The news that Xu's army stationed at the collective estate No. 72 had annihilated the Jiangnan army and achieved a complete victory, with only a dozen casualties, reached the staff headquarters, and there was a burst of celebration and cheers.
Big victory.
Another exciting victory!
"After this battle is over, the nobles and gentry in Jiangnan will be able to rest for at least one year, no, at least two years." A young staff officer asserted.
"No matter how long it takes, they will not stop opposing us. Only by killing them to death can they accept the reality and not dare to resist or make trouble anymore."
"Resist? The owner of the village is so gentle and kind, and has left them a way to survive. If they are not grateful, forget it, but they still dare to resist and become a mantis? I don't think there is any need to be kind and polite to them in the future. If anyone dares to
Anyone who opposes Xujiazhuang will be killed and no one will be spared!" the young officer said radically.
"The contradiction between us and the noble gentry is irreconcilable. It is a life-and-death relationship. Even if they are defeated ten or a hundred times, they will stand firmly on the opposite side of us and continue to resist and cause trouble. The best way to solve the problem once and for all is to occupy
Jiangnan has once again captured the power of the Ming Dynasty, and our step-by-step expansion of the manor has left too many opportunities for our opponents to make trouble, and they are not able to live in peace every year. For example, during the spring plowing of Manor No. 72, due to the impact of the war, the grain output this year has been reduced by at least 50%.
"
The staff officer named Li Zheming said.
"Yes, with our current strength, it is more than enough to capture Jiangnan. If we expand the Xu family army to one hundred thousand, in two or three years at most, we can capture the entire Ming Dynasty, eliminate all enemies, and build a brand new world.
"
"Hey, I don't know what the owner of the village thinks. It seems that he really has no intention of becoming an emperor. He can obviously be done once and for all, but he is always so gentle and kind. He gives the enemy opportunities again and again, but the enemies never cherish them."
Quite a few officers and staff found it difficult to understand what the owner of the village was doing, and they complained and were puzzled in private.
Of course, it's just a little bit of complaint. They all admire and respect the owner of the village very much and don't dare to show any disobedience or disrespect.
And after this war.
They did not dare to decide how to deal with the tens of thousands of captured prisoners of war (especially the more than 800 officials and noble gentry). Instead, they waited for the village owner Xu Yuan to come over before asking how to deal with it. It was up to him to
Make a decision.
"What to do with prisoners?"
Faced with this question from the staff officers, Xu Yuan thought for a while and said: "Send all the prisoners to Shandong to dig gold mines. As for those with status and status, let their families redeem their people with gold. A prisoner will be worth gold."
10,000 taels, if you can’t get 10,000 taels of gold, send them to Shandong to mine until they die!”
This surprised some staff officers.
"Lord, the solution we discussed before was not to set up a guillotine, then publicly interrogate those officials and noble gentry, and then behead them all! To frighten the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River? Why...why not kill them again?"
So kind?"
"Principal, it's better to kill all the prisoners with status, especially Xu Hongji's son Xu Wenjue. He will be executed in Lingchi and beheaded with a hundred thousand knives! You must know that when these noble gentry discussed dealing with you, they were extremely
They are arrogant and rude, and now they are the ones who have been punished with a hundred thousand cuts. I think this must be a huge blow that can break their will!"
The civil servant who came from the manor school said.
"That's right, we will hold a public trial against the noble gentry, so that the victimized people can redress their grievances and avenge themselves. In this way, we can win the support of the people, gain more people's hearts, and let the people, in the future,
Everyone is on our side and will not easily become cannon fodder in the hands of the noble gentry... The people's hearts are priceless, and the benefits this brings far exceed ten thousand taels of gold."
"Lord, I also support beheading those officials and gentry with bad records after public trials in order to win the hearts and minds of the people!"
Hear the advice of these advisors.
Under normal circumstances, Xu Yuan would have nodded and followed their instructions.
But it’s not possible now, especially during this period.
Because he has no money, the construction cost of a hundred new manors is more than ten times that of ten manors. This is a simple arithmetic problem that everyone can do, but it also means that he has to purchase supplies from modern society every month.
Expenses will skyrocket from about 100 million per month to more than 1 billion.
What's more, the initial stage of manor construction is the stage where the most money is spent and the investment cost is the highest. Even if people try their best to save expenses and maximize the utilization rate of tillers, tractors, excavators and other machinery, the water pumps even allow many people to use them.
The manor is shared, but the utilization rate has increased, but the consumption of gasoline and diesel cannot be saved. It is also difficult to reduce the basic procurement expenses such as fertilizers, pesticides, improved seeds, and power facilities.
The monthly expenditure is more than 1 billion, which is equivalent to more than 3.3 tons of gold. Therefore, in just half a year, in modern society, the 30 tons of gold reserves in the underground vault of his villa plummeted to less than 10 tons today, and he can only hold on for three more years.
months.
However, other money-making projects are currently making limited progress, and they are still mainly focused on selling gold, so now he is extremely short of gold and in desperate need of gold!
This is why in the world of the late Ming Dynasty, Xu Yuan was so 'gentle' towards the officials, nobles and gentry. He still had to deal with these people and find ways to get the gold, silver and various resources in their hands.
