Lujiang River, here is the northwest corner of Yangzhou, adjacent to Jingzhou and Yuzhou.

Yuan Shu chose this bridgehead for Sun Jian to garrison in preparation for the future attack on Jingzhou and the defense of the north.

After all, Yuan Shu is not a person who sits idly by, with his almost perfect start, how can he stagnate, he will definitely make great progress and take the initiative in the early stage.

Sitting on the main seat in the hall of the Taishou Mansion in Lujiang, looking at the civil and military forces under his command, Yuan Shu was full of pride in his heart.

"Gongda, it's been a month since you came to Yangzhou, have you ever found out what the situation is in Yangzhou?"

After sitting down, Yuan Shu first asked Xun You, who had come to find out the situation in advance.

Xun You stood up: "Lord Yu, this time you have been preliminarily discovered. ”

"Yangzhou has a population of more than 800,000 households, totaling about 3.6 million. There were more than 10,000 officials, large and small, and 80,000 soldiers. There are 3 million hectares of arable land, and the annual tax revenue is about 800,000 quintals and 5 baht and 700,000 stone of grain. Of course, these are all data on the surface. ”

Hearing this, Yuan Shu sighed silently in his heart.

Although I have been mentally prepared for the south in this era, I still feel a little disappointed.

The population of Jizhou in the north is about 10 million, which is about three times that of Yangzhou, which is a bit too big!

"So what about the matter I asked Gongda to check for you?"

Xun You sighed inwardly: "There are twenty-three large and small families in Yangzhou, and the others are not to worry about, only the four major families are worthy of our attention." They are the four great families of Lu, Gu, Zhu and Zhang. ”

"The servants of these four families will total about 40,000 people, an average of about 10,000 per family. The occupied fields occupy about a quarter of Yangzhou, more than 800,000 hectares. Together with other families, nearly half of the land in Yangzhou is in the hands of the family. ”

Hearing these shocking figures, Yuan Shu was already a little helpless.

Half of the fields on his own land belong to the family here!

The strategists under his command are okay, they have long been mentally prepared for the virtues of these families, but the generals are all surprised and exploded.

"Quiet!"

Looking at the angry generals, Yuan Shu could only soothe.

"The family's troubles must not be eliminated, but they should not be rushed. Gongda, you go on. ”

"Moreover, these families also hid a lot of people and land, although it is impossible to study, but through the examination of documents and visits during this time, it is estimated that the population is at least more than 150,000, and the fields are about 100,000 hectares, and all of them are fertile land. More than ninety percent of the officials in Yangzhou are from these families, and the annual tax revenue will be inexplicably less than half, and about a quarter of the soldiers are eating empty salaries. ”

Hearing this, Yuan Shu clenched his hands into fists, and the green tendons on his hands burst out.

When the people below saw Yuan Shu's appearance, they didn't dare to say anything, and stood in place with righteous indignation.

Taking a deep breath, Yuan Shu said with a gloomy face: "Put these aside first." Gongda, what else did I ask you to look up? ”

Xun You breathed a sigh of relief: "There are seven shipyards in Yangzhou, and there are more than 3,000 craftsmen who are proficient in shipbuilding, and the other craftsmen add up to about 13,000. In addition to the family, there are about 7,000 children from the Han family, but the level is uneven. ”

After finishing speaking, Xun Yu made a gesture and returned to the queue.

Yuan Shu was silent for a moment, and said to Wen Wu in front of him: "Let's talk about your opinions." ”

The generals stared at each other with big eyes, except for fighting and killing, they really didn't know anything about these things, so they naturally didn't dare to stand up.

Among the strategists, Tian Feng rushed out as soon as Yuan Shu's words fell.

"Lord, although the trouble of the Yangzhou family is serious, it is also within our expectations, please calm down first, and do not act recklessly!"

Yuan Shu took a deep breath: "I understand, after all, I am from the Yuan family, and I have seen a lot of all this." In comparison, these people are quite easy to deal with, you must know that the power of my Yuan family in Yuzhou, they can't compare together. ”

Tian Feng and Guo Jia were the only two of the strategists who knew Yuan Shu's ultimate purpose, so they naturally knew Yuan Shu's thoughts.

Compared with Guo Jia's sword and focusing on military affairs, Tian Feng, who is good at suppressing people with power, has a strong view of the overall situation, and is quite familiar with political affairs, is more comfortable with this kind of matter.

Tian Feng summed up these things after thinking about it for a while: "My lord, at present, our main goal is to develop steadily in order to meet the next troubled times, so everything must be stable. ”

"At present, there are four main problems in Yangzhou's internal affairs. First, population. ”

"Yangzhou has fertile land, a lot of fertile land, and many places that have not been developed, and the main problem is that there are few people, no one to cultivate and open up wasteland, and there is not enough potential for war, so we have to bring in people from other states."

"The identity of the lord has a great effect, and he can entrust the Yuan family to send a large number of people. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, countless people were displaced and cannibalized. And my Jiangdong is vast and sparsely populated, and there is plenty of food, which is just right for them to come. The lord could also send troops to Xuzhou and Yuzhou to collect the remnants of the Yellow Turbans and those who had left their homes. In addition, the Black Mountain Yellow Turban and Qingzhou Yellow Turban recruited by the lord should be there in a few days. ”

"Second, agriculture. There is no shortage of land in Yangzhou, even if nearly half of the land is occupied by the family, the remaining land is still enough for the people to cultivate. Moreover, there are still a lot of wasteland in Yangzhou, as long as it is slightly transformed, it is fertile land, and the new people in Yangzhou can gather them to reclaim fertile land. First, the government will provide each of them with enough food to live until next autumn, and provide them with seeds, shelter, and basic necessities. The first twenty acres of land belong to them, and the remaining half is counted as their own, and the remaining half is ours. ”

"My current agricultural tax in Yangzhou is two out of ten, and it is better to keep it the same now, but the tax can be reduced by 10% in the first year of newly cultivated fields."

"Third, there is the issue of soldiers. I now have 80,000 soldiers in Yangzhou, but in fact there are only 60,000, and they are of uneven age, and their combat effectiveness is very low. Therefore, I think that I, Jiangdong, should re-recruit soldiers, and by the way, weed out the soldiers who are not qualified now. ”

"Fourth, the issue of officials. Most of the officials in Jiangdong are from families, but there are still many children from poor families, and we can kick out some officials with poor political performance and bad conduct, and use more children from poor families. As for the corruption in the past, we can not pursue any of them, but if they are discovered in the future, we will be severely punished. ”

"Feng has thought about it so much, and I ask the lord to decide."

Yuan Shu thought carefully for a moment and nodded: "What Yuan Hao said is good, but there are still some details that need to be modified. ”

"First of all, in agriculture, we can provide them with housing and means of subsistence, but not for free."

Hearing this, Tian Feng immediately said anxiously: "Lord! ”

Before he could speak, Yuan Shu interrupted: "Yuan Hao, don't worry, I don't plan to collect money from them, but I want to work for relief." ”

"Cash-for-work?"

"That's right, these people are idle, and if I give them something, they will naturally work for me. The houses they lived in were led by craftsmen who built them themselves. The extra people went to build roads and build ships. Although Jiangdong is densely populated with rivers and developed water transportation, there are still many places where transportation is inconvenient, which is just enough for this group of people who have nothing to do to build roads. And shipbuilding, not to mention, the number of shipyards in Jiangdong is too small now, let this group of people help build ships, and the talented can stay as apprentices. In addition, for those who do a lot and do a good job, they will also be paid, and you will be able to handle the details yourself. ”

"Now Jiangdong is in ruins, we must try to make full use of every resource and manpower!"