Chapter 664 - 473: Divide the Land and Share the Wealth (Part 2)

After all, such trivial matters were not something he needed to concern himself with.

In his view, if the family needed to build a road and someone was blocking it, just drive them away. After all, they were just some poor wretches.

If the Shen Family wanted to buy their land, it was like smoke rising from their ancestral grave. Shouldn’t they be grateful and take the money to leave?

"Commander, this guy must have long harbored a plot. If this matter was truly done by my Shen Family, how could there possibly be any survivors, right?"

Seeing his ugly and cunning demeanor, Hex Chengpi could not bear to look any longer.

He was just about to arrange for someone to gather evidence with Zhang Laoshu.

Suddenly, someone else stood up in the crowd: "Commander, I also want to report Zhang Laoshu. My granddaughter used to work at the Shen Family residence. One day, they suddenly returned her corpse to me, saying she stole something and was beaten to death."

"But my daughter told me she was actually... actually..."

At this point, everyone understood what happened.

With the second person’s accusation, another one stepped forward: "Commander, I also want to report..."

Then a third, a fourth.

Among the onlookers, there were over a dozen people who had suffered at the hands of the Shen Family.

Now, Hex Chengpi no longer needed to search for evidence. He sneered and looked at Master Shen, saying, "You claim one person slandered you, but could all these people present be slandering you?"

"Someone, arrest this man who abused the people, causing countless deaths and injuries, on the spot."

"All those who have been oppressed by the Shen Family, if you have evidence, submit it to the County Government. If you lack evidence, you can have someone write a complaint. A trial will be held at 7:00 AM tomorrow, and justice will be served!"

Initially, Hex Chengpi wanted to execute this old scoundrel immediately, but he had just received instructions from the military advisor, prohibiting him from venting personal grievances in public, so he had to arrest him first for interrogation.

Seeing all the men of the Shen Family taken away by the Qingshan Army, the onlooking common folk were overjoyed.

"I never imagined I would see the day Shen Gongji was arrested," one villager choked out.

Another gritted his teeth: "It’s not just about being arrested; this old fool has committed so many crimes that the Commander is bound to execute him. Thinking about the old dog’s fate is truly satisfying."

"If anyone has grievances, don’t hide it, quickly write a complaint and submit it. Don’t let Shen Gongji escape justice by luck."

It wasn’t until the next day that the people of Linjiang City realized that it wasn’t only Shen Gongji who was to be tried.

For many commoners, this man was a figure larger than life.

But in this interrogation by the Qingshan Army, Shen Gongji, more popularly known as Mr. Shen, was nothing more than a small fry.

Among those involved were even the County Magistrate responsible for legal affairs. If the City Lord hadn’t fled, he might have been kneeling there for trial too.

Interrogating officials, it was a scene the common people had never witnessed before.

Upon learning this news, the onlookers directly blocked the road.

They originally thought they wouldn’t see anything.

But the Qingshan Army even erected a tall wooden platform, allowing everyone to witness the interrogation process.

The soldiers of the Qingshan Army, responsible for reading out the charges, nearly lost their voices shouting.

The commoners truly understood just how many unspeakable acts these people had committed.

Heads rolled one after another, yet no one showed any pity. For anyone who knew what they had done, the desire to tear them apart was unanimous.

After the interrogation, the Qingshan Army did something that left everyone speechless.

They distributed land.

This was something the common people didn’t even dare to dream about.

"Villagers, now if you register your household at the County Government, you can receive land: forty acres for adult men, twenty acres for women!"

The Qingshan Army’s courier rode through Linjiang City, loudly announcing.

"Are they really distributing land? And forty acres at that?"

"I must have misheard. How could anyone give us land?"

"Be cautious, don’t believe it. Once you register your household, you could be branded as rebels’ cohorts."

"That’s right. For now, the rebels may control the county, but once the Imperial Court’s army advances, they won’t withstand it."

"At that time, they can flee, but can we escape?"

"The Dog Court doesn’t care about us, but the Rebel Army treats us like humans. For the Commander, even if it means dying, so what? I’ll register now, from now on I am with the Qingshan Army."

"I’ve already registered at the County Government, got the land title deeds, I’ll check the land briefly."

"To check the deeds before inspecting the land feels somewhat hasty, doesn’t it?"

"Isn’t that nonsense? They’re giving you free land; you can’t expect to choose freely. Which plot you get depends on luck."

"Oh, by the way, the land is free, but is the rent high?"

"One part in thirty."

"I said it must be, wait, what did you say!"

The questioner naturally assumed that the Qingshan Army’s land rent would be very high.

Yet, as he spoke, he realized something was amiss.

The other party had said ’one part in thirty,’ not ’one in three.’

"You heard right, it’s one part in thirty. And no rent needs to be paid in the first year."

This number, for the people of Cangyan Realm, felt like a billionaire walking down the street suddenly deciding to give them all his wealth—a truly unimaginable stroke of fortune.

In the Cangyan Realm, the Zhao Family’s official land rent was fifty percent. Half of the harvest was handed over as land rent.

And that was just the rent collected by the Imperial Court.

If someone owned land, it was fine, but without it, they still had to give twenty percent to landlords.

This doesn’t even include the overt and covert deductions by those managing the collections.

Though the world rules in Cangyan Realm were incomplete, its characteristic near-endless spring, with spiritually abundant land, allowed four harvests a year.

Yet, the majority of commoners couldn’t survive three to five years.

Even so, the commoners’ lives were miserable.

In such a situation, hearing about the Qingshan Army’s rent rate sent them into a frenzy.

Initially, many feared registering would associate them with the rebelling Qingshan Army.

Now, they could no longer put it aside.

Such a low rent allowed them to overlook any dangers.

Tang Jianjun was utterly swamped managing the land distribution.

This matter wasn’t simply printing title deeds and handing them out like money; too many aspects were involved.

Reluctantly, Tang Jianjun had to shorten his sleep further.

His teacher often said that health was the capital for revenge.

But Tang Jianjun didn’t mind, for he keenly felt that every little he did chipped away at the mountain that was the Zhao Dynasty.

He was getting closer to real revenge.

Thinking of this gave him endless energy.

"Advisor, I have a suggestion. Do you think we should attack Yunshan City while the Dog Court hasn’t reacted yet?"

"I think even if they know we’ve seized Linjiang City, they may still overlook us, and the Dog Court’s reinforcements might not have been dispatched yet."

Tang Jianjun hadn’t considered the remark initially, but hearing the words Yunshan City sent a thrill down his spine.

He recalled the guerrilla warfare strategy his teacher discussed in lessons.

In the beginning, the rebel army couldn’t confront the court’s army directly. At such times, alternative strategies were necessary to close the gap.

Harnessing the terrain to engage in guerrilla warfare was undeniably a great choice.

No matter how large their army, in the mountains, it loses its full might.

Even skilled fighters can’t easily find us without knowing the terrain.

The vast expanse of Yunshan, extending thousands of miles, was their backyard.

"We’ll do it." Mentally reciting his teacher’s guerrilla warfare mantra, Tang Jianjun quickly made his decision.