The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 259 Land Public Ownership: Leave the Land, Not Your Head

The winds of the Qilian Mountains, carrying the stench of blood, swept across the Liangzhou land, leaving behind scorched earth and ruins in what were once crisscrossed fields.

The broken banner of the Western Xia army was half-buried in the scorched earth, and broken armor and weapons were scattered everywhere, some even stuck in twisted corpses.

The congealed dark red bloodstains stained the fertile land with an eerie ochre color.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto this battlefield, casting a bleak golden hue over the devastation.

Tens of thousands of Western Xia soldiers stood in a long, winding line like zombies. They were disheveled, their eyes were empty and numb, and the weapons in their hands seemed to weigh a ton.

"Hurry up, put all the weapons in front."

"Anyone who dares to hoard it will be executed without mercy."

On either side of the column, a centurion from the northern frontier brandished his cavalry saber and shouted loudly.

Beside him stood a large number of soldiers armed with hook-and-sickle spears or crossbows, their wary eyes fixed on the lined-up Western Xia soldiers.

They were seen piling up their weapons, such as spears, crossbows, and armor, together.

During this process, any Western Xia soldiers who cause trouble will be shot dead.

Soon, tens of thousands of weapons were piled up into several small hills, standing in the wilderness, a magnificent sight.

The Western Xia soldiers who had thrown down their weapons were then taken to the edge of the camp.

Hundreds of Kuril soldiers are carrying out buckets of cooked millet porridge.

"哐哐哐哐~"

The cook tapped the side of the bucket with a wooden ladle, gazing at the endless ranks of Western Xia soldiers, and shouted loudly.

"Hurry up, everyone line up."

"Come one by one, one bowl for each person, no one is allowed to eat more or take more than their share."

Although he was just a cook, he felt a sense of superiority at this moment, and even raised his head a little higher and shouted louder.

It should be noted that not long ago, he was a soldier of the Western Xia Dynasty, just like these people.

But who told him to surrender so early?

They were among the first batch of prisoners to surrender to the northern frontier, and after being reformed, they successfully became infantrymen in the Kuli Army.

Looking at these 'newcomers', they were all disheveled, sallow-faced, and emaciated, looking like they hadn't eaten for many days.

It's just too miserable.

The sense of superiority comes from comparison, and at this moment, the cook could only be thankful that he had surrendered early.

Although he was only a 'privilege' in the Northern Frontier Army, at least he could get enough to eat.

The other cooks did the same, diligently wielding wooden ladles to scoop millet porridge into the earthenware bowls in the soldiers' hands.

"It's porridge, it's all porridge!"

Looking at the full bowl of millet porridge in their hands, all the Western Xia soldiers were excited. They squatted on the ground and swallowed it in big gulps. The scalding porridge burned their throats, but no one cared.

They hadn't had a proper meal for many days, and many of them were so hungry they were dizzy and lightheaded.

Seeing the millet porridge, I could no longer contain my excitement.

"Looks like we've managed to save our lives."

"Yes, the fact that the people of Northern Xinjiang can give us a full bowl of porridge proves that they are not too bad to us."

"I just don't know if I'll ever have the chance to go home again."

As someone was drinking, they suddenly buried their head in the bowl, their shoulders shaking violently, and suppressed sobs mixed with the sound of slurping porridge echoed across the desolate land.

For a hungry person, nothing is more tempting than food.

The Northern Frontier Army only needed to offer a bowl of millet porridge to appease most of the Western Xia soldiers' anxieties and concerns.

But going home might not be so easy.

If given the opportunity, they could send a message to their family, suggesting that once they have established themselves in northern Xinjiang, their family could secretly come to reunite with them.

Li Xiao left behind the Second and Fourth Divisions, along with some Kuril infantry, to continue clearing the battlefield and reorganizing the prisoners of war.

He personally led the First and Sixth Garrisons to Liangzhou City.

However, as soon as he arrived at the city of Liangzhou, he learned that an envoy from the city had come to request an audience.

As the sun set, Li Xiao, fully armored, stood atop his warhorse, gazing into the distance at the golden city of Liangzhou.

