Chinese New Year

Chapter 1388 Guidance
In June, Zu Yue returned to Huainan once again and advanced to Hefei.

His administrative center was located in the new city, more than 30 miles west of the old city of Hefei. On the 15th, the two Longxiang Prefectures of Shaopo and Yangyuan gathered 1,800 prefectural soldiers, plus more than 3,000 retainers, totaling more than 5,000 infantry and cavalry, and marched towards Lu'an.

The soldiers from Yangyuan Prefecture were in front, and those from Shaopo Prefecture were behind; there was a clear difference between the two prefectures.

The former team has been together for a year and has gone through at least one winter of joint training, so they are much more familiar with each other.

The latter was formed within ten days, and the soldiers did not know their generals, nor did the generals know their soldiers.

The troops were disorganized and their ranks were scattered, making them look like a disorganized army, much like the peasant uprising army at the end of the Jin Dynasty. Their fighting ability was truly worrying.

Large tracts of wasteland stretched out on both sides of the road.

No, upon closer inspection, it doesn't seem to be all weeds; there are also many wheat seedlings, namely spring-sown wheat.

However, this wheat field had neither ridges nor irrigation ditches, and the wheat seedlings and weeds were mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish them from a distance.

More than a thousand soldiers stood solemnly by the water ahead; they were undoubtedly the hereditary soldiers of Yangzhou.

The leading officer was wielding a riding crop, striking one of the men on the head while cursing and swearing, clearly extremely angry.

Zu Yue spurred his horse forward. Hundreds of soldiers followed on horseback, wielding bows, swords, spears, and lances, looking imposing and awe-inspiring.

The Yangzhou soldiers, standing solemnly in the open field, were quite envious.

Most of these men who came south from Henan to serve as soldiers were only sixteen or seventeen years old, yet at least a third of them had horses, and almost all of them wore armor, although it was mostly leather armor.

They're really rich!

Not only were they rich, but they also had servants to wait on them. For example, a few of them had iron armor, which was being taken off the mule cart and being helped to put on by their retainers. After they were properly armored, the retainers eagerly brought them a thick, long spear.

After receiving the spears, the soldiers took up their spears, lined up, and arranged their formation.

The troop members, unarmored and dressed only in coarse linen clothes, stood beside the mule cart with swords at their sides, ready to provide backup.

"Military Advisor Wang," Zu Yuean greeted from his horse with a bow.

Wang Chun glanced at him, turned around, bowed, and said, "General Zu."

“On the way here, I saw that the wheat seedlings in the fields were sparse and there were many weeds. The land is not cultivated properly,” Zu Yue said with a smile.

“The Xianbei are stupid and can’t be taught. They’re stubborn and insist that this is how they used to farm.” Wang Chun, the military advisor, seemed to be full of anger. He sighed, “After planting, they just ignore it and go hunting everywhere. Then they break into other people’s land, argue with each other, and even hunt together. Some of them have even gone to the vicinity of Wankou.”

“Weren’t all the chieftains either captured or killed? Who led the charge?” Zuyo asked.

“They elected themselves,” Wang Chun said. “Besides, village chiefs, neighborhood heads, and garrison commanders are always needed, otherwise the imperial court would have no way to govern.”

“Just kill those who disobey, and the rest will behave. In a few decades, they’ll all be obedient citizens,” Zu Yue said dismissively.

"We still need to let them decide," Wang Chun said.

After saying that, he turned around and lashed the man with his whip, saying, "Take men to the fields to weed immediately."

The person couldn't understand and was at a loss.

Someone stepped forward to translate, and the man suddenly realized what was happening. He grimaced and beckoned for help to remove the weeds.

"Do they have any food?" Zu Yue asked, pointing at the people. "If they have no food, they can be sent east to manage the river."

“It’s enough for them to eat until the autumn harvest,” Wang Chun said. “But they’re incorrigible and restless; they’re unwilling to settle down in one place. Once their livestock have finished eating the grass nearby, they pack up their belongings and try to run away, moving from place to place to follow the water and grass, and then they’ll come back after the autumn harvest.”

