Early December, during the Wei Hour (1–3 PM).
In Chenliu Commandery, Yan Province.
Zhang Jing led his generals on an inspection of Chenliu’s defenses.
Of the original forty thousand troops, only ten thousand remained to garrison the city.
The other thirty thousand had been divided into two forces.
One force, numbering twenty thousand men, had accompanied Xu He to the various counties of Chenliu to rescue the local populace and consolidate the grain stores of each county.
The remaining ten thousand troops had departed during the Si Hour (9–11 AM) that very day, escorting more than one hundred thousand civilians from Chenliu toward Dongping.
“Who would have thought that this endless snowfall…”
Zhang Jing extended his hand to catch a drifting snowflake.
Looking up at the heavens, where fierce winds swept through the sky and snow fell in great swirls, a trace of emotion appeared on his face.
“…would now become a natural barrier, causing the warlords across the realm to hesitate.”
“Report!”
As Zhang Jing was speaking, a soldier hurried over and respectfully presented a bamboo slip with both hands.
“My Lord, a messenger from the Strategist has delivered a dispatch!”
“Mm.”
Zhang Jing nodded slightly and accepted the bamboo slip.
After briefly examining it, he opened it and said:
“You may withdraw.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The messenger saluted respectfully and departed.
“More than seven hundred thousand civilians in Dongping already…”
Reading the report sent by Cheng Yu, Zhang Jing’s expression became serious.
He no longer had any desire to continue the inspection and instead headed straight toward the government offices.
According to his original plans, after consolidating Yan Province, he intended to occupy the four commanderies of Taishan, Jibei, Dongping, and Rencheng, together with a small portion of Dong Commandery south of the Yellow River.
Using those four commanderies as his base, he would support nearly three million civilians under his rule.
Yan Province was primarily flatland, with plains accounting for more than sixty percent of its territory.
According to Zhang Jing’s recollection, the province’s total area during this era was roughly three hundred thousand square kilometers.
Among the Thirteen Provinces of the Eastern Han, it ranked twelfth in size, only slightly larger than Sili.
Even so, by his calculations:
If each person were allotted ten mu of land, then three million people would require only thirty million mu.
A large Han-era mu measured roughly 465 square meters, while a small mu measured about 192 square meters.
The four commanderies he planned to control occupied approximately two-fifths of Yan Province’s territory, or around 120,000 square kilometers.
After subtracting official roads, rivers, settlements, and other unusable land, there would still be no less than 60,000 square kilometers available.
By the simplest calculation:
One square kilometer equals one million square meters.
At 465 square meters per mu, one square kilometer contained approximately 2,150 mu.
That meant a single square kilometer could support roughly two hundred people.
Sixty thousand square kilometers could therefore accommodate twelve million people.
Of course, this represented an ideal scenario.
Even so, using four commanderies to settle three million civilians was more than feasible.
To put it in modern terms: Data rarely lies.
………………
By the third quarter of the Shen Hour (around 4:45 PM), at the Chenliu Prefect’s Office.
“Finally finished.”
Seated behind his desk, Zhang Jing put down his brush and stretched his sore body.
Looking at the results before him, he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
“Still seems to be missing something.”
Picking up the document from his desk, he examined it from beginning to end and frowned slightly.
After a moment, realization dawned on him.
“Right—the slogan needs changing.”
He thought for a moment before muttering:
“The original ‘equalizing the poll tax through land assessment, and returning surcharge revenues to the public treasury’ isn’t quite suitable for this era.”
“Let’s change it to—”
‘Equalize the poll tax through land assessment; merge land and head taxes into one; abolish all miscellaneous taxes; return surplus revenues to the public treasury.’
He nodded approvingly.
“Simple, direct, and easy to understand.”
“Perfect.”
A grin appeared on his face.
“It even has a bit of that ‘The Azure Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven shall rise. The year is Jiazi; great fortune under Heaven’ flavor to it.”
After revising the slogan, Zhang Jing finally nodded in satisfaction.
He rolled up the document, placed it inside a bamboo tube, and sealed it.
“Liao Hua!”
Holding the bamboo tube, Zhang Jing summoned Liao Hua and instructed:
“Immediately dispatch a squad of men to deliver this to Mister Zhongde.”
