mtl008 Chapter 326 There are still more good people in the world
Chapter 326 There are still more good people in the world
Luo Tong was truly dealt a severe blow; his head was spinning and he felt as if he were in a dream.
Even He Qi was captured, so it didn't seem so hard to accept that I was captured too.
But what about Sun Quan? Does he still have any hope of returning to Jiangdong?
If not, what will happen to the family?
The reason why the Jiangdong gentry supported Sun Quan was not because Sun Quan was so great, but because Sun Quan was too incompetent and far inferior to Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
When a ruler is incompetent, he has to rely on the gentry. The gentry can then collude with each other to gain more benefits and privileges. This is the foundation upon which the gentry survive, develop, and grow.
The ideal emperor for the aristocratic class was never a great and ambitious ruler like Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han, but rather a useless ruler like Emperors Huan and Ling, whose decrees could not leave the palace and could only maintain the status quo. Only in this way could the aristocratic class act recklessly and indulge in the exploitation of the court and the people.
That's why the Jiangdong gentry fought Cao Cao to the death and actively plotted to assassinate Liu Bei. But instead of succeeding, they attracted Guan Yu, the god of war, to Jiangdong.
Not only did he lead the enemy to Jiangdong, but he also suffered repeated defeats in the battles against Guan Yu and his son. Judging from this situation, it probably won't be long before Liu Bei takes control of Jiangdong.
What should the Jiangdong gentry do? They should actively align themselves with Liu Bei, proactively bring Liu Bei into Jiangdong, and then report Guan Yu and his son to Liu Bei.
Stop talking nonsense. Do you think Guan Xing was the one who started the land reform in Jiangdong? Wrong. It was Liu Bei who pioneered it.
Liu Bei had already started land reform in Bashu, but it wasn't as detailed and comprehensive as Guan Xing's. Otherwise, why would the Bashu gentry hate Liu Bei so much and think about surrendering to Cao Wei every day?
Among the three families of Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei, Liu Bei was the most warlike and aggressive. After entering Bashu, war never stopped. The Battle of Hanzhong lasted for three years. In order to capture Hanzhong, all the able-bodied men in Bashu were transferred to the battlefield. In the end, when there were no able-bodied men to transport grain, women were sent to the battlefield. They even called it "male soldiers and female transport." From ancient times to the present, have you ever seen any warlord send women to the battlefield?
The Battle of Hanzhong had just ended when Liu Bei made a feint at Yiling and then turned to launch a northern expedition. With such frequent wars, other warlords would probably have collapsed internally long ago. Liu Bei, despite his aggressive military campaigns, has not collapsed yet. What is the secret to his success? It is the land reform.
Furthermore, Liu Bei collected the highest taxes among the three families of Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei, yet the people under Liu Bei's rule lived the most comfortably among the three. Otherwise, they wouldn't have tolerated Liu Bei's aggressive military campaigns.
So here's the question: why is it that the highest taxes are paid yet the people live the best lives?
Because Liu Bei's taxes were all collected openly, there weren't many hidden fees that would cheat people, and he didn't allow the gentry to oppress and exploit people at will. As long as the common people paid their taxes, they didn't have to worry about anything else.
Therefore, after Liu Bei took control of Jiangdong, he would not only not cancel the land reform, but would also fully support Guan Xing in actively promoting it and extending the land reform to every inch of land under his rule.
Building schools and promoting education was not Guan Xing's original idea. Guan Yu had already taught people to read when he was in Jingzhou, so it was nothing new for Guan Xing to run schools in Jiangdong.
Now Guan Xing has invented blank paper, which greatly reduces the difficulty for ordinary people to learn to read and write. If this continues, what chance will the gentry have?
You have to understand that Ji Han and his group were idealists. Idealists are practically saints. They pursue perfection in everything they do, unlike these ordinary people who are greedy, lustful, and have all the vices.
If Liu Bei had truly occupied Jingzhou and Jiangdong, and implemented land reform across the south of the Yangtze River, what would Cao Cao have to fight him with?
If the land reform is extended to the Central Plains after the Northern Expedition succeeds, Liu Bei will likely surpass Emperor Wu of Han and become the strongest emperor in the history of the Han Dynasty. At the very least, he will be on par with Emperor Wu and push the Han Dynasty to a new peak.
But this peak came at the cost of sacrificing the interests and even lives of the aristocratic families, so Luo Tong didn't want it at all; he only wanted Liu Bei dead.
