Chapter 141: This General Has Kindness in His Heart

Jingxing County, coal mining area.

This is a small basin that is high in the west and low in the east, about 50 miles long from north to south and 20 miles wide from east to west. The coal mining area is in the central and northern part of the basin, and the rest is basically arable land.

The Li family's rebel army had already established a firm foothold in Jingxing and other places, and mining coal and iron mines was imperative, so nearly seven or eight hundred members of the gentry were sent to the mining areas to dig coal, iron ore, etc.

Coal mines are relatively easy to dig. If the mine is dug to a depth of two or three feet, coal blocks can be produced stably. Iron mines in places like Jingxing are more difficult. Not only is the quantity small, but you have to find iconic ores such as malachite and ochre first, and then dig deeper and deeper.

Near the coal mine, Li Hao, who was escorting the members of the wealthy family captured today to the mining area, was listening to Li Lian talking about the mining situation of the noble family.

"Brother, these nobles are really unsteady in their work, slow and lazy, we should transfer some old farmers to come and mine."

The rebel army is very short of talent. Li Ju is responsible for guarding Leping County and guarding against enemies from Taiyuan. General Yuzhou is mainly responsible for expanding the territory, guarding against enemies from Yecheng and Youzhou, and plundering various supplies that the rebel army urgently needs.

Important matters such as mining iron ore, smelting ironware and armor could only be entrusted to Li Lian for supervision and management.

"The able-bodied men who work on the land cannot be moved. All the land in Leping, Zhanxian and Jingxing counties must be planted this year."

Li Hao has his own plans.

Leping and Zhan County are basically mountainous and hilly, and the two counties together have only more than 210,000 acres of arable land. Excluding the passes and mining areas, Jingxing County has an astonishing 292,000 acres of arable land.

Of course, this number is only roughly obtained by adding the land properties recorded in the official register and the large families in the three counties, and there is still a big gap between this number and the actual number of acres.

Li Lian wanted to persuade him again, "Why not send these nobles to reclaim the wasteland? They can't dig coal, or let those Hu slaves come to dig coal."

He had a rather impatient temper and could not stand the fact that these nobles were delaying the mining.

"The Hu people also have to farm. It's enough to have iron ore. Don't expect to dig up a lot of iron ore here. You have to ensure that the coal can be produced stably."

Iron is a key resource in the struggle for hegemony. Although iron smelting technology had matured during the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was not as developed as in later dynasties.

Only with iron can we talk about the armor rate of soldiers and build cavalry with double stirrups.

Although there are not many iron mines in Jingxing and other places, the counties of Zhao State in the south, namely the former Handan County, have always been major iron-producing areas. After Li Hao prepared to take over Jinchang County in the north, he turned to attack south and east.

To the south is the iron-producing State of Zhao, and to the southeast is the salt-producing Julu County. By occupying these two places, the rebel army will be able to operate well for a period of time.

The Jin army did not put much military pressure on the rebels' territory. The counties in Bingzhou could hardly protect themselves. The capital of Jizhou was Xindu, and the governor of Jizhou, Liu Shi, fled to Luoyang to fight for power.

Although Yecheng, a major military town on the north bank of the Yellow River, was crowded with soldiers, Sima Ying, the King of Chengdu who was guarding Yecheng, was always paying attention to the unrest near Luoyang and had little interest in the rebel army between Bing and Ji.

In fact, the soldiers in Yecheng were not there to resist foreign enemies or suppress civil unrest. The Sima family had always regarded Yecheng as a military front to defend against Bingzhou, Youzhou, and the two major military governorates of Qingzhou and Xuzhou.

Traditionally, members of the royal family who were granted titles of king were sent to govern Yecheng, but Sima Ying was banished after he offended the Empress and the Jia family. He was trying his best to return to the central government of Luoyang, and he had no intention of caring about the civil uprising that only affected two counties.

Of course, the Jin army had no intention, but the rebel army was willing. General Yuzhou had been sending people to monitor the enemies coming from Yecheng and Youzhou. As long as no large troops were sent from these two directions, his expansion plan would continue.

After the two Lis discussed the mining matter, a team of riders suddenly found this place.

"General, this is Li Huang from the Zhao family. He arrived in Jingxing County before noon today."

A volunteer sergeant introduced the guests.

The guests were all dressed rather gorgeously. The leader wore a black cloth crown on his head, a cross-collared and straight-hem robe, and a sword at his waist, which was a very traditional attire for a young man from a Han noble family.

Corresponding to the tradition are naturally the group of scholars who bare their chests and take drugs to go crazy.

Li Huang bowed and explained his purpose clearly.

His father's name is Li Kai, who is the 17th generation grandson of Li Zuoche, grandson of Li Mu's grandson. He is considered the patriarch of the Li tribes near Taihang Mountain. In his early years, he was promoted to the position of Imperial Secretary and Censor. He is currently unemployed in his hometown of Zhao State.

