Great Warriors of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Chapter 1242

Dongting Lake.

It is like a huge pearl inlaid in this land.

Eight hundred miles away, Dongting faces the Yangtze River and connects to four major rivers including the Xiangjiang River, with vast water waves.

This is a land of fish and rice, but this year's severe drought has also affected here. Dongting Lake, which is [-] miles away, has shrunk by two-thirds of the lake. Many places that used to have vast waters now seem to be deserts.

There are big cracks everywhere, and from time to time, you can find dried fish, shrimp and snail shells on the fiery white land. Some fishing boats lie on the dry and cracked ground, like stranded fish.

"It's really a severe drought that hasn't been seen in decades."

"It's still a locust plague that hasn't happened in decades. Take a look. At a glance, you can't see any green, and it's all eaten up by locusts."

Several officials from Hunan Province accompanied Qin Qiong, the prime minister, on his inspection tour.

Qin Qiong arrived at Dongting Lake at the end of March, and there were [-] elite soldiers who came with him. At this time, soldiers and horses from the original Hubei Road, Bahan Road, and Huainan Road had already come from the north and south of Dongting Lake. up.

Kan Leng, Wang Xiongdan, Ximen Junyi, Xu Shao, Huang Junhan and other generals all led their troops into the country in person.

Under the threat of the Qin army, all the military leaders in the counties in the original Xiaoliang territory all hoped that the wind would return, and set up the Qin flag one after another.

They used to have a lot of fun with Xiao Xian, but when they faced Da Qin, they became a mess, and they didn't have the courage to resist at all.

Coupled with the current severe drought and locust plague, they are also devastated. They don't even have enough military food. How can they fight wars? They have to count on Daqin for support everywhere.

The counties were taken over by the Qin army one after another. According to the plan of the Privy Council of the imperial court, the Qin army who entered the country soon began to set up new guard camps in the counties.

Jin Yiwei and Huangcheng Secretary also worked very hard. They went deep into almost every county and township, but they had contacted and talked with any patriarch who had some soldiers or some prestige in the local area.

Whether it was a promise or a threat, the counties on both sides of Dongting Lake had no resistance to the entry of the Qin army, and they even expected and welcomed it.

Because the people of Qin promised, there will be food coming soon, and everyone will not have to go hungry, leave their homes to beg for food, let alone eat each other.

In the future, the land will be divided evenly. In the future, everyone's taxation will be the same as that of the people of Daqin in other places, and the burden will be several times lighter than it is now.

Since the Sui Dynasty at the end of the great cause, in fact, everyone's life has become more and more difficult. Xiao Xian and his military leaders control this place. Taxes are higher than before, military service is also higher, and the people are miserable.

Even the local barbarians in the Dabie Mountains, Hengshan Mountain and other mountains can personally experience the hardships of the past few years.

To the south of Dongting Lake, there are many barbarians.

In fact, there are also many barbarians in the Three Gorges, and even in the Dabie Mountains, there are many tribes of barbarians, but in comparison, the barbarians in Bahan Hubei are relatively more civilized.

At this time, the barbarians in the south of Dongting Lake are far behind, especially as they go south, the more barbarians there are, the more barbaric and backward they are.

The counties of Guiyang, Yuanling, Lingling, and Hengshan are actually not much different from the situation in Lingnan. There are fewer Han people and more Han people.

"Hubei and Hunan are now attached to the Qin Dynasty, and we will be a family with us in the future. No matter whether they are Han or barbarians, according to our Great Qin system, they must be registered, and all can be divided into land and land, and property registration will be issued. Deed certificate. You don't have to worry about high taxes and heavy labor after being naturalized. The taxes in Daqin are lighter than previous dynasties, and the labor is less. After naturalization, the tribes in the mountains with difficult conditions can move to the plains and distribute fertile land and even children. You can enroll and study for free, and those who are over [-] years old can receive free salt every year..."

The most important thing is that there is a major food shortage right now. If you register as a naturalized person, you will be able to receive disaster relief food.

Qin Qiong holds tens of thousands of Qin troops in one hand, and a steady stream of food in the other. It can be said that he has both hands.

Along the Han River, the Yangtze River, and then through the Xiangjiang River, Qingjiang River, Mishui River, Yuanjiang River, Zijiang River and other rivers, Qin Qiong's army and food can lead to the big cities of the counties, and the dots are used to form a line and set up a net.

