Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 432 East-West Standoff
“Zhang Atian, Zhang Heinu, Wu Choubi, Zhang Youtian…”

“You four households, eighteen people in total, will be divided into groups, each person will be allocated seven mu of land, and the group leader will be Zhang Atian.”

During the cold winter, when people should be enduring hunger and cold, the Guanzhong Plain is unusually lively, and the enthusiasm of the people can almost melt away the cold winter.

In the drying ground of Jangwu Village, under the jurisdiction of Cheonggye-ri, Dali Township, Hamyang County, Gyeonggi Prefecture, hundreds of villagers gathered, their eyes fixed on the eight people who were surrounded.

These eight people included the village chief elected by the people of Zhangwu Village, two county officials in charge of land surveying and registration, and five armored Han soldiers.

Facing a crowd of hundreds, the fifty-something-year-old village chief Zhang looked at Bai Zhi behind him and said respectfully, "Li Bai Zhi, the villagers have all been divided into groups."

"Um……"

In response to Village Chief Zhang's answer, Li Bai, who had an ordinary appearance, took the initiative to say, "Those who can make decisions for each household, please stay. The rest of you, go home!"

"Did you all hear that!" Village Chief Zhang echoed, and the villagers dispersed upon seeing this.

By this time, they had finished the autumn harvest, and everyone had received food, so the situation was not as bleak as it had been a few months earlier.

The rural grassroots management in the Tang Dynasty mainly adopted a multi-level system of "township-village-ward" with "township-village-ward" as the core and "village-ward" as the supplement, forming a strict household registration and tax control network.

The township is the highest unit in this system. There are many townships in the capital region, with each county having five to ten townships, and each township having about five hundred to one thousand households.

In the past, townships had a township head, but this was not a formal official position. It was mostly held by local powerful families and was responsible for compiling household registers and supervising the township head in enforcing taxes and corvée labor.

After the Han army arrived, each village was given two officials outside the official system: a village head and a patrol inspector. Each official received an annual salary of fifteen strings of cash and two bolts of cloth, or the equivalent of twenty shi of grain.

The township head is responsible for governance, and the patrol inspector is responsible for maintaining public order.

Because Liu Jilong abolished the corvée labor and slavery systems, people needed to be paid wages or grain for their work. Although the amount was small, it was still better than having to bring their own grain to do corvée labor.

For this reason, under the township head's jurisdiction, there were two officials to assist in the statistics of household registration, land, taxes, and to mobilize the people to repair the official road and distribute wages.

The patrol inspector only had twenty laborers recruited each year. These twenty laborers needed to participate in training and received two dou of grain per month from the community granary.

The township was divided into five villages, and each village had about one hundred households.

As the base of support has grown, it has become difficult to maintain a situation similar to that of the Longyou period, where every village had its own Baizhi (a local official).

For this reason, the village chiefs of the "li" under the rule of the Han army were selected from among the villagers by the township head and the patrol inspector.

This selection system began in the pre-Qin period and became quite mature by the Tang Dynasty.

After being elected by the people, the village chief immediately went to the township to receive literacy training.

The reason they needed to receive literacy training was that under the rule of the Han army, the village chiefs were responsible for matters such as the "hand-to-hand system" and tax collection.

The "Shoushi" was the core document for grassroots household registration management in the Tang Dynasty. It was a document in which households declared their family population, land, and property status, which was then verified by the village head and used as the basis for tax collection and land allocation.

Since the Han army did not levy corvée labor, the "hand-in-hand" system mainly involved compiling statistics on the population, land, livestock, houses, and other property within the villages to facilitate tax collection and mobilize the people.

The village chief receives a salary of five strings of cash from the community granary each year. It's not much, but it's still a job with income.

The area is divided into villages, with varying numbers and household registrations; small villages have dozens of households, while large villages have hundreds.

For this reason, the village chief is usually concurrently the head of the ward. If the head of the ward is unable to manage the affairs, a village chief is appointed to help with management.

Within the city walls, the "fangjian" were equivalent to the li and cun levels, and both had a li chief.

In addition, the Tang Dynasty's surveillance of ordinary people was mainly based on four households forming a "neighborhood," five neighbors forming a "bao" (20 households), and five bao forming a "li" (100 households).

This not only facilitated mutual supervision among the people, allowing them to report on matters such as neighbors fleeing or concealing their household registration, but also made it easier for the government to provide corvée labor to the people, enabling them to cooperate in completing government duties (such as transportation and road repair).

After the Han army arrived, in order to facilitate the restoration of agricultural production and the reclamation of wasteland, Liu Jilong transplanted the production system of Longyou to the various circuits under the control of the Han army.

Liu Jilong preserved the neighborhood system, but changed neighborhood groups and appointed group leaders.

