Chapter 293: Finding a Way for the People of Liangzhou to Survive

Zhang Zhao rode with several horsemen along the mountain road south of Guzang, with Guo Tiance, Zhebu Jiashi, Chen Nianban, and others following behind him.

The six river valleys south of Guzang and in the neighboring counties of Tianzhu and Gulang were the territory of the six Wenmo tribes.

And Zhang Zhao finally understood why the Wenmo were so desperate to enter Liangzhou: nearly two hundred thousand Wenmo people were crammed into this stretch of valley, which was fairly prosperous but not large.

If the Han people of Liangzhou lived hard lives, then many of the Wenmo common folk were living in hell itself.

No wonder so many of them were endlessly grateful when Zhang Zhao conscripted them to repair the city walls in exchange for three meals a day.

Because these conscripted able-bodied men lived worse than pigs and dogs among the six Wenmo tribes. Never mind three meals a day — even one meal a day was not guaranteed to fill their stomachs.

All of Liangzhou, after more than a hundred years of Tibetan rule, had become desperately poor.

This also presented Zhang Zhao with a problem that urgently needed solving: he wanted the name "six Wenmo tribes" to disappear completely, and to pull these people back into the identity of descendants of the Hexi and Longyou.

The first thing to do was to solve the food problem for the two hundred thousand people of the six Wenmo tribes.

If they were left to keep scraping by in this half-human, half-ghost existence, then talk of being sons of Tang and the glory of returning east was still far too distant.

When people cannot eat their fill and live constantly on the edge of starvation, who can be bothered with anything else?

What comforted Zhang Zhao, however, was that although Liangzhou was poor, its poverty was not because it lacked land, nor because its output was meager.

It was simply because after the Tibetans took control of the region, they cut off the trade routes of the Hexi Corridor, and the long back-and-forth fighting between the Tang and the Tibetans had impoverished Liangzhou.

This could be seen from the administrative divisions: the present Liangzhou governed only the two counties of Guzang and Shenniao.

But in Tang times, Liangzhou had governed five counties — besides Guzang and Shenniao, there were also Fanhe, Jialin, and Changsong.

And the lands of those three counties were now essentially overgrown and abandoned, with not one in ten of their people left alive.

As for the greatest cause of the desolation, it was not entirely war, but a reason Zhang Zhao had never imagined: no one knew how to farm.

Before this, Zhang Zhao had never considered that farming was actually a skilled craft in ancient times — a craft requiring a very high level of expertise.

It is not as if picking up a hoe today and hacking at the ground a couple of times means you know how to farm, means you know how to cultivate — in fact, as for.

For the Wenmo people, accustomed to a semi-nomadic life, their farming skills were extremely poor.

Take, for example, the small town Zhang Zhao had just arrived at: the slightest bit of snow or drought could cause them to lose their entire year's investment in farming.

This reminded Zhang Zhao of the Eight Strategies for Settling Liangzhou that Pei Yuan had left him when he departed, the most important of which was to conscript able-bodied men, organize the people to restore production, and build irrigation works.

It seemed Pei Yuan had seen things clearly: Liangzhou was no longer the Liangzhou of the Great Tang.

The richest land in the Liangzhou region now amounted to no more than three hundred thousand-odd mu outside Liangzhou city.

Yet clearly in the Great Tang era, Liangzhou city could not have had only three hundred thousand-odd mu of land.

The rest of that land had all fallen into ruin over years of warfare and after the mass flight of Liangzhou's Han people to Guazhou and Shazhou.

Once those Han farmers who truly knew how to work the land had left, the surviving Han people sank into becoming Wenmo, and naturally lost any desire to study farming.

Why farm at all? Wait for the harvest only to have it stolen? Better to practice with spear and staff and go rob other people's grain.

Driven by this atmosphere, farming quickly became a business that was guaranteed to lose money and was looked down upon.

What followed was that farming techniques quickly ceased to be passed down, irrigation works disappeared entirely, and the productive capacity of the whole region hurtled backward.

And the one prosperous area that the remaining Liangzhou Han who could still farm a little had painstakingly cultivated became a prize coveted by the six Wenmo tribes.

"Ah! The people's livelihood is so hard! I truly do not know how the officials in Liangzhou city could sleep at night."

Zhang Zhao turned around and sighed to Chen Nianban, Zhebu Jiashi, and Guo Tiance beside him.

"I had originally planned to immediately draw troops and crush the Ganzhou Uyghurs this winter, but seeing how hard the people's livelihood in Liangzhou is, I will first find a path to survival for the two hundred thousand people of this land before anything else!"

"Adjutant Guo, you and Granary Adjutant Zhu Qingquan should immediately take stock of the granaries and tally how much money and grain we currently have left."

"If the grain is not enough, then spend money to buy it in Lanzhou, in Lingzhou, or even in the territory of the Ganzhou Uyghurs."

"The autumn harvest has just finished, so grain prices are lower than in spring, and the able-bodied men of every tribe and household have little to do — therefore I intend to undertake two great tasks!"

