Chapter 518: The Benefits of Guide Prefecture

What no one expected was that the clerks and runners from the Guide Prefecture county office would come bearing gifts — and that gift was none other than Chang Tongchui himself.

"Young Master Zhao, this vicious criminal knew no bounds and has smeared the name of everyone in Guide, high and low. The gentry of Guide are all of one mind — we ask Young Master Zhao to deal with this man as you see fit!" The clerk who spoke was filled with righteous indignation.

The method of dealing with him was simple enough. All the heroes from various parts who had come to help were now gathered at Mamu Market. Just behead Chang Tongchui and hang him from a pole — that would be the best deterrent.

Many people already knew of Zhao Jin's ability and the strength of the Zhao Battalion, but only now did they understand just how powerful they truly were. The leading figure who had run rampant across Guide Prefecture did not last ten days. If one calculated carefully, he had actually been beaten into utter ruin within three days.

Although it was Guide Prefecture's own people who did the fighting, anyone who had seen the Zhao Battalion's troops felt that if such a force had taken action, it likely would not have taken even three days.

Moreover, the Zhao Battalion was ruthless — they killed when they said they would kill. Everyone else, after all, was not the government, so they still acted with some caution, still thinking of leaving a way out for future encounters. They never expected the Zhao Battalion to act so cleanly and decisively. This made everyone tremble with fear. And when the officials and runners from the yamen came and paid no heed to these matters, everyone understood even more clearly that the Zhao Battalion had the confidence to act this way — they simply did not fear the authorities.

As for the clerks and runners from the Guide Prefecture county offices who came calling, they wanted to ask the Zhao Battalion to do one thing: take over the tax collection.

Guide Prefecture encompassed one department and seven counties. Since the founding of the Great Ming, it had never suffered any major military disaster or natural calamity. Though it bordered the Yellow River, the water conditions here were fairly normal, with no major floods or breaches. Without military troubles, it could be said to have enjoyed favorable weather for many years.

Because there were no peasant uprisings or famines, the power of the great households on the ground swelled more and more, as they continuously annexed land and strengthened themselves.

Over the years, in the vast Guide Prefecture, more than seventy percent of the farmland had fallen into the hands of fewer than a hundred powerful and gentry families. The rest belonged to ordinary farming households.

These powerful gentry families concealed their landholdings and delayed paying taxes. The yamen could hardly gain any advantage from them. But the farmland of the common people was poor land, and not much grease could be squeezed from them. If the exploitation was too harsh, the farming households would go bankrupt, and their land would be swallowed up by the great families — an even more vicious cycle.

So the clerks and runners of Guide's various counties all felt this job was rather pointless. They toiled bitterly but gained very little benefit for themselves.

They had naturally heard about what happened in Xuzhou. The situation there had been much the same as in Guide Prefecture, perhaps even more troublesome. The gentry and powerful families within its borders were fierce and fond of fighting, and even the common people were martial and aggressive. For the runners, collecting taxes was like going to war with soldiers — dozens or even a hundred able-bodied men would go into the countryside armed with weapons, either seizing or negotiating.

After Zhao Jin took over the imperial grain tax collection, not only did everyone save trouble, but the money and grain they shared out was more than before. Everyone understood, of course, that Zhao Jin would certainly keep enough profit for himself when taking over the taxes. But the current situation in Guide Prefecture was that they had no profit at all — those great households simply refused to pay or paid only a pittance. Rather than reaping nothing, it was better to take a fixed amount.

Besides, it was said that this Zhao Jin had a knack for generating and amassing wealth. Apart from working the land, he could devise all sorts of ways to make money, even creating a salt market out of thin air. If such methods could be applied in Guide, wouldn't everyone be delighted?

Everyone had heard of Zhao Jin's reputation. They knew that although this lord was young, his character was such that his word was as good as a thousand in gold. Despite his ability to generate and accumulate wealth, he did not value silver and coin too heavily. He knew to share the profits with others, and he had never gone back on what he promised to give. Such a man was naturally worth cooperating with.

The county seats, department cities, and the prefectural city were the domain of the government. Outside the city walls was the territory of the powerful gentry. Anything one wanted to do had to go through them. Letting Zhao Jin take over the grain tax was tantamount to having him deal with everyone in Guide Prefecture, high and low. If he failed, nothing more need be said. But if he succeeded, it would mean the entire Guide Prefecture would follow Zhao Jin's direction.

The clerks and runners were all shrewd characters and naturally understood this logic. But they did things to reap benefits. If there was no benefit to be had, who cared whose direction they followed? Besides, no matter how much Zhao Jin took over, Guide Prefecture still bore the surname Zhu. Ultimately, taking over the grain tax was to fulfill the tasks assigned by the court and their superiors — it was not for rebellion.

"Staying shut in and working in isolation truly won't do. Only after coming into Guide Prefecture did I realize who can be won over and who must be suppressed. Those great landlords who call themselves loyal and virtuous households — they form a world of their own, only managing their farmland, and they act as if our Zhao Battalion doesn't exist. Then there are those near the Xuzhou and Fengyang side. Here, they can't amass too much land and can only seek livelihoods elsewhere. These people rely on the salt routes and trade routes to make their fortunes, so they curry favor with us at every turn," Zhao Jin said to his companions.

Before leaving Xuzhou, Zhao Jin's targets for winning over and subduing were the powerful gentry of Guide Prefecture, and he had planned to handle things the same way as in Xuzhou. Only after arriving here did he discover the difference. The powerful figures of Guide Prefecture, or rather the various factions and figures of influence, could be broadly divided into two types.

