Chapter 91: Strategies for governing Lingnan

Zhou Yang's mansion was filled with bamboo slips. Zhou Yang picked up the bamboo slips, swept them a little, put them down, and picked up another bundle. This cycle continued, and in just half a day, the whole room was seen all over the bamboo slips.

After moving his body, Zhou Yang kept shaking his head: "This Zhao Tuo!"

Zhao Tuo and Zhou Yafu are the same type of people, good at military affairs and not good at political affairs. Although he was the King of Nanyue who had been a king of Nanyue for decades, he did not understand the situation in Nanyue so well. No wonder under his governance, Nanyue became weaker and weaker, bullying the King of Minyue Zou Ying.

Over the years, Fujian has repeatedly attacked Nanyue, although it is because Zhao Tuo is old and unable to go to the battlefield, but also because he has no talent for governing the country.

"Master, what are you thinking?" Zhu Maichen stepped in.

"Chief Corner, why are you here? Aren't you dealing with government affairs?" Zhou Yang felt curious.

"Governmental Affairs?" Zhu Maichen shook his head and smiled: "The handling of government affairs in Nanyue is more difficult than expected. Zhao Tuo has been the King of Nanyue for so many years. He doesn't understand the situation in Nanyue. It's better than Zou Ying's governance of Minyue. It doesn't matter, it can be completed just by taking some time."

"So do you think so?" Zhou Yang greeted Zhu Maichen and sat down, saying, "I have been wondering why Nanyue's land is much larger than that of Minyue, so why is it not as strong as Minyue? Over the years, Zou Ying has raised troops several times to attack Nanyue, but Nanyue cannot avenge. Zhao Tuo's age is indeed a whole story. More importantly, he is not good at governing the country, and Nanyue is getting weaker and weaker under his governance."

"The Grand Marshal is right." Zhu Maichen agreed with Zhou Yang's comments: "In terms of region, Nanyue is two or three times that of Minyue, and there are much more people, as well as a large number of weapons from the previous dynasty. However, Minyue was suppressing Nanyue, which made people sigh."

"Nanyue has always been not strong. There are three main reasons: one is that the terrain is complex, mountainous jungle, and inconvenient transportation. The second is that there are too few people and the area of ​​Nanyue is very large. If it is in the Central Plains, there are not tens of millions of people, and there are seven or eight million people in such a vast area. The total number of people in Nanyue is only more than three million. Third, the governance method is not done properly and the skills are backward, which is far worse than the Central Plains." Zhou Yang kept his fingers and raised his eyebrows: "Not only in Nanyue, but also in Minyue. If the Baiyue is not managed well, it will be a chaos."

When you get the land, you must manage it well, otherwise chaos will arise sooner or later. This is proven by countless history.

"I believe what the Grand Marshal said is reasonable, and I also believe it." Zhu Maichen knocked on his forehead and said, "I came to the Grand Marshal to discuss how to govern Lingnan for this matter."

"Oh." Zhu Maichen was good at political affairs. Although Zhou Yang was concerned about Nanyue's governance, he didn't have to worry about it. He was surprised and smiled and said, "Isn't this your business? Why did you get involved with me?"

"Master, don't give up. How can I do such a big deal?" Zhu Maichen shook his head and said, "Master, do you have a clever plan?"

"There is no clever plan." Zhou Yang stroked his forehead and smiled: "If you want to make the land of Lingnan rich, it will not work without decades or hundreds of years of hard work."

"It takes a long time. But as long as it is done, it doesn't take that long." Zhu Maichen's words surprised Zhou Yangda. He looked at him and asked, "How do you say this?"

"Master, among the three major disadvantages, the second one is the second one, too few people." Zhu Maichen said with a flash of light in his eyes: "As long as there are people, you can build roads and traffic can be convenient. You can also choose smart and talented people to study in the Central Plains, and after completing your studies, you will return to Lingnan. This third one will be brought closer soon."

When this is the key point, talent is the most important thing. As long as there is a person, everything is easy to do. The problem is that what the Han Dynasty lacks is population. Although it was more than 60 million people in its heyday, it was far from meeting the demand.

