The Empress' Livestream

Chapter 512: Besieging Fengyi County (XX)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Looking at his lord, Wei Ci felt emotional.

In the previous life, his lord was most skillful in wars. She would fight anyone who provoked her, even if she had to give up everything. Now his lord... seemed to have gotten better with words? Her ability in reassuring people was superb. If his lord could be this shrewd in the previous life, why did she have to bother doing that?

She calmed the troops in the female battalion with the household registration and marriage matters. She slightly reversed the prejudice held against the female battalion by the people in Xiangyang District and sparked the female troops’ desire to strive for fame and wealth. Now she came up with the idea of letting the captives become garrison peasants to appease them and reassured the people behind the scenes, so that they would loyally work for her.

The household registrations and post-retirement marriage for the female troops were gratuitous, but the female troops were vying to go to war. According to Meng Hun from the vanguard, the female troops were extraordinary. Their ruthlessness in killing made the men’s legs shake uncontrollably.

Similarly, the Order of Army Farming was just a verbal plan. The captives had to undergo ‘mining observation’ for six months. Then, they had to open up the wastelands for the government, as well as cultivating the land and participating in other physical labor. Lastly, they also had to pay quite a high grain tax...

Through such analysis, the captives seemed to be very disadvantaged, but Wei Ci dared to guarantee with his life that if the plan was circulated, they did not have to worry that the captives would start a riot or take the opportunity to rebel. The captives would work hard for the 90-percent income and feel grateful for the lord’s kindness.

Sigh... The lord was really getting more and more skillful with words. Wei Ci teased Jiang Pengji for liking to wheedle, but he was sure that her words would not just end up as pie in the sky.

“What do you think of the idea?”

Jiang Pengji had talked so much that her mouth was dry. She retrieved the water bottle hanging on her waist and gulped it down. Xu Ke was silent for a while. He was also a commoner, so he was naturally more inclined towards the interests of the people. However, he was Jiang Pengji’s strategist. He always had to put her interests first. The lord had already taken the initiative to seek welfare for the public. Under such circumstances, Xu Ke would naturally not propose to increase the proportion of grain requisition.

He sincerely praised her. “This is a very good plan. It’ll definitely restore the people’s livelihood in a short period of time. The lord is great.”

In recent years, the natural disasters in Dongqing had been incessant. An earthquake occurred in the previous year, resulting in an extreme shortage of food. Moreover, the Red Lotus Group and Tsing Yi Army were in a killing frenzy which greatly damaged the farming in the northern part of Dongqing. The people led destitute lives and had little food to eat. Sometimes, they would exchange their children with each other and turn them into food.

If Jiang Pengji’s Order of Army Farming was implemented, not only could it restore the people’s livelihood in agriculture in a short period of time and allow the people who had lost their lands to return to farming in the fields, but they could also hoard a huge amount of army provisions. They would no longer have to worry about going to war without food.

This was one of the benefits!

The other advantage was that upon the implementation of the Order of Army Farming, it could attract a large number of refugees who would not survive! In troubled times, the people in one’s territory were one’s capital. By having a huge population, would one still have to worry about not being able to recruit enough troops? Xu Ke and Wei Ci were circumspect and farsighted. They did not just see the immediate interests, but also the future benefits.

The two strategists were not the only ones who were deep in thought and further improving the lord’s impromptu idea. The viewers in the streaming room were also having a heated discussion.

Diwugeng Nanchanle: “You guys are superficial. You only adore their looks, but I’m different. I just love the streamer’s talent and how she looks when she’s pondering seriously and solving problems... She’s simply so attractive that I can’t resist.”

Guiqiu Yuepiao: “To the user above, don’t interrupt. You should pick the right time to be hopelessly romantic. Why does the streamer’s Order of Army Farming sound so familiar to me? I feel that Boss Cao’s subordinates, Zao Zhi and Han Hao, have suggested to create the army farming system.”

Jujue Taijian Zhongma: “The user above is right, but the two seem to be very different, right?”

Tumi Dalao: “I’ve looked them up on Baidu and they’re indeed different. Boss Cao’s army farming system has largely restricted the freedom of farmers. They’re almost chained to the fields and they live a very tough life. The proportion of grains collected by the government is either 5:5 or 6:4. In the later period, they’re severely exploited and the ratio has become 8:2. The farmers have revolted and fled. Later, the lands are heavily invaded so the army farming system is basically abolished.”

Nuzhuang Hairen: “How should I put this? After reading the information on Baidu, I just have a single thought. Make oneself a waiver of any future trouble. Even if the farmers are just captives, refugees, and slaves, one shouldn’t drive them to a dead end. The tolerance of the ancient civilians is beyond imagination. As long as they’re not driven to a wall, they won’t resist at all. They’ll just choose to resign themselves to adversity.”

Yewu Yanling: “This is why the streamer is really skilled in tricking people. It’s worth learning. She orders them to open up the wastelands for farming, provides some things during that period, and gets a huge chunk of the meat after the harvest, but the people are still grateful for her kindness.”

Suifeng Xiaose: “I don’t reckon it’s a trick. In such troubled times, the streamer is already considered to be a remarkably impressive human.”

Jiang Pengji frowned. She scanned the phrases ‘exploited in the later period’, ‘the farmers have revolted and fled’ and ‘lands are heavily invaded’.

At that moment, a viewer asked her a question.

Yunshu Dabaobao: “Why did you suddenly think of this?”

Jiang Pengji thought about it and expressed her thoughts.

Host V: “My troops will help the people in farming during the spring ploughing and autumn harvest. This is considered to be an inspiration. In addition, there are many records about army farming in the book gifted by Master Cheng Cheng. However, the scale is very small, so army farming isn’t popular.”

For the people of ancient times, the Order of Army Farming which she mentioned might be amazing. However, according to Jiang Pengji’s thinking, the suggestion was logical. Just as Wei Ci had said, no matter how rich the iron ore was, it would be depleted one day. How would the captives be dealt with then? There would be more and more captives in the future. Could all of them be dumped in the mines? Be it the captives or commoners, they were her ‘family’. She was obliged to ‘take care’ of them.

Jiang Pengji would not ‘take care’ of them by providing them with food and materials and let them eat and drink for nothing. She would ‘take care’ of them by exploiting them to the maximum and developing their abilities to contribute to society so that they could provide for themselves. If they were hopeless, Jiang Pengji would give up on them. This was the same as what Jiang Nongqin had said in the past. Those who were willing to save themselves could be saved. Those who were unwilling to save themselves would be abandoned.

From another perspective, this could be regarded as an alternative interpretation of teaching a man to fish instead of feeding him for a lifetime. The captives had nothing else to do, so they could help the army open up wastelands for farming and learn how to grow crops.

In Jiang Pengji’s previous life, the Federation pursued the idea that all citizens were soldiers. Every citizen had a certain level of fighting power. Similarly, she hoped that her people could also be valiant. They did not need to have a high level of fighting power, but they must be able to fight!

Thus, it could be seen that one should learn how to fight during slack seasons.

By integrating the above ideas, the embryonic form of the Order of Army Farming could basically be obtained. Well, the idea was as simple as that.