Han Khan

Chapter 156: The Huge Qinghe Zhang Clan
Soon, all the prisoners of war from the Dubo and Ubili tribes were distributed and reorganized.

Zhang Sheng was well aware that slavery was of great practicality to the current Jinhan tribe.

He urgently needed to build an elite standing army so that he could wage war at any time and defend his rule.

However, to achieve this goal, a large number of slaves were required to provide sufficient food and other living supplies for this standing army that did not engage in productive labor.

However, slavery has huge risks. No one is willing to actively accept obvious oppression, and when they realize that their personal freedom and property freedom are seriously threatened, they will inevitably rise up in resistance.

In this case, the slaves might revolt or revolt, and even trigger a series of chain reactions. If not properly handled, the Jinhan tribe would face a catastrophe.

Therefore, Zhang Sheng understood that he needed to be cautious in dealing with slavery and ensure that its implementation would not cause dissatisfaction and resistance among the people.

Otherwise, the Jinhan tribe would be in trouble, like a ship in the sea, instantly swallowed by the wind and waves.

Give slaves relative freedom and property to make them real subjects; or use money as a means of employment so that these slaves will actively, gratefully and wholeheartedly work for the slave owners of the Jinhan tribe in order to survive. Only in this way can the Jinhan tribe be stabilized.

However, the fragile nomadic economy is simply unable to do this. At present, the most advanced and common production and social relations in the world are just to rent land or livestock to subjects for grazing and farming in order to obtain various in-kind taxes, labor and military service.

Even the Jinhan tribe itself would find it difficult to implement this method, let alone use money to hire labor.

Therefore, no matter what, Zhang Sheng could not make slavery the development goal of the Jinhan tribe. He knew that this system had serious flaws and injustices and could not maintain social stability and harmony for a long time.

However, facing the large number of wars that might occur in the future, Zhang Sheng needed to find a way to deal with them. So he came up with a unique strategy: using slaves to form an army.

In every war, Zhang Sheng would gather a large number of slaves and organize them into a powerful slave army.

These slaves will face life and death tests, but as long as they kill enemies and survive on the battlefield, Zhang Sheng will give them rich rewards - becoming subjects, warriors or even higher status, and granting them new slaves and large amounts of livestock.

It was undoubtedly an amazing sight, like a revolution in which slaves stood up and became masters of their own destiny.

But what if you unfortunately die in battle? You can only accept your fate, because war is cruel.

If they died in battle, they died in battle, and no one can do anything about it. The most we can do is to sing praises of their reputations during sacrifices, and to preach that they will no longer be slaves in their next life, and will have a better life and a better status.

But such an arrangement can allow more slaves to see hope, inspire their fighting spirit, and also enhance their sense of identity and loyalty to the Jinhan tribe.

In addition, the Holy Religion has another important function, which is to pacify slaves and stabilize the people's hearts.

Through religious beliefs, slaves and subjects were made aware of their identity and status, thus avoiding rebellion and uprising.

At the same time, this also provided Zhang Sheng with a reasonable and legal cover, enabling them to better rule the Jinhan tribe.

After all, who wants to be seen as a tyrant or an oppressor?

At this time, Zhang Sheng was sitting on the main seat under the holy flag in the big tent, and on the left and right sides of Zhang Sheng sat Zhang Xibao, Zhang Zhongxian, Zhang Jinda, Zhang Anzuo, Zhang Liangzhen, Zhang Jingchong, Li Shaozong and others. The blazing fire in the tent illuminated their faces, and the air was filled with tension and expectation.

Zhang Zhongxian was the first to break the silence, his voice full of piety and power:
"My Son of Heaven, you are the shadow of Haotian on earth, the beacon in our hearts, lighting our way forward.

Under your wise leadership and with the blessing of the supreme God of Heaven, we, the remnants of people born in Dunhuang, have finally swept away the gloom and depression of the past, conquered the tribes of Jinshan with lightning speed, and avenged your uncle, Gutluk Yar Khan.

Now, we have more than 20,000 slaves, subjects, warriors and other tribes, totaling more than 100,000 people.

Whenever I think of all this, I feel extremely shocked and excited.

Looking back to May this year, when Jin Han was just founded, we only had about two thousand households, or more than ten thousand people.

But now we, the Jin Han people, have defeated the surrounding tribes in one fell swoop. The vast Jin Mountain is under the control of us, the Jin Han. We have a large population, abundant livestock, and vast pastures. Such a prosperous scene is something we could not even dream of before.

If the late emperor could see this scene, if Lord Yichao could see Zhang's descendants once again establish such a great cause, their souls in heaven would surely die without regrets, and cheer for Your Highness!"

Zhang Sheng sighed inwardly, "Yes, if my great-grandfather Zhang Yichao, my grandfathers, and my father could see this, how great would that be?"

They devoted their entire lives to defeating the various tribes in Hexi, achieving the unification of Hexi and returning it to the Tang Dynasty, and worked hard to recover the territory of the Guiyi Army.

However, they may have also foreseen that the court might instigate discord among the various clans of the Guiyi Army, leading to infighting among the Zhang, Suo, and Li clans, and causing the family's descendants to gradually die out.

If I didn't exist, the Zhang family would probably be extinct.

It is really regrettable that as descendants of Zhang Yichao, the great hero who once defeated the Tibetan garrison and restored Hexi to the Tang Dynasty, they are facing the crisis of extinction.

Zhang Sheng looked with confused eyes at the Zhang clan members in front of him who had united during the time of his father Zhang Chengfeng.

In fact, they were not from the same branch of the Nanyang Zhang family as Zhang Sheng, but they became close friends because they supported Zhang Chengfeng in ascending to the high position after the decline of the Suo and Li families, and continued to be loyal to him in the current Jinhan tribe.

When his father Zhang Chengfeng was in power, he treated them as clan relatives.

They are loyal and now hold high positions: Zhang Anzuo who is in charge of finances, Zhang Jinda who is in charge of justice, Zhang Xibao who leads a guard regiment, and Zhang Zhongxian, the highest priest of the Jinhan tribe.

They can be found in administration, the military, and the religion.

Without the power of the system, even if they remained loyal, Zhang Sheng, who had experienced several generations of civil strife, would definitely be wary of them.

But it doesn’t matter, there is still a lot of time, and the Jinhan tribe lacks talents, so there is still a lot of time.

In the future, whether you want to communicate with them or gradually replace their influence around you, it’s all up to you. There’s no need to rush at this moment.

(End of this chapter)