Chapter 29 Bright Prospects
He Wei donated more than 1,500 acres of fertile land.

Jinmao owns the rights to use and harvest the fertile land in a nearly wholly-owned manner.

Only 25% of the harvest was left for the He brothers as labor costs.

The fertile land nominally belongs to the four brothers of the He family.

Jinmao provides seeds and technical support, while the He brothers are responsible for farming, caring for the crops, and harvesting.

This matter was finalized so simply at the banquet.

All the local gentry present at the meeting had bitter faces. They never imagined that this was actually a Hongmen Banquet.

There was no other way, so everyone donated their own fertile land, and following the old example of the He Wei brothers, they collected another 1,000 acres.

These are all fertile fields, and the other barren land on the hillsides is in the hands of the people.

"You are different from Brother He."

Jinmao returned the favor: "Just follow the old rules of Jinyun Mountain. I'll take 60% and you take 40%."

The local gentry expressed their gratitude, for they knew that Jinyun Mountain had harvested a large amount of vegetable oil, which was much more valuable than grain!

"Yang, go fetch a truckload of oil."

Jin Mao smiled and said, "Now that we have finished our important work, I still need your help with a small matter."

When Jin Yang brought the oil to the banquet hall, Jin Mao took a ladle and shook the oil, pouring it into empty bowls.

"Oh, this is top quality oil!"

"The county lord is young and promising!"

"I admire you."

The local gentry flattered the emperor crazily and did not hide their greed when they looked at the vegetable oil.

"After the matter is completed, this truckload of oil will be given to you as a gift."

After Jin Mao's words came out, the gentry could no longer sit still. A cart of oil held 10 hu, which meant that each of the ten people present could get one hu!
This is not a small amount of money, so everyone volunteered.

"Okay, okay." Jin Mao said, "This matter is simple and difficult at the same time."

"I want to use your prestige in the village to persuade the people to lend me their land to grow rapeseed in the winter. Don't worry, I won't treat them unfairly."

Jin Mao said something ugly up front: "Of course, the people's autumn grain still needs to be collected."

He planned to report to his superiors and ask them to exempt Lizhou from taxes for one year. After all, it had just suffered a great disaster and needed to recuperate.

As for the autumn grain collected, it was naturally used to feed his subordinates. With so many mouths to feed, Jinyun Mountain alone was not enough.

An agreement has been signed for the gentry's land, and 60% of the autumn and winter grain will belong to Jinmao.

This was a simple matter, and the gentry agreed very readily, as long as their blood was not drawn.

Within five days, 2,500 acres of fertile land, 1,000 acres of middle land, and 1,000 acres of lower land east of Lizhou were all under Jinmao's control.

There are many mountains and few people in the west of Lizhou, with only more than 2,000 acres of medium and low-quality land, all of which are under Jinmao's control.

At this point, Jinmao has the final say over nearly 9,000 acres of land, including nearly 6,500 acres of land in Lizhou and more than 2,000 acres in Jinyun Mountain.

...

The county seat of Yingchuan County was Yingyin County, the home of Xun.

Since the Party and Faction Persecution was lifted last year, the Xun family has welcomed an endless stream of guests.

High-ranking officials such as the general, the grand tutor, the grand marshal, the minister of interior and the minister of works all sent people to ask Xun Shuang to come out of retirement.

Xun Shuang declined them all.

Xun Shuang's refusal to take the official position caused quite a stir in the entire Xun family.

But for those who can understand it, there is no need for further explanation, and for those who cannot understand it, there is no need for explanation either.

Last year, when the Yellow Turbans rebelled, Yingyin County suffered greatly. The Xun family was fine, but their fields were badly damaged.

Fortunately, the Xun family has been passed down for many years, and the savings are enough to ensure that the whole family will not go hungry for three to five years.

Recently, Xun Yu has been in a neither good nor bad mood.

Li Min, the new governor of Yingchuan County, tried several times to recruit Xun Yu as a county official.

Being recognized by others is a happy thing, but Xun Yu still declined. It was not because he was learning from Xun Shang, but because Xun Yu thought the time was not right.

Besides, he was proud of his talent, but he was just a small county official, so it would be better for him to study and build up his reputation.

There are happy things, and naturally there are also troublesome things.

Xun Yu had no idea how a kid from such a remote mountainous area in Kuaiji County could know him and write such a disgusting letter.

If his wife's family wasn't so powerful, he wouldn't even bother to look at them.

"Gongda, what are you going to do?"

