Chapter 720 Taking Root
Seeing Zhang Chong coming over, the old farmers immediately lowered their heads and then immersed themselves in their work.
Zhang Chong came over and said with a smile:
"Are you from around here?"
Each of these old farmers was of small stature, standing in front of Zhang Chong and even reaching their chests. They looked at Zhang Chong, who was like a giant, and knew in their hearts that this man should be a noble man.
So there was a bold man holding his breath:
"Yes, we are all mediocre slaves from the neighborhood. Do you know what happened to this gentleman?"
Zhang Chong shook his head, pointed at the wheat on this land and asked:
"Does this land belong to you? The wheat is growing well. Do you have any tips?"
The more Zhang Chong said this, the more these old farmers dared not speak. They didn't know who the people in front of them were, and they were afraid that what they said would plunge their lives into disaster.
Seeing that these old farmers stopped talking, Zhang Chong was speechless, and suddenly realized that he couldn't speak.
Also, if you stay with people like Guo Tu for a long time, even a bright heart will be a little dusty, not to mention that Zhang Chong doesn't need to read people's faces for a long time.
So, Zhang Chong changed his tone slightly and said gently:
"It's like this. I am responsible for the planning of this field. I will allocate the land to you based on the situation of each family. So I saw that wheat is grown so well here, so I was curious and asked."
Zhang Chong also knew that it was nonsense to talk about other ordinary identities based on his body shape and demeanor, so he simply talked about something that farmers cared about most.
Sure enough, as soon as they heard that the person in front of them was a trick, all the farmers present wanted to kneel down. In the end, Zhang Chong helped them up one by one and finally got them to stand up.
Even so, their waists are still bent.
They carefully replied:
"Going back to the previous plan, this land does not belong to us. In fact, we are just slaves on the ground. The original owner had already gone south after hearing that the Taishan Army went south. This land will stay here, and now we will be harvested in the summer If you can’t bear the wheat to rot in the ground, just cut it off.”
Zhang Chong knew whether what these people said was true or false, but he didn't care.
Zhang Chong nodded, thoughtfully:
"So the wheat in this land can be grown so well, but you don't actually know how?"
At this time, the disciples shook their heads, and the courageous one said:
"How can this be possible? None of the wheat here was grown by us. Although we don't know the seasons, we still know how to take care of the land. After all, we have been serving these things all our lives, so there is nothing we can't figure out."
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Zhang Chong heard the meaning of the words and asked:
"That means your master tells you to plant what you want, and you have to plant everything else?"
The disciples nodded.
Zhang Chong was even more curious:
"Your master's family only does so much, so how much of the harvest do you share with them?"
The disciples looked at Zhang Chong dullly, as if they thought Zhang Chong's question was too stupid, but they did not have the courage to express this attitude, so they carefully replied:
"We will give 80% to the owner's family."
Zhang Chong was stunned for a moment. He just assessed the land and knew at a glance that the only 20% left was definitely not enough for these people to survive, so he asked:
"Can you survive?"
The brave disciple explained to Zhang Chong:
"The owner allows us to borrow it."
"What can I give in return?"
At this time no one answered.
This time, Zhang Chong didn't need their explanation to understand how the powerful people in the Gyeonggi region treated these disciples.
The powerful people in the Gyeonggi region are indeed the smartest and most experienced people in the world. They have mastered a perfect management method for dynamically exploiting slave farmers.
Generally speaking, powerful people in the Gyeonggi region invested in shares by mastering the land and seasonal information, and then took most of the farmers' income. At the same time, in order to prevent the people below from being forced into a hurry, they continued to lend grain to the people below.
How will the disciples repay it? In fact, it is still the same thing, that is, it will be spent in this life, and even if there is a descendant, there will be endless descendants to pay it back.
And why does Zhang Chong say that this method is very clever?
Because compared to forced possession or title possession, these disciples are tied to these families through debt. Because these people will not be forced into a desperate situation and are in debt, they need to work harder and at the same time be grateful for the blessings of the Lord.
Little do they know that the labor of these people should belong to them. They were just held by that group of people who took what was rightfully theirs and kept them as slaves for generations.
Compared with the powerful people in Gyeonggi, the powerful people in You, Ji, and Bing regions are just like rubes.
Finally, Zhang Chong asked the last question:
"Now that the powerful people are gone and our Taishan Army is here, do you think there are any changes?"