Each group of villagers forms a production team, with varying numbers in each village. In addition to resuming production after the land was distributed, they are also responsible for reclaiming abandoned fields and cultivating wasteland.

These changes have been clearly explained to the village chiefs and neighborhood leaders by the Bai Zhi team who went to the countryside to measure fields and count the population.

Seeing that most of the people had been left behind, Zhang, the village chief of Zhangwu Village, immediately looked at Li Baizhi and said, "Li Baizhi, that's all the people we have left."

"Hmm," Li Bai nodded, then looked at everyone and said, "You are all the pillars of your respective families."

"Now the situation has changed. His Highness has confiscated all the land of the powerful and wealthy and distributed it to you who have no surplus wealth, so that you can become self-reliant and continue to live a good life."

"Regarding cultivation and land reclamation, the production team leaders will lead the teams. These team leaders were all chosen by you yourselves, and now that it's settled, there's no use regretting it."

"If you really regret it, you can only wait until five years later when the village chief, village head, and group leader are re-elected, and then you can re-elect them."

After Li Bai finished speaking, he said to the group leaders and Village Chief Zhang, "You should all know about the community granary."

"The government has ordered that if you can reclaim the abandoned land in this village, you will be rewarded with two shi of grain for every acre you reclaim or reclaim."

"How the grain is distributed is mainly up to your village to discuss."

After speaking frankly, Li Bai looked at Village Chief Zhang and said, "Reclaimed and reclaimed land must be strictly reported. You've been doing literacy classes in the township for two months now, so basic arithmetic and writing numbers up to 100 shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

"No problem, no problem..." Village Chief Zhang nodded and smiled obsequiously.

Seeing this, Li Bai nodded in satisfaction and said, "In addition to the need to register the amount of land at any time, the newly born population also needs to be registered."

"Now that the poll tax is waived and the population is registered, it is so that the King of Han can know the situation of your village."

"The government has been saying that in the future, the township and county will set up official schools, and each village can recommend three to five talented children to study at the official schools every year."

"During the five years of study, the government was responsible for providing the students with paper, pens, inkstones, food, and rations."

“If you are negligent and fail to register the population, and the children in the village cannot go to school in the future, then it will have nothing to do with us.”

Li Bai's words immediately stirred up the dozens of villagers below.

In the past, literacy was something that only commoners or those from ordinary families could afford to support. Now that the government is providing it for them, how can they not be restless?

Seeing their commotion, Li Baizhi announced that it was almost time, and then looked at Village Chief Zhang:
"If the government-run school opens, the village will inform you."

"The registration of your village's population and land holdings has been completed, and we are now returning to our hometown."

"During the winter off-season, you can lead each production team to reclaim wasteland. Remember to go to the township on the first day of the twelfth lunar month. This literacy campaign will last for a month."

"I remember, I remember..." Village Chief Zhang nodded hurriedly, while advising, "Why don't you have a meal before you leave?"

"No need, you should focus on managing your village."

After speaking frankly, Li Bai immediately stood up, turned around, and beckoned everyone to leave.

After a stick of incense had burned, they embarked on their journey back to Dali Township, while the people of Zhangwu Village were all happy about the land distribution.

Upon learning that the county would select three to five children from various villages each year to study in the county for five years, they were even more excited, feeling that the weather had never been so cold.

People from various prefectures and counties in Guanzhong and Guannei were surveying land and registering people, and Liu Jilong was very concerned about the progress of these tasks.

Besides these, what he is most concerned about is this year's harsh winter.

"Crackling..."

Inside the provincial government office at Chang'an Gate, Bai Zhi added coal to the fire wall. The coal burned inside, sending heat along the kang (heated brick bed) to the main hall of the provincial government office, bringing considerable warmth.

Inside the hall, Liu Jilong sat in the main seat, holding a document in his hand, carefully reading it.

Han Zhengke and Cui Shu were not in the hall; only Gao Jinda was waiting for Liu Jilong's instructions.

The handbook in Liu Jilong's hand was a record of the number of people who had died of hunger and cold since the beginning of winter, which he had ordered the various counties and townships to compile.

After a long while, he put down the document and sighed, "Although no one died of hunger this year, quite a few people died of cold."

"More than three thousand seventy-eight people from various sects..."

He spoke of the number of people who died this winter because they couldn't survive the cold, and Gao Jinda nodded in agreement.

"More than 500 skilled miners have been transferred from Longyou to Weibei and Binning."

"According to the Ministry of Works, if gunpowder, mining rails, and horse-drawn carts could be used in the mining areas of Weibei and Binning, the output might increase more than tenfold."

During the Tang Dynasty, coal was mainly used for iron smelting. However, in the Song Dynasty, due to the denser population, fewer forests, and the wider range of coal utilization, coal production increased seven or eight times.

