City Lord's Mansion, meeting hall.

The prefect Cao Xin was sitting on the main seat, and Mao Jie, Zhang Baiqi, Liao Hua and others were sitting on the seats on both sides.

The theme of the meeting is the restoration and development of Wancheng's economy and population.

Mao Jie first introduced the geography and population of Xiawan City and the seven surrounding counties.

Wancheng is located in the Nanyang Basin, bounded by Funiu Mountain to the north, Tongbai Mountain to the east, Qinling Mountains to the west, Dabie Mountains to the southeast, and the Suizhou Corridor and Jianghan Basin to the southeast.

There are Danshui and Nishui here, as well as a large area of ​​lake plains. The climate is mild, the rainfall is abundant, and the soil is fertile, making it very suitable for farming.

In terms of population. According to the census, there are 25,741 households in Wancheng and seven counties, with more than 21,000 adult males. Among them, Wancheng has the largest population, with about 6,400 households and more than 8,000 adult males.

There are currently three problems in the development of Wancheng.

The first is the population problem. After years of war, Nanyang Wancheng and nearby areas have lost a large number of people, resulting in a general shortage of labor in various places and a large amount of land being barren.

The second is the problem of water conservancy. In recent years, drought has been common in the Central Plains, and this problem also exists in Nanyang. There is too little rain, and food production is too low. Due to years of war, most water conservancy projects in various places have been neglected. If you want to farm, you need to spend money to repair water conservancy projects.

, divert water and Dan water for irrigation.

In the third war, Zhang Xiu and Deng Ji stationed troops in Rangcheng and Xinye, more than 300 miles away, while Cao Xin stationed troops in Wancheng. The two sides were at war. The war was about to break out, and the whole of Nanyang would be in chaos.

If the problem of war cannot be solved, developing agriculture and population will be just empty talk.

"Xiao Xian, the question you asked is very good, and it coincides with the plan I thought of on the road."

Cao Xin said while stroking his palms.

"I wonder what the general's plan is?"

Mao Jie asked, stroking his gray beard.

"Just now, Xiaoxian talked about encouraging births, accepting refugees from outside, and increasing the population. But just looking for refugees outside would be a bit far away. On the way here, our food team was attacked by a group of bandits. There were more than 400 people, suspected to be remnants of the Yellow Turbans.

.

So Dashi and I talked about the Yellow Turban thieves in Nanyang. Nanyang is one of the origins of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Although it was suppressed by the imperial court many years ago, there are still a large number of Yellow Turban remnants in the mountains. If they can be persuaded to come down from the mountains to serve as soldiers, Wancheng

The demographic problems we face can be solved quickly."

Cao Xin spread his hands and said.

Mao Jie frowned and muttered slightly, "It's a good way to turn bandits into civilians, but Tongbai Mountain in Dabie Mountain is too big. Bandits mostly live in dens of dozens, hilltops of hundreds, and strongholds of thousands. Their living areas are relatively scattered.

They are hidden, so finding them is a problem; secondly, they have lived in the mountains for a long time, make a living by looting, and are wary of the government. It is extremely difficult to persuade them to come down from the mountains and work as soldiers."

"Haha, Xiaoxian, these problems are not difficult to solve. You forgot a few of them."

Cao Xin looked at the former Yellow Turban Canal Commanders opposite with a smile.

But when he saw them, Cao Xin was stunned for a moment, and his face turned dark.

I saw several yellow scarf thieves here hanging their heads, six of them sleeping. Only Liao Hua was listening and taking notes. The other six, including the most steady Zhang Baiqi, were also dozing with squinted eyes. Li Da

Eyes and Yu are the most extreme, snoring softly.

Bang!

Cao Xin slammed the table.

"who?!"

Li Dayan and Yu Du stood up, pulled out their sabers, and looked around. When they saw the dark-faced General Cao, they scratched their brows and laughed awkwardly.

Next to them, Zhang Baiqi, Pei Yuanshao, Bai Feng, and Liu Dashi, although their reactions were not that big, they were still embarrassed and speechless.

Cao Xin snorted coldly and glanced at the six people with a straight face. He originally wanted to lead everyone to participate in political discussions and govern the world.

But these few have been sleeping like crazy since the beginning. What big things can this kind of attitude do?

"Li Dayan, what did you do last night? Did you spend the night in a brothel?"

"General, I don't. I have a wife. How can I go back to a messy place like a brothel? I'm not that kind of person."

Li Dayan said aggrievedly.

"Then what are you doing? Playing dice? Playing cards?"

Cao Xin glanced at a few people, and two of them looked slightly embarrassed. They had obviously been guessed. Seeing this, Cao Xin regretted it. If he had known better, he would not have taught these guys how to play dice and leaf cards.

When he was the boss of the village, he had nowhere to rob on rainy days, so he taught everyone how to play dice and cards. As a result, six of the seven leaders got into the bad habit of playing cards. Except for Liu Dashi, who loved farming, Liao Hua also did not run away.