As for Zhang Chong's question, the disciples naturally picked it up. But one of them, who had been silent all this time, said something that made the top brass of the Taishan Army suddenly change their expressions.
But I heard a dull disciple stuttering:
"This is a plan. I wonder how long we can keep flying the yellow flag? If the Taishan Army is defeated, will this land still be ours?"
As soon as this person said this, the person who was most flustered was the township director in charge of this area. Since the king came here to inspect, he couldn't sleep all night, fearing that something would go wrong.
He had actually told many of his disciples to be careful about their words and actions during this period, but something went wrong in the end.
This township director's legs are actually weak. Listen to what he said, "How long can the yellow flag be waved?" If this was not instigated by others, how could this disciple say such a thing?
Sure enough, before Zhang Chong could speak, Guo Tu had already followed him and shouted angrily:
"Tell me, who taught you to say that?"
Zhang Chong waved his hand and asked the disciple:
"What's your name?"
The disciple pursed his lips, knowing that this was the most important opportunity in his life, and he boldly replied:
"Back to the plan, we don't have a name, so we will take the master's surname, Deng."
Immediately afterwards, the disciple named Deng answered by himself: "That was not taught to me by others, it was my own worries."
However, Guo Tu didn’t believe it at all and sneered directly:
"You are such a fool. I'm afraid you haven't even been to this acre of land. How do you know that our Taishan Army raised the yellow flag? Who else told you that we won't be able to fight for long? Tell me, what else do you know? You don't pay attention to recruiting."
However, Guo Tu also thought it was ridiculous as he said it, and he asked Zhang Chong directly:
"Your Majesty, why don't we take this person into custody in the internal army? What else will Mikishita not say then?"
At this time, the disciples present were all frightened. They did not expect that the person in front of them was the king of Taishan Army, so they were shaking like chaff and fell to the ground exhausted.
Only the disciple named Deng still stood stubbornly, but his trembling legs betrayed his true thoughts.
Zhang Chong was very dissatisfied, very, very dissatisfied.
He turned his head and glared at Guo Tu for the first time:
"Guo Tu, this is what you did in the Feijun Internal Guard before? Under three trees? Why don't you say anything? Okay, okay, okay, I am really awesome."
Zhang Chong's indifferent words made Guo Tu panic. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, panicking:
"Your Majesty, being humble has no meaning at all. Being humble means..."
But the rest of Guo Tu's words were interrupted by Zhang Chong, who told Guo Tu directly:
"You go back first, we don't need you here, and you have been shut up at home for half a month. Think about where you went wrong."
After saying this, Zhang Chong paused again. This time Zhang Chong said to Guo Tu very seriously:
"You are a smart person and willing to do things. I don't have any prejudice against you. On the contrary, I admire you very much, so I always have expectations. But some things about you really disappoint me. You should reflect on it at home and think about it carefully. Just think about what our Taishan Army wants, and what I want.”
After speaking, Zhang Chong looked at Guo Tu until his face turned red.
Finally, Guo Tu bowed tremblingly to Zhang Chong, and then retreated in despair.
Guo Tu's departure made the atmosphere very solemn, but Zhang Chong didn't take it seriously. He just looked at the disciple named Deng and said:
"You heard what Guo Qing said just now. Tell me. You should have a lot to say."
The disciple named Deng took a deep breath and said:
"That is indeed what I said, no one instigated me. Although I am a hoeing slave, I think there should be no difference between people. Those noble people are the same as me. They have the same brain. It makes no sense for them to have ideas. We didn’t, we weren’t really an elm in the past. There is an old merchant here who used to travel all over the country, but when he got old and no one took care of him, I would often go around and help out. He would always tell me about outside things. From him, I learned a lot about the truth and felt that we poor people are not worthy of care. They shouldn’t live as well as cows and horses.”
Saying this, the disciple named Deng glanced at his companions around him again:
"But we people have tried our best just to live, so how can we have time to think about these things? So these things are hidden in our hearts, and we gradually forget them. But then we heard about the Taishan Army They called us and asked us to allocate land. We were very excited.”
"Actually, we are not just grass and trees. How can we not understand the master's thoughts? But so what if we people understand? Aren't we still going to be bullied by the master? It's because we can't fight them. And now you are here, We knew it was time for us to counterattack, so when the night master left, we disciples formed a team and killed them all.”
