The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 456 Ancient Boss
Hunan Province, Yuezhou Prefecture, Linxiang County.

Two battalions of Xiangyin County militia were stationed here. Linxiang County is right on the bank of the Yangtze River, with Honghu Lake to the northwest and Dongting Lake to the southwest. This is the gateway to Dongting Lake from the downstream.

After passing Linxiang County, it is Chenglingji, the last line of defense of Yuezhou Prefecture, and then the enemy can enter Dongting Lake.

As long as they enter Dongting Lake, the whole of Hunan will be taken.

Because Dongting Lake cannot have a fast water flow like the Yangtze River, and the area surrounded by Dongting Lake is the essence of Hunan Province.

Therefore, without the disadvantage of going against the current, the Dayu Yangtze River Navy, which controlled a large number of warships, could choose the attack location at will after entering Dongting Lake. Every place must be rescued, and every place is a loophole, making it impossible to defend against it.

"Dinner is ready, dinner is ready!" The cook shouted loudly while banging on the wooden barrel.

Hearing this sound, the soldiers in the barracks rushed out of their living quarters like cats and dogs hearing their owner coming to feed them.

Mao Xiangsheng ran the fastest. Like a wild dog, he was the first to rush to the wooden barrel. He quickly picked up the wooden rice spoon and thrust it into the deepest part of the barrel.

Then he scooped a big spoonful of dry rice made from a mixture of sorghum, dried vegetables and white rice into the bowl.

This big spoon basically filled the bowl, but he was not satisfied and wanted to hit it a second time. Unfortunately, the people behind him had already rushed up, and the spoon was quickly lost in the squeeze.

An uncle of Mao Xiangsheng, who was also the captain of their patrol, took a bamboo stick with an angry face and hit the soldiers who were trying to grab food on the back, causing dust to fly on their dirty and torn clothes.

But the people who were beaten seemed to feel nothing at all. They scrambled and pushed each other, and soon snatched all the food in the pot.

Several of the smallest soldiers in the group were squeezed outside. When they arrived, the wooden barrel containing the rice looked like it had been licked by a dog.

These people had sad faces and took out the prepared branches, constantly picking and digging in the gaps. Some people simply picked up the rice grains that had fallen on the ground. Even if they had been stepped on, they would just blow on them twice symbolically and swallow them.

Mao Xiangsheng ran the fastest. He was the first to finish his meal and the first to get the pickles to go with the meal.

The pickled vegetables, lightly fried with oil, were extremely delicious in Mao Xiangsheng's eyes. He kept begging the fat and big-eared chef to give him more.

The cook glared at him with disdain, muttering, "You're the fastest when it comes to getting food, and you're the last one to arrive during training. You've never eaten in your life, and you're here to fatten up, right?"

Mao Xiangsheng did not argue. Seeing that he could not get more pickles, he took the bowl and walked away, finding a secluded place to eat it all up.

Moreover, the cook was right. He came to this military camp just to gain weight. He just had never had a full meal.

Mao Xiangsheng's home is in Gutang Village, Hefeng Township, Xiangyin County. The land here is fertile and the majority of the people are surnamed Mao.

It's a pity that although most of them have the same surname, and even descended from the same ancestor one or two hundred years ago, and are basically related, they also follow the principle of the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer.

Mao Xiangsheng's family of seven had only two mu of sloping land that could be used to grow vegetables. To make a living, they relied on renting the land from their uncle, Mao San Taiye.

Oh, that’s not right. The one who could make a living by renting land was Mao Xiangsheng’s father, but Mao Xiangsheng, as his son, didn’t even have land to rent.

Because all the land that Mr. Mao San rented had already been rented out and the rent per mu had risen to half of the harvest, there were still people trying to grab it.

A young man like Mao Xiangsheng has no farming skills, is dull and doesn't know how to flatter, so he is not even qualified to be exploited as a tenant.

Mao Xiangsheng spent most of his seventeen years in hunger. He started herding sheep for Mao San Taiye at the age of six, and herded cattle when he was a little older. When he was even older, he could chop some firewood and catch some fish and shrimp in the river to exchange for money while herding cattle.

