knife

Chapter 737 Net Inflow
Ordinary people naturally yearn for a stable and peaceful environment.

Only ambitious people would want the world to descend into chaos.

Turbulent times produce heroes, but they also produce more ruthless villains, or rather, cowards.

And it is always the ordinary, kind people who suffer.

"Building bridges and paving roads leaves no corpses, while murder and arson bring wealth and honor"—this roughly describes the state of the world.

Thus came the saying, "I'd rather be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos."

Looking across the entire world, the only truly peaceful and war-free area is the vast region outside the Great Wall under the jurisdiction of the Beiting Protectorate.

This place was originally a remote and harsh land, with the Northern Yuan, a formidable enemy, lurking on the sidelines, ready to raid southwards from time to time, causing people inside the pass to turn pale at the mere mention of the area outside the pass.

But now, with the Northern Yuan dynasty wiped out by the combined efforts of Li Dachui, the Protector-General of the Northern Protectorate, and Xiao Changche, the area outside the Great Wall seems to have become a paradise.

In contrast, the interior was plagued by war and the people suffered greatly. As a result, it became a consensus among many people with connections or money to go north to find a quiet and peaceful place to live.

For the people of Chu, waterways became their only option.

Whether it's Guangzhou Port, Quanzhou Port, or Yangzhou Port, ships leave the port every day, carrying full loads of cargo to the sea.

However, a boat ticket is not something an ordinary person can afford.

Unless you possess a skill that is recognized by certain people.

These people were naturally those from outside the Great Wall.

Because the road to the area outside the Great Wall is both difficult and long, those who immigrate there now are naturally selected. In summary, there are only two conditions: either you have money and can make the area outside the Great Wall more prosperous, or you have a skill and can make the area outside the Great Wall make significant progress in certain technical fields.

Those with money need to pay for a ticket, while those with a skill can get a free ticket after being recognized.

Of course, all of these things were done in secret.

Whether it's Na Wei, who currently controls Danyang, or Xiang Zhuang, who is contacting more forces to prepare for an attack on Danyang, they certainly don't want their funds and talent to be lost quickly.

However, where there are policies from above, there are countermeasures from below.

There's always a vulnerability that can be found.

Just like Xiang Zhuang, could he prevent the ships in the harbor from going to sea?

impossible.

He himself needed these fleets to bring back funds to ensure his army had pay. Most of those who supported him were the owners or shareholders of these fleets. If you prevent these people from making money, they will turn around and sell you out.

In fact, Xiang Zhuang was well aware that behind these wealthy merchants who supported him, provided him with funds and even weapons, stood the Beiting Protectorate outside the pass. But could he really say, "I don't want it"?
That's obviously not acceptable either. So most of the time, everyone can only pretend to be confused, pretend not to know, and think that they will deal with these things after they have completed the task they have to do.

It's not that we don't know that drinking poison to quench our thirst is wrong; it's just that sometimes, not doing it will lead to an even faster demise, while doing it might actually give us a chance to survive.

The Beiting Protectorate offered a series of preferential policies to these people. In Li Dachui's words, those who came to the area outside the Great Wall at this time were, without exception, mostly elites. Their arrival greatly improved the population structure and quality of the area outside the Great Wall.

In the past, the literacy rate in areas outside the Great Wall was shockingly low. To describe it as one in ten thousand would be an exaggeration. Now, however, this rate is steadily increasing.

The area outside the Great Wall has no shortage of land or resources; what it lacks are people and money. And now, all of this is fundamentally changing.

According to the statistics and estimates of the Chi-Chi Institute, at the current rate of inflow, the net inflow of population will reach 500,000 by this time next year.

These 500,000 people will generate at least 5 million in revenue.

Please note that it is the return, not the input.

Because these 500,000 people can all be considered high-asset individuals, their knowledge, their skills, and the funds that come with them can potentially reach tens of millions or even higher.

For example, the Jiang family of Jiangling brought in an investment of over a million taels of silver at once, and that was only the first phase. It can be expected that they will further increase their investment as they achieve another military victory outside the Great Wall.

This is a snowball effect; the further you go, the bigger the snowball gets, and the greater the collective effect it brings.

"We absolutely cannot fight any more wars until at least next autumn's harvest!" Mao Daxian waved his thin arms and shouted, "We need to accumulate experience and let things settle. If we keep fighting one war after another, and the people's lives become increasingly difficult, then the level of support for us will drop to a dangerous level. The joint investigation by the Statistics Department and the Public Opinion Department has already proven that the burden on the people under our jurisdiction has reached its limit. If we don't give them a break, this string will snap."

“But the outbreak of war is not something that can be changed according to our will! We are just one side of it!” Xiao Changdao said. “When the enemy comes to attack us, we can only accept it.”

“I believe there is a way. We need a breather!” Mao Daxian said. “A balance of tension and relaxation is the way of war. Moreover, if we let the garrison troops go back to rest for a year, and we only maintain about 30,000 regular troops, we can save tens of millions of taels of military expenses in a year. Protectors, the army is the biggest money-devouring beast. We have been at war for the past few years. Although we have won every battle, we are getting poorer and poorer, and the burden on our backs is getting heavier and heavier.”

“Tomorrow our focus will indeed shift to internal affairs!” Li Dachui said. “On this point, Chief Secretary Mao and I are in agreement. The Fubing system needs to be adjusted, the border regions need to be stabilized, and the internal mechanisms also need to be redesigned. There are too many things to do. Although our contest with Chang’an will ultimately come down to military matters, we still have many ways to compete with Linghu Ye before that.”

Xiao Changche pondered for a moment and said, "I don't object to shifting to internal affairs, and I can also disband the garrison and let them go back to rest. But I request that the standing army be expanded from 30,000 to 50,000, and the main force of these troops be deployed to places like Boling and Fanyang."

"Governor Xiao, the cost of adding 20,000 standing troops is staggering; it will consume a third of our annual fiscal revenue!"

"Next, if Linghu Ye wants to reverse the military disadvantage, he will definitely organize a large-scale battle against us in Shanggu or Yuyang." Xiao Changdao said, "That's beyond doubt. It's just a matter of time. It's hard to say whether it will be launched on our side first or in Nanyang or Xiangyang. So we must be fully prepared!"

The current Beiting Protectorate has a standing army of 30,000 men, all of whom are professional soldiers. The rest are all local soldiers. Beiting now has 18 prefectures and 76 counties. Each county has a military command, and theoretically each military command has 3,000 local soldiers, which is 228,000 men.

Supporting 22,000 troops is indeed a huge strain on the current population of five million outside the Great Wall. After all, the area outside the Great Wall is far behind the Central Plains in terms of financial resources.

The local militia doesn't need to be conscripted, so they don't cost money and can support themselves. But the standing army is a different story. Moreover, Xiao Changche now has higher requirements for the army's configuration, which further increases the burden.

"Chief Secretary Mao, expanding the standing army by 20,000 is not open to discussion!" Xiao Changche said decisively.

(End of this chapter)