“The way to nurture the people and bring them stability.”
Zhang Jing stood up and drew a circle on the ground beneath him before speaking.
“For the past several thousand years, this has always been a problem, and it is also one of the reasons dynasties rise and fall.”
“I’ve previously explained the imperial court, the great clans, and the common gentry. I’m sure you’re all familiar with them by now.”
“For example…”
He pointed to the figure he had drawn.
“This represents the Thirteen Provinces of the Han Empire.”
“When Liu Bang first founded the Han, its population was around twenty million. By the end of Emperor Xuan’s reign, the population had exceeded fifty million, and it had taken little more than a hundred and fifty years.”
“But today, more than two hundred and forty years have passed, yet the population of the realm still hovers at only around fifty million. After all these years, it has not grown at all.”
“That is highly abnormal.”
“Does anyone know why?”
Zhang Jing felt he truly had the makings of a teacher.
After all, there were few instructors these days as dedicated as he was.
“Because Wang Mang usurped the Han…”
“Because the great clans conceal countless unregistered households…”
“Because people can’t afford to raise children. Back in my hometown, many baby girls were abandoned…”
“Because of constant warfare…”
“…”
Everyone voiced their own opinions.
“Hm. Those are all valid reasons.”
Zhang Jing nodded instead of dismissing them.
“But none of them is the primary cause. Between Liu Bang and Emperor Xuan Liu Xun, the Han was hardly free from war. Liu Che spent decades campaigning against the Xiongnu, after all.”
“There’s an old saying that ‘the wars against the Xiongnu halved the population of the realm.’ It may be an exaggeration, but it reflects just how difficult those times were.”
“And yet, by Emperor Xuan’s reign, the population still recovered to over fifty million.”
“For more than two hundred and forty years since then, the population has failed to grow.”
“There are many reasons for that, but the greatest of them is the flaw in the Han system itself.”
“Take the four commanderies under Taiping Prefecture as an example.”
“Previously, even without war, those four commanderies could support only a little over two million people.”
“Now they support more than three million, yet they still don’t seem crowded. On the contrary, we’ve reclaimed several million mu of fertile farmland.”
“But if this continues, in just a few decades, the population of those four commanderies will multiply.”
“Since Taiping Prefecture follows the policy of ‘more people, more land,’ what happens when there is no longer enough land to distribute?”
In a peaceful environment, the population would only continue to grow.
Combined with his policy of granting additional land whenever households increased, Zhang Jing was certain the population under his rule would explode in the coming years.
After all, in this era, the common people had little entertainment besides having children.
Though, he thought, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Too much entertainment could only weaken a nation and corrupt its people.
His strategy for enriching the people was, in essence, to make the pie itself larger.
What he sought to build was a militarized state where the people lived in prosperity and the army stood powerful.
War and expansion would never cease.
“My lord, if there’s not enough land, then we’ll conquer Qing Province and Xu Province—or reclaim all of Yan Province!”
“Exactly! We do not fear death in battle!”
“Take Qing Province, and we’ll have enough land to feed even more people!”
Almost without thinking, everyone blurted out their answers.
“Heh.”
Zhang Jing smiled and nodded.
“The current four commanderies of Yan Province are much like the early Han.”
“When the population grows until the land can no longer sustain it, they’ll resemble the era of Emperor Xuan Liu Xun.”
“If nothing changes, we’ll end up just like the Han Empire.”
“Two hundred and forty years will pass with no population growth. Most of the land will be swallowed by powerful aristocratic families, while the common people struggle merely to survive.”
“Therefore, If we wish for every household under our rule to own land, for every family to have grain in storage, and for no one to be burdened simply by survival, then external conquest is indispensable.”
“The Han system cannot be reformed.”
“But Taiping Prefecture is not bound by it.”
As he spoke, Zhang Jing raised his head to gaze at the star-filled sky, his eyes shining with unwavering conviction.
“My lord is truly wise!”
The crowd shouted in unison, their eyes filled with boundless hope for the future.
“Enough.”
Zhang Jing waved a hand.
“It’s getting late. We’ll stop here for today.”
“We’ll continue our studies tomorrow.”
“Return to your camps and get some rest.”
“We take our leave, my lord!”
Though still reluctant to part, everyone rose, cupped their fists in salute, and dispersed.
“My lord.”
Not far away, Cheng Yu stepped forward, a gleam flashing across his eyes.
“At dusk, Colonel Sima sent someone with three thousand jin worth of gold and valuables.”
“I heard they were recovered from the Huangfu family.”
“Hm?”
Zhang Jing froze for a moment.
“What happened? Tell me as we walk.”
With that, he headed toward the camp gate.
“Ahem.”
Cheng Yu followed behind him and cleared his throat.
“According to Colonel Sima’s letter, about a month ago he dispatched men to Liang Province.”
“They entered the Huangfu clan’s ancestral tombs, removed the burial treasures, and melted them down.”
“The messenger also said…”
“They threw every corpse from the tombs into the latrine.”
“……”
Zhang Jing pondered for a long moment before speaking.
“That fellow Sima Ju truly has no manners. How could he do something like that? Later, have him write a letter to Huangfu Song and ask him to come retrieve his ancestors.”
“Understood, my lord!”
Cheng Yu couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
As expected of my lord—even in matters like this, he insists on being courteous.
Then he continued, “My lord, in my opinion, with the realm now engulfed in chaos, gold and silver have lost much of their practical value. Yet allowing them to remain buried underground is even more inappropriate.”
“For the sake of the long-term future and for the livelihood of the people…”
“We should not simply leave them there. We ought to recover them all, melt them down, and one day use them for the benefit of the common people.”
Had Sima Ju not delivered those three thousand jin of gold, Cheng Yu would have almost forgotten that there was such an enormous treasury lying beneath the earth.
To him, that was simply unacceptable.
The Han dynasty had inherited the lavish burial customs of the Qin and expanded them even further.
Without exaggeration, at least thirty percent of all the gold circulating throughout the realm had been deliberately buried underground.
“Zhongde makes a good point.”
Zhang Jing nodded seriously before issuing his orders.
“In that case, transfer Sima Ju back.”
“Have Pei Yuanshao lead a contingent of troops to Fenggao and take over the city’s defenses.”
“Le Jiu will command the remaining forces and garrison Yuncheng.”
“As for Sima Ju…”
“Have him recruit and train a new force in Fenggao.”
“It shall be called the Gold Excavation Corps.”
“And appoint Sima Ju as Colonel of Tomb Exploration.”
With that arrangement, the administrative structure of the Seven Garrisons and Twelve Passes became fully standardized.
Although Sima Ju’s direct command would be cut in half, he would enter the central administration.
The position of Colonel of Tomb Exploration suited him perfectly.
“My lord is wise!”
Cheng Yu exclaimed loudly.
He was completely convinced now.
He had merely raised the topic, yet his lord had instantly arranged every detail.
It was astonishingly smooth.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think Zhang Jing had planned it long ago.
To devise such a comprehensive solution on the spur of the moment was something Cheng Yu had never witnessed before.
“Zhongde.”
As though remembering something, Zhang Jing spoke again.
“Later, arrange for someone to bring me ten jin of locusts.”
“I have an important use for them.”
“Locusts?”
Cheng Yu looked puzzled, but immediately accepted the order.
“Understood, my lord.”
After all, in the sixth month of the year, Yan Province certainly wasn’t short of locusts.
It would only take a little effort to gather them.
“Remember—they should preferably be alive.”
Zhang Jing added, “This concerns the livelihood of the people. It must not be treated lightly.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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