He said in a deep voice, "Bring the person up here and let's meet them."

The Northern Frontier Army has just arrived outside Liangzhou City. They will rest for the night and will be able to attack the city early tomorrow morning.

Therefore, it wouldn't hurt to meet the other person.

Soon, a middle-aged man was led into the newly erected golden tent.

He looked to be in his thirties, wearing a brocade robe. He was not tall, had a short beard, and his small eyes darted around. His face was full of flattery as he bowed to Li Xiao.

"This humble servant, Wang Hongchang, the Registrar of Liangzhou, pays his respects to the Grand Protector."

After waiting for a while, Li Xiao's cold voice finally came from above: "What business do you, a mere registrar, have of seeing me?"

His voice was calm and even, as if he were dealing with an ant.

Although the registrar was a big shot in Liangzhou City, it would be easier for Li Xiao to kill him than to crush an ant.

Wang Hongchang stood in the tent and secretly glanced at Li Xiao, only to find that Li Xiao was very young.

He looked to be around twenty years old, wearing golden armor, with short hair, and full of energy. His chiseled face had sharp features, and he was resolute and cold.

The deep eyes gazed at him silently, yet he felt an invisible, terrifying sense of oppression.

Wang Hongchang's body trembled slightly. He quickly lowered his head, his Adam's apple bobbing laboriously, and said in a tone of feigned indignation, "The Xia Kingdom's rulers and ministers are incompetent and disregard the common people."

"The imperial army has even invaded our fertile Liangzhou without authorization, burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities. The people have suffered for too long."

"We eagerly await the arrival of the Grand Protector's righteous army to rescue the people and soldiers of Liangzhou from their suffering."

"Only today did we learn that the Grand Protector's army had finally arrived, and the people and soldiers of Liangzhou were overjoyed."

"Your Excellency, in accordance with the will of Heaven and the hearts of the people, is willing to offer up Liangzhou City with both hands to help the Northern Frontier Army drive out the wolves and restore peace and tranquility to the land of Liangzhou."

Wang Hongchang spoke with great emotion, cursing the incompetence of the court and its officials for their own safety and to speak ill of the Northern Frontier Army.

To survive, one must avoid looking shabby.

As he spoke, he also secretly glanced at Li Xiao, who was sitting at the head of the table. Seeing that the other party's expression was inscrutable, he quickly lowered his head and said, "But the governor has a few requests that I would like to make. Please forgive me, Grand Protector."

"The people of Liangzhou have suffered from war and poverty. They only hope that after the Grand Protector enters the city, he can ensure the safety of the old and young and the peace of the shops."

"Therefore, Liangzhou City is willing to offer 300,000 taels of silver and 100,000 shi of grain to reward the army, hoping that the benevolent reputation of the Northern Frontier Army can be like the snowmelt from the Qilian Mountains, nourishing this land of suffering."

After saying that, he lay prostrate on the ground for a long time, not daring to raise his head, the cold sweat on his palms soaking his silk sleeves.

The tent was very quiet. Wang Hongchang's heart was pounding, and he could only hear his own breathing.

After a long while, Li Xiao's voice finally came from above.

"Go back and tell your governor!"

"We could have forgiven Liangzhou City for aiding and abetting the evildoers, and we could have guaranteed the safety of the people of Liangzhou."

"However, 300,000 taels of silver is far from enough; we need 600,000 taels in total, and 200,000 shi of grain."

"In addition, all landowners and wealthy households in Liangzhou City must hand over all their farmland and pastures, and are not allowed to keep even a single acre or a single cent."

Li Xiao tapped his fingers lightly on the table and spoke in a slightly deliberate tone.

The conditions offered by Liangzhou City are simply not sincere enough.

Essentially, it's about spending money to buy peace. Once the Northern Frontier Army leaves, Liangzhou City will remain the same Liangzhou City.

The nobles and wealthy families continued to oppress the common people and lord it over them; nothing had changed.

But Li Xiao was thinking much further ahead.

Because capturing Liangzhou City would mean that the entire Hexi Corridor would become the playground of the Northern Frontier Army.

