At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 168 Du Ji Contributes to Pingshan Yue, Tian Feng Enters Yangzhou on Horseback

Du Ji pondered for a long time, and then said to Zhou Qi: "My husband's farming project cannot be accomplished overnight."

"Raising the soldiers of Yangzhou and the displaced people, it may take at least three years or as many as five years, and the orders will be issued, and they will work together, and they may achieve something."

Zhou Qi asked: "Most of the fertile land in Yangzhou is owned by wealthy scholar families. May I ask, sir, where can I farm?"

Du Ji walked to the map hanging on the wall, pointed to the locations of Danyang County and Yuzhang County, and said: "As far as I know, these two places are overcrowded by mountains, vast and sparsely populated, and have countless wastelands."

"Suppose the general stationed heavy troops in these two counties, suppressed the mountain people, and conquered the wasteland. Within a few years, he could have a population of one million and countless grain and fodder."

"If this is the case, the general can fight for the world and quell the troubled times; if he retreats, he can separate one side and keep the people safe. Wouldn't it be beautiful?"

Zhou Qi frowned slightly when he heard the words, and said: "Although it is so, the people of the mountains and mountains are familiar with the geography and are flexible and changeable. When the army advances to suppress, they flee into the mountains; when the army retreats, they go out to loot everywhere."

"Previously, the generals under my command sent troops to suppress several times, but they gained very little. Instead, they lost troops and generals, wasting money and food."

“The more uneven the mountains, the harder it will be to cultivate the wasteland; if the wasteland is not cultivated, it will be difficult to cultivate the fields.”

"Why did sir teach me?"

Compared with Cao Cao's farming policy in history, Yangzhou is very different.

At that time, there were endless wars in the north, the people were displaced, and there were ten houses and nine empty places, so many unowned lands were vacated. Naturally, Cao Cao could send soldiers and civilians to garrison the fields without any worries.

Yangzhou is different. Most of the cultivated land here has been occupied by aristocratic families and local free farmers.

Although there are a lot of remaining wastelands, most of them are in relatively remote locations, where the people of Shanyue are rampant. If Shanyue cannot be pacified, the farming will not be able to live in peace.

When Du Ji heard this, he laughed and said: "The chaos in the mountains and the Yue, if itching from scabies, what's the point?"

Zhou Qi frowned and thought to himself: "The Shanyue Rebellion has troubled Soochow for decades, how can it be so easily quelled?"

Although he had doubts in his heart, Zhou Qi asked calmly on the surface: "Dare to ask, what is the best strategy?"

Du Ji said sternly: "Since I became the Chancellor of Hanzhong, I have often dealt with the nearby Qiang and Hu barbarians. There are also bandits and bandits in Hanzhong County."

"In my opinion, no matter whether it is a Qiang barbarian or a mountain bandit, they are all human beings after all."

"As a human being, the king treats him with kindness and love, and the people will naturally follow him. If there are corrupt officials who extort money, the good people will also rebel, how about the barbarians?"

"Most of the people in Shanyue are Han Chinese. If the general implements benevolent government, cut off its foundation, kill its leader of thieves, and pacify its people, then within three to five years, Shanyue can be leveled and Yangzhou can be settled."

Zhou Qi couldn't help thinking secretly when he heard the words, and was quite suspicious of Du Ji's thoughts.

But thinking about Sun Quan in history, he only started to deal with Shanyue, and he also focused on conquest, taking his people by force and enriching his household registration.

In doing so, many Shanyue soldiers were indeed recruited, but there was still no way to completely put down the Shanyue rebellion.

In this way, according to what Du Ji said, it is not impossible to focus on appeasement.

After all, if you can live a good life at the foot of the mountain, I believe that except for the leaders of the mountains and some ethnic minority tribes, most of the ordinary mountain people would not be willing to hide in the mountains like mice.

Zhou Qi asked: "May I ask, sir, how can we cut off its foundation?"

Du Ji smiled slightly and said, "Food is the most important thing for the people. If the people in the mountains have no food, how can they live in the mountains?"

"The reason why Shanyue is difficult to conquer is because when the army was encircling and suppressing, they fled into the mountains and did not fight with us. The people of Shanyue relied on the favorable location, and when our army ran out of food and grass, they retreated and continued to rebel."

"If the two armies confront each other at the foot of the mountain, do you have the confidence to defeat them?"

