Dominate the Country

Chapter 9 United Front

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The autumn wind is bleak. The day of the Autumn Examination is approaching, and Chen Ming is unaware of it. When he was still busy in Xiaonangou, people didn't know that the old lady of the Chen family insisted on walking from her home to the Confucius Temple at the east entrance of the market every day, and respectfully lit a stick of incense for the clay and wooden sculpture of Confucius.

Even the Gao family in the county town suppressed their little thoughts and went to the Confucian Temple in the city every day to offer incense. And there are many families like the Chen family in the whole Lushan County. All of them have family members participating in this year's Autumn Examination.

Chen Ming, whose main consciousness is occupied by the soul from the future, still despised the influence of the imperial examination on this era, which is a huge torrent that is ten or a hundred times greater than the college entrance examination in the future. But no matter how great the influence of the Autumn Examination is, it cannot hinder human beings' demand for money. For several powerful families in Lushan County at this moment, what is the provincial examination and the Autumn Examination, it is all a breeze. Anyway, none of their family or relatives have been punished for this crime.

For them now, getting more bone china quotas from the Chen family is the most important thing. Flush toilets are not technically demanding, and Lushan's porcelain kilns can make them in no time. The key is the bone china. The profit of high- and medium-end porcelain is definitely not comparable to that of low-end coarse porcelain bowls. Moreover, the quantity of bone china is limited. Unlike those coarse porcelain bowls, bone china requires bones to be fired. The bone powder used by the Chen family's laboratory is all cow bones, but how many cow bones can there be in the whole Lushan?

In the middle of the Qianlong period, China did not attach as much importance to oxen as it did in the Tang and Song dynasties, but there were also a number of families that ate beef. When the Chen family purchased cow bones, in order to confuse people, they also purchased a large number of fish bones, sheep bones, pig bones, etc., just to keep the formula secret.

This restriction has become a tight hoop on the head of the Chen family kiln factory. If they don't find a way to overcome it, the output of bone china cannot be increased. The Chen family contacted Gao's family for this question. Gao Pengqi was the inspector of Luyang Pass, which was the largest livestock market in Lushan County. Nanyang Prefecture was next to Luyang Pass to the south.

Nanyang Yellow Cattle is a famous specialty in the country.

Gao Pengqi is 47 years old this year and is the eldest brother of Gao. He doesn't look old, with a square face, thick eyebrows, a high nose bridge, a height of 5 feet 23, and bright eyes.

As an inspector, even though Gao Pengqi was born as a scholar in his early years, his behavior is full of the straightforwardness and straightforwardness of a warrior after years of tempering in the world. Or to change it, he has the style of a rural tyrant, and he still has a little bit of scholarly air in appearance.

Chen Ming has seen this uncle. In Chen Ming's eyes, this uncle is not a real scholar. The Four Books and Five Classics are more of a stepping stone to the officialdom for this cheap uncle. When he found that the Four Books and Five Classics could not achieve his wishes, he turned around and completely threw the Four Books and Five Classics behind his head.

"Haha, good, good, good division. Sharing the benefits equally and not eating alone is the real ability to deal with people and Tai'anping." In front of Chen Cong, Gao Pengqi praised his nephew loudly. There was sincerity in his words. Chen Cong himself also felt that the eight words "sharing the benefits equally and not eating alone" were great. As Gao Pengqi said, it was the real ability to deal with people and keep the family peaceful.

The Chen family used bone china and flush toilets to win over the tyrants and gentry of the entire Lushan County. After a while, they could even spread the formula of bone china on a small scale, firmly turning the gentry and tyrants of the entire Lushan County into their allies, and the Tumen Chen family was really deeply rooted in Lushan. This will also benefit the Gao family.

Moreover, the fundamental interests of the Chen family are not the limited bone china, but salt and iron. On this road, the Gao family is the key point. The Luyang Pass is the main road to the south of Lushan County. Gao Pengqi has been in the position of Luyang Pass inspector for more than ten years. He has managed the southern route very well. Local tyrants, inspectors, and even the local sentries stationed in Nanyang Town cannot be completely dealt with by Gao Pengqi's official position and power, but he can take the lead in making connections. Many of the iron materials of the Chen family were taken away by the local snakes in Nanyang Prefecture and sold to Yunyang in Hubei.

