Chapter 818: Yun Ce is back! [Requesting monthly votes]
In chaotic times, ordinary people are like rootless duckweed, unable to withstand even the slightest wind or rain. Adding to their fear, rumors spread that the enemy's forces outnumbered their own, further fueling their anxiety. They were short of food, but even with such a shortage, fleeing would allow them to survive a few more days. If they foolishly stayed put, waiting to be trampled by the enemy's iron cavalry, they wouldn't even have a chance to eke out a living.
As a result, some commoners secretly fled overnight.
The neighbors have all run away, and the rest want to run away too.
As more people fled, fewer people remained working in the fields. The person in charge of the farmland realized something was wrong and quickly reported it to the authorities. Patrol soldiers apprehended a group. Seeing their heavy luggage and the fact that they had families with them, how could anyone not understand?
The soldier shouted angrily, "Where are you all going?"
Why are you running around instead of staying in a safe place at a time like this? Do you really think that you can escape safely by taking all your belongings with you? Wild beasts in nature and ruthless bandits are no match for you.
The soldier's emotions were like a thunderbolt in the eyes of the fleeing civilians, and the leader hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy.
They are willing to trade their life savings for a way to survive!
Soldiers plundering refugees is a common occurrence in times of chaos.
The patrolling soldiers turned slightly pale from being knelt on. Their leader's first reaction was to take two steps back, distancing himself from the man, as if to say, "Don't try to scam me." His second reaction was to look around at the other soldiers, afraid that they would report him.
Shen Tang's early military leadership style was characterized by ruthless decisiveness.
A red line was set; whoever crossed it would be punished with a beating.
As the size of the army expanded rapidly, the style changed.
Instead, adopt a gradual approach, like boiling a frog in lukewarm water. Increase the heat slowly while observing the soldiers, testing their tolerance bit by bit to avoid overly harsh treatment that could lead to rebellion. Among the rules are strict prohibitions against soldiers oppressing or humiliating civilians, and against soldiers soliciting bribes from civilians in any way. Whistleblowers can secretly report such violations, and those found guilty will receive double the reward and a merit!
This also prevents soldiers from covering for each other after dividing the spoils. Although there are still some loopholes in its implementation and it may sometimes cause some soldiers to distrust each other, overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, and it minimizes the occurrence of misconduct.
"You chose to kneel, I didn't make you. I didn't push you, hit you, yell at you, or scold you." The team leader, standing a good distance away from the man, pointed at him and shouted, "You, stand up and speak! Don't try to frame me—"
The man kneeling and begging for mercy was also stunned for a moment.
Looking at their group of over thirty people, the team leader had a headache.
In those times of constant war and fleeing refugees, a village usually only had a few dozen or a hundred people. Now, it seemed like half the village had run away! He shouted again, "Which village are you from?"
The man still confessed honestly.
The team leader thought for a moment, then waved his hand and led the person away.
Unsurprisingly, this matter reached Shen Tang's attention.
Luan Xin received a report from his subordinates early in the morning that the number of commoners working in the fields had decreased sharply. He informed his lord, and shortly after, the army reported that a group of fleeing commoners had been captured. Shen Tang, who was inspecting the soldiers' readiness for battle, was completely baffled.
"What? The common people in the villages near Chaoli Pass have fled?" Shen Tang's first reaction was that the enemy had planted traitors to cause trouble and stir up trouble. "Is someone spreading rumors? Could it be Huang Xiguang and Zhang Yongqing, the two spies they planted?"
The war hasn't even started yet, and our own people are already running away.
This is absolutely a conspiracy by the enemy!
Luan Xin: "I was worried about that too, so I sent people to find the source of the rumors. After interrogation, I found out it was just an ordinary person..."
Shen Tang sneered: "Would an ordinary person do this to me?"
She prejudicially placed the blame on Huang Lie.
By spreading rumors, shaking people's hearts, and scaring away the common people, she ruined the corn she had put so much effort into. How vicious!
"To ensure the authenticity of their confessions, we used the method of interrogation with words of power. The content was almost identical to what they said." As he spoke, Luan Xin smiled helplessly. "According to their confessions, some wanted to show off, some wanted to gain the approval of the villagers, and some were simply jealous of other people's good farmland and thought that if they were scared away, they could harvest the corn and wheat and take it for themselves."
Shen Tang: "..."
She's quite cunning.
She rubbed her aching temples and ordered, "Gongyi, send people to each village to appease the people and control the spread of rumors. Although we haven't caught any spies yet, there's always a chance. Hurry up here, and kill them all!"
The power of rumors is no less than that of a 20th-rank Marquis!
Once out of control, it will cause irreparable consequences!
