Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 372 Rent and Interest Reduction
Changling Town, Heze, Southwest Shandong
In Shitang Village, a wedding is going on in the Wang Family Courtyard, with guests filling the room and drums and gongs resounding.

The Wang family is one of the largest families in Changling Town. Almost all the land in the surrounding dozen villages belongs to the Wang family.
The head of the Wang family, Wang Jiazhi, was a juren in the previous dynasty. He was one of the few people who passed the imperial examination at the age of 17 in the entire Heze City. It was just that he did not catch up with the good times, and the previous dynasty fell before he could become an official.

He served as an official for several years during the Beiyang period, accumulated some reputation and property, and just when his father passed away, he resigned and returned home to inherit the family business and became a local squire;

Wang Jiazhi had one wife and three concubines, and had four sons and three daughters. His family was prosperous and had many members.

This day was the auspicious day for the second son to get married. He married Mayor Liu's second daughter, which was a strong combination.
The wedding procedures had been completed, and just when Wang Jiazhi was about to announce the start of the wedding banquet, the housekeeper came hurriedly to report that Yue Wanli, the captain of the Luxi Guerrilla Detachment, wanted to see him.

Wang Jiazhi frowned after hearing this. It sounded like this Luxi Guerrilla Detachment was a mob. They must be here to reduce rent and interest.

In his view, it has been natural for farmers to pay rent since ancient times, and the landlord has the final say on how much rent to collect. The government has never been below the county level, and it is enough for the gentry to pay enough taxes. This guerrilla column is not playing by the rules.

Wang Jiazhi wanted to ignore it, but on such a happy occasion, everyone who came was a guest, and there was no reason to refuse them, so he could only snort coldly and say:
"welcome!"

The butler then turned around to greet the guest with a sense of relief, because the guest was armed and he could not afford to offend him.

After a while, Yue Wanli walked in with great dignity, led by the butler. He was wearing the uniform of the Central Army and had a C96 box gun on his waist.
There was a guard on each side, carrying a "fancy machine gun" that was rarely seen among the local garrison, and two box guns on their waists, which was inconsistent with their reputation as a mob.

In Wang Jiazhi's view, this was a show of strength to himself. It was not until Yue Wanli came up to him that he put on a smiling face and started to be polite with Yue Wanli.

After the guerrilla detachment advanced into southwest Shandong, the First Battalion recovered Heze from the Japanese invaders and annihilated 54 enemies.
That’s right, the Japanese garrison at that time only had one squad, and the main force went south to participate in the Battle of Wuhan. Except for some big cities, there was only one squad or squadron in small places.

After the recovery of Heze, the guerrilla column began to implement a series of policies, the most important of which was the policy of reducing rent and interest rates;
The land rent standard of Changling Town was set by Wang Jiazhi and several local gentry, 70%!

When the guerrilla column arrived, they demanded a 50% reduction and a 10% tax to the government, which was resisted by the gentry headed by Wang Jiazhi.

The rent and interest reduction campaign in Changling Town cannot be delayed any longer, so this time Yue Wanli decided to come and meet Wang Jiazhi in person.

After Yue Wanli recovered from his injury, he was promoted to captain. Regardless of his military exploits, no one had any objection to his promotion to battalion commander just because he was Yue Lao San. China has always been a society based on personal relationships.

In war, brothers are close to each other, and sworn brothers can become detachment leaders. It is normal for close brothers to become team leaders.

This time, Yue Wanli came with the principle of courtesy before force, and he even prepared a gift for the occasion.

It is said that one should not hit the one who gives a gift. Yue Wanli gave the Wang family enough face. Wang Jiazhi, who was used to being in the limelight, also smiled and laughed with him, and invited him to sit at the main table.
Yue Wanli was not polite either. He sat in the seat of the guest of honor with his horse and sword, and the others could only be guests.

When the auspicious day arrived, the feast began. The main table was occupied by prominent figures in Changling Town, all of whom had hundreds of acres of land.
It is no exaggeration to say that more than 90% of the land in the town is in their hands, and self-cultivating farmers own less than 10%. Yue Wanli has done a survey and he never fights an unprepared battle.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Yue Wanli began to talk about business. As expected, he advocated the implementation of rent and interest reduction. Everyone else was looking at Wang Jiazhi;
As the leader of the gentry, Wang Jiazhi knew he had to stand up and speak. The man surnamed Yue obviously did not come to attend the wedding - he was demonstrating to the Wang family and he was carrying a gun on his back.

It is said that when a scholar meets a soldier, he cannot explain his reason clearly. Wang Jia was not a person who could be frightened. He just used courtesy first and then force. So he said:
"Commander Yue, I am delighted to learn that your army has come from afar and recovered Changling Town from the Japanese.
We, the idle folks in the countryside, have collected 5 yuan as a reward for the troops, and I hope Captain Yue will accept it."

After Wang Jiazhi finished speaking, he nodded to the housekeeper, intending to use valuable things to get rid of Yue Qianli.

Yue Wanli did not stop them, but just watched their performance with a harmless smile on his face. He did not come here to extort money, as that would be no different from a warlord.

Wang Jiazhi's response was not wrong. It has been like this since ancient times. They would pay taxes to whoever held the sword or gun as the flag on the city wall changed. This was how they dealt with the Japanese invaders even when they came.

