Chapter 212 No One Available
Before the natives could get angry and denounce him, Xu Zhenying smiled again, "Of course this is the worst-case scenario. I just want to tell you that cooperation must be sincere. It's not good to always try to take advantage of the other party. I, Xu Zhenying, sincerely want to help you, I want to help the people of Qianzhou Prefecture, and also help you, whether you are Miao, native, or Dong people—"
Xu Zhenying's words sounded particularly sincere. "Can't we all live a good life together? You in Qianzhou have been poor for hundreds of years. Have you ever thought about having enough food and clothing and living a decent life? I'm giving you a chance now. It may be the only chance in the past few hundred years, or even the next few hundred years. If you still refuse to seize this opportunity for your own selfish desires, then you will only be poor forever, and your descendants will be poor forever too!"
Wang Sanniang was very excited listening to this!
What the city lord said is so good.
Can't we all live a good life together? Why do we have to start a war and make the people displaced and separated from their families?
Wang Sanniang often thinks about the meaning of war.
She had learned from military warfare courses that war is a struggle for resources, which are nothing more than land resources, population resources, and class resources. As for the lives of the lower-class people, they are the most insignificant considerations in war.
Although this sounds infuriating, it does make sense when you think about it.
Just like these chieftains at this moment, they always have to consider their own power and status. How many of them can wholeheartedly consider the people under their control?
There was silence in the room for a while, but the village chief sighed and made a concession, "Xingyuan Prefecture belongs to you. But we natives manage our own affairs, you can't interfere in our affairs. As for the help you mentioned, the commercial tax needs to be discussed later."
This is what it's like to talk about things.
Not only the natives in the house, but also Xu Zhenying's subordinates breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Zhenying sat down, smiling, "Okay, this is natural."
"Also, in order for both parties to act according to the agreement, you must send your mother and sister here as hostages."
Xu Zhenying nodded. She had already expected that if hostages were really exchanged, it would probably be either Miao or Xu Meixiao.
After all, the world looks down on women, and since they are being held hostage, they will definitely choose those who look weak.
"Okay, but since I've sent two people, you have to send eight. Don't get excited, listen to me. We hostages are more like witnesses or mascots of our peaceful exchange than hostages. Besides, you natives are different from us. I can guarantee that I'm the only leader, but your forces are complicated. There are probably more than a dozen chieftains from villages and towns combined. Are you only asking the people from your village to send two hostages, while the other chieftains don't send any? How am I going to suppress the people from the other villages? I don't think it's fair to the people from your village either."
The village elder seemed to be thinking about something.
When others thought about it, they agreed.
"And rest assured, everyone, I will treat your hostages well when they come over. But please also treat my family well. We have been working together for mutual benefit. Don't let these villains take advantage of this and ruin our negotiations."
Seeing that the elders had taken him in, Xu Zhenying continued, "As for the business tax, it's not impossible to make concessions. We'll need to make a rough estimate of the specific amount before we can tell you. I'll leave someone to discuss this with you in detail. In fifteen days, I'll send my mother and younger sister here. I also hope that you can fulfill the contract and send the hostages to Jinzhou Prefecture."
For a moment, everyone was silent, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.
The village chief looked around at the faces and expressions of the people around him, and finally spoke first: "City Lord, there is one more thing."
"Please go ahead."
"Bai Ci'en led his men to kill thousands of our brothers. We caught him on the street yesterday. After discussion, we decided to kill him as a sacrifice to the heavens to avenge our fallen brothers! If you don't agree to this, then the previous contract will be invalid. We will not cooperate with you!"
Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows slightly.
I never expected that Bai Ci'en would appear at the last moment.
Didn’t I tell that guy a few days ago to stop running around? It’s only been a few days and he was caught.
Xu Zhenying held his forehead.
Bai Ci'en's identity is sensitive, and she is not yet ready to break off relations with the Great Zhou Dynasty.
What if they angered that first-rank military officer and brought his men to attack their Jinzhou Prefecture directly?
She still needs a long time to grow up!
