Chapter 150 Risks and Opportunities (II)
Whether it was the Qing Dynasty or the troops fighting outside, they all thought that Huo Chong was preparing for war at this time. In Huo Chong's mind, farming and fighting were one and the same. The troops fighting outside almost emptied the grain in the warehouses of Zichuan County and Linzi County.
In order to fill the warehouses as quickly as possible and to get the food production workshops up and running again, Huo Chong only left a minimum number of defense troops, and sent the rest to manage the land seized from those Jinshi families.
Huo Chong's previous impression of landlords came from the era when the Kuomintang was in power. That era was full of local tyrants and evil gentry, who committed numerous evil deeds in the local area and were ruthless .
During the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng, the situation was completely different. The ruling class of the Qing Dynasty still had vitality, and this vitality was directly reflected in its ability to effectively manage the landlords. To put it more bluntly, in this era, officials and gentry were one.
Official refers to an official position that is actually vacant. Gentry means that you must have land and have a reputation. Gentry are not just landowners. If no one in the family has a reputation, such as a juren, jinshi, or official, it is difficult for landlords to become big.
If you can find a good teacher, your chances of passing the imperial examination will greatly increase. So the landlords had to study first and consider the official title. Only after you have the minimum title of scholar can you directly communicate and negotiate with the government.
Passing the imperial examination was equivalent to becoming a county councilor. As long as one had the opportunity and spent the money, one could become an official.
For example, Xie Cilu, the general of Dengzhou Town, was a juren and became an official. He eventually became the general of Dengzhou Town and the governor of Shandong. This was the first person in the Qing Dynasty who was a juren and could become a governor.
If they lacked both, ordinary local rich people would be suppressed by the "officials" and "gentry". Without doing anything else, simply preventing them from buying land would be enough to restrict the local rich people from expanding their family businesses.
Take Huo Chong as an example. Although Huo Chong himself was an official, he was neither an official nor a gentry. He was just a "wealthy man".
The so-called big households refer to the very few who, like Huo Chong, have gained opportunities due to some unexpected reasons and are able to control more land and resources for operation. However, once something goes wrong, the government and the gentry will collude to kill them and eat their meat.
At this time, officials in the Han regime were razed and gentry at the level of Jinshi were driven away. In just two counties, at least 300,000 acres of contiguous land were vacated. It was undoubtedly Huo Chong's top priority to manage these 300,000 acres of land. This... is undoubtedly what a real platform is best at.
From the moment Huo Chong realized that he could not escape the clutches of Yongzheng, he began to prepare by making a plan.
The hard work of the intelligence department, the expected and unexpected data provided by the platform members, and the screening of natural disasters have given the platform a list.
After personally explaining the prepared manuscript to the people at a site, Huo Chong looked at their reactions. Credit + funds are the basis of capital operation.
Huo Chong believes that the platform has no shortage of funds, technology, or cooperation channels. However, it is impossible for the platform to create so many trustworthy people who can complete the plan. How many of these people can become such executors?
"Mr. Huo, do you look down on us?" A brother expressed his opinion straightforwardly.
"My brother, I believe that you and everyone present here know how to use your strength. Since you know how to use your strength, you know to be careful. If you use your body too much, it will be useless in the future. So, if I looked down on you, I wouldn't have taken the trouble to invite you all here. I'm not saying that you're wrong. I want to say that I look up to you all. I really look up to you all!"
Huo Chong expressed his position and continued to look at the man. He was not particularly strong, but full of life. His eyes made him look reliable.
The man paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and then continued, "Master Huo, I know your reputation. You are unwilling to take advantage of others. But the farming method you mentioned can make a lot of money if we don't suffer any losses. But if we suffer any losses, I'm afraid we will lose everything, right?"
"Brother, you are right. If I can't do what I said, your efforts will be wasted. Everything has to be linked together. If one thing can't be done, all the previous work will be wasted. I have never lied to anyone. I can only say that my things are either ready or already being prepared. The rest depends on whether you are willing to believe me."
Most of the tenants on these hundreds of thousands of acres of land chose to continue to rent. However, there were still some who did not dare to get along with Huo Chong. After all, Huo Chong rebelled. So there was actually a lot of vacant land. Huo Chong did not have enough people to cultivate these lands, so the people he invited had to cultivate at least dozens of acres of land each.
This means that Huo Chong also has to provide a lot of agricultural services, such as seeds, farm tools, fertilizers, and even some water conservancy projects. It is not surprising that people have doubts about Huo Chong.
Everyone discussed in low voices for a while, and finally an older person stood up and asked, "Master Huo, are you willing to swear an oath first?"
"I, Huo Chong, if I have any plans other than this, I will be punished by heaven and earth. I, Huo Chong, if I don't do it and deliberately don't give everyone what I promised, I will be punished by heaven and earth!" Huo Chong raised his hand to the sky and made a vow. Isn't it just a matter of talking? Huo Chong didn't believe in the punishment from heaven and earth. If making a vow would work, I'm afraid that more than 90% of people who invested in P2P would die.
However, even though Huo Chong swore so solemnly, even if Huo Chong showed his 120% sincerity, in the end, only less than 1,200 people were willing to participate in this big project. There were still 300 vacancies away from the full 1,500.
Time passed like this. On the second day after Huo Chong learned that Qian Qing had defeated the 4,000 Qing troops led by Xie Cilü, the general of Dengzhou Town, and captured the seriously injured Xie Cilü, news of the enemy situation from the south also reached Huo Chong. Li Shude led 2,000 Qing troops and marched towards Linzi County.
According to the calculations of the General Staff, Li Shude might be able to reach the border of Linzi County within three days.
This is a very simple calculation problem, that is, run first, run second, then provide the speed difference between the two, and finally calculate a theoretical data. Huo Chong checked it briefly and expressed a certain degree of recognition of the overall level of the staff.
The next question was how to fight. Huo Chong had only 300 men who could really fight, and among the 300 men were 60 or 70 new recruits. There was nothing wrong with the origins of these people, but their reasons for joining the army seemed not so decent.
I can't survive and want to join the army.
It is quite surprising that such an idea exists in this era. This is not the new China. Soldiers themselves represent morality, honor, progress, and discipline. In the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Banners soldiers represented oppressors. The Green Camp was not a good thing either.
Good men don't become soldiers, and good iron doesn't become nails. This is the mainstream concept of this era. It's really not appropriate to take such a small number of people to deal with 2,000 people.
While thinking, the staff came up with a defense plan. Huo Chong felt that it was not feasible, and after thinking about it, he simply replied: "The troops must go out and delay Li Shude for a while. Qian Qing and his men will probably take another five days to come back."
