The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 209 Just Sincerity
It's late July now.

The Han army finally captured Dingling.

This battle was the most difficult one since we left the three passes in the north.

The battle lasted half a month, resulting in over a thousand deaths and injuries, and countless losses of military equipment.

But thankfully, we finally managed to get through it.

By this point, south of the Zhi River, except for Kunyang, all the fortresses of Fangcheng in a broad sense had been captured by the Han army.

As for the remaining Kunyang City...

To be honest, nobody expects to be able to take it down by force anymore.

This includes Jiang Wei, who has always enjoyed taking risks.

Not only because Kunyang had abundant military strength and capable leaders.

Furthermore, some of the reinforcements from Luoyang had already arrived at the Xuchang front.

This was enough to strengthen the Wei army's will to resist in Kunyang.

However, just when everyone thought the Han army would withdraw while they were ahead.

Mi Wei suddenly led his troops to the walls of Kunyang, where they began large-scale construction, brazenly adopting a strategy of locking down the city.

Wooden stakes were driven into the surrounding rivers, including the Ru River, the Zhi River, and the Kun River from which Kunyang derives its name, to block the passage of boats.

It's safe to say that unless Cao Hong's army comes in person...

Otherwise, the defending troops would be unable to escape.

In fact, given the number of troops defending the city, a battle outside the city might offer them a chance of survival.

But Xu Miao was determined to hold out until reinforcements arrived.

Therefore, the Han army was able to successfully complete its preparations for the siege.

Of course, considering that reinforcements were indeed not far away, Xu Miao's desire for stability was understandable.

Ultimately, he was just a military officer in charge of land reclamation, not a general.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Han army did not launch an attack immediately after completing its preparations for the siege.

They just kept shooting paper letters into the city.

It was a letter actually written on paper.

That kind of thin paper, with its strange yellow color, was made of some unknown material. It was so thin yet tough that it couldn't be torn without force.

This completely overturned the city's residents' understanding of "paper".

However, compared to what is written on the paper, the paper itself is insignificant.

Initially, the letter claimed that Guan Yu had captured Wancheng and taken Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang, among other generals, to prove that the Mandate of Heaven was with the Han Dynasty and to persuade the people in the city to give up their stubborn resistance.

Faced with such a blatant attempt to mislead the public, the officials of Kunyang County naturally took immediate countermeasures, collecting and burning the letters.

He also strictly forbade the people in the city from discussing it.

However, the letter then changed to Guan Yu presiding over a large-scale land distribution event in Nanyang after the autumn harvest.

Specifically, those who had military merits could be directly granted land.

Those who returned to the rightful place were transferred to civilian settlements, following the example of Cao Wei.

Granting land to those who achieve military merit is one thing.

The key point is that although the land rent of the settlers is still much higher than that of the registered residents, it is lower than that of the Great Wei!

“Those who possess the official ox shall share the spoils with the official.”

“Those who possess private cattle or have no cattle at all shall receive four parts from officials and six parts from scholars.”

“Those who do not own cattle may raise pigs and dogs, and sell them to buy cattle…”

"They also recruited skilled craftsmen to teach the people how to make carts and plows..."

As the magistrate of Kunyang read the words on the letter, he frequently glanced at Xu Miao, who sat at the head of the table.

However, this man, the only one in the city with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), remained steadfast as a mountain.

It's as if the hidden dangers lurking behind this piece of paper are invisible.

Finally, he simply put down the letter and said bluntly:
"Master Xu, if what you say in the letter is true, I'm afraid there will be many more people fleeing from the civilian settlements in the future."

"Even if we don't think about the long term, for now, most of the soldiers in the city are temporary conscripts who have settled down to cultivate the land. If they know the conditions Guan Yu has promised, I'm afraid their morale will waver!"

Xu Miao chuckled upon hearing this, and pointed to the letter, saying:
"Do you really believe that Guan Yu can do everything described in the letter?"

The magistrate of Kunyang County's eyes flickered:
Is this also a lie?

"It may not all be falsehoods," Xu Miao shook his head slightly.

"Guan Yu was a warrior by origin, and most of his men were brave men. This system of awarding land based on military merit was quite in line with the temperament of his subordinates, so it is probably true nine times out of ten."

