logistics—and inevitably, they will target the local common people.

Whether it's the local army or the imperial troops marching south, to the local common people, both are like tigers and wolves.

On one hand, they fear being conscripted by the local army; on the other, they fear being executed as jianxie by the imperial troops.

This torment of wolves ahead and tigers behind, trapped in the middle, leaves the common people with no choice but to abandon the lives they've built over half a lifetime and flee in all directions to avoid the war.

Learning of the plight facing the local common people, Qin Feng's expression grew increasingly grave.

It truly proved the old saying: when a state prospers, the common people suffer; when a state falls, the common people suffer—whenever war breaks out, there is always a way to make the common people endure unbearable hardship.

The common people of the North face hunger and poverty, while the common people of the South face heavy taxes and forced labor.

Each has their own suffering.

To fundamentally resolve the common people's suffering, there is only one solution: end the war.

"Old sir, please rise."

Seeing the Village Chief still kneeling, Liu Ming gave a signal; two accompanying soldiers stepped forward and pulled him up from the ground.

Looking at the Village Chief, trembling with fear and eyes filled with dread, Qin Feng sighed.

To reassure the old man, Qin Feng's tone was exceptionally gentle.

"Old sir, what you just described—is it only true in this area, or is it the same across all of Jiangnan?"

With matters at this point, the Village Chief had no reason to hide anything; he spoke without reservation: "I've never traveled far, but in every village I know, it's the same."

Qin Feng nodded; he now had a clear picture of the general condition of Jiangnan's common people.

Of the fifty thousand soldiers defending Gusu City, at least ninety percent are combat troops, meaning that to sustain this army, at least three to five times as many logistics personnel are needed.

In other words, common people within hundreds of li around Gusu City all face the danger of being conscripted—even the elderly, weak, women, and children must serve as eyes and ears for Gusu City.

To describe it as "no production, everyone a soldier" is not an exaggeration.

Qin Feng silently marveled: this brief outing to observe the people's conditions was, without doubt, the wisest decision he'd made since arriving in Nan Jing.

The common people must choose a side; if they cannot contact the imperial court, they will inevitably cooperate with the South Border Army.

In that case, Qin Feng could easily be drowned in a sea of people's war.

And…

Qin Feng keenly realized that the key to this war is not capturing a few cities or defeating a certain number of enemy troops.

It is the struggle for the allegiance of the South Border common people!

Whoever gains more common people's support—in other words, whoever wins the hearts of the South Border people—will be the one who ultimately triumphs.

Qin Feng placed a hand on the Village Chief's shoulder and said solemnly: "Tell the villagers this war targets only the Powerful Clans of Nan Jing."

"It has nothing to do with the poor common people."

"Moreover, the local gentry and warlords are already trapped inside Gusu City—villagers need only carry on with their daily lives. I, the Prince, swear on my honor that my troops will not touch a single village."

Hearing this, the Village Chief choked up; though he had just risen, he knelt again.

"Your Highness, is this truly true? Will the imperial army really leave not a single hair unharmed?"

Before Qin Feng could answer, Liu Ming interjected.

"Even if you don't trust the imperial army, you must trust Prince Qin."

"When Jiangnan suffered famine, countless starving refugees fled north—they all went to the Northern Border. Do you know how well-off they are now?"

At first, Qin Feng had no hope; after all, village folk are isolated and rarely hear news from beyond their region.

But the result surprised him.

At the mention of "Northern Border," the Village Chief grew extremely excited; his eyes widened, shining brightly.

"Northern Border? I know! I know it well!"

"During the famine, many from neighboring villages fled—everyone thought they'd never return, destined to die."

"But… last year, some actually came back to visit relatives."

"The Northern Border is more than a thousand li from Jiangnan. Those refugees weren't wealthy or noble—yet they could afford to return home? That proves they've prospered."

This was true; transportation was extremely difficult, and checkpoints across regions imposed strict restrictions.

Not even visiting relatives outside one's province was easy—even if a daughter married within the same county, just a hundred li apart, north and south, seeing each other was nearly impossible.

For an ordinary person to cross a thousand li and return home to visit family already meant they had "made it."

Even Liu Ming felt immense pride when speaking of the Northern Border; he lifted his chin and said triumphantly: "Those former refugees now live as ordinary common people in the Northern Border."

"Yet even ordinary common people there earn more than ten taels of silver per year!"

What?!

The Village Chief couldn't believe his ears; his mouth hung open in shock.

"T… ten taels?!"

"Is the Northern Border paved with gold? How could ordinary common people earn ten taels?"

Liu Ming beamed: "All of this is thanks to Prince Qin's governance."

"In the Northern Border, conscription has become history; common people no longer even need to perform forced labor."

The Village Chief was utterly bewildered, asking dazedly: "If no one performs fu yi, how is the city defended?"

Liu Ming pointed to himself and patiently explained: "Forget distant places—take me as an example."

"Besides fighting, I know nothing else, so I left production and became a Professional Soldier, with a monthly Yuefu of twenty taels of silver."

"Over a year, just from my Yuefu, I earn two hundred and forty taels of silver."

"Of course, ordinary soldiers don't earn nearly that much, but they still easily make three or five taels of silver a year."

"Keep in mind, this is only for the man; if you include the income of his wife, children, and elderly relatives, a household can save ten taels of silver a year."

"On the Northern Border, enlisting in the Army has extremely high barriers—it's not something anyone can just join."