The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 33: Make them not afraid of the rebels

Silent all night.

The next morning, Yue Wenxuan inspected the sand table.

Madam Gong Er moved into Wangjiazhuang Fort, so the sand table now shows Dongmiaozi Village with Wangjiazhuang Fort as its center, along with the fields and plains surrounding the village.

There are about sixty households in the village, but there are eighty or ninety houses. Many houses are empty, but the fields next to the houses are not abandoned, showing signs of being cultivated.

Yue Wenxuan took a look around and found that there were few people moving around on the entire sand table. Almost all the villagers in Dongmiaozi Village were hiding at home, peeking at the movements of the rebels through the windows.

He put his head close to the window of a plastic house and saw two people dressed as farmers in the house. They looked like two brothers. They were leaning on the window and looking in the direction of Wangjiazhuang Fort with worried faces.

"Brother, do you think this new queen will collect taxes like the government? Or will she collect taxes like Mr. Wang?"

"Alas, how could I know? The only thing we can do now is to pray to God that the Queen doesn't collect more taxes than Mr. Wang. We can't afford any more taxes."

"Shall we go out and dig the soil?"

"No, it's best not to go out now. You might get stabbed for no apparent reason and die in vain."

When Yue Wenxuan heard this, a strange smile appeared on his face.

At this moment, a group of plastic people walked into the sand table from the northwest. Qian Zhuoqun, the second-in-command of the rebel army, arrived.

He also brought down the few soldiers who stayed behind in the mountain stronghold, each leading several war horses, each loaded with grain and pork.

The village has such a small fortune, and it was all given by Yue Wenxuan.

When entering Wangjiazhuang Fort, Qian Zhuoqun couldn't help but sigh. The fort that had been taken down by thousands of people before was taken down by only a hundred people this time, and no one was killed. Only a dozen brothers were injured, and none of them were seriously injured.

It was almost like a dream.

It’s great to have the support of gods.

"Second brother!"

A rebel soldier waved at him and said with a smile, "I found a good thing when I attacked the Wang family, and I saved it for you, brother."

Qian Zhuoqun asked curiously, "What good stuff?"

The rebel soldier ran back to the house and came out in a flash with a strange ball in his hand.

Cuju!

Qian Zhuoqun was overjoyed. He ran over in two steps, took the Cuju in his hands, and kept stroking it. "I didn't expect that I could touch this thing in my lifetime. When the Jin thieves attacked, I felt like the sky was falling. Hahahaha, everyone come and play with me later."

The soldiers around laughed: "Madam Gong Er has been waiting for you for a long time. Now is not the time to talk about this. Let's go to the lobby."

Qian Zhuoqun quickly gave up his playful thoughts and went to the hall, where he saw Madam Gong Er sitting in the hall. In front of her stood several men in tattered linen clothes. They said respectfully, "We didn't know your Majesty's methods before, but now we know we were wrong. Please forgive us for our mistakes..."

Madam Gong Er waved her hand and said, "I'm not one to be so fussy. Let's forget about the past. From now on, all the salt you produce should be handed over to me." The men were delighted. "I wonder what price you'll charge for salt from now on? The government used to charge us four cents, but Mr. Wang has taken it upon himself to reduce it to three. Your Majesty is so kind! If you can restore the government price, all the salt workers at the Guanhai Salt Field will kowtow to you."

In fact, whether it was four or three cents, Madam Gong Er was a little stressed. She really couldn't afford this price, so she said, "I haven't decided on the specific price yet. After I discuss it with my brothers, I'll send someone to the salt field to discuss it with you."

The men didn't dare to say anything more and bowed deeply before leaving.

Qian Zhuoqun waited until they were far away before asking, "Are those the people from Guanhai Salt Field?"

Madam Gong Er turned around and said happily, "Second Uncle! Those are indeed people from the Guanhai Salt Field. When we captured the salt field, they didn't dare to speak out. As soon as I captured Wangjiazhuang Fort, they immediately came running."

Qian Zhuoqun smiled: "That's not surprising."

Madam Gong Er: "I'm glad you're here. The True Lord is also waiting for you. He said that he will come down to earth to talk to us after you come."

Qian Zhuoqun was greatly surprised: "Master, do you think so highly of me?"

Madam Gong Er said, "The True Lord wants us to replace Mr. Wang and maintain order in Dongmiaozi Village and the Guanhai Salt Field. There are so many things involved that only someone who can read and count can do it. I've only been educated for a few days, so the True Lord is talking to me like playing the lute to a cow. He said we can discuss this with you later."

At this point, she lowered her voice and continued, "Take those salt collectors for example. I feel that both Mr. Wang and the government have pushed the price too low. They're really taking advantage of them. But if I were to set a new price, I wouldn't know how."

Qian Zhuoqun: "To set a price for salt, we must first find a buyer for the salt. Once the buyer has agreed on a price, the salt field can then set the purchase price. It's not something that can be determined on a whim."

At this moment, a figure flashed at the lobby door and Yue Wenxuan walked in.

The rebel soldiers standing at the door immediately shouted, "Welcome to the True Lord."

Gong Er Niangzi and Qian Zhuoqun hurried over to pay their respects, each thinking to themselves: "The True Lord said he would descend to speak with us when Qian Zhuoqun arrived, and now he's already descended as soon as Qian Zhuoqun arrived. It seems the True Lord is watching our every move from heaven."

There is a god at the top of your head!
It turns out that this sentence is not a lie.

Yue Wenxuan was invited to sit at the main seat, and the two sat on his left and right. Yue Wenxuan didn't say much nonsense and went straight to the point: "I'm here to discuss two things. One, military affairs. Two, civil affairs."

Although these were just two incidents, the subject matter felt a bit broad, even capable of being broken down into a hundred. Qian Zhuoqun suddenly felt the pressure mount. "As for the military, I've considered this on the way here. Dongmiaozi Village must have a blacksmith. I'll invite one of them to imitate the immortal weapons, and our Mandarin Duck Formation will surely be much more powerful. Then, we'll organize the surrendered servants, guards, and ruffians into a new Mandarin Duck Squad, train them diligently, and expand our ranks."

"As for civil matters..." Qian Zhuoqun said a little embarrassedly: "I just heard that the True Lord wants us to become local sages, and my mind is still blank."

Yue Wenxuan smiled and said, "In terms of civil affairs, the main focus is on winning people's hearts. The first month of the year is already more than halfway through, and spring plowing and sowing usually begin at the end of February. We must appease the villagers and salt officials and make them not fear the rebels, so that they can have the confidence to resume normal production activities."

"The best way to make them stop being afraid of us is to... declare a tax exemption." Qian Zhuoqun truly understood economics better than Madam Gong Er. "Since we've replaced the government and Mr. Wang, these villagers will think we'll impose heavy taxes on them just like they did. If we announce this year's tax exemption in advance, they'll immediately know we're not bandits, and naturally they'll be less afraid of us and work even harder."

Madam Gong Er was delighted: "This is a good idea."

Yue Wenxuan couldn't help but nod his head. "One thing to note: when announcing the tax exemption, only say 'temporary tax exemption this year'. Don't make tax exemption a permanent policy, otherwise it will be detrimental in the future."

Madam Gong Er was bewildered. "Isn't it a good thing to let the people not pay taxes? How can it be detrimental to the future?"

Yue Wenxuan smiled but said nothing. Qian Zhuoqun quickly whispered, "Second Madam, I'll tell you about this later."

(End of this chapter)