Chapter 485: Official Title Is Not Easy
Nanyang is also a scene of harvest.

Southeast of Wancheng, there is a civilian settlement on the banks of the Yu River.

This place was built by Liu Bei when he was managing Nanyang to recruit refugees and mountain people, and the leaders he appointed were mostly small generals of the mountain refugee groups.

This stronghold is paying taxes, and the garrison commander in charge of it has only a hundred households under his command, and his name is Hou Yin.

He is only seventeen years old, but he also crawled out of a pile of dead bodies.

He led a dozen young and strong men to surround the grain collector, and they carefully stared at every bag of new rice loaded onto the ship.

It has been three years since the rise of the Danshui canal transport, and the specifications of the sacks have become unified, with one bag holding two shi of rice.

There was a good harvest this year, but the county collected 30% of the crops and another 30% was shipped to southern villages, so only 40% could be left locally.

The 40% surplus food would barely be enough for them to eat until April or May next year.

This is better than this year, when we had to rely on fish, shrimp and wild vegetables to fill our stomachs since March.

Seeing that there was still one and a half carts of grain left after the designated amount was filled, Hou Yin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and a smile spread across his face.

The grain officer only took a few more glances at the extra grain and said to Hou Yin, "Don't feel bad. Without the shogunate, you won't have anything left. Next year, when the water dam is built and more fields are planted, if there is a good harvest, you can still collect this much grain."

Hou Yin was surprised to hear this: "Shangguan, are you saying that we will pay a fixed amount of grain from now on?"

The people around also became excited, and their enthusiasm for production naturally increased as they paid grain at a fixed quota.

The grain officer frowned, but patiently explained, "I also heard from the county that the new Lord Duan wants to encourage the people to settle in the settlements. Around October, he will apply to the shogunate for cattle and horses to be distributed to the settlements. Next year will definitely be a good year."

There is a big premise for all this, that is, the war will not affect Nanyang mainland.

Whether the tax on land is 15% or 130%, it is actually just superficial.

Your imperial court collects little tax, but the local governments' levies and exploitation are not less.

Hou Yin believed it after hearing it. Who is Duan Wei?

Among all the generals under Dong Zhuo at that time, Duan Wei was the best at cultivating land. He led his troops to repair water conservancy projects and set up military settlements, and also guided refugees to cultivate land.

With Duan Wei's prestige in the shogunate, it would certainly not be difficult for him to apply for two or three thousand cattle and horses.

Only the shogunate could be so generous as to distribute cattle and horses to various places. Hou Yin firmly believed this.

The grain officer was in a hurry to go down the river to another civilian settlement to collect grain. After urging Hou Yin to sign the account book, he turned around and boarded the boat and left.

Hou Yin stood on the shore and watched the southbound ship gradually go away, and he couldn't help but put his hands on his hips.

If the harvest is still the same next year, then every family will have some surplus food the year after, and they can expand mulberry and hemp planting. In addition to being self-sufficient in food and clothing, they can also raise some chickens, ducks and geese.

The winter in Nanyang is also very cold. It is now popular in Guanzhong to wear robes filled with bird down in winter, and Hou Yin also yearns for this.

Being able to eat enough, not being cold in winter, and having no enemy soldiers to plunder and kill, this kind of life was a happy life for Hou Yin, which could only be enjoyed in a peaceful and prosperous era.

He was born during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and had little knowledge or understanding of the past glory of Nanyang, the imperial capital spoken of by his elders. He only knew that Wancheng was very large, and could not imagine that more than 100,000 people had once lived inside and outside Wancheng and its suburbs.

Downstream of this place, on both sides of the Tang River, a tributary of the Yu River on the east bank.

Sun Quan also had his army stationed here, and there was also a grain-collecting officer who led a fleet to collect grain.

Military settlements have the obligation to garrison and cooperate in expeditions, so they can keep half of the food; 30% goes to the shogunate, and 20% is allocated to the county government. The food that needs to be allocated is not collected in a hurry and will be allocated only when it is needed.

Nanyang is now a vast area with few people, and military and civilian settlements are built along rivers and canals.

Unless there is extremely heavy rain, drawing water from nearby for irrigation can save a lot of manpower.

Therefore, the main theme of Nanyang’s policy next year will be to repair water conservancy projects and relocate some civilian and military settlements.

Sun Quan watched as bundles of sacks were unloaded from the boat and bags of his grain were filled and transported to the boat for storage, which made Sun Quan feel heartbroken.

This was the first time he had been taxed since he was a child.

Perhaps because of his poor background, the grain officer who came here always had a stern face and refused to negotiate with Sun Quan.

Sun Quan was also troubled by the lack of livestock power. The new county governor Duan Wei ignored him completely. Zhou Yu's influence dropped sharply after he was ambushed and defeated. Under such circumstances, Sun Quan was also very conscious. He stayed in the military settlement area and rarely went out. He also closed the roads and did not contact outsiders.

