Countless people gathered in the wilderness to discuss countermeasures. They desired grain, for only with grain could they survive. Other matters were beyond their concern. They dared not discuss this within the city, fearing eavesdroppers. If their plan were overheard, they would face disaster that very day. Now, they convened in the wild among many desolate farmlands, fields long incapable of growing crops. They gathered in these fields to discuss whether outsiders had passed, a glance being enough to tell.
Many people in China were inherently kind. They would not choose to resist until the last resort, having learned to endure. As long as they persevered, there was hope. However, they now discovered a problem: continued perseverance was no longer possible. At this juncture, they had only one choice: to erupt and seize the grain that rightfully belonged to them.
"My brothers, you must know that we should have grain. If they give us grain, we will complete any task, no matter what. We wouldn't complain even if we had to clean toilets. But now, not only do they arbitrarily withhold our grain, but they also let us starve. Even if our families try to find wild vegetables or insects to eat, they are persecuted. In such circumstances, we simply cannot survive. Today, we can only resist!"
Someone stood on a large rock, raising their arm and shouting. They were not a deliberate organizer, but someone who simply could not endure living any longer and thus resorted to this last measure.
The others nodded in agreement, deeply resonating with these words. Setting aside other grievances, even when they found numerous termite nests in the wild and caught many termites, intending to feed them to their children in exchange for some grain, they were extorted at the city gates. Even the termites would have half their containers discarded.
Therefore, continuing to endure in such a situation was not a wise move, as enduring offered no hope. To survive, there was only one option: to resist to the end.
People responded to this call and returned home that day to retrieve their farming tools. They possessed no firearms or other weapons, but they could no longer afford to be concerned. As long as they held a hoe or a sickle, they could resist.
Shen Feng had initially thought it would take a long time to truly implement his idea of using grain to divide other factions. However, he now found his plan proceeding smoothly in its initial stages, as uprisings suddenly erupted along the southeastern coast.
This was due to the sheer population in the southeastern region. The powers there levied heavy taxes. They had initially provided sufficient grain, and if managed carefully, the people could have avoided famine. However, some people in the middle arbitrarily withheld grain, directly leading to the common people having nothing to eat. They were already struggling to survive, and many even had their meager remaining grain stolen from their homes. At this point, unrest began.
Countless cities were overrun by workers and farmers, who wielded only simple weapons. Their sheer numbers were overwhelming. They watched as these masses charged into enemy formations equipped with advanced weaponry, their spirit of fearlessness directly intimidating countless enemy soldiers.
As the saying goes, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world." The current situation clearly demonstrated this. When people cannot eat their fill, violent resistance ultimately becomes their last resort.
"My Lord, since this has happened, we can now proceed with the plan. By controlling the distribution of grain, we can divide the people of other regions, creating opposition between their large and small cities. This way, their power cannot be centralized, and their strength will be continuously weakened!" Xie Mu'an, seeing his plan nearing fruition, excitedly approached Shen Feng to explain the situation.
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng understood that it was time for him to strengthen the core and weaken the periphery. The current period was extremely unusual. Due to volcanic eruptions, countless volcanic ashes obscured the sunlight, and large amounts of acidic gases were released, causing the entire globe to cool. The north was frozen for a thousand miles, and the south lacked conditions for growing crops. The ice only melted for three months each summer, and acid rain was frequent.
Under these circumstances, only greenhouses could successfully grow grain. However, greenhouses were unsuitable for large-scale grain production, and harvests took at least half a year. Under normal conditions, most regions had little grain left. Half a year was a critical period, allowing for only small-scale grain production. Large-scale grain production using greenhouses was not an easy task.
Shen Feng then said, "No problem. Proceed with the original plan. However, I am also preparing to gather scientists to research rockets, to ensure that meteorites can be launched into space at any time. This requires a lot of manpower and will incur expenses!"
"Isn't that perfect? Anything we lack can be requested from others. As long as my plan is executed, Yuzhou will certainly gain sufficient advantage. Once the great ice age ends, we can use the advantage we have gained to achieve final victory!" Xie Mu'an replied.
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Although this plan appears rather unscrupulous, its feasibility is very high. To prevent major wars between humans in the future, we can only do this!"
