Qing Yao

Chapter 286 Taking Lord Zhao's Pay and Listening to Lord Zhao's Words
While financial instruments can resolve the issue of food expenses, the actual extent of the disaster cannot be mitigated by such instruments.

Nominally, the Governor of Anhui was the head of the province, in charge of both military and civilian affairs, but the provincial governor was in charge of civil administration. So, strictly speaking, Zhao An, the provincial governor, was the commander-in-chief in terms of disaster relief.

As the disaster relief commander-in-chief appointed by the old master, Zhao An could not stay in Chuzhou without going deeper into the disaster area, because he also needed to hand over the reins to the former governor Jing Daoqian, who had been dismissed.

Therefore, we cannot linger in Chuzhou for too long.

Before leaving Chuzhou, Zhao An convened a final meeting with relevant personnel in Chuzhou.

The meeting began with a discussion of disaster relief. Zhao An proposed a three-tiered response system: "regular relief - supplementary relief - continued relief." This meant providing one month's worth of relief rations to disaster victims living near cities; providing three to four months' worth of relief rations to disaster victims living outside the city's suburbs; and providing an additional three to five months' worth of rations to disaster victims during the lean season after the drought ended, with the government also providing free seeds to help them resume production.

The distribution of disaster relief grain was the responsibility of local governments, but the entire process had to be supervised by the grain transport authorities. In some areas where the disaster was particularly severe, the grain transport authorities would send special envoys with supplies directly to the affected areas to prevent local exploitation and to improve the efficiency of disaster relief.

In addition, the authorities ordered that areas not severely affected by the disaster immediately carry out projects such as dredging rivers and diverting water, on the one hand to absorb displaced people and prevent them from causing trouble, and on the other hand to repair water conservancy infrastructure in a planned manner so that they will not be helpless in the face of drought or flood in the future.

The meeting minutes were recorded by relevant personnel and later compiled into regulations, which were then sent to various regions in the name of the Provincial Governor's Office.

At the end of the meeting, Zhao An shifted his focus, emphasizing the importance of integrating disaster prevention and relief efforts. He pointed out that the White Lotus cult in Anhui Province has shown signs of resurgence, therefore all regions must attach great importance to both disaster prevention and relief, and must not neglect disaster prevention while focusing solely on relief.

Zhao An asked Yan Kun, the prefect of Chuzhou, if any traces of the White Lotus sect could be found within his territory.

Yan Kun hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, there are currently no White Lotus sect members active within the territory of this prefecture."

Zhao An nodded. Chuzhou is adjacent to Jiangning, and the disaster situation is not as severe as in Huaibei. This is undoubtedly a double-edged sword for the White Lotus Sect, which uses the disaster victims as a force for uprising. Moreover, if trouble is caused in Chuzhou, Jiangning will immediately send out the Eight Banners troops to suppress it. The White Lotus Sect is simply unable to resist. Therefore, he would not preach and cause trouble in the Chuzhou area if he were in their shoes.

Throughout history, the best places to rebel have been remote, lawless areas.

Only in these regions could the rebels make their first fortune, namely, to organize sufficient forces to deal with the large-scale suppression by government troops, while also gaining some popular support.

At this point, the White Lotus sect foolishly went to Jiangning, Yangzhou, and Suzhou to preach and rebel, which was no different from handing their heads directly to the government.

If people weren't so poor they had no other choice, who would be so bored as to rebel?

However, the fact that there are no White Lotus sect activities in Chuzhou now does not mean that there will be none in the future. The old master's decree is important for disaster relief, but it is even more important to prevent unrest. Therefore, even if there are no White Lotus sect activities in Chuzhou, Zhao An cannot let his guard down.

He knew very well that no matter how well he performed in disaster relief, if he failed to stop the White Lotus Rebellion, his merit would be greatly diminished.

There was nothing we could do; the old man took the Han people's rebellion very seriously.