The war went very smoothly, and Li Xiao was no longer satisfied with simply seizing people and wealth and leaving.

They also coveted the Hexi Corridor, especially Ganzhou and Liangzhou, which were the heart of the entire Hexi Corridor.

The land was fertile, with abundant water and grass, and large areas of farmland. Its annual grain output accounted for more than one-third of the entire Western Xia Dynasty.

Northern Xinjiang is already short of food, so if the arable land in Gansu and Liangzhou can be utilized, the benefits will be obvious.

Li Xiao's only concern was that the Hexi Corridor was too far from Jinzhou and closer to Xingqing Prefecture.

If too much is invested in the Hexi Corridor, Jinzhou will be unable to help in the event of war.

Therefore, he is still considering a solution that satisfies both sides.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the resources and land within Liangzhou City must be vomited out by these heartless maggots.

Upon hearing Li Xiao's words, Wang Hongchang's expression changed drastically: "What?"

"Hand over all farmland and pasture?"

A tremendous storm raged in his heart.

He instantly understood Li Xiao's meaning: the Northern Frontier Army would not leave, but would remain and settle down in the Hexi Corridor.

From now on, the Hexi Corridor will belong to the "North".

Everyone subconsciously associates the people of northern Xinjiang with nomadic grassland peoples, believing that they are simply plundering wealth and people.

Now Wang Hongchang understood that Beijiang's ambitions were greater than anyone had imagined.

“This, this, this~”

"Grand Protector, I'm afraid this won't work!"

Wang Hongchang was anxious, and looked up at Li Xiao with a mournful face.

"Great Protector, farmland is the lifeblood of the people!"

"If you make the people hand over their tools of livelihood, they will really starve to death."

Six hundred thousand taels of silver and two hundred thousand shi of grain are a lot, but at most they will only make the wealthy families and officials in the city feel the pinch. They can slowly squeeze it back from the common people in the future.

But without arable land and pastures, it would truly be a matter of losing our lifeline.

"Great Protector, how about this: double the land tax from now on?" Wang Hongchang came up with a brilliant idea.

Although he sounded pitiful, Li Xiao laughed, his eyes revealing a colder edge.

Wang Hongchang's method was essentially a tax-farming system.

The farmland still belonged to these large households, who would hand over sufficient tax revenue and grain to the Protectorate every year.

As for other aspects, although it wasn't mentioned, as long as these officials and wealthy households are still around, and the farmland is still in their hands, then the power to control Liangzhou City will naturally remain in their hands.

The Northern Frontier Army was merely the de facto ruler of Liangzhou City; the real power lay with the officials and wealthy families.

Moreover, in order to cope with the financial and food needs of the northern frontier, they will inevitably shift the burden onto the people.

High taxes and high land rents! Not only will they have to meet the financial and food needs of the Northern Frontier Army, but they themselves will also surely profit from it.

The people are full of complaints, and in the end, they will only transfer their hatred to the northern frontier.

Uprisings and riots ensued, potentially triggering a chain reaction that forced the Northern Frontier Army to abandon Liangzhou.

Li Xiao could see the key to this at a glance.

This tactic might work on those shallow and ignorant Jurchens and Mongols, but it won't work on Li Xiao.

Because in his plan, the future northern frontier would not have the status of these traditional scholar-officials.

Even Zhang Xinghua, Chen Chong, and others are only in a transitional phase.

The foundation of rule in the northern frontier has always been the northern frontier military group, and has always been the Six Garrisons.

Li Xiao has increased his investment in the education of the children of the six towns, requiring these second and third generations to not only inherit the bravery and skill of their ancestors, but also to be literate and understand arithmetic.

Ten years from now, as more and more young people from the six towns grow up, the cultural heritage of the northern frontier will be even more profound.

The traditional scholar-official class will gradually lose its role as the foundation of rule; to become an official in the northern frontier, one must first be a soldier.

Therefore, starting from Liangzhou, Li Xiao confiscated farmland and made it public, and this practice was followed in the future.

The implementation of this policy will undoubtedly increase the difficulty of conquering the Central Plains in the future, leading to resolute resistance from local gentry and powerful families.

