Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1602 Remaining Problems
After returning to Shule, Shao Shude did not leave in a hurry, but started his show trip.

On the fifth day of October, he personally came to the oasis on the west bank of the Yudo River (Yerqiang River), brandishing an iron pickaxe, and digging canals.

The saints are already like this, so don't other officials have to pretend?

But to their despair, the sage pretended for ten days.

Every morning, after getting up from Montessori's belly, he would wear a bunt suit, like an old farmer, and go to work with a shovel on his shoulder and start working.

Every day at sunset, he would go back to Xingxing, and under Montessori's frightened and pleading eyes, he would sleep with the limp woman in his arms until dawn.

In ten days, Shengsheng connected two ditches that had been silted up for a long time.

When the gurgling clear water flows into the canal from the big river, people can't help but burst into warm cheers.

Looting, of course, can bring short-term excess returns, but it can only be used as a windfall, not the foundation of development.

Master Wang was exhausted and robbed nearly 50 dendrobium of grain in Bahana, and so far, only more than 13 grains have been transported back to Shule for storage.Calculated based on the annual consumption of [-] hu grains for a family of five, that is enough for six or seven thousand households.

Even though there were still the last two batches of transport teams on the road, they did not return in time.But the food they brought back will only be enough to accommodate the [-] town soldiers and their families who will arrive in March next year—the new soldiers will mainly come from the Hengye, Pinglu, and Luoyan armies.

In Shule Town, even [-] town soldiers are not enough.It may continue to increase in the later period, but it mainly depends on how the local agriculture and animal husbandry develop.

Anyway, in Shao Shude's opinion, the more farmland to sow, the better.After next spring, counting the overwintering wheat planted this autumn, it would be best to have [-] hectares of farmland full of crops, which would greatly alleviate the plight of food shortage and save too much pressure when harvesting grass.

To put it bluntly, he was still in a hurry.

It is normal for the Western Regions to slowly rectify over ten or twenty years.But he wanted to compress this time, and he was worried that future generations would not value this place.

This is not unfounded worry.

Does the Western Han Dynasty want to fight the Western Regions?Not at first.If you want to engage the Huns, you really don't necessarily have to march into the Western Regions, disintegrate the Huns' flanks, and form a strategic encirclement of them.

Does the Tang Dynasty want to fight the Western Regions?Not at first.It was not until he took the initiative to intervene in the affairs of the Western Regions in order to deal with the Turks, and controlled them step by step.

Did the Qing Dynasty want to fight the Western Regions?I had no idea at first.But who can stand up to Moxi Mongolia's repeated horizontal jumps, and Galdan wants to compete with Kangxi for the throne of Mongolian Great Khan?There is no way, and in the end, I can only fight.

What is the current situation facing Daxia?The grassland has no enemies anymore, and within the foreseeable decades or even 100 years, it is difficult to grow a threatening grassland force.Based on this kind of thinking, is the Western Regions still so important?

In this matter, Shao Shude did not believe in the wisdom of future generations, and only wanted to build a solid framework before his death to accumulate as many resources as possible for the Western Regions, so that future generations would not be easy to give up.

Of course, some people may think that this is a manifestation of his "little wisdom", because there is no need to win the Western Regions.With so many town soldiers, even if you solve the food supply problem, what about money and silk rewards?Don't you have to pay the central government?This is a loss-making business.

Well, Shao Shude admitted that what they said had some truth.In fact, he is not sure what he is busy with, maybe it is just an obsession from later generations. He can't see this vast land leaving China, that's all.

He is the emperor who swept the world, the supreme khan, and he has the capital of willfulness.

******
On October [-]th, outside Shule City, it was very lively.

Trays of food were brought up: pouches, soup cakes, jerky, stews, fruits, wine, and more.

Tens of thousands of soldiers sat on the ground outside the camp, carrying all kinds of food, feasting on them.

It's a big drink from the whole army!
Appetite is really one of the eternal pursuits of human beings.Even if these warriors live a good life on weekdays and do not lack wine and meat, every time the whole army has a big drink, it can still greatly boost morale.

Shao Shude sat on a high platform, accompanied by four daughters of Mengshi, Xieshi, Shulushi and Adieshi.He raised his glass high, drank it all, and said, "I'm a matchmaker today. After you get married, live a good life. Have more children, the more the better."

Five hundred town soldiers stood under the stage, with grateful expressions on their faces, they took up their wine glasses and drank them all in one gulp.

These 500 people are not very old, generally between the ages of seventeen and eighteen to early twenties, and they are still bachelors.

After the capture of Shule, when the households of Qimin were compiled, the officials discovered a serious problem: the number of households was nearly [-], but the population was less than [-].

The reason is simple, too many men died.

Karasa was in chaos for a while, and then Satuke sent all the men over 15 years old to go north to fight the Xia army and return in a disastrous defeat.No less than [-] people died during this period, and another [-] people fled after hearing the news, and only a few thousand returned in the end-the imperial court pardoned their crimes, and ordered them to live in peace and do not cause trouble.

In other words, this battle killed most of Shule's men.

Things got trickier.Because men are not only a source of soldiers, but also the main force of agricultural production. Without men, food production will not increase.

And it's only a short-term effect.Population growth can also be problematic in the long run.

