"Let Wu Xin and Liu Yan handle the matters in Guanzhong. Anyway, Sima Bao in Qinzhou will not be able to make any trouble without the support of Zhang Shi."
Liu Yu now has control of the northern Central Plains. What he needs most is to digest the results he has obtained, and he is in no rush to attack Longxi and Yizhou.
This strategy was also determined through repeated discussions with Xi Jian, Gongsun Sheng and others.
"Your Majesty is neither arrogant nor impetuous, which is really a blessing to the people."
Although Xi Jian's ancestors were once wealthy, he was already in poverty during the Yongjia period of the Western Jin Dynasty, and he was no different from ordinary refugee commanders.
Such a background naturally made Xi Jian very aware of the importance of allowing the people to recuperate and recuperate.
"You only need to give me three years. After we have abundant food and grass, we can capture Yizhou. It's not easy to capture it."
Liu Yu said very confidently.
There are a large number of Guanzhong refugees in Yizhou. There are more than 20,000 and more than 100,000 refugees in Hanzhong alone.
There are almost the same number of refugees in Yizhou south of Hanzhong.
Under the command of the Di people Li Xiong and his son, these people once had a short opportunity to recuperate in Yizhou.
However, since Li Xiong became emperor, Liangzhou in the south and Bajun in the east have never been stable.
In order to deal with these Jin troops who were encircling and suppressing him, Li Xiong gradually began to squeeze the people under Yizhou.
Coupled with the comfortable environment in Shuzhong since ancient times, once Liu Yu launches an army attack, Li Xiong's internal affairs will probably self-destruct.
"Your Majesty, now all the states and counties in the Central Plains have resettled a large number of refugees and people to resume farming. The imperial court's plowing cattle in the states and counties have long been insufficient. This year's spring plowing is already lack of cattle, resulting in many wastelands that have not been reclaimed. This will happen soon. It’s time for autumn harvest and autumn planting, and I’m afraid there will even be a shortage of cattle.”
Xi Jian said suddenly.
Since the Huns were pacified, the responsibilities of Xi Jian and others are no longer simple military staff.
Each of them became an official appointed by Liu Yu to supervise farming. Xi Jian, Gongsun Sheng, and Hua Xiu were all assigned to several prefectures and counties to personally supervise farming.
"I already know about the lack of cattle."
"These farm cattle reproduce slowly. If we want to expand the number of farm cattle on a large scale, I'm afraid it will be too late."
In this era, cattle were as important production materials as land.
It can even be said that when there is no shortage of land at all, cattle are far more important than land.
"But if oxen can't plow the fields, then horses can still be used to plow the fields."
Liu Yu said.
"Use horses to plow the fields?" When Xi Jian heard this, he immediately felt that this method was a bit unreliable.
If he were a child of an ordinary aristocratic family, he might not know the difference between farming with oxen and farming with horses, but Xi Jian had once opened up wasteland in the mountains to escape hardship, and he was very clear about farming.
"Your Majesty, the endurance of this horse is not as good as that of an ox, and its hooves are easily bruised. It is difficult to replace the ox."
"If the endurance is not as good as that of cattle, then use two horses. If two horses are not enough, then use three horses." Liu Yu said nonchalantly.
"How many horses are needed?" Xi Jian opened his mouth in surprise.
"Now Qianghu, Suotou, and Kuntou will all surrender soon. It is not a trivial matter to have tens of thousands of horses."
Liu Yu smiled and continued.
"And those horses used as farm horses generally cannot be used as war horses, and they have no conflict with my plan to expand the cavalry."
"But horses are prone to damage their hooves, not to mention in gravel and muddy plowing fields. I'm afraid the horses' hooves will be worn out within a short time of plowing."
Xi Jian immediately expressed his doubts.
This horse's hoof is much more fragile than the cow's hoof. Even for normal riding, you must pay great attention to the maintenance of the horse's hoof.
Once in the muddy field, I'm afraid it will be ruined very quickly.
"Haha, I have already ordered someone to solve this matter." Liu Yu said with a proud smile.
