Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 113: Appointment of Township Chief
When we returned to Yong'an Prefecture, it was already midsummer. The sun was scorching, and the weather was hot and humid.

It was late February when the Yong'an Army set out to fight, and the people had just begun to plant rice in the paddy fields. Now, the early rice was about to mature, and the heavy rice ears bent the rice stalks. In the Mengjiang River Valley area, the rice was already ripe, and the farmers began to rush to harvest the rice.

The 1,800 Yong'an soldiers were ill-equipped when they set out, and their faces were green. Now, 2,500 Yong'an soldiers have returned, and their carts are piled with armor and spoils of war. After experiencing the baptism of war, they have changed into sophisticated weapons, and their faces are full of confidence and maturity.

Yu Houji, the left assistant general, led a group of officials and gentry, waiting outside the city. The hot weather did not affect the excitement of the soldiers. Seeing the high morale of the Yong'an Army, the officials and gentry all showed awe.

"Congratulations, Marshal, on your triumphant return and the birth of your precious son!"

Led by Yu Houji, everyone congratulated in unison, which made Danchu quite happy.

Zhu Shulu gave birth to a son for him, who was just one month old. Today, she went out for the first time and took a sedan chair to the outskirts of the city to meet Danchu.

Being a father for the first time, Danchu was excited and nervous. He dismounted from his horse and came to Mrs. Zhu, carefully holding his son in his arms.

The little kid was not afraid of strangers. He looked at the strange Danchu with his black eyes, but he didn't cry or make a fuss.

Yu Houji praised: "General, a tiger father will have a dog son. This child has never been afraid of people since he was young. He will become a great man in the future."

Danchu laughed loudly, turned around and said to the soldiers of the standard camp behind him: "I have a son too!"

The soldiers of the standard camp had already reached a tacit understanding and said in unison: "Congratulations, Marshal, on the birth of your precious son!"

The Yong'an Army attached great importance to military songs and flags. The short eight words "Congratulations, Marshal, on the birth of your precious son" were sonorous, powerful, and uniform, which touched the officials and gentry present.

After three days of absence, the Yongan Army is no longer the same as before!
The little one seemed to be disturbed by the sound and burst into tears. This cry was terrible, as if he had felt extremely wronged, and the sound was so loud that it was deafening.

Danchu had no choice but to hand his son over to Mrs. Zhu, saying, "This little guy is really amazing if he doesn't make a sound."

He had already chosen a name for his eldest son, Cen Honggui. Hong means that he has the blood of Emperor Hongwu, and Gui means that he was born in Guangxi and his mother is a descendant of King Gui.

Zhu Shulu took her son and whispered, "Madam is pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to go out of the city to welcome you, so she asked me to tell you."

"Well," Danchu knew what was going on and asked quietly, "How many months?"

"It should be five months."

Danchu prayed silently in his heart, hoping that Qu Xuanhui could also give birth to a son. In conquering the world, a son is the best helper. With a son, he would have an heir, and the Yong'an Army would have a backbone.

Mo Yufen, who was standing by, was not happy at all, and she looked at Danchu's horse and armor with envy. She had always hoped to make achievements on the battlefield, but this time she did not get her wish.

"Marshal, when will you take me to the battlefield?"

"When you give me a son, I will allow you to go to the battlefield."

Mo Yufen blushed and said nothing.

"Is your grandpa here?"

"He is here, but he is not feeling well and is resting in the city."

"Very good, I will treat your Mo family to a simple meal tonight, and let him come along." Back at the general's residence, Mrs. Qu went out to greet him with her belly bulging. Because she was pregnant, it was inconvenient to keep a strict posture, so she didn't put on any makeup, just wore white cloth shoes, smiled slightly, and said, "My husband has returned triumphantly."

Danchu dismounted, supported Madam Qu, and said, "Go back to your room and rest. I'm not at home. Thank you for taking care of me."

Mrs. Qu smiled and said, "What are you talking about, Marshal?"

She was a thoughtful person, and whispered, "Everyone is here, we can discuss matters anytime."

"Very good, let them wait for me in the flower hall."

Danchu simply washed up and came to the flower hall, where the left assistant military officer Yu Houji, the right assistant military officer Fang Yizhi, the prefect Wei Shizhong, the household secretary Li Gong, the military supervisor He Yun and others had already gathered.

Wei Shizhong and Li Gong were proficient in administrative affairs and reliable in handling affairs, and had gained Danchu's trust. When Yu Houji raised money and grain in Yong'an Prefecture, they were responsible for most of the work.

"Everyone, please sit down." Danchu asked everyone to sit down and said, "The main reason I gathered everyone today is to deal with the issue of land tax payment. I have decided to implement land tax payment in Yong'an Prefecture starting from this summer harvest.

"The governor has promised me that Zhaoping will be designated as our military base. An imperial decree will be issued soon. We will first conduct an experiment on the summer tax in Yong'an Prefecture. After we gain experience, we will implement it in full during the autumn harvest."

Fang Yizhi added: "During this battle, our army captured a lot of spoils, and we added an infantry battalion and more than 300 war horses. The supply of food and grass is tight. It is inevitable to implement the tax payment."

Everyone was delighted. The Yong'an Army had been fighting outside for more than four months, and the state was running out of money and grain. With Zhaoping, and the policy of renting and paying grain, the financial situation of the Yong'an Army would be greatly improved.

"Asking tenants to pay taxes is the most urgent matter at the moment. I have discussed this with Mizhi for a long time. I will hand it over today and try to issue an official document the day after tomorrow to inform all parties."

Danchu continued, his tone firm and urgent:

"Wei Shizhong, you have been the prefect for many years and are familiar with the gentry. You are responsible for gathering the gentry, informing them, and explaining the righteousness. If necessary, I can come forward. As for the Mo family, I will invite them to dinner tonight and go there to lobby in person. In short, this matter must be carried out, whether they agree or not, I will implement it immediately."

"Yes," Wei Shizhong, who was very flattering and careful as an official, asked, "I have two more questions for you, Marshal. First, should the public fields such as temple fields, clan fields, school fields, and charity fields be rented out and taxed together? Second, what is the tax rate?"

"There are quite a few public fields, so of course they are all taxed. As for the tax rate, the tenants take 50% and the government takes 50%. The government takes 10% of the 50% and gives it to the landowner.

"Public land is no exception. For example, school land is rented out with 10% of the rent paid to the state school. Now that Li Chengdong has returned to the right path and the situation has temporarily stabilized, we should restore the state school and train talents."

After answering Wei Shizhong's question, Danchu continued: "Whether the tax collection system can be successful depends on the people who manage the land. In order to collect land tax, our dynasty set up grain areas, and to strengthen public security, we set up Lijia and Xiangfang.

"However, the positions of grain chief and village chief were not public positions, but were held by elderly gentry. County officials had no time to personally handle government affairs, so they delegated them to clerks. The clerks went to the countryside and colluded with the elderly gentry, so government affairs deteriorated day by day, and even became unmanageable.

"I am determined to get rid of the bad government, so I decided to merge the grain area and the village into one, called a township, with a township head to take charge of township affairs. Under the township head, six offices will be set up, modeled after the county government offices, to handle county affairs and deal directly with the villagers.

"Similar to the grain district, a township has about ten villages under its jurisdiction. Each village has a village chief, who is elected by the villages and allowed to govern themselves, but they must abide by the laws and execute the orders of the township chief.

"Establishing a township-level government is extremely important to the Yong'an Army. Old Yu, you are personally responsible for this matter. You must use all your abilities to get it done as soon as possible."

"Yes." Yu Houji replied sternly.

(End of this chapter)