If the women in Shule were allowed to waste their golden childbearing period, they would have to pay back the debt in the future.After many discussions, Shao Shude finally made a final decision: If there is a shortage of men, I will give them men.

Five hundred town soldiers came alone from the Central Plains, and they were about to start a family.Shao Shude decided to let them choose a woman of similar age in Shule City to marry, which happened to solve a lifelong event.

But this is far from enough.

The privy envoy Yang Jue also suggested that the [-] members of the new attached army retreated from Bahana to Anxi, also alone, so that they could choose widows to start a family for peace of mind.

Shao Shude agreed.

He asked Yang Jue to handle the matter and finish it as soon as possible.After the soldiers of the new attached army got married, they moved to Gumo Prefecture with their wives and children, and scattered among the common people.

Gumo Prefecture was plundered and massacred by the Rehai Turks. After the dust settled, there were only more than a thousand households and more than 6000 people.

The agricultural conditions in this place (Aksu) are very good, it is a pity to let it fall into disrepair, and it must be restored as soon as possible.

Of course, [-] town soldiers plus [-] new attached troops could not alleviate Shule's "man shortage".What's more, this time they also snatched a lot of women from Ba Khan, some of them were given to meritorious soldiers as rewards, some were sold to merchants in exchange for food, and some were going to be brought back to Luoyang to be distributed to the ministers.

More women than men, this is the status quo.

After thinking about it, just yesterday, Shao Shude made a decree: to recruit [-] poor, strong and lonely men from Chen, Xu, Cai, Shen, and Guangzhou to settle in Shule.

Some people may ask, must there be so many men who are too poor to get married in these five states?

First of all, there must be.

Secondly, it is said to be "recruitment", but it is actually "apportionment".

The governors of these five states will tie up five thousand men even if they are kidnapped.In fact, the number of people is not enough, even if the prisoners in the prison are released to make up the number, he will have to make up 1000 people.

After these 5000 people arrived in Shule, it was almost enough.

In this way, after calculation, there will be about [-] households and more than [-] people in Shule Town.

Gumo Town will have more than [-] households and more than [-] people.

After the establishment of the Shule town army and the arrival of family members, the Shule household registration will be further increased.

In the western expedition to Bahana, about [-] households of various craftsmen were robbed, and Yanqi, Qiuci, Gumo, Shule, Tingzhou and other places will all be divided, of which Shule occupies the majority, about [-] households .

The overall number of household registrations is a bit bleak, which shows the huge damage caused by the war.

In the foreseeable future, military households will be the main source of supplementary local population.

******
On October [-]th, Shao Shude entertained Li Shengtian, the ruler of Khotan, with a banquet in Shule Palace.

Adie personally poured wine for the two of them.

But it didn't take long before she felt a disgusting feeling from the bottom of her heart.

Shao Shude saw it, and waved her hand to make her retreat, while Adie left with his mouth covered as if he had been pardoned.

Mengshi stepped forward to pour wine for the two of them.

Her face was a little pale, and there was a trace of fear deep in her eyes.

For a woman in her early forties, the risk of pregnancy and childbirth is extremely high.But the sage didn't feel sorry for her at all in this respect, he only cared about his own pleasure, so he got in directly.Even Mengshi faintly felt that the saint did it on purpose, that he was a pervert, and wanted to watch noble women like queen mothers, empresses, and princesses of the enemy country bear children for him.

"Does Li Qing still remember the incident at Niya Oasis?" Shao Shude asked, putting down his wine glass.

"Your Majesty has an order, and I will do everything I can," Li Shengtian said immediately.

Compared with the previous discussion with the ministers, Li Shengtian was much happier, and he responded directly without the slightest hesitation.Looking at his expression again, his face is full of joy, which looks like joy.

Regardless of whether he was pretending or what, Shao Shude said directly: "I want to set up two thousand town soldiers in Niya Oasis and three thousand town soldiers in Khotan. Together with their families, there are about [-] people. The land, houses, food, Farm tools, may Li Qing relieve my worries?"

"I'll do it when I get back. It's all good land, so I must not wrong the soldiers of the big country." Li Shengtian stood up and left the table, bowing in response.

"Sit down, sit down." Shao Shude said happily: "Li Qing is loyal to the imperial court, I know that. I heard that Li Qing has been married for several years but has no children yet, why?"

Li Shengtian heard the words, a thin layer of sweat broke out on his back, and said: "The state is busy, and he is also busy with the war, so he has no heirs."

Shao Shude nodded and continued drinking without saying anything.

There are some things that need not be said too much.

Anyone who knows the prestige of a saint in the Western Regions understands it.Gaochang has been destroyed, and the Uighur has only half his life left, which can be a lesson for the past.

Now that Khotan has a large number of household registrations and sufficient food and soldiers, isn't the imperial court worried?Won't someone be sent to monitor?Even, is it possible to control Khotan's state affairs deeply like the previous Tang Dynasty?
The sage only said half a sentence, but Li Shengtian couldn't help adding more.

He's terrified now, really.There seemed to be only one road left before him.

The sage is about to return to court, and anyone with a discerning eye can see it.Before leaving, he will definitely take advantage of the general trend and try his best to solve some remaining problems.

From now on, the Western Regions will only speak with one voice. This is inevitable and irreversible.

(End of this chapter)