I, Altria, only want to rule China.

It can be said that doing so is equivalent to minimizing the harm caused by the aristocratic families.

What comes next is to tie the interests of the aristocratic families together with the country, so that they will prosper together and suffer together. Only in this way will these aristocratic families do more good things for the country.

In fact, there are still some commendable aspects of the aristocratic families. At least these people like to expand their own reputation. Once she establishes a new regime and a scientific system, Leah estimates that these aristocratic families will shift their desire for power to the power of researching science and technology.

Just like those big countries, a certain company independently developed some technology and then gained huge reputation from the public. It can be said that this is another way for the aristocratic families to transform.

If these families want to sell the things they have worked so hard to research, they will face hostility from their peers, such as Apple and Huawei. At this time, they will have to seek official cooperation to protect their own interests.

At this time, the official party, although it did not contribute anything, became the one that benefited for nothing.

From the beginning, the noble families fleeced the country, to the country fleecing the noble families alone, it can be said that the situation has completely reversed!

And this result is very dramatic in the end? The blood-sucking worm lying on the country is finally sucked back by the country!

............

When Leah asked them to hand over the land, the nine families secretly realized that they could no longer keep the land.

"General Long, if we hand over our land, will our lives be saved?" a family head asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Yes, I can assure you of that. As long as you hand over the land, I will forgive you for what you did to the people before. But if you do it again in the future, don't blame me. You should know about Wu'an County and Wuxing County, right?" Leah said.

For her, now that she has a large army under her control, let alone land, even if it's all your property, I'll take it. However, that would be too much of a robbery, and it would not be good for her future reputation.

However, if I only liberate the land in the future, the worries of the noble families will be reduced a lot. At least I haven't robbed them of all their wealth, and the strength of their resistance will be much smaller.

To put it bluntly, this is an upgraded version of the land-based tax system. Since it was implemented during the Qing Dynasty, there is no reason why it cannot be implemented now.

As long as the emperor has soldiers, he can do anything, let alone reform.

Once productivity is liberated, China's population will explode in a few years, and that will be the time when it truly reaches its peak.

"We all know it. We will do whatever General Long says." After all, the other party has the bigger fist now, so naturally what Leah said is right.

Even if they felt heartbroken, they had to grit their teeth and cut off a piece of meat in order to consider their own lives. At least they wouldn't die from cutting the meat.

"You don't have to look so unhappy. I will compensate you for the land issue later." Leah glanced at these noble families and said.

Leah knew clearly that this was just a helpless move made by these noble families, and they would never accept it in their hearts.

If they were to suffer a defeat in future battles with the Northern Wei, they would definitely retaliate against them for what happened today, but they would never have that opportunity.

"Thank you very much, General Long. If there is nothing else for us to do, we will go back and arrange these things immediately." These people felt uncomfortable staying here, fearing that Leah would make some excessive demands.

"Then you can leave, but I advise you not to do anything tricky about it, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless." Leah reminded

"General Long, don't worry. After we go back, we will sort out all the land under our family's name and hand it over to you, General." These families quickly assured.

When they came here, they felt that they had no way to escape this time, and they only hoped that Leah would let their families go. Now Leah just confiscated the land they controlled, and they actually had a feeling that it was unreal.

Wasn't there a lot of gossip about this Miss Long? It was said that she might have suffered all kinds of bullying from the aristocratic families when she was a child, which is why she was so cruel to them and wanted to kill them all.

It seems that rumors are just rumors!

After the noble families left, Liya looked at the people and said, "As you can see, these noble families are willing to give all their land to you. What do you think?"

"Good! Good! Good!" The people cheered continuously.

Although they were not happy to see these noble families being punished by Liya, they were satisfied that the noble families were willing to give them the land they depended on for survival.

To the common people, land is more important than heaven.

Chapter 39 Hexi Corridor

"That's good. You can select a few respected people to come up later. I will let them be the leaders of this event, and all of you will be able to get a share of the land!" Leah continued.

"Good! Good! Good!" the people continued to shout loudly.

Soon several old men came up and bowed to Leah with sincere gratitude. Leah asked them to come over and told them how to distribute the land.

After these old men understood the situation, the aristocratic family also sent people over and handed all the land deeds to Leah.

Liya took a look at the deeds and burned them all in front of everyone.

Because these deeds will only cause trouble for Leah's subsequent land distribution. She needs a brand new land distribution deed, not this old-style deed.

In addition to these old men, Leah also called on the yamen runners and some educated people to help, to ensure that no shady dealings might occur.

Liya also stayed here for three days. When she felt that she had nothing to do, she called a few people in charge and said

"You probably already know how the land is distributed. Now I'm going to Dunhuang Town. When I come back, I hope you have done these things. I will check afterwards. If someone reports to me that you are doing things unfairly, you know the consequences."

