Chapter 979: The Plan
Chapter 979: The Plan
September 25th, 2017
In the Fifth Floor Conference Room of the Northern Defense Tower in Bingzhou, Lu Hai Kong, Xi Zhi Cai, and Tian Feng gathered together.
After more than four months, the rebellion in southern Bingzhou finally came to an end, and the southern region returned to Lu Hai Kong's control.
However, the aftermath of the rebellion continued to have an impact.
When the rebellion broke out, a locust plague had already struck southern Bingzhou, causing panic among the people. It was during this time of crisis that the rebellion erupted.
Although the rebellion was quickly suppressed without much bloodshed or warfare, its impact on the common folk was significant.
Therefore, after securing southern Bingzhou, Lu Hai Kong's first priority was to reassure the people of the region and continue the relief efforts that had been delayed for four months.
Due to the combined effects of the rebellion and the locust plague, the spring harvest in southern Bingzhou was essentially lost. Most households in the region had no surplus food, so when Lu Hai Kong reclaimed the south, he faced the challenge of feeding thousands of hungry mouths.
However, this task, in itself, was not particularly difficult. Lu Hai Kong currently had an abundance of resources, particularly food and money.
Recently, Lu Hai Kong had confiscated the properties of the aristocratic families in southern Bingzhou, an unprecedented move. Although the confiscation process was still ongoing, and the exact amount of resources he would acquire remained uncertain, one thing was clear: the gains from southern Bingzhou far exceeded those from the north.
While Lu Hai Kong had developed northern Bingzhou significantly over the years, the economic and population center of Bingzhou had historically been in the south, not in the northern border regions.
As a result, the wealth of the aristocratic families in southern Bingzhou far surpassed that of their northern counterparts.
With the confiscated wealth from the southern families, the substantial support from the nearby aristocratic families, and Lu Hai Kong's own successful potato and sweet potato harvests in northern Bingzhou, providing relief to the affected population was a relatively straightforward task. Even if the number of people in need increased tenfold, Lu Hai Kong had the resources to handle it without issue.
However, having the means to support them did not make the task simple.
The issue involved four to five prefectures and millions of people. The distribution and allocation of resources alone presented a significant challenge, requiring not only resources but also someone capable of coordinating their distribution.
To address this, Lu Hai Kong decided to send Tian Feng to Xihe Prefecture to oversee various post-rebellion matters in southern Bingzhou. Tian Feng's establishment in the south meant he would likely remain there for an extended period, as his responsibilities went beyond disaster relief.
Indeed, Lu Hai Kong had been contemplating a crucial decision: whether to relocate the administrative center to southern Bingzhou.
With the reunification of Bingzhou, a question arose regarding the location of the administrative center.
When Lu Hai Kong controlled northern Bingzhou, Beifeng's geographical location was relatively advantageous, and the region's official roads were well-developed, making governance from Beifeng feasible.
However, with the south now fully integrated, the infrastructure in southern Bingzhou was lacking. Without advanced communication facilities, governing from Beifeng would be challenging, even with the use of tools, as they were not widely available for everyday administrative purposes.
Lu Hai Kong faced a choice: either relocate the administrative center from Beifeng to the prefectural capital of Taiyuan Prefecture or assign someone to oversee the affairs of southern Bingzhou.
After careful consideration, Lu Hai Kong opted for the latter, sending Tian Feng to manage the south.
Having just regained control of southern Bingzhou and dealt a blow to the local aristocratic families and powers, Lu Hai Kong recognized the sensitivity of the situation. Relocating the administrative center at this time might cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
Although Lu Hai Kong was not concerned about potential alliances forming to challenge him, it could disrupt his future plans. Thus, he decided to task Tian Feng with this responsibility.
With Tian Feng in charge of southern Bingzhou, Lu Hai Kong could focus on other matters, leaving the governance and reconstruction to Tian Feng. Even if Tian Feng encountered difficulties, Lu Hai Kong doubted he could offer much assistance.
The trio's gathering that day centered around another issue arising from the reclamation of southern Bingzhou: the utilization of the confiscated wealth.
When this substantial resource was seized, Wang Jun was overjoyed, and upon learning the exact amount, he immediately demanded funds from Lu Hai Kong, presenting numerous construction plans.
However, Lu Hai Kong did not provide the funds to Wang Jun. He had different plans for these resources and explained his intentions to Wang Jun.
Upon hearing Lu Hai Kong's ideas, Wang Jun nearly lost his breath and collapsed. Fortunately, his health had improved significantly under Hua Tuo's care, but his face still turned bright red, and his eyes were bloodshot.
