TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 942: Chapter 394 War and Grain Trade Chapter 942: Chapter 394 War and Grain Trade “`

Gathering the barbarian tribes was a mere trifle for Great Chu.

A mere 1.3 million barbarians, with a population even smaller than that of any random prefecture in Great Chu, made their settlement an incredibly simple matter.

It was now the twenty-fifth year of the Shenwu era, and it had been a full thirteen years since Lu Yuan unified Yangzhou and declared himself emperor.

The thirteen years of peace had allowed Great Chu to completely shake off the chaos of the past, not only increasing the population tremendously, but also enriching the treasury and grain reserves.

With deeper development of the local areas, countless specialties and goods emerged one after another.

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Household, by this autumn, the registered population of the ten prefectures directly governed by Chu had exceeded 45 million people.

Among them, Xichuan Prefecture had 4 million people, Hanzhong Prefecture had 4 million people, Hegu Prefecture had 1.1 million people, Qianzhong Prefecture had 1.6 million people, Xiangyang Prefecture had 6 million people, Dongting Prefecture had 7 million people, Yuzhang Prefecture had 8 million people, Linhai Prefecture had 6 million people, Guangling Prefecture had 4 million people, and Jian’an Prefecture had 2.6 million people.

From these numbers, it is evident that, over the past decade or so, the population of the prefectures and counties near Chu’s northern border close to Central State has seen a significant leap.

The populations of Dongting and Hanzhong doubled, Xiangyang Prefecture’s population increased twofold, while other prefectures such as Xichuan, Yuzhang, Linhai, and Guangling all gained more than a million people each.

The reason for such a large increase in population is, of course, due to Great Chu’s unwavering dedication to its immigration project over these years.

After abolishing the four prefectures of Jiuzhen, Through Sea, Yulin, and Southsea in Lingnan, Great Chu relocated 6 million people to various prefectures along the Yangtze River in the north.

After subjugating Western Liang, they moved another 3 million people to the prefectures along the river.

During this period, as the barbarians submitted, an additional 1.3 million people were relocated.

Source: AllNovelFull.com, updated on ƝονǤօ.сᴑ

Just these relocated populations alone accounted for more than 10 million people.

Add to this the population boom experienced by various prefectures and counties during the decade or so of recuperation and growth, and you have the situation where, in the thirteen years following the unification of Yangzhou, Great Chu’s population increased nearly by 10 million people.

Therefore, in comparison to Great Chu’s population of over 45 million, a mere million or so barbarians really wasn’t much.

Disperse this number among the various prefectures and counties, and they wouldn’t even make a splash; they would be completely absorbed in less than a decade.

As for the funds and grain needed to support these immigrants, the grain-producing areas such as Xichuan, Jianghan, Dongting, and Pengli saw their potential fully unleashed after the extensive development along the Yangtze River.

Chu now has over 500 million mu of cultivated land, with an annual grain yield of 400 million shi; at the current average of five shi per person per year, Chu produces enough grain to sustain 80 million people annually.

Even after accounting for the military’s higher consumption of rations and the feed for various livestock and warhorses, Great Chu still has a surplus that can sustain 70 million people.

Currently, Chu only has a population of 45 million people, so there is an excess grain share for another 25 million people.

It’s not just about supporting a million immigrants; even if another 10 million were to come, Great Chu could easily provide for them.

In fact, as the major grain-producing plains are further developed, Chu’s grain production has been increasing year by year, and the granaries built across the land have been filling up to the brim.

To manage this surplus, Lu Yuan initially ordered the construction of granaries in each prefecture, each with a capacity of 5 million shi, but they were full within two years.

He then ordered the construction of prefectural-level granaries, each with a capacity of one million shi, and these too filled up within a few years.

Later, county-level granaries were built, each with a capacity of 200,000 shi, and just a few years ago, these county-level granaries also reached capacity.

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The granaries at the prefectural, county, and county levels in Chu, to date, have a total storage of 350 million shi of grain, enough to supply a 10-million-strong army for three years.

Yet even so, each year’s new harvest yields a large amount that cannot be consumed.

Often, the old grain in the granaries hasn’t been used up when the new grain starts to rot outside the warehouses.

In the last two years, to address the problem of excessive grain production, Lu Yuan even had to take the initiative to send messengers to the Wei and Liang states to discuss initiating grain trade.

Yes, to Wei and Liang states, as Zhou Country no longer exists.

Following constant invasions by Wei and perpetual harassment in the southern territories by Chu, Zhou was finally worn down by nearly two decades of war.

After losing the regions of Guannei, Nanyang, and Xiangyang Prefecture, Zhou, supported by Liang but exhausted by war, could no longer maintain the conflict and collapsed five years ago when Wei troops entered Heyin and overran their relocated capital, bringing an end to their dynasty.

At the time of their downfall, Zhou had just over a million people left, fewer than 50,000 soldiers, and only three Inborn Grandmasters – their lifeblood had truly run dry.

In the war to extinguish Zhou, Wei gained considerable territory.

Not only did they capture Zhou’s former capital in Guannei Prefecture, but they also seized Henan and Nanyang, two prefectures belonging to Central State.

One could say that they had secured a ticket aboard the ship of the great crisis afflicting the Nine Provinces.

No matter what, as long as they can hold on to these two prefectures, Wei State can ensure the survival of their dynasty.

As for Chu, it only captured three provinces in the northern part of the Han River belonging to Zhou’s Xiangyang Prefecture, thereby completely securing the territory of the Xiangyang region with its ten provinces.

The reason for such modest gains is mainly due to Lu Yuan considering the inevitable, increasingly fierce and brutal conflicts that will arise in the future upheavals within Central State.

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