John Washington was startled. "Young sir, what do you mean by that?"

"Benefactor, just now the remaining grain merchants gave the young commander a thousand shi of grain." William Bolton relayed the news he had gathered on the street.

John Washington was momentarily dumbfounded, and finally understood—James Harris was putting on a show for those grain merchants. As long as they handed over some grain, that was enough; as for the common people, James Harris simply didn't care about them.

Commoners? They don't matter!

"Were these grains not counted as military provisions, nor distributed to the people in the city?"

William Bolton shook his head.

John Washington's face flushed red. He didn't mind being made a fool of, but if it was just to fill Michael Harris's private coffers, that was simply too much! Old Mr. Washington went from feeling wronged to growing angry—James Harris was being unfair!

William Bolton saw this and smiled. "Benefactor, there's no need to be upset. I just spent the gold beans you rewarded me with, and by now, the whole city should be singing the praises of Young Master Washington's iron-fisted purge of corrupt merchants!"

You want grain, I want the people's hearts—each gets what they need!

John Washington was stunned for a moment. So this was about using public opinion to pressure James Harris—would that really work?

Chapter 9: On the Weakness of Landed Gentry and Powerful Clans

Although John Washington was angry and aggrieved, he knew very well that there was a huge difference in status between himself and James Harris, and that he owed the man a great debt. If he truly angered James Harris and was blamed for it, things would not end well.

Noticing John Washington's face growing increasingly grave, as if displeased, William Bolton feared Old Mr. Washington would blame him, and hurried to explain: "Benefactor, I also believe that winning the people's hearts is most important, and this was a rare opportunity. That's why I dared to make arrangements. As for the concerns you have, I think perhaps they won't come to pass."

John Washington frowned. Really? They won't?

"Go on, I'd like to hear your insights, young sir."

"Very well!" William Bolton nodded. "Benefactor, to judge a man and his deeds: the commander is fifty this year, a powerful local landlord in Haozhou, with considerable family wealth. His days have always been quite comfortable."

John Washington nodded. "Young sir, everyone knows this. What else is there to say?"

William Bolton smiled. To put it bluntly, James Harris is just a landlord of Haozhou! Is it really so hard to guess what such a man thinks? Of course, William Bolton couldn't just state his conclusion outright—he still had to shift the blame to his late father... Sorry about that!

"Benefactor, my late father once wrote an essay, summarizing the founders of dynasties throughout history. Qin Shi Huang inherited his ancestors' legacy, so let's set that aside... The Chu-Han contention, to put it plainly, was a struggle between three bandits and the descendants of the six noble states, and in the end, it was the low-born Liu Bang who won the empire... Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, though of imperial descent, by his generation was no different from a commoner. Moving on, the founders of the Sui and Tang dynasties were all from noble families, generations of military men. Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Song, could barely be considered a military man, and the Yuan court was foreign." William Bolton chuckled. "Benefactor, do you sense a pattern here?"

William Bolton had just mentioned that James Harris was a powerful landlord, and now, after going through the list, not a single dynasty was founded by landlords or powerful clans—the answer was obvious.

John Washington pondered and asked, "Young sir, are you saying that landlords and powerful clans are unlikely to succeed?"

William Bolton nodded and gave Old Mr. Washington a thumbs-up—quick-witted!

"Benefactor, take this Red Turban Rebellion for example: Arthur King came from humble origins and was the first to raise the banner of revolt. The others—Sesame Lee, Samuel Brooks, Samuel Morgan—were all poor men. Only General Harris was different; he started months later than the others, and after taking Haozhou, he hesitated and made no further moves. There's a lot to be learned from this!"

John Washington thought for a moment, seeming to understand, and quickly pressed, "Young sir, please explain further!"

William Bolton said, "The reasoning is simple. The commander has always lived well—he's never considered a do-or-die struggle. When he saw the Red Turbans gaining momentum, he seized the opportunity and took Haozhou. But when the Red Turbans ran into trouble, the commander realized that being a regional lord wasn't so easy, so he decided to just hold onto Haozhou and stopped striving for more."

Landlords and powerful clans are somewhat similar to the bourgeoisie—they are respectable people who never worry about food or clothing. They do have ambitions to climb higher and gain more power, but to overturn the old order and create a new world? Sorry, they simply don't have the guts. This could be called the weakness of the propertied class.

So, throughout all the dynastic changes, landlords and powerful clans have always been an important force, but almost never have they been the founding group of a new dynasty... Well, maybe with the exception of the Sima family of Western Jin... but let's not talk about that!

John Washington pondered deeply. He knew James Harris even better than William Bolton, and following this line of thought, it really did make sense. James Harris certainly had times when he respected and valued talented men—of course, otherwise why would he have married his adopted daughter to John Washington?

But in many cases, James Harris didn't care much for his subordinates, always keeping a certain distance. This allowed people like Benjamin Hill to seize James Harris's power, relying on the support of the soldiers to challenge the commander's authority.

"Young sir, do you think General Harris can't accomplish great things? Are you suggesting I go it alone?" John Washington immediately shook his head, angrily saying, "I can't agree to that. General Harris has done me a great favor. At a time like this, with government troops at our doorstep, if I ran away, wouldn't that make me a deserter? No matter what, that's out of the question!"