Tianliangyuan

Chapter 441 First Batch of Spoils

The establishment of Xuzhou provided an opportunity for many civil and military officials. Even the eldest son of General Song, who had never been highly regarded, finally found an opportunity to go out and gain experience.

Although Xuzhou is within the territory of my Daxing, it still needs to be garrisoned.

Song Jia Dalang got a military rank that wasn't too high, and happily went back to pack his bags and prepare to set off.

Of the officials selected by the imperial court this time, only two are over forty years old, more than ten are over thirty years old, and the rest are under thirty.

Of course, for minor local officials, they can be selected and appointed after arriving in their respective areas.

Xu Zhaozhao, Xu Jun'an, and Xie Xiaocheng joined forces and successfully placed many people there.

Some were transferred directly from the capital, some from local areas, and others were selected from local areas.

Xu Zhaozhao truly sought enormous benefits for her family this time.

It's not just about manpower arrangements, but also about industrial relocation.

Since Xuzhou was newly established, and there were vast grasslands there that were not suitable for growing crops, His Majesty and Gu Dongyang decided to sell a portion of the land after discussing it.

It's actually a grassland, which can be used as a pasture.

This is naturally a great thing for Xu Zhaozhao.

Without saying a word, he waved his hand and directly acquired two large ranches.

The two small countries were merged into Xuzhou. In addition to the original inhabitants, some of the criminals who had been relocated there were also to be relocated. Wasn't this an opportunity?

Some aristocratic families look down on these grasslands; what else can they do besides raising cattle and horses?

But many military generals reacted exceptionally quickly!

Yes, you can raise horses!

So, after many people were stunned for less than a day, the news about the grassland ranch naturally became a hot topic.

But it was too late. Xu Zhaozhao had already taken over two large ranches, and Xu Junan had also bought one. As a result, one-third of the ranches that were considered top-tier had already been taken.

As for some small ranches, Xu Zhaozhao specially arranged for people to purchase two more. These small ranches could only raise a hundred cattle and horses at most, which was indeed too small.

But Xu Zhaozhao didn't mind!

Moreover, the small ranch she bought was right next to her large ranch, which made things much easier.

Xu Zhaozhao directly bought two ranches, a move that naturally attracted a lot of envy. But envy aside, the main problem was that they couldn't afford that much money.

Even if Xu Zhaozhao doesn't buy it, the vast majority of people still can't afford it.

Most importantly, ranches also need people to operate and manage them. Who would go to such a far place?

However, this problem does not exist for Xu Zhaozhao.

Because her father and the man are over there, it wouldn't be difficult to buy a few obedient and honest managers.

Moreover, Xu Han and Xie Zheng had already received Xu Zhaozhao's letter, so they each bought a large number of slaves. In the future, there would be people to do the work on the ranch. At that time, with the help of the criminals who were relocated from Daxing, it would be enough!

At the end of January, the first batch of spoils was escorted back to Beijing.

In addition to thousands of slaves, there were countless cattle and sheep, more than five hundred horses, and a considerable amount of gold and silver jewelry.

All of these must go into the national treasury.

As for what to do with these slaves, they were simply sold off, and the proceeds were put into the treasury.

With so many cattle and sheep, Emperor Yong'an was naturally overjoyed. He was also generous, directly rewarding the families of all the civil and military officials who had made contributions this time with cattle, sheep, and horses. Such a generous emperor naturally won over the hearts of the people once again.

If it weren't for the fact that they needed to leave a batch of horses in Xuzhou, Xie Zheng and his team would probably have brought back even more.

Besides, this is only the first batch. According to the memorial, the second batch is already on its way and should arrive in about half a month.

So why are some emperors or military generals willing to fight?

Once a war is waged, the money will come, right?

War may seem like a waste of resources and manpower, but what if you win?

These cattle, horses, and slaves are just the tip of the iceberg; the real prize is that vast grassland!

From then on, Daxing would have another barrier in the northeast. According to Xu Han's memorial, the terrain there was good, and the best places had been reserved for the court to train cavalry there. This was essentially a cavalry supply station for Daxing!

Therefore, most of the military officers sent there this time were young, mainly to let them train there, whether it was the harsh climate, horsemanship, or tactics. Because of the vast grassland, they could train their troops more freely.

Xu Zhaozhao purchased two large ranches, one of which was dedicated to raising horses, warhorses, and doing business with the imperial court.

Another area mainly raises cattle, sheep, and rabbits.

Besides, it's not that no food can be grown on the grasslands, but to be honest, there aren't many varieties that can be grown, and the harvest will be much worse.

Therefore, Xu Zhaozhao ordered someone to send her improved sorghum seeds to Xuzhou. At the same time, she also had several piglets sent over. Of course, the skilled pig farmer also had to bring a few people with him.

Eating only beef and mutton can get boring.

Raising pigs, rabbits, or chickens is fine.

Furthermore, Xu Zhaozhao also ordered people to bring over some vegetable seeds with short growth periods. For example, some leafy greens can go from sprouting to being edible in just over twenty days. Of course, this is the result after Xu Zhaozhao's improvements.

What people on the grasslands lack are grains and vegetables, so they especially like tea from the Central Plains because it helps them digest.

Having her own ranch meant she had a base there, so Xu Zhaozhao's caravans would naturally have a place to stay, and she would be like a local tyrant, making business easier and money flowing in like water.

Of the two ranches, one was bought in Xie Zheng's name. Xie Xiaolin didn't follow suit; he just quietly tended his own little plot of land and watched his two children cause trouble.

Xu Zhaozhao's ranch is her own; she won't use the Xie family's resources.

However, the ranches under Xie Zheng's name would naturally be reserved for Xie family members first.

Of course, there are also the guards, former guards, and their families who risked their lives for the Xie family.

In short, this generous gesture immediately provided a way of making a living for more than twenty unemployed members of the Xie clan who had neither academic achievements nor talent.

They're doing it all for the sake of contributing to the family, so these people are very proactive.

As Xie's son-in-law, Li Shun naturally saw Xu Zhaozhao's grand gesture and understood that this Princess Anle's talent was no less than that of the wise ministers in the court.

If she hadn't been born a woman, Xu Zhaozhao's repeated scheming would have made her a top strategist!

Li Shun sighed. Luckily, he surrendered early!