"Young Master, Third Young Master." As soon as Xu Hongyu stepped into the restaurant, he heard a joyful shout.
That’s right, the person who could call him that was none other than his follower Xu Xiaoqi, who ran over quickly.
"Xiaoqi!" Xu Hongyu was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. He took two steps forward and picked up Xu Xiaoqi who was standing in front of him.
Xu Xiaoqi was already a junior officer and was no longer Xu Hongyu's servant in name. Although he still regarded Xu Hongyu as his young master, Xu Hongyu regarded him as a comrade.
The third young master's bear hug stunned Xu Xiaoqi, and when he put him down, he just kept giggling.
"When did you come back?" Xu Hongyu knew that Xu Xiaoqi had a mission to escort a group of prisoners to Mekong Province.
Xu Xiaoqi scratched his head and said, "I came back yesterday and wanted to see the young master, but you know the military rules, you can't rely on the military camp."
The She'an Rebellion in history was not quelled for a long time, and one of the main reasons was the Ming Dynasty's old tactics. For example, Wang Sanshan was lured into an ambush and killed because he trusted the local officials too much.
The emperor changed his previous fighting style. The front-line officers and soldiers did not use local soldiers. Except for Qin Liangyu's troops, basically all the troops to suppress the rebellion were Ming troops.
Not only was the front line filled with Ming troops, but unrelated barracks were not allowed to move around freely, and ordinary civilians were isolated from the battlefield.
Doing so would prevent the leakage of military intelligence to the greatest extent possible, making it impossible for the rebels to know in which direction the main force of the Ming army was and where they would launch the main attack.
The emperor's intention was very clear. He wanted to use the suppression of the She'an Rebellion to train a strong army for jungle and mountain warfare, to deter other chieftains, and to completely transform the territories of rebellious chieftains such as Shuixi into commoners.
Using chieftains to fight chieftains can certainly save the court's expenses and mobilize fewer court troops.
But similar to the Bozhou Rebellion, if you don't reward people who have contributed troops and manpower, it will increase the number of resentful chieftains and add many unstable factors.
There has to be a reward for every effort, whether it's from the chieftains or the imperial court. A large sum of money was spent on replacing a large number of weapons and equipment. Although the investment was huge in the short term, in the long run, it would benefit the imperial court more than it would harm.
At the time, the Ming Dynasty's military power had declined, and apart from the border troops, it had no capable troops. When the Japanese pirates rebelled, they had already exposed the weakness of the southern army.
Later, with the help of generals like Grandpa Qi who rebuilt the army, the army regained some momentum. However, after these generals passed away, without the training of war, the combat effectiveness of the mainland army began to decline rapidly again.
The emperor did not want to just maintain his power; he wanted external expansion. Liaodong and the southwest were the best battlefields for training two powerful armies in the north and south.
That is why the emperor spared no effort in investing, and his goal will be achieved soon.
The master-servant encounter was merely a minor incident. Both soldiers, with their often forthright natures, they quickly became acquainted. They joined two tables together and ordered food and wine; men develop bonds most quickly over food and drink.
"You just came back yesterday?" Xu Hongyu put down his wine glass, remembered something, looked at Xu Xiaoqi and asked, "What took you so long?"
Xu Xiaoqi quickly replied, "People from Guangxi have also moved to Mekong Province. The government was worried something might happen to them, so they sent us on two more trips."
"Prisoners of war? Or volunteers?" Samabuda asked casually, "Is Mekong Province a poor and remote place, or a prosperous one?"
"Of course it's a rich place." Xu Xiaoqi said confidently, "Rice is harvested three times a year there, and there's so much food that we can't even eat it all. A lot of the military rations we eat are shipped from there."
"Champa rice." Xu Hongyu, who knew a bit about it, told Shamabuddha, "The Champa rice that's been grown in the south since the Song Dynasty comes from there. In Guangdong and Guangxi, it can be harvested two or three times a year."
If we only harvest two or three times a year, we really won’t be able to eat it all.
Shamabuddha nodded and said with some excitement, "I was a little moved at first, but I was afraid it was fake. Now I know that place is good."
"You want to go?" Xu Hongyu raised an eyebrow in speculation and said, "It's easy. Once the rebellion is quelled, you can apply to be transferred to Mekong Province."
There are two places in the Ming Dynasty that need both civilians and soldiers: one is the Dongfan, mainly targeting the coastal areas of Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang; the other is the Mekong Province, mainly targeting Guangdong, Guangxi and the southwestern provinces.
The reconstruction of Liaodong also requires the people to fill in, but according to the plan, it will take at least a year of recovery before large-scale migration will be encouraged to reduce the investment in grain transportation.
The people of Shandong, Northern Zhili, and Henan will be the main population sent to Liaodong. In the northwest, it will be Sichuan, Qinghai, and the Hetao area.
There are too many people and too little land. Then we can divert the population and develop the land. This is also the main means to survive major disasters.
The northern region was particularly hard hit, but the population was still quite large.
However, historical data shows that disasters lasted for a long time and were not confined to any one province. In other words, each province had years when the disaster was less severe, giving it time to breathe.
Of course, Xu Hongyu and the others didn't think that far ahead. But as soldiers, they didn't want to just sit back and relax after suppressing the rebellion.
Especially for officers and soldiers like Shamabuddha who came from poor backgrounds, military pay was much better than farming. It also provided a guaranteed harvest regardless of drought or flood, enough to support a family.
"Mekong Province is still developing, and the wars with those barbarians are small-scale, but very frequent." Xu Xiaoqi explained: "Of course, the barbarians are not resistant to attack. I heard from the navy at the port that a few hundred people can defeat thousands of them."
Xu Hongyu chuckled and said, "The navy is quite boastful. But if it comes to fighting on land, I'd say we're still the better fighters."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Putting aside other considerations, the Ming army's current equipment and firepower already gave them a clear advantage against the She'an rebels, not to mention the overseas barbarians.
Xu Xiaoqi hesitated for a while, and after eating and drinking for a while, he seemed to have made up his mind and said to Xu Hongyu: "Master, I want to go to Mekong Province. I hope you can-"
Xu Hongyu glared and said unhappily, "What do you mean by 'young master' or 'young master'? I've told you countless times that we are comrades-in-arms. You are an officer now, not my servant. You can go wherever you want."
As he spoke, he raised his glass and said to Xu Xiaoqi, "Going to Mekong Province is great, I support it. I heard that when you get there, you'll not only be given land, but you can also marry a wife!"
Everyone burst into laughter, making Xu Xiaoqi blush, as if that was what he was going for.
Shamabuda patted Xu Xiaoqi's shoulder vigorously and said with a smile, "I'll go too, just for the food that can be harvested three times a year."
Xu Hongyu heard the sound outside, turned his head and looked through the window, blinking slowly, looking thoughtful.
Across from the restaurant, a businessman with a few assistants was recruiting ordinary people. From the large words on the paper, it was clear that they were immigrants to Mekong Province, and the conditions were very generous.
Mekong Province's reputation has spread, and it's a good choice for poor landless people. This seemingly Han Chinese merchant might actually be a local chieftain, or someone trying to make a killing.
That’s right, some chieftains have already taken action to seek local official positions for their sons and nephews.
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