As Teacher Lou previously mentioned, the White Lotus sect's activities in Anhui Province had become rampant, even openly colluding with salt bandits to ambush government troops. Now, with the disaster situation in Anhui being so severe, there are at least two to three million displaced people. As the saying goes, a single spark can start a prairie fire. We must be wary of the lesson of Li Zicheng stirring up hundreds of thousands of rebels in Henan with only eighteen horsemen.

It's not that Zhao An held a negative attitude towards the anti-Qing movement, but rather that he held a negative attitude towards the White Lotus sect.

To put it bluntly, the uprising led by the White Lotus sect was too destructive, and because of its religious nature, it could not gain the support of the gentry class. If Zhao An were to condone the White Lotus sect's rebellion in Anhui, it would not only be of no help to the anti-Qing cause, but would also bring down this rising political star.

For both public and private reasons, Anhui cannot be allowed to descend into chaos.

If Zhao An were allowed to operate in Anhui for three years, he might very well be able to raise another Hunan Army or Huai Army.

To prevent chaos in Anhui, strict measures must be implemented.

Zhao An ordered all localities to not only organize refugees into groups and establish a semi-governmental guidance mechanism, but also to implement a system of mutual supervision among villages. Refugees entering a village were required to provide a guarantor; those whose identities could not be verified were to be sent to the government for questioning.

At the same time, in his capacity as governor, he authorized local gentry to manage public granaries and mediate disputes. Relying on the extensive network of local gentry, he established a disaster relief chain of "disaster relief shelters - soup kitchens - medical bureaus," which prevented the White Lotus Rebellion from inciting unrest.

In addition, spies were planted at disaster relief sites to focus on proselytizing, forming societies, and spreading prophecies. If any claims, such as the descent of Maitreya, were discovered, the relevant personnel were arrested immediately to prevent the spread of rumors.

Those White Lotus followers who have been captured in various places will not be questioned, but will be given relief food and arranged to work. Once the disaster subsides, they will be given travel expenses to return to their hometowns to farm.

Those who were in charge or were key members were all ordered by Zhao An to be taken to the Provincial Surveillance Commission for interrogation; those who should be imprisoned were imprisoned, and those who should be executed were executed.

This was intended to intimidate the White Lotus sect in Anhui and force them to relocate to the border region of Hubei, Henan, and Sichuan provinces, which would become the base of their future uprising.

The Chuzhou officials present at the meeting were impressed by Zhao An's methodical approach to preventing unrest, and couldn't help but marvel at how he had risen to the position of acting governor; he was truly capable of getting things done.

After deciding on these measures, Zhao An suddenly asked Yan Kun, "When I was in Jiangning, I heard that the Governor wanted to organize local militias in various places. How are these militias being organized? And how are the militias in Chuzhou doing?"

Three months earlier, Zhu Gui, in his capacity as governor, had issued a document to various regions requesting the formation of local militias in order to prevent the disaster from causing unrest. In fact, neither the great disaster in Anhui nor the White Lotus Rebellion a few years later caused any unrest.

Zhao An had previously thought that it was precisely because Zhu Gui's militia training in Anhui was effective that it was promoted to deal with the White Lotus Rebellion. As a result, this militia training method effectively strangled the White Lotus rebels who had persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty for eight years in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, and Hubei.

As the saying goes, "If the enemy can go there, so can I."

Zhu Gui stabilized Anhui by relying on local militias and suppressed the White Lotus Rebellion three years later. Similarly, Zhao An could use these militias to consolidate his "leadership" over Anhui, inject vitality into the preparatory stage before the White Lotus Rebellion, and gradually turn the entire province of Anhui into Zhao's faction.

That's why the inquiry came about the group training.

It means to use someone else's resources to make something of yourself, or to replace an old bird with a new one.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the local government has already organized local militias upon receiving the official document from the governor's office."