Afraid that Duan Wei would find evidence to kill him, Duan Wei personally went to the post with his elite troops. This elite group of cavalry consisted of only 800 people, but was already the second strongest knightly order in the Jianghan River Basin.

The strongest one is Wen Pin, who is supported by Black Bear and also trained by Liu Qi. Wen Pin now has 5,000 infantry and cavalry and more than 2,000 knights under his command, divided into three camps and stationed around Xiangyang.

Without defeating Wen Pin's cavalry, no force would dare to easily besiege Xiangyang.

Wen Pin's cavalry is the key force to suppress Nanjun and maintain the current balance of the situation.

No matter how the Jiangdong army changes, the disadvantage of anti-cavalry cannot be quickly eliminated.

Even though Lu Yi was ambitious, he did not dare to lead his troops ashore easily.

After all, Lu Yi lacked a decent military victory. He dared to lead his troops ashore to fight a decisive battle with Wen Pin, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, and Zhou Yu, but his officers might not dare to do so.

Because of the military glory during the reigns of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, Sun Quan had an instinctive yearning for cavalry.

By asking for and purchasing a batch of cattle and horses, you can rebuild a small cavalry team.

Now only the cavalry can make Sun Quan feel a little safe.

Therefore, when signing the contract, Sun Quan took the initiative to strike up a conversation and inquired about the feasibility of purchasing cattle and horses on his own.

After hearing this, the grain officer re-examined Sun Quan and thought that Sun Quan should have savings in this area, so he said: "If Captain Sun wants to purchase horses, it is difficult to get a document to enter the country. The governor can issue this, and so can Governor Zhou. If it is 200 to 300 horses, from what I have seen, it can be done within this year."

Seeing that the grain officer was still not satisfied, Sun Quan slightly turned sideways, and Zhou Tai, who was following beside him, stuffed a bag of pearls into the grain officer's hand.

The grain officer did not shy away from it. He raised the pearl and took it out to look at it. He then smiled with satisfaction and said, "It is not difficult to buy the horse. What is difficult is the care and preservation of the horse after it arrives. Captain Sun is not far from Jiangxia. I am worried that Grandfather Huang and his son will plunder after hearing about it. The loss of two or three hundred horses is not something that Lord Duan and Governor Zhou can afford."

Seeing this, Sun Quan asked, "If we move to the upper reaches of the Yu River, can we eliminate the trouble?"

"If Captain Sun is willing to move to the west bank of the Yu River, I think Lord Duan will be more willing to talk to him if he garrisons near the Nie River. But two or three hundred horses are of great significance to the enemy. If they are still lost, how will Captain Sun explain it?"

The grain officer also said considerately, "If the captain is in urgent need of livestock, you might as well buy horses and oxen, more than a hundred of them will do."

"Thank you for your advice, Your Excellency."

Sun Quan bowed and thanked him. Seeing his humble attitude, the grain officer left with satisfaction and turned to board the ship.

Watching the heavily loaded boats slowly heading southwest along the Tang River, Sun Quan said to Zhou Tai, "It was difficult to buy horses when I was in Jiangdong. Why is it so difficult now?"

Zhou Tai said in a pertinent tone: "It is not easy for the lord to buy horses, and it must be even more difficult in the southeast. It is reasonable for the shogunate to be cautious."

"Without good horses, how can we follow the Grand Marshal and establish meritorious service?"

Sun Quan sighed again and heaved a long sigh to the sky. He knew very well that there was no future in being an infantryman.

Only if you have an elite cavalry unit can you be incorporated into the central army or important units when you are recruited, which will make it easier for you to make achievements.

As for the manpower expenditure, it has actually exceeded the budget considering the current size of his troop.

If Duan Wei wanted to intervene, he could easily dismantle his troops.

The reason for letting it go was not to give him face, nor to give Zhou Yu face.

Instead, it was to give face to Sun Feng, Marquis of Wu. His nephew Sun Feng inherited Sun Ce's title. As a county marquis conferred by the court of Xudu, it was reasonable for the Sun family to maintain nearly a thousand followers.

Therefore, Sun Quan was very anxious. Sun Feng was still young and was relatively friendly with his uncle.

When my nephew grows older, everything he has now will be taken away.

Only by seizing the time and building a cavalry corps could he establish his own merits and be promoted to a higher rank.

If he were to recruit infantry, he, as a captain, would have to provide 700 men; but if he wanted cavalry, he would only need 300 men, a mixture of infantry and cavalry.

Our family assets are limited and we can’t afford any more hardship.

Whether it's military service abroad, casualties in battle, or the erosion of ordinary life, the cohesion of the troops will gradually dissipate.

(End of this chapter)