My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 326 The plan cannot keep up with the changes

When Gao Yu left Luoyang, Erzhu Rong promoted all the elite Qihu soldiers in his Xuanjia Army to the Imperial Guard.

This weakened Gao Yu's strength, since this group of elite Qihu troops had followed Gao Yu through the entire Battle of Luoyang, charging into a coalition of 300,000 men, suffering a crushing defeat, and surviving.

In anyone's hands, it would be a precious treasure.

But it also indirectly helped Gao Yu purify his troops.

Gao Yu brought 3,600 people with him. Among them, 600 were the old men who had followed him all the way from Huai Shuo. Most of the able-bodied men, such as Wang Xuan and Li Wenshu, who were originally captured in the suburbs of Luoyang, were Han Chinese.

Most of the soldiers in the garrison were refugees who had come from Yan and You, but the vast majority of these refugees were also Han Chinese.

That is to say...

Gao Yu's army had almost become an army composed entirely of Han Chinese.

There are disadvantages and advantages.

The downside was that the Great Wei ruled the northern border for over a hundred years, constantly on guard against the Han people, and forbade them to serve as soldiers, which severely reduced the military skills of the Han people.

The advantage is that the army is not a mixed coalition of ethnic groups, so it is less likely to cause trouble or have too obvious a conflict between the Han and non-Han peoples.

He set off with 5,000 soldiers, while his own Xuanjia Army was left in Dongyang City. Some of these soldiers would become captains, colonels, and brigade commanders in the newly established Zhechong Prefecture. They were all veterans, and most importantly, they were literate.

Gao Yu had been intentionally training his soldiers to read since the time he was in Huai Shuo.

Firstly, he was not only a general but also their teacher, which strengthened the relationship between them.

Secondly, Gao Yu initially intended to train these people as mid-level officers from the outset.

His six hundred Xuanjia veterans were six hundred officers. Gao Yu could easily increase the number of troops under his control, simply because Gao Yu didn't like that kind of 'bloated' force, which sounded impressive but was actually vulnerable.

Cui Xian, Yang Yin, and others were also taken along by Gao Yu.

"General, aren't ten garrison posts a bit too few?"

Cui Xian knew very well how much land Gao Yu controlled, "Setting up twenty would be most appropriate."

As long as they have enough land to distribute, the maintenance cost for the militia is extremely low; they take care of all their own food, drink, and sanitation needs.

The greatest advantage of the Fubing system was not actually that its excellent reward mechanism made the Fubing soldiers very capable fighters.

The real advantage lies in the fact that, under the model of combining soldiers and farmers, the daily maintenance cost is extremely low, and it is not easy to rebel.

The soldiers were usually scattered in various villages, farming and practicing martial arts. They could not be easily summoned unless there was a war, and the generals could only be responsible for command.

The process of gathering people also involves a very complicated procedure.

For example, the Zhechong Prefecture established by Gao Yu was just an administrative agency and did not have military power. Unless there were special circumstances, the captains and lieutenants of the Zhechong Prefecture were not allowed to contact the prefectural soldiers without authorization.

Gao Yu's current idea is to establish an agency under the Tian Ce Mansion to oversee all military affairs, which will be managed by Mulan, Yang Kan, and others.

To summon the soldiers of the garrison, one needs the joint signature and seal of Mulan, Yang Kan, and others, or at least two people must appear together with their seals in order to mobilize the soldiers.

Gao Yu's prestige in the army is beyond doubt, especially the 3,600 men he brought from Luoyang, who are his absolute staunch supporters. However, as his own power expands, he cannot do everything personally.

Then we can only rely on trusted confidants and also use necessary checks and balances.

It's not about distrust; checks and balances are essentially a form of protection for trusted confidants.

If those above are completely unguarded towards someone, it can actually cause that person to overthink things.

Gao Yu shook his head, "We must reserve enough land for stipends and relief land. We can take bigger steps in Nanqing Prefecture. After eliminating the refugees, we should temporarily establish twenty garrison prefectures."

Historically, from Yuwen Tai to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Fubing system was used to control the entire country from Guanzhong.

Gao Yu's current base of operations is destined to be in Qingzhou, Nanqingzhou, and Guangzhou, with Shandong as his territory to control the world.

If everything goes smoothly, thirty-five Zhechong Prefectures would amount to thirty-five thousand prefectural soldiers. Including auxiliary troops, Gao Yu could easily muster a well-trained force of seventy to eighty thousand men.

Jia Sixie was also accompanying them.

Nanqing Prefecture has a large amount of wasteland. To reclaim this wasteland and quickly transform it into fertile land, large-scale promotion of composting is necessary. With Gao Yu's help, Jia Sixie has also developed the 'curved plow'. If it can be successfully promoted, it can significantly increase the harvest.

Build high walls and store up plenty of grain before declaring yourself king.

Gao Yu's plan this time is...

With increased troop production and improved agricultural output, the pace of basic education and other miscellaneous tasks can be slowed down a bit.

After assembling troops in Pyeongchang County.

Gao Yu then led his army south to Dongguan County. Instead of rushing to Tuancheng, the capital of Nanqing Prefecture, he stationed his troops in Dongguan County and sent out his soldiers to suppress the nearby refugees.

It turns out.

Information transmission was really slow in ancient times!

Gao Yu was carrying out a large-scale extermination of refugees in Qingzhou, and Dongguan County was located on the border between Qingzhou and Nanqingzhou.

But the refugee army here is still fearless.

Despite Gao Yu's initial attempt at diplomacy followed by force, they still chose to put up a stubborn resistance.

Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

Why would someone who can rule the mountain and be king of his own have to bow down and become a servant to Gao Yu?

However, they greatly underestimated Gao Yu's determination this time, and also underestimated the determination of the first batch of soldiers to 'make meritorious contributions' and receive rewards!

Gao Yu continued his campaign of annihilation while rushing towards Tuancheng.

Nanqingzhou is indeed sparsely populated, and there are very few villages along the way.

Gao Yu was overjoyed.

"If the number of refugees in Nanqingzhou is insufficient, a group of refugees can be relocated from Qingzhou to Qingzhou, which can alleviate the conflict between the locals and the Hakka within Qingzhou."

Ok?
As soon as the words left his mouth.

Gao Yu then remembered that he had previously complained about Cao Cao's various immigration strategies, which he felt were tormenting the people.

Isn't what I'm doing now exactly what Cao Cao did?

This boomerang...

"General's words are very reasonable. Please issue the decree in the name of the Tian Ce Mansion."

Yang Yin cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and suggested, "We need to recruit more people."

The task of surveying and registering the land, including the displaced people and the new soldiers, was enormous.

Yang Yin and his group alone can't handle all the work.

With basic education not yet widespread, it's impossible to rely on ordinary people and small landlords like the local militia.

Then we can only recruit more people from aristocratic families. These people are literate, and even if they are not very capable, they can still help implement some basic policies.

Gao Yu was very troubled.

His power expanded too quickly.

Talent development cannot keep up with the pace of territorial expansion.

However, this situation did manage to appease the powerful families who followed him.

They had enough people serving as officials under Gao Yu.

This is enough.

(End of this chapter)