plumnovel Chapter 108 Local Braves
Chapter 108 Local Braves
Chapter 108 Local Braves
Relying on his prestige from quelling the bandit rebellion, Zhang Kun began to ignite the third major campaign of his new post in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu!
Local militia!
Zhang Kun established the local militia not to increase the strength of the guerrilla battalion, since there were already strong men from the river work battalion available.
Instead, under the guise of local militia, they consolidated and strengthened the governance structures of Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu.
Given the population, industry, and tax revenue of the two places, if placed in later generations, they would at least be required to establish a county-level city or a functional zone of the same level.
It will never be like it is now, with only one patrol inspectorate of the ninth rank!
Of course, Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu were in fact supervised by tax officials sent by the imperial court and by officers sent by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
There were senior officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, and censors from the Censorate... all of whom were responsible for a part of the governance.
However, they are not legitimate governing bodies in both regions, and they often only concern themselves with their own "rules".
Zhang Kun's first major task upon taking office was public health.
While public health awareness is not strong in the world today, it still exists.
For example, in the capital, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) was in charge of the street offices, and the Five City Garrison and the two counties of Wanping and Daxing also participated in the governance.
However, in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu, no government office was in charge; if anything, the patrol and inspection department was responsible.
However, if we calculate it this way, the patrol inspectorate has too much to take care of, and a few dozen militiamen are simply not enough.
Therefore, Zhang Kun wanted to establish local militias in both places:
First is the village council hall.
They were responsible for raising funds for the local militia, managing the militia on a daily basis, and appointing and dismissing militia leaders.
Only in the event of banditry or disaster could the government temporarily conscript local militia, and they would have to bear the expenses.
As for where the funds came from, one source was donations from wealthy households in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu.
Secondly, Zhang Kun allocated all the land, shops, workshops and other properties seized after suppressing the rebellion to the township council!
To encourage wealthy households to donate, Zhang Kun studied how the imperial court restricted the private ownership of servants and how it restrained private soldiers.
It was required that the guards employed by wealthy households be registered in the village council hall and incorporated into the village militia.
The village council can also temporarily requisition these village militia members, but of course, they must also bear the costs.
Moreover, once donations reach a certain amount, wealthy households can participate in the council meetings and mobilize more local militia.
In the past, it cost 100 taels of silver per month to support 50 people in the boxing nursing home.
Currently, it costs 200 taels of silver per month to support 50 local militia members, but in case of emergency, 300 militia members can be mobilized.
Secondly, five bureaus were actually established.
The fire department is responsible for fire prevention and suppression, and supports and trains a professional firefighting team.
The Disaster Prevention Bureau is responsible for organizing relief efforts and monitoring disaster victims from other areas during disasters.
The Security Bureau assists the Inspection Division in apprehending petty thieves, fighters, and other criminals within the scope of public order.
The Anti-Theft Bureau assists in apprehending criminal thieves and arresting those involved in criminal cases.
The Anti-Bandit Bureau assisted the guerrilla battalion of the Tongwan River Affairs Guerrilla in suppressing more serious rebels and bandits.
The local militia were assigned to various bureaus according to their temperament and talents; some were part-time, some were full-time, and some received average pay while others received high pay.
Finally, the second game was a sham.
The Epidemic Prevention Bureau was actually used to manage the various gangs at the major wharves in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu.
Anyone without a certificate from the epidemic prevention bureau is not allowed to work at any of the major docks.
If something happens to those who work privately, such as not receiving their wages, the local militia, the patrol inspectorate, and the arresting officer's office will not take responsibility.
By controlling the number of documents issued by the epidemic prevention bureau, the current vicious competition can be curbed.
The gang leaders were appointed as powerless officials in charge of the epidemic prevention bureau, and territories were divided among the gangs.
After the establishment of the Epidemic Prevention Bureau, gangs that were still engaging in shady dealings were suspended from receiving official documents from the Bureau and their managers were dismissed!
