knife

Chapter 123 Everyone gets what he deserves
Outside the pass, Baoping Prefecture is a relatively prosperous area.

With fertile black soil, sowing seeds ensures a bountiful harvest, barring any natural disasters.

The Qingshui River and the Juma River encircle it, and for about eight months of the year, these two rivers can be called the main arteries of the entire area outside the pass. However, the Yan family has been entrenched here for hundreds of years, but they have not tapped much of its potential. Li Dachui deeply despised this.

If you were to run it yourself...

Therefore, Li Dachui has been coveting this land for many years.

After years of planning and painstaking efforts, they finally broke through with a single blow.

They acquired it.

The original ruling class of Aquarius was wiped out, and the wealth they had accumulated over countless years instantly changed hands.

The kindness that the Yan family showed to the people under their rule was only relative to that of other places.

During normal years when the harvest is good, people can fill their stomachs and occasionally have a few special meals. During festivals, they can prepare some chicken, duck, fish and meat and buy a few yards of cloth to make new clothes for women and children.

When the harvest was poor, Yan would cook porridge to keep everyone alive and prevent them from starving.

Of course, in years of bad harvest, rent and taxes still need to be paid, but they can be deferred, and interest will still be charged.

For the Yan family, everything in Baoping Prefecture was their property, including these common people. If they died for no reason, it would be a loss of their property.

Even so, the common people still thought the Yan family was good.

For them, it's good enough that no one has starved to death and they can still get by.

Now that it has a new owner, everyone was in a state of panic for a few days, but then they calmed down.

General Xiao Changche's rank was higher than that of Yan Sheng, the governor of Baoping Prefecture, and he also had a good reputation.
Since this Xiao Cheqi said that the Yan family is in league with the Northern Yuan and wants to turn everyone into slaves of the Northern Yuan, then it must be true.

As public opinion gradually fermented, the Yan family's reputation was becoming increasingly tarnished.

According to local legends, if the Northern Yuan occupied this place, everyone would have to work for the Northern Yuan while wearing shackles, and would have to sleep in shacks at night.

There are also some terrifying legends that say the Northern Yuan people loved to abduct ordinary people's virginity. If a family was getting married, they had to send the bride to the Northern Yuan people's residence a day in advance.

This was unacceptable to everyone.

All sorts of rumors filled the entire Bao Ping State, and even began to spread outwards from Bao Ping State, exposing countless sordid and shameful dealings involving the Yan family.

As to how much of it is true and how much is false, it no longer matters.

The Yan family no longer exists.

Others have no obligation to refute their claims.

Besides, they're all dead and gone, so what does it matter if their reputations are a little bad?

And all of this was, of course, the work of Zhi Qiu Yuan, under Li Da Chui's command.

In Li Dachui's words, we not only need to achieve actual military occupation, but also to win over the hearts and minds of the people here as quickly as possible.

Li Dachui wants both legal principles and moral principles, and in his view, these two are complementary.

What best demonstrates one's legitimacy is the illegitimacy and evil of the previous regime.

As these opinions gradually spread and the General of Chariots and Cavalry issued order after order, squads like Ding Ergou's, like birds returning to their nests, went to their respective posts and quickly rebuilt the completely paralyzed governance system of Baoping Prefecture.

After the initial panic, the people gradually calmed down.

Regardless of who becomes the leader, they still have to farm, pay taxes, and perform labor services.

Moreover, the new government seems to be a little more benevolent than the old one.

For example, land.

The land in Baoping Prefecture is very fertile, but unfortunately, those who own land either have the surname Yan or have some kind of connection with people surnamed Yan. Commoners who own their own land are a very small minority.

Now, the Yan family is gone.

Large tracts of land suddenly became ownerless.

Whoever plants it owns it!
A simple decree caused an uproar throughout the entire Aquarius State.

A large number of proletarians suddenly became small landowners.

When people received the land deed bearing the large red seal of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's Mansion, many thought they were dreaming.

Compared to owning one's own land, other things like paying taxes or having to serve in the military are nothing.

Of course, there is an upper limit to the distribution of land.

Ten mu per person, if not enough, we'll make up the difference.

If there are any extras, you must return them.

If everyone has already received their share of land, and there is any surplus in the village, then this land will become public property. For example, in Ding Ergou's village, over a hundred acres of land were eventually left over and became public property. Ding Ergou would organize the villagers to cultivate this land, and the harvest would also become public property of the village.

These funds will be used to purchase mules, horses, weapons, and armor, and can also be used for expenses such as village sacrifices and celebrations. Ding Ergou has even made plans to build a small school in the village.

Of course, he had his own selfish motives in setting up this school.

His wife, Tu Jiaojiao, was literate and could become a teacher in the village. This way, she could legitimately and easily earn a living without anyone complaining, and she wouldn't have to toil in the fields with him.

Speaking of the past two years, their family's life was not as good as Huang Dafu's. One of the main reasons was that they were the only ones doing the work. Jiaojiao didn't know how to do any of the farm work, and Ding Ergou really couldn't bear to see his wife's fair and tender hands become like Huang Dafu's wife's red, swollen, and bluish hands.