Those military leaders had no food in their hands, so they could only accept Qin Qiong's conditions, accept new official positions, and then either enter the court or take up new positions in other places.

The troops under the heads of the various armies couldn't get enough to eat, so naturally no one wanted to continue serving as soldiers. The officers could still keep their ranks and go to the Ministry of War to select officers, while the ordinary soldiers simply took off their uniforms and led them under the leadership of Qin Qiong. In order to be dismissed and go home.

Most of the soldiers were disarmed and removed from their military registration. After receiving severance pay, they accepted Qin Qiong's employment and temporarily acted as grain transporters, pulling fiber or carrying grain in the river.

If you do a day's work, you will get a day's food. This work is very exciting.

Shiploads of disaster relief food were transported to counties and counties through rivers, and many hungry people who did not come and fled their hometowns finally got something to eat.

And many people who fled famine were also asked by Qin Qiong to receive relief on the spot, and they were no longer allowed to wander.

This kind of disaster relief food with a fishy smell is very popular in Hubei and Hunan. The hungry people found that although this food can only be boiled into mush and lumps, it is quite enough to endure hunger.

Even after taking it for half a month, I can still feel that my complexion has become more rosy.

"What's the status of the naturalization of Tuman down the mountain?"

Qin Qiong patrolled the counties, and now Hubei and Hunan provinces have deployed 24 government soldiers to move to each province, with [-] battalions in each province.

Government offices at all levels in Daojun and counties have also basically resumed operation.

Nowadays, many transshipment granaries have been set up along the river.

The situation is improving. Although swarms of locusts can often be seen flying over the sky, at least the people can already eat, have settled down, and no longer wander around.

As for the crops gone, no one cares now.

What Qin Qiong is more concerned about now is the large number of local barbarians in Hunan Province. In the past, these local barbarians were actually not naturalized.

Qin Qiong intends to use this disaster relief to lure the natives down the mountain to become naturalized.

The situation of the barbarians in the mountains was better. After all, they not only depended on farming, but also hunted.However, this year's drought is too severe, and the locust plague is serious. At this time, the barbarians in the mountains are not having a good time.

Living on the mountain, many barbarians were cut off from drinking water, which was very difficult.The food stored is almost enough to eat, the mountains are dry, and hunting is more difficult. As for fishing, the rivers and streams have dried up, so there is no fish to catch.

In the county towns and village pavilions at the foot of the mountain, a lot of relief food was piled up, and people went into the mountain every day to persuade the barbarians to go down the mountain.

"There are more and more barbarians going down the mountain. Lingnan has also begun to respond to the call of the imperial court, sending grain to Hunan for rescue. From Guilin County to Xiangjiang River through Lingqu, the grain is transported to Lingling and Hengshan. The border counterparts support Yuanling and Changsha, and the Bahan Road supports Qingjiang and Yiling counties."

"There is real food there, and many local barbarians have come down the mountain to join us, especially the local barbarian tribes of the same origin from the surrounding roads have come forward to persuade them, and they have shown their own experience. They have already believed in the benefits of naturalization, and now they go down the mountain every day. More and more people come to naturalize to receive disaster relief food.”

Qin Qiong nodded.

It is very important to seize the opportunity of this disaster relief and lure the local barbarians down the mountain to become naturalized.

"Is there any movement in Jiangxi?"

The border between Jiangxi and Hunan is separated by mountains, but there are still many roads connected to each other.

"Yes, many Jiangxi people who are close to Hunan, as well as some local barbarians, have come here to receive relief food."

"As long as they come, we will also distribute disaster relief food to them, remember to register."

"But some people refuse to leave when they come. These people belong to Lin Shihong. Wouldn't it be nice if Lin Shihong gets angry?"

Qin Qiong sneered a few times, "Lin Shihong himself has no ability to help the people. How can we ignore his people coming to us to beg for food? If he has any thoughts because of this, I will accompany him at any time."

"I'm afraid that Lin Shihong's soldiers will be hungry, and they will be able to do anything by then."

"It's fine if we don't cross the boundary. If they cross the boundary, it's their business." Qin Qiong said.

(End of this chapter)