Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 135 You damn beast~~~ (Bonus chapter for Silver Alliance Leader Nuanyang 1314)

“Full pay can boost the morale of soldiers.”

"To secure their loyalty, we also need to divide the land among them."

Outside Jinling City, the forest path leads to all around, revealing fertile fields that have been harvested.

Countless straws were neatly bundled and placed in the field.

“The city of Jinling is surrounded by good fields.”

Lin Dao looked at the irrigation ditch not far away and thought, "It's a top-quality paddy field."

The fields in the north have already suffered large-scale destruction.

In particular, the water conservancy facilities have been neglected for years and have lost their original function.

The south is crisscrossed by waterways and has numerous rivers.

Moreover, it has very complete water conservancy facilities, which are also well maintained.

Even in the event of a prolonged drought, there can still be a good harvest.

“I have heard.”

Lin Daomai walked along the ridges of the fields. "In the Jiangnan region, cotton and mulberry are widely grown. However, the best paddy fields near Jinling City are all used for growing grain."

Beside him was Ruan Dacheng.

Upon hearing Lin Dao's words, Ruan Dacheng immediately understood that this general did not understand these things.

He kindly explained, "These fields belong to the mansions of various nobles."

"The main thing is to grow high-quality rice and send it to various prefectures for consumption."

"As for the villages where cotton and mulberry trees are planted, they are all far away."

"I see." Lin Dao suddenly realized, "Special supply."

The fine rice produced in these fields was mostly used to supply the maids, servants, concubines, and distant relatives of noble families.

The true masters ate special tribute rice, just like the Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Most of the truly good things were things that the vast majority of people in the Ming Dynasty had never even heard of.

Not to mention seeing it or eating it.

These are the nobles who were supported by the blood and sweat of countless ordinary people.

When Wild Boar Skin went south, he did not hesitate to shave his head and change his clothes, offering up his land, wealth and women to save his life.

"Let me tell you a joke," Lin Dao joked. "The land of fish and rice, Jiangnan, is short of food."

Ruan Dacheng smiled and agreed, perfectly capturing the moment.

Such words were indeed a joke in the past.

But this is the reality of Jiangnan at this time.

Most of the farmland in Jiangnan was used to grow cash crops.

The landowners exported these cash crops in exchange for enormous wealth.

As for the fact that the common people have no food to eat, what does that have to do with those who eat tribute rice?

The high grain prices in the Jiangnan region are due to the fact that local fertile land is no longer used for growing grains, but instead for growing cash crops.

"I want to distribute land to the soldiers."

Lin Dao pointed to the numerous fertile fields in front of him and said, "Distribute these fields belonging to the nobles."

Ruan Dacheng stood respectfully to the side, waiting for Lin Dao to continue.

"The specific standard is that the area of ​​a soldier's home is limited to thirty mu."

"Military merits earned on the battlefield can be used to receive rewards or exchange for land."

"But it shall not exceed two hundred mu."

"From this day forward, no land shall be traded or sold, and all land shall be strictly prohibited from being merged."

"The land outside of the soldiers' allotted land was mainly rented out."

Similarly, each household can only rent a maximum of two hundred acres of land.

"I want to own my own land."

Lin Dao calmly replied, "Only military merit will be rewarded with land."

In principle, forestry authorities will not seize land from self-cultivating farmers.

However, by this time, the Ming Dynasty no longer had self-cultivating farmers in principle.

These self-cultivating farmers were the main source of tax revenue for the Ming Dynasty. They had long been unable to bear the exploitation for so long that they either lost their families or joined the bandits.

Land was concentrated in the hands of powerful figures such as members of the royal family, nobles, gentry, landlords, and imperial estates.

Lin Dao would take away their land and then rent it to the people.

Renting is just renting; if you want to own something completely, then go to war.

It's conceivable that many people would be willing to risk their lives on the battlefield in order to acquire land.

Historically, the Wild Boar skin population numbered only a few hundred thousand men, yet it was able to sweep across the entire world's hundreds of millions of people.

The only reason is that these hundreds of millions of people are unwilling to die in vain!

Lin Dao is now willing to offer benefits to these hundreds of millions of people. When they are truly mobilized, even a single spittle from each of them could drown a wild boar.

Ruan Dacheng, on the other hand, was trembling with fear as he listened.

He was a smart man; he could tell from Lin Dao's words that this man valued martial arts.

They've even brought up the idea of ​​awarding land to those who have rendered meritorious service in the military—this is an attempt to oppose all scholars in the land!
It's very simple. Ruan Dacheng also knew where the land awarded for military merit came from.

Those fields were all owned by scholars!
Taking someone's money is like killing their parents; Lin Dao is trying to kill the parents of every scholar in the world!
“Brother Ji.”

Lin Dao sincerely replied, "I'm entrusting this matter of arranging the rented land to you."

Ruan Dacheng wore a bitter smile.

When you need my help, just call me Brother Ji.

To save his life, he handed over all his valuables, leaving only his house behind.

He had been thinking of finding a chance to escape back to his hometown, but now Lin Dao had arranged this job for him.

If I don't do it, I might not survive.

Do it. Once the news gets out, you'll have no place to stand in the academic world.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Lin Dao frowned slightly. "Hmm?"

Torn between his thoughts, Ruan Dacheng shuddered and immediately bowed, saying, "Rest assured, Commander, I will certainly handle this matter properly!"

He thought of those unfortunate souls who were still being tortured and forced to pay wages.

It's better to be a thief than to be forced to hand over money.

Despite the strict lockdown, news from Jinling City inevitably got out.