Zhou Qi nodded confidently, and said: "Although the people of Shanyue are tough, they lack formal training after all. They may be good fighters alone. Why should I be afraid of two armies confronting each other?"

"Don't say it's me. Even if the generals under my command lead the troops to fight with them, they can defeat the weak and defeat the strong with a small number."

Du Ji said: "In this way, it becomes easier to fix the mountain."

Pointing to the location of Yuzhang County on the map, he said: "Your Majesty, you can send a general to lead elite troops to build Wu Fort and set up a beacon tower in a place where mountains and rivers are raging. The pawns guard the main road going down the mountain, blocking its way and cutting off its traffic."

"Mountains are rampant down the mountain. If there are few people, infantry will resist them. If there are many people, cavalry will rush to help. Defense and blockade are the main focus, and attack and killing are supplemented."

"The mountain roads are closed, and the mountain people's fur, copper, iron, and money cannot be exchanged for salt, grain, clothing, and cloth. Just relying on the output of the mountains, the people in the mountains cannot be self-sufficient. Sooner or later, they will be short of food and clothing, and they will collapse if they don't suppress it."

"The envoy can take this opportunity to recruit the mountain people with favorable conditions, punish the thieves, and then disperse the mountain people to various places for management."

"So, the more uneven Hechou Mountain is, the more unstable Yangzhou will be?"

Zhou Qi pondered for a long time when he heard the words, and felt that this plan was promising.

I have to say that Du Ji's strategy of drawing salary from the bottom is really powerful.

What Shanyue relies on is nothing but favorable location.Once the officers and soldiers blocked the mountain road, cut off the traffic, and did not enter the mountain to encircle and suppress, then Shanyue lost his greatest support.

If they continue to dwell in the mountains, they will disperse sooner or later when they lack food and clothing.

If you want to go down the mountain to plunder, you will inevitably give up your geographical advantage and then attack the Wubao where the officers and soldiers are. In this way, the offensive and defensive momentum is reversed, and it is the officers and soldiers who occupy the geographical advantage.

Even if Shanyue couldn't go down the mountain, it's no big deal. The officers and soldiers can protect the refugees, reclaim wasteland and farm fields under their noses.

Then over time, the people of Shanyue will become more and more impoverished, while the officers, soldiers and common people at the foot of the mountain will become richer and richer.

Just ask, which kind of life do the people in the mountains prefer to live?
At that time, I am afraid that without the need of officers and soldiers, the people of Shanyue will flock down the mountain to surrender.

The more Zhou Qi thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was feasible.

Although it is a bit cumbersome and time-consuming, it can fundamentally solve the problem.

On the other hand, in the past year, Xu Huang, Xu Chu and others led troops to encircle and suppress Shanyue several times, but each time the capture was unsatisfactory.

Of course, with their troops guarding various places, Shanyue did not dare to be as rampant as before. The two sides have now reached a delicate balance, and no one can do anything to the other.

If Du Ji's strategy can be followed, it is very likely that the current deadlock will be broken.

However, many things are easier said than done.

The strategies proposed by Du Ji are only theoretical, but in fact there are many problems to be solved.

For example, Shanyue is too scattered. If you want to really build Wubao to isolate the road, you will need a lot of soldiers and horses, and consume a lot of manpower and material resources.

For Yangzhou today, it is not easy to accomplish these things.

Zhou Qi immediately informed Du Ji of his worries and asked him for solutions.

Du Ji pondered for a long time, and said: "Don't worry, sir, this is also within my expectation."

"If you want to solve this problem, you need to combine the work-for-relief I mentioned earlier with the strategy of farming."

Zhou Qi said: "Please tell me more carefully, sir."

Du Jidao: "Tuntian is divided into military and civilian villages, which are quite different in nature and should not be confused."

"However, the situation in Yuzhang and Danyang is complicated, and they are often harassed by mountains and mountains. We need not only enough soldiers and horses to guard them, but also enough people to farm the land. Therefore, the two must cooperate with each other and cannot act alone."

"Individual military or civilian settlements can not only obtain food and grass for soldiers, but also harvest a large amount of food and grass."

"However, Mintun needs the army to guard it. At least in the first year, the army is not allowed to farm, but must use the grain produced by Mintun as supply."

"Even if there is food and grass left, it should be distributed to the people in the fields. Otherwise, it is okay at the beginning, but in the long run, the people work all day long, but they have to eat. There is no leftover food, and resentment will inevitably arise in their hearts. It is not a long-term solution."

