Chapter 413: Migration to the Counties
After leaving Jingxing and passing Yuci, what came into Cao Rui's sight was the famous city of Jinyang, which was surrounded by mountains and rivers.
If you go further north from Jinyang and pass Xinxing County, you will arrive at Guangwu City in Yanmen County.
Tian Yu had been guarding the northern border for many years. Now that the emperor was going to personally tour his jurisdiction in the north, he did not dare to be negligent at all. He even went hundreds of miles south from Guangwu City to Jiuyuan County in Xinxing County to wait for the emperor.
On March 6, Cao Rui led his army to the outskirts of Jiuyuan County. When he met Tian Yu, the first words he said were beyond Tian Yu's expectations.
"Why does Mr. Tian's appearance differ from what I expected?" Cao Rui dismounted from his horse and helped Tian Yu, who was kneeling on the side of the road, up, and said with a smile.
It is now the fourth year of Taihe, but Tian Yu has never paid an audience with His Majesty. He is truly filled with fear and nervousness.
Although Tian Yu was promoted from the commander of the Protector of Wuhuan to the general of the Protector of Wuhuan for his meritorious service in defeating Kebi Neng at Yanmen and Pingcheng in the war against Xianbei in the first year of Taihe, he was still not very calm in front of the emperor.
Tian Yu cupped his hands and said, "I have always looked like this since I was crowned, but I have aged year by year and no longer look like the portraits I used to look like."
Cao Rui said: "It's okay to be older. Everyone gets older. It's just that General Tian is too thin."
"Get on your horse and follow me into the city."
"As you wish." Tian Yu responded with a bow.
As it was not yet noon when they entered the city, Cao Rui, with Guanqiu Jian's 1,000 cavalrymen, and Sima Yi, Man Chong, Tian Yu, Xu Shu, and Lu Yu, set out from the east gate of Jiuyuan City, intending to visit some local villagers and have some fun.
From Yecheng to Jiuyuan, Cao Rui would take people to visit the countryside every few days. On the one hand, he wanted to see the people's livelihood, on the other hand, he wanted to inquire about customs and see more cultural landscapes that were different from those in Luoyang and Yecheng.
Along the way, Cao Rui felt deeply touched.
In fact, the people's wealth and living conditions have little to do with agricultural technology, the times, or anything else.
The greatest impacts on people's lives are the imperial court and war.
The more taxes the court levied, the more the people suffered. During the reign of Emperor Ling, the tax was levied more than ten times a year, but now it has disappeared in the Wei Dynasty.
Henan has many people who live in the military farms, so the overall tax rate is between 40% and 50%, and is moving towards 40%. Hebei has more registered residents, so the tax rate is basically maintained at 40%.
Even with a 40% tax collection, the people were still able to survive and even have some food in stock, which was a great improvement compared to earlier years.
Since ancient times, the people of this vast land have always been resilient. But this is definitely not a reason for the rulers to wantonly exploit the people. Emperor Ling, who insisted on "making the people suffer" and enjoyed himself, has long been swept into the garbage heap of history.
It is easy for the imperial court to collect taxes, but it is more troublesome when encountering war.
Even from a higher perspective, the overall tax rate of around 40% in Hebei Province of the Wei Dynasty was caused by the continuation of military disasters at the end of the Han Dynasty and the unsettled war between Wu and Shu.
For Cao Rui, visiting the people was a simple task.
Asking about the surname and taxes, checking the grain reserves at home, and then rewarding a few pieces of cloth as a grace has become a fixed procedure.
They all went out of the east gate together. Tian Yu rode on his horse and stood behind the emperor. He clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I heard from the magistrate of Jiuyuan County that there is a place called 'Deli' fifteen miles northwest of the city. We can go there to make inquiries and investigate."
Cao Rui laughed in silence: "Delhi? Why is it named like this?"
As soon as the words came out, Cao Rui also smiled and waved his hand: "It's okay, a gentleman is virtuous, Deli is a good name."
"I remember that Lü Bu Lü Fengxian of the late Han Dynasty was from Jiuyuan, right?"
Sima Yi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Lü Bu is indeed from Jiuyuan, but he is from Jiuyuan County in Wuyuan Commandery, not Jiuyuan County in Xinxing Commandery."
Cao Rui asked curiously, "I have paid less attention to these counties in Bingzhou. Could it be that there are two Jiuyuan counties?"
Sima Yi nodded: "There really are two Jiuyuan counties."
Man Chong smiled and said, "The migration of counties has existed since the Later Han Dynasty. It's not surprising."
Cao Rui ignored Man Chong and asked Sima Yi, "The counties were moved inward? I vaguely remember that when we were marching in Guanzhong, Beidi County was moved inward to the edge of Fengling County, right?"