The words of Tu Li named Deng made his companions tremble with fear. They didn't understand why they said these things to the king of Taishan Army. Didn't this clearly tell him that we are thugs?
But beyond their expectations, Zhang Chong laughed loudly after hearing this. He turned to Yang Mao and said:
"Lao Yang, now you understand why you are brought here, right? This Gyeonggi Province is like a frying pan. It looks tepid to you, but as long as you sprinkle a few drops of water, it will explode immediately for you to see."
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As he said that, he looked at Luoshui in the distance. The waves were sparkling, and the banks were full of ripe wheat ears, exuding the fragrance of wheat.
He said sincerely to Yang Mao:
"This is the situation under your rule. You need to know it. And you need to know it. You can't see the situation below just sitting in the government office. You are an old man in our army. This time I will transfer you from the army to the local area. It’s because I believe in you. Nowadays, there are great conflicts in the world, but I can’t see ordinary people. Why? It’s because they don’t know Jiaxuan and don’t respect the head of Guizhou who supports them.”
Zhang Chong pointed to the wheat field and said:
"And look here, this is the foundation of the Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty has lost the hearts of the people here. So much so that the vast acres of wheat fields have become my wedding dress. And if I can't learn from it, then what we have worked so hard to cultivate will be Who will Katarada benefit from? ”
"That little brother just asked a good question, asking how long our yellow flag can continue to fly. I want to tell you that as long as our Taishan Army's feet are still rooted in this land, we can still see our common people in Guizhou. , then our yellow flag will continue to fly. And when we can’t do it anymore, this yellow flag will also fall.”
Zhang Chong's words were very casual, but everyone present felt heavy in their hearts. They understood what the king meant.
Then Zhang Chong turned around, looked at the disciple named Deng again, and told him:
"If you want to make progress, I'll give you this opportunity. After a while, a round of rural commune workshops will be held in the Gyeonggi area. On the one hand, they will explain how to divide the land. On the other hand, they will publicize to the people in Guizhou and explain why our Taishan Army should help everyone. . You can go there and learn. It’s useless to know the truth yourself. To really change the world, you need more people to understand the truth. And when the truth is no longer just a truth, but a matter of course, we can do it.”
Tu Li, surnamed Deng, was very excited. He wanted to express something, but his poor language could not support him.
Zhang Chong shook his head and asked:
"Since you have no name, I will give you one and call it Deng Yu."
At this time, the disciple, who had already been named Deng Yu, kowtowed to Zhang Chong with tears. He finally got an opportunity.
Then, Zhang Chong harvested the wheat field with these people, and then said goodbye to them under the sunset.
Finally he said to Deng Yu:
"You have to study hard. Your own knowledge is always limited, but the principles in the book are infinite. And when you understand a lot, you may or may not change, but it all requires you to try again You won’t know until you return to this land. Let’s see if there is any mud on the soles of our Taishan Army.”
After bidding farewell to Deng Yu, Zhang Chong and the others walked back to the camp. On the road, he saw Guo Tu standing alone.
In the end, Zhang Chong had someone pick him up and return to the camp together.
When Zhang Chong returned to the camp, He Kui, who had been impatient for a long time, came over and said worriedly to Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, where have you been this day? I searched for a long time and couldn't find you. I'm so worried."
Zhang Chong shrugged, touched Zhang Nan's belly with his elbow, and said with a smile:
"We are going to look for our roots. We have been here for a long time, and we have forgotten where we came from."
He Kui no longer cared about guessing riddles with Zhang Chong. He anxiously told Zhang Chong the latest news from the front:
"The flying army came to report that the Bohai Navy at Dagukou was defeated, and only one battalion retreated to the north bank of Yishui. Now, our southern defense line is completely open."
Zhang Chong seemed to have expected this result. He was not surprised at all. After walking to the horse and sitting down, he opened the military report and read it.
After a while, General Zhang Chong reported to He Kui and said sternly:
"Isn't this what we wanted from the beginning? Since they want to come, let them come in. We will fight a decisive battle with them on the edge of Luoshui. Now that we are here, don't leave."
With that said, Zhang Chong took out his dagger and stabbed it hard into the military newspaper.
Zhang Chong struck with anger, and the entire case shattered into pieces.
A battle that Zhang Chong never expected inevitably broke out.
(End of chapter)