Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 561: Give a Wife, a House, and a Field

The area of ​​Izumo Domain is not large, only the size of one prefecture.

But at this time, the population of Izumo Domain was comparable to that of Hangzhou Prefecture, an important city in the south of the Yangtze River.

In addition to the 100,000-strong naval and land forces stationed in the Celestial Empire, a large number of merchants have gathered in the Izumo Domain, as well as more than 100,000 Japanese who originally lived in this land.

During this period, the Japanese were mainly composed of the elderly, the weak, women and children, while the adult men either became vassal troops of the Celestial Empire or were recruited to Iwami to become miners, contributing to the prosperity of the Celestial Empire.

However, according to Jia Cong's observation, the Japanese here not only have no hatred towards the Celestial Empire, but are more in awe and gratitude...

"Sir, I have followed the instructions of the imperial court and implemented the policy set by the central government in Izumo Domain. Daily necessities such as grain and salt are all subject to official bills, and silver and money transactions are not allowed. Officials and civilians are divided into different classes, with the Celestial Empire as the first class, and the four counties of Liaodong, which are the former Koreans and the first batch of Japanese who surrendered to the Celestial Empire, as the second class. All of them have a daily ration from the imperial court, and will not lack food or clothing. However, those who are disloyal to the Celestial Empire will be slaughtered with all their nine clans..."

The imperial court had already equipped the Izumo domain with sufficient officials. Its highest public security officer was a former important official of the Lee Dynasty of Goryeo named Park Jeong-tae, who was awarded the fifth rank of the Gukcho and served as the governor of Izumo Province of Fuso Provincial Administration.

From Jia Cong's perspective, apart from anything else, this man is still very proud to be able to wear the imperial scarlet official robe.

The people who used former Goryeo officials to govern the Japanese islands, those bigwigs in the central government really studied human nature thoroughly.

Even if his methods against the Japanese were not insane, they were still ruthless in a way that even the Confucian scholars of the Ming Dynasty could not accomplish.

At least this guy didn't even blink when he talked about killing people.

"After Izumo submitted to the imperial court, a large number of merchants came across the sea. In addition to bringing the food, grass, salt and tea needed by Izumo, they also took a large number of Japanese women with them when they returned. I collected merchant taxes in accordance with the rules of the imperial court. The tax amount collected last year totaled 1,678,000 taels of silver, which has been sent to the capital..."

The profits from the slave trade are staggering.

Jia Cong watched the Japanese women bid farewell to their parents and board the ships with joy on their faces, and he knew that compared to the Japanese islands where they couldn't even eat rice balls, the Celestial Empire was truly a country in heaven.

Going to the Celestial Empire to be a maid or concubine, having rice and meat to eat every day, and having beautiful clothes to wear, this has become the consensus among the Japanese people in various fiefdoms on the Japanese islands under the rule of the Celestial Empire.

Ridiculous and pitiful.

However, Jia Cong's sympathy for the Japanese is limited to those ignorant Japanese women. The men should go and mine for the Celestial Empire.

“What are those people doing?”

Jia Cong pointed to a crowd not far away. Most of them were soldiers wearing standard armor of the Great Xia Dynasty, who were gathered together and making a lot of noise.

Park Jung-tae bowed and said, "My Lord, there live Japanese girls who have lost their families. After visiting the government offices, we found that the girls there are all from clean families and have no illnesses. His Royal Highness Prince Jing will gather them together. Anyone who has military merit and no wife at home can come here and pick one to take back as a concubine."

"Nonsense!"

Jia Cong frowned upon hearing this: "What if those Japanese women have bad intentions? Wouldn't our soldiers be in danger?"

As he was about to go forward to check the situation, Park Jung-tae looked puzzled and quickly followed to explain to Jia Cong: "Why are you so worried, my lord? It is a great blessing for a Japanese woman to be the concubine of a warrior of the Celestial Empire..."

Park Jung-tae was really not talking nonsense. Before Jia Cong got close, he saw an extremely magical scene.

Suddenly, a carriage stopped beside him, and a petite woman in a pink fur coat and an exquisite bun got out of the carriage. She followed a captain to the outside of the crowd.

"Master, my sister has a gentle personality and is the perfect match. If you can take your sister back with you, I and your sister will serve you well and be loyal to you..."

Perhaps because of excitement, the little woman even started speaking Japanese.

However, Park Jung-tae was proficient in Japanese and provided Jia Cong with a simple translation.

The story goes that this Japanese woman has a younger sister who is waiting to be selected by Chinese soldiers in this strange "matchmaking agency".

"According to the rules set by His Royal Highness Prince Jing, every hundred households can choose one person, every thousand households can choose two people, or they can exchange for an equivalent reward in silver. As for your concerns, according to my observations over the past year, that situation will not occur. In fact, Japanese women are more fortunate to be able to enjoy the good life in the Celestial Empire than to serve the Japanese daimyo or general. My Lord, men in the Celestial Empire really cherish women!"

