Chinese New Year

Chapter 562 Effort
At the foot of Lingxiao Mountain, tender sprouts broke through the soil, weaving a fine green carpet.

The mountain stream gurgles and flows endlessly, and when it reaches the bottom of the mountain, it merges into a small stream.

The mountains are covered with lush trees, including pine, cypress, elm, willow, poplar and locust trees. As if feeling the warmth of spring, the towering trees stretch their bodies in the breeze, making pleasant sounds.

This is Lingxiao Mountain in Zhongqiu County, Zhaojun, where the great sage Zhang Jue founded the Taiping Dao, and it is also the southern source of the Lishui River.

As soon as he entered the mountain, Zhang Bin felt a lot of emotions.

He was from Zhongqiu, which is now Neiqiu County. It was renamed in the Sui Dynasty to avoid the taboo of Yang Zhong.

I have deep feelings for every tree and blade of grass in my hometown.

When he was young, he even visited Zhang Jiao's old stronghold on Lingxiao Mountain.

At that time, the village was occupied by a group of bandits, who had just been cleared out when he arrived. Unexpectedly, a few decades later, the village was occupied by a group of defeated soldiers again.

This time the situation was relatively peaceful. Lord Chen brought 6,000 armored soldiers from the Right Camp of the Silver Spear and several thousand cavalrymen from the Yicong Army to the foot of the mountain.

The defeated soldiers were so scared that they surrendered immediately - there are only a hundred of us, do you really need to send tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry to encircle and suppress us? Isn't that too much?
Zhang Bin stroked the big locust tree in front of the village and sighed softly.

All the high spirits of my youth seem to have been left here.

"There are mountains upon mountains, and mist is rising. In summer, it is lush green, and there is a cool breeze. It is really a great place." Shao Xun pointed to the hillsides, woods, and river valleys in the distance and exclaimed.

"If the Huns come, we will definitely station our troops here." Hu Wu Fuzhi said, stroking his beard.

As a chief priest, he was probably the most idle person in the shogunate, no doubt about it.

This is a jack-of-all-trades position, with no specific duties. One can be extremely busy or extremely idle. For Hu Wufuzhi, it was obviously the latter.

"Why does Yanguo say that?" Shao Xun asked with a smile.

"The old fortress on this mountain has not collapsed, the water is sweet and the soil is fertile, it is good for cutting wood and gathering." Hu Wu Fuzhi said: "There are still many big trees on the mountain, we can build fences and set up camps, and there are wild animals such as tigers, leopards, deer and rabbits, we can hunt with the chiefs, why don't we come here to graze?"

"Yan Guo has made a lot of progress. Many people have not heard of the term 'Zhu Mu'." Shao Xun praised.

When the Hu people go to war, they really cannot do without stationing people for livestock.

There are so many cavalrymen, and it is impossible to feed all the war horses with grain. They must be grazed, and there must be a place to graze.

Therefore, they sometimes fought very quickly, coming and going like the wind, and at lightning speed. Sometimes they fought very slowly, staying for a long time to graze, fattening the horses and the cattle and sheep accompanying the army.

Before taking action, the commander of the army liked to go hunting with the chiefs and leaders to deepen their relationships and discuss battle plans.

Hu Wu Fuzhi has really seen a lot over the years and can actually tell you a thing or two. That's not easy.

Shao Xun also likes this place very much.

Ancient people raised horses in hilly areas, because horses like warm and cool climates, and the low temperature in the mountains makes horses feel very comfortable.

There are many river valleys in the mountains with lush vegetation, providing drinking water and pasture for horses.

A very important military horse farm in the Tang Dynasty, Loufanjianmucheng, was built in the Luliang Mountains.

On the gentle slopes of the hills, the horses frolic freely and are very active. Strictly speaking, they are healthier than stable horses (horses kept in stables and fed with food), and their bones and bodies are better developed.

However, these places cannot be effectively utilized for agricultural cultivation - well, strictly speaking, it is not impossible, if we have sweet potatoes, we can use these mountains.

It cannot be used to grow crops, but it can be used for grazing, which improves land utilization efficiency, although grazing sheep in the mountains is quite damaging to the environment.

