Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 150 Relocation of Liaodong Generals
After drawing pie cakes for the ministers and shouting slogans, Zhu Youjian did not continue to elaborate. I plan to whet their appetite first and let them work hard.

The most important thing now is to rectify the Liaodong generals.

Zhu Youjian decided to start from the soil and dig out their foundation.

In agricultural society, the most fundamental thing is land.

The name of the land and house for the military meritorious lord is the foundation of the farming and warfare system of Qin and Han Dynasties.

Although Zhu Youjian cannot restore classical militarism, he can learn from some systems.

Military achievements can be calculated and given by lords, but farm and residence cannot be conjured out of thin air.

The first thing he had to do was seize the land.

He wanted to do this, but Zhu Youjian couldn't say it directly. Because the land is too sensitive, it cannot be raised directly by the emperor himself.

Looking at Sun Chengzong, Zhu Youjian said:
"Supervisor Sun cultivates more than 5,000 hectares of farmland in Liaodong, which is more than 500,000 acres."

“What is the average yield per mu and how much food can be harvested?”

This kind of specific figure made Sun Chengzong really unable to deal with it with empty words, so he could only reply:

"Most of the land in Liaodong is dry land, and only corn can be grown. The yield is about one stone and five measures per mu."

"If you plant soybeans, the yield per mu will be eight or nine bushels."

This output was really hard to see. Zhu Youjian asked carefully:
"Is Liaodong ripened once a year or twice a year?"

Knowing that it is mainly ripe once a year, Zhu Youjian said:
"Select a few hectares of land as experimental fields to explore two crops a year or three crops every two years. If you can grow more crops one season at a time."

"Also, I have previously ordered various places to collect seeds of sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, peanuts and other crops, and then take them to Liaodong for trial planting. Let's see which crops are suitable for Liaodong. The more we can harvest, the better."

"In short, we must do everything possible to increase food production and solve the food problem."

"Those who are good at farming among the people can be selected as Litian and be responsible for the management of experimental fields. If they can perform meritorious service, they will be promoted to officials in the future."

After making several suggestions, Zhu Youjian said to Sun Chengzong:

"Based on the calculation of 500,000 acres, if all the land is planted with corn, one stone and five buckets per acre would be 750,000 stone."

“How is this food distributed and where does it go?”

Sun Chengzong said:

"This food is only enough for the soldiers and horses of Liaodong to chew, but it is not enough to distribute food and wages."

"And some land needs to be planted with soybeans and rice, not all with corn."

Zhu Youjian frowned, very dissatisfied with Sun Chengzong's failure to explain clearly, and asked:
"Exactly how much was harvested? How much did the men and horses chew?"

"How many officers and soldiers are allocated for farming? How many can be mobilized in the army?"

“There must be concrete figures, and we cannot make false claims.”

Sun Chengzong had been away from Liaodong for several years, so how could he answer it all at once? Zhu Youjian could only put down his questioning and then said:

"Director Sun, let's be honest. How much land does Liaodong's army need to be self-sufficient in food and beans?"

"Is the cultivated land in the entire Liaodong enough to support 110,000 soldiers and horses?"

Sun Chengzong said:

"How can this corner of Liaodong support 110,000 soldiers and horses?"

"We can only collect Liao's wages and let the customs provide food and wages."

When Zhu Youjian heard what he said, he immediately frowned and said:

"If Liaodong only defends and does not take the initiative to attack, how many troops and horses will be needed?"

"With more than 110,000 troops, how many can be reduced?"

He still hoped that these soldiers and horses could reach Liaoyang and earn himself the status of a hero of the Purple Pavilion. Sun Chengzong immediately said:
"The troops in Liaodong must not be dismantled. It is four hundred miles from Jinzhou to Shanhaiguan. The 110,000 troops are not enough, so we cannot continue to disband."

Zhu Youjian was furious when he heard this, and immediately said sharply:

"Only 5,000 hectares of land out of the 400 miles outside the Pass can be cultivated. What else do I want with it?"

"What does it matter if we give up first in this desolate place?"

There are only more than 5,000 hectares of military settlements in the 400 miles of land. Even a fool knows there is something wrong here.

Zhu Youjian was really angry when he thought that the Ming Dynasty levied Liao pay across the country and raised hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, but the land protected was not distributed by the Ming Dynasty -

I even think that according to what some people say, it is okay to give up outside the pass. At least it can reduce the number of troops and save some military expenses.

After hearing that the emperor even said that he wanted to abandon the deserted land outside the pass, Sun Chengzong said helplessly:

"Outside the pass is not a deserted land, but the land there is not only occupied by military camps, but also some are occupied by Liao people, and some are occupied by soldiers."

"The most common ones are the town generals. They occupy the sacred land in the name of raising honest farmland. The places where the army can garrison are all remote places."

After all, he still had to deal with the Liaodong generals. When Zhu Youjian heard about Yang Liantian, he frowned slightly. He remembered something and asked Guo Yunhou:

"Yangliantian is official land, right?"

"Can it be confiscated?"

Guo Yunhou said with certainty:
"Yanglian farmland is official farmland, and Zhuangtian, vocational farmland, and farmland are also official farmlands."

"Maybe they can be confiscated, but some of them have become private property."

As long as it can be confiscated, Zhu Youjian didn't care if it became private property later and said to Sun Chengzong:

"If all the official land in Liaodong is used for farming, how much land will there be?" Sun Chengzong calculated and said:

"I don't know the specifics, but it's probably more than 10,000 hectares."

"But official fields are also cultivated by the people, and they cannot be converted into military camps at will."

Zhu Youjian ignored this and calculated by himself:

"More than 10,000 hectares are calculated as 1.5 million dan."

