Chapter 973
No One is Interested in Good Farmland
Chapter 973 No One is Interested in Good Farmland
Outside Chunyang County Government Office in Jiangnan,
The person in charge, Ma Tao, was still a little dizzy and his face was full of disbelief. When did Lord Zuo become so easy to talk to? This was 20,000 taels of silver, which was given to him just as he said. It was something he could earn in three lifetimes, and now it was on him. He wanted to touch it, but when he thought of the power of Lord Zuo and Lord Xu, he was immediately frightened and had no courage at all.
Seeing the county government office right in front of him, he moved his feet with difficulty and walked in carefully. The whole yard was full of refugees and there was no place to stay. He didn't know when it would end. Lord Xu was a good official.
After walking around for a while, he finally arrived at the government hall and saw Lord Xu writing a document. He walked closer and placed the document on the table, along with two Sihai Money House bills on top.
"Master, Lord Zuo replied, saying that the treasury was short of 30,000 taels of silver, of which 10,000 taels of rice were destroyed by the flood, and he made up for the other 20,000 taels of silver. Here are the handover documents and silver notes. He also said that Lord Xu is a good official."
Ma Tao lowered his head and spoke in the hall. Although Lord Xu was wearing shabby clothes, he had a sharp feeling. In addition, what was Lord Xu writing? He had written a lot of memorials these days. I wonder who in the capital received them.
"Humph, he knows how to talk. Since he has been given 20,000 taels of silver, he can't just sit there and do nothing. He should use the money to buy medicine so that the people can drink some to prevent the epidemic. In addition, you see, all the people who come here today are from various families in Jinling. They want to buy the land in Chunyang County. The price is this, which is far from enough. How should we proceed?"
Xu Changwen's face was gloomy. The original ten dan of rice for one mu of land had now become two dan of rice for one mu, which was several times less. How could it be possible?
"Well, sir, I don't think so. Those gentry and nobles are not ungrateful. Now is a year of disaster. They say sell high and buy low. Now food is scarce. How can those people offer a high price? Besides, only good paddy fields can be sold at this price on normal days. Now, they can only survive."
It's not that Ma Tao was too blunt. After all, the best farmland in the south of the Yangtze River was all in the counties under Jinling, Suzhou, and Yangzhou. The land in the north of the Yangtze River was not good either. But the four counties of Anning, Shangyu, Chunyang and Yongning were all first-class fertile land. As long as the disaster was over, they would be valuable assets if they were bought. But for some reason, the four county magistrates seemed to have agreed that one acre of land must be exchanged for ten stone of rice, and that the common people must be hired. This would be extremely costly, but what could be done?
"Don't discuss this matter any further. The price set by the government is 10 dan of grain for one mu of land. It's the same for anyone who comes. If you don't want to buy, don't buy. I don't believe that no one would dare to come here to buy land. These are all the best fertile lands in Jiangnan. How could anyone not be tempted?"
Xu Changwen was quite indignant. If he really sold these acres at a low price, causing the people to be displaced and without support, he, as the county magistrate, would be derelict in his duty. It would be better for him not to do his job.
"Oh, my lord, you dare not say that. Although it is said that the people should not fight against the officials, those people all have their own backers. Even if they don't argue with you, it will be troublesome if they stick together and don't buy. There is not enough food for disaster relief, sir."
The chief, Ma Tao, had a distressed look on his face. Today, he went to the official warehouse to find trouble with Lord Zuo. Although Lord Zuo responded and gave him silver, he was afraid that he had offended Lord Zuo.
Now, the old man in front of him actually wants to sell the land at the price set by the government. You know, this will offend more than one person. By that time, it is possible that his official position will be unstable.
"If it's not enough, then you can submit another document to the government office to ask for it. By the way, which families have come to register today to purchase the land?"
Xu Changwen didn't care whether these people were sincere or not. As long as he could gather enough food and get through, and plant the fields, it would be able to calm people's hearts.
"Uh, sir, the clerk said today that in the entire Jinling, only one chamber of commerce came to register, and no one from the other chambers of commerce came here."
Seeing that the master didn't believe him, Ma Tao put on a bitter face and spread the account book written by the clerk on the table. There should have been densely written words, but now there was only the name of a chamber of commerce written on it.
Xu Changwen's face was particularly ugly. The prestige of the Jiangnan court was almost gone.
