Chapter 584 - 274: Xu Guokun’s Sea_2
This could also be considered making use of waste.”
Lu Yuan thought of the various movements of the martial artists in the Jianghu of the country, which had been transmitted by the Imperial City Department for several months, and his eyes flashed with a cold light.
Previously, Zhou Qing had not reached the Inborn state, and the domestic strength was insufficient, so the timing of dealing with these ostentatious clowns was not ripe, and he had to endure it.
Now that there was a shortage of population and martial power in Qianzhong County, these troublesome elements who liked to cause chaos could all be exiled here.
You like fighting and causing trouble everywhere, don’t you?
That’s perfect.
Come here and fight with the Yi People, come here and cause trouble with them.
No matter who wins or loses, it was a good thing for Chu State.
If the Yi People died, Qianzhong County would be safe, and the local rule would be more stable.
If the exiled Jianghu people died, Chu State would be safer, with fewer dangerous martial lawbreakers.
In short, no matter who died, Lu Yuan would not lose, and it would be a winning situation.
Once he thought of this, he took action.
After settling on this exile strategy, Lu Yuan continued to write letters to Zhou Qing and Lan Cai’er, asking them to personally deal with the rebellious elements in the Jianghu.
With these two Inborn Grandmasters leading the way, it would be easy to suppress and arrest those restless individuals in the local area without causing any waves.
If they worked quickly, they might be able to resolve these troubles before the foreign forces behind them could react.
Speed was of the utmost importance.
Swift action would prevent the Jianghu rebels from reacting, and prevent foreign forces from intervening in time. By suppressing the chaos with lightning speed, domestic peace could be restored.
Moreover, spring was just around the corner.
If the immigration to Qianzhong County was not expedited, they might miss the spring planting.
If they missed the spring planting, there would be no harvest, and the state would have to support the immigrants for another year.
This would put further unnecessary pressure and expenses on the already burdened national finances by supporting the people of Qianzhong County for another year.
Therefore, time was of the essence.
Two consecutive letters were sent back to the country.
After completing these arrangements, Lu Yuan put aside his attention to these matters and did not invest much energy on them.
He believed in Cui Changqing’s ability, and the ministers led by him, the Left Prime Minister, would handle his requests well and do a good job of immigration work.
He also believed in Zhou Qing and his Queen. With these two in charge, they could suppress the Jianghu in Chu State and prevent the rebellious elements from causing any waves.
With Cui Changqing handling civilian affairs and Zhou Qing and Lan Cai’er handling martial affairs, the three of them were enough to give Lu Yuan peace of mind about domestic affairs and allow him to focus on the front line.
Therefore, Lu Yuan shifted his focus back to the current warfare.
…
The New Year quickly passed, and time soon arrived in Shenwu Year Five.
As various counties and prefectures were established, Li Xiong, after helping Lu Yuan send the last batch of strong Yi men from Qianzhong County to the front lines, finally completed his mission and was relieved of his post as Director of Conscription, heading to the front lines.
It was because the land of Nong Dong and the four states was divided into Dongxie and Xixie and the remaining part was incorporated into Shou Palace Mansion.
Thus, the original promise to Li Xiong that this territory would be his fiefdom naturally became void.
However, this did not mean that Lu Yuan went back on his word.
When he made the promise to Li Xiong, he said that if this heroic figure from Xichuan could make great contributions in the war of conquest, he would not be stingy with the rewards of half a county or a full county.
Since the conquest began, with the passage of several months, Li Xiong had indeed made great contributions to Lu Yuan.
Not only had he made many achievements in the establishment of Qianzhong County, but he had also helped solve many of the Yi chieftains, nobles, and kings, either by killing them or by scaring them into accepting their fate.
Thanks to Li Xiong’s efforts, there were no major uprisings in Qianzhong County, only small rebel forces of a few dozen or a hundred people.
In addition to these contributions.
Li Xiong, as the Director of Conscription, also did an excellent job in his position.
By the first month of Shenwu Year Five, in just under six months, Li Xiong had recruited a total of ninety thousand strong Yi men from Qianzhong County for Lu Yuan.
This number almost included all Yi men over the age of twelve, all of whom were conscripted and sent to the front lines.
It was precisely because all the men were conscripted that the local Yi people in Qianzhong County had no strength to do anything, and there could be no large-scale rebellion in the area.
These two aspects complemented each other.
Therefore, Li Xiong, who had made such great contributions, deserved great rewards.
As a result, in addition to selecting 30,000 Yi men from the conscriptions by Li Xiong for this great hero as his direct subordinates, Lu Yuan also promised to increase the size of Li Xiong’s fiefdom from two and a half prefectures to four prefectures.
And where was the territory of these four prefectures?
Of course, it was the land to the west of Lu River, which belonged to the core territory under the rule of the Great Changhe state.
…
On the Yuanxiao Festival, Li Xiong finished the last bit of work at Stone City and rushed to the main camp.
After giving him some comfort, Lu Yuan immediately took his hand and climbed the city wall of Anning County together.