Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 337

"The Tibetans didn't plow the plow in the past, but they learned how to grow rice and millet now." After the Double Ninth Festival, the Hewei states returned to a poor and peaceful life. Surrounded by a large group of soldiers, Shao Shude arrived in Didao County, Linzhou A certain township in the suburbs.

There is not much to say about Hezhou.

Xiao Yan is a veteran of government affairs, so he naturally knows what to do.Moreover, his work is done very well, there is no need to add more beaks, just create a good external environment for him.The 33 counties in Longyou have developed well and will be able to provide resources for the Eastern Expedition in the future.

Linzhou was originally the garrison of the Economic Strategy Army.During the Battle of Liangzhou, the army was ordered to go north and attack Liugu Tubo from behind, and now it is far away from Qingtang City.

After the Jinglu Army left, the local situation in Linzhou was fairly stable.The only external threat to the two counties in the prefecture is probably the Tubo and Qiang tribes in Taozhou in the south.After the remnants of the Qu family and the Fu Fuling family fled south, they were annexed by the various tribes in Taozhou.

Before Taozhou fell to Tibet, it had jurisdiction over Meixiang and Lintan counties, both of which were located in the Taoshui River Valley.To be honest, the area of ​​flat land is not large, and it cannot support a large-scale planting population, unless efforts are made to transform terraced fields, but there is really no need for that.

The Tubo and Qiang tribes here also have farming and animal husbandry, but it is obvious that the "herding" element is far stronger than the "cultivating" element.

Their population is not too big, maybe tens of thousands of people.This strength is quite embarrassing. It is not enough to attack the He and Lin states, and it will also face the pincer attack of the Wei and Min states.It was the Tuoba tribe who were grazing in Minzhou back then, and if they went up against the Taoshui River Valley, they could copy your old nest, so how dare you act rashly?
Moreover, there are 6000 yamen soldiers from the Tiande Army in Hezhou, and [-] state soldiers reorganized from the Shence Army in the state.The Cai people recruited from Henan before, after reorganization, there were [-] people left, and they were also assigned to the five states of Hewei as state soldiers.If you really fight, you may not be able to get a good deal, so the situation here has been fairly quiet, even though the Economic and Strategic Army has been transferred to the north.

Shao Shude actually wanted to win Taozhou.Because of this, in terms of terrain, after taking Taozhou, there will be much fewer ways for the Tubo and Qiang people to invade, the security situation in Hezhou will be greatly improved, and Weizhou and Linzhou will also become safe areas in the hinterland.At least half of the more than [-] yamen troops stationed in the three prefectures of He, Lin, and Lan can be withdrawn, and the available mobile field troops will be greatly increased, which will be beneficial to future campaigns.

But Taozhou—it is best to focus on political appeasement, supplemented by military offensive, you can send people to test it out, and take your time.Start with the mutual market trade first, and then erode it step by step.

As for the two "staggered and undulating" states in the south, the Qiang tribes are the main ones, which is even more boring.I recruited them during the last expedition to Lanzhou. As a result, they were obedient on the surface, but there was no tribute at all, and it was even more impossible for them to fight.

Even today, Shao Shude is too lazy to talk to them.Rebellion is incompetent, surrender is unwilling, let it go first, and clean it up later.

There are also many tribes attached to the Fan people in Linzhou.There are more than [-] Tubo, Dangxiang, and Qiang people in the two counties under the jurisdiction of Didao and Daxia. The reason why there are so many is because they surrendered too quickly...

During the first western expedition to Lanzhou, Hewei Tubo resolutely resisted, resulting in heavy casualties, and many tribes were wiped out.However, the Linzhou tribe surrendered before the Dingnan army went south to Hezhou, which greatly preserved the tribe's population.

"These Tibetans, who have learned the art of farming, will be good people." Outside the outskirts, Shao Shude looked carefully at the villages in the countryside, and said.

He had a hunch that in another two years, it might be difficult to have the opportunity to go to Longyou again.

This is the land he once conquered, the result of tens of thousands of soldiers fighting bloody battles, and he wants to take another look at it.

There are more than [-] households in the village, which is a big village.

According to Li Zheng, who accompanied him, the village was originally of Qiang origin. In the first year of Wende, there were 25 families of immigrants from Jingzhao Prefecture Haojing County. This year, another [-] families of immigrants from Yunyang County came. live together.

Walk towards a farmyard.The door is ajar, and flower vines are twined on the top, and lentils are dancing in the wind among the vines.

There are several peach trees in the courtyard, the flowers have withered, the fruit has fallen, standing there alone.

The vegetable bed on the right is full of turnips, which can still grow in winter.If the corn and wheat crops were not good, turnips were sometimes the staple food.

Condiments such as onions and chives are planted around the vegetable bed.At the country fair, you can sell it for money.

On the right side of the vegetable bed is a soil slope, and melons are planted on the sunny side.

"Where is the owner of this house?" Shao Shude asked.

"The boy went to the river to dig a canal, the healthy woman was cutting grass and collecting firewood, and the boy was probably herding sheep."

Shao Shude was taken aback, and then he remembered that only Shuofang Town, Longyou, Binning, and Hexi were the only ones that lost firewood donations, and they still had to continue to hand them over.This is a typical "extra tax collection". As a household tax surcharge, a total of ten bundles of firewood need to be paid each year and collected in batches.

"This house is not newly built, but it is the residence of the survivors of the original Tianbao?"

"Return to Marshal, Luo San, the head of this house, is originally from Tubo. He said that his ancestors were from Tubo Dalun, and his family was in decline. He couldn't remember the name. Guang Qimo changed his surname to Luo. The five brothers are all in the same township. For the people." Li Zheng replied.