According to Yan Kun, the governor required local areas to organize the people into militia groups, with 10 households forming a "pai", 10 "pai" forming a "jia", 10 "jia" forming a "bao", and every 2 to 3 "bao" forming a "tuan".

Assuming each farmer's family of five contributes one able-bodied man, a group of 3000 households could mobilize around 1000 able-bodied men in case of unrest.

Local authorities appointed special regimental commanders and deputy commanders to oversee training and joint defense. The able-bodied men who joined the regiments farmed in peacetime and used weapons issued by the government to defend against the enemy in wartime.

Fifteen days are dedicated to military training each year.

Zhu Gui believed that the members of the militia were all villagers from the same village, including fathers, sons, brothers, relatives, and friends, so they had a strong sense of cohesion. If a relative died in battle, the remaining members would take revenge madly, so they could exert a powerful fighting force with only slight armament. This understanding clearly showed that Zhu Gui also realized that the Green Camp was corrupt and unusable; otherwise, he would not have used the disaster to "pilot" the militia.

This incident also suggests that Zhu Gui may have judged that the Qing Dynasty was likely to face great chaos in the future, given that the current officialdom had reached an unprecedented level of collapse.

From this perspective alone, Zhu Gui was undoubtedly a qualified feudal bureaucrat. Putting aside the fact that his allegiance was to a foreign race, he was definitely one of the most capable ministers.

What Zhao An didn't expect was that Yan Kun, the prefect, wasn't very enthusiastic about organizing local militias, or rather, the local gentry didn't care much about it.

The reason was that Zhu Gui only required local governments to organize militias, but did not allocate any funds for their organization. All expenses required for the militias had to be raised by the local gentry themselves, and the province only rewarded those who made meritorious contributions at its discretion.

In plain terms, it means that local governments organize their own groups without receiving a single penny from the province. The only exception is when they are dispatched to suppress unrest and are credited with a reward.

Farmers joining the militia had to bring their own food for training, without any subsidies. Some local gentry even used the militia training as a pretext to exploit the people, demanding that they pay for the training fees.

Furthermore, the regimental commanders and deputy commanders of each regiment are appointed by the local authorities and do not receive a dedicated salary.

It means part-time.

For example, the head of the three cooking troupes outside Chuzhou City was a constable from the prefectural government.

If the White Lotus Sect were to launch a large-scale rebellion in Anhui now, the local gentry would certainly actively support the militia for their own benefit, providing manpower and funds as needed. However, since the White Lotus Sect has not rebelled, and the number of disaster victims, even if greater than that of the gentry, poses no real threat, the gentry's enthusiasm has plummeted.

Farmers' enthusiasm for joining the Communist Youth League has reached rock bottom.

As a result, Chuzhou currently has nine regiments on the surface, and on paper, it can mobilize about nine thousand regimental training troops at any time, but in reality, it is just an empty shell.

Apart from the rosters of each regiment, there was nothing else.

There was no command system for the militia, nor any financial support. Members either stayed at home or fled the famine.

There were even cases where villagers who had died many years ago were used by gentry to make up the numbers, and then reported to the state government in a blatant manner.

Currently, the forces used for maintaining order and stability in Chuzhou consist of more than 300 Green Standard Army soldiers within the territory, as well as armed constables directly under the prefecture, totaling more than 1,000 people.

The entire population of Chuzhou is over 1.2 million. If the White Lotus Sect were to take the risk and start an uprising in Chuzhou, the armed forces in Chuzhou alone would be completely unable to deal with it.

Without the assistance of local militias, how could Chuzhou effectively implement Zhao An's series of measures to "prevent chaos"?

Therefore, Zhao Anli was furious: "The governor has repeatedly ordered all localities to supervise the training of local militias. Your Chuzhou has done it, but it's all for show. If something goes wrong, can you, as the prefect, take responsibility?"

"Your humble servant,"

Prefect Yan didn't know what to say. He felt that the young acting provincial governor was meddling in other people's business, since the local militia was managed by the governor's office and was under the governor's leadership. What did it have to do with the provincial governor's office?

