novelraw Chapter 831: Guiliang (Side Story 4)
Chapter 831: Guiliang (Side Story 4)
Fine, we’ll talk about pleasant words later when we have time!
County Magistrate Cai hurriedly pushed the door open and mounted his gray horse, leading a group of government officials to the troubled village.
The Northern Land is experiencing a drought, and building canals is the first step in cultivating fertile fields. When there’s enough water, every household’s land can be irrigated. When water is scarce, fights over water are common.
This year, County Magistrate Cai has already dealt with such incidents more than once.
Upon arrival, the first check is for any casualties. Fortunately, three villagers were slightly injured in today’s disturbance, with no serious injuries or deaths.
County Magistrate Cai let out a sigh of relief, then sternly ordered the government officials to arrest the ringleaders of the unrest.
Instead of returning to the government office, County Magistrate Cai began the interrogation in front of the villagers.
"Did you see the notice from the government office?"
"The water in the canal doesn’t belong to any individual household or village; it belongs to the government office. The water in the canal needs to be used according to plan, not seized, and certainly not causing unrest and trouble."
"Who threw the first punch today? A penalty of half a month’s labor, go dig the canal."
"Everyone listen to this County Magistrate. If this happens again, the entire village can forget about using the canal."
Governing the people can’t be done with pleasant words alone. When it’s time to assert authority, you can’t be lenient. After sternly finishing the trial, County Magistrate Cai let the villagers disperse.
The eight men punished with labor had their hands and feet tied and were directly sent to the canal construction site. There, it’s all border army officers; not to mention eight men, even eighty or eight hundred wouldn’t dare cause trouble. The officers have no patience—they give one stern look, and they’re ready to throw a punch.
After dealing with the village issue, more trouble arose in Guiliang City. This time, it was residents living in the same courtyard who had a conflict.
Most people who returned alive from the Rouran Tribe were young and middle-aged men, with very few women and children. Couples who reconciled were even rarer. A bunch of bachelors lived together in one place. In the short term, it was fine, but as time went by, friction and conflicts arose.
This is also an issue with no short-term solution. To have so many men settle down, there must be many young women. With too few women, only 10-20% of men can marry, leaving the remaining 80-90% likely still bachelors for the next few years.
County Magistrate Cai, with no good solution, first scolded both sides of the brawl and similarly punished them by sending them to repair the canal.
Busy until nightfall, County Magistrate Cai dragged his weary steps back. After handling another batch of official documents, he worked until late at night before retiring to bed. The next day, at the fifth hour, he was up, energetically leaving the government office.
In the spring of the Eighth Year of Zhao Ping, Guiliang City reclaimed 400,000 mu of fertile land. That autumn, Guiliang had a big harvest. County Magistrate Cai could finally straighten his back to collect the land taxes.
The Da Liang Dynasty land tax has always been one-fifth. That is, for every five dou of grain, one dou must be paid. After five years on the throne, the Empress revised the taxation to one-eighth. This year, an edict was issued to change it to one-tenth.
People planted high-yield crops, harvesting two to three times more grain than before. With the land tax greatly reduced, each household had surplus grain, leading to better days.
For the court, with increased land production, the land tax collected at one-tenth was about the same as before, not affecting court operations.
The autumn taxes from various regions entered the National Treasury, and the Ministry of Revenue was busy for half a month, accounting for this year’s finances.
After reviewing, Minister Feng’s old face beamed like a chrysanthemum. Smiling, he entered the palace to report to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this year’s autumn taxes have increased by 10% over last year."
Do not underestimate this 10% in taxes. For a vast territory like the Da Liang, stable collection of autumn taxes is a major achievement. Steady and gradual growth is even more remarkable.
Jiang Shaohua, seldom seeing Minister Feng express such delight, jokingly remarked, "So, does this mean the Ministry of Revenue’s budget is ample this year, and I can authorize the army to expand some more?"
Minister Feng, after a moment’s thought, replied, "The various armies can recruit some new soldiers."
Jiang Shaohua nodded, "Rouran remains unyielding. After recuperating for a few years, they’ll surely invade the border again. I intend to let the border army recruit more new soldiers."
The border army has always suffered the heaviest casualties. Two years ago, the national war reduced the border army nearly by half, leaving it almost crippled. Over the past two years, through constant recruitment, it has barely regained its previous strength. New soldiers need training, practical exercises, weapons, armor, and warhorses—everything requires money and grain.
Minister Feng, unconcerned with these matters, only responsible for the funds and provisions, calculated for a while and provided a precise number, "The additional troops won’t exceed 20,000, which is manageable."
For serious matters, the court needs an edict.
Jiang Shaohua ordered, and Wang Shu, the housekeeper, went to draft the decree, sending it to the border army.
Upon receiving the decree, General Fan was overjoyed, "Wonderful! The Emperor always keeps us border troops in mind!"
"Given the Emperor’s favor to the border troops, we mustn’t let down His Grace."
General Fan, with excitement, continued, "The Emperor has approved the expansion of 20,000 troops for us border soldiers. He’s even sending General Liu to train our troops."
There are several General Liu’s in the court, and the one General Fan is referring to is Liu Hengchang from the Nanyang Guard Camp.
The Nanyang Guard Camp rose to fame two years ago and is hailed as Da Liang’s top elite force. Liu Hengchang’s reputation soared, with rumors suggesting that when Duke Wei Yuan and the Left General retire, Liu Hengchang is sure to succeed them.
With the Emperor specially dispatching a trusted general here, General Fan didn’t see it as an affront, but rather, he was filled with joy.
Liu Hengchang had a promising future and couldn’t stay with the border army for long. He was merely here to assist with training the troops. At most, he’d train for a year or half before returning to the Capital City.
The credit goes to Liu Hengchang, but the trained soldiers are elite border troops. Essentially, he still reaped substantial benefits.
Of course, this is also due to General Fan’s character. If it were the domineering Left General, he wouldn’t tolerate his soldiers being commanded by others.
A month later, Liu Hengchang arrived at the border army with 500 men. These 500 were elite forces selected from the Personal Guard Camp. One person alone couldn’t train an army of 100,000. These 500 would be dispersed into the border army’s units to serve as training officers. One person would be responsible for training 200 soldiers.
Before arriving, Liu Hengchang specifically instructed the trusted aides, "Once at the border army, focus solely on training the troops. Do not meddle in the border army’s affairs, and do not cause trouble."
"Remember, we’re here by the Emperor’s order to train, not to take over the border army; we mustn’t anger General Fan."
The trusted aides collectively nodded to the order.
They certainly wouldn’t act recklessly. They wouldn’t dare to take over the border army.
At most, they would just spread the Empress’s formidable and benevolent reputation. If the border soldiers warmed up to them, it wouldn’t be their fault.
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