Chapter 224: National Strength (1/2)

Land is not very useful to Feng Tianzong, as the northern border is vast and sparsely populated. He has no shortage of land, but he lacks population. As long as he can plunder the population, it will be enough for him.

"Remember, burn all the things that cannot be taken away, and fill up all the wells. I want to burn all the three prefectures near the Jiemen Pass to the ground." Feng Tianzong ordered.

"Send a message to Wang Mingyuan, prepare to receive the population, where to place these people after they are plundered, how to make these people sincerely submit to our Da Shang, and identify with Da Shang from the heart, these are the top priorities of your government for the next period of time, and you must not be careless." Feng Tianzong ordered.

Although Wang Mingyuan did not know the exact number of the population of the three prefectures near the Jiemen Pass, he was also an official of the Great Xia Dynasty before, so of course he knew a rough idea. The interior of the pass has not experienced wars in recent years. And the northern border has contributed resources for so many years. It can be said that the resource delivery in the northern border over the years has made several prefectures and counties in the pass truly fertile.

Such places are not only densely populated, but also have many gentry and wealthy families. Plundering these places will definitely make the finances of Dashang much richer.

Although many smart gentry and their families fled from the prefectures and counties near Jiemen Pass, they could not take away those real estates, shops and land. They could only sell these assets at a low price. After all, there are still a few people who know the means of Dashang. They have not personally experienced the cruel means of Dashang. What they hear is false, and what they see is true.

These country bumpkins think that no matter which court people come, they cannot do without these gentry and wealthy families. Without them, Dashang will have to rely on those mud legs to become officials? It's ridiculous. They, the gentry class, are an indispensable part of the entire dynasty.

Even if Feng Tianzong, the emperor of Dashang, treated the gentry a little harshly before he became emperor, it was just for the needs of development. Now that Dashang has established a country, those robber methods at the beginning will definitely not be used.

Feng Tianzong was a rebel force at the beginning. Now that he has been cleaned up and wants to dominate the world, how can he offend these gentry and wealthy families like before?

These gentry and wealthy families discussed it with reason and evidence, and the more they talked, the more they felt that they were right, and laughed at those who ran away. They also received a batch of good assets at a low price, and celebrated with wine.

With their knowledge, they can only see this step at most, and they don’t know the development of Dashang in recent years. Not only are academies blooming everywhere, but martial arts academies are also built in various places.

There is no shortage of talents in both civil and military affairs. There are even some surpluses of people who want to be officials. Academy is not like martial arts academy. Students from martial arts academy can join the army. Even if they can’t become monster cavalry, the army needs these masters.

And students from academies don’t look down on the road of doing business, so they only have two ways, either to join the army or to become officials.

Feng Tianzong has been deliberately training officials over the years. Many jobs that can be done by one person in a government office are generally assigned two or three subordinates to serve as a reserve force.

When Da Shang really expands, there will be no shortage of useful talents. As for the imagination of these gentry and wealthy families, Da Shang still relies on them to consolidate its rule, that can only be said to be too much.

Da Shang has long been sharpening its knives against these gentry and wealthy families.

With Feng Tianzong's order, the entire Da Shang started to run like a sophisticated machine. First of all, the army, when fighting, can still rely on the strength of the monster cavalry to defeat the enemy with fewer people.

But plundering the population is not possible. It is necessary to plunder everywhere, and there are all kinds of things that need to be transported. This kind of thing really cannot be done with fewer people.

Da Shang began to mobilize troops with the whole country's strength, and drew the second-line troops such as the city guards from various cities and transferred them all to Jiemen Pass. The original guard work can only be handed over to the newly surrendered 100,000 soldiers originally in Jiemen Pass.

Officials from all over the country also began to plan to set up new towns outside the city and prepare for the resettlement of the population. After leaving, there is food and grass. All the cities along the way are preparing food and grass. They don't need to be transported to other places, but to prepare for receiving the population. And those people who are in transit, if they lack food, they also need to be provided by the cities along the way.

