After leaving Shenzhou, the best route is to go north to Xianzhou, then turn northeast, pass through Xiazhou, and go north via the Huhan Sea.
This is indeed how they went.
When passing by Xianzhou, Lu Henian asked to stay for three days. Everyone understood and knew what he wanted to do, so they stayed at the post station in Xianyi County and waited for Lu Henian's return.
Xianzhou governs four counties: Xianyi, Fuyu, Qiangshi, and Yugu. Each county has a population of 1,000 households. There must be a reason why the numbers are so neat.
In fact, it is very simple. Because of Liu Rengong's resistance, many people were punished as tribesmen. After Liu Rengong was put down, rebellions followed, which lasted until the end of the seventh year and the beginning of the eighth year of Jianji. Even when the saints sent troops to attack Bohai, Abaoji fled for seven years.
After Shengzhou, people from Xianzhou raised troops to respond.
It took about a month to pacify the situation. You can imagine how angry the saint was, so he demoted the original Khitan, Xi, Bohai, and Han'er to Buju, and the four thousand newly arrived Central Plains people were divided equally among them.
County and became the first batch of citizens.
Because of this, after a batch of Bohai and Mohe prisoners were sent, the number of tribes in the four counties of Xianzhou has exceeded 9,200 households and 41,000 people. The number of soldiers in the state is 10,000, and the actual number is 9,600.
If you are less than one household, you still have to work hard.
The post station in Xianyi County is located in the east of the city. From the outside, it looks rough in style. It is basically a temporary structure after rough treatment of tree trunks. It uses local materials and saves money.
Lu Yan, Fan Wenda and others were very surprised when they saw this building with the fragrance of logs everywhere. At the same time, they also had a clear understanding: Xianzhou seemed to be poorer than Shenzhou and Yingzhou.
The post station occupies a relatively large area, because there is no shortage of land here. The outermost layer of wooden fence encircles a large open space. It can be seen that it is a vegetable border, where some melons and vegetables are planted to provide food and drink for officials and messengers.
There were actually dozens of pigs raised in the backyard of the inn, which were said to have been brought by Mohe prisoners. Lu Yan took a glance and saw that they were all lean and lean, crowded at the entrance of the pig pen, and screamed heartbreakingly.
A postman cooked a lot of pig food mixed with pigweed, grain and other "suspicious substances" and brought it over.
When the pigs saw it, they screamed loudly and became very commotion. Some of them even jumped out of the pig pen with a light jump and ran towards the postman.
"Pah! Pah!" Another postman knocked a few times skillfully with a wooden pole.
The pig staggered to a stop and whined.
Lu Yan and Fan Wenda looked at each other and smiled.
Each place has its own customs. Guanxi and the Central Plains love to eat mutton, and pigs are rarely seen. In the pre-Tang Dynasty, because Guozhou had many mountain plateaus and lush vegetation, they thought they could not waste any more, so they set up a pasture to raise pigs. But
The final result was that wild boars overflowed in Guozhou pig farms and invaded farmland. From this small incident, we can see how much the Tang people disliked pork.
But Liaodong is different. Mohe and Jurchen are good at raising pigs, so that the Bohai people, Khitan people, and Han people are also contaminated with the custom. Assimilation is never one-sided, but affects each other. The customs of Daxia are also different.
Perhaps the Chinese ancestors were influenced when they assimilated the natives, accommodated each other, and integrated with each other.
There is also a post farm near the post station. It is said that it is allocated 100 acres, but in fact a large area of the land is uncultivated. If the post workers are willing to diversify, the government will be happy. However, there is no shortage of anything here, but a shortage of people. I heard from the post general that the post station was planted last year.
There are hundreds of acres of millet and wheat, but the harvest is only five bushels per mu. The reason is that the harvest is extensive and the harvest is poor, and little care is taken. This can be seen from the fact that the harvested millet and wheat are mixed with a lot of weeds.
It’s really a wild land!
"Our post station has more than fifty horses, so it is considered a big post station in the Central Plains." The post general who was missing two front teeth said with a smile: "In the past, I served as a soldier in the Zhenguo Army and visited several places near Tongguan.
At the most inn, there are only forty horses. In Liaodong, it is not a problem to raise a hundred horses, and herding horses does not take up much manpower."
The post horses were all branded with serial numbers on their butts. Lu Yan saw that the largest one was "Jia 52". It was indeed a large-scale post station.
