The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 46 Cut the braids first, then kill the monster! (Critical moment! Add to favorites before reading!)

Five acres of paddy fields!
What a big area!

And it’s irrigated land that harvests twice a year!
That was truly unimaginable wealth. With these five acres of paddy fields, he would never have to worry about not being able to find a wife.
Zhang Ada's hands were shaking when he took the land deed.

He was a cousin of that little Zhang Bao, also a poor man with nothing, struggling on the brink of starvation.

Ever since he could remember, his family had no land at all, and they had to rely on renting land from Mr. Huang and borrowing money from him to survive.

Like most tenants around Etang Town, Zhang Ahjia was trapped in a cycle of renting land even if he couldn't pay the rent, and borrowing money from the King of Hell even if he couldn't pay the interest. However, his family's situation was better than Wang Yan's and Wang Xier's families, and they hadn't been completely drained. By borrowing money from Mr. Huang, they could still barely carry out agricultural production - farming also requires investment!

Buy seeds, farm tools, and if you have enough money, you can buy a cow, some farmyard manure, or even repair water conservancy projects. It would be even better if you can plant a few mulberry trees in the fields. When the harvest is good, mulberry leaves can be used to raise silkworms and sheep, and people can also eat them in years of famine.

Those farmers who are struggling on the brink of starvation do not have extra funds to invest in agricultural production, so they have to borrow capital from landlords like Huang Baopi by renting the land at high interest rates. This leverage is maximized, and if they are not careful, they will go bankrupt completely.

In order to struggle a little longer on the brink of starvation, when Luo Yaoguo led his men into Etang and drove away Mr. Huang, he was playing the role of a beggar on Di Street in Etang Town - begging for food temporarily!
Begging for food was common in China in the 19th century and even in the 20th century until the s.

There’s nothing I can do, I’m too poor!
The more bites you take, the better!

According to the original plan, he and several villagers from Zhangwang Village (including Zhang Bao) should go to Lingling to beg for food during the slack season. Unexpectedly, they encountered the Taiping Army attacking Lingling and were blocked in Etang.

Then he witnessed the collapse of Mr. Huang’s rule in Etang!

However, he was not as rebellious as little Zhang Bao. He did not raise his bowl to beg for membership at the first time. Instead, he returned to Zhangwang Village as a failed beggar to eat rice. It was not until two days ago when Wang Yan and Zhang Bao arrived at Zhangwang Village with the "land distribution work team" that he encountered the second, and probably the last, chance to change his fate in this life.

And this time, he grabbed it decisively.

Luo Yaoguo deliberately raised his voice and said to him with a smile: "Brother Ada, this is just the beginning! I will give you some of the wealth seized from Huang Baopi's house later. This way, you can follow us to build an empire outside, and your parents will not have to worry about food and drink at home.

When the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom conquers the country, what will these five acres of paddy fields mean to you? By then, you will be an official and have a beautiful wife! These good days are still to come!"

These words are not meant for Zhang Ada alone, but for the working people gathered in the Zhang Family Ancestral Hall today!
Lecturer Wang Yan knew that his fellow villagers in Yongzhou could not understand Luo Yaoguo's official language, so he took over his words and loudly mobilized them in the Yongzhou dialect: "Fellow villagers, if you don't join the Taiping Army, the Heavenly Father God will give you eight mu of paddy field or two mu of dry land! If you join the Taiping Army, the Heavenly Father God will give you five mu of paddy field. Five mu! And the floating wealth will be doubled!
Can you work hard all your life to save enough money to buy five acres of paddy field? Join the Taiping Army now and you will get it immediately! When we conquer the world in the future, we will be the Eight Banners descendants of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. This is our chance to turn things around!
Don't think that the Qing demons under Xian Yaotou are still powerful. They can't beat our Taiping Army! How can those two-gun soldiers, who lie down on their own when they get addicted to smoking, be the opponents of our Taiping Army? How did Zhang Bazong escape the day before yesterday? How did Huang Bapi escape? They can't even beat our sisters in the Taiping Army. When the brothers of the Taiping Army arrive, Daozhou City will be ours!"

"Sir Wang, I want to worship God!"

"Sir Wang, I want five acres of paddy field. I want to join the Taiping Army!"

