At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 342, Economic and military integration and reconstruction of Chang'an City

In the sixth year of the Han Dynasty, September 25th, Monan.

Fan Kuai, deputy general of the Monan Protectorate, led a team of more than 3,000 people forward.

Fan Kuai said with a smile: "You guys have caught up with the good times. Our Monan Governor's Mansion was established two years ago, and the construction of the new military camp will only take more than a year. You can live in a new house as soon as you enter. And the welfare benefits have also been improved. Do you know that the imperial court has found the Spice Island?"

The soldiers nodded. This is the biggest hot spot in the Han Dynasty this year. It can be said that no one in the entire Han Dynasty knows it. People who want to make a fortune rush to Kuaiji County in the south to make a fortune on the Spice Island.

Fan Kuai said: "These spices were sold for 150,000 gold. In addition to taxes, the remaining 100,000 gold were all subsidized to our Han army. This year, the welfare benefits of soldiers have been fully improved. In the past, you only had seven or eight sets of military uniforms. Now, Each soldier has two sets of military uniforms, two sets of spring and autumn regular uniforms, three sets of winter and summer training uniforms, one set of winter furs, and two sets of inner armor.

And the biggest benefit of being in our Monan Governor's Mansion is that you can eat all kinds of beef and mutton as you like. When you arrive at the military camp, the Duke will kill a cow for you personally as a reward. "

"General, how could our Monan Governor's Mansion be so wealthy?" the soldier asked, unable to imagine.

I had heard before that the standing army of the Han army was treated extremely well, but I never expected it to be so high. Landlords and wealthy people couldn't just kill a cow and eat it. This year they had experienced it.

Fan Kuai said proudly: "I, a big man, have always had the highest welfare benefits, not to mention that now I have a golden mountain."

Although they are all just recruits, their selection process is extremely rigorous. Each of them defeated dozens or even hundreds of competitors to obtain their current position.

Fan Kuai said: "After placing these soldiers, I will go find the governor."

Fan Kuai said with a smile: "The general is still eager for the Huns to come over and kill us."

All the soldiers stood up from the carriage excitedly and saw a city not far away. But when they entered the city, they discovered that it was a military city with military facilities all over it.

In order to govern Qi, the Han Dynasty transferred thousands of Han officials from various places. In the second year, they used the imperial examination method to fill the gaps in these Han officials.

Fan Kuai came to the meeting hall of the Monan Governor's Mansion.

They built this military camp hand by hand. They spent a lot of money to transport bricks, stones and cement to the grassland to build this fortress. In Fan Kuai's opinion, the palace was nothing more than that.

Fan Kuai led the team of new soldiers forward. Along the way, there were only grasslands and grasslands, and he could only occasionally see a few sheep and herdsmen.

Fan Kuai gave a thumbs up and said: "The 3000 people selected from millions of young people are of course the best. As long as they fight two battles and accumulate combat experience, the combat effectiveness of our Monan County will be even stronger."

They were recruits from Guangyang County, Julu County, Handan County, Hengshan County, Yanmen County and other places in Hebei.

"General, I didn't even see a single city along the way. Isn't it too desolate?" The soldiers were a little worried.

Of course, these veterans are not retiring immediately, but are going to Chang'an City to defend the capital. But in fact, it is almost the same as retiring. There will no longer be military training in Chang'an City, but various skills training, teaching them how to scientifically farm, scientifically raise poultry, raise livestock, carpentry skills, blacksmith skills and other skills. training.

However, among these retired soldiers, there are still the best among the 100 veterans. They will become the Han officials. They are the most lucky ones among this group of soldiers. They will receive training from the imperial court or become Han officials. Or become an officer and become the ruling class of the Han Dynasty.

I found Han Xin writing the list with a frown on his face.

Fan Kuai called for the Captain and Supervisor Li Yu and said, "Where is the Captain?"

Therefore, ordinary Han people are still extremely eager to join the army, because this is the way to change their destiny the most.

Han Xin wanted to try his best to include his soldiers on this list.

With the world at peace and the Han Dynasty getting on the right track, it has become very difficult for those behind to make the same leap as their predecessors.

Fan Kuai could only comfort him: "The imperial court has made proper arrangements, and they can live a good life in their hometown."

