On the third day of the ninth lunar month, Xiao Ruxun, who had just arrived at Shaoyang City, received a letter in the official office of Shaoyang City.
The letter came from Zheng Ying, who had captured Shen Yicheng's hometown. It was sent by Zheng Ying on the 19th of August. Xiao Ruxun was very curious about it, so he read the letter overnight.
The content of the letter was not much. It was very simple. First, it asked about Xiao Ruxun's current situation, showed concern about Xiao Ruxun's safety, and exchanged feelings between generals and commanders. Then, it changed the topic and mentioned his own confusion and problems.
The area Zheng Ying occupied was Ningbo Prefecture. At present, the entire Ningbo Prefecture was under his control. He had also begun to make plans to conquer the outside world. The army under his command had more than doubled. At present, there were more than 11,000 people, most of whom were newly surrendered soldiers. His power was expanding very fast.
In accordance with Xiao Ruxun's order, he confiscated the properties of Shen Yicheng's family and several other big families who had used private armies to fight against the Zhennan Army. Then, he took away the money and distributed the land and houses to the tenants and some landless farmers. This received a very good response from the local people. Many farmers were very grateful to the Zhennan Army.
In the territory of Ningbo Prefecture, those big families had also calmed down and no longer dared to say anything.
However, when Zheng Ying pulled the main force out of Ningbo Prefecture and continued to conquer the other prosperous areas in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, the rear of Ningbo Prefecture, which had just been stabilized, was suddenly attacked by a large local clan in a rural area.
To be specific, a small number of Zhennan Army soldiers who stayed in the area were defeated by the private armies of the local big families. Many of them were killed. When Zheng Ying learned about it, he immediately sent his troops back to suppress it.
Although the incident had been settled, there was one thing that puzzled Zheng Ying.
Some of the surviving soldiers of the Southern Town Army came back with the protection of the Burmese officials and told Zheng Ying that when the landlords attacked them with their guards, they were surprised to find that among the private soldiers attacking them, there were tenant farmers and landless farmers who had been given land before.
They had obviously received such a great favor from the Zhennan Army, but now they turned around and attacked the soldiers of the Zhennan Army. This made Zheng Ying very puzzled and resentful. If it were not for Xiao Ruxun's repeated orders not to hurt civilians, Zheng Ying really had the idea of killing them.
Zheng Ying realized that the rear army was not strong enough, so he planned to divide the Zhennan Army's elite soldiers into various places to maintain stability and to deter the local big families. at the same time, he also asked Xiao Ruxun to give him some support.
The headquarters of 5,000 people had to maintain stability and invade the other counties at the same time. It was really hard to make ends meet. The newly surrendered soldiers were also not very reliable. When the battle was going well, they were very fierce, but when they encountered a slight setback, they would shrink back.
In short, Zheng Ying expressed that he did not have the strength to advance for the time being and needed Xiao Ruxun's support.
After receiving this letter, Xiao Ruxun fell into deep thought.
The long contemplation only ended when Xiao Ruxun's newly recruited aide, Xie He, brought some processed documents to Xiao Ruxun for instructions.
Xie He was curious about the reason for Xiao Ruxun's contemplation and asked Xiao Ruxun, so Xiao Ruxun showed him the letter.
After reading the letter, Xie He looked at Xiao Ruxun and asked, "How does the Commander-in-Chief plan to deal with this matter? Are you going to increase the troops under Zheng Ying? "
Xiao Ruxun looked at Xie He.
Xie He's courtesy name was Qingquan, and he was the aide he obtained after he entered Guilin. He was also one of the few scholars who took the initiative to submit to him.
Although he was just a poor scholar, he started taking the imperial examinations at the age of 15. After ten years, he only managed to become a scholar. In order to support his studies, his parents worked themselves to death. The family's farmland was sold at a low price, and he could only be reduced to writing and copying letters for others to make a living.
In order to survive, he also did many other things. Basically, he tried to do all the decent jobs that could make a living. His desire to survive was strong, and he basically gave up on the imperial examinations. Moreover, he had a deep jealousy towards those favored by the heavens.
After Xiao Ruxun led the army into Guilin, he knelt beside Xiao Ruxun's warhorse and asked Xiao Ruxun to give him a bite to eat. He was literate and could write.
Being literate and able to write was a very good advantage. Since Xiao Ruxun entered Guangxi, he had also paid attention to recruiting some scholars to do paperwork for him. The poorer the scholar, the better. It was even better if they did not have any property.
These people were people who made a living outside. As scholars, their temperament had almost been polished by the cruel reality. They were easier to recruit, and their thinking was more practical. They belonged to the group of people who could be absorbed and united among scholars.
Now, in Xiao Ruxun's main army, there were more than a hundred poor scholars, and among them, there might be some who could do things.
These days, except for a few scholars who came from real big families, most of the scholars who were sent out to become officials were confused at first. They did not work hard, and did not know how to distinguish grain from grain. They only knew how to read and write, and knew nothing about civil affairs, agriculture, and water conservancy. When they were sent to the local government, they could only say that they governed by doing nothing.
In terms of understanding of the common people, these poor scholars who failed the imperial examinations were much better than them. They were different from the proud disciples of the sages. These poor scholars who were willing to follow Xiao Ruxun were more practical. They did not care about beating around the bush. With a little training, they would be able to do some specific tasks easily.
This was Xiao Ruxun's strategy. He did not expect scholars who were above the High Scholar level to follow him. In this world, there were only poor scholars, and there were no poor High Scholar level people. What he could fight for were the poor scholars who were the most miserable in these days.
Xie He was a piece of jade that was not very good. However, he was still a piece of jade. His handwriting was beautiful, and he was quick to respond. Whatever he was given to him was done in an orderly manner, and he was responsible for his work. He was a good candidate to become an official.
Although his desire for money was not ordinary, it did not matter. There was nothing wrong with being fond of money. As for his hatred and jealousy towards those High Scholar level people, this was even better. In fact, it could be said that there was nothing better than this.
Hence, Xiao Ruxun transferred him to his side, and treated him like a confidential secretary. He helped Xiao Ruxun deal with some matters and transcribed some official documents. Xiao Ruxun had more contact with Xie He, and trusted him more.
At this moment, Xiao Ruxun looked at Xie He, and a special and bold idea emerged in his mind.
"Qing Quan, I want to ask you a question."
Xie He nodded his head, "Marshal, please ask."
"Do you know why those farmers who have received favors from our army are helping those who have invaded their land to attack our army?"
Xiao Ruxun looked at Xie He, wanting to know his answer.
Xie He had been at the bottom of society for many years, and he had studied before. He was not willing to sink into depravity, and thus had a unique view of the people at the bottom of society. He was different from most of the scholars, and this was also why Xiao Ruxun liked him.
As expected, Xie He had a helpless look on his face as he shook his head.
"From what I see, they can only see the land in front of them, and cannot see anything else. For many years, they have been treated like slaves by the rich and powerful families, and they have even gotten used to it. They feel that there is nothing wrong with it, and as long as they have food to eat, it does not matter.
When our army first arrived, we gave them land. Although they are grateful, it is not easy to get rid of their habits. They are more used to being enslaved by the rich and powerful families, rather than being rescued by our army to become farmers.
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