Our population is too large now, but in the Han Dynasty, it was too small. If there were 200 to 300 million people at that time, China could have conquered the world.

When it comes to population, Zhou Yang is overwhelmed. Population cannot be like something else, it can be quickly achieved, and it can only be gradually expanded by the efforts of generations.

Nanyue is now Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan Island, and northern Vietnam. Such a large place only has a population of more than three million. There are also the people of the Central Plains that Qin Shihuang moved to Lingnan and the 500,000 troops left in Lingnan. If it were not for Qin Shihuang's efforts back then, the population of Nanyue would be even smaller now.

If you want to increase the population of Nanyue, the simplest way is to follow Qin Shihuang's actions and move from the Central Plains to the people. This method has a very significant effect, but it cannot be implemented anymore.

The reason is very simple. Since the father-in-law Yan proposed to implement border policies for immigration, a large number of people moved to the north. After the Baiyue regained, the strategic focus of the Han Dynasty would shift to the north, which would be a life-and-death battle with the Huns. Moving the people to the north is more important, more meaningful and more effective than moving to the south.

"Why are there so few people?" Zhou Yang stroked his forehead distressedly. In modern society, the population explosion caused too much population, but the Han Dynasty suffered too little, which made a headache.

"Hey! Can it be quite a lot?" Zhu Maichen sighed and said, "Not to mention Nanyue, just talk about Central Plains. It would be great if ten people were born, five or six people could live until they were old."

"So low?" Only half of the survival rate was, which was too low, and Zhou Yang was shocked.

"Is this called low? It's already high enough. In Lingnan, it's good to have three or four out of ten people to live until they are old." Zhu Maichen looked at Zhou Yang in confusion and analyzed: "Master, think about it, as soon as people are born, they have many diseases. If they are sick like this or that, how many will they die? Not to mention, newborn babies die more. In decades, there have been epidemics, wars, natural disasters and man-made disasters. Five or six out of ten live until they are old, which is very good."

Natural disasters and man-made disasters are inevitable in ancient times or modern times, and no one can do anything about it.

Fortunately, natural disasters and man-made disasters do not occur every year, and are not the main reason for the low population survival rate.

The main reason for the low population in ancient times was that the medical level was limited, which was far inferior to modern society. In ancient times, the cure rate reached 80%, which was a good doctor. If it reached more than 95%, it would be a famous miracle doctor, and the level of Kang Gong.

If such a cure rate is put into modern society, there will be constant medical accidents and you will be able to sit in the prison.

Not to mention, infants and young children have low immunity, weak resistance, and their mortality rate remains high.

"If you encounter an epidemic, you will die in a year of tens of thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of them a year." Zhu Maichen finally shook his head and said with regret: "If there were no such fatal things, the Central Plains would have a lot more people. The Lingnan land is far worse than the Central Plains, and they will die more."

"Epidemic?" Zhou Yang's eyes lit up and his fists were clenched, which was a big uplift.

"Master, what's wrong with you?" Zhu Maichen couldn't see it clearly.

"Chief, do you think this epidemic can be prevented, will the big man have more people?" Zhou Yang couldn't stop rubbing his hands.

"That's certain." Zhu Maichen nodded slightly.

"When it comes to epidemics, I have some ideas." Zhou Yang has been in the Han Dynasty for nearly two years, and has devoted himself mainly to military wars. He has not known much about the sufferings among the people. If Zhu Maichen hadn't talked about this, Zhou Yang would have really not understood the reason for the small population of the Han Dynasty.

When it comes to epidemic prevention, Zhou Yang, as a modern person, really knows a lot. From childhood to adulthood, he has been exposed to epidemic prevention knowledge, both in school and in society, and Zhou Yang remembers a lot.

Diseases such as smallpox, cholera, and the Black Death have been passed down since ancient times. Modern prevention and control methods may not be useful to the Han Dynasty. Without the drugs and conditions, they are also of reference.

In ancient times, epidemics were very terrible, and could kill tens of thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands of lives. If you encounter a major plague, it would not be a problem to die more than one million people.

