Chapter 222: Building a New System
Wen Desi had originally planned to screen a grand military parade film for the delegates that evening. But seeing how overwhelmed the delegates already appeared, any further shock might cause aesthetic fatigue. So he simply canceled the screening—which also saved the expense of hosting dinner. Thus he announced the conference had concluded successfully.
As the delegates departed with feelings of both excitement and fear, the Executive Committee members took stock of the conference's results.
Through this Political Consultative Conference, the transmigrator collective had achieved preliminary control over the entire county and gained a legal identity somewhat recognized by the local government. Of course, their position remained fragile. Whether the yamen or the various villages, cooperation stemmed either from fear of their military might or from practical interests. Once a powerful external force intervened, this simple cooperative relationship would immediately collapse. The most urgent task now was to cultivate popular sentiment, making the people feel as favorably as possible toward the transmigrator collective.
This first step—making the isolated people of this small southern frontier county feel favorably toward the transmigrators—they had already accomplished. The transmigrators did not disturb the people, did not kill arbitrarily, traded fairly, and through their construction activities after D-Day had indirectly provided relief to those living at the poverty line. All of this was plain for anyone to see. The common people's requirements were not high. As long as the transmigrator collective could guarantee Lingao's social stability and let them eat a few full meals, they did not care under whose banner they lived.
But to truly make the people accept their rule and willingly shed blood and sacrifice for these rulers, the most effective approach was to quickly establish chains of common interest.
The great weapon of land reform, proven again and again in the Chinese Revolution, would not work in Lingao. In Ming dynasty Lingao, there was abundant land. Land reform held little appeal. The reason people were unwilling to clear wasteland was directly related to the region's backward agricultural productivity. The transmigrators' primary task was to raise agricultural productivity, not change production relations. This would not only solidify their own rule but also help establish common interests with ordinary people.
Local merchants were the most direct beneficiaries of the transmigrators. The East Gate Market's prosperity was the most typical example of merchants "voting with their feet." Moreover, their commercial policies had attracted merchants from other counties. Merchants were clearly the group most able to appreciate the benefits the transmigrators brought, making them the class with the most common interests with the transmigrator collective. But the weakness developed by Chinese merchants within traditional scholar-gentry society meant they could not yet serve as a reliable force.
The landlord gentry class, though still harboring considerable doubts, had shown from this conference's proceedings that overall there was no hostility—especially after the transmigrator collective promised to compensate for the value of occupied privately-owned land. The gentry's evaluation of the transmigrator collective had risen considerably, and an attitude of cooperation had emerged. Nevertheless, the gentry class remained a potential enemy of the transmigrator collective for now.
Still, under this rudimentary, unstable ruling system, the transmigrator collective could at least mobilize the various resources within Lingao County to a limited degree—especially human resources. Transmigrators could now venture into every corner of the county relatively safely. Previously, every time a Long-Range Reconnaissance Team deployed, they had to mobilize a large armed escort, creating considerable logistical pressure. Now, at least in areas where bandit threats were not particularly severe, such elaborate arrangements were unnecessary.
A few days later, villages that had attended the conference began sending liaison officers to confirm the various "Reasonable Burden" figures. The confirmed conscript labor allocation came to 1,100 people per year. This large influx of manpower made every department salivate. After some debate, the Army and Navy together received 240 people, with the Navy getting 80. The remainder would be uniformly deployed by Wu De as basic laborers.
The "Reasonable Burden" public grain came to 3,000 "public shi"—compared to the 7,000-plus "old shi" grain tax level, this was no small burden.
"Is this not too heavy?" Wen Desi thought the number seemed too large.
"It is considerable," said Luo Duo. He had gotten his wish to transfer to the Political Security General Administration's Social Work Department. This department was specifically responsible for collecting, organizing, and analyzing local social conditions from various channels, then compiling the "Social Situation Bulletin."
"Although Lingao's grain tax is over 7,000 shi, the local people's actual burden is probably 15,000 shi or more." He reported figures he had spent days studying.
"That much?!" The Executive Committee members were all shocked.
Luo Duo nodded: "Possibly even more. Both Ming and Qing dynasties had large surcharges on taxes—this is an open secret. Everyone knows about practices like 'kicking off the peak' and 'fire losses,' but the abuses beneath the surface are countless. So even if we lower our grain quotient, it remains a substantial burden for the villages."
Wu Nanhai said: "Actually, we do not even need this grain levy. This month the farm will begin large-scale hybrid rice planting—1,000 mu to start. Though fertilizer and pesticide conditions are not ideal, this area can produce three harvests a year. Even with just two, we can easily get 500 to 600 tons of rice annually. The grain levy puts too much pressure on farmers. If we want to cultivate popular support, we cannot oppress them too much."