"Huh? How to solve it?" Xi Jian looked confused and curious.
"Xi Qing, follow me!"
After Liu Yu finished speaking, he stood up and took Xi Jian out of the hall.
When Xi Jian moved to another courtyard in the palace, he saw several horses galloping happily in the courtyard.
"Your Majesty, why do these horses make the sound of iron and stone when they are running?"
Xi Jian had already noticed something unusual.
When these horses ran on the masonry ground, they actually made the sound of tinkling iron.
"That's because these horses are wearing iron shoes."
As Liu Yu spoke, he took an iron curved object from the hand of the waiter next to him.
Anyone in later generations will recognize it at a glance. This is a horseshoe.
"Iron shoes?" Xi Jian took it and took a look, his face immediately became extremely serious.
"I think this thing should be called a horseshoe." Liu Yutian said shamelessly.
"Coupled with these improved harnesses, it shouldn't be a big problem to put two horses against an ox."
"Although horses need to be replenished with concentrate when farming, there is a lot of wasteland now. As long as there is a variety of Western Region purple alfalfa bought from Shangliangzhou, ten acres of alfalfa can barely replenish a family's horse concentrate, although it is not as economical as farming cattle. But it’s better than carrying it on people’s shoulders.”
As Liu Yu spoke, he led Xi Jian to observe the new gadgets he had ordered.
In today's Han Dynasty, almost everyone in Yecheng knows that the current emperor does not like silk and bamboo singing and dancing, and does not like actors and actresses, but he prefers all kinds of ingenious tools.
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
Everyone spread rumors among themselves that the current emperor wanted to promote the Mohist school of thought.
During the so-called new dynasty and new policies, many scholars with little moral integrity began to quietly study the Mohist learning that was passed down in fragments.
"Your Majesty, this horseshoe must not be used."
Just as Liu Yu was introducing happily, Xi Jian next to him suddenly said with a serious face.
In other words, the expression on his face seemed to be full of shock.
"Xi Qing, why did you say this?" Liu Yu was also surprised.
He really didn't understand what Xi Jian was causing.
"Your Majesty, this horseshoe can not only be used to plow horses. If all horses in the world are equipped with horseshoes in the future, then the barbarians in the north will have the capital to travel thousands of miles."
Xi Jian said worriedly.
"In the past, even if the barbarians wanted to run thousands of miles, they would often have to walk for a long time just to maintain the horseshoes. With these horseshoes, the barbarians from the vast grassland could roar over and no longer be afraid of the gravel soil. If it wears out, there will be disaster."
After Xi Jian finished speaking, he looked at Liu Yu with a worried expression.
Seeing this, Liu couldn't help but admire in his heart.
This Xi Jian indeed has an unusual vision.
He just talked about the protective effect of horseshoes on plowing horses, and he immediately thought of innovative military applications. It was really amazing.
"Xi Qing is indeed a seasoned man seeking the country, and what he said makes perfect sense."
"However, I have already thought about this matter."
After Liu Yu finished speaking, he raised a horseshoe in his hand and continued.
"Even if this horseshoe doesn't exist now, it will exist in the future. Rather than that, it's better to make it earlier and use it for farming."
"As for the fact that the barbarians are getting stronger through this, to be honest, I don't care too much about it."
"To deal with these grassland tribes, in fact, as long as the Central Plains is stable, they will not have any chance. It does not depend on this little horseshoe at all, but more on the people's hearts."
"If people's hearts are broken, no man can lift up any good sword or gun."
Hundreds of years later, Hunde Gong and his son in the Jin Dynasty never lacked any hardware, but they could not resist the Jurchens.
"What does your Majesty mean?" Xi Jian was a little unsure.
"Horse farming is a great thing that benefits the country and the people. As long as there is a demand for a large number of horses in the Central Plains, we can breed better horse breeds," Liu Yu said.
"This horse breed is getting better and better. Maybe some time, there will be a draft horse that can compete with the cattle."
Heavy draft horses have always been a scarce resource in East Asia.
This kind of powerful draft horse is an important guarantee after the establishment of the modern military logistics system.
