Chapter 807 Taiyuan

Chapter 807 Taiyuan

Chapter 807 Taiyuan
On the banks of Taiya Lake, a huge map was spread out.

The sun shines on the ground, and the mottled shadows of the trees sway between the mountains and rivers.

"Yangqu" are the two words most often mentioned by Shao Xun.

Among the eight counties of Taiyuan, Jinyang has the largest population, and Yangqu is second. However, it is not because these places are so safe or the land is so fertile, but mainly because there are many new immigrants - there are now more than 19,000 households and more than 74,000 people in the eight counties of Taiyuan County.

Of course, another reason that cannot be ignored when talking about Yangqu is military.

Xinxing County is already in name only. The four counties of Jiuyuan, Dingxiang, Jinchang and Yunzhong to the north of Shiling Pass are almost uninhabited. Guangmu County to the south of Shiling Pass was abolished and established many times during the Ming Dynasty. It was re-established during the Liu Han period, but was abandoned again a while ago because there was no one there.

Xinxing prefect Liu Qia still stayed in Jiuyuan County, and only a thousand households were cultivating land around the city, and their safety was not guaranteed.

If the Xianbei moved south again, Xinxing County would not be able to stop them, and they would go straight to Shiling Pass. In this case, Yangqu would be very important.

"Wen Ji, I see that you seem to be hesitant to speak. It's obvious that you have something to say." After the conversation came to an end, Shao Xun sat cross-legged on the blanket, looked at Sun Jue, and smiled.

Prefect Shao Guang seemed to have expected this and showed no expression.

Jinyang prefect Hao Feng was not very happy. After all, he was the immediate superior of County Magistrate Sun Jue. King Liang went around asking questions directly, which made him feel uncomfortable. Hao Feng's father, Hao Chang, was the current prefect of Chen County and one of the surrendered generals from Hebei that Lu Zhi had brought in in his early years.

"Your Majesty." Sun Jue knelt on the carpet, bowed, and then said: "I heard that there are 300,000 hu of grain in Jinyang warehouse, more than 100,000 hu of grain in Yangchang warehouse, and more than 1 million hu of grain will be transported to Jinyang after the autumn harvest. In this way, there is a lot to be done! I request to move 50,000 households in Bianliang to Taiyuan to fill the household registration."

"It's not easy to support 50,000 people." Shao Xun said, "We also need to pay for seeds, farm tools, and perhaps some oxen. All this food must be used to fill the gap. To be honest, I promised Henan to rest and recuperate this year. This is the only amount of food I have. Do you want me to spend it all?"

"Your Majesty." Sun Jue bowed again and said, "I heard that in the past, when the King of Donghai went to Chang'an, he hired ox carts from Luoyang to transport military rations. Each cart was only given more than three pieces of silk. However, if a private citizen hired an ox cart from Tongguan to Luoyang, he would need to pay 60 pieces of silk. No one would be willing to go if it was less. The disparity was so great, and the cruelty of the transportation was obvious. Tens of thousands of people were ruined because of this."

"If Your Majesty relocates people to Taiyuan, reclaims wasteland and provides grazing, and a good harvest is achieved, the granaries will be full. This will not only save people from the pain of transporting goods, but also make it easier for generals to be deployed nearby to support Your Majesty's great cause."

"That makes a lot of sense." Shao Xun praised, "If Taiyuan is like this, what about Xinxing?"

Sun Jue was stunned. He was just the magistrate of Jinyang County. How could you ask about the affairs of the neighboring county?

However, he knew this was an opportunity to show off, so he immediately said, "The people of Zhongxia are more important than their fields. There are urgent matters, so it is difficult to move them all at once. It is better to mobilize the various tribes of the Hu people and the mixed Hu people to go north out of the Shiling Mountains and choose a place convenient for grazing to raise livestock. The Hutuo River is strong, and after the flood, there will be abundant water and grass, which cattle and sheep like to eat. Given time, we will definitely benefit greatly from it."

"Some say there are looting by the Suotou, but the grassland tribes are like this, and it has not changed for thousands of years. They have their own ways to deal with it. After this tribe moved north and emerged, many things depended on Taiyuan. There is no possibility of rebellion, and they can be the pillar of the country."

"Well, that's right." Shao Xun nodded slightly, and then asked, "If Liu Quan from Heqing is moved to Xinxing, what do you think, Wen Ji?"

Oh no! Sun Jue was shocked. How did it happen to one of his family members?

He reacted quickly and said immediately: "General Liu's troops only have more than 10,000 people, a little less."

