American Comics: BOSS Invasion

Laiwu County wasn't large, with only one relatively bustling street in the center.

In a teahouse next to a restaurant, the old locals were drinking tea, cautiously watching the two yamen runners standing in a grass-woven kiosk not far away.

"Old Li, this is something new, eh? The patrolling yamen runners have actually set up a fixed post here. Are they monitoring you, afraid you're evading taxes?"

A regular customer joked, but the teahouse owner, surnamed Li, changed color and quickly waved his hand, lowering his voice: "You absolutely can't say such things carelessly. The situation now is different from a few days ago. Haven't you heard? The winds are shifting!"

The regular customer was somewhat bewildered: "What do you mean?"

Someone next to him laughed: "Headman Zhang, it seems you've just returned from doing business. A major event has occurred in Laiwu County recently!

Some days ago, a group of Red Turbans emerged from Xiaonan Mountain and dealt with Master Zhang of Zhangjia Village, leaving no one in his entire family alive!"

The man was taken aback: "Is there such a thing?"

"Don't be surprised yet, what follows will be even more shocking!"

The speaker shook his head, a strange expression on his face: "Originally, Xiaonan Mountain was surrounded by mountains, with complex terrain, and had always been a gathering place for bandits. In recent years, the imperial court hasn't cared, and we common people have had no way to deal with it. During famine years, many people ran off to join the bandits to survive, so no one has ever dealt with it!

But what's strange is that, I don't know how, the Red Turbans actually integrated all the bandit dens in the Xiaonan Mountain area. Now, this gang of strongmen has at least several thousand men under their command."

"Oh, ho, that's terrible!"

"You can say that again, otherwise how would they dare to directly target Master Zhang? At first, everyone was very angry, and the people were also quite panicked.

Many people were aggressively gathering to pay for protection, but no one expected that these rebels would be so powerful. Anyone who dared to speak out would lose their life.

Master Chen from the south, you know him, right? He said he was going to suppress the bandits on the second day of the second month, and on the fourth, his old home was smashed, and all his direct relatives, from top to bottom, were dragged out and bled dry, and the family's wealth was looted.

Master Gao from Hexi said he was going to suppress the bandits, and that very night his head was hung on the door beam.

Wealthy Man Li also said he was going to pay for protection, and even sent people to contact the Jurchen and Khitan villages, um, um, um, and what happened? In less than two days, all three places suffered.

This caused panic inside and outside the city. Later, the county magistrate spoke up, saying that the Red Turbans hadn't claimed kingship or established a state, and didn't attack the county seat, so how could they be considered rebels? At most, it was just a village brawl!"

Hearing this, Headman Zhang looked utterly bewildered.

"This... can you even say that?"

Another person said: "Everyone says, how could ordinary bandits be so powerful? Each master is not a simple person, having dominated this area for so many years, not to mention their immense wealth, but also the thugs and evil servants under their command are not few!

The Red Turbans are likely to be the vanguard. Who can afford to provoke the Song army?

When facing the Jin dynasty's iron cavalry, they can be as soft as noodles, but aren't they easily able to control us common people?

They don't commit the slightest offense against the people, and only target the wealthy households. We ordinary people can't afford to provoke them, so we should just watch the show. Why join in the commotion and risk losing our heads!"

Several people around him echoed in a low voice: "That's right, and the Red Turbans only target those who have deep connections with the Jurchen people, and have never attacked ordinary people! Since we're safe, then there's nothing to fear!"

The teahouse owner, Old Li, brought over a bowl of hot tea and said in a low voice: "It's good if you understand this matter in your heart, but don't publicize it everywhere!

Moreover, the county magistrate's reaction is a bit strange. We suspect that the county magistrate may also have some connection with the Red Turbans, otherwise, how could so many unfamiliar faces suddenly appear recently?"

Headman Zhang exclaimed: "You mean?"

Old Li nodded slightly.

Headman Zhang took a deep breath.

-----

Other guesses are somewhat reliable, but the county magistrate is definitely not from Qishan.

However, in the current situation, there is no difference.