By the Ming Dynasty, production had more than tripled compared to the Song Dynasty.

Thanks to Liu Jilong's guidance, Longyou has always had a high output, thanks to the use of gunpowder for road construction and the mining of coal in the deep mountains.

Liu Jilong wanted to promote coal in the north, not only to provide heating for the people, but also to drive down coal prices, thereby reducing the number of people cutting firewood.

Based on his previous experience of marching and fighting in Guannei Road, the problem of the people in Guannei Road cutting down trees was very serious.

In addition, the problem of overgrazing by the northern Tangut people and local residents is also very serious.

If things continue to develop as they are now, it is estimated that in three hundred years, the desert in Henan will have expanded to at least several times its original size.

Moreover, the population of Guannei Circuit during the Tang Dynasty was reduced by at least a lot due to the wars during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Now, Guannei Circuit and Guanzhong are at peace, and their population is definitely more than that of Guannei Circuit and Jingji Circuit in the early Northern Song Dynasty.

If the people are allowed to cut down trees at will, it will probably take three hundred years before the desert in Henan province forms sandstorms that blow towards the Central Plains.

In fact, Liu Jilong wanted to take advantage of the warm period of the late Tang Dynasty to relocate as many people as possible to the former and latter parts of the Hetao region.

Fengzhou and Shengzhou have small populations. Faced with the Yellow River's flooding at the Jiziwan area, the local population is simply insufficient to build water conservancy projects to divert and resist the floods, and consequently, they are unable to develop the local wasteland.

If it is not developed now, the Yellow River will become even more prone to flooding as global temperatures drop.

If Liu Jilong remembers correctly, the old Hetao Canal built during the Han and Tang dynasties was swallowed by the Yellow River because it was not repaired. In addition, the Hetao region was not peaceful during the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties, and finally the Mongol army marched south.

Agriculture in the Hetao region, both before and after the Qin Dynasty, has completely degenerated to the level it was before the Qin Dynasty. Even in the mid-to-early Qing Dynasty, due to the global temperature drop and reduced rainfall in the north, agriculture in the Hetao region did not recover to the level of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

If they could relocate people to the Qiantao and Houtao areas and repair and expand the Tanglai Canal in the Hetao region, agricultural production in the Hetao area could also achieve stable development.

Furthermore, the coal and iron mines in the Yinshan and Langshan mountains in northern Hetao can also be utilized.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to Gao Jinda, "Tell Cao Mao in Guannei Road that the displaced people can be relocated to Fengzhou and Shengzhou, and the Tanglai Canal can be repaired and expanded."

“Relying on the Yellow River, as long as the Tanglai Canal is expanded and improved, and more sluice gates are added, not only can the military farms in Fengzhou and Shengzhou be restored to the million mu of military farms during the Kaiyuan era, but they may also be able to expand continuously.”

Water conservancy projects are very important for agriculture. Good water conservancy can increase the yield per acre by 10% to 20%.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the Tumed tribe, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, disintegrated due to insufficient water conservancy projects and drought caused by reduced rainfall during the Little Ice Age.

During the Wanli era, the Tumed tribe could still mobilize 30,000 armored cavalry to invade, but by the time the Qing Dynasty advanced westward at the end of the Ming Dynasty, they couldn't even muster 30,000 men and were easily dealt with by the Qing Dynasty as if they were wild monsters.

If the Tumed tribe had built more irrigation canals and dug more wells, maintaining the number of 30,000 armored cavalry during Altan Khan's reign, the Qing Dynasty would not have been able to easily penetrate the southern Gobi Desert.

Although the transition from Tang to Song was unlikely to be as cold as the Little Ice Age at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Jilong still felt it was better to be prepared.

If we don't take advantage of our strength to build more projects that benefit the people, the people will only suffer more when the court shows signs of decline. The same principle applies to territorial expansion.

However, when expanding territory, one must choose the right direction based on the different historical contexts.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong thought of Zhang Huaishen, who was in the Western Regions, and couldn't help but ask, "How many people are to be sent to the Western Regions this time?"

When Liu Jilong asked, Gao Jinda explained, "The number of people to be sent to the Western Regions has not yet been decided."

"Half a month ago, General Zhang ordered Jiujuyan to convey that after receiving more than 70,000 surrendered soldiers from Sanchuan and other provinces, the food and provisions in Hexi, Anxi, Beiting and other places were already insufficient."

Therefore, the transfer of people to Hexi and Anxi shall be temporarily suspended.

After Gao Jinda finished speaking, a smile appeared on his face: "Back when I was in Shazhou, I wished that the court could relocate tens of thousands of Han people from Guanzhong to Hexi to enrich the population of Hexi."

