Chapter 296: Three Parcels of Five Hundred Qing

Muya didn't care about land.

The Changhexi chieftain was different from other chieftain houses — for other barbarian chieftains, land-rent income was the mainstay, but Muya's revenue pillars were his taverns and lodgings.

In other words, aside from Lucheng, he didn't care about any part of Changhexi at all.

But when Liu Chengzong said "rent land, get salt," Muya's little gears started turning.

He was already half-coaxed, half-detained in Luhuo and not allowed to leave — renting was inevitable; the only things he could control were where to rent and how much.

But what Muya was turning over in his mind had nothing to do with land — it had to do with dynastic change.

The Great Ming's decline was a foregone conclusion. The realm was too vast for Muya to see elsewhere, but just by glimpsing the whole through Sichuan, from Yang Yinglong in Bozhou to She Chongming in Yongning and An Bangyan in Shuixi — decades of war had left the chieftains of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan all very restless.

The chieftains weren't restless out of ambition — those three above were restless out of ambition. The chieftains who hadn't yet rebelled were restless because of the Han people… The extra taxes the court imposed on the southwest hadn't stopped since the Bozhou campaign began.

Once Bozhou was pacified, that money went to pacify She and An; once She and An were pacified, that money was diverted to plug Liaodong.

And the ceaseless new levies — the local Han were nearly driven mad, the officials nearly driven mad too, scheming every which way to scrape up money.

The shakier local rule became, the more the powerful ran amok; chieftains were no different from the powerful — with no one reining them in, why wouldn't they settle every grudge and pay back every grievance?

As for whether the court was stable, Muya felt that question didn't even need considering.

Three years ago in Yunnan, just because a lawbreaking household slave was arrested, the Duke of Qian, Mu Qiyuan, dared to surround the inspecting censor's office with troops and even wheeled out cannons — could a court like that be stable?

Mu Qiyuan was a court duke! To Han eyes, it might just be Mu Qiyuan's arrogance, but to a chieftain like Muya, what did this mean? It meant the Han were not a monolithic bloc — a court-appointed garrison duke holding the Mu family's private army dared to defy a top provincial official.

In other chieftains' eyes, they might even cheer for it, wishing Mu Qiyuan would rebel on the spot, just to see whether those pampered sons of the Mu family's private army were tougher, or the court's soft-footed shrimp of a pacification army.

A pity — Mu Qiyuan was poisoned to death by his own mother, and his ten-year-old son Mu Tianbo inherited the title. By the time that one reached an age fit for rebellion, this generation of chieftains would likely all be gone.

Of course, Muya was the last person who wanted the Mu clan to rebel in Yunnan — he wasn't like other chieftains; Changhexi's economy depended far too heavily on the Great Ming.

Only if Great Ming Sichuan was stable did he have money to spend.

If Great Ming Sichuan was unstable, then he would be unstable too.

Apart from the Great Ming, who could protect little Dajianlu in a chaotic world?

This lion before his eyes.

Don't be fooled — the Lion Army was scattered across the seven counties of Kangning Prefecture with only six thousand troops, and its mobile forces were barely over two thousand.

But the true strength of those forces — apart from the Lion Army's senior officers, no one else knew.

In Muya's eyes, Commander Lion's troops were beyond counting — never mind the ten-thousand-plus Mongol cavalry that had entered Tibet; just that Yongning Battalion under She Chongming's old subordinate A Liu was terrifying enough.

When a man spots a lion in the mountain forest, the first thing he considers is how to save his own hide from the lion's jaws — so how does one save his hide?

Lead the lion to the enemy. Once the lion opens wide and eats its fill, your own hide is safe.

Who were Muya's enemies?

Far too many!

To the east, on the far bank of the Dadu River, the two Mongol chieftains of Lengbian and Shenbian — they had a blood debt with his father, and those two were bound to seek revenge sooner or later.