Since ancient times, the rule of officialdom has been very crude. As long as they hear that there is a problem somewhere, whether it is a disaster or rebellious people, the superiors will question the local officials without asking the reason, which is already an unwritten rule.

Therefore, once something happens locally, the first reaction of the officials is to cover it up, no matter what, they cannot affect their careers.

Officials are naturally adept at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages.

It's like County Magistrate Qishan only let the Red Turbans send some people to take over most of the yamen runners in the county yamen.

The county magistrate seemed to understand something and quickly issued a notice, directly suppressing the talk of rebels.

In fact, this is also his only choice. If he reported it solemnly, the first reaction of the imperial court would definitely not be to comment, but to remove the county magistrate's official hat.

This hat was obtained after ten years of hard study, plus flattering and bribery, and a lot of money invested in the early stage. Now he hasn't even recovered his investment, and he hasn't had enough of the life of flaunting his power and acting like a tyrant.

The county magistrate can only endure it!

The county magistrate is actually quite pessimistic, because this is the beginning of a vicious cycle. If he takes a step back, the Red Turbans will definitely take a step forward, until they push him into a corner, and when there is no way to retreat, this huge pit will no longer be able to be covered, and then everyone will be finished.

What surprised him was that this group of rebels was surprisingly well-behaved and very considerate of his difficulties.

Apart from causing trouble for some wealthy households and placing some people in the county yamen, they didn't touch anything else.

The most important thing is that, near July and August, the Red Turbans actually paid the summer grain tax according to the law.

This is a big deal.

The county magistrate widened his eyes in surprise. Since ancient times, the matter of rebels paying taxes has never been seen before, and it can be considered a rare event.

But as long as taxes are paid, as long as there is no chaos in the locality, the county magistrate has no responsibility. After three years, he can manage to get promoted and leave, and maybe even get a top-notch evaluation.

In fact, this kind of operation is very common in the United States. Where does the money managed by the IRS come from? Whether you kill people, set fires, or rob banks, as long as you pay taxes, they won't bother you!

Why are the American gangs so rampant? In addition to the basic plan of presumed innocence and the lobbying nature of lawyers.

The most important thing is that most of the long-term operating families are obediently paying taxes to the IRS.

Rebellion isn't a dinner party; you need to be prepared. Staying low-key and avoiding unnecessary risks in the early stages is essential.

Having stayed in Great King Village for nearly 10 months, besides controlling Laiwu, Qi Shan has been guiding the children's learning through various methods.

The nine-year compulsory education system isn't suitable for the present situation. What's needed is rapid development, creating technicians who can understand project plans and lead people to work.

So, after teaching them to read, he shifted the focus to the basic knowledge of their respective assigned professions.

During these 10 months, they learned a large number of commonly used characters and could already understand simple spoken and written language.

Furthermore, they understood some professional vocabulary, which was enough for him.

After they mastered the first part of the basic knowledge, Qi Shan gathered everyone together and held the first meeting.

In the newly built conference hall, Qi Shan sat in the main seat, looking at the more than 100 people sitting neatly in a square formation in front of him, and said, "You have been studying continuously for 10 months, and you have generally mastered the basic knowledge. Now I am going to divide you into different groups, and you will need to lead workers and be solely responsible for a project!"

More than 100 pairs of eyes looked at Qi Shan, their eyes full of joy. Qi Shan's words were a rare affirmation for them.

For 10 months, they had a carefree life, with no worries about food or clothing, and they didn't have to worry about being cold or hungry, except for reading and writing.

This was already an unimaginable life for them.

Everyone cherished it!

Moreover, subtly, they could vaguely feel that the more useful they were to Qi Shan, the more attention they would receive, and the more rights they would gain.

People are complex, after all. Although Qi Shan could see through it, he didn't care.

During these 10 months, besides strengthening the Red Turbans and occupying the entire Laiwu County, he spent the rest of the time personally leading a group of blacksmiths to build human-powered lathes according to the modification blueprints provided by Alice.

"Jiang Xiaozhi!"

Qi Shan called out the name of the oldest of the children.

"Here!"

Jiang Xiaozhi stood up.