"Now that you have only moved 70,000 people to Hankou, Zhang Jieshuai is already unable to bear it."

"Hahaha..." Liu Jilong laughed heartily upon hearing this.
"In that case, let all the captured soldiers, along with the scoundrels, hooligans, and powerful families who caused this disturbance, be exiled to Fengzhou and Shengzhou."

“Alright!” Gao Jinda agreed first, then added, “This group of people totals more than 97,000. If we escort them directly there, the local granaries will definitely not have enough food to feed them.”

"Why not send troops, using these people as laborers, to escort 500,000 shi of grain from Guanzhong northward to Fengzhou and Shengzhou?"

"If we start with 500,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), how much of that can be transported?" Liu Jilong asked.

Gao Jinda replied without hesitation, "If it is transported to Shengzhou, it will take about three months. With food and supplies for the people and horses along the way, it should still be able to transport 300,000 shi."

"If it is transported to Fengzhou, it can transport approximately 250,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).

"I believe that since Shengzhou is close to Hedong, our army will inevitably have to go through Shengzhou to attack Daibei in the future. Therefore, we can relocate 50,000 people to Shengzhou and leave 200,000 shi of grain."

"The remaining grain will be relocated to Fengzhou, and another 200,000 shi of grain will be transferred from Lingzhou, Yanzhou, Lanzhou, Huizhou, Liangzhou and other places to Fengzhou."

"This grain is enough for them to eat until March of next year."

“There is a lot of abandoned farmland in the area, which is very easy to restore production. Next year, they will be able to reclaim the land and solve 30% of the food problem.”

"Before winter next year, another 700,000 shi of grain will be transported north, and they should be able to resume production by the year after next."

After Gao Jinda finished speaking, Liu Jilong nodded in agreement and then instructed, "I'll leave this matter to you."

"There are nearly 400,000 people in the Western Regions, and our Han population accounts for 60% of them. In addition, Huai and Shen are in their prime, so we don't need to worry about them for the next 30 years."

Historically, Zhang Huaishen only lived to the age of fifty-nine, but that was because he was betrayed and killed by Su Xun and his nephew and son.

If he remains healthy and free from illness, Zhang Huaishen estimates he could live to his seventies like Zhang Yichao and Zhang Yitan.

"Your Highness, I believe there are still many matters between you and Hexi that have not yet been resolved..."

Seeing that Liu Jilong was happy, Gao Jinda immediately prepared to offer his suggestions.

Seeing his cautious demeanor, Liu Jilong couldn't help but become curious: "What is it?"

"Have you considered how to handle the issues between Hexi and Anbei Beiting?"

When Gao Jinda raised this question, Liu Jilong breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

He supported Zhang Huaishen initially to ensure his own safety and to provide assistance in times of crisis.

Now Zhang Huaishen has expanded the power of the Guiyi Army in Hexi and changed his banner, expressing his willingness to submit to Liu Jilong's command.

However, Zhang Huaishen was proud by nature. He agreed that the Guiyi Army in Hexi should be subordinate to the Han Army, but in his memorial to the throne, he still talked with Liu Jilong and others.

Given the relationship between Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen, this is naturally nothing, but the two will eventually return to dust.

They can do it, but their descendants cannot.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at Gao Jinda: "What are you thinking?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Jinda immediately said, "I have heard that General Zhang has three sons, Yan Hui, Yan Shou, and Yan En, as well as two daughters, Miao Yin and Xia Hua."

"The eldest son, Zhang Yanhui, is both scholarly and martial, and is fourteen years old."

"I believe that Your Highness could send a letter to Anxi, requesting that Commander Zhang send a small number of elite cavalry and Zhang Langjun to come and establish a marriage alliance with you."

"Form a marriage alliance?" Liu Jilong frowned slightly. It wasn't that he was unwilling, but although he had four sons and three daughters, his eldest daughter, Liu Zhi, was only four years old, ten years younger than Zhang Yanhui.

Moreover, he was not too willing to marry Liu Zhi off to someone else too early; she should be at least sixteen or seventeen.

In that case, Zhang Yanhui would have to wait at least another twelve or thirteen years.

He couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Zhang Huaishen, having kept Zhang Yanhui waiting for so long.

After thinking for a moment, he felt it was no big deal; at worst, he could just let Zhang Yanhui take a concubine.

Given the historical context, he couldn't simply copy everything; adapting appropriately to the times was essential, just as he himself had seven concubines.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong nodded and said, "In that case, I will write it down and send it to Anxi by express horse."

Liu Jilong was worried that having someone else write the script might lead to ambiguity, so he felt more at ease writing it himself.

Gao Jinda breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and added, "If possible, why not arrange a marriage between the eldest son and Zhang Miaoyin?"

