Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 25: Steel knife belongs to steel knife, friendship belongs to friendship
  Zhang Cheng now gained a lot of knowledge and knew very well why these gentry and Confucian scholars chose to kneel down to greet them after he had maintained order in Chuzhou City.

Therefore, Zhang Cheng was not surprised by this. He only smiled at Tang He and said, "Because we have now become virtuous teachers and maintained order with our swords, they had to become more virtuous and start... Welcome us, if we only know how to destroy morality and disorder, they will follow without any good order and virtue."

Tang He combined with the fact that he had learned not long ago that some of the local ruffians involved in the robbery were actually sent by the local gentry and wealthy people. He believed Zhang Cheng's words and nodded.

At this time, Tang He happened to find many eating scenes outside Yang's house, and hurriedly said to Zhang Cheng: "Mr. Zhang, look, they are going to reward the army!"

"Are we going to eat?"

Tang He asked Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng's face darkened, and then he sneered and said: "If you brothers are willing to be controlled by them in the future, and you can't talk to them about the laws because of the friendship between the soldiers, you can naturally go and eat!"

After hearing this, Tang He was quite puzzled and hurriedly handed over to Zhang Cheng: "Mr. Zhang, please explain in detail, what does accepting their reward have to do with being controlled by them?"

“As the saying goes, those who eat people are short-tongued and those who take advantage of them are soft-handed.”

"Although the gifts from wealthy families are generous, the price has already been secretly marked. The more proactive the donation is, the more expensive it will be for free."

"Because many wealthy families have done illegal things. If brothers accept gifts from them, do you still have the nerve to make decisions for the people and strictly hold the wealthy families responsible for their crimes?"

"In addition, after all the people's wealth and anointment are collected and donated to the army in the name of rewarding the army, doesn't the army have to rely on them for food and grass supplies, and cannot directly levy taxes and food on the people?"

"Because after the people were forced by the gentry to donate grain to feed the army, if the army were to tax them again, the people would feel that the army wanted too much, and they would no longer be able to afford taxes other than donations."

"Moreover, when they organized the people to reward the army, would they withhold the money and food collected from the people to reward the army, which is equivalent to all the food donated by the people to the army. As a result, the army only received part of it, and the other part went to Without them, our power to tax has been invisibly taken away by them."

"So, the most terrifying thing about wealthy families is not their high-walled slaves, but the valuables in the name of rewarding the army. These things are like sugar-coated arsenic. Although they taste sweet, they fall easily. A place of no return.”

Zhang Cheng said.

After hearing this, Tang He said: "It doesn't matter if they only withhold 10%. After all, they collect taxes for us, and we save a lot of trouble in collecting taxes."

"If that were the case, how could there be so few?"

"Generally speaking, it's 37 or 28."

Zhang Cheng said.

Tang He said: "It's not too much for them to keep 30%."

"Wrong, they are 70% or 80%. When it really goes too far, we, the soldiers guarding the peace, only have less than 10% of the supplies."

Zhang Cheng said.

Tang He opened his mouth wide for a moment, big enough to fit a steamed bun, and looked at Zhang Cheng: "Mr. Zhang, I am a young man, but don't lie to me?"

"Why did I lie to you! You have seen the situation of the Yuan soldiers. As long as Yuan Ting can spend a few percent to support the soldiers, let them at least have enough food. In this era when you people are willing to fight for the top as long as you can have enough food. , will they be unwilling to work hard?”

Zhang Cheng laughed and asked about Tang Helai.

Tang He nodded. For a moment, he didn't feel so eager to eat the food offered to the gentry. He even felt a little repelled and said: "I understand what you mean. We cannot accept rewards, we can only accept requisitions."

Zhang Cheng glanced at Tang He and said, "After all, I am a brother chosen by the superiors. I'm not that confused."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang."

"Then what should we do now?"

"Damn, if they do this, we may be able to survive, but the brothers below may not be able to survive. After all, it's so hot, and we haven't rested since we captured the city. Everyone is indeed thirsty and hungry." Tang and said.

Because Tang He took the initiative to ask for advice on how to deal with it, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but think to himself that there were only 300 rebels in Chuzhou City, and most of them had just joined the army. They were still in a simple stage and had not yet been infected with the old. Regarding the bad habits of the army, I can take the opportunity to put some high demands on them, so that they can avoid joining the ranks of wealthy families prematurely and become the seeds for future expansion of the army.

Although these people may still transform into the old army in the future because there is no significant improvement in productivity and no significant change in production relations, at least in the early stage it should make the army more effective and end the troubled times faster, and also Maybe there will be some changes in the future.

Therefore, Zhang Cheng took the initiative to ask Tang He at this time: "I have a request, but I just don't know if I and my brothers can fulfill it."

"Don't worry about this. They are all from the same hometown as me and the superiors. They talk about righteousness first and will not disobey us."

Tang He said.

Zhang Cheng nodded: "Okay! In fact, Shima has just come up with a solution."

Tang He said: "Really?"

"As the saying goes, brothers should also settle accounts clearly. We want to be virtuous teachers. When dealing with wealthy families, we must return swords to steel and friendship to friendship!"

"Didn't Shima just say that since it is unwise to accept rewards from wealthy families, we can only requisition? We can choose to requisition directly and use the money collected by the organization brothers to buy it. If the money is not enough, requisition it first and make an IOU. In the future, we can either The tax will be offset, or the money will be repaid directly.”

"In short, we just don't get it in vain and don't let them steal our taxing power invisibly."

Zhang Cheng said.

Tang He nodded: "It's not difficult. Our brothers are all from the same hometown. We just need to tell them that this will make it easier to collect taxes in the future and prevent these wealthy families from taking away our huge profits. They will understand."

After hearing this, Zhang Cheng said: "Well, I will make three requests and eight points of attention. You must follow my three requirements and eight points of attention. You will definitely make them unable to say anything and have to be at your mercy." "

then.

Zhang Cheng informed Tang He of his three requirements and eight points of attention.

First of all, Zhang Cheng established his prestige among the three hundred rebel soldiers because he first made up his mind and suggested taking the initiative to repel the rebels when he encountered them along the way, and he also killed people to establish his authority and rectify the order;

Secondly, because these three hundred rebels are all from the same hometown, they are indeed relatively united internally and trust each other;

There were only three hundred rebels in Sanlai and they were members of the group who had just started the uprising, so it was not difficult to do their job.

Therefore, they can currently fulfill Zhang Cheng's request.

As for whether these people can do it in the future, and whether more people can do it in the future, Zhang Cheng doesn't know.

Anyway, Tang He did do this with his people, and obtained their supplies from Yang Yuangao and other Jin gentry through fair transactions.

"This is about returning etiquette to etiquette and law to law!"

Yang Yuangao couldn't refuse, so he only said this to Yang Ben.

Yang Ben couldn't help but ask: "Why did father say that?"

Yang Yuangao smiled bitterly: "You only need to understand now that the commander of this army is an extraordinary person! His vision is like a torch, and he can see through the foundation of the rise and fall of thousands of years."

As he spoke, Yang Yuangao bowed to Tang He and said, "General and other officers are not willing to accept gifts from the common people in vain. Their virtues are admired by the common people and also make them more interested. Why does your army have such virtue? I wonder if the general can do so." Tell me, who is the coach of your division? If I can meet him, my life will not be wasted!"

Tang He said: "This is what our Mr. Zhang means. He is the supervisor sent by our superiors."

(End of this chapter)