Chapter 96: Sending Troops North On the banks of the Hun River, 20,000 troops were lined up solemnly and neatly, with huge warships lined up majestically and neatly. The soldiers dressed in fine armor and holding sharp weapons are all mighty and majestic. Every one of their movements is uniform, full of strength and discipline. The roar of war drums was like thunder, stirring everyone's heart. The horn sounded long and loud, piercing the sky, as if announcing the majesty of the Liaodong Army to the world. When Tian Ze saw this scene, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes and he couldn't help but nod secretly. The signs of a strong military have begun to emerge. Although there were only 40,000 soldiers and 10,000 naval forces participating in the battle, there were 20,000 baggage troops behind them. Water transportation is convenient, so Tian Ze does not feel bad about wasting grain because Liaodong has abundant grain production. What he felt sorry for were the 20,000 baggage troops, all of whom were young and strong! There is a shortage of people everywhere in Liaodong now. Factory infrastructure, water conservancy projects, roads, etc. all need manpower. Although Chen Gong repeatedly increased workers' salaries in an attempt to attract more people to participate in the construction, most people still preferred to work on their own fields.
There is no way. Those who come to Liaodong are those who cannot survive and are afraid of poverty. In their hearts, they still feel that farming and producing food is more practical and reliable. Unless there are many males in the family and sufficient labor force, people would be willing to come out. Otherwise, most families are busy with their own fields. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Chen Gong was still doing well. At that time, there was enough food in Liaodong, and he could exchange his salary for food directly on the spot. The harvest was much better than farming, and the people were very happy. But after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a wave of refugees broke out, causing the granaries in Liaodong to be almost empty, and food prices also rose accordingly. Although it took half a year to stabilize the situation and did not affect the basic diet of the people, it made the hidden households recall the difficult situation of food shortage in the past and paid more attention to their own fields. Moreover, after in-depth investigation, Tian Ze now discovered that 20 acres of land per person could not meet the needs of everyone. After many discussions and studies with Chen Gong, Guo Yuan and others, comprehensive and detailed improvements and adjustments were made to the current land system. After the land was distributed, many "public fields" were added in each village. The current land system in Liaodong is still based on the per capita unit. Each person is granted 20 mu of land, which is called "private land". The village collective owns the ownership and the people privately own the right to use it. The ownership and use rights of "public land" belong to the village collectively. It can be rotated among village militiamen to share the profits, or it can be leased to the people for cultivation. However, a fixed land tax was added to the original 30% tax rate. At the same time, the household contract responsibility system was implemented on a household basis, allowing people to rent out their land, but with certain restrictions on the lease term and amount to prevent forced sales or long-term annexation of land. In this way, some families with a shortage of young and strong people can consider renting their land to families with more young and strong people for cultivation, so as to avoid the land being abandoned due to lack of labor, resulting in a significant reduction in harvest. At the same time, some families with more young and middle-aged people can also make full use of their labor force advantages by renting "private fields" or "public fields" from the government to increase grain production and increase family income. The reason for setting certain land taxes and thresholds is mainly to prevent people from adopting extensive farming methods after leasing land on a large scale, so as to avoid waste of land and a decrease in per-acre yield. In terms of some details, Chen Gong, Guo Yuan and others are still constantly researching and improving. For example, limiting the maximum amount of land that each person in a household can rent for cultivation, limiting the number of people in each household, and the resettlement of new population, as well as land leasing management. Because the concentration of wealth in the hands of some people is inevitable. Even if Tian Ze suppresses many powerful people, new "powerful people" will emerge over time. After all, people are divided into hardworking and lazy types, and their physical fitness, character, personality, vision and courage are different. There are always some outstanding and hardworking people who can accumulate wealth far beyond ordinary people through their own efforts and wisdom. Wealth balance is not desirable, but polarization is equally harmful, and we need to strike the right balance between the two.
