Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 797 Decisions Made Across a Thousand Miles
Are a few hundred people enough? Far from it.

Xia Lin's letter arrived as scheduled. When the old Taoist opened it, he was so shocked by its contents that he could hardly describe it. Xia Lin had a complete grasp of the situation here and even knew the current progress. Judging from the time on the seal, the letter was sent before the second phase began here.

In other words, Xia Lin was fully aware of the situation in this place and even anticipated everything that was happening.

The core idea in the letter was that now was not the right time, and more time needed to be spent to reflect and mature. He didn't say when this period of reflection would end, but simply told the old Taoist priest to wait for the right opportunity.

If it were anyone else, the old Taoist priest would have questioned it, because as it stands, he already possesses the prerequisites for commanding widespread support; his prestige is already extremely high, and if he were to instigate a disturbance at this time, it could potentially sweep across the entire Shu region immediately.

It should be noted that although there were many soldiers in Shu, their combat strength was not very good. Most of them were local armed forces expanded from the guards of local gentry. After these people gained power, they obtained a certain number of places to become regular soldiers.

Of course, most of these positions had to be bought with money. In fact, selling official positions had become commonplace in the entire Shu region. The government not only didn't care but even condoned it. In short, this place had become a peripheral area that the core power of the Tang Dynasty could not reach.

This is actually inextricably linked to Li Shimin. As the King of Shu, his mind was not on this, so it's no wonder that his subordinates were causing trouble. Furthermore, it was not easy for the Third Princess to directly interfere in the fiefdom. In addition, there were still remnants of the aristocratic families' spies in the court, which ultimately led to the current state of Shu.

How to describe it? The current situation in the entire Sichuan region is like that of Goose City. Who the county magistrate is doesn't matter; the officials in charge are the ones who ultimately have the final say.

The common people, like those in Goose City, harbored resentment, but most of the time they simply observed, because at least they still had something to eat, even if it wasn't good. Whether they became tenant farmers or sought odd jobs in the city, they still had something to eat.

However, this is not because the Huangs have become kinder, but because they have suffered more losses and gained experience. They know how to control that last line, and their practical experience over the past few days has made them more and more proficient in grasping this line.

So even if the old Taoist priest really uses his ultimate skill now, there are probably not many people who will actually respond. In Xia Lin's words, this must be a gradual process. Before moving the mountain in front of you, you must move the mountain in your heart.

Judging from what they are doing now, this is far from enough. Only by establishing authority, establishing words, and establishing virtue can one achieve anything significant.

Under Xia Lin's instructions, the old Taoist priest immediately stopped his inflammatory preaching and began to work earnestly and practically, step by step.

As fate would have it, on the very first night after he stopped inciting others, a secret agent from Sichuan mingled among the crowd and arrived at the Taoist temple.

However, all they did this time was listen to the "Essential Techniques for the Common People" all night, about grafting fruit trees, using elevation differences to irrigate farmland, and how to distinguish between poisonous and harmful insects.

These spies, of course, did not believe it. For the next three days, they came over to investigate carefully. But the old Taoist priest talked about how to feed ducks on the second night and about what problems need to be dealt with after a sow gives birth on the third night.

After three days of agricultural knowledge education, every spy was left with a buzzing head. On the fourth day, they went to report, and the official in charge of gathering information asked with slight surprise, "Is that all? The informant said something else entirely."

"I don't know if what that person said is true or false, but my brothers and I did hear these things in the Taoist temple. But sir, that old Taoist priest spoke very well. He is better than most agricultural scholars."

The intelligence officer flicked his sleeve and said, "If you like raising pigs, then go and learn how to raise pigs from that old Taoist priest!"

At this moment, a man with a small mustache next to the intelligence officer smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Lord Yan, I think someone has probably leaked the information. We should not rush into this matter and should proceed with caution."

"Why delay? Just lead your men and raid that dilapidated Taoist temple. We'll just say that the old Taoist is spreading heresy. Killing one or two is the same as killing two."

"Lord Yan, you mustn't." The man with the mustache quickly cupped his hands and said, "That Taoist temple, relying on its reputation for saving the world and helping the people, has already attracted a lot of attention. If we investigate it rashly, it may incite a popular uprising. The superior has ordered that we should proceed gently and slowly these days, and not be too hasty. Otherwise, if things get out of hand, it may lead to unforeseen consequences."