After listening to Park Jung-tae's explanation, Jia Cong finally figured out the key.

I'm afraid that in the whole world, women in the Celestial Empire have the highest status.

There are even clear regulations in the laws of past dynasties, including weddings, funerals, and property division, to protect women.

Even the concubines and servants of the Celestial Empire lived better than the women of minor noble families in Japan.

The Japanese had a tradition of sending women and the elderly to the mountains to starve to death when there was not enough food.

Soon, Jia Cong saw the captain coming out with a thin little girl.

"I, Feng Yong, the captain of the Xiaozi Camp, pay my respects to the Marquis of Yongfeng and the prefect."

After seeing Jia Cong and his party, Feng Yong immediately led the pair of Japanese women and walked forward quickly, clasping their fists in salute.

Jia Cong nodded in response and looked carefully at the two Japanese women, one big and one small.

The little woman was petite, and her sister looked even smaller.

Jia Cong could hardly tell his sister's age, she looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old...

"Captain Feng, do you have a wife at home?"

"My Lord, I got married fifteen years ago, and my wife is taking care of my parents and children in my hometown of Dengzhou."

Jia Cong pointed at the pair of Japanese women and said coldly, "So you are planning to take advantage of your wife's absence to get a pair of sisters to serve you? You said it yourself, your wife is taking care of your parents in your hometown of Dengzhou, and this is how you repay her?"

Feng Yong was stunned for a moment. He didn't dare to deceive the Marquis of Guochao, so he quickly replied: "My Lord, I have been married for so long and have only one daughter. I have never thought of taking a concubine in these years. This is because this girl once saved me when I was in danger. When I met her again, I wanted to repay her... I must leave a descendant for the Feng family!"

Oh?
Jia Cong's expression improved a little. It wasn't that he was dissatisfied with Feng Yong taking a concubine. He was mainly disgusted by those who abandoned their wives as soon as they became a little successful.

Hearing Feng Yong say this, his wife has not given birth to a son after more than ten years of marriage, and Feng Yong has been able to treat her consistently, which makes him a man of loyalty and friendship.

Jia Cong waved his hand and asked him to stand up.

"You are a good man. I hope you can repay your wife's hard work over the years."

Feng Yong clasped his fists again and said, "I will follow the Marquis's instructions and will not dare to be a heartless person."

"Um……"

Jia Cong once again focused his attention on this strange "matchmaking agency", still feeling somewhat worried.

He suddenly asked Feng Yong: "Do you think that His Royal Highness Prince Jing's plan is good or bad?"

"In my opinion, this is a great strategy!"

Oh?
Feng Yong expressed his opinion without hiding anything. He just said, "My Lord, in fact, there are many unmarried people in the army. It is very difficult for those with many brothers to find a wife. Without this strategy, many people may not be able to find a wife even after they are thirty years old. Whether it is Korean girls or Japanese girls, although they are not as good as girls from the Celestial Empire, they are still good choices. The brothers in the army have been eager to make achievements in the past two years, mostly in order to bring a Japanese girl back to start a family..."

It is difficult to find a wife, and this is true regardless of the era.

Jia Cong also understood the reason for the prosperity of this place, and he also looked up to Prince Jing Liu Yi again.

He is worthy of being the most capable fighter in the royal family. His control over the minds of the soldiers is at least as high as three floors.

"Your Highness Prince Jing really understands people's hearts. With this strategy alone, the army's combat effectiveness will be increased by at least 30%."

He couldn't help but sigh, took out a silver ingot engraved with the words "Fu, Shou and Lucky" from his purse and threw it to Feng Yong.

"This is a reward from the Marquis. Remember your words and don't do such a shameful thing as favoring a concubine over destroying your wife!"

……

Jia Cong's arrival, Liu Yi's concession, and Li Shiqian's treatment made Wang Ziteng's condition much better.

No matter what he planned, under Li Shiqian's bowls of medicine and silver needles, Wang Ziteng had no chance to risk his life for the future of the Wang family.

During the brief moment of clarity, Jia Cong took the commander's seal and tiger talisman from the nominal commander-in-chief, and began to deploy troops with Liu Yi, preparing to teach the Japanese a lesson at the right time.

Due to heavy snow, military operations remained on paper.

Jia Cong's main work in the past few days has been to govern the several vassal states that have been conquered.

"Although the prince's 'rewarding policy' is good, in my opinion, it is still far from enough."

Jia Cong took out the methods of pacifying the people that he had figured out in the past few days and discussed them one by one with Liu Yi.

The most important point is that he intends to try out the method of stationing troops in the Western Regions on the island of Wa.

