Tiger Guards

Chapter 344 Expanding the Scale
As Zhao Ji prepared for war, Duan Wei, the governor of Hongnong County, sent an envoy seeking reinforcements to Jinyang.

Zhao Ji consulted Jia Xu about this matter.

Last year, Li Jue and Guo Si, through a joint force, coerced Duan Wei into handing over hostages, who were temporarily placed under Li Jue's control.

After the autumn harvest, Duan Wei exchanged grain for the hostages.

Therefore, the impending war between Li Jue and Duan Wei can also be understood as military blackmail.

Li Jue could strengthen his authority by putting pressure on Duan Wei, thereby controlling other armed forces.

In terms of mobilization potential and protracted warfare, Li Jue was far behind Zhao Ji.

But this was not a reason for Li Jue to sit idly by and wait for death. He also wanted to put up a fight and try to gather the armies from Guanzhong.

Jia Xu did not rush to answer the question, but said, "The Three Auxiliary Regions are already devastated. After defeating Li Jue, they will border Ma Teng and Han Sui. These two men are very close and like brothers. If the allied forces attack, the Three Auxiliary Regions will once again fall into chaos."

"Yes, I also have this concern, and I am even more worried about another severe drought this year."

Zhao Ji spoke calmly. Although there had been a severe drought for three years, he had comforted his civil and military officials and the people in the same way. But what if there was another severe drought this year, making it the fourth year of drought?
In terms of the recovery of farming and nomadic life, Hedong and Taiyuan have the ability to resist drought and locust plagues this year and can barely survive the winter.

Only if the weather is favorable this year and grain production returns to normal will there be a possibility of helping Sanfu.

If we allocate grain to make this effort, then next year Qin and Jin will have to face the test of climate together. If they collapse, they will collapse together, and they will collapse along with each other.

If you win this year's bet, betting on next year is too risky.

Unless one is deemed inhuman, the lands of the Three Auxiliary Regions will be temporarily designated as pastures and grasslands, with officials in charge of grazing, and farming will only be carried out in areas conducive to irrigation.

After completely pacifying the generals in Guanzhong, he implemented a highly oppressive rule over Guanzhong, maximizing productivity and eliminating various parasitic groups.

It is highly unlikely that there will be a devastating drought, like the one that wipes out a country. If nomadic herding is practiced, natural resources can still be harvested and some population can be supported.

The current situation reminded him of a Total War game called Attila.

Not only must they constantly calculate their own food expenditure balance, but they must also be wary of various barbarian tribes that migrate or become roving bandits due to cold waves and reduced food production.

If a grain production base collapses, the whole system collapses. At best, several years of hard work will be wasted; at worst, one will die and one's entire clan will be wiped out, or one will become a bandit and wreak havoc on others.

For example, Lü Bu has now completely broken ties with the people of Nanyang and Ruying.

If Lü Bu cannot restore production after conquering Nanyang and cleaning up the land, what awaits him is an even larger-scale collapse.

In Nanyang, refugees from the Three Auxiliary Regions, including Ru Ying and Liang Pei, also migrated there with Lü Bu and the imperial court.

If productivity is restored, this will be the foundation for a population of millions.

The majority of the population are young and strong, with few elderly or weak individuals, making it easy to mobilize an army of 100,000.

Seeing that Zhao Ji was also worried about food shortages, Jia Xu felt at peace.

Although it may seem that Zhao Ji regarded the people of Sanfu as a burden, the reason is that Zhao Ji treated the people there as human beings and had the intention to help them, which is why he regarded them as a burden.

If a more domineering person were in charge, how could the population be considered a burden?
After careful consideration, Jia Xu said, "The people of the Three Auxiliary Regions have long suffered under tyranny, like withered seedlings, longing for the Grand Marshal as they long for rain. It is an undeniable fact that Taiyuan and Hedong are currently short of food. If the Grand Marshal can rid the people of the Three Auxiliary Regions of tyranny, he will surely win the hearts of the people of Qin."

No additional grain transport is needed; all that's needed is to eliminate the two oppressive groups led by Li Jue and Guo Si.

With Guanzhong's unique geographical advantages, everything will be alright once order is restored.

After a pause, Jia Xu continued, "Ma Teng and Han Sui are outwardly united but inwardly divided. Han Sui's base is in Xiliang, while Ma Teng's is in Longxi. Why would Han Sui abandon his homeland to help Ma Teng expand Guanzhong? Therefore, I believe that after the recent conflict between the Tu Ge and Dingxi, the Grand Marshal should recruit the brave and strong as his followers. He should then unite the elite Tiger Step troops, sail down the Fen River, exit at Fenyin, and occupy the area between the Jing and Wei Rivers. In this way, Duan Wei will rise up in Weinan, while Liang Xing and Zhang Heng will respond on both banks of the Jing River."

He looked at Zhao Ji: "Within ten days or so, the two traitors Li and Guo can be subdued. With the help of the heroes of Tianshui, Liangzhou can be pacified."

Seeing that Zhao Ji was moved, Jia Xu said, "Now that Lü Bu has escorted the emperor into Nanyang to attack Liu Biao, the whole country is in turmoil. Meanwhile, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu are about to start a rebellion. Before this, the court's prestige is rising day by day. If the Grand Marshal can settle Guanzhong in one battle and establish the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, even if these two places are under control, they will fall under the Grand Marshal's jurisdiction. From now on, we can easily conquer the disobedient."

"I understand now. Your words, sir, are like the sun breaking through the clouds, making me suddenly enlightened."

Zhao Ji sighed, picked up his tea, and continued, "I was worried before that I would let down the people of Guanzhong and Longxi and cause Hedong and Taiyuan to fall into a financial predicament."