"It's already quite good that you were able to come back after the autumn harvest." Zu Yue dismounted and laughed, "That's how it is in Kelan."

“Kelan is Kelan, and Huainan is Huainan; they are fundamentally different.” Wang Chun waved and prepared to leave.

The officer in charge blew a horn, and the more than a thousand soldiers immediately formed four columns and marched in a long procession.

There were also several cage carts in the procession, each containing seven or eight people who looked dejected.

"Who is this person?" Zu Yue asked.

"I led my troops to investigate various places and found that these eight people had eaten all the seeds that were distributed, claiming that they didn't know how to farm. So they were arrested and punished," Wang Chun said.

Zu Yue nodded.

In his opinion, killing is the best option; why make things so complicated? If someone is unwilling to learn or change their lifestyle, then they should die.

Who would speak kindly to you and patiently teach you? Do you deserve it?

As the two were talking, more than ten riders sped past like lightning on the rural dirt road.

Wang Chun glanced at it and said, "That's the Flying Cavalry under Commander Zhang, a total of five hundred riders. They are divided into dozens of groups, riding horses to inspect various military farms. If they see sparse wheat seedlings, they report it. At best, the garrison commander and village head will be whipped; at worst, they will be sent to Jianye in prison for punishment."

The Hu people settled in the various prefectures of Huainan existed in the form of tuntian (military agricultural settlements), each dividing their own areas. The chief official was the tuntian xiaowei (military agricultural commandant), commonly known as "tunjiang" (military general). They were basically organized into units of one thousand households, just like Shao Xun had gathered disaster victims in Chenjun and other places to settle and cultivate land.

The way they were governed was very simple and brutal.

Each village sent people to Hefei, Shouchun, and other places to learn, and then received a village flag, seeds, farming tools, and a number of livestock to return home for spring plowing. The court's method of inspection was to send cavalry to patrol various places. If anyone was not present, soldiers would be sent to arrest them. If the wheat seedlings were sparse, they would be beaten. Those who grew well were rewarded with wine, food, and silk. The village would also receive more oxen and farming tools the following year, and even receive money and goods—resources were limited, and it was impossible to take care of everyone.

The first year was very unsuccessful. Many people were wandering around aimlessly. There might have been conflicts due to language or customs differences, or people who wanted to return north because they couldn't adapt to the environment. But who would listen to your grievances? Anyone who dared to resist was beaten or killed. That was all.

The large population of the counties north of the Huai River, including the Di, Qiang, and Xiongnu who had been relocated there years earlier and had gradually settled down, was not compatible with them. Anyone who dared to cross the river northward would be attacked directly.

Suppress your grievances, endure your injustices, swallow your tears and blood. If you really can't take it anymore, then rebel. It's okay, we're just waiting.

Zu Yue and Wang Chun both understood that they did not expect these first-generation migrants to fully adapt to life in the Central Plains. Once they all died, the second generation would be much more compliant.

But if you don't care and let them choose their own lifestyles, the difference between the second generation and the first generation won't be significant, and you'll just be wasting your time.

During the Han and Wei dynasties, the Xiongnu people migrated to Pingyang and Taiyuan. For generations, they have lived there, and they have remained the same.

After Wang Chun left, Zu Yue led his troops to continue westward along Shaopo.

Looking at the vast expanse of the lake, he sighed inwardly, thinking how these barbarians truly didn't know how lucky they were. Many people in Bingzhou and Yongzhou lacked water to irrigate their wheat fields and could only grow millet, which was more resistant to cold. Huainan, on the other hand, not only had abundant rainfall but also well-developed irrigation systems, making it practically a "land of abundance." Giving them such good land was a real waste.

******
Just as Zu Yue was leading his army to inspect Lujiang, Prince Yan, Shao Yu, led more than a thousand soldiers south to Hefei.

He was "sent" here by his father, who said he wanted to see how Huainan managed the Xianbei captives, since there were quite a few captives in Liaodong who were still grazing their livestock.