To the west it was even more terrifying: on the far bank of the Yalong River, over the course of two hundred years, King Mu had steadily pushed northwest, advancing step by step under the pretext of bandit suppression.

Every place King Mu's army breached, they built military stockades on the key communication routes to suppress the rebels. Along the Markham, Batang, and Litang line alone, they constructed five military stockades: Rongmaina Fortress, Riyuzhongza Fortress, Zongyanzhongza Fortress, Daoxu Fortress, and Chawadami Fortress.

The closest stretch between Changhexi and them was separated by just a single mountain ridge, and the people from the other side often came raiding, burning, killing, and plundering.

Aside from trembling in fear, Muya could do nothing… He had four thousand armored troops, after all — enough to beat Litang, but not enough to beat King Mu, and he dared not give King Mu a pretext to invade him.

Had the Great Ming court not shielded Changhexi, the Changhexi chieftaincy might well have been wiped out before he was even born.

Under these circumstances, Liu Chengzong wanted to rent land.

After all, with Muya himself stuck in Luhuo, he could only choose to believe that Liu Chengzong was sincerely renting land and did not covet his territory and wealth.

In a flash, Muya saw three benefits this matter could bring him, and he opened his mouth to rent Liu Chengzong three parcels of five hundred qing each.

The sheer boldness of it stunned even Liu Chengzong — after years of roaming far and wide, he had never met anyone so extravagantly bold.

The last person who came close to that kind of boldness was Little Lazun, Bäyan Taiji's younger brother, but that fellow, like himself, was fond of catching wolves with bare hands — not a good sort.

Muya was different — this was genuinely renting out his own family's land.

Upon careful inquiry, it turned out Muya's method of selecting the land was brutally simple.

He paid no attention to whether the locale had already-cultivated land or was suitable for farming; he didn't even know how many mu could ultimately be reclaimed. He simply handed the power to choose and reclaim the land to the Marshal's headquarters — his only job was to delineate the zones.

Regardless of cultivated or uncultivated land, all local manors and commoners would be relocated away.

"Three parcels — Commander, go ahead and reclaim five hundred qing on each. I, Muya, do business with my doors open, and what I rely on is trust. However many mu you reclaim, that's how many mu of salt you give me each year. Just don't cheat me on the rented acreage."

Liu Chengzong was so delighted that he felt an instant bond with Muya. He no longer cared about the magic of drinking summoning his elder brother from Xining — he had Muya delineate the land on the spot, then opened wine and drank.

Renting and reclaiming land at Dajianlu was an extremely crucial link in Commander Liu's migration plan — this place was to serve as a reception base, capable of providing grain and fodder for Sichuan migrants.

But if all one thousand five hundred qing could be opened up, this would be far more than just supplying grain and fodder for the migrants.

Moreover, the three locations Muya delineated for him were all riverbank and riverside terraces, valley alluvial land — the grain yield certainly wouldn't be high, but there was absolutely no shortage of water.

In the days that followed, Muya bundled himself up like a panda every day and called Liu Chengzong to go hunting… To be honest, Muya's hunting skill was truly pathetic.

His archery was so bad it couldn't even match Chengyun's accuracy.

Commander Liu found it truly painful to watch and gave him a small-caliber bird gun, saying, "Use this — that bow is quite good, save it to give to someone else later."

Soon, his men had scouted out the three tracts Muya had delineated in Changhexi. Listening to the report, Liu Chengzong inwardly praised Muya's quick wits.

These three places were not chosen at random. He had originally thought Muya was so desperate for salt that he'd gone mad, throwing one thousand five hundred qing at him without even checking whether there were commoners or cultivated land there.

Now it seemed Muya was using this land-rental opportunity to solve a far more serious problem.

The first five hundred qing lay northwest of Changhexi, in the river valley between the Dadu River and the Jinchuan River — one hundred seventy li of mountainous terrain along the banks. He could reclaim wherever he pleased, and from anywhere he could see those seven- to eight-zhang-tall watchtowers built on the Jinchuan chieftain's territory.

