All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 253 The advantage is mine
The world has changed, and the civil servants of the Song Dynasty are actually fighting to the death!
Looking at the rows of heads of Shanzhou civil servants in front of him, Chen Ran was a little uncertain, "Are they really willing to spend all their wealth to defend the city?"

It’s no wonder that he doesn’t believe it. After all, the civil servants of the Song Dynasty are all Pixiu.

They always move things into their own home. When have you ever seen them take things out?
They were very generous when it came to national affairs. Sima Guang and his men gave away the lands conquered by Di Qing and Wang Anshi without hesitation.

Even so, he is still boasted as a celebrity by countless people, and his stories about his youth are exaggerated to death.

"Let the king know."

The Shanzhou garrison commander quickly bowed and said, "A month ago, we learned that the king's heavenly soldiers were coming to attack, and everyone in the state began to run around to collect supplies and manpower in an attempt to fight against the heavenly soldiers."

"A few days ago, we learned that the army had passed Mianchi. The prefect summoned all the officials of the Cao and the shogunate to pay the overdue money, food and rewards for the garrison."

"In the past, everyone treated us like dirt." The guard said angrily, "Now you want us to die for some money. It's a good idea!"

Chen Ran really wanted to know why these civil servants in Guanzhong were so loyal to the emperor and patriotic that "not a single one was left alive?"

"The judge ran away two days ago." The garrison commander replied honestly, "The professor of the provincial school usually has a good reputation. We didn't hurt him, we just locked him up in prison."

"Bring him up here, I want to question him!"

The professor of the provincial school in Shanzhou was over fifty years old, and his appearance very much fitted the standards of an old-school scholar.

Seeing Chen Ran sitting in the middle, the provincial school professor raised his head proudly and said nothing.

A personal guard stepped forward and tried to force him to salute.

"No need to go to such trouble." Chen Ran interrupted. "He wants to show off his scholar's pride, and you have to force him to kneel. If he scolds you again, you have to beat him again. Half a chapter has passed, so let's just say it this way."

"Tell me about it." He simply asked, "Why would you spend all your wealth to fight against me?"

"Are you the great bandit Chen Ran?"

As soon as the provincial school professor said this, he was immediately greeted with a burst of scolding.

"It's alright." Chen Ran waved his hand again. "It's a common practice among scholars. They just show off their eloquence. From ancient times to now, I have never seen a barbarian being scolded to death. It's just their self-hypnosis and self-will."

"Go ahead." Chen Ran asked again, "If you can explain clearly, I can guarantee that your family members will not die."

"Pah!" The provincial school professor spat, and shouted with great righteousness, "Loyalty to the emperor and the country! Speak for the people! This body is not enough ~ my family is not afraid ~ I will die for the emperor, and the whole family will have no regrets!"

There is no doubt that this person was stupid because of reading too much. He talked about righteousness but didn't care and decided the death date for more than ten people in his family.

It’s okay if you don’t want to live, but why should you drag your whole family to die with you?

"Loyal to the emperor? Die for the emperor?" Chen Ran was amused. "The emperor laughed at him to death. Your emperor is now busy serving livestock in Bianliang City. He is swollen and groaning all the time."

The professor naturally didn't understand and just sneered, showing a courageous attitude that didn't care about life or death.

"As for what you mean by pleading for the people." Chen Ran has gradually figured it out. "Of course, it won't be the ordinary people. At least they have to be small landlords who can afford to support the seedlings of scholars. Only then can they be called the people."

"Humph!" The professor's expression remained unchanged, still looking righteous and awe-inspiring.

Chen Ran instructed, "Bring the resource book of this prefecture, and find the yamen, elders, and guards of nearby villages to come and talk."

The so-called material resource book is the property registration book of the civilian households in the Song Dynasty. The amount of land, houses, shops, etc. owned by each family are all recorded for the purpose of collecting taxes.

Needless to say, land tax is a big deal. In the Song Dynasty, even house tax, or property tax, is collected, so house registration is very important.

The property tax in the Song Dynasty was very advanced. Just like the beautiful property tax a thousand years later, it was charged according to the quality price.

The better the location and the more expensive the price, the more they will be charged, and vice versa.

Many things in foreign countries are actually what our ancestors left over from playing with. It’s just that because the Tartars destroyed civilization, many of them were destroyed by the Tartars and could not be passed down.

There were a lot of material books, and at least the ones carried in front of Chen Ran were enough to fill several large boxes.

He flipped through the books carefully and seriously.

When they arrived at the yamen, the elders and the guards were brought in, and Chen Ran simply asked, "Are all the fields in your villages and towns concentrated in the hands of a few families?"

".yes."

“Are most of the civilian households tenant farmers?”

".yes."

"Does every household owe a donkey roll?"

"Yes."

"The people can't make a living, and many of them have fled to become vagrants. Have you ever helped the government catch them?"

"Yes."

After some questioning, Chen Ran already had an idea.

He shook a few resource books in his hand. "I have selected two or three books from each of the seven counties in Shanzhou. Seven out of ten local farmlands are concentrated in the homes of the gentry."

"You all know that I will fight against the local tyrants and divide their land, so you are fighting desperately."

"The gentry bought their land in an honest way. What's wrong with that?" the provincial school professor was furious. "Why do you just rob them?"

"I just redistributed it with a knife." Chen Ran suppressed his smile. "You scholars, on the other hand, used a soft knife to kill people and seize their property. In times of disaster, when paying taxes, weddings and funerals, births, old age, illness and death, you borrowed money and grain, and when you couldn't pay it back, you naturally took away people's property." "You colluded with government offices, imposed heavy taxes and levies, and frequently called for corvée labor. You even used your power to directly suppress people and force them to hand over their land and houses."

