knife

Chapter 480 A new beginning

The war is over.

All sixty-eight able-bodied men from the tribe who had joined the army returned safely.

In the past, the tribe would have held a grand welcoming ceremony, singing and dancing to celebrate such a joyous occasion.

But today's situation is just too awkward.

Because the Yuan Dynasty was defeated, the Yuan Dynasty ceased to exist.

When Bucha heard the news from his son, he remained silent for a long time.

Because of the defeat, the emperor set himself on fire in Qingtongxia City and left a will ordering Gao Qunshu, the commander of the palace guards, to lead the remaining troops to surrender. These 68 people were fortunate enough to stay in Qingtongxia City after entering it and did not leave, so they were unharmed. Many other tribes that had been conscripted fared much worse.

Of the 40,000 to 50,000 people who set out, only half remained.

Now, the army of the Qin State's Northern Protectorate has arrived in Zhengding, and the Empress Dowager, holding the Emperor's only child, announced her surrender to the Qin State's Northern Protectorate.

The Yuan Dynasty is gone.
This made Bucha very sad.

Because he too had sweated, bled, and risked his life for this empire, and back then, they were so powerful!
But amidst the sadness, there was also a small comfort.

Because the war was over, his children no longer had to fight, and they no longer had to live in fear and anxiety.

Only those who have experienced war know how terrible it is.

If possible, people like them would hope to never encounter war.

For ambitious people, war is an opportunity to make a name for themselves, secure their future, and bring honor to their families. But for ordinary people, war means separation, death, bloodshed, and endless suffering.

Along with the sixty-eight able-bodied men of the tribe, there were also four Qin people. These men spoke fluent Da Yuan language, and one of them looked familiar to Bucha, as if he had seen him before. After racking his brains for a while, Bucha suddenly remembered the peddler who had left a few days ago. The leader of these four men had once been the head of a caravan.

Many caravans travel across the grasslands, bringing goods that the tribes urgently need.

When this matter was mentioned to the man named Chen Fei, he laughed heartily, saying that Bucha had a good memory. He said that he had indeed been here two years ago, and it was precisely because he was familiar with the Bucha tribe that he had come here this time to discuss future matters with everyone.

How to survive in the future is the most important thing for Bucha and his group.

It's a discussion, not an order!
Chen Fei emphasized the difference here.

Dejun and the other young people seemed very happy, but to someone as experienced as Bucha, there wasn't much difference between them.

The victor can be magnanimous, but the loser must be tactful.

Therefore, the more Chen Fei emphasized it, the more Bucha knew that this was something that was fundamentally non-negotiable.

They could only obey.

Several respected elders and the bravest young men of the tribe sat on the ground, and in the circle they sat, a huge map was spread out.

Bucha touched the map; it was paper.

This surprised him.

Paper is a luxury for tribes like theirs, and it is rarely seen. A sheet of paper this large is even rarer.

But this guy named Chen Fei didn't seem to care much. He casually picked up a few stones and placed them on the edge of the paper. In the end, he even picked up a piece of dried cow dung and placed it next to him to prevent the paper from being blown away by the wind.

The Qin people were really rich!

Bucha thought to himself.

This is a map.

Everyone present had served in the military and been to the battlefield. Bucha and his son were among the lower-ranking officers, and they knew the value of maps. They had never seen a map like the one Chen Fei had produced before. Bucha had once been inside a commander's tent, but he had only ever seen extremely simple drawings on parchment.

The map before me is clearly no ordinary item; the dense array of different lines and markings already demonstrates its value.

“Dejun must have already told everyone everything!” Chen Fei said. “Then I won’t waste any more words. The Great Yuan Dynasty is gone. From now on, we are all subjects under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate. Actually, whether the Great Yuan Dynasty exists or not has nothing to do with us ordinary people, right? We’ll continue as before, herding cattle and sheep, making cheese, brewing mare’s milk wine, processing leather, and so on.” Everyone remained silent, looking at Bucha.

“In the past, the government required our tribe to pay 500 sheep, 50 cattle, 10 horses, 1,000 hides of various colors, 500 catties of cheese, 100 catties of mare’s milk wine, 100 catties of cattle horns and tendons, and other fodder every year. In addition, we had to provide our own weapons and be ready to answer the king’s call at any time.” Bucha asked tentatively, “Will the Beiting Protectorate continue to do the same in the future?”

Chen Fei laughed: "The Yuan Kingdom levies exorbitant taxes on its people, is cruel and harsh, and frequently resorts to torture. I have seen a lot of this over the years, and I am always saddened by it. Our Beiting Protectorate is a benevolent army. We sent troops to the Yuan Kingdom to relieve the people's suffering. How could we exploit the people like this?"

