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Those who committed minor offenses were also punished with caning!
Afterwards, Zhao Yuan took out the land deeds that had been seized from the Li family's estate.
Among them was a deed for 100 mu of land, dating back a century to the Jingde era of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty.
According to Li Baozheng,
This should be the land that the Li family ancestors purchased when they came to Xixi Village.
It's also the cleanest piece of land among all the Li family's fields!
After handing the land deed to the only remaining seven-year-old child in the Li family and his mother,
The remaining scattered land deeds, as well as various loan agreements with high interest rates and contracts obtained through selling oneself into servitude at low prices,
Zhao Yuan threw them all into the brazier and burned them!
I witnessed with my own eyes those papers printed with my own blood and tears turn to ashes in the raging fire.
Many villagers from Xixi Village immediately had tears in their eyes.
They all involuntarily wiped away their tears!
Afterwards, Zhao Yuan had the villagers select several elderly people.
Tell them to wait until the Liangshan soldiers leave.
Distribute land to the tenant farmers in Xixi Village who have no land!
This decision immediately drew cheers from the villagers present!
Many of them, since birth,
He then became a tenant farmer, tilling the fields for Li Baozheng's family.
I never imagined I'd ever own land!
Once everything is resolved, it will be time for Zhao Yuan and his men to capture Li Family Manor.
More than three hours have passed.
Dawn was just around the corner.
Zhao Yuan then ordered his men to distribute all the copper coins and grain that had been brought over to the villagers present.
"Fellow villagers, Cangzhou was hit by a major flood this year, and grain prices will definitely rise next year! With this grain, you won't have to worry about going hungry next year!"
"And the New Year is just around the corner. The villagers can use the copper coins they receive to buy some meat so that everyone can have a good New Year!"
The entire Xixi Village has over 120 households and more than 400 people.
Two shi of grain and two guan of copper coins per person!
Because the food was distributed according to the number of people.
Some families of four could receive eight bushels of grain at once.
If we save a little, this food...
Enough for them to eat for a whole year next year!
Immediately, many villagers knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.
Although Zhao Yuan had already ordered his soldiers to help them up,
But this still couldn't stop the villagers from expressing their gratitude with generous gifts.
Meanwhile, at Li Family Village,
Du Qian and Song Wan had already loaded all the money onto the oxcart.
They were delivered to the shore of the lake.
However, dealing with the remaining grain and livestock is a difficult task.
Especially the tens of thousands of bushels of grain, which could only be obtained by the soldiers of Liangshan.
They used oxcarts and carried things on shoulder poles.
It would take at least half a day to transport it to the shore of the lake.
Du Qian and Song Wan were troubled by this.
Zhao Yuan smiled slightly and ordered someone to fetch the villagers of Xixi Village.
For every twenty shi (a unit of dry measure) transported to the shore of the marsh, one shi of grain would be given as payment.
They hired villagers from Xixi Village to help transport the grain.
Many villagers who had just avenged their great grudge because of Zhao Yuan,
They refused any reward, preferring to work for free to repay the kindness of Liangshan!
Zhao Yuan would naturally not be stingy with this little bit of food.
It took a lot of persuasion to convince these villagers to accept the payment!
The sky was already beginning to lighten.
But on the road from Xixi Village to the shore of Liangshan Marsh,
However, three or four hundred villagers were transporting grain together with the soldiers of Liangshan.
They carried it on their shoulders or pulled it in oxcarts.
Even the youngest children in the village helped Liangshan herd cattle and sheep.
Because Zhao Yuan had already agreed to their request.
Like grain, for every twenty livestock transported to the shore,
He kept one as payment for the delivery.
Incentives and rewards
Many villagers were enthusiastic about transporting grain and moving livestock.
Their morale was even higher than that of the soldiers of Liangshan.
Originally, the grain yield was 11,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
One thousand shi of grain had already been distributed to the villagers of Xixi Village, and another three or four hundred shi were left as their reward.
The remaining nine thousand shi of grain,
It took less than two hours to get 990 before noon.
They have all been moved to the shore of the lake!
In addition to these grains, there were also a large number of livestock such as cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs.
The three Ruan brothers, who were in charge of transportation at Liangshan Marsh,
I'm almost going crazy with work!
Throughout the entire village, from fishing boats to patrol boats,
They were all brought in to transport money, grain, and livestock.