The second five hundred qing lay east of Changhexi, on the eastern bank of the Dadu River, along the riverbank between Dajianlu and Zidadi — across the river stretched the territory from the Lengbian chieftain's domain to the Shenbian chieftain's domain.

The third five hundred qing lay west of Changhexi, on the western bank of the Yalong River — just over a mountain ridge lay Litang, occupied by Lijiang's King Mu.

The same land-selection rule applied: wherever there was a chieftain loyal to King Mu on the other side of the mountain, Liu Chengzong could take his pick of the land on this side.

Listening to the relay-station scout's report, Liu Chengzong couldn't help but smile wryly — there was no such thing as a pie falling from the sky.

He wanted Muya's land; Muya wanted his soldiers. You could call it each taking what he needed, but he truly felt Muya had profited enormously from this deal.

Uncle Cai Zhongpan saw these matters very clearly: "First, the salt. Once all fifteen hundred qing of land are opened up, that's thirty thousand jin of salt a year. Wherever you go, that's no small fortune — let alone in Dajianlu, which produces no salt at all."

"Fritillary bulb is sold by the qian in Han territory medicine shops. This batch of salt alone is worth at least eight to ten thousand taels. Leasing this land is no loss at all."

"Second, if you want to open up land, you have to guarantee the settlers' safety. Leaving aside the Jinchuan chieftain for now — the Lengbian and Shenbian chieftains on the east bank of the Dadu River have a blood feud with the Muya family, a vendetta going back to their fathers' deaths. They are sworn enemies. And the chieftains on the west bank of the Yalong River who swear loyalty to King Mu will often send troops to raid and plunder."

Cai Zhongpan's expression was extremely grim: "If we lease and open up this land, and the Leng and Shen families want revenge, we'll be the first ones they hit. And if King Mu's soldiers come raiding again, we'll be the first ones they rob."

In the end, once Liu Chengzong no longer needed the place, Muya could still use the cultivated land here to recruit tenants and collect rent — yet another source of wealth.

As his uncle tallied it all up, Liu the Lion slapped his thigh. Damn it — he'd actually let someone else make out like a bandit. He laughed: "No wonder that Muya kid's archery is so lousy. All his talent went into his cunning. Fine by me."

Once he'd finished laughing, Liu Chengzong shook his head. "I don't plan to go back on my word. Those three places have seven or eight thousand mu of cultivated land. Once spring comes and we have people, they can start farming, and by autumn there'll be a harvest. The western counties have far too little unowned cultivated land — this is exactly what the Lion Army desperately needs."

The seven counties of Kangning Prefecture aren't short on empty land — it's just that the altitude is a bit higher and the farming conditions are somewhat worse than here. With a unified government holding full authority to oversee land reclamation, there's hope of opening up far more farmland than exists today.

But reclamation is only planning for the future. Unclaimed cultivated land is what's urgently needed right now. Three hundred thousand mu of land across seven counties is nowhere near enough when set against two hundred thousand people.

"Grain. Jinchuan, Shenbian, Lengbian, King Mu…" Liu Chengzong furrowed his brow. "Whoever bares their teeth at me, I'll break their dog legs!"

The war had disrupted the farming season, placing an extremely heavy burden on Kangning Prefecture's grain supply for the coming year.

Liu Chengzong had already been doing his utmost to suppress any urge to plunder the surrounding areas. The truth was, none of them were particularly weak, and none were particularly wealthy — not worth starting a war over.

But if someone robbed him, that was different. From northern Shaanxi to the northwest and then to the southwest, marching ten thousand li — he had always been the one doing the robbing. When had it ever been someone else's turn to rob him?

