Han officials

Chapter 25: Learning from History [4.5K]

In the second year of Zhongping, on the Dingchou day of the first month of spring.

The Xianbei invaded Lelang and besieged Daifang. Daifang ordered Wei Zhe to lead the volunteer army to destroy them.
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This was the court’s record of the incident, consisting of only a few words, and not many people paid much attention to it.

However, Luoyang did not take it seriously, but the matter became a hot topic around Lelang County.

Many Dongyi tribes remembered the name Daifang Ling Weizhe.

Although the details of this battle are unknown, the fact that the 4,000 cavalrymen of the Solu tribe were completely annihilated is enough to explain everything.

After this incident, the Solu tribe could not be said to be seriously injured, but rather fell apart.

Especially after learning that Soluhu was killed in battle, the surrounding Xianbei tribes rushed forward and divided up the Solu tribe completely, saving Wei Zhe a lot of trouble.

However, there is one thing: after dividing up the grasslands of the Solu tribe, these people tacitly avoided the Daifang County area. This is because they fear power but not virtue.

All this coming and going has improved the living environment around Daifang County a lot.

……

The next day, we went to Daifang County Temple.

"Ziyi, congratulations."

After the county official from the prefectural governor's mansion left, Xi Zhicai said jokingly, "You should buy me a drink today, right?"

Hearing this, Taishi Ci burst into laughter and said, "Please come in! Everyone, please!"

Although Wei Zhe was the main contributor to the annihilation of the Xianbei invaders, Taishi Ci also made a great contribution.

In addition, Taishi Ci also made great contributions during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

Therefore, due to his military achievements this time, Taishi Ci was finally appointed as the lieutenant of Daifang County.

It is no wonder that Taishi Ci was so happy that he could be appointed as the county lieutenant of a large county at the age of 20. Taishi Ci's mother, Guan, even felt that her son had followed the right person.

Of course, Wei Zhe also received rewards. The Selection Department of the Secretariat rated his examination results this year as the "best".

The Secretariat also agreed to Wei Zhe's request to re-establish the "Six Military Farms" in Daifang.

And this is what makes Wei Zhe happiest.

It is said that military farming in border counties has always been an old practice in the Han Dynasty. The intention was to solve the food problem of border troops through military farming. For example, during the reign of Emperor Guangwu, military farming was widely carried out in the border counties of Bingzhou.

However, as the government became chaotic, most of the military farms in the border counties were gradually abandoned.

For example, Xuantu County, Liaodong County, and Lelang County also had many military farms in the early years, but as the barbarians outside the Great Wall gradually encroached, they were eventually abandoned one after another.

……

"Once the Tian and Zhang families are eliminated, your foundation will be secure!"

That night at Taishi Ci's family dinner, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but sigh like this.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe immediately agreed with it.

To be honest, even Wei Zhe himself didn't expect the harvest this time to be so great.

Although he only destroyed the two powerful families of Yangqiu Tian and Zhaoming Zhang, he confiscated a total of 536 hectares of land. As for millet, wheat, beans, millet, alfalfa and other grains, they filled thirteen granaries, with an estimated total of 100,000 dan.

You should know that the "Land Rent Book" of Daifang County only recorded 768 hectares of land.

A few days ago, when Wei Zhe ordered the collection of land tax, the reported amount was only 327 dan of tax grain.

After searching, it was found that there were more than 7,000 migrants, slaves, and servants captured.

As for the iron mines, salt fields, and foundries, there is no need to say more. They are all better than state-run workshops anyway.

To put it simply, this time Wei Zhe directly seized half of Daifang County. No wonder Tian Wen and others were so arrogant before.

It is precisely relying on these hidden populations, lands and other things that local tyrants become increasingly powerful.

That is to say, Daifang is remote, cold and brutal. If it were in the densely populated counties of the Central Plains, a slightly larger clan could gather thousands of young and strong people to resist the government, and it would be common for wealthy families to occupy hundreds or thousands of hectares of land. It would be far from easy for local forces to resolve the problem as in Daifang County.

If the situation were reversed, Wei Zhe might not dare to act inland as he did with the Tian family of Yangqiu.

But then again, at least in the short term, Wei Zhe doesn't need to worry about food and grass issues.

