Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 345 Peach Blossom Spring

On the contrary, Songjiang Prefecture is now a scene of prosperity and flourishing, showing no signs of the chaos that once existed.

With a powerful army of 20 million stationed on the frontier, Songjiang Prefecture felt no shadow of war at all.

Meanwhile, commerce here is booming, and the smiles on the faces of the people are increasing day by day.

The western part of Songjiang Prefecture, formerly a slum theater stage.

This place used to be a place where many homeless people would stay for a long time, but now it has long been turned into a vegetable market.

Since the Dragon King raised an army and unified Liaodong, Songjiang Prefecture has undergone great changes.

In the past, wealthy businessmen needed connections to do business, but now anyone can do it.

As long as you pay your taxes on time, no one will dare to give you a hard time. The Dragon King also has a secret police organization, but this organization not only supervises officials but also monitors the behavior of yamen runners and public servants.

The current Dragon King of Liaodong is in charge. He hates corruption and public officials who bully the people.

After killing many people in a row, everyone knew what the red line was.

Compared to the previous rule of the Great Yan Dynasty, the money one could earn as an official here in the Dragon King's territory was probably very little.

There will never be another day when a prefect can earn 100,000 taels of silver in three years.

However, such a policy is a great thing for ordinary people, as they no longer need to worry about being bullied.

Unlike before, you don't have to work hard all year and end up not even having enough to eat.

In Liaodong nowadays, as long as you are willing to work, you can support your family by providing them with enough to eat and wear.

The Dragon King not only encouraged commerce, but also provided many new technologies to help farmers increase yields, and offered some high-quality seeds.

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, peppers, and cotton seeds have been cultivated and are now being widely distributed.

With these agricultural products, the supplies in Liaodong can not only meet the needs of more than ten million people.

Each year, they can also sell a large portion of it to other places to earn even more money.

Just as Wu Tao guessed, the population of Liaodong has now exceeded ten million.

At the end of the Great Yan Dynasty, the total population was only over 100 million, while Liaodong alone had 10 million.

The key point is that every day, countless people are still traveling with their families to Liaodong.

Even though they had to guard against soldiers, bandits, and the Tartars' ambush on the way.

As long as they can reach the Liaodong border, there will be Heilongjiang Army soldiers there to meet them.

Before Wu Tao gives the order, the Black Dragon Army will not launch an offensive. However, as long as someone crosses the border, they can launch an unlimited counterattack.

So now many people know that if they want to live a good life in Liaodong, they have to find a way to get past the blockades imposed by others.

Once they set foot in Liaodong, they would be safe.

This was the largest migration in history, and Liaodong now has a lot of land.

With the addition of high-yield sweet potatoes, potatoes, and Chinese cabbage, there is enough to feed tens of millions of people.

Wu Tao wouldn't mind having tens of millions of people in Liaodong, at which point he could launch a full-scale war at any time.

In war, two things are food and supplies, and two things are manpower.

In the era of cold weapons, you might have a way to win with fewer troops, but once you are surrounded by enemies several times your size, no amount of military strategy will be of much use.

Liaodong has now become a paradise that everyone wants to join, and Wu Tao naturally knows how to maximize his benefits.

The special forces had planted countless spies outside of Liaodong, who, in private, did nothing but gather intelligence and spread rumors.

No one wants their population to migrate to someone else's territory.

The problem was that after the initial dissemination, the special forces stopped promoting the program, and the general public began to spread the word.

Furthermore, the promotion by some merchants from Liaodong further corroborated the rumors that Liaodong was a good place.

These methods have caused unrest to arise in places that have already become independent and in territories controlled by the Manchus.

Even in this chaotic world, people still have ideals. Even if they die on the road, as long as their children can stay in Liaodong, it is a worthwhile death.

While continuing to carefully manage Liaodong, Wu Tao also continuously absorbed population.

At the same time, various policies, laws and regulations are being gradually added.

The Black Dragon Army is also slowly expanding, adding a division for every million people it absorbs.

By the time the total population of Liaodong exceeded 20 million, the Heilong Army had grown to a force of nearly 300,000.

Besides the 100,000 men guarding the city, the other 200,000 were the direct legions responsible for expanding territory and conquering all directions.

Instead of choosing to attack the inland areas first, Wu Tao chose to attack directly towards the rear of the Tartars.

He hoped to cut off the enemy's escape route so that when they were finally surrounded and attacked, their escape route would already be cut off.

Three hundred thousand Black Dragon soldiers, one hundred thousand guarding the city, and one hundred thousand mobile troops deployed along the border.

One hundred thousand troops set off directly towards the rear of the Tartars, the Haixi Grassland.

Because the main force of the Tartars attacked the Great Yan Dynasty, only the elderly, women and children remain in the Haixi Grassland.

They left behind some elite troops, but their numbers were only a few thousand.

They probably never dreamed that someone would come to the grasslands to hunt them down, since this place was not suitable for Han people to live in.

The arrival of the Black Dragon Army ignited the flames of war on the Haixi Grassland. Wu Tao's instructions were not to take prisoners.

This statement turned the Haixi Grassland into a dead zone, and the 100,000-strong army was divided into several parts.

Each army commander led their troops toward their own objectives, and all the tribes they encountered along the way were wiped out.

They took away gold and silver jewelry, provisions, and horses. This time, the army only brought a week's worth of food.

To put it bluntly, it's forcing everyone to plunder supplies on the Haixi Grassland.

By the way, I should mention that the women weren't killed; they were all brought back to Liaodong to be used as breeding machines.

Qian Hu personally led the team, and with the words "I won't stop until the entire Haixi Grassland is wiped out," he effectively sealed the fate of this place.

For a full six months, the 100,000-strong army swept across the Haixi Grassland three times like autumn leaves being swept away by the wind.

Then Wu Tao began to arrange for Han Chinese immigrants to migrate from Liaodong. To encourage everyone, Wu Tao personally promised that anyone who went to the Haixi Grassland would receive 100 mu of land, two sheep, or two cows for free.

This policy immediately caused an uproar in Liaodong.

Countless people have begun to relocate their entire families. They are not afraid of the harsh climate of the grasslands, but they are afraid that they will not be able to live a good life.

Thanks to the Dragon King's policies, everyone who had previously been landlords was now able to raise cattle and sheep on their own land for generations to come.

In just one year, hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese migrated to the Haixi Grassland.

Meanwhile, the cattle and sheep they raised on the grasslands flowed into Liaodong, where they were exchanged for the grain and cloth they needed.

Wu Tao's goal is to create a complete ecosystem that is self-sufficient while also generating significant tax revenue for the national treasury.