The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 153: Big Clients and Interests

Wu Hong’s idea was to integrate Daizhou and Yanmen Pass, and this integration refers to the military aspect.

Although they all belong to the Great Zhou, each place has its own rules, just like the governor of Shanxi is wary of the governor of Datong, the governor of Datong may also have plans for Shanxi.

The same is true for the Nine Borders. Each tribe regards it as its own territory and is wary of outsiders, especially in two places, Yulin and Liaodong.

Because Liaodong is located outside the Great Wall, the phenomenon of excluding foreign generals is the most serious.

Yulin has been a family of frontier generals for hundreds of years, and has produced cavalry generals thanks to its geographical advantages. For example, Zhang Can's ancestors were also from Yulin. There were no generals from other places in the entire Yulin, which shows how xenophobic it is.

Wu Hong's idea has both advantages and disadvantages for Wang Xin.

Needless to say, the benefits are that he can quickly integrate into the local community. Daizhou also has tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Unlike traditional officials who treat the people as grass and see them as trouble, Wang Xin knows that population is wealth.

People with low abilities often arouse public wrath and resentment due to their poor governance skills, and therefore regard the people as a nuisance.

The disadvantages.

Originally, he was only responsible for the security of the Yanmen Pass area, but now he has to take charge of Daizhou as well.

The Hu people would not necessarily break through from Yanmen Pass, they could also enter Daizhou from other places, so his two thousand troops were a little insufficient. As for expanding the military force from Daizhou, if Daizhou was rich, it would not have a population of only 40,000 or 50,000.

"What is the total population of Daizhou?" Wang Xin asked carefully.

Wu Hong was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding Wang Xin's thoughts. Seeing Wang Xin's serious expression, he said, "More than 40,000 people."

"What are the actual numbers?" Wang Xin asked.

Wu Hong hesitated for a moment, then gave a vague figure, "About 50,000 to 80,000."

The population in the imperial book is different from the actual local population. The more hidden people there are, the stronger the local power is.

If you look at everything objectively.

Strong local power is not always a bad thing. For example, for local development, road construction, bridge laying, increase in community schools, economic vitality, etc., localities need their own power.

Therefore, when the Great Zhou succeeded the Great Ming, the tax ratio was 30% to 70%.

The local governments retained 30% and the imperial court collected 70%.

With this 30% tax, if a small disaster occurs in the local area, there is no need to alert the court. He and the wealthy families in his hometown will be resettled, and small disasters will not turn into big ones. If he has to wait for the court's resettlement, it will take at least one or two months. If many things are delayed, they will turn into big disasters.

It was precisely because of this 30% of the self-retained tax that a large number of community schools were established among the people, which cultivated a large number of literate people. Even the laborers on the docks could mostly write their own names and recognize a few words, which led to the popularity of novels.

But from a negative perspective, local wealthy families became increasingly wealthy, and had the foundation to confront the imperial court.

If the imperial court took away all the taxes, and the local governments obtained allocations from the imperial court according to their own needs, it would be difficult for the local governments to develop, and the literacy rate would often decline, the local economy would lag behind, and so on.

Finally, solutions such as earmarking funds for specific purposes emerged.

According to the data provided by the prefect, the power of the big families in Daizhou is neither weak nor strong, and is currently in a stable state. The biggest trouble is external, and they are objects that can be cooperated with, at least they will not be bad teammates.

Wang Xin thought carefully.

Wu Hong was a little confused. Was what he proposed difficult? Why did the general in front of him think for so long and ask irrelevant questions?

"I can protect Daizhou City." Wang Xin said, "Let the locals take care of themselves. I can no longer take care of them."

"Why is that?" Wu Hong was not very satisfied.

Daizhou was protected by city walls, so it was not easy for the Hu people to attack Daizhou. Moreover, according to Wang Xin, he would not be able to report to the wealthy families after returning, and he would not be able to accomplish anything without their cooperation.

"Unless everyone in Daizhou is willing to listen to my arrangements." Wang Xin made an excessive request, and then stated his true purpose: "Then I can guarantee that the entire Daizhou will be worry-free."

Wu Hong was silent. This man had a big appetite.

After a moment of silence, Wu Hong asked, "General, are you so confident?"

Wang Xin nodded.

Defending the country is his duty. If it is an internal struggle for power and profit, he will not care about it. However, Daizhou is facing the invasion of the Hu people, and he has no right to refuse.

Because I am a soldier.

So even if Wu Hong didn't come to find me, I wouldn't ignore the invasion of the Hu people in Daizhou. It's just that Wu Hong came to my door, and since he was right at my fingertips, of course I had to take the opportunity to kill him.

In fact, it was not that he wanted to kill Daizhou.

Along the way, I came to understand that the border areas, like the Japanese invasion in the southeast, are not only military problems, but also economic problems. Traditional officials and traditional ideas cannot solve this problem.

Feudal bureaucrats have nothing to brag about.

In the first few hundred years after their emergence, feudal bureaucracy was in line with the times, played a role in fueling the times and promoting productivity. Now, a thousand years have passed, and it should have been eliminated long ago.

Still praising feudal bureaucrats is nothing more than the influence of Confucianism.