The latter was a big powder keg during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Since the Yuan Dynasty, refugees have settled here. Because Yunyang Prefecture has a dangerous terrain, the government is afraid that refugees will gather and cause trouble, which is difficult to control. During the Yuan Dynasty, this area was a closed-off area and people were not allowed to move in. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang continued the Yuan system and implemented a ban policy on the Jingxiang area. He also sent Deng Yu, Duke of Weiguo, to lead troops to Fang County to clear it out, "empty the land and prohibit refugees from entering." But by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Yunyang had become the largest refugee gathering area at the time. Bankrupt farmers poured in from all directions like a tide, and the number of refugees reached more than 1.5 million. Zhu Ming kept dispersing the people and wanted to clear Yunyang again. The contradiction between officials and the people eventually triggered the Jingxiang refugee uprising that shocked the world.

Two major uprisings in five years shook the entire Ming Dynasty. The court was afraid that sticking to the previous policy would allow the refugees in Yunyang to continue to riot, so it pinched its nose and established Yunyang Prefecture. This system has continued to this day, and the six counties of Yunyang have not changed to this day.

But just like the middle period of the Ming Dynasty, the Qianlong Dynasty was not truly a prosperous era. Every year, a large number of bankrupt people became penniless refugees. Yunyang Prefecture, as a place with high mountains and lush forests, had always been a favorite place for refugees. To date, the number of refugees there would be at least 300,000 or 500,000, if not 1.8 million.

On the original trajectory of history. One of the flashpoints of the White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan and Hubei that broke out in the first year of Jiaqing was the refugees in Yunyang. At present, the situation of the refugees in Yunyang has not been so difficult that they have risen up to rebel, but it has become a good dumping ground for the Chen family's iron materials.

The Chen family does not have the power to send the iron materials directly to Yunyang, and the local snakes in Nanyang Prefecture have transferred them through a way, but this is also a line related to the economic lifeline of the Chen family. Therefore, there is no need to say more about the influence of the Gao family in the Chen family and their importance to the Chen family.

Chen Ming does not care about the little profit from flush toilets, and he does not think that he will make much profit even from bone china. What he cares about is the iron materials, and the real good iron will not be bad even in Lushan.

—— Lushan produces a lot of iron materials, but the quality is generally poor.

The new iron materials smelted in a small blast furnace are so good that they simply blind the eyes of the entire Chen family.

On the second day of iron production, all the craftsmen involved in the construction of the new iron furnace signed a new contract with the Chen family. This method must not be leaked.

Therefore, with this huge source of wealth, the Chen family wisely made the decision to focus on the big and let go of the small, and use bone china to "unite" the entire Lushan gentry and landlord class. It is very important to do a good job in united front work. The united front "unifies" the enemy and strengthens itself.

At this family meeting, Chen Ming not only attended the meeting as the heir of the Chen family, but also won his own place in the family with all his "talents + prestige".

"Share the benefits, don't eat alone!" These eight words were the first thing he proposed at the meeting. Chen Ming certainly did not come up with this "theory" out of his deep understanding of the entire Lushan situation. This is the life philosophy that the overwhelming information on the Internet told him 250 years later.

When people are weak and the rules are completely controlled by the other party, they should give up the benefits that should be given up. If you want to become bigger and stronger, you must know how to make choices!

"Knowledge of worldly affairs is learning, and understanding of human nature is writing. Such truth is not something that everyone can understand. Why didn't I see that this kid had such ability before?" After Gao Pengqi sent Chen Cong away, he returned home and said to his family with emotion.

"Shitou likes to read miscellaneous books the most, and my aunt always says that he is not motivated. Now the Chen family is benefiting from those miscellaneous books, isn't it?" Gao Yanming, Chen Ming's cousin, who was born only 20 days younger than Chen Ming, said while muttering in his heart: I have read a lot of those books, but why haven't I seen any bone china formula?

"In my opinion, Shitou was raised by my aunt Tiger as a house cat. Now that he has come out, he is like a needle in a bag, and the end is immediately seen. I..."

Before Gao Yanming finished speaking, he jumped up with his legs, and saw Gao Pengqi grab the tickler at hand and threw it at him. He cursed, "You bastard, you've learned to talk in a roundabout way, haven't you? Go back and read your books. If you can't pass the boy's test next year, I'll break your legs!"

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