"I also want to be a Taiping Army soldier"

It’s no wonder that after Wang Yan’s encouragement, dozens of poor people rolled up their sleeves and ran to the “braid-cutting place” to line up - the so-called braid-cutting place is a place to cut braids!

Luo Yaoguo was planning to turn Etang Town into a part of the Hunan-Guangdong-Jiangxi border base, so he could not burn houses to cut off the retreat of the "new brothers". He could only use the two tricks of dividing the land and property and cutting the braids to let the new brothers who joined the Taiping Army understand that they had no way out!

They have already divided up Mr. Huang's land and property. Can they give it back? Are they willing to give it back? If not, then they have to protect the fruits of their land division!
Moreover, their braids were cut off, so they could no longer be obedient citizens!

On the first day Luo Yaoguo arrived at Etang Town, he received more than 200 new brothers and dozens of new sisters. In the next two days, another 300 to 400 people from Etang Town joined the Taiping Army!
Luo Yaoguo also issued them land deeds one by one, talked to each of them, and watched them cut their braids themselves. He was busy for two whole days. Now, Luo Yaoguo went to Zhangwang Village again and personally gave lectures and issued land deeds to more than a hundred new brothers who were mobilized in this area.

By the evening of that day, Luo Yaoguo led these hundreds of new brothers, who had their braids cut off, and were given land and property, and who could no longer pretend to be obedient subjects of the Qing Dynasty, back to Etang Town.

As soon as he entered the south gate of Dijie Street, he saw Su Sanniang walking hurriedly towards him. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Your Highness, the Qing demon army is coming. There are two thousand infantry and cavalry less than thirty miles away from here. They are setting up camp now and will probably reach Etang tomorrow!"

"Hahahaha" Luo Yaoguo laughed three times, "You came just in time!"

He looked back at the more than one hundred new brothers who followed him to Etang Town, "Saints of Heaven, the Qing demon Yu Wanqing has brought two thousand miscellaneous soldiers to help Huang Baopi seize your land! What do you think we should do?"

"Let's fight!" It was the young general Wang Yan who was the first to raise his arms and shout.

Then Zhang Bao also shouted: "We have already raided Huang Baopi's house, divided up his land, and cut off his braids. There is no way back!"

"There's no way out. We can only fight!"

"Let's fight Yu Yaotou and Huang Bapi!"

"Damn it, if you don't fight, you'll starve to death sooner or later!"

The more than one hundred new brothers below immediately "exploded"!

The land they just acquired is their hope to survive, marry and live a good life. Who would be willing to give it up?
Luo Yaoguo nodded with satisfaction, thinking: The effect of dividing the land and the floating wealth is really great! The four years of studying in the history department were not in vain, and I learned real skills.
"Sanniang, how are you going to fight?"

When Luo Yaoguo asked this question, he had already returned to the Huang family mansion with Su Sanniang.

This is the temporary angel residence of Luo Yaoguo and the headquarters of the God Worshipping Society lecturers, as well as the headquarters of the first army of the female camp led by Su Sanniang.

In addition, a "God Worshipping Society Etang Town Branch" composed of several literate female soldiers was also established in this mansion.

Now the administration of Etang Town, as well as the valuables seized by the Taiping Army from Mr. Huang's house and several other masters, as well as from the town's opium dens, including foreign cigarettes, are temporarily kept by this "branch hall". Without Luo Yaoguo's approval, no one can take valuables from the "branch hall's" warehouse. Even the orders of Hong Xiuquan's good brother Hong Renfa are of no use!

"Your Highness," Su Sanniang approached Luo Yaoguo and whispered, "I plan to use silver, women, muskets, 100-step bullets, and ambushes to deal with Yu Yaotou's Green Camp soldiers and lure them into Etang Town to fight."

"Can we let the eight or nine hundred new brothers go to the battlefield and see some blood?" Luo Yaoguo asked again, "Only if they see blood and kill monsters will they be considered to be truly of one mind with us!"

"Of course!" Su Sanniang nodded, "But we can't let them lead the charge. Let them ambush in the town, let my people consume the Qing monsters first, and wait until their smoke is gone, then lead them to Etang and let those new brothers fight their way out. It will definitely work wonders!"

"Okay! Let's do it this way!"

(End of this chapter)