xymnovel Chapter 33: Distributing land among families and training soldiers.
Chapter 33: Distributing land among families and training soldiers.
Jiang Ce naturally had ways to deal with such people. If they hadn't committed any crimes, he would at most confiscate some of their property. If they had been oppressing the people all along, then they would naturally be used as scapegoats to divert the people's hatred.
The property and land they left behind should naturally be treated as ownerless public property and disposed of entirely by Jiang Ce.
"Your Highness, this time, after the city fell, tens of thousands of border soldiers surrendered. Why not select the strongest and most capable from among them to join our army, and then distribute money and land to them? This combination of kindness and severity will surely win over the hearts of the people!"
Seeing this, Wei Renpu offered his advice at the opportune moment.
The garrison that had previously occupied the city was mostly composed of former border soldiers, whose fighting prowess was unquestionable.
If there is any drawback, it is that they have lost their former fighting spirit and have become the lackeys of powerful families.
However, this is not a problem.
The majority of Jiang Ce's troops are former border soldiers from Laizhou. With their guidance, these soldiers who have lost their fighting spirit can regain their original confidence and fighting spirit.
Now that Changyang City has fallen, the only remaining rebel forces in Laiyang County are the mountain bandits and outlaws. These people are a motley crew, and when they hear that Changyang has been captured by Jiang Ce, they have no courage to fight.
It will probably take only a few months for the entire Laiyang to be completely recovered.
Wei Renpu believed that the prince's ambitions went far beyond this, and he would definitely take this opportunity to expand his territory, making the expansion of his military forces an inevitable move.
In that case, it would be better to take the initiative to recruit these surrendered border soldiers, train and reorganize them, and in the future they will become the most loyal core force under Jiang Ce.
Wei Renpu had long planned to make these people serve him wholeheartedly. From the moment they chose to desert, their heads were no longer on their heads.
Only by joining the Prince of Laiyang could they absolve themselves of their crimes and return to the ranks of the border army, no longer becoming lackeys of powerful clans.
After all, nobody wants to be someone else's dog instead of a perfectly good person.
Moreover, His Highness will not only pardon their crimes, but also give them real money and land to live on. With such a combination of kindness and severity, how could they not be willing to fight to the death for His Highness?
"Mr. Wei, that's true, but where do we have any extra land to distribute right now?" Mu Yu frowned, his face full of difficulty.
It's one thing to divide the money; this is all windfall wealth that came out of nowhere. Even if it hurts, it's fine to use a portion to win people's hearts, and it can also be used to expand His Highness's reputation.
But land is different; it's the foundation upon which a power depends for its survival, and it's truly of utmost importance.
They had only recently captured the city and had no surplus land, so such a promise was simply impossible to fulfill.
"Fields? As far as the eye can see in this city, there are only fields left unclaimed."
No sooner had Wei Renpu finished speaking than Jiang Ce understood his meaning and immediately ordered in a deep voice, "Mr. Wei, I will trouble you to personally oversee this matter. Quickly compile a list of all the people and land in the city and re-register it in the name of the Prince of Laiyang. There must be no mistakes!"
Jiang Ce carries the imperial legacy of Emperor Taizong of Tang, and has already personally experienced Emperor Taizong's magnificent journey of conquering the world through his military exploits.
Even though he had not yet fully grasped Li Er's political maneuvering, he instantly understood the deeper meaning behind Wei Renpu's words.
The city's wealth was mostly controlled by powerful and influential families, and their vast farmlands were their core assets.
Previously, Wang Guodong had eliminated many powerful landlords, so why would he lack unclaimed land now?
Jiang Ce even secretly decided that he would also take over the large tracts of land left behind by the powerful families who had long since fled to other counties, treating them as unclaimed land.
This time, he re-established the land register in the name of the Prince of Laiyang, precisely to rightfully hold these lands in his own hands.
In the future, even if those fugitive powerful figures manage to return by chance, holding the land deeds of the Cangming Dynasty and demanding their property from him, Jiang Ce can ignore them completely, because he is the King of Laiyang, and the entire Laiyang is his fiefdom.
These lands naturally belong to him.
These guys are using credentials from the imperial court to threaten him, the Prince of Laiyang. Isn't that like an old man hanging himself because he's tired of living?
"Your Highness, rest assured, Renpu will definitely handle this matter within three days!"
Wei Renpu confidently accepted the order.
He knew in his heart that if he were to measure each piece of land and meticulously investigate ownership, it would take several months to be considered fast.
However, their actions were not for precise measurement, but simply to replace the old land deeds issued by the Cangming Dynasty with new deeds issued by the Laiyang Prince's Mansion.
This move not only stabilizes public sentiment but also solidifies land ownership, thus providing a convenient and efficient method.
"Qingzhi, the matter of reorganizing the surrendered soldiers is entirely entrusted to you. You should know what to do," Jiang Ce said to Chen Yun in a deep voice.
As a renowned general of the border army, Chen Yun's father had served as the Tiger General of the border army. With him around, it was believed that these border soldiers who had lost their fighting spirit would be able to regain their honor.
"This humble general obeys the order and will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust this time!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yun immediately knelt on one knee, solemnly agreed, nodded to accept the order, and turned to prepare for the reorganization.
"System, begin the inventory."
After finishing some miscellaneous tasks, Jiang Ce immediately issued instructions to the system.
Okay, let's begin the inventory...
[Ding dong, in this Battle of Changyang, the host's side killed more than 6,000 enemies and captured more than 13,000 enemies. They also killed one Heaven-level general, six Super First-class martial artists, eleven First-class martial artists, and twenty-five people below Black Iron level. Therefore, a total of 585 summoning points were obtained.]
The current host possesses: two random summoning cards, one gold summoning card, one gold martial arts summoning card, three silver martial arts summoning cards, one silver intelligence summoning card, and 2836 summoning points.
Although he already had quite a few summoning cards, Jiang Ce still didn't plan to use them, because he wanted to wait until he unified Laiyang before using them in batches.
As the saying goes, good steel should be used where it's needed most.
That's the situation right now.
…………
After the Laiyang army captured Changyang, Jiang Ce did not take any further action, but instead focused on developing people's livelihoods and stabilizing the current situation.
After all, he had already eliminated the strongest forces, and what remained were just ordinary noble families, mountain bandits, and outlaws who controlled the cities, and their armies were not very strong.
Ten days later, Chen Yun had completed the incorporation of the surrendered soldiers. The more than 10,000 surrendered troops were completely scattered among the army and began to adapt to the new environment.