Zhao Sheng was extremely pleased, as if victory was already assured.
Bai Qingyan smiled and nodded to Zhao Sheng, then asked: “General Zhao, on your way here, did you pay attention to… how the prefectural officials in the Western Liang cities that our Great Zhou has captured are implementing the new policies?”
When this topic was mentioned, Zhao Sheng’s expression became somewhat unnatural. He raised his hand to touch his nose, but still honestly told Bai Qingyan: “Quite a few Western Liang people, knowing that Great Zhou troops were coming to take over the cities, all fled…”
Zhao Sheng didn’t dare say that the reason these people fled was because the Western Liang people hadn’t forgotten the Battle of Weng Mountain years ago, when Bai Qingyan burned to death one hundred thousand Western Liang prisoners who had surrendered. So the Western Liang people all feared that after the Great Zhou army came, they would be slaughtered, which was why they fled.
Bai Qingyan nodded: “It’s good that they fled…”
Hearing these words, Zhao Sheng looked completely surprised. He turned his head to glance at Yang Wuce, then looked at Bai Qingyan: “What does Your Majesty mean?”
Yang Wuce quickly explained to Zhao Sheng the policies that Bai Qingyan had implemented toward Western Liang people in Yecheng Pass. Zhao Sheng immediately understood…
“In that case, Minister of Revenue Master Wei will not come crying poverty to Your Majesty!” Zhao Sheng smiled.
Bai Qingyan smiled and nodded: “We will make the Western Liang people become Great Zhou citizens, but we cannot give them preferential treatment just because they have newly joined Great Zhou citizenship, making the Western Liang people think… that they can rely on court relief to get by and thus live lazily.”
“Your Majesty speaks truly! Since they now know that they cannot survive as Western Liang citizens and must become Great Zhou subjects to have a way to live, we must make them move on their own and become self-sufficient.”
When Zhao Sheng was in the Liang Kingdom, he had also been assigned to provide disaster relief. Later, when good farmland was destroyed and the people could only rely on court-allocated grain for over a year, some people developed lazy habits, and then… originally hardworking people followed suit. In the end, good fertile land was left to waste, requiring court-allocated grain year after year, ultimately turning what had been Great Liang’s granary into a burden for the court.
So Bai Qingyan’s measures could be said to be very necessary.
“After this first batch of refugees enters the city, before long, there will be more Western Liang refugees coming to join the Great Zhou.” Bai Qingyan spoke unhurriedly. “When Yecheng Pass can no longer accommodate them, it will be just right for me to take them along when I return to the capital, settling these refugees in various cities along the way, giving them new homes… new land, letting them feel at ease becoming Great Zhou subjects and living and working in peace from then on.”
Zhao Sheng nodded along.
“General Zhao just arrived today, rest for one day, and set out with troops early tomorrow morning…” Bai Qingyan said.
Hearing that he would lead troops out to battle, Zhao Sheng was filled with energy and clasped his fists: “Yes!”
Watching Bai Qingyan walk away, Yang Wuce pulled Zhao Sheng to sit and chat, actually wanting to show off to Zhao Sheng about the battles he had fought following Bai Qingyan.
Through these battles, Yang Wuce had come to admire Bai Qingyan completely, and also understood why in the past when Great Liang still existed, the Zhao family army always lost to the Bai family army.
Among the Bai family generals, Bai Qingyan was skilled in warfare and good at military strategy. The other young Bai family generals were each outstanding talents, and even the youngest Bai family seventh miss was like a little Zhuge Liang, not to mention the other Bai family generals!
Yang Wuce felt that this Bai family seventh miss was already so formidable at such a young age—when she grew up, wouldn’t she be another Bai Qingyan?
·
In the following days, more and more Western Liang refugees flocked to Yecheng Pass. The people in the city, seeing the people kneeling at the city gate daily begging to enter the city, felt terrified in hindsight. The houses in Yecheng Pass were already full, and the land had all been distributed.
Just when the Western Liang people thought that the people coming next probably wouldn’t be able to enter the city, Bai Qingyan decided to leave General Yang Wuce to lead troops to garrison Yecheng Pass, while she would lead troops and take the refugees to settle in cities like Suining, Feng’erlan, and Jiangzi.
When Zhao Sheng passed through several cities, he had carefully observed that these cities were already virtually empty. Rather than later moving Great Zhou people there, it would be better to settle the Western Liang refugees there.
This also conveyed a message to the Western Liang people: the earlier they became Great Zhou citizens, the more benefits they would receive. Not only could they get Great Zhou relief grain to avoid starving to death, but they could also get houses and farmland. Such good fortune… for Western Liang people who had experienced famine while their court couldn’t provide relief grain and instead seized grain from the people for military provisions, this was simply a great blessing.
Since the Western Liang court didn’t care whether they lived or died, why would they remain loyally united with Western Liang? Naturally, whoever could guarantee they could eat their fill and dress warmly, they would become that person’s subjects and acknowledge that person as their emperor and sovereign.
Before the Western Liang refugees set out with the Great Zhou army for the next city, the Great Zhou generals made it very clear to those Western Liang refugees: regardless of which Western Liang city these refugees originally came from, to Great Zhou now… they were all Western Liang refugees who were about to enter Great Zhou cities but had not yet officially become Great Zhou citizens.
Whichever city the Great Zhou arranged for them, that’s where they would go. Those unwilling could leave now, but anyone who followed the Great Zhou would have to obey the Great Zhou’s arrangements, or they would still be expelled from the Great Zhou territory.
This was mainly to prevent refugees from Suining City from wanting to return to their own houses, but being unwilling to sign IOUs with the prefectural office.
As long as they could have a bite of food and not starve to death, these starving people couldn’t care less about what kind of house they had. If they were dead, wouldn’t the house have to be lived in by others anyway?
Soon, after Bai Qingyan handed Yecheng Pass over to Bai Qingyun and Yang Wuce, she set out with the army and Western Liang refugees toward Suining City.
These Western Liang refugees had seen the land and houses that the people of Yecheng Pass received under Great Zhou’s new policies, and knew about Great Zhou’s national policies that benefited both Kingdom and people. They all carried hope for the future as they followed behind the army in a mighty procession toward Suining City.
After the army arrived at Suining City, Bai Qingyan discovered that Suining City was indeed more than half empty.
Before the Bai family army attacked Suining City, more than half of the people had already left with their families. Later… when the Bai family army captured Suining City and went to attack Yecheng Pass, seeing that the Great Zhou army didn’t prevent them from leaving, the people in the city thought to take advantage of Great Zhou’s focus on attacking Yecheng Pass and inability to spare time to deal with these ordinary people, so quite a few also left under various pretexts.
Naturally, the city-guarding general had received Bai Qingyan’s orders and didn’t obstruct ordinary people who wanted to leave Suining City. Now seeing Bai Qingyan return with a mighty procession of people, and hearing that Bai Qingyan wanted to give the people the Great Zhou household registration, General Cheng was somewhat confused.