The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 158 Bohai Country’s Preparations for Rainy Days

"Why are most of these fields deserted?" Bohai King Gualjia Sengge stopped on a hillside on horseback, holding a whip in his hand and pointing to the flat dam covered with grass in front of him, his face could not help but darken, "If it were me If I remember correctly, that field was cultivated seven or eight years ago, and it was still planted with cold-resistant rye. Now, the field is barren and overgrown with weeds. What is the situation? "

"Back to the king, the farmers who got this land are some naturalized Daur people who don't like farming and are not good at farming. They only care about herding livestock and horses. In their free time, they go hunting in the mountains and forests, or do other things. Some caravan guards made a living. Over time, these fields became deserted." Guan Rencai, the magistrate of Xinglong County in Zhongjing Prefecture (today's Biofabrica Town, about 20 kilometers north of Chita City), took two steps forward and stood on the altar. In front of Ge's horse, he bowed and played.

"Huh?" Sengge couldn't help frowning when he heard this, "As a local parent, you haven't tried to persuade or correct him?"

"Your Majesty, local taxes are collected in silver dollars. Those naturalized Daur people can earn a lot of money by selling livestock, buying and selling horses, and occasionally hunting furs in the mountains and forests." Guan Rencai said with a wry smile: "That's it. After paying local taxes, we still have a large surplus, which can be used to purchase enough food rations and some simple daily necessities. As for the hard work in the fields, they are too lazy to do it, so the fields they have been allocated are deserted."

"The ancients said that a country is based on its people, food is the first priority for the people, safety is the first priority for food, quality is the basis for safety, and sincerity is the root of quality." Sengge said in a deep voice: "People in the community also have some opinions. At home, If you have food, you won’t panic when things happen. Although our land in the Bohai Sea is vast, with mountains and rivers mixed in, and fertile fields for thousands of miles, if the other people make a living by herding and raising horses, how can the hundreds of thousands of people in the country have food to eat? Such a situation , in addition to Zhongjing Prefecture, are there many such situations in other prefectures and counties?"

"Back to the King, Heilongjiang, Jingqilijiang, Heilongjiang and other areas have abundant water resources and fertile land. Over the past few decades, more than one million acres of fertile farmland have been opened up. There are also more than 200,000 immigrants from Han Dynasty, Korea and Japan. , are all hard-working people, and their fields are cultivated very carefully. They provide hundreds of thousands of tons of grain to Bohai every year, so that the people in the country have food and clothing." Bohai Prime Minister Du Guangli raised his hand and said: "But all parts of the country The situation is different. There are indeed many naturalized barbarians who do not engage in farming and waste their fields. These people are hard to get rid of their wild nature. In their spare time, they like to ride horses and hunt animals and drink wildly, but they are not willing to tend crops and rice in the fields. What are people doing! For the current plan, the cabinet will introduce a series of policies to curb this situation to some extent. One of them is that if the land is abandoned for more than three consecutive years, the local government will take back the land. Ownership is then distributed to new arrivals.”

"I think the policies implemented by the cabinet are very good." Seng Ge's face softened a little, and he nodded and said: "Although our Bohai State has a vast territory, it has a sparse population. Only by consolidating the foundation of the country and stabilizing the people can we achieve anything." Development. How to stabilize people's hearts is to ensure that the people in the country have enough to eat, wear warm clothes, and have shelter from wind and rain. To achieve this, we must have sufficient food as a guarantee. If we have food, we can Recruiting more immigrants and naturalizing more mountain savages will give us enough confidence and confidence to deal with various crises."

"What the king said is true!"

"Although these Daur people raise livestock and horses and contribute a lot to our Bohai country, this is by no means an excuse to give up farmland and grow food."

Seng Ge still remembers that when he was a child, the entire Lingbei region encountered a rare snowstorm, and almost 80% of the livestock raised in the city's forts died. At the turn of the spring and summer of the following year, there was another more widespread blizzard. The cold wave froze all newly emerged crops to death. Although many potatoes and sweet potatoes were replanted later, in the summer and autumn, large-scale grain harvest failures were inevitable.