Qi Shan said, "You are the eldest apprentice brother, and your grades are the best. I will give you the most important agricultural group. I hope you will carefully implement various measures according to the information I have passed down and record the data with your group members. Tell me directly if you need anything, and I will find a way.

I've given you the best conditions. If the harvest next year isn't good, I'll hold you accountable!"

"Yes! Teacher!"

Jiang Xiaozhi replied excitedly.

Despite Qi Shan's appearance as a young master all day long, and the children's courses being taught by a schoolteacher, they were all Qi Shan's disciples.

In this era, the relationship between teachers and students could be compared to that of father and son, and sometimes it was even higher.

Moreover, with Alice as a backing, all the teaching materials were written by Qi Shan, so there was nothing wrong with saying they were Qi Shan's students.

There were quite a few of these children. To increase cohesion, Qi Shan ranked them by seniority.

Using the words "A hero is one who serves the country and its people" as nodes, the character "Xia" was inserted in the middle of all the children's names.

The former took Xia, Zhi, Da, and the latter took Wei, Guo, Min.

Now that they had completed their apprenticeship, those pedantic scholars were no longer needed to teach the basic courses. They could take turns teaching.

With a large number of teachers, they could teach even more students.

One class per year, and after six years,

the graduated students should be able to support a small-scale industrial center.

"Wei Xiarong!"

"Here!"

"You have the best grasp of basic knowledge. From now on, you will be responsible for teaching everyone to read at night. Learning is endless, and there is still a lot of knowledge you need to master!"

Qi Shan called out the names of more than a dozen people in a row.

The blacksmith group, carpenter group, mason group, and education group were all assigned.

With leaders in each group, the remaining people were automatically assigned, and the initial management system was established.

In the following days, Qi Shan began to lead the students to build blast furnaces for steelmaking, and he asked people to collect coal and iron ore.

It was very easy for Qi Shan to obtain materials. He could get anything he needed by just taking a trip outside.

But if you want to see a force, stealing can't solve the problem.

Then trading becomes a necessity.

So, after the blast furnace steelmaking gradually succeeded and the opinions were completely transferred to the students, he began to build weapons and armor on a large scale.

No matter what era, the arms business is extremely profitable.

Ordinary merchants certainly couldn't get involved in this kind of business. Although the Red Turbans didn't blatantly retaliate, the surrounding people already knew what kind of nature they were.

Then, when the news spread, someone would naturally come to buy a large number of armaments.

Trade items are not limited to gold and silver treasures, but can be food or various large amounts of raw materials.

As long as the value is equal and can be transported to Laiwu, it can be traded directly. The identity and reasons of the comers are not asked. As long as they can afford it, they will sell it here!

Business started operating unconsciously.

Regardless of the surface, the Red Turbans did control the entire Laiwu.

Qi Shan abolished all the exorbitant taxes levied by the Jin Dynasty and reduced all agricultural taxes to one dou per mu.

The luxury tax was directly increased to two taxes for one.

On the surface, the Red Turbans' exploitation was more brutal than that of China, but in reality, without the landlords and gentry manipulating things from above and below, the burden on the common people was reduced a lot.

Overall, the amount of tax paid externally did not change, and the only internal exploiter was the Red Turbans, which slightly gave some profits to the common people, which was a win-win result.

In addition to the arms trade, Qi Shan, posing as a middleman, colluded with a large number of merchants to continuously import various raw materials.

Thanks to the efforts of the students, a large number of simple machines, such as spinning machines and looms, were restored.

Because the products were exquisite and affordable, they attracted a large number of merchants to purchase them.

In order to expand production, the families under the Red Turbans were considered for acceptance and became the first wave of workers.

In the past, everyone faced the loess and turned their backs to the sky, digging for food in the fields and resisting the exploitation of the upper class. Now, people in the same village were able to go to work and earn money again because someone in their family had joined the Red Turbans. This was an extraordinary thing.

Positive examples are very attractive. In the next six months, the number of people who actively came to join the Red Turbans increased every month.

And the power of the Red Turbans expanded rapidly like a snowball, and their partisans spread all over the county.

The people were stunned, and some even called on the Red Turbans to uphold justice in their county.

Seeing the neighboring county getting better day by day, they were a little jealous.