knife

Chapter 122 Taking Root
The door wasn't locked; the lock bar rested on the latch, and a twig that had been casually broken off was inserted into it.

Ding Ergou reached out and took the branch, pushed open the door, and led his horse over.

When he came down from the Helan Plain, he didn't have a horse, or even a donkey.

When the land needed to be plowed, people would rent oxen or horses from the village.

These oxen and horses are the village's public property. They help everyone with farming in peacetime and also accompany the army in times of war, carrying various supplies for everyone.

Each time a campaign was launched, each village was required to prepare all the necessary supplies according to the list issued from above.

After the assembly, an inspection will be conducted. If the preparations are not complete, the village chief will be punished. Of course, at this time, the village chief should be called the team leader.

After several battles, Ding Ergou's team reaped considerable rewards, and as the squad leader, Ding Ergou was allocated a camel.

The spoils captured by Li Dachui's troops were all theirs.

How they distribute the spoils is their own business, and Li Dachui doesn't care.

This is the exact opposite of Xiao Changche's troops.

All the spoils seized by Xiao's troops were confiscated and turned over to the public.

Ding Ergou originally thought that after the war was over, he could return to Helan Plain.

With this camel, their little family now possessed a significant asset.

Compared to the horse they received, the other gold, silver, and valuables they had seized were practically worthless.

However, they have not yet received orders to return.

After waiting for a while, the new order stunned everyone.

Their unit will not return; they will be resettled locally.

This is a military order.

It wasn't about consulting with them.

Having experienced the first resettlement on the Helan Plain, Ding Ergou and his group knew that they had no other choice but to obey.

Moreover, staying doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Because he got promoted.

Originally, he was just a gang leader with four brothers under his command.

Now, he has become the head of a village, the village he and his four brothers have arrived at, Jigongling Village.

This house belonged to the former village chief.

Of course, the former village chief was also the richest man in the village.

Just looking at this three-room brick and tile house with two rows of outbuildings on the left and right, it is far superior to the other houses in the village.

The owner of this house is surnamed Yan.

Therefore, the fate of this family was certainly not good.

They were taken away by the army and then disappeared without a trace.

Similarly, his four brothers were also provided with residences in the village, and they would later form the basis for ruling the village.

"Boss, your house is awesome!" Zhao Bazi, who was much older than Ding Ergou, said with envy.

Despite being older than Ding Ergou, Ding Ergou has already broken through to the Solidification Realm due to his advanced martial arts cultivation, while he himself cannot break through no matter how hard he tries. This has significantly widened the gap between them. And in the foreseeable future, the gap between the two families will only continue to widen.

Ding Ergou was also very happy, as this place was much bigger and better than his house on Helan Plain.

Jiaojiao deserves to live in a house like this!
Ding Ergou thought to himself with delight.

"Uncle Scarface, you guys hurry up and settle things in. Then we'll gather all the villagers. We're new here, so we need to establish rules. With rules in place, things will be easier in the future!" Ding Ergou turned to his companions and said, "From now on, this village will be our foundation. We can't let Huang Dafu and his gang outdo us, can we?"

"Of course!" Zhao Bazi said confidently. Huang Dafu was also a gang leader, but he was only in his early thirties. It's better to bully the young than the old; compared to the younger Ding Ergou, Huang Dafu's prospects were naturally much worse. "I don't think the people in this village are very honest. When we came in, quite a few were peeking through the cracks in the door. They didn't even greet us. We'll teach them a lesson later!"

"What's this about looking good or not!" Ding Ergou tied his horse to the shed on the right and scolded, "Uncle Scarface, the remnants of the Yan family have long been caught. The rest of them, you can tell from their living conditions that they are all poor people! They're pretty much like we used to be. From now on, we have to work with them! Otherwise, when war breaks out, would you dare to lead some people who aren't on your side to the battlefield? That would be suicide!"

Zhao Bazi nodded repeatedly: "The foreman is right. No, no, from now on we should call him village chief or team leader!"

Ding Ergou smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Go on, come over once you're settled."

Right outside Ding Ergou's current home is an open space. On one side of the gate, a large drum is mounted on a wooden frame. This is usually where everyone gathers to discuss matters.

Jigonglingcai is a large village.

There were more than 130 households in total. Ding Ergou was not particularly senior among all the gang leaders, but he was able to get such a good place because of one of his skills.

Literacy.

Although his handwriting is messy and illegible, he still manages to read basic official documents, which is quite remarkable.

Ding Ergou was literate, naturally because of his wife, Tu Jiaojiao.