Even if he does a bad job, it should be the governor's instruction, not the provincial governor making a fuss.

Zhao An is like a dog catching a mouse; the areas he is qualified to guide the local militia are the five prefectures of Anqing, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, and Taiping, as well as the directly governed Guangde Prefecture.

This region is also the heart of Anhui, accounting for more than half of the province's population.

It is also currently an area in Anhui that is not affected by drought or disaster, or is only minimally affected.

The old master appointed him as the acting governor of Huizhou and Chizhou because he hoped that he could rely on the manpower and resources of this region to deal with any possible large-scale rebellion.

Chuzhou is not in this area. Theoretically, Zhao An only has the authority to lead Chuzhou in civil administration and taxation, and has no military authority over it.

Zhao An was clearly aware that his authority was limited in Chuzhou, so he did not want to seize control of the local militia, but rather, in his anger, he wanted to solve the problem for Yan Kun, the prefect.

"Both disaster relief and prevention of unrest are important. The governor ordered you to organize local militias for the purpose of preventing unrest. We cannot neglect prevention of unrest while focusing solely on disaster relief."

At this point, Zhao An changed the subject, tapped the table lightly for a moment in thought, and then said, "The militia is extremely important for preventing unrest. It cannot be neglected, nor can it be done carelessly. It must be done meticulously and effectively! Therefore, I hereby grant you, Chuzhou, a special allowance of 30,000 taels from the provincial treasury to establish the militia. Each able-bodied man who joins the militia will receive a subsidy of two taels, not just this year, but every year. The remaining silver will be used to purchase training clothes and shoes for the militia members, as well as their food and lodging expenses."

Two taels of silver may not seem like much, but most people in Anhui only earn a few taels a year. This net subsidy of two taels of silver is equivalent to half a year's income for many people, so it is definitely very attractive.

Governor Yan was taken aback when Zhao An granted him a special grant of 30,000 taels for organizing the mission. After a moment of surprise, he quickly stood up and bowed to thank the governor for his strong support of Chuzhou.

He stated that he would actively respond to the province's call, run the local militia training in Chuzhou well and make it a benchmark for the province, and at the same time immediately take steps to prevent the White Lotus cult from causing trouble in Chuzhou.

Zhao An didn't say much, and immediately wrote a note instructing Yan Kun to send someone to the Anqing warehouse to withdraw the money.

After the meeting, he ordered Chuzhou to prepare enough dry rations for the accompanying personnel for a month, and they set off for Fengyang that afternoon.

Because Liu Xiaolou went to Yangzhou to discuss with Lao Ding the establishment of "commercial banks" in Anqing and Jiangning, Baili Yunlong, his bodyguard, acted as the temporary "person in charge" of the accompanying team. After the carriage left the city, Baili Yunlong, who was riding in the same carriage as Zhao An, asked in confusion: "Young Master, the militia is organized by Governor Zhu Gui. Even if there is money to be spent, it should be paid by his governor's office. Why should you pay for it for him? Zhu Gui is not a good person. If you help him organize the militia, who knows if he will use it against you in the future?"

Looking at his trusted confidant from the Grand Canal Gang, whom he was preparing to cultivate, Zhao An chuckled and said, "Yunlong, you must remember, everything in this world changes, but one thing will never change."

Baili Yunlong asked, puzzled, "What does Young Master mean?"

"Whoever pays the money, we'll listen to them."

Zhao An casually lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the barren mountain peaks in the distance, saying indifferently, "As long as the local militias are paid by me, the provincial governor, they have to listen to me. As for Zhu Gui, although he is the governor, if I, the provincial governor, don't give him money, even if he were the governor-general, he would have no choice but to watch helplessly."

The words may be rough, but the principle is sound: the annual revenue of the entire Anhui province is under the unified control and distribution of the provincial administration commissioner.

(End of this chapter)