In truth, everyone knew what kind of "unforeseen event" it was. They were genuinely afraid. Once bitten, twice shy, they worried that if something went wrong here, their mishandling of the situation would attract someone from afar.

To them, that man was like a hunting eagle, circling overhead all day, watching them intently, ready to be wiped out at the slightest mistake.

But what they didn't know was that it was precisely this taboo that gave Xia Lin the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

Faced with this situation, some have questioned why, given their fear, they don't simply launch a direct attack and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Please... This is Shu, the land where a single city could resist the Mongol army for thirty-six years. The saying "the road to Shu is harder than ascending to heaven" refers to this place. Even Xia Lin's troops still had to rely on their own two feet to cross mountains and valleys. They were originally invincible because of their advanced logistics and supply system. Without that strong logistical support and the support of heavy firepower, they would be committing a major taboo in military strategy—using their own weakness to overcome the enemy's strength. Whether they could win is another matter, but even if they did win, how huge would the losses be?

War is essentially a game of interests. If the ultimate result of a war is that the expenditure is insufficient to cover the costs, then how much militarism would one have to go through to wage such a war?

It's important to understand that Xia Lin hates Japan almost to the point of irreconcilable conflict, but this will only officially begin when the time is right and there are substantial rewards for the war.

How could he possibly fight a war he knew would result in heavy losses? This was not Xia Daosheng's style, much less the style of any outstanding politician or military strategist.

So some things really can't be rushed. Sichuan is a tough nut to crack, and everyone in the world knows that.

In the days that followed, many secret explorers mingled among the people. However, in the following period, the old Taoist priest first bought a large area of ​​forest with his own money, and then led the farmers who had lost their land to start reclaiming wasteland, planting cash crops and grains. Some of them also dug ponds to raise fish. He worked during the day and taught various professional knowledge at night. He really seemed determined to save the world and the people.

The local intelligence agencies soon relaxed their surveillance of them, mainly because those spies were simply not good at farm work. It was like infiltrating a drug lord's headquarters but ending up in a happy farm where they couldn't find anything and just sat there adding bamboo baskets to the chives to make the chives sprout.

Who could do this if they didn't really need a livelihood? It's tiring, dirty, and you don't even make much money. You can barely scrape by.

However, the old Taoist priest was strictly following the guidelines proposed by Xia Lin. In other words, this was a preliminary screening, because those who were not truly seeking a way to make a living would certainly not be able to endure this hardship.

As more and more people gathered, reaching a scale of about two thousand, their farm grew larger and larger, and the taxes they paid increased accordingly. The local magistrate could have money coming in every day as soon as he opened his eyes. Even though he vaguely felt uneasy, for the sake of tax revenue and political achievements, he not only chose to turn a blind eye but also helped the old Taoist priest conceal the number of people to alleviate the worries of his superiors. The extra head tax from the underreported number of people naturally ended up in his own pocket.

This is Xia Lin's strategy of "not betting on his insanity, but betting on his greed." Clearly, Xia Lin made the right bet. The wealth blinded him, and the county magistrate not only did not stop the expansion of the fields under the Taoist temple, but also treated the old Taoist as an honored guest.

"Master Xu, I've come to bother you again today."

The county magistrate arrived at the Taoist temple with some gifts. The old Taoist priest hurriedly welcomed him in, and the two chatted like old friends. But suddenly the magistrate changed the subject: "Master Xu, I think the people are doing very well under Qingfeng Temple. I have an idea."

"Please enlighten me, sir. This old Taoist priest is foolish and cannot fathom it."

The magistrate laughed and pointed at the old Taoist priest: "You, you are all old ghosts who have become spirits, so don't talk about things that I can't understand in front of me."

After he finished speaking, he cleared his throat and said, "Now that we are friends, I might as well speak frankly."

"please."

"Here's the thing," the magistrate said, licking his lips and chuckling as he leaned forward. "The spring planting has just ended, and there are about five thousand tenant farmers in the surrounding counties. Tell me, who would be happy to have these tenant farmers sitting idly on the farms after the spring planting is over? So what I'm saying is..." He continued, "I'm planning to bring these tenant farmers over and settle them around Qingfeng Temple. What do you think, Master Xu?"

