The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 23 Land reclamation and robbery of wealthy households

Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly heavy, Jiang Han smiled slightly and took the initiative to change the subject.

He gently put down the wine bowl and said seriously:
“I didn’t give away these things for nothing. Although they’ve left now, I will always remember their kindness.”

“Take our Commander Wang Jun for example. Although he was a bit unlucky and didn’t contribute much during the mutiny, he was still our old superior. It’s always good to leave him with some dignity.”

Everyone burst out laughing when this was mentioned.

Wang Jun was an unlucky fellow. First, he was framed by Wu Zimian and forced to take the blame for the "mastermind of the mutiny," and was tied up for a whole night.

It wasn't until the mutiny ended, when Jiang Han and his men went to Wu Zimian's camp to loot the spoils of war, that they were able to rescue him.

After being rescued, Wang Jun felt guilty for not having made any contribution and for taking ten taels of silver from Jiang Han for nothing.

So he volunteered to guard the money and grain, but he accidentally broke his hand again and had to recuperate for a long time.

Having been eating and drinking for free for so long, Wang Jun felt too embarrassed to stay any longer, so he and several fellow villagers who were unwilling to rebel left the group and returned to Bao'an County.

But since he was his former superior, Jiang Han gave Wang Jun an extra ten taels of silver and a few bolts of homespun cloth before he left.

Mentioning this, the others couldn't help but chuckle, but Jiang Han quickly changed the subject and continued to explain:
“Life in Shaanxi will get harder and harder in the future. When they really can’t survive, the first person they will think of will be me, and they will naturally come to me for help.”

"They are all elite border troops, definitely much better than those vagrants who can't even hold a knife properly."

Jiang Han picked up his wine bowl, took a small sip to moisten his throat, and began to analyze the current situation for everyone:
"Since we went north to defend the emperor, Shaanxi has been left undefended, and bandits from all over the country have taken the opportunity to emerge."

"Due to limited military strength, the newly appointed Governor-General of the Three Borders, Yang He, had no choice but to focus his main efforts on several major bandits."

"Among them, Wang Er of Baishui, Wang Jiayin of Hengtian Yizi, and Gao Yingxiang of Chuangwang were the leaders. These were all major bandits that the court had ordered to be captured."

"For other smaller bandit groups, the main approach in various regions is still to appease and pacify them."

"So, taking advantage of this lull, we'll quietly develop in Baijiagou for a while and conserve our energy."

"As long as we don't openly raise the flag of rebellion and attack the county seat, the government won't bother us."

After hearing Jiang Han's explanation, everyone suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly.

That's why the leader of the banner is so resourceful. If someone else had led the army, these guys would probably have scattered long ago, or joined the bandits and lived a life of hunger and hardship.

Jiang Han glanced around, his gaze settling on Hei Zi, and gave the order:

“Hei Zi, go and find out if there are any heartless landlords or bandits who are ravaging the neighborhood.”

Jiang Han's lips curled up slightly as he continued:
"So many brothers are idle, it's a good time to go and freeload, and give them some training."

Hei Zi's eyes lit up, and he nodded excitedly. He took a big gulp of wine, determined to find out all the landlords near Ansai and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Jiang Han ignored him and continued speaking to himself:

"As for grain, no one is farming the land in Baijiagou anyway. When spring comes, we'll recruit some refugees and try to grow some grain."

“Zhuzi and I are familiar with Baijiagou. We’ll go take a look tomorrow and calculate exactly how many acres of land can be cultivated.”

Jiang Han smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over the people present, and concluded:
In short, the key is to stockpile grain and delay declaring oneself king!

Early the next morning, Hei Zi led his cavalry out to gather information, while Shao Yong was responsible for supervising his soldiers' daily drills.

Jiang Han and Zhu Zi went to check the land conditions around Baijiagou.

The cold wind howled, and the fields were covered with heavy snow. As far as the eye could see, everything was a vast expanse of white, and footsteps made a dull "crunch" sound when they stepped on the snow.

Jiang Han stood at the village entrance, staring intently at the dried-up Yanhe Riverbed, childhood memories flashing through his mind. Once upon a time, Baijiagou was a prosperous and thriving place, thanks to the Yanhe River.

During the busy farming season, the men would wade into the river, bend over, and carry buckets of water to irrigate and cultivate the fields day after day; while the women would be busy on the riverbank, washing clothes and rinsing rice.

The older children followed their fathers around, helping with chores like weeding and fertilizing; the younger children would play and frolic in the river.

Young Jiang Han and Zhu Zi were also among them. If nothing unexpected had happened, their lives might have continued in this peaceful and happy way.

However, accidents always happen unexpectedly. Natural disasters, heavy taxes, and bandits reaped the lives of one generation of villagers like a sickle, until this prosperous little village disappeared completely.

Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar scene, Jiang Han felt a mix of emotions. Zhu Zi, who was standing next to him, noticed Jiang Han's mood and silently patted him on the shoulder.

Jiang Han sighed deeply, shook his head, forcibly suppressed the churning thoughts in his mind, and refocused his attention to start calculating the land.

Jiang Han stopped at the edge of the field and started counting on his fingers:
"We currently have about 1,200 people, and we consume more than 1,000 shi of grain per month. In addition, we have about 100 warhorses, so we need about 20,000 shi of grain per year."

He looked up at the snow-covered fields around him and continued his analysis:

“The soil in northern Shaanxi is poor; on average, it takes two or three mu of land to produce one shi of grain.”

"So we need to cultivate more than 30,000 mu of land to meet our food needs for a year."

Upon hearing the figure of "30,000 mu", Dong Erzhu almost fell to the ground in shock.

"Brother Han, our village only has a little over a thousand mu of land in total, and even if you include the neighboring Majiagou, it's only a little over three thousand mu."

"Now you're asking for 30,000 mu (approximately 2,000 acres) of land. Where are you going to get so much land?"

Jiang Han rolled his eyes at him: "I'm just doing some calculations, what's the rush?"

"We're currently farming unclaimed land, so we'll plant as much as we can and find other sources of food if we need to."

"We'll just recruit some refugees and provide them with two meals a day."

Dong Erzhu nodded, but then suddenly remembered something and asked:
"What about taxes? We've taken land from two villages, so we have to pay taxes to both villages, right?"

"Add in the corvée labor and levies, how much land do we have to cultivate?!"

Jiang Han looked at Dong Erzhu, who had a serious expression on his face, and asked earnestly:
"Hey Zhuzi, do I look like I'm a sucker?"

"Huh?" Dong Erzhu didn't react for a moment.

Jiang Han slapped Dong Erzhu across the forehead, looking at him with a face full of disappointment:
"We are rebels! Rebels! Not law-abiding citizens! Is that goose-feather saber in your hand just for show?!"

"I have over a thousand suits of armor under my command. Which fool would dare to come and collect taxes?"

Dong Erzhu covered his forehead, still somewhat unconvinced, and muttered:

"Just say it, why resort to violence?"

He paused after speaking, and seeing that Jiang Han wasn't planning to make a move, he relaxed slightly, then continued with some worry:

"Second Brother Han, although it has snowed, no one can say for sure whether the weather will be good or bad next year."

“We suffer from severe drought every year in northern Shaanxi, and I reckon it will be another severe drought next year.”

"Whether these crops will even survive after being planted is another question! What are you planning to do?"

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(End of this chapter)