When Feng Polu arrived in Yunshan and learned the bad news, Chu Huan attended a banquet in Tongzhou.

After Chu Huan entered the city, he summoned the city officials for a conversation. Since then, most of the officials have returned to their respective positions so that the administrative machines in Tongzhou can continue to operate.

In fact, Xu Qing's departure did not have much impact on Tongzhou's government pragmatism. When Xu Qing was in power, he devoted himself to mining, which did not play much role in Tongzhou's government affairs. In the past, all government affairs in Tongzhou were handled step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step by step.

After the death of former governor Zhao Guangqing, Xu Congyang had inquired about government affairs in Tongzhou, made some major adjustments to the affairs of various departments and ministers in Tongzhou, and formulated a series of regulations. When Xu Congyang and Wei Tianqing later took charge of Tongzhou, the procedures for handling the affairs of various departments and ministers were actually carried out according to the procedures formulated by Xu Congyang. Although Xu Qing relaxed his government affairs after taking power and ministers were also lazy, the general rules were not abandoned.

Now Chu Huan is in Tongzhou, and he makes a statement that he will temporarily retain the positions of officials. After investigation and promotion of talents, he will depose those who are just a substitute. Therefore, Tongzhou officials are cheering up. In order to be able to show their performance in front of Chu Huan, no one dares to slackew. All affairs in Tongzhou can be considered orderly.

With the assistance of Yang Rusong, four or five hundred defenders were re-arranged and organized into the team. Chu Huan kept his promise. After confirming his identity, each defender who stood up was given food subsidies. All the soldiers were assigned to Xu Shao and re-arranged.

As for some gangsters in the city who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to rob, they did not expect that the order in Tongzhou could be restored in such a short time. After Xu Shao led his troops into the city, Rangers emerged from time to time on the streets and alleys, but they also arrested hundreds of criminals who were trying to rob, and imprisoned them all in prison and handed them over to the Zheng Cao for interrogation.

The gentry in the city was originally frightened and was waiting for the disaster to come. For a long time, once the city was broken, even if there was no large-scale massacre, looting was essential. And often the wealthy gentry members were first affected by disasters. However, after the Northwest Army entered the city, the military rules were strict. Not only did they not harass the people, but they also quickly rectified the chaotic Tongzhou City. It was soon learned that the military orders issued by Chu Huan and the three rules were deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although the gentry received the ban at the beginning, they did not know if it was Chu Huan's pretending to behave. After waiting for two or three days, not only did the Northwest Army not come to plunder and harass them, but the Northwest Rangers walked past the streets from time to time to ensure the order and stability, which made the gentry in the city breathe a sigh of relief.

For local gentry, they don’t care who will rule this land, they only care who can guarantee their vested interests.

When Xu Qing was defeated, they naturally would not feel any regret. What they were worried about next was just what policies Chu Huan would implement in Tongzhou.

It is undeniable that Chu Huan's implementation of the equalization strategy in the northwest was once supported by most people in the northwest, but to a certain extent, it also damaged the interests of local gentry forces.

The three northwest roads, Xiguan was the first to be hit, and the equal field order was fully implemented. Wei Wuji has also begun to implement the equal field order in Tianshan Mountain. As for Beishan Road, although the equal field order has not been widely implemented, anyone can guess that the equal field order has been implemented in the two northwest roads, so it will only be a matter of time before the North Mountain Road follows.

Although the implementation of the equal-field order in the northwest did damage the interests of local gentry, the resistance was not too great due to the different environment and current situation. For example, Xiguan was able to successfully implement the equal-field order. One of the reasons was that under the attack of the people of Xiliang, the gentry class in Xiguan suffered an almost devastating blow. Not only was its strength weak and it was difficult to fight with the government, but it also needed to cooperate with the government to obtain needs and restore its vitality.

However, the situation in Tongzhou is obviously different from that in the northwest.

Although Tongzhou is a relatively barren state on Xishan Road, this does not mean that Tongzhou is poor from top to bottom. In fact, the gentry class in Tongzhou is not weak.

Tongzhou failed to prosper in the past, mainly because Tongzhou's supporting industries were directly controlled by the imperial court. In Tongzhou, the most capable of generating fiscal revenue is naturally minerals. The minerals do not belong to the local area. Instead, they have to draw a large amount of capable forces from the local area to invest in mining and smelting, and if the local area was not only unable to draw fiscal revenue from the most favorable resources in the local area, but instead they have to invest a lot of labor in an industry that cannot increase local fiscal growth.

This will naturally cause serious pressure on local finances. To support local finances, we have to rely on agricultural taxation.

Droughts often occur in Tongzhou, and the taxes paid to the court were extremely heavy. If the government wants to complete the task, it must rely heavily on local gentry. The gentry of the rich gentry in Tongzhou was very large in land. They had to pay heavy taxes and ensure their own interests. Naturally, they could only put a heavy burden on the people. In this way, the people of Tongzhou lived a very difficult life and formed a very barren appearance in Tongzhou. On the contrary, the gentry in Tongzhou, after passing the heavy burden on the people, still maintained their strong strength.

