Fu Shanhe

Chapter 262 Guangdong Navy
With permission from Marquis Wuyang, Li Mu took immediate action.

However, it was not done in the name of checking military fields, but under the banner of maintaining local public security.

In order to make the performance more realistic, he also specially arranged a large group of people to go to the gate of the yamen to claim the land.

Each of them claimed that the land was their own, but none of them could produce the title deeds, which gave the local officials a headache.

Many of the county's land registration archives were destroyed in the war, and are difficult to check now.

It suddenly became a unsolved case.

According to past practice, the case will definitely be awarded directly to whoever has more power or pays more money.

The situation is different now. Many gentry have fled and have not yet returned to Guangdong.

If the judgment is made now, and someone takes out the land deed in the future, it will cause trouble again.

The most important thing is that this group of "mobs" are ignorant and just clamor that the land belongs to them without any specific expression.

Usually during the farce, the owner will take out the title deed and go to the scene to claim it.

Now that things have come to this point, we can just go through the formal procedures to confirm the ownership.

Having just experienced a rebellion, there were still remnants of the rebels lurking among the people, and the local officials were also wary.

Faced with a group of people fighting over land, officials in the yamen would usually choose to procrastinate and put the matter on hold.

At this point, the soldiers sent by Li Mu would temporarily take charge of these lands on the grounds of avoiding conflict.

The competition for land ownership was fierce, and local officials were afraid that civil infighting would affect their political achievements, so they chose to acquiesce most of the time.

It started in remote counties and then gradually spread to the entire province.

The massive land dispute case caused a sensation across the province and soon attracted the attention of interested people.

……

"Governor, civil land disputes are getting more and more serious. I'm afraid someone is manipulating this behind the scenes."

Censor Wu Qiuyu said with a gloomy face.

It seems to be a simple land dispute, but in fact the interests involved are huge.

Judging from the data collected from various places alone, the proportion of unowned land far exceeds the land with clear sovereignty.

The most important thing is that the unowned land alone is more than the registered land in the entire province of Guangdong.

Once such data is brought to the court, the fig leaf that hides the land will be torn off.

If the land dispute case had not become a big deal, local officials like them could have colluded with the gentry to divide up the benefits.

But that’s no longer possible. Not only has the incident spread throughout the province, but the no-man’s land has also been taken over by the military.

It is nominally a trusteeship, but this management has no time limit.

People require local government to confirm the land ownership before they are willing to return the land under their custody.

If it is land that can see the light of day, a mere title deed is not a big deal at all.

If you lose it, you can get a replacement. If you don’t have it, you can get one immediately.

Unfortunately, the local documents were lost, but the court still had backups.

Perhaps the records of whose land it was and how it was demarcated were not so detailed.

However, the imperial court had registered the total amount of private land in Guangdong.

The temporary issuance of a large number of land deeds would result in the number of private fields within the country far exceeding the number registered with the imperial court.

At that time, the issue of hiding the fields will be involved. Although it can be attributed to the dead, the data is too shocking.

After the imperial court investigated the case, it was estimated that they wanted to fleece all the gentry alive.

Everyone in the world knows about the hiding of the land, except the one in the Forbidden City.

Now the truth was suddenly revealed, and the emperor knew that the reduction in tax revenue was caused by the gentry hiding their land. The scene was simply unimaginable.

“It’s not that someone might be manipulating it, but that someone is definitely manipulating it.

If there is no mastermind behind the scenes, even if a land dispute occurs, it will not emerge all at once.

In this situation, whoever gets the most benefit is the mastermind behind it.”

An Qingfeng said indifferently.

A large amount of unowned land is taken over by the military, and there is no explanation.

It is obvious who the beneficiary is.

Knowing the truth is one thing, but how to get the cake back is another.

Up to now, the military has only been in charge of some fields and mines, and there is no evidence to prove that they are the masterminds behind the scenes.

Once someone takes a title deed to claim the land, as long as the local officials verify and file it, the land will be returned promptly, and there will be no suspicion of land occupation.

For the sake of stabilizing the situation, no one can find fault with this temporary custody approach.

Some areas that refused military custody have seen bloody conflicts many times.

In Huizhou Prefecture, where the situation was the most serious, a county magistrate was trampled to death in the chaos and several local officials were injured.

