Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 334 How can you sleep well at your age?
Feeling the enthusiastic support from the people around him, Hu Santong always held the earthenware bowl in his hand, as if he was holding a treasure.

He finally understood why the art of war said that attacking the heart was better than attacking the city.

The dry words I learned in class when I was young were like a bullet hitting me right between my eyebrows, and also like a breeze blowing past me, making me feel cool and comfortable all over.

He held the earthenware bowl and drank it all, proudly accepting the "enthusiasm" of the people, and then put on an excited and upward posture, as if there was a shining sun hanging behind him.

He handed the bowl back to the girl and put a few silver beans into it. "We, the Red Turban Army, have come here to rid the people of all insects and rats!"

The other players were also infected by the enthusiasm of the people and waved their hands to refuse, saying that they would never take a single needle or thread from the people. Finally, they could not bear the enthusiasm of the people and reluctantly accepted some necessities.

Hu Santong was "knocked down" by the enthusiastic drugstore clerk, who carefully applied herbal medicine on his injured back and arms.

Just when the military and civilians were in harmony, the sound of hurried horse hooves suddenly came from afar.

Jiu Tiao came galloping with more than ten players, with a bloody head hanging next to the saddle.

"Laizhou's prefect hid in a stinking outhouse last night, and this morning, he disguised himself as a commoner, hoping to take advantage of the chaos and flee to Qingzhou!" Jiutiao threw the head to the ground, and nearby players and commoners hurried over. "The old man confessed before he died. The Denglai Governor ordered the burning of granaries and military equipment in Deng, Lai, and Qing Prefectures, as well as twenty-one counties. He even deliberately piled firewood next to the grain and oil grocery store, hoping to leave us with only a series of abandoned cities."

When Hu Santong heard this, his pupils suddenly contracted.

How could there be a policy of burning all the people to death?

Wutong's corpse was still smoking, and Hu Santong's knuckles turned white from his clenched fists. "These bastard officials are going to burn half of Shandong to the ground!"

After hearing this, the people around them hated these corrupt officials even more.

What imperial court, what government, all of them are bullshit, the so-called "rebels" are their real government!
"The order to burn the cities was disseminated to the surrounding areas a few days ago. The brothers in the main force also received the urgent message. We must now race against time with the government to save these cities that are about to be burned.

If half of Shandong's granaries and rice shops were burned down, our offensive strategy would have to be delayed for several months. No, it should be said that the dog official's strategy has already worked."

"A blessing in disguise, we've also gained something." Hu Santong pointed to the people around him who were enthusiastically contributing. "The moment a rebel army becomes a government force can sometimes be just a matter of a day or two."

Sanwan, who followed Jiutiao, also said, "The pseudo-Ming bureaucrats are going crazy, and sooner or later the people in various places will join our Red Turban Army.

Even if we are stuck in Denglai and cannot move, we can still take advantage of the situation and manage the two and a half prefectures that have been cleared of their territory with peace of mind.

I trust the civilian team's farming abilities, just as Liu Bang trusted Xiao He with his military farms in Guanzhong. Give the civilian team six months, and they could create a second Liaodong."

Someone pointed out a flaw. "The stability maintenance team isn't large enough—Denglai Prefecture and Lai Prefecture have millions of people, making governance several times more difficult than Liaodong. Unless our entire combat team abandons military service and embraces civil service, we won't have enough power to rule, and we'll have to rely on the loyalty of demoted officials and clerks."

"If you can avoid using it, don't use it. These people's moral qualities are basically below average. Even the best policies can be misinterpreted as a means of corruption in their hands.

This is also the real reason why reforms throughout history have always ended in failure: there are always those who mess with you.”

"But if you don't use these people, you won't have anyone else to use. The local area has entered a state of gentry autonomy, and your collection of taxes and implementation of new policies will be greatly reduced."

"We must be patient with them for a while. Once we have established our foothold, we can quickly replace the demoted officials and clerks."

"No rush, there are new players joining the Shandong theater."

Someone raised his hand and pointed in the air, and the new version 0.7.15 "Liaodong Rebellion" expansion flashed before his eyes.

He clicked on the game announcement, scanning the numbers and adding them up in his mind. "We've had quite a few new players recently, over 4,000 newcomers—2,200 of whom are joining the Red Turban Army and are already on their way."

"That's true," another person continued. "Over a thousand people have joined the Beggars' Army, over a thousand have stayed at the main base as civilians, and there are over two hundred more people trying to join the Kun Gang..."

"How is the feint attack plan in western Liaoning progressing?"

"I saw it when we were exchanging information about the burning cities earlier. They are steadily recovering a series of fortresses and post stations along the way, including Dujiatun, Guangningwei, Dalinghebao, etc."

"Hmm? With the combat effectiveness of the feint attack team, it shouldn't be difficult to directly surround Jinzhou and force the main force of the Ming army to come out to rescue, right?"

