Fu Shanhe

Chapter 330: Restarting Donation
Guanzhong, Baishui County.

"Brother, go back!
This horrible weather is enough to freeze people to death. There shouldn't be any business travelers passing by."

In the howling cold wind, the skinny young man in a tattered cotton jacket said tremblingly.

It was a miracle that the bandits could achieve what they did.

They are all honest men. If their families had not run out of food, they would not have thought of doing this no-cost business.

Just looking at the weapons in everyone's hands, you can tell that this is a makeshift team.

Except for a few people who were holding broadswords, the rest were holding bamboo spears.

After thousands of years of development, the hilltops in Guanzhong are basically bare.

The few remaining mountains and forests were all occupied by wealthy families.

I wanted to make a spear quickly, but I couldn't find suitable logs.

Bamboo grows fast and has a wide distribution range, so cheap bamboo spears have become the favorite of bandits, local gangs, and rebels everywhere.

"Wait a little longer!
If we don’t get a harvest in this lean season, this year will be tough.”

The middle-aged man in the lead said helplessly.

In recent years, natural disasters have continued to occur in Guanzhong.

When the harvest was poor, the landlords generously lent grain in order to annex land.

If you can’t pay back the debt, it’s easy. Just use your land to pay off the debt. If it’s not enough, work as a farmhand and pay it back slowly.

If that's still not enough, you can sell yourself into slavery.

During this process, the government not only did not provide disaster relief, but instead continued to levy additional Liao taxes.

After several years of turmoil, not only did the self-cultivating farmers go bankrupt, but some wealthy families and small landlords could not bear the pressure and joined the ranks of bankruptcy.

Seeing that the food reserves in the granary were constantly decreasing and the natural disasters still did not stop, the masters became stingy.

Some who were concerned about their family's reputation pretended to provide disaster relief, but most chose to stand by and watch.

The masters don't need so many slaves and maids. During this period of time when there is a shortage of food, it is difficult to find a decent family to sell their children.

Bankrupt farmers could only fend for themselves, and there was even a tragic situation in which people exchanged their own children for food.

The strict household registration system restricts the movement of disaster victims.

In order to ensure their own safety, the noble families formed militias and cooperated with the government to suppress civil uprisings.

The bloody killing temporarily suppressed the conflict, but it could not solve the problem of food shortage among the people.

In order to fill their stomachs, people either went into the mountains to become bandits or fled to other places.

"Brother, at this time of year, there won't be many business travelers.

Most of the people we met that day were poor people fleeing famine, and there was nothing to steal.

Instead of waiting here, it would be better to gather the neighbors and do something big, and directly snatch Mr. Huang.

I think the Huang family’s stored food should be enough for us to survive this disaster year.”

The skinny young man Bai Liu was eager to try.

After becoming bandits, due to their own limited strength, they could not afford to offend the caravans escorted by bodyguards and could only rob lone merchants.

The harvest is naturally not that high, it is difficult to make a living, and it is still a long way to go before we can live a good life.

Compared with the initial expectations, it is completely different.

Especially in recent times, more and more colleagues have joined in the fight to steal business, and merchants dare not act alone, so the profits from looting are getting smaller and smaller.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

“The Huang family is a large family in the county, and their militia alone has hundreds of people.

A few days ago, they killed more than 500 people in Qingshui Village. We cannot afford to offend them!"

Bai Er immediately scolded.

In troubled times, a large population is a powerful weapon.

The Huang family was able to mobilize a militia of hundreds of people, which directly forced the bandits and robbers in the county to dodge.

The short-sighted Qingshui Village paid the price in blood for its recklessness.

“If we don’t rob the Huang family, then we can go to the Zhou family to borrow food.

Now in Baishui County, they are the two families with the largest grain reserves.

The Wang family and the Gou family opened their warehouses to release grain, and we have received their kindness. It would be unethical to go to them to borrow grain again."

Bai Liu suggested again.

When dealing with the underworld, morality should come first.

It’s not that their moral integrity is so high, but mainly because if the village wants to maintain stability, they must rely on the word "righteousness" to restrain their subordinates.

Once the top leaders take the lead in abandoning morality, the younger brothers below will betray without any psychological barriers.

Of course, the most important thing is that there are better options.

There are more than one wealthy family in the county, so there is no need for them to do anything unjust.

“It’s a good idea to borrow food from the Zhou family.

Although the Zhou family is not large in number, the eldest son of the Zhou family is an official in another place, and the county magistrate has to give them some face.

In just a few decades, they had annexed tens of thousands of acres of land through trickery and plunder.