Moreover, Wei Zhe has to find a way to digest so many production resources, otherwise it would be a waste of resources.

When Wei Zhe talked about this topic, Xi Zhicai also nodded slightly.

After all, if it is not handled properly, the people will probably end up having to leave their country and go into exile, seeking refuge under the powerful.

So when Taishi Ci and Zhong Hu were drinking together, the two of them simply discussed how to deal with it.

Xi Zhicai asked, "How will you deal with those 7,000 prisoners?"

Wei Zhe made no secret of anything in front of Xi Zhicai, saying, "The retainers and direct descendants of the Tian and Zhang families will all be forced to work in the iron mines for ten years. As for the other clansmen, they will be sent back to their respective villages and communities and will not be allowed to live together."

Xi Zhicai was shocked when he heard this, as he didn't expect Wei Zhe to be so decisive and ruthless.

After all, ten years of mining is almost the same as death, it just sounds better.

But there was no way. With the case of Sun Ce in mind, Wei Zhe dared not be merciful.

However, Wei Zhe was not so strict with other immigrants and slaves who took refuge under the two families.

He pondered for a moment and then said, "As for the other common people... perhaps they could be ordered to cultivate the land with the Yellow Turban refugees."

After all, whether it was the Yellow Turban refugees in the Central Plains or the powerful slaves in Liaodong, they were all just pitiful people who were landless and exiled.

However, Xi Zhicai thought about it carefully for a moment, then shook his head and asked, "Those who have no merit live and work in peace and contentment, so why reward merit?"

These words stumped Wei Zhe.

Yes, those Yellow Turban refugees fought hard to get the treatment they deserved, so why should the captives get it so easily?
This is not a question of being stingy or not, but involves the word "fairness".

If Wei Zhe rewards and punishes unfairly, it will be tantamount to damaging his own prestige.

Especially when these Yellow Turban refugees first came to Haidong and their morale was uncertain, Wei Zhe had to be more trustworthy.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe suddenly had an idea.

He seemed to be thinking, "Perhaps we could divide the military farms into two, one for the military and one for the civilians. We could differentiate the treatment of the two, so that we could both reward meritorious service and store grain. What do you think?"

When Xi Zhicai heard Wei Zhe say this, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Are you planning to change the old system of military farming?"

After all, although the Han Dynasty had the custom of cultivating military farms in border counties, there were not so many explanations.

Wei Zhe nodded without disguising his feelings, and then explained in detail: "The system of civilian settlements can be to have fifty people in a settlement, with a settlement chief; ten settlements form a town, with an agricultural promotion envoy. The county will provide horses, cattle, and farm tools, and at harvest time, a tax of ten to five will be paid. No other corvee labor is required."

Hearing this, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but nodded slightly.

He had experienced hard times and naturally knew how much pressure the small farmers in the Han Dynasty were under.

Although the current land tax is "one in thirty", there are still small farmers who sell their land to become slaves.

Why? Because the other corvee and taxes were too much for ordinary small farmers to bear.

In fact, when these slaves cultivated the land of the powerful, they generally had to pay a tax of 15%, which was split in half. Moreover, the powerful did not provide any horses, cattle, or farm tools, so they often had to bear the cost themselves.

But even so, it is already considered good for those who lost their land.

Therefore, only those who are ignorant of the people's poverty will lament that the common people do not know etiquette, honor and disgrace.

"What about military settlements? What system should be used?"

"Military settlements are roughly similar to civilian settlements," Wei Zhe said with familiarity. "Ten men can form a platoon, with a platoon leader. Five platoons form a settlement, with a settlement leader. Two settlements form a troop, with a temporary military marquis. Five troop groups form a division, and two divisions form a battalion, with a temporary military commander. The county will provide horses, cattle, and farm tools, and at harvest time, officials will take four and private individuals will take six. No other corvee labor will be required."

At this point, Wei Zhe added: "If there are no unexpected events, the military farm camps will remain unchanged, and all those stationed there will be soldiers, farming and fighting at the same time, garrisoning one area."

The reason for using the military system to organize households was to facilitate command during wartime. Simply put, it meant that farmers and soldiers were allowed to guard the land while cultivating the fields.

"Garbling soldiers and civilians?"

Hearing this, Xi Zhicai couldn't help but applaud.