Following Shen Feng's decision, Yuzhou immediately issued a statement to other regions. It declared that they would provide grain in the future, but the method of distribution would no longer be the casual approach of the past. Instead, it would be meticulously planned, with specific grain allocations for each city to prevent malicious withholding. The reason was simple: numerous reports from the southeastern region indicated famine, yet the grain supply was supposedly sufficient, making the situation very strange.
"To prevent further reports of famine in various regions, we will allocate grain distribution points based on population and region. Grain will be distributed at one city, and people from surrounding areas will collect it there. The task of distributing the grain will be left to the local people to decide, rather than undergoing layers of exploitation before reaching the people!" Shen Feng declared at the time.
People in other regions heard about this. Many commoners did not understand the power struggle involved and enthusiastically welcomed it. In their view, as long as the exploitation during grain distribution was reduced, they would definitely receive more grain. Even if they had to receive grain through work-relief programs, it was still better than receiving no grain at all.
"Crack..." On the very first day this statement was released, people learned the news. The sound of breaking cups echoed from many rooms. This was not due to panic causing them to drop their cups, but because they were now furious. They smashed whatever was nearby, and cups were the most common objects.
These individuals held high positions, and their status dictated that they would remain calm rather than panicked when encountering various situations. But now, they were truly enraged. They had not expected Shen Feng to employ such a tactic, a method of "pulling the rug out from under them."
"This damned Shen Feng, I can't believe he would do this. He claims to be acting righteously to prevent people from being harsh, but if one truly wanted to be harsh, how could a single plan stop it? This is merely to weaken our power, to divide us, to dismantle us!" Zhou Yayun said.
In fact, he and Shen Feng were in-laws, so their relationship should have been very good. However, their children's marriage was driven by self-interest, leading to their alliance. He had not expected Shen Feng to not even inform him when undertaking this major plan.
The people around Zhou Yayun held the same attitude. None of them were foolish; they could see through the other party's intentions. Therefore, Shen Feng's current strategy clearly indicated his intention to weaken other regions.
"We absolutely cannot let his plan succeed. We must find a way to nip this plan in the bud! Because if grain is controlled by other regions, they will gain the ability to contend with us. After all, with grain, they won't starve to death." Someone beside him also spoke up, stating that they had to resist Shen Feng's strategy.
However, the problem now was: what method could be used to oppose the execution of this plan?
"This is a complete open scheme. We have no way to stop this plan from being implemented, because if we stop it, it would mean we are allowing our subordinates to exploit this grain." Someone stated this fact, as they had no legitimate reason to object. Whatever one did, it required a righteous cause.
Shen Feng's current banner was to prevent people from suffering from famine. Therefore, they had to allocate grain distribution points based on population and specific regions, so that everyone could avoid layers of exploitation, and the grain they received could sustain their lives.
This reason was very legitimate, and others could find no grounds to refute it. If they were to find excuses to gloss over this matter at this point, it would inevitably create opposition from everyone else. There was a saying that "the wrath of the masses is hard to defy," so it was best not to interfere too much in such situations.
"Since we cannot oppose the righteousness of this matter, let's think of other ways. For example, we can tamper with things in other aspects. After the grain from above is distributed to the smaller cities, we can send people with guns to collect this grain. This way, we can regain control of grain distribution, and others will still have to listen to us!" Another person immediately proposed such a bad idea, which was to snatch back the distributed grain and then reassert control over grain distribution. This way, they could prevent their own loss of grain distribution rights!
After careful consideration of this strategy, others shook their heads, deeming it a bad idea. This was because if they sent troops to snatch the grain, it would inevitably lead to opposition from many cities.
"If we really snatch the grain, who knows how many people will resent us? Is it really worth it?" Someone then raised an objection.
"But what else can we do besides this? Will others willingly hand over the grain to us?" This person retorted directly.
Human nature was inherently complex. Asking many people to give up their original interests would likely be even more difficult. Almost no one would choose to do so, especially now when grain was life itself. How could they voluntarily hand over grain?
Therefore, it was not easy to deal with such an open scheme because it could not be broken. Otherwise, it would not be called an open scheme.