As the work of redeeming the rewards for the Kill the Hu Order was gradually carried out, all of a sudden, people from all directions gathered in the entire Qiyun County. To describe it in one sentence, the current Qiyun County was suddenly as hot as a raging fire and as prosperous as flowers blooming.
The relationship between Yan Liqiang, who became the King of Pingxi, and the governors of various northwestern states was the most concerned issue for all parties outside. Many people even speculated that this time Yan Liqiang would strike while the iron was hot and give the governors a warning when his prestige was growing, so as to establish his status and authority as the King of Pingxi in the northwest.
What was unexpected to people outside was that Yan Liqiang, who returned to Pingxi City this time, seemed to have forgotten that he was the King of Pingxi. Apart from accepting all the gifts from the governors of various states, this most powerful King of Pingxi in the Han Empire not only did not summon the governors of various northwestern states to Pingxi City for a meeting, but he did not even give any orders or instructions to the governors in the name of King of Pingxi. The biggest job of the entire Qiyun County now seemed to be to be busy fulfilling the various rewards for the Killing the Hu Order and to reward meritorious personnel and soldiers at all levels in the county.
It was not an easy task to fulfill the reward for the Killing the Hu Order, especially when Yan Liqiang combined this work with the rewards for the officials and soldiers in the county. The number of people involved in the reward reached more than 100,000.
Qian Su mobilized all the personnel and officials that could be mobilized from the entire Qiyun Guardian Office system, and also brought in all the new students from the Kyudo Club and the National Martial Arts Hall. Finally, with the support of hundreds of managers and accountants from the Zhong, Lu, and Yan families, he reluctantly took on this task and began to vigorously carry out the first "land reform" in the history of Gulang Grassland.
The merging statistics of the land contracts for the Sha Hu Ling merit, measuring the land, demarcating the boundaries of the fields, issuing deeds, and compiling files were all very complicated and everything had to be done from scratch.
Because of the grassland and land obtained from the Killing the Hu Order, plus the generous rewards to all meritorious soldiers after Yan Liqiang returned, this time, according to preliminary statistics, Yan Liqiang has given away more than 30,000 square kilometers of grassland on the Gulang grassland for rewards. This is the first time such a reward has been given since the founding of the Han Empire. After the Longya Army shocked the world, Yan Liqiang once again shocked the world with his actions and proved his credibility to everyone.
There were all kinds of people who were rewarded, including the knights of the Han Empire who gathered in the northwest, the powerful families in the northwestern states who organized militia, the soldiers of the Ganzhou Army who supported Qiyun County, the meritorious officials of all levels under the Qiyun Protectorate, the soldiers of the Longya Army who participated in the Western Expedition or guarded the checkpoints, the relevant craftsmen and managers of the Manufacturing Bureau, and even the indigenous mountain people of Yulong Mountain who killed the enemy and made meritorious services.
Whether in terms of the number of people who received the reward or the scale of the land used for the reward, this reward was unprecedented in the entire Han Empire. Through this reward, Yan Liqiang almost created thousands of large landowners in the entire Qiyun County and the Northwest in one go, and there were countless small and medium-sized landowners.
With pastures, there are sheep; with sheep, there is wool; with wool, there is woolen cloth, which is the goose that lays golden eggs endlessly.
All of a sudden, the wealthy and powerful families from the northwestern states of the Han Empire, and even from more distant places, all flocked to Qiyun County and openly purchased grassland and land contracts at high prices in various places in Qiyun County, purchased lambs, bought vehicles, hired workers, built ranches and farms on the grasslands, purchased looms, and opened textile workshops in various places, preparing to do a big thing.
At this time, the Han Empire was in a precarious situation. Starving refugees could be seen everywhere. In the turbulent times, many refugees appeared in all states and regions, especially in places where the White Lotus Sect was causing trouble. There were even more refugees, and all those refugees ran to places where the environment was stable and they could get enough food.
At this time in the northwest, because there was no internal war, the seven Shatu tribes and the Black Jie people had just been pacified, and there was no external worry, it suddenly became a place where many refugees fled. Generally speaking, livelihood is a big problem for these refugees when they come to a new place, but at this moment in the northwest, with the beginning of the vigorous enclosure movement in the Gulang grassland, manpower was needed everywhere. The entire Qiyun County and even the entire northwest, suddenly, was extremely short of manpower. People who could work became scarce and hard to find. All of a sudden, the refugees and displaced people who fled to the northwest became popular. As long as they were able to endure hardships, work hard and have some skills, they would not have to worry about having no food to eat or finding a way to make a living.