"Ming Gong is truly a talent that can assist the king!"

The more Xi Zhicai thought about it, the more he felt that Wei Zhe's plan was brilliant.

"Not only that, the garrison troops and civilians can also be transferred up and down to use for rewards and punishments." Xi Zhicai said with a sharp look in his eyes: "The civilians may not be cowardly, and the garrison troops may not lose their fighting spirit. In this way, those who are able to fight and willing to fight can get more food, and those who are good at fighting can be promoted to the ranks of regular soldiers!"

After listening to his analysis, Wei Zhe discovered another wonderful point.

Yes, this stitched-together military farming system was the result of Wei Zhe's reference to the fubing system and the weisuo system.

As mentioned earlier, there was already precedent for border troops farming in the Han Dynasty.

Even during the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered Meng Tian to lead an army of 100,000 to attack the Hu people in the north. He also built 44 county cities in Henan Province, using the river as a barrier, and stationed garrisons there.

It can be said that this is the predecessor of the Han Dynasty's border army's farming system.

For example, Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty used criminals, slaves, and recruited farmers to garrison and cultivate land on the border, and Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty also mobilized a large number of garrison troops to cultivate land in the Western Regions.

However, the person who truly promoted the military farming system was Prime Minister Cao, who "killed three sages with one shot."

While the military farming system existed long before and wasn't Cao Cao's invention, the scale and significance of Cao Wei's military farming were unprecedented. Historically, Cao Cao established military farms in the surrounding area after relocating the capital to Xuchang, resulting in a harvest of one million bushels of grain that year. From then on, he appointed agricultural officials in prefectures and counties, allowing them to cultivate and store grain, allowing him to conquer the land without the burden of transporting grain. This ultimately led to the pacification of the empire.

It was not until the late Cao Wei period that the exploitation of military farms became increasingly severe, reaching the point where eight officials and two civilians worked, causing the military farmers to constantly flee and resist. At the same time, the military farm land was constantly occupied by powerful families, which made the military farm system meaningless.

Of course, if we dig deeper, we will find that the corruption of the military farming system was actually instigated by the aristocratic families. Otherwise, where would they hide the farmers and occupy the farmland?

However, Xi Zhicai was unaware of this. He only exclaimed with deep emotion, "If this method could be implemented on the frontier, the Han Dynasty would never again face border troubles!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe said helplessly, "That's too much! That's too much! Why is Zhicai flattering me?"

Since ancient times, there has been no system that remains unchanged for thousands of years. No matter how good the military farming system is, it needs someone to implement it. Otherwise, after a long time, it will eventually end up with the death of the leader and the collapse of the system.

Of course, this method is the best choice for Wei Zhe at the moment.

As for what happens in the future, that naturally depends on the circumstances.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Just wait and see!
……

After discussing with Xi Zhicai, Wei Zhe couldn't wait to take action the next day.

There is no way. The farming season does not wait for anyone. If these chores are not dealt with early, spring plowing will be delayed.

So after careful planning, Wei Zhe quickly determined the locations of civilian and military settlements.

Due to frequent incursions by the Dongyi people, the Shangshutai abandoned the three counties of Haiming, Changcen, and Zhaoming, merging the remaining inhabitants into Daifang County. As for the former lands of the three counties, much of it was occupied by the Suolu tribe as pasture.

But now that Wei Zhe has killed 4,000 cavalrymen of Suolu Hu, causing fear among the surrounding Xianbei tribes, the situation is naturally different.

Wei Zhe naturally would not spit out what he had swallowed, not to mention that this was originally a Han Chinese land.

If he doesn't even have the courage to recover the lost territory, he might as well surrender to Cao Cao as soon as possible.

So Wei Zhe simply set up his military base on the former sites of Haiming, Changcen and Zhaoming counties.

After all, although the old city of Sanxian has become a ruin, the foundation is still there.

With this foundation, building military garrisons can save a lot of effort.

Although Xi Zhicai felt that Wei Zhe's decision was a bit risky, he didn't say anything.

The next day, in the main hall of the county temple.