The remaining chieftains also stood up to express their attitudes. When Bai Ci'en was mentioned, many Miao people in the room were all angry.
Xu Zhenying was instantly surrounded by them.
She sighed slightly, then stared at the village chieftain and said, "How many of you did Bai Ci'en kill?"
The village chieftain gnashed his teeth and said, "More than 8,000!"
"A lot. But how many of them did you kill?"
The people in the house were silent. The village chieftain said viciously, "That's different. We have been forced to the point where we can no longer survive. We have no choice but to kill them!"
"They killed thousands of you, you killed thousands of them, and if you kill Bai Ci'en, the imperial court will send troops to kill thousands more of you. Is this the result you want?"
"So, City Lord Xu is siding with the imperial court?"
"I've already rebelled, so how can I side with the imperial court? If the imperial court sends troops to attack, my Jinzhou Prefecture will bear the brunt of the attack. From now on, we will share weal and woe. Naturally, I don't want you to burn yourselves just to vent your anger."
"But they killed so many of our brothers. We absolutely cannot let him go so easily! Besides, we have already captured him. Whether City Lord Xu agrees or not, we must bring him back to the village and kill him as a sacrifice to the heavens!"
Xu Zhenying quickly said, "There are more ways to make someone miserable than just killing them. So, please give me some face and let me be the middleman. I'll give you a more reliable idea. Consider it."
The chieftains walked over with surprised expressions.
Xu Zhenying smiled and said, "The Bai family is a well-known wealthy family in Bianjing City. Instead of killing him with a knife, why don't you capture Bai Ci'en and write a letter to the military governor, asking him to give you 200,000 taels in compensation. Then you can use this 200,000 taels to buy some good seed. Wouldn't that be enough to support hundreds of thousands of your brothers and sisters next year? Isn't this better than killing him?"
The village chieftain's eyes lit up!
"Two hundred thousand taels?!" The Dong Miao chieftain was shocked. "Will the Bai family give it?"
Xu Zhenying knew from this that the chieftains still preferred her method, so she continued to persuade them: "Two hundred thousand taels is just a drop in the bucket for the Bai family. Why wouldn't he give it? If he doesn't, spread the news of his son's capture throughout the capital. See if he can afford to lose face!"
"But what if the military officer is angered?"
Xu Zhenying gave the man a blank look and asked, "Will killing Bai Ci'en anger his father?"
The man looked a little embarrassed.
"As for me, the dead are gone, but the living still need to live well. Killing him can vent my anger, but think carefully, how much can you do with these two hundred thousand taels of silver? Not to mention buying seeds, you need to buy tea trees for this kind of tea, you need to build roads if you want to sell things, you need clothes to feed the children and send them to school, and you have to buy some salt, otherwise there will be more and more big-necked people in your village!"
Several chieftains were surprised and asked, "Isn't Big Neck a curse from heaven?"
Xu Zhenying held his forehead and said, "No, I just didn't eat enough salt."
Seeing that everyone didn't believe him, Xu Zhenying presented an irrefutable piece of evidence. "Otherwise, why are there so few goiters in rich families, but so many in poor families? Goiters are caused by iodine deficiency. You need to supplement with salt, or seaweed from the coastal areas. When the official road is built and opened, I will send people to transport some seaweed from the coast! In the final analysis, goiter is a disease of poverty! Of course, it's not just goiter. Most diseases of the lower-class people are caused by poverty!"
This "disease of poverty" deeply hurt the hearts of the natives present.
Isn’t it true? Aren’t these all diseases caused by poverty?
These natives have been living in the jungle, making a living by fishing, hunting and selling Miao medicine. The Han people are unwilling to teach them how to farm, so they can only rely on the weather for their food. That is why they are called barbarians by the Han people.
But several elders heard something else.
Xu Zhenying casually mentioned road construction and breeding. Does this prove that she already had plans in mind?
Thinking of the common people in Shunyuan City who had been to Lan County, and how they all said that Lan County was extremely rich and like a paradise on earth, several elders became eager to try it.
