Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 614: Sixty-four-two: They gave me % of my land, and I still need to thank them?
January 3, the third year of Yong'an.

Chen Mo led 50,000 Chen troops from Chongzhou, divided them into three groups, and entered the Hexi area.

Chen Mo, Yue Ruyan and others led 40,000 main forces of Chen's army.

Xiao Jing and Wu Yanqing each led 5,000 soldiers and horses, divided into two routes.

Finally we will meet in Luonan.

The reason why Xiao Jing and Wu Yanqing were only allowed to lead 5,000 soldiers each.

This is because after King Chong fled, the Hexi area became a mess.

As the vassal king of Chongzhou, King Chong was able to train tens of thousands of soldiers and had enough money and food to support so many soldiers.

They are all supported by the noble families of Hexi, and King Chong is also their backer.

Now, King Chong Chen Mo was defeated and fled to Luonan like a stray dog, and at the same time he abandoned these aristocratic families in Hexi.

Therefore, there was no need to use force to take over the Hexi area. Chen Mo wanted to take advantage of the identities of the two prominent family heads, Xiao Jing and Wu Yanqing, to take over the Hexi area without bloodshed.

These five thousand soldiers are to prevent some of them from being stubborn.

……

January 4th.

The main force of Chen’s army smoothly entered the important pass "Tianjia Pass" in Hexi.

What was waiting behind the pass was not the officials of Weichang County who had borne the brunt of the attack, fighting back desperately, but the county magistrate of Weichang County, who came running over with tears in the eyes of the gentry and nobles in the city to greet Chen Jun.

Among them, Mr. Zhao, who had the greatest prestige in Weichang County, said with tears in his eyes: "Duke Anguo, you are finally here. The traitor Chu Yan has coerced and bribed us, deceived the court, and used the court's hands to impose tyranny and heavy taxes on us, and forced us to work as conscripts. The people have suffered for a long time. I and many other gentry in Weichang have endured humiliation for many years, and have been waiting for our loyal ministers to save the people of Weichang from the dire straits."

This scene confused Chen Mo and Chen Jun's soldiers.

Wow, you are a Song Dynasty non-stick pan.

It was obviously you who supported King Chong behind the scenes, but now it is King Chong who is using intimidation and bribery to force you.

But don't hit someone who smiles at you.

Moreover, Chen Mo raised the slogan and went to Beijing to support the king.

Since the gentry and nobles of Weichang County were sensible, Chen Mo would not pursue their previous affairs.

Chen Mo said: "Prince Chong is a traitor who wants to overthrow the court of our Song Dynasty. He really does everything he can. He deserves to be cut into pieces."

Zhao Yuanwai heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and flattered, "Duke Anguo has come from afar, so I and the other gentry have specially set up a small banquet in Hongyun Tower to welcome Duke Anguo. I hope Duke Anguo will do me the honor."

Chen Mo nodded.

At the banquet, Mr. Zhao and the local gentry and officials were busy expressing their loyalty to Chen Mo and offering him beauties and food.

Chen Mo collected the food, but he didn't touch the beauty.

Later I heard from Sun Meng that these ladies were concubines of Mr. Zhao and the local gentry.

The corner of Chen Mo's mouth twitched slightly. He realized at that time that none of the beauties presented to him were virgins.

Chen Mo sighed, thinking that the world had misunderstood him so deeply.

Lu Sheng, Chong Wang and others are yesterday's news, so there won't be any setbacks along the way.

When passing through Hexi, Chen Mo adopted a conciliatory policy.

There was no public trial in Hexi as in Fengzhou.

But not all members of the aristocratic families are people like Mr. Zhao. Some of them don't know what's good for them.

January 11th.

Chen Mo received the message from Xiao Jing.

It was said that some of the aristocratic families, led by the Zhang family of Zhangquan County, the Yan family of Jinze County, and the Gao family of Wuyi City, were unwilling to cooperate and asked how to deal with the situation.

There are several reasons for being unwilling to cooperate.

Whenever Chen Mo arrived in a county, his first step was not to rush to the granary or silver vault in the city.

Instead, it was the yamen's case library, which first mastered the local household registration files, the yamen's account books, land deeds and transactions, and the like.

Find out how many households and acres of land there are in the area.

According to Xiao Jing's investigation, the Zhang, Yan and Gao families in Zhangquan County, Jinze County and Wuyi City controlled nearly 90% of the local farmland. However, according to the records of the government, each family only owned more than 100 acres.

As soon as Xiao Jing saw it, he knew that there was a lot of concealment and that the land was nominally in the hands of the people, but the real land deeds were in the hands of these big families.

As the patriarch of the Xiao family, he knew exactly how muddy the water was here.