"The military settlements have been fully organized," Xi Zhicai, who had been promoted to the position of county chief clerk, reported methodically, "Nearly a thousand of the seven thousand slaves have volunteered to become military settlers. Therefore, there are now three thousand soldiers and six thousand civilians."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe immediately smiled and said, "That's perfect. Let's organize the military settlement into three camps, named Haiming Camp, Changcen Camp, and Zhaoming Camp. Let each camp be stationed in the old city of the three counties."

According to the military farming system established by Wei Zhe, the military settled in a camp of 1,000 people, and the civilians settled in a town of 500 people.

In this way, the settlements can be divided into twelve towns.

Of course, this is just a rough division, and most of the towns are only roughly built.

After all, not all of these 7,000 slaves were young and strong; there were also many old, weak, women and children.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe immediately said: "Order the twelve townspeople to garrison inside the Haiming Camp, Changcen Camp, and Zhaoming Camp to provide support."

Xi Zhicai nodded when he heard this, and quickly made specific arrangements according to Wei Zhe's instructions.

Speaking of which, Huang Xiong is also an interesting guy. After seeing Wei Zhe successfully wipe out the Tian and Zhang families, he took the initiative to become a puppet.

So although Xi Zhicai is currently the county chief clerk, he is actually exercising the power of the county magistrate.

With Xi Zhicai's help in finding and filling in the gaps, Wei Zhe's idea was quickly and smoothly implemented.

……

……

The next day, at the Haiming Camp farming site.

"Spring wheat and millet were planted yesterday, and we've also planted some alfalfa." A sturdy man with a scar on his face, acting like an experienced farmer, replied respectfully to Wei Zhe, "We've also planted some melons, leeks, mustard, sunflowers, as well as some garlic and taro. They don't take up much space, so most of it is around each family."

This person is the fake Sima Kuangsheng of the Haiming Camp, a former Yellow Turban leader.

This man is quite pitiful. He was originally a pavilion chief in Anqiu County, Beihai Commandery, and his life was barely passable.

However, he didn't expect that because his wife was quite pretty, she was spotted by the son of a powerful hunting tyrant and was raped. His wife had a strong temper and committed suicide after returning home.

Kuang Sheng also went to the county to seek help, but he was beaten and thrown out by the county guards instead.

So Kuang Sheng surrendered to the Yellow Turbans in a rage and led the Yellow Turban Army to wipe out the entire family of that powerful man.

Even though the Yellow Turbans in Beihai were later defeated by the county troops, causing Kuang Sheng to flee to the mountains, he had no regrets at all.

Kuang Sheng originally thought that this was the end of his life, and that he might die in a ditch at any time. However, he did not expect that he would be transported to Lelang by accident, and he actually had the chance to be a "human" again.

Therefore, Kuang Sheng's gratitude to Wei Zhe comes from the bottom of his heart.

Not only did Wei Zhe give him a new life, but also Wei Zhe gave him a home again.

Yes, when Wei Zhe was rewarding people for their merits that day, he gave him one of Tian Wen's concubines.

It was precisely because of this that Kuang Sheng devoted himself to farming almost day and night after arriving at the Haiming Camp. Among the three military settlements, the Haiming Camp had the fastest progress, which attracted Wei Zhe to come and inspect.

While inspecting the fields, Wei Zhe couldn't help but nod frequently.

So before leaving, Wei Zhe patted Kuang Sheng's shoulder and said with satisfaction: "Work hard, and you will have everything in the future!"

However, Kuang Sheng shook his head stubbornly.

"Everything I have is given by my lord. This is my duty. I do not ask for any other reward."

Unexpectedly, Wei Zhe smiled proudly upon hearing this and said, "How can I not reward the men who fought for me?"

"Don't worry, if I have a share, you will have a share too!"

After saying that, Wei Zhe mounted his horse neatly and led the cavalry to the next farming site.

Looking at Wei Zhe's departing back, Kuang Sheng just stood there in a daze.

However, a moment later, a strong fighting spirit suddenly burst out from his eyes, no longer showing any sign of dejection, as if he had suddenly figured something out...
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PS: I have recently studied the fubing system and the weisuo system of the Ming Dynasty in detail. The more I read, the more interesting I find it. History is indeed a cycle.

When the conscription system is broken, the land is distributed. When good families have no land, they recruit soldiers instead. This cycle has been going on for thousands of years, and in the end it still comes down to farming and fighting!

(End of this chapter)