The next day, Zhu Ping'an ordered people to purchase 10,000 shi of grain, ten oxen, one hundred piglets and five hundred chicks from the market. He called Liu Dadao and others, and brought Liu Dianli and more than fifty yamen runners, and drove in a horse-drawn carriage to the Wuxi mountain area again.
"County Master, aren't we too few? Yesterday, the Wuxi Miao didn't know our strength, but today they may have realized it. If the Wuxi Miao turn hostile, how can we protect the County Master?"
Liu Dianli reminded Zhu Ping'an more than once on the road that he was always worried about the Wuxi Miao.
Those who are not of my race must have different hearts. Liu Dianli has always had this worry.
"Liu Dianli, don't worry. They didn't dare yesterday, and they certainly won't dare today. They are not afraid of me, nor the 50,000 troops, but the court behind us. Besides, we gave them 30,000 shi of grain yesterday, so the Wuxi Miao have no reason to rebel anymore." Zhu Ping'an explained to Liu Dianli.
"Your Excellency, we gave them 30,000 dan of grain and grass yesterday. Why do we need to give them another 10,000 dan of grain and grass and so many piglets and chickens today? Isn't this a bit too much of a favor?"
Liu Dianli asked in confusion.
"Yesterday I gave them food and grass to quell the rebellion. Today I want to take their entire clan and win a hundred years of peace. The Wuxi Miao tribe lives in Wuxi Mountain. There are more than ten tribes, large and small, with a total of about 70,000 to 80,000 people. If such a large population can be incorporated into Jingnan, the population of Jingnan will increase by nearly one-fold. The taxes collected every year far exceed what we give today." Zhu Ping'an looked into the distance and said slowly.
"How do we target their entire clan?" Liu Dianli asked again.
"Yesterday I communicated with the Wuxi Miao chieftain and learned that they envied the farming life of the Han people. This is because they live in the mountains, hunting and gathering for a living, relying on the weather for food, and their lives are difficult... We Han people guard the fields, men farm and women weave, and our lives are rich, which is many times better than theirs. Yesterday, I gave them thousands of acres of wasteland, which was a favor, but also a test. When they heard that I gave them thousands of acres of wasteland, they were excited beyond words. Today, I gave them food, oxen, piglets, and chickens to speed up their migration out of the Wuxi mountain area."
"Not only that, I also allocated them a five-li area of land next to thousands of acres of wasteland and set up Wuxi Town, allowing them to settle there. The position of Wuxi Town Mayor is open to the Wuxi Miao people to elect and appoint them to the county government."
As Zhu Ping'an was walking on the road, he told Liu Dianli all about his plan.
Zhu Ping'an had a premonition that he would soon be appointed as the assistant magistrate of Zhejiang Province, so he explained the whole story to Liu Dianli, who then passed on the message to the new magistrate after he took office.
"Your Excellency, will this allow the Wuxi Miao to become more powerful?" Liu Dianli asked with some concern.
"Haha, the reason why the Wuxi Miao are difficult to deal with and why they have become one of the five major evils in Jingnan is because they have lived in the mountains for generations and have a favorable geographical location. Once they rebel, it is inconvenient for the government to suppress them. If they can win, they will fight, and if they can't win, they will hide in the mountains... If they move out of the mountains and live in the town, they will no longer have the geographical advantage, and even if they rebel, it will not be a big deal. Have you seen any town dare to rebel?! Moreover, the Wuxi Miao tribe has only 50,000 people, while our Han people number tens of millions. The Wuxi Miao moved to Wuxi Town, and they must have exchanged what they have with our Han people, and intermarriage is inevitable. After a few years, the Wuxi Miao will be assimilated by us Han people, and from then on, the Wuxi Miao will no longer be a problem. So with just 10,000 dan of grain, 10 oxen, 100 piglets, and 500 chickens, you can get 70,000 taxpayers and hundreds of years of peace. Liu Dianli, do you still think that this is too much of a favor?!"
Zhu Ping'an looked at Liu Dianli with a smile and asked meaningfully.