Without these heavy-duty draft horses, it would be difficult to meet the strict material support required by the modern army.
Therefore, Liu Yu felt that he should give the breeding a try himself.
"There is one thing that your Majesty may not know." Xi Jian saw Liu Yu's high interest and said somewhat inappropriately.
"Whatever it is, it's okay for Xi Qing to say it." Liu Yu said nonchalantly.
"Everyone in the world knows that this horse is an important weapon of the military. Once a war breaks out, the people's horses are often drafted into the army. Regardless of whether they are given any money or food compensation, once the horse is gone, it means that it has lost a big boost, and it is often... The production will be reduced, but as for the farm slaves, they will not be drafted, I am afraid that the people are not willing to raise horses."
What Xi Jian said is very reasonable.
Later, Xi Jianyou talked about horse breeding in the north since the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms.
It turns out that large-scale horse breeding was also popular in the Central Plains. However, with the outbreak of war, the first people to suffer losses were the people who raised horses.
There is never any gentleness in government recruitment, and it is normal to get nothing for free.
"I don't know about this." Liu Yu pondered for a moment.
"Your Majesty, this matter is related to the people's hearts and minds, so we must pay attention to it." Xi Jian said.
Liu imagined that the credibility of this matter had already been completely destroyed by the previous dynasty. Even if he used his own character to guarantee it, it would be difficult to convince the public in a short time.
After all, Liu Yu still hopes to mobilize the enthusiasm of people all over the world when it comes to raising horses.
Only when something is profitable and there is no big risk, people all over the world will flock to it.
"I have an idea."
Liu Yu suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"What solution did your Majesty come up with?" Xi Jian asked immediately.
"Since the people are afraid of recruiting horses, let's put the benefits first. With the benefits first, we won't be afraid of losses in the future. At least except for the very timid people, there won't be any problems." Liu Yu said with a smile.
"Profit comes first?"
"That's right, even though profit comes first, I want to order that the tax for any house that raises horses will be 10%, or 20% lower than those who farm with oxen," Liu Yu said.
Kill the Hulu as a beheading
Yang Wanni led Xichuan Kang and his party to go east along the official road to Xiangyang.
Xiangyang is the hub of water transportation in the Central Plains. There are usually frequent boat trips. If it is winter, the river is frozen, and there are usually no business trips.
However, when he arrived outside Xiangyang City, Yang Wandi found that a large number of young and strong people had gathered outside the city.
These people were all wearing a variety of robes, which should have been stuffed with catkins or animal hair to keep out the cold. They were all very bloated.
Even dressed like this, these young men were still walking back and forth from the cold.
"What are these people doing in such a cold weather?" Yang Wandi asked curiously to the official leading the way.
This official who had just taken over from the inn didn't talk much along the way. He was not a talkative person.
However, he knew that Yang Wandi was a distinguished guest of Xichuan Kanglai, so he could not pretend not to hear.
"Mr. Zhang may not know that these people were recruited by the imperial court to build rivers."
"Rebuilding the river in the middle of winter? Can it be dug?" Yang Wandi couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Since ancient times, all governments have conscripted people into corvee service during slack periods, that is, doing unpaid labor.
Corvées were almost as important as taxes.
Among them, repairing rivers is the most common form of corvée.
However, this is the first time Yang Wandi has seen river workers working in the ice and snow. Shouldn't it be better to wait until early spring when the weather begins to melt?
"The imperial court naturally knows these things. These people dug for most of the day and couldn't dig out much earth and stone, but they still had to eat two large meals of porridge and rice. It's just the imperial court taking care of these poor people who have no food at home." The official from Xiangyang said.
"Are they doing corvee work and your government provides them with food rations?" Yang Wandi asked in surprise.
Generally speaking, corvee labor is not only free labor, but it is also common for the people who serve in corvee to provide their own food rations.
According to Yang Wandi's guess, the Han Dynasty had been at war for several years and there must be no excess food supply. The people who had to serve in corvee must have brought their own rations.