On the official road between Pingxi County and Baishi Pass,
…
In April of the first year of Tong'an in the Han Empire (Note: with Yan Liqiang being named King of Pingxi, Qiyun County and Ganzhou officially adopted a new year name), the banks of the Jiulong Bridge in Pingxi City were in full bloom. On this day, just as the sun came out in the morning, the entrance of a brand new mansion near the Jiulong Bridge suddenly became bustling with traffic. Almost all the civil and military officials in Qiyun County gathered here on this day.
The four-wheeled carriage had just stopped. When Shi Changfeng got off the carriage, he saw Gong Tieshan riding a tall black rhinoceros horse, accompanied by several personal guards, crossing the spacious square in front and coming closer at the same time.
"Hahaha, Lord Shi, what a coincidence, you are here too..." Gong Tieshan laughed, turned over and jumped off the rhino horse, handed the reins to a guard beside him, and then strode towards Shi Changfeng.
"Yes, what a coincidence, Lord Gong is here too!" Shi Changfeng smiled and greeted Gong Tieshan, "Come on, let's go in together!"
"Let's go, let's go in together!" Gong Tieshan said, and looked up at the magnificent golden plaque of "Pingxi Palace" hanging above the entrance of the palace not far away. He smacked his lips and looked at the surrounding environment. "Your Highness really knows how to find a place. I originally thought that a palace would be built in the city, but I didn't expect that the plaque of the palace would be hung here directly. However, the scenery over here in Jiulongqiao New City is quite good. It's a good place..."
"Of course this is a good place. This place was originally the settlement area of the seven Shatu tribes in the city. A few years ago, there was a fire and the Shatu people were driven away. The Lord ordered a reconstruction, and this place was turned upside down. This house was originally built by the Lord for himself to settle down in the city. The old man also had a place to live when he came to the city, but he never lived in it after it was built. This time, the Lord was crowned king and didn't want to make a fuss, so he renovated this place and hung a plaque, and directly used this place as the Pingxi Palace!"
The two men walked towards the palace while talking. Shi Changfeng's four-wheeled carriage and Gong Tieshan's rhinoceros horse were led to the stable and carriage shed beside the square outside and waited. Just in front of the gate of Pingxi Palace, there was a round pool with rippling water. At this moment, a stream of water was gushing out of the pool, scattering thousands of water droplets sparkling in the sunlight.
Looking at the pool, Gong Tieshan clicked his tongue twice and couldn't help but take a closer look. "Haha, this pool is really new. Water can spray up from the bottom. I heard that when this pool was built a few days ago, it attracted many people in the city to come and watch. Now the wealthy families in the city are scrambling to follow suit and build this kind of pool at home. This thing, I guess only adults can build it..."
"Hahaha, Master Gong guessed wrong. This fountain was made by the mountain next to you. This fountain looks fresh, but the principle is very simple..."
"Dashan, oh, Master Shi, are you talking about the red-haired barbarian next to you?"
"Ahem, please don't let His Highness hear what Lord Gong said..." Shi Changfeng smiled, "That Dashan is quite capable. I heard that he drew a map of Pingxi City and gave it to Your Excellency a few days ago. Your Excellency was very happy after seeing it. He even arranged a few assistants for them and gave him a job..."
"That's not much of a skill!" Gong Tieshan curled his lips in disdain, but he didn't say anything more about the red-haired barbarians. Instead, he looked at Shi Changfeng with interest, his face somewhat envious. "Mr. Shi has made great contributions this time, and His Highness has awarded him 30,000 acres of grassland. I wonder what Mr. Shi's plans are. Do you want to build a ranch on the Gulang grassland and let your family take care of it, or do you want to rent out the grassland to those wealthy families and just collect rent every year?"
Shi Changfeng shook his head. "The grassland has not been allocated yet. Let's wait until it is allocated. The grassland awarded to Lord Gong this time is 5,000 to 6,000 mu, which is not a small amount!"
"I just hate that I didn't chop off enough heads of the Shatu people, and I didn't make it in time to join you in the expedition to the Black Jie tribe..." Gong Tieshan said with some regret, and then his face became a little mysterious, "By the way, I heard that His Highness summoned us here to announce something big. There will be major changes in the Longya Army and the Qiyun Guard Office. These news have been circulating in the army these days. Lord Shi is often by His Highness's side. Do you know what His Highness is preparing for this time?"
Shi Changfeng smiled bitterly and patted his head, "I have been very busy these days and haven't seen Your Highness for a long time. You will know what Your Highness thinks in a while!"
"makes sense!"
The two men talked as they came to the front door of the Pingxi Palace, stepped onto the steps, and handed over their badges. After the palace guards at the gate checked, a palace guard personally led them into the palace...
(End of this chapter)