Fu Shanhe

Chapter 186 Li's Land Planning Method

When the welcoming banquet started, the two protagonists chatted and laughed gracefully, without any of the tension as expected.

Apart from the banquet being a bit poor, there is basically nothing wrong with it.

As a spectator, Li Mu enjoyed watching the fight between the two.

The banquet seemed peaceful, but in fact it was filled with swordplay.

As the host, Jia Bo made many attempts, but unfortunately Zhang Sihan did not respond at all.

Li Mu's intuition told him that Zhang Sihan, who had been demoted, had not given up and was still planning to make a comeback.

There is nothing wrong with this choice.

When you are in your fifties, it is time to work hard.

Even though he was demoted, he was still the military and political chief of a province, which was enough to prove that he only lost in the political struggle, but did not lose his pants.

There must be someone in the court who spoke up for him, otherwise it would not be as simple as being demoted.

As long as he can achieve results in Guangxi, he can return to the capital.

After wandering around the local areas and returning to the court with his political achievements, his development ceiling will no longer be limited to the position of vice minister.

It is very likely that he will go further and become a minister, or even directly enter the cabinet.

For a moment, Li Mu thought of "changing the natives into officials".

Guangxi was almost reduced to ruins, and it would take many years just to recover from the war. The only way to achieve political achievements in a short period of time was to "reform the native system and return it to the people."

Those who can make it in the officialdom are all elites. They may be greedy and corrupt, or they may be extravagant and licentious, but they definitely have good vision.

As long as you are willing to humble yourself and gain a deeper understanding of the current situation in Guangxi, you will be able to detect the opportunities hidden therein.

Although Zhang Sihan was forced to come to Guangxi, it was precisely because he had no choice that he made an effort to understand the real situation in Guangxi.

After the two wars, the strength of the chieftains in Guangxi had been reduced by 80% and they were simply unable to continue to fight against the imperial court.

As long as the White Lotus Rebellion was quelled, it would be a natural thing to change the natives to officials. No one could refuse the political achievements that were delivered to their doorstep.

Judging from the current situation, Zhang Sihan is not the first court official to realize the opportunities in Guangxi, nor will he be the last.

Even if they haven't discovered it now, the senior officials in the court will react after the war is over.

The world is so magical. When opportunities arise, a cold and bitter place that everyone fears can suddenly become a popular place.

The empty talk of the Qingliu people harms the country, not because they really like empty talk, but simply because they are limited by their own abilities and cannot achieve political achievements.

Many people are typical people who have a lot of theoretical knowledge but zero execution ability. When it comes to doing things, they mess up everything they do, and in the end they have no choice but to become theorists.

On the one hand, people like to find fault with officials who are doing their jobs because of jealousy, but more often it is to make themselves felt.

Jumping out to show off at a critical moment is essentially to prove to the emperor that you are also doing something.

It is true that political achievements cannot be compared with those of officials who actually work, but officials who supervise and find faults are usually promoted faster than officials who do the work themselves.

……

"Commander Li, General Jing, why are you not talking?"

Perhaps because he didn't want to play Tai Chi with Jia Bo, Zhang Sihan suddenly spoke and shifted the topic to Li Mu and Jing Yifeng who were just watching the show.

Compared to the usual welcoming banquet, this banquet was much quieter. Not only was the restaurant of low quality and the food was scarce, but the usual singing and dancing performances were also absent.

There were only four officials attending the banquet. Two of them were just watching the show, so no matter how talkative the other two were, it was still a dull moment.

"Governor, we are both poor at speaking.

If there is any negligence, please forgive me! "

Li Mu replied with a smile.

It's fun to watch, but only fools would get involved in the fight between civil servants.

At this time, supporting either side will offend the other person.

It’s not that he is afraid of offending people, the key is that there is no need to do so.

Emperor Yongning had just taken power, and the court was in turmoil. All the major factions were very active, and it was unclear who would stand to the end.

If one wants to achieve the great success of Guangxi's land reform, it is not enough to just make efforts at the local level. It also depends on the changes in the situation in the court.

It is common for a person to work hard and finally have his credit taken away by someone else because his faction failed in a party struggle.

Unless he could beat someone to death with a stick or drive the person out of Guangxi, he would not offend anyone easily.