Can Xu Zhenying really make them all live the same life as the Han people?
However, some people secretly took note of it, thinking that they must buy some salt to take back to the people in the village when they came to Shunyuan City this time.
"Okay, I'll find someone to discuss the details with you about the rest of the matter. The matter of Qianzhou Prefecture has been settled. If you still have any questions, you can ask me now."
Chief Demao immediately asked, "Is City Lord Xu in a hurry to return to Jinzhou Prefecture?"
"Yes, we just occupied the Golden State, and we still have a lot of things to do."
The two sides had become allies, and naturally their attitudes became much closer. Even the village chieftain, who had always had a stern face, said, "Why don't we take a night off? The cooperation between these two companies is such a big deal. How to collect commercial taxes and how to farm the land, etc., you have to be the one to oversee it."
Xu Zhenying glanced at the village chieftain, seemingly seeing through his thoughts. He smiled and said, "We in Lan County don't do things like the Great Zhou Dynasty. We prioritize efficiency in everything we do. Don't worry, we'll have everything sorted out and come up with a plan within a month. It's only May or June now, so let's speed up and try to plant another wave of sweet potatoes. If it's as cold this year as last year, I'm afraid the people in Qianzhou Prefecture won't be able to cope."
"Sweet potato? What is that?"
Xu Zhenying's mouth was dry from talking, and he immediately winked at Wang Sanniang. Wang Sanniang understood and stepped forward to explain, "Sweet potatoes are also a kind of food. Unlike the rice we grow now, they are edible! Not only are they edible, but they don't require high soil requirements, which means they can be grown on any land. Most importantly, the yield of sweet potatoes is several times higher than that of rice. One mu of land can yield over 1,000 kilograms. If cultivated well, it can even reach over 2,000 kilograms!"
"More than 2,000 kilograms!" Several chieftains were stunned, and the Miao people in the house were also stunned. You know, the rice in their fields only produces 200 to 300 kilograms a year at most, and more than 2,000 kilograms is an astronomical figure for them!
"Can we harvest so much from the land here?"
"Is this true? How can such food be produced from one acre of land? If it is really possible, why have we never heard of it?"
"This is a new variety discovered by our city lord. It's already being cultivated on a large scale in Lan County. The first harvest weighed approximately 1,200 kilograms, and this is the first year the land has been reclaimed. I estimate it shouldn't be difficult for you to harvest over 1,000 kilograms. It all depends on how well you learn from the farming masters. No matter how good these seeds are, they still need someone to maintain them."
Almost all the Miao people in the house surrounded Wang Sanniang, and everyone was talking about it, especially the chieftains of the village, who finally understood the magic of Ming Xiaoshuang and the others' pencils!
How great it would be if I could write it down now!
No one in the house seemed to realize that the owner had left during the chaos.
Xu Zhenying finally managed to get away from the government office and said to Mo Jinchun beside him, "Pack your things and inform the brothers that we'll be leaving this afternoon."
Everyone was also concerned about Jinzhou Prefecture, and naturally they wanted to grow wings and go back immediately.
Ming Xiaoshuang was still a little bit incredulous, "City Lord, have we occupied two prefecture cities now?"
Seeing everyone's excited faces, Xu Zhenying was naturally delighted, but he also reminded everyone: "Capturing a city is not difficult. The difficult part is how to take root in a city and make the people sincerely submit to us. If we want to truly and completely occupy Qianzhou and Jinzhou, we still have a long way to go."
Ming Xiaoshuang nodded quickly, still smiling smugly, "I know. City Lord, we finally won the battle, let's let our brothers and sisters be happy for a while."
"Alright, I'll allow you to drift for a while." Xu Zhenying said with a smile, and took this opportunity to ask Ming Xiaoshuang, "Xiaoshuang, are you interested in staying in Qianzhou?"
Ming Xiaoshuang was stunned, with a hint of ecstasy in his eyes.
Does the city lord mean... to make him the governor of Qianzhou Prefecture?
Oh my god...
