After sending a reply to Ye Mengxiong, Xiao Ruxun did not stop his march north. Instead, he sped up and led his army towards Wuchang Prefecture.
His next strategic goal was to take down the three towns in Wuhan, then follow the Yangtze River to Nanjing, where he would rendezvous with Jiang Dahai's troops, who had already occupied Nanjing. After that, he would advance north on both land and water, advancing all the way to the capital and taking down Shen Yicheng.
After taking down Shen Yicheng, he would be able to announce the outcome to the world. It would be very easy, just like Zhu Di's Jingnan campaign.
Wuchang Prefecture was a strategic town in Huguang, and it was also a town that guarded the throat of the Yangtze River. Taking down Wuchang Prefecture would open the way to the north and invade the Central Plains. If Xiao Ruxun were to face an extremely powerful northern enemy, then Wuchang Prefecture would be an important northern expedition base.
However, that was not the case at the moment. The road from Wuchang to Datong was extremely weak and did not have many enemies. For Xiao Ruxun, taking down Wuchang was more symbolic than practical.
When the army advanced to Xianning, Xiao Ruxun received a letter from Xie He, saying that he had won the first battle in Ningbo's Yinxian County. Using the method that Xiao Ruxun had told him, he had successfully crippled the few major families that had resisted the Zhennan Army fiercely. At the same time, he had taken control of a village and gained their support.
The first farmers' association had been established, the first peasant organization had been organized, and the first group of farmers who had no way out had appeared.
As the progress unfolded, this place, which used to have the strongest landlords and gentry, would also become the place where the strongest supporters of the Zhennan Army gathered. It could even become a second base that would not be inferior to Myanmar.
Xiao Ruxun also thought so. The more intense the resistance, the more stable it would be after it was pacified, and the higher the support rate would be. This was because those who resisted had all jumped out and been destroyed, leaving only those who supported them. Then, naturally, the place would be stable and the support rate would naturally be high. Naturally, it would become the base.
On the contrary, those places that didn't have strong resistance needed to be dealt with through gentle methods, so it wasn't very useful.
However, Xiao Ruxun's plan was different. This time, it was a land reform in the truest sense of the word. He had to start from the root. Whether it was a violent robbery or a monetary ransom, he had to start from the root. If the foundation that the aristocrats relied on to resist the authority of the central government was gone, they would not be able to move.
They even needed the protection of the central government to survive.
The more he thought about it, the more Xiao Ruxun felt the foresight and positive significance of the mausoleum system of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, Xiao Ruxun didn't wait for Xie He to ask for more team members to go to Ningbo to help with the land reform. Instead, he took the initiative to send two teams there. He also hoped that Fujian would send two teams there to carry out the land reform.
He had his own reasons for doing so.
By doing so, not only did she completely force the peasants to stand against the aristocrats, but she also forced the members of the working group who were in charge of the land reform to stand against the traditional aristocrats. This was one of Xiao Ruxun's goals.
These people were also scholars and disciples of the Confucian Sect. However, because they didn't pass the imperial exams, they couldn't advance to the ranks of the aristocrats. They could only drift on the fringes of society, and their situation was very awkward.
Those who went up were looked down upon by the imperial exams and scholars, who felt that they had no future. Those who went down were ridiculed by the peasants as bookworms who didn't know how to work and couldn't distinguish between the five grains. They laughed at them, saying that their grandparents didn't love them, and that they were a marginalized group.
If this group of people was used well, they would be much more lethal than the peasants.
Even more convenient was that a considerable portion of the 300,000 scholars were these people. They could be won over and brought into Xiao Ruxun's team. Then, through the land reform, they could seize power. At the same time, they would become traitors and rebels in the eyes of the traditional aristocrats. Thus, they would have no choice but to rely on Xiao Ruxun's military force.
Through the experience of the land reform, they would have a deeper understanding of the people and the local areas. Thus, they would have the qualifications to become low-level officials. A small number of outstanding people could even advance to higher positions, and even enter the central government.
