Golden Branch

The so-called "hiding households and fields" means that in feudal society, ordinary farmers would take refuge with local tyrants and landlords along with their fields in order to avoid taxes and corvee labor.

Their household registration was not recorded in the government records, and since they were not slaves of the wealthy and powerful gentry, they became illegal residents.

Their fields were clearly fertile land that had been cultivated long ago, but they were either not included in the official statistical register or were marked as wasteland.

These farmers paid the taxes that should have been paid to the imperial court to the wealthy families.

They were able to escape the corvée labor and military service they were supposed to perform thanks to the protection of the powerful families.

The practice of hiding households and fields was not unique to the Dayu Dynasty, but had existed in all dynasties.

There are many reasons for this, but for the government and the court, hiding households and fields is an infringement of public interests.

Over time, not only will it be difficult to collect enough taxes and recruit enough people, but it will also lead to land annexation, which will in turn trigger greater conflicts and ultimately lead to the overthrow of the dynasty.

If the local officials want to achieve political achievements and prevent problems from happening, they must take drastic measures to clean up hidden households and fields.

However, cleaning up hidden households and fields is easier said than done.

Those who have the ability and courage to encroach on the interests of the imperial court are basically local tyrants.

They have occupied the local area for dozens or even hundreds of years. They are either powerful families or have relatives in high positions. They are like big trees with tangled roots and luxuriant branches and leaves. Even the local officials dare not provoke them easily.

These families raised their own followers and private soldiers.

To put it bluntly, if a county magistrate or a provincial governor has no foundation or backing, and only relies on the few government officials, he will not be able to fight against the powerful families.

If one is not careful, not only will the decrees of the county magistrate and other senior officials be unable to be implemented, but they may also be killed.

It is not enough that people die in vain, they are also charged with the crime of "forcing innocent citizens to rebel."

Because their deaths were not caused by the powerful families, but by "civil unrest".

Especially in remote areas, where the emperor is far away, the local wealthy and powerful gentry are the local tyrants.

They became so arrogant that they even dared to kill the county magistrate and other local officials!

Of course, powerful people like Lou Yu are not included in this list.

Not to mention his title of Duke and his princess, the hundreds of guards who accompanied him when he came to take up his post were enough to intimidate all the families in Nanzhou, big or small.

This is what the powerful families knew. What they didn't know was that Lou Yu also had the power to mobilize troops from the Southwest Protectorate and various prefectures.

If he wanted to, he could raise an army large enough to destroy a small country.

"...Young man, what a conceit! What does Lou Hanzhang think of our Nanzhou? He's just arrived, and yet he dares to act so brazenly?"

"That's right! This is Nanzhou, not the capital!"

"Gentlemen, you can't say that. Governor Lou has just reached the age of twenty, and he is full of youthful vigor. As a governor, he has become even more arrogant and has acted more recklessly!"

"Even the Governor can't do that! In Nanzhou, the Governor's Office doesn't have the final say!"

"That's right! We can't let Lou Hanzhang do whatever he wants!"

A group of middle-aged and elderly men gathered in the home of a wealthy family, discussing with some disdain, some arrogance, and some trepidation.

No matter what they think, they have only one goal: never allow Lou Yu to touch their interests.

Hiding households and fields, those were all the fat meat they had eaten, how could they spit it out so easily?

"Everyone! Lou Hanzhang is not like the previous governor. He is the founding duke of a county."

"So what if he's a founding county duke? He's only relying on the glory of his ancestors. If he relied on himself, even if his hair had grown, how could he have achieved enough merit to be granted a title?"

"That's right! We will never allow Lou Yu to act recklessly!"

"No? Haha, that's easy for you to say. Why would you say no? Lou Hanzhang brought hundreds of guards with him."

"Hundreds of guards? Tsk, my fortress alone has two hundred troops, and each of you has hundreds as well. If we unite, we'll have two to three thousand..."

Hundreds VS thousands, the winner and loser are clear at a glance.

"That's not what I said, and that's not how the account can be calculated—"

"Why, Lord Li, don't you want the Li family to unite?"

"Our families are all united, and we stand together in the face of adversity. Naturally, our Li family is willing to stand with you. However, a few dozen people would be fine, but if you mobilize thousands, the situation will become too catastrophic, and a mere 'civil uprising' won't be enough to explain it away."

The Patriarch of the Li family, who was sitting in the main seat, stroked his gray beard and spoke slowly.

Gathering two or three thousand people and fighting fiercely with hundreds of guards was already a small battle.

The noise was too loud and it was difficult to end.

Nanzhou is indeed remote, but it is not completely isolated.