Sima Yi saluted and said, "Your Majesty is wise. This is a long story. It all started with the Qiang Rebellion in Liang Province in the early years."
Cao Rui replied, "I and the other ministers are on a military expedition, and we have no trivial matters to attend to, so the last thing we lack is time."
"Sir, please tell me. I am listening." "As you wish." Sima Yi said with a folded hand. "During the Later Han Dynasty, the rebellion of the Qiang people in Liangzhou was difficult to control. After the Qiang people were suppressed, they would come back again. After the Qiang people became strong, most of the chief officials of the counties and prefectures in Liangzhou were from Henan and the interior of the country. They often had no intention of defending the city. Therefore, I requested the court to allow the counties and prefectures to move inland."
"I have carefully read the archives in Luoyang before. I vaguely remember that during the first Qiang Rebellion, people from Longxi County moved to Xiangwu, people from Anding County moved to Meiyang, and people from Beidi County moved to Chiyang... There are many such cases."
Cao Rui sighed, "If the officials cannot defend the city, they can bring all the officials in the city to ask for the court's grace and move the names of the entire county to the interior. In the long run, who will be willing to defend the city for the Han Dynasty against the Qiang people?"
"This is why I often have to reduce the number of people from Sili, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, and Jizhou serving as officials."
"Let's take Liangzhou as an example. In the past, when we were in Longyou, Jiang Boyue told me about an incident in which he said that Ma Zun, the governor of Tianshui, was suspected of abandoning the city, but he unexpectedly increased the military strength of Shanggui and even got credit for it."
"Ma Zun is from Xiangyang. What does the life and death of Longyou have to do with him? The worst that can happen is that he can just resign and leave this position, right?"
Sima Yi nodded: "Your Majesty is right."
"Since the bad start during the Yongchu period, things have gotten out of control. Counties and prefectures have repeatedly moved inland, and then moved back out again when the situation stabilized."
"This has been repeated over and over again, and I don't know how much money has been wasted."
Cao Rui said thoughtfully: "Then the Beidi County I just mentioned has also been moved many times, right?"
Sima Yi said: "That's right. The last time Beidi County moved inland was after Han Sui and Bian Zhang rebelled during the Zhongping period."
Cao Rui sighed, "Then when did you and I move to Jiuyuan County?"
Sima Yi replied: "They migrated here in the 20th year of Jian'an."
"Your Majesty, the court made this decision at that time because the people in the border areas of Bingzhou were sparsely populated and were repeatedly bullied by foreign races, so they moved inland to seek stability."
"The four prefectures of Yunzhong, Dingxiang, Wuyuan and Shuofang were abolished, and a new prefecture was established between Yanmen and Taiyuan. The people of each of these four prefectures lived in one county."
Cao Rui sighed, "From my point of view, this is a last resort. But since it was done by Emperor Wu, I understand it a little."
Man Chong nodded slightly as he followed beside him, but he felt in his heart that His Majesty must be blaming Emperor Wu at this moment.
That’s right, this is what Cao Rui really thought at this time.
Relocating people was a political tactic that Cao Cao was accustomed to using.
As early as the 13th year of Jian'an, after the Battle of Red Cliff, all the people of Jingzhou near Xiangyang and Fancheng were relocated to Nanyang. Among them were the young Deng Ai and Deng Shizai.
In Huainan, Cao Cao's two relocations resulted in an uninhabited area stretching hundreds of miles between the Yangtze River and the Huai River.
In Longyou, Cao Cao moved the people of Wudu and Hanzhong to Guanzhong, creating an uninhabited area.
Cao Rui sighed and looked at the ministers around him: "The territory north of Yongliang and Bingzhou is much smaller than when the Han Dynasty was at its peak."
"Moving the counties inland is one solution, but it can only be a temporary solution and cannot solve the long-term disaster."
"Do you have any way to teach me?"
Speaking of military affairs, Man Chong naturally had something to say: "Your Majesty, we should try to do this after this war. I don't think the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes would dare to oppose the Wei Dynasty."
Cao Rui glanced at Man Chong and said, "It's not a matter of whether the foreign races oppose or not. The essence of this matter is a problem of the border system."
"General Man, I want to ask you, if you were a farmer in Bingzhou, and the court now called on you to move back to your hometown in Yunzhong County, what would you think?"
Man Chong was silent for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if I were in this position, I would think about food, clothing and stability."
Cao Rui nodded slightly: "The general direction is correct. General Man, think about it, food and clothing can be obtained through labor, but how can we achieve a stable life and avoid foreign invasions?"
Man Chong was silent for a long time and was speechless for a while.
Cao Rui said: "I have a rough answer in my mind. I will explain it to you after I come out of Delhi with you."
(End of this chapter)
