Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 71 Another Fake Move (Seeking Follow-up Reading)
It was not a sudden idea for Lu Jin to adopt Gesan as his adopted son.

His current situation is very similar to that of Zhu Yuanzhang in history.

Zhu Yuanzhang's entire family died, leaving only Tang and a few childhood friends as helpers. Zhu Yuanzhang also had a nephew and a niece, but the rest were gone.

Lu Jin is even more of a bachelor. He is all alone when he travels through time, and he doesn’t even have any childhood friends.

Look at others. The Liao family has several brothers, the Yu family has several fathers and sons, Guo Zixing also has several fathers and sons, Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, and Fang Guozhen all have several brothers.

Lu Jin encountered the same difficulties as Zhu Yuanzhang did in the past, namely, lack of confidants.

That was why he wanted to marry the generals under his command to improve their relationship, and also to adopt more sons and train them to be his helpers.

Another reason is that Gesang’s identity is also very special.

His father is Mongolian, but his mother is Han Chinese. He knows both Chinese and Mongolian languages ​​and can raise horses. He is definitely a high-end talent.

He is only twelve or thirteen years old and a low-level slave who suffers from oppression by the Mongolian nobles. If he is kept by their side and educated well, he will definitely become a great help in the future.

For example, he was asked to lead the 80 Mongolians stranded in the Central Plains. Yes, there were so many.
The Mongolian grassland regime is a unique existence in the entire grassland history. It can be compared with the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains. It was the first time that a nation was united!
In contrast to the Qin Dynasty was the Huns. Qin Shihuang unified the Central Plains and connected the northern Great Wall into one.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, nomads on the grasslands could trade with various vassal states, or rob. If your Zhao State is good at wearing Hu clothing and riding and shooting, then I can rob Yan State, right? I can rob Dai State, right?
At that time, the princes were fighting each other, and the nomads on the grassland always found opportunities. However, with the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the nomads on the grassland suddenly found that they could no longer rob, nor could they trade with the Central Plains. This forced the nomads to unite in order to compete with the Central Plains dynasty. Finally, Maodun unified the grassland and became the Huns.

The dynasties in the Central Plains all followed the Qin law, and the grasslands were almost the same, and they had always used the system of enfeoffment and Khanship of the Xiongnu Left Wise King and Right Wise King.

However, the Huns were the Huns. They established the system of the grassland for thousands of years, but they were not a nation.

Although the Turks who lived in the same era as the Tang Dynasty were also very powerful, there were still different voices on the grassland, such as the Uighur tribes, who would never admit that they were Turks.

It was not until the birth of Mongolia that it reached the same height as the Han Dynasty for the first time. Through continuous victories in foreign wars, a new nation, the Mongolians, was formed. All grassland nomads were proud to be Mongolians.

However, this Mongolian ethnic group is very deformed. It gives all Mongolians the highest political status, such as the four-class system of the Yuan Dynasty: Mongolians, Semites, northern Han people, and southern Han people.

But are these any good for the lower-class Mongolian people? No!
They did have a high political status, but in the eyes of the Mongolian nobles, they were no different from the Han Chinese in the south. They were sold and exploited and treated like slaves.

During the entire Yuan Dynasty, the peak population of the Mongolian people may have been six million, but the number of Mongolian slaves who fell into the Central Plains was about 800,000!

800,000 Mongolian slaves! If such a destructive force were used together, it would be enough to fight a battle of Muye.
The people who were against the Yuan Dynasty were the brutal and inhumane Mongolian nobles, not the oppressed Mongolian people at the bottom of society. Lu Jin knew this.

If his plan succeeds, and with the help of industrial power, he might be able to bring long-term peace and stability to the grassland ahead of schedule and end the conflicts that have lasted for thousands of years.

Just like Mu Ying who was permanently stationed in Yunnan in history, he could also set up a permanent station in the northern frontier.