So he found people from these major families, hoping that they would cooperate honestly.

But instead of cooperating, they secretly played tricks.

For example, transferring the land to the servants in the mansion, the wife's family, and various relatives.

In short, there are endless ways to avoid it.

And that's why they are like this.

This is because they knew that Chen Mo had fought against the gentry and divided up their land in Qing, Yu, Lin, Huai and other states.

But these fields are their lifeblood, and they would definitely not let Chen Mo take them all away, so they used this method to resist and try to negotiate with Chen Mo.

We know that you, Duke Anguo, want to win over the people.

Yes, we are willing to cooperate.

So I plan to give you 30% of the land and distribute it to the people.

But this is still conditional.

You, Duke Anguo, still want to reduce taxes on my visible fields and properties.

Xiao Jing naturally understood this meaning, so he wrote it down in the letter.

Of course, if there is enough time, this matter can be handled slowly to reduce the impact.

But Chen Mo's main purpose was to go to Beijing to serve the king.

Things like this in Hexi were done just as they happened.

Take out 30%?

Send away beggars?
I finally eliminated Prince Huai, dealt with Prince Anping, and defeated Prince Chong.

All this effort, so many casualties, just to get your 30%?

It is obvious that all the land west of the Yellow River belongs to me.

I take 30% of my land and you keep 70%. Do you still want me to thank you?
There is another condition. Could it be that the 70% that you concealed is just the one cent tax you don't want to pay?

OK OK.

Since you are unwilling to cooperate.

Then
Chen Mo's reply to Xiao Jing consisted of only one word.

the next day.

Xiao Jing from Zhangquan County received a reply from Chen Mo.

There is only one word: "kill".

Chen Mo understood the reasons why these major families refused to cooperate.

He simply thought that he, like King Chong, needed them. As local noble families, they had formed a dense network of relationships in Hexi through interests, restraining and balancing each other. Without their help, outsiders who wanted to govern local affairs would really not be able to handle it.

But Chen Mo is not afraid.

His team is complete.

The basic situation has been stabilized.

There is no need to use them at all.

After reading Chen Mo's reply, Xiao Jing sneered a few times, of course this was directed at the Zhang, Yan, and Gao families, and said: "Our Anguo Duke is not the Huai Wang or Chong Wang. You dare to seek the skin of a tiger."

After muttering, Xiao Jing shouted to the outside world, "Someone come here."

"I am here." Xiao Jing's deputy general walked in.

"Notify them now, you can start now."

"promise."

The Zhang family is considered an old family in Zhangjia County.

Even in terms of family history, the Zhang family is older than the Xiao family, but from their ancestors to the present, there has never been any decent official.

Zhang family’s ancestor Zhang Quan was once the county magistrate of this place in the previous dynasty.

At that time, this place was not called Zhangquan County.

Because Zhang Quan made great contributions to flood control at that time, after his death, this place was changed to Zhangquan County, and it has been used to this day.

At the city gate, there is still a stele erected by the people of the previous dynasty for Zhang Quan.

Due to the influence of their ancestors, the Zhang family has never produced any high-ranking officials in history.

However, when Emperor Taizu first established the country, the Zhang family's prestige in Zhangquan County was still extremely deep. For this reason, Emperor Taizu posthumously conferred a title on Zhang Quan, and even gave the Zhang family a golden medal of immunity from death in recognition of Zhang Quan's achievements in flood control.

If any descendant of the Zhang family committed a capital crime, they could be spared from death by holding this golden medal of immunity from death.

There are not many officials of the previous dynasty who are posthumously honored by the emperor of the current dynasty. Such an honor is rare in history.

From then on, whenever there was a flood in Hexi, the officials in charge of flood control would come to the Zhang family for advice.

During festivals, the local county magistrate and prefect would also send people to send greetings to the Zhang family.

As time went by, the Zhang family became known as a mysterious family among the people, and their connections were even known to the emperor.

Some officials who don't know the details will even take the initiative to curry favor with the Zhang family.

Later, when troubled times came, Prince Chong wanted to recruit soldiers, but he had no money or food, and the Liang family alone was not enough. Moreover, at that time, the Liang family not only supported Prince Chong, but also Prince Huai, and supported Prince Huai more. Therefore, Prince Chong thought of the aristocratic families in Hexi.

Because he was "seeking wealth" and King Chong also wanted to have a good reputation, his attitude was slightly lowered.

And this gave the Zhang family an illusion.

Even though I am a vassal king, I still have to give myself some face.

In this case, why don't you, Duke Anguo, give me face?
In the Zhang family's study.

The current head of the Zhang family is named Zhang Shao, and he is discussing the development of the family with his housekeeper.