After Liya finished speaking, an old man with gray beard immediately said, "General, rest assured. We will never neglect this matter. If anyone interferes, I, Old Li, will be the first one to disagree!"

"Yes, General, don't worry." The others said at the same time.

Liya nodded and said, "I will inform the people at the city defense. If anyone from aristocratic families wants to cause trouble while I'm gone, you can go find them and they will take care of it for you."

Originally, General Bai who was guarding the city was reluctant to listen to Leah, but when Leah promised that the soldiers would be paid in the future, he immediately became Leah's number one supporter.

Only those who have served in the military would know that the conditions offered by Leah were simply impossible for them to refuse. You have to know that those who are willing to serve in the military are all poor farmers who have lost their land and are only trying to make a living.

Now Leah is paying them wages and distributing land to their families, which they naturally cannot refuse!

In the end, Liya directly dealt with County Magistrate Liu, confiscated his property, and finally found a poor boy with a good reputation in the local area to be the county magistrate here to handle all matters in Linsong County.

After doing all this, Leah left Linsong County and headed for Dunhuang with the farewell of the people.

The Hexi Corridor is not easy to travel.

Even though there is an official road, the territory of Dunhuang is basically a Gobi wasteland, and there are few people within dozens of miles.

The barren desert, the majestic Qilian Mountains, the endless grasslands, the colorful Danxia mountains, and the sandstorms with yellow sand all over the sky.

Starting from Wushaoling, you can be said to have truly stepped into the Hexi Corridor.

In the spring of 121 BC, Huo Qubing, who was only years old, made his first appearance and led cavalrymen out of Longxi alone. Crossing the Yellow River in today's Lanzhou, crossing Wushaoling to the northwest and entering the Hexi Corridor was also of great significance.

Before, Leah entered Liangzhou along this Silk Road, so she was familiar with the route. This time she was just walking the route again.

After the army had marched for half a month, Leah led the army to Jiayuguan.

There are good things in Jiayuguan. If Liya remembers correctly, there is a large iron mine here!

As long as she sent people to check the surrounding area and found the iron mine, she would have a way to build a real cannon. In addition to cannons, there were also those guns.

Of course, in addition to iron ore, there are many famous mines in the Xiliang area, as well as large coal fields, copper, molybdenum and other resources.

Without the massive financial investment of the Tang Dynasty in later times, Jiayu Pass at this moment could only be regarded as a small mountain pass.

After seeing a large army coming here, the guards of Jiayu Pass immediately came forward to greet them, but they were a little stunned when they saw that the general leading the army was a woman.

"I wonder who this general is?" the gatekeeper asked cautiously.

"My name is Long Liya. The original ruler of Liangzhou, King Leping, has been defeated by me. Now I am the ruler of Liangzhou. This time I came to Jiayuguan to gain your loyalty." Liya said directly without keeping anyone in suspense.

"Ah?" The gatekeeper was stunned.

"Our lord is asking you a question. What is your answer? Will you choose to surrender or die fighting for the Wei Kingdom?" Seeing that the other party was still in shock, a general under Liya named Xiang Yan stepped forward and put a knife on the other party's neck.

"We choose to surrender and meet our lord." Looking at the big knife on their necks, the gatekeepers reacted immediately. With only 1000 of them, fighting against the 5000 cavalry on the opposite side would be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth.

If the other party had not approached the pass, they could still resist a little. But now they have put a knife to their necks and are chatting and laughing with them. It is too late to choose to resist.

How come Liangzhou has changed hands without any warning? What happened in Wei?

With such doubts, the soldiers guarding the pass surrendered.

Leah nodded, and led the army into the pass.

Soon, several civil servants wearing patched official uniforms came over. After being informed that the owner of Liangzhou had been changed, they all looked a little worried.

"You don't have to be afraid. I came here just to let you know what the current situation in Xiliang is. Before I came here, I got to know you. You are doing very well. I will not make any changes here."

Leah said as she glanced at the tattered patches on the clothes of these civil servants.

"Thank you, my lord." Several civil servants immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Life here in Jiayuguan is very hard, and you have been working diligently here. Starting from this month, your official salaries will be increased, including those of the soldiers guarding the pass." Leah continued.

"Thank you, my lord!" Hearing this, both the civil officials and the soldiers guarding the pass shouted excitedly.

Leah didn't say anything else. Only those who have been to the Hexi Corridor would clearly know how important this road is to the entire Central Plains and how hard the soldiers in charge here work.

Liya rested here for two days, and after learning about the situation here, she left Jiayuguan and headed for Dunhuang.

In fact, there were not many soldiers stationed in Dunhuang, only about 1000 people, and these 1000 people were stationed inside Yumen Pass to resist the Huns.

Chapter 40 Wanting to Attack the Western Regions

There were poems in ancient times to describe these soldiers.

Qinghai Changyun dark snow-capped mountains, lonely city looking at Yumen Pass.Yellow sand wears golden armor in a hundred battles, and Loulan will never be returned if it is not broken.