As a result, hundreds of thousands of people in the entire Bohai Kingdom suffered the most serious famine since the founding of the People's Republic of China. If Qi State and Beiming had not urgently sent them large amounts of rice and grain, as well as boatloads of dried and canned fish, most of the people might have starved to death.

As a lesson for the past and a guide for future events, how can we not let Sengge, the leader of the Bohai Kingdom, be alert to this!

"In this vast Lingbei region, livestock, furs and placer gold are of course precious, but grain and flour are also in short supply. Those people were self-righteous and thought that they could easily purchase the required rations and other supplies with the money they exchanged. Daily necessities. But if the situation is urgent, or in a state of war, the roads are blocked, and the enemy is besieging the city, how can we obtain the necessary food?" Seng Ge said earnestly: "Forget about those hunters who have just moved out of the mountains, but What reason do these Daur people who have lived here for generations not farm? Didn’t they simply grow crops such as oats and buckwheat decades ago?”

"I think they have a lazy and degenerate character, even indolent, and have no more long-term considerations. Today I have wine, I am drunk today, I have some money in my hand, so I sit at home and play around. Half a month ago, I inspected and healed (today's Nerchinsk) ), Suining (today's Shilka Town), Xinpu (today's Karemskaye Town) and other counties. Almost all farmers in those places grew food and also raised a lot of livestock, vegetables, potatoes, and fruits. The output is not low, and agricultural production is booming. Unexpectedly, there is still a large amount of farmland abandoned near the capital of our Bohai Kingdom. All ministers should take this seriously and not ignore it!"

A few months ago, the Bohai Kingdom learned that the Qin army had defeated Junggar and captured Ili. Galdan Celing, the successor king of Junggar, was defeated and fled to the Issyk-Kul grassland with only a thousand remaining troops. The situation in the entire Western Region immediately reversed. Da Qin also took advantage of This gained absolute initiative.

It can be foreseen that the Qin army's military front will definitely not stop at Ili. It will definitely assemble a large army, take advantage of the victory to pursue it, and pursue Junggar fiercely without giving it a chance to breathe.

Then, after the Qin State destroyed Junggar, its strategic focus is likely to turn to the north, pointing its finger at the Bohai Sea, as well as Dongdan and Beiming.

For the Central Plains dynasty, no matter which dynasty or generation it went through, there were only two directions for border troubles from the outside, either the west or the north. Once Qin takes control of Junggar, it will definitely regard Bohai as a thorn in its side and as a potential threat, it will be suppressed or conquered.

The Qin State and the Junggars have been at loggerheads in Mobei for decades. Although the four tribes of Chechnya, Tuxietu, Zasaktu, and Saiyinnuoyan tribes were beaten to pieces, and suffered heavy losses in population and livestock, those small and medium-sized tribes with hundreds or thousands of people The tribe can only sway with the wind in the see-saw, unable to protect itself at all. This causes a large number of Mongolians to flock to the north every year and enter the Bohai Kingdom to seek shelter and ensure food and clothing.

Although the arrival of these Mongolian refugees added much-needed manpower to the sparsely populated Bohai Kingdom, it also increased the demand for food. The Mongols were forced to increase food production to a very high latitude.

Therefore, whether it is to prepare for a rainy day, deal with future threats from Qin, or meet the needs of an increasing population, Bohai State should effectively improve the full guarantee and stability of the supply of strategic materials such as grain.

Zhongjing, as the capital and economic and cultural center of the Bohai Kingdom, has a population of more than 42,000. Together with several surrounding prefectures, counties and towns, the total population exceeds 80,000, making it the core of the kingdom.

Zhongjing Mansion is located in the eastern part of Lingbei (now Eastern Siberia), at the intersection of Changtan River (Chita River) and Tongshan River (Ingoda River). It has abundant water resources and fertile land. After decades of development, it has become the largest in the Bohai Sea. The grain production base and livestock production base have built thousands of kilometers of irrigation canals and numerous water diversion facilities. The area of ​​arable land ranks among the top in the country, and the number of cattle and sheep ranks first, providing a large amount of food for hundreds of thousands of people in the country. Grain and meat requirements.