Whenever they had time, they would get together and play a few games, and then teach how to play to others, who would then hand it over to others. Almost everyone in the Langya Army knew how to do it, and they were out of control.

"General, I didn't play cards. The main reason is that the issues you and Mr. Mao discussed were too profound and nerve-wracking. After listening to them for a while, I couldn't help but want to sleep."

Li Dayan blinked his big sleepy eyes and said.

Although the others said nothing, they had looks of approval on their faces.

Cao Xin rubbed his forehead helplessly and revealed his plan to enter the mountain to attract people.

"You are the leaders of the Yellow Turbans, Lao Zhang, Big Eyes, and Lao Yu. You three are still big celebrities in the Yellow Turban Army. I want you to go into the mountain and persuade the Yellow Turban bandits to come down. How much can you persuade? Is there any problem?"

Zhang Baiqi nodded, shook his head and said, "General, this is Jingzhou, and we are Qushuai from Qingzhou, Xuzhou and Yanzhou. We don't have much standing here.

But it is not difficult to catch them from the mountains. We have lived in the mountains for many years and are very familiar with the things in the mountains.

Please give us two months, general, and we will find a way to capture people down the mountain. If there are ten thousand people on the mountain, I will capture ten thousand people. If there are one hundred thousand people, I will capture one hundred thousand people. No one will be left alive."

Zhang Baiqi said confidently.

"Oh~, what are you going to do?"

Cao Xin said doubtfully.

"Haha, general, the secret must not be leaked. We are going to do something."

Li Da's eyes jumped up, he cupped his hands hastily, and quickly left the meeting hall.

The other five did the same, running faster than rabbits, and soon only he, Mao Jie, Liao Hua, and a few civil servants and assistant officials were left in the hall.

The corner of Cao Xin's mouth twitched, thinking of Boss Cao.

"Xiao Xian, since Zhang Baiqi and the others said they have a way to get the people off the mountain, and I believe they can do it, the next step is how to settle those mountain people?

I suggest using the work-for-relief method to manage and resettle mountain residents, such as reclaiming wasteland, constructing water conservancy projects, and building houses. We provide food and tools, and when the wasteland is reclaimed and turned into farmland, the land is then distributed to the mountain people and handed over to them.

Let them farm, and we will collect taxes according to the official land, what do you think of Xiaoxian's wishes?"

Cao Xin asked.

“Cash for work?”

Mao Jie's eyes lit up and he looked at Cao Xin with admiration.

"It is rumored that the general is as wise as the sea and has profound knowledge. When I saw him today, the rumors are true. I have learned from you."

"Haha, I dare not take it. Xiaoxian didn't know something. When I was the leader in the mountain, the village had a population of tens of thousands. After I came down from the mountain, I bought some wasteland and gave it to them to cultivate, and built farms around it. At that time, the method of working for relief was

I tried it once and gained quite a bit of experience.”

Cao Xin smiled softly.

Mao Jie nodded clearly, "The general is wise, courageous, benevolent and righteous, and I admire him. However, there is something that I will not be able to report in the future.

When Zhang Xiu left Wancheng, he looted all the goods in the city, leaving Wancheng's warehouses empty and the people trapped.

The food and grass in the city is only enough to maintain the supplies of the army, and there is no excess food to supply the mountain people.

Moreover, it takes more than half a year to clear wasteland and cultivate the land before harvesting. To feed ten thousand people, it takes tens of thousands of dan of food a year, and for 100,000 people, it is more than 100,000 dan. The consumption is too great, and Wancheng may not be able to sustain it."

Mao Jie sighed softly, recruiting refugees is the fastest way to increase the population. Many local officials have thought of using this method to expand the local population and tax.

But this kind of thing is more difficult to handle than imagined. Without a stable supply of food and grass, and if the refugees are not fed, the refugees will become refugees again, or even chaos.

There have been many examples of failed recruitment in the past, and we have to guard against it.

Cao Xin smiled and said, "This matter is not difficult. I have some friendship with Huitong Trading Company. I can first borrow tens of thousands of dollars from the trading bank to purchase grain, and I can repay the money after the county receives taxes in the coming year."

"Can I borrow money? This is a great idea. I'll leave everything to the general."

Mao Jie stood up and gave him a big salute.

"Haha, Xiaoxian, there is no need to do this. This is my job. The rest of the specific work will be left to you. Prime Minister Cao is about to mobilize troops. I need to spend time arranging the troops to defend Jingzhou and Zhang Xiu.

Sneak attack."

Cao Xin supported him and said.

"Your Majesty understands. General, please prepare for war with peace of mind. Leave the matter of resettling the mountain people to your Majesty."

"So good!"

Cao Xin looked at the empty hall and remembered another thing, "Xiao Xian, most of the dozens of officials in the Prefecture are currently vacant. I am planning to recruit some talented people from the local area to jointly govern Nanyang. Xiao Xian, please

how?"

"As it should be!"

Mao Jie nodded in agreement.
Chapter completed!