Nanzhou has a neighboring provincial capital, and even if you can cover up the truth with paper, the news will eventually get out.

Once an incident occurs and is determined by the court to be "treason", there will be no need for the royal army. The troops from the nearby prefectures will be enough to flatten the Southern Province.

And the nearly hundred years of business operations of several major families will come to nothing.

"From what Lord Li said, he actually wants us to hand over our population, land, and everything else to Lou Hanzhang!"

That's experienced hands and good farmland.

It's their asset.

They have already eaten it and enjoyed many benefits. Asking them to spit it out is tantamount to cutting flesh and bleeding.

"Are you willing to fight Lou Hanzhang head-on? Everyone, don't forget, Lou Hanzhang's surname is Lou, the same as Lou's from the Lou Family Army!"

Although the Lou family army no longer exists, its reputation has been heard even by powerful families as far away as southern Xinjiang.

To put it bluntly, when the Lou family army was gaining great fame, these so-called powerful families in Nanzhou were struggling to survive.

"Besides, even if you dare and actually defeat Lou Yu, how will you deal with the aftermath?"

Mr. Li’s voice is not loud, but his aura is strong.

A pair of slightly cloudy old eyes scanned the entire room: "Lou Yu is the Duke of Qi, and his wife is the Princess of Langya. If these two are safe and sound, it's fine. But if they are injured or die, and the court investigates, we will all be implicated!"

By then, clan extermination might be the least of your worries, and you might even have to resort to a nine-clan elimination game!

With just a few hundred pieces of equipment, their family was no match for the imperial court.

"This won't work, and that won't work! Lord Li, what should we do?"

Someone lost his patience and asked impatiently.

"It's not possible to do it openly. But we can adopt certain strategies."

Mr. Li pinched his beard, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

A head-on confrontation is not advisable, so use some strategies.

The head of the Li family, whose ancestors migrated from the Central Plains, had married into the local Yi ethnic group for three or four generations.

Duke Li himself took a woman from the Nanbang Yi tribe as his concubine. He had very close relations with the Yi tribe and Nanbang.

He also collaborated with Ashlin.

This time, after Ashlin returned from the capital and arrived in Nanzhou, she not only waited in the inn for the fish to take the bait, but also frequently contacted various forces in secret.

Ashlin was regarded as a useless chess piece by Wang Heng, but she still regarded herself as the chess player.

The plan she formulated actually successfully convinced Lord Li and some officials.

This is not only because Ashlin is eloquent and has invincible charm, but also because Li Gong and others have personally experienced the magic of the secret medicine.

Even people like Li Gong have long been addicted to it without realizing it.

Not only do they not realize they have entered the game, but they think they can control the overall situation.

At this moment, Lord Li was talking to the heads of other families with great enthusiasm.

"...Master Li, are you suggesting that we let Lou Hanzhang do what he wants, and wait for Princess Langya to take action, so that Lou Hanzhang will become our puppet?"

Some people questioned——

Is it reliable?

Why does it sound like a legendary story?

"If Patriarch Cheng doesn't believe it, you can try this secret medicine! Or, just wait and see. After some time, there will definitely be a 'surprise'!"

Mr. Li was calm and composed, looking as if he had everything planned out for him.

Patriarch Cheng: Try it? You won't die, right?

He looked around and found that the other family heads were somewhat moved.

They believed it!

Otherwise, he also joined the crowd?

"Then just wait!"

After thinking it over in his mind, the head of the Cheng family nodded and prepared to wait and see.

Although Mr. Li was dissatisfied with the Cheng family head's lack of initiative, he didn't want to force him.

The major families have always had a cooperative relationship with each other, without subordination or hierarchy.

The plan is good. As long as it is implemented and produces results, people like the head of the Cheng family who are not firm and proactive enough will naturally change.

In fact, even for Mr. Li, there is only one word to say now - wait!

Wait until Ashlin's plan succeeds, wait until Lou Yu falls into the trap, wait... just wait.

Mr. Li and other family heads did not know that their wait would lead to Lou Yu really raising his sword and quickly and effectively clearing out the hidden households and fields in the Nanzhou provincial capital and various counties.

In less than three months, Lou Yu had sorted out the entire territory of Nanzhou.

After re-registering the population, 1,200 new households were added, which is already the size of a medium-sized county.

Reporting such a large increase in population to the Ministry of Personnel would be a clear political achievement.

There are also tens of thousands of acres of land added.

This is not newly reclaimed wasteland, but cultivated land and fertile farmland with very good harvests.

These two political achievements alone are enough to earn Governor Lou Yulou an excellent rating in his annual performance appraisal.

However, the powerful families suffered heavy losses.

