Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 74 You Try It First (Long Chapter)

Dulonggang is very lively today. The training ground in Zhujiazhuang is crowded with people, and young men are squeezed in the crowd.

Zhu Chaofeng stroked his beard, smiled to reveal his remaining seven or eight teeth, raised his hands in the air and pressed: "Quiet down, let General Su speak!"

Su Wu walked to the front of the stage and looked around. It was great to see so many great guys.

Su Wu said, "Dulonggang is a good place, and you are all good men. I am happy to see you! It's because it is our duty to protect the country and the people, and this is where men can use their skills. I have a close relationship with you three villages, and I treat you like my own children. I won't say anything else, just give you meat every day and two strings of cash a month!"

Two strings of cash a month is a high salary. It is the right way to support your trusted elite. Children from good families rarely have bad habits. They can save money, marry, have children, and support the whole family with more than enough.

Having meat every day was even more unimaginable. Su Wu was really generous. But it was not just generosity, because Su Wu knew that if he really wanted to become an elite, protein supplementation was indispensable.

The strong guy is at the stage of growing strong. The weapon is not light and the armor is heavy, so it requires a lot of strength.

Then one could hear the crowd below the stage getting excited and cheering like thunder.

"Good! Good!"

"The general is mighty!"

"The general is so nice and treats people so well!"

"General, just take us there, and we will serve you wholeheartedly!"

Su Wu smiled and nodded, speaking in a down-to-earth manner: "Brothers, register today, and from now on just practice well. I, Su Wu, will keep my word!"

At the end of every dynasty, there are some things that are unavoidable, that is, the contradiction between explosive population growth and land.

Take the Song Dynasty for example. During its founding years, the population was about 30 million. Today, the population may have exceeded 100 million. What does "over 100 million" mean in this era?
The Han Dynasty had a vast territory, but its population peaked at only about 60 million. The Tang Dynasty had a vast territory, and productivity had also improved to a certain extent, but its population peaked at only 70 to 80 million.

Today, the territory of the Song Dynasty has shrunk a lot, but its population far exceeds that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. However, there has not been a huge increase in the resources that can be distributed in society.

Although there is a lot of land in Dulonggang, the population is also increasing, which has caused many young men to find it difficult to make a living and their lives are not good.

China's historical laws also repeat themselves. Throughout the dynasties, whenever the population peaked, resources would be insufficient, huge wars would break out, and the population would plummet. After unification, the country would work hard to govern and the country would be peaceful and prosperous again. Then the population peaked again, and wars would break out again...

Su Wu's visit obviously solved a big problem in Sanzhuang.

Looking at the extremely lively scene, Su Wu walked down from the stage and sat down in the Zhu family mansion.

People from the three villages also gathered together.

Zhu Chaofeng also said: "The general has seen it, we have already selected them, all of them are strong men, we would never dare to use those who are sick and weak to fill the number, there are about 1,570 people, all of them are strong and healthy!"

This is true. Although places like Dulonggang have reached the bottleneck of population development, compared with other places in the Song Dynasty, it is truly a paradise. At least for the time being, it is not difficult to get enough food here.

In the Song Dynasty, on the eve of the war, even outside the city of Tokyo, people were starving everywhere, and there were many starving people.

Su Wu nodded, and even bowed to the people from the three villages to express his gratitude: "Thank you very much!"

The three owners suddenly looked at each other frequently, and then Zhu Chaofeng said, "General, I have something else to discuss with you. Well... it's an unreasonable request, I hope you won't mind."

"Just come over, old man." Su Wu waved his hand.

"I heard that the general won a great victory in suppressing the bandits this time, and even Dong Ping died at his hands. It was really a great achievement. The general came here to recruit people this time, he must have trusted people to serve, and also for the matter of suppressing the bandits. Now that a big bandit has appeared in our Dongping Prefecture, to be honest, our Dulonggang is a relatively prosperous place in the surrounding area, and it is sure that the big bandit will also be concerned about it..."

"The old man speaks frankly." Su Wu said this. This old man speaks with such a long preface.

"Hehe..." Zhu Chaofeng nodded and smiled, then said: "In order to protect the country and the people, and to suppress the bandits and make contributions, my eldest son Zhu Long is willing to serve in front of the tent."

After saying this, Zhu Chaofeng looked at the old man of the Hu family, who immediately spoke up: "My eldest son, Hu Cheng, is also willing to serve in front of the tent."

Li Ying was a little embarrassed, as he had no older son to serve, but he also said, "General Rong, the housekeeper Du Xing in the manor also has some martial arts skills and is willing to serve you."

