12dz Chapter 832: Both Literary and Martial
Chapter 832: Both Literary and Martial
Yang Zheng, unaware of Tian Yu's inner thoughts, continued, "Besides, Youzhou these days is more like the Lu family's private territory than the territory of the imperial court!"
"General Tian should know how miserable the people of Youzhou were under the rule of the Lu family!"
Yang Zheng became more and more agitated as he spoke: "Of the grain we harvest in a year, 80% has to be handed over to the Lu family as rent. Only the remaining 20% belongs to us. With 20% of the harvest, it's hard enough to feed ourselves, let alone a family. The entire Youzhou is littered with corpses of the starving, and the people are starving. Countless people are selling their children. General Tian, can you really bear to watch the people of Youzhou continue to suffer persecution from the Lu family?"
Upon hearing this, Tian Yu couldn't help but close his eyes, his heart heavy.
He naturally couldn't bear to see the people of Youzhou suffer so much. After all, he was from Youzhou, and the people of Youzhou were like his hometown elders to him. How could he bear to see his hometown elders living in such dire straits?
But what can he do?
The Lu family was granted the title of Duke of Lu by the imperial court and was revered as a family of sages by scholars throughout the land. Even though Tian Yu was about to rise to a high position of power, he had no way to deal with the Lu family.
He had impeached the Lu family's misdeeds to the court more than once, but the court remained unmoved. Under such circumstances, even though Tian Yu had an army of 300,000, he could do nothing to the Lu family, because his army was simply not capable of dealing with them and could only watch as the Lu family ravaged the people of Youzhou...
“Yang can make this promise here.”
Yang Zheng solemnly said, "If General Tian can help me take Youzhou, I will definitely treat the people of Youzhou well and will never impose heavy taxes on them like the Lu family did."
Upon hearing this, Tian Yu couldn't help but feel a little tempted. He knew about Yang Zheng's deeds in Liangzhou. After Yang Zheng overthrew the imperial court's rule in Liangzhou, he abolished a series of exorbitant taxes and levies, reducing the tax rate to 30%. This tax rate might not be considered extremely low, but it was at least much better than during the imperial court's rule. The people could eat more meat because of the lower taxes and wouldn't go hungry...
"Furthermore, I, Yang, am also willing to fully support General Tian in his fight against the barbarians!"
Yang Zheng continued to add to the offer: "If General Tian can help me take Youzhou, I am willing to do my best to support General Tian in resisting the barbarians on the grasslands. If one day I am able to ascend the throne, I will definitely fully support the Great Wall Army, and even... fully support General Tian in sending troops to the grasslands!"
Yang Zheng's words made no attempt to conceal his ambition; there is no rebel in the world who doesn't want to sit on the supreme throne.
However, Yang Zheng was weak at the time, and the Liangzhou region he occupied was relatively barren, so he rarely revealed his ambitions.
But times have changed, and Yang Zheng's mindset is completely different now!
With the full support of Chenjia Village and the fact that he now controls two states, Yang Zheng felt that ascending the throne was no longer a distant dream for him, so he no longer needed to hide his ambition.
As Yang Zheng uttered these words, the struggle on Tian Yu's face became increasingly apparent.
It has to be said that Yang Zheng's promise really hit Tian Yu's weak spot!
What is Tian Yu's greatest ideal?
Isn't it just about sending troops to the grasslands to completely wipe out the barbarians and eliminate future troubles?
However, due to the lack of support from the imperial court and the scarcity of resources over the years, he has seen no hope of realizing his ideals!
But at this very moment, a person appeared before him and told him that as long as he helped this person take Youzhou, this person would fully support him in resisting the barbarians and even help him realize his greatest dream...
If an ordinary person said such a thing, Tian Yu would definitely kick him out.
But the one who said these words was Yang Zheng, who controlled two provinces and commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, and who had a very high chance of unifying the nine provinces and ascending the throne as emperor...
This forced Tian Yu to take this promise seriously.
"What King Yang said sounds nice."
Tian Yu pondered for a moment and said, "But as far as I know, Liangzhou is not wealthy. Where does King Yang get the ability to help me resist the barbarians, and where does he get the ability to support my expedition to the grasslands?"
Youzhou and Liangzhou are adjacent, and Tian Yu knows the situation in Liangzhou very well.
Liangzhou was even poorer than Youzhou. Tian Yu simply couldn't believe that Yang Zheng, who occupied Liangzhou, was capable of supporting the Great Wall Army. Even if Qingzhou were included, it wouldn't be enough.
After all, the amount of grain and fodder required to feed 300,000 soldiers on the Great Wall was so enormous that even the imperial court, which once controlled the entire land of China, felt the pinch.
Yang Zheng only had two states, and the grain tax he collected was very low. It was difficult to even support the consumption of his own army, let alone have extra grain to support the Great Wall Army.
Yang Zheng seemed unsurprised that Tian Yu would raise this question, and confidently smiled and said, "General Tian seems to have a limited understanding of Liangzhou."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"If General Ruotian knew more about Liangzhou, he would know that Liangzhou is now growing wheat that yields 2000 jin per mu!"
Yang Zheng said with a smile.
"what?!"
Tian Yu's eyes widened instantly, wondering if Yang Zheng was joking with him!
A wheat yield of 2000 jin per mu is simply the most ridiculous thing ever!
Don't assume that Tian Yu, being a military general, is ignorant of farming. Despite his impoverished background, he had some experience with farming in his childhood.
Even after joining the army and rising to a high position, Tian Yu's concern for agriculture never diminished in the slightest!
Because the imperial court frequently cut off the supply of provisions to the Great Wall Army, and later even cut off the supply altogether, the Great Wall Army had to grow its own provisions most of the time.
Indeed, the conditions for the Great Wall Army were extremely harsh. They not only had to defend against the barbarians who could invade at any time, but they also had to cultivate crops...
During wartime, the soldiers of the Great Wall Army would take up arms to fight against the cruel barbarians, and when they had free time, they would become farmers, tending to the crops in the fields behind the Great Wall.
Tian Yu not only had to command the Great Wall Army in battle, but also had to take care of the people's livelihood and agriculture in the military town. He could be described as both a scholar and a warrior.
It was precisely because he frequently needed to organize the army to farm that Tian Yu had an extremely deep understanding of agriculture. In Tian Yu's memory, a yield of 250 jin of wheat per mu was considered high, let alone 2000 jin...
That's a number that Tian Yu wouldn't even dare to dream of!
If wheat really had such a high yield, why would the soldiers of the Great Wall Army have to live such a hard life, and why would Tian Yu be so worried about food supplies every day?
"Is King Yang perhaps toying with me?"
Tian Yu stared intently at Yang Zheng, his expression somewhat unpleasant.
He thought Yang Zheng was joking with him, but deep down he couldn't help but have a sliver of hope that what Yang Zheng said was true, and that there really was such a high-yield wheat in the world!