Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 368 War Dividend
For two days in a row, Fan Ning and Sima Yang Jing, under the guard of a hundred cavalrymen, rode horses around Dewa Country, whose population was mainly distributed around Akita City.

In addition, there are also population gatherings in the Oga Peninsula and Yuri in the south, but most of the population is still concentrated within [-] miles of Akita Castle, existing in the form of villages.

There are hundreds of villages on both sides of the Akita River, with a population of nearly 30, and more than [-] mu of farmland. In addition, there is an endless wilderness.

"Yang Sima, do you think this side can be opened up as a pasture?" Fan Ning smiled while pointing at the grassland in the distance with his horsewhip.

Yang Jing nodded, "Of course it can be used as a ranch, but how do you explain to the Japanese court? They will definitely come to negotiate, after all, this is not Kunzhou."

Fan Ning said with a slight smile: "Then let's lease it for 99 years, and give them a symbolic rent every year. I think as long as they admit that Dewa country belongs to Japan and satisfy their face, they should agree to lease it to us."

"Actually, I think the economic envoy should consider the imperial court. When we invade Dewa country, many ministers will definitely accuse us of being unkind."

"Not everyone likes making dishes, let alone such a big event as sending troops, someone will definitely jump out, but the government has given me the power to handle Japanese affairs, and we are setting up a strategic buffer zone for Kunzhou. I think the officials will support it, and as for the Zhizheng Hall, so much gold and silver brought back is enough to make up for the lack of financial resources of the imperial court, so it’s too late for them to be happy, so the problem shouldn’t be too big.”

Yang Jin smiled happily, Fan Ning was really right, he stroked his beard and asked again: "Then how will the Kun people be arranged?"

Fan Ning thought for a while and said, "I plan to give them two pieces of land. One piece of land is located on the Oga Peninsula. There are [-] mu of farmland there. If they can convert it to farming, they can cultivate and settle there. In addition, the Ou Mountains If it is assigned to them, they can continue to hunt in the mountains for a living, and they can also go to sea along the river, so it is considered to be the most benevolent to them."

"This plan is fine, but what about the residents of the Oga Peninsula?"

"Move them to Akita City. There is enough land here for them to reclaim. The population is concentrated and it is easy to manage."

"What about the garrison?"

"I plan to station [-] troops in Akita City and leave [-] warships, which should be enough."

The two turned their horses and returned to Akita City. When they passed a village, the people in the village came out to kneel and kowtow. Although the Song army was a foreign invader, Fan Ning promised to exempt them from all taxes, which made the people extremely happy. The invader becomes the liberator.

"The yield of rice here is very high. I heard that each mu of paddy fields produces three shi rice, and the annual output is one million shi. They eat it themselves, and the consumption of the army and miners is only 50 shi a year. The remaining What do you plan to do with the 50 stone envoy?"

Fan Ning smiled and said: "I plan to buy it from them at the price of 50 ren for a bucket of rice. [-] shi is [-] guan. They can also sell their labor for mining, fishing, pearling, and help The herdsman raised horses, so that every household had some spare money, and then there was a market for daily necessities such as tea, porcelain, cloth, shoes and hats, jewelry, rouge, etc. in the Song Dynasty, and their lives improved. If you want to take this land back, I am afraid that the local people will rise up and resist."

Fan Ning looked back at Yang Jing and smiled again: "As for the 50 shi of rice that can be sold to Japan in exchange for 20 taels of silver, if the difference is doubled, we won't lose money, will we?"

Yang Jin sighed softly, "It's better to think about the problem in the long run!"

. . . . . . . . .

Fan Ning returned to Akita City, and as soon as he arrived at the city gate, a soldier came to report, "The envoy of the Abe family is here!"

The arrival of the Abe family envoy was expected by Fan Ning. The reason why he did not return to Kunzhou was because he was waiting for news from Mutsu Kingdom.

Fanning asked again, "Where are they?"

"Wait in the government office in the city!"

Fan Ning nodded, and urged his horse to run into the city. The government office in the city is also the Dewa Country Garrison Office, which is the government office set up by the Japanese imperial court in Dewa Country. The current garrison is Kiyohara Mitsuyori, who has died in the battle.

Fan Ning planned to set up this official office as the Akita Command Post of the Overseas Strategic Envoy, with one commander and one judge, as a permanent military and political institution stationed in Akita City.

Fan Ning got off his horse in front of the official office, walked into the gate, and saw two people sitting in the lobby, one was Abe Sadaharu who had come to ask for help before, and the other was an old man with half-white beard and hair, both wearing loose Japanese-style sackcloth, Seeing Fan Ning coming in, the two quickly knelt down and paid respects.

Fan Ning nodded, "Please sit down, both of you!"

