Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

After Huang Zongxi revised the immigration policy, the recruitment of immigrants in Luzhou quickly got on track.

Although some disaster victims still have a bad impression of the Luzhou vassal state, most of them have come to accept the Luzhou vassal state's policies.

Soon, Huang Zongxi had recruited enough immigrants and led them back home.

Tian Jianxiu's recruitment efforts encountered difficulties.

Although some disaster victims eager to make a name for themselves actively volunteered, the reality of war in southern Liaoning made his recruitment of immigrants very difficult.

Many disaster victims, even if they are not afraid to join the army and fight the enemy, must consider their wives, children and elderly parents.

Many people had reservations about moving their entire families to southern Liaoning.

Tian Jianxiu racked his brains, but couldn't figure out how to change the situation.

Li Guo, who had returned from Heilongjiang, helped him solve the problem.

"Brother Tian, ​​what are you doing here?"

"When did you become a general?"

Li Guo exclaimed in delight.

He met Tian Jianxiu two years ago when he was recruiting immigrants in Suide. He met Tian Jianxiu, a strong and brave man.

However, Tami Hide did not apply that time, but instead planned to participate in the martial arts tournament.

At this moment, Li Guo looked at Tian Jianxiu's general's sash and the lieutenant colonel's epaulets on his shoulders, and said thoughtfully:
"Did Brother Tian participate in the martial arts tournament and achieve a good ranking?"

“I told you long ago that with your abilities, you shouldn’t be wasting your time in the countryside.”

"You've become a captain? And a guerrilla general?"

Tian Jianxiu laughed heartily:

"I have to thank you for this!"

"If it weren't for my brother gifting me a horse, I wouldn't have been confident of achieving a good result in the horse race."

He pulled Li Guo along to go for a drink, wanting to properly thank him.

Unable to refuse, Li Guo led his soldiers to the post station with Tian Jianxiu, where they raised their cups and drank heartily.

After discussing the events of the past two years, Li Guo remarked with emotion:
"I never expected Brother Tian to have such an encounter."

"It's a pity that I'm not fortunate enough to be able to return in time to participate in the martial arts tournament."

Tian Jianxiu pointed at his epaulets and laughed loudly:
"You're a lieutenant colonel just like me, why are you still participating in the martial arts tournament?"

"The ranking in this martial arts tournament is just a stepping stone; what you actually do depends on your ability."

Then, looking at Li Guo thoughtfully, he said:

"Brother, are you leading the team alone this time, taking charge of the immigration all by yourself?"

"You've essentially led an army all by yourself!"

Li Guo said with a bitter face:

"What kind of leadership is this?"

“They all wanted to fight, so they forced me, a young man, to lead the team.”

"I won't be going back to Shaanxi this time. I'll go back as soon as I find people."

This was what he was thinking, and he was in a great hurry this time.

It was clear that Horqin was about to collapse under the siege, and there would be no greater opportunity to make meritorious contributions in Heilongjiang.

If he doesn't get to fight, when will he, a lieutenant colonel, become a general?
Looking at Tian Jianxiu with envy, Li Guo said:

"We're both lieutenant colonels, but Brother Tian and I are different."

"Because of the rank restriction, your initial official appointment cannot be higher than the sixth rank of the top scholar, so you can only be a seventh-rank lieutenant colonel."

"But the real power of a guerrilla general can at least be regarded as that of a fifth-rank official."

"I'm different. I don't know when I'll be able to lead a battalion on my own."

"If we miss this battle, we may not have another chance for a long time."

The generous rewards and benefits are also a reason why martial artists are willing to participate in martial arts tournaments.

Regardless of what they did before, as long as they win the top eight in the horse racing competition, they will have the opportunity to lead a battalion on their own.

Having a battalion of soldiers would allow one to achieve merit and even obtain a noble title.

The fates of figures like Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong have inspired countless people. This resulted in fierce competition among the top eight in this year's horse racing competition, with the winners choosing to establish their own battalions to distinguish themselves.

Tian Jianxiu was in the same situation, but because he was considered suitable to be a guard, he was assigned to be in charge of immigration.
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He felt somewhat depressed when he talked about this.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to take charge of immigration, but rather that he felt that being involved in such a matter would prevent him from fully utilizing his abilities.
"Immigration is so difficult. How can we get people to be willing to go?"

"Brother, how's your immigration recruitment going? How many people are willing to go?"

Li Guo said with a smile:

“The migration route to Heilongjiang has been stabilized, and many people are willing to go there.”

"Although our place is not as warm as Southeast Asia, we don't have as many mosquitoes and epidemics either."

"As long as you pay attention to keeping warm, you won't get frostbite or freeze to death."

"Last year, the annual mortality rate for immigrants in Heilongjiang was even lower than that in Southeast Asia."

This was a major advantage for them in recruiting immigrants; those disaster victims who were afraid of the epidemic in Southeast Asia preferred to brave the severe cold to go to Northeast China.

However, the Heilongjiang region also has a disadvantage: there is only one harvest a year, compared to three harvests a year in Southeast Asia, making the land less valuable.

Tian Jianxiu encountered this problem and asked Li Guo:

"Even though it's the same fifty acres, the land in Northeast China can't compare to that in Southeast Asia."

"How did you talk to the disaster victims and get them to agree to go to Northeast China?"

Li Guo chuckled and said nonchalantly:

“This is simple!” “Just double the amount of land allocated to the disaster victims to one hundred acres.”

"The crops in Northeast China don't grow as fast as those in Southeast Asia, but we have so much more land!"

"Fifty mu is not enough for a hundred mu, and a hundred mu is not enough for a square mile, but it can always attract disaster victims."

