Chapter 128: Discerning

After a loud transmission, the courtyard suddenly became a sensation, more than a hundred people were heading towards the door, and the four soldiers stood solemnly with spears, staring coldly at the people rushing over, under the gaze of this gaze, everyone involuntarily stopped.

The strong hearts of these places are even more apprehensive, and the soldiers under Li Erlang have such quality, which proves that the Jiaozhou battalion is a strong soldier completely different from their concept.

Just as he was thinking about it, Li Meng appeared at the door, and said with a smile:

"It's cold, folks are waiting here, it's really the official's negligence, it's just that the official is responsible for the local defense and pacification, and it has nothing to do with you, I don't know what you're doing here!"

Li Meng was wearing leather armor, carrying a knife around his waist, dressed in a military uniform, and his expression was gentle, but he pretended to be confused, but how dare the people below say it, they could only say:

"Lord Li sent troops to suppress bandits in Layue, it is really for the benefit of us, although the weather is cold, but my heart is warm!"

"The benevolent and righteous division of the Jiaozhou battalion sent troops, and I and other local people in our hometown also want to see what we can contribute."

"The patriarch asked me to prepare fifty pigs and sheep and give them to the adults, and I hope the adults will accept them!"

Seeing Li Meng appear, a group of people were boiling or flattering, or handing over the gift list, but Li Meng was sneering in his heart, the so-called government and scholars share the world, the upper level is the civil servants at all levels to control the power, but the lower level is controlled by these big clans, if the state and county yamen do not have the assistance of these big clans, everything will not be done.

The Jiaozhou battalion is currently only a deterrent, to say that it is firmly controlled, and there are obstacles of these people, I originally thought that I could follow this opportunity to suppress the bandits and wipe out a part, who would have thought that this wine would come to the door. Li Meng was still smiling on the surface, and gently said to a squire at the front, this squire still looked like a scholar, wearing a silk robe, and kept praising Li Meng for being benevolent and righteous this time, Li Meng opened his mouth and asked with a smile:

"Dare I ask where this one is from?"

Seeing Li Meng asking, this person's expression became even more hot, and he clenched his fists again and again:

"The villain is Qiu Shugang of the Qiu family in Tingkou Town, Pingdu Prefecture, and the head of the family is my own brother, this time our Qiu family specially came to send two hundred taels of silver to the adult, twenty each of cattle and horses, and some ordinary gifts, I hope everyone will laugh."

This gift is nearly five hundred taels of silver, which is really not light, Li Meng nodded and said with a smile:

"Tingkou Zhenqiu's family, oh, I remember, is the host of a bag of gold in the Jiaolai River, I heard that the big boss of a bag of gold is the third child of your Qiu family, more than 300 strong men with knives and guns, it's really amazing, someone gave me news yesterday, saying that this bag of gold has recently become a good people, and it is all in Zhuangzi Nest Winter, which is also the truth, it's almost the New Year, don't work so hard."

Li Meng said that he was harmonious, as if he was making a homely appearance, that Qiu Second Master was still full of smiles when he heard the first sentence, quite honorable, and his face became more and more pale after hearing it, and his knees could no longer support it, so he knelt directly on the ground, trembling like chaff.

The only way for local heroes to deal with the above is to make the above deaf and blind, and if they can't get useful news, they will naturally not take effective action, but now Li Meng is clear about the news below, and the situation of the Qiu family in Tingkou Town is clear to him, how not to make Qiu Lao Er afraid.

Li Meng also ignored the person kneeling on the ground, and walked directly to the next person, just now their answer was already heard by the people around them, everyone was frightened, looking at Li Meng walking over with a smile on his face, he felt that his whole body was cold, but he didn't dare to dodge, but he heard it again:

"Where did you come here again?"

"Back to ...... Back to the adult, the villain is Peng Kui of the ancient city set. ”

"Oh, Peng Kui of the ancient city set, I've heard of it, you are the boss of the Peng family's horse team, it's not simple, more than two hundred horse teams, more than my Jiaozhou battalion, I heard that your father also said in the ancient city set, the court has a king law, this ancient city set my Peng family is the king law, tsk, so majestic!"

"Plop", another one knelt down here, Peng Kui kowtowed on the ground again and again, and didn't dare to say a word of rebuttal, just begged for mercy there:

"Lord Li, Lord Li, the villain's family is really a good citizen, don't listen to the rumors outside!"

Li Meng still had a smile on his face, but the words in his mouth had nothing to do with this expression, and he said with a smile:

"Didn't you Peng Kui still meet with the heads of a few big dreadlocks in Dengzhou, saying that if the Jiaozhou battalion came to attack, several families would work together to harass him, and he would definitely not be allowed to get better, I wondered, when Kong Youde came over, why didn't you see you so majestic."