“Your subordinate obeys!”
Seeing the seriousness with which his lord treated the item, Liao Hua immediately understood its importance and respectfully cupped his fists.
“Go.”
Zhang Jing waved his hand, a trace of anticipation flashing through his eyes.
In this era, if such a policy were proposed by the Liu imperial house or by any of the regional warlords it would be absolutely poisonous.
But if the person proposing it was Zhang Jing?
Then there was no problem at all.
After Liao Hua took the bamboo document and left, he immediately arranged for fast riders to deliver it to Wuyan as quickly as possible.
………………..
Two days later, in Dongping Kingdom.
Cheng Yu received Zhang Jing’s dispatch.
After reading the document, Cheng Yu suppressed the excitement in his heart and said in a deep voice:
“Summon Xue Fang, Yang Mi, Yang Dan, Wang Can, Yan Jiao, Liu Tuo, Yang Dao, Liu Kai, and the others to see me.”
“Yes, sir!”
A soldier stepped forward and accepted the order respectfully.
A short while later, the group entered the side hall where Cheng Yu was waiting.
“Greetings, Mister Zhongde!”
The moment they saw Cheng Yu, everyone felt a nervous knot tighten in their stomachs.
They hurriedly bowed respectfully.
“No need for such formalities.”
A faint smile appeared on Cheng Yu’s face.
“After spending the last two days with me, I imagine you all have some understanding of what kind of person I am.”
“This is a document sent by my lord.”
“Read it for yourselves. Afterward, I shall make the necessary arrangements.”
The people gathered in the hall were all talents Cheng Yu had selected over the past two days.
Some had once served as officials in the imperial court.
Others came from distinguished scholarly families.
Aside from Xue Fang, nearly all of them were members of powerful clans.
In Cheng Yu’s eyes, they were all useful talents.
Of course— if any of them proved disobedient, they would simply become ingredients.
“We obey.”
Upon hearing that the document came from Zhang Jing, no one dared show negligence.
Each of them had parents, wives, and children behind them.
If they did not wish to be turned into “ingredients” and sent to prison, they could only behave obediently.
Fortunately, over the past two days Cheng Yu had merely assigned them tasks such as inventorying grain supplies and registering the civilian population.
None of the work was particularly sensitive, nor had he placed excessive restrictions upon them.
“Hiss—”
After reading the document, Yan Jiao’s heart began racing.
He involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath.
“Mister Zhongde, my lord’s policy may overturn the entire realm. I ask that you proceed with caution.”
Yan Jiao hailed from the Yan clan of Jibei.
His ancestor was none other than the revered sage disciple Yan Hui, known as the “Second Sage.”
His family’s lineage had once been illustrious beyond compare.
For reasons unknown, however, in the dozen or so generations before his own, every generation of the Yan clan had produced only a single heir.
The family could hardly be called prosperous.
At best, it had barely managed to preserve its bloodline.
Earlier in life, Yan Jiao had been recommended as a Maocai and later served as a Censor in the imperial court.
On paper, the position granted authority over important state documents and oversight of officials.
In reality, Yan Jiao knew perfectly well that the only person he had truly been capable of supervising was himself.
When Dong Zhuo plunged the government into chaos, his wife happened to be pregnant once again.
As a result, he unilaterally “fired” Liu Xie as his employer, resigned from office, and returned home with his wife to rest.
He had never imagined that the situation under Heaven would change so rapidly or that he would eventually end up in Cheng Yu’s hands.
Even though he had spent only a single day in prison, to him it had felt like an eternity.
After all, his youngest son was only two years old.
When Cheng Yu invited him to serve, Yan Jiao did not hesitate in the slightest.
From his perspective, delaying even a moment longer would have been unfilial toward his ancestors.
Yet even now, he had not fully grasped the situation.
He still subconsciously believed that the Qihuo Army operated like the old imperial court, governed jointly by great aristocratic families.
“Then tell me, Shirong.”
Cheng Yu looked calmly at Yan Jiao and asked:
“What exactly do you think the Qihuo Army exists to do?”
“…”
Yan Jiao froze for a moment.
He opened his mouth and looked at Cheng Yu but found himself completely unable to answer.
— The end of the Chapter–
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