Once we rob the Zhou family, we will inevitably be attacked by the government."

Bai Er said with a little hesitation.

This group of bandits are all villagers.

Everyone joined the gang in order to survive during the famine.

Once the government troops surround and attack, it will be a problem for those with families to evacuate.

"Brother, the world is in such chaos right now, and the White Lotus Sect is preaching the advent of the White Lotus Mother all day long.

It is said that they have raised an army in the south and have caused a big commotion.

Guanzhong is experiencing drought and little rain now. I think it won't be long before they launch another rebellion.

We are going to borrow food, not to massacre the entire Zhou family.

With the rebels in front attracting firepower, the imperial court has no time to care about us!"

As soon as Bai Liu finished speaking, everyone's faces changed drastically.

"When did you get involved with the White Lotus Sect?"

"They are traitors. If they are implicated, their entire clan will be killed!"

Bai Er immediately questioned.

Rebellion and becoming a bandit are not the same concept.

During the feudal dynasties, there were always local bandits and robbers.

Officials in local government offices are all experts at covering up things.

For the sake of their own evaluation, they will pretend not to see anything as long as it does not cause any big trouble.

After all, sending troops to suppress bandits costs money and food, and officials also need to calculate the costs.

Apart from those who were blind enough to run into the trap and were wiped out by the imperial court, most of them had to wait until they were fattened up before being attacked.

The encirclement and suppression operations before this were mostly just a show, taking the opportunity to extort money from the people.

The bandits were also very cooperative. When they saw the government troops coming, they immediately retreated into the deep mountains and forests to hide.

Once the money from suppressing bandits is collected, it becomes the money of the officials. Every day the war is delayed is a day of cutting meat from the officials.

After a few days of fruitless efforts, the team will withdraw.

The more ruthless ones would even massacre a village of unfortunate people and take their heads to pretend they were bandits and use them as military exploits.

The floating wealth was divided up by the generals of the government army, and the vacant land was the reward for the gentry's support for the suppression of bandits.

When the government troops retreated, the bandits resumed their business.

It seems that there is no connection between the two sides, but in fact, bandits are tools for gentry and officials to make money.

In certain periods when the imperial court was in good order and there were no common people becoming bandits, they would still arrange for people to become bandits.

Of course, this kind of thing is usually separated by several layers and will not be directly related to them.

Unless it is the end of a dynasty, local gentry will generally not have direct contact with these underworld forces for the sake of their own reputation.

"Brother, I was just dragged over by a friend to listen, and I didn't really join the White Lotus Sect. Now the followers of the White Lotus Sect are all over Guanzhong, and there are many people who have come into contact with them.

Besides, it is not without gain to interact with them.

A lot of information was obtained from there.

It is said that the rebel army in the south has captured Nanjing and is about to take over the world.

If the rebels really come, we can join them and maybe even get rich."

Bai Liu explained immediately.

When they heard that the rebel army had captured Nanjing, the others did not react much, but Bai Er was horrified.

Compared to his younger brothers who have never seen the world, he, the bandit leader, has seen some of the world.

When I was in the army, I often heard Shangguan talk about the glamorous world of Jiangnan, and Nanjing appeared most frequently.

As one of the two capitals of the Dayu Dynasty, if Nanjing fell, it would definitely be a huge event.

If one fails to handle it properly, the dynasty will really change.

"That's it!
I won’t bother with you about these things for now.

However, when coming into contact with the White Lotus Sect, one must be vigilant.

If they want to rebel, we won't stop them, but we can't ask them to join in.

Shaanxi is close to the nine borders, and the border troops may attack us at any time, which is absolutely impossible for us to resist.

A stronghold like ours can be easily wiped out by the border troops with only ten soldiers."

Bai Er said with a sigh.

Only by serving in the border troops can you know how powerful they are.

Their stronghold has made a name for itself in Baishui County, but it is still a makeshift group.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to train his younger brothers, it’s simply that the food supply is insufficient.

It was difficult for everyone to get enough food, and they couldn't withstand the training at all.

……

The capital, Hall of Supreme Harmony.

“Your Majesty, we are winning victory after victory in the Huguang battlefield, and the main force of the rebels has been attracted there. Now is the best time to retake Jiangbei.

......"

At the beginning of the morning court session, an official offered a plan to suppress the bandits.

The plan was proposed by Li Mu's uncle and nephew, but that doesn't mean they will be on the front line.

The noble faction was able to gain a foothold in the court, and naturally it was not just these few noble leaders who were there, they also had a group of younger brothers under them.