The difference between these people and the imperial exams was the rank of scholarly honors. When it came to being an official, they were all the same. No one was born to be an official. After passing the imperial exams, they still had to observe politics and practice. When they reached the local areas, there were many people who were played around by low-level officials.
Not to mention those who passed the imperial exams but didn't take the imperial exams. They had no experience in politics, and the difference between them and the poor scholars was that one was rich while the other was poor.
When Xiao Ruxun sent the poor scholars to operate the land reform, it was like they were observing politics. It was like an internship. Furthermore, it was a more direct and thorough internship, directly changing their appearance and even changing their brains. After the internship was successful, they would also become skilled grassroots bureaucrats.
Xiao Ruxun didn't know if any of them had already seen through his intentions. At least for now, the number one person among them, Xie He, didn't see it. He had already given his allegiance to Xiao Ruxun.
They should still be immersed in the intoxication of the initial power they had. They should be using this power more and more intensely against the aristocrats, creating an increasingly intense confrontation. In this way, they would also be firmly tied to the chariot, with no possibility of getting off.
Xiao Ruxun wanted to use this land reform to cultivate a team of civil officials that could be trusted in the future, different from the traditional civil officials.
Of course, the traditional civil officials wouldn't be killed off. A considerable number of them would still survive. After losing their land, they would be accepted as they had knowledge. Some of them would even be included in the ruling group.
These people and Xie He and the others who had started with the land reform would definitely be incompatible. In the future, this could also cause internal divisions and antagonism among the civil officials, forming a fight between the old and new factions of civil officials. This would help suppress the power of the civil officials, and even help to break the dominance of Confucianism.
Xiao Ruxun had never believed in the integrity of the literati. He would never repeat the bitter mistakes of the former Song Dynasty and Daming. This time, no matter what, he would uproot the current situation.
While all of this was developing in full swing, on the tenth of October, Xiao Ruxun led the army to Paper Mill Town. It was only half a day's journey from Wuchang Prefecture.
Probably because of Ye Mengxiong's arrangements, Xiao Ruxun did not encounter any resistance after receiving the letter. All the cities obediently opened their gates. Xiao Ruxun also restricted military discipline and did not allow the army to act recklessly. He sent people into the cities to appease the people, issued the declaration of the Northern Expedition, and then continued north.
After arriving at Paper Mill Town, Xiao Ruxun ordered the army to stop advancing and search for ships on the spot. Then, they cut wood to build ships and prepared to go down the river to Nanjing.
At this place, there should no longer be a need for war. Since Ye Mengxiong had made his stance, there was definitely a need for negotiation. If the ownership of the three towns in Wuchang could be resolved through negotiation, it would naturally be better than using troops to fight.
Therefore, Xiao Ruxun sent someone to Wuchang Prefecture to pass the news to Ye Mengxiong.
Soon, Ye Mengxiong sent back the news.
Tomorrow, Ye Mengxiong would personally go to Paper Mill Town to meet with Xiao Ruxun. He asked Xiao Ruxun to find a quiet place. He wanted to have a good chat with Xiao Ruxun without anyone disturbing them.
Xiao Ruxun shared the news with his generals and advisors. Everyone had different reactions.
"Marshal, can this Ye Mengxiong really be trusted? Will he have other plans? "
Zhao Hu knew a little about Xiao Ruxun's past, but he didn't know much about Ye Mengxiong.
Xiao Ruxun said, "Master Ye is a scholar I respect. In the past few years, he has helped me a lot and is my friend. Even if others don't believe him, I can't not believe Master Ye."
Yuan Huang stroked his beard and nodded.
"Master Ye Mengxiong is trustworthy. Let's not talk about other things. Just his identity as the Minister of War in Nanjing, if he stands on our side, our moral position will be more stable. When the time comes, we will have a better chance to fight back against Shen Yicheng's possible moral condemnation."
Zhao Hu curled his lips in disdain.
"These damn civil officials only know how to talk big. When it comes to fighting with real swords and guns, they are all cowards. If you ask me, I don't care about moral condemnation. Just directly bombard them, and the world will be quiet!"
Xiao Ruxun shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"You, have you won too many battles that your brain is filled with guns? There are always some things that can't be solved by guns! "
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