The Anti-Fraud Bureau is actually used to manage the financial industry in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu.
Money shops, pawnshops, usury, and other businesses that exceed a certain amount must have documents from the anti-fraud bureau.
Like the documents from the Anti-Fraud Bureau, documents from the Anti-Fraud Bureau need to be purchased, and this purchase is required for every single transaction.
It's basically a contract fee, but it's much cheaper than the official contract.
Businesses can be conducted without anti-fraud documents, and if anything goes wrong, the local militia, patrol officers, and arresting officers won't care.
As for whether something will happen, whether the Tongzhou prefectural government and the Wuqing county government will take care of it or not, you guess?
Inside a tavern in Matoudian.
"Buddha's daughter, this Zhang Kun's idea of setting up a village council is truly baffling."
A short, stout incense burner looked at the veiled Dragon Spirit Fairy with a puzzled expression and said, "If the goal is to make money, why allocate so much land?"
Long Tiandao's farmland in the county, as one of the conditions for his withdrawal from the county battle, has been entirely donated to Zhang Kun.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Kun transferred all these farmlands from the River Work Camp and the Criminal Investigation Bureau to the newly established Township Council.
"Can't you even figure this out?"
Another tall and thin incense bearer next to him mocked the short and fat incense bearer: "Of course, we should first put on the airs of the local militia, and then use this name to make money from those rich households!"
And then there were the dockworkers, the money changers, the pawnbrokers, and the loan sharks.
"If that's the case, isn't the existing framework of the Inspection Division enough?"
The short, stout Xiangjiang shook his head and questioned the tall, thin Xiangjiang: "Besides, with that fellow's current power, what name does he need to borrow when facing those rich people?"
"Setting up this local militia, hiring so many mouths to feed, and creating a bunch of rules and regulations—isn't that redundant?"
"Left Protector,"
Long Lingxian looked at the protector beside her who was engrossed in eating meat, and asked, "What's your opinion?"
"I thought it didn't matter whether I made money or not."
The Dharma Protector put down his chopsticks and replied to Long Lingxian, "The other side has significantly more manpower available in Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu than before."
"It will be more difficult for us to do anything in these two places in the future than before."
Long Tiandao's withdrawal from the two locations was one of the conditions for the withdrawal from the county battle, but Long Tiandao clearly did not intend to abide by it.
The farmland in the county was confiscated because the Lu family and other secret agents had been exposed, and even if they didn't donate, it would be confiscated.
After all, Zhangjiawan and Hexiwu were important towns along the Grand Canal, where people did business, gathered information, recruited soldiers, and so on.
These are not comparable to ordinary prefectures and counties.
"He already had 5,000 able-bodied men available from the river works camp, and now he's only recruiting another 3,000 or 4,000, so the effect will be limited."
Long Lingxian shook his head and said in a deep voice to the Dharma Protector and the two incense generals, "Don't just look at the present. He previously cleaned the streets, cleaned the houses, cleaned the wells, and also organized a campaign to suppress thieves."
If all you want to do is make money, there are many easy ways; there's no need to go through all this trouble.
A glint of light flashed in his eyes as he commented to the protector and the two incense bearers, "In my opinion, he is a capable minister who can govern a peaceful era. All this fuss is to realize his ambitions!"
"A capable minister in times of peace—a ruthless warlord in times of chaos?"
The Dharma Protector quickly realized that this was a comment about Cao Cao, and asked in surprise, "What does the Buddhist nun mean?"
"Perhaps there are more opportunities for cooperation between us and him!"
Long Lingxian smiled at the protector and the two incense masters and said, "A person like him would never be bound by any kind of moral code or social order!"
As long as we offer a suitable price, he won't refuse!
"Really? Is it true?"
The two incense bearers standing nearby were dumbfounded. The other side was an official, and their side was a rebel. Was it really possible to cooperate?