Late Han Zhao Tang

In February, Tao Shang sent Mi Zhu and Chen Deng to present books and surrender. Li Song accepted their surrender and led his troops to garrison Xiapi.

After being persuaded to surrender by Zang Ba, Chang Xi led his troops to surrender to the Tang army. Meanwhile, the generals of Mount Tai were ordered by Li Song to garrison Xiapi, while Xu Shu led his troops to garrison Langya.

Xiapi, in the prefectural capital.

Not long after Li Songfang held a meeting in the hall, he received Man Chong, the envoy who had come from Qingzhou.

"What brings you here?" Li Song asked bluntly.

"Returning to Xuzhou, according to the King's decree, Commander Man intends to send Zhang Yan south to assist the General. However, I do not know what the General thinks, so I have ordered me to go and inquire!" the messenger said.

Li Song's expression darkened. He hadn't expected Zhang Yu to be so worried about him, even sending troops to help him through Man Chong. Suppressing his frustration, he said, "Now that Xuzhou has surrendered and Gao Gan has been beheaded, the other prefectures are relatively safe. There's no need for Lord Man to worry about this!"

Then, Li Song asked in return, "This time, Lord Man was ordered to conquer Qingzhou. I wonder what the military situation is like in Qingzhou?"

“A month ago, Commander Man besieged Linzi and captured the city in a single day, beheading Yuan Tan and taking the surrender of his troops. This month, the generals have gone to various prefectures to suppress the rebels and seek peace along the coast.”

Upon hearing this, Li Song showed a slight surprise. He hadn't expected Man Chong's military tactics to be so brilliant, first defeating Yuan Shang, then beheading Yuan Tan, and now even progressing to the stage of pacifying the counties of Qingzhou. Luckily, he had conquered Xuzhou; otherwise, it would have been too humiliating!
Li Song coughed and said, "Qingzhou has suffered greatly from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and now bandits are rampant. It is up to Governor Man to take care of it. I wonder how many prisoners Governor Man has captured and killed?"

"It is beyond my knowledge to know the details, but I estimate that Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan have tens of thousands of troops, and Commander Man has at least ten thousand killed or captured. However, as far as I know, Commander Man has already sent all the surrendered people back to their hometowns so that they can return to farming and be registered as ordinary citizens in the prefectures and counties," the messenger said.

How many people are registered residents of Qingzhou?

"There are over 50,000 registered households, and according to the calculations of the old Qi Yuan people, if the bandits can be quelled, the population could reach at least 80,000 households. If managed properly, the population could reach 100,000 households," the envoy said.

Li Song glanced at the distorted household registration records of Xuzhou and immediately lost any desire to compete.

"You have worked very hard, please rest for a few days and then report back to Lord Man!"

"promise!"

After dismissing the envoy from Qingzhou, Li Song looked at the surrendered people from Xuzhou on his left and asked, "Now that I have come to Xuzhou, I need to report the Xuzhou household registration to the King. Does any of you know the details of the household registration?"

"Hmm~"

Chen Deng hesitated for a moment before saying, “In the past, Xuzhou had five prefectures and sixty-two cities, with a registered population of 570,000 households and 3 million people. When Tao Gong was alive, although the registered population had decreased sharply, there were still 200,000 households and 100,000 soldiers to be selected.”

"Since Guangling was occupied by Cao Cao, Langya and Donghai have been under the command of Gao Gan. The two commanderies of Pengcheng and Xiapi that I can control are only twenty-one counties, with a registered population of about 30,000 households."

"Why is the population so small?"

Li Song frowned slightly and said, "According to the old household registration records of Gaogan presented by Zang Ba, the two commanderies of Langya and Donghai had more than 30,000 households. If we add this up, the population of the four commanderies of Xuzhou would be more than 60,000 households. Even though Guangling is now under Cao Cao's control, 60,000 households is still far too few!"

Then, Li Song countered, "Since Cao Cao's massacre at Sishui, there has been neither a large-scale military massacre nor natural disasters in Xuzhou, so the number of registered households should not be so small. I ask you gentlemen, where are the households in Xuzhou now?"

Within Zhang Yu's group, the first step in conquering any territory was to inquire about the household registration situation. Therefore, whether it was Man Chong conquering Qingzhou or Li Song surrendering Xuzhou, both involved checking household registration. After all, in times of war, the vastness of the land was secondary; the primary concern was people. Only with people could there be taxes, and only then could soldiers be provided.

Moreover, in newly established territories, governance issues can be identified by inquiring about household registration records.

Chen Deng pondered for a moment and said, “Governor, although Xuzhou has not been repeatedly ravaged by war, due to its convenient roads, people may go south to Yangzhou to seek refuge. Moreover, Xuzhou is geographically located between mountains and the sea, and many people hide in the mountains and sea. When the prefecture is at peace, the people may be willing to register.”

"And that's not all!"

Mi Zhu, intending to impress Li Song, said, “Governor, Xuzhou has been repeatedly ravaged by war, and the people often leave their homes and are bought and sold into slavery by powerful families. This may be one of the reasons for the sparse population. Or perhaps there are rebellions in remote areas, and people are recruiting refugees to strengthen themselves.”

The Mi family was very active before and after the Tang army entered Xuzhou. For example, Mi Fang led his troops to kill Gao Gan and presented his head to Li Song. Mi Zhu was also a leader, constantly running around to serve the Tang army before and after they entered Xiapi.