Guo Tiance was briefly taken aback. He knew Zhang Zhao was not short of money, but he also understood that this money belonged to the Guiyi Army, that it could not simply be taken out on a whim, and that if it were handed over too easily, how would anyone value it?

So he did not immediately step forward to acknowledge the order, but instead said with a troubled expression: "Reporting to the Military Governor, the Military Governor's office does indeed have some money and grain, but it has all been set aside for retaking Ganzhou and for the return east to the homeland!"

"The soldiers have not been given rewards for a long time. If we use this money and grain now, I fear the men's hearts will be unsettled."

Zhang Zhao nodded, showing that he understood the current situation, but then his tone shifted, and with a sweep of his right hand he said firmly:

"If the officers and soldiers have grievances, that is only natural, and I will go and soothe them myself. But in the present circumstances, if we cannot all pull together with one heart, how can we speak of making Liangzhou prosper?"

"How can we stand by and watch the people of the six tribes keep struggling in hunger? They are all our compatriots! Do not worry about that side of things — just tally the money and grain as quickly as possible!"

Zhebu Jiashi still did not quite understand what Zhang Zhao intended, but Chen Nianban grasped it quickly. He clasped his hands and tears streamed down his face.

"The state abandoned us in this place for a hundred and fifty years. It was only by the Grand Guardian's divine might that the Tibetans were driven out, yet the court still treats us as pig-and-dog barbarians. If any Military Governor had ever cared about the suffering of our six tribes' people the way you do, Military Governor, Hexi and Longyou would long since have become the court's happy land!"

With that, Chen Nianban looked at Zhang Zhao fervently. "Does the Military Governor wish to restore the fields that Liangzhou once cultivated, and by the way open up the wasteland into good farmland?"

Zhang Zhao nodded. "Correct! That is exactly what I intend. Not only to open up wasteland into good farmland — where the land was originally good farmland and has now gone to waste, we must also find a way to restore it."

"Liangzhou stretches for several dozen li around. In the Great Tang era it was one of the richest places in all of Hexi — how could it possibly have only three hundred thousand-odd mu of farmland?"

"Now two hundred thousand people of the six tribes are crammed into this tiny patch of land, living off just six river valleys. This cannot last!"

"Therefore I have decided to restore the three counties of Jialin, Fanhe, and Changsong as well, and additionally to establish a new Minqin County between the Macheng River and Baiting Lake."

"I have looked over the household registers, maps, and documents left by the Hexi Military Governor's office. If we can restore these three counties, plus the new Minqin County, we can add more than two million mu of good farmland."

"With over two million mu of land, we people of Liangzhou will have no worries about food and clothing."

"Besides restoring land and opening up wasteland, I have also decided to repair and renew the roads from Liangzhou to all directions."

"In particular, the road west to Shandan and Ganzhou, and the road southeast through Pipa Mountain to Liangzhou, have fallen into disrepair over the years and must be repaired and widened."

Hearing Zhang Zhao say this, Chen Nianban clasped his hands. "If the Military Governor truly wishes to open Liangzhou's roads, there is one more place that must be repaired."

"Tell me. You are a local, so you surely know the specifics better than an outsider like me!" Zhang Zhao nodded at once, motioning for Chen Nianban to speak quickly.

Chen Nianban immediately pointed to the northeast and said to Zhang Zhao: "From this road eastward past Baishan Garrison, one can reach the Xinquan Army of Huizhou and the Feng'an Army of Lingzhou."

"In the days when the state controlled Longyou, this place was the gateway to Longyou and was of the utmost importance. If we can reopen this road, we can go straight to the banks of the great river, and downstream by boat we can reach Shuofang in a few days."

Right! Zhang Zhao was jolted awake. How had he forgotten the road to Lingzhou and the other places under the Shuofang Military Governor?

The route Shen Nianban described should be the later road from Wuwei eastward, passing through Jingtai County in Baiyin to Zhongwei in the Ningxia region.

Xin Quan Army and Feng'an Army were both on the banks of the Yellow River — the former at Jingtai County, the latter near Zhongwei. In later times, the road from eastern Gansu to Ningxia followed this very route.

Only at this moment did Zhebu Jiashi finally understand what Zhang Zhao was planning.

His mouth fell open in astonishment, deeply moved and even looking at Zhang Zhao as if he were some remarkable young man, and he said to him:

"If the Military Governor intends to reclaim over two million mu of wasteland in Liangzhou, and also repair these three roads to Ganzhou, Lanzhou, and Shuofang, it cannot be done without at least a million strings of cash."

The implication was: if he had a million strings of cash, why bother with such thankless toil? Wouldn't it be better to stash it away, claim a patch of land, and live as a local magnate?

Zhang Zhao smiled, thinking he had a point. He looked at Zhebu Jiashi and said: "A million strings of cash! If I were not so unwilling to accept my fate, taking that million strings would be enough for me, Zhang Zhao, to live in comfort for the rest of my life, and still leave plenty for my children and grandchildren. Why would I do this?"

"I see that the Military Governor is truly sent by all the gods and Buddhas in heaven, who could not bear to see the people of our six tribes suffer so, and have specially sent the Military Governor down to earth as the Dharma King Bodhisattva to save us."