Then listen to Jia Xu, only take charge of military operations, and let the local areas recuperate on their own.

If possible, a three-year exemption from corvée labor, poll tax, and rent could stimulate the production enthusiasm in Guanzhong.

Jia Xu smiled without saying a word; he would never offer Zhao Ji any tax exemption proposal.

Although there were only the two of them in the room, and no one else was there.

However, this kind of thing is too taboo, and only Zhao Ji can decide on tax exemption.

After bidding farewell to Jia Xu, Zhao Ji returned to the West Pavilion.

The two problems he had been hesitant about in expanding his territory could only be resolved by time; there was no shortcut.

The first problem is the food supply after the severe drought. This can be addressed as Jia Xu suggested: simply eliminate their ferocity and allow them to recuperate naturally. Aside from anything else, the low-cost, large-scale supply from the salt lakes of Hedong alone will be enough to make the men and women of Guanzhong extremely grateful.

Since the chaos in the Three Auxiliary Regions, although the salt transport still existed, it was subjected to harsh exploitation by Li Jue and various warlords.

The people of Sanfu were starving and couldn't afford salt, and the textile industry was in complete ruin.

Clothes wear out; they are consumables.

Without new silk supplies, the only option is to dig up the clothes of the dead.

The second problem is the lack of reliable personnel to take over the Three Prefectures, although Pei Mao, the Prefect of Jingzhao, Zhang Xiu, the Left Fengyi, and Guanqiu Yi, the Right Fufeng, have been appointed.

But who should the county magistrate send?

The Eight Hundred Tiger Warriors are not omnipotent; this year, they can probably only squeeze out a little over two hundred to place in various locations.

The more people are squeezed out, the lower the growth efficiency of the remaining Tiger Warriors.

Expanding territory now is pointless.

They either had to strengthen the factions of Pei Mao and Zhang Xiu, or make deeper compromises with the scholars of Guanzhong.

If we can't control the counties, then the fighting will only result in our own people shedding blood and sweat, while others benefit.

The old nobles had become so corrupt that their morality, abilities, and behavior were not significantly different from those of the high-ranking scholars in various regions.

Even if the scholars from Guanzhong were slightly better than those from Guandong, the difference was still limited.

Rather than gambling on these people's conscience, Zhao Jin would rather wait a few more years.

Let's wait a few more years and then clean up Guanzhong in one go.

If the relations of production are redistributed, the original parasitic class will be eliminated, and he will take actual control of the three auxiliary classes.

With just the five prefectures of Sanfu, Hedong, and Taiyuan, he was confident that he could be an enemy of the whole world.

Therefore, cleaning the three auxiliary organs is both very dangerous and very beneficial.

While he focused on clearing the Three Auxiliary Regions, Lu Bu focused on clearing Nanyang. Separated by the Wuguan Pass and the Qinling Mountains, they were able to maintain a stable and competent alliance.

As for what happens if Lü Bu fails in the future and the emperor and ministers fall into the hands of others, that person will naturally be suspected and distrusted by the powerful families in various regions!
With these thoughts in mind, Zhao Ji inquired about the recent climate changes in Guanzhong from the West Pavilion.

Since we've decided to fight, we certainly can't just take ten thousand men.

Zhao Ji wanted to bring more people to facilitate the enclosure of land for horse grazing and to replant wheat, millet, and other crops.

As for the people who later traveled through mountains and rivers to return to Guanzhong, they either joined the army and were granted household land, household land, and military land, or became government tenants.

Only by joining the military can one have basic civil rights.

Otherwise, they would be government tenants, without even the qualifications to enter officialdom or study.

Only by satisfying the interests and needs of the military, both at its top and bottom, can the military truly satisfy you.

You get what you pay for; for now, the military is still trustworthy.

Even so, Zhao Ji's army was divided into five directly subordinate battalions, the Tiger Infantry, the Cavalry Slave Private Army, and the prefectural and county troops.

Replanting before May and harvesting in autumn is entirely feasible from a growth cycle perspective.

When Zhao Ji inquired about replanting wheat in Guanzhong, Zhang Chang became excited: "It's not just the Three Auxiliary Regions; replanting wheat and beans in the North and Shangjun in April is not too late."

"Then let the Chief Secretary select three hundred officials for the fields. After I mediate the dispute in Xihe, I will then attack the traitor Li Jue."

Zhao Ji also encouraged Zhang Chang: "While I am crushing the enemy at the front, the Chief Secretary still needs to take care of things at the rear. Lead the agricultural officials to actively encourage farmers to replant wheat, beans, millet, and sorghum."

Seeing that he could join the army, Zhang Chang reminded him, "Most of the people in Guanzhong have fled, and most of the remaining men are under the command of various generals. Even those who have submitted to the Grand Marshal are mostly forced into it and harbor disloyal intentions. When you are instructing them to replant wheat and beans, please ask the Grand Marshal to dispatch soldiers to patrol various places to prevent them from causing trouble."

"Okay, I'll pay attention."

Zhao Ji agreed, and he already had a cheap solution in mind.

It would be a waste to have the Tiger Step Army stationed separately to suppress prisoners, and he did not want to transfer too many Tiger Step Army soldiers. The Tiger Step Army was also one of the key factors in the recovery of agriculture by managing agriculture in the villages and towns under their jurisdiction.

Therefore, the best source of troops for suppression was the Xiongnu volunteer army. They brought many horses and settled in groups of several dozen people in one place. The horses foraged for their own food and provided dairy products. The volunteer army could also hunt and gather, and catch rats and rabbits to survive. They could also supplement their food from time to time, which would keep these Xiongnu volunteer army stable.

The Xiongnu followers also had families to support.

(End of this chapter)