By the time he was fifteen, he was a qualified temporary worker. During the busy farming season, Mao Xiangsheng would travel across most of Xiangyin County and work as a temporary worker in the homes of various landlords to make a living.

Mao Xiangsheng even lost his home after he turned fifteen, because the family that rented only twelve acres of land could not support him, a freeloader.

The eldest brother, who had made his parents happy, had already married and was expected to inherit his parents' business and continue to be a tenant of Mr. Mao San, hated him very much and would even drive him away in front of his parents. The unfamiliar sister-in-law would also insult him harshly.

And my parents seemed to have agreed.

Thinking of this, Mao Xiangsheng, who was eating rice with big mouthfuls, suddenly felt a little sad. He held the bowl and choked slightly.

The young boy didn't quite understand why his elder brother, who used to take him to catch birds in trees and fish in rivers when he was young, had changed so quickly.

"Brother Sheng, are you full? If you are, can you give me a bite?"

Mao Xiangxin, who was thin and often couldn't get food, walked over with a nod and a bow. The crazy secretion of saliva made his neck make swallowing movements continuously.

Mao Xiangsheng, who joined the military camp just to eat, was about to fall into a short period of depression. He thought of his heartless elder brother, and for the first time in his life, he handed the half bowl of rice in his hand to his distant cousin Mao Xiangxin.

Mao Xiangxin was overjoyed and took the bowl and began to devour it. In gratitude, he said to Mao Xiangsheng:
"Brother Sheng, we will probably go to the battlefield in a few days. You should come with me. My brother-in-law works as a farmhand in Mr. Zhou's house. He said he will take care of us if there is something good going on."

Mao Xiangsheng was in a somewhat emo state, and also somewhat regretted giving the meal to Mao Xiangxin, so he didn't hear clearly what Mao Xiangxin was saying.

April 1780, 4, the fourth year of Guangzhong in the Chinese calendar, and March 11, the forty-fifth year of Qianlong in the Qing dynasty.

After Mo Zibu finally issued the decree, the whole of Hubei was in an uproar.

But this land was obtained for free. Even though the land in Hubei was cheap, one mu still cost about ten taels. The farmers were still very happy.

Therefore, the entire Hubei Province, except for the three prefectures of Yunyang, Xiangyang and Shinan in the northwest and southwest and Jingzhou Prefecture occupied by the Hunan Braves, immediately returned to Dayu and settled down.

With the support of the locals, the army's movement speed immediately increased. At the same time, with Mo Zibu personally in charge, the military strength was also very sufficient.

Ye Xianchun was sent west to partner with Reinstein, with a total force of 33,000 men, to attack Jingzhou directly before moving south to attack Lizhou, Changde, and other areas. The Eastern Route Army was led by Wu Wenyong, Commander of the Imperial Guards, General Zhengnan, Commander of the Jingying Zhenwei Army, and Lieutenant General Wang Wubing as the commander and deputy commander.

They led 20,000 troops up the Yangtze River and attacked Linxiang, Yuezhou and other places.

Finally, the Eastern and Western armies surrounded Changsha and put down the 100,000 Hunan Braves led by Chen Huizu and others.

On the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, the main force of the Western Army arrived at the city of Jingzhou. More than 200,000 people from all over the country who were waiting to be divided up their land surrounded the army. The crowds of people seemed endless.

On the other hand, in Jingzhou, some capable Hunyuan sect members, such as Zhang Zhengmo, Nie Jieren, and monk Guangling, had already led their backbone members along the Qingjiang River to the west, where the Han, Tu, and Miao peoples lived together, namely, Enshi Prefecture in later generations.

The officials appointed by Chen Huizu, such as the prefect of Jingzhou, were directly kidnapped by the people in the city, and Jingzhou fell without a fight.

According to Mo Zibu's arrangement, Reinstein asked Ye Xianchun, who was only good at fighting but not in administration, to continue to attack Lizhou in the south, while he took the people of Fuxing Company to Jingzhou to take over the land.

The objects to be taken over were mainly the 2.1 million mu of paddy fields and 600,000 mu of dry fields left by the Eight Banners stationed in Jingzhou.