"Liaodong is rich." Lu Yan praised.
"Haha, what the officials said is true. When I retired from the Tianxiong Army the year before last, I wanted to settle here, but my wife, children, and children were very unhappy. But after living there for more than a year, I accepted it. In addition to the small number of people and the expensive family,
There really aren’t any shortcomings, it’s enough to make your mouth water.” The post general smiled and said, “Out there is a vast meadow with no human habitation for dozens of miles. You can raise as many livestock as you want, and no one will compete with you.”
When Fan Wenda heard this, he thought of things at home.
When he was young, the government had to collect hay as a tax collection. When there were few, there were three or five hay bundles per family, and as many as ten hay bundles. From that time on, he realized that fodder that can feed livestock is also a resource——
Otherwise, why would the government collect taxes?
Xiazhou is pretty good, after all, there are plenty of pastures. But in Guanzhong, there is not so much fodder. When pressed, farmers will offer wheat straw as compensation, but the government sometimes refuses and insists on hay.
Liaodong is full of weeds and sparsely populated, so there are indeed many resources available to everyone.
"Is there peace in Xianzhou?" Lu Yan asked again.
"It's not much peace." The post general shook his head and said: "The soldiers of the government often escape and hide in the mountains and forests. The government frequently wants them, and sometimes the government will recruit soldiers to arrest them together. Last year, Abaoji was there
There was a rebellion in the west, and once they were close to Xianzhou, I heard that many people responded, but they were suppressed by the soldiers who stayed behind."
"In such a large Xianzhou, there are no state soldiers?" Lu Yan was surprised.
"How can I have money to support you?" The post general smiled and said: "The imperial court is also tight on expenses. On weekdays, when there is nothing to do, we take turns recruiting Tutuan villagers or government soldiers to guard the borders. Last year, the saint conquered the Bohai Sea, and Immortal
Five thousand men were dispatched from the prefecture, and they went into battle with Fu Du, and did not return until September. In a prefecture with four counties, the countrymen of Tu Tuan had to be requisitioned to guard key areas.
Come back. In fact, even these local folks are not always reliable."
"Why?" Fan Wenda asked curiously.
"There were 100 soldiers from Dalin Township, Xianyi County. As a result, Zhao Yong from Chanzhou killed the leader of the team and several others in Paoze, seized their horses and fled. The incident was so big that it was heard far and near. Later, a Zhechong Prefecture was dispatched.
Thousands of soldiers from the government searched everywhere, and it took three months to catch him." The post general said: "There were also a dozen Mohe and Bohai escaped slaves who were captured together. There are only a few here.
Honest people are very different from those in the Central Plains. If an official comes here to serve as an official, he must be prepared."
Fan Wenda's face turned serious.
He was not afraid, but surprised. The states in Liaodong Province looked like a lawless land.
Chanzhou is one of the six states under the old Weibo. Most of the Weibo people who come to Liaodong are actually common people, so why can't they farm well? If they disagree, they will kill the Shangguan and run away, even leaving their family members.
Who is he?
The most important thing is that there are no state or county soldiers in the local area, so the official will be very nervous.
It takes time to mobilize government troops. At present, state commanders and Daodu commanders can mobilize government troops, but this is only an expedient measure to better stabilize the local situation. In the future, it is estimated that the old path of the former Tang Dynasty will be followed.
Zhechong Mansion can only be managed by the imperial court - one of the characteristics of the government soldiers is that the soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers, in order to prevent others from accumulating prestige and creating opportunities for rebellion.
"Don't worry, officials." Seeing Fan Wenda's ugly face, the post general smiled and said: "Actually, it's not that scary. The people in Liaodong are all capable of fighting, and after the land is divided, few people still want to cause trouble. Even if there are
Three or five escaped slaves did not dare to enter the village for fear of being beaten and killed by the people. For example, Zhao Yong, why did you get caught?"
"Why?"
"Winter has come, and I couldn't stay in the mountains any longer, so I ran out. As soon as I entered a village, I was shot to the ground by an arrow. The one who shot him was Wei Bowufu from Beizhou, haha."
Lu Yan and Fan Wenda also laughed.
It seems that Weibo Wufu is not all of the same mind. Some people are satisfied with their current life and don't want to cause trouble, so they borrow the heads of fellow villagers in exchange for a reward - it is really the style of Weibo Wufu.
