"This old thief Xie is really ruthless enough, he would rather give up the two southwestern provinces in vain than transfer the troops from Jiangnan to conquer the Hu people, he is simply a madman." After reading the secret letter sent by the spies, Ning Zhiyuan couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Mr. Zhang Wenxuan, who had been promoted to the top staff member around Ning Zhiyuan, sighed and said, "It is estimated that in the eyes of An Guogong, our Northwest Army is the biggest henchman.

He was afraid that as soon as he transferred troops to fight against the Hu people, he would be taken advantage of by us, so he preferred to risk being scolded by the world to make this decision. ”

Ning Zhiyuan sneered: "I know what Old Thief Xie is thinking, but it's just that the outside must be the inside."

Although the old thief Xie has led the army for many years, he has always been entrenched in the southwest, and he has never fought with the Hu people, so he does not understand the horror of the Hu people at all.

It was a real pack of hungry wolves, and once they were allowed to run into the house, they could not be easily driven away.

The Hu people have a fierce temperament, and if they can't be driven away from them head-on at the beginning, the longer the time drags on, the more Hu people will follow the smell of blood.

Such a ridiculous thing as giving up two provinces to the Hu people for nothing can only be done by a profit-hungry person like Xie Laojiao.

Although I am a mortal enemy with him, at this critical juncture related to the survival of the national community, I really can't do anything to rob while the fire is hot.

Old thief Xie still underestimated me too much. ”

Chi Fei, who was sitting on the side, said with some concern: "Father-in-law, I think that there will be a large-scale tide of displaced people in the Central Plains in the near future, and it may affect our side at that time. I think it's better to prepare early. ”

"Oh, what do you think?" Ning Zhiyuan asked with interest.

"First of all, before the price of grain in Jiangnan and other places has skyrocketed, we should buy as much grain as we can, and buy as much grain as we can, so as not to be able to buy it when we want to.

The second is that porcelain, cloth, spices, spices and other items used in maritime trade transactions should not be purchased for the time being, but will be bought after a period of time.

Because wherever such a large number of displaced people go, it will cause chaos in the local area. Just like when there was a great drought in the northwest, the northwest refugees entered the capital and Jiangnan.

As long as these places are in chaos, food prices will inevitably rise again and again. At that time, things like porcelain and cloth will naturally become worthless.

At that time, we can save a lot of money by buying at a low price.

As for how to settle these displaced people, it is a matter of the puppet dynasty, and we don't have to worry about it.

In fact, I am more concerned about re-measuring the land in the northeastern provinces than about the displaced people, which should be a difficult bone to gnaw. ”

"So, you also agree with Mr. Zhang's suggestion?"

"Yes. I originally thought that the grain production in the Northeast was so low because there were many mountains and little land here, so the output was limited and could only be expanded outward.

But after talking with Mr. Zhang yesterday, I learned that it is not that there is little land in the northeast, but that a considerable part of the fields that can be planted have been encroached upon by local families.

In addition, there are many hidden households under the rule of these wealthy families, so the annual land tax and Ding tax are so small.

If we can get all the land back that has been usurped, there will be enough land to cultivate and collect taxes.

Although the soil quality in the northeast is not as good as that in the south of the Yangtze River, it is still much better than that in the northwest.

Even if only two-thirds of the output of the fields in the south of the Yangtze River is used, it should be enough to feed the whole people in the northwest. ”

Ning Zhiyuan laughed and said: "Lao Zhang, this kid is the same as you think, you are not alone." ”

Mr. Zhang Wenxuan smiled and said: "The old man talked to Mr. Su about this matter yesterday, and his thoughts are the same as the old man's, thinking that now is indeed the best time to re-measure the land and check the hidden households.

If you miss it, it will be difficult to do it again in the future.

But the biggest problem with this is that the powerful families in various places have been encroaching on the land for many years, and if they want to spit out what they swallow, they will definitely meet with fierce resistance.

In order to resist the investigation, the most common tactic used by those people is to spread rumors, instigate civil revolt, and force us to throw into the mouse, so that we dare not attack them easily.

If you get to that point, I don't know what the lord plans to do? ”

Ning Zhiyuan sneered: "Then we have to see if their necks are hard, or our swords and axes are hard."

I will not be like Emperor Jing'an, who will engage in some kind of benevolence for the sake of his own reputation.

Even if you want to do it, you don't do it at this critical juncture.

I know better than anyone what the virtues of those big families are, as long as they kill a batch, others will naturally be cowardly.

Those people have eaten white rice for so many years, and it's time for me to vomit. ”

"If the lord can make such a decision, the old man will be relieved." Zhang Wenxuan's eyes showed a look of relief.

Seeing his father-in-law's murderous appearance, Chi Fei knew that there must be a large number of heads to land next.