"Juqu Chong." Shao Xun shouted.

"I'm here." Juqu Chong, wearing a fur coat, jumped out and shouted.

"This mountain and the village are given to you," Shao Xun said.

"Thank you, Lord Ming, for your reward." Juqu Chong said in surprise.

"How many people, cattle and sheep are there in your tribe?"

"There were 5,000 men and women, 6,200 horses, and 39,000 cattle and sheep."

"A little less." Shao Xun said.

"I ran all the way in a panic, lost some, robbed some, ate some, and even ran away and killed some..."

"Stop talking." Shao Xun shook his head and laughed.

The population of a tribe roughly corresponds to more than ten livestock of all sizes.

In the eighth year of Taikang (287) during the reign of Emperor Taikang of the Qing Dynasty, the Xiongnu governor Dazude Yiyuju and others surrendered, bringing with them a total of 1.15 people, 2.2 cattle, and 10.5 sheep - the number of horses is unknown.

The ratio of large and small livestock is 1:4.77.

When the Japanese later investigated the number of livestock in Ximeng and Hulunbuir, the ratio of large and small livestock was 1:4.78.

In the early 19th century, Tsarist Russia conducted a survey and found that the ratio of cattle to sheep among the Kalmyk Mongols (Turgut) in the Volga River Basin was 1:4.1 - the quality of the Volga River grassland was still higher than that of the Mobei grassland.

Pure nomadic tribes are at about this level. Semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral tribes may have more livestock, but not much more, because they put part of their energy into farming.

"Is this mountain enough to support your people?" Shao Xun asked again.

"That's enough." Juqu Chong said, "The elders in the tribe said that in the northern grasslands, more than ten acres of land are needed to raise a sheep. If it is a sand desert, sixty or seventy acres of land are needed to raise a sheep. In Lingxiao Mountain, about three to five acres of land can raise a sheep. It would be even better if we could graze on the flat land at the foot of the mountain."

Hu Wufu was shocked when he heard this. Isn't this a huge difference?

If we graze on the Hebei Plain, wouldn't the area be several times or even ten times that of the northern grasslands?

No wonder after these Hu people entered the Central Plains, none of them wanted to leave. They gave birth to children in droves, the population increased rapidly, and they had many cattle, horses, and alpacas.

The mountains, beaches, hills and swamps that the Han people could not use were excellent grazing areas for them.

He once saw a river beach where no one was farming because of the floods every spring, which made it difficult for farmers to survive. But after the floods receded, the grass grew wildly, and the Hu people regarded it as a treasure, saying that the cattle raised on such river beach would taste delicious and produce more milk.

If he hadn't come to Hebei with Mr. Chen, he really wouldn't have known the ins and outs of this place. Although Henan and Hebei are separated by only a river, the customs in Youzhou and Jizhou, where a large number of Hu people entered, are quite different.

Henan is full of neatly maintained wheat fields, orchards, mulberry groves and vegetable plots.

Hebei also has these, but with many more different things. Before the Hu people came to the south in large numbers, Hebei had more horses and other livestock than Henan, and much more.

Perhaps, Hebei had earlier contact with the Hu people and more exchanges, leading to this point. After all, the Tuqi that made Emperor Guangwu of Han famous were recruited in Hebei.

Shao Xun seemed to see what Hu Wufuzhi was thinking, and said with a smile: "Yan Guo, adapting to local conditions is the most important. In Henan, I asked people to transplant mulberry seedlings, plant three crops every two years, and rotate millet and wheat, but I didn't let them do farming and grazing at the same time. But in Hebei, some small changes are needed. Rotating millet and wheat and planting three crops every two years are necessary, but raising more livestock is also necessary. Adapt to local conditions, remember."

Juqu Chong looked at Hu Wu Fuzhi with a smile. He couldn't let go of Lingxiao Mountain, and he was even more delighted with the river beach and abandoned farmland at the foot of the mountain.

"You just said that if you want to graze in Lingxiao Mountain, you can raise a sheep in three to five acres of land." Shao Xun looked at Juqu Chong and said.

"We need a better place." Juqu Chong said.

