After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times

Chapter 1183 - 1165: No Restrictions on Status

After Liu Yi surrendered, he followed orders and returned to Bingzhou with the remaining clansmen. To prevent the Xiongnu soldiers from gathering and causing chaos, Zhao Hanzhang only released some veteran soldiers and wounded soldiers, while the rest were dispersed. She selected Xiongnu leaders to take them to Bingzhou for field cultivation, road construction, and canal digging.

After the Xiongnu occupied the Hexi Corridor, they drove the Han people to farm the land and enclosed areas for grazing. Few of them knew how to cultivate.

Recognizing their lack of expertise, Zhao Hanzhang allocated several areas for them when sending them back to Bingzhou, consisting of half farmland and half pasture.

She allocated the fields and grasslands to each household, allowing them to graze and plant crops. She even dispatched many people from the Ministry of Agriculture to guide them in farming.

The dispersed Xiongnu soldiers were either fighting bandits within Bingzhou or building roads and canals at the newly established small settlements, along with field cultivation.

She also sent officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to guide them in farming.

Step by step instructions make it hard to excel in farming, but doing it generally is easy: plow when it’s time to plow, sow when it’s time to sow, fertilize when needed. She refused to believe they couldn’t grow any grain.

The grain produced belonged to the army, and the majority of the canals were used by nearby Xiongnu new settlements. The roads were also situated between Xiongnu tribes, so the Xiongnu soldiers gradually dissipated their resentment through daily labor.

Moreover, Zhao Hanzhang selected many Assistant Generals from the Zhao Family Army to teach them Han characters. These instructors said, "The Great General treats you all equally. General Shi belongs to the Jie Clan, and Jie people can serve as officials. Naturally, you all can too."

"However, you don’t recognize Han characters, and some of you can’t even speak Han language. No matter how capable you are, the Great General won’t know or be able to utilize you," said the Assistant General. "That’s why you must study diligently with me, learn Han language, then learn commonly used Han characters. In the future, you can showcase your talents. Even if you can’t be a State Governor like General Shi, being an officer in the military is commendable."

The Xiongnu soldiers were instantly invigorated and became excited. After studying for a while, some grew bold and asked the Assistant General, "My family is truly bad at farming. Can I only have grassland without farmland?"

The Assistant General couldn’t decide and had to report it.

Meanwhile, Liu Yi, as the new leader of the Xiongnu, also bore the responsibility of rejuvenating the Xiongnu. He wrote to Luoyang twice and was finally allowed to enter the capital.

So Liu Yi went into the capital to meet Zhao Hanzhang.

This year’s grain had already been harvested. He completed an assessment and found that, despite guidance from Han instructors, a significant portion still couldn’t learn to farm effectively.

Zhao Hanzhang thought it was simple timely operations; they indeed followed them, yet the grain grown couldn’t sustain themselves, nor could they pay the taxes and rents.

Fortunately, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t collect full taxes this year; otherwise, some families would truly need to borrow money to pay taxes.

Liu Yi sought out Zhao Hanzhang, hoping she would allow this portion of people to exchange farmland for pasture and live by grazing.

Zhao Hanzhang discussed with the court ministers and agreed, retrieved their farmland, and allocated more pasture for grazing.

Those who can farm will continue to live by farming; thus, the Xiongnu tribes were re-divided, where farmers settled near the farmland, while the grazers lived nomadically like their ancestors.

Zhao Hanzhang’s leniency reminded Liu Yi of their former friendship, and to strengthen relations between the Xiongnu and Zhao Hanzhang, he decided to stay in Luoyang.

He also saw the announcement on the bulletin, knowing Zhao Hanzhang was in dire need of water management experts, and the Yellow River also passed through Bingzhou, so Liu Yi volunteered.

After conversing with him, Zhao Hanzhang realized he truly knew water management.

Not only adept at water management, Liu Yi, as a Xiongnu with Di bloodline, also showed talent and insight in agriculture.

Liu Yi’s character leaned more towards his mother and uncle, like the skillful farming and patience of the Di people. Mild-tempered and favored since young, his father received Hanization education and admired Han culture, while Liu Yi, as the youngest son, was influenced by it since childhood.

He also read Han literature from a young age and learned various Han culture.

He never thought he would become, could become the leader of the Xiongnu. He always saw himself as a support for his brothers, being far less skilled in warfare and archery than his siblings. He knew under the Xiongnu governance, relations between the Xiongnu and Han were tense.

He saw that the Xiongnu fencing off land caused fertile fields to be overgrown with grass, and grazing on fertile land was incorrect. He also knew for the Han Kingdom to last, harmonious relations with Han people were essential, preferably Hanization.

To achieve Hanization, the primary step is teaching Xiongnu not to graze on fertile fields and understanding cultivation.

Thus, he studied with his uncle on how to cultivate land and also learned water governance from the Han teachers who taught him.

With this knowledge, Liu Yi smoothly entered the Water Department, transitioning from a captured Xiongnu leader to an Assistant Minister of the Water Department.

His appointment seemed to be a signal; within just a month, several appointed Xiongnu, Di, and Jie officials performed excellently and were promoted.

Originally, some Xiongnu felt embarrassed Liu Yi only became an Assistant Minister of the Water Department. Now, they stayed silent, accepting Liu Yi’s stay in Luoyang.

Zhao Hanzhang was also willing to boost Liu Yi’s reputation and let him control the Xiongnu tribes.

Liu Yi, with noble character, was indeed the ideal choice for the actual ruler of the Xiongnu tribes. With him around, the Xiongnu’s Hanization process would be smoother and quicker.

However, such matters can’t be rushed; slow and steady wins the race. She understood this.

Zhao Hanzhang let Liu Yi return as the Assistant Minister of the Water Department, leading the Xiongnu to clear the Yellow River sediment around Pingyang County.

This time for water management, Zhao Hanzhang used a large number of military soldiers. Besides enlisting labor, she allocated a sum from the national treasury specifically for recruiting workers.

The wages, provisions for soldiers and laborers, materials for building river embankments and sediment clearance, just for the Yellow River governance alone required thirty thousand shi of grain and five million coins. The tax revenue just collected briefly stayed in the treasury before being spent.

These funds were handed to Fu Tinghan personally, as the Chief of Staff, who presided over the Yellow River management and currently resided by the river.

Zhao Hanzhang valued this highly, fearing officials below might deceive him, hence she dispatched the recently returned Zhao Xin, sending him and Fan Ying to lead parts of the Imperial Censorate to patrol the river courses.

"During this patrol, besides ensuring the allocated funds are used efficiently, safeguarding the water management soldiers’ and laborers’ interests, you must also advocate for water management education. Regarding the grass planting tax exchange along the Yellow River, I won’t widely promote it on the bulletin, but I need the people along the Yellow River to know about this, so they all join in managing the Yellow River."

Zhao Xin and Fan Ying acknowledged, took the orders, and each went to the Imperial Censorate to select subordinates.