There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 118: Improving
After the capture of Guiyang City, the Han army's territory has become very large.

This time, Nie Yu personally led the army and divided the troops into two groups and marched south, capturing cities and territories along the way. The territory expanded directly from the initial two prefectures and one state to the current five prefectures and two states.

Including the basic base of Jingzhou, Lizhou and Yuezhou, it also occupied Changsha (most of it), Hengzhou (most of it), Changde, and Guiyangzhou (northern part), which is the eastern half of Hunan.

These lands are almost all the essence of the two lakes and are fertile. They are either large rivers, lakes, and plains with large populations, abundant arable land, and high grain production. They are also rich in silver and copper mines, making them very suitable for mining silver, smelting copper, and casting coins.

Two prefectures and one state became five prefectures and two states, and the territory more than doubled, so the administrative system also had to be adjusted.

Yuezhou Prefecture still served as the headquarters of the General's Mansion, and Jingzhou Prefecture served as the base camp of the Han army, and the "two capitals" parallel model within the Han army was still maintained.

The "two capitals" was a private term used by Han army officers and soldiers, because the Han army's general was Nie Yu, and Jingzhou, as the birthplace of the Han army, was governed by the general's biological father, the old man of the Han army.

Jingzhou also has an extremely important strategic position, controlling the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the Jianghan Plain.

Naturally, Jingzhou became the "secondary capital" and Yuezhou became the "new capital".

It sounds like a makeshift team, but at least the officials and scholars under the Han army all think so. In their view, the Han army has already won the battle and will be unstoppable after taking Changsha. It is only a matter of time before they become king, establish a system, and found a country and set up their capital.

Yuezhou remains the "new capital" and Jingzhou is the "secondary capital", which has been determined internally in advance.

Some officials also suggested that the General's Mansion could be moved to Changsha first, because Changsha is the provincial capital of Hunan.

Nie Yu had indeed given this suggestion serious consideration. Changsha Prefecture occupies the center of the Xiangjiang River Basin, has developed water and land transportation, and has a superior geographical location. It can be said to be an important economic and military center in the province.

But it is also too far south and it is a newly occupied area. The internal official administrative team and the external military system have not been established yet, so the issue of moving the capital does not need to be considered for the time being.

After readjustment and planning, the new administrative divisions of the Han Army are as follows:
Jingzhou Prefecture (the secondary capital) governed six counties: Yidu, Zhijiang, Songzi, Gong'an, Shishou, Jianli, and Jiangling (attached to the city).

Yuezhou Prefecture (Xindu) governed five counties: Huarong, Linxiang, Pingjiang, Xiangyin, and Baling (attached to the city).

Lizhou governed five counties: Anxiang, Anfu, Shimen, Cili, and Yongding. Yongding County was a recent surrender. With Changde gone, the county magistrate felt he could no longer defend the county, so he surrendered the city. The Han army advanced as far as Longzhua Pass, facing Yongshun Prefecture in western Hunan across the pass.

Changde Prefecture governs four counties: Taoyuan, Longyang, Yuanjiang, and Wuling (within the city).

Changsha Prefecture governed eight counties: Yiyang, Ningxiang, Xiangxiang, Xiangtan, Liuyang, Liling, Shanhua (within the city), and Changsha (within the city).

Hengzhou Prefecture governs six counties: Hengshan, Anren, Leiyang, Changning, Hengyang (within the city), and Qingquan (within the city).

Guiyang Prefecture, temporarily without jurisdiction over any counties, was a direct prefecture under the General's Office, in preparation for future mining and coinage. The Han army's newly established administrative divisions differed slightly from those of the Qing court. For example, Xiangyin County was transferred from Changsha to Yue Prefecture, and Changsha and Heng Prefecture were also missing You County, Ling County, and Chaling Prefecture, respectively. Guiyang Prefecture also lost its jurisdiction over Jiahe, Lanshan, and Linwu counties.

