Chen Qun glanced at everyone leisurely and said slowly: "We are all from this state's aristocratic families, why would such a thing happen? My lord thought that you were famous local squires, so he promised to share the salt pool. Originally,
I also expected you to recommend a few virtuous people, but now that I think about it..."
He shook his head slightly and said: "Of the more than ninety aristocratic families, more than seventy participated in the armed fighting in the village. The rest are probably not much better. It is really embarrassing for outsiders to see it."
He smiled and began to prepare the ground for what he would announce next, and then said: "Look, what should I do about this?"
Everyone looked at each other in silence.
Chen Qun said: "If you don't tell me, I have to make my own decision. Today we are fighting for water conservancy and acres of land. What will it be like in the future for the salt pond? In my opinion, this salt pond should belong to my lord."
All in all, as for you, my lord will naturally not miss out on your benefits. He has exempted you from taxes in the past few years. This should be due to my lord's love for the people. What do you think?"
At this time, everyone realized that the so-called recommendation was actually just an excuse, and this excuse was to take away the vested salt pond they had obtained. Everyone was still uneasy before, but now they became worried and said one after another: "Master Chen
Why did the book say this? Since the salt pond has been distributed, how can Marquis Dongwu take it all back with just one sentence?"
Clang, clang... The swordsmen in the hall drew their swords one after another, and a strong murderous aura instantly filled the hall. At this time, Zhang Liao stood up and shouted: "You are fighting in private, and you are doing this in vain. My lord is not
What more do you want to pursue?"
Chen Qun and Zhang Liao looked at each other, and then said: "You are required to hand over the account books of each salt pond within three days. That's it. You all can think about it. General Zhang, I leave the rest to you."
Zhang Liao nodded and said with murderous intent: "Don't worry, Mr. Chen. Who dares not to hand over the account books? Don't blame me for being ruthless."
Everyone was stunned. Seeing this, how could they dare to argue? They all left under the watch of the swordsmen and axe-wielders.
A few days later, groups of Bingzhou troops went to each salt pond and the families asked for the account books and expelled each family's influence in the salt pond.
Originally, this matter was bound to cause an uproar, and the aristocratic families were not easy to mess with. Asking them to take the salt pond would mean cutting off their financial resources. If it really got serious, organizing family soldiers to resist would not be a big deal.
It's just that due to Chen Qun's rebellion a few days ago, all the families have already been on the same level. Some members of each family have been killed by other families. This large-scale armed fight has already laid a blood feud between the families.
There is absolutely no possibility of making peace with each other in the short term, so the families cannot unite to resist. Even if a few families show up to cause trouble, they will be quickly and brutally suppressed by the Bingzhou Army.
Overnight, all the salt ponds in the East China Sea fell into Gao Jin's hands. Chen Qun immediately checked the account books, measured the salt ponds, and sent officials to supervise production, quickly stabilizing the situation in the East China Sea.
The Xuzhou aristocratic families had their share of unspeakable sufferings. They really wanted to resist, but they knew that the current situation would not only get no response from other families, but they would be suppressed by the Bingzhou Army in an instant. But without the salt pond,
The interests of the aristocratic family will be greatly harmed. In a few years, even if they unite and want to make a difference, I am afraid they will have no chance. They have lost their financial support and have no political backers in Xuzhou.
It is only a matter of time before the family shrinks and declines, so there is no strength left to resist.
…………………………………………………………………………
At the same time, in Xiapi, Gao Jin's army was still on its way back. Chen Palace was already busy. Chen Qun had found the salt pond. The entire Xuzhou's financial resources were fully guaranteed, and the annual surplus money was enough to support the military and government.
Needless to say, there is still a large surplus. Under such circumstances, recruiting a large number of refugees to open up wasteland has become the most urgent issue at present...
Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Xuzhou has gone through several wars and has long been empty of ten houses. By this time, the population of Xuzhou has dropped sharply to 500,000 households. The full population is only two million, and the young and strong are no more than 100.
Ten thousand, this kind of population is really nothing compared to Shouchun, where Yuan Shu is located. The population of one county in Shouchun is probably as much as that of Xuzhou as a whole. Under this situation, if the population is not increased, Xuzhou will be conquered.
, it is also difficult to support Gao Jin’s hegemony.
Therefore, attracting refugees became the key. After all, Chen Gong was an old official and quickly formulated various measures to attract the population, such as giving away land to open up wasteland, the government providing cattle leasing, providing grain growing, exempting certain taxes, etc.
At present, Xuzhou has a small population and is full of barren land. On the other hand, due to wars, many people have to leave their homes and become refugees, so these measures are extremely attractive to the refugees.
Chen Gong immediately ordered recruitment notices to be posted everywhere. Even Huainan, Runan, and Hebei sent people there. Huainan and Runan were originally bordering Jiangdong and had a small population. However, after the turmoil in the Central Plains, a large number of people began to come to
After migrating south, in just a dozen years, the population of Huainan reached millions, and there were two million households in Runan. However, Yuan Shu was not a wise ruler. When he first arrived in Huainan, he could still make some achievements.
The move to stabilize the people later began to be frivolous, and instead, various aristocratic families began to exploit wantonly, so that the number of refugees in the two places increased day by day. Most of these refugees formed Yellow Turban gangs, harassed businessmen and travelers, and captured towns. Although the momentum was not great, it was
The harm is considerable.
Therefore, when these official articles arrived in Yuan Shu's territory, the officials under Yuan Shu's jurisdiction did not interfere. After all, it was not a bad thing to lead these bandits and refugees to Xuzhou. For them, it was equivalent to one less burden and they no longer had to suffer from the refugees.
distressed.
For a time, most of the nine states in the world and several areas adjacent to Xuzhou were accessible without obstruction. Many people knew that Xuzhou had food, and seemed to see hope, so they all headed towards Xuzhou. However, when the announcement reached Xuchang, Cao Cao immediately ordered a blockade.
The various states and counties did not allow refugees to go to Xuzhou. He knew the importance of population. Gao Jin quickly annexed Liu Bei, which made him worried about how to make Gao Jin benefit again. Others thought that refugees were harmful, but Cao Cao was just the opposite. He began to
Population was also the key to the implementation of the farming system. When the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans were harmed, Cao Cao adopted them for his own use and organized them into the Qingzhou Army. Therefore, in his view, Gao Jin's strategy was nothing more than weakening the strength of others and strengthening his own strength.