To transform Wang Jun into such a state, Lu Hai Kong must have revealed something astonishing. He informed Wang Jun that he intended to return the money to the aristocratic families.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jun was utterly perplexed.
You're telling me you acquired this money through deceit and trickery, swindling others of their resources and funds, and now you want to give it back? Have you lost your mind? Even if you return the money, do they have any reason to be grateful? Even if those aristocratic families are magnanimous enough to forget the incident after receiving the money, what's the point of all your efforts?
These were Wang Jun's inner thoughts, but he dared not express them so bluntly to Lu Hai Kong, nor would he have done so.
Regardless, Lu Hai Kong was his superior, and despite not displaying a lordly demeanor before Wang Jun, Wang Jun still maintained his loyalty and respect.
Of course, although Wang Jun didn't speak directly, he subtly conveyed his opinion and shot Lu Hai Kong a resentful look, demanding an explanation. However, in the end, Wang Jun was persuaded by Lu Hai Kong.
From the start, Lu Hai Kong never intended to swindle these resources. Or, to be precise, his intention was not solely focused on these resources themselves. Instead, it was directed at the owners of these resources—the aristocratic families and powers near Bingzhou.
With the conclusion of the Coalition Against Dong Zhuo, tensions rose across the land. As one of the two most formidable forces in the realm, known for their ruthless and domineering public image, Lu Hai Kong's diplomatic situation was far from ideal.
Moreover, after the coalition, the Foreign Lord Powers were engrossed in their struggles, leaving them with little time for development. Some were even eliminated, causing their business collaborations with Lu Hai Kong to gradually cease.
As a result, Bingzhou's economic growth began to stagnate and decline.
Although the aristocratic families were relatively more understanding, their business with Lu Hai Kong continued, the consequences of his massacre of the northern aristocratic families in Bingzhou had already surfaced. These families feared and shunned Lu Hai Kong, gradually abandoning the Bingzhou market. A year ago, they started to sever their commercial ties with Lu Hai Kong.
Despite Bingzhou's internal economic situation being relatively stable, it couldn't expand externally, undoubtedly hindering Bingzhou's development.
Therefore, Lu Hai Kong had been contemplating how to break this impasse.
Under these circumstances, conventional methods wouldn't work for Lu Hai Kong, as the core issue was the aristocratic families' fear and avoidance of him. Offering them a sweet deal wouldn't entice them.
In this situation, Lu Hai Kong was understandably troubled.
However, after the rebellion of the southern aristocratic families in Bingzhou, a brilliant idea flashed through Lu Hai Kong's mind—a ruthless, almost self-destructive plan.
If offering them a sweet deal didn't work, then he would resort to extreme measures, something special, forcing them to cooperate through a strategy akin to fighting poison with poison.
Based on this idea, Lu Hai Kong instructed Xi Zhi Cai to devise a plan to swindle the aristocratic families and powers of their money.
Lu Hai Kong's plan was straightforward: trick the aristocratic families out of their money and then use various means to entice or coerce them into coming to Bingzhou to retrieve their stolen funds.
Of course, Lu Hai Kong wouldn't simply return the money; instead, he would employ methods to make them pay in the future, forcing them to transport Bingzhou goods to external markets for liquidation, thus completing the transaction.
Although this approach was coercive, it could stimulate Bingzhou's economy.
It's important to note that these aristocratic families numbered in the hundreds, spread across Jizhou, Youzhou, Liangzhou, and Sili. By utilizing their influence, they could promote Bingzhou's goods, attracting numerous merchants to the region even if Lu Hai Kong couldn't retain these families as clients.
With the arrival of merchants, Bingzhou's economic development would take off.
This was the entire plan, simple yet with a certain degree of feasibility. After discussing it with Xi Zhi Cai, Lu Hai Kong assigned the task of swindling the money to Zhang He.
Zhang He excelled in this task, successfully acquiring tens of billions in funds and resources for Lu Hai Kong.
To be honest, when Lu Hai Kong saw this data, he was momentarily stunned. He hadn't anticipated such a substantial amount, and initially hesitated, wondering if he should continue the plan after obtaining so much money.
If they followed Lu Hai Kong's plan, they might not earn this much in a short time. It seemed better to halt the plan right there, but in the end, Lu Hai Kong decided to proceed.
Lu Hai Kong was well aware that the development of a vast territory like Bingzhou required more than just money and resources; a favorable environment was essential.
At this point, Lu Hai Kong, Xi Zhi Cai, and Tian Feng were discussing the details of implementing this plan...
(End of Chapter)
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