[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan":3,"chapter-memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-17":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Memoirs of the Heavenly Khagan",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2311735,4516,"Chapter 17","memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>Jia Sixie finally arrived!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He led the villagers of Taipingzhuang and the followers of Qi Fu Moyu southward, reaching Li Shuang’s estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Jia, you’re finally here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Jia Sixie’s surprise, the first to welcome him was not Li Shuang, but the crude Hou Jing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong with you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing looked disheveled—his clothing and demeanor both carried an inexplicable air of decay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rebellious peasants! These damn rebellious peasants!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing poured out his grievances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing could fight, but managing production and business was not his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In recent days, large numbers of Han refugees had gathered outside the estate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing tried to control them, but they refused to obey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Sixie listened, then burst out laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re using the wrong method.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Method?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You forgot—these people are refugees, not soldiers. You’re managing them like an army—how could chaos not follow?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why you’re the one, Old Jia!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing clapped his hands, overjoyed to the point of tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Say no more—these rebellious peasants are all yours now!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Hou Jing fled as if escaping a plague.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing only wanted to train troops—he had no interest in production or management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After meeting Li Shuang, Jia Sixie quickly began governing Li Shuang’s followers according to his own methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Er Zhu Rong marched south, he seized the entire Si Province and granted Li Shuang vast lands north of the Hutuo River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Sixie sent men to survey the landholdings under Li Shuang’s control, resettling homeless refugees as tenant farmers and allotting them plots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surplus refugee population was settled near the estate to plant orchards, raise bees, cultivate mulberry trees, fire clay for pottery, smelt iron, and spin thread…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Si Province region had always practiced both agriculture and pastoralism under Northern Wei rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Hu pastoralists were settled around the estate’s perimeter to guard animal pens and raise livestock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By winter, order within and around the estate had become perfectly organized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the newly repaired estate, Jia Sixie handed Li Shuang the ledgers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang flipped through them: the estate now housed over thirty thousand tenant farmers, over ten thousand pastoralists, and over five thousand artisans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the animal pens: over seventy thousand cattle and sheep, over six thousand camels and horses, and hundreds of hawks and hunting dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the treasury: over two hundred thousand shi of grain, ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk, a thousand barrels of wine, hundreds of rare treasures, five thousand sets of armor and helmets, over a thousand sets of horse gear, and over thirty thousand various weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, the land of Si Province is not particularly fertile, and the Hutuo River’s flow is not abundant—it easily suffers droughts. To ensure stable grain output, I recommend implementing deep-plowing and moisture-retention methods across the domain, and constructing several small reservoirs and irrigation canals linking the fields, to prepare for emergencies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep-plowing and moisture-retention meant breaking through the compacted “plow pan” formed by shallow tilling, deepening the tillage layer to twenty to thirty centimeters, loosening the soil, increasing its water-holding capacity, reducing evaporation, preserving soil moisture, and ensuring crop hydration during dry seasons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To reduce labor demands, I suggest removing the oxen from the animal pens and distributing them among tenant farmers for plowing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang naturally had no doubt about Jia Sixie’s expertise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even with oxen, implementing deep-plowing and building canals and reservoirs will still require more labor than we have.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Sixie pondered, but for now, he had no other solution—the labor shortage could not be resolved overnight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if labor is scarce, the work must be done—I’ll find a way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jin is already in chaos; Duke of Liangjun (Er Zhu Rong) will inevitably march soon. When we follow him into battle, all agricultural matters must be settled quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Li Shuang picked up a blueprint from his desk and handed it to Jia Sixie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I can’t help you much—take this blueprint and look it over.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Sixie glanced at the blueprint Li Shuang gave him, furrowed his brows, and softly murmured the three large characters on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Curved-plow!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From autumn to winter, Yang Kan and Gao Ang never left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After winter arrived and they saw the orderliness around the estate, they both came voluntarily before Li Shuang, requesting to become his household retainers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You two are scions of noble families—you could easily enter imperial service and have bright futures. Why become my household retainers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tai’an Yang clan and Bohai Gao clan, though not as prestigious as the Four Great Surnames—Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang—were still renowned major clans across the provinces, producing many capable men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang, a former bandit, stood at the bottom of their social hierarchy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Kan bowed and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before coming here, I intended to go to Luoyang and join General Xiao Baoyin. But after arriving and witnessing your actions, I resolved to serve you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My actions?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had anyone else said this, Li Shuang would have thought they were mocking him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, though young and of humble origins, you have built this domain. Your literary and martial talents, your ability to recognize and employ talent, are unmatched in this age. Most importantly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Kan took a deep breath and bowed again:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In you, my lord, I see the hope of Han revival.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was correct—Yang Kan was a staunch Han revivalist!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang felt uncomfortable hearing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though he knew Yang Kan was an honest man who rarely lied, this praise was excessive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not flattering you—I speak from the heart. Since the Yongjia chaos and the Five Barbarians’ rebellion, our Han people have suffered long enough. The Han fear of the Hu has become a terminal illness. Yet you, with impoverished refugees, have slain the cruel Hu wolves—I deeply admire you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang scratched his head and turned to Gao Ang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about you? Do you think the same as Yang Kan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I truly despise the Hu’s behavior, but the main reason I stayed here is because I got into trouble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Ang recounted the full story of being hunted by the Bo Ling Cui clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though the Bo Ling Cui clan’s status doesn’t match the Qinghe Cui clan’s, they’re still one of the top families in Hebei. I can’t return to Tiao County for now, and I don’t want to go to Luoyang. But after meeting you, I still find staying with you interesting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s so interesting about being with me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Like stealing livestock from imperial animal pens, driving refugees to attack aristocratic estates, dismantling imperial garrison structures to rebuild your estate and walls… these treasonous acts are exactly what I wanted to do but never dared to!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, terrified someone might overhear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t blurt out such truths—if the court finds out, you’ll be executed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then will you accept me as your retainer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My military households have grown to six thousand. Besides my core three thousand armored troops and five hundred iron cavalry, I’ll raise another two thousand able-bodied recruits—you each command a thousand-man unit.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Military households differed from tenant farmers and pastoralists—they were entire families dedicated to military service, mainly villagers from Taipingzhuang, a few subdued Hu elite, and bandits from Jin who had surrendered to Li Shuang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1215,"2026-06-20T12:30:56.711Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","58dfc07f5d456fa7d6a9af8ef4f5c6fa4fb20a9e2ea159636ab03e2742bfd83e","memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-18","memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-16",211,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmemoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-cover.jpg"]