Protect Our Patriarch

The matter was settled.

After paying the compensation, the Liu and Zhao clans had left in a huff, looking as pitiful as a pack of defeated dogs. This was a stark contrast to their previous pompous arrival.

Lei Yangqiu was temporarily let off the hook. Having narrowly escaped death, he had no desire to linger.

The onlookers, however, remained for a long time, still engrossed in the event, sharing and exchanging their excitement.

Most of the commoners in this world led hard and dull lives, struggling to make ends meet. Their greatest hope was to save money year after year, buy some land, or find a good future for their children, such as marrying a good wife.

Today's dramatic event, with its twists and turns, was enough to be remembered for a lifetime.

Madam Gongsun Hui, along with some sisters-in-law, directed the servants to set up a porridge tent. They cooked a thick salty meat porridge and invited the commoners to eat.

These commoners, even the poor, seemed to be just spectators today. But in fact, they were the most important part of Wang Shouzhe's plan.

This meal was a feast for them.

Commoners, in the eyes of many arrogant nobles, were so humble and insignificant, like ants that could be crushed at will.

But most noble families couldn't do without the commoners. Without the commoners creating wealth for them, what would the nobles use to enjoy their privileged lives? What would they use to buy precious cultivation resources?

Moreover, while a single commoner might not be significant, their power becomes formidable when their numbers increase. Even Lei Yangqiu, a Spirit Insect Master and a town guard, dared not act recklessly under the watchful eyes of thousands of commoners.

Wang Shouzhe had experienced this in his previous life. The power of the masses, once united, should not be underestimated. Even the lofty celestial nobles needed to rely on a large number of commoners to survive.

Some young girls and boys from the Wang's Clan, including the two legitimate daughters, Wang Luoyi and Wang Luomiao, voluntarily joined in the work of cooking porridge, distributing porridge, and maintaining order.

Even Wang Luoqiu and Wang Luojing, who had just made great contributions to the clan, were seriously doing their work without any disdain.

This made Wang Shouzhe very pleased. The children in his family had the right values. They would not feel superior just because they had some martial power and become detached from the world.

Wait a minute?

It seemed that some strange things had been mixed in.

A burly man with a pig-like face was sitting on the ground in front of the porridge tent, gulping down the meat porridge. One bowl was not enough, so he had another, and in the blink of an eye, he had consumed more than ten bowls.

This little guy!

Wang Shouzhe walked over and looked him up and down. He found that the injuries caused by the Spirit Bee's poison had healed a lot. His recovery ability was truly astonishing.

"Is it good?" Wang Shouzhe asked with a smile.

"Good, good." The boy, Zhao Dingteng, answered subconsciously. When he looked up and saw Wang Shouzhe, he was scared and quickly protected his bowl, as if afraid that Wang Shouzhe would snatch it away.

This made Wang Shouzhe twitch his mouth. This kid was scared in the wrong direction, wasn't he?

He was a simple-minded boy, but he was quite cunning in battle. If Wang Luoqiu had fought him, it would be hard to say who would win.

"Never mind, eat more. When you're full, go home." Wang Shouzhe waved his hand. With his magnanimity, he wouldn't quarrel with a fourteen-year-old boy, even if he was a bit simple-minded.

Although this boy didn't look like a child at all, he was only fourteen after all.

"Clan Leader Wang, it's Clan Leader Wang."

When the commoners saw Wang Shouzhe coming to the porridge tent, they immediately became very nervous. Many of them looked at him with awe and admiration.

Today's battle had made a name for the Wang's Clan, but more importantly, it had made a name for Clan Leader Wang.

"Everyone, eat as much as you want today." Wang Shouzhe greeted with a smile, "If you're not happy living under the rule of the Liu and Zhao clans, you can move to the Wang's Clan's territory. In our territory, you can at least live and work in peace. If there's a disaster, the Wang's Clan will face it with you."

Wang Shouzhe's words immediately moved many people. Compared to the high and mighty, yet malicious Liu and Zhao clans, the Wang's Clan seemed to be a real noble family.

Living under the protection of the Wang's Clan seemed much more reassuring.

"Clan Leader Wang, but our fields and houses are in the village." A self-sufficient farmer in ragged clothes said, "If we move, we can't take our fields with us."

Yes, yes.

