Chu Yan knew his identity very well. He was a powerful figure in the Montenegrin army, but for Liu Jian, his Montenegrin identity was of no use.
But his head can only be regarded as a merit among the officials.
In the annual evaluation of local plans in the Han Dynasty, there were also specific requirements for punishing bandits and bandits.
Although Liu Hong is dead, the general local policy has not changed.
When Liu Hong was still alive, the evaluation requirements for local efforts to suppress bandits were extremely strict.
This is because selling officials and conferring titles need to be circulated. After officials who fail the evaluation are removed, the emperor can continue to sell officials to fill the vacancies.
Among the evaluation projects in local counties, the one of eradicating bandits is the most difficult to complete, because it requires real heads to make up for the merits.
Although Chu Yan admired Liu Jian's behavior, Chu Yan never thought that Liu Jian would let him go.
"Is Liu Shijun serious about what he said?" Chu Yan asked slightly surprised.
Liu Jian nodded seriously.
"Everything I said just now is true. I came to Jizhou not to accumulate merit. Liu has reached his current position and has the reputation he has today. Even if he accumulates merit again, what will happen?"
"I sincerely want to do something practical for the people of Jizhou, so that they can have peace of mind, food to eat when they are hungry, and clothes to wear when they are cold."
Liu Jian's words were sincere, coupled with his actions, Chu Yan couldn't help but not believe him.
"If Liu Shijun can do this, Chu will definitely restrain his subordinates after returning to Heishan."
Liu Jian smiled and nodded: "Not only do I want to restrain them, I also hope that Brother Chu can unify all the tribes in Montenegro. At the same time, he will take good care of the people of Montenegro under your jurisdiction and prevent them from plundering again."
"As long as Brother Chu is willing, I am willing to provide some grains and tools and help with reclamation. The people of Heishan under Brother Chu can find wasteland around Taihang for reclamation,"
"If the time comes when Jizhou's farmland can accommodate everyone in the Black Mountain Army, I will also be willing to recruit troops from Montenegro on behalf of the imperial court."
No one in this world wants to be born to be a rebel, and Chu Yan is the same.
If he could really be recruited by Liu Jian and report to the Ming court to change his destiny and future, what would it mean to Chu Yan even if the Black Mountain Army held millions of people hostage?
Everyone needs to find a destiny for themselves.
At that moment, Chu Yan took a deep breath.
As Liu Jian, it was very touching to be able to say such words to him.
At that moment, Chu Yan bowed his hand to Liu Jian: "If Liu Jianjun has this intention, how dare Chu not respond? It's just that I don't have the ability to unify Heishan at the moment. Among the various tribes in Heishan, there are many Qu commanders who rank among me."
Above, I'm afraid I will let down your good intentions."
Liu Jian waved his hand and said: "This is indeed the case in recent years, but I think Brother Chu is a heroic man with a great heart. Looking at the world, he is also a first-class hero. He is such an outstanding man as Brother Chu.
, sooner or later it will surely take the lead in the Black Mountains."
"Besides, my Jizhou farmland has not yet been fully completed. However, a few years later, Brother Chu will be the leader of Heishan, and I, Liu Jian, will be able to spread benevolent policies in Hebei and have enough land to accommodate all the refugees. By then, the weather, time and people will be there, and Chu
Wouldn't it be better if my brother took advantage of the situation and returned?"
Liu Jian's words sounded like he was trying to make a fool of himself, but that was not the case to Chu Yan's ears.
As the saying goes, a woman looks good to those who please her, and a scholar dies for a confidant.
Liu Jian's words made Chu Yan feel that he was valued by the other party.
And Chu Yan is confident in her abilities.
He also felt that with his ability and charm, he could indeed rank first in the Montenegro Army. The other commanders of the Montenegro Army were really much worse than him.
"If Mr. Liu can trust Mr. Chu, I am willing to make a gentleman's alliance with Mr. Liu."
Liu Jian smiled and stretched out a palm.
Chu Yan also immediately stretched out his hand, and the two of them said "pa, pa, pa" in front of Zhao Yun, and struck three palms in a row as an oath.
Later, Liu Jian and Chu Yan agreed on a communication method, and they could communicate with each other if needed.
Later, Liu Jian no longer delayed and arranged for Zhao Yun to send Chu Yan back to Montenegro.