"This "Trial Plan for the Construction of the Fusang Corps" is something I told Your Majesty about earlier. Your Majesty may wish to take a look at it first."

Liu Yi was already dizzy from listening to what he had just heard. Jia Cong had just been in charge of reorganizing taxes, dividing land, relocating people, and setting up public schools. These tedious official duties gave him a headache.

He's a rough guy. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to discuss people's livelihood issues with him?

However, this Construction Corps was related to military affairs, so Liu Yi had to perk up and took the thick note to read it.

"We need to station 100,000 soldiers. Isn't that too many?"

Stationing troops is not as easy as fighting a war. After the war, it is easy to pull the troops back to the Central Plains.

It would be more difficult to deal with if the army was left directly on the Japanese island far away from the Central Plains.

Liu Yi's brows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a fly to death. After a long while, he rubbed his brows and said, "It's not easy. It's hard to leave our hometown. It's okay to stay here for a while. If we want to stay and settle on the Japanese island, I'm afraid it will be difficult to select 100,000 people even if I have a military order."

Jia Cong also knew that this was a very difficult matter. The Wa Islands were not like the Western Regions. After all, the Western Regions had been managed by the Central Plains dynasties for several generations and psychologically belonged to the national dynasty.

Let’s not count the Wa Island, which is separated from the rest of the world by the vast ocean. Even the fastest ship would have to sail on the sea for two and a half months.

He nodded: "That's right, so I think the prince might as well increase the reward. Not only will we give wives and concubines to the soldiers who are willing to stay, but we will also give them large enough fields and build them comfortable houses..."

As long as the soldiers are willing to stay on the Japanese island to defend it, the court will give them wives, houses, land, and...

The court would give these soldiers whatever they wanted.

I don’t believe that even if we do this, no one will come?

Jia Cong's idea frightened Liu Yi, and his eyes widened in shock.

"How much silver will this cost? The reason why I decided to exchange Japanese women for military merit is to save money for the court. If you do this, it will be impossible to complete it without 18 million taels of silver."

To station an army of 100,000, according to Jia Cong's method, each person would be paid 50 taels of silver, and the resettlement fee alone would be 5 million taels of silver.

Add to that the double salary he mentioned, won’t those idiots in the Ministry of Revenue rush to the Japanese island to strangle them to death?
Jia Cong didn't care about the money spent. He smiled and said, "Ten million taels of silver is enough for the mining of Iwami Silver Mine in half a year. I think Your Majesty knows the importance of Wa Island to the court. It's a good deal to use one or two million taels of silver to exchange for a Fusang Provincial Administration Office that is completely controlled by the court!"

"I know it's a good deal, but it's a difficult matter. I'm not just worried about the money, but mainly because this is an army of 100,000, which is too many, and there's a sea between us and the Central Plains..."

Liu Yi couldn't sit still anymore, he stood up and paced back and forth in the study.

This is a place across the sea, the emperor is far away, and we can send a hundred thousand troops here...

"Who will control this garrison? Have you ever thought that if the people who control these 100,000 garrison troops have rebellious intentions and cause trouble, the two of us who first came up with this plan will lose our heads!"

One hundred thousand troops. Liu Yi had fought wars all his life, but he had never commanded an army of one hundred thousand.

Jia Cong pointed helplessly at the note in Liu Yi's hand and said with a wry smile: "Your Highness, please read this note first. I wrote on it that the garrison troops are directly managed by the emperor, and officials are sent to manage them, with rotations every three or five years. The same is true for the officers in the army, who rotate every five years! In addition, Fusang implements the separation of military and political affairs, and logistics are managed by civil officials. Officers in the army are not allowed to interfere..."

Weapons, armor, food, military pay, etc. were all managed by civil servants sent by the court, and the officers in the army were only responsible for training and combat.

A political department should also be set up in the army, with the political commissar directly appointed and removed by the court to be responsible for the ideological and political work of the army.

By taking multiple approaches, in a dozen or twenty years, Fuso will be completely under the control of the imperial court, no different from the provinces in the Central Plains.

After Jia Cong explained all the terms to Liu Yi, this most capable fighter in the royal family was completely impressed by Jia Cong's control over people's hearts.

"You kid are more calculating than your father!"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "There is nothing we can do about it. For example, the dynasties of the past have conquered places like Beiting, Anbei, and Anxi. But every time after a war, our army would withdraw, and they would become our biggest problem again after a few years. If we want to completely control the Japanese islands, we can either relocate the people here or station troops there. Your Majesty, which one do you think is easier, relocating the people or stationing troops there?"

Needless to say?

To relocate the people to the legendary barren land of Wodao, even if you put a knife to their necks, you may not be able to move many people.

It would be better to choose a military settlement. At least he is confident that he can keep a lot of people.

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Thanks to Pan Zhou for the reward.

　　I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)