Chapter 830: Shu People Fill Hunan

Kuizhou, the eastern section of Wu Gorge — though several months had passed, the traces of war remained clearly visible, the broken fortifications along the banks telling of the cruelty and intensity of the fighting.

It was midwinter. Through the cold mist, a fleet of ships moved down the river on the Yangtze, riding the waves forward. The icy river water slapped against the hulls, lending them speed.

This was a fleet of more than thirty vessels, all official ships. Over the past two months, many ships had shuttled back and forth on the river, but those had all been carrying goods seized by the Han army in Chengdu.

This fleet was different — what it carried was people: the first batch of migrants to leave Shu. Regarding the migration of population, urged on by Liu Chengyou, the Han court had long been prepared. It had been delayed by the Shu unrest, but as the governing order was established and the situation calmed, with the cooperation of the military and civil systems, it was now formally set in motion.

Because of the outward transport of seized goods from Chuanshu, the supply of military and official needs, and now this transfer of people and cargo, the court specially established a new waterway transport office — the Yangtze Fiscal Transport Commission — responsible for all official transport matters on the middle and upper reaches of the river, as well as the management of civilian vessels and **. All ships seized upon entering Shu were transferred to this office. In establishing this post, the court also intended to put the golden waterway of the Yangtze to good use, strengthening the economic ties between Chuanshu and Jinghu.

As for the post of Yangtze Fiscal Commissioner, it was filled by Wei Lin, Deputy Chief Commander of the Jiangling naval forces. Since submitting to the court, he had been diligent and devoted, self-restrained and public-spirited, and was personally appointed by the Son of Heaven. This could be considered a reward for a model of a surrendered official — such a "good minister" was worthy of commendation. For Wei Lin, it meant he had truly made it in the Great Han, with a place for himself within the establishment.

His first important task upon taking office was to arrange the transport of this batch of Shu migrants. Wei Lin personally escorted them, inspecting the waterways and water conditions along the way in preparation for improvements. Back when he had served as a general under Jingnan, even as a naval commander, Wei Lin had never been so conscientious and full of drive. It could only be said that in different environments and positions, a person's performance and bearing were vastly different.

The Shu people Wei Lin escorted belonged to the category of "criminals" — those Shu aristocrats, officials, and powerful wealthy merchants who had been branded criminals by the Han army and whose family properties had been confiscated, numbering over 2,000 people.

According to the original plan, all of these people were to be exiled to the newly taken Longyou and northwestern regions, to fill the frontiers, balance the Han and barbarian populations, and strengthen the court's penetration and control of the northwest. Earlier, the Han court had arranged for Shu captives to be sent to Guanzhong as forced laborers, granted land to reclaim, but those fewer than 30,000 people had been quickly absorbed when spread across the vast northwestern region.

The Chuanshu region, especially the Chengdu Plain, had a substantial population — by current national standards, its density was not low. A slight migration to balance the population was still advisable. Moreover, there was indeed a batch of people who could be migrated with just cause.

Originally, the court intended to move them all to the northwest. However, a joint memorial from Jinghu Administration Commissioner Zan Jurun and Inspector Li Tao moved Liu Chengyou.

More than two years had passed since the court had taken Jinghu. The three prefectures of the former Nanping had suffered little loss and quickly returned to order. With the abolition of a series of bad policies from the time of the Gao clan's rule, and the advantage of being a transportation hub, they had even achieved further development.

Hunan was a different matter. Years of constant warfare had left the people's livelihood in ruin, with devastation everywhere. Zhou Xingfeng's militarism had inflicted severe damage. Two years had passed, and while the people's livelihood was trending toward stability, the farmland and tax revenues had still not seen major recovery. Moreover, the need to supply the garrison troops consumed additional manpower and resources.

Jinghu Administration Commissioner Zan Jurun was a capable official with administrative talent. He was full of enthusiasm for this newly acquired territory, wanting to make great strides and accomplish something. However, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice — tracing the root of the problem, it lay in the population being too small.

The vast region of Hunan had fewer than 500,000 registered adult males, including the Yao and Man peoples who had been brought under control under court policy. And Changsha, the capital, had fewer than 2,000 residents within the city walls (most had been compelled and enticed by Zan Jurun to go reclaim wasteland), with only a little over 20,000 people in the entire prefecture.

How could Zan Jurun not be worried by such a situation? In his view, Hunan had crisscrossing waterways, fertile land, and abundant products. With proper management, it could develop into one of the court's great granaries and key tax territories.

