Chapter 511 – Attack on Fengyi County (19)
Wei Ci pondered, “That’s actually a good approach, but the Green Garment Army claims to have around 200,000 personnel, and there will definitely be more prisoners in the future. Does the Lord intend to send all those captives to work in the mines? Even though the iron ore is rich, it won’t last long.”
Once the number of prisoners exceeds a certain critical point, they could become a significant threat.
Mining labor is undoubtedly tough. If they have to mine for a lifetime, it’s hard to guarantee those prisoners won’t band together and cause trouble.
The number of prisoners can’t be too few; a lot of labor is needed from them, yet it also can’t be too many, or they will end up shooting themselves in the foot while trying to look good. If we want a good reputation and become a truly benevolent leader, we also need to carefully plan their future paths.
Wei Ci hoped that his Lord would not only do good deeds but also gain a good reputation, and not suffer losses like before.
He wouldn’t be foolish enough to make decisions for her; firstly, he didn’t want to, and secondly, the Lord wasn’t the type to be controlled.
It was fine for her to accept kindness once or twice with a smile, but if those decisions were made without her input repeatedly, she wouldn’t stand for it.
So, Wei Ci merely pointed this out; as for how to decide, it was entirely up to her.
Even if he didn’t say anything, once the number of prisoners increased, she would naturally realize this point.
Jiang Pengji thought for a moment and said, “Zixiao’s concern is valid. We can’t have all the defeated armies become prisoners…”
If you think about it, Jiang Pengji’s statement was quite audacious.
Having just captured Xiangyang County and Cheng’an County, she already declared herself the ruler of the world. Wasn’t that a bit too bold?
“…How about this? This batch of prisoners will first be sent to the mines for six months. If they perform well and have no other offenses, we can offer them a chance to ‘redeem’ themselves.” The prisoners would be considered slaves; even if they hadn’t been formally registered, they were still her personal property.
Want to regain their freedom, do they?
Sure, they just need to find a way to redeem themselves.
Wei Ci frowned and asked, “Redeem themselves? How can that be done?”
Jiang Pengji said, “These prisoners from the Green Garment Army are different from those captured six months ago. Their behavior and conduct are extremely poor. If they aren’t properly taught, they will just be scum and utterly useless. It’s better to have them mine for half a year to calm down.”
Of course, during this time, they would still be “slaves.”
“If they cause no trouble for half a year and are exceptionally well-behaved, then we’ll give them a chance—temporary service as militia, receiving basic training, with most of their time spent on farming and agricultural labor. During off-seasons, they can participate in other paid labor, and based on their work amount, they’ll receive food or money. If they contribute to our military success, we may consider removing their slave status and restoring their freedom…”
Jiang Pengji certainly did not want to raise a bunch of useless prisoners.
If she simply exploited their labor, that would become a hidden danger; it’s better to tighten and loosen the reins, giving them some sweet rewards and hopes.
This wasn’t the final decision but provided a general direction for dealing with the prisoners.
There were too many abandoned fields in the north; last year had seen significant earthquakes, leaving many fields untilled. Cheng’an County missed the autumn harvest last year and the spring planting this year because of the Green Garment Army, meaning nearly two years of no yield.
With so much land and so little grain, who knows how many people are still suffering from hunger?
Jiang Pengji had amassed a good amount of popularity points and could easily conjure lots of food, but she didn’t want to depend on that channel.
A healthy, normal force should be self-sufficient, even having surplus food to not only feed the common people but also have enough resources for war. Exchanging food through the marketplace might be simple, but without a complete food production system, once the system is gone, they would starve!
Let’s not forget, she had merely confined the “subsystem”; her main body was still hiding in this world’s corners.
Moreover, based on a few tests with the system, these popularity points likely had other effects.
Considering all this, Jiang Pengji believed these prisoners should strive to shine and not remain idle.
Xu Ke pondered for a while and found Jiang Pengji’s suggestion quite appealing.
She offered the slaves a chance for “redemption,” not sealing off all routes of retreat.
If these prisoners had the ambition to improve and could perform well for half a year, they could serve as militia to farm the land, sharing the harvest between officials and civilians. As for the ratio, Jiang Pengji wouldn’t be too harsh.
If the tools, seeds, and oxen came from the officials, the government would take 40%, and the people 60%.
If the tools, seeds, and oxen were provided by households, the government would take 30%, and the people 70%.
All the fields belonged to the government, but during off-seasons, soldiers would be appointed as instructors to teach combat techniques and strategies.
They would also have opportunities to go to war; if they could contribute, they might get out of slavery based on their achievements.
If these individuals didn’t want to pursue that path and just wished to be common people, they could participate in other paid work during off-seasons.
After working for a few years, they could even buy their own land, with the government taking only 10% and the people keeping 90%.
Jiang Pengji shared her ideas with the two strategists, and the more she spoke, the more inspired she became, her thoughts becoming increasingly vibrant.
Her soldiers also had the habit of working the fields during the autumn harvest and spring plowing because last year there were too many fields in Xiangyang County to be reclaimed, and each household had far more land than they could manage, missing out on the short spring plowing season.
If the heavens favored them this year, the autumn harvest wouldn’t just sustain her army but could also feed the entire Xiangyang County, possibly leaving a surplus.
However, her soldiers were primarily trained in combat, with farming and labor as the secondary focus.
The militia would focus on agricultural labor, with training as a supplementary, and even if their combat skills weren’t top-notch, they’d still surpass the common folk.
But…
Xu Ke frowned and asked, “This distribution ratio seems a bit too generous.”
The government provided the tools, seeds, and oxen, so their share should be at least 50%, not 40%. After all, the land doesn’t belong to the common folk, and there’s no rent charge for using it. According to the Lord’s words, the grain collected by the government also included tax…
Thinking it over, this ratio was even lower than the current grain tax.
“We can’t calculate it like that. When you really think about it, it’s not much…” Wei Ci saw through the intricacies, “For the militia, I doubt the Lord plans to provide salaries, right? Even if they do, it would still be significantly lower than our soldiers.”
The grain allocated to these militia members was indeed theirs, meant for their consumption.
If the government didn’t provide salaries and war came, if the enemy invaded, they would still have to pick up arms to defend.
In effect, they were farming for themselves, feeding themselves, and even paying themselves, while also needing to fight in battles…
In Wei Ci’s memory of prosperous times, this tax ratio was somewhat harsh today.
However, the most attractive part was that these impoverished prisoners could, after much effort, have a chance to buy their own land, with the grain tax set at 10% to the government and 90% to the common folk.
For today’s world, this tax ratio was something the common people could scarcely dream of.