Shao Xun nodded and said, "But if we grow grass and raise sheep——"

Shao Xun thought about it. He didn't know how much alfalfa yield per mu in Hebei, so he decided to be conservative: "One or two mu of land can raise a sheep."

"It's not cost-effective, it's better to farm." Juqu Chong said.

A sheep can only produce 20 to 30 kilograms of meat in a year. Even if one sheep is raised on an acre of land, it is still not as cost-effective as harvesting more than 100 kilograms of wheat. This account still needs to be calculated.

Even if the income from sheepskin, wool, etc. is included, it is still slightly lower than farming.

"Then you can farm the fields at the foot of the mountain. It's up to you." Shao Xun said impatiently.

"Raise livestock in the mountains, on riverbanks, and on wasteland. I'll send people to teach you how to plant crops and arrange fallows until you know how."

"I'll give you the land, but there's a catch."

"Please speak, my lord." Juqu Chong said respectfully.

"Each family has their own land for farming and grazing, and no one is allowed to cross the boundary."

"As ordered."

"You have this village, and others will also have earthen cities to live in. You are not allowed to attack or rob each other."

"As ordered."

"Every three months, we go to Zhongqiu, Bairen, and Fangzi counties to report our respective situations. The counties will also send people to inspect them."

"As ordered."

"If you dare to abandon the land and run away, once the county reports it to me, I will send troops to pursue you. You will then be demoted to official slaves, and it will be your own fault. Do you understand?"

"clear."

"The drills are held twice a year, and are called by the Ryujo Shogunate. You must not disobey. If you need to go out, you must provide your own horses and equipment and follow orders."

"As ordered."

Shao Xun nodded with satisfaction.

This was his attempt to integrate and assimilate the Hu tribes.

Since the Later Han Dynasty, there have been too many problems that have accumulated and have never been cleared up. The ruling model since the Later Han Dynasty now seems to have reached a dead end and urgently needs to explore a new path.

If they continue to follow the system since the Later Han Dynasty, it will just be another Western Jin Dynasty. It will explode sooner or later, and its life span may not be much longer than that of the Western Jin Dynasty.

In the past, Cao Mengde once tried to solve the problem of the rise of the gentry since the Later Han Dynasty, but ultimately failed.

Apart from the gentry, he did not even touch upon the problem of the increasing number of Hu people, and passed this bomb to the Western Jin Dynasty, which eventually exploded.

Now, not only has this bomb of the aristocratic family not been removed by the Cao and Sima families, but it has become even more powerful and explosive.

The Hu people's big bomb has already exploded, and now someone needs to clean up the mess. Otherwise, there will be a secondary explosion, or even a powerful ammunition explosion, which will turn the entire north upside down.

In addition to these two major mines, there are also mines such as idle talk that harms the country, literary complacency and military frivolity, and land annexation, which are all put at the back.

No wonder some people say that Cao Wei and Western Jin were both “low-quality” dynasties. Neither of them took the initiative to solve the problem, but instead dragged it on. The longer they dragged it on, the more serious it became, and even new problems arose, ultimately leading to three hundred years of chaos and “debt clearance.”

What era is this...

Thinking of this, Shao Xun felt a little bored.

The evil deeds of the previous generation will bring disaster to the next generation.

In order to reduce trouble, people dare to bring anyone home.

For the sake of stability, all conflicts are postponed.

In order to become emperor, he dared to compromise on anything.

At this moment, victory on the battlefield doesn't seem so worth boasting about.

"Yan Guo, please draft an official letter as soon as possible and send it to General Longxiang's headquarters. From now on, all these people will be under their charge. Divide the arable land and grassland as soon as possible. Select the officials and submit the list to me for my review." Shao Xun waved his hand and said.

"Yes, sir." Hu Wu Fuzhi replied.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that Mr. Chen was a little anxious.

If we win a few more battles and recruit some surrenders, wouldn't the north be unified? What's there to worry about?

Didn’t Cao Wei and Guo Dynasty all go through this? Didn’t they all go well? Well, maybe not so well.

But what earth-shattering thing do you want to do?

(End of this chapter)