“The eldest son is already ten years old this year, while Zhang Miaoyin is seven years old. They are quite a good match.”

"Okay!" Hearing Gao Jinda say that, Liu Jilong didn't hesitate much this time.

Although Liu Bilie was a playful fellow, he was of good character and excelled in his studies. His appearance, resembling both Liu Jilong and Feng Hui, was also quite handsome, making him a suitable match for Zhang Miaoyin. After agreeing, Liu Jilong quickly wrote down the message and ordered Gao Jinda to send it by fast horse to Anxi.

After this matter was settled, Liu Jilong continued to discuss the current situation with Gao Jinda.

"Half a month ago, I heard that Huang Chao had stopped in Yuanzhou and that the rebels in western Zhejiang had been quelled by Kang Chengxun."

"It seems that Kang Chengxun will lead his troops to Yuanzhou to besiege Huang Chao's forces. If Huang Chao can defeat Kang Chengxun, he may be able to unite the bandits in Hunan, occupy the entire Hunan region, and then move south to Lingnan, east to Jiangxi, and north to Jiangling."

Even if defeated, Huang Chao could retreat into Hunan and use the bandits to besiege Kang Chengxun, or move to another place and develop his power.

As Liu Jilong spoke about the situation in Guandong, Gao Jinda nodded solemnly and said, "However, Huang Chao's wives, concubines, and children are all in our hands. The more he causes trouble, the more our army will benefit."

"If Kang Chengxun is defeated, the amount of money and grain transported from Hunan, Lingnan and Fujian will probably be even less, and the court will likely find it even more difficult to continue."

At this time, neither of them knew that due to the Han army's triumphant advance, the destruction of various towns in the northwest of the capital, and the severe damage to the Shence Army, the power of the Tang court in the imperial court was redistributed, and the Tang court's finances also changed from deficit to surplus.

Even if Liu Jilong knew this, he would probably just laugh it off. He didn't believe that Li Cui could reclaim the lost territory of Guanzhong just because he had money.

Those scoundrels from the Southern and Northern Offices have caused countless harms to friendly forces on the battlefield.

Putting everything else aside, if Yang Xuanji had insisted on holding on, Liu Jilong would not have been able to acquire so many people from Liangmao in Longdong, and thus tens of thousands of laborers.

Even if he had held out for a few more days, it would have greatly delayed the Han army's southward advance. In the end, he chose to abandon his adopted son and the Binning army and flee, and later also abandoned Xinping.

Because of him, Wang Shi and Zheng Tian suffered a crushing defeat in Longdong. As a result, he was not only not punished when he returned, but was also rewarded by Li Cui.

In addition, Lingtai County, which should have been reinforced, was cracked by the fire.

The Lingtai County wall was overseen by officials from the Southern Government, and a fire burned it open.

When Liu Jilong learned of this, his mind went blank for several seconds.

With this group of people around, even if Wang Shi and Zheng Tian had an army of 300,000, it wouldn't be enough for them to harm them.

"Commander, Your Highness..."

As the two were thinking about Huang Chao, the sound of ceremonial chanting rang out from outside the hall.

The two looked around and saw an official in a light green robe of the seventh rank standing at the door with several white-clad men, holding many documents in their hands.

"come in."

When Liu Jilong saw the three men, even though they were more than twenty steps apart, he could still clearly see the appearance of the seventh-rank officials.

In an era where appearances mattered, this man was only 1.6 meters tall, with large nostrils, pitted skin, a thin build, and a chisel-like chin.

To Liu Jilong, who often dealt with soldiers, this man was somewhat ugly, let alone many officials of that era.

However, Liu Jilong wasn't that obsessed with looks, and he remained calm about the man's arrival.

Gao Jinda, however, seemed to know that the man was ugly, and quickly explained to Liu Jilong, "Your Highness, this man's name is Luo Yin, and his courtesy name is Zhaojian."

"Although he is from the Luo family of eastern Zhejiang, he comes from a poor family. Half a month ago, he passed the provincial examination and ranked seventh in the first class."

"After the imperial examination, he was appointed as an assistant director of the Ministry of Finance, a seventh-rank official, based on his writings."

"Luo Yin?" Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong looked at Luo Yin, who immediately bowed and said, "This humble official, Luo Yin, greets Your Highness..."

He was nervous and knew he was ugly, but seeing Liu Jilong's calm demeanor just now, he couldn't help but feel hopeful.

"When you have time, I'll take a look at his articles." Liu Jilong chuckled. He hadn't expected to meet another relatively famous poet from the late Tang Dynasty besides Li Shangyin.

"Aren't you going to thank His Highness?" Gao Jinda reminded Luo Yin, who immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness."

