The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 692 A helpless move
The dragon slayer eventually becomes the evil dragon.

Although it's not quite that bad, being in this position now, Tian Ze has truly come to understand what it means to be powerless.

Most of the things that require his decision are not matters with obvious advantages and disadvantages, but rather matters with both advantages and disadvantages.

There is no such thing as right or wrong, only choices and balance.

No matter what choice he makes, he will be letting down some people and being true to others.

The only difference is the quantity.

"A large number of people from the Northeast Plain were moved to the former Northern Xiongnu and Western Regions. The population of the remaining provinces were moved to the Southeast and India."

"What should we do if the people are unwilling to leave?" Chen Gong asked.

Tian Ze paused for a moment, then said, "Don't hurt anyone, just do your best."

In the current situation, what else can he say? He can only say these eight words.

If we could persuade people with kind words and do ideological work, then if things were really that ideal, the world would have been at peace long ago.

Time heals all wounds. Those destitute refugees whom Tian Ze once rescued have now been living peacefully for more than ten or even twenty years.

In the past two decades, almost a whole new generation has emerged. How much of the gratitude and loyalty remains? Can it outweigh the fear of leaving one's hometown?

People's hearts will change.

The people are simple and honest, but also stubborn and not so easy to guide.

Their world was that small village, and relocating the entire village was undoubtedly the best solution, but it was also extremely difficult.

Tian Ze didn't want to force them, but he couldn't just let this vast territory of the world be handed over to others.

When it is difficult to persuade people who only care about their own small plot of land, some necessary measures can only be taken.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we will do our utmost," Chen Gong and the others said solemnly.

There is no way to have it all in this world.

They had no other choice but to select capable and honest officials to carry out the project, strengthen supervision at every stage, and do their best to minimize the impact on the people.

After the court meeting, inside the Ministry of Revenue's residence, Chen Gong, Zhang Zhao, and Guo Yuan were reviewing the "Relocation Registers" sent by various prefectures, their eyes filled with sorrow.

Based on the preliminary investigation, the situation was exactly as they had predicted.

Even with improved benefits and continuous publicity and mobilization, less than half of the villages are still willing to relocate.

This ratio is far from their target.

"There's no other way but to assign it by force. Otherwise, this matter simply can't be pushed forward," Zhang Zhao said with a deep sigh.

Guoyuan silently took out a booklet from his sleeve.

"This is a list of villages previously surveyed by the Ministry of Agriculture that have relatively barren land that is difficult to cultivate, or that are suitable for returning farmland to forest to conserve water and soil. They are divided into five levels."

"I suggest that if you are going to relocate, you should refer to this book as much as possible and work backward from the poorest farmer."

"In addition, this matter can be promoted together with the project of returning farmland to forest. In this way, it can also deter some villages from their idea, and the resistance may be relatively smaller."

Once he realized that population migration was inevitable, Guoyuan felt relieved and offered suggestions from his professional perspective.

Many of the villages he suggested returning farmland to forest were previously villages of displaced people forcibly gathered together by the black soil created by Tianze's talent.

For these villages, dismantling them is actually not that difficult.

Once these black soils are gone, the local people will naturally seek other ways to make a living, and their resistance to relocation will be much lower.

Zhang Zhao nodded: "I have already had a private audience with His Majesty, and he has agreed that if the black soil exists in the villages we have chosen, he will remove it." "In this way, without fertile soil, the people will naturally disperse."

Guoyuan stared blankly at Zhang Zhao, opening his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a sigh.

Although he considered such behavior shameful and wasteful, he had to admit that it was the best option available at the moment.

These growing pains are inevitable during Daqi's transformation and expansion.

Fortunately, the Great Qi now has abundant arable land and grain. Even if these people lose their land, as long as they have a year or two's worth of savings, they can easily find another place to live without having to move out of the Central Plains.

Chen Gong rubbed his forehead and said bitterly, "I never imagined that we, who once prided ourselves on loving the people, would do such a thing."

“Some things must be borne by someone. I will bear the infamy that should be borne, and I must not tarnish His Majesty’s reputation. Afterwards, let His Majesty punish me severely, and this matter will be settled,” Zhang Zhao said solemnly.

He had always been the one to insist on this matter, because he was all too aware of the current problems of the Great Qi Dynasty. Without drastic measures, many problems simply could not be solved.

If left to nature, it may take twenty or thirty years for the population to overflow the Central Plains.

When ordinary people live too well, it's not always a good thing from the perspective of those in power and the overall situation.

"You're thinking of giving up so soon? Not so easy." Chen Gong said with a laugh.

“This was a proposal we all made together, so naturally we should all share the responsibility,” Guo Yuan said without hesitation.

The three of them looked at each other and smiled.

When the will of the upper echelons is unified, the Great Qi, a sophisticated and enormous machine, is rapidly mobilized.

Orders were issued one after another to various villages, and a large number of scholars were sent out to persuade the local people.

The elderly who had suffered the hardships of displacement and were grateful for Tianze's kindness were also mobilized.

Some scholars who had been sent to Sindhu to prepare for the relocation were also recalled to persuade their villages to relocate by sharing their own experiences.

Various newspapers and periodicals put their efforts into action, and a wave of public opinion about relocation swept across the entire Great Qi.

Of course, many scholars still held reservations about the issue of population migration.

They were not relatively ignorant people who were blinded by the so-called generous treatment and the fertile land of India, but rather keenly perceived the actual considerations behind it.

This even sparked a debate that affected the entire world.

After all, this was the first time since the founding of the Great Qi that such an action had clearly harmed the interests of the people. Even if it was beneficial to the country, it was still questionable.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhao had anticipated this possibility and quickly launched a major discussion involving scholars across the country, relying on the Jixia Academy in various regions.

The relationship between the individual and the collective, between the present and the future... these topics have never yielded a universally accepted conclusion throughout history.

Taking advantage of this relocation of people and the conversion of farmland back to forest, scholars from all walks of life once again engaged in heated debates.

Reasons cannot be clarified without debate, but such controversies do not have a so-called "definitive conclusion" because their value lies precisely in maintaining tension.

Protecting the foundation of individual survival and the responsibility for the continued development of the group are both instincts deep within human nature, neither of which is right or wrong.

Zhang Zhao realized this very early on.

The Salt and Iron Conference held during the reign of Emperor Wu also came to nothing.

This kind of free-flowing discussion, where everyone has a voice, makes it difficult to reach a conclusion. Even if a conclusion is reached, it may not be "perfect," but it may be the "greatest common denominator" that all parties can accept.

Zhang Zhao used this opportunity to explain the issues of relocating people and returning farmland to forest in detail, thus gaining the approval of the scholars.

We don't need their excessive support, just to prevent them from being overly resistant and to make them understand that this is not a tyrannical act driven by ambition, but rather a reluctant measure taken after careful consideration by the entire Qi state.

(End of this chapter)