The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 268 Appeasing the Family
  Liu Tai's navy began to conquer the ocean. Even if it was only a small step, it was a big step for the Han Dynasty to march towards the ocean.

Compared with the Navy's whale training of new recruits to enhance the courage of the soldiers and not just regard themselves as escorts patrolling the Bohai Sea, the Army's training is much more compact.

Zhou Ping's main focus was on mopping up the defeated troops. Zhao An was responsible for mopping up the entire Grand Canal, clearing out a good environment in advance and allowing Cao Yi to start arranging corvees for construction.

Zhou Ping, on the other hand, began a large-scale bandit suppression campaign targeting the entire north of the Yellow River.

To be honest, these defeated troops were defeated head-on by Liu Tai's army. Now that they saw the regular army again, they were even more frightened.

It is unrealistic to say how high the combat effectiveness is, but relying on the physical strength to survive the winter and the familiarity with the surrounding terrain, it is really not easy to deal with.

For Zhou Ping, these defeated troops were just used to increase the experience of the newly recruited soldiers under his command.

At the same time, we dispatched government troops from surrounding counties to see how the veterans were doing in grassroots construction.

Zhou Ping knew that because the king cared about the people, he worked as a corvee on the Grand Canal. Not only would he have food to eat, but he would also be given salt coupons as long as he was not a prisoner.

It's just that professional corvees registered with the government will get more. If they only come to help casual workers on the same day, they will be paid on the same day when they eat. After taking the salt stamp, they can go to the salt hall to exchange for salt.

Salt has always been a hard currency. If you are close to a waterway, you can basically get relatively cheap salt.

But in many areas that are not close to water transportation, such as inland areas such as Jinyang, the price of salt they eat is definitely lower than before, but compared to places like Yecheng, it is definitely still far behind.

Because if Haiyan wants to be transported in, the freight is too high, and even Liu Tai has no way to solve the problem.

The only solution is to build a high-speed road such as Qinzhidao to speed up the movement of materials.

But building roads is no better than digging canals. Although canals are more difficult than building roads, the problem is that the purpose of canals is only to open up rivers that were not connected before. Many river sections can even be used directly.

In contrast, building roads requires hard work by laborers on every inch of land, and the maintenance costs after the construction is completed may not be lower than the maintenance costs of canals.

In any case, for the people, when they saw that they had food to eat by doing corvee work and could also get salt stamps, they were very happy to work for Liu Tai, and there was really no way they could stop him.

Zhou Ping understood that as time passed and the news spread that people could make a living by carrying bricks while building the canal, many deserters would find ways to change jobs and become ordinary people to carry bricks.

Especially that bastard Cao Yi, even if he knew that these guys' identities were in question, he turned a blind eye and let them come over to help.

After all, no one would feel like there are too many people at work these days. It is only when eating that someone feels like they have an extra mouth.

And when the construction of Yongji Canal is completed, those without status will be compiled into the register and become common people of the Han Dynasty.

Cao Yi also spoke plausibly: “They sweated for the construction of the Han Dynasty, and they moved bricks for the construction of the Grand Canal.

After completing the project, the captives of the King Company can be restored to civilian status, allowing foreigners to have the opportunity to become Han citizens.

Then why are you so harsh on your own people? Isn’t it just a gangster? If the editor is included in the book, he is not a gangster! "

All in all, in Zhou Ping's opinion, the new recruits under his command should be exposed to blood, and the experience of practicing courage slipped away just like that.

Therefore, Zhou Ping is now encouraging the public security war, adhering to the principle of speed, accuracy, stability and ruthlessness, and the first thing is to let his soldiers accumulate war experience.

With this wave of deserters wiped out, the soldiers who wanted to quickly gain experience had no choice but to go to the frontier or border areas.

Although I dare not say that there is absolutely no violation of laws and disciplines in Liu Tai's territory, there are really not many bandits and bandits that Zhou Ping can use to gain experience.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ping couldn't help but sigh.

I didn't expect that as a general, I would have a headache when there were no bandits. Think about it, during the reign of the Sima family, was there a lack of bandits? Missing aliens? Missing rebels?
  Everywhere in the country is a place of trial. After defeating the bandits, you will defeat the bandits. After defeating the bandits, you will defeat the rich people. After defeating the rich people, you will fight the government.

I followed the king. Isn't that how he came all the way? Wherever it is like now, the bandits have to be afraid of being defeated and transferred to the common people first.

