Fu Shanhe

Chapter 106: Winning over the Army
As soon as Li Mu left, the civil servants were in an uproar.

Being forced to this point by a group of military generals, they had lost all their dignity and face.

This whole idea of ​​using culture to control military power is complete nonsense.

None of the generals just now were able to be controlled by them.

"Sir, it's easy to lend out this land, but it's hard to get it back!"

Judge Zhou said with an unhappy look on his face.

He was in charge of the farmland in the mansion, and losing 80,000 acres of it at once undoubtedly weakened his authority.

“You have to lose something if you gain something!

The funds allocated by the court are limited, so we must spend them frugally.

Military funds cannot be distributed on time, and if we don’t give them something to appease them, there will definitely be a big mess.

What Lieutenant General Li said was true: if people are extremely hungry, they can do anything.

There will be no peace in Yangzhou unless those soldiers are well fed.

As for the loaned-out land, it was only a temporary expedient.

Anyway, a noble son like him will return to the capital sooner or later to serve. The next lieutenant general won't be so powerful, right?"

Gu Youwen said with a smile.

In his opinion, it was undoubtedly worthwhile to use some unowned land to solve the military expenditure problem.

If they were to manage the same amount of land themselves, the output would not be enough to pay the subsidy.

If the conditions were not met, Yangzhou Prefecture's huge annual military expenditure would be a heavy burden.

"The land may be recovered, but the only worry is that after losing control, Admiral Li will become even more arrogant.

Unlike ordinary military commanders, these noble sons are still very trusted by His Majesty!"

Ma Tongzhi couldn't help but sigh.

State affairs are difficult. In recent years, not only has the eunuch party grown rapidly, but the power of nobles and foreign relatives has also shown signs of rising.

In the previous battle to quell the rebellion, it seemed that the nobles and relatives of the emperor suffered heavy losses, but in fact it was just a surgical operation to cure the poison.

With the elimination of a bunch of parasites and scum, our strength has not decreased but increased.

Fortunately, their luck ran out earlier, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

"No matter how domineering he is, he is still a general of Dayu.

He still has to do what he should do.

In terms of the overall situation, this person is not bad.

The most urgent task is to deal with the problems of refugees and prisoners of war as soon as possible, otherwise Yangzhou Prefecture will be overwhelmed sooner or later.

There is nothing to discuss about the repatriation and resettlement of refugees. Let's discuss the prisoners of war!"

Gu Youwen directly raised the most difficult problem.

The higher-ups can pass the buck and pretend not to see the refugee problem, but those directly in charge cannot turn a blind eye.

The court asked them to come here to clean up the mess.

If the situation continues to deteriorate, no one will be able to keep their official positions.

"Sir, the issue of prisoners of war is easy to explain. It all depends on whether you are afraid of affecting your reputation.

According to the laws of Dayu, all rebel leaders were beheaded and the young and strong were exiled.

The old, weak, women and children were either demoted to slavery or prostitution and sold directly.

Those that cannot be sold will be used as official slaves, forced to do corvee labor in the government offices, and they will be used up in three to five years at most!"

As soon as Judge Zhou finished speaking, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became solemn.

This approach was not a problem at all in the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

But the social atmosphere is different now.

After the civil service group took control of power, they advocated rule by man rather than rule by law and advocated benevolent governance.

The Lianghuai Rebellion was launched by aristocratic families, and the lower-class people were mostly passive participants.

Because the rebellion was fought at home, everyone was from the same village and did not suffer the hardships of traveling thousands of miles to fight, so a large number of elderly, weak, women and children survived.

The imperial court has always been relatively lenient in treating these people, and has given lenient sentences to those who have committed crimes.

If they strictly enforce the law, these decision makers will inevitably be branded as "cruel officials."

"Master Zhou, this matter still needs to be considered carefully.

Harsh criminal laws are not conducive to education!"

As soon as Ma Tongzhi opened his mouth, a number of officials expressed their support.

Since ancient times, few "cruel officials" have had a good end.

Especially in the Dayu Dynasty, no cruel official could escape unscathed.

Everyone works for the court, seeking fame, fortune and power, and the pursuit of life values ​​is put aside.

Few people can accept sacrificing their reputation during life and after death in order to solve a problem.

……

After leaving the government office, Li Mu went straight to the refugee camp to select people.

As a trustworthy person, since we have promised to help resettle refugees, we must fulfill our promise.

Anyway, the land needs someone to cultivate it, so using it to accommodate refugees is not a big problem.

Now that the field has been borrowed, it must be put to use quickly.

Although the output of winter grain is slightly lower, it is still an important source of income.

For Li Mu, who had advanced a huge amount of money, the sooner he could see the money back, the better.

"General, here is the list of these refugee camps and their performance in the work-for-relief program."

Yun Qianhu said while holding a thick stack of lists.

Most of the generals of the Five Cities Army were transferred from Yangzhou, but some stayed behind, and he was one of them.

Because of his military achievements on the battlefield, he successfully completed the transition from a hundred households to a thousand households.

Local officials are not as valuable as those in Beijing. For the children of nobles, this promotion speed can only be considered average.

Yun Qianhu felt very uncomfortable as he continued to work with Li Mu.

It’s not that there is no future in following this boss, it’s mainly because Li Mu’s demands are too many.

