Chapter 657: Five years of preparation, just for now
The State of Zhao was very busy during this period, with wars going on in the southeast, northwest, and northwest at the same time. Just transporting grain and grass made the entire country extremely busy. The entire country was like a sophisticated machine running at high speed, and no one dared to relax.
At the same time, the people who were kidnapped by Le Yi from South Korea also had to be resettled. Fortunately, the Zhao State was vast and sparsely populated, and there was enough land. The 200,000 captives of the Yan State were just returned to the country, and the reclaimed land had not been distributed yet, so it happened to be distributed to
these people.
These lands are prime farmland, and even the houses are ready-made.
Before leaving, the captives of Yan State had already planted the seeds under the arrangement of the government. Zhao State had no intention of taking back this season's grain to the state and gave it all to everyone. They just had to pay taxes according to regulations.
"Your Majesty, except for the last two groups of people, all the people have been resettled." Cai Zechen reported that after experiencing immigration to the Hetao, Zhao Guo has become very skilled in handling these matters.
Zhao Kuo even ordered someone to compile a book to record all the accidents that would occur during the immigration process, the losses caused, how to avoid accidents, and how to minimize the losses if they were unavoidable, etc.
All immigration officials are required to read the book thoroughly.
If it has been recorded in the book but the officials fail to handle it in time or handle it incorrectly, they will be punished accordingly depending on the circumstances.
If there is no record in the book, and it exceeds the official's ability and fails to handle it properly, the penalty will be reduced.
If there is no relevant record in the book and the official handles it well based on his own ability, he will be rewarded and even promoted to a higher rank.
"Thank you for your hard work." Zhao Kuo pointed to the seat and said, "Now that the State of Yan has been destroyed, Li Mu is recovering the counties of the State of Yan. This time I have summoned all my dear friends to discuss the laying of tracks."
The so-called tracks are not later-generation railroad tracks, but wooden tracks.
Using wood to build a track specifically for carriages was also the key to the mobilization of grain and grass supplies in the Qin Dynasty in history.
With the track, the friction of the carriage will be greatly reduced, the speed can be nearly doubled, and the efficiency of cargo transportation will be greatly improved. It is of great significance for national logistics transportation and military ration transportation.
Zhao State did not have this technology before. Zhao Kuo wanted to copy Qin State's technology, but later found out that Qin State did not have it either. It may not have been until Qin Shihuang's period that Qin State began to carry out large-scale construction, paving roads and building bridges, and the technology was able to achieve a breakthrough.
There was no way to copy it, so Zhao Guo could only study it himself.
Through the continuous efforts of the craftsmen, they finally overcame all the technical difficulties not long ago and successfully built a track from Handan to Yecheng.
Just when Li Mu received good news, Zhao Kuo planned to build a track from Handan to Liaodong together with the official road.
Everyone can walk on the official road, but only the government can use the track.
Zhao Kuo has not forgotten that there is another enemy to the north of Yan State. Zhao State has been planning Donghu since a few years ago. From killing the king of Donghu to sending spies to detect intelligence and drawing maps, to Fan Tong provoking civil strife in Donghu, one step at a time
Step by step to annex Donghu.
In the past, there was a Yan country between Zhao and Donghu, so it was not easy to attack. Now the Yan country is gone.
As long as the track is laid along the Great Wall and the problem of grain and grass transportation is solved, Donghu, who is still in civil strife, is no match for Zhao, let alone Zhao has one of his own, Fan Tong, to provide intelligence.
In the past, Donghu could not escape despite being defeated, but now Donghu could not escape even if he ran. Fan Tong had already known exactly where their nomads were.
"Should we wait any longer? The Yan Kingdom has just been recovered and has not yet been completely pacified." Cai Ze hesitated. Just because the transportation cost has been reduced by nearly half, the track is very necessary for the Zhao Kingdom, but the Yan Kingdom has not yet been pacified. Cai Ze feels that
Now is not the time.
"It is precisely because Yandi has not been completely pacified yet that it is the best time. We can directly recruit workers in Yandi, take care of the food every day, and provide wages. They can have enough to eat and money to earn. Most people
None of them will choose to go against the government. As for the few remaining ones, they all have ulterior motives. They can just send troops to eliminate them or capture them and send them to mines." Lin Xiangru said.
The State of Zhao has been short of manpower recently. A few days ago, Le Yi sent a message saying that Baiqi broke the dike in Xingze, causing floods in South Korea and Wei. In addition to transporting a large amount of grain and other materials, the State of Zhao also sent a large amount of coal.
Afterwards, Lin Xiangru took stock of the supplies and found that because a large number of Huns prisoners were transferred to the front line, the number of mining personnel decreased, consumption increased, and coal production was somewhat insufficient.
This is not possible.