"Because the remnants of the Tartars are still there, as well as the Khalkha Mongols and the Torghuts... Although they may not obey the orders of the Eight Banners, they still have the courage to rob the Ming Dynasty in a group.

You don't want to be stabbed by the Tartars and have your food supplies cut off when you're about to encircle Jinzhou, do you?

"Yes, that makes sense. I heard that the Qihuo Army has already captured most of Henan and is heading west towards Tongguan."

"The Qihuo Army is trying to seize Guanzhong!"

"I heard that Guanzhong has been disrupted by the rebel army, and the troops are currently depleted. If the Qihuo army can capture Guanzhong at this time, they can replicate Li Zicheng's historical achievements, seize Shanxi at lightning speed, and then march directly to the capital."

"We must also work harder. When the time comes, the three armies will converge in the capital and completely destroy the pseudo-Ming Dynasty."

"Okay, let's take up the burden of Laizhou first. We need to do post-disaster reconstruction, coordinate food supplies, and comfort the refugees... There's still a lot to do."

The news that the Ming army was going to burn down two and a half prefectures was transmitted to the main force and the detachment through the "carbon-based network".

An Lushan, who was leading the main force south, was stunned at the time. "How could the Ming officials' bottom line still be broken?"

"These humanoid creatures are always competing to be the worst. They even say things like 'Instead of starving to death at home, they have to imitate the mantis in their rebellion.' Do you think they can be considered human?"

"I now understand the motives of these war maniacs in playing this game. We are the natural enemies of these humanoid beasts, born to exterminate them!"

An Lushan immediately announced that the entire army would enter a forced march day and night, with only four rest stops along the way.

All players who cannot find time to participate will stay in the artillery team and the baggage team and move slowly, taking over the counties along the way.

The infantry and cavalry troops must attack Qingzhou City directly within a few days and must surround Qingzhou before the enemy is fully prepared.

It would be best if we could capture the city in one fell swoop, but if we can't, there's no need to attack by force. We can just dig deep trenches and surround Qingzhou.

Only by trapping the bureaucrats deep inside the city would they not dare to resort to the old tactic of burning the city again.

Once food and heavy weapons are delivered to the city, the "insects" in the city can be wiped out in one fell swoop. By then, most of Shandong will be in the hands of the Red Turban Army, and it will be too easy to march north to the capital.

At the same time, the detachment also received urgent news.

Along the way, they recruited surrendered soldiers and garrison troops, expanding their original team to 27,000.

Faced with such urgent news, they knew that even if they forced their way for several days, they would only be able to reach Jimo area.

Since they could neither reach the main force of the Ming army nor capture the prefectures and counties in southern Shandong, it would be better to disperse the troops and go deep into the heart of Denglai, saving as many counties as possible.

So the 27,000 soldiers were divided into 18 groups, breaking up into smaller units to quickly take over the county towns and garrisons.

If the county surrenders quickly, then use the city's granaries to resupply food and establish a preliminary rule. If the Acropolis resists stubbornly, call in nearby friendly forces through the "carbon-based communication network" to attack.

After several days of intensive cooperation, the players finally managed to restore order in Deng and Lai Prefectures.

The good news is that more than ten counties in Denglai Prefecture surrendered, and the few Acropolis cities that refused to surrender were also captured one by one.

The act of burning the city destroyed the last bit of public support in the Ming Dynasty, and the Red Turban Army easily took over the two prefectures.

The bad news is that the "scorched earth strategy" ultimately caused damage. The closer the counties were to Laizhou, the more serious the losses were, and tens of thousands of people were displaced.

The granaries in the county towns that were not burned down were basically empty, having been completely eaten up by the warehouse ambassadors and officials.

There were even some unscrupulous corrupt officials who wanted to burn the wheat in the fields in order to increase the number of refugees. Fortunately, the Red Turban Army prevented these conspiracies.

Without waiting for the players to make a move, the enraged people tied up these incompetent officials and set them on fire.

The thief was stripped naked, wrapped in linen soaked in oil, and then hung upside down on a tall wooden pole. He was set on fire from the feet, just like lighting a slow-burning candle.

No matter what, the "ruins" have become a hot potato.

Apart from the main force, other detachments could only stay in the county town and carry out post-disaster rescue.

The problem of food and fodder became the biggest problem, and the burned houses needed to be rebuilt urgently.

If the military rations were distributed to the refugees, the Red Turban Army would have no food to continue encroaching on Ming territory.

The Red Turban Army could have just been a hands-off boss like the Pseudo-Ming Dynasty, or gone to the countryside to steal food and supplies.

Then he allowed the people to eat each other while he just focused on conquering cities, establishing merits and unifying the country. He would look back and record the tragic deaths of the people as "the great famine in Denglai, where the people exchanged their children for food", which was considered "intentional" on the part of the masters.