The bandits in Tongzhou are naturally very rampant. However, in order to ensure its own interests, the Tongzhou gentry group is quite united. When Tongzhou's military power is weak, the Tongzhou gentry each has a strong Zhuang Ding Guarding Group. Once it unites, it will be enough to suppress many bandits.

Although the Zhuang Ding Guardians in Tongzhou can handle local bandits, they naturally have no resistance when facing the Northwest Iron Cavalry with huge combat power.

After a few days, seeing that Chu Huan's gentle attitude had ensured his own property and personal safety, the gentry immediately thought about where to go to Tongzhou. Before promulgation of many of the government decrees in Tongzhou, the government had to communicate with local gentry in advance. In fact, many government decrees were difficult to implement without the support of most gentry. Participating in local political affairs has become a matter for local gentry to think it is natural.

The gentry of Tongzhou naturally had to understand the next policy policy of Tongzhou, so the gentry of Tongzhou jointly submitted an invitation to Chu Huan, inviting Chu Huan to participate in the welcoming banquet held by local gentry.

The banquet was held at the Hong family, the most prestigious Hong family in Tongzhou City. The Hong family was the richest man in Tongzhou. The courtyard was wide open and dozens of tables of banquets were placed. Not only were the powerful gentry from Tongzhou coming to the banquet, but the well-known literati Su Lao in the city also came to the invitation.

When the lights first came up, the courtyard was full of lively. Chu Huan was in the inner hall, and there was only a table here, with more than a dozen people surrounding a large round table. Everyone here was all famous gentry and old men in Tongzhou.

Chu Huan is naturally very clear when he comes to this day that the people's hearts are of course very important, but to digest the whole place, they must also blend with the local gentry. Even if they cannot get along with the gentry, they must never easily become enemies with the local gentry.

If you don’t get their support, it may not be impossible to do everything, but once you are opposed by local gentry, many things will be in great trouble.

At the wine table, there were so many people who were able to praise and praise Qin and Xu Qing for being cruel and unkind. The people of Tongzhou lived in dire straits and heat. If the soldiers arrived today, they would not be invaded. The whole country of Tongzhou was like a long drought and rain.

Chu Huan naturally smiled at these scenes, and did not say much. After drinking for three rounds, Huang Lan, the head of the Huang family, had already stood up and raised his hand to signal everyone to calm down. Then he said, "Everyone, Chu Duke is visiting the humble house today, and it is really a blessing to see Chu Duke. Now I have a few words and want to say to you, but I don't know what you mean?"

The door of the hall was open, Huang Lan's voice was loud, and when he heard it, everyone immediately calmed down. The people in the yard all turned the light of the door towards the hall.

"Duke Chu!" Seeing that everyone was quiet, Huang Lan looked at Chu Huan with a respectful look. Chu Huan had already raised his hand with a smile and said, "Mr. Huang, but it's okay."

Huang Lan bowed and said, "Director Chu, this is actually the case. This time, the Gui army came and drove away the corrupt officials of Xu Qing. The whole country and Tongzhou were very grateful. I had discussed with everyone before that in order to thank the Tutor Chu and his brothers, they were willing to fund a batch of money and grain. If Tutor Chu agreed, we will deliver the donated money and grain to the camp within three days."

Chu Huan remained silent. In fact, this kind of thing was as expected. As the saying goes, it is good to lose money and eliminate disasters. After the Northwest Army captured Tongzhou City, it was completely uninflicted, and the gentry in the city did not suffer any losses. This is naturally an extremely rare thing.

Everyone is smart, and the gentry knows it. In this case, if Chu Huan doesn't speak, it doesn't mean that there is nothing to do. Although the Tongzhou official warehouse has been occupied by the Northwest Army, everyone knows that the northwest is short of money and food, and just a Tongzhou official warehouse cannot fundamentally solve the problem. If at this time, the Tongzhou gentry under the roof still pretends to be deaf and dumb, it would be extremely unwise.

Chu Huan knew that these people were very smart and would not wait until he spoke.

As expected, the gentry of Tongzhou took the initiative to donate money and grain, which not only fundamentally benefited both sides, but also seemed friendly and harmonious in terms of face.

Chu Huan stood up, bowed his hand, and smiled and said, "Everyone, everyone knows that the Northwest Army entered the pass for the sake of the people of the world. Thanks to your kindness, they actually donated supplies. I shouldn't have accepted it, but I'm not hiding it. Everyone knows our situation. I won't do anything to save face. If I accept your donations this time, he will naturally return them." Cleared his throat and said loudly: "But here today, I have something to do. I want to discuss with you!"

"Director Chu, please speak!"

Everyone said one after another.
Chapter completed!