The invasion of the abyss begins with the Laughing at the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 63 Community of Interests

The sun was at its zenith, and the warm sunlight sprinkled into the bright study. The speckled, rippling dust looked like stars in the universe.

"Brother Liang, thanks to the amazing fortune last night, all the 400 armored cavalry stationed in the villa have broken through to the eighth level of martial arts, and are at the peak of the eighth level."

"The three thousand Iron Guards at the foot of the mountain have accumulated a lot of experience and have broken through to the ninth level of martial arts in one fell swoop. Each of them has a strength of a thousand pounds and can kill wolves with their bare hands."

Shi Tou, who was wearing bright silver armor, looked around and saw that there were no outsiders present. He spoke excitedly.

Good fortune came from heaven to Huya Mountain. Not only did Shen Yuanliang and his men make rapid progress, but the Iron Guards and maids and servants stationed on the mountain also received corresponding fortune.

"This matter is classified as top secret."

"Shi Tou, please tell everyone to keep this matter to themselves and not tell anyone!"

He lit the pipe in his hand, and white smoke rose up. A mellow smoke swirled around his nose. After thinking for a moment, Shen Yuanliang gave the order with a serious expression.

In order to maintain maximum confidentiality, Shen Yuanliang chose to plant the "seeds" of the Abyss Demon Vine in the dead of night. As for everyone in the villa, they had all been tested by Dongmei and could be trusted.

"Brother Liang, don't worry, no one will tell anyone, and anyone who violates this will be punished by military law."

"Even if someone else saw it, we can say it was just fireworks, a special fireworks display, no one would suspect anything."

Patting his strong chest, Shi Tou nodded solemnly and spoke in a decisive tone.

As if remembering something, Shen Yuanliang suddenly asked: "Shitou, the people have been blessed with amazing fortunes, how about the horses?"

"Brother Liang, this..."

Shitou was stunned for a moment, scratching his head, looking stunned, stammering, unable to explain himself clearly.

"Shi Tou, go check it out later. If there's anything unusual, we'll tell you in the evening."

Waving his hand, Shen Yuanliang turned to look at Dongmei, who was becoming more and more capable, and asked, "Dongmei, how is the armor forging going?"

"Master, after the ice and snow melted, thanks to the hydraulic forging method, the forging speed of armor has been greatly increased."

"Now a blacksmith and seven or eight apprentices can forge a set of armor every day, including a small round shield and a goose-feather sword. In a month, they can forge 1,200 sets. However, due to the shortage of iron materials, they can only be used for a month at most."

Flipping through the account book in her hand, Shen Yuanliang's personal maid Dongmei frowned, pursed her lips, and said worriedly.

"Don't worry about the iron material. I will take care of it."

"Let all blacksmiths speed up the forging of armor, and strive to let more people wear solid armor to reduce casualties."

In the smoke, thinking of the upcoming series of battles, Shen Yuanliang rubbed his forehead and said with a heavy face.

"Master, don't worry. As you said, all the blacksmiths will be paid by piecework. They are very motivated and don't need our supervision or urging."

"They arrive at the workshop early every day and leave after dark. If they were not physically exhausted, they would probably be able to work from dawn to mid-moon."

Dongmei, wearing a light-colored double-breasted skirt and a silver hairpin in her hair, smoothed her black and shiny hair in front of her chest and smiled sweetly, making the whole study room brighter.

In the past, blacksmiths lived a mediocre life, dressed like beggars, and needed someone to supervise them all the time. But now in the Shen family, the more you work, the more you get paid, and the less you work, the less you get paid. No wonder they work so hard!
For two whole months, the thick black smoke from Shenjiawu Fort covered the sky and the "clanging, dangling" sound of iron hammering continued day and night.

"The war is imminent. In order to inspire everyone's enthusiasm and unite the majority of people, I have decided to distribute the captured fertile land. All the servants will be given ten acres of excellent irrigated land each, and the first batch of servants will be given an additional ten acres to reward them for their hard work."

Shen Yuanliang, standing with his hands behind his back, puffing on his pipe and looking at the pink peach blossoms and green willows in the garden, said without question.

After capturing Yongning City, Shen Yuanliang, under the pretext of pleading for the people and judging the powerful families, gobbled up 130,000 acres of fertile farmland like a glutton and became the largest landlord in southern Liaoning.

There is gain and loss. You won't get far if you try to eat alone, as you will be hated and coveted by everyone.

In order for the Shen family to gain a foothold in the world, Shen Yuanliang needs to win over a group of like-minded people and share the benefits, so as to form a close-knit community of interests, just like the Guanlong Group in the past.

"Brother Yuanliang, why don't you distribute the land to the people of Yongning City?"

Li Wan'er, with her hair in double spiral buns and a royal blue satin embroidered dress, stroked the pink hairband in front of her chest and asked with confusion.

There are 30,000 households in Yongning City. As long as the Shen family distributes the land that once belonged to the wealthy and powerful to the poor people, won’t they be grateful and united with the Shen family?
By then, with the united 30,000 strong men and the solid city defense, no one can stop us!
"Wan'er, what worries us is not the scarcity but the inequality."

"If the land is really divided equally, what will our seven or eight thousand servants think? It doesn't matter how much work they do, who would be willing to work for the Shen family?"

Picking up the pipe and knocking it, Shen Yuanliang, who was wearing a plain long gown, sighed helplessly and spoke slowly.

During these two months, Shen Yuanliang had thought about this issue, but in the end he gave up this incredible idea.

It's not that it can't be done, but that it can't be done. The consequence of Shen Yuanliang doing this is that he will become the enemy of all the gentry and powerful people in the world. Everyone will try every means to kill him and nip the danger in the bud.

Shen Yuanliang annexed land himself. Even if he occupied the best and most fertile land in the world, like the Zhu family did in the past, the gentry and powerful people could still swallow their anger.

If the land is really divided equally, the nature of the situation will be different. Both sides will fight to the death until one side falls.

"Brother Yuanliang, if we divide it up like this, we will need a total of 78,000 acres of good farmland."

Li Wan'er, who is usually very careful with her calculations, blurted out while fiddling with the abacus beads in her hand.

The hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land they had obtained had not even been warmed up yet, and in the blink of an eye, nearly 80,000 acres were gone, which made the housekeeper Li Wan'er very sad.

"If you want others to sacrifice their lives for you, how can you not pay a price?"

"If you only rely on making big promises and fooling others, you will be bitten back by others one day. How can you achieve great things if you are stingy?"

Turning around, looking at Shitou and Shouhou who seemed to have grown up overnight, Shen Yuanliang took a sip of tea and said, "Shitou and Shouhou, each of you will have 1,000 mu of irrigated land to make it a whole."

"Brother Liang, I don't want it."

"My Lord, the war is more important now, so let's give the good farmland to those who need it more!"

Hearing this, Shitou and Shouhou both shook their heads and rejected this overwhelming wealth.

"You follow me, I can't let you work in vain."

"Besides, Aunt Chen still wants to have a grandson. How can she find a wife without good land and a beautiful house? This matter is settled, and no one can refuse it."

Waving his hands, the usually amiable Shen Yuanliang was unusually overbearing at this moment, leaving Shitou and Shouhou speechless and they could only accept this kindness silently.

(End of this chapter)