Chapter 511: Chapter 511 - Besieging Fengyi County (XIX)
Wei Ci muttered, “This is a good idea, but the Tsing Yi Army claims that there are 200,000 members in their army . There will definitely be more captives in the future . Do you want to send all of the captives to the mines? Even though the iron ore is rich, it won’t take long to finish mining . ”
Once the number of captives exceeded a certain threshold, it would become a huge danger . Conscript labor in mining was definitely tough . If they were to mine for the rest of their lives, it was difficult to ensure that these captives would not find ways to unite and create trouble .
There could not be an insufficient number of captives because most manual labor was done by captives . However, there could not be an excess number of captives because that would be shooting oneself in the foot instead . If one wanted to have a good reputation and become a benevolent ruler, one had to think of a way to properly arrange their future path .
Wei Ci hoped that his lord could also earn an honorable reputation in other ways than good deeds . She should not suffer a loss like how she had in the past . He would not presumptuously make a decision for her . First of all, he did not have such an intention . Secondly, Her Majesty was not the kind of person to be controlled by others .
She could accept good intentions once or twice with a smile and not fuss over it . However, she would not be able to tolerate a person who kept making decisions for her arbitrarily . Therefore, Wei Ci only pointed the problem out . It would be totally up to her to make a decision . Even if he did not bring it up, she would realize the problem when there was an increasing number of people in the captive camp .
Jiang Pengji pondered and said, “Zixiao’s concern makes sense . All of the defeated troops can’t be held captive in the future…”
If one thought about it carefully, what Jiang Pengji said was quite wild . She already believed that she was the suzerain of the world when she had only conquered Xiangyang District and Chengan District . Was she not thinking big?
“… We’ll do it this way . These captives can first be dispatched to the mines for six months . If they perform well without any misbehavior, they can be given the chance to ‘redeem’ themselves . ” Captives were considered to be slaves . Even if they were not officially registered under the household registration, they were considered to be her personal property . What if the captives wanted to be free again? They could do so, as long as they found a way to redeem themselves .
Wei Ci raised his eyebrows and asked, “Redemption? How?”
Jiang Pengji replied, “These Tsing Yi Army captives are different from the captives captured six months ago . Their behaviors and acts are very odious . If they aren’t properly tempered, they can only be regarded as scum and they can’t even be used at all . It’s better to let them mine for half a year as a form of meditation . ”
Of course, during this period of time, these captives were still ‘slaves’ .
“If they don’t stir up trouble and perform extremely well in the six months’ period, they’ll be given a chance to become garrison peasants and receive simple training . They’ll spend most of the time reclaiming wasteland for farming and ploughing . They can participate in other labor construction during the slack season . They’ll be given food or money according to the amount of labor they perform . If they can make contributions to our military, their slavery status can be removed at discretion and they can be free…”
Jiang Pengji was definitely not willing to feed a gang of useless captives . If their labor force was excessively oppressed and exploited, it would become a hidden danger . It was better to be strict and lenient and give them some good treatment and hope . This was not the final decision, but it gave everyone the general outlook on how to handle the captives .
There were too many abandoned farmlands in the north . After the severe earthquake the year before, a lot of farmland was uncultivated . Because of the Tsing Yi Army, Chengan District missed the autumn harvest the year before and the spring ploughing this year . This meant that almost nothing was reaped for two years . There were many farms but little grains . It was not known as to how many people were still enduring the torments of hunger .
Jiang Pengji had currently accumulated quite a lot of popularity points which could be exchanged for a lot of food, but she did not rely on this channel . A normal and healthy force should provide for oneself and even have abundant grain . Not only could they feed the people, but they also had enough money and grain for war . It was simple to exchange for food in the mall, but a complete grain production system was missing . One would have to starve if one left the system!
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It should not be forgotten that she was just confining the ‘subsystem’ . The noumenon was still hiding in the corner of the world . Besides, according to the several probes she had for the system, the popularity points could have other usages . Out of consideration, Jiang Pengji felt that the captives should not be idle and should still work hard to shine .
Xu Ke was silent for a while . He was somewhat enamored of Jiang Pengji’s suggestion . She was giving the slaves a chance to ‘redeem’ themselves and did not take away all their hope . If the captives had the desire to advance, repent, and perform well for half a year, they could become garrison peasants . They could cultivate wastelands, grow crops for the military and distribute the autumn harvest among the officials and civilians . Jiang Pengji would not be too relentless on the ratio between the two .
If the farming tools, improved variety of seeds and cattle were provided by the government, the government and civilians would have 40 percent and 60 percent of the income respectively . If the farming tools, improved variety of seeds and cattle were self-provided by each household, the government and civilians would have 30 percent and 70 percent of the income respectively .
All of the farmland would be owned by the government . Troops would be dispatched to serve as instructors during the slack season to teach the principles of warfare and killing the enemy .
They would also have the opportunity to go to war . If they could make a contribution, they could break free from their slavery status according to the scale of their meritorious services . If they did not have such desires and only wanted to be a commoner, they could participate in other paid work during the slack season . If they worked for a few years and were even able to buy their own farmland, the government and civilians would have 10 percent and 90 percent of the income respectively .
Jiang Pengji told the two strategists about her ideas . The more she explained, the more ideas she had, the more dynamic her thinking was .
Her troops had the habit of working on farmland during the autumn harvest and spring ploughing . Because too many wastelands were cultivated the year before in Xiangyang District, each household was given a lot of farm land, so their hands were extremely full . The spring ploughing was very short, so it would be a pity to miss it .
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If God was considerate this year, not only could the autumn harvest feed the military, but also the entire Xiangyang District . There could even be an oversupply . However, training was the main task for her troops . Farming and other labor were auxiliary . The main tasks of the garrison peasants were farming and labor . Training was auxiliary . Even if they were not excellent in combat, they were still better than ordinary people .
However…
Xu Ke frowned and said, “The distribution ratio makes it seem like we’ve conceded too much . ”
The government had provided the farming tools, improved variety of seeds and cattle . They should receive 50 percent of the profit instead of just 40 percent . After all, the farmlands did not belong to the civilians and they did not even have to pay the rent . According to the lord, the grains received by the government included grain tax as well…
As a result, the ratio was even lower than the current grain tax .
“It can’t be calculated that way . It’s not much even if it’s counted thoroughly…” Wei Ci saw through the flaw within . “The lord isn’t planning to pay the garrison peasants, right? Even if they’re paid, I think they’ll be paid a lot lower than the troops . ”
The grain which the garrison peasants received was indeed theirs . They could eat it themselves . Without getting paid by the government, if there was a war and the enemy had launched an attack, they even had to put up a defense with their weapons . This was equivalent to them farming on their own, feeding themselves and paying themselves . They even had to go to war…
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From the heyday of Wei Ci’s memory, the current proportion of tax was a bit harsh .
However, its most attractive part was that the poor captives would have the chance to buy their own farmland with their efforts . The government would have one-tenth of the grain tax, just as Jiang Pengji mentioned before . The government and civilians would have 10 percent and 90 percent of the income respectively .
In today’s world, such tax proportion was something that the people did not dare to imagine .
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