"Of course the government provided it. Didn't I say that the emperor actually didn't expect these people to do much work at all. He just saw that there was no food in the homes of these newly resettled refugees, which saved an extra mouth for their families to eat."
Hearing this, Yang Wandi was immediately filled with admiration for Liu Yu.
"For more than ten years, the refugees have been slaughtered and oppressed like pigs and dogs. Now that the land has been resettled, the emperor is actually afraid that they will not have enough rations in the winter, so he uses the name of corvee to give them rations."
"A benevolent person loves others, that's how it should be."
After hearing Yang Wandi's soft sigh, the Xiangyang County official also said in a tone full of pride.
"Jun Zhang is right, our Majesty is benevolent government."
"Last month, His Majesty issued an order, not only asking the young men of each family to serve in the corvee, but also requiring all counties and counties to follow the law of earning income."
"The method of generating interest? What is the method of generating interest?" Yang Wandi immediately asked curiously.
Although it was only half a year, since entering Guanzhong, Yang Wandi has been overwhelmed by what he has seen along the way.
First, there was the "Order to Migrate to the Rong" that was implemented in Guanzhong, which seemed to disdain the young and strong population of Hu and Yidi in various tribes. Then when they arrived in Yuzhou, they heard some kind of "interest-producing method".
It really made Yang Wandi have more and more doubts in his heart.
"The law of interest generation, as the name suggests, is the method that the imperial court encourages to recuperate and recuperate. As long as it allows the people to live more and save more money, it does not allow the powerful states and counties to oppress the common people, but also requires the state and county officials to take care of the people."
"Oh, Li Jun, can you tell me in detail?" Yang Wandi remembered that the official's surname was Li, so he called him "Jun" affectionately.
This Xiangyang official surnamed Li became very happy when he heard Yang Wandi call him.
He knew that Yang Wandi from Xichuan Kanglai was born in the Zhang family of Anding County, which was a family of high officials for generations.
And I was just a farmer from Xiangyang County. I didn’t even have a family, let alone a high-class or poor family.
So the sound of 'Li Jun' made him feel very beautiful.
"The imperial court has issued an order that starting from next year, the two oral taxes will be abolished. Regardless of the number of children in the family, taxes will no longer be based on head count. Even if a poor family has many children, there is no need to worry about excessive taxes." Li The official surnamed said.
"What, cancel the oral calculation of two gifts?" Yang Wandi was surprised again.
The so-called two Fus of oral calculation refer to oral Fu and Suanfu.
To put it simply, it is a 'head tax' levied by the government on people based on population size and age.
Anyway, as long as the people under the imperial court are still breathing, they all have to pay the oral tax.
Compared with other taxes, the oral tax is the easiest to collect, and there is no need to calculate the land and property. As long as the people can be registered, all people must pay the head tax.
And this kind of poll tax, as the court's expenses increased, became more and more burdensome, often forcing the poor to seek shelter from wealthy families.
"This is a cancellation of two gifts and one. Many powerful families are so angry that they are going crazy, but there is nothing they can do."
Brother Li was born in a farmer's family and had also been a refugee. Naturally, he hated those bullies who used their power to bully others.
"If we don't collect the two taxes, how can we collect taxes?" Yang Wandi immediately asked.
However, this problem was obviously beyond his knowledge.
"We just act according to the court's laws. These things are just unclear." The official surnamed Li shook his head.
"Is there any other way to generate interest?" Yang Wandi asked again.
"Of course, the emperor has decreed that if a baby is born in a Han family, the villagers will report it to the government, and the government will arrange the birth."
When Yang Wandi heard this, he couldn't help but have a dark look on his face, "Does the government still have to control whether women can have children?"
"When a woman gives birth to a child, it depends on God's will. They all have to go to hell. Even the government can't do anything about it. However, the government can find a stable wife or a sum of money to find a stable wife."
Yang Wandei thought this method was very feasible. After all, it only cost ten or twenty yuan to find a stable woman, which was very cheap.
However, if this were the case for all mothers in the world, it would be a very large expense.