Chen Ran stepped forward and stared into the professor's eyes. "Isn't this a robbery?"

The professor's words got stuck in his throat.

Because what Chen Ran said was true, these turbaned people actually did it.

"You are pleading for the people in order to protect the wealth and means of production that you have seized by trickery and robbery. That is why you are willing to spend all your wealth to fight me."

At this moment, Chen Ran understood everything. He turned to look at the officers of the Western Army who had joined him and said, "They know that we treat them well and truly treat them as human beings. That's why they abandoned the previous dynasty you were loyal to and came to my side."

In fact, if you have reached a certain position in the Song Dynasty army, such as commander-in-chief, general, deputy general, or candidate for general, you can live a good life by cutting down on others' mistakes.

But the problem is that the soldiers under their command won't do it!

There was no other way in the past. The most they could do was to make a fuss about military pay, and then the ringleader would be killed, and the others would more or less get part of the pay they were owed.

But now it’s different. Chen Ran has actually destroyed the Song Dynasty, and the army that wiped out the main elite force of the Western Army is now here. The soldiers are no longer satisfied with making trouble for pay, but want to follow King Chen!

King Chen not only provides sufficient food and wages, but also rewards military merit with titles!

Shanzhou is the gateway to the old Qin people. The system of military merit and titles was developed and promoted by the old Qin people. No one knows better than them the benefits of the system of military merit and titles to the soldiers.

Faced with the turbulent military situation, the officers had no choice but to go all out and slaughter the civil servants as a token of their loyalty and take the initiative to join Chen Ran.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that the Western Army, which had lost its main elite forces, its food and salary support, and even its reputation for righteousness, was no match for King Chen.

If you had joined us earlier, you might have been able to gain the advantage of being a dragon's follower.

At this point, Chen Ran already understood everything.

"Compared with a bunch of corrupt scholars who can only talk big, the advantage is mine in terms of military and civilian support!"

The advantage is indeed on my side. After all, the number of soldiers and civilians far exceeds that of the gentry, turbaned and corrupt scholars.

In the past, no one stepped forward to integrate their forces.

Now that we have the king's support, we will surely create a huge wave.

Chen Ran was so happy that he no longer had the interest to continue watching the provincial school professor's display of character. "Drag this fox who is trying to show off his talents to the gentry down the mountain and chop him off. Before the execution, burn all the books on Confucius and Shiyun in his house! As for his family members, interrogate them and punish those who have committed capital crimes. Those who have committed crimes not punishable by death will be sent to the barracks for slaves. After the war, they will be distributed among the meritorious soldiers."

"And more." Dealing with the professor was just a small episode, and the main course came next: "Dispatch seven battalions of soldiers and horses to the seven counties of Shanzhou."

Chen Ran pointed to the boxes of material books and said, "Arrest people according to the records on them."

"Those who let their donkeys roll around will be dealt with directly, and any male in their family who is taller than the wheels will be punished as well."

"Mobilize the people of each village and town to hold a grievance meeting. Those who have evidence of rampant behavior in the village, those who bully men and women, those who collude with the government to harm the people, and those who rely on clan power to bully others will all be dealt with."

"Block Shanzhou and all the counties, and allow no one to enter but no one to leave. Clean up the land, the ruffians, the scoundrels, the beggars, the runners, the clerks, the madams and thugs in the brothels, and the gentry who are the bosses behind the scenes, all of them."

He took a deep breath and said, "Since we have occupied Shanzhou, we must stand up for the people of Shanzhou, let them live a good life, and vent their grievances!"

In the following days, battalion after battalion of soldiers and various convoys like a tide passed through Shanzhou and headed straight for Lingbao Guozhou.

Guozhou is the Hangu Pass in the Qin Dynasty. After passing Guozhou and going west, you will reach the famous Tongguan.

As for the few battalions of soldiers left behind, they were naturally not idle either.

They were sent to various counties to carry out large-scale cleanup operations.

Whether they were respectable people in the state or county towns, or street thugs in the countryside, they were all treated equally in front of Chen Ran's sword.

Everyone gets dealt with the same fate, no one is special.

Even when the army was dispatched, they also took the opportunity to slaughter all the bandits and robbers who had been unable to be dealt with by the imperial court and the government troops for many years.

Pinglu County and Xia County were on the north bank of the Yellow River. The troops crossed the river to clear the area, distribute land and houses to the people, and hold a grievance meeting.

When the news spread, it set off a chain reaction. In the neighboring Jiezhou and Hedong Prefecture, people spontaneously began to fight against the local tyrants and divide the land.

As a result, the government offices in these two places acted quickly and, together with the garrisons, massacred many civilians.

When the news reached Chen Ran, he was furious and immediately launched the Hedong offensive ahead of time.

With the assistance of the navy, tens of thousands of troops crossed the Yellow River and headed north to Jiezhou and Hezhong Prefecture. With the guidance and testimony of the local people, they retaliated and massacred everyone.

The Hezhong government office, in particular, was burned down by the angry people.

When Chen Ran was not around, the people of the Song Dynasty who could not survive had been revolting every year.

Now with the support of the king, the situation is surging like a storm, washing away all the filth of the previous dynasty like a surging wave.

Without fighting a single decent battle, the army arrived at the foot of Tongguan in just over half a month after setting out from Luoyang City.

The other side of Tongguan is the real Guanzhong area!

(End of this chapter)