How could Ming Xiaoshuang have such a time when his ancestors’ graves were smoking?
But soon, Ming Xiaoshuang shook his head and refused: "City Lord, I still need time to gain experience. Qianzhou Prefecture is of great importance. It is our back. We cannot afford to lose it. We need experienced people to suppress it. I am not yet capable, and I also want to follow the City Lord for a few more years of experience."
"Is that so?" Xu Zhenying was a little disappointed. The feeling of being stretched to the limit when he was making soap came back to him. When he counted the people around him who could be used, there were really not many.
She had just conquered Jinzhou Prefecture and Qianzhou Prefecture, but she already had such a strong sense of crisis in employing personnel. If she continued to advance in the future, how would she manage such a large mess of things?
Comprehensive education, we need to speed up the progress.
She really wanted to go back to school to see if there were any fresh chives to cut.
Xu Zhenying reviewed all the available candidates, but after much deliberation, he still couldn't think of a suitable candidate.
Helplessly, she had to invite Zhang Wanjun and Jiang Yongkang into the carriage to discuss the matter.
Xu Zhenying got straight to the point: "Wanjun, I intend to let you temporarily take over the position of Deputy Lord of Qianzhou Prefecture. What are your plans?"
Not to mention Zhang Wanjun, even Jiang Yongkang was stunned!
Although he had been thinking about this issue for the past few days and had roughly realized Xu Zhenying's current dilemma in hiring, he never expected that Xu Zhenying would be so bold as to use a newcomer.
Zhang Wanjun is too young and has no management experience.
Most importantly, she is a member of the Royal Guard.
The five guards outside the carriage also heard Xu Zhenying's words, and for the first time, expressions of shock appeared on their faces.
But Zhang Wanjun smiled and agreed, "City Lord, I want to try."
Jiang Yongkang immediately scolded, "Qianzhou Prefecture is so important to us, how dare you say that?"
Zhang Wanjun was a female soldier trained by Jiang Yongkang, so she naturally had a lot of prestige in front of him. After being scolded by Jiang Yongkang, there was a hint of hesitation in Zhang Wanjun's eyes.
Xu Zhenying said, "I've read the Qianzhou Five-Year Plan you wrote. It's very well written, very profound, and very thorough."
Xu Zhenying pulled the thick booklet Zhang Wanjun had handed over from the carriage and handed it to Jiang Yongkang. "Take a look, this girl is incredible. Her plan is the best I've ever seen. It's well-documented and incorporates existing local conditions and resources, making it highly feasible. Wanjun, you must have pulled all-nighters writing this, right?"
Zhang Wanjun looked a little shy at this moment.
It's more than just a few all-nighters.
She hardly slept these days.
"You are amazing for being able to write such a detailed and actionable plan while completing your own work."
Zhang Wanjun's face turned completely red.
Jiang Yongkang was flipping through the plan book. Apart from anything else, the thickness of this plan book was incomparable to the work submitted by others.
Zhang Wanjun's plan was very complete. Starting from the existing arable land conditions, it took into account the manpower and material resources needed for tea planting, grain planting, and citrus planting, how to organize and carry out the planting, and even where to build roads. It was very detailed.
In particular, she also mentioned how to combine Qianzhou's products with the business lines they opened up in the south, which is equivalent to finding a sales channel for the products!
Jiang Yongkang had to admire Zhang Wanjun's writing skills, which also showed how hard she worked. She was able to learn to read and write in just a few months and hand in such a satisfactory answer. I wonder how much sweat she put in behind this.
Even so, Jiang Yongkang refused to give in. "I admit that her plan is well-written, even better than some of the imperial scholars, but there's a gap between theory and practice. After all, she has no management experience, at most only managing a few dozen soldiers. Letting someone like her manage such a large Qianzhou Prefecture wouldn't be acceptable to me, and even the locals wouldn't be able to use it. The negotiations have just begun. If we rashly push Zhang Wanjun out, will the locals think we're being disrespectful and perfunctory, or that we're trying to trick us?"
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