"Which chamber of commerce registered it?"
"My Lord, it's Su Jinkai, the former salt merchant of Jinling and the president of the Su Family Chamber of Commerce. I heard that he is hooking up with Marquis Luo Yun, but I don't know if it's true or not."
There was something strange in Master Ma's eyes, as if the man in front of him was Luo Yunhou's disciple. Could there be some connection between them?
Xu Changwen was also stunned. Su Jinkai seemed to have heard of this person's name in the Marquis' Mansion. Unexpectedly, in the end, he relied on the power of the Marquis' Mansion to buy ten stone of grain from this acre of land. It was a huge bargain. Those gentry and wealthy families did not even want to bid. How could the court give in to such a shallow person?
That's it,
Xu Changwen suddenly had an idea in his mind. Since no one came to claim the land, he might as well take all the land in the name of the government, and then resell it with the court and county government as collateral. In this way, he could easily put an end to the bullying by the noble families.
If the Su Family Chamber of Commerce wants to take over all the land in the four counties of Jinling, there are about 100,000 acres of good farmland in the disaster-stricken areas. It can not only alleviate the disaster, but also ensure that the victims do not sell the good farmland at a low price, killing two birds with one stone. However, whether the Su Family dares to do so or not, this is all the farmland in the four counties, and it still needs to be discussed in detail.
"Go and inform Su Jinkai, the president of the Su Family Chamber of Commerce, to come to the county government tonight. Also, go to Shangyu County, Anning County, and Yongning County to find the three county magistrates."
"Uh, yes, sir."
Ma Tao didn't understand, but he still responded, went out of the hall and sent someone to pass the message, looked at the victims in the yard, with a helpless look on his face, and shouted;
"Hurry, all of you, put up the shed. At least it can block the wind tonight. Also, go to the restaurant outside and cook a few dishes and bring them over to the adults."
"Yes, sir, I will go right away."
A few clerks quickly gathered together and left the yamen, while the rest of the yamen runners were still repairing things in the yamen.
In Jinling City,
In the study of Zhen Yingjia, the second master of the Zhen family, there was cigarette smoke all around, and the water from the Mirror Lake was used to boil tea. The aroma of the fragrant tea mixed with the smell of the purple gold incense created a unique artistic conception. The eldest master, Zhen Yuandao, was sitting opposite him, picking up the tea bowl and drinking it down in one gulp.
"Oh, this is really good tea. After taking a sip, the aroma is really overflowing. By the way, second brother, several county magistrates in Chunyang County have sent a letter saying that the government will guarantee the sale of the disaster-stricken fields, and they have offered a sky-high price of ten dan of grain per mu. You know, now one dan of grain is ten taels of silver, and ten dan of grain is one hundred taels of silver. How dare he ask for it?"
Still angry, he took another sip of tea. If those county magistrates had not said that any sale without the guarantee and seal of the county government would not count, he would have dared to buy all of it. Now the stewed meat was right in front of him, but he couldn't eat it. He was so anxious that he was dying.
I was still angry, but I saw my second brother squinting his eyes, brewing tea, and taking a sip slowly.
"Brother, the best farmland in Jiangnan is still cultivated land. Is a hundred taels of silver too much?"
"Ahem, second brother, that's not much, of course. These are all cultivated fields, and two harvests a year is profitable. But now it's different from the past. Originally, one stone of grain in Jiangnan was only one tael of silver. Now it's been hit by a disaster, and the price has risen more than ten times. They don't want silver, but only grain. Isn't this embarrassing?
Even if I go out and buy it, it will cost six taels of silver to get one dan of grain, and we will have to wait for some time. In this case, we will have to pay for the round-trip shipping, not to mention other people. I estimate that they will need at least eight taels of silver per dan. "
Zhen Yuandao was not bragging. He was not good at other things, but when it came to large-scale material transactions, especially food, no one could match him. Now it depended on how those people would handle it. It would be best if the Zhen family could take over 40,000 acres of fertile land in Chunyang County in one go. In this way, the best land would be in the hands of the Zhen family.