Many people echoed him. They wanted to move, but there were many practical difficulties. They all looked disappointed and annoyed.

Among these thousands of commoners, there were also citizens from the Wang's Clan's territory.

Upon hearing this, they immediately felt superior. One of them, a young man in his twenties, said, "Your broken houses and fields are worth nothing. Only the houses and fields in our Wang's Clan's territory are valuable."

The people outside the territory were not happy to hear this. They were angry and said, "Why are they worthless? They can produce food and house people just the same."

The young man said arrogantly, "You don't know anything. Our Wang's Clan has a Spirit Insect Master. This year, our fields only had a 50% decrease in yield."

The other "locals" from the Wang's Clan all echoed the young man, saying that what he said was true. On average, each household only had a 50% decrease in yield.

A Spirit Insect Master? Only a 50% decrease in yield? And that's just a slight touch.The tenant farmers outside Wang's Clan territory remained silent. In this season, didn't the tenant farmers within Wang's Clan territory reap twenty percent more than them for nothing?

If they could also have this extra twenty percent yield, they would have a considerable surplus after paying their grain taxes. They wouldn't have to borrow grain everywhere to survive the disaster, nor would they have to endure the bullying of the noble families.

For a moment, the "tenant farmers from other clans" cast envious glances at the locals.

"Not only that, when we, Wang's Clan, collect taxes on behalf of the government, the portion that belongs to the noble families can be directly offset with money at a fair price. This year, we have easily survived the disaster year." The young man said proudly, "Just our family, we now have more than twenty loads of surplus grain."

In the past years of good harvest, having an extra twenty loads of surplus grain in the family was not considered very wealthy.

But this is a disaster year!

Upon hearing this number, the tenant farmers from other clans' eyes turned red. Your family is so rich, yet you still come to share porridge with us?

"Not only that, I have a buddy in Wang's Clan. He revealed to me a top-secret news. This year, Wang's Clan is unprepared. When the next season begins, all the fields within Wang's Clan territory can invite Spirit Bug Masters for pest control. The pest control effect is better, and the cost is only half of the pest control powder." The young man said mysteriously.

Half of the pest control powder?

Doesn't that mean... each acre of land can save a large copper coin a year? If there are twenty acres of land in the family, just the investment in pest control powder can save twenty large copper coins a year, which is several loads of grain!

The tenant farmers from other clans completely lost their spirit, feeling that they were much shorter compared to the tenant farmers of Wang's Clan.

"Young man, are you married?" A tenant farmer from another clan, who was quick-witted, said with a smile, "We have two girls in our family, one is sixteen and the other is fourteen. We can have a good chat."

"We also have a daughter in our family, who just turned fifteen this year."

A group of tenant farmers from other clans who had daughters at home surrounded the young man like wolves and tigers, promoting their own daughters, even willing to negotiate the dowry.

The young man was scared, his face flushed.

In the past, his family's conditions were average, without any savings, and the houses built were not enough. Several times he asked the matchmaker to propose marriage, but when people saw his conditions, they either directly shook their heads and refused.

Or they simply asked for a huge dowry.

He was already nineteen years old and had not yet found a wife. Now it's good, just by virtue of being a tenant farmer in Wang's Clan territory, those tenant farmers from other clans actually rushed to marry their daughters to him, and some even offered to pay him.

In an instant, the young man felt that he had reached the peak of his life.

Seeing this scene, Wang Shouzhe couldn't help but smile.

He didn't expect that the household registration of Wang's Clan territory had started to become valuable. But this was justified, as the prices of fields and houses in different places were naturally different.

For example, the fields and houses near Changning Guard were naturally much more expensive than those in Ping'an Town. Even if the output and taxes were the same, people living near Changning Guard felt more secure.

Moreover, it was more convenient for them to occasionally enter the city than the common people in Ping'an Town, and their social relationships were more complex. Many of the middle and rich farmers there would send their children to study in the city, or let their younger sons learn a money-making craft.

This was not surprising.

More than a hundred years ago, the area around Ping'an Town was still a barren land. If it weren't for the common people who were having a hard time, why would they migrate to a place like Ping'an Town?

However, after this round, the prices of fields and properties in Ping'an Town might change.