These missing counties and states were simply because there were local rebel forces. The Han army had no time to deal with them for the time being, so they simply left them alone and let them act freely. At the same time, they were able to slowly clean up the local landlords and gentry.

After the Han army has digested the territory in its hands, they will then send out a large army to take over the territories that have been emptied of the landlords. At the same time, they will recruit those rebels who can be recruited, and drive out those who cannot be recruited, allowing them to continue to go to new places to kill landlords and rob wealthy people.

The chief officials of several provincial capitals have almost been determined.

The prefect of Lizhou was still his cousin Nie Lin, who was indeed capable. He might need more training to be a prefect, but he was capable of being a prefect.

The prefect of Jingzhou was decided to be Chen Xinghuai. This was because he had been working as the regent of Jingzhou for half a year. Not only did he manage the Jingzhou government in an orderly manner, but he was also able to transport money, food, military supplies and equipment to Yuezhou without any mistakes or omissions.

This talent is indeed sufficient, at least much stronger than his cousin's, and Chen Xinghuai will soon become his brother-in-law.

Jingzhou Prefecture is the base of the Han army and the only retreat base of the Han army in Hubei. It controls the important waterway of the Yangtze River. It is impossible to let an outsider take charge of it. Chen Xinghuai is just the right person.

Moreover, this can be regarded as a compensation for Chen Xinghuai. After the Yuezhou Prefecture was reorganized, the Civil Affairs Office was placed under the jurisdiction of the General's Office of Yuezhou, and the original Jingzhou regent was abolished.

Chen Xinghuai was essentially turned back into a commoner, and being given the post of prefect of Jingzhou was a disguised reinstatement, and also served to explain to the Chen family that the General's Mansion had no intention of kicking the Chen family out of the core circle, and even allowed the Chen family to become the prefect of the Han army's birthplace.

After that, if he makes some achievements, the general will definitely promote him to a higher position.

This is normal, because it is still the Qing Dynasty, the real ancient times. The first crow has not been fought yet, and the modern times have not yet arrived. If we need to form a family rebellion group, we have to form a family rebellion group. If the family is not enough, we can use in-laws to make up the number.

How can we ensure the loyalty of senior management without nepotism at the top?
This is a rebellion, not a game of house. If you play house, you have to play with your own people, right?
The prefect of Yuezhou was Li Chen, a descendant of the Jingzhou Li family. He had previously requested to be transferred to Yidu to build roads and dig canals. Now that his achievements and experience were almost exhausted, Nie Yu transferred him from Jingzhou and officially appointed him as the prefect of Yuezhou.

The Changsha prefect was Xie Yanchen, whose experience was similar to Li Chen's. Both had participated in road and canal construction, and during the land distribution and survey, he worked diligently, never showing favoritism, and was even somewhat stubborn, not afraid of offending anyone. He treated tenants and refugees fairly and impartially, often personally visiting the countryside to verify the follow-up implementation of the land distribution and to see if there were any discrepancies with the government's accounts.

Nie Yu saw this and transferred people to Jingzhou as well. Changsha Prefecture was the newly occupied prefecture and also the provincial capital of Hunan. There were many gentry and scholars there, and the Yuelu Academy was well-known.

It would be difficult for an ordinary person to be the prefect, so we need someone who is upright and stubborn to be the prefect.

The prefect of Hengzhou was called Zhao Zhijie, who was also a veteran of the Han army. He had outstanding political achievements during the land distribution period. He was not greedy or possessive, and was capable of getting things done. He was also stable in domestic affairs. Compared with Li Chen and Xie Yanchen, he seemed to be more tactful in handling matters. The surrendered officials and local officials sent by Jingzhou all had a very good relationship with him.

Changde and Guiyang were temporarily placed under military control because a major battle was about to break out in Changde, and the 100,000 Qing troops in Xiangxi could not endure this for much longer. They would either have to fend for themselves in Xiangxi, dying from lack of food, or they would have to march north and engage in full-scale battle with the Han army in Changde.

(End of this chapter)