Fan Ning sat down at the main seat, and Cheng Qing, his translator in Jingluefu, sat beside him. Although the people in Dewa and Mutsu countries spoke Ezo dialect, the upper-class wealthy families generally used Japanese. Abe Sadaharu quickly gave a speech. Fan Ning introduced the old man next to him, "This is my uncle Abe Mitsutoki, the guardian of Kaga Castle!"

Abe Koshi bowed deeply, "Song Jun's great kindness and virtue, the Abe family will always remember it in their hearts!"

The two had already learned about the battle between the Song Army and the Izuyu Army. The Song Army wiped out the Izuyu Army that was three times its size in one fell swoop, killing more than [-] people, and only seven of them were killed. The results of the battle and the disparity in casualty ratio made the two of them tremble with fear, so they were very respectful when they saw Fan Ning.

At this time, two soldiers brought them three cups of tea. Fan Ning took a sip of the hot tea and said calmly: "The three great families of Deyu Kingdom have disappeared, and the army of Deyu Kingdom has also disappeared. The Song army will be stationed in Dewa country, and I hope that the Abe family and the Song army in Dewa country will become each other's horns in the future to resist the Japanese imperial court's northern invasion."

Abe's uncle and nephew looked at each other, and there was a hint of disappointment in their eyes. They also expected that Song Jun would hand over Dewa Kingdom to the Abe family, but they were unexpectedly occupied by Song Jun himself. You must know that the plains of Dewa Kingdom are coveted by the Abe family. It has been a long time.

Abe Kotoki felt a little unwilling, and said again: "The Dewa country is a vast plain, and most of it is grassland, which has not been fully utilized, can you?"

Before he finished speaking, Fan Ning interrupted him with a wave of his hand, "It's too early to mention this matter, let's talk about the terms agreed before, Mr. Abe promised me that all the gold and silver in the Abe family's inventory will be As a reward to Song Jun, do you want me to send troops to carry it, or use other methods to deliver it?"

After finishing speaking, Fan Ning put two huge golden keys on the table and pushed them to Abe Hikari, staring at him coldly.

Cheng Qing translated Fan Ning's words into Japanese. How could Abe Mitsutoki fail to understand the threat? If the Abe family repented, the Song army would directly attack Kaga Castle and take it back in person.

It’s not a pity for gold and silver, anyway, they can be mined again. Mutsu State owns the largest gold field in Japan, and gold is not a rare thing for them. Abe Mitsutoki said quickly: “This is the condition that my brother personally agreed to. The Abe family We will never break our promise. We will hand over the 230 million taels of gold and 300 million taels of silver to Kunzhou. As before, Kunzhou can send a boat to carry them. However, there are many mountains in Mutsu, the land is barren, and food has never been self-sufficient. , The Song army conquered the Deyu country, and they must have seized a lot of food, can you support us with a little food."

This request is not too much. Seeing that they sincerely donated gold and silver to Kunzhou, Fan Ning will also give some rewards appropriately.

Fan Ning nodded and smiled: "I will send a ship to Mutsu country to send 20 koku of rice later, which is our little support for the Abe family. In addition, we will sell [-] koku of rice to Mutsu country every year. If it is not enough, It can also be added, Mutsu country will concentrate manpower to mine gold, and the problem of food shortage will be handed over to Dewa country to solve, and both sides will get what they need, isn't this a good thing?"

Abe's uncle and nephew smiled wryly in his heart, and being choked up by the Song army, this is not a good thing. Just as Abe Sadaharu was about to make an agreement, he was held down by his uncle. Abe Mitsutoki said decisively: "That's the decision. The Song army formed an alliance to jointly fight against the Japanese imperial court going north."

Fan Ning secretly admired Abe’s decisiveness. Jiang is indeed old and spicy. This Abe knows how to advance and retreat, knows what things can be negotiated, and what things are not negotiable. The exchange of grain for gold is Fan Ning’s plan to hollow out the Abe family for a long time Strategy, how can there be room for bargaining?Only by actively compromising on issues of principle can we bargain on other issues. Abe Mitsutoki is clearly aware of this, but Abe Sadaharu doesn't seem to want to understand.

Fan Ning smiled slightly, "It may be a little early to talk about this issue. The first thing is to quell the war. I plan to send a special envoy to mediate the conflict between Abe and the Japanese court. I wonder if you agree with this plan?"

Only then did Abe Sadaharu realize that the other party’s focus was on mediating relations with the Japanese court, which was the core interest of the Abe family. In comparison, a little gold was nothing. A little food is not produced?
Abe Sadaharu admired his uncle's wisdom in his heart, so he stopped talking knowingly.

Abe Mitsutoki was silent for a long time and said: "The Abe family recognizes that Mutsu Kingdom belongs to Japan, and also agrees that Japan will continue to send Mutsu Guards, but our condition is that the Japanese imperial court shall not station troops in Mutsu Kingdom, and the second is to significantly reduce the rent. At least [-]% reduction, we are willing to live in peace with the Japanese court."

(End of this chapter)