Chapter 18, Part 2: Promises of Land Reclamation
Liu Kun's request to the court—"To the current Minister, I request five million bushels of grain, five million bolts of silk, and five million catties of cotton from this prefecture"—finally received a response, and the court, controlled by Sima Yue, readily agreed. However, as the father and son had predicted, the court ignored Liu Kun's demands for troops and manpower.
Liu Kun said with a wry smile, "I'm afraid we can't count on the imperial court."
Liu Jun, who had been used to being alone in his previous life, was not disappointed. “I was reading history a few days ago and came across the line, ‘The common people were spared from the Warring States period and met a wise emperor. Everyone thought they could be reborn.’ If we can be self-reliant in a country that is at war with four sides, wouldn’t my father’s achievements far surpass those of the ancients?”
Liu Kun smiled and began to plan how to dispose of the silk and cotton sent by the imperial court.
Liu Jun looked at him quietly, a trace of worry in his heart—his father, though an unparalleled hero, had been living a life of luxury and extravagance since childhood, and in his youth he had spent time with Shi Chong and others in the Golden Valley Garden, and was most fond of sensual pleasures.
He is still able to work hard to improve the situation now, but will he revert to his old ways once things get better?
Liu Jun was not confident, so he spoke slowly, "I have something to say, though it is short-sighted and ignorant, it comes from the bottom of my heart, please listen to it, Father."
Seeing his seriousness, Liu Kun sat up straight as well.
"To resist foreign aggression, we must have strong armor and weapons. To have strong and powerful troops, we must win the support of the people. To attract those near and far, we must persuade them not only of righteousness but also of profit. Cao Cao emulated Qin's strategy of 'using agriculture to conquer the world' and Emperor Wu's strategy of establishing military farms to pacify the Western Regions,' which enabled him to pacify the north and contend for the world. Therefore, I humbly request that Father measure the unclaimed wasteland, inspect the soldiers, establish military farms, recruit displaced people, increase the number of registered households, encourage agriculture and sericulture, and reduce taxes and corvée labor. Only in this way can we ensure the people's peace, sufficient food, and a strong army."
Liu Kun's greatest weakness was that he was easily swayed by advice, and his greatest strength was that he was good at accepting advice. Moreover, he always thought his eldest son was intelligent and that everything he said made sense. Hearing this, he nodded repeatedly and immediately asked his advisors for help. Then he sighed and said, "It's a pity that Tai Zhen is not here, otherwise he could be of great help to me."
Not only him, but even Liu Jun regretted recommending Wen Qiao to Sima Ye back then.
"Now is the time when we need manpower. If Father is reluctant to part with him, why not write a letter to the King of Qin and ask him to part with his man?"
Liu Kun waved his hand, "Forget it, it's better to stay in Luoyang than to suffer with us here. For now, you and your brother should work hard. Once things are more stable, we can ask the rest of our nephews and nieces to come and help."
Liu Jun had thought that Liu Kun would assign him the task of pacifying the refugees as before, but to his surprise, Liu Kun entrusted him with the task of military farming instead of Liu Zun, who had been in the army for many years.
Liu Kun's reply was quite insightful: "Although Bingzhou is on the frontier, it is actually close to the capital. It connects to Henan in the south, Siji in the east, defends against foreign customs in the north, and guards against powerful barbarians in the west. Now the Xiongnu and Jie are strong, while we are weak. Only by borrowing their strength can we gain a moment's respite. Therefore, we need someone to negotiate with the Hu people. Your brother is good at socializing and enjoys talking, so this task is most suitable for him."
Liu Jun recalled that Liu Zun had a pleasant conversation with the Youzhou cavalry, and also thought of Liu Kun's recent frequent interactions with the Xianbei tribes. He couldn't help but feel deeply impressed, but he also began to worry that he was still young and didn't know if he could control these newly recruited soldiers.
“Sang Hongyang served Emperor Wu of Han at the age of thirteen, and Gan Luo became a high-ranking official at the age of twelve. How is my son any less capable than them?”
Parents everywhere think their children are exceptionally talented, and Liu Kun is no exception. Over the years, he has often talked about Liu Jun's precociousness and filial piety. Liu Jun has gone from being embarrassed at first to gradually becoming numb. When he hears such a nauseating comparison, he just purses his lips and says, "Then please come to the military camp and share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers."
The art of governing an army has existed since ancient times, and Liu Kun readily agreed. He only assigned three or four of his personal guards, along with Lu Jing, to be under Liu Jun's control from then on.
Considering that most of the soldiers were now refugees, Liu Jun thought for a moment and packed only a few durable cloth clothes and hemp shoes in his baggage. He also did not bring a sword, planning to get one when he arrived at the military camp.
On his first visit to the military camp in his two lifetimes, Liu Jun was even somewhat excited as he recalled the scene of Emperor Taizu governing the army.
But when he actually stood in the dilapidated military camp and looked at the emaciated soldiers, many of whom looked rather wretched, his enthusiasm was instantly extinguished by the cold winter rain.
The soldiers, seeing the fair-skinned and handsome young man in simple clothes, guessed that he must be the son of some noble family, and their eyes instantly filled with vigilance and wariness.
Liu Jun looked at them, lowered his head and pondered for a moment. When he looked up again, he had changed his appearance. Just now he looked like an innocent and naive boy who was unaware of the ways of the world. Now he was an arrogant and dignified young master from a noble family.
"I am Liu Jun, son of Liu Kun, the governor of Bingzhou, and the heir of the Marquis of Guangwu," Liu Jun said loudly. "By order of Your Excellency, from this day forward, I will train and cultivate the land with you all."
"Reclamation?" Not only the common soldiers, but even the family retainers who came with them were astonished.
Liu Jun nodded, “There are still some unclaimed wastelands in the city. When we’re not training, we’ll go and cultivate them. The grain produced will serve as military rations, and any surplus can be exchanged for money. If you have family members, you can also cultivate the land together. The land you get will be calculated based on the number of men you have. If you go out to fight in the future, those with family members can stay and cultivate the land. If you are alone, you can rent out the land you are allocated to others to cultivate.”
"So, does this land belong to us?" one of the bolder individuals asked cautiously.
Liu Jun smiled and said cautiously, "For now, this land still belongs to the imperial court. The farming tools and oxen will also be provided by the imperial court. Three-thirds of the harvested grain will be handed over to the imperial court, and the remaining seven-thirds will be yours. Once you have made meritorious contributions in battle or have been cultivating the land for more than five years, this land will be allocated to you. The specific procedures will be explained by the land official in the next few days."
Seeing that the officers and soldiers were overjoyed, Liu Jun immediately returned to his tent and wrote down in detail the strategy of enforcing the land reclamation plan that he remembered. He also lamented that there were no capable ministers like Zao Zhi and Ren Jun to serve as land officials.
After finishing writing, he suddenly realized that when he was with Liu Kun, he had only agreed to the matter of military farming, but had not given any instructions. It was clear that he had not taken these trivial matters to heart.
Jinyang is now not only destroyed by war, but also only three hundred li away from Liu Yuan, making it extremely precarious. Let alone great talent, Liu Kun had met with all the officials he recruited and felt that few of them were useful. He was afraid that he would have to do many things personally.
He and his retainers squeezed into a large tent. The bed was hard, the air was stuffy, and there was constant snoring. Apart from Liu Qiao, Liu Jun had never experienced such hardship in either of his two lifetimes.
But compared to being a caged bird living a life of luxury, he would rather be a crow braving the wind and rain.
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