"If the surplus grain can be distributed to the people, it will not only reassure the people, but also mobilize their enthusiasm for farming."

"After the five-year farming period expires, the surplus grain in the hands of the people will be enough to buy local property. The wasteland they reclaimed during the farming period can also be owned by themselves, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment."

"In the early days of farming, the people needed a lot of time to reclaim wasteland, build Wubao roads, and build houses, so they had no time to train and could only rely on soldiers for protection."

"Within one or two years of service, everything will be completed. When the people are free from farming, they can be trained into an army, and the king will distribute weapons and armor. In this way, even if there are no soldiers to guard them, they can still rely on the fort to control the mountains and crosses."

Zhou Qi couldn't help nodding frequently when he heard this.

The so-called farming is somewhat similar to the planned economy in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. All human and material resources were gathered to do one thing, and private individuals had almost no income.

In the beginning, everyone couldn't get enough to eat, and doing so could save countless people, which is naturally considered a great merit.

But people always have desires.

Once the people in the fields are able to eat enough, if they are allowed to work every day and then hand over all the food they produce to the state, everyone will definitely feel dissatisfied.

In this way, it can range from passive sabotage to rebellion.

If part of the grain produced is distributed to the people, and the wasteland reclaimed during the farming period can also be distributed to the people according to their respective labor values, it will give everyone hope.

In this way, the common people will definitely reclaim wasteland crazily and work hard to cultivate it.

With surplus grain in the hands of the common people, the price of grain in Yangzhou will naturally drop, and the government can also buy it from the common people at a low price.

Otherwise, if there is no surplus food in the country, no matter how much money there is, what is the use?

You know, when the famine in Guanzhong was at its worst, the price of food even reached 80 yuan per stone.

At that time, even if you had money, you couldn't buy food.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qi couldn't help sighing: "Mr.'s words made me suddenly enlightened. If you can really put down the chaos in the mountains and make countless refugees live a prosperous life, you should be the first to contribute."

Du Ji did not take credit for his pride, but said seriously: "It is too early to make you happy. The difficulty now is not how to cultivate the fields and how to calm down the chaos in the mountains, but how to survive the most difficult first year."

"Whether it is through work-for-relief or farming, until food is produced, these refugees still need to be supplied by the emperor."

"Liu Jingsheng may be able to get a million stones of food and grass, but for these refugees in the fields, it is still a drop in the bucket."

"If we want the refugees who have been gathered to survive the most difficult first year, it will be difficult to accomplish this unless we mobilize the entire state and ask powerful families in each county to spend all their food reserves."

Zhou Qi frowned, knowing that Du Ji was not alarmist.

The work-for-relief approach of this era was very different from that of later generations.

In the later generations, there is excess productivity, and the goods cannot be sold, and then the company is forced to lay off employees. After people lose their jobs, they have no money in their hands and no way to consume.

There is no way to consume, and the products of enterprises cannot be sold, which will lead to a vicious circle and eventually enter the Great Depression.

Of course, this is just the simplest overview, and the complexity of the Great Depression is far more than that.

At that time, a certain country implemented work-for-relief, which was to create employment opportunities for the people in disguise. With jobs, there would be money. With money, people could consume, and if they could consume, they would stimulate economic development.

Later generations can do this because the productivity is very strong, but it is not necessarily suitable for ancient times.

Just like now, it is difficult for Yangzhou to solve even the basic food problem. Even if the products produced by the workshops are built, they may not be sold.

In this general environment, blindly using work-for-relief services will not only fail to solve the problem, but may drag Yangzhou down.

That's why, Zhou Qi knew that there was such a policy, but never implemented it.

In addition to the fact that there are no available people under him who can take on some heavy responsibilities, it is also because the current productivity is too low and even the basic problem of food and clothing cannot be solved.

Zhou Qi pondered for a long time, and asked, "Do you have a solution, sir?"

Du Ji shook his head, and said, "Unless the entire prefecture uses its power to make all counties and counties contribute their food reserves, it will be impossible to accomplish this."

Zhou Qi was silent.

How difficult it is to do this.

However, when he thought of some kind of organization in later generations, his eyes lit up and he said: "If I build official warehouses in various counties and counties, not only will everyone be able to store grain here for free, but I will also be able to give them interest based on the length of time they store grain. The longer the grain is stored, the higher the interest will be." higher."

"Not only that, the grain deposited by the people can be old grain, but the grain taken from the government is new grain."