Zhou Ping couldn't help but feel sad that no one under his command could grow quickly because he had no one to kill, but he also couldn't help but think about how good the world is!
  Zhou Ping thought of this and said decisively: "This time we wiped out the bandits in Tiger Mountain. Those who didn't cut off the enemy's ears should go back and train twice as hard! Kill them now!"

Zhou Ping's soldiers didn't answer, they just wore fish scale armor and held iron swords, and went to kill the bandits!
  After all, this world is not a peaceful world. What Zhou Ping hopes for is to follow Liu Tai's guidance to make things clear.

Of course, the people under Liu Tai's command were not the ones who felt the deepest feelings about the earth-shaking changes taking place in Hebei at this moment.

Because to them, it was a matter of course that Liu Tai led them from scratch to creating such a foundation.

But for Li Ju's protagonist Bo Gouyuan, what he saw was not a dilapidated Hebei, but a prosperous and enthusiastic Hebei.

Especially when he knew that Liu Tai was planning to open up all the waterways from Jinkou to Jijun and build a grand canal running through the north of the Yellow River, he was even more filled with incomprehension.

Because according to Gou Yuan's understanding, this is enslaving the people and will inevitably force them to rebel.

You can expect to see that under Liu Tai's perverse actions, the land of Hebei will be plunged into flames of war, and then uprisings will occur in various places.

But no, the entire land of Hebei is prosperous, as if the forces in Hebei have been twisted into a rope by Liu Tai to work.

Gou Yuan looked at this project with wonder as he was not far-sighted, but he knew how the family survived.

Liu Taihui proposed this plan, and Gou Yuan felt magical.

However, when I think about Liu Tai himself being the most famous general in the world, even if he proposed this project for military purposes, Liu Tai still has his reasons.

After all, he defeated Shi Le and captured Liu Yao. Even if what he did was beyond his expectations, it must be because he was ignorant and could not see Liu Tai's deep intentions. Rather than Liu Tai going crazy, the entire regime would go crazy along with Liu Tai!
  If the entire regime is accompanying Liu Tai to go crazy, then Gou Yuan must think that it is the world that is going crazy, not himself.

First of all, Gou Yuan did not understand that every aristocratic or powerful family in Henan either formed a camp to protect themselves or was unruly. Even if the ancestral governor could unite these Wubao one by one with his personal charm, they would not be able to survive when invaded by foreign enemies. Only a group of powerful families would join forces, and even his own prefect Li Ju would wave the flag with Zu Ti at that time.

But what Gou Yuan didn't expect was why all the aristocratic families in Hebei looked so generous.

I looked at many sections of the canal. It was not even the professional corvees under Liu Tai who were repairing it. Instead, wealthy families took the initiative to organize their servants to build local dams, canals, and roads one by one for Liu Tai's corvees to repair. Hurry up.

When did a noble family sacrifice themselves for others like this? Gou Yuan felt that he could not understand the Hebei family, but he was greatly shocked. Of course he couldn't understand it, because for the aristocratic families in Hebei, these days were also miserable.

Before they had time to surrender to Liu Tai, Liu Tai captured Yecheng, leaving them with no benefit at all.

Immediately after Liu Tai implemented the "Corvee Tax" and "Qianda Tax", Gou Chun stared at him in pain, and Gou Chun found out many aristocratic families who wanted to cheat the court.

Then after receiving the order, the entire family was wiped out by Gou Chun's elite soldiers.

Because Liu Tai just wanted food and land, and he just wanted to keep a share of gold and silver for himself.

Therefore, the morale of the soldiers who received the order to confiscate their homes was very high, and they were also very active in doing this type of work.

Then the combination of retired soldiers and military history took root at the bottom and established the military barracks, opening up the court's communication with the bottom. Then came the recommendation examination system, breaking the monopoly of the traditional examination system.

It can be said that the local aristocratic families clearly felt that their rights were being lost bit by bit, but in the face of Liu Tai's step-by-step and ruthless decision-making, they felt both fear and humiliation.

To be honest, they are only one fire away now. If anyone ignites the anger in their hearts, even if they are weak, they might fight against Liu Tai.

But Yangman appeared at this time, and the reason for his appearance was very simple, that is, to raise food from them.

As Liu Tai's representative, Yang Man looked at the circle of heads of Hebei aristocratic families and said calmly:

"Your Majesty wants to build the Yongji Canal from Jinkou to Jijun, so I hope that the majority of aristocratic families can take the initiative to bear the grain and fodder consumption of each county where it is located.

