Chapter 752 A two-pronged approach

Chapter 752 A two-pronged approach

Chapter 752 A two-pronged approach
"The Xiongnu army advanced westward and defeated Nanyang Wang Bao in the first month of the year, taking over the entire Tianshui region. Zhang Shi sent troops to meet them, claiming to be their wing guard, but in fact to repel them." When they arrived in Xiurong County, it was already the third day of April. Shao Xun stopped here to read official letters sent from various places.

"It's too late to do anything. Forget it. The news from the first month of the year was not received until April. Four or five months have passed. It's too late to do anything." Shao Xun threw the letter on the table, as if he was throwing away Sima Bao's life.

Liu Xiaohe gave birth to a daughter for him in December last year. Currently, the mother and daughter are recuperating in Tongquetai and will return directly to Bianliang in a few months.

These are actually trivial matters. What really worries people is the continuous rain.

The flood last year really left a psychological trauma. If there hadn't been the heavy rain for a month, why would the battle have stopped halfway? And why would they have to march and fight in the snow and wind in the end, so that many veterans who had fought many battles did not die at the hands of the enemy, but were killed and injured by General Dong instead.

Shao Xun pushed open the window and was greeted by thick steam.

There was a faint sound of thunder in the distance.

The willow trees by the river were well watered and looked more vigorous.

There is a sloping land on the river bank, where a lot of beans are planted. They are now stretching their stems and leaves comfortably and growing vigorously.

The fruits and vegetables in the vegetable patch were dusted off by the rain, and seemed to become even greener and more lush...

It seems good, but everything is excessive.

Bingzhou had just been recovered, but before that there had been many years of war. The roads, farmlands, and water conservancy were in a mess, and all industries were in ruins.

Unfortunately, because of the war, the people’s strength was exhausted and no large-scale projects could be undertaken.

Of course, if the rain is heavy enough, all water conservancy projects will be useless.

Will it be big? Hard to say.

During this Little Ice Age, the extreme climate was much more frequent, so it’s really hard to say.

"Six years of plenty, six years of drought, twelve years of famine." A voice came from behind: "Don't worry too much, Your Majesty. It has been like this since ancient times. As long as there is surplus food, you can safely survive the famine and usher in a good harvest. Then you can breathe a sigh of relief."

"Have you also read 'Biographies of Merchants'?" Shao Xun looked at Guo who was speaking in a low voice and asked.

Mrs. Guo raised her head, seemed a little annoyed, and wanted to say something, but in the end she just lowered her head and hummed lightly.

Who did they look down on? The warriors and soldiers had never been educated, and the children of the nobles had never been educated either? Not only had they been educated, but they also knew how to play the piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and had learned dancing and various recreational activities. Some of the noble women who didn't care about other people's opinions could even ride horses.

Shao Xun looked at the spring rain outside the window again and said, "The Three Kingdoms inherited the problems of the Later Han Dynasty, and the disasters continued to increase. The Jin Dynasty succeeded it, and the chaos was even worse."

Having said that, Shao Xun sighed.

According to statistics compiled by Wang Huifeng, disasters occur more than once a year on average.

Of course, most of them were local disasters, and many were even confined to one county. Except for the government, people elsewhere were unaware of them.

Even if they knew, they wouldn't care, because it couldn't overturn their lives - large groups of refugees are a bit scary, but small-scale ones are not a problem, after all, they have organizations such as forts and manors to rely on, not atomized individuals.

But no matter what, this is a high-incidence period for disasters, so we should still be vigilant.

From this perspective, the existence of aristocratic families has positive significance. At least they can maintain the most basic order in a place and preserve its vitality.

Perhaps, things are made up of multiple factors.

Even if the wealthy and powerful families did not take the initiative to occupy the farmland, the self-cultivating farmers would rush to rely on them, because the government was already dysfunctional and unable to provide disaster relief. There were rioters at home and barbarians outside. They had no way to survive if they did not live together to protect themselves.

Only by giving them a truly stable order and ensuring the normal functioning of government functions can it be possible to dismantle the fortress.

Shao Xun sat back at his desk and began to write the order. After finishing it, he gave it to the messenger to send to Bianliang.

The Liang Palace has been under construction for a month and a half. Now I think it would be better to control the progress and save some food.

If a major disaster really breaks out, construction will be completely stopped. Anyway, he is not in a hurry and can just live in Liu Cong's house. The Ningshu Palace is no less grand than the emperor's. In fact, it is the imperial residence.

******
Xiurong County has started to count the household registration, but the progress is very slow.

"The land has been planted, but the people are nowhere to be seen. This won't do." Shao Xun said to Liu Zhao, the governor of Kelan, who had rushed over.

"Your Majesty, the whereabouts of the herdsmen are uncertain, so it is difficult to sort out their household registration, and it is also difficult for them to be subjugated by the king." Liu Zhao said: "These fields planted with millet and wheat will only be harvested in the autumn harvest. No one will be seen at other times."

