Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Was Qiong Ying deliberately covering for Zhao Yuan?

Pan Jinlian and Li Ping'er were both new favorites that Zhao Yuan took in outside the marriage.

They only brought them up the mountain through Qiongying because they were worried that Li Shishi would blame them.

Now, seeing Zhao Yuan go up the mountain, all he sees is Li Shishi.

They didn't pay much attention to Pan Jinlian and Li Ping'er.

Chunmei was naturally happy.

Pan Jinlian, standing to the side, seemed somewhat disappointed.

After being rescued by Qiongying, she traveled this route with the others.

She had long been captivated by Zhao Yuan's heroic spirit, and naturally, a thread of affection had been tied to him.

He had thought that after not seeing Zhao Yuan for two or three days, Zhao Yuan would surely look at him more often.

But she never expected Zhao Yuan to be so indifferent.

Compared to Pan Jinlian, Li Ping'er was much calmer.

While in Daming Prefecture, she was only thinking about escaping Madam Cai's clutches.

Now that my wish has finally come true, I'm just thinking about living a peaceful life for now, and haven't had time to think about anything else...

Chapter 136 Pei Xuan's Advice on Dividing Households

After going up the mountain, Zhao Yuan first escorted Li Shishi and the others back to the backyard.

Only then did they arrive at the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.

Candles were lit in the spacious hall.

The group split into two groups and took their seats.

Those who arrived at the mountain earlier, including Lu Zhishen, had already been seated according to their rank; those who sat in folding chairs were seated at a table by themselves.

Xu Ning and Bian Xiang, who came up the mountain later, had not yet been formally assigned seats. Those who were seated in folding chairs sat alone at a table.

There seemed to be an invisible barrier between the two groups.

Zhao Yuan glanced at it briefly and immediately knew the problem.

Upon seeing him enter, everyone stood up to greet him.

Then Zhao Yuan was in a dilemma.

Both tables had empty seats left for him.

Regardless of which side Zhao Yuan sat on, he would clearly neglect the brothers on the other side.

Fortunately, the tables used at this time were still the eight-immortal tables, not the round tables of later generations.

Zhao "053" Yuan then simply had everyone put the tables together.

Now, all the brothers on Liangshan, both new and old, sat together.

The feeling of isolation I had just felt vanished instantly.

After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere at the table became quite lively.

Over there, Lu Zhishen and Xu Ning were talking about their time in the army.

Here, Bian Xiang insisted on testing his arm strength against Sun An.

The Ruan brothers and Deng Fei were all making a fuss, and even the two women, Qiong Ying and Hu Sanniang, joined in.

Nearby, Pei Xuan was chatting with Du Qian and Song Wan about Liangshan.

Seeing that although the group was still a bit unfamiliar with each other, they were generally quite warm and friendly, Zhao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

After talking with Lu Zhishen and Xu Ning for a while,

Zhao Yuan then moved closer to the table where arm strength was being tested.

Then, with the divine power bestowed by the system, amidst Qiong Ying's cheers and Hu Sanniang's admiring gaze,

He overpowered everyone and won the title of the strongest in arm strength.

Bian Xiang and Sun An were left to compete for second place.

When Zhao Yuan arrived at Pei Xuan's place, he overheard the three of them talking about the current population of Liangshan.

"What? Is there a problem with the population of Liangshan?" Zhao Yuan interjected.

“Brother, it is Pei Kongmu who thinks that with the increasing population on Liangshan, it is time to register the households in detail,” Du Qian explained.

Zhao Yuan refilled Pei Xuan's bowl with wine: "Please tell me in detail what exactly happened, clerk."

Pei Xuan didn't mince words and spoke directly with a stern face.

"Chief, the population of Liangshan is now close to ten thousand. If we continue to manage it in the same crude way as before, everything will be in chaos. If this continues, something bad will happen sooner or later!"

Pei Xuan was originally a clerk in the Six Offices of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

These six cases, each with its own clerk, correspond in local terms to the six ministries of the imperial court.

These are dedicated personnel established by local government offices specifically to handle the tasks assigned to various departments.

They were responsible for various management affairs in the local area, including criminal litigation, tax books, and warehouse supervision.

Although they were just clerks, they were an absolutely indispensable part of the local government offices.

To put it simply, a county government,

There can be no county magistrate, no prefect.

But the clerks and other officials are indispensable.

Without them, relying solely on the county magistrate or prefect,

The entire government office was completely unable to function.

Pei Xuan was able to serve as the Six Records Clerk in a place like the Jingzhao Prefecture, although he was framed because of his upright and selfless character.

But its capabilities are obviously beyond question.

When Zhao Yuan was still on the mountain, he had already changed the military system of Liangshan.

As for other matters, the village population was too small at that time.

He didn't pay much attention to it.

Having heard Pei Xuan's advice, Zhao Yuan immediately realized the problem.

Putting aside everything else, the chaotic population management on Liangshan Mountain these days...

If one or two government spies had infiltrated, they probably wouldn't have been discovered!