Mo Zibu planned to take away 800,000 mu of paddy fields and 200,000 mu of dry land to reward meritorious officials and as imperial farms, and the rest would be used as equal distribution of land.

Big golden-haired Ryan looked at the people in the distance who were happily receiving land and surrounding him, calling him "Golden-haired Justice", and sighed somewhat uncomfortably.

"The emperor is actually forcing these people onto the road to bankruptcy, and they still think it is the emperor's grace." Others don't know how the capitalist society operates, but Reinstein knows it very well.

He knew very well that the original situation in Hubei Province was that half of the laborers who could get enough land to rent could survive, although their lives were not good.

As for others who failed to rent land, they were basically abandoned by society.

Those who are abandoned by society can often only barely maintain the lowest level of survival, and their lifespan is not very long. They are among the eliminated people.

But at least, after eliminating these people, the remaining people can still barely survive.

But now the land has been divided, and the tenants no longer have any land to rent. Everyone has to suffer poverty together, and everyone is struggling on the brink of death.

Moreover, those who were originally eliminated by society would not be able to live well after suddenly owning land.

Because their farming techniques and agricultural tools are very backward, some people do not even have the ability to complete farming independently.

Although it seems that they have been given land now, in fact, their possibility of working as temporary workers has been cut off. If the harvest is slightly worse, they may live worse than when they had no land.

What's more, once the industry develops, the traditional system of men farming and women weaving will be greatly impacted.

“This place will soon become a gathering place for bankrupt farmers. Originally, half of them lived and half died, but now everyone is dying slowly together.

But that’s what the emperor wants, to drive the eliminated people away from their hometowns.”

Reinstein babbled nervously, “If these farmers were smart, they should try their best to get themselves into the imperial farm.

Although many people will still be forced to leave their hometowns, at least they will have more guarantees. The Fuxing Company will organize them to settle abroad.

Something's wrong, something's wrong. "

Reinstein closed his eyes, feeling that one less path was left to his own end.

The big golden retriever shook his head. How did he get to Seris, a place said to be extremely rich and covered in gold?

Behind Reinstein, a staff officer who looked like his aide was frantically recording Reinstein's nagging in a book.

The emperor was not wary of Reinstein at all, and even encouraged him to think more about this.

However, Jinyiwei Commander Chen Xu, Northern Pacification Commander Huo Ran, and Palace Front Commander Li Cunyi all felt that this guy was very dangerous. He often spoke out of treason and appeared a little abnormal from time to time.

Therefore, among all the officials of the Dayu Dynasty, Reinstein was the one who was monitored the most.

Just as Reinstein began to "sicken" in the eyes of others, Ye Xianchun led 25,000 elite troops and occupied Gong'an County on the border between Hubei and Hunan.

On March 20, Ye Xianchun commanded the army again and suddenly crossed the Lishui River upstream where the Hunan Braves were not prepared.

The progress was rapid afterwards. On March 22, they used cannons to blast open the city of Lizhou, and on March 25, they occupied the undefended Anfu County (Linli).

On March 28, the troops arrived in Changde and were less than 20 miles away from Yangshan, a dangerous mountain to the north of Changde.

Only after the battle reached this point did Chen Huizu receive the news, and he quickly ordered his Changde Town General Zuo Feilong to go to Yangshan to deploy defenses.

At the same time, on the Eastern Route Army side, Wu Wenyong led the fleet to linger on the Yangtze River, but secretly sent Wang Wubing to lead 5,000 soldiers to suddenly detour and cross the river from Bailuoji in the north of the river.

The Xing Tang Army appeared directly between Chenglingji, the first gate of Yuezhou, and Linxiang County, the outpost, cutting the Xiangyong of Yuezhou Prefecture into two parts.

This forced Chen Huizu to order the abandonment of Linxiang County and the entire army to retreat to Baling City (Yueyang City), preparing for a decisive battle with Dayu's Eastern Army here.

The army of Dayu also completed the design of a two-pronged attack. As long as one of them made a breakthrough, Chen Huizu would be completely finished.

　I shouldn't have gone to see it, damn, I almost suffocated.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)