"Hmm, what are these?" Liu Jilong didn't pay much attention; his focus was on the documents Luo Yin had brought.

Seeing this, Luo Yin continued to bow and said, "In addition to the amount of autumn harvest money and grain and the amount of money and grain stored in the warehouses as recorded by the Ministry of Revenue, there are also maps and records sent from Jiannan Road, Shannan West Road and other places."

"There's no need for such humility. Put down the documents and get back to handling your official duties."

Liu Jilong offered Luo Yin a few words of comfort, which left Luo Yin with indescribable feelings.

He considered himself talented and knowledgeable, but he failed the imperial examinations repeatedly.

Before Liu Jilong entered Chang'an, he had just failed the imperial examination and was ridiculed.

Lacking power, he was unaware that officials had fled Chang'an. By the time he realized what was happening, the Han army had already occupied the city.

He was initially terrified of the rebels, but after the Han army entered Chang'an, they did not harm the people in any way, and even opened granaries to buy up grain from the market and distributed grain to relieve the famine in Guanzhong.

These experiences, coupled with the Tang court's closure of Guanzhong, which prevented scholars and officials from leaving, left him with no choice but to continue waiting for an opportunity in Chang'an.

A few days ago, the Han army announced that it would conduct a civil service examination for the remaining officials and all scholars in Guanzhong, and that anyone could register.

All those with talent and learning were granted official positions.

He had only taken the exam with a try-it-out attitude, but he ended up ranking seventh on the list of successful candidates and was even granted a seventh-rank official position.

Even though he had been working as a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue for half a month, he still felt it was unreal.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I'll take my leave now..."

Realizing what was happening, Luo Yin bowed respectfully and then led Bai Zhi out of the hall.

Upon seeing this, Liu Jilong lowered his head and flipped through the documents concerning the Ministry of Finance, where he saw the memorial written by Luo Yin.

After a moment, Liu Jilong nodded and said, "Although he is of ordinary appearance, he is very polite and respectful, and his memorials and essays also have their own insights. Not bad..."

“Hehe…” Gao Jinda chuckled upon hearing this and said to Liu Jilong, “Although no one in the ministry discusses him in front of him, many people still call him ‘Luo Fengchu’.”

"Your praise of his ordinary appearance is also a compliment to him."

Although Gao Jinda valued Luo Yin, he did not praise Luo Yin's appearance out of affection for him.

Officials in Longyou were mostly five feet five or six inches tall (1.7 meters), while other officials in the north were mostly from prominent families and were not short.

Among the many officials in the north, Luo Yin was of the lowest stature and appearance, so it's no wonder that he failed the imperial examinations repeatedly.

Even if someone passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi, the examiner might not necessarily select him after making a little inquiry.

However, Liu Jilong didn't care about these things. He only felt that Luo Yin's articles were well-written, had his own insights, and that he was a rare talent.

Therefore, Liu Jilong did not respond to Gao Jinda's words, but continued to look through the documents to understand the current situation of the Han army.

He first looked through the records of Sanchuan, and found that Jiannan Road had more than 587,000 households, more than 2,877,000 people, and more than 17,570,000 mu of land.

Shannan West Road has more than 163,000 households, more than 823,000 people, and more than 6.47 million mu of land.

The two areas together comprise over 750,000 households, over 3.7 million people, and over 24.5 million mu of land.

After a year of hard work, nearly ten thousand officials finally produced this pile of data.

After looking at it, Liu Jilong nodded and gestured to Gao Jinda, saying, "Come and see, this is more than what Cui Shu and I estimated back then."

“Back in the Kaiyuan era, Jiannan and Shannan West Circuit had a population of over five million. Now our army has three million seven hundred thousand people, and Gao Pian has an estimated population of no less than one million three hundred thousand.”

“The lands of Jiannan and Shannan are indeed prosperous. The population and land of all the other regions have decreased, but the population of these two regions is not much different from that during the Kaiyuan era.”

"That is the result of Longyou absorbing a million people from the two routes."

"If Longyou hadn't absorbed a million people, the population of the two regions would probably be close to six million."

Liu Jilong was very happy, and Gao Jinda laughed when he heard this: "Both regions have suffered a lot of disasters. If it weren't for you, the two regions wouldn't have so many people left."

Gao Jinda had no intention of flattering anyone. After all, in his view, without Longyou recruiting refugees, most of these refugees would have starved to death.

Liu Jilong neither confirmed nor denied this, and picked up the household register to read through it.

The autumn harvest in all provinces has been over for more than a month, and the tax results for each prefecture and county have also been released.

The Longyou Circuit received 240,000 strings of cash in taxes, 2.24 million shi of grain, and over 650,000 bolts of coarse cloth. In addition, there were gold, silver, copper, iron, and tea worth 200,000 strings of cash, as well as spices, porcelain, and lacquerware worth 500,000 strings of cash.