"Commander Li is such a joke!

Both generals commanded thousands of troops and were proficient in battle. How could they be talkative?

The next battle will still depend on the efforts of the two generals to wipe out the rebels in Guangxi.

I won’t waste any more time on unnecessary content.

For the sake of the court and the emperor, I hope the two generals will be able to give us some advice on the upcoming war to quell the rebellion!"

After Zhang Sihan finished speaking, Li Mu and Jing Yifeng hadn't reacted yet, but Jia Bo on the side couldn't stand it anymore.

It may seem like simple flattery, but in fact it is aimed at the command of the army.

Now Li Mu and Jing Yifeng are both officials of Guangxi. Although their ranks are not lower than Zhang Sihan, Dayu adopts the policy of using civil power to control military power.

According to the rules of the imperial court, both the commander-in-chief and the general were responsible to the governor.

At this moment, Zhang Sihan was going to exercise the power of the Governor of Guangxi, and no one could find fault with it.

However, as a result, Jia Bo's position as the military supervisor suddenly became awkward.

Theoretically, he has the power to supervise all the actions of the army, and when necessary, he can even bypass the commander-in-chief and forcibly take over the command of the army.

But all these powers are only in theory. If someone is foolish enough to try to seize power, the generals below will treat him as a rebel spy.

Once the army is under the command of the governor, his voice as the military supervisor will be greatly reduced.

If the other party behaves more greedily and personally goes to the army to take charge, he can be completely sidelined.

"Governor Zhang, you have just arrived in Guangxi and are not familiar with the situation here.

It is better not to interfere in military affairs, lest you disrupt the elder's strategic deployment and affect the court's efforts to suppress the rebellion!"

Jabo interrupted unceremoniously.

When it comes to the power in his hands, he will never give in.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he brought up Lord Xu to put pressure on him, and then used the righteousness to blackmail him.

"Don't worry, Master Jia, I know what's going on.

Know what to do and what not to do! "

Zhang Sihan responded with a smile.

As a demoted official, he was very clear that his words carried less weight than Jia Bo's on Lord Xu's side.

However, he also has his own advantages. The Governor of Guangxi himself has great power.

Even if you don't interfere in military affairs, there are many things in other areas that can be used to make a fuss.

Officials at the level of governor have already entered the upper echelons of Dayu, and personnel appointments need to be approved by the court.

As long as he doesn't make any mistakes himself, no one can take him down easily.

What he needs most right now is not to fight for power, but to restore Guangxi's bureaucratic system and establish his own team as soon as possible.

A governor who has the support of the bureaucratic system is the real frontier official.

After the episode, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward.

Logically speaking, at a time like this, as long as someone mediates and gives both sides a way out, the matter will be over.

But this step just doesn't appear.

Li Mu and Jing Yifeng, who were just spectators, turned into crazy eaters and ignored the embarrassment of the two.

It is completely understandable that a crude warrior cannot understand the high-level quarrels of civil servants.

Due to the tense atmosphere, the welcoming banquet ended quickly.

Early the next morning, the temporary governor's office was established in Lianzhou Prefecture.

In order to get the yamen back into operation as soon as possible, Zhang Sihan put his own staff team directly into the yamen.

Temporarily replace officials who are absent and handle long-pending government affairs.

The expected criticism did not occur, and the governor's office reissued official documents to ratify all the special measures taken during the war.

It was as if yesterday's conflict had never happened, and there was no intention to make things difficult at all.

A punch hitting cotton made Jia Bo very annoyed.

The rebels were defeated in front and a large amount of lost territory was recovered.

No matter what policies are introduced, as long as they are related to this, they are all expedient measures. To delve into them deeply is to ignore the overall situation.

The pit has been dug, but the other party refuses to jump.

Zhang Sihan was not accused of ignoring the overall situation, which made it impossible for him to carry out his subsequent plans.

Once the other party has gained a firm foothold, it will not be easy to drive them away.

Knowing that the military inspector was in a bad mood, Li Mu did not go near him.

While eating melons and watching the show, they were also preparing for war and busy organizing people to harvest the spring crops.

……

"Commander Li, how is the spring grain harvest?"

Jabo asked with concern.

The money and food for the soldiers in the garrisons were mainly raised by themselves.

