I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 278 You must go!

From another perspective, if this situation can be changed, if it can be resolved, then for the Yuan family, it would be like being coated with a layer of invincible golden body.

This problem could not be solved when you, the Emperor of Han, were in power yourself.

This problem could not be solved when the emperor's relatives were in power.

This problem could not be solved when the eunuchs were in power.

Now it’s my turn as Yuan to be in power, hey, the problem is solved!
What does this mean?
This shows that my Yuan family is stronger than all of them!
In this way, even if someone wants to oppose Yuan’s dictatorship, they have to weigh their own weight and see how capable they are and whether they can withstand such power from Yuan.
This is a great thing...

Yuan Feng couldn't help but fall into some kind of fantasy.

But Yuan Shu's thoughts were more profound, and he had more ideas.

He also wanted to fully manage the grassland.

So he suggested to Yuan Feng that in the future they should manage the grassland and turn it into a natural livestock farm for the Han Empire, raising large numbers of cattle, sheep and horses on the grassland and then importing them into the Central Plains.

"If we just attack without occupying the grassland, others will inevitably occupy the grassland. Every time we use troops, we are making wedding clothes for others. This is very unwise. I think we should set up prefectures and counties in the grassland, assign officials to manage and govern directly."

Yuan Feng simply shook his head and rejected Yuan Shu's idea.

"It's not that our ancestors haven't thought about it. Emperor Xiaowu also tried it, but it's simply unrealistic. It costs too much and generates too little revenue. It's just using the Central Plains' tax revenue to throw at the grasslands, and not much can be achieved. It's meaningless and not worth the effort.

Think about it, it is difficult to farm on the grassland and not much grain can be harvested, so livestock can only be raised. If the Central Plains arranges personnel to manage and rule it, the first problem will be the difficulty of transporting grain. Dozens of stones of grain will be transported, but when they arrive at the destination, they don't know if even one stone can be left. The loss is really too great.

Moreover, the barbarians on the grasslands migrate in pursuit of water and grass, and have no custom of settling down in permanent cities. Even if we force them to stay, once the water and grass in a place dry up, they will have no choice but to leave, and they are not sure where they will go. How can we rule them in this way?

That’s why our ancestors thought about it, gathered ideas from all quarters, and implemented the Five Bait Strategy, replacing conquest with resettlement and annual rewards. Shu, do you know that after the Southern Xiongnu surrendered, the court spent more than 190 million coins on rewards every year? It sounds like a lot, but it’s only 20% of the cost of military operations! ”

As he said this, Yuan Feng seemed to be thirsty. He picked up the cup and took a sip of water to moisten his throat. After putting the cup down, he continued speaking.

"Shu, I know you have ideas about managing the grassland. There are many people like you, but they have not carefully thought about the cost and expenditure. This is the key. If you want to set up states and counties on the grassland, you will not be able to manage it well even if you empty the national treasury."

Yuan Shu knew what Yuan Feng was thinking, but this idea was wrong.

This misunderstanding is the main reason for the failure of grassland management.

Yuan Shu then said slowly: "Father, oranges grown in the south of the Huai River are oranges, while those grown in the north of the Huai River are trifoliate oranges. The same crop will become different when grown in different places. This is not a problem with the crop itself, but a problem with the local soil and climate. This shows that using the method of governing the Central Plains to govern the grassland will naturally not succeed."

Yuan Feng raised his eyebrows, seeming a little surprised.

"Do you have any ideas?"

Yuan Shu nodded.

"Father, our ancestors actually understood this kind of thing. They knew that enfeoffment was not good for the country, so they used counties. Counties were not easy to manage, so they set up counties and kingdoms. They have been passed down to the present day, and there have been changes. This shows that even the governance of the Central Plains needs to change and is not static.

As for the governance of barbarians, our ancestors also had workarounds. It was not easy to manage them with counties, and it was inconvenient for the Han people to manage them directly, so they set up vassal states to control the barbarians with barbarians. The government only needed to collect taxes and ensure that they did not rebel. Apart from that, they did not need to care about them and they could barely get by. Isn't this an example?
The herdsmen on the grasslands migrate according to the water and grass, and have no place to settle down. It is not convenient for the county-style governance of the Central Plains. So we should adopt the governance method of the grasslands, not set up fixed counties, but set up mobile government offices. If there is abundant water and grass in a place, they can graze there. After a few months, if there is not enough water and grass, they can move to another place, led by the government, and the fixed population can be enough. Why must it be settled?"

Yuan Feng was obviously a little stunned by Yuan Shu's idea.

He thought for a moment and asked the question.