"For now, let's dispatch people from Luhuo County. Start from the opposite bank of the Jinchuan chieftain's territory — establish villages, lay out the farmland. Once people arrive, get them planting. Send word to notify them that these lands are now the property of the Marshal's Headquarters."

Cai Zhongpan's face showed difficulty. "This won't be easy. Lengbian and Shenbian are manageable — they're traders too, and may not really want to start another war with Changhexi. But on King Mu's side, those are mountain folk who've never been brought under royal rule. Raiding and plundering is in their nature. They may not be so easily persuaded."

"It's easy. A man is a man — noble or base, Han or barbarian, everyone fears death."

Liu Chengzong said, "Uncle, just tell them this: Rob one dan of my grain, and I'll rob back ten. Seize one of my people, and I'll seize back ten. Let those petty chieftains weigh it in their hearts — how do they compare to Dunyue Duoji?"

Cai Zhongpan nodded, inwardly very pleased.

He figured that if Liu the Lion was going to open up farmland here, clashes between the two sides were bound to happen sooner or later. Relatively speaking, their troop strength in the Luhuo area was still ample — enough to handle small-scale conflicts with the native domains.

The source of his pleasure was his nephew's ruthlessness.

Liu the Lion was fine in every way. His biggest flaw was that he was too good — he'd molded the entire army into a force of benevolence and righteousness.

That was clearly preparation, right from the start, for sweeping across the Central Plains. But maintaining benevolence and righteousness in Kangning Prefecture was bound to make their livelihood problems more difficult.

Originally, in Cai Zhongpan's view, they should have swallowed up the lands of Nangqian, Baili, and Lincong, appointed a batch of new nobles, secured five to ten years of loyalty, and let them continue squeezing the two hundred thousand commoners. That would have been more than enough to obtain the supplies to sustain the army — not a worry in the world.

It wasn't that doing good was bad — it was good — but you eat according to your strength.

Now he was the entire Savior of Suffering Celestial Worthy — how exhausting was that? Starting everything from scratch, it would be at least three years before they saw any results.

Cai Zhongpan had always found it strange. He had no idea who had taught his nephew this mentality — the way he'd arrive somewhere and instinctively take on the heart of a father and mother to the local commoners.

Liu Chengzong, unaware of his uncle's thoughts, was mulling over recent matters. He asked, "Uncle, how did the talks with Zhao Shikui go?"

Zhao Shikui was the Shaanxi shopkeeper they'd found from Chengdu.

"Not bad. This Zhao Shikui is an old hand, knows the trade routes inside out."

Cai Zhongpan said, "He has eight hundred taels in capital and four shop managers. His plan is to anchor both ends and set up in the middle, on the eastern side of the two prefectures of Xikang — open a shop and rent a warehouse in Chengdu to the south, Lanzhou to the north, and Hanzhong in the middle. He'll deal in tea and leather goods. At the same time, whatever we need, he can bring in from Xining and Dajianlu."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Gathering up frustrated child scholars and licentiates — is he willing to do that?"

"I haven't discussed that with him yet. First we need to hook him with profit. Here's what I'm thinking." Cai Zhongpan said, "We'll help him put together more capital and add some veteran soldiers to his staff. He'll supply the goods and run the business, while the veterans serve as shop managers in various places. Beyond their trading duties, these managers will work to draw in scholars and commoners."

"We can provide aid to the scholars. As for the common folk on the Sichuan frontier, first there's farmland, and second — we can use gold panning to draw people to Kangning Prefecture."

Cai Zhongpan said, "This place is full of untouched gold deposits. The local natives worship mountain gods — they neither open the mountains to mine nor clear new fields. In the past, only the monastery monks and a few chieftains did it themselves, taking three or four parts out of ten as a gold tax. Now that those restrictions are gone, we ought to establish mining operations."

"With land to distribute on one hand and gold dust profits on the other — won't the poor, suffering people of Sichuan flow into Kangning in an endless stream?"

Liu Chengzong nodded heavily. "Let's do it!"