One type was the so-called loyal and virtuous gentry, who managed farmland and estates. They made their fortunes by exploiting tenant farmers and annexing land, their goal being to acquire ever more farmland. The sons of their families focused primarily on study and pursuing scholarly advancement, seeking success in the imperial examinations to bring glory to their ancestors, and incidentally to secure tax exemptions for the family and annex even more land.

The other type was the so-called heroic figures. For those great landlords to have achieved such a position, it often took more than ten generations of management. In other words, apart from the direct-line descendants of these great landlord gentry families, others had little opportunity. And not everyone could achieve scholarly or military honors. If they wanted to live a bit better, they had no choice but to roll in the rivers and lakes, or find ways to scrape together some quick money.

Most of those near the Xuzhou side were of this type. As soon as the Zhao Battalion crossed the border, those who came to welcome them were also of this sort.

Because this side bordered another province, people would flee to Xuzhou whenever trouble arose, beyond the reach of the authorities. Thus, there were quite a few desperate outlaws. Moreover, further along the Yellow River were stretches prone to frequent flooding, so the farmland here was of little value. On the other hand, the powerful figures of Xuzhou had extended their reach considerably. Although they were not supposed to cross provincial borders, acquiring land across the border was not too difficult. Cloud Mountain Temple, the Kong Family Estate, and the like all had a hand in it.

Although the two sides were in different provinces and could do little to each other, it was still better not to provoke powers like Cloud Mountain Temple if one could avoid it. Therefore, on the side of Guide Prefecture near Dangshan County in Xuzhou, there were no great landlord estates. Correspondingly, the second type, the "heroic figures," held the mainstream.

Even the authorities could do nothing about these great landlord loyal and virtuous gentry — they couldn't collect taxes from them and were even bullied by them. It was fortunate that the loyal and virtuous gentry here passed down farming and study through the generations and looked down on lowly trades like yamen clerks. Unlike the great clans of Jiangnan, who would directly have their household-born servants become clerks and control the practical affairs of government. Because of this disdain, they were mutually hostile with the clerks and runners of the prefectural and county yamens, which led these people to seek out Zhao Jin to take over the grain tax.

In truth, it was the same everywhere. The top-tier powerful great landlords paid nothing, the middle tier paid little, and the small landlords and the farming households below them were squeezed the hardest and paid the most.

If Zhao Jin took over the grain tax, the largest would pay more, the middle tier would pay normally, and the small landlords and farming households below would naturally pay far less than before. All under heaven act for profit. If benefits were given, hearts would turn toward him, and control would naturally be secured.

When the clerks and runners of Guide were discussing this, someone raised a doubt, saying that by their calculations, the profit falling to Zhao Jin would not be much. Ten percent of the entire Guide Prefecture's grain tax might seem like a great fortune in their eyes, but this lord might not even consider it worth his notice. After all, to subdue all the various parts would still require the use of blades and the spilling of blood.

But someone immediately retorted: you don't need to worry about a rich man's affairs. You think he's earning too little, but in reality, he'll still skin another layer in between.

After the Single Whip Law, all taxes collected from various places and the corvée labor the common people owed were uniformly converted into silver. But where was so much silver to be found in the market? When paying taxes, they could only sell their grain at low prices. The profit in this was immense, and only a great magnate like Zhao Jin, who had no shortage of ready silver, could manage it.

To put it bluntly, when the time came, even the official circles of Guide Prefecture would likely be profited from by Zhao Jin. But letting him profit was not a bad thing — one couldn't ask someone to handle affairs without letting them get rich.

Another point was that if Zhao Jin subdued all parts of Guide Prefecture and could make those local tyrants pay their taxes, he would naturally be able to control everything. When the time came, all sorts of businesses would surely flourish.

Only knowing that there were benefits in this matter that could tempt Zhao Jin did they dare to come calling to discuss it. Otherwise, if they rashly came to the door and Zhao Jin instead joined forces with those great households, they would be dead without a burial place with a flip of his hand.

As local natives, they thought they had considered everything thoroughly. But having stayed in one place for so long, their vision and perspective were still quite narrow and limited.

After sending these clerks and runners off, Zhao Jin spoke to his companions: "The benefits of Guide Prefecture's grain tax are decent for us, but merely decent. To seize control of this territory, we must be wary of the authorities and spend effort subduing and organizing it. The share of the tax revenue and the profit from buying grain with silver — compared to this toil, it's nothing much. If we spent the same effort managing Huai'an Prefecture, the benefits we'd gain would be even greater. Yet Guide Prefecture must be taken. Can you tell me why?"

Zhao Jin rarely had occasions to test his companions like this. Over the years, he had taken charge of everything, and his companions had grown accustomed to following his directions. When he asked this, Wang Zhaojing was fine, but Ji Xiang and Liu Yong's expressions both turned serious.

"Guide Prefecture borders the Yellow River. That water route is valuable," Ji Xiang spoke first.

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded. The most valuable stretch of the Yellow River water route was within Henan territory, from Shanzhou all the way to Guide Prefecture, flowing through Henan Prefecture, Huaiqing Prefecture, Kaifeng Prefecture, and Guide Prefecture. This stretch passed through the wealthy core regions of Henan Province. Kaifeng and Luoyang, two of the few great cities under heaven, were not far from the river. The transport and travel along this water route represented unimaginably vast profits.

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