Zhang Chong was silent, not expecting that his strategy would make Ju Shou think like this.
In fact, what he wanted to do had nothing to do with what Ju Shou thought was Hui Hu's strategy.
To put it bluntly, what Zhang Chong is doing is actually large-scale border trade.
It's just that unlike the high-end silk products that the Han people used to trade with each other in the past, Zhang Chong used large quantities of grain to trade with the barbarian people in the grasslands.
Why do the Hu people keep going south? In addition to their plundering and martial culture, there are more economic reasons. A white disaster on the grassland can make these herdsmen bankrupt. If they want to survive, they have other options besides going south to rob.
?
Of course, plundering is always much happier than hard work, so barbarians will prefer to plunder regardless of whether there is this practical factor.
But when the Taishan Army rises, the risk of the Hu people going south will become higher and higher, and the space for ethnic groups to plunder purely for plunder will become less and less.
So when the powerful force prevented these barbarians from going south to rob, they had no choice but to produce.
If we want the Hu people to graze with peace of mind, we need to solve their economic problem, which is to eat.
First of all, there is a certain complementarity between the grassland economy and the Central Plains economy, which is the realistic basis for the two regions to form large-scale border trade.
The Hu people's cattle, sheep and horses are what the Han people have always needed. Whether it is meat, dairy products, or simple animal power, they can greatly improve the productivity of the Han people. However, in the past, the Han people only exchanged some flashy things with the Hu people, which could only satisfy their needs.
The desire to show off among the upper class of the Hu people did not supplement the overall economy of the Hu people.
Therefore, when there is a systemic crisis in the ethnic group, everyone from top to bottom will consciously plunder the Han people. After all, no matter how good the silk is, it cannot fill the stomach.
Now Zhang Chong decided to replace the past silk luxury trade with grain. In this way, the Hu people could sell their cattle and sheep to the Han people before the White Disaster came, and then exchange them for enough grain to survive the winter.
In this way, the Hu people not only dealt with the accumulation and waste of cattle and sheep resources, but also obtained a stable source of food rations. The Han people also obtained cattle and horses that could increase productivity.
But could it be that only Zhang Chong discovered such a simple thing? In fact, no, the reason why silk, silk, and cloth were preferred to trade with each other in the past was because these things were easy to carry.
At that time, the Hu people still lived in pursuit of water and grass, and the Han people could not find a place to transport food there. In addition, the distance between the various tribes made it even more difficult.
But now, according to Zhang Chong's plan, the Hu people will settle in the designated pastures nearby and this problem will no longer exist.
Therefore, settlement and border trade have become complementary to each other.
However, there is still a question here, that is, do the Han people have enough food?
Judging from the current situation, the total population of the Hu people is estimated to be only about 100,000, which is more than one million people. This number is not large for the 40 to 50 million Han people, and it is completely affordable.
Moreover, Zhang Chong consciously cooperated with the development of Han land, improved varieties, and water conservancy, and the output of Han land would become higher and higher. This has been proven in reality in Hebei.
In the two years since the Taishan Army successively governed Hebei, it has experienced great harvests. This has greatly consolidated the foundation of the Taishan Army in Hebei and made the implementation of various policies more recognized.
But Jushou proposed a future situation, that is, with the great improvement of the living environment, the population of the Hu people will explode. Will the Han people be able to support such a large food burden by then?
Regarding this, Zhang Chong's current idea is to develop the Yingzhou area, first forming self-sufficient farms, and then continuously absorbing and guiding the excess Hu population into farm production.
Jushou kept listening, and finally could only express a noncommittal attitude:
"Your Majesty has a thoughtful idea, but if it is finally implemented, it may require a lot of hard work."
But Zhang Chong didn't take it seriously and waved his hand:
"We have taken a road that has not been taken before. As for whether we can take it well, no one knows. It is just like the Flying Leopard Army and others crossing the river before. If they want to cross the other side, they can only feel the stones and step on it step by step.
The road comes, and this process requires courage, wisdom, and luck. But is it possible without going into the water? No."
Jushou understood.
Then, Zhang Chong began to talk about the second important issue, which is to build the core strength of the Yingzhou region.
If any region wants to be governed, it must have a handler and an execution team.
If the Taishan Army wants to carry out in-depth governance of the Yingzhou area instead of the past restraint, it needs to build such a core force here.
In Zhang Chong's vision, the children of the soldiers who died in this battle will be moved here to serve as the core force of this force.
These people will be regarded as the core of the warrior group and will guard here for generations.
Yingzhou will also establish a dual structure of military government and state government. The military government manages the army, and the state government manages the people.
Among them, Zhang Chong even boldly set up the entire Yingzhou area as a complete military mansion, namely the Yingzhou Songmo Governor's Mansion.
The reason for this is to protect Senei counties and realize the tradition of the emperor guarding Seyi.
Based on the analysis of future historical trends, Zhang Chong knew that those who could threaten China in the future would basically be the Hulu from the north and northeast, and the Songmo Dudu Mansion in Yingzhou was Zhang Chong's first experiment to disrupt this trend.
