knife

Chapter 483 Divide and Conquer

Liu Yi pointed to a small village nestled against the mountain and beside the water, and said to An Xuan beside him, "General, there is a resettlement point just ahead."

"Alright, let's go take a look!" An Xuan said excitedly, spurring his horse forward.

The newly built village consists entirely of mud-brick houses covered with golden thatch, with one main house and two side houses, each with a livestock shed. The rammed earth walls enclose a large open space that has been flattened and leveled.

The house was unfurnished, but it had all the most basic functions, such as a stove and a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

Smelling the still-fresh scent of the earth, An Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad, it's just a bit small. This village can probably only accommodate about a hundred households at most, right?"

"It is a bit small, but according to your requirements, General, it needs to have basic grazing conditions and a foundation for farming. There aren't many places that can meet both of these requirements at the same time," Liu Yi said with a smile. "Moreover, the Protectorate General said that you deserve the most credit for our victory over the Northern Yuan this time, so we must do everything we can to meet your requirements. That's why we started looking for such a place three months ago. About a hundred households is already the maximum we can accommodate here. Any more than that, and everyone would have a hard time. They might even quarrel over some petty gains, which wouldn't be good."

“Prefect Liu has considered everything very thoroughly, and I am deeply grateful!” An Xuan clasped his hands and bowed to Liu Yi.

"General, you're too kind! It's my duty!" Liu Yi returned the greeting with a smile. "Your tribe will be settling over three thousand people in my territory. I assure you, General, that these will all be in places like this, with lush pastures and abundant water, suitable for both grazing and farming. I've also assigned experienced agricultural officials to guide your people on farming after they settle in. Of course, General, I will also ask those among your tribe skilled in animal husbandry to teach others how to raise livestock. Please let them know, General, so they won't hold back!"

An Xuan laughed heartily: "Of course, from now on we're all family, so we should help each other out!"

Liu Yi nodded repeatedly: "General, shall we go and take a look at the next resettlement site?"

"No, I trust Prefect Liu with his work. I'm planning to go to Xuanwu County to take a look next!" An Xuan said, "I have a feeling that Cai Ming isn't as honest as Prefect Liu. My clansmen are all unsophisticated; I hope they won't be fooled by him!"

"That's right, that's right. Here, farming and herding are the main occupations, but Cai Qi's side values ​​commerce more." Liu Yi said with a smile, "Merchants value profit over parting, and they're all incredibly shrewd and calculating. They'll wring water out of a dry towel. The General should give them a good talking-to to prevent them from disobeying orders!"

“That’s exactly right!” An Xuan said.

Qiyue Island, Wangyue Hall.

There were few people in the room. Mao Daxian pointed to a map on the wall and said with a smile, "Protector, Anxuan's barbarian tribe has a total of more than 50,000 people, of which more than 8,000 are fierce and good at fighting. According to Protector Li's previous arrangements, we have dispersed them to twelve counties in eight prefectures, with about 4,000 people in each county. Compared with the original population of these counties, they are only a small number. Moreover, they are very far apart."

Mao Daxian traced his finger from the easternmost point to the westernmost point, saying, "The furthest one is over a thousand miles away!" Luo Hua, standing to the side, exclaimed in surprise, "Such an obvious divide-and-conquer strategy, didn't An Xuan notice it, nor did he object?"

Mao Daxian laughed and said, "Protector, the places we've assigned to them are truly excellent! Protector Li said that we must never mistreat those who have made contributions. Great merit deserves great reward. We've gone to great lengths to find these good places! An Xuan understands this, of course. If he wants to settle his clansmen together, I've also pointed out a few places for him. However, those places are poor and remote, and life there would be tough!"

“An Xuan is a smart man!” Xiao Changche nodded. “After annexing the Yuan Kingdom, our Beiting population has increased to over five million. If we include those scattered and without official status, it would be around six million. Their fifty thousand or so are a minority. Moreover, they don’t have a good reputation outside the Great Wall. Back then, they frequently infiltrated to loot and plunder. The former inhabitants of the Northern Yuan dislike them even more. Many Northern Yuan people blame them for a large part of their defeat. Therefore, An Xuan knows that he must rely closely on us to ensure a better life for his people. Breaking them down into smaller groups and accelerating integration is the best way!”

Mao Daxian laughed and said, "Perhaps in a few decades, we will need to find some people to record and compile the language, history and customs of An Xuan's tribe. In the words of the Protector, these things will be a treasure in a few decades or a hundred years!"

"He always does things on a whim!" Xiao Changche didn't quite understand Li Dachui's thinking. Assimilation and digestion were the established strategies, so wouldn't it be better for these things that represented their original history to disappear? What's the point of leaving them behind?
“An Xuan is a top-tier expert at the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan. He is a rare master in our Beiting. Moreover, unlike Quanxin and Zhang Quanyi, he has no ties with Guannei. Therefore, I plan to appoint him as the commander of the troops and send him to Guannei, alongside Gu Xiaoman!” Xiao Changdao said.

"The barbarian forces are quite strong!" Mao Daxian said. "They are natural candidates for heavy cavalry and heavy infantry. Once they enter the pass, cavalry will dominate in the Central Plains. But the further south you go, the more important infantry will become. Equip the barbarian soldiers well and make them the main force for attacking fortified passes! An Xuan is good at long-distance blitzkrieg with cavalry. He can make better use of his strengths in the Central Plains. But the further south you go, the more important Zhang Quanyi and Quanxin will become."

"It turns out the Yuan army's fighting strength was actually quite good, but a general's incompetence led to the deaths of the entire army!" Xiao Changchedao said. "However, we must be very cautious about using surrendered Yuan soldiers for the next two to three years. By the way, are Renduobao and Xifeng Kedai still relatively well-behaved?"

“Rendobao chose to live in Baoping City, while Xifeng Kedai chose Tai'an City. Compared to Rendobao, Xifeng Kedai is more active. Now this guy has a lot of money and is investing and participating in businesses everywhere. He is very interested in doing business!” Mao Daxian laughed. “He is also a smart man, at least smarter than Rendobao. Rendobao is unwilling to give away his wealth.”

"I heard from Luo Hua that the university and medical center have reserved over a hundred spots specifically for Yuan people and barbarians today?"

“Yes,” Mao Daxian said, “this is also part of the multi-pronged approach of digestion and integration!”

Xiao Changche rubbed his temples: "There are too many things to do, just thinking about them gives me a headache!"

"Protector, please rest assured and focus on your pregnancy. Don't worry about anything else. We'll take care of these things!"

Xiao Changche rolled his eyes: "I really don't understand civil affairs, and I don't want to get involved, but how can I not care about military matters?"

Mao Daxian chuckled and said, "I've already sent Qian Jia to deliver a message to the Protector-General, telling him to finish his business and come back as soon as possible. I estimate that the message will reach the Protector-General in a month at most."

Xiao Changche remained silent, turning his head to look at the surging Qingshui River outside the window, his hand unconsciously stroking his abdomen.

(End of this chapter)