With such excellent agricultural conditions, it would be a fool's errand if those farmers gave up growing grain and switched to grazing. You know, even the Rakshasa people who used to like to rob local tribes of food are now planting rye, oats, and barley in the Yenisei River Basin. Their tsar has moved many places in these years. The five thousand serfs came here to provide a stable food supply for the two thousand Rakshasa soldiers and Cossack cavalry stationed there.

Because of its sparse population and vast arable land, Bohai State also spent huge sums of money to introduce many agricultural production machinery from Qi State, such as animal-drawn drills, horse-drawn wheat harvesters, animal-drawn threshing machines, etc., which not only greatly promoted agricultural production efficiency, The scale of agricultural production has also been expanded accordingly, making large-scale farm production possible (Bohai State does not limit the scale of individual land ownership).

The Bohai Kingdom has existed for three generations. Although it has conquered a huge territory, it has also pushed the Rakshasa people all the way to the west, driving them away like rats. It looks like it is prosperous. But as the head of Bohai, Seng Ge knew that his own strength was really weak. Without the support of Qi State and Beiming, the Rakshasa people might be pushed back, or they might be pushed back by the huge Qin State in the south. To be swallowed up. In the entire Bohai Country, apart from simple grain processing, fur processing, fish product processing, and a few small workshops and factories without any technical content, there is not even a decent "modern industry".

That's right, the Bohai country cannot even manufacture cannons and muskets. Even a nail needs to be imported from Beiming. Not to mention the daily needs of cotton cloth, soap, refined salt, cane sugar, cans, as well as cement, building materials, hardware tools and various agricultural tools.

You know, even the Kingdom of Dongdan has a small shipyard in Bolli City (today's Khabarovsk, Russia), which can produce some inland river flat-bottomed transport ships and galleys within 100 tons, effectively supporting the country's water transportation industry.

The Bohai Kingdom has a huge land area, but due to the sparse population, the actual territory under its control is actually quite limited. Most of the towns and settlements established are distributed on both sides of various rivers or in fertile valleys and flat dam areas. As for the vast mountainous forest land, it basically belonged to those local tribes who did not accept the king's rule. They were afraid of the kingdom's force and paid tribute and surrender, as well as some furs and placer gold, in order to seek peace.

In the previous decades, Bohai State could easily drive back the Rakshasa people who invaded Lingbei by relying on its relatively superior human resources and weapons and equipment. But if faced with the Qin State, which has a much larger population and a similar generational difference in weapons and equipment, it would be an absolute lie if the Bohai monarchs and ministers said they had no fear in their hearts.

Thinking that he was also sixty-five years old, already in his final years, and his deadline was not long, Seng Ge felt full of anxiety and uneasiness. Although Crown Prince Shude has been cultivated for many years and has a calm personality, and has also traveled to Zhenzhou and Yunzhou (today's Hokkaido) in the Northern Ming Dynasty, as well as Ryukyu and Annan under the rule of Qi State, he has some experience, but Sengge is still worried that he will not be able to cope with the complex and severe regional situation in the future.

"Developing agricultural production should be a top priority for the country. However, we must not slack off or relax in establishing some basic industries, rectifying road traffic, and naturalizing mountain tribes." Sengge rode a horse and kept pace with Crown Prince Shude, marching slowly on the gentle slope. On the meadow, he taught his eldest son earnestly, "These important tasks, according to the people of Qi, are to 'train hard on internal skills', with me as the main priority, to improve the self-sufficiency of our Bohai country. And only by achieving this step, Only then can our Bohai State's rule in the Lingbei region have its own foundation. In the future, only with this foundation can we have some confidence whether to continue to expand northward or westward, or to face Qin directly in the south."

"My son, I have taken note of it," Shude replied with a solemn nod.