"From now on, you are not allowed to call people the relics of Tubo, they are all Han people." Shao Shude turned his head and said seriously.

You have worked so hard to make up the household of Qimin, but you still have to keep reminding them that your ancestors were not Han, and you are from Tubo. What is your intention?It is understandable that the villagers are ignorant and unguarded, but if the Lizheng villager said the same thing, Shao Shude would not want to forgive him.

The Qiang race is basically the most suitable ethnic group for assimilation.Because they more or less have some farming skills, it is easy to register as a household, and their appearance and blood are closer to the Han people.

The Hu people have to distinguish the situation.Those who look similar to Han people like Uyghur are lucky, but typical white races like Shatuo, Zhaowu Jiuxing, Longjia, and Sogdian have a lot of trouble. First of all, they look different.

Different looks are equivalent to constantly reminding yourself and the people around you that you are not your own, and the assimilation effect will naturally be relatively poor.

No way, I still have to learn from Zhu Yuanzhang's method, "Semu people are not allowed to marry each other", and try to avoid intermarriage among them.Those who intermarry with Han people can be given some appropriate rewards, taking advantage of the huge population of Han people to dilute their blood and gradually assimilate them.

Shao Shude recalled the facial features of his adopted brother Li Keyong, and it seemed that there were very few Caucasian features, almost invisible.This should be the result of his family's intermarriage with the Han people for generations, and the tribes in the northwest can try to do this in the future.But the method should be softer and more patient. If you force it, you may cause trouble. It is best to reward and encourage.

Shao Shude was not worried.

According to the division of the West in later generations, in the land of East Asia, the Mongolian race still occupies the absolute mainstream, and the Caucasian race is only a minority, and it has gradually decreased since the Han Dynasty conquered the Western Regions. How many Tocharians are there today?
"How much is the harvest per mu of land this year?" Shao Shude asked again after he sat down as the guards brought the top chairs and desks and began to make tea.

"In the wheat field by the canal, you can harvest more than one dendrobium per mu. If you plant millet farther away, you will have eight or nine bushels."

"It's not bad." Shao Shude nodded and said, "Is there any disaster?"

"It's strange to say that since the commander-in-chief regained the river and Wei, the weather has been good every year, the millet and wheat are abundant, and the cattle and sheep are wild."

"Tell the truth!" Shao Shude slapped the armrest of the chair, emphasizing his tone.

Li Zheng glanced at the horizontal knife on the soldier's waist, swallowed, and said, "Since the end of Guangqi, the past three years have been really good. There has been no major disaster, especially the rain, which is still sufficient."

Shao Shude stared carefully at Li Zheng's face, Li Zheng's legs trembled a little, and he almost knelt down.

This person should not tell lies, Shao Shude knew it.

Rainwater is a matter of survival.

Generally speaking, when there is less rain, a large amount of land will be left unused and abandoned, cultivated land will be converted into pasture, and agriculture will develop from planting to animal husbandry.The population of villages has declined, and some villages will even disappear, water conservancy construction has been abandoned, floods have begun to appear, soil has been eroded, and dust is flying.

When the rains increase, the abandoned land will be used again, and the people will return to the village to plant grain and repair ditches.In the first two years, the production of coarse grains that did not require much water increased significantly, and gradually wheat planting became the mainstream, animal husbandry turned to planting, and pastures were converted to crops.

If there is no drought for many years, the agricultural and animal husbandry economy will even be very active.

Shao Shude saw a winemaking workshop at the head of the village, which was mainly engaged in wine and also brewed from sorghum, which was a sign of the recovery of the rural economy.

Articles and reports can be faked, but rural industries such as wineries and mills that are closely integrated with agricultural production cannot be faked.Xiao Yu would never build a wine shop overnight on the land he must pass through, there is no need for that.

"For three consecutive years, you can save for one year." Shao Shude said: "The Prime Minister Xiao of Hezhou will not want your savings. You can just pay taxes normally. But the money and food can be used to build ponds to store water. Otherwise, once Drought, are you going to be a herdsman again?"

"The commander-in-chief's words are very true." Lizheng replied: "Deputy envoy Li of the shogunate is also the water official of the capital. He has been repairing the pond for the past two years. Now Luo San is going to work on the river. After repairing the pond, he will dig the ditches." , if it’s only one or two years old, you can still top it off.”

Water conservancy facilities are useful, but they are not omnipotent.Its function is mainly to cope with short-term droughts. For example, when crops are in need of water for growth, if you do not have water, the harvest of that year may be ruined.When the common people saw it, they probably packed up their bags and went to become herdsmen - in the land of Helong, even the Han people can herd herds, and the customs are quite different from those in the mainland.

Deputy envoy Li is Li Xun, a former member of the Ministry of Water, Wailang, and now the deputy envoy of Jiedu in Longyou and the official of the capital.Along the way, Shao Shude seems to have seen many reservoirs that have been built or are under construction, all of which are very small and can only be used by one township or even a few villages.

Good harvests have been obtained for three consecutive years. This is Xiao Wei's luck, and it is also his own luck.The rest of the people's money and food can be invested in the construction of rural water conservancy facilities.This is for their own benefit, presumably the common people can also figure it out.

The road is blue, the business is bleak, and the Xiao family has done a good job in Longyou's stall.

Cooperating with aristocratic families, the income in a short period of time is indeed high, but the cost of repayment in the future is a bit high.However, Shao Shude didn't want to pay it back either, he couldn't afford it, it's still everyone's honeymoon period, let's talk about the future.

(End of this chapter)