"The people of Xianzhou are indeed extraordinary." A cheerful voice sounded outside the door. When everyone looked, they saw Lu Henian and five palace guards walking in.
"I have been wandering around for a few days, and I am very emotional." Lu Henian took the pot of kumiss handed over by the post general, thanked him, and distributed it to the five guards. He said: "There are Khitans in Yushu Township, Bohai
People started a rebellion and gathered a crowd of over a hundred, but they were forced to be dispersed by the local heroes. Now the people can't do anything, and they have all been demoted to the rank of subordinates."
"Yumshu Township?" The post general recalled for a moment and said, "Isn't that a civilian household from Bianzhou? There are also more than a hundred soldiers from the government who have settled there."
"Exactly." Lu Henian took a sip of the warm kumiss and his face turned a little brighter. He just heard him say: "The people of Bianzhou are actually very capable of fighting. When Qin Zongquan attacked Bajiao Town, Zhu Quanzhong massacred the people of Bianzhou
, he is quite capable of shooting. It has only been more than 20 years ago, so he is not too degenerate. I have witnessed it with my own eyes, and it is really amazing. The archery is far and accurate, and the arrows bite the flesh. In fact, according to my opinion, the ground is divided.
The people and the soldiers are all very grateful to the saint. As long as they don't act against the will, they are all saints. Anyone who dares to cause chaos is against everyone and will be killed without mercy."
The people of Bianzhou more than 20 years ago were certainly capable of fighting.
Didn’t the people of Bianzhou more than ten years ago also serve under Zhu Quanzhong and fight to the death with the saint?
Today, the people who attacked Hebei, Bian, Song, Hua, Cao, Bo, Ying and other prefectures have not been drafted, so their military bravery will most likely be maintained.
On the contrary, the people of Zhili Province, who were once equally brave, were recruited much less frequently, and their killing skills were probably not as good as before.
"Relying on the common people to maintain the countryside and killing thieves has always been a common practice in ancient times?" Lu Yan sighed.
In his opinion, the people are the people, and they just need to farm well. What's the point of fighting and killing? But he can't stand it anymore. This situation has lasted for more than a hundred years. The vassals and governors are happy to have such a group of people under their control. Brave people, because they can help in the war with other towns - to put it bluntly, if you suffer a big defeat in the war with other vassal towns and suffer heavy casualties, you don't want the quality of the soldiers when you recruit new soldiers. Too bad?
Lu Henian smiled and ignored him. Everyone has been accustomed to things for a hundred and fifty years, why should we change them?
In the past three days of wandering around, he had basically figured out the situation around Xianzhou.
There are always small disturbances, but they come and go, and the situation is generally "rough and peaceful".
The government did some practical things and used the seized cattle, sheep, horses and camels to build a temporary government-run ranch to produce some meat and milk.
A Pichi was built, and the best irrigated land was distributed to the soldiers.
The immigrants were given sixty acres of land to each household, and could barely farm. There is also a large area of public land in the village, which is not expected to be completely divided within a few years. You can plant it if you like, no one will care about it, and you can just return it when needed. Already.
Grassland is a public resource. If you have livestock at home, raise them as soon as possible. From what he saw, the calves and lambs born this year have enough forage and are growing well.
The people and government soldiers are actually responsible for themselves. The government does not have that many people and does not have that much money. The only "service" they provide is probably safety. That is, as long as unorganized enemy troops attack, they will cause little trouble. Do it yourself.
Lu Henian felt that this was probably the most cost-effective management method.
The Central Plains has the Central Plains' governance style, and Liaodong has the Liaodong's living methods. They cannot be generalized. It is right to adapt measures to local conditions. Otherwise, the people may not be able to survive in this crisis-ridden land.
"It's late today, so I'll stay overnight and head east tomorrow, okay?" Lu Henian asked after finishing his drink.
"Yes." Lu Yan and Fan Wenda also want to go to Longquan Mansion first, and then they will go together.
"I'm sorry for staying for two more days." Lu Henian turned around again, looked at the post general, and said, "I asked someone to keep half the money, and it will be used as expenses for these two days."
If the reception time is exceeded, of course you have to pay. The postmaster is not polite and nods with a smile.
On February 25th, a group of people left the inn and headed towards Longquan Mansion at high speed.