"Don't rush, everyone." Wang Shouzhe said loudly, "I believe you have all heard that our Wang's Clan is dredging and filling the land to reclaim farmland. Those future farmlands are all fertile lands with silt as the base fertilizer. Our Wang's Clan will soon launch a land reclamation period field exchange plan and a period field pre-purchase plan."

"Period field" exchange plan?

What the hell is that? This was a term that countless common people had never heard of.

"In simple terms, it is to exchange the fields and houses you currently have in Liu's and Zhao's territories for our newly reclaimed fields and houses." Wang Shouzhe squinted his eyes, "Of course, because the period fields cannot be obtained temporarily and need a cycle of about two years, they are called period fields. However, at present, we only accept internal workers involved in the reclamation project to exchange for period fields. If you plan to migrate to our Wang's Clan territory, this is the only way for now."

The tenant farmers from other clans fell silent.

But soon someone jumped out and said, "Exchange, why not? Damn it, over the years, I've had enough of those bastards from Zhao's Clan."

"Exchange, as long as Wang's Clan pays wages and doesn't let us starve. Isn't it just two years? Let's exchange."

"I trust Wang's Clan, I believe Clan Leader Wang won't let us suffer, let's exchange."

One after another, the voices of "exchange" echoed. The tenant farmers were not fools, they naturally had their own shrewdness. Although it seemed a bit of a loss on the surface, in fact, as things went on, the household registration of Wang's Clan territory would become more and more valuable.

"The detailed plan for the exchange will be launched in the near future, please pay attention to our Wang's Clan's propaganda." After whetting their appetite, Wang Shouzhe turned and left.

Not far away, the Liu siblings caught up again, both looking at Wang Shouzhe with strange eyes.

"Yuanrui, Sister Ruolei." Wang Shouzhe felt goosebumps all over his body from their stares, and said with a bow, "Why are you looking at me like this?"

"Brilliant, truly brilliant." Liu Yuanrui gave a thumbs up, praised twice, and said with a bow, "Brother Shouzhe, your plan is truly ingenious. My admiration for you, Brother Shouzhe, is as endless as the waters of An River. Not only does it benefit oneself, but it also kills the enemy invisibly."

Wang Shouzhe was left speechless by him.

"Big brother, I only see the benefit, where is the invisible killing?" Liu Ruolei asked curiously.

"The benefit for oneself is quite obvious. For such a massive project that Brother Shouzhe is undertaking, what he lacks most is a large number of laborers. By using the method of land exchange, a large number of farmers are involved in the project, which is essentially a strategy of using others' strength to one's advantage. Eventually, all these laborers will become self-cultivating farmers under the Wang's Clan."

"Secondly, the farmlands that the Wang's Clan has exchanged for were originally in the territories of the Liu and Zhao Clans. With a little integration and exchange, private farms can be established in the enemy's territory, turning that piece of land into the property of the Wang's Clan."

"The most impressive thing is that the trend of migrating to the Wang's Clan has already formed. Many people are eager to join the territories under the Wang's Clan. Brother Shouzhe only needs to proceed in an orderly and gradual manner, and the territories of the Liu and Zhao Clans will become smaller and smaller, and the number of civilians under their rule will also drastically decrease."

"Under the invisible vicious cycle, the Liu and Zhao Clans will become weaker and weaker, unable to compete with the Wang's Clan, and their demise is only a matter of time!"

Liu Yuanrui's explanation made Liu Ruolei's eyes shine with admiration. She praised, "Brother Shouzhe is truly a godlike figure. I am so lucky."

"Uh..."

Wang Shouzhe touched his nose, feeling that he hadn't thought as deeply as Liu Yuanrui just now. He was simply trying to solve the labor shortage problem, and he didn't want to come up with a century-long plan.

However, this future brother-in-law of his really had a good mind. Listening to him, this plan seemed not bad.

Also, Ruolei, could you stop talking to me with that kind of look and tone? It made him, Wang Shouzhe, feel a bit uneasy.

Just then.

A deep voice sounded, "Um, everyone, may I ask, is our Zhao's Clan really that annoying?"

Zhao Dingteng!

Wang Shouzhe glanced at him and found that most of the toxic swellings on his face had disappeared. He was speechless, this simpleton's recovery ability was truly terrifying!

Liu Ruolei and Liu Yuanrui also stared at Zhao Dingteng with strange looks.

Didn't this naive boy know what kind of bad reputation his Zhao's Clan had?

...

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