As long as there is enough food, you can also occupy a port alone like the Lu family in Youzhou.

You all know how profitable the ports on this waterway from Youzhou to Jinkou and into the Bohai Sea are to Qingzhou.

The king has given you an opportunity. It’s up to you whether you want to seize it or not!
  Oh, by the way, you have to pay two shares at a time, and the court's port will be built on the opposite bank of yours. After all, the court also needs its own public port.

In addition, you don’t have to doubt that the imperial court picked the two ports first, and you can use the remaining ones.

Okay, those who want to stay in this port, and those who don’t, can leave! "

In an instant, the Hebei aristocratic families who were still aggressive immediately became quiet, and some even said weakly:
  “Can other people participate in our port?”

They know very well that they want to get this bonus, but they are afraid that they will be choked to death by eating too much meat. However, if a county family is able to mobilize the people when pressed, this section of the port will definitely be able to support it. of.

By then, my family will have a cornucopia of treasure. As for the people, they just have to work. Do they still want benefits? !

Yangman took a sip of tea calmly, and then said calmly:
  "How many people do you want to contact and how much food do you spend on it? As long as you pay taxes honestly, the court will not care.

But I need to explain something first. You need to use money and food to support the money and food consumption of the county where you are located. If you can't support it and affect the progress of the project, then your port court will take it back. Don't talk about it, Your Majesty. I didn’t give you a chance! "

After hearing Yang Man's words, everyone shook their heads at this time.

With the opening of the North Canal, the Bohai Bay has been turned into a golden waterway. Who doesn't know that if this canal is successfully opened and the county where they live has a dock under their own control, then they will really make money day by day. ah!
  After Yangman finished talking about this, he said to everyone:

"By the way, I heard that everyone has some complaints about the recent policies implemented by the King?

This is not possible. As the saying goes, if there is resentment in the heart, sooner or later there will be chaos, so communication needs to be strengthened!

If you have any opinions on your Majesty’s policies, since we all belong to an aristocratic family, I will be able to explain them to you! "

"No, no, no!" At this time, the head of the Zhen family quickly stood up and said:

"The king is the lord of Hebei, and our family is nothing more than a shepherd's dog. Of course, whatever the king says, we will do it!"

Hearing the words of the head of the Zhen family, the faces of the surrounding Hebei families couldn't help but have a look of disgust, but when facing Yangman, they smiled, fearing that their smile would drop a little bit, and that they would need something else in the future. Pay the price!

Yangman said politely: "It's okay if you don't have it, I'm relieved. It's common for everyone to be a little uncomfortable at first.

But as time goes by, you will know that our king is the most disciplined person in the world. As long as you do not go beyond the rules, you will definitely restore the family and surpass it before!

Since no one has any complaints in their hearts, that's the end of today's meeting.

Everyone should go back and make good storage. When the canal is built at your place, just don’t make it difficult for the court! "

Naturally, these Hebei aristocratic families nodded repeatedly, and then joined forces. The aristocratic families in a county united together and worked hard to capture a port.

For Liu Tai, the food consumption of each section of canal construction was reduced to a minimum.

Liu Tai knew very well that the most threatening thing to the aristocratic family, besides the land, corvee labor, and the power of inspection, was the food they had accumulated.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, it was worthwhile to use up all this food at once, even if it paid for the port on the golden waterway as payment, but left a public dock as an adjustment.

Moreover, this Yongji Canal is not comparable to the Bohai Bay. In addition to construction, maintenance is also a top priority.

After all, this is the Yellow River, and there is an incredible amount of sediment. Therefore, the dredging project of Yongji Canal is afraid that after the construction of Yongji Canal, it will run through Yongji Canal and be abandoned.

The imperial court cannot provide all this money. Then we will have to reason with these aristocratic families;

"Family families, you don't want the port you spent a lot of money to buy to be abandoned because of silt blockage, right?

Come and pay the property fees together, ah, pay the desilting fees together to keep the canal open. The responsibility lies with you and him!
  What? If you don’t want to fulfill your responsibilities, there will be many other people who want to fulfill your responsibilities. If you don’t want to fulfill your responsibilities, just transfer the shares to those who want to fulfill your responsibilities! "

Therefore, it is understandable that Gou Yuan does not understand that these aristocratic families are so happy to spend money now.

Because the family has to pay now, and if it really makes money in the future, it will have to pay even more.

(End of this chapter)