Chaos of Ming 1628

How could this move escape Sun Qing's notice?

"Mr. Su," Sun Qing called out to him.

Su paused in his stride, but didn't turn around immediately. Instead, with his back to Sun Qing, he gave a wry smile: "Young Master, I am but a humble scholar, and my knowledge is limited to what I know about river silt."

"Seeing the weather changing so drastically, I want to go check on the river."

His toes were pointing outwards, but he didn't move immediately.

"That would be difficult," Sun Qing said, his tone troubled. "There was another very important matter that needed to be done."

"Not only do you need absolute trust, but you also need to understand the ways of business."

Sun Qing sighed heavily and turned to look at Meng Zhaoxiang.

Meng Zhaoxiang didn't understand Sun Qing's meaning at all and remained standing there, stunned. Song Xian, who was still standing to the side, suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh, I do know someone who perfectly fits your requirements."

"Who is it?" Su suddenly tensed up and turned his head sharply to look at Song Xian.

Even though they still refused to come over, the fear in their eyes was hard to hide.

Meng Zhaoxiang laughed: "Isn't this something that's both far away and right before our eyes?"

"Yes!" Sun Qing also chimed in, "In my mind, Mr. Su was originally the most suitable candidate."

"It's just that Mr. Su is too busy, and I really can't insist."

Su's face burned with shame; at his age, this was the first time he had felt such a direct sense of embarrassment.

With a bitter smile, he walked slowly and deliberately to Sun Qing.

He placed his hands on his forehead and bowed deeply: "Young master, I have been judging you by my own petty standards."

"Your kindness is greatly appreciated, and I, Sun, will certainly do my utmost to help you, no matter what."

Sun Qing's expression was gentle, and he gently helped Su Jiuda to his feet.

He then solemnly added, "What you are doing is extremely important. To completely eliminate internal and external conflicts, we must have a long-term, reliable support system."

Everyone nodded.

Su frowned slightly, looking puzzled. "I don't quite understand. Does this mean we've been relying on bribery all along?"

"Although this method solves the problem temporarily, with the implementation of your plan, young master, there will be no wealthy households or landlords in Jiahe County who bully men and women."

"How can we continue to exploit them?"

"Mr. Su is right, I had the same question." Song Xian nodded in agreement.

Only Mr. Meng's gaze remained steadfast, without the slightest doubt. In his heart, the initial heartbeat still lingered.

Whatever the young master says must have its reasons. It will surely solve the problem.

"That's why I said that the security system is the most important step in all my plans." Sun Qing's expression was serious and his tone was solemn: "You should know that what I'm trying to do is not to turn Jiahe County into an independent world."

"I just want everyone in Jiahe County to have enough to eat and not freeze to death."

Sun Qing stated his purpose directly.

The three nodded in unison, and Su Jiuda said cautiously and modestly, "Please give your instructions, young master."

Since this was something that needed to be done immediately, Sun Qing didn't mince words: "Mr. Su, you have four things to do right now."

"First, we still belong to the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the issue of taxation is unavoidable."

The three nodded repeatedly; this was the question that had been lingering in their minds.

Sun Qing continued to explain: "When the plan is implemented, our entire Jiahe County will be a collective. The issue of taxation will be handled collectively and uniformly with the county government. The public granary will uniformly hand over a fixed amount of money and grain, and the people will not have to pay taxes at all. They will no longer have to suffer the pain of being exploited by exorbitant taxes."

"good!"

Song Xian was a good man. He had served as an official for many years, both on the border and in the capital, and had personally witnessed how taxes gradually drove the people to the brink of despair.

If ordinary people didn't have to bear taxes, it would be an unthinkable dream.

Su Jiuda also started to get excited.

He had been working in Jiaohe all along, and whether it was water conservancy or the constant scrutiny of the people, he had personally witnessed how miserable the people were tormented by these taxes.

Now, something he could never achieve in his immortality is being carried out within this plan.

He dared not utter a sound, for fear of disrupting Sun Qing's plans.