However, Chi Fei is very much in favor of taking inventory of land and hidden households at this time, and it is imperative.

Even Chi Fei, who has little knowledge of history, knows that the reasons for the demise of many dynasties in history may be different, but their roots are often in this land annexation.

The Maison took advantage of various factors such as natural disasters and unrest to swallow up a large amount of land for yeoman farmers, seriously damaging the local smallholder economy.

At the same time, these wealthy families have all kinds of tax avoidance methods, so many of the land under their rule do not need to pay land taxes at all.

Since the local government does not collect enough taxes, the country's economy will certainly continue to deteriorate.

To make up for this shortfall, the government had to impose heavier taxes on yeoman farmers.

As taxes continued to increase, the overwhelmed yeoman farmers were forced to sell their land to avoid taxes and forced labor.

This will not only speed up the annexation of land by the powerful families, but more and more yeoman farmers will have to become tenants or slaves of these powerful families in order to survive. This is the main reason why the recluse is created.

In this vicious circle, the imperial economy, which was becoming increasingly difficult to collect, gradually collapsed.

Not only could it not undertake major projects such as building water conservancy and strengthening border city defenses, but in the event of a serious natural disaster or a foreign invasion, it was normal for the entire dynasty to perish.

When the new dynasty is established, most of the local forces that were originally entrenched in various places have been eradicated, the land will be redistributed, and everything will return to square one.

It wasn't until a few hundred years later that the land annexation became more and more serious until the entire dynasty was crushed, and the next round of reshuffle began.

It can be said that the ancient Han society was a reincarnation game that revolved around the ownership of land.

Now that the Northwest Army has just taken over the Northeast and has become the new master of this region, it is the best time to take stock of the land and hidden households.

If you miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult to check it again when the powerful forces of the local families rise again in a few years or more than ten years.

……………………

After this day of secret talks, the Northwest Army launched a large-scale re-survey of land and inventory of hidden households in various parts of the Northeast.

This move really touched the weakness of many local families and was met with fierce resistance.

As Mr. Zhang Wenxuan had predicted, these clans did not dare to raise troops in front of them, but only dared to spread all kinds of rumors among the people, claiming that the purpose of the Northwest Army to check the fields in various places was to prepare to take back all the land as the private land of the great general Ning Zhiyuan, and to force young people over the age of 16 to enlist as soldiers, and to prepare for a general attack on the Great Wei court.

Anyone who does not obey this order will be killed.

As soon as these rumors came out, they immediately caused panic among the people in Northeast China.

In particular, those who have fields at home are even more worried, fearing that their fields will be forcibly requisitioned by the Northwest Army and become homeless refugees.

As for those over the age of 16, everyone is at risk and afraid of being forced to conscript.

Although local governments have put up notices clearly stating that these are just rumors, the land inventory is only for the purpose of re-checking the map book, and there will be no forced conscription of young and strong people into the army.

However, at the instigation of well-intentioned people, many peasants still refused to believe the government's rhetoric. Thinking that the government is just deceiving them, otherwise why would they suddenly take stock of the land for no reason?

What's more, in some places, anti-flags were simply raised, and some people incited a large group of ignorant people to smash the local yamen, wound a number of officials and servants, and demanded that the government revoke the decree on the inventory of the fields.

As if as a chain reaction, more and more people in the prefecture and city smashed the yamen.

Many officials, including the county magistrate, did not even dare to take a step in their homes in order to escape the chaos.

Seeing that the county magistrate and the officers and soldiers did not dare to resist, those rebellious people began to wantonly riot in the city as if they were encouraged.

Among these rioters, many of them were local ruffians and hooligans, or lazy idlers, and when they saw the chaos in the city like this, they were overjoyed and hurried to take advantage of the fire to rob them.

For a time, many shops in the city were robbed and smashed, and the property in the stores was also looted by the rioters.

Later, not only were more and more shops looted, but even some wealthy families in the city were targeted by the ruffians among the rioters and suffered from it.

Not only were their homes robbed, but even the female dependents of the families were harassed and even humiliated by the ruffians and hooligans.

At this time, these people are not just rioters, they are simply lawless thugs.

Many civilians who originally supported them were also frightened when they saw this, and they closed their doors and did not dare to go out casually, so as not to be targeted by these people.

At this time, public opinion gradually changed, and many civilians who had supported these mob protests because they had listened to rumors began to remember the peaceful days after witnessing the rioters' wanton smashing, burning, looting and other lawless behaviors. On the contrary, it is hoped that the Northwest Army can quell the riots and restore tranquility as soon as possible.

However, to everyone's surprise, as the riots in various places became more and more intense, the military and political authorities in the northwest headed by Ning Zhiyuan did not send troops to suppress them, and they did not even have the intention of stopping the riots.

This has left many people feeling both disappointed and puzzled.