This is a huge project. The whole country of Da Shang has only 100,000 soldiers. However, because of the promotion of the immortal art of transformation in recent years, even if the city guards in various places are only the second-line troops of Da Shang, they are strong and powerful, and the combat capabilities of the soldiers far exceed the elite soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty.

It's just that Feng Tianzong didn't want more deaths because of the war. So he didn't let these second-line soldiers go to the battlefield. But it doesn't mean that the combat effectiveness of these armies is weak.

Before the army gathered, Feng Tianzong had sent out the monster cavalry to attack. He didn't forget that the Great Xia Dynasty also sent 200,000 troops to attack him. Before looting the prefectures and counties, these 200,000 troops still need to be dealt with first.

Only after these people are cleared out can Feng Tianzong arrange the second-line city guards to go to various places to loot people and wealth without worry.

"Prime Minister, how much time do you think we have to rescue the population according to the current situation?" Feng Tianzong asked Wang Mingyuan. Although the looting of the population is actually looting, Feng Tianzong, as the emperor of Da Shang, certainly cannot call it looting.

When the emperor does things, he must have a legitimate reason, and he must stand on the side of justice and the moral high ground. So this looting became a rescue.

The war was raging in the Da Xia Dynasty. In order to prevent the people from being caught in the war, Da Shang had to take the lead in transporting the people to a safe place. For example, within the territory of Da Shang, there must be propaganda slogans.

"Your Majesty, if we only use ordinary means to calculate, it will take at least three months for the 200,000 troops of the Great Xia Dynasty to be re-mobilized after the defeat.

And if we mobilize troops from the country, even if we have enough iron and wooden puppets to pull carts, the army's movement speed is relatively fast, and it will take at least one month for the troops from all over the country to gather.

The time available for rescuing the population is only two months. In these two months, if the cities in various places do not resist, we still need to transport the people back, plus their things, and the grain and grass from various places also need to be transported.

I am afraid that in two months, our Great Shang can barely transport a state or three or five cities." Wang Mingyuan said after careful calculation.

Feng Tianzong frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "In two months, our 100,000 troops can only rescue the population of three or five cities? Isn't this too little?"

"Your Majesty, the cities inside the pass are different from those outside the pass. The cities outside the pass are all small cities, and they have experienced wars. In recent years, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued, so the population is sparse, and there are only 30,000 to 50,000 people in a city. Such a small population is just the population of a small town in a rich place like the inside of the pass.

In the inside of the pass, any small city has a population of 50,000 to 70,000, and a slightly more prosperous city has a population of more than 100,000. The small towns below, the more prosperous ones may have 10,000 to 20,000 people.

Although there are relatively few cities in Bei'an County inside the Jiemen Pass, there are only four cities, but the population is not small, and the population is at least 500,000 people." Wang Mingyuan introduced.

Feng Tianzong heard this and was salivating for this area inside the pass. There are more than 500,000 people in four cities, which is much richer than the territory of Dashang.

Even the current capital of Da Shang, Liaoyuan City, has only reached a population of 150,000 after Feng Tianzong's development for so many years. In fact, there should be tens of thousands of slaves and untouchables to make up the number.

No, such a big piece of fat meat is right in front of him, but he can't eat it, which makes Feng Tianzong unacceptable.

"In this way, we will send more people. Da Shang will immediately recruit soldiers throughout the country. All young people who are over 16 years old and have practiced the Huafan Xian Gong can join the army, regardless of gender. Let them form transport teams in each village and town to help transport people and food to the south." Feng Tianzong ordered.

Although Feng Tianzong has spent countless resources on the Huafan Xian Gong promoted in Da Shang over the years, it is finally time to reap the harvest. Da Shang has now truly achieved a universal military.

Except for those elderly people who cannot practice Huafan Xian Gong and cannot serve as soldiers because of their age, these people, although old and weak, can also command the iron and wood puppets at home to be responsible for production and farming, so that the army in the front can have no worries.

