Halfway through April, Li Hongde was very anxious, he had been in Jingle County for more than ten days. Not only for not doing things to eat idle food, but also for this season, it is now the last days of spring ploughing, if Jingle County is still not stable, it will be a whole year of trouble, he is a farmer, and he is particularly concerned about this matter. In addition, another urgency is not enough for outsiders.

However, not long after the recovery of Taiyuan Mansion, the work has not yet been carried out, and the corresponding manpower is not fully in place. A large number of terrifying rumors came from Hedong Province, which made the people of Fuxiazhou County panic, and the people were very serious about resisting the new dynasty. Without comprehensive protection, the Yinghua Jingle County government did not dare to let these returnees go down to the countryside to adventure.

Fortunately, first a large number of black-clothed people were transferred to Jingle County, and then the red vests also came, and seeing the leader of the dart team in charge of his township, Li Hongde was pleasantly surprised: "Lao Hu! Why are you again? ”

Lao Hu grinned: "Thinking of Li Xiangguan, you ......"

Li Hongde asked stunnedly: "Aren't you a hunter in Hedong Road, and the business is not good?" ”

Lao Hu was a little embarrassed, and the disguise was so obvious that even Li Hongde felt that something was wrong: "The south is almost clean, so I will come to Taiyuan to continue to protect Li Xiangguan's dart." ”

Unwilling to contact Li Hongde's gaze, Lao Hu beckoned his subordinates to settle down, and said in his heart: "If you don't leave, Lao Tzu won't be able to leave." ”

The scene outside the city of Pingyang Mansion came to mind again, it was the fifth day of the fourth month, in the barren forest outside the city, thousands of people watched groups of people being escorted to the deep pit dug in black clothes.

The first batch is the target of the three-light policy, the banner people, the local cool officials, the stubborn squire Haoqiang, etc., hundreds of people have been charged with several crimes, and the Ming canonical punishment. The guns roared, startling a forest of birds.

The second group is what kind of National Salvation Army, Wei Qinghui and the like, that is, Tang Da Tang Er, Tang Er and others, Tang Er was very lucky. Tang Da and more than 2,000 people were sentenced to three years of hard labor in the province to repair roads and bridges and other social projects. The big leaders of the bandits and the most vicious people who committed murder cases were executed en masse. There were as many as 400 people in this group, and they were led to the pit in a string, and the local people who were watching were so shocked that they kept shouting. All of them turned pale.

The third group is also bandits, but the origin is very strange, if the National Salvation Army and others are bandits who can't see the general trend clearly, and want to hold the Manchu thighs to fish in the water. These people just see the general trend clearly. Instead, he wanted to hug Yinghua's thighs and fish in the water.

These people found red cloth to cut out the vest, hastily scribbled some words, and pretended to be a red vest to commit murder and evil, which was also mixed with a large number of violent acts of settling old grudges. The social order that had gradually stabilized was boiling again, and ordinary people's impression of Yinghua was extremely bad.

Tian Ying's countermeasures were also very direct, emphasizing the order to leave the government and prohibit private law. On the one hand, he supervised the localities to strengthen management measures such as the seizure of firearms and the inventory of household registration, and on the other hand, they severely cracked down on counterfeit red vests. this day. There are more than 200 counterfeit red vests in the barren forest, and the hearts of the local people are also stable.

These three groups of people have nothing to do with Lao Hu, and even many fake red vests were captured by his dart team, but the fourth group of people who were executed made his heart tremble.

Such a large-scale recruitment of dart divisions and even local police officers into Shanxi, disturbing the people and even harming the people is difficult to stop after all, and the fourth group of people has more than 20 genuine red vests and a few black clothes. They committed all kinds of crimes, and they all summed up disrespecting military orders. Murder.

The three-light policy has given the red vest great power, even if there is a supervision of the yamen, the establishment of the yamen and the county government to check the implementation of the three-light policy, review the implementation process, and the procedures for holding accountable after the fact, it still can't stop the ardent desire of some people.