Just like Meng Zhaoxiang and the others, they found themselves unconsciously holding paper and pen, diligently taking notes.

After careful consideration, Sun Qing continued, "Once Jiaohe County becomes a collective, we must prevent outsiders from managing the internal affairs."

"Therefore, we must have our own self-managing team."

"Employ honest and reliable people to form a management committee to manage the granary, arrange labor, and check accounts, etc."

"Accounting issues must be made public every month to prevent any personnel from embezzling or misappropriating public funds."

The scene was quiet; everyone felt that what Sun Qing said was absolutely right.

"There are two more points," Sun Qing said, slowing his pace to give them time to take notes. "That is the issue of revenue. We need to commercialize Botou and make it a vital source of income. We will use the profits from trade to purchase fertile land, livestock, medicinal herbs, and so on."

"These things will also be used to support the basic needs of everyone in Jiahe County, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, and production operations."

"To form a true business-like collective, a closed loop of collective stability for people's livelihood."

Su's palms were covered in fine beads of sweat, as if he was afraid of missing an important detail.

"Finally, there are the elderly and children," Sun Qing said in a relaxed tone.

Meng Zhaoxiang was a little surprised: "What can the elderly and children do?"

"Since we are a collective, people go through a process of growing from small to large and from large to small. We must act with conscience."

"It is necessary to plan out courtyards specifically for the care of the elderly in the resettlement housing, so that the elderly, weak, sick and disabled who are unable to work can be provided with centralized care."

"They no longer need to depend on their clan or beg for a living. They can truly be provided for in life and have someone to rely on in times of cold."

Meng Zhaoxiang was moved to tears: "What a wonderful world this will be!"

Even Song Xian looked at Sun Qing in surprise. After a long while, he picked up the wine pot with trembling hands and took a sip.

He said excitedly, "You know, the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled alone make up about 30% of the total population."

"Usually, most of these people die from epidemics, diseases, or plunder by powerful figures. Once winter comes, with hunger and cold, less than one in ten of them will survive."

"In other words, they were doomed from the moment they were left unattended."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Everyone knew this, but no one could change it.

If the imperial court doesn't care, what can they, as individuals, do?

"Therefore, we will take care of these things." Sun Qing said firmly and solemnly.

The group nodded repeatedly, their eyes filled with admiration and anticipation as they looked at Sun Qing: "Rest assured, young master, we will certainly complete the task you have entrusted to us."

Sun Qing smiled slightly, indicating his approval.

Seeing that everyone was satisfied with what he had proposed, Sun Qing's expression suddenly turned serious.

Reflecting on the disastrous consequences of past mistakes, he solemnly declared: "There are three points that must be avoided during the execution of the plan."

"Please speak, young master," the three people said in unison.

Sun Qing raised his voice: "First, we cannot forcibly abolish the small vegetable gardens that people keep for themselves. Only the core food rations and large supplies should be distributed in a shared manner. Allowing a small amount of private property to be retained will actually appease people's hearts."

"Secondly, key personnel who have made meritorious contributions can receive a small amount of extra pay, with meat and refined grains as rewards. This should prevent them from neglecting their work on a daily basis."

"Third, we must report to the imperial court as 'officially supervised charitable estates and mutual aid granaries.' This will be implemented under the guise of private mutual aid. Remember, we must be extremely careful to avoid the risk of the imperial court perceiving us as plotting rebellion and privately establishing a system."

"Young Master is right," Song Xian sighed repeatedly. "People in the court love to stir up trouble. They want to escalate every little thing to a major level."

"Whether the livelihood issues can be resolved is another matter, but to harm one's colleagues is truly a remarkable tactic."

Meng Zhaoxiang deeply agreed: "Yes! So your considerations are not without concern."

"In short, we should be careful," Sue agreed.

Shen Junru, who had been silent until now, suddenly leaned over and asked, "After all this talk, what exactly is this plan called?"

Everyone looked at Sun Qing.

Sun Qing smiled slightly and said slowly, "Then let's call it the 'Big Pot Plan' for now!"