Wu De said: "We discussed with the Boss that we should turn disadvantage into advantage, using this as an opportunity to implement social reform."
"Social reform?" Wen Desi suddenly grew wary. Surely Ma Qianzhu was not thinking of disguised land reform.
Ma Qianzhu explained his idea unhurriedly: "Based on analysis from the Social Work Department, the Civil Affairs Committee's next step is to seek to take over the county's summer and autumn tax collection. We can send someone to negotiate immediately."
"Assume responsibility for grain tax collection?" Wen Desi did not understand. Local gentry and wealthy households assumed grain tax responsibility to collude with clerks, shift burdens, and enrich themselves. Why would transmigrators want to do this?
"Here is the plan," Wu De said. "After we take over grain tax collection, we will completely eliminate surcharges. We will only submit the stipulated amount to the county treasury. This way, even with our levies added, the total burden on farmers will still be less than before."
"Will the yamen people agree? This is a major interest chain!" Wen Desi asked doubtfully. Pull one hair and the whole body moves. Once an abuse formed an interest chain, it was hard to eliminate—the same in any timeline.
"Of course they will not agree," Ma Qianzhu said. "But if we want to transform society, we must first break existing patterns." He appeared confident. "To mobilize the masses, we need a 'villain' class. Since Lingao's situation is not suited for land reform, landlords and rich peasants are not appropriate targets."
"And do not forget, many landlords here are clan heads. Lingao's clan power is quite strong," Yu Eshui reminded them.
Hainan, located at the southern frontier with vast land and sparse population, and plagued by long-term Li uprisings, meant villages here had obvious characteristics of clan settlement for safety and production needs. The transmigrators were not yet capable of completely dismantling all this.
"Right, so our target is the vested interest groups in taxation."
This group was complex, ranging from the County Magistrate and Vice-Magistrate down to unnamed local ruffians who assisted the yamen runners—the so-called "grain runners."
Ma Qianzhu appeared confident: "Officials like Wu Mingjin and Wu Ya could originally gain some benefits from grain taxes. We will compensate them with profits from private salt and commerce, continuing to cultivate them. They will have nothing to complain about. The ones truly hurt will be the county's clerks, underlings, and their lackeys. These people are basically scourges—they run rampant in the county, deceiving both superiors and subordinates. Everyone, from top to bottom, both hates and fears them. By purging this group, we not only gain another batch of resources and wealth, but from a public sentiment perspective: these people are utterly unpopular. From gentry to commoners, everyone will be pleased. Two birds with one stone."
Clear out the old, unreasonable institutional system, then promote the transmigrators' more reasonable and streamlined tax system. The gentry and common people would see the transmigrator collective's governance ability in a new light, which would benefit future recruitment of scholar-officials.
"After cleaning them out, we can place our people in the county yamen."
"Brilliant!" Someone clapped in praise. "This way, the Lingao yamen is essentially ours!"
"This plan is excellent," Wen Desi agreed.
"There is another reason to deal with the underlings," added Ran Yao from the Political Security General Administration. "According to Social Department investigations, the county's three-squad leaders are basically the county's bandit chiefs. They are all in communication with various large and small bandits and thieves, profiting as local bosses. If we do not eliminate them, our future bandit suppression and security work will face many troubles."
"These people will not give up easily. Without the tax registers, how do you collect taxes?"
"Fool—if they will not hand them over, string them up and shock them!" Dugu Qiuhun obviously had no concept of human rights. "I'd like to see who can hold out against that."
"Even if they give you the registers, can you guarantee you will understand them?"
"The registers are not so arcane. Research works on them have existed for ages. Even if we obtain them, I can read them," said Yu Eshui.
"We are counting on you!"
"That is not the issue," Yu Eshui said. "Just as we had villages self-report their 'Reasonable Burden,' the tax registers do not truly reflect Lingao's agricultural production levels. If we continue collecting according to these books, many unfair and unreasonable practices will remain uncorrected—meaningless for this society's progress."
"What do you mean?"
"A land and population census," Yu Eshui said. "Now that each village has liaison officers, we should conduct a comprehensive survey. Get a general picture of the county's farmland, population, and resources."
"That is an enormous undertaking." Everyone drew a sharp breath.
"A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step," Yu Eshui said. "Right now it is just one county. Later it is all of China. Are you going to do it or not?"
After some discussion, everyone agreed that since this had to be done sooner or later, better sooner than later. They approved beginning a county-wide survey in the second month.
"Now we have gained an excellent breathing opportunity," Ma Qianzhu said at the Executive Committee's summary meeting. "Seize this chance. Completing the industrial and agricultural upgrades as quickly as possible is our most urgent task. The next agenda item: Lingao's First Five-Year Plan."
(End of Chapter)