Because of the special situation in Guangxi, the imperial court allocated money and food to temporarily support this army.

The court will continue to provide subsequent money and grain, but the amount will inevitably be discounted.

The imperial court has limited funds to suppress the bandits, so every penny we can raise will be used.

“Very bad!
I have never seen such poor land in my life. The yield per mu is probably less than one stone."

Looking at the governor and the military supervisor who came together, Li Mu pretended to be angry and said.

Low food production is inevitable.

Winter ploughing was a bit late in the season. In order to rush to plant more land, fertilizers were not used in time.

The goal is to plant a lot but harvest little, so the yield per mu is naturally pitifully low.

“The yield per mu is so low!”

Zhang Sihan's face changed drastically.

I've heard that Guangxi is a cold and bitter place, but I never imagined it could be this bitter.

Such low grain production was definitely a disaster for him as the governor.

“Governor, why make such a fuss?

Lingnan has been a cold and bitter place since ancient times, with most of the land being mountainous, so it is normal that the grain yield is low.

However, in this case, the military rations of the garrison might not be enough for its own use, let alone supporting other places.

It seems that the court will still have to rely on transferring grain from outside.

Governor, I will go to the court to ask for military rations.

I'll have to trouble you to solve the problem of food rations for refugees and war criminals!"

Jia Bo said gloatingly.

Before Zhang Sihan took office, all these troublesome issues were resolved by him.

The relief grain allocated by the imperial court was simply not enough.

As a last resort, they had to falsely report the number of troops, and only then they managed to overcome the difficulties.

Now all these troubles have been handed over to the local authorities, and Governor Zhang Sihan should be responsible for them.

"Master Jia, didn't you organize the corvée to collect taxes?"

Zhang Sihan asked worriedly.

Asking the court for money and food is a tough job.

A bureaucratic system that dares to withhold even military pay will only withhold disaster relief grain even more severely.

The rice allocated on the surface is good rice, but when it reaches the local level, it becomes chaff.

If we cannot raise some grain from local areas and have to rely entirely on allocation from the imperial court, people will really starve to death.

"Governor, you are kidding!
These state capitals had all just been recovered, and the people had suffered from the persecution of the rebels and were in the most difficult time.

If you go to the village below, you can see how much grass roots and tree bark are left.

People are starving to death. How can I take advantage of this situation to rob people?

As early as last year, I submitted a petition to the court to exempt the people of Guangxi from taxes for three years."

After hearing Jia Bo's answer, Zhang Sihan was so angry that he almost broke down.

If he had known not to have any expectations, he would have never expected that the situation would be worse than he had imagined.

If officials can voluntarily give up taxation, it can only prove that there is really no money to be made from the people.

After taking a look at Li Mu who was daydreaming, he decisively gave up the idea of ​​transferring grain from the garrison.

His instinct told him that if he made such an excessive request, his tenure as governor would be over.

“People’s lives are so difficult!”

After sighing, Zhang Sihan said with a little embarrassment.

"According to Dayu law, except for the leader who needs to be executed, the rest of the rebels' families and prisoners of war will be exiled.

Guangxi has been a place of exile since ancient times, and there is no place more remote than this in Dayu.

Commander Li, I will make a judgment on these people soon, and you will be needed to take over at that time.

The imperial court has limited funding, and the governor's office can only provide you with limited subsidies.

The shortfall can only be made up after the government's finances improve."

The prisoners of war and the families of the traitors were guarded by people sent by Li Mu.

However, according to the rules, the food and drink for these people are borne by the local government.

The local government of Guangxi did not have any, and Li Mu found a way to advance the payment in the early stage, and only after the military supervisor took office did he reimburse part of the expenses.

After Governor Zhang Sihan took office, these burdens were naturally thrown to him.

In theory, he could seek help from the court, but that would take time.

What Jia Bo handed over to him was only disaster relief grain. The expenses for the families of the rebels and prisoners of war were mainly filled by falsely reported military rations.

Although the organization of four guards had just been restored, the money and grain allocated from above were based on twelve guards plus 30,000 recruits.

It is definitely against the rules to put it on the table, but special treatment is required in special times.

Now that the powers have been separated, Jia Bo obviously will not use military rations to solve problems for his competitors.

