Chapter 225: People's Desire (VIII)
When Gao Pang arrived in Qingzhou, the first thing he did was to go to the local area and, according to the content of the cadre training course, introduce himself to the people in a friendly manner. Then he asked the people what they were most concerned about and what they wanted recently.
Although the key points had been made clear in the training and many methods had been introduced, Gao Pang spoke in southern Mandarin to the Shandong master, and the other party was obviously more concerned about Gao Pang. Instead, he asked Gao Pang what he wanted with great interest.
Gao Pang had to hold back his shame and admit to the people that he just wanted to know what they wanted and then see if he could help them. This made the people very confused and they looked at Gao Pang as if he were a monster.
Gao Pang had to continue to admit that the higher-ups wanted the Han regime to be able to help everyone, which was the standard for judging the performance of officials in the Han regime. Gao Pang himself wanted to do the right thing, which was what everyone wanted.
Obviously, this only aroused everyone's curiosity. Various ideas, such as promotion, wealth, and marriage, were mentioned. This made Gao Pang realize how big the gap was between his previous life and that of ordinary people.
Finally, the people got tired, and after Gao Pang's repeated explanations, they finally casually told him what they were concerned about. Then Gao Pang realized that almost everyone was looking forward to a few good spring rains.
Gao Pang immediately recalled a passage in the Song Dynasty's Jingde Chuandeng Lu: "A drop of spring rain is as smooth as oil."
It is also said that spring rain is as precious as oil.
Gao Pang finally determined that even if he and the people had the same views on some things, the views between Gao Pang and the people were... well, how should I put it. As Huo Chong said, human joys and sorrows are not the same.
With this understanding, Gao Pang began to continue to go deep into the masses of the people as taught in the cadre training.
At this time, Mr. Gao of Qingzhou, who also had the surname Gao, not only called back ordinary people of the Gao family to join the militia, but also, similar to previous years, formed a temporary water-grabbing and water-protecting team under the leadership of the Gao family.
Seeing that he had successfully divided the military groups formed by the Han regime at the grassroots level, although Mr. Gao was overjoyed, he was still a little uneasy. After all, he was facing the Han regime that could defeat 100,000 government troops. It was even said that the governor of the Han regime, Huo Chong, went to Beijing to kill the emperor.
With Master Gao's knowledge, he thought this was completely nonsense. There were tens of thousands of troops in the capital, so how could Huo Chong be allowed to enter the city so easily? However, the other party was so powerful that he might be even more brutal.
Thinking of this, Mr. Gao invited those militiamen with the surname Gao, and after giving them some guidance, he sent them back to serve as internal supporters of the Gao family.
The days passed quickly, the weather was getting warmer, and the sky was clear and cloudless. It didn't look like it was going to rain. If it continued like this, the fields that relied on the weather for harvest would be in trouble this year!
Ordinary Gaos also knew that they had asked Master Gao to release the water. This time Master Gao readily agreed, but he said that since they had to guard against the Dongs coming to steal the water, they couldn't leave. It would be better to irrigate Master Gao's land near the river now. This would prevent the people of the lower family from stealing the water, and Master Gao could also pay them some wages. This is a good thing that has the best of both worlds.
The Gao people were certainly not happy, but at this point, people with the same surname were definitely more reliable than those with different surnames. Some people cursed and refused to do it. Some agreed.
Master Gao was happy, but he wanted to deal with these poor people who were eating at their own expense. They relied on the power of the Han regime to force Master Gao to reduce the rent to 30%, and did not collect the prepaid money and food from these people. It really made Master Gao heartbroken. Working for Master Gao at this time is what they should do! If it weren't for that thief Huo Chong, Master Gao would not give them a penny.
Mr. Gao hoped that the Dong family could quickly dig a canal over here, as that would be the time when all the good land of Mr. Gao's family would be irrigated. Once the water stopped flowing, the other Gaos would naturally fight with the Dong family's smaller families. It would be best if both sides could die together, only then would Mr. Gao's wish be fulfilled!
After waiting for a long time, the news finally came. The ordinary people with the surname Gao all ran to the land of the people with the surname Xiao. However, the person who reported the news could not be sure that they were going to fight to the death. He just said that they all ran there for some reason, and they were all unarmed, without any weapons.
Master Gao was very puzzled. He suddenly remembered the people he had placed in the militia and asked hurriedly, "Where are those militiamen? Why didn't they come back to report the news?"
The servant of the Gao family quickly reported back, "Master, those people haven't come for two days in a row!"
At this moment, someone from the Gao family who was mixed in with the fighting team rushed in. He saw that person's face was full of an expression that was hard to tell whether it was happy or panicked. When he saw Master Gao, he shouted loudly: "Master, go and see. There's water. They can actually get water up over there!"
Mr. Gao knew that something must have changed, so he walked out without asking any more questions. He saw that the Gao family's field was empty. When he reached the river, he saw a lot of wooden barrels thrown there. It should be that the people who fetched water put down the wooden barrels and left without taking anything.
Although he was worried that someone would steal the barrel if no one was watching, Mr. Gao knew that he could not delay and hurried forward. As soon as he saw the land where the people of Xiao surname gathered, he saw that the area near the deep pool was full of people.
When we got there, we heard a rumbling sound that we had never heard before. This strange sound was continuous, as if it was caused by some monster, but it was too regular.
Before he could see what was going on, Mr. Gao had already stopped. He saw that the ditches had been reinforced with gravel and water was gurgling in them. Mr. Gao thought he was possessed and saw something wrong. He squatted down and scooped a handful of water from the ditch.
That cool feeling, those wet palms. Yes, it is water! Water is flowing through the ditches to the land that could only rely on the weather for its harvest. If the water is not interrupted, those sloping lands that could only rely on the weather for its harvest will become the best irrigated land. The crops there will no longer be affected by lack of water.
And because the terrain is relatively high, if there is a heavy rain, it will be convenient for drainage.
An indescribable panic made the old man unable to squat steadily. He swayed back and forth several times and finally sat down on the ground.
The next day, the door of Master Gao's house was banged early. The housekeeper had been talking with Master Gao until the middle of the night, and was woken up by the servant. He shouted angrily, "What are you doing ?"
The servant was so bold that he helped the butler up and walked to the door. The butler was furious, but the three strong men were determined to get him to the door, and the butler, with his old arms and legs, was really no match for him.
When he reached the door and was put down, the butler no longer had any anger left. He only felt a chill running from his forehead to the base of his tail.
I saw that the gate was full of ordinary people with the surname Gao. There were so many people coming that I was afraid that all the people with the surname Gao had come.
The leading elders stepped forward and grabbed the official, "Come on, call Master Gao, let's go to the ancestral hall to talk!"