"Brother, you are too impatient. The disaster has not happened overnight. The Xinbei levee has been blocked by the government troops and the water has receded, but the number of victims is increasing. They have been drowned before the crops are even harvested. How can the government's disaster relief grain be enough to help? Unless we plant more crops now and wait until the harvest time, we can breathe a sigh of relief. The county magistrates all think so, but they forgot one thing, which is the court's policy of converting fields into mulberry trees. If they fail to complete it, they will not be able to report to the capital."
Zhen Yingjia pursed his lips, with a hint of smile in his eyes. This was unsolvable, unless someone dared to defy the imperial court's national policy. Unfortunately, even the Supervisory Envoy Su, who had just come to Jinling, did not dare to show up.
If he doesn't move, Eunuch Yang and Lord Jing will show up. Another possibility is that half of the crops are planted in grain and the other half are planted in mulberry trees. The court will support the disaster victims. However, this is impossible. People come to Jiangnan to be officials just for money. Who would use their own pockets to fill these?
"Haha, okay, okay, then we'll just wait until those county magistrates come to beg us. Then, our Zhen family will get the best bite."
With a loud laugh, Zhen Yuandao felt relieved for a moment. He didn't believe that there was any official who didn't like money, and he didn't believe that there was any dog who didn't like to eat shit.
at the same time,
The other several noble families, including the clansmen left behind by the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, were also discussing in private. They were simply waiting and seeing. The food for disaster relief was only enough for one month at most. When the food ran out, they would not be the ones in a hurry. Therefore, Jinling was still peaceful and prosperous, and the smoke from opera on the Qinhuai River lasted for a long time.
Jingnan,
On the official road on the north side of Linshan County, a group of cavalrymen were rushing southwards. After arriving at the camp, they ran straight to the open space of the camp. From a distance, they saw a fat figure standing in front, pointing his finger at everyone and scolding them.
"Manager Song, Manager Song, I'm back."
A hurried voice rang out.
Song Da looked up and saw that the captain he had sent out had returned to the entrance outside the camp. He waved for him to come over and asked;
"What's the hurry? Is the matter settled?"
"Replying to Lord Song, the matter has been completed and not completed. The food and supplies in the camp are missing by 30%."
Ma Cai, the captain of the baggage transport, wiped the sweat from his forehead and reported back the supply issue. Song Da frowned. Thirty percent was missing. It should be shared by General Gu Ping of Jingnan and General Song Yutian of Dingdong. Even the 20,000 prisoners of the Taiping Sect were taken. However, the transportation of food and grass has reached its limit.
"Why are you so anxious about these things? The 30% that is missing has been distributed as profit. How much did you spend on the 20,000 prisoners of war sent north?"
"Your Excellency, not much of it was used. Ten percent of it was transported into Daliang City, and the rest was given to General Gu and General Song's troops. As for the bandit troops, they were taken over by General Han who was escorting food and grass south. Half of the troops were sent directly back to the capital, and they were fed with the dry food that General Han brought with him."
Ma Cai walked in a hurry and gasped heavily, probably because he had eaten too much at noon. He looked at the fires not far away and saw that they had already started cooking. Captain Feng Lin was still directing the work, which was quite hard work.
"In this case, the expenses of the camp will be reduced by 40%. You and Feng Lin will keep an eye on the back. Don't use too much. We need to ensure that the camp has a ten-day reserve."
Song Da frowned, thinking again and again, remembering what the Marquis said about not rushing to attack the city, so in this case, he could only cut down on the food and grass supply.
"Well, sir, if that's the case, what will happen if those soldiers start to make trouble? The Marquis,
Captain Ma smiled bitterly. If that were the case, those soldiers would start to make a scene.
"Just go and do it. I will personally go and talk to the Marquis. As for the troublemakers, you should be in the Beijing camp."
Song Da had a sullen face and wanted to cause trouble in the camp. He was afraid that Luo Yunhou would really dare to do it, so he flicked his sleeves and went to the central tent with two soldiers.
In the big tent,
Zhang Jinyu and His Royal Highness Prince Jin had just finished their meal and were drinking tea to digest the food. The long table in front of them had been cleared of food and replaced with a topographic map drawn by General Hu, together with the court's original geomancy map. The location of Linshan County City was perfectly presented on the white brocade map, especially the city gate. Darker markings represented more soldiers, and lighter markings represented fewer soldiers. It was all in plain sight.
As for King Zhou Ding of Jin, he looked around with curiosity. He originally thought that attacking the city would not be difficult, but after seeing this picture, he realized that he was just looking at the world from a narrow perspective.