Two or three months ago, the King of Zhao began to mobilize soldiers within the territory of Zhao, which made Li Kai's family uneasy. Recently, it was rumored that the King of Zhao had occupied the palace and imprisoned the Queen Jia. Therefore, Li Kai, the leader of the Zhao family, had the idea of ​​moving his family to a remote place and building a fortress to protect themselves.

It happened that some Li clan members in several counties in the north were rebelling, so Li Kai sent his second son Li Huang to check out the situation. Li Hao, Li Ju and other Li clan members had separated from Li Kai's branch two or three hundred years ago. The two sides were indeed one family five hundred years ago, but now they can barely be considered distant relatives.

"You have come at the right time. The rebel army is in need of talented administrative officials." Li Hao expressed his welcome.

The clan relations in the Wei and Jin Dynasties were much more reliable than the employment relations. Li Kai and Li Huang, who had served as officials for generations, had talented members in their families who could easily manage the mundane affairs of several counties.

"This is the jade sword my father gave to the general."

Li Huang's speech and behavior were quite proper. After displaying the proper etiquette and gifts, he got down to business.

"My father only asks for a strategic location to build a fortress to protect the people of the clan. We can buy land from the general to build the fortress and cultivate the fields. If the general calls for troops, my father and I will also respond to the call..."

He put forward a bunch of demands, the core of which was that this branch of the Li family should buy land in Leping County and build a fortress to accommodate their members.

The rest of the obligations of paying taxes and responding to military calls are roughly the same as the obligations of the gentry to the government.

The Sima family came to the throne illegally, and only loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness remained. After the Eight Princes Rebellion began, even filial piety was gone. The Jin court was quite indulgent towards the local gentry. With Li Kai's behavior, even if the rebel army was eliminated by the Jin court, Li Kai's army would not be severely punished.

After making the request, Li Huang and others bowed their heads and waited for the rebel general to speak.

Li Lian and other soldiers who came from the rebel army were also waiting for the general to speak. They had been promised that each household would pay taxes and serve in the army together. If the big families brought their dependents and private soldiers to join the rebel army, many old rebels would probably be disappointed.

"This general allows you to build fortifications and raise private soldiers, but you are not allowed to have dependent households or slaves. All clan members and private soldiers must be registered and under the unified jurisdiction of the general's office, and they must pay taxes and serve in the same way as the households of the rebel army.

If you want to buy land to cultivate, you can hire tenants, and the amount of land you buy cannot be too much, with a maximum of one thousand acres. "

The abolition of the system of hidden households must be carried out to the end, and the unanimity of all households is the bottom line of the rebel army.

The issue of private soldiers can still be negotiated. Firstly, the big families can feel a little psychologically comforted. Secondly, the rebels don't have to pay to support the army. Once the big families find that the income from the tenants' farming cannot support many private soldiers, they will cut their own soldiers.

The big families in every dynasty could afford to hire thugs. Judging from the armor-wearing rate of the private soldiers of the aristocratic families today, these private soldiers are not much different from knife-wielding thugs.

These conditions were obviously beyond the expectations of Li Huang and others. The son of a noble family felt some resistance in his heart, but it soon disappeared. For some reason, as soon as he saw the general with the same surname, he felt extremely safe.

The anxiety caused by the worry that war would lead to the destruction of families and the loss of lives disappeared.

As his father's representative, Li Huang didn't have to make the decision, but he still needed to know the details. "May I ask, General, are these Zhang clan members also government households? Will they pay taxes and serve in the military together?"

Li Hao had already guessed that he would ask this question, otherwise why would Li Huang and others rush to the Jingxing mining area.

"Yes, but they have no land, so they can't pay the grain tax in the next one or two years. This general is kind-hearted and allows them to mine in lieu of taxes."

This was the general's explanation for the mining. In order to recruit Li Kai's family, the general also specifically stated the rebel army's policy of distributing land to soldiers and generals.

"All soldiers who join the rebel army will be given 30 mu of land each, and they can be tenant farmers to cultivate it. For each promotion to the rank of squad leader or sergeant, an additional 5 mu will be granted. For each level of beheading, an additional 10 mu will be granted, or a higher rank will be granted. For military merits such as being the first to capture the flag, there will be additional rewards such as silver, silk, and cloth."

Land distribution is the key to maintaining the core cohesion of the rebel soldiers. Thirty acres of land may not sound like a lot, but there is no upper limit on the exchange of land for military merit. Those who fight bravely and gain more achievements can quickly obtain land and titles.

In this era, this is the only way to ensure the combat effectiveness of the army.

The Sima family had a similar idea towards the soldiers. The families of the Jin court's central army soldiers were all moved to the vicinity of Luoyang, but because of the encroachment of the land by the big families, the families of the central army soldiers did not get much land.

Li Huang was obviously not interested in this. He bowed respectfully and asked, "I admire the general's style and would like to go to war with him once. Please allow me to do so."

His old father ordered him to get a general understanding of the combat effectiveness of the rebel soldiers, which was the decisive factor in determining whether his family could move in.

In troubled times, only strong military force is useful.

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(End of this chapter)