Yan is located in the northeast, and the winter is colder than that of Zhao. It will need a lot of coal in the next few months. This is all money, and Zhao cannot let the money go unearned.
Lin Xiangru was worried about where he could mobilize manpower. If there were people in Yan who didn't open their eyes, he wouldn't mind taking action on them.
"Since we can build one, why not build more? I think we also need tracks from Handan to Hetao and from Handan to Monan. Especially from Handan to Monan. The counties in Hebei are the most populous areas in Zhao State.
, but Monan is the main pastoral area of Zhao State. As far as I know, the number of cattle and sheep herded by Zhao State is less than half of that of Xiongnu. The main reason is not insufficient manpower or insufficient pasture.
But the transportation cost is too high, and the number of cattle and sheep that can be transported to Hebei every year is fixed. It is useless to raise more, and it will increase the cost." Zhao Bao said.
As a servant of Zhao State, Zhao Bao personally inspected Monan and Hetao and stayed there for a period of time every year.
He understood his own abilities, and it was impossible to achieve meritorious service by leading troops in battles. There were also a large number of ministers who were more powerful than him in governing the State of Zhao.
Zhao Kuo also likes to appoint people on their merits. Even his younger brother Zhao Mu has not yet been crowned king, and he still has to go to the Western Regions to open up trade routes, let alone his uncle, who is not very close to him.
If you want to be at the front of the queue for rewards in the future and earn a family fortune for your descendants, the only way is to do well what Zhao Kuo has given you.
The development of Zhao Guo's pasture has reached a bottleneck. The problem now is not how to raise cattle and sheep better, but how to transport the cattle and sheep and sell them.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The State of Zhao has been raising livestock for thousands of years. Our ancestors have been doing this before. If the Xiongnu can do it well, the State of Zhao can also do it well, and it is not difficult.
But you can't sell the cattle and sheep after you have raised them. The Zhao Kingdom is not based on the grassland. It is impossible to be like the Xiongnu. They raise sheep on the grassland and eat them on the grassland. They have to find a way to transport them out.
Zhao Guo built official roads, which greatly reduced transportation costs, at least allowing these cattle and sheep to supply the army normally. Although the cost was still not low, it was affordable.
Tracks are more efficient than official roads in large-scale logistics transportation between specific two places. If a track can be built between Monan and Handan, it will not only be able to supply the army, but also some can be distributed to improve people's livelihood.
Not to mention anything else, if he, Zhao Bao, could let the people eat the beef and mutton shipped from Monan during the New Year and festivals, at least it would not be a problem to be famous throughout the ages, and he and his descendants would be equivalent to having an extra piece of meat to avoid death.
Gold medal, as long as you don't rebel, even if you point at the monarch and scold him, the monarch and ministers will treat you leniently in view of the merits of their ancestors.
Probably equivalent to the status of Li Bing and Zhuge Liang in Sichuan.
"If three tracks are built at the same time, the construction of official roads will be completely stopped. Only in this way can we have enough manpower. Money is no problem, but food and grass...we must leave enough food and grass to deal with the war." Lin Xiangru said.
At present, Zhao State still has enough food and grass, but no one knows how long this war will last. Lin Xiangru cannot use the food and grass sent to the front line for the construction of Zhao State.
Even the latter is important.
"Then build two, from Monan County to Handan, and my servant will be responsible for half of the food and grass. Is there no problem in this way?" Zhao Bao said, patting the table.
"Where did you... get so much food and grass?" Lin Xiangru looked at Zhao Bao in shock. He knew that Zhao Bao was very rich, but this... was too rich.
"It's not me, it's the Taipu department." Zhao Bao looked at Lin Xiangru with a dark face. He was indeed very rich, but he had used it to build the fiefdom. Now he couldn't get the money out at all. Besides, he wasn't the kind of person who broke the family.
people of the country.
"Your Majesty...Where did you get the food and grass?" Lin Xiangru glanced at Kong Bin, but he was not there, so he looked at Zhou Zi.
Logically speaking, the richest departments in the Zhao Kingdom should be the internal history and the young master. Now look at how they became the servants.
And he, the Prime Minister, still doesn’t know about it.
"There is no food and grass, but we have cattle and sheep all over the mountains and plains. At worst, we have to let the workers eat beef and drink milk. It won't be transported out anyway, and it would be a waste to dump it. Even if we don't pay wages, I believe we can recruit enough people. The track is from
Monan started to build, they built in front, and we provided cattle and sheep in the back." Zhao Bao was full of momentum, like an old rich man showing off the gold chain he just bought to the poor.
His showing off did work. Even Lin Xiangru, Zhao Sheng and others did not expect such a luxurious method.
Brutal yet simple.