As the clerk of the old Hu Dart team said, no one will stop you if you want to do those things, but if you want others to cover it up for you, it will be difficult to reach the sky. The red vests, the black-clothed officials, and the officials who entered Shanxi not only watched each other's every move, but also watched by their superiors and supervisors, and a large number of Chinese people who followed were also eyeing each other, and the offenders were rarely able to escape justice, and those who committed minor crimes were returned to their hometowns for trial, and those who committed serious crimes were dealt with according to military law.

Lao Hu once flashed evil thoughts when he dealt with Qu Fang's family, but it was just evil thoughts, and he had nothing to do with that Fang family after that. Unexpectedly, when the fake red vest rose, the member thought that he was going to be poor to death, and he panicked to find Lao Hu again to ask for his refuge. Lao Hu didn't understand why in the end, Fang Yuanwai's eldest daughter, the girl he had robbed with his own hands, would come to his bed and roll the sheets with him all night.

When the inspector began to clean up the red vest, Lao Hu was so frightened that his soul flew away, how did he look at this matter like coercion...... The sky is pitiful, Miss Fang looked at her eyes full of autumn water, and she was clearly in love with herself.

Xiao Huo, the clerk of the dart team, hugged Fang Er and said, it's good to marry someone else, Lao Hu was so depressed that he spurted out a mouthful of old blood, it doesn't matter if your kid is a bachelor, Lao Hu and I have a complete wife and children, concubine? Even if Miss Fang is willing, will the tigress in the family be willing?

Miss Fang has a conscience, and she shielded him before the supervision, but if she stays in Pingyang for a day, she has to face Miss Fang's forced palace one day.

"But the second girl Fang is here......"

Lao Hu didn't want to go into details, Xiao Huo whispered to Li Hongde, and he leaked Lao Hu's bottom, and Li Hongde was still worried about Lao Hu. He had to delve into this matter, and the third thing he was anxious about was the same nature as Lao Huke.

The countryman can't go far away, and when he goes out, he becomes bad......

Li Hongde stayed idle in Jingle County for more than ten days, with free food, free accommodation, and clothes, and nowhere to spend the salary he was carrying. He didn't understand why he had the courage to follow his colleagues to the Qinglou, and he gave up all his money to redeem the Qinglu who served him.

Under the three-light policy, the gentry of Shanxi killed and ran, leaving behind many industries, and the maids and maids who served them were one of them, many of whom had to sell themselves into prostitutes because they had no skills, and Li Hongde met one of them. Li Hongde was honest and loyal, and felt that the girl was pitiful, and he took the virginity of someone else, so he had to help, and resolutely gave up his wealth to redeem the girl.

But he is also a man with a wife and children. is still a poor man, and he never dares to think about marrying a concubine or anything, so he just wants this girl surnamed Pan to be free. Miss Pan finally climbed a long-term meal ticket, how could she let it go. I have to follow him in and out, even if I go back to Shaanxi, I am not afraid, I am trying to do his work these days, so that he is painful and happy.

Li Hongde spent money to cause trouble, but Lao Hu was posted by others, take a closer look at Lao Hu, don't say, Lao Hu is bald. This scum, this sharp eyes, and this uninhibited evil smile really have a bit of the ability to provoke bees and butterflies.

"The big husband has ambitions in the world. How can you entangle these children's love affairs! Li Xiangguan. Let's get down to business, how many people are looking forward to it, just waiting for you, Li Qingtian, to rescue them! ”

Old Hu Yizheng shouted rhetorically, and then skillfully changed the topic. It also made Li Hongde feel reassured, that's right, official business is in his body, and after a while, the trouble may disappear.

On 17 April, the Lao Hu Dart Brigade escorted Li Hongde and other returnees to form an armed task force. I went down to the countryside of Jingle County and began the arduous work of clearing the township.

Yinghua implemented military management in Shanxi, and the government was temporarily only in the county. On the basis of maintaining the order of the old world, the affairs of the countryside are gradually approaching the present world, and it is these returnees who are doing the paving work. They are responsible for stabilizing the order in the villages under the county and bringing about a new autonomous order. And prepare for the county's census of acres of land and population.