An extremely tall scholar stopped, turned around and respectfully saluted Xun Yu: "Uncle."

This man's name was Xun You, also known as Gongda. He was six years older than Xun Yu, but a generation younger.

However, the two have a very good relationship. They are uncle and nephew in name, but they are actually friends.

"I'm going to train the clan soldiers." Xun You replied.

Every noble family maintains a certain number of private soldiers, otherwise, they would not even be able to protect their fields.

"Train the tribal soldiers?" Xun Yu couldn't help but think of the method of training the Min Yue mentioned in Jin Mao's letter.

"I have a method that you may want to try." Xun You was surprised. Xun Yu was very talented, but when it came to training soldiers, Xun You did not agree with him.

"Uncle, please speak."

Xun You's face seemed flawless, but Xun Yu could see his hesitation.

"I'm just saying that, don't take it seriously."

Xun You insisted, "Uncle, please explain clearly."

Xun Yu did not hide anything and told the whole story.

Xun You said with interest: "Don't worry, uncle, we will know the truth after trying it."

A month later.

Xun Yu and Xun You, uncle and nephew, looked at the powerful clan soldiers and exchanged silent glances.

it is more than words.

...

April is a busy month.

After Lizhou surrendered, Jin Mao encountered big trouble in Tangxi Township, the base camp of the Jin and Liu families.

The side branches of the clan only want to take benefits but not give in return.

The villagers were also uncooperative.

The cause was that the county magistrate Liu An was sabotaging Jinmao everywhere and promoting Jinmao's beneficial policies as bad policies.

In addition, Liu An also instigated the two clans' side branches to demand the sharing of Jinmao's technology.

"Master, do you care?"

Faced with Jin Mao's questioning, Liu Ye just avoided and sighed.

The palms and backs of the hands are all made of flesh, and not everyone can bear the pain of cutting flesh.

On the Jin family's side, Jin Gao went to Zhang'an County, and Jin Shan couldn't control the situation alone.

Jin Mao reached a high position at a young age, and there were people in the clan who envied and jealous him.

It is understandable to complain a little, but if you are asked to become a stumbling block, Jinmao will not tolerate it.

"Uncle, let me be frank."

Jin Mao issued an ultimatum: "If anyone in the clan is deceived and refuses to change his ways, don't blame me for being ruthless in the future!"

"You little bastard!" Jin Shan said angrily, "Who are you talking to?"

In this matter, no matter who the opponent is, Jinmao will not give in at all.

"Alas, you have grown too powerful. I can't control you anymore."

Jin Shan stood up: "I'll tell them one last time, if..."

"Master!" Jin Yang suddenly jumped out and interrupted Jin Shan, "Let me go. No one dares to say anything when I speak harshly."

Jinshan thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he let Jinyang do it.

In the end, except for a few families with close ties to Jin Yang, all other short-sighted branches of the Jin family refused, and some even wanted to recall the people they had sent to Jinyun Mountain.

Fortunately, the main personnel of Jinyunshan have not left, which does not affect Jinmao’s overall plan.

Since Tangxi Township is blocked, there is no need to go to Lanxi Township in the northwest.

The entire Wushang County only has Dongxiang, which is connected to Lizhou, and Xinyang Township, which is connected to Dongxiang and Zhuji County.

Jinmao went to Xinyang and Dongxiang again, but the local customs there were very different.

The gentry were unusually united, and the villagers welcomed Jinmao's policies.

Jinmao didn't waste any time and cooperated with the villagers of both places for a win-win situation.

The gentry can do whatever they want, just don't bother us.

What if the squire couldn't help but reach out?
That's great!
Since the reform, the combat effectiveness of the personal guard team has been increasing with sufficient food and oil.

In Shiraishi's words, "There is endless energy every day."

Naturally, those who are powerful around did not form a military organization, and no one dared to challenge Jin Mao.

Simply put, I'm just too bored.

After a month of hard work, the harvest seems to be not much.

In fact, Jinmao is very satisfied.

Not counting anything else, there are nearly 4,000 acres of land in Xinyang and Dongxiang alone under the direct jurisdiction of Jinmao.

Including Jinyun Mountain and Lizhou, Jinmao now owns more than 13,000 acres of land!

By next year, tens of thousands of shi of grain and tens of thousands of hu of oil will be in hand.

"I don't know how Grandpa is doing in Zhang'an County?"

As long as the salt and iron are in place, Jinmao will be able to expand its personal guard team to a thousand people next year, and recruit and train as many as the second echelon can.

This is the confidence of having food!

(End of this chapter)