"Your Excellency has a far-sighted vision, and I, an humble official, am ashamed to be inferior to you." Liu Dianli said with full of admiration and sincerity.
Zhu Ping'an and his party soon arrived at the Wuxi mountainous area.
"Greetings, sir."
When Lady Yilan heard that Zhu Ping'an had arrived, she led a group of Wuxi Miao leaders, both big and small, to greet him from afar.
"Chieftain, all the leaders, please stand up quickly." Zhu Ping'an stepped forward and said with a smile.
"Thank you, sir." Lady Yilan and others stood up.
"Sir, this is..." Lady Yilan and others were curious when they saw the carts of food and fodder, ten strong oxen, and countless piglets and chicks behind Zhu Ping'an.
It wasn't sent to us, was it?!
Madam Yilan and the other big and small-headed people took a deep breath in disbelief and excitement.
"Yesterday I gave you thousands of acres of wasteland. After returning, I realized that you had no oxen to cultivate. So today I allocated ten oxen from the county and gave them to you to facilitate your reclamation of the wasteland. Don't miss the farming season. These ten thousand shi of grain and grass are for you to reserve for farming. As for these one hundred piglets and five hundred chickens, they are for you to raise and reproduce."
Zhu Pingan said with a smile.
"Your Excellency is so considerate of our Wuxi Miao people. We, the Wuxi Miao, have no way to repay you. We will remember your kindness from generation to generation and will go through fire and water for you without hesitation..." Although Lady Yilan and others had already guessed it, they still couldn't help but shed tears of gratitude and thanked Zhu Ping'an profusely after hearing him say it in person.
"Please stand up, please stand up quickly." Zhu Ping'an stepped forward and supported him.
Madam Yilan and others warmly invited Zhu Ping'an and others to join the camp and received them with the highest Wuxi Miao standards.
"I have considered that you have lived in the mountains for generations, where the conditions are difficult and it is far from the fields allocated to you, making it inconvenient for you to farm. Therefore, I plan to set aside a five-li area of land next to the fields allocated to you and establish Wuxi Town, where you can live for generations. The mayor of Wuxi Town will be selected by you Wuxi Miao people and then reported to the county government, who will officially appoint him. The mayors of Wuxi Town will also be selected in this way for generations to come."
Zhu Ping'an proposed to Lady Yilan at the banquet.
"Is it really so?!" Madam Yilan and the leaders at the banquet were extremely excited when they heard this.
No one wants to live in the deep mountains and forests, where the roads are difficult to travel and transportation is inconvenient; hunting and gathering make life difficult; there are snakes, rats, wild animals, and mosquito bites... ... Who would like to live like this
They have wanted to live on the plains for generations, and this is also the reason for their many rebellions.
According to their ancestral legends, the Wuxi Miao people originated from the plains, where the land is fertile, there are seas, rivers and rice fields, where they have no worries about food and drink, and there are no threats from wild beasts... It was just that during the war, they were defeated and driven into the Wuxi Mountains...
They dream of living on the plains.
Now, after hearing what Zhu Ping'an said, they were so excited that tears were about to flow.
Butterfly had a deep prejudice against Zhu Ping'an, but after hearing what Zhu Ping'an said, she took the initiative to come over to pour wine and serve food to Zhu Ping'an without any instructions from Madam Yilan.
The man is in love and the woman is willing, so they naturally hit it off! It went smoothly, extremely smoothly!
Zhu Ping'an's trip couldn't have been smoother. Not only did he completely solve the hidden dangers of Wuxi Miao, but he also successfully negotiated with Wuxi Miao about the cooperation on the secret knife medicine. In fact, Madam Yilan and her friends didn't think much of the secret knife medicine at all, thinking that it was just a folk remedy for wounds and worthless. When they heard Zhu Ping'an mention the secret knife medicine, they took the initiative to offer the formula and production method. However, Zhu Ping'an knew the preciousness of the secret knife medicine, and did not take advantage of them or keep the secret recipe for himself. Instead, he talked about cooperation with them, believing that a win-win situation was the best choice. (To be continued)