After several servants brought in several large boxes of silver dollars, Yue Wanli began to speak:
"Everyone, you may have misunderstood my purpose. The guerrilla detachment advanced into southwest Shandong not to exploit the people, but to resist the Japanese and save the nation, to defend our country!
The policy of rent and interest reduction is not targeted at Changling Town, but will be implemented throughout southwestern Shandong. Its purpose is to allow more people to have enough food to eat.

I have learned that the original 70% rent was too high, and the tenants also had to bear various taxes and levies, and after paying these, there was hardly any grain left at the end of the year;

How can we fight the Japanese if we don’t even have enough food to eat?
Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. The Luxi Guerrilla Detachment promoted a nationwide war of resistance, and militia companies or platoons were to be established at the village level.
All families with more than two sons need to send one son to participate in production in peacetime and assist the troops in wartime. Families with more than four sons need to send two sons. "Wang Jiazhi and others were dumbfounded after hearing this. They had no objection to the anti-Japanese war, and they dared not to have any objection. They could accept money and food, but they could not ask them to "send a son".

Not to mention the dangers of war and the brutality of swords and guns on the battlefield, even if the Japanese knew that their direct descendants had joined the anti-Japanese army, the consequences would be something they could not afford.

Especially Wang Jiazhi, his family has four sons, the eldest is serving in the National Army, and is even a regiment commander, but it is obviously not possible for him to have another son join the militia;
So he took over and said:
"Commander Yue, my eldest son is also serving the country. He is the head of a regiment under Chairman Han. He has already contributed one man. Can the other man's quota be replaced by a military reward?"

Yue Wanli had already figured out the details of the Wang family, and immediately said with a serious face:
"Mr. Wang, according to our understanding, Wang Wenlong has surrendered to the Japanese, which is a move that damages the family's reputation.
Of course, Wang Wenlong can only represent himself. We don’t hold joint responsibility. The matter of raising a man cannot be replaced by money or property, nor can it be replaced by collateral relatives.”

Wang Jiazhi fell into deep thought. He knew that it was the man surnamed Yue who was looking for trouble, but he did not have the confidence to confront him.
The eldest of the four sons of the Wang family was indeed a regiment commander in the National Army, but it was rumored that he had defected to the Japanese. The matter was very secretive, and he didn't know how the man surnamed Yue knew about it. This was a shame for the Wang family, and he was ashamed to mention it.

What made him even less confident was that his third brother had fled to the Northwest after graduating from university. He dared not let Yue know about this, as he knew about the grievances between the National Army and the Northwest.

Not to mention the one with the surname Yue, even the eldest brother in their family had said that he wanted to get rid of the third brother, let alone an outsider?
He had severed his father-son relationship with the third child, and now only the second and fourth children were left. The second child, Wang Wenhu, had just married, and the fourth child was still in school;

If Ding really had to be sent out, it could only be Wang Wenhu, because Ding was his dearest child and that was absolutely not allowed.

The Yue family picked a big day to bring up the matter, and the meaning couldn't be more obvious. If the situation didn't go as Yue family wanted, he might arrest the second brother.

Thinking of this, he had no choice but to admit defeat and asked tentatively:

"Commander Yue, if the Wang family voluntarily announces that they will reduce the land rent to 5%, waive the interest on the tenants' debts, and donate taels of silver to your army, can they use this as an excuse to exempt us from paying the levy?"

Wang Jiazhi is indeed a cunning person. Others also reacted and looked at Yue Wanli with expectant eyes.

Compared to letting their direct descendants be conscripted, it is not unacceptable to reduce the rent for those peasants. Besides, it is not certain how long the Yue people can stay in Changling, and the Japanese are not so easy to defeat.

Yue Wanli saw that Wang Jiazhi was quite tactful, so he said seriously:
"Everyone, the guerrilla detachment came to western Shandong to fight the Japanese. As long as you support our policy of reducing rent and interest, in return, your direct descendants can be exempted from military service.
Those who have money can contribute money, and those who have people can contribute manpower. As for the allowance for military service, it will be waived. The Luxi Anti-Japanese Autonomous Government only collects 10% of the land tax.

If you do business, you need to pay 20% business tax, and all other taxes and levies are exempted. "

After hearing this, Wang Jiazhi had an idea. This was not unacceptable. Even if the loss in land rent was included, the difference would not be too much. As long as the Wang family did not have to send men to the country, it would be considered as spending money to avoid disaster.

Thinking of this, he put away his smile and said:
"Can Commander Yue make the decision on this matter?"

Yue Wanli also said seriously:
"All the policies of my guerrilla detachment are consistent and will not change for a long time. Of course, if your children take the initiative to ask to participate in the anti-Japanese cause, you can't blame us for breaking our promise."

"Commander Yue, your words are enough. This matter is settled. I hope your army will not break their promise."

Wang Jiazhi was the leader of the gentry in Changling Town, and others would agree with what he agreed with.

After resolving the tense situation, the atmosphere at the wedding banquet instantly eased. As long as the problem could be solved with money, these gentry did not want to make things too awkward with the garrison, as harmony brings wealth.

The local gentry began to take turns toasting Yue Wanli and trying to establish good relations with him. They had very little resistance to the National Army as they were all family members.

At first they thought the guerrilla detachment wanted to divide their land, which changed the nature of the land. The rent and interest reduction showed that the Yue family was still a national army.
Yue Wanli also came from a family of gentry, so he naturally knew how to deal with them. He accepted all toasts and they soon became friends.

Yue Wanli just wanted to solve the problem and implement the policy of rent and interest reduction. It would be best if it could be solved through written means.

(End of this chapter)