The Helan Plain now has tens of thousands of people, but aside from those mentioned above, the number of ordinary people who are truly literate is very small.

Of course, there are more now, but those who can read are still mostly children.

We have high hopes that these dolls can be of some use!
As for adults, asking them to learn to read is an extremely painful ordeal for them; they would rather do off-road driving.

Li Dachui naturally wouldn't unilaterally decide to run any literacy classes.

All they need to do is obey and understand commands.

Zhao Bazi and his gang moved extremely quickly. Before Ding Ergou had even finished inspecting his new house, the sound of drums began to rumble outside. At the same time, another friend rode a horse from one end of the village to the other, shouting as he went.

After a moment's hesitation, someone finally opened their door and timidly stepped out.

A village of over 130 households is already quite large. More and more people came out of their houses and entered the drying ground in front of their doors. Ding Ergou roughly estimated that there were nearly 500 people.

The majority of the group consisted of elderly people, numbering over a hundred, while the majority of the group consisted of young adults, numbering around three hundred, and there were also dozens or hundreds of children.

The elderly stood at the front, the young and strong followed behind, while the women stood at the back with their children, heads bowed.

Seeing some people smearing their faces with stove ash until they were pitch black, Ding Ergou couldn't help but laugh.

Is this because he's afraid of being tempted by beautiful women?

Pooh!
My darling is far superior to you thick-skinned women; I wouldn't even look at you.

As Ding Ergou's gaze swept over the crowd, he felt a surge of emotion. There were over five hundred of them!
There were five of them in their group.

But now these five hundred people are like five hundred quails, trembling in fear in front of us few, not daring to breathe loudly.

This is certainly not because I am some kind of hero or great hero.

The reason stemmed from the armor and military uniform he was wearing.

From now on, we're family!
Ding Ergou took a deep breath and forced down the unease in his heart.

Zhao Bazi dragged an eight-immortal table out of the house, and Ding Ergou jumped onto it, his hand on his waist knife, looking down at everyone.

After all, Ding Ergou had been on the battlefield and killed people. With a flick of his sword and a glare, a fierce aura naturally emerged.

The person below immediately became somewhat uneasy.

"Fellow villagers!" Ding Ergou roared, "Those traitors from the Yan family are finished, all dead, not a single one left. Now the entire Baoping Prefecture is under the control of General Chariot and Cavalry. You've probably heard of Chariot and Cavalry General Xiao, right? I am the new village chief appointed by General Chariot and Cavalry!"

Using someone else's name to make a big deal out of nothing, a small team leader or village head naturally doesn't need Xiao Changche's appointment, but who can blame the common people when they only know Xiao Changche?
"My name is Ding Ergou, and from now on you'll be working for me." Ding Ergou raised his voice and shouted, "I don't want to say anything here about how we're definitely better than the Yan family, because even if I said it now, you wouldn't believe me. You'll see and feel it in the future. Today, I'm just going to tell you some rules you absolutely need to know. Everyone has to follow the rules. If you don't, don't blame me for being impolite."

In response to Ding Ergou's threat, Zhao Bazi and the other three men drew their knives halfway from their sheaths with a thud.

"Now, the land you cultivate, whether you own it or rent it, is now yours," Ding Ergou said. "Next, someone from above will come down to draw up land deeds for you, and all previous land deeds will be null and void!"

As soon as he said this, a commotion broke out below. Ding Ergou glanced around and saw that most of the people looked either incredulous or overjoyed.

Yes, it's the same reaction I had when I was allocated land on the Helan Plain.

"The tax will remain the same as before, at 50% of the harvest from that year!"

Disappointment appeared on his face below.

"If a family has able-bodied men who are willing to become soldiers like me, their taxes will be reduced to 20%!"

Surprise, fear, and joy were mixed on their faces.

"The soldiers are responsible for their own weapons, armor, mules and horses. They receive military training during the off-season and follow the village chief into battle during wartime. All spoils of war belong to each and every one of you."

"Everyone, remember this: one hundred people from our village must become soldiers." Ding Ergou: "You can sign up yourselves. Of course, if you don't sign up, the village chief will call your names."

Ding Ergou tried his best to recall the rules on Helan Plain. When the regimental commander sent them down, he said that after they went down, their job as village chiefs was to replicate the rules of Helan Plain one by one in Baoping Prefecture.

There's nothing to explain to these people; they just need to follow along.

Ding Ergou was certain that these things were good, because they had relied on these rules to make their lives better day by day on the Helan Plain.

I will settle down here from now on.

(End of this chapter)