Judging from the current situation, local government offices are unable to maintain local public security on their own and require the cooperation of the military to maintain order.

"The governor is right, the biggest suspects are those soldiers.

It is said that some mines have resumed mining.

That bunch of soldiers are making huge profits by taking advantage of the name of land management.

If this situation continues, it won’t be long before they have to reclaim the land.”

The Governor Ma Cunyi nodded and said.

It seemed that he was blaming the military, but in fact the target was Marquis Wuyang.

Most of the officers and soldiers participating in this operation were drawn from Guangxi.

Without the Governor’s endorsement, who would dare to do such a big thing?

Although we don't know exactly how the spoils were divided, it is certain that Marquis Wuyang benefited from it.

“When you live under someone’s roof, you have to bow your head.

If they want to resume farming, let them do so.

There is still a long way to go, let’s wait and see!”

An Qingfeng said calmly.

The governor and the viceroy are in the same city, so their lives are bound to be miserable.

The power of both parties overlapped too much, and Marquis Wuyang often bypassed him and issued orders directly to the lower levels.

The garrison troops suddenly took over the operation in the no-man's land, and they were acting under the order of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

The officials who refused to cooperate were the direct subordinates of Governor An Qingfeng.

After much difficulty in winning over a few people, after all this trouble, everyone suddenly knew who was the boss of Guangdong.

Relatively speaking, the situation of these civil servants is already good.

The generals who approached him in front were the ones who were really unlucky.

Either they died on the battlefield or were imprisoned for their poor performance in battle.

It can't be said that they were intentionally sent to their deaths. Even when assigning tasks, they were treated equally.

However, the combat effectiveness of these troops is far too far behind that of the elite troops.

When they try to carry out tasks that others can easily complete, they will suffer heavy losses.

We are all government troops, receiving the same salary, and naturally we have to abide by the same rules.

If others can win but they can’t, that’s their own problem.

There is no point in explaining. They have no strength and are on the wrong side, so naturally no one will protect them.

A brief investigation after the war revealed a series of charges against them, including eating empty salaries, embezzling military supplies, and reselling strategic materials.

It was a real crime, without any frame-up. Faced with this unfavorable situation, An Qingfeng naturally pretended not to see it.

For military generals, corruption is not a big problem.

But while they are engaging in corruption, they are also losing soldiers and generals on the battlefield. That’s the problem.

Once the old accounts are brought up, no one can save them.

Unable to build his own team, An Qingfeng could only endure it when facing his boss, Marquis Wuyang.

"Um!

Then just endure it for a year or two. The governor is not a permanent position and will be abolished after the war.

What is thrown away now can be retrieved later."

Ma Cunyi hesitated and said.

It is precisely because of the bad situation that the three giants in the province, who originally checked and balanced each other, were able to come together.

If it weren't for the pressure from Marquis Wuyang, the three of them would have started fighting among themselves long ago.

The reason why they gave up so easily was not because they were intimidated by the power of Marquis Wuyang. The biggest problem now was that there was land but no one to cultivate it.

Li Mu wanted to take back the military land because once the war broke out, the labor force would come in droves.

Some prisoners of war and families of traitors provide free labor.

Just look at Guangxi and you will know that the place with the highest population density is the jurisdiction of the garrison.

Once Guangdong has completed its staffing, this situation will continue for a long time in the future.

In theory, local government offices could gather refugees and resettle them locally.

But these cost money.

Government offices at all levels are poor now and simply cannot afford to pay this money.

After the last lesson, the local gentry also became more obedient.

The deterrent power of the "remnants of the rebels" is much stronger than that of the government.

If they say to wipe out a whole family, then they will do it, without any ambiguity.

The government's subsequent investigation was even more despairing.

The emperor personally ordered a strict investigation, but the final result was just to arrest a few thieves and behead them as a rioter in public.

Without the support of clan power, the current Guangdong gentry simply cannot gain power in the local area.

Some down-and-out gentry even had to worry about being extorted by local ruffians.

If he wanted to reconnect with people and build a new network of relationships, he would have to at least wait until everyone's mourning period was over and he could return to the court.

A noble family with no one holding an important position in the court is like a toothless tiger.

Just based on the reputation he had in the past, he is not qualified to order local officials to do things.