Tian Ze’s main goal is to ensure that no one is too poor and to reduce inequality. At the same time, the wealth of the rich will not grow too quickly so that it matches their own efforts, narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor and promoting fairness and harmony. While the "new powerful" has not yet emerged, Tian Ze and others have been preparing for a rainy day, conducting in-depth research and improving the corresponding land and taxation systems, striving to establish a relatively long-term, benign and complete system to lay a solid foundation for the stable development under their rule. The same applies to education and official selection. We must give hope to the people at the bottom, provide upward channels for poor children, and avoid the solidification of social classes. Before the army set out, Tian Ze personally went up to the platform and delivered another impassioned speech, raising the morale to the peak. Afterwards, Guan Yu led the huge fleet and set out in a mighty manner. Looking at Guan Yu's departing back, Tian Ze's thoughts drifted and suddenly an idea came to his mind. "Zhongde, what do you think about letting Yunchang be the commander of the navy?" Tian Ze turned slightly and looked at Cheng Yu beside him, with inquiry and expectation in his eyes. There were many commanders in the army under Tian Ze, but in the navy, although there were many naval generals, there was no commander who could lead a region independently. Han Dang, Ling Cao, Jiang Qin, and Zhou Tai were not talented generals. Their command ability and strategic vision in naval battles were still far from that of a true commander. The importance of the navy is self-evident. The attraction of population and the transportation of military supplies all rely on the navy. The navy can also play an extremely important role in wars in various places. Tian Ze will sooner or later conquer Jiangdong, so it is imperative to build a strong navy. But in Tian Ze's impression, there were relatively few outstanding naval commanders in the late Han Dynasty, and most of them were concentrated in Jiangdong, such as Zhou Yu, Lu Xun and others. These people all came from local aristocratic families. The aristocratic families in Jiangdong tended to be conservative and stick together, so Tian Ze had no way of recruiting these people. They have deep regional backgrounds and family interests, and cannot be easily absorbed into other forces. There are also people like Gan Ning and Wen Pin who are still young now, and Tian Ze is not sure whether he can recruit them to his army in the future. After much thought, it is more reliable to train Guan Yu. "My lord, do you think Yunchang has a certain talent in naval affairs?" Cheng Yu frowned slightly and asked after thinking for a moment. Tian Ze's vision has always been accurate. He has keen insight and judgment in identifying and selecting talents, and Cheng Yu has no doubt about this. Tian Ze nodded: "Yun Chang's talent is in the first echelon among all the generals. Only Bo Jin and Wen Yuan can be compared with him." "Whether from a long-term perspective or for future war needs, a strong navy is vital to us." "If Yunchang has naval talent and can build an elite division that is good at amphibious warfare, it will definitely be very effective in future battles." Tian Ze's eyes revealed his deep consideration of future strategic layout. Cheng Yu nodded, thoughtfully. He understood Tian Ze's idea. The positions of the generals in the army had been basically determined after the tests of various battles. There is no need to say much about generals such as Le Jin and Taishi Ci. There are currently five talented generals who can take charge of a department, namely Xu Rong, Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Zhang He and Xu Huang. Yu Jin has to resign from the position of commander-in-chief due to his talent. Xu Rong, who currently has the most outstanding abilities, is calm in temperament, good at defense, and willing to work hard. He has always been the best choice to be in charge of Liaodong. Zhang Liao, Zhang He, and Xu Huang were all skilled in both cavalry and infantry combat, and could each command a region on their own. If Guan Yu had the ability to command navy, he could definitely develop in this direction, which would be more beneficial to the overall strategic layout. "But this matter still depends on Yunchang's willingness. Moreover, cultivating Yunchang's naval capabilities does not mean giving up land warfare." Tian Ze said.
"My lord, why don't you take a look at Yunchang's performance in this battle against Goguryeo?" "Yeah." Tian Ze nodded. Although he made the overall deployment this time, he granted Guan Yu the authority to command the war, so Guan Yu was qualified to command the war. Based on his understanding of Guan Yu, Guan Yu would definitely not be so "law-abiding". (End of this chapter)