"My Lord, looking at this map, the North Gate and the West Gate have the most people and the strongest defenses. Should we attack the South Gate and the East Gate?"
Pointing to the south and east, impatient,
Zhang Jinyu smiled. Although the city doesn't look big in the map, in reality, it's a waste of time.
"Your Highness is wise. Naturally, you will attack the weak points. The north and west gates are heavily guarded by soldiers and crossbows. It is really difficult to conquer them. So you should focus on diversion."
The initial idea was that without the main force, as long as the bandit army was mobilized, we would give it a try whenever we had the chance. Although the crossbows were powerful, their firing frequency was slow. Given the situation in Linshan County, no more than twenty of them could be used. It was clear in the morning that there were ten crossbows at the west gate and the rest at the north gate, so they were not important to the overall situation.
King Zhou Ding of Jin blushed when he received the praise and became even more excited.
"Then, sir, how about it?"
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a personal soldier outside the tent.
"Report, Lord, Song Da, the head of the baggage camp, wants to see you for something."
Zhang Jinyu immediately turned around and said in his heart, "Song Da, why is he here?"
"Let him in,"
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
The guards retreated in response. After a while, Song Da straightened his robe outside the tent, brushed off the dust on his body, and then walked in with a smile on his face. However, with his fat body, he looked a little funny.
Just entered,
He immediately gave them great respects.
"Your Highness, Lord Marquis, I, your servant, pay my respects to you."
Zhou Ding didn't understand. Manager Song came to pay his respects at least three times a day, which was considered diligent.
"Get up, Dalang, why do you look so anxious?"
Zhang Jinyu retracted his hand, sat in the main seat and asked curiously. After all, he had been here once at noon. Now the time was so short, and he wondered if there was something wrong with the logistics department of the camp.
"My Lord, you are very observant. I do have something important to do. I have reduced the camp's expenses by 40% today. General Han will transport food and grass south, and 30% will be distributed. 10% will be given to Daliang City, another 10% will be given to General Gu and General Song's troops, and the last 10% will be stored in the granary built in Daliang City. In addition, General Han has already received the prisoners and brought them back to the capital on the way."
Song Da lowered his head and reported today's events. King Jin was a little curious as to why the food and grass for the camp had to be stored in Daliang City.
Zhang Jinyu pondered for a moment, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously. He was the one who arranged the distribution of food and grass. War is all about logistics. Gu Ping and Song Yutian, even if they capture the city, there will be no food in the city.
These cannot be saved.
In Daliang City, Jiedushi Lu Daiyuan suffered so many losses, and the people in the city were in a panic. These are only enough to comfort us, and we can't make things difficult for the court.
"Da Lang did a good job. If there is no war, the expenses will be reduced by 50%. If the war starts tomorrow, the expenses will be restored to 70%. Take this as an example. Also, the food and grass supply to General Song and General Gu is indispensable."
"Yes, Lord, I will keep it in mind. The grain transport team is escorted by General Hu's cavalry and will not be delayed. Today, I also brought a few yellow sheep from the capital. I will give them to Lord and His Highness to nourish their bodies during dinner."
Song Da was overjoyed. It turned out that the Marquis had a good eye for people. He finally had someone to rely on.
"Haha, Dalang is thoughtful. I would like to thank you in advance."
Zhang Jinyu laughed out loud, he was really a man of great tact. If the yellow sheep brought from the capital were to keep their meat fresh, they had to be alive. It was not easy for a large army to transport them, but he still had such an idea, it was really rare.
"My Lord, I am sorry for embarrassing you. I am just showing my filial piety to you and me. My Lord, please go ahead and do your work. I will leave now."
Song Da knelt down again and bowed deeply, then slowly withdrew. Not long after, the generals from various divisions came one after another and entered the tent.
King Zhou Ding of Jin knew that everyone came here to discuss the siege tomorrow, so he went to the first seat in the east and sat down. After a while, all the generals had gathered in the tent.
"My fellow generals, now that Chenzhou has been taken, the safety of our flanks is guaranteed. Gu Ping's troops are already close to Huaizhou City. We will have a result within three days. I wanted to rest for a few days, but I am worried about the villains in Weizhou. I think that Master Chu is almost there!"
(End of this chapter)