Insufficient population was the greatest constraint on its development. As the chief administrative officer of the Jinghu region, considering that the population of the vast Hunan area could not compare with the original three prefectures of Jingnan — and the gap was considerable — Zan Jurun believed this was severely imbalanced. As early as the beginning of the tenth year of Qianyou, he had intended to migrate people from Jiangling, Xia, and Gui prefectures, planning first to balance the population distribution within Jinghu.

He formulated and issued prefectural and circuit decrees. However, this move met with strong opposition from a group of officials led by Jiangling Prefect Sun Guangxian. Population figures were an important assessment item for the political achievements of Great Han officials — migrating people away was a direct infringement on their interests, so how could they be willing? Although Zan Jurun was the chief officer of the circuit, given the historical issues between Jingnan and Hunan, forcing the Jingnan prefectures to comply was difficult.

After all, the court's establishment of the Jinghu Circuit from Jingnan plus Hunan was itself a temporary measure, for ease of administration. On the other hand, it was also intended to have Jingnan provide financial support to Hunan. But in any case, there was a limit — unless the court issued an edict, using central authority to compel compliance.

And the common people who had lived in the three prefectures for generations were living comfortably and were not tempted at all. Moreover, with the deep attachment to their native soil and reluctance to move, not many were willing to go to Hunan to reclaim wasteland, even with attractive policies. Thus, Zan Jurun's internal migration plan achieved little.

Zan Jurun was angry but helpless. Blocked internally, he turned his gaze outward. But if even internal adjustment was this difficult, how could the governments of other circuits and prefectures cooperate? So he never had an opportunity.

It was not until the court pacified Shu that Zan Jurun suddenly saw hope. He found Li Tao, the former chancellor, and together they submitted a memorial, detailing Hunan's miserable condition and stating the importance of increasing its population, directly targeting the population of Chuanshu. For newly pacified territories, the resistance to moving out captives and population would be relatively smaller. At the same time, he drafted a blueprint for Hunan's development and made a military pledge to the court, guaranteeing he would accomplish his goals.

Liu Chengyou had long had ideas about migrating people from Shu, and Zan Jurun's memorial came at just the right time. Moreover, it directly diverted Liu Chengyou's attention — previously his gaze had been fixed on the northwest, but he suddenly realized that Hunan was also a suitable region for migration, and in terms of resistance to migration, investment, and economic returns, it was far more suitable than the northwest.

So, with a wave of his hand, Liu Chengyou directly approved Zan Jurun's request, migrating people from Chuanshu to fill Hunan. According to the plan, before the spring plowing of the eleventh year of Qianyou, the government would organize the migration of 50,000 Shu people to Hunan — that figure already accounted for one-tenth of the population. The first batch would be selected from those "criminals" in Chengdu, and these people were a "high-quality" batch.

Of course, this did not mean the plan to migrate people to the northwest was shelved — that carried political and military significance, involving long-term plans for the northwest, and could not be abandoned.

It was just that there were better migration targets, including some surrendered Shu soldiers and their families, rebellious powerful families and landlords, and coerced Shu commoners — these people all had some military foundation. The northwest still needed people with a certain capacity for struggle.

Compared to the migrants on the boats behind, confined in the holds like cargo, Wei Lin was naturally far more comfortable — a spacious cabin, warm and cozy silk quilts, a concubine accompanying him, enjoying the scenery along the way, and indulging in tenderness...

"Governor, we're almost at Badong!" Just as he was drinking with his beautiful companion, a subordinate officer reported from outside the cabin door.

Hearing this, Wei Lin draped on an outer robe and walked out. After a look, he immediately gave orders: "Pass the word — dock at Badong for rest, replenish drinking water and food, clean out the filth, and inspect the migrants!"

"Yes!"

Glancing back behind him, Wei Lin sighed and said: "It's cold. Give those boats of scholars some wine and prepare hot water. Scholars, after all — their bodies are weak. Don't let them be jostled into illness..."

Though he was a military man, that did not prevent Wei Lin from admiring men of learning. Among the Shu migrants being moved to Hunan this time, there were a considerable number of Shu literati — after all, they had been part of Shu's upper class, and there was no shortage of great scholars among them.

Among them, from the former chancellor Wu Zhaoyi on down, there were more than twenty families of talented scholars who had held important positions in the Shu court. Wei Lin felt some sympathy for these people. And this migration of Shu people to Hunan was not merely delivering labor and developing the economy — it was also, in a sense, a cultural support. Though that was probably something Liu Chengyou had not anticipated.