Moreover, this is killing two birds with one stone.

Because he was literate, he was taken in by the regimental commander during the war, which meant he was less likely to encounter dangerous situations and received a larger share of the spoils of war.

Ding Ergou intuitively understood the benefits of literacy, and knew that if he wanted to continue to benefit from it, he would have to keep investing in it. Of course, now that Ding Ergou held a higher official position, his perspective had naturally broadened. He was no longer only thinking of himself, but also of the village.

The wealthier the village, the better equipment everyone can acquire, giving them more time to hone their combat skills. This increases their chances of winning on the battlefield, allowing them to seize more spoils and become even richer. Consequently, everyone will support me more, enabling me to achieve greater merit and attain a higher official position.

Above the captain is the regimental commander, above the regimental commander is the captain of the military headquarters, and above the captain is the general.

Climbing up step by step!
This is the simplest conclusion that Ding Ergou came to on the Helan Plain.

While the replacement of the administrative system of Baoping Prefecture proceeded smoothly, the military reorganization proved to be much more difficult.

These are two completely different units.

They are completely different in terms of combat methods, combat concepts, and management models.

Integrating them is clearly not something that can be done in a short time.

What we can do now is to integrate the command systems together and then gradually refine them over the years.

After repeated discussions, deliberations, and debates, a preliminary plan was finally reached.

After the two armies merge, they will be divided into two large groups.

All the cavalry were reorganized into one force, named the Sky Wolf Army, and made the main attack force.

All the infantry were reorganized into a single force, named the Flying Tigers, primarily for defense, currently mainly responsible for guarding the home base.

The decision was made because of the actual situation outside the pass.

Beyond the Great Wall lies a vast, sparsely populated region. The enemies they face are primarily cavalry, elusive and unpredictable. Until a robust logistical supply system is established, they can only fight cavalry against cavalry. Currently, having just captured Baoping Prefecture, Xiao Changche and Li Dachui's most important task is to secure their gains, develop their internal affairs, and ideally, lie low and develop stealthily for a few years, growing into muscular powerhouses before venturing out.

However, this idea was obviously not very realistic, so the cavalry were on the move while the infantry guarded the home base. Anyone who dared to provoke them would be beaten to a pulp.

After reorganization, the Sirius Army had a full strength of 5,000 men.

However, these five thousand men were regular troops. Although they were only two thousand more than Xiao's previous troops, Xiao Changche was extremely satisfied with their quality.

In her words, given a year, the fighting power of this 5,000-strong Sirius Army would be several times greater than that of her previous 3,000 Iron Cavalry.

The reorganized Flying Tiger Army had a full strength of 10,000 men, but only 3,000 were regular troops. The rest returned to their homes after the reorganization was completed, most settling in Baoping Prefecture, and a small number returning to Helan Plain. In normal times, they would be farmers or small merchants, but in the event of war, these people would be called up.

Xiao Changche was naturally the commander of all armed forces, and no one could compete with her on this point.

When it comes to the art of commanding, even Li Dachui can't compare to her.

Li Dachui was convinced of this.

Gu Xiaoman became the commander-in-chief of the Tianlang Army, while Xiao Dongwei and Fang Xiaomao served as his left and right lieutenants.

The Flying Tigers were led by Xia Zhi, with Liu Yi and Xiao Chenggong, Xiao Changche's old subordinates, as his deputies. Liu Yi finally got rid of the position of magistrate of Yuan'an County, which had caused him so much pain, and returned to the army. The administrative system of Yuan'an was also taken over by people sent by Mao Daxian.

Xiao Changche was very happy. The military strength she held had finally met her expectations. With this powerful army at her disposal, she dared to challenge anyone.

Of course, what made her even happier was that she no longer had to worry about money.

The task of making money fell to Li Dachui.

From then on, Xiao Changche only cared about fighting. When she ran out of money, she asked Li Dachui for help; when she ran out of food, she asked Li Dachui for help; when she ran out of armor and weapons, she naturally asked Li Dachui for help as well.

She takes care of external affairs, while Li Dachui takes care of internal affairs. Li Dachui just needs to be a good helpmate.

Li Dachui was also very happy.

Don't be fooled by Xiao Changche's smugness in commanding a large army, as if everything is under her control. She actually holds the reins of this wild horse of an army in her own hands!
An army cannot move until its supplies are ready. Can you win a battle without money?

The triangular region formed by Yuan'an, Baoping, and Tai'an covers an area of ​​thousands of miles and has a population of nearly 600,000. It has truly formed a solid base, unlike before when there was only Tai'an City. Although there were innate masters to support it, it was really no match for a large army when it came to fighting. In addition, there was the exclave of Helan Plain, which could only make do and could not develop.

Now that the base is stable, all development plans can truly begin to be implemented.

Li Dachui felt he was one step closer to completely controlling the land beyond the Great Wall.

(End of this chapter)