Li Song tapped the table, then suddenly looked at the silent Zang Ba and asked, "Have the generals of Mount Tai been privately leading troops without registering them?"

“That is indeed the case!” Zang Ba said with a forced smile, “When Gao Gan was in power, he did not ask us for household registrations, so we did not report them. The household registrations that were submitted before were those compiled by Gao Gan. Our household registrations are still being compiled. The total number of households of the various departments and retainers should be no less than 20,000.”

“The generals’ retainers and followers number over 20,000 households, the Tao family has over 30,000 registered households, and the Gao family has over 30,000 registered households. The total number of these three should be between 80,000 and 90,000 households. If we also include the households in Guangling County, the total number of registered households in the entire prefecture is at least 100,000 households.” Li Song secretly estimated, “Although this number is not small, it is still 100,000 households less than the 200,000 households that Tao Qian had in his time.”

At the end of the Han Dynasty, Xuzhou, as a peripheral region, suffered considerable ravages of war before the Three Kingdoms period. However, it's unlikely that the population of a single prefecture was less than ten thousand households. Moreover, according to Mi Zhu, a large number of people were enslaved. For example, when Mi Zhu married off his sister, he provided ten thousand servants as a dowry, which indirectly suggests that a large population within Xuzhou was being concealed.

Without long-term governance, it is virtually impossible to solve the situation in Xuzhou!
Li Song pondered for a moment and asked, "Since each of the generals has sent one male soldier, the soldiers are mostly weak. As previously stated, the generals need to select soldiers. For now, the quota is limited to two armies of ten thousand men. The rest will be released and sent back to their hometowns to be governed by the local government. I wonder what Xuan Gao thinks?"

Zang Ba looked troubled and asked, "The six generals have a combined force of twenty to thirty thousand men. Now, we have selected ten thousand soldiers. I wonder what the officers' ranks are?"

"Your official rank and title remain unchanged, only the number of troops under your command has been slightly reduced. I thank you for your high-profile and harmonious relations with the generals!" Li Song said with a smile.

"I will do my best!"

Zang Ba inwardly groaned. Reducing the number of soldiers and releasing his retainers to return home was no easy task. However, he also knew that these were things that had been agreed upon beforehand, and since he had accepted the official position, he could not break his promise and needed to fulfill the previous agreement.

Zang Ba was to handle the matter of the generals of Mount Tai on his own. Li Song then looked at Chen Deng and Mi Zhu and said with a smile, "You two have made outstanding contributions in the surrender of Xuzhou. I have already reported your achievements to the King. However, Xuzhou has just been conquered and the affairs of the various prefectures are complicated. I cannot manage them all by myself. I am afraid that you two will need to assist me."

"We are willing to serve the Governor!" the two replied.

"good!"

Li Song said, “Yuanlong is familiar with all matters in the state. Now, I trouble you to recruit the generals who have not yet surrendered. There may be those who do not obey the state magistrate. If the above-mentioned people do not surrender, then we will send troops to conquer them. If they surrender, His Majesty will surely grant them official titles and ranks. After the matter is accomplished, I will recommend Yuanlong to His Majesty. With Yuanlong’s achievements, he is more than qualified to serve as the prefect.”

"promise!"

“Zizhong is the chief official of the state. I trouble you to verify the list of chief officials of the state, prefecture and county, which must now be submitted to the King. Your younger brother has rendered meritorious service in beheading Gao Gan. You may send him to the state government, and I will report to the King to commend the Mi family for their merit,” Li Song said.

"I am willing to obey!"

Mi Zhu considered for a moment and said, “My family has surplus wealth. During the great chaos of the world, many people scattered and displaced, and I have taken them in as servants. Recently, I have roughly assessed our assets. We have more than 3,100 households of retainers and slaves. Now that Xuzhou has been stabilized, it is not appropriate for these 3,000 households to remain under the control of the Mi family. I wish to hand them over to the government to replenish the state and county.”

"How many?"

Upon hearing this, Li Song almost thought he had misheard and asked in return, "Does Zizhongyan have more than three thousand men and women in his household?"

"Exactly!"

Mi Zhu said solemnly, "I am now willing to hand it over to the prefectural government!"

Li Song had to re-examine Mi Zhu, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He was surprised that Mi Zhu owned the property of more than three thousand families, and shocked that Mi Zhu was willing to hand over the people.

“More than three thousand families, men and women, constitute the population of this county. You are offering your household registration to the state. Apart from titles and honors, what else do you seek?” Li Song asked.

Under the Tang Dynasty's system, anyone who raised an army and surrendered with their households would invariably receive a noble title. Now, Mi Zhu has surrendered three thousand households, meeting the criteria for being enfeoffed as a marquis.

Mi Zhu, being tactful, replied, "I dare not ask for more; I only wish to serve the country."

"good!"

Li Song's smile grew even more sincere as he said, "I will certainly report this truthfully to Your Majesty and ask Your Majesty to reward your loyalty and righteousness."

Seeing Mi Zhu offer up his household, Zang Ba and Chen Deng were speechless.

The Mi family was a prominent merchant family in Xuzhou. They amassed a fortune of hundreds of millions and more than three thousand retainers and slaves through the production of sea salt. Now, however, they were handing over their hard-earned wealth to the government. Mi Zhu didn't feel sorry for them, but they all did.

Now that Mi Zhu has made such a declaration of loyalty, does he mean they should also follow Mi Zhu's example and donate their family wealth and retainers? (End of this chapter)