Even though there were only 1000 men, in fact only a few hundred men were needed to rely on the dangerous mountains and terrain to stop tens of thousands of Hun troops outside the pass.

The wall of Yumen Pass is more than 20 meters high, so even one person can be as powerful as a hundred people! But this is only for the outside world. Inside Yumen Pass, it is just a flat road.

Liya did not go directly to see the governor of Dunhuang County, but went directly to Yumen Pass.

After Leah came here and stated her purpose, the general stationed here kept his word. As long as all the supplies in Yumen Pass remained unchanged, he would recognize Leah as his master.

For these soldiers who have been guarding the border for many years, they have long been accustomed to the practice of replacing the rulers of the Central Plains region every few months.

From time to time, these rulers would send people to inform them who was in charge in the Central Plains and who they should be loyal to.

It can be said that they have become numb to these things. After years of thinking, they have come to understand that their only responsibility is to guard the Yumen Pass and prevent the Huns from coming in. The Central Plains region has nothing to do with them at all.

Moreover, now that Liya has controlled the Hexi Corridor, even if they are loyal to the Northern Wei, they can no longer receive food and wages. It can be said that Liya has cut off their retreat.

Liya naturally would not object to the request of the generals of Yumen Pass. Not only would she not withhold the food and wages of the soldiers of Yumen Pass, she would also increase their wages!

It can be said that from then on, everything in Dunhuang has become Liya's territory, and she has truly controlled half of the territory of Xiliang.

"General Yu, what do you think of the countries in the Western Regions?" At this moment, Liya stood with Yu Ming, the general of Yumen Pass, and asked while looking at the desert outside Yumen Pass.

There was no sandstorm or anything like that here at the moment, and the scenery was completely the same as in the Central Plains. The sky was a stunning deep blue, without a single cloud, contrasting with the earthy yellow ground.

In this desert, there are many poplar forests and strange willows growing, as well as many black pebbles and scattered piles of grass.

Yu Ming frowned and said, "My lord, the Western Regions are extremely dangerous. For example, west of Yumen Pass there are the White Dragon Pile, the Three Long Sands, and the Thousand Miles of Quicksand. They are extremely dangerous. Out of ten people who go in, only one or two can come out alive."

"I want to reunite the Western Regions. What do you think about this?" Leah said after thinking for a while.

Yu Ming frowned again: "This may be difficult. The languages ​​of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions are different from those in the Central Plains. Most people would be tongue-tied if they went there, and they might not even get a meal. Of course, these are secondary. The real enemy is still the Xiongnu."

Yu Ming's words must be said to be the focus of every dynasty in ancient times. Why did the countries in the Western Regions rebel every once in a while?

To put it bluntly, it was because of the lack of understanding of the language and culture, plus the constant threat from the Huns, that the Western Regions had never been stable.

As a great power among the barbarians, the Huns had an incredibly large territory, and even reached Europe, establishing the powerful Hun Empire.

Of course, some people say that Attila and the Huns are not the same, but who cares?

In addition, the Central Plains was still in a period of chaos, so there was no one in the Western Regions who could come to manage it. This gave the Huns an opportunity to return to the Western Regions.

At this point, the Western Regions once again broke away from the control of the Central Plains.

However, this time, Leah intends to solve the problem of the Western Regions directly. As long as she opens a school in the Western Regions, all people in the Western Regions will speak the language of the Central Plains in the future.

Learn the culture of the Central Plains and let them identify themselves as Chinese. Then it will be difficult for the Western Regions to split away.

Of course, if Leah wants the Western Regions, she will have to confront the Huns again.

However, even if Leah did not conquer the Western Regions, the Huns would still run to the Central Plains from time to time to rob others, and a confrontation was inevitable.

Leah will not run away, nor will she be afraid.

What's more, Attila was about to die and the Hun Empire would be divided, which made Leah even less worried.

Knowing that Liya intends to reopen the Western Regions, Yu Ming is also tempted.

What about the soldier who didn't want to follow the example of Huo Qubing during the Han Dynasty and Wei Qing?

"But now is not the time to conquer the Western Regions. General Yu, I hope you can help me collect some information about the countries in the Western Regions during this period of time. It will be of great use to me then." Leah said after thinking for a while.

It is too early to go to the Western Regions now. What she has to do now is to bring all of Xiliang under her own name, and then resist the army of Northern Wei. Only by repelling Northern Wei can she spare the time to take over the Western Regions and Tuyuhun.

As for why she didn't go directly north to take down Wei, Leah didn't want to appear too strong. If she became too strong, the Northern Wei might join forces with Liu Song to fight her.

Moreover, wars are fought for money and food. She can defend the city, but it would be a bit difficult to send troops.

She had just taken over Xiliang, so it would take some time to develop. Money and food didn't come out of thin air.