nucmednet Chapter 34 Seizing Land (1)
Chapter 34 Seizing Land (1)
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Liu Ye's eyes lit up. Siam and Annam are modern-day Thailand and Vietnam. The climate and rainfall in Southeast Asia are very suitable for rice growth. Even with the low level of farming in ancient times, they could harvest three crops a year. In the 21st century, they are all major grain exporters. With abundant grain, prices are naturally low.
Although maritime trade could be very profitable, it was only a long-term plan. Zheng Zhilong of Fujian was a formidable opponent that could not be bypassed, and it was unrealistic to expect to support the expenditure on purchasing grain through maritime trade in the short term. However, Liu Quan's suggestion also opened up a new avenue of thought.
He asked the crowd, "What Li Fu said makes sense. What are your thoughts?"
Liang Xiaoming, Li Ergou, and the others nodded in agreement, saying that it was indeed a good idea.
Yan Guang spoke up, saying, "My lord, although the price of rice in Siam and Annam is low, it takes a long time to travel there and back. It is not safe for so many people under your command to rely on this channel for food. If we encounter storms at sea or are robbed by pirates, we will lose both money and food."
Everyone agreed. Given the current conditions of sea routes, purchasing grain was both slow and extremely risky, with storms and pirates posing real threats. In this era, no one could dare to go to sea without substantial wealth; a single accident could bankrupt them.
Reminded by him, Liu Ye also considered these difficulties and sighed, "Isn't there any other way?"
Yan Guang smiled and said, "My lord need not worry. Purchasing grain by sea is a long-term plan. For now, we still need to rely on Qiongzhou Prefecture for grain."
"Oh, Mr. Yan, what brilliant ideas do you have? Tell me quickly!" Liu Ye perked up.
"My ancestral home is in Zhejiang, and I once served in Nanjing, so I am quite familiar with the Jiangnan region. The fields in Jiangnan have been forcibly seized by powerful clans. It is common for a large family to own thousands of acres of fertile land. Most of these powerful clans have clansmen who serve as officials, some even reaching the ministerial level. They have protection from the imperial court and are supported by the local government. They also maintain their own retainers, making their power so great that ordinary people cannot shake them. Apart from the grain collected and handed over to the official treasury, most of it is stored in the granaries of these powerful clans. In the event of natural disasters or man-made calamities, they hoard the grain and sell it at high prices, making a fortune."
Liang Xiaoming asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with us getting grain from Qiongzhou Prefecture?"
After Yan Guang joined Liu Ye, he learned about Liu Ye's businesses and the people around him in detail. He knew that although Liang Xiaoming rarely got involved in important matters, he had mastered a lot of "dragon-slaying skills". He was the one who created the muskets and cannons. He was highly valued by Liu Ye and was the number two person in this system.
He bowed to Liang Xiaoming and explained, "So that you may know, Master Liang, that in the current situation in Jiangnan, it is extremely difficult to obtain a large amount of grain, but it is different in Qiongzhou. Although there are also large households in Qiongzhou with hundreds of acres of land, their connections with the government and even the imperial court, as well as their family power, are incomparable to those of the powerful families in Jiangnan."
Liu Ye vaguely guessed Yan Guang's intention and added, "Compared to the powerful families of Jiangnan, the wealthy families of Qiongzhou are at best just some rural nouveau riche."
Yan Guang praised, "My lord is quick-witted. My method is actually quite simple. Since these local tyrants have little power, eliminating them is neither difficult nor will it cause any future trouble. As long as we eliminate them and change the land deeds, all these unclaimed lands can become ours. As for the tenants, it doesn't matter who they cultivate the land for. In this way, the food problem will be easily solved!"
Everyone was dumbfounded. They never expected that this seemingly refined scholar would act so decisively and ruthlessly. The so-called "elimination" probably meant killing and wiping out the whole family. However, this was a straightforward method and solved the problem at its root. Instead of spending money to travel thousands of miles to Southeast Asia to buy grain, it was better to seize the land and harvest the grain directly, without the risks of sea travel.
"...Isn't this against humanity? After all, these wealthy families haven't offended us..." Li Fu stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence.
Li Ergou, however, held the opposite opinion: "If it's a big family like Master Tang, eliminating them would be doing the people a favor! Before Master Liu came, whether it was the salt workers in Li Family Village or the tenants under him, everyone was suffering terribly. When he was exploiting us to the bone, did he ever think about the word 'humanity'?"
Yan Guang praised, "Li Ergou is right. We don't just indiscriminately target the tyrants who exploit tenants."
"Haha, Mr. Yan is right." Liu Ye fully understood Yan Guang's meaning; the key to solving the food problem indeed lay with Qiongzhou Prefecture.
Li Fu worriedly said, "But wouldn't it be inappropriate to go on a killing spree? After all, Master is destined for great things, not just a bandit who robs and runs. Qiongzhou will be Master's future base!" He knew that Liu Ye's vision extended beyond Lingao or even Qiongzhou. With such powerful firearms, he wouldn't be content to be just a big bandit in Qiongzhou. Too much bloodshed would inevitably lead to social unrest, which was something Liu Ye probably didn't want to see.
Liu Ye and Yan Guang exchanged a smile. He shook his finger and said, “I know that you can’t achieve great things by killing and robbing. Since I want to make a name for myself, and Qiongzhou is where I started, I can’t afford to ruin my reputation. Someone else will take on the villain role; I’ll just clean up the mess. I’m sure Mr. Yan thought of that when he came up with this idea.”
Yan Guang nodded and pointed at Lin San: "Only Lin San can play the villain. The lord only needs to follow behind and pick the fruit."
Everyone suddenly realized. This murder and land grabbing was nothing more than robbing a wealthy household. After killing the landlord, all the land would become ownerless, and Liu Ye could openly take over the land without bearing any infamy.
Lin San was a lawless character; asking him to rob wealthy people was no problem for him, as he didn't need any reputation.
Although Liang Xiaoming felt the method was too bloody, the targets were landlords and wealthy landowners. His upbringing had taught him to see landlords and wealthy landowners as the negative examples of feudal society's oppression of peasants. Killing these people would be doing a service to the people, so he wasn't against doing it. He only said to Xia Tiannan, "Don't be like those landlords. Don't let the tenants escape one danger only to fall into another. Don't exploit them too harshly."
Liu Ye nodded in agreement: "Exploiting farmers is something only incompetent people do. I can exempt them from the exorbitant taxes and levies imposed on them, keeping only the normal rent, ensuring that we get enough food so that they can support their families and achieve a win-win situation."
Li Ergou asked, "If we exempt ourselves from the levied taxes, how will we explain this to the government?"
Now, not only Liu Ye and Liang Xiaoming, but even Lin San knew how to answer: "Our master will fight the government sooner or later. If he wants to collect grain and taxes, he can come and get them himself. But first, he has to ask our swords and spears if they agree!"
Everyone burst into laughter, and Li Ergou smiled sheepishly as well. None of them had given much thought to the nature of opposing the government and the imperial court; they all considered it a perfectly normal thing to do.
Liu Ye observed coldly; everyone seemed unperturbed. It appeared that people were driven by self-interest; even an honest man like Li Ergou didn't see opposing the government as a big deal. With tangible benefits and expanding power, those within this system shared in each other's fortunes.