Zhang Sihan had no choice but to go through the procedures in advance and make judgments on the prisoners of war and the families of traitors.

According to Dayu law, after criminals were exiled to the army, they had to support themselves through their own labor.

In normal times, the number of people exiled usually ranged from three to five, and at most no more than a hundred or eighty.

Major cases involving wider areas may not be encountered for decades.

With free labor delivered to their doorstep and subsidies issued by the government, the officers of the garrison naturally had no objection.

But with more than 200,000 free laborers all of a sudden and without sufficient subsidies, productivity will turn into a burden.

A typical risk transfer method.

However, Zhang Sihan was sure that these burdens would not overwhelm Li Mu.

The money and grain that Lord Xu allocated to Guangxi was public information.

The money and grain were controlled by Jia Bo. He had no way to get them, but that didn't mean Li Mu couldn't get them either.

The soldiers guarding the granary were all soldiers under Li Mu.

In the past, when he, as the governor, wanted food, he needed the approval of the military supervisor.

If Li Mu were the commander in chief, even the military supervisor might not notice if the granary was emptied.

"Governor, I have no objection to handling it according to Dayu law.

However, in the past years, Guangxi’s military farms were arbitrarily occupied by local big families, seriously affecting the survival of the army.

In the past, there was too much resistance to the investigation, but now that resistance no longer exists, we must sort it out as quickly as possible.”

Li Mu replied calmly.

This way of handling things would certainly not satisfy the military supervisor, but it was the option that best served his interests.

In the eyes of outsiders, the families of traitors and prisoners of war are troublesome, but in his hands they are valuable labor.

There might be problems if we let these people do other things, but there will definitely be no problems if we arrange them to farm and mine.

When he was in Yangzhou, he had accumulated rich experience in dealing with criminals, and now it's just on a larger scale.

"Commander Li, do you have the account books for the military farms?"

Zhang Sihan asked with concern.

The military land was not occupied by his family, so now it is returned to the garrison.

Anyway, all the gentry and powerful families have been harmed by the rebels, so doing this will not offend anyone.

"Governor, you are joking.

If the military land account books had not been burned, it would not have been so difficult for the court to investigate the military land.

However, although I do not have any military land in the garrison, I have the accounts of civilian land registered by the government.

There are three types of land in Guangxi: military land, civilian land, and chieftain’s land.

The area controlled by the chieftain was appointed by the imperial court and could be calculated directly according to the official boundaries.

After deducting the two, what remains is naturally the military farms of the guards."

Li Mu spoke nonsense in a serious manner.

Although he was also a member of a noble family, Li Mu still expressed his disgust at the noble families' behavior of hiding land and evading taxes.

Now the opportunity has come to our doorstep. If we don’t cheat others, we will be wasting the opportunity given by God.

"Commander Li, this calculation may be inappropriate!"

Zhang Sihan objected instinctively.

After so many years since the founding of the country, no one can tell how much land there is hidden among the people.

In Guangxi province alone, there are probably millions of acres of hidden black land.

How can such a big piece of fat meat be given away easily?

However, the hidden land could not be brought to the table. If the emperor knew about it, it would be a huge disaster.

"Governor, the situation in Guangxi is different from that in other provinces.

A lot of land was in the hands of local chieftains, and the amount of arable land in the areas controlled by the imperial court was not as much as you expected.

Besides, you can see how barren the land here is.

In terms of value, ten acres of dry land here are not as good as one acre of paddy field in the south of the Yangtze River.

You've stuffed so many people into my room, you can't let them all starve, right?
You must know that this is just the beginning. After the rebellion is quelled, the number of criminals exiled here will increase significantly!"

Li Mu said calmly.

No one can tell exactly how much arable land there is in Guangxi.

According to official data, there are only 10 million acres of arable land in total, of which one-fifth is military land and 40% is chieftain land.

There is no doubt that such data is definitely an insult to intelligence.

Given the Chinese nation's love for the land, it is impossible that it has not increased in more than two hundred years from the early years of the founding of the country to the present.

A look at the population is enough to explain the problem. The population in the early years of the founding of the country was about 140 million, and the total population was no less than 400 million before the rebellion broke out.

With the current grain production capacity, Guangxi's 400 million acres of land can hardly feed million people.

(End of this chapter)