…
In this way, the second year of Zhongping passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye came the first year of Chuping.
Under Liu Jian's rule, Jizhou became completely different from before.
Resources, wealth, and the strength of various families were all deployed by Liu Jian, and the number of refugees was greatly reduced.
The barren fields were cultivated again, and the income from food increased significantly.
Jizhou's treasury gradually became more prosperous, and the wealth resources Liu Jian could mobilize also began to increase.
Therefore, he expanded the number of soldiers recruited by the Jizhou Army.
It has expanded from the original 5,000 people to 20,000.
In fact, Liu Jian could expand the number of soldiers and horses again, but he felt it was not necessary.
For one thing, the court has just changed to a new king. As the governor of the state, his excessive recruitment of troops and horses in the local area will definitely arouse the vigilance of the court and be detrimental to him.
Secondly, Liu Jian felt that he needed to settle accounts carefully.
The cost of a well-drilled and fully-armed elite army is different from that of three soldiers with average combat power and poor equipment.
This elite soldier is worth three poorly equipped soldiers, but Liu Jian only needs to spend the rations of one person to raise his troops.
The grain in the warehouses in Jizhou was not brought by strong winds, Liu Jian had to spend it carefully.
Waterwheels have begun to be built in various parts of Jizhou. The construction of these overturned waterwheels, Yellow River waterwheels, and barrel waterwheels has prompted Jizhou to produce a large number of skilled craftsmen.
For these people, Liu Jian ordered Mu Shu to register them one after another, pay special attention to them, and protect them.
Liu Jian knew that in this era, there was a kind of talent that was the most important, but to some extent it was not valued by all forces.
Most local shepherds and prefects only value those so-called "confucian talents" and "famous people in the world".
But as everyone knows, the real driving force for the operation of this society is those technical talents and inventive talents. They are the first creators of social productivity.
You don’t need too many politicians to make suggestions, just a few are enough.
But the more technical talents, craftsman talents, and inventive talents the better, and the more they can be cultivated, the better.
Think about why the beautiful countries of later generations can always be ahead of other countries?
Of course, during the Han Dynasty, there were no so-called scientists.
But in this era, there are still many skilled craftsmen in the real industry.
For example, people who are good at architecture, bridge building, farming, salt making, medicine, smelting...etc., these people are actually the main force to ensure that a country can flourish.
Don't people like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao value such talents?
They also attach importance to it, but they will never attach it as much as Liu Jian does.
Liu Jian decided to first vigorously develop agriculture by building large quantities of waterwheels on the north bank of the Yellow River, and at the same time tap and develop some technical talents.
At the same time, through a series of protection and favorable treatment for technical talents, it gradually attracted craftsman talents from various states in the Han Dynasty to invest.
The construction of the waterwheel was only the first step in Liu Jian's plan.
Agricultural development indeed requires waterwheels. Similarly, if we want to achieve rapid development of the iron smelting industry, water conservancy and energy are naturally indispensable.
Through the training and training of this group of talents, the next step is to use water trucks and water conservancy to enhance the production capacity of the iron smelting industry.
In this era, a strong army must be inseparable from iron.
It seems that Liu Jian still has a long road ahead.
In the first year of Chuping, just after the New Year, Lu Zhi, who was appointed as the Northern Shepherd of Jizhou, began to travel to Jizhou.
He was not in a hurry to take up his post first, but first went to Wei County where Liu Jian was located to investigate.
Upon closer inspection, it was no small matter.
Lu Zhi was also the one who led his troops to attack Zhang Jiao in Jizhou the year before last.
At that time, Jizhou was full of refugees and the fields were barren. Looking back on these things, Lu Zhi could still remember them vividly.
But this time I took a look near Yecheng.
Everything was different from what he imagined.
When he heard that the teacher was coming, Liu Jian naturally wanted to greet him personally.
When the master and apprentice reunited after a long absence, Lu Zhi patted Liu Jian's hand hard, with a look of great comfort on his face.
Later, Lu Zhi asked Liu Jian about how he governed Jizhou.
Liu Jian made no secret and told Lu Zhi everything.
While Lu Zhi was feeling emotional, he also said that after taking office, he would adopt the same policies as Liu Jian and vigorously develop farmland, build waterwheels, and irrigate agriculture.
Moreover, Lu Zhi's words implied that Liu Jian would take precedence in all matters in Hebei from now on.