And with the price of meat in Monan, although the cost will be higher, it is limited. If the balance cannot be sold for a penny, the milk will be poured out in vain, and the cost of transporting grain from Handan will not be much different.
The only drawback is that when these workers build other roads in the future, they may not be able to eat the food.
"I... have no objection." Lin Xiangru glanced at Zhao Bao helplessly. Zhao Bao even said such words, what else could he say.
To be honest, let alone Lin Xiangru, not even Zhao Kuo expected Zhao Bao to be so courageous.
If other countries heard it, they would probably die of shame.
"In this case, the matter is settled. The two tracks in Monan and Liaodong will be built at the same time, and the one in Liaodong will be built to the Great Wall. This will ensure that grain and grass can be transported to the outside of the Great Wall smoothly in the future." Zhao Kuo said, "Second
The second thing is the transfer of officials from Yandi, have they been discussed?"
"Your Majesty, this is the list provided by the academy. There are thirty people in total. This is the list of officials selected by my ministers from all levels of Zhao State who have relatively good political performance, or who have their household registration in the State of Yan or have served as officials in the State of Yan.
A total of one hundred people." Lin Xiangru took out two lists from the table and handed them to Zhao Kuo.
Forget about the lowest level townships and li, the Zhao State has to arrange for its own people at the county and county level, including some towns. The number of people is about a hundred, and some of them will be appointed directly from the army so that they can be appointed in a timely manner.
Restrict local security.
The rest is to transfer them from the local area, or select some with better performance from the college. The number of places is about 100.
Lin Xiangru provided one hundred and thirty to give Zhao Kuo a choice.
Although Zhao Kuo delegated power, Lin Xiangru still understood some details after having been in the officialdom for decades.
"Have you passed all the assessments?" Zhao Kuo asked.
"I have passed all the examinations, and there are no problems with my knowledge. As for character, we can only look at it later." Lin Xiangru said that no matter how powerful he was, he would not dare to judge a person's character at a glance.
And people change.
"Give them the letter of appointment and ask them to come to Handan before taking office." Zhao Kuo handed the list to Lin Xiangru.
"All of them?" Lin Xiangru asked.
"Yes." Zhao Kuo nodded.
Lin Xiangru frowned. In this case, the quota would be somewhat insufficient. But Zhao Kuo had already opened his mouth and could not take it back. It seemed that he could only discuss with Li Mu to reduce the reserved quota for local officials.
"There is no need to reduce the number of reserved officials in Yan. It doesn't matter if we give more. We can transfer these officials to Zhao. From now on, Yan and Zhao will be one family, and there is no need to divide them." Zhao Kuo seemed to have guessed what Lin Xiangru was thinking.
Open your mouth and say.
"No." Lin Xiangru said.
"The third thing is that I have agreed that Yan will be tax-free for three years, but the construction of the college cannot be delayed. Let's not mention the county level. Each county must have a college. This matter is the responsibility of the imperial court, and wine offerings and teachers must also be arranged in time.
Everyone, please remember that from now on, the land of Yan will be the counties and counties of our Zhao Kingdom, no different from other places in our Zhao Kingdom. You must not treat it differently because it used to be the Kingdom of Yan." Zhao Kuo said solemnly.
In order to win back the hearts and minds of the people of Yan, he started planning five years ago before he captured the country of Yan. Even if he put aside huge profits, he still wanted to win the hearts and minds of the people of Yan.
The purpose was nothing more than to prevent Zhao State from being like the Qin State in history. Although it destroyed six countries, it could not regain the hearts of the people of each country. In the end, various places revolted against the violent Qin.
Du Mu once said: If the six countries love their own people, it will be enough to reject Qin; if Qin loves the people of the six countries again, he will be king for three generations and will be king for eternity. Who will win and the family will be destroyed?
Zhao Kuo's previous measures were not in vain. He gave the food grown by the captives to their relatives and wrote letters for them. He helped the Yan State resist the East Hu, including being tax-free for three years, and making the soldiers commit no crimes in autumn, etc., which all made the people of Yan happy.
I developed some good impressions of Zhao Guo.
These good feelings are not enough to make them feel a sense of belonging to Zhao State, but they will not stand up to resist.
There is also the opportunity to subtly promote Zhao's weights and measures through the Chamber of Commerce, reducing the current resistance.
All these efforts seemed in vain in the past, but now they are working.
As time goes by, five years, ten years, one generation, two generations later, they will regard themselves as true Zhao people, not the so-called old people of Yan.
The world's feudal lords have been divided for hundreds of years, and the customs, culture, and languages of various places have long been different. Others do not have unified experience and do not know how to do it, but Zhao Kuo knows.
He would never allow his hard work to be undermined by others.
This kind of destruction is not only about tyranny and chaos, but also includes the two places implementing different systems or standards, despising and looking down on the Yan people, etc.