Deli had more than 500 households and was a large village east of Jiuyuan City. Guanqiu Jian led 800 cavalrymen to control the roads inside and outside, and Jiang Wei led 200 cavalrymen to follow him inside.
Just like ordinary villages everywhere, when the people of Delhi saw so many cavalry and officials coming, their first reaction was to hide, and only after they found that they were safe would they bravely answer.
It is really an instinctive reaction of fear of the government and the army.
In order to prevent the emperor's fame from frightening the people, Man Chong, who was sturdy, strong and majestic, became the nominal chief of the team.
The plump village head in his sixties hurried to the front of the army, took a look at the appearance of each person, and bowed to Man Chong, who looked the most like a general, and said, "I am Sun Shi, the village head of Delhi. I am here to meet you, general. I wonder what business the general has in bringing his troops here?"
With the experience of searching in Jizhou before, Man Chong looked at the emperor from the side. After Cao Rui nodded slightly to indicate his permission, Man Chong said, "Lizhang Sun, I am leading the troops passing by here today and visiting your Delhi to learn about the customs."
"You don't have to be afraid, just take us for a walk."
Village chief Sun Shi had gray hair, but he was very polite and graceful, without any timidity like other village chiefs. He said with a smile, "General, you are joking. Judging from your bearing and the majesty of these cavalrymen, they must be elite troops. How can a commoner be afraid of the imperial army?"
Cao Rui smiled and said, "You are an extraordinary old man. How come, Village Chief Sun has seen cavalry before?"
Village chief Sun Shi had noticed this man a long time ago. His appearance and demeanor were the best he had ever seen in his life. Although he was wearing a plain robe, the noble aura on his body was as conspicuous as a needle in a bag:
"Hello, sir. I used to be a cavalryman, and my second son also served in the imperial cavalry."
Cao Rui raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Are you also a cavalryman in the army? Where and what is your position?"
Sun Shi seemed to straighten his back a little: "Your Excellency, I once served under General Zhang Wenyuan of Huainan in my early years and was once the cavalry commander. In the 21st year of Jian'an, I returned to my hometown due to illness and it has been 15 years now."
"In the 21st year of Jian'an?" Cao Rui asked, "When Zhang Wenyuan defeated Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu, were you in the army?"
"That's right!" Sun Shi's voice got louder, his eyes lit up, and he patted his chest proudly: "When General Zhang was chasing Sun Quan in the north of Xiaoyaojin, I was a cavalry sergeant and was accompanying the army. I have been back home for fifteen years, and this is the first time I have told anyone about this. How dare you know this!"
Cao Rui nodded, pointed at Sun Shi from his horse and said, "This is a brave warrior of our country!"
"Come here, give him ten pieces of silk."
Village chief Sun Shi, on the other hand, became nervous. He glanced at Man Chong, and then looked around. Seeing that everyone looked very friendly, and unwilling to miss out on the windfall, he bowed and said, "I dare not refuse the gift from the noble. But I don't know who is the lord?"
Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "I am just joining the army. You don't need to ask any more questions."
"Just now you said that your second son is also in the army?"
Sun Shi was more respectful in his greeting, saying, "Your Excellency, my second son is also serving as a cavalry commander in Huainan."
Cao Rui thought for a moment and then asked, "A cavalry Sima with a thousand stones, from Bingzhou, and his surname is Sun. Is your son called Sun Tong?"
Now it was the turn of the village head Sun Shi to be surprised. He looked at Cao Rui in disbelief and even stuttered: "Sir, how come you know Sun Tong?"
Cao Rui chuckled a few times: "The Wei army has 300,000 troops at home and abroad, but only 400 officials with a salary of 1,000 stones, and even fewer cavalry Sima. How could I not know?"
After that, Cao Rui looked at Man Chong and asked, "General Man, do you remember this person?"
The emperor called himself "I", obviously not wanting to reveal his identity, so Man Chong naturally cooperated.
Man Chong smiled and said, "Of course I remember. I know the resume of every military officer above 600 dan in the world."
"Bingzhou has always been famous for its cavalry. Sun Tong is thirty-nine this year, from Bingzhou, and has been in the army for twenty-one years. I met him in the camp of General Zhu Gai in Huainan a few years ago, but I didn't expect to meet his father here today."
"Let's go, Chief Sun. Take me inside to investigate and see how the people are doing."
Sun Shi was full of doubts about the identities of the people in front of him, but after they mentioned his son, he didn't dare to ask any more questions and just agreed.
About half an hour later, Cao Rui and his entourage left Delhi and returned to Jiuyuan City.
Cao Rui said: "The harvest in Bingzhou is not as good as that in Jizhou. The yield from farming is less, but the living expenses are not a problem. I just heard from the people here that the yield in Wuyuan County is much less than here. In the end, they are willing to move inland."
"As an official in the imperial court, if you sit in the court all day and do not understand the people's sentiments, you will not be able to do anything good. The relocation of counties and prefectures is a good thing that will please the local government and the people."
"But for the imperial court and the Great Wei, the disadvantages are obvious."
Sima Yi said, "Your Majesty is right."
"The old counties of Shuofang, Wuyuan, and Yunzhong are located north of the Yellow River and in the grasslands. The conditions there are definitely difficult. If you want the people to be willing to move there, you still have to find a way to make a living."
Cao Rui nodded: "When it comes to livelihood, I can naturally come up with many ways for them. Planting some food crops, grazing, selling sheep and wool, these are all good sources of livelihood."
