Zhang Xi's current situation has no choice at all.
Zhao Lei has explained to the people that Zhang Xi came to deal with the refugee problem on Liu Bei's order. Zhang Xi didn't refute it at that time, which was equivalent to acquiescing to the matter.
If Zhang Xi leaves now, there is a real possibility that he will not be able to leave the confines of Xiazhi County.
Furthermore, Zhang Xi cannot just walk away from this matter.
There are more than 50,000 refugees. After fleeing one after another last year, there are still more than 40,000 people. If so many people are not resettled, it will not only be a trouble for the stability of Jiangxia, but also an apology to one's own conscience.
Zhao Lei knew that he had to act with his heart in mind. He would rather risk beheading to open a treasury to help the homeless people. He, Zhang Xi, had the power, so why did he just walk away like that? !
Zhao Lei can't be the hero all by himself.
The primary issue now is food, which is not difficult.
Zhang Xi first wrote to Guan Yu and immediately wrote to Guan Yu, explaining the situation to him and asking Guan Yu to sort out the surplus grain in each county and transport it to Xiaphean and Qichun to prepare for the resettlement of the refugees.
Considering that it may take time for Guan Yu to allocate a large amount of food and grass, the refugees in Xiaji and Qichun may not be able to survive until that time, so Zhang Xi also wrote to Wenpin, asking Wenpin to allocate some food and grass first for emergency response.
Of course, just in case, Zhang Xi suggested that Wenpin should send soldiers to escort him, but he was also robbed by hungry refugees halfway.
After doing these things, Zhang Xi began to think calmly about how to resettle these refugees.
To resettle the refugees, the most important thing is to have land. As long as there is enough vacant land, any number of refugees can be resettled.
As for the issue of vacant land, Zhao Lei also mentioned it just now.
There were a large number of noble families who, under Liu Qi's order, wanted to annex land in Xia Zhi.
Zhang Xi believes that if the pheasants are like this, Qichun on the other side of the river will probably not be much better.
Zhang Xi is worried that there is involvement from the Jiangxia family, especially the Huang family.
The Huang family is a local leader in Jiangxia, and many small aristocratic families depend on the Huang family for survival. If the Huang family is really involved, it would be really difficult for Zhang Xi to handle it.
The Huang family in Jingzhou was deeply tied to Liu Bei, and their local power was very powerful and deep-rooted. In addition, Zhuge Liang was the son-in-law of the Huang family, which was really not easy to handle.
Although Zhang Xi knew Zhuge Liang's attitude towards the aristocratic family, it was really hard for Zhang Xi to tell Zhuge Liang about this matter before there was any evidence. When the time came, it would be difficult for Zhuge Liang to deal with him if he retreated.
Therefore, Zhang Xi could only mobilize troops from Wenpin's side in the name of transporting food. He came to control the situation first, and then decided what to say after finding out.
Zhang Xi now is different from when he was a postal supervisor.
When he was supervising the post, Zhang Xi was in charge of the military affairs of a county and could allocate troops independently. Therefore, during the Battle of E County, Zhang Xi could easily control the military power of a county.
But now, Zhang Xi is the county magistrate, and the county magistrate is the deputy of a county. In theory, he cannot directly mobilize troops without the consent of the prefect.
Therefore, Zhang Xi could only use Wenpin's suggestion to send troops to transport food, which did not break the rules.
As for whether Wenpin listens or not, that all depends on Wenpin.
Of course, Zhang Xi asked Wenpin to mobilize troops here to test Wenpin to see if Wenpin was involved in the migration of people in the four counties.
If Wenpin is slow to send troops and the latter does not send troops to protect food and grass, it means that Wenpin is somewhat involved, but if.
Well, no ifs. After Wenpin heard the news, he immediately dispatched a thousand soldiers to escort the grain and grass. In less than five days, they rushed to Xiazhi City to deliver the goods to Zhang Xi.
This speed is already quite fast.
Moreover, the choice of leader and escort is also very meaningful.
He is Wenpin's son, Wendai.
Obviously, this was Wenpin taking sides, telling some thoughtful people in the four eastern counties of Jiangxia that he, Wenpin, was on Liu Bei's side this time.
After Wen Dai arrived with his troops and brought emergency food, Zhang Xi relaxed a little.
By the way, I also settled down in Zhao Lei's office and planned to stay in Xiaji for a period of time to discuss the specific work of refugee resettlement with Zhao Lei.
As for the year-end report, I wrote it in Xiakou anyway, and I also wrote it in Xiaji. It was just to let the messenger travel an extra mile.
The most important thing now is the issue of resettling the people.
Because of the inaction of the local officials, the resettlement work of the people was not done for more than a year, resulting in many people who could no longer survive and sought refuge elsewhere.
Some went south along the Yangtze River to Lujiang, and some went to Chaisang. No matter where they went, it was impossible to chase these people back.
Therefore, Zhang Xi can only focus on the present.
To resettle the people, the first thing that must be available must be land.
