sovbooks Chapter 118 Township Discussion
Chapter 118 Township Discussion
Chapter 118 Township Discussion
Zhangjiawan Town, formerly Guanyin Temple, is now the Zhangjiawan Township Council Hall, which also serves as the Tongwan River Affairs Township Council Hall.
Inside the hall, 127 people sat below the stage.
They are all respected elders who have contributed a great deal of money and effort to the township council, either voluntarily or "voluntarily," and are qualified and willing to participate in council affairs.
Su Chengde, the chief sentry of the First Bureau of the Outpost, reported to the local gentry on behalf of the Outpost and the Anti-Suppression Bureau.
Standing on the stage, he read aloud the script the scribe had prepared in advance: "This training exercise of the guerrilla battalion against the Anti-Suppression Bureau will involve 1,106 people and will take 20 days."
The expenditure was 1,354 taels and 1 mace of silver, covering five items: food, wages, equipment, rewards, and clothing and shoes.
The drills consisted of six parts: martial arts, formations, marching, flag signaling, discipline, and camp defense.
The local elders had no objections to Su Chengde's report.
First, they dared not have any opinions.
Secondly, the local militia of the Anti-Suppression Bureau, after being trained by the guerrilla battalion, did indeed have much better morale and spirit than before.
Some local gentry even planned to incorporate more guards into the local militia and send them to the anti-suppression bureau, asking the patrol battalion to help with training.
These days, many government soldiers are unreliable, and many private servants and guards are also very lax.
When encountering thieves, many are cunning and deceitful, or flee at the first sign of trouble; some even take advantage of the chaos to rob, or collude with those inside!
However, the report presented by Ding Zhongju on behalf of the River Works Bureau drew strong criticism from the local elders: "Why are there so many ingredients?" "Is the reward so good? I didn't even eat this well during the Lunar New Year!" "We want to see the detailed accounts!"
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The Anti-Bandit Bureau's efforts to train the local militia will benefit the entire Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu areas.
However, the widening of the river channel by the River Works Bureau at Qinglong Bay in Xin'anpingdu only benefits Anpingdu, but it costs everyone's money.
Many people in the neighboring Hexiwu area are even more dissatisfied because they feel that Qinglongwan Shipyard will compete with Hexiwu Shipyard for customers.
"Gentlemen! Have you even read the bylaws for the establishment of the village council properly?!"
Ding Zhongju loudly questioned the local dignitaries below the stage, then explained: "The funding for the widening of the river channel in Qinglong Bay by the River Works Bureau was actually borne by the River Works Battalion and the Militia Battalion..."
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Although Zhang Kun incorporated most of the shops, fields, workshops, etc. confiscated during the suppression of bandits and the pacification of banditry into the village council hall.
However, in order to maintain control over the village council, these land properties were converted into a large sum of silver at market price.
It was considered a "donation" from the River Works Battalion and the Militia Battalion to the Township Council, rather than a free allocation.
In other words, besides the several thousand taels of silver actually donated by the local gentry, the village council's accounts also had "tens of thousands of taels" in them.
As long as this money isn't all spent, Zhang Kun can use it as a pretext to arbitrarily move the village council office.
After hearing Ding Zhongju's explanation, the villagers who had raised questions looked at each other, speechless.
First, they dare not directly question Zhang Kun.
Secondly, although Zhang Kun's calculations are somewhat far-fetched, cash and real estate are two different things.
So many properties sold off in such a short time couldn't possibly be worth that much money.
But Zhang Kun did genuinely donate a lot of land to the township council, and it was truly at market price.
If it were any other official, let alone donating money, they would already be considered a good official with a sense of shame if they didn't use the pretext of the village council to extort money.
"Gentlemen!"
After explaining the funding issue, Ding Zhongju continued to tell the local gentry, "Qinglong Bay will be completed soon. After completion, if any other large-scale construction projects are to be carried out elsewhere, they can also contact the River Works Bureau!"