But as I said before, the northern frontier is not entirely dependent on scholar-officials.

Li Xiao would rather postpone the unification of the Central Plains than not hone his internal strength and forge a solid foundation for his rule in the northern frontier.

If rules are not established from the beginning, the northern frontier will inevitably suffer the same fate as the Jin and Mongol dynasties.

Seeing Wang Hongchang's desperate attempt to play the victim, Li Xiao tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his expression growing increasingly cold, and spoke in a deep, resonant voice.

"When did farmland become the lifeblood of ordinary people? It is clearly the lifeblood of you powerful and wealthy families!"

"When have ordinary people ever cultivated the land again?"

"Haven't their farmland been seized by you through trickery and force during repeated natural disasters and man-made calamities?"

There are still far more people in the world who are landless.

Whether farmland is publicly owned or not has nothing to do with most ordinary people; it is the powerful and wealthy who are concerned.

Li Xiao doesn't need to care about them at all, and he doesn't need to rely on them.

He wanted these people to know that the relationship between them and the Northern Frontier was never one of cooperation, but rather one of rule and being ruled.

“If you obediently hand over all your farmland and pastures, I can still leave you some property and make you obedient subjects of my northern frontier.”

"Otherwise, I would not hesitate to uproot you all."

After a pause, Li Xiao slowly ran his hand over the gleaming dragon-head cavalry saber at his waist and spoke in a chilling voice.

"The swords of the northern frontier have cut through the stones of the Qilian Mountains and drunk the blood of the Western Xia cavalry. They do not mind being stained with the blood and bones of the Liangzhou people."

He suddenly drew his sword, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp hum. Even from a distance, Wang Hongchang felt his scalp tingle.

He was trembling, and the hair on his body stood on end.

Li Xiao stood up, the blade drawing a long trail on the ground before slowly landing on Wang Hongchang's head, causing him to shudder and tremble violently.

"Great Protector, no!"

Li Xiao ignored him and said in a calm voice, "My army can not only crush the Western Xia's ranks, but also turn Liangzhou into another piece of scorched earth."

"Do not harbor any illusions. This area, spanning hundreds of miles, is where the hooves of the Northern Frontier cavalry can reach. Your cities and people are as fragile as candles in the wind under the onslaught of our troops."

After he finished speaking, Li Xiao lost all interest in arguing with him and said coldly, "Go back!"

"I'll give you one night. Tomorrow morning, my Northern Frontier army will begin its assault on the city, and you will have no chance to surrender."

The next second, Li Xiao's deep, resonant voice rang out: "Get lost~"

Wang Hongchang's trembling body instantly collapsed to the ground, and he scrambled out of the tent.

Looking at his disheveled figure, Li Xiao shook his head disdainfully.

He then took his sword and stepped out of the tent, looking at Liangzhou City under the setting sun. Bathed in golden light, it appeared sacred yet lonely and desolate, utterly alone.

The Gansu-Liangzhou region, with its fertile fields and crisscrossing paths, is a crucial grain-producing area. With the opportunity right in front of him, Li Xiao still wanted to give it a try.

……

Meanwhile, Wang Hongchang relayed Li Xiao's words to the powerful and wealthy families in the city.

This instantly enraged these people.

"What? They want farmland and pasture?"

"This is trying to uproot us!"

“Yes, the land of my Pucha family has been accumulated by generations of ancestors, and it has taken a hundred years of hard work. Why should we hand it over with just a word from the Grand Protector of the Northern Frontier?”

"You won't hand it over? I'll kill your whole family!"

"If you hand it over, you can still have some property to live on, and perhaps one day you can make a comeback."

"Kill my whole family? Let them come."

"Since we have no farmland, our whole family will have no way to survive, so we might as well fight them to the bitter end now."

The officials and wealthy families in Liangzhou City were making a ruckus, and the once solemn and dignified governor's mansion had turned into a bustling marketplace.

Supinara, under the pretext of being seriously ill, did not show up, but he was not kept in the dark about everything.

"Hmph, a bunch of idiots."

"It is precisely because of this group of cowardly, greedy parasites that my Great Xia has fallen to its current state," Supinaluo sneered.