But last year and this year, the Han Dynasty did not expand. The imperial censors and court officials only eliminated thousands of Han officials. The Han Dynasty even had to reduce the number of people admitted for the imperial examination. The Han military already occupies a large number of places, and it would be difficult to increase them now.

The Han Dynasty is still in an era of drastic changes in social classes. Although there are many opportunities, they are not too many for ordinary people with a huge population. Ordinary people want to achieve a class jump, smart people rely on reading to take the imperial examination, and self-cultivated farmers only You can rely on joining the army.

Han Xin nodded and said: "That's good. I'm going to take these veterans to Chang'an City, and I'll leave Monan to you. Don't let the Huns set up an ambush."

These selected men from good families are strong and have good foundation. They have been trained in the county for more than half a year. The county captain trained them in formation, various weapons drills, and basic military formations. Apart from having no actual combat experience, they have already They can be regarded as a group of qualified soldiers.

This year, the number of recruits in the Han Dynasty is less than 30,000. These 30,000 people are evenly divided among the ten counties in the north. Each county has less than 3,000 places. Then it is divided into the counties under the county, and each county only has a few dozen. Hundreds of places.

Fan Kuai waved to the herdsmen enthusiastically, and then said: "If you want to eat meat, you must rely on these herdsmen. You must have a good relationship with them in the future."

The Monan Governor's Mansion has attracted more than 3,000 new soldiers, and naturally there are also more than 3,000 retired veterans.

But the war to destroy Qi was already the largest expansion of the Han Dynasty. Qi had nearly 70 cities, and thousands of Han officials were needed to stand in charge of these cities.

Not long after, Fan Kuai said excitedly: "Our Monan Military Camp has arrived."

Han Xin put down his brush and asked, "What is the quality of these new recruits?"

Fan Kuai said: "The border is like this, but it's much better when you get to the military camp. I can guarantee that the situation in the military will be better than that in your hometown."

The Han and the Huns have generally been at peace in the past two years, but small-scale battles have never stopped.

But the only thing that reassured the recruits was that Fan Kuai did not deceive them. The houses here are all two-story brick and stone buildings, and they are even more beautiful than the manors of landlords and wealthy families.

The soldiers led by Fan Kuai were the first batch of conscripts of the Han Dynasty, and they could be regarded as ushering in a new era of the Han Dynasty.

Li Yu said: "The meeting hall."

One can imagine the intensity of the competition. Those who were too old were eliminated, those who were less than seven feet tall were eliminated, and those with experience as a ranger were eliminated. These were selected after layers of screening by the pavilion chief, county lieutenant, and county lieutenant. A son of a good family with high physical fitness, down-to-earth personality and a clean net worth.

"The imperial court uses this method to rotate officers and soldiers. Although the combat effectiveness will be reduced, the quality of the soldiers is extremely high and can be quickly replaced. The general believes that this method is more suitable for the long-term stability of the army."

"The governor is still thinking about the quota?" Fan Kuai said.

Han Xin sighed and said: "These soldiers followed me to endure the wind and sand in Monan for two years, and fought with the Huns in Monan for two years. They also experienced bloody battles. Naturally, I want to find a good future for them."

"I didn't deceive you, did I? Isn't the condition of such a good military camp much better than that of your hometown?" Fan Kuai said proudly.

As long as they undergo further training in the flames of war, their combat quality will quickly surpass the Han's original standing army.

In the era of rapid development of handicrafts in the Han Dynasty, people with these skills could become middle class, which would be worthy of their hard work in guarding the border for the Han Dynasty.

Since Han Xin established the Monan Governor's Mansion, the Monan Army has been building military fortresses in the fertile grasslands of Monan, recruiting Hu people from the grasslands to settle down, storing fodder, and purchasing unlimited amounts of cattle, sheep, and wool from the herdsmen. , leather and other grassland specialties.

These Han herdsmen became rich quickly, and their wealth even exceeded that of ordinary Han farmers. After all, whether they were cattle, sheep, or wool, they were valuable goods in the Han Dynasty.

In the past, they were exploited by profiteers, but now that they have become Han Chinese, those profiteers dare not do this. As long as they can obtain normal profits, the breeding industry is still very profitable.