Since Liu Jilong took control of Sanchuan, Guannei, and Guanzhong, the spices he had stockpiled were slowly being sold off.

Judging from the taxation, it becomes clear why Liu Jilong was able to support 60,000 soldiers, over 10,000 officials, and more than 70,000 students with the million-strong population and tens of millions of acres of arable land in Longyou.

If all grain and coarse cloth were converted into cash, the Longyou Circuit would have paid nearly two million strings of cash in taxes.

This was still the result of severing trade with the imperial court and the devaluation of spices and grains.

Before the war, Longyou Road had made a steady profit of 700,000 strings of cash by using middlemen in the trade of spices, cloth, and porcelain, but now that value had depreciated.

Composing himself, Liu Jilong turned his gaze to Guannei Province, Gyeonggi Province, Sannam West Province, and Jiannan Province.

Within the four provinces, after various taxes and fees were deducted, the province of Gyeonggi received 660,000 kan of cash, 2.4 million shi of grain, and 400,000 shi of grain stored in the local granaries.

The Jiannan Circuit received 520,000 strings of cash and 4,520,000 shi of grain in exchange for various items such as silk, salt, and iron.

The Guannei Circuit received 140,000 strings of cash and 720,000 shi of grain from the exchange of silk, salt, iron, and other commodities.

The Shannan West Circuit received 170,000 strings of cash and 950,000 shi of grain in exchange for various goods such as silk, salt, and iron.

The five transactions yielded 2.43 million strings of cash and 11.23 million bushels of grain.

The taxes levied in the five circuits under the Han army were twice as high as those under the Tang court, but the total tax amount was roughly the same.

This was mainly due to two policies: the integration of poll tax and miscellaneous taxes into the land, which involved directly collecting grain from the land as tax.

After Liu Jilong glanced at it briefly, he immediately handed it over to Gao Jinda to review.

The two quickly finished reviewing the income and then began looking at the expenditure.

Just considering military pay, the 260,000 Han troops and the Jinwu Guard in Chang'an alone required 6.5 million shi of grain and 1.3 million guan of cash.

In addition, as Liu Jilong extended the yamen's governance of local areas to the county and township levels, the number of officials employed suddenly increased by more than 8,400 officials with ranks and more than 28,000 unregistered officials, requiring an annual expenditure of 2.2 million shi (a unit of dry measure) and 420,000 guan (another unit of dry measure).

The official schools in Longyou require one million shi (a unit of dry measure) and 120,000 guan (another unit of cash) to maintain annually.

The three major items totaled 9.7 million shi of grain and 1.84 million guan.

The surplus was no more than 600,000 strings of cash and 1.5 million shi of grain.

There may seem to be quite a few, but don't forget that the Han army did not conscript laborers, and when it needed to repair or build roads and water conservancy projects in local prefectures and counties, it was necessary to pay wages to the people.

Therefore, this small surplus cannot actually be retained.

"The 400,000 strings of cash allocated to reward the army has been owed money for several months."

"As for grain, let Wang Tao and others sell grain from the south to the north to stabilize grain prices in the north and also ensure the income of people in the south from selling grain."

Liu Jilong gave instructions to Gao Jinda, who wrote them all down.

After the autumn harvest, the price of grain in Guanzhong dropped to 700 coins per shi, while the price in Sanchuan ranged from 400 to 500 coins per shi, and in Guannei Dao, it ranged from 800 coins to 1 guan per shi.

The grain price in Longyou was the most average, still at 500 coins per shi.

In this situation, it would certainly be necessary for brokers like Wang Tao and Yu Conghui, who were under the control of the Han army, to circulate grain and stabilize grain prices.

Of course, Liu Jilong wouldn't rely solely on the few people he had, so the local government offices in various prefectures and counties also had to mobilize laborers for transportation.

This business is mostly unprofitable, but if it is ignored because it is not profitable, then the people of Guannei Road will suffer.

Why did Liu Jilong break ties with Tang Ting?
Besides Tang Ting wanting to break ties with him, he also resented Tang Ting for being so arrogant and disrespectful, especially since Tang Ting wasn't doing his job properly.

Liu Jilong had a clear understanding of how life was for the people of Gwannei Province, Gyeonggi Province, and Geumnam Province.

If he doesn't come, the people can't afford to eat. If he comes, the people still can't afford to eat. Then what's the point of his trip?
"Your Highness, rest assured, I know what to do."

Gao Jinda bowed and explained, while Liu Jilong nodded and said, "Although this amount of money and grain is considerable, it is certainly not the optimal situation for tax payment under our army's jurisdiction."

