Tiger Owl

Chapter 224 The Migration of People to the South
On the Yangtze River, passenger ships came and went in an endless stream, transporting batches of people migrating south across the river. Given the current situation, with war gradually approaching, a large number of people from north of the river were to migrate to south of the river.

For the southern counties, whose development is far behind that of the north, population has always been the most important resource. If they cannot protect the land north of the river, they must at least protect the population north of the river.

Starting from last autumn harvest, the government began mobilization and propaganda, claiming that war was imminent and hoping that people would migrate to the south of the Yangtze River, promising that the government would guarantee their land and homes.

The main destinations of this migration were the Penglize Plain in Yuzhang Commandery and the Dongting Lake Plain in Changsha Commandery, as well as the Yangtze River Plain in Wuchang Commandery. These three plains were enough to support tens of millions of people, especially the Dongting Lake Plain and the Yangtze River Plain, which were basically undeveloped.

The first batch of immigrants came from Jiangxia County. They were all military households, totaling about 20,000 households and more than 100,000 people. They would be resettled along the Yangtze River in Wuchang County, which was separated by the river. Each household would still receive 20 mu of military land and 2 mu of residential land.

The 20,000 households were mainly resettled in Xiakou County and Chu County. About 30% of the households were resettled in the suburbs of Chu County, while the remaining 70% were resettled on both sides of the E River, forming more than 30 new villages.

Gan Ning led high-ranking officials to inspect Chu County, formerly known as E County, which was later renamed Wuchang County and is now renamed Chu County.

Surrounded by officials, Gan Ning arrived at a village about two miles from the county seat. The village was close to the Yangtze River and next to the E River, surrounded by large tracts of farmland.

"Zhuge Sima, I remember there was a fierce battle here!"

The high-ranking official in charge of resettlement was none other than Deputy Sima Zhuge Jin. He was meticulous, shrewd, and capable, so Gan Ning appointed him as the head of the Resettlement Office, which was fully responsible for the relocation of people and immigrants from the north.

Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "Reporting to Lord Chu, a fierce battle did indeed break out here, but we have completely cleared it away. At most, we might occasionally dig up one or two rusty arrowheads, but that's all."

"Let's go in and take a look."

Gan Ning and a large group of officials entered the new village. The village was very large, with each household having two acres of land for their homes. The courtyard walls were made of rammed earth, and the government also built a basic house for each household, so that the people who had crossed the river would have a place to live.

Although the houses were all built with old wood, which was very inexpensive, the sheer number of them meant that the government had spent a lot of money to relocate the people.

Fortunately, the people were quite cooperative. Fearing war, they all agreed to move their families south. Cao Cao's army had a bad reputation. When they attacked Xuzhou, they allowed their troops to burn, kill, and loot, massacring countless civilians.

Upon hearing that the Marquis of Chu had arrived, the villagers came out to line the streets to welcome him. Two old men stepped forward, knelt down, and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Marquis of Chu, for protecting the people from the ravages of war."

Gan Ning quickly helped the two old men up and said loudly to the crowd, "It was only with great difficulty that you all settled down in Jiangbei. Now that you have been moved to Jiangnan again, I feel very bad. The government will do its best to help you settle down. If you have any requests, we will do our best to fulfill them if we can."

Seeing that no one dared to speak, Lu Su smiled and said, "Everyone, don't have any worries. Since the Marquis of Chu has asked you, please speak freely if you have any difficulties."

A middle-aged man raised his hand and said, "Since the Marquis of Chu is sincere, then I shall dare to say a few words."

Gan Ning smiled and nodded, "Please speak!"

“Our houses in Jiangbei were all built with money. Although the soil is not valuable, all kinds of timber such as beams and pillars were bought with money, and the tiles also cost money, and they were quite expensive. I want to go back to Jiangbei to tear down the houses and transport the timber and tiles back, but it is not easy to find a boat now. Could you ask the government to provide boats to transport the materials across the Yangtze River for us? We also need materials to build houses here!”

Gan Ning thought for a moment and said, "I can provide large ships for transportation, but I can't provide labor. You'll have to do it yourselves. Alternatively, you can organize yourselves and go to Jiangbei together, so everyone can help each other with the transport." Everyone cheered and agreed. At this moment, Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "Lord Chu, let me offer a reasonable suggestion!"

Gan Ning nodded, "Please speak, Zhuge Sima!"

Zhuge Jin laughed and said, "Using large boats is actually not convenient. For example, large boats cannot enter this small canal at the entrance of the village, but small boats of a hundred shi can. I suggest providing each village with a few small boats so that they can row to the north bank of the river to transport goods. Their homes on the north bank are also by the river! They can transport goods directly from their doorstep to their doorstep. This way, it will save them effort, as they don't have to carry the goods from the riverbank to the village. They can just load them onto the small boats and transport them into the village."

Zhuge Jin's plan is not bad. Gan Ning nodded, "I can lend it. I have two requirements. First, it must be returned, and it cannot be borrowed for a long time. It must be for a limited time, three months. Second, it doesn't matter if it gets damaged, but the boat must be kept. You can make the rules."

"Please rest assured, Lord Chu, I will make all the arrangements!"

In Dantu County, Jiangdong, Zhang Zhao hurriedly entered Sun Quan's official residence.

"Reporting to Lord Wu, I have just received news that a large-scale migration of people from north of the Yangtze River to south of the Yangtze is taking place in Yuzhang County."

Sun Quan frowned. "Has the Liaodong campaign ended?"

Zhang Zhao slowly said, "We don't know the intelligence from Liaodong, but it should be soon. Dealing with nomadic peoples like the Wuhuan is not a long war; it's always a decisive battle. I sense a strong sense of crisis in Yuzhang County, and we are feeling a bit more anxious."

"Is the strategist saying things are getting a bit too calm on our end?"

Zhang Zhao nodded. He couldn't be too blunt, but Jiangdong really lacked a sense of crisis. It took them three months to recruit tens of thousands of troops, while Yuzhang County recruited 30,000 troops in just half a month. In comparison, they were too slow.

Sun Quan walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked, "Strategist, do you think Cao Cao's army should take the Hefei route in the east or the Xiangyang route in the west when it marches south?"

"To be frank, I am not sure, but Cao Cao has been raising Sun Ben for so many years, probably intending to use him at a crucial moment. I think it is more likely that Cao Cao's army will take the Hefei route."

"If Cao Cao's army takes the Hefei route, then they will have to cross the river at Liyang?"

"That's not necessarily true. Cao Cao might take over the entire north bank of the Yangtze River first, and seize Lujiang and Jiangxia counties. It's hard to say where he'll cross the river from."

Sun Quan seemed to understand something, "So Gan Ning's large-scale relocation of people north of the Yangtze River was because he was worried that Cao Cao's army would unify the north of the Yangtze River?"

"That must be the reason!"

Sun Quan nodded slowly and then asked, "If we want to strengthen our military preparedness, what should we do?"

"Gather troops; gather money and supplies; rally the hearts and minds of the people of Jiangdong to resist the impending invasion of Cao Cao's army from the south."

(End of this chapter)