When they joined forces to sideline me and try to surrender to the people of the Northern Frontier, these people weren't so tough back then.

Now that the people of northern Xinjiang want their farmland, they're ready to jump up and fight them to the death.

What were you doing earlier?
However, the thought of this gave Supinara a headache.

He also has a lot of farmland in Liangzhou City. If the people of the Northern Frontier take it away, all his hard work in his life will be for nothing.

"Oh dear, this is troublesome!"

Soon, the conditions offered by the Northern Frontier Army became the talk of the town.

"Farmland? What does that have to do with me? My family's land was all sold to Master Pucha back in my grandfather's generation."

"My family has no land left."

"Those officials are really something. If the people of the northern frontier want it, just give it to them. Is land more important than their lives?"

"In previous years, when there were natural disasters, families couldn't afford to eat, and in order to survive, they still sold their land to the officials, didn't they?"

"You don't understand. Those officials own tens of thousands of acres of land. Handing it over all at once would be like taking their lives."

"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Whether the land is given to the officials or to the people of the northern frontier, it makes no difference."

“But I heard that the land rent in the northern frontier is only 20%,” someone suddenly said.

It was the spies planted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Liangzhou City who, due to the tense situation of the war, were also conscripted. During the defense of the city, they naturally seized the opportunity to bewitch these soldiers and spread the benefits of the northern frontier.

Sure enough, these words immediately piqued the interest of the surrounding soldiers.

"Twenty percent? Really!"

"Good heavens, why is it so low? We have to pay 50% rent for our crops!"

"If the land rent is really only 20%, we'll actually make a profit by letting the people of northern Xinjiang farm the land."

"Yes, the people of northern Xinjiang are quite nice."

The soldiers' tone began to change, from initial indifference to a growing expectation of cultivating land in the northern frontier.

With 20% land rent and 20% land tax, the people could ultimately receive 60% of the grain, which was much higher than the standard of that era.

The people have benefited more, and the benefits in northern Xinjiang have not diminished either.

It was even much more than the national treasury revenue of the Western Xia, Jin, and Song dynasties!

Whose interests were diminished?

Naturally, this meant that the landlords and scholar-official class no longer profited from the middle.

They divided their profits among the common people and the Protectorate General.

In this way, the enthusiasm of the people can be mobilized, and the revenue of the treasury in northern Xinjiang can be increased significantly.

The best of both worlds.

Therefore, Li Xiao persisted in promoting the public ownership of land.

Another benefit of land public ownership is the change in the channels for upward social mobility.

Ordinary people were not allowed to own private land; they could only rent public land belonging to the Protectorate General.

Naturally, local powerful families and scholar-official classes would no longer exist.

There are only two ways to change your fate.

They became merchants through the trade of handicrafts, but they could not fundamentally change their social class.

A lifetime of hard work and struggle is not even worth as much as a grandson's simple "Grandpa, I want this."

To achieve upward social mobility, one had to join the army. Becoming a military household would grant one private land, and the more merit one earned, the more land one would acquire.

Only by becoming a military household member could one qualify to become an official, and thus gain a higher social status.

This is the real capital that can be passed down to future generations.

Therefore, the public ownership of land also subconsciously drove people to join the army, propelling the wheels of the war in northern Xinjiang forward.

……

Compared to the high spirits of the others, Su Renli sat to the side, looking dejected, as if the sky was about to fall.

Although he was also conscripted into the army, he had the proper status of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.

Therefore, they also receive some preferential treatment and are assigned a relatively easy logistical task.

But his mood was still terrible, simply because although the Su family was a small family, they still had several dozen acres of farmland.

If the Su family were to be taken away by the people of the Northern Frontier, they would be completely ruined.

"Brother Su, what should we do?"

“Those barbarians from the northern frontier want our lifeline.”

A soldier who was also a scholar came over and said with a mournful face.

His family owns even more land!
"Now we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate," Su Renli said with a sigh.

I'm planning to find an opportunity to go home and discuss it with my wife, who is from northern Xinjiang. I'm hoping to find a relative there and spend some money to keep our farmland.

(End of this chapter)