Tian Jianxiu exclaimed "Ah!" He hadn't expected Li Guo to solve it this way. He shook his head and said:
“Your territory can be divided in this way, but Liaonan is a garrison area, and land cannot be divided arbitrarily.”

"Furthermore, the land in southern Liaoning should be distributed to meritorious soldiers, not all to disaster victims."

He explained the situation of the four guards in southern Liaoning and the recruitment of soldiers and civilians.

Li Guo pointed at him and laughed:
"Brother Tian, ​​you're being inflexible."

"If the imperial court wants to reward meritorious soldiers, why can't you allow soldiers to earn merit and become meritorious soldiers?"

"Furthermore, the imperial court only required the reconstruction of the four garrisons in southern Liaoning, not the recruitment of soldiers and civilians."

"If you recruit 50,000 military and civilian households, you can form a garrison."

“Recruiting five thousand military households can also form a garrison.”

"Do you think it's easier to recruit 50,000 military and civilian households, or 5,000 military households?"

Tian Jianxiu suddenly understood, realizing that he had been focusing on recruiting military and civilian households, which was a bit of a dead end.

But everyone in the Ming Dynasty knew how miserable it was to be a military household; very few people wanted to be one. He then asked Li Guodao:
"Most of the disaster victims are unwilling to be military households for generations. How can we persuade them to agree?"

Li Guo laughed heartily:

"If you don't want to be a military household, then become a sergeant!"

“Hereditary soldiers are much better than military households; they can be considered minor hereditary officials.”

“People in our area are very willing to be soldiers. Every family has several acres of hereditary land, and they wouldn’t even be willing to be civilians.”

Tian Jianxiu was even more puzzled, and frowned as he said:

"Soldiers want credit!"

"The court will not agree to making people with no merit hereditary military positions."

Hereditary sergeants can be considered the lowest-ranking unranked hereditary officials, and they are qualified to attend military academies, making it very easy for their children to rise to the rank of officer.

The imperial court kept a very tight rein on such hereditary military positions and did not allow the indiscriminate granting of hereditary military posts.

Tian Jianxiu couldn't just arbitrarily grant hereditary military titles; one had to have real merit to do so.

Li Guo, however, didn't seem to care at all, and said with a smile:
"Let them claim credit even if they haven't done anything!"

"Do you have wild men in southern Liaoning?"

“Take the garrison soldiers and arrest them. Anyone who cannot speak Chinese should be arrested as a barbarian.”

"According to the imperial court's regulations, the merit of capturing prisoners is equivalent to that of beheading someone, and prisoners can also be used to reclaim wasteland for farming."

“That’s how our land was cultivated. Although those barbarians aren’t very bright, once you beat them into submission, they’re willing to become slaves.”

This is also why the migrant mortality rate in Heilongjiang has significantly decreased.

The prisoners of war did the most dangerous work, so casualties naturally decreased.

In addition, the imperial court's quotas for foreign slaves were much more lenient than those for those in the interior, so many military officers kept a group of slaves in their homes.

Tian Jianxiu felt envious, because he had just become an official and hadn't even established a family yet.

I imagine there must be some wild men living in the mountains and forests of southern Liaoning.

If they are captured, they can also be used as slaves.

"However, if all 5,000 military households were to be promoted to hereditary sergeants, based on the minimum of 375 military merits, it would require 187.5 million military merits."

"Even if all those captured were Jurchens, and each prisoner had ten military merits, it would still require capturing 18.75 people."

"Four guards would have 75 people, but there aren't that many savages in southern Liaoning."

After dipping his finger in the wine and calculating on the table, Tian Jianxiu discovered there was still a problem:

The credit for capturing the savages is not enough; there weren't that many savages.

But his algorithm made Li Guo laugh out loud, saying somewhat mockingly:
"You really want to upgrade all military households to hereditary sergeants!"

"You can say that when recruiting immigrants, but whether they can get promoted in the end depends on themselves."

"Those with the ability will be promoted to sergeants, and their descendants will be rich and noble for generations to come."

"If you can't get promoted, you'll become a military household and see if there's any chance to turn your life around later."

"Since you're willing to gamble, then accept the consequences. If you die on the battlefield, don't blame us."

"Achieve as much merit as you can, and don't worry if you don't."

As he spoke, he turned to Tian Jianxiu and said:
"This method can also earn you officers merits."

"According to the regulations of the imperial court, the highest merit of an officer's command is equal to that of a soldier's merit in killing the enemy, and the lowest is 10%."

"While clearing land and capturing savages may not be considered a great achievement, it is enough to earn officers a 10% reward. As the commander-in-chief, you will receive at least 10% of it, which is one percent of the total credit."

"Think about it, if your men captured 100,000 savages, even one percent of that would be 1,000. What title would you get?"

Tian Jianxiu's mouth went dry as he listened, never imagining that being granted a noble title was so close to him—

The current emperor has clear standards for bestowing titles. One thousand Tartar heads can be used to establish a hereditary chiliarchy, which can be converted into a hereditary baronial title.

Are there 100,000 wild men in the mountains and forests of southern Liaoning?

Maybe yes, maybe not.

But if he goes further north, the Jurchens will surely be able to capture 100,000 barbarians.

Thinking that he could gain a title by leading the garrison soldiers to capture 100,000 barbarians, Tian Jianxiu grabbed a wine bowl, drank it down in one gulp, and slammed it on the table, saying:
"Done!"

"Let's go capture those barbarians and earn them a title!"

Li was taken to see Ma Maocai to revise the Liaonan immigration policy, and they planned to include these points in the revisions. (End of Chapter)