"Go to the Yan family and the Gao family in person later and tell them not to give in. As long as we unite as one, the situation in Zhangquan, Jinze, Wuyi and other counties will not change. Even the Duke of Anguo has to compromise with me." Zhang Shao said.

The butler hesitated for a moment, then said: "Master, we will only give 30%, isn't it a little too little? I have heard that Chen Mo is a murderer without blinking an eye."

"Little?" Zhang Shao was a little angry when he heard this, and shouted: "Do you know how much money this 30% is? Your family has been slaves for thousands of years, and you can't earn that much.

You know that people are always greedy, if I give them too much, they will only think that I have more. 30%, I still give him face, these are all my fields, my fields, I give all these fields to you, who will support you, who will give you food, then you will all go out to beggars.

That Chen Mo is also a pig-brained person. Why not win over the people's hearts and minds? He even gave them land. He could have solved the problem by starving them for a few days and then giving them a bowl of porridge, but he had to make it so complicated. "

After saying that, Zhang Shao even spat and yelled to the outside: "Where is the person? Where did he die? Fill me with honey water."

The butler was scolded by Zhang Shao so much that he didn't even dare to raise his head and was about to leave.

A servant ran in in a panic: "Master, something bad has happened."

After entering the study, the servant knelt down in front of Zhang Shao and said in a panic, "Master, it's bad. A group of soldiers outside surrounded the mansion and came in to smash and destroy everything."

"What?" Zhang Shao's face changed when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked, "But is it Chen Jun that Xiao Jing brought a few days ago?"

"Exactly."

The so-called wartime is all about speed.

Less than half a day passed from the time the Zhang family’s property was ransacked to the time Zhang Shao was taken to the execution platform for execution.

Seeing the executioner walking up behind him, Zhang Shao realized that the other party was serious and was immediately frightened. He hurriedly said, "I have a gold medal of immunity from death awarded by Emperor Taizu. I can be spared from death. You can't kill me."

The general in charge of the execution was not Xiao Jing, but a captain of a thousand men in Chen's army. He had no education and was a crude man. But at this moment, he said playfully: "Gold medal of immunity from death? Take it out and let me see it. If it's real, I'll let you go."

Zhang Shao: “…”

He was subdued by the soldiers who rushed in and his house was searched before he could even react. After his house was searched, he was taken here without even a trial. How could he get the golden medal of immunity from death?

Seeing Zhang Shao was speechless, the captain laughed and said, "You are about to die, and you still dare to deceive me.

Come, execute the sentence."

The Yan and Gao families suffered the same fate as the Zhang family.

After the news of the "downfall" of the Zhang, Yan and Gao families spread, the aristocratic gentry who had followed the three families to fight for their own interests suddenly scattered and collapsed. They all found Xiao Jing and expressed their willingness to cooperate.

……

January 26th.

Wang'an County in Hexi.

In the Yamen.

Chen Mo took a red pen and drew circles on the map. Each circle he drew indicated that the area under his actual control was the area.

"As expected, the military advances are faster than anything else. Now that it's resolved, I don't have to stab you in the back later."

Chen Mo drew two routes on the map.

The route on the left goes to Tianchuan.

Originally, Tianchuan was the capital, but Xu Guozhong moved the capital to Luonan at that time.

"Why did you draw Tianchuan's route?" Xia Zhining asked puzzledly.

"I was thinking about Lu Sheng's escape route after his defeat. When Xu Guozhong faced the Huai Wang and his army, he was able to take the emperor to Luonan, so it is not impossible for Lu Sheng to take the emperor back to Tianchuan. I'm thinking about whether we should set up an ambush here first for future use." Chen Mo said.

"We haven't even reached Luonan yet, and you're already thinking about what will happen after Lu Sheng's defeat. What if..." At this point, Xia Zhining immediately closed her mouth. It was indeed a bit unlucky to talk about this now.

"For united front workers, every time they take a step forward, they must think about the next few or even dozens of steps ahead."

As he spoke, seeing that there was no one else around, Chen Mo hugged Xia Zhining's slender waist and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you practice in the past few days. Do you want a child so much?"

Xia Zhining's face instantly turned red. She pushed Chen Mo away and said stubbornly, "Who said I didn't practice? You just didn't see it."

Chen Mo looked at her with a smile and said, "How about we go out and have a little sabbatical first?"

"You're going to die." Xia Zhining knew that he was making fun of her, and she was so angry that she slapped Chen Mo with a cold face.

"We are an old married couple, yet you are still so embarrassed." Chen Mo said, and stopped moving because he had heard footsteps coming from outside.

It was Yue Ruyan who came in: "The two Patriarchs Xiao and Wu have arrived."

(End of this chapter)