“In Guannei Road and Jingji Road, land allocation has just begun. Many hidden households and fields have not yet been measured clearly, and officials have not yet sorted out the situation in the local villages.”

"By this time next year, the government's funds and provisions should have increased considerably."

Gao Jinda also deeply agreed with what Liu Jilong said.

After all, the Tang court could only obtain 20% of the taxes from local government offices, yet it still managed to raise 17 million strings of cash.

If the money and grain collected by the Han army were converted into cash based on local prices, it would amount to no more than seven million strings of cash.

Although the five circuits under the Han army's rule were not as wealthy as the six circuits of Hedong, Hebei, Henan, Jiangnan East and West, and Huainan, they were not so poor that they only had seven million strings of cash.

After all, the official system under the Han army was relatively clean and honest. Without corruption, collecting 35% of the taxes would amount to at least 9 million strings of cash, if not 10 million.

Just as the two were thinking this, a voice rang out from outside the hall: "Commander-in-Chief, news has arrived from Guandong."

Outside the hall, an official, also dressed in a light green seventh-rank robe, was bowing respectfully. He had a handsome appearance, though not outstanding, but he possessed a kind of aloofness reminiscent of the Cold Food Festival, and he was thin.

However, with Luo Yin as an example, Liu Jilong couldn't help but ask, "Was this also an official who passed the imperial examination?"

“Your Highness, it is indeed…” Gao Jinda replied respectfully, then gestured for the official to enter the hall, and introduced Liu Jilong as follows:

“At this time, Pi Rixiu, who ranked fifth on the list, whose courtesy name was Ximei, was currently serving as the chief scribe in the Secretariat.”

Faced with Pi Rixiu, Liu Jilong could only click his tongue in amazement: "Another famous one."

Composing himself, Liu Jilong asked Pi Rixiu, "What happened in Guandong?"

"Your Highness..." Although Pi Rixiu was arrogant, he only acted this way when dealing with mediocre people.

Even though he was usually aloof, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous and awkward in front of Liu Jilong.

"News has come from Guandong that the imperial court has appointed Liu Zhan as the commander-in-chief of the various circuits, in charge of Hedong, the capital region, and Shannan East Circuit."

"In addition, the southern barbarians invaded Annam in September. Cai Xi, the military commissioner of Annam, had few troops under his command, and all the area west of Jiaozhi City was lost. Cai Xi led several thousand troops to defend Jiaozhi, Songping and other cities, and asked Cai Jing, the military commissioner of Lingxi, for help."

"Cai Jing is jealous of Cai Xi's previous victory over the southern barbarians and refuses to send troops. The situation in Annam is probably..."

Pi Rixiu frowned, his tone carrying seven parts disappointment and three parts anxiety.

Gao Jinda was oblivious to his anxiety, and simply sighed, "The situation is like this, yet the court is still fighting over factions."

"Even if the imperial court issues an order to send troops now, it will probably be difficult to defeat the southern barbarians."

"It's a pity about Cai Xi. I've heard he treats the people under his rule well and has a strong character. I'm afraid he won't surrender to the southern barbarians..."

While Gao Jinda was still sighing, Liu Jilong quickly glanced at Pi Rixiu with an unchanged expression, and then looked at Gao Jinda before Pi Rixiu could react.

"It's a pity for the people of Annam. However, Wang Shi has been guarding Annam for so long and has built Luo City. Since Cai Xi was able to repel the Southern Barbarians, holding Luo City should not be a problem."

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Pi Rixiu and said, "You may leave."

“Yes…” Pi Rixiu was somewhat dazed, but still respectfully withdrew from the yamen.

Liu Jilong watched him leave, his gaze cold as he watched his retreating figure. Only after he was completely gone did Liu Jilong speak, "Send someone to keep an eye on him."

"You mean..." Gao Jinda's tone was hurried, and he couldn't help but become nervous.

Seeing that Liu Jilong nodded before he could finish speaking, Gao Jinda quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will certainly deal with him properly."

"No need." Liu Jilong shook his head and then said:
"There are many people in the imperial examination who share the same goal as him. We can use these 'loyal' people to carry out some tricks to deceive the Tang court."

Gao Jinda was somewhat anxious: "But keeping them around is always a potential problem."

Liu Jilong looked at Gao Jinda with complete composure, patted his chest, and a dull thud was heard, indicating that he was wearing inner armor.

“I can’t sleep soundly in this city of Chang’an, so I’ve been on guard.”

Gao Jinda was speechless, unsure of what to say. Thinking of his lord's usual bravery coupled with an unusual fear of death, he could only manage a dry laugh: "I am no match for him..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

There will be a regular update tomorrow afternoon, and an extra update tomorrow night.

(End of this chapter)