The hundred-plus people that Zhao Yuan originally allocated to the Ruan brothers were simply not enough.
So they simply gathered all the villagers who knew how to swim.
Regardless of age or weakness, they were all called down the mountain.
Even the female soldiers under Qiong Ying's command rushed to help.
The group worked for another two hours.
Seeing that there was not much wealth left,
The three Ruan brothers then realized what was happening.
Why haven't I seen Zhao Yuan yet?
Not only him, but Lin Chong, Sun An, and Lu Zhishen are also nowhere to be found?
He then hurriedly inquired with Du Qian and Song Wan, who were guarding the valuables on the shore.
"To prevent villains from being tempted by the money, Brother Zhao and his soldiers had been patrolling back and forth on the road from Xixi Village to here!"
Du Qian replied,
"Half an hour ago, a scout noticed some activity in Dongxi Village, so Brother Zhao led Brother Sun An and his entire battalion of soldiers to investigate!"
"Instructor Lin and Commander Lu were worried, so they went over to help too!"
Chapter 83 Chao Gai and Song Jiang
Xixi Village and Dongxi Village.
They are separated by a large stream.
The two villages are only about ten miles apart.
The Liangshan forces made a commotion as they marched into Xixi Village late at night.
Naturally, Dongxi Village had already learned about this.
Chao Gai, the head of Dongxi Village, is different from Li, the head of Xixi Village.
This man is a man of honor and loyalty, even though his family owns thousands of acres of fertile land.
However, because he secretly engaged in private business and did not rely on land for a living,
Therefore, they were not harsh on the tenants, but instead often treated them with kindness.
Over time, he managed Dongxi Village until it became as solid as an iron barrel.
The villagers all followed Chao Gai's lead.
It was the county officials who went down to Dongxi Village.
They also needed to pay a visit to Chao Gai first.
That night, some villagers heard about the commotion in Xixi Village.
Chao Gai then quickly ordered the villagers of Dongxi Village, along with the servants of his estate,
Armed with knives and guns, they guarded the crossroads leading to and from Xixi Village, remaining vigilant!
At the same time, someone was sent to invite Wu Yong, the private tutor from Dongxi Village, to his home to discuss countermeasures.
"How strange! Wang Lun has occupied Liangshan Marsh for more than a year or two. Even when he went down the mountain to borrow grain, he always chose sparsely populated, remote villages."
Chao Gai frowned, puzzled, "How come you suddenly seem to have changed your ways, daring to plunder even a large village like Xixi Village?"
"Such a sudden change must have meant that something must have happened on Liangshan Mountain."
Wu Yong pondered for a moment and said, "In my opinion, either Liangshan is so short of food that it can no longer sustain itself, which forced Wang Lun to plunder Dongxi Village!"
"Either something happened to Wang Lun, or the stronghold has changed hands, which would explain this change in their behavior."
"Liangshan has changed hands?"
Chao Gai shook his head: "Although Wang Lun is not very capable, and Du Qian and Song Wan are also mediocre, I heard that Lin Chong, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards in Dongjing, has already joined Liangshan. With him there, who can hurt Wang Lun?"
"However, I heard the other day that Wang Lun was jealous of talent and ability, and when Lin Chong came to the mountain, he made things difficult for him. It can't be that Lin Chong killed Wang Lun and took the position of chief himself, can it?"
"Master, that's unlikely too."
Wu Yong thought for a moment and said, "I have also heard about Lin Chong's story. He was a man who was famous in Tokyo, but he was forced to join the Liangshan outlaws. It was all because he was too soft and weak in his actions."
"Even if this person joined Liangshan and was suppressed by Wang Lun, he would probably keep his grievances to himself and only let them out when he had no other choice."
"If Liangshan hadn't changed hands, surely it couldn't have been that their granary was destroyed by fire, forcing them to go down the mountain to borrow grain?" Chao Gai said helplessly.
"Well... I'm not sure either."
Wu Yong could only respond with a wry smile.
With so little information, even though he considered himself a genius, he was powerless.
"In your opinion, sir, after the Liangshan army plundered Xixi Village, will they attack my Dongxi Village as well?" Chao Gai asked.
"Please rest assured, Master of the Manor,"
Wu Yong said with a smile, "As far as I know, Li Baozheng of Xixi Village has already stockpiled no less than 10,000 shi of grain in his village in order to sell grain at a high price in Cangzhou next year."