"The Shen family of Yangfei Valley — I, Shen Nianban, am willing to follow the Military Governor's orders. Whatever the Military Governor wants us to do, we shall do!"

"Good!" Zhang Zhao seized on Shen Nianban's words and declared with hearty approval: "I intend to move your Shen family and all your dependents to Fanhe County west of Liangzhou, as well as to the Jiaocheng Garrison and the Dajou Army fortress."

"That place is near Yanzhi Mountain. A few dozen li to the west is Shandan, the key town of Ganzhou, and a few dozen li beyond Shandan is the city of Ganzhou itself."

"Go back and discuss it with your father. See whether the Shen family is willing to take on this heavy responsibility."

"As for the land in Yangfei Valley, you may leave several hundred households to continue farming and herding there. The land belonging to you and your father will still yield its rents and taxes to you as before."

Shen Nianban was silent for a moment, then clasped his hands firmly. "If the Military Governor can put up a fortune of a million strings, what is a small sacrifice from our Shen family?"

"There is no need to consult my father. Before I left, my father already instructed me: whatever orders the Military Governor issues, I need not discuss them with him — I may agree on the spot."

Shen Nianban knew that since the Shen family was the first to board Zhang Zhao's pirate ship, they absolutely must not start strong and finish weak. Once resolved to follow, they must show the bearing of true followers.

And this was no bad thing either. Fanhe County, the Jiaocheng Garrison, and the Dajou Army's location — though they looked desolate at present, as long as the Liangzhou prefectural office allocated funds and manpower for restoration, within a few years they could recover their former prosperity.

Zhang Zhao nodded with satisfaction. The Shen family of Yangfei Valley had always been the clever ones among the six tribes, and for clever people like this, he would certainly reward them generously.

So Zhang Zhao immediately took Shen Nianban's hand and said: "Once the court's edict appointing me Acting Military Governor arrives, I will immediately appoint your father as Deputy Commissioner of Military Colonization of the Hexi Military Governor's Office, and concurrently County Magistrate of Fanhe County!"

Zhebu Jiashi's eyes darted about. He was of course a clever man too — if he were not clever, how could he have unified the six Wenmo tribes a dozen or so years later?

Now he saw that although the Shen family had to move from Yangfei Valley, which looked like a loss in the short term, in the long run it was an enormous gain. And Zhang Zhao did not seem like the sort to kill the donkey once the mill was done. At once he felt relieved.

Moreover, although the Hongyuan Valley tribe was far wealthier than the Yangfei Valley tribe, it did not belong to the Zhebu family alone! Their control over the Hongyuan Valley tribe was not even as strong as the Shen family's control over the Yangfei Valley tribe.

The Shen family was bound together by a single clan, whereas theirs was actually a tribal confederation mixed with Tuyuhun, Qiang, and other small tribes.

Rather than let other clever men in the tribe "sell" him to Zhang Zhao, he might as well use this as his own stepping stone.

So Zhebu Jiashi cupped his hands and said to Zhang Zhao: "Military Governor, you must not favor one over the other! My Zhebu family is also willing to serve the Military Governor!"

Clever! Zhang Zhao sighed inwardly, then pointed north and said to Zhebu Jiashi: "North of Liangzhou lies Xiutu City, and north of Xiutu City is Mingwei Fort — the place where you all came to receive me that day."

"The Macheng River passes through Mingwei Fort. Although there is some sandy land on either side, the river valley itself is quite fertile."

"As for Baiting Lake and Xiutu Marsh, where the Macheng River empties — that was the site of the Great Tang's Baiting Garrison, with blue waves stretching a thousand qing and lush green grass, suitable for both herding and farming."

"Why not have Chief Zhebu lead the Hongyuan Valley tribe to migrate to the area from Mingwei Fort to the Baiting Garrison? I intend to establish Minqin County there, and at that time I shall appoint you as Judicial Officer of the Hexi Military Governor's Office, and concurrently County Magistrate of Minqin."

Zhebu Jiashi was overjoyed. "Then I hereby bow in thanks for the Military Governor's great kindness!"

He knew that his initiative in stepping forward had indeed paid off handsomely!

The Macheng River had abundant water, and the prosperity of the Baiting Garrison and Xiutu Marsh was something he had long heard of — it only lacked development. Obtaining the post of County Magistrate of Minqin this time was far better than being stuck in the Hongyuan Valley tribe.

Zhang Zhao too was largely at ease now. Among the original six Wenmo tribes, the Han people were led by the Shen family, and the other tribes by the Zhebu family. So as long as these two families agreed to cooperate, the rest would have to cooperate as well.

Zhang Zhao planned to leave only the Zhao garrison family of the Xiying River and the Zhulu Wenmo of the Zamu River to hold the territory of the Six Valleys tribes south of Guzang, while everyone else would be moved out to farm and garrison the frontier.

This was also Zhang Zhao's best opportunity to completely eliminate the six Wenmo tribes as a political entity that had once existed.

Once the population of the Six Valleys tribes had all been moved out, the very name "Six Valleys tribes" would vanish completely with the windblown sands of time.

All chapters have been cached for you. Download the APP to view.