"As for imitating our dynasty's large-scale settlements in Nanyang... the paddy fields, weirs, and surrendered officials there are all readily available. It's not difficult to do it by simply copying their methods."

"However, the profit from land rent is the main source of the granary revenue."

"If the granaries are not full, everything will be difficult to do, and one will be unable to do what one wants." "For every bit of profit gained, one will gain a bit less strength."

"Liu Bei wanted to use the three provinces to compete with the Central Plains, and even with all his strength, he was barely able to manage. How could he possibly reduce his strength by voluntarily conceding more benefits?"

Upon hearing this, the magistrate of Kunyang County immediately relaxed his expression.

He wasn't unaware of this.

All that's needed is a "wise person" to strengthen our resolve.

sidewalk:

"In this light, it seems that Guan Yu's claim that he has already captured Wancheng is just empty talk, and a wise man would not take it."

"However, common people are ignorant and easily swayed by rumors. I'm afraid we need to have the officers and soldiers of each village and garrison explain the reasons behind this to the soldiers to prevent any ignorant fools from believing it."

Xu Miao nodded, indicating that the other party could handle it themselves.

However, after the Kunyang magistrate left, he picked up the letter alone, his expression gradually becoming hesitant.

Actually, there was something else he didn't say.

He certainly did not believe that Guan Yu could maintain a lower percentage of land rent for long.

But at the same time.

He also didn't believe that the enemy general named Miwei would resort to such a shallow trick.

Fools are indeed ignorant and gullible.

But the fools can't read either!
No matter how many of these letters are sent into the city, they still have to be read to the ignorant people by literate military officers, county officials, and local gentry.
This naturally adds an extra layer of "anti-fraud" protection.

If Xu Miao didn't know who Mi Wei was at first...

But after losing cities and territories in recent days, he had already weighed the weight of this "Mi Zhaohan".

They have already learned about the other party's "notorious and ruthless reputation" through various channels.

So he always felt that...

The enemy's move is likely a smokescreen.

There's probably more to come.

……

"There are indeed more tricks up your sleeve."

"But this is not an exaggeration or boast."

"The discussion on land rent is what I have been saying in my memorials to the court recently, and the General agrees with it."

Mi Wei looked at the people around him with a frank expression.

“My two or three have been with me in the campaign against Fangcheng for a month now. We know the defenses of Kunyang, the strength of both sides, and the terrain clearly. There is no room for error.”

"To gain people's trust, there is only the word 'sincerity'."

"So it is true that land was granted and that the land rent was less than that of Cao Wei."

"If there's any clever strategy involved, it's probably that light boats are easy to turn around, simple carts are easy to maneuver, plus the effect of economies of scale."

Upon hearing the discussion about boats and carriages, everyone seemed to understand.

The only thing that really doesn't make sense is the concept of "scale effect".

But before Mi Wei could explain in detail, Jiang Wei, half-covered in blood, suddenly rushed in from outside the tent.

Mi Wei was taken aback at first, but seeing that he looked excited and didn't seem to be seriously injured, he was relieved and said:
"How many prisoners and nobles did Boyue capture this time?"

It turns out that during this period, Jiang Wei launched attacks in all directions north of the Ru River, specifically targeting caravans heading towards Xuchang, and had made quite a few interceptions.

Dozens of people were arrested, including members of prominent families with known names.

The number of horses and baggage was countless.

If Mi Wei hadn't been worried about him going deep behind enemy lines and encountering misfortune, this guy probably would have robbed his way all the way to Xuchang.

Then Jiang Wei excitedly said, "General, I have captured the women of the Xu family this time?"

Mi Wei: "Which Xu family?"

Jiang Wei: "Of course it's Xu Miao, the Agricultural Commissioner of Yingchuan!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

Li Hong, who was serving in the army, couldn't help but ask, "How can you prove that they are Xu Miao's family members?"

"You also claimed some time ago that you intercepted Xu Miao's family members, but it turned out that they were distant relatives from a collateral branch."

"This time it must be for real!" Jiang Wei said confidently.

"Because we also caught a witness this time!"

After saying this, Jiang Wei raised his hand and signaled the soldiers to bring forward a Wei official who was bound hand and foot.

(End of this chapter)