In Jiashan Township, which was originally the capital of Jiashan, Li Hongde found his clansmen. Relying on the names of his father and grandfather, he gained the initial trust of the clansmen, but when he opened his mouth to ask the clansmen to help greet the people in the village, as the official said, trouble came.

"Xiao Qi, do you mean that you want us to be in the row, and then go to the first household to put away the money and grain? Who would dare to do this? The big man in the county ran away, but the little man in the capital is still there, usually they do the money, grain and taxes, we interfere, and we live a long life......"

"This matter of reporting the field to produce Dingkou is to offend the dead, you are pushing us into the brazier!"

"Gather Ding Zhuang and help them find a livelihood? I heard that your court killed a river of blood in the south, and Ding Zhuang in the village was either on the list of regimental training and township warriors of the Qing Dynasty before, or he joined this army and that association, and wanted to protect the Qing Dynasty against the British, they want to listen, they will think that they are looking for a way to die, right? ”

Yinghua's people's hearts in Taiyuan and even the north of Shanxi are like this, Taiyuan fell into the city, Muhd died, Yin Jishan fled into Zhili with the Manchurians and Baoyi, and most of the bandit gangs that were originally full of smoke also dissipated. But now north of Hedong Road, the Manchu local government has basically disintegrated, and the people have many scruples and deep resistance to Yinghua, which seriously hinders Yinghua from controlling the locality.

Li Hongde is not a person who can speak well, so he followed the instructions of the official master and laid out the prospects one by one.

If you register your acres of land, you will be exempted from the imperial grain and the rice money for one year, and the second and third years will also take turns to exempt the imperial grain and the ding money.

Registered, there are a number of low-interest private loan companies to choose from, and the young seedlings have a place to go, and they don't have to be exploited by the big and small masters in the countryside.

When the township is settled, and when the government is at the bottom, the government will start to do a lot of things, such as building Mongolian schools, hospitals, and roads, and merchants will also come to buy and sell in waves, as long as they are diligent and willing to work, life will soon be better.

I really don't think I can live here, there are too many places to go, and the Western Regions, Nanyang and even Dongzhou have provided preferential loans to help them settle down in a foreign land. If you go, you will send dozens or even a hundred acres of land, and how much wealth you can earn depends on your own ability.

"I am a poor farmer in Shaanxi, and those who have the ability to go to the South Seas and the Western Regions have long been developed, and I am the most useless! But I still accumulated 30 acres of land and built two houses, so that my son could go to the county to learn and show his talents. It's not because I can pull a handful of family members and earn some money when I come to Shanxi, so I won't go on this trip! ”

The people are still skeptical, and it is understandable, how could such a good thing happen to them? Li Hongde was angry, he felt that he had lost money this time, not only the silver, but also the hearts of the people, and now he was still meeting such a stubborn clansman, if he dissected his heart to prove that he could not die, he would probably have stabbed him in the chest with a knife.

"It can be done by greeting the villagers and talking about these things, but how many people believe it, it's hard to say, after all, it's not the official master who speaks......"

The clansmen were suppressed by Li Hongde's bearing, and began to believe it a little, but Li Hongde wanted to organize all the people in the township through them, which seemed too naïve.

didn't wait for Li Hongde to speak. Old Hu Mingmu shouted in a low voice: "Why isn't it an official master!?" Li Xiangguan is our head! His words are the laws of the British Dynasty! Township Officer Li is the new lord of Dayingzhi County! ”

The clansmen were frightened, and then looked at Li Hongde again, and their eyes were completely different.

"Lao Hu, I'm a township official. It's just a tooth man, but you can't take it seriously. ”

Taking advantage of the clansmen's deliberations, Li Hongde pulled Lao Hu and complained, how could he have such a big responsibility.