"No, no." The old Taoist waved his hands repeatedly: "The number of mountains, forests and fields around Qingfeng Temple is only enough to support two thousand people. Five thousand households would be too many people. Please don't joke, sir. This old Taoist really can't afford to support them."

"Hahaha, you're still playing games with me. I know your capabilities all too well. Don't even mention five thousand households, what good would ten thousand do you? But I'm not being unreasonable to you, Daoist. How about I find a way to get you a few more mountain strongholds?"

The old Taoist priest raised an eyebrow: "But my lord, this old Taoist really can't afford that many head taxes."

The magistrate immediately understood and reached into the old Taoist's sleeve: "I'll give you this number, and you give me this number."

The old Taoist priest relaxed his brow, but he was quite shocked, because he never expected that a mere county magistrate could be so greedy.

Because he only reported 500 out of 5,000 households to the authorities, and he only needed to pay the poll tax for 3,000 households, in other words, the tax for the 500 households went to the authorities, the tax for the 1,500 households went to the county magistrate, the remaining 1,000 households were used by the surrounding counties to extort money, and the remaining 2,000 households were considered the old man's oxen and horses.

"Nothing will happen?"

"No way!" the magistrate said confidently. "During the off-season, five thousand households would be a burden for any family. Who could afford to pay taxes every month? They will not only obediently send people over, but they will even thank me. You can rest assured that if you can handle it, I can summon them over at any time."

"I... I'll give it a try."

Who wouldn't be happy to receive money without any burden? As soon as the news spread, five thousand households were herded here like livestock.

The magistrate handed the contracts for the people and the surrounding mountains and forests to the old Taoist priest and said earnestly, "Master Xu, these people will be your livestock until the busy farming season next year. I hope you will take good care of them."

The old Taoist priest had a smile on his face, but his heart was filled with murderous intent.

"Of course, of course, I'll definitely make sure you're satisfied."

This news was quickly carried out of Sichuan by traveling merchants and reached Xia Lin.

After reading the reports from this period, Xia Lin slowly put down the letter, sighed deeply, and handed it to Li Chengqian and Li Zhi.

After reading the news, both of them were trembling. One was the Crown Prince of Tang, and the other was the Heir Apparent of Shu. They were furious when they saw the news.

"Headmaster, these people are far too lawless."

"Father, please allow Zhi'er and my brother to travel to Shu together! It's time to deal with these people."

"Come on," Xia Lin snatched the letter away. "Don't let the local bullies deal with you."

Then he sat down on the stone bench, crossed his legs, and said, "This is a good thing. The more unpopular they are, the closer they are to collapse. The Sichuan Basin should be their last hiding place. From now on, unless they go south again, cross the jungle, and reach India, they will only face certain death."

After speaking, Xia Lin tilted his head back and thought for a moment: "Who is the largest family in Sichuan?"

“The Ma family and the Cheng family.” Chengqian answered immediately: “Both of these families are descendants of the Sima family of the previous dynasty. Later, the emperors of the Great Wei Dynasty sorted out the Sima family members, so they separated from the Sima family. The Ma family of Chengdu Prefecture and the Cheng family of Pidu.”

Xia Lin smacked her lips and raised an eyebrow: "Chengqian."

"Yes, Headmaster." Li Chengqian immediately stood up and bowed.

"Go find some connections in Sichuan and spread these things to those in power."

"Huh?" Li Chengqian was taken aback: "This...why is this?"

Xia Lin tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes darting around. After a while, he finally spoke, "Firstly, to sound them out, and secondly, to deepen the rift between them and the newly rich. After all, this kind of tax evasion and embezzlement is taking money from their pockets. Go ahead, and do this well."

"Yes, disciple will go and do it immediately."

At this moment, Li Zhi hurriedly stepped forward and looked at Xia Lin with eager eyes: "Father, is there anything I can do?"

“Write a letter to your mother.” Xia Lin raised his chin. “Make a copy of this letter for her, and have her put pressure on the people in the court. But change the identity in the letter; use the name of a certain member of the Ma clan who wishes to remain anonymous.”

Li Zhi was taken aback, then suddenly realized: "Father, now I understand why they say the older the ginger, the spicier it is."

(End of this chapter)