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuan quickly stood up, bowed to Pei Xuan, and sincerely asked for his guidance.

"Please tell me what to do!"

His attitude clearly startled Pei Xuan.

The famously stern-faced chieftain of Jingzhao Prefecture hurriedly helped Zhao Yuan up and said with deep emotion, "I was originally just a minor official in the government. Now I am despised by the government. If it weren't for the chieftain taking me in, I wouldn't even have a place to stay. I would never be able to repay the chieftain's great kindness even if I were to die!"

After Pei Xuan finished speaking, he began to suggest to Zhao Yuan a method for reforming the household registration system in Liangshan.

Now, with the addition of the disaster victims who have recently come up the mountain, Liangshan...

The population has already reached over nine thousand, nearly ten thousand.

Pei Xuan suggested,

These people were divided into military households, artisan households, and civilian households.

Of the three types of household registration, military households received the best treatment.

Anyone whose family member was selected as a soldier was considered a military household.

In addition to the rewards given for each military campaign.

These soldiers should also be given a fixed amount of military pay on a regular basis.

During Wang Lun's reign

The bandits on Liangshan Mountain did not receive monthly pay.

The mountain stronghold usually only provides food and lodging.

Only after they have robbed the goods will they distribute some to their henchmen according to established custom.

Although Zhao Yuan had previously selected soldiers from among his henchmen,

However, because there were few people at that time, there were no established regulations for salaries.

That was possible then, but not now.

The Liangshan population is now close to ten thousand, and three hundred and sixty regular soldiers are clearly not enough. It is imperative to select more soldiers again.

If the treatment and salary are not explained in advance, how can the selected soldiers feel at ease?

After all, many of the disaster victims who went up the mountain this time were with their families.

If the soldiers are not given wages to support their families, how can they be expected to stay loyal and be willing to risk their lives for Liangshan!

Craftsmen, on the other hand, refer to those who possess a special skill.

For example, the blacksmiths, who forged armor and weapons for Liangshan, naturally couldn't be allowed to work for free; they had to be paid.

Only in this way can we get them to work with their hearts.

The last remaining households were those people who could neither join the army nor have any other skills, and who only knew how to farm.

2.0 Liangshan Marsh covers an area of ​​over 800 li.

The Liangshan mountain range in the middle of the marshland also covers an area of ​​tens of thousands of hectares.

Many of these areas are suitable for cultivation.

Pei Xuan went up the mountain two days ahead of schedule.

I have roughly traversed all parts of the Liangshan mountain range.

Preliminary estimates suggest that at least 60,000 to 70,000 mu of farmland can be reclaimed.

This number looks large, but if you calculate it, it's only four or five thousand hectares, which is less than one-tenth of the area occupied by the Liangshan Mountains.

Of these 60,000 to 70,000 mu of farmland, most are mountainous, with more low-lying fields and fewer medium- and high-lying fields.

Even so, if all these fields could be cultivated,

A rough estimate suggests that a yearly harvest of 40,000 to 50,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain could be obtained, enough to feed over 20,000 people even without plundering.

Chapter 137 Discussions in the Hall of Righteousness: Seating Arrangements

The next day, in the Liangshan Hall of Righteous Gathering,

Zhao Yuan sat in the head seat, yawning.

He didn't sleep a wink last night, spending the entire night discussing Liangshan's household registration with Pei Xuan.

At the stroke of midnight, leaders arrived in twos and threes at the Hall of Gathering Righteousness.

Before noon,

All the leaders still on Liangshan Mountain have now arrived, including Sun An and Qiong Ying, who are not officially part of the group.

"Brothers, a month ago, I went down the mountain to visit Master Chai in Cangzhou. Unexpectedly, when I arrived in Shouzhang, I encountered some ruffians causing trouble, but I also met Brother Jiao Ting..."

Zhao Yuan briefly recounted his experiences from the past month or so since he descended the mountain.

"When I returned to the mountain this time, I saw that the population had increased to nearly 10,000 thanks to the refugees from Hebei. There were also more than 20 leaders and brothers on the mountain! I was naturally overjoyed!"

"This also shows that Liangshan is indeed thriving and growing stronger, all thanks to the hard work of all the brothers!"

Upon hearing this, the leaders quickly stood up, clasped their hands in greeting,

"Brother, don't be modest. If it weren't for you leading us up the mountain, how could we have the Liangshan stronghold we have today!" Ruan Xiaoqi said with a smile.

　18 Du Qian also spoke up: "When Wang Lun was there, there were only about a thousand people on the mountain and four or five leaders. It was after Brother Zhao came up the mountain that Liangshan underwent earth-shaking changes in just two months!"

"Although we have done some work, without your guidance and leadership, we wouldn't have been able to make the stronghold so prosperous,"

Lu Zhishen also laughed and said, "Take the population of this mountain stronghold for example. If it weren't for you, brother, sending Xiao Qi back and having Liangshan find a way to gather the disaster victims, we would all be only concerned with our own little plot of land. Who would have thought of this!"