On the way, Lao Hu also knew about Li Hongde's bad things here, and the relationship between the two was already very iron, seeing that Li Hongde was quite frightened, Lao Hu hated iron and said loudly: "Lao Li, don't you seize such an opportunity!?" You can establish authority in this Jiashan Township. helped the government to take over this township, and the government is willing to let you go back to continue farming? ”

He pointed to the group of clansmen who were muttering in a low voice, and said disdainfully: "Don't think this is Shaanxi, this is Shanxi!" These people are still thinking about the same thing as before. Particularly afraid of officials. Can't you just follow their temperament? Didn't the magistrate give you a blue robe and a black gauze hat? You returnees are officials! ”

Of course, it is an official, there are many officials in Yinghua, and the masters of Mengxue have a nine-grade official body, Li Hongde is used to the situation that the county officials in Yinghua are not as good as the current management. I don't think that the official master talks too much, and I don't think that a person like me who temporarily runs errands for the government is also an official. Lao Hu reminded him suddenly.

"Someone is mischievous, and we are here, what are you afraid of!? You are the official master, and we are the poor master. ”

Lao Hu pointed out the nature of their martial arts team again. Li Hongde's heart was even hotter. But in addition to the heat, the entanglement also came up at the same time: "In this way, the matter is more and more unclear." ”

Lao Hu was also stunned, and Miss Fang's face came to her heart again, and she couldn't help but sigh.

After the clansmen finished discussing, Li Hongde's little uncle came over to explain on behalf of everyone. The salutation has changed, and the attitude has become respectful. But there was still a sad look on his face: "Little Seventh Master, we want to help you, but in the Jiashan capital, several big families are holding the land and money, looking at the court These methods are snatching food from those big households, let's stand up and speak for the court, we have to fight with those big families, we are afraid." ”

This is also another obstacle for Yinghua to control Shanxi, although the Jin merchants and Manchu are gone, but the foundation here is still old. Shanxi's land is quite concentrated, and there are few yeoman farmers, most of whom are semi-yeoman farmers or even tenant farmers. In order to directly control the grassroots level beyond the rural landlords, Yinghua wanted to directly smash the underlying structure of the old society with the state apparatus, and in Yinghua, this kind of reform was gradually completed in a series of measures such as economic, ideological, and administrative restructuring in more than ten or twenty years.

Lao Hu said proudly: "Afraid!? Those big families should be afraid! ”

Li Hongde's mind also woke up: "Our British government will go down to the township, and in the future, there will be not only officials in the township, but also a township courtyard that speaks on behalf of the people." In short, those who have the ability and courage to come out and take on the task have a future. Whoever stands up first will be the one who will speak in the township in the future. After all, I'm a foreigner, and I can't stay here...... I just came here to pull my family, this ......"

Although he knew how to make a wish for the official, the words were still not good, and the representative of the clan was his third uncle, but he understood the meaning of these words, and his white beard pouted at once, and his cloudy pupils also revealed brilliance.

In this way, Li Hongde's relatives, that is, several families surnamed Li semi-homesteaders and even full tenant farmers gathered, with Li Hongde as the core, and started working in this Jiashan Township.

First start with their in-laws and close friends, and then find their in-laws and close friends, and after they are launched, they will come to the village to explain the work, and in a short time, the work has been done all over the township.

On 22 April, the "First National Meeting of Fathers and Villagers in Jiashandu" was held in the township market. Everyone was still skeptical about the promise made by the Li family, and they wanted to get together and hear the warning of the Yinghua official with their own ears.

Thousands of women, children, old and weak came that day, but Ding Zhuang still didn't dare to arrive all, so two or three hundred came, but this already represented tens of thousands of people in twenty or thirty villages in the township.

The magistrate said that other townships were also holding conferences, and even him, all the official officials in the county had to go to the countryside, and there was no way to come to Jiashan Township. The magistrate believes that Li Hongde can push the work to this point in such a short period of time without relying on the government, and his ability is definitely enough, and other returning villagers are much worse, and they must be protected by official officials. So, Li Hongde, just preach it yourself, you can do it, the government believes in you!

Believe me? Who should I trust?

Li Hongde was so frightened that he almost peed his crotch, how could he have experienced such a big battle? Even if Lao Hu encouraged him in every way, he was like a shell, stubbornly holding that fear, and resolutely refused to come forward to preside.