Shen Tang showed unprecedented seriousness, and Luan Xin took it to heart. To their surprise, sending people to appease them backfired; the common people not only didn't feel reassured, but the number of those fleeing overnight actually increased. If it weren't for increased patrols and interceptions, an entire village might have been reduced to just a handful of people. When the news reached Shen Tang, she became increasingly confused: "How did you appease them?"
When the lord questioned him, the official in charge of the matter cowered.
He presented a letter with both hands.
The soldiers simply read the instructions verbatim.
When Shen Tang opened it, there was nothing wrong with it.
It was nothing more than telling the common people that their side had a strong army, many soldiers and generals, and that the enemy had lost the hearts of the people and was short of food and clothing. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated. The common people could work in peace here without having to run away, and they could look forward to a good harvest this autumn.
Shen Tang pursed her lips, making everyone uneasy. She said, "It was my oversight. Please add another clause."
The official pricked up his ears: "Please speak, my lord."
Shen Tang held up three fingers and said, "Within three years, we will exempt you from land tax, farm tool rental fees, and provide free grain seeds. If you don't come back, the unclaimed cornfields will be rented out at half price to those who don't leave. If that's still not enough, then I really have no other choice."
The man was nearly dumbfounded.
He stammered, "My lord, are you sure?"
Shen Tang said, "Yes, let's do it that way."
The world is bustling with activity, all driven by profit; the pursuit of self-interest is an instinct ingrained in human nature. For ordinary people who rely on farmland for their livelihood, nothing is more attractive than tax exemption. Shen Tang not only exempted them from land taxes for three years, but also saved them the money for renting farm tools and purchasing seeds. This meant that whatever they grew for those three years was theirs!
If the corn yield can reach the advertised per-acre figure, their whole family will be much better off for the next few years; at least they won't have to worry about starving! Shen Jun's willingness to make such a bold promise shows his immense confidence. It's enough for them to take the gamble!
Many people have suffered the hardship of fleeing from war.
Faced with the risks of fleeing and the benefits of staying, how should one choose? Hesitating for even a second would be a desecration of the good life! The common people who had embarked on the road of escape also rushed back with their families upon hearing the news, fearing that if they arrived late, they would miss out on the benefits.
The incident was quelled before it could escalate.
Upon receiving the news, Shen Tang couldn't help but sigh.
"It's just a three-year tax exemption, and renting farm tools and buying seeds won't cost much, yet it's enough to make them risk their lives to settle down here... In chaotic times, human life is as worthless as grass, alas..." Shen Tang sighed as she closed the letter containing the message.
Lu Ji, who was helping Shen Tang tidy up the desk, looked up with concern.
Why does my lord sigh?
Shen Tang asked, "Doesn't Zhi Zong feel sorry for him?"
Lu Ji blinked, puzzled, and asked, "Why pitiful? Shouldn't they be overjoyed to have met such a benevolent ruler as our lord, who exempts them from taxes for three years?"
She led her entourage to several villages to announce this joyous news, and countless commoners were moved to tears. Some elderly people even knelt on the ground, proclaiming that their lord was a born star. Such a benevolent ruler who treats his people so kindly is surely blessed with good fortune in this life!
He fainted from the emotional distress.
She didn't understand why her lord was so unhappy.
Shen Tang said, "Only three years."
Lu Ji was bewildered: "Three years...that's a lot. With these three years of tax exemption, the children in the family could live two more years."
Young children are generally more likely to die in their early years.
Once they grow up, their survival rate is high.
Having another child means having an extra labor force for a family, greatly increasing their chances of survival.
Shen Tang said with a helpless yet compassionate tone, "A three-year tax exemption is worth gambling with one's life... This is a very sad thing. It puts a price on human life in another way."
Lu Ji remained puzzled. Wasn't this normal? The saying "human life is as cheap as grass" wasn't just a figure of speech; the lives of commoners weren't worth three years. But her lord had his reasons. If she could understand his thoughts, she was probably not far from completing her mission.
A moment later, she overheard her lord muttering, "If only we could be exempt from land taxes forever..."
Lu Ji's heart skipped a beat, and his expression was as if he had seen a ghost.
"My lord, please don't—"
That's simply unrealistic!
The common people under his rule refused to pay land taxes, and local government offices went on strike. They starved to death, let alone support a large army.
Shen Tang smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous."
She's only thinking about it now.
Land tax is of paramount importance and cannot be exempted forever; at least, until there are other stable sources of income to support government and military expenditures, her idea is nothing but a pipe dream. This pipe dream will not be realized for a very, very long time.
Memories of her past life flashed through Shen Tang's mind.
Sigh, it would have to be like that in the previous life.
Before this, the fact that the ruler could maintain low land taxes, refrain from imposing other exorbitant taxes, and avoid creating pretexts to increase taxes would likely earn him a very high reputation in later generations. Just achieving this was extremely difficult, let alone abolishing it.