But now the common problem between the two counties is that there is a serious shortage of land area.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
The two plunders of Jiangdong resulted in a lot of ownerless land in Xiazhi and Qichun counties. However, due to Liu Qi's short-sightedness and the annexation of noble families, Zhang Xi is now in a dilemma.
These nobles and aristocratic families, especially aristocratic families, are really not easy to mess with.
Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, a man of great talent and great strategy, used the power of the Great Magister to regain the old mountains and rivers, rebuild the Han Dynasty, and make the Han Dynasty rise again.
However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he wanted to inventory the land in the world, but it triggered the "Field Control Incident" that almost caused another chaos in the world.
To be honest, Liu Xiu really tried his best. He once sent troops to suppress the powerful local families by force. However, the power of the powerful local families far exceeded his imagination. If he continued to be tough, the world that had finally settled down might fall into chaos again. Go to war.
Therefore, Liu Xiu changed his strategy. On the one hand, he compromised with some local powerful people, and on the other hand, he divided and alienated the relationship between local powerful people. He recruited groups to fight against others, and finally calmed down the situation this time.
But Liu Xiu's land transfer only allowed him to control a large amount of "state-owned land", which could be used to resettle refugees and develop production. However, Liu Xiu was unable to do anything about the land acquired by powerful families and the hidden population.
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the problem of land annexation has been very serious. By the end of the Han Dynasty, when the world was in chaos, the situation of land annexation became even more unimaginable.
In Xiaji and Qichun counties, it is quite difficult to still have land registers in the county offices.
Zhang Xi took the land register and personally visited the places described above. He was heartbroken to see the wasteland after another lying there.
It's okay for these bastard families to annex the land, but you are farming, so what's the point of leaving it abandoned here? !
These lands, if used to house the refugees, would be a waste of resources and would not lead to a good death.
Zhang Xi was so angry that his liver ached, but he repeatedly warned himself in his heart that he must be cautious. After all, it was the end of the Han Dynasty, troubled times, and the era of the Caotou King.
In this day and age, it would be impossible to ask Hai Rui to inspect the fields, and he would die the next day. Zhang Xi had better be cautious.
Send people to inquire around and find out who the owners of these fields are, so that we can prescribe the right medicine.
Only by solving these land problems can the refugees be better resettled.
As for the current stage, these refugees cannot continue to be allowed to flee. Zhang Xi took out the official land in the two counties and started the first batch of resettlement work.
These people must see hope so that they will not continue to leave and wait for the government to allocate land.
In other words, these people all fled south with Liu Bei, and their confidence in Liu Bei has not been completely wiped out. Otherwise, haha, if they are not resettled for a year, all the people will have fled long ago.
Therefore, Zhang Xi convened a meeting with officials from the two counties. The theme of the meeting was to count the current refugee populations in the two counties to use as a basis for future resettlement.
This was a tiring task. Zhang Xi was not worried about Zhao Lei's efficiency, but he was absolutely worried about Magistrate Cheng of Qichun County, so he asked Wen Dai to lead the troops, nominally to assist him. , actually asking Wen Dai to help look after it.
On the one hand, he was helping to count the number of people, but on the other hand, he was also worried that Magistrate Cheng would be passive and slow down in his work and not do his job properly.
While these officials and soldiers were counting the refugee population, Zhang Xi was thinking about improving the land atlas.
The land atlases of this era are really rough. They say they are atlases, but there are no pictures at all. They are all text descriptions. For example, how many miles to the south and how many miles to the west does a certain pavilion belong to that village, and in this village? The county government does not keep detailed records on how the cultivated land is divided.
How can this work? Isn't this a loophole for those noble families to annex land?
It must be specific to each household, and it is best to register it with the county government and draw it into graphics or something. Yes, Zhang Xi is talking about the fish scale atlas.
The Fish Scale Atlas is really a good thing. The land range, field grade, mine size, yield per mu, etc. are all clear at a glance.
The most important thing is that this thing is a good tool for checking hidden properties and preventing land annexation.
Every piece of land in a county is registered. If there is any hidden land, you can tell at a glance.
Once the fish scale atlas is registered, it will be stored in the government office. If there is a land sale, it must be approved by the government and re-registered. Otherwise, the government will not recognize it and will continue to collect your land and property taxes.
This can theoretically prevent land annexation, but in theory, there are still ways to actually annex it.
It's just better than now. If the family wants to hide the land, they can just not report it. If they want to annex the land, it should be more vague. If you don't investigate carefully, you won't be able to find out.
Of course, Zhang Xi also knew that the fish scale atlas was accompanied by a complete set of Baojia system and tax collection system. But the impact of those things would be great. Once implemented, it would be equivalent to reforming the population tax law.
Zhang Xi really didn't dare to make the decision without authorization. He had to discuss it with Liu Bei and others before deciding whether to implement it or not.
Therefore, now Zhang Xi only plans to measure the land and make a fish scale atlas. He should not do anything else for the time being, as he cannot arouse the powerful families of this era.
As the founding emperor of the country, Emperor Guangwu had a lot of troubles with the "Du Tian Incident". Liu Bei's small territory could not withstand such troubles.
(End of chapter)