"What kind of regulations will there be in the future?" another elderly person asked impatiently.

“Our Beiting Protectorate also collects taxes, but there aren’t that many categories. We’re all herdsmen, so basically, we’ll only have two kinds of taxes to pay in the future. One is the poll tax, which is one string per person per year.” Chen Fei said with a smile, “Our Abu tribe only has about five hundred people in total. Let’s round it up. The poll tax we’ll have to pay in the future will be five hundred strings per year.”

"What is the other one?"

"Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the land, all people are subjects of the king. This land naturally belongs to the government. When people graze their cattle and sheep on it, they naturally have to pay a usage tax. Our Beiting Protectorate calls it land tax. Once you pay the land tax, you can graze your livestock freely on it."

How much is the land tax per year?

Chen Fei pointed to the map in the middle of the crowd and said, "Everyone, this is a map of the entire territory of our Zhen Ding County."

Everyone gasped in amazement.

Then Chen Fei's hand landed on a spot, and he said, "This is where our Abu tribe lives. Right now, the Zhen Ding Prefecture has designated the area where the Abu tribe lives as a county, called Hengshui County. Hengshui County is over 120 li long and about 80 li wide, which translates to approximately 1.44 million mu. At a usage fee of one wen per mu per year, that's 1,404 guan. Adding the previous 500 guan, our Hengshui County needs to pay 1,940 guan in taxes to the prefecture every year."

Bucha silently calculated in his mind that a sheep was worth about two strings of cash, a cow was worth five strings of cash, and a fine warhorse was worth fifteen to twenty strings of cash. This tax was indeed much lighter than the previous burden.

"Does the fact that Hengshui County is a usage fee paid by our Abu tribe mean that other tribes cannot enter our territory to graze their livestock?"

“Of course!” Chen Fei said, “If you want to come in, you have to pay you money and be under your management. Of course, if you overstep your boundaries, the same applies!”

Will I be drafted into combat again in the future?

"Our Beiting Protectorate implements the Fubing system!" Chen Fei said with a smile. "Because Fubing soldiers enjoy many privileges, not everyone is qualified to become a Fubing soldier. For tribes like ours, according to the current regulations, there will probably be ten to fifteen spots for Fubing soldiers. We'll learn more about this later. As for the current tax issue, Chief Bucha, do you think it's acceptable?"

“Your Excellency, are you really in charge of these matters?” Bucha asked.

Chen Fei laughed loudly: "Chief Bucha, I am currently serving as the Revenue Officer in Zhending County, in charge of taxes. This time, I will travel all over the area around Zhending Prefecture to finalize these matters with the various tribes. Once an agreement is made, it cannot be reneged on!"

"Never going up?"

"That's not necessarily true!" Chen Fei said. "Even if the tax is to be raised, it will be like now, and I will come back to discuss it with you all again. Moreover, since you have paid taxes, you are subjects of my Northern Court. In years of disaster, tax exemption, tax relief, and even disaster relief and compensation are not obligations that our Northern Court should fulfill."

"Aside from these, are there any other taxes?"

“If everyone goes into the city to sell their own produce, then there will be a separate commercial tax, but that’s a different matter!” Chen Fei said with a smile. “If everyone has no objections, then let’s sign this contract.”

Compared to the past, this burden has indeed been reduced considerably.

With no one having much to say, Bucha signed the contract on behalf of the Abu tribe. Chen Fei immediately took out the letter of appointment from his bag and filled in Bucha's name on the spot. From now on, Bucha would be the magistrate of Hengshui County.

Of course, for now, we're just giving it a title. As for management, the Beiting Protectorate won't be involved for the time being, at least not now. Everything takes time, and we have to take it slowly.

What Beiting needs now is stability. First, establish their status and let everyone get used to being subjects of the Beiting Protectorate. Then, they can gradually assimilate and integrate them.

Maybe in five years, maybe ten, maybe even less, people will no longer be able to tell the difference between each other. And Li Dachui has plenty of talented people under his command to handle this.

Chen Fei only stayed in the Abu tribe for two or three days before setting off for the next tribe. Before leaving, he left Bucha another map, a detailed map of the newly established Hengshui County. With this map, there would be a basis for future disputes between different county governments.

On the grasslands, it's not uncommon for people to fight for pastures and water.

The transition from the old to the new was taking place throughout the Yuan Dynasty.

In some places, the fighting was silent and uneventful, while in others, it was a fierce and violent brawl.

Some people are docile, and naturally there are stubborn ones. But stubborn people are useless; if the skin is gone, where will the hair attach? Sometimes, resistance can excite the occupiers even more, because they can begin to suppress the rebellion with reason and evidence, and once suppression begins, it means wealth.

(End of this chapter)