If he is completely offended now and the economic exchanges are completely decoupled, Xu Yuan's income will also be reduced and his financial pressure will increase.
This is why Xu Yuan did not consider becoming emperor here and taking over the entire Ming Dynasty. Building more than a hundred low-level modern manors would require such a huge cost. How much would he have to invest in the entire Ming Dynasty?
Of course, managing a huge empire will definitely bring huge benefits. All resources within the territory can be coordinated and developed, and the available manpower is endless. The advantages are so obvious, why is Xu Yuan so short-sighted that he can't see it?
In fact, how could Xu Yuan not know this?
But developing resources requires costs, very huge costs!
Managing an empire also requires costs, not just making money but not spending money.
Such examples abound in modern society. The bigger a country is, the harder it is to get rich, and the larger the population, the heavier the burden. However, some small countries with resources and skills but a small population are living a very prosperous life and are extremely rich. The principle behind this is very simple.
It’s worthy of further study.
And Xu Yuan came to this world of the late Ming Dynasty mainly to make money and get rich, not to become an emperor and correct memorials every day, and not to invest the money he earned in modern society like a bottomless pit. In the end, he still had to see the truth.
Those who want to make money cannot wait until he builds the world in the late Ming Dynasty. He has no money and people are dying of old age. When the time gate disappears, he will not leave much wealth to future generations. This is the biggest failure.
Therefore, I heard the young staff officers shouting and killing.
"Enough!"
Xu Yuan waved his hand and said: "You don't need to say more, just do as I say and pass on my instructions."
"Yes, owner!"
"Principal, for your broad mind and kindness, the nobles and gentry of Jiangnan, I don't know when they will wake up and repent."
"Hey, in ancient times, Zhuge Wuhou captured Meng Huo seven times. Today, the owner of the village is so generous and kind. This kind of mind is worth learning from."
"Yes, I just wonder if those stubborn people can be influenced by the owner of the village and no longer be our enemies?"
All the young officers and staff members said one after another.
…
June 23rd.
Xujiazhuang issued a "Warning Letter to the Jiangnan Gentlemen", which elaborated on the war process and results of the Jiangnan army's siege on Xujiazhuang Manor No. 72. As the victor, Xujiazhuang was unwilling to expand the scale of the war and was willing to temporarily cease the war. If he wanted to fight, he could
Stay with me until the end.
In addition, the more than 40,000 ordinary prisoners of war captured by Xu Jiajun will be sent to Shandong to mine and work for twenty years before they can be freed.
There are nearly a thousand high-level captives with status. Xujiazhuang allows their families to redeem them with gold. Each captive is 10,000 taels of gold. Everyone is equal. The family members must quickly raise money to redeem them all. If it takes three months,
Later, when there was no gold or not enough money, he was sent directly to Shandong to mine, and he mined until he died!
In addition, an "Unfriendly List to Xujiazhuang" containing 3326 names was announced. Any individuals or families who entered this list will have unfriendly behavior against Xujiazhuang in the future. After Xujiazhuang counterattacks, those who continue to oppose Xujiazhuang will be punished.
Those die-hards will never be spared! These people or families will be made to feel the deepest regret!
Regarding Xujiazhuang’s response.
Nanjing, in the palace of Wei Guogong.
The man sitting on the head had all snow-white hair and was as old as Wei Guogong Xu Hongji who was about to die. After reading the contents of the "Warning Letter" in his hand and the attached "Unfriendly List", he saw the relationship between Wei Guogong Xu's family and Xu Hongji.
The name is on the first line of the list.
Poof~
Xu Hongji raised his head and spit out a mouthful of blood, and said angrily: "Shame, what a disgrace!" Then he fell heavily on the couch.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down and don't get too excited!"
All the distinguished officials below rushed over and helped Xu Hongji up, wiping away the blood, slapping the back, and pressing the person's center. It took a while for Xu Hongji to suppress his anger and recover.
wide awake.
But regarding how to redeem the prisoners and how to deal with Xujiazhuang next, they no longer had the tough attitude they had before, only a desperate cry:
"Xujiazhuang, how can we eradicate Xujiazhuang, which is helpless?"
"The sky is unfair, the sky has no eyes, why don't you take away this evildoer from Xujiazhuang!"
"What methods can be used to influence Xujiazhuang through the articles of saints, etiquette and benevolence, the induction of heaven and man, or the knowledge of conscience, so that he will be like us and no longer be enemies with the saints' children like us?"
"It's difficult, it's difficult! This is an unprecedentedly powerful enemy. It can only be defeated by intelligence, not by force. We should change our strategy and use softness to overcome strength. If we can influence the master of the Xu family village with the principles of the sages, we may still have a glimmer of hope."
"Hey, it's a defeat. The 200,000-strong army was defeated! If Xujiazhuang is willing to give us a way to survive and trust us and use it seriously, it's not a bad idea for us to join Xujiazhuang. Why would we rather ignorant fools than us Confucian gentlemen? I
You can take care of the manor and do it better, so why are you shutting us out?"
The official was heartbroken and found it difficult to accept.