Not far away in Anqing, a mutiny was breaking out. The soldiers were looting and massacring villages and towns, and even wanted to attack the prefectural city. Liao Yingdeng, the deputy commander of Anlu, learned of the news and immediately consulted with his generals, guerrilla generals Wang Zhengguo and Li Zichun.

The group believed that Jinling City was a place where the world's wealth was concentrated, and it was thousands of times better than this dilapidated village.

Let's move over there and take a look. It would be great if we could plunder something, but if not, we can join the rebel army and, with our troops, surely we can get some benefits.

After the agreement was reached, Liao Yingdeng led three thousand men, while Wang Zhengguo and Li Zichun each led one thousand men, and they sailed down the river from Anqing to Nanjing.

Liao Yingdeng's troops were chronically underpaid and often went hungry; their military discipline was nonexistent.

They burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities along the way, doing things even more outrageous than bandits themselves.

Their news quickly reached Lin Dao, who immediately led 5,000 men out of the city to meet them in battle.

This was the first large-scale frontal battle for his troops, and their morale was inevitably low.

Lin Dao was experienced in this matter: "Anyone who kills a bandit soldier will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and awarded a military merit."

One military merit can be exchanged for one mu of land, which is ordinary dry land, worth about seven or eight to ten taels.

A top-quality paddy field can earn five military merits, which is worth fifty taels of silver.

A dozen large boxes were brought out and placed in front of the army formation.

The box was opened, and inside were gleaming silver dollars.

Under the sunlight, these gleaming silver coins radiate a captivating luster.

“There are five thousand people on the other side, and fifty thousand taels of silver here.”

Lin Dao was incredibly generous, saying, "I look forward to you taking all of my bounty!"

The soldiers, who were initially a little apprehensive, suddenly felt their courage surge.

They shout slogans loudly all day long, but now is the time to truly serve the commander-in-chief.

For money, for land, for the commander!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Liao Yingdeng, standing a short distance away, looked around.

"what happened?"

He was somewhat unsure, "Why are there so many armored vehicles on the other side?"

Lin Dao's personal guards all wore custom-made full-body armor that was almost like works of art.

Ordinary soldiers wore stamped half-body armor, similar to that of the Beggars' Army.

Two thin steel plates were stamped and drilled, and then connected by leather straps.

The helmet he was wearing was also made of thin steel plate.

He held a long spear made of seamless steel pipe, and had a knife and hammer hanging from his waist.

From a distance, it gleamed with the bright metallic sheen of armor under the sunlight.

"Could it be fake?" Guerrilla General Wang Zhengguo was also looking around. "Where did all these iron armors come from in Jiangnan?"

"Never mind, let's try it out first."

Liao Yingdeng's troops had no idea what kind of soldiers they were facing.

Although Lin Dao's troops were poorly trained, their equipment was excellent.

Everyone was clad in iron armor, a privilege reserved for servants.

With generous rewards of silver and land, morale soared.

As soon as the two sides clashed, Liao Yingdeng's side was suppressed.

The swords and spears in their hands were useless against the armor worn by Lin Dao's soldiers.

They can only target the limbs, throat, face, and other similar areas.

But it's not that easy.

The soldiers, caught up in their excitement, fought fiercely with sharp swords and spears, even beheading enemies on the spot after killing them.

Such a brutal scene also shocked the bandit army.

Going into battle is just about making a living, is it really necessary to fight so desperately?

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liao Yingdeng personally led his more than 100 servants to charge into the enemy lines in an attempt to turn the tide.

The servants were very strong in combat, and even gained a local advantage.

However, the enemy's expected rout did not occur; instead, they surrounded the enemy from all sides.

The servants were riddled with holes as a dense barrage of stainless steel spears stabbed wildly.

A valiant servant rolled over and charged forward, slashing wildly with his sword.

But they would soon be hammered to death by the soldiers who had taken off their hammers.

Individual martial prowess is quite ineffective in this situation.

Faced with the assassination of dozens or even hundreds of spears, even martial arts masters would have to kneel.

"brute!"

"You damn beast!"

Liao Yingdeng, on horseback, watched as Wang Zhengguo and Li Zichun's banners gradually disappeared into the distance, and he angrily cursed them.

These two bastards didn't come to my rescue; instead, they just ran away. What beasts!
The warhorse was gored to death, and General Liao fell to the ground.

Before he could get up, more than a dozen spears pierced his body.

Liao Yingdeng's armor was excellent, and he didn't die immediately.

In the midst of his struggle, two men pounced on him, pinned his head down, and began sawing off his neck with their knives.

Endless fear and pain drove Liao Yingdeng to struggle frantically.

More than a dozen spears almost failed to subdue him.

It wasn't until a hammer struck its helmet that it finally calmed down completely, and its neck was sawed off.

Faced with the fleeing bandits, the soldiers, their eyes bloodshot, tied the heads they had captured to their waists and chased after them like madmen, weapons in hand.

The fleeing bandits had never seen such a fast and fast opponent.

Many bandits who could no longer run knelt down and begged for mercy, but were stabbed and hammered to death without hesitation, and their heads were taken.

They fled all the way to the riverbank, and in their panic, they jumped into the river and swam to the other side.

Lin Dao won a great victory in this battle.

Except for a very few who managed to escape, most of the bandits became spoils of war.

A small portion of them were lost in the great river.

Lin Dao kept his promise and distributed the reward money on the spot, not a single tael less.

"To win a war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, only three conditions were needed."

"rich!"

"rich!"

"They're still fucking rich!"

(End of this chapter)