"In the past, Emperor Taizu of Qi State sent an edict, requiring that the southeastern border of Bohai State should not cross the Heilongjiang River and invade the Han Dynasty. But now, when the Qin State took advantage of the Western Region to win a great victory over Junggar, in May, it crossed the Heilongjiang River and entered the Yangtze River. Two forts were rebuilt and restored on the north shore: Hailanpao (now Blagoveshchensk, the capital of Amur Region, Russia) and Yaksa (now Albazin Town, Russia), which are intended to cut off the Heilongjiang waterway and block the Bohai Sea. The road to the east is dangerous. Although Qi has intervened, Qin will not easily withdraw from the above strongholds due to its strength. As a result, several counties and towns in the north of the Yangtze River will face the Qin army directly. If they are not careful, It will trigger an armed conflict or even a huge war."

"Does the father want my son to go there in person to inspect it?"

"Oh, as the crown prince and the heir to the country, how can you leave the capital at will?" Seng Ge smiled and said: "Let the third son go for a while. In addition to negotiating with the Qin army, you also have to rectify the situation. Jiangbei defense, strengthen the construction of local fortresses. If Qin really wants to take risks and advance, we should be well prepared."

"The land of the two rivers (Heilongjiang and Jingqili River) is the essence of our Bohai Sea and cannot be lost. The third brother has been in the army for a long time and is sent there to deal with the disputes with Qin. It is indeed the best choice. Shude said calmly.

"Prince, the way to be a king is to have a broad mind, be tolerant of others, and never be suspicious or overly minded." Sengge glanced at his eldest son and said calmly: "Our country in Bohai is small and weak. Only when the top and bottom are sincerely united and united can we gather strength to respond to foreign enemies. Although Lao San is arrogant and domineering in the army, he still has some courage to sustain, and he should be able to stand alone in the land of Liangjiang."

The third prince, Mute, studied at the Qingyuan Army Training Center in Qi State's Yunzhou territory (today's Hakodate City, Hokkaido, Japan) when he was a boy. At the age of eighteen, he joined the Qi State Army's Second Mixed Regiment in Ryukyu and served as a companion (second lieutenant). For more than ten years, he followed the Qi army to conquer the Siamese rebels, participated in the Ha Tien-Cambodia war, intervened in the peasant uprising in Quang Ngai Province of Quang Nam (Annam Nguyen clan), and even served as the Qi military staff observation group. He personally experienced the Qin Zhun Mobei War, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (Major) of the Xuangjie School of Qi. This experience really shows that he has "a certain amount of courage to sustain", and he can definitely handle the small-scale military conflicts of the Qin army on his own.

But as the prince of the kingdom, Shude was full of fear of his half-brother, because after he retired from the Qi Army, he became the governor of Jiangdong of the Bohai Kingdom and the leader of the first mixed regiment of the New Army. He controlled this Support the most elite army of Bohai Kingdom.

My father is old. If he passes away without a holiday, and he wants to inherit the throne, will this "somewhat brave" third brother rebel and fight back to the capital in order to fight for the throne? What about someone trying to usurp the throne?

"There are some things that don't require malicious speculation." Seng Ge said coldly: "The succession of the kingdom is the key to the stability and stability of our Bohai Sea. As long as the people of Qi nod their heads and approve, who dares to be rebellious again?"

When Shu De heard this, he was frightened but also calm in his heart.

Yes, even if Mut controls the first mixed regiment of the New Army, as long as the Qi people cut off his military supplies, can he still run thousands of miles with a fire stick and fight all the way to Zhongjing City?

"The Manchu envoys have arrived in Beijing for a few days. After leaving them alone for so long, it's time to talk to them and see what benefits these remnants of the Qing Dynasty can bring to us." Seng Ge clamped his legs on the horse's belly and faced Running down the hillside, "If you have such random thoughts, it's better to calm down and have serious contact with them."

"Yes, father." Shude promised loudly, and then he lightly knocked on the horse's belly and followed his father to the camp.

(End of this chapter)