Not to mention that they have also hit the dividends of the era of big men, and it is naturally easy to become rich.

It is human nature to despise the poor and love the rich, and this is most vividly demonstrated in the land of Monan.

There is no need to make a choice whether to be a poor Hu with no food to eat and live in fear every day, or to be a prosperous Han. The small tribe herders in Monan drove their flocks to seek refuge with the big man.

A large number of Huns took refuge with the Han and became noble Han people. Relying on the livestock trade and wool trade, they wore the Han's silk clothes, used the Han's briquette stoves, drank the Han's green tea, and lived a wealthy life. They considered themselves to be superior Han people and despised their compatriots who gave off a fishy smell and denounced them as barbarians. These people became the Han's best barriers and pioneers.

The Monan Governor's Mansion was able to do this because he had a strong ally, the Han merchants.

Whether it's building a fortress or a stronghold, or even appeasing the Huns, it costs money, and it costs a lot of money.

The Han court had a lot of money, and the main investment direction was in the counties and counties of the Central Plains. In the desert, defense was still the main focus.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Han Xin could not get the money to do so many things. It was not until Han merchants came to visit that the military and economic alliance became as powerful as it is now.

With the rapid development of Dahan's textile industry and the emergence of water-powered spinning wheels and new textile machines, the production capacity of Dahan's textile industry has doubled, but the growth of raw materials has not kept up with this production capacity.

So much so that many merchants in the Han Dynasty felt distressed that their textile factories could only operate for half a year.

The emergence of woolen cloth was a savior for Han's workshop owners.

As long as they modify the machinery, the idle looms can weave exquisite and warm woolen cloth. This kind of fabric is also more suitable for the northern climate. Now people in Hebei generally have a set of woolen clothes.

Wool is a common raw material in the north, and the quantity is large. If you just give two coins, the barbarians will sell the wool to them in bags.

In less than two years, woolen cloth swept the entire Dahan market and became the second largest source of cloth in Dahan (the first was linen).

The textile industry in the Han Dynasty was already developed. After Xu Fan opened the water conservancy plug-in, the textile efficiency has reached the peak of the handicraft industry.

There will soon be insufficient wool in the north, and the price of wool continues to rise. In the past, you could buy a bag of wool for just two yuan, but now the price has doubled.

Therefore, raising sheep has become the obsession of many workshop owners. There are too few sheep raised in the north, which is far from meeting the needs of their textile machines.

Those merchants looked at the wheat seedlings as if they were looking at pasture. It would be great to raise a group of sheep with such crisp grass.

But if these merchants dare to do such things in the mainland of the Han Dynasty, the iron fist of the Han officials will directly educate these people and let them understand who is the real master of this empire.

So they set their sights on the desert, which is endless pasture.

These merchants contacted the Monan Governor's Mansion and they offered money, grain and supplies. They only asked the Governor's Mansion to occupy more pasture and allow them to raise more sheep.

After Han Xin reported the matter to the court, the court agreed to this joint approach.

Merchants in the north united to form a Mobei trading company. Mobei Trading Co., Ltd. paid to help Han Xin build the fortress and help resettle the Huns. They only asked the Huns to hand over the wool they raised to them.

Han Xin received sufficient supplies, so he could not passively defend, but took the initiative to attack. He built a fort in a land with abundant water and grass to directly occupy it. He also sent cavalry deep in the desert to sweep through the surrounding tribes and capture every man and sheep.

In fact, it is difficult for an economic system like a grassland empire to maintain long-term confrontation, because if you want to herd cattle, the tribes have to spread out. If the tribes spread out, their strength will decline. At this time, as long as a thousand cavalrymen rush into the grassland, it will be difficult to resist such cavalry within hundreds of miles.

The Central Plains Dynasty did not do this, mainly because it was not cost-effective. Even if a thousand cavalry went to the grassland, the consumption would be huge, but there would not be much loot.

But it is different now. The Huns can become herders, their cattle can be sold to the Central Plains for farming, and their sheep can be used as raw materials. Han Xin's trophies from each expedition can be sold to these merchants.

The Huns were defeated by Han Xin's tactics. The Huns' tactics of clearing grass and grain were used on the Huns, and they themselves could not resist.