Large families with ancient heritage all have their own rules for survival, and they know very well that they must correct their attitude when their power declines.

……

Li Mu did not expect that the local government and gentry would choose to compromise temporarily.

After all, the current title is merely a trusteeship, and the benefits are not directly swallowed up.

Since property rights have no owner, there is room for operation.

Now is a time of war, and the generals are strong and not easy to mess with. It won't be too late to settle the score when the world is at peace.

In two or three years at most, these officials who are in mourning will return to the court.

By then, it would be time for Marquis Wuyang, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, to leave.

Perhaps Li Mu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was also transferred to other regions.

Without them leading the way, it would be difficult for other garrison commanders to become powerful.

At that time, it will be natural to send someone to negotiate and take back everything that has been lost now.

Because there are fewer people sharing the cake, perhaps they will be able to get more land than before.

Li Mu didn't take these people's thoughts to heart.

If the garrison is abandoned, it will naturally not be able to become strong.

But once the military settlements in the garrisons recovered and had the same strength as in the early years of the founding of the country, the situation would be different.

Li Mu would express his admiration for anyone who dared to seize land from tens of thousands of troops.

In the past, the seizure of military land took hundreds of years and was completed through gradual infiltration and corruption.

Directly driving tens of thousands of soldiers out of someone else's own land is like showing off one's stubbornness.

In coastal areas like Guangdong, there are not only remnants of rebels, but also countless pirates.

If things get out of hand, it's not impossible for pirates to capture Guangzhou city.

The maritime merchant families have the most experience in this regard. The Japanese pirate rebellion back then was caused by them in order to oppose the imperial court's opening of the sea.

Looking at the soldiers training hard in front of him, Li Mu smiled slightly.

He vaguely discovered that something was wrong.

Originally he just wanted to protect himself, but now the situation seems to have changed.

The number of garrisons in Guangdong is slightly less than that in Guangxi, but there are still eight garrisons and twenty-nine garrisons, and the total force when fully staffed is as high as 70,000 to 80,000 people.

Including the recruits from the two towns that were currently being trained, as well as the local garrison troops and inspection offices, the total military strength in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions reached 200,000.

Once the full staffing was completed, he became the highest-ranking military leader in the Dayu Dynasty.

I guess only the guys in Liaozhen can be compared with him because of their cavalry advantage.

If the temperature dropped one day, the soldiers would give him an extra piece of clothing, and Guangdong and Guangxi would change color, and the whole country would be shocked.

"Admiral, the navy has been reorganized. When can you come over to inspect it?"

Hearing Wu Dage's reminder, Li Mu instantly got rid of his fantasy.

He is a loyal minister of Dayu, how could he do such disloyal and unjust things? He must have been irritated by those incompetent colleagues.

"Let's do it in three days. Then I will invite the Governor-General to inspect it together!"

As one of the main navies of the Dayu Dynasty, the Guangdong Navy has always played an important role in guarding the coast of South China.

However, up to now, it has encountered the same problems as other navies - insufficient funding, rampant corruption, and inadequate training.

The imperial court did not attach importance to the navy and invested limited resources in it, and all parties never paid attention to the navy.

The situation did not change until Li Mu took office.

Others have no interest in the navy, but he is very interested!

The rebels happened to besiege Nanjing, which provided him with an excuse to reorganize the navy.

Sending troops by sea and marching north to rescue Nanjing was a perfect political achievement.

Regardless of whether they were going there for real or just pretending to rescue, as long as the slogan of saving Nanjing was shouted, no one could oppose it.

We sent troops to rescue Nanjing, but failed to save it. We can say that we did our best.

Anyway, with so many reinforcements coming from all directions, the responsibility for the fall of Yingtian Prefecture should be shared by everyone.

The imperial court would at most reprimand them a few words and let them make amends for their crimes.

But if it was because someone opposed sending troops and failed to provide reinforcements in time, which eventually led to the fall of Nanjing, then someone would have to take the blame.

All the forces involved in the war will push the responsibility onto others.

Based on Li Mu's understanding of Emperor Yongning, if he encountered such a thing, he would kill people without hesitation.

As for the causes and consequences, the emperor did not have the time to delve into them.

……

(End of this chapter)