Sima Yi asked in doubt: "The border counties do buy sheep and horses from the Xianbei and Wuhuan, but how can these Han people do the same?"
Cao Rui said: "Han people are human beings, Wuhuan people are also human beings, why can't they do it? During the strife at the end of the Han Dynasty, weren't there many Han people who fled from Jizhou to Youbing, and to the Wuhuan Xianbei tribe?"
“It’s just that the profit is not enough.”
Sima Yi sighed, "The Wuhuan and Xianbei are already poor enough. If the Han people continue to make a living by selling livestock like them, it will be difficult for them to settle there." Cao Rui nodded, "This is what I said about the use of wool. Why not take the wool and weave it into fabrics and make warm clothes?"
Sima Yi hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, this may be unprecedented. Should we try it out somewhere first?"
Cao Rui said: "Of course we should give it a try, but we can just do a pilot project first, and it is not advisable to roll it out on a large scale."
"Sikong, please think about this for me. When we get to Yanmen, have the governor of Yanmen find a group of Wuhuan people and two thousand people to settle down on the grassland. Half of them will cultivate the land and the other half will raise horses and sheep. The people's food will be provided by the court, and the income will belong to them."
"Let's try it for two years first."
Sima Yi subconsciously thought that this was a whim of the emperor. However, it would only cost a thousand people and would not cost much money, so he agreed very quickly.
Cao Rui seemed to see Sima Yi's carelessness and asked with a smile: "Sikong, do you not quite understand what I mean?"
Sima Yi was stunned for a moment: "I know what your majesty means. You want these two thousand people to be used as a pilot to study how the Han people settle in the ancient counties of Shuofang, Yunzhong, and Wuyuan."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "I think Sikong still doesn't understand very well."
"There are two thousand adult citizens, of which about one thousand are males. This is just the right size for an official with a salary of five hundred stones to govern. This can serve as the basic scale for restoring the old county."
"It's just like setting up a county in a border area."
Sima Yi echoed, "Your Majesty, the two thousand men you mentioned are the number of troops that will be stationed in the border areas in the future?"
"That's right." Cao Rui said, "The settlements are used to accumulate food, the cattle, sheep and horses can be sold to the inland prefectures and counties, and the wool can be used for weaving."
"Sikong, do you know what the problem is?"
Sima Yi was silent for a few moments. "Are we selling cattle, sheep and wool to the interior? Judging from the current situation, the cattle, sheep and wool produced by two thousand people can certainly be purchased."
"But now the states and counties are in a state of disrepair, and the people don't have much money. Even the five-zhu coins are not widely used. If the people of several counties rely on this for their livelihood, I'm afraid they will feel a little embarrassed, and they won't be able to buy enough livestock and wool."
Cao Rui nodded: "Sikong is right."
"If the Han people living on the grasslands are to have a livelihood, cattle, sheep and wool must be sold in the inland prefectures and counties. The inland prefectures and counties must be willing to buy, but they must have the money to buy."
"Let them try it first. If they can succeed, we can let the army buy some wool fabrics as warm clothing, and then slowly promote it to the public."
Sima Yi sighed, "But now the people have no money! Most of the people are bartering, and then exchanging grain for some salt and iron, and there is almost no money left, and the five-zhu coins are not in circulation."
"First, let the people in the inland prefectures and counties have surplus food, so that they can have money to buy things, and the five-zhu coins can be circulated, so that they can buy things produced in the border areas."
Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi and said, "That's right. Sikong is the recorder of the Shangshu affairs, so he should be more professional than me in this matter. So how can we ensure that the people in the inland prefectures and counties have surplus food?"
Sima Yi sighed, "It seems that we still need to reduce taxes. Fifty percent is still too much. If we want to make the Wuzhu coins circulate, we must at least reduce taxes to 40% or less."
Man Chong, who was riding on the emperor's right hand, suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I understand."
Cao Rui turned his head and looked up at Man Chong: "General Man, you have listened all the way. What do you understand now?"
Man Chong said: "The current heavy taxes are still due to the war against Wu and Shu, and the cost of raising and stationing troops in various places."
"If the military pressure is reduced, taxes can be reduced, the people can have money, the five-zhu coins can be circulated, and the people in the border areas can make a living by grazing."
"In the final analysis, it still comes down to military matters!"
Cao Rui sighed and said, "This is exactly the reason. The root of the country's difficulties lies in the military. If Wu and Shu are not destroyed, the people will not become prosperous."
"But if we want to destroy Wu and Shu, the country will have to accumulate wealth, grain will still have to be collected, corvée labor will still have to be assigned, and the people will still have to live a hard life."
"To pacify Wu and destroy Shu as soon as possible is the top priority of Wei."
As they were talking, the cavalry team got closer and closer to Jiuyuan City.
Cao Rui looked at the not-so-grand city not far away and said, "I think it's not difficult to expand the territory. For example, the 20,000 cavalrymen beside me are well-armored and well-trained. How can the Wuhuan and Xianbei resist them? On the contrary, it is much more difficult to defend the territory."
"My lords, I do not want to stay here. I will set out for Yanmen at noon tomorrow. To be honest, I have never been to such a northern place."
Everyone responded in unison.
Tian Yu said, "I have already prepared a residence for Your Majesty in Guangwu City. Although it is not as spacious and clean as the palace, it is much better than Jiuyuan City."
Cao Rui nodded: "Okay, then I will go to the battlefield where you defeated the Xianbei in the past." (End of this chapter)