"If, as you said, we set up mobile government offices, then where they go is still uncontrollable. It's OK if the herdsmen are uncontrollable, but the government offices are uncontrollable, which is a serious matter. If the government offices and herdsmen unite to rebel, wouldn't that be very bad? Wouldn't that be more terrifying than the Xianbei today?"

“Flow cannot be restricted, but where it flows to can be restricted.”

Yuan Shu shook his head and said, "The grassland is so vast, with a large area and a limited population. After the conquest, the population can be dispersed and organized into multiple tribes. Each tribe is divided into an area, and grazing is only allowed within the area. Small areas are set up within the large area, and grazing needs to be rotated within the small area according to different solar terms.

In the past, herders often grazed without restraint, and would often let the cattle, sheep and horses eat all the water and grass in one place before moving to another place. This would only cause the water and grass in one place to be quickly destroyed, and it would take several years to recover. This is wrong. Every time you arrive at a place, you should limit the grazing time and not let the cattle, sheep and horses eat the water and grass without restraint.

After grazing for a month or two, they would move to another area, giving the original area time to recover its water and grass. This cycle would repeat itself, and the population of a tribe could be restricted to a large area and not go beyond it. So although they were nominally mobile, they did not actually leave the large areas designated by the court.

The government led the herders, who followed them and moved to different places every few months. In the autumn, when the horses were fat and the grass on the grassland was withering, a certain number of fat adult cattle, sheep and horses were traded to the Central Plains to reduce the burden on the tribe and the grassland when the grass was withering, so that they could spend the winter. When the grass and grass were lush in the spring of the following year, they could graze on a large scale again.

When Yuan Shu first started talking, Yuan Feng didn't take it seriously, but the more he talked, the more serious Yuan Feng became. He frowned and thought carefully, and then he found that this idea was very constructive and had never been proposed by his predecessors. Rotating grazing, limiting large areas, opening up small areas, and replacing tribal leaders with government officials, in this way, it seems that some changes can really be made...

But soon, Yuan Feng shook his head.

"You've never been to the grassland, how do you know these things so thoroughly?"

Yuan Shu blinked and immediately thought of an excuse.

"Since I'm going, I can't be ignorant of everything. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to success. I've already started researching the troubles in the northern border. Father, don't underestimate me!"

When Yuan Feng heard this, he felt both relieved and helpless.

He really wanted to praise his son, but was afraid that praising him too much would make him feel proud.

I want to criticize my son, but I don't know where to start.

After thinking about it over and over, I can't think of anything to do but put it aside for now.

"It's too early to talk about this now. Many things have not been completed yet. Please don't talk too much. As for the Xianbei matter, your father still needs to think about it carefully..."

"What else is there to think about?"

Yuan Shu sighed, "Father, I have won the battle, and it won't be difficult to be promoted smoothly in the future. The Xianbei people go south every year, so are we going to suffer losses every year? It's almost March now, and in another six or seven months, they will definitely go south again. If we don't prepare in advance, the people on the border will suffer again!"

Yuan Feng sighed repeatedly.

"Do you really have to go?"

Yuan Shu nodded firmly.

"I have to go, this determination cannot be shaken!"

Yuan Feng closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"In that case, your father will not stop you. However, before that, you must get married, and then make your wife pregnant so that you can have an offspring."

Yuan Shu lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then nodded, acknowledging this matter.

Because at this moment he really couldn't say "Is there a throne to inherit in the family?" to refute Yuan Feng.

After all, if something goes wrong, there will really be a throne to inherit in his family in the future, and it would be impossible not to leave a descendant.

"Of course we can get married, but father, let the clan take care of this matter. I still have a lot of things to do. Let me know when you need me to do something, and try to give me more time!"

Yuan Feng nodded.

"Of course you can. I will give the order, and you can do what you want to do now and settle everything. In short, you have to stay behind before you go north, otherwise I will not let you go no matter what."

Yuan Shu suddenly felt helpless about his old father's overly deep obsession with inheritance.

"Father, I'm not looking for death, am I? And there are so many people protecting me, I don't necessarily mean I won't be able to come back, right?"

"I don't care about that!"

Yuan Feng glared at him, "What? You can ask for this and that, and cause so much trouble for your father, but your father can't ask you to do something? Can't you do something? What's the logic? Go to every household in the Han Dynasty and see if there is a son as unreasonable as you?"

"Yes, yes, you are right, everything you said is right!"

Yuan Shu hurriedly bowed his head and saluted, then hurriedly fled from the Shangshu Terrace.

When walking out, Yuan Shu ran into Jia Xu who came in from outside.

(End of this chapter)