From summer to autumn, and then to early winter.

There is no cold winter in Nanzhou, but the family heads who gathered again felt as if they were in a world of ice and snow.

It was cold, cold from the inside out.

How could they not feel disgusted and heartbroken when so many people and so much fertile land were forcibly dug out from their own homes?

"Mr. Li, was the plan successful?"

“…Wait a little longer?”

"Oh, if we wait any longer, it will be New Year's Day. If we wait any longer, the princess's baby will be born soon!"

The first person to speak was the head of the Cheng family, and he was very sarcastic.

"Master Cheng, you don't have to wait!" Just take action on your own.

Mr. Li was humiliated in front of everyone and was unable to lose face.

His old face flushed slightly, and he said unhappily, "You're so powerful! Just bring your troops and go to the governor's office and take back all the people and land that have been taken away from you!"

Master Cheng: ...You old thief, you dare to provoke me?

On the surface, it seems like he is just speaking in anger, but in fact, isn't it a test?

He wanted to be the first to take action and test Lou Hanzhang.

He coaxed the Cheng family into being the vanguard, did he really think he was stupid?

The head of the Cheng family is not stupid, so he naturally won't be fooled.

He cleverly backhandedly tricked the Li family, "Mr. Li, you're joking. I'm a junior, and the Cheng family isn't as prosperous or well-established as the Li family!"

"Let's not talk about anything else. The relationship between the Li family and the mountain village alone is far beyond what our Cheng family can compare to!"

Speaking of this, the eyes of the head of the Cheng family became brighter.

Yup!

How could he forget this!

The Li family has intermarriages with many mountain strongholds.

They have very good relations with the natives in the mountains and can use those people as cannon fodder!

Ahem, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re just cannon fodder.

They can find a way to divert Lou Yu's attention to the mountains.

Let him direct his firepower towards those strongholds.

As the saying goes, when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. By using the Yi people to consume Lou Hanzhang's strength, these powerful families can reap the benefits.

The head of the Cheng family seems to be taking advantage of the Li family's in-laws, but in terms of fundamental interests, these major families are allies.

The head of the Cheng family believes that Mr. Li can distinguish between relatives and strangers and know what is important and what is not!

Sure enough, when the head of the Cheng family mentioned the village in the mountains, the eyes of Mr. Li and the heads of several other families lit up.

Yup!

They didn't dare to confront Lou Hanzhang directly, but they could use Yi Liao!

Didn’t the Yi-Liao Rebellion break out in Yongzhou next door?

The number of Yi people in their Nanzhou is no less than that in Yongzhou, and may even be more, so they can just follow the same method.

In the main hall of the Li family's main courtyard, several family heads were discussing enthusiastically.

They didn't notice that there was a dark shadow looming on the roof.

……

The Governor's Mansion, the outer study.

Lou Yu went to work as usual.

In addition to handling official business in Nanzhou, he also had to organize intelligence sent from the capital and other places.

At this moment, the secret guard brought the latest news from Nanzhou.

Lou Yu's expression did not change much after he heard the secret guard relay the discussion of the several family heads.

He had long anticipated that the Li, Cheng and other families would try to use the Yi people to create "civil unrest" in Nanzhou.

It's not just that Lou Yu is smart, it's also that he has experience——

Li Gong and others may have forgotten that Lou Yu was transferred from Yongzhou to Nanzhou.

Perhaps, they only remembered that Lou Yu was the Duke of Qi and came from the capital.

Or perhaps, they have not forgotten that Lou Yu's previous position was the governor of Yongzhou, they just prefer to believe that Lou Yu would be trapped by the Yi Liao Rebellion!

There is no way. Lou Yu is too powerful. It’s okay that he has outstanding abilities, but he also has so many people.

In just three months, some of the chaos in Nanzhou was completely cleared up.

The heads of several powerful families were unwilling to admit their failure, so they could only believe what they wanted to believe.

"Alright! In Yongzhou, this governor has the power of a god. In Nanzhou, he can also become a messenger of God."

Lou Yu's fair and slender fingers tapped lightly on the table.

In the past few months, he not only cleaned up the hidden households and fields, but also grasped the situation of the village in the mountains.

You don’t know until you check. After checking, Lou Yu was shocked to find that the poisonous flowers in Nanbang had also invaded some of the mountain villages.

"What a coincidence! I was also planning to remove the poisonous flowers planted in some of the villages, and those families wanted to 'shift the blame' and 'kill with a borrowed knife'. So, let's do it together!"

Lou Yu smiled gently, but a strong murderous intent flashed in his deep eyes.

He is not a kind-hearted person, and this time in Nanzhou, he doesn't mind "killing people"!