"Except for what the soldiers in the military garrison eat themselves, all the remaining grain has been confiscated. Can the Liaodong army be self-sufficient in food now?"

It has doubled from before, with more than 110,000 soldiers and horses each having an average of more than ten dan, so why can't they be self-sufficient? Sun Chengzong said:
"If there are more than 10,000 hectares of military settlements, it is indeed possible to be self-sufficient."

"But the soldiers' wages still need support from the mainland."

Zhu Youjian ignored him and changed the subject, focusing on solving the food problem. said:
"We'll talk about wages later, but now we'll talk about food."

"Can Governor Sun guarantee that with the establishment of more than 10,000 hectares of military garrison, the Liaodong army will no longer rely on the hinterland for food?"

When pressed by the emperor, Sun Chengzong could only give a guarantee, but he also did not insist on his words and said:

"If we don't encounter disaster years, we don't have to rely on the mainland."

"But the climate is unpredictable, and there is a lack of water conservancy in Liaodong, so it is easily affected by weather."

"I really can't guarantee that we won't rely on the mainland at all."

I am really speechless about Sun Chengzong's attitude. He has been like this for a long time as a Ci minister, and he is very good at talking.

However, considering that agricultural production is greatly affected by climate, Liaodong's barely self-sufficient state cannot withstand fluctuations. Zhu Youjian could only say helplessly:
"Let's deal with the normal situation first, and then talk about disasters."

"If we really encounter a disaster year, we will just think of ways to adjust our food supply."

"The loss of food transportation is too great, Liaodong must try its best to be self-sufficient."

Reluctantly getting Sun Chengzong to make a guarantee, Zhu Youjian began to solve the problem of raising Liantian.

Thinking of the land confiscated from the eunuchs, Zhu Youjian said:
"I plan to put the Yangliantian of the Liaodong general in the interior, and his family will also move there."

"When Governor Sun arrives in Liaodong, can you move them here?"

"I won't treat them badly. I will replace the land with them according to the current market price."

This sounds nice to say, but all the ministers know that the officials' land for raising integrity is just that on the surface, but the actual land occupied is far more. Even many farmlands were occupied by them.

Thinking of the mansions built by the Liaodong generals and the fields they occupied, Sun Chengzong knew that this was difficult. But if we don't move them here, we can't solve the problem of military settlements.

Naturally, Liaodong cannot achieve self-sufficiency in food.

Thinking of the guarantee just made, Sun Chengzong could only make up his mind and said to the emperor:

"When I arrive in Liaodong, I will definitely persuade the generals of Liaodong to move to the interior."

Accustomed to Sun Chengzong leaving room for speech, Zhu Youjian heard that he had no objection, so he knew that this matter was feasible——

The generals of Liaodong were not strong enough to oppose the imperial court.

So Zhu Youjian immediately said:

"It's not a persuasion, it's an order."

"All generals, generals and above who are in Liaodong, their families and houses must stay in the mainland."

"If there is no land or house in the mainland, I will grant it to those who have merit."

"They can also apply for a replacement, offering their land and houses in Liaodong and replacing them with land and houses in the mainland."

"In short, we cannot let the generals' families be frightened on the front line, nor let their fields and houses suffer losses on the front line. All generals' families and fields must be moved to the interior."

The implication behind the words is that they are not allowed to settle outside the customs, and their families, fields and houses must be placed inside the customs.

Sun Chengzong opened his mouth, deliberately saying that this was too difficult. But thinking about the heroes of the Purple Pavilion that the emperor had said, I knew I had to keep on doing it no matter how difficult it was.

If the Liaodong generals cannot be solved, there will be no way to expand the land for the military garrison.

If the land for military settlements cannot be expanded, the food problem cannot be solved.

If the food problem cannot be solved, Liaodong will always be a big burden for the imperial court.

The imperial court was burdened with this burden, and it was good to be able to barely maintain it. There was no more money and food to finance the future.

Without attacking Houjin, Liaodou could not be recovered. How could he, a supervisor who defended on the front line, become a hero of the Purple Pavilion?
It can be said that the emperor's words were spoken layer by layer, and the core meaning was only one:
Let him attack the generals of Liaodong and force them to move to the interior.

　"Sun Chengzong's Deeds":
　　When the Duke returned to the east, he met Gao Di in Fengrun. The Duke said to him: "The noble people of Chang'an regard me as the gatekeeper, and they sit high in the hall, saying good things and evil. Now you are guarding the gate for me, and I sit in the hall to observe the great economic affairs." .”

　　The first one said: "Thanks to the Lord for your great fortune, Your Excellency is so strong. Guard the first position and don't lose it. Fortunately, you are not guilty."

　　The duke laughed and said, "You must protect the public and not lose the ability to do both. I have lived here for four years, restored nine cities and forty-five forts, recruited and trained 110,000 elite soldiers, and established twelve chariot camps, five water camps, and two fire camps." , eight forward and rear camps, 50,000 crossbow and artillerymen, 1,000 light vehicles, 1,500 sidecars, 600 sand boats, 60,000 horses, camels, oxen and mules, armor, weapons, bows, arrows, gunpowder, stone canals, and so on. More than a million.

　　I advance four hundred miles, and the slave retreats seven hundred miles. The Western captives accepted my military rope, but the Eastern slaves did not dare to cross the river.

　　Recruited more than 400,000 Liao people and 30,000 Liao soldiers.

　　After two years of farming 5,000 hectares, he received 150,000 yuan in salt and 70,000 yuan in tax, and 180,000 yuan in green mining.

　　Gong Jin will guard it for four years and then restore it for another four hundred miles. He will do everything twice as much as he can before he can claim to be guarding and not losing. If you do what you want and don't lose it for four years, you haven't defended it. "

　　The third Weiweixie was insensitive and retreated.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)