The Huns did not fight back. They assembled an army of tens of thousands to encircle and suppress the Han army's Wubao. However, due to the lack of siege equipment, they could not attack for a long time. Their morale was low and the warriors were exhausted. They were then killed by Han Xin's armored cavalry and fled.

So much so that now the Huns' tribes dare not approach the hundreds of miles of Han territory.

Han Xin also used this method to devour the Huns' territory in Monan bit by bit, established 14 strongholds to protect these new Han territories, and occupied several counties.

The Mobei Trading Co., Ltd. obtained the right to use the pasture on this land, gained tens of thousands of herders, and raised millions more cattle and sheep.

This time Han Xin led these veterans to Chang'an City not only to report on their duties, but also to persuade the emperor to launch a war against the Huns and completely eliminate the enemy in the north of the Han Dynasty.

In recent years, the Huns have been taught a terrible lesson by the Han. Half of their territory in Monan has been lost, and tens of thousands of their tribesmen have fled to the Han and become Han people.

But this does not mean that the Huns' power in the desert has decreased.

After discovering that the Han people were invincible, Mao Dun changed his strategic direction. He armed his own army with weapons and equipment obtained from the Han people, and learned the tactics of the Han people. The combat effectiveness of the Huns' cavalry greatly increased.

Then Mao Dun continued to attack in the north, defeating the Ding Ling people and the Fu Yu people, firmly occupying the entire Mobei, and absorbing the tribes of Mobei to supplement the strength of the Huns. Now all the areas north of the desert have become the territory of the Huns. .

Now that Maodun has regained its strength based on Mobei, Han Xin is worried that if the Huns are not dealt with, the Huns will be more difficult to defeat in the future.

Han Xin arranged the affairs of the Monan Governor's Mansion and took 3000 Han army veterans into Jiuyuan County, then passed through Qinzhidao and went all the way south to Chang'an City.

In the sixth year of the Han Dynasty, October 15th.

The Monan Army came to Chang'an City and was placed in a military camp outside Chang'an City.

Han Xin was led into Chang'an City by a soldier named Tang Cheng.

But as soon as he entered Chang'an City, Han Xin discovered that Chang'an City was filled with smoke and dust, and the dug holes were like a huge construction site.

"Your Majesty, do you want to rebuild Chang'an City?" Han Xin asked.

Tang Cheng nodded and said: "The population of Chang'an City has increased in the past two years, and it has become more and more difficult to manage. There is more and more garbage.

Not long ago, there was a dysentery epidemic. Even though the emperor had sent doctors to control it, hundreds of people still died. "

“The emperor believes that these diseases are caused by the poor infrastructure in Chang’an City.

The urban population of Han Dynasty is increasing, and the infrastructure of the previous cities can no longer meet the needs of Han Dynasty. "

"So the emperor plans to use Chang'an City as a benchmark to build a city suitable for people to live in."

For this reason, the emperor raised 10 gold and planned to build three major projects in Chang'an City, namely a sewer project, a water diversion project, and a cement road hardening project.

"The current project is part of the sewer project. The emperor used cement and bamboo bars as pipes and buried these pipes under Chang'an City. The sewage and dung water were separated. The sewage flowed into the Wei River, and the dung water was used to make fertilizer. ”

"The completion of the sewer project will reduce 9% of diseases in Chang'an City."

"The water diversion project is to build a water tower outside the upstream of Chang'an City, and build an open-air pool fountain in the canal that is guided to Chang'an City by ceramic pipes and bamboo pipes."

"The Emperor said that diseases enter through the mouth. If the water source is kept healthy and clean, most diseases can be reduced."

"Finally, the cement road hardened. In order to solve the problem of muddy roads in Chang'an City in spring and dusty summer, the emperor planned to lay all cement roads in Chang'an City."

"After these three major renovation projects are completed, Chang'an City will become a brand new city."

Han Xin suddenly said: "As expected of the emperor, he is very generous, but just rebuilding Chang'an City cost 10 gold. I have thousands of cities. How much will it cost?"

There is another point that Han Xin did not mention. Chang'an City is so huge and has a population of close to one million. 10 gold may not be able to complete the transformation of Chang'an City.

(End of this chapter)