However, players are bound by rules and rewards and cannot directly kill those who do not resist, unless they are well-known local villains, rats, or bullies who have killed people.

So what should the Red Turban Army do next?
It is the summer harvest season now, and winter wheat is about to mature on a large scale, which is naturally the most convenient time to collect grain and fodder.

Players never take money from poor people, after all, poor people have no money, and those who harass green names or harm yellow names for no reason will be reported by their brothers.

In the worst case scenario, a large amount of reputation and merit will be deducted, and in the worst case, the account will be directly banned, leaving only the weapons and equipment to be divided up by the brothers.

……

Not long after the city burning incident, the Red Turban Army posted summer tax notices in many cities and important roads in Denglai Prefecture, which immediately caused a public opinion storm.

As soon as the summer tax notice was posted, half of Shandong was discussing the Red Turban Army, which was gradually becoming the new rulers.

The loyalty of the Beiwei Army is well known in Shandong.

They kicked the Tartars with their feet and punched the Korean rebels, and stood as pillars of the country alongside the Black Flag Battalion.

Although the Beiwei Army rebelled due to a conspiracy and even split off from the Red Turban Army to seize the Denglai area, the people did not feel the humiliation or crisis of "the rebels captured the land" and even felt that the Beiwei Army's rebellion was excusable.

Perhaps the people cannot understand the injustice of the Marshal being killed, but what if the head of a family worked hard for several years but was owed wages?

When the victim went to ask for his wages, he was locked in the house and burned to death by the black-hearted boss. Everyone wanted to pick up a kitchen knife and send the black-hearted boss and his entire family to hell.

Moreover, when more than ten county towns were burned, the people witnessed with their own eyes the bravery and selflessness of the Beiwei Army in putting out fires and distributing food, which was simply evil.

It seems that in this world, only the Black Flag Battalion with strict military discipline and the Beggar Army that is rumored to save people from suffering in the Central Plains can be compared with it?
Although the Red Turban Army's attire was strange and confusing, a considerable number of their generals were actually from Shandong.

The local dialect with a strong local accent, "I am Erlang Shen, invite you to Jiaozhou to drink muddy wine and eat Gala..." makes people feel very cordial, just like a general who has fought for many years and returned home, quickly narrowing the distance between the troops and the people.

Now the Red Turban Army is going to levy summer taxes on Denglai, and public opinion in various places is paying close attention to this.

The scholars, peddlers, landlords and tenants all didn't know how they were going to manage the land.

Fighting a war is one thing, but governing a country is a world of difference.

Most people believed that the Red Turban Army would most likely follow the old Ming Dynasty practices, simply being more fair and abolishing some harsh taxes.

For ordinary people and small households, as long as they pay taxes according to regulations, they can be considered God’s blessing as they don’t have to pay an extra “miscellaneous tax” for no apparent reason.

However, the summer tax notice exceeded everyone's expectations. The Red Turban Army did not follow the old rules, but made several bold innovations.

The "Jun Yao money" which was originally worth a few coins of silver a year, or a disguised head tax, was distributed among the land.

All taxes are paid as "progressive taxes" according to the amount of land.

In addition, the land that was donated or falsely deposited in the past must be reported to the new government for registration within 60 days, otherwise it will all belong to the nominal owner.

Most farmers are not very literate. Even if they can recognize a few words, they cannot read them completely. They can only wait for the tax collector to read the content aloud.

The soldiers of the Red Turban Army were patrolling back and forth.

If they heard anything being misinterpreted by the clerks, they would march over and arrest the clerks.

"The tax is distributed according to the land area!"

Some learned scholars pointed out the core of the notice on the spot.

If taxes were levied only on the amount of land, then unregistered fugitives would not need to hide their identities, making it easier for the Red Turban Army to obtain detailed information on the population under their rule in order to conscript labor and recruit soldiers.

And the "progressive taxation system" that levies taxes based on the amount of meat is like cutting meat with a blunt knife. The more meat you have, the more you get cut.

The registration of donations is like using a sledgehammer to crack a swine.

The reason why the gentry had so much land was, firstly, that they acquired it through annexation through power, and local officials had to rush to curry their favor; secondly, countless common people donated their property in order to avoid the complicated taxes and heavy labor.

Even if one paid 50% of the land rent under the gentry, as long as one did not respond to the "harassment" of clerks and did not perform labor at one's own expense, one could still endure this hard life.

If the donated land were to become the property of the gentry forever, how could these donors just sit there and wait? They would definitely rush to withdraw their donations and return to being self-cultivating farmers...

Humph! As expected of a rebel soldier who always felt sorry for the peasants, he showed signs of this early on when he was stationed in Dengzhou.

The rebels' combined attack was simply to weaken the gentry and extort money and food from them!
(End of this chapter)