That Peng Kui is taller than Li Meng, a rough man, just kneeling on the ground and kowtowing at this time, he was so frightened that he couldn't speak, Li Meng said as he walked, it turned out to be like a number of family treasures, as long as someone here took out where he lived, in the end, Li Meng immediately said the strength of their family and the size and number of armed forces, and even very private taboo things, not long before it was still a lively courtyard, it was quiet.

There were almost no people standing, and after the first dozen or so were said by Li Meng, the people behind didn't dare to wait for Li Meng to say, and directly knelt on the ground.

Li Meng took a few steps back, without a smile on his face, and said:

"This official is finished, what do you have to say?"

At this moment, who dared to say a word, they all knelt on the ground in fear, and after the scene was quiet for a while, they heard Li Meng say coldly:

"Since you don't say it, then Li will continue to speak, starting today, Jiaozhou, Gaomi, Jimo, Pingdu everywhere, the landlord and squire are divided into upper, middle and lower third-class, the upper class draws the children of relatives and dependents 30, the middle draws 20, the inferior draws 10, come to my Jiaozhou battalion to serve, bring your own grain, grass and ordnance, in the future, you will produce income every year, the upper class must pay 30% to the Jiaozhou battalion, 20% of the middle, and 10% of the inferior."

As soon as he finished speaking, even the squire Haoqiang who was in fear was in an uproar, and his relatives and children were produced every year, which was the lifeblood of the local Haoqiang.

Haoqiang's main income is the field, one of the drawbacks of the Ming Dynasty's finances is that there are many people who don't have to pay for food as errands, such as meritorious scholars, almost all Haoqiang everywhere in the future are taking advantage of this loophole, Jiaozhou is no exception, hearing that Li Meng wants to draw a share of it, it is equivalent to being cut off by someone, and no one will be willing.

The big clan is rampant and domineering in the locality, relying on the large number of family members, and transferring dozens of relatives and children, which is even more of a salary from the bottom of the kettle, right to the point, if it is an ordinary person's order, it is enough to draw some from the vassal's tenant strong men, but Li Mengfang is so clear about the situation of each family, how to deceive.

The uproar of the crowd became louder and louder, thinking that you Li Meng is powerful, we are all afraid, but we can't bully people to such an extent, isn't this a way out?

Li Meng squinted his eyes, listened to the louder and louder voices below, and said indifferently:

"If you don't want to give, this officer will lead the troops to get it, and disperse!"

With a wave of his hand, he turned around and entered the courtyard by himself, and the Yanding soldiers in the courtyard shouted in unison:

"Sending off guests."

After shouting, he retreated regardless of it, and hung these heroes and their representatives in the courtyard, and after Li Meng finished his last sentence, the uproar stopped abruptly. These people seem to have been poured a basin of cold water on their heads, and they don't know what to do for a while.

The heroes who knelt on the ground looked at each other, their faces changed, and they didn't know what to say.

On the seventh day of the lunar month, Li Meng listened to Wang Hai's report in the living room, and Wang Hai said there:

"Peng Kui of the ancient city set left on a fast horse the night before yesterday, the Qiu family left last night, and the rest of the people went to the salt stack, ready to let the two shopkeepers come out, saying if they can lower the price, the production and people are less."

Li Meng nodded, pondered for a moment and said:

"Let's talk slowly, let them think about it, just say that we are not in a hurry here, the deadline is on the fifteenth day of the first month, don't these people want to see the style, I will give them time to show the style!"

After saying it gently, Li Meng said to Wang Hai again:

"Pass down the order, start on time on the eighth day of the lunar month, and at the same time let all the old and new salts be ready for defense."

This is a military order, Wang Hai solemnly agreed, hurriedly went out to pass the order, after those who ran various businesses in the local area, were protected by Li Meng's merchants, and the help of the local tycoons who sold illicit salt, Li Meng knew the details of these powerful landlords everywhere.

The Qiu family in Tingkou Town and the Peng family in the ancient city set are the two most powerful gangs of thieves in the south of Laizhou Mansion, and the power of the Peng family even shrouded most of Dengzhou, after all, it was a team of more than 200 horses, which could carry thousands of people.

The so-called high-class heroes are on the ground of Laizhou south of Pingdu Prefecture, that is, the Peng family and the Qiu family, how could they be willing to have a good foundation and be taken away by outsiders.

There was no one in the living room, Li Meng's face had been tense, and he looked solemn these days, and the people below thought that Li Meng was worried about the war, but they didn't expect that Li Mengsheng was afraid that these people would honestly agree, so that the soldiers of the Jiaozhou battalion would have no chance to train.