Chapter 392: Managing Six Thousand People (1)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Emperor Yan wanted to eliminate the Nangong army by cutting off their food supply and forcing them to submit.
Unfortunately, it was not that easy.
Lin Xiaoyue thought of something.
“Then, how’s the army now?” She asked Li Xiao.
“Not good.” Li Xiao sighed.
“Emperor Yan investigated the Nangong assets. Although most of them escaped, too much was lost. The remaining assets could no longer support those at the border.”
“The expenditure of nearly six thousand troops at the border is not small even if we don’t pay them.”
Fortunately, the Nangong army did not leave the city to fight and only defended the border.
The loss of weapons and armor was reduced, and the biggest expenditure was only on the food for the soldiers and horses.
But even so, he could not hold on much longer.
Emperor Yan was now certain that the army had no one to support them and was almost out of food. That was why he allowed them to exist.
He wanted to find an opportunity to recruit them or force them to rebel, and then completely destroy the Nangong Clan.
At the moment, the army was in a difficult situation.
Lin Xiaoyue frowned.
Supporting an army of six thousand people was indeed a huge expenditure.
Excluding the pay, if one person and one horse were to spend 1 tael of silver a month, six thousand people would cost 6,000 taels of silver.
The border was secluded, and it was already winter.
It hadn’t snowed in Daishi Village yet. It would have snowed a long time ago at the border.
It had been some time since the incident with the Nangong Clan. This year, the army probably did not even have winter clothes.
“It’s not good for them to stay at the border.” Lin Xiaoyue looked at Li Xiao.
The 6,000-man army was under the surveillance of Emperor Yan.
Their clothes, food, accommodation, and transportation were watched over at all times.
If someone were to deliver a large amount of rations to the army, it was very likely that they would be caught by Emperor Yan.
Then, he would follow the clues and catch the people who were in hiding, and even implicate them.
However, if he didn’t do anything, then they would be in trouble.
They could either compromise and submit to Emperor Yan, or they could rebel and be killed.
Li Xiao nodded.
“However, it won’t be easy to evacuate tens of thousands of people. Furthermore, it would be difficult to arrange for the soldiers to retreat.”
He had been considering this matter before, but he did not know what to do.
Once the army retreated, Emperor Yan would definitely pursue them. If they did not make arrangements in advance, it was very likely that they would be caught
Li Xiao looked at Lin Xiaoyue.
“Most of the people in the army are orphans. Moreover, their information is not on the imperial court’s military register, so there’s no need to worry about implicating their families.” He said to Lin Xiaoyue.
Therefore, the most difficult part was to move them.
Six thousand people was too big a target.
Lin Xiaoyue thought about it.
“Maybe 1 can arrange it.”
Li Xiao was shocked.
Lin Xiaoyue smiled.
“The three manors are lacking manpower.”
The surprise in Li Xiao’s eyes quickly returned to calmness.
“It’s not impossible to arrange for some people to go to the manor and help with the farming. However, how many people could a manor accommodate?” 300 people was already a lot.
It would take at least twenty large manors to accommodate six thousand people.
Lin Xiaoyue smiled.
“400 in each manor. They will be in charge of land reclamation, farming, taking care of the livestock, and working in the workshops.”
Li Xiao looked doubtful.
Lin Xiaoyue ignored him and continued, “after they get there, we might not need so many people in the early stages. But when the first season of chili is harvested, these people will be busy.”
“You’ve seen the chilies we planted this year. It’s less than one mu of land. When it’s time to harvest, Aunt Jiang and Xiao Hua will barely be able to manage it.”
“We have three manors, and each has nearly 300 mu of land. When it is time for the chilies to be harvested, we will need about 400 people.”
“We also need workers to dry them. Also, after collecting the chilies, we have to assign some people to make the chilies into chili powder and send them back to the workshop in Daishi Village.”
“After that, there will be less work. However, the manor would be filled with chili peppers that need to be ground into powder. They don’t have to worry about not having work.”
“Other than the work of processing chili powder, the sweet potato in the field is growing, and the piglets have also arrived. Someone has to take care of the pig farm too.”
“Also, someone has to take care of the sweet potatoes and weeding in the fields. A month later, new chili seedlings will be planted again..”