"Not only that, if a woman from a certain family gives birth to a child, regardless of gender, she will be rewarded by the government with two jugs of wine, a pig, and a chicken."
"How much does this cost?"
When Yang Wandi heard this, he couldn't help but frowned.
If it is true that what this little official described is true, there will be countless people in Han Dynasty under Liu Yu's rule who want to have children, and what a huge cost it will be.
Yang Wandi even estimated that even if all the chickens, ducks, pigs and dogs in every state and county were collected, there wouldn't be enough to reward them with interest.
"The cost is naturally high, otherwise our emperor would be benevolent and righteous." The official surnamed Li said naturally.
Yang Wandi, however, stopped talking.
He had already thought of the story of the Spring and Autumn Period when one man dominated the Yue King Gou Jian.
"Back then, Gou Jian endured the humiliation and recuperated for twenty years. He gave birth to a husband, two jugs of wine, and a dog; to give birth to a woman, two jugs of wine, and a dolphin. He also encouraged procreation regardless of the cost, and finally achieved the feat of annihilating Wu and taking revenge."
"Now that Liu Yu has raised his army for ten years, he has dominated the Central Plains, but he also uses this method of recuperation and even spares no financial and material resources. How big is his plan?"
"I'm afraid that within ten years at most, Liu Yu will be completely angry and will engulf the world. By then, how can Nishikawa Kang be able to survive alone?"
Yang Wandi immediately fell into deep contemplation.
The entire Xichuan Yasuo community has gradually begun to have a sense of its own.
But according to Yang Wandi's current guess, Xichuan Yashang's behavior may not be a good sign.
"If Liu Yu really governs like this, then we Nishikawa Kang would be better off sincerely joining him as soon as possible, and we will definitely be able to maintain the generous treatment of two thousand dan."
=·=·=·=·=·=
Yecheng.
Liu Yu looked at the long document in his hand, and the smile on his face was no longer hidden.
"Okay, that's great. With these horses, there will be 100,000 soldiers in ten years."
This document is a list of the horses that Nishikawa Kang Zhang Shi sold to Liu Yu.
There are detailed records on almost every horse. Liu Yan, the governor of Yongzhou who was in charge of this matter, sent people to report it to Liu Yu quickly.
So now that Xichuan Kang's envoy Yang Wanni has not arrived in Yecheng, Liu Yan's watch has already been in Liu Yu's hands.
"Your Majesty, these Nishikawa Yasu's horses are good, but they are all expensive horses."
Hua Xiu next to him immediately said with a sad face.
"Now that the imperial court has resettled the refugees, the cost of recuperation and recuperation is also huge. Moreover, it has just conquered Tuoba Pugen. The cost is also huge, and there is even a deficit. If it is used to maintain these Xichuan Kangda horses, I am afraid that it will be even more difficult to make ends meet."
"If we arrange to raise them all in Yongzhou, I'm afraid it won't be feasible."
Hua Xiu is now in charge of the court's expenses, and has gradually developed a habit of complaining about various matters that require money.
"Yes, Your Majesty, since ancient times, raising horses for the imperial court has been very expensive. If the financial resources of one or two counties are not exhausted, I am afraid it will be difficult to raise the tens of thousands of Xichuan Kangda horses that Your Majesty wants." Xi Jian next to him is also the same. reminded.
He never thought that Liu Yu really wanted to breed military horses by himself, and even wanted to breed tens of thousands of horses.
"If the imperial government were to run a horse garden, let alone one or two counties, even a state would not be enough for corrupt officials to embezzle it."
After Liu Yu heard what these two people said, he couldn't help but complain in his heart.
Ever since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered people to raise horses, it has been fully demonstrated that horse raising in the Central Plains is absolutely feasible.
Not only can they raise tall and powerful war horses, but they can also raise sufficient numbers.
After all, the number of war horses supporting the Northern Expedition to the Huns was measured in tens of thousands.
"I do not intend to own these horses for the imperial court."
"All rewards will be given to the army soldiers and they will be allowed to raise their own horses. These Xichuan Kangda horses will be theirs from now on."