Lu Jin has high hopes for Gesang!
After leaving the parade ground, the group returned to the government office. Lu Jin asked Yang Huan to take Lu Pojun to wash up and change him into clean clothes. He then asked Yang Huan to temporarily live with Lu Jin in the government office and study with the children in the training camp.

The current scale of the training camp is not small, with more than 300 people. Among them are Jin Chaoxing's son, Zhu Liangzu's son, Liao Yongan's nephew, Zhu Shou's younger brother, Yang Jing's younger brother, and now Lu Pojun has been added, and there will be more people in the future.

When Qin Li heard that Lu Jin had such a group of children around him, he immediately said.

"Marshal, I also have a son who is now 9 years old. Can I send him to the training camp to study?"

"Hahahaha." Lu Jin laughed when he heard this, "I set up this training camp, firstly to take care of the relatives of the generals, so that their children won't be naughty, and Luzhou City will be safer, and secondly to train reserve generals. Have you thought about it, do you want your children to join the army in the future?"

Qin Li said immediately, "A man with ambition should become a general or a prime minister. There's nothing wrong with joining the army. It's his good fortune to be able to study with the Marshal."

Lu Jin nodded and did not object to this act of voluntarily sending hostages. It was a way of showing loyalty to him.

Qin Li also thought straightforwardly, either don't invest, or invest thoroughly. Now that Lu Jin has just started, if you join early, you may get greater benefits in the future!
Sure enough, I heard what Lu Jin said.

"Zhuo Pu was originally the chief clerk of Chao County. He also contributed to the surrender of the city and found a good horse for me. If you are only given the position of chief clerk, it would be a waste of his talent. How about you become the magistrate of Lu'an County?"

"It's what you wish for."

Qin Li was extremely happy when he heard this. He was promoted directly from chief clerk to county magistrate. The key point was that there were only four counties in Lu Jin at present. When the territory became larger in the future, he could at least start as a provincial governor. Once he entered the central government, he might even become a prime minister.

Seeing that he agreed quickly, Lu Jin gave more instructions.

"When you go to Lu'an, there are three things you need to do. The first is to register all the people. From now on, I will register the people according to villages, towns, and counties. Every village must send men to train as a reserve force. Specifically, each village should send about ten people. It won't be too many, otherwise it will affect production.

“Secondly, we need to encourage agriculture. We don’t ask you to provide a lot of food and fodder, but you must at least feed the people of Lu’an and supply the troops stationed there.

"The third is logging. Lu'an is backed by the Dabie Mountains, where there is a lot of wood. I need a lot of wood to expand the navy, build weapons and ships, and make charcoal to make gunpowder, which all require a lot of wood.

“You should take advantage of the slack season for farming, especially in spring and winter, and try your best to collect timber without affecting people’s livelihood.”

"Yes, I will keep this in mind and do my best."

After Qin Li agreed, Lu Jin looked at his two brothers, Qin Zhao and Qin Rong.

"You two can be the battalion commanders of a thousand households. Bring your soldiers from Chao County first, reorganize and train them according to the organization of the Shengwu Army. You will be under my direct management for the time being. When the army is expanded, there will be other arrangements. Chao County will be handed over to the navy for garrison."

"Yes!" Qin Zhao and Qin Rong also clasped their fists in agreement. Lu Jin added, "I'll give you two days to go home and make arrangements. Those who want to send their children to study should do so earlier. Then those who need to take up their posts should do so, and those who need to train should train their soldiers."

"Yes."

After making arrangements for the three Qin brothers, Lu Jin privately called Zhang Liang and asked him to find a dozen trustworthy soldiers. Zhang Liang would personally lead the team to escort Li Shanchang back to Dingyuan.

It is both an escort and a surveillance!

"When he goes to see the Feng brothers and Guo Zixing, you must stay with him. Write down everything he says and be careful about your safety. Don't worry about anything else. Just tell me what happened when he comes back."

"Yes." Zhang Liang agreed immediately.