Su Wu came to see the three people, but did not answer immediately. He was thinking about it.

He could understand what the people of the three villages were thinking. They naturally did not have any real lofty ambitions. The Song Dynasty was still doing well, and they were living a pretty good life. It was impossible for them to have any strange ideas, such as wanting to seize power, establish their own regime, or rebel.

Therefore, what they wanted, first of all, was nothing more than to have a deeper military bond with Dongping Prefecture and an even deeper bond with Su Wu personally.

Secondly, he probably wanted his children to make some achievements, so that they could get an official position in the future. Not to mention how high the position was, at least they would have some influence in the local military and political circles, which would better protect the safety of Dulonggang.

But Su Wu couldn't help but think that if there were people forming cliques within a group, it would be difficult for him to be the leader.

There are pros and cons.

Su Wu was also short of manpower, and he remembered that Xiang Yu had 8,000 young men from Jiangdong.

Second, should I be confident or on the defensive?
Su Wu stood up and said, "Okay, we are short of manpower, just come, the more the better."

Without thinking too much, firstly, these 1,500 people are just the starting point, and there will be more and more people under his command in the future. Secondly, people like Zhu Long Hucheng can't be considered great heroes.

Thirdly, if we can’t even control this, how can we talk about becoming bigger and stronger in the future, and how can we command a large and strong army?
You can't be such a low-minded person.

The owners of the three manors were all smiling happily. They stood up and bowed. Zhu Chaofeng said, "Thank you, General, for your kindness!"

"Thank you very much!"

But Su Wu added: "I think it's OK even if Master Li comes to the army. I will welcome him with open arms!"

Li Ying was stunned when he heard this, but he seemed to be quite moved, so he replied: "Thank you for your appreciation, General. If there is someone to take care of the manor in the future, I will certainly come to your side to help you."

This is very well said. It leaves room for discussion so that one can move forward or backward freely.

"Then I'll wait for Master Li." Su Wu said with a smile, waiting for him to be able to move freely. Li Ying was good at business management. If he really came, let alone other things, he could really handle the logistics matters.

Logistics is also the most important thing.

Another point is that Li Ying is a man of real brains and abilities. Su Wu now finds himself lacking some aides and counselors. Although Li Ying is not particularly outstanding in this aspect, he can also play this kind of role.

Of course, Li Ying’s martial arts skills are also extraordinary.

Zhu Chaofeng stepped forward first and said, "General, let's go to the table now." Su Wu nodded, "Okay, okay."

At the table, there was wine flowing back and forth. There was not much business, just casual chatting. They also talked about some business, such as when to leave for Dongping Prefecture to join the camp, and the purchase and transportation of grain, and the price, which went without saying being cheap.

As soon as they came out of Dulonggang, Su Wu took Wu Song, Lin Mao and others back to Yanggu County.

The first thing I did when I arrived in the county was to see the magistrate Meng Yi.

Meng Yi continued to play chess with Su Wu, saying, "You really did it!"

Su Wu smiled and said, "My husband has pointed me to the right path..."

"No, it's your own fate!" Meng Yi actually still has a bit of a non-confrontational attitude. Maybe he is really old.

"My husband really understands life very well," Su Wu praised.

Meng Yi made a move and raised his head. His face was full of wrinkles, but his eyes were still bright. He said slowly, "People's fate is sometimes like this. A few days ago, you were unknown, but in a few days, you are famous in Shandong. It's good to be young. With you in charge of the army in Dongping Prefecture, I feel a little relieved for some reason. Haha..."

"If you are willing to give me some advice in the future, I would be very grateful!" Su Wu also smiled.

Meng Yi waved his hand again: "It's not that I can give you advice, but I won't hide any nonsense. Are you short of money recently?"

Su Wu was stunned, and immediately nodded: "That's right!"

"Haha... we can think of a way to build the canal." Meng Yi looked profound.

"Please give me some advice, sir!" Su Wu was very happy. This old man was really nice.

"Hmm!" Meng Yi sat up straight, not looking at the chessboard anymore. He straightened his official robes and started talking: "In the past, the canal and the dock in our county had a fixed tax quota from the court. It was originally controlled by the people in your county. They paid the fixed amount from above, and some was given to our county. The rest was also divided among others. I don't know how much they got, but I think it wasn't much, because they were not strong, and those who used the waterway were all fierce..."

Su Wu understood what he meant. It means that the tax revenue from the docks and waterways was not much, but even less could be collected.

Why?

Because the tax collectors can't do that.