Lao Hu was so angry that he couldn't do it, although he compared Li Hongde to an official master, and he was a bad master, but in fact, their dart team and Li Hongde were cooperative, Li Hongde couldn't handle Jiashan Township, and the dart team had to be deducted from the evaluation.

He said angrily: "It's not for me to come to power......"

Look at the old Hu who is full of the magnanimity of the king of the mountain, Li Hongde said in his heart, you go up, I am afraid that this mountain township will no longer believe in the British court.

"Township Officer Li, you are the town platform, and I will talk about the specific regulations in French."

Xiao Huo in the dart team stepped forward, and Li Hongde cheered himself up and finally accepted the plan.

On this day, Li Hongde, who was wearing a blue-robed official uniform embroidered with quails and a black yarn with wings on his head, went on the stage, facing more than 1,000 people, he was really like a quail, and he held back for half a minute before his face turned red and he shouted: "Folks! ”

This voice was like a carp jumping over the dragon gate, pushing Li Hongde's heart to stabilize, and began to recite the precepts of the county, and when he finished preaching and stepped down, the black yarn wings swayed from side to side, and there was really a trace of officialdom.

Then the red vest Xiao Huo came to the stage to read out the decrees, the meeting was open, and there was an influx of people on the other hand, and by the time the decrees were read, there were no less than 2,000 people in the barn of the set. In addition to the women and children, the old and the weak, there are also many Ding Zhuang, and even see scholars in straight-leg coats, those scholars use nets to cover their freshly cut heads, their hands in their sleeves, and they look and listen coldly.

The field is orderly, the people are very quiet, on the surface, the blue-clothed official, the red vest, and a team of black-clothed people transferred from the county to help, just such a grass platform team, even has the authority of the government, and has won the hearts of the people of Jiashan Township.

Just when the firecrackers rang off and the plaque of "Jiashan Township Office, Jingle County, Taiyuan Prefecture, Dayingshan Mountain" was hung on the largest room in the collection, a sudden change occurred.

"This government is going to demolish people's houses and divide the fields, so that everyone will not have food!"

"If you go to the Western Regions and overseas, you will have a hundred acres of land? How can there be such a good thing in the world? They're going to coax you to get on the boat, and then you're going to work as slaves in the mines! ”

"Don't have any imperial grain, now it's nice to say, when everyone has explained everything, the official has a mouth, and all the miscellaneous factions have come down, you must not believe them!"

In the extremely quiet crowd, some people raised their arms and shouted, it was those few scholars, they came from large families in the township.

As soon as the scholars made a noise, the doubts in the hearts of other people were also ignited, and they all made a noise, and the miscellaneous items smashed into the red vest and black clothes like raindrops, and Li Hongde was wearing a blue official uniform, which was the target of the public, and he hung a rotten vegetable leaf in a moment.

"Don't! Don't! ”

Lao Hu was hit by half a brick, his head was bleeding, his anger was high, and he was about to pull out his gun, but Li Hongde grabbed it and shouted in a resolute tone.

The big households fought back, but this counterattack did not come directly with knives and guns, and they did not have the courage to come hard, but to make noise to the people. In his training, Li Hongde sternly emphasized that these returnees must not use force, nor do they have the right to use force.

Li Hongde has no power, and after Lao Hu sobers up, he doesn't dare, the scene outside Pingyang Mansion is still dangling in his mind.

But what now? It's easy to retreat, but Li Hongde's people are even cheated. This Jiashan Township can be regarded as a waste of previous achievements, which is only a small setback for the government, but for Li Hongde and Lao Hu, the dart team, there is no chance to make a comeback.

Li Hongde was unwilling to give up, plucked up his heart, took his native people and made good friends with the villagers, and worked hard to maintain order, and at the same time tried his best to explain, and confronted the remarks of those scholars, arguing one by one. But including Xiao Huo, the lip service of this grass platform team is obviously not as good as those few readers, and the situation is stalemate.