"There are more than 2,000 Jie households in Bianliang, so hand them over to him. Five thousand households like this are enough to support us for a while. Suotou should not be in the mood to go south now, and at most he will just plunder." Shao Xun said, "Let's do it!"

Sun Jue felt bitter in his mouth, as if he had let his uncle down.

He was quick-witted and suddenly thought, I hope my uncle won't betray me in the future.

Liu Zhao was in charge of Kelan, Liu Quan was in charge of Xinxing, and Liu Hezhu was in charge of Changshan. The three uncles and nephews were all generals in border areas. If they rebelled one day, wouldn't it be a disaster for him, who had married a daughter of the Liu family, to have no chance of recovery?

"Do you have any suggestions on matters concerning Bingzhou?" Shao Xun continued to ask.

Sun Jue thought for a moment and said, "Taiyuan has been isolated behind enemy lines for many years, and many people have joined the enemy. After the king's army recaptured Jinyang, many people fled to the mountains and swamps. Last year, when we fought with the Xianbei, the people of various tribes were in turmoil, and some of them hid out of fear of being punished. Your Majesty should order the officials to post notices to recruit them and order them to return home without questioning them."

"There are many virtuous people in the important cities of the northern country. Due to their family background, they have no chance to participate in the election. Even if they have talent, it is difficult to advance. Your Majesty can make special arrangements and appoint officials according to their ability. This will greatly please the people, and there is no need to worry about these people inciting rebellion and corrupting the local area."

"Taiyuan has been at war for many years, and officials have been indifferent to the situation. There are countless unjust cases. Your Majesty can send people to find the victims, handle the cases fairly, and redress the grievances of the people. This will not cost much, but will bring many people hope."

"The foundation of our country is filial piety. Respecting the elderly and caring for parents is the way of human relations. Your Majesty may exempt all the people in the counties who are seventy years old or above or have disabled family members from labor service so that they can be taken care of."

"There have been many casualties in the wars over the years. Your Majesty should order the governors of each county to investigate their respective territories. If any bones are exposed, please bury them and send officials to offer sacrifices."

……

Shao Xun was just asking casually, but he didn't expect Sun Jue to say a lot, and his thoughts were clear and very organized.

He realized that, after all, having fallen to the point of farming and having experienced the hardships himself, Sun Wenji was not the kind of scholar who was out of touch with reality. He had some abilities and could continue to be trained.

"Good." He slapped his thigh and praised, "Your plan is feasible."

The most important thing is that it doesn't cost much but brings a lot of benefits. It takes talent to accomplish great things with little money.

County magistrate Hao Feng's face turned green as he listened.

It's really stressful to have such outstanding subordinates.

"This year, the harvest is good and the people are happy. We will follow Wen Ji's plan and set up three more Longxiang Prefectures in Taiyuan: Taiyi, Guangmu, and Dongwo." Shao Xun stood up and said, "The soldiers and generals needed will be selected from the hereditary soldiers of Xuchang and Yanzhou, and another 1,200 warriors will be selected from the central army in Luoyang. They will come with their families, and the troops will be recruited from the labor households in Bianliang."

After this, Sun Jue was fine, but other officials from the Taiyuan gentry looked worried. Taiyi was where they were now, ten miles south of Jinyang City - this lake had been abandoned in later generations.

Guangmu should be the site of the abandoned Guangmu County in Xinxing County. According to King Liang, that land belongs to Taiyuan County.

Dongwo is another name for Dongguoshui, which should be located between Jinyang and Yuci counties.

If we include the Sanjiao Longxiang Prefecture in the north of Jinyang and the Shiling Longxiang Prefecture in Yangqu County, Taiyuan County actually had five Longxiang Prefectures with a total of 6,000 households of local soldiers, making it an important local soldier town comparable to Gaoping and Chenliu.

These soldiers took advantage of the deserted Taiyuan to put down roots and could not be driven away.

Compared with them, the power of the Taiyuan gentry was so shabby that it was almost not worth mentioning.

In Bingzhou, King Liang has the final say.

******
"Is anything wrong with Yu Mie and Su Shuyan? No news has been sent back yet?" At the end of September and the beginning of October, the winter wheat in various counties of Taiyuan had been planted. Shao Xun had already arrived in Loufan County west of Jinyang, but he still hadn't received any news from the delegation. He couldn't help but feel worried.

Minister of Agriculture Yin Xian had just finished inspecting Yangchang Warehouse. He exchanged glances with his niece Yin who had accompanied Shao Xun, and then came to a newly built school.