He is Zhang Wen's cousin. He was originally just a platoon leader and a trusted fellow clansman that Zhang Wen brought from the village. It was with Zhang Wen's support and connections that he was able to be promoted directly to the battalion commander of a regiment. However, due to his lack of experience, he is currently only a battalion commander of an auxiliary battalion.

Now that Lu Jin is going to marry Zhang Wen's sister, Zhang Liang will be considered a distant relative of Lu Jin, making them even closer relatives.

Hearing that Lu Jin wanted him to escort Li Shanchang, he agreed but then hesitated and asked, "Marshal, what about the auxiliary battalion?"

Lu Jin waved his hand, "Are you satisfied with an auxiliary battalion? It's just a logistics battalion for transporting food and grass. You work hard and complete the task I asked you to do. I will arrange another job for you in the future. I guarantee that it will not be worse than your current position."

"Yes, thank you, Marshal." Zhang Liang agreed immediately.

Lu Jin also instructed, "Pick some smart subordinates, preferably those who can read and count. You should also learn more. When you come back from this trip, I will teach you some other skills."

"Yes."

"Go."

After Zhang Liang went down to make preparations, Li Shanchang had also packed up and took his long-time attendant Deng Er and a donkey with him, preparing to return to Dingyuan to help Lu Jin recruit people. Now he came to the government office to say goodbye to Lu Jin.

As a result, as soon as he entered the government office, he saw Lu Jin explaining things to the messenger and Bao Heng.

"Send a message to the two Liao commanders in Chao County, telling them that they made a good plan and made great contributions in capturing Chao County this time. Let them hold a big banquet in Chao County to celebrate. I will not go. Just send this letter to Liao commander of the third regiment."

"Yes."

After the messenger left, Lu Jin made further arrangements for Bao Heng.

"Spread the news. I am getting married on October 6th. To celebrate this auspicious day, all the people under my rule will only collect two liters of tax per mu for paddy fields and one liter for wheat fields next summer. This is only for this season, and there will be a separate tax for the rest of the year."

"Hey, Marshal, haven't you reduced the taxes too much? We are short of food right now." Bao Heng immediately advised upon hearing this.

"I've said it's only for this season, so let's do it. You have to write it down and post one in every village," Lu Jin emphasized.

"But, I will keep this in mind."

Bao Heng wanted to say something else, but Lu Jin glared at him and he immediately agreed to do the job.

After Bao Heng also left, Li Shanchang stepped forward with his bag on his back and could not help frowning.

"Is this a sign of weakness, Marshal?"

Lu Jin smiled and said, "Sir, don't worry about this matter. Just go to Dingyuan and find a few more talented and brave men for me."

Li Shanchang could certainly guess what Lu Jin was planning, but since Lu Jin didn't say anything, he didn't want to ask any more questions. He just hesitated and continued to persuade him.

“Even if the Marshal has some ulterior motive, he only needs to set the taxes the same as the Yuan court. If we collect taxes according to the custom, we will be much more merciful than the Yuan court and will be able to win the hearts of the people.

"Now that the Marshal is expanding the army and preparing for war, it is really not appropriate to reduce taxes like this."

Lu Jin smiled and explained patiently.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I know what I am doing. It's only for this season. I have other ways to support the finances. Although the grain harvest is small, we can still monopolize the salt and iron business. We won't be short of money for the time being."

Li Shanchang opened his eyes wide when he heard this, "We have salt?"

The land in Huaixi does not produce salt. Now that they have rebelled and are blocked by the imperial court, how to get salt is really a problem.

Although there must be people in the imperial court who smuggle it at high prices, it is expensive!
Lu Jin smiled mysteriously, "We have mineral salt in our territory, we can mine it and make salt ourselves."

Seeing Lu Jin's firm assurance, Li Shanchang nodded immediately.

"Since you know what's going on, I won't try to persuade you any further. Take care, Marshal. I'll be going back to Dingyuan now."

"Take care, sir. I'll ask Zhang Liang to escort you back."

(End of this chapter)