Just like in Qinglong Bay, two payments are required: one for construction materials and the other for occupation fees.
The cost of materials goes without saying, but the cost of labor is that if you use labor here, there will be no labor available elsewhere.
The two sums of money were raised centrally by the various branch offices, and a written report was submitted to the River Works Bureau...
""
Upon hearing Ding Zhongju's offer, many local notables immediately brightened up and began discussing it with their fellow villagers.
This price is much more cost-effective than organizing it yourself, which requires a lot of effort.
This is the effect of scale and cooperation.
"There's one more thing,"
After answering the various questions from the local elders about the requisition of the River Works Bureau, Ding Zhongju brought up the next item on the agenda of the village council meeting: "The commander-in-chief intends to hand over the management of the various bandit-suppression camps in the various suppression areas to our village council."
Some camps were in very remote locations, at most providing a place for passing merchants to rest, but there was little profit to be made from investing money there.
However, some of the camps are in good locations, so perhaps a small market could be set up there.
The commander-in-chief was thinking that our village council should not lose money on the camp, so he instructed me to ask you all about it.
"Since you are all locals, what do you think could be done with the camps near your homes?"
Upon hearing this news, the local elders immediately began to discuss it enthusiastically.
The camp built by the river workers before the campaign to suppress the bandits was simple, but it was well-equipped with materials and labor.
Long Tiandao's Protector Xun had attended the village council meeting and left the venue full of doubts.
Back at the inn, after reporting the contents of the village council meeting to Long Lingxian, he asked with great confusion, "Buddha, what exactly does Commander Zhang want to achieve by holding this village council meeting?"
Why bother letting those wealthy households participate in the council meetings and interfere with the village council's affairs?
In Xun Hufa's view, the things that Zhang Kun wanted to promote were all beneficial to the local area.
Even if there are some local disagreements, they are not many, and overall the government supports it.
In that case, there's absolutely no need to gather those big players for discussions, or to prepare a report for them to find fault with.
"...Perhaps Commander Zhang has read some books,"
This time, even Long Lingxian couldn't understand it. After thinking for a moment, she replied to Protector Xun, "I prefer the system of village covenants and self-governance."
Village self-governance was often advocated only by wealthy households without official positions or retired gentry.
If someone in the person or clan becomes an official, they will immediately turn hostile, emphasizing that "political power comes from above" and so on.
"Buddha's daughter,"
Protector Xun mentioned another matter to Long Lingxian: "Wu Daozhen, the temple keeper of the Niangniang Temple in Matoudian, also participated in the village council meeting."
Could it be that this group of Luo's disciples has already made contact with Commander Zhang? Should I go and ask Qin Jisheng of the reconnaissance department?
"So what if we get in touch?"
Long Lingxian shook her head and asked Protector Xun in return, "Could it be that you and I can lead a team to Matoudian, burn down the Niangniang Temple, and wipe out that Luo Sect?"
In the eyes of the government, the Luo sect was...
""
Before she could finish speaking, the short and stocky Yue Xiang strode in and said urgently to Long Lingxian, "Buddha, Qin Jisheng from the Reconnaissance Division has suddenly come to see you, saying he has something to ask you!"
"Oh?"
Long Lingxian was taken aback upon hearing this, and then chuckled at Protector Xun and Yue Xiang: "I didn't expect that he would come knocking on our door so soon after we mentioned him... Let's invite him over."
Qin Jisheng followed the tall and slender Yu Xiang into the room, clasped his hands in greeting to Long Lingxian, and said, "I am here on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief to ask Master Long a few questions. I wonder if Master Long can answer them?"
"What is it?"
Long Lingxian raised an eyebrow and asked Qin Jisheng in return.
"Does Master Long know anything about Zhou Yin, the leader of the Bangchui Society? And the whereabouts of Wang Sen's sons, the leader of the Wenxiang Sect?" Qin Jisheng asked Long Lingxian in a deep voice.