Actually, he was about to return to Liaodong, because his mother had already given in. However, his grandfather's health was deteriorating and he could no longer get out of bed. After much deliberation, he decided to stay a while longer, and take the opportunity to gather more supplies, recruit more people, and learn from his experience. His father ordered the Imperial Household Department to allocate 10,000 bolts of silk for him to oversee the purchase of various items.

There was a village near Hefei inhabited by Xianbei people, who were captured from Tuhe.

Shao Yu led his men on a tour around Liaodong and gained some understanding of the "transformation" of the tens of thousands of Goguryeo, Xianbei, and Wuhuan people there.

Huainan has such good conditions, to be honest, it's even better than Jiangnan.

It's not as humid and hot as the Jiangnan region, nor as cold as the winters in the north. It's located at the border between the north and south. If properly managed, it could potentially produce more grain than the Jiangnan region. After all, it can also have two harvests a year, and it's also covered with rivers and lakes, with even more flat land.

However, the situation is different in Liaodong, where there is at most one harvest per year. With rye, it might be possible to try three harvests in two years, but the yield per mu will still be slightly less compared to the three harvests in two years in the north.

His father once suggested that he establish a large estate with horse-drawn plows and crop rotation, turning the captured Hu people into farm laborers.

This involves enclosing a large area of ​​wasteland and using a method of extensive but low-yield cultivation: part of the land is used to grow grain crops such as rye, wheat, and millet; part is used to grow beans; and part is reserved as pasture.

Two or three years later, the fields that were originally used for growing grain were converted into pastures for fallowing in order to restore the soil fertility. The fields that were originally used for growing beans were converted into grain, and the fallow grasslands were converted into beans or pasture grasses that could fertilize the fields.

Doing this will definitely result in low yields per acre, because weed seeds will remain in the field, and there will be a lack of meticulous field management, leading to a decrease in grain yield.

But this was originally about quantity over quality, a matter of extensive planting and low yields, and it was even better than intensive farming in sparsely populated areas. Furthermore, it allowed for the raising of large numbers of livestock, including crucial warhorses.

Shao Yu had already been inclined to do this, and seeing Huainan only strengthened his resolve.

Perhaps his father sent him here so that he could carefully consider how to run agriculture in a place with few people and plenty of land.

Most importantly, this agricultural production method could keep the Hu people confined, making them dependent on the manor and turning them into farmhands or serfs.

It's a pity that Huainan did this; it was unnecessary. But Liaodong has great potential.

Furthermore, if a tribe comes to seek refuge, they can be given a piece of wasteland and taught how to do this, so that the tribal chief Haoqiang can be strengthened.

Immobile tribes are not scary at all, and tribal chiefs who have transformed into manor owners are easy to deal with; they can be managed gradually.

Father always has the best ideas!
However, a method is one thing, but whether it will go awry in actual implementation will test his and the officials of the Prince's Palace's abilities.

In short, the road is under your feet. Others can only point the way. Only the one who walks the road knows what kind of bumps and potholes there are.

The same road can be walked differently by different people.

Shao Yu looked left and right, and was even thinking about how to manage these estates.

Should we raise more horses? If we can open up sales channels, we can ship them from Lushun to Qingzhou.

Should we hunt more pelts? Or even learn the tanning techniques of the Central Plains to sell them for a better price?

After the autumn harvest, the able-bodied men from the various manors could be gathered and trained like soldiers from the local militia.

Alternatively, they could learn from the practice of the Chanyu's government and organize these people into battalions of a thousand men each, managed by squad leaders, centurions, and battalion commanders.

In an instant, he thought a lot.

Different places have different laws and regulations, and it is most important to adapt to local conditions.

On June 20th, Shao Yu arrived in Guangling to the east and was somewhat shocked by the bustling river control construction site.

Upon hearing of the arrival of the Prince of Yan, Chen Yan, the Prefect of Guangling, immediately came to pay his respects.

Several local wealthy businessmen accompanied him.

(End of this chapter)