They are mainly nobles and military generals, but there are also some civil officials.

Most of these people were children of noble families, who either entered the officialdom through their own imperial examinations or through the favors of their parents.

Although he held a civil service position, he was not accepted by the civil service group.

Their innate background made their relationship with the nobles closer, and they became the power of the nobles among the civil servants.

Because they were marginalized, most of these people worked in some marginal departments and had limited say in the court.

No matter how low the power of speech is, as long as an official is qualified to speak in the hall, he is valuable.

Without in-depth research, everyone knows that this strategy to suppress the bandits was concocted by several noble leaders.

“Your Majesty, what Lord Liu said makes sense.

The main force of the rebels is pinned down in Huguang, and now is indeed the best time to retake Jiangbei.

The government troops in Henan, Shandong and other places worked together and took the opportunity to recapture Xuzhou, Huaiyang and other places, pushing the front line back to the Yangtze River, and the whole strategy was saved.

When the time comes, we will attack the rebels from both north and south, and it won’t be long before the White Lotus rebels are pacified!"

Wan Yuxuan was the first to support.

The head follows the butt, and as the Minister of War, he bears too much pressure.

The main reason why he was not replaced was that the position was too hot and no senior official in the court was willing to take over.

Not only did he have to take the blame for the unfavorable war situation, but he also had to face the power struggles of the nobles, and at the same time he had to withstand the fire from the civil servants.

As long as it can save the situation, he will support the suggestion no matter who makes it.

At this point, it is no longer about party affiliation; it is purely for one's own reputation during one's lifetime and after one's death.

No matter who is blocking his way, they are his enemy.

"Master Wan, the Ministry of Revenue has no money!"

The Minister of Revenue Pang Chengjie immediately complained.

He jumped out to oppose, which was also a case of the butt deciding the head.

The imperial court had long been in deficit, and the Ministry of Revenue wished that every copper coin could be used as ten flowers.

Currently, the most capable troops in Shandong and Henan regions are still the border troops drawn from the north, among which the Liaodong cavalry has the most outstanding performance.

In order to make them work hard, they must be paid money and food first, and then these people will move.

They have seen too many scams and default tactics and no longer buy into them.

Theoretically, power could be delegated to local governments, allowing the governors of the two provinces to raise money to quell the rebellion.

However, the two places are too close to the capital, and Emperor Yongning would not be able to sleep if he really gave up power.

In fact, several governors in the south made him uneasy.

It had nothing to do with loyalty or not; it was simply the emperor's instinctive suspicion.

What's more, the north is different from the south. It has just been robbed by the northern barbarians. There are starving people everywhere and rebellions occur from time to time.

There is a mess to clean up, and even if power is delegated, it is not easy to raise money and food.

In recent days, the border troops seem to have not made any major moves, but they have suppressed many small-scale rebellions.

Either someone in the local area pays them to take action, or they wait until the rebels have finished looting and then jump out to reap the benefits.

“If you don’t have money, find a way to raise money.

National affairs are difficult, so everyone should bear more responsibility.

Mr. Pang, if the Ministry of Revenue has any way to raise money, please propose it immediately!

If we miss the chance to crush the rebels, the price we will have to pay later on will be huge.”

Prime Minister Wan Junhui spoke slowly.

At the critical moment, he, as the prime minister, must stand up and make his position clear.

Fortunately, this military proposal will not harm the interests of various factions in the court. Everyone wants to quell the White Lotus Rebellion as soon as possible.

The interests of the civil servants and the nobles were consistent in suppressing the White Lotus rebels.

The only ones whose interests were at stake were the border troops, mainly the Liaodong Town.

However, the military generals did not have much say, and the court rarely listened to their opinions when making decisions.

What's more, we are not here now, so even if we have different ideas, we have no chance to express them.

The network of relationships established in the court by transferring benefits is simply unreliable.

For the sake of the overall situation, the civil servants made the decision for them without even thinking about it.

“If we want to raise money, I’m afraid the only way is to accept donations!

It is not enough to just be a student of the Imperial Academy; higher levels of fame and honor must also be opened up.

If the amount of donation is high enough, an official position can be granted directly.

As it involves the appointment of officials, the specific implementation details must be formulated together with the Ministry of Personnel.”

As soon as Pang Chengjie finished speaking, he caused an uproar in the court.

"Pang Da, do you know what you are talking about?"

“All the gentlemen present here have studied hard and gone through countless hardships to be able to stand in the court.

Now a group of businessmen can be on par with us just by paying some money.

Where does this put the scholars of the world?"

……

(End of this chapter)