Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 292, 30/70 Split

How should we interpret the phrase "蔺相" (Lin Xiang)?
The jade was returned to Zhao intact.

The group exchanged glances. They weren't interested in donating money, fearing they might offend Fang Yong, and didn't dare to do so.

But if you let them make money, they become very bold.

Gao Jing picked up a bowl of meat soup from the table at the opportune moment and said:
"This soup is very delicious, and I would like to share it with you all."

Upon hearing this, everyone stared at the meat soup in Gao Jing's hand.

Gao Jing scooped up a spoonful and placed it in Tang Rong's bowl, then another spoonful, and another, scooping up seven spoonfuls in total. He then scooped one spoonful for the Prefect of Kaifeng, put one spoonful in his own bowl, and finally instructed:

"Pack up the rest of this soup and take it back for Lord Tian to enjoy!"

"Yes."

His subordinate stepped forward and took it.

Everyone showed expressions of satisfaction.

Gao Jing and the others exchanged smiles, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

Soon, donations to quell the rebellion were rolled out in Kaifeng.

With the government taking the lead, prominent families generously donated to support this righteous cause.

In an instant, a great upheaval occurred, with tens of thousands of taels of silver being sent into the government treasury.

After the wealthy and powerful families finished donating, it was the ordinary rich households, the small and humble families, and the peasants from the countryside who made the donations.

Gao Jing specifically formulated standards for this purpose.

Ordinary wealthy households, such as those who run pharmacies, tailors, or tea shops, donate fifty taels of silver!

Ordinary people, street performers, vendors, and porters—these people donate five taels of silver!

In the countryside, each peasant household receives 500 coins!
These funds were all donated voluntarily.

It's okay if you don't donate.

However, this is the donation for pacifying the Huaiyin bandits; not donating makes you an accomplice of the Huaiyin bandits!

When powerful families and government officials collude, the common people have no power to resist.

The officials went door-to-door demanding payment, and those who refused were severely beaten.

Not every ordinary person would rebel like Fang Yong.

Most ordinary people have very low standards, very low standards.

Unless all avenues of survival are blocked.

Otherwise, they will always find a way to back down.

Try to raise money, sell your possessions, if you really can't raise any more, hide away, if hiding doesn't work, leave your hometown, there's always a way...

"Sir, those peasants have all run away!"

His subordinates rushed over to report.

Gao Jing asked, "Did they all run away?"

The constable said, "No, about 20-30% ran away!"

Gao Jing asked, "Where did they all go?"

The constable said, "Some ran to other prefectures and counties, and others even ran into the nearby mountains!"

Gao Jing asked, "Have any escaped out of Henan?"

The constable shook his head: "There are... a few, but not many."

Gao Jing nodded.

Leaving the province is not easy. Not only is the journey long, but survival along the way is also difficult to guarantee. Most people still have a strong attachment to their hometown and will not easily leave the province.

"Contact other prefectures and counties in Henan to fully implement the anti-bandit tax; also, set fire to the mountains!"

"Set the mountain on fire!"

The subordinates exclaimed in shock.

Gao Jing remained silent.

The constable dared not ask any further questions.

"Yes, my lord!"

Soon, the nearby mountains and forests were burned down.

Of course, it's just some small hills and forests.

Even if those large forests were burned, it would be difficult to burn them completely.

The reason for burning these small forests was not to kill the people.

People aren't stupid; if they see a fire, won't they run away?

Gao Jing set fire to the mountain to intimidate the people who had taken refuge in the forest.

Look, even hiding in the mountains isn't safe, why don't you run?
After this move, many people faced despair and had no choice but to leave their homes and leave Henan.

Those who didn't leave were those with some assets; they gritted their teeth and handed over their savings, hoping to weather the storm. By the eighth day, most of the silver had been raised.

Gao Jing's raid on Kaifeng, encompassing twenty counties, yielded a total of 540 million taels of silver, of which 280 million taels were donated by wealthy households. All of this was returned to the emperor intact.

Of the remaining 2.6 million taels, 70% was distributed proportionally to various prominent families.

The remaining 30%, totaling 780,000 taels.

It was divided into three parts, each worth 26 taels.

A share of the profits was distributed among officials at all levels in Kaifeng.

One portion is my hard-earned money.

The last document was needed to quell the rebellion.

Gao Jing ordered someone to send the last 26 taels of silver to Tian Tianrui.

To be honest, that's a bit too little.

Gao Jing initially thought he could get at least five or six hundred thousand taels of silver.

I never imagined Kaifeng was so poor.

Even after searching so desperately, he only managed to collect this little bit of silver.

The common people have all become impoverished.

In fact, the people of Henan have long been overwhelmed by the harsh policies and the changes in the course of the Yellow River over the years.

Kaifeng is already considered one of the more economically developed areas in Henan. The remaining eight prefectures are even poorer than Kaifeng.

Henan is relatively better off, thanks to Tian Tianrui, who is an honest official. Although he is not exactly incorruptible, he never actively extorts money from the people, which gives the people of Henan a little breathing room.

But this brief respite was shattered with Gao Jing's arrival.

The remaining eight prefectures in Henan also launched a campaign to quell the rebellion.

Large numbers of people fled to nearby Shanxi, Zhili, Shandong, Huizhou and other places.

The people who fled to these areas were surprised to find that officials were already waiting near the border. As soon as they arrived, they were given land, grain, and seeds. It was like arriving in paradise.

However, some people fled to Hubei and Shaanxi, which are even further away.

In that case, Fang Yong could only mourn for the other party.

Tian Tianrui was overjoyed to see boxes of silver arriving.

Gao Jing is indeed capable.

He had previously exhausted his persuasive skills and visited countless wealthy and influential families, but he still hadn't managed to raise much money.

Now that Gao Jing has arrived, it has only taken less than ten days for the silver to be delivered continuously.

With silver, you can recruit more soldiers, forge swords and armor, provide them with ample food, and train them.

The chances of defeating the bandits of Huaiyin are much greater!
However, Tian Tianrui soon learned that people from various places had fled because of the donations made to quell the bandits.

Tian Tianrui went to find Gao Jing in a fit of anger, but Gao Jing shut him up with just one sentence.

"Which is more important, Your Majesty or the people?"

Tian Tianrui paused for a long time before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

"I understand……"

The answer is obvious.

Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it.

It sounds like water is more important.

However, water is always available and it's not expensive.

But there's only one boat!

Sacrifice the people of Henan to rescue His Majesty.

It's worth it...

As time went by, the silver from the other prefectures and counties also arrived.

In the end, a total of 189 million taels of silver was obtained.

This is already a considerable amount; if we were to be frugal, it would be enough to support an army of 100,000 to 200,000 people for six months.

However, Tian Tianrui does not plan to recruit too many people.

He planned to recruit only 60,000 more men, and stop once he had an army of 100,000.

The reason he stopped recruiting was because he didn't have suitable generals under his command.

Tian Tianrui's current military commanders are all former garrison commanders from Henan. They can manage to command tens of thousands of troops, but once the number exceeds one hundred thousand, they become somewhat stretched thin.

In addition, military training and weaponry are also very important aspects.

The army of 40,000 men had already been poorly trained due to lack of funds and pay, and their weapons and equipment were also very bad. If they did not strengthen their training in this area, their combat effectiveness would be very low and they would collapse at the first sign of trouble.

(End of this chapter)