Shen Tang put away her unrealistic thoughts.
He conducted official business using the sunlight streaming through the window.
Before we knew it, the sun had already begun to set in the west.
The last letter was sent by Wu Xian.
Shen Tang entered a state of preparation for battle, and Wu Xian, as an ally, was also involved in the overall operation. Troops and supplies were all prepared, awaiting only the order to depart. Of course, all of this was done secretly to avoid revealing their plans to the enemy.
She read it carefully and then wrote a response.
Speaking of Wu Xian, one thinks of Qin Li, and thinking of Qin Li brings Zhao Feng to mind. Shen Tang, with her quick wit, asked Lu Ji, "Zhi Zong, have you received any news of Yuan Mou's return?"
Then I counted the time on my fingers.
Judging by Yun Ce's pace and work efficiency, he should be back in the next couple of days, unless he encountered some setbacks on the way, such as being delayed while settling that family. However, Shen Tang wasn't worried. With Yun Ce's abilities, no one backing him should be able to stop him. She was only afraid of alerting Wu Xian, causing a commotion, and affecting Qin Li and the others' plans to switch jobs.
Lu Jidao: "Not yet."
Shen Tang sighed, "Let's wait a little longer."
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
On her way to get food, Shen Tang ran into Yun Ce, who looked travel-worn. The icy young man had a furrowed brow and a somewhat bitter expression. Yun Ce didn't notice her, so Shen Tang decided to play a trick on him and summoned a bluebird with her fingers.
The bluebird's size is almost identical to that of a sphere.
She plopped down on his shoulder.
Yun Ce asked in surprise, "Whose bluebird is this?"
He didn't have much contact with the literati, and he could count on one hand the number of times he received messages from the bluebird, let alone such a fat bird!
He opened it and found a long, flowery note filled with the words "[Yun Ce looked back]". He turned his head in confusion, and his lord's smiling face immediately came into view: "Why does Yuan Mou look so preoccupied? When did you return? You didn't even come to report."
She had been waiting for good news for a long time.
Yun Ce's eyelids twitched, and his bitter expression deepened.
Shen Tang asked worriedly, "Didn't you pick them up?"
If that's the case, how can I explain it to Zhao Feng?
“I came here to find my lord—” My lord always says that if you don’t work hard, you’re out of your mind. He goes straight to the canteen as soon as it’s mealtime and never works overtime. If Yun Ce goes to the government office to look for him, he will definitely not find him. But the closer he gets to the canteen, the smaller his steps become. His mind is in turmoil. “Alas, my lord, I really don’t know how to report to my lord.”
I've been mentally rehearsing my lines the whole way back.
Euphemistic, straightforward, version after version discarded.
Shen Tang's smile faded, and she said seriously, "Tell me the truth!"
"This humble general has failed in his duty, my lord. Please punish me!" Yun Ce suddenly shouted, startling the other soldiers who turned around frequently. Yun Ce realized his mistake and his face turned red. Shen Tang pulled him up and took him to another place to talk in detail.
Then--
And that was it!
Shen Tang slapped the corner stone into dust!
"You're saying—one person died in childbirth, and two were driven to suicide? That family... that only one child was left?"
Yun Ce nodded: "I dare not utter a single falsehood!"
Shen Tang naturally believed Yun Ce's words.
She just hadn't expected Tianhai to be so arrogant, using such despicable and dirty methods to force the soldiers' families to their deaths. Even if this family were from out of town, wouldn't others feel terrified? The able-bodied men in their families were risking their lives on the battlefield for Wu Xian, and their families back home were being humiliated like this. Weren't they afraid of a mutiny or chaos? Or were they just used to being superior and didn't care about the many risks at all?
"Wu Zhaode, Wu Zhaode, you didn't suffer much loss at the hands of Huang Xiguang and his men, but you stumbled so badly at the hands of your own people! If you had known that the imbalance of power among your subordinates would lead to this situation, would you regret not treating everyone equally?"
At this moment, Shen Tang felt a little sorry for Wu Xian.
Shen Tang asked again, "Has the child been properly taken care of?"
"It has been handed over to Xu Wenzhu, the prefect of Heyin County, for upbringing."
Shen Tang felt a little relieved.
She trusted Xu Jie's character.
If he were unreliable, the Heyin County, which they had painstakingly built up, would not have been entrusted to him back then. At least a branch of the Zhao family still survived, so it wasn't too much of a regret. However, Shen Tang shared the same dilemma as Yun Ce: how should she bring it up?
How can I bring this up with Zhao Feng and the others who are full of expectations?
|ω`)
P.S.: There will be a fan title event post this month. If you want the title, please check the book review section.
(End of this chapter)
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