It is not correct to say that it is newly built, because this school was rebuilt from an abandoned courtyard. At this moment, there are seven or eight children and teenagers sitting there, attending classes in a daze.

King Liang was standing outside the courtyard, quietly watching these children who were studying.

Yin Xian knew that these were all nephews and sons of the tribal chieftains in the mountains of Loufan County, and they were ordered to study in the county.

Loufan County has set up a teaching officer, who is not an official, but an assistant to the county magistrate, and whose main task is to teach the children of the nobles of the tribe. As for whether it is useful or not, God knows, anyway, King Liang thinks that doing this is better than not doing it.

"Hong Qiao." Shao Xun walked away from the courtyard and said, "How about Yangchang Warehouse?"

"More than 161,000 hu of grain and beans are all here, and there are also 200,000 bundles of hay. Everything has been checked and is correct." Yin Xian reported.

Shao Xun nodded, then pointed to the farmland that had been opened up near the county seat and said, "It's October now, and the herdsmen have gradually returned to the foot of the mountain. Loufan County was established only a year ago, but it has registered more than 1,200 households and more than 6,000 people. It's really amazing."

Yin Xian looked around and saw simple shacks everywhere extending from the city wall, which was very messy.

The dishevelled shepherds were coming in and out, busy as ever.

Instead of growing winter wheat, they planted the fields with turnips, apparently in preparation for the wintering of their livestock.

It can be seen that they still instinctively tend to raise livestock rather than store food.

Among the shacks, there are occasionally a few large mansions that look quite nice. They should be where the nobles of the tribe live.

The courtyard walls were built with rammed earth, and the houses in the courtyard were also made of adobe, mixed with beams and wood. Some of the houses were even built with branches and yellow mud. No one knew who lived there, maybe slaves.

All in all, the "mansions" of the nobles were still very shabby, even worse than the toilets of the gentry in the Central Plains, but it was already a huge improvement.

"The fact that they are willing to live down the mountain is a good start. Everything is difficult at the beginning." Shao Xun said with satisfaction: "Loufan County will gradually gather merchants, musicians, and craftsmen, and it will gradually become lively. In the county, you can buy things that you can't buy in the mountains, and you can enjoy things that you can't enjoy in the mountains. Over time, these tribal nobles will like living down the mountain and near the county town more and more. This is settling down."

"After settling down for a long time, they would find ways to build better houses, wear better clothes, eat better food and drink, and use better things. If they became a senior official in the county, or became an official after making meritorious contributions in the war, they would also interact with Han scholars and officials to broaden their horizons. They would imitate the daily life of the Han nobles to make themselves look superior."

"But living a good life requires all kinds of fine goods sold by merchants, which requires money. What should we do? Then we can sell cattle, sheep and horses, or let herdsmen and slaves farm for him and sell grain, meat, fruits and vegetables to support daily expenses. Over time, they will no longer be the nobles of the tribe. The tribe will become loose and gradually disintegrate, and they will become county and township tycoons."

"This process will be very long, and may take several generations, and it cannot be interrupted in the middle. Hong Qiao, do you understand my painstaking efforts now? Do you really think I am warlike? If we don't push the front line outward, how can places like Xihe, Kelan, and Taiyuan be stabilized? Even Pingyang, Hedong, Shangdang, and Leping cannot be stable. If Bingzhou is not stable, Luoyang will be in danger."

Shao Xun's words touched Yin Xian slightly.

The King of Liang tried to recover and sinicize the places that had been gradually abandoned and sinicized since the Later Han Dynasty.

Such ambition did make him somewhat impressed - well, somewhat moved, but not much.

"Not many people understand me." Shao Xun shook his head and sighed.

Yin Xian felt a little ashamed subconsciously. Just as he was about to say something, he saw a postman galloping over and reporting, "There is a letter from Dai County."

Huang Zheng, the commander of the imperial guards, took it and after carefully checking the seal, he handed it to Shao Xun.

Shao Xun took it casually and said to Yin Xian, "Tuoba Yulu's wife was born in Guangning Wang family. This family name is already a local tyrant, not a tribal leader. They are different from Suotou."

"I see." Yin Xian said jokingly.

Of course, he really didn't understand. It wasn't that he had a poor learning ability, but that he was too lazy to understand and didn't care to understand.

As for the Hu people, they come when they are called and go when they are dismissed. Since ancient times, there has never been a Hu person who has become the emperor. How powerful can they be? Is it worth my time to understand them?

After reading the letter carefully, Shao Xun closed his eyes and thought for a long time without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)