If a powerful person comes to collect it, it will be different!

As expected, Meng Yi said, "I've also heard that other counties and cities that collect taxes are making a lot of money..."

This has put the words bluntly.

These waterways and docks have actually been the domain of underworld and shady businesses since ancient times. Transporting goods by ship is a risky job and a life-threatening one. All of them are ruthless characters. Even the owners behind these ships are not ordinary people.

For example, why did Lu Junyi of Daming Prefecture do so much business? It was because he was unrivaled in the world with his gun and stick. He would only bully you, not you. If he knew more about the ways of the world, wouldn't he be able to get things done everywhere?
Therefore, collecting river tax is different from agricultural tax. It is a violent industry, but it can also be a highly profitable industry.

You have to be able to control the violence to be able to really get what you want. Otherwise, it will just be a personal relationship, and you may even be bullied. It will become a useless job, and you will suffer losses and humiliation.

Su Wu had already spoken: "Then I will arrange some people to serve as tax collectors?"

The old magistrate smiled and nodded: "Okay, okay!"

Why is it good?

The old county magistrate also got rich. If Su Wu could collect more river tax, how could he be reluctant to give it to Meng Yi? In the past, those tax collectors wanted to give it, but they couldn't get so much.

But Su Wu is different now.

Su Wu also asked: "Sir, I wonder how much we can harvest in a year..."

The county magistrate said: "You come to collect it. There may be some trouble at first, but as long as no one dies, it's okay. Just wait until the situation is stabilized. It's no problem to collect 200,000 strings of cash a year. You can hand over 50,000 strings of cash to the Jingdong East Road Transportation Office and 30,000 strings of cash to the prefectural office. The rest depends on your ability..."

"Aren't you here, my husband?" How could Su Wu not have this little bit of foresight?

"Me? No problem..." Meng Yi also smiled.

Su Wu nodded and said, "Sir, I have also thought of a way to make a living, right in our county."

"You said..." Meng Yi picked up the chess piece again and started to move.

"Jingyang Ridge, what a great place! A large part of the goods coming in and out of our dock are related to Damingfu in Beijing." Su Wu said.

Meng Yi raised his head and said, "Are you collecting taxes again? This is collected privately, and the court does not allow it..."

Su Wu's face was full of smiles, and he waved his big hands: "If we don't collect taxes, what taxes should we collect? How dare we violate the regulations of the court? We are not bandits who occupy the mountains and rob people. We are building roads. The road to Jingyang Ridge is actually not easy to walk on. There are many ups and downs, and few are flat and straight. The county magistrate understands the people's feelings and builds bridges and roads. It is not to collect taxes, but to take one out of a hundred. How can this be a tax? Isn't this some funding for building bridges and roads? Isn't it more convenient for them to bring goods? How can they not remember your kindness? How can they not say that your tenure as an official has benefited the people?"

"Hey!" Meng Yi opened his eyes, and was quite surprised, so he said: "Su Wu, Su Wu, you are even better than your teacher. It seems that you really don't need my guidance in the future, haha..."

"How can I do without your guidance, sir? Sir, what do you think about this matter?" Su Wu asked again.

"You take charge of it and just ask someone to build a road. What else can we say if we only give one out of a hundred? If you don't want to fund it, just ask them to take another road." Meng Yi nodded repeatedly. He really knew everything about road affairs.

Su Wu also asked: "It would be better to just agree to collect for two or three years, so that they don't have any resentment in their hearts. Sir, how much can we collect in this way in a year?"

Su Wu said this for the sake of rationality. As for whether to take it back in two or three years, it is up to him to take it back. By that time, Shandong will be a mess, and who will care about these things?

If this road can be guaranteed to be unobstructed and free of thieves, then people who travel along this route for business should have to pay more, right?
In another two years, the Song Dynasty would also be in chaos. As long as this road is unobstructed, wouldn't it be a conscientious thing to do to take one out of ten?

Su Wu asked about the number. Meng Yi thought about it and shook his head: "In this case, I don't know. Even if there is no number, it will not be less. You try it first..."

"Good!" Su Wu came here today originally for the road construction on Jingyang Ridge, but he didn't expect that there would be tax collection on the river. It was really a pleasant surprise, and it was worth his good reputation last time, and it was also worth his coming to pay a visit as soon as he returned to the county.

I am in a very good mood.

"Okay, this game of chess can't be finished. Just go and do your own thing. You're a very busy man now." Meng Yi put the chess piece in his hand into the chess box.

"Thank you, sir." Su Wu stood up and was polite.

(End of this chapter)