When I was in the southeast, I had Lin Ruhai to look after me. Lin Ruhai was the money bag of the Great Zhou. He could survive by just giving a little bit of money through his fingers. Now that I have arrived in the border area, I can't always rely on others.

If Wu Hong had not appeared, Wang Xin would have made other arrangements, such as the idea of ​​building a corps, which also absorbed the good aspects of the Wei Suo system.

Now that Wu Hong has appeared, even if he is used well, he can save himself ten years of hard work.

The main reason was that the power of the big families in Daizhou was still within the controllable range. If they were controllable, it meant that they were not driven by profit and could communicate normally. As long as they could communicate, there was a basis for cooperation. It seemed that these should be natural things, right? Who couldn't communicate normally?
In fact, many feudal bureaucrats were unable to communicate normally and were even worse than slave owners.

Although slave owners were more backward and could only bring destruction, their interests were more straightforward and there were no further twists and turns. They did not have the ability to beat around the bush and could not understand overly complicated words, so communication with them was actually simpler.

One is one, two is two.

The most frightening thing is that one is not one, and two is not two. He answers two questions when you ask one, and one question when you ask two. You finally think you understand what he means, but then he tells you there is a three, and you think you are unfathomable.

Great people always tell the people clearly what to do and what the purpose is, instead of beating around the bush. The reason they don't tell them is that they don't dare.

Including Zhu Yuanzhang of the former Ming Dynasty.

The Japanese pirates are coming, tell the people to prepare their knives.

The corrupt official came and told the people to skin him alive.

Officials protecting each other?

Zhu Yuanzhang used benefits to lure the people into buying a copy of the Ming Dynasty Code, letting them know that they had the right to take action and personally arrest officials who violated the law.

Although there are shortcomings, no one is perfect, and there is no saint in the world.

Wang Xin has his own way of doing things because of his understanding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Try to cooperate with those who can communicate.

Such as Zhu Wei and Zhang Jifu.

I will stay away from people I can't communicate with, and I will never have them as my teammates, no matter how high their status is.

Walking on the right path, even if you walk slowly, you are always making progress. The most frightening thing is walking on the wrong path. The faster you walk, the further you go astray.

Others can feel whether a person is confident or not.

Wang Xin said slowly, "Since I took command of the army, I have never lost a battle. Whenever I am called upon to fight, I am always there. When I am dismissed, I will surely win. Why can't you be confident?"

Wu Hong was silent.

This is the most important reason why he came.

A general who has never been defeated, the facts speak for themselves. Even if this man is young, Wu Hong dare not underestimate him.

"I wonder how the general expects the people of Daizhou to obey him?" Wu Hong's expression was complicated and hesitant. He asked worriedly, "The court has its own rules. If you go too far, the local governor will also take action."

A military general.

Who doesn’t like to have his own territory and his own army, just like the Jiedushi of Datong?

Wu Hong was worried that Wang Xin would also become powerful. Although he was dissatisfied, for the sake of his own future, he could accept it as long as Daizhou was not lost. He was afraid that Wang Xin was young and impulsive and would go too far.

Fatty Feng is the local tyrant in Datong, but he still abides by the rules.

Wang Xin shook his head. "Don't worry, Governor. I'm not one to act recklessly. I prioritize military matters. Otherwise, how can we win a battle? Since Daizhou needs my protection, Daizhou naturally prioritizes the needs of the army."

Wu Hong finally understood.

Wang Xin didn't ask for much, Daizhou needed to provide food and fodder to Yanmen Pass.

What was supposed to be a matter of course had to take such a big detour. Wu Hong was a little amused, but suddenly he felt emotional. Yes, many things that were right had to become complicated, and it was difficult to get things done.

After this contact, Wu Hong began to understand the young general in front of him.

Although this person is young, he is very wise.

Of course, every time you go to a place, it is not a wasted trip.

When I was in Yangzhou, although I left, I left many confidants on the Yangzhou Salt Road, including many veterans stationed on Yangzhong Island. I didn't expect them to do anything, but being prepared and not being prepared are two different things.

When they arrived in the capital, they built the Hexi Camp.

Now that I have arrived at Yanmen Pass, I will certainly not waste a few years and leave nothing behind.

As long as you do the right thing.

For example, although many veterans were deployed on Yangzhong Island, more land was reclaimed, which not only produced more food but also cultivated hundreds of wealthy households, increased market demand, and stimulated productivity. This was the right thing to do.

The same is true for Yanmen Pass. Not only do we need to build a retreat, but we also need to do the right thing.

Instead of relying solely on monopoly to reap profits, this is a wrong thing to do.

For example, eunuchs, nobles, military generals, and wealthy civil servants set up checkpoints on important roads to collect commercial taxes and make money for themselves. This is wrong. It not only hinders the operation of society, increases the cost of social operation, reduces market demand, and slows down the development of productivity, but also leads to an increase in the gap between the rich and the poor.

All of this requires cooperation with local big players.

The original Qi family in Yangzhou was a person with whom they could communicate, but now that they had arrived at Yanmen Pass, their biggest trouble was not the wealthy families in Daizhou, but Feng Mo, the governor of Datong.

What Wang Xinxin wanted in his heart was to cooperate with this person, not to confront him.

But I don’t know what this person’s attitude is.

(End of this chapter)