The essence of this military government is to establish a Northeast defense system.
For this reason, the Songmo Dudufu in Yingzhou will maintain a relatively strong garrison. After the Hus here and the Zahu further north are recruited, they will convert to Han nationality and perform military service at the same time, making them responsible for the garrison.
The important task of Northeastern border defense.
In addition, more than 100,000 Han households who were originally captured by the Wuhuan people will also settle here and form the main population of this area. After that, Zhang Chong will repopulate part of the population from the mainland and fill it here, but the number
Probably not much.
The Han people here will not need to collect any taxes, but they will need to take one of every five households to serve in the army. This will be able to maintain an armed force of about 20,000 troops.
The remaining Hu and Han population will be forced to farm, and all these fields will belong to the farms.
However, these farms are not directly managed by the military government, but are managed by the Yingzhou Prefecture.
The taxes collected by the state government in Yingzhou will not be sent to Yecheng, but will all be kept locally as military pay to maintain the Yingzhou Army.
In other words, the military government is responsible for one-fifth of the population, the soldiers, and the state government is responsible for the remaining four-fifths of the population.
However, with such a high ratio of military to civilians, the Yingzhou area is undoubtedly a military-controlled area.
This was also deliberately arranged by Zhang Chong.
The Yingzhou area is outside the Great Wall and controls the barbarians. It is an intertwined area with various forms of living such as farming, nomadic herding, fishing, hunting, and gathering. It can be said that ethnic relations are very complex.
Therefore, the lower-mobility military-controlled farmland and manor system can manage this responsible area well.
Hearing this, Zhang Chong talked about the core of these military mansions, that is, the sacrifice of the descendants of General Hengchang.
Zhang Chong knows very well that as the core of the first generation, these people and his kindness can guarantee their loyalty. But as several generations pass, these people become deeply rooted in the local area and form a group, and they will become more and more awakened.
own local awareness.
In order to overcome the centrifugal force in such a place, Zhang Chong specially opened the election for Yingzhou.
In other words, Yecheng has a fixed number of official positions allocated to these Yingzhou scholars every year.
One of the advantages of doing this is that it can give these warriors who defend the country a step forward, which will make them feel motivated and prevent them from becoming local tyrants and evil gentrifiers.
Another benefit is that it deepens the connection between Yecheng and Yingzhou, so that Yingzhou scholars will not be separated.
Here, Zhang Chong specifically explained the problem of a barbarian.
In Zhang Chong's plan, after the successful construction of Yingzhou, it will surely become a funnel to absorb the Hu population outside the Great Wall.
This requires a set of regulations.
First of all, in terms of culture, Zhang Chong has asked Cai Yong of Yecheng to take the lead in compiling relevant historical materials. The core of which is the theory of homology between Hu and Han, such as why the Huns were the successors of the Xia people.
In this way, every time a Hu tribe moved inland to the Yingzhou area, they would be given a Han surname and a Han nationality. After that, the descendants of their chiefs and marshals would be moved to Yecheng to serve as military attachés such as Yu Lin and Hu Ben.
After a few generations, these people will be Chineseized.
Zhang Chong repeatedly told Jushu that the focus of the camp was to deal with the problem of the Hu tribes.
Because Yingzhou is remote, filling in people from Nei County is only a temporary measure and cannot become a long-term policy. Therefore, in order to maintain the military government of Yingzhou, it is necessary to unite and absorb the Hu population.
Only by absorbing these wandering Hu people into the military government can the rule of Yingzhou be stabilized and thousands of Hu people tribes controlled.
Therefore, when these barbarians enter Yingzhou, their political treatment will be the same. They can also participate in the election, and even advance in the Taishan Army system through their own efforts.
These people can serve as town generals in their own state, and can be transferred to important counties in major inland states. Those with outstanding abilities can also be promoted to the inner court, the three provinces, the imperial guard system, or even the three provinces and six ministries. It is not impossible.
In short, Zhang Chong only had one thing to say: give him a chance.
But if you don't eat after being toasted, Zhang Chong also has a way to punish you with a drink.
The reason why Zhang Chong said so much to Ju Shou was because Zhang Chong had decided to appoint Ju Shou as the first Songmo Protector of Yingzhou.
Jushou also accepted this with enthusiasm.
During the expedition with the king, because he was the only disciple with enough physical strength to endure, Ju Shou and Zhang Chong chatted a lot along the way, the focus of which was on issues in the Liaodong region.
It was Zhang Chong's understanding of being in a commanding position that made Ju Shou increasingly understand the importance of this area. Coupled with his Han chauvinist attitude, it made him even more willing to take over this important task, and even a little impatient.
And Jushu also understood that as the subsequent armies arriving to conquer Liao gradually arrived, the king would start the second phase of the campaign to conquer Liao.
What he has to do is to manage Yingzhou well for the king and become the rear military station for the Liao army.
Looking at the high-spirited king, Jushou realized that this time the battle to conquer Liao would definitely be a stirring and epic battle comparable to the great expansion of the Han Dynasty.
He is proud to be able to contribute to this historical process.