In a short time, Luo Tong went through his own and his family's future in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more terrified and resentful he became. Finally, he drew his sword and was about to fight Cheng Li to the death.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Li immediately rebuked, "General Luo, have you thought this through? If you dare to take even half a step forward, I will shoot you into a pincushion."
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Luo Tong's head in the dead of winter, leaving him stunned once again.
Luo Cheng hurriedly advised, "Master, calm down. As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild."
Luo Tong then snapped out of his daze and quickly grabbed Luo Cheng's head, whispering in his ear, "We've been betrayed, but judging from Cheng Li's tone, he doesn't know who betrayed us. When we get back to the county office, just say that you informed the villagers, and use that as a way to infiltrate their ranks for future plans."
“Ah…” Luo Cheng was stunned.
Luo Tong didn't explain. He turned to face Cheng Li, threw down his weapon, and said very straightforwardly, "I surrender."
The rest was simple. Cheng Li sent men to confiscate their weapons and escort them all back, then ordered someone to notify Zhu Kang to return.
An hour later, Cheng Li and Wang Bin met at the county government office, while Zhu Kang returned to the steel plant to stay at his post.
In the study room.
Instead of the joy of capturing Luo Tong, Cheng Li said with concern, "I feel that something is wrong with this. We failed to keep up with Luo Tong, but found him in time. This is unbelievable."
Wang Bin chimed in, "I also think something's not quite right. The village chief of Jitou Village said that two strangers were shouting as they passed by him and he heard them. You can't even see strange dogs in Jitou Village normally, so how could two strangers suddenly appear and shout loudly as they passed by the village chief? It's obvious that they were deliberately saying it so that the village chief could hear it."
"One more thing, those two said they were resting in the cave when Luo Tong scared them away, which is obviously nonsense. The cave is spacious, and the echo is louder than thunder. When they were running away, would Luo Tong not see or hear them? If he heard them, wouldn't he have chased after them?"
"Even if Luo Tong didn't catch the two, knowing that he had been discovered and his whereabouts were exposed, would he still dare to stay in the cave? Any person with a normal IQ would be afraid that the two would report to the county government and would immediately run away, right?"
"Therefore, I conclude that the two strangers who informed the village chief were not in the cave at all. They deliberately told the village chief so that we could capture Luo Tong."
Cheng Li stroked his beard and said, "So there's a third-party force within Wushang territory. Who could it be? Is it Luo Tong's enemy, or the Cao Wei Military Administration?"
Ordinary gentry families, without the support or authorization of Cao Cao and Sun Quan, would not dare to covet the steel mill. Besides Sun Quan, only Cao Cao had their eyes on the steel mill.
As for betraying Luo Tong, Cheng Li couldn't think of a third person besides the School Affairs Office and Luo Tong's enemies.
Wang Bin pondered, "It's unlikely that Luo Tong has any enemies. Luo Tong sneaked back; even we don't know his whereabouts, so how could his enemies know?"
"The School Affairs Office is wrong too. They're a bunch of outsiders who're hiding in Wushang, how could they possibly know more about Luo Tong's whereabouts than we do? Besides, they have no grudge against Luo Tong, so what would be their motive for betraying him?"
Cheng Li pondered, "If it really is the School Affairs Office, there can only be one motive: they hope that we will lower our guard after capturing Luo Tong, so that they will have an opportunity to strike."
"It's not certain whether it's the School Affairs Office, but since we have suspicions, we can't let our guard down. Tell the steel mill to be relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside, and see if we can catch something."
Wang Bin nodded and said, "I'll go right away."
Just as he finished speaking and was about to leave, the jailer of the county jail rushed over and bowed, saying, "Sir Cheng, Registrar Wang, Luo Cheng has confessed that he leaked the information. He sent his confidants to the village to spread rumors when we went into the mountains, so that we would go up the mountain to arrest Luo Tong. The reason he did this was because he didn't want to hide anymore and wanted to accept the land reform and go back to his hometown to live a good life. This is his confession."
Cheng Li took the confession handed to him by the jailer and read it carefully with Wang Bin before saying, "The details seem to be fine, and indeed no one knows Luo Tong's whereabouts better than Luo Cheng. It seems we were overthinking it."
Wang Bin also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I knew it. How could the School Affairs Office possibly come to Wushang? People really shouldn't think too much. Thinking too much can easily scare you. If that's the case, then everything's fine. Let's continue playing music and dancing."
Luo Cheng had no idea that his voluntary confession had dug such a huge pit for Cheng Li and Wang Bin.
The school administration never expected that they would betray Luo Tong. Not only did Luo Tong and his nephew not blame them, but they also took the blame for them. There are still many good people in the world.