Other young people, both men and women, as long as they are adults, will be elite soldiers. Their individual combat power is bursting, and they have received certain military training when they practiced martial arts in villages and towns. Even if they are temporarily pulled out to serve as soldiers, they can still obey orders.

Wang Mingyuan looked at Feng Tianzong in surprise. He didn't expect Feng Tianzong to use such a large force this time. You have to know that Dashang has a total population of only more than one million. It is necessary to support 100,000 troops, and all of them are 100,000 soldiers who practice martial arts. This burden is already quite heavy, and it can almost be regarded as war.

If Feng Tianzong had not been vigorously promoting iron and wood puppets in recent years, so that the people's homes have enough labor and solved the problem of production, I am afraid that Dashang would have been in dire straits long ago.

Moreover, Dashang has just accepted the 100,000 troops who surrendered in Jiemen Pass, and now Dashang already has 200,000 troops. In the short term, there are still food and grass in Jiemen Pass as a supply, but for a long time, it will definitely not be able to support it.

Now we have to recruit soldiers again and expand the number of troops, which is simply unimaginable. This can no longer be described as warlike, it is simply insane.

"Your Majesty, we will soon have to resettle the rescued people, which requires a large amount of food. If we recruit soldiers again at this time, the wealth we have accumulated over the years will be gone. We can't hold on for long." Wang Mingyuan rarely advised. In the past, he did whatever Feng Tian said. It seems that Wang Mingyuan really cares about Da Shang.

"We don't have enough food, but doesn't Da Xia across the way have it? You also said that the prefectures and counties within the pass are so rich and have so many people. I don't know how much food and money are piled up in the homes of the gentry and wealthy families in these places.

It's just right to use these people as a starting point. Whether it's money or food, it should be enough, and there may be some left.

And there are 200,000 troops on the other side. You know, before the troops move, the food and grass must go first. The food and grass of 200,000 troops is not a small number. This batch of food and grass can be used as military supplies. "Feng Tianzong explained.

Before the troops were dispatched, Feng Tianzong already regarded the food and grass of the 200,000 troops on the other side as his own.

"Your Majesty, the budget cannot be calculated in this way. If everything is according to your idea, it will definitely be enough, but there will always be some unexpected things. For example, some people would rather die than surrender, and would rather burn the food and grass than let us get it?

If there is a shortage of food and grass at that time, how can we rescue all the people? "Wang Mingyuan argued. Then he lowered his head carefully, not daring to look up at Feng Tianzong again.

I have to admit that what Wang Mingyuan said makes sense, but Feng Tianzong just smiled slightly. The situation Wang Mingyuan said was just a normal situation that might happen in a mortal war. But now there are no cultivators in the opposing Daxia army. Under Feng Tianzong's means, if he can still make mortals burn the food and grass, then he, a Jindan cultivator, can return to the sect, and what is the point of participating in the dragon fight?

"Just do as I say and execute the order!" Feng Tianzong said confidently.

"I obey your order. "Wang Mingyuan didn't dare to argue anymore. After retreating, he began to make various preparations.

Feng Tianzong also led 560 demon beast cavalrymen to encircle and suppress the 200,000 troops. Originally, Feng Tianzong didn't want to do it himself, but after Wang Mingyuan's reminder, he decided to personally... command the puppet to go there.

It is a good habit to reflect on oneself three times a day. A puppeteer must act like a puppeteer. Although the Jindan cultivator on the opposite side has been defeated by him in one battle. But there are still five Jindan cultivators, and they must not be careless. The real body should not show up if it is possible.

Five hundred and sixty demon beast knights encircled and suppressed the 200,000 troops. It sounds crazy, but now the opposite side has no help from the cultivators. The entire battlefield is covered by Feng Tianzong's consciousness. Whether it is the mobilization of the army or the conspiracy of those officials, for Feng Tianzong, there are no secrets. How can this battle be fought?

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