If these knowledge on prevention of epidemics were applied to the Han Dynasty, countless people would be saved. Once the survival rate was higher, the population of the Han Dynasty would increase sharply.

"You can still treat the disease?" Zhu Maichen looked at Zhou Yang in disbelief.

"It's not a question. It's just some ideas." Zhou Yang was very happy. After solving the population problem, the Han Dynasty would become stronger and the civil and military achievements would become more prosperous.

"As for road construction, I have some tricks." Zhou Yang suddenly remembered that gunpowder could be used to open mines and build roads. If the Han Dynasty had gunpowder, it would be twice the result with half the effort when doing things.

However, Zhou Yang only knew the formula of gunpowder, but did not know the method of refining raw materials. This doesn't matter, it can be studied by craftsmen of the Han Dynasty. Our ancestors were very creative and wise. Zhou Yang had seen it countless times. If Zhou Yang proposed it and they would study it, gunpowder might not have not appeared in the Han Dynasty.

"What method? Tell me quickly!" Zhu Maichen urged him very anxiously.

"It's not available now. Let me go back to Chang'an and deal with it." The skilled craftsmen of the Han Dynasty mainly studied gunpowder and had to return to Chang'an.

"Report to the great commander, Wei Qing's good news." Zhu Maichen was still asking again, and Zhao Ponu came in and reported to Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang took the news, opened it and said with a smile: "Wei Qing fought well, and Dong Yu has all surrendered!"

Zhu Maichen took the news, browsed it, and praised: "Wei Qing is indeed amazing! Although the great man has a great reputation, there must be many people with bad intentions in Dongqi. It is rare to be able to collect Dongqi at such a small price!"

He was right, and Wei Qing met people with ulterior motives many times. Fortunately, Wei Qing was decisive and resolutely suppressed. With his use of both soft and hard, the Dongqi tribe surrendered one after another.

"Yes!" Zhou Yangda praised: "Immediately write a good news and report it to the emperor! Also, I will send an order to Li Yan and ask him to go to Dongqiong to return to Wei Qing."

"Switch back to Wei Qing?" Zhu Maichen was a little surprised.

"Wei Qing can be both literary and martial, and it's too inexplicable to let Dong Zhuo come back and take on the big responsibility." Zhou Yang was very satisfied with Wei Qing and was determined to give him another chance to experience.

"That's it, that's it." Zhu Maichen had no objection to this.

"Tell Li Yan that we must restrain the army and order the people strictly and not disturb the people! Violators will be killed!" Zhou Yang said in a deep voice with a solemn face.

"No!" Zhao Ponu responded and went to handle it immediately.

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After the efforts of Zhou Yang, Zhu Maichen, Gongsun He, Gongsun Jian, Qin Wuhui and others, the reorganization of the army, the government affairs of Nanyue were carried out in an orderly manner and made very smooth progress.

The heavy business finally passed, and Zhou Yang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, this ease did not last for a few days, and ended with Gongsun Hong's arrival, and he had to get busy again.

Gongsun Hong brought Emperor Jing's will. Zhou Yang's memorials were approved, but he went further and searched for the remains of the Qin army that had been killed in Nanyue and Minyue on a large scale.

Sixty years ago, 500,000 Qin troops went south, and wars continued. The entire war to pacify Lingnan lasted for three or four years. I don’t know how many Qin troops died in the mountains and wildernesses. It’s not easy to find their remains.

Even at that time, Zhao Tuo and the others did not do it, let alone searching for it sixty years later. It was more difficult than ten times. The boy from sixty years ago has now, either passed away or had a bright hair. Where can anyone find it?

Although it was very difficult, Zhou Yang didn't say anything and sent someone to search everywhere.

When the Qin army marched south, their contributions were drowned in the dust of history, so they should let their contributions come back to the light of day. This is what they deserve, and it is not an exaggeration to call them "national heroes".

The most excited person was naturally Zhao Tuo. He thought that it would be good that Emperor Jing could get Zhou Yang’s memorial. Unexpectedly, Emperor Jing went further and searched for the remains of the Qin army in Lingnan on a large scale. For him, there was no more joy than this.