"Sir, do you think that if this policy is implemented, will the people and major families be willing to store grain in it?"

Du Ji's eyes brightened, and he quickly discovered the cleverness of this policy, and then said: "Whether the people are willing to store grain in the official warehouse depends on the credibility of the government after all."

This is like the banks of later generations. It is with the backing of the country that there will be a steady stream of money pouring into them.

It has been more than a year since Zhou Qi came to Yangzhou. Although he is quite prestigious among the people, it is still not enough to let everyone store all the grain in the official warehouse for petty gain.

Zhou Qi pondered for a while, and soon had an idea.

Engage in propaganda, engage in public opinion warfare, and then try to fool ordinary people.

People's herd mentality is very strong. Once some people start to store food in the government, others are bound to follow suit.

If things go on like this, there will be countless grain and grass in the official warehouse.

Zhou Qi looked at Du Ji and said, "What if I use the people's corvee taxes as collateral?"

Du Ji exclaimed: "I am so talented, I can't go far."

Ordinary people don't have much food and grass in their homes. With corvee taxes as collateral, they don't have to worry about being hacked by the government for food.

In this way, depositing the surplus grain at home in the official warehouse can not only solve the problem of preservation, but also get some interest. Why not do it?
Regardless of the fact that each family does not have much food, but they gather sand to form a tower. When the ordinary people in Yangzhou store their surplus food in the official warehouse, Zhou Qi can use the food to control the price of food in the country, and then use the price difference to make the big family go home. Take out the food at home.

In normal times, part of the food can also be embezzled to recruit refugees. As long as the difficult initial period is overcome, Yangzhou in the future will inevitably enter a virtuous circle and will never be controlled by money and food again.

Of course, these are just general directions, and how to implement them in detail still needs to be considered very comprehensively.

Zhou Qi had a long talk with Du Ji all night long, and after finalizing many details, he named Du Ji the captain of Diannong, with a rank ratio of two thousand stones.

Zhou Qi also ordered Lu Su, Quan Rou, Gu Yong and others to assist Du Ji in the matter of farming and official warehouses. If there is a request, the officials of all counties and counties must not postpone it and must do their best to help.

For this reason, Zhou Qi also specially wrote letters to the prefects and lieutenants of the counties, and ordered Xu Ding to lead the tigers under his command to run to the camp and follow Du Ji.

With Du Ji's joining, unprecedented changes began in Yangzhou.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

But Tian Feng was ordered by Yuan Shao to come to Yangzhou to persuade Zhou Qi to send troops to relieve the crisis in Jingzhou.

Zhou Qi was overjoyed when he learned that it was Tian Feng who came.

Tian Feng was not only a top counselor, but also a top strategist. Unfortunately, his character was too upright and his opinions were inhumane. Therefore, every time he offered advice to Yuan Shao, the other party did not adopt it.

It was precisely because Yuan Shao didn't listen to Tian Feng's advice that he ended up defeated and died.

Yuan Shao's killing of Tian Feng was even worse than Xiang Yu's killing of Fan Zeng.

Tian Feng can also be regarded as the most tragic top strategist in the Three Kingdoms period.

Zhou Qi looked around at the people around him, and said with a smile: "Since Tian Yuanhao has come, there is no shortage of food, grass, and war horses."

"No way, Tian Yuanhao, a well-known scholar in Jizhou, will also be of use to me."

"You step back for now, I will meet Tian Yuanhao in person."

But it was said that Tian Feng came from Jizhou and went south. What he saw along the way was that wars were raging, thieves were everywhere, and people were displaced.

Many of the fields that were previously fought over by aristocratic families have been abandoned, and they are now in a state of depression.

All kinds of tragic situations also made Tian Feng, a famous scholar in Jizhou, feel sad. He hoped that the war could end as soon as possible and bring peace to the world.

However, when he entered Yangzhou, he was shocked.

Just because I saw along the way that although there were countless refugees, they were all in order and were well settled by the government, without any signs of chaos.

From time to time, there are soldiers with bright armor patrolling back and forth to maintain order.

Tian Feng was keenly aware that many refugees from the north were pouring into Yangzhou.

Even many gentry entered Yangzhou to avoid the flames of war.

All kinds of things in front of him could not help but make Tian Feng vigilant, secretly said: "Zhou Cheqi will definitely be my lord's great enemy in this life."

　Holding the grass, the pain died after the anesthesia, last night the pain was so painful that I couldn't sleep all night.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)