"The harvested millet and wheat are stored in the granaries on the mountain." Liu Zhao pointed to the granaries of various sizes on the hillside and said, "After the autumn harvest, they will return here with hay for the livestock to use during the winter. They will leave again the next year when the grass turns green again."

"Some don't farm, so their whereabouts are even harder to predict. We can only ask the tribesmen we know well to find out. We may not even know if they cross the river and leave one day."

Shao Xun looked at the vast mountains soaked in the drizzle and said, "Try to clarify it."

He understood Liu Zhao's difficulties, which was also an important reason why the Hu people were difficult to govern. Their tribes would migrate. In the four counties of Kelan Prefecture (including the newly established Hehe County), most of the flat land was within the river valley, and the number was very small. If it relied solely on planting, it would not be able to support many people, and it was inevitable to develop mountain animal husbandry.

But after all, they had migrated to the Central Plains during the Later Han Dynasty, and the Hu people also knew the benefits of farming. Even if the farmland was "dependent on the weather" and yielded little, it could still help their livelihood.

At least, fewer animals would have to be slaughtered for the winter, since some grain would be harvested in the fall.

"Who do these lands belong to?" Shao Xun asked again.

"Whoever grabs it first owns it, and whoever plants it first owns it." Liu Zhao said.

“What if there is a dispute?”

"The decision will be made by a great minister, or by a group of respected elders elected by several tribes."

Classic tribal democracy.

They can govern themselves, and their only need for the government is probably to have a higher level of protection when they encounter irresistible foreign enemies.

Or maybe they are intimidated by the government's military force and have to submit to you in name only.

This is true for Liu Cong and Shao Xun as well - perhaps Liu Cong would make them feel more familiar, after all, they have many similarities.

"After clarifying the household registration, check the land first." Shao Xun said: "Starting from next year, these lands will have fixed owners, and each tribe will have their own rules for planting. If someone mistakenly plants someone else's land, the grain will belong to them, and there is no point in complaining. When the tribe leaders come back during the autumn harvest, explain it to them clearly."

Liu Zhao swallowed his saliva when he heard this, but then he hardened his heart.

Changing traditions will certainly cause backlash, and it depends on whether you can control it.

"Governing these tribes is not easy." Shao Xun said earnestly, "You have to intervene in tribal affairs. If a tribe does not need the government for everything, and all matters, big or small, are resolved internally, then over time, will they still respect the government? Let them seek help from the government more often, the more the better. If they seek too much, they will become inseparable from the government."

"Yes." Liu Zhao replied.

"I'm in Pingyang and I'm not going anywhere. If anything happens, the army can go north from Lishi to suppress the bandits." Shao Xun added: "Of course, it would be best if we can avoid using force. They will lose people and will distrust the government even more. I will also spend countless money and food, which is not worth the loss. Anyway, let's do it well. Let's use the land to hang them first. I don't believe that they will not ask the government for help."

"After I secure the land, I will also secure the mountain. Who owns which mountain is decided by their will. Let's see how they run."

"There are good and bad hills, and there are rules for who gets the good ones and who gets the bad ones."

"In short, we need to make the government and the imperial court more present in their lives, and let them be influenced by the emperor's rule. If they have not heard of the imperial court and the emperor for decades or even hundreds of years, won't they rebel or leave at any time?"

These words enlightened Liu Zhao.

He vaguely recalled that when he was young and managing the tribe in Shangdang, he knew about the existence of the Jin Dynasty and who the current emperor was through his family, but the people below knew nothing.

Under such circumstances, whether to resist or not is really just a matter of thought.

King Liang meant to let more people in the tribes know about the imperial court and the government. Even if it was impossible to let even the lowest-level herdsmen and slaves know about it, at least more middle-level clan leaders should know about it and develop a reliance on and awe of the government.

In this case, when the top leader of the tribe wants to rebel, he will face greater resistance, after all, the tribe is made up of clans.

"Tell them again that if they want to be included in the county's surname, they must be respectful to me." Shao Xun said finally.

The county surname is used to refer to the leader of a tribe.

The river valley fields are closely related to the clan leaders, after all, they have a large group of people who rely on them for food and drink.

Bingzhou is the place where the Hu people are most densely populated. Governing Bingzhou well is equivalent to grasping the bull's nose.

This two-pronged approach will always be effective.

He was only thirty-three and could spend his whole life doing this.

……

On April 21st, Shao Xun headed eastward and inspected Jinyang.

While we were on the road, the rain stopped for a few days, but now it started again, and it seemed to be taking revenge, raining all day and night.

At this time, he no longer hesitated and decisively ordered: stop the construction of Liang Palace and Bianliang.

All the grain stored in Ao Cang was transported to Yewang and stored in a dry place with higher terrain. The remaining mansions and pavilions in Henan successively transported their stored grain northward to replenish it after the autumn harvest.

On the 22nd, Shao Xun issued an order in Jinyang: "This year's spring rains are quite bad. The historian ordered to observe the sky at night and predicted that there will be more rain in summer and autumn. You should order the counties to inform the people and prepare for the danger of heavy rains."

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(End of this chapter)