Even the relief work for the disaster victims required registration and subdivided management of the refugees. They were obviously a group of military commanders, but they were forced to do the work of clerks.

In order to complete the task, a group of scholars were hired from Yangzhou.

The daily military training under Li Mu is much more rigorous than that of other troops.

Considering the military pay, the soldiers didn't complain, but it was hard for the officers.

You have to train every day and you can't be lazy.

Of course, these dissatisfactions are just minor frustrations.

The military education we received since childhood was not in vain. Only when we know more rules can we produce strong soldiers. It’s just that we are not used to it for a while.

Following such a boss may not necessarily make you rich, but promotion is a high probability event.

The biggest difference between military generals and civil officials is that there is no unified standard for evaluating the performance of civil officials.

It’s different for military generals. To see whether they can fight or not, just take them to the battlefield and try it out.

Generally speaking, capable military commanders are promoted quickly.

Li Mu casually flipped through the roster and put them together.

"The provincial and prefectural governments are short of money and are unable to pay our military salaries.

After discussing with the governor, the provincial governor, and other officials of Yangzhou Prefecture, I borrowed 80,000 acres of good farmland from Yangzhou Prefecture for temporary use.

The winter farming season has arrived, and we need to organize people to start farming immediately. You should select a group of best farmers from among the refugees.

Whether we can eat coarse food or have enough food and drink in the future depends on these people!"

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.

The self-sufficient troops are all garrison soldiers, and they, the recruited soldiers, can actually play like this.

When it comes to military pay, no general can sit still.

Deep down in his heart, Yun Qianhu had already begun to silently plan for the harvest.

Compared with the amount of financial support required by the court, the income from 80,000 acres of land was only about 80% of that amount.

Fortunately, this income is under their own control and is not lost by civil servants.

As a military force with a strong backing, it could get about 60% to 70% of the military funds directly allocated by the imperial court.

Combined with the management fees they charge merchants, the actual military expenditure income has reached 90% of the fixed military expenditure.

If we were to be frugal in normal times and the generals did not embezzle military pay, it would be possible to pay the full amount of military pay every month.

Being able to achieve this is definitely the best treatment among all the officials and soldiers in Dayu.

"Don't worry, General. I will definitely make this happen!"

Yun Qianhu immediately made the promise.

Regardless of how Li Mu negotiated these conditions, he knew that he would not have to worry about military expenses in the future.

There were many military generals in the Dayu Dynasty, but few of them were not worried about military expenses.

Including the nine frontier generals, each of them still has to work hard to collect empty salaries.

Everyone knows that this is wrong, but the military funds allocated by the court are insufficient to support only a limited number of soldiers.

"Well, I can rest assured that you will do the work.

These farmlands are all near the military camps I have designated, and there happen to be a few small mines included in them, so they cannot be left abandoned.

I will also visit the prisoner-of-war camps in various places and borrow another group of prisoners to come and mine.

Quickly pick out the people and organize them to resume farming, so that everyone’s military pay can be paid in full in the future.”

Li Mu deliberately raised his voice.

There are many ways to win over the hearts of the army, but in the Dayu Dynasty, the most simple and unpretentious one will do.

While other troops were eating coarse food, I was able to receive 100% of the military pay, and my sense of happiness suddenly increased.

As for private mining, that’s not a big deal at all.

If you don't acknowledge it, it doesn't exist.

The several small mines occupied by Li Mu had always been secretly mined by local gentry and were not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court at all.

All the land registered in the imperial court's land registers were wastelands and saline-alkali lands.

No one could find fault with occupying uncultivated land for military camps.

The reason why Prefect Gu agreed to his conditions so readily was simply because he did not realize that there were minerals beneath these wastelands.

If he had served in Yangzhou for a few more years and understood the situation in the prefecture, he would never have been fooled.

In fact, Li Mu dug more than one pit.

The purpose of urging the government to demarcate the land was to create a time difference.

The local gentry not only hid the minerals, but also the land.

This kind of thing won't last long.

Although they came from the capital and had no experience in local office, they were also from gentry families.

He is well aware of things like hiding land.

Now my identity has suddenly changed and I am entangled in a series of troubles, so I haven’t thought about so many things for the time being.

When they come to their senses, they will soon realize that the 80,000 acres of land listed in the official account books does not mean there are only 80,000 acres of land.

There is no shortage of follow-up, and he will use this matter to argue with Li Mu.

But those are minor problems. It is impossible to vomit out the meat once it is in your stomach.

The officials in the government office were replaced, but the clerks in the yamen were still those appointed by Li Mu.

From the moment the ancient prefect agreed, the demarcation of the boundaries of the land temporarily borrowed from Yangzhou Prefecture had been completed ahead of schedule.

All fields not recorded in the land register are deemed to be non-existent.

The future becomes fields, all of which are newly reclaimed wasteland.

According to Dayu law, common people who reclaimed wasteland could not only obtain land ownership but also enjoy five years of tax exemption.

Ordinary people dare not open up wasteland because once the land is reclaimed, a master will immediately emerge to eat it all up.

It’s different for Li Mu. If things don’t get out of hand, then just pretend nothing happened.

If the matter is brought to the surface, it is just private land reclaimed by an individual. At most, the tax will be paid normally after the tax-free period ends.

Even if someone was tired of living and wanted to compete with him for the ownership of the land, the soldiers under his command would not agree.

(End of this chapter)