All day long, Zhao Tuo walked here, there, looked around the east, and asked in the west, and cared about it. He came and went like the wind, and had to walk around many places in a day, but there were nearly a hundred people, just like the middle-aged man.

This matter not only took place in South Yue, but also in Min Yue. When the Qin army went south, pacifying the entire Lingnan area, mainly Nan Yue and Min Yue. The reason why there is a Min Yue division is because of the war at the end of Qin, the tribe leader of the Min Yue expelled the Qin army from Min Yue.

The reason why the Qin army was able to expel the Qin army from Minyue back then was closely related to morale. The war at the end of Qin and the destruction of the Qin Dynasty was a huge blow to the morale of the Qin army and it could be said to be fatal. Despite this, Zhao Tuo still stabilized Nanyue and did not allow Nanyue to annex the Minyue.

If Nanyue annexed the Minyue, the land of Baiyue would be unified, a huge force, which poses a great threat to the south of the Han Dynasty, which is very unfavorable to the Han Dynasty.

To save Nanyue without falling into a shaken hand, this is Zhao Tuo's great achievement.

After the order was delivered, Yan Jiao organized the search. For a time, the entire Lingnan area was full of people looking for the remains of the Qin army. However, the results were not great. It took more than a month and only more than 3,000 were found.

Sixty years ago, 500,000 Qin troops went south, and none of them returned to the Central Plains. Except for Zhao Tuo, all died in Lingnan. In other words, except for the more than 100,000 Qin troops found by Zhao Tuo, the remaining 300,000 Qin troops became unknown heroes.

They are national heroes and history will remember them!

After another half month, the remains found were getting fewer and fewer. After Zhou Yang, Zhao Tuo, Zhu Maichen, Gongsun Hong and others discussed, they ordered that they no longer search.

The next thing is to transport these remains and ashes back to the Central Plains. This is a huge project, time-consuming and labor-intensive. Fortunately, the Loyal Soul Hall is full of ashes, which saves much trouble when transported.

For hundreds of thousands of ashes, hundreds of carriages were needed to transport them. In addition, the thousands of remains found were all made of coffins, which was a huge project. It took more than ten days to make coffins and mobilize manpower and carriages.

After counting the time, it was almost the end of the year, and the Han army had to retreat north. Since the end of the autumn, the Han army was ordered to go to Suiyang to suppress the rebellion, and now it has taken almost half a year. Although their military achievements are outstanding, the Han-Hungary War is even more important, so they have to be transferred back, and they are the backbone to train more troops.

Since the military minister Shanyu led his army to the west, the Huns have conquered many tribes, and it is said that they have fought to the Tianshan Mountains. Almost all of the Western Regions fell into the hands of the Huns, and the strength of the Huns is recovering rapidly. The Han army's expansion must be carried out quickly, otherwise, there will be no time.

Zhou Yang had already reported to Emperor Jing about the withdrawal of troops. Emperor Jing agreed to withdraw his troops as soon as possible and asked Zhu Maichen to stay in Nanyue to handle government affairs. In addition, Zhou Yang asked Zhou Yang to choose a suitable person from the generals and command the Han army stationed in Nanyue.

"Master, who are you going to let stay?" Zhu Maichen asked.

"What do you think?" Zhou Yang did not answer, but asked back.

"This... I thought I had to leave a general." Zhu Maichen pondered slightly and said, "It's either the Fei General or the General Cheng."

Li Guang and Cheng Bushi are both famous border generals and figures who stand alone. They are not only proficient in military affairs, but also very familiar with political affairs. Choosing one of them to stay is perfect for a stable South Vietnam.

"You have a big appetite." Zhou Yang shook his head and said, "After this withdrawal, the army will be expanded immediately. It is not about training 50,000, but at least 100,000. The flying general is good at shooting archery, General Cheng's veterans on the battlefield, how can the army be less than them?"

Nanyue is very important to the Han Dynasty, but it is worse than the upcoming Han-Xionnam War, which is a life-and-death battle. Li Guang and Cheng Buzhi are indispensable for training the army. Although Zhu Maichen felt sorry, he said nothing: "Master General, who do you plan to keep?"
To be continued...