Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors-Chapter 513 - 269: I Want Both Saints!

In the historical slice where Zhao Haiping was located.

Dongping.

"General, these are the household registration records of the false Chu. With these records, the demographic and taxation situation of the original lands of false Chu will be completely clear!"

Zhao Haiping nodded and asked his subordinates to properly store these records.

Since the second great victory at Zhuxian Town, the situation among the Qi, the Jin, and the Zhao Yi Army had changed several times.

First, Emperor Gaozong of Qi had yielded on the spot, issuing a decree to pacify General Han Fuyue, and simultaneously expressing intentions for reconciliation, probably fearing that he might actually attack on the spot.

Wanyan Sheng suffered heavy losses, and the Jin forces were too weak to continue fighting, so they temporarily retreated and signed a peace treaty with the Qi Dynasty.

As for the Zhao Yi Army led by Zhao Haiping, it continued to fight in the lands north of the Huai River.

Although emotionally, Zhao Haiping preferred to advance southwards and annihilate the emperor and Qin Huizhi, rationally, this idea was clearly not feasible for the time being.

At that time, the Qi Dynasty still possessed legal governance, and the south was full of people and army loyal to the Qi Dynasty.

At this point, the role played by Zhao Haiping, General Han Fuyue, had not truly rebelled but had established the Zhao Yi Army and was in a state of obeying the emperor but not his commands.

Emperor Gaozong asked him to withdraw his troops, but he stayed and continued to fight and achieved great victories against the Jin Army; righteousness was on Zhao Haiping’s side.

But if he had truly ignored the Jin forces and marched south, he would have lost moral high ground, and no matter the chances of victory on the battlefield, his soldiers might have mutinied.

Thus, haste was not an option.

During this period, Zhao Haiping, leading the Zhao Yi Army, was basically doing two things.

First, allocating the conquered lands according to the original agreements, to those civilians who provided military provisions for the Zhao Yi Army, as well as to the soldiers who had distinguished themselves. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Second, he continued to pursue and attack vigorously in the territories of the false Chu.

The false Chu was a puppet regime established a few years ago by the Jin forces in the northern part of the Qi Dynasty, with the emperor being Liu Yu, a defected official from Qi.

Originally, the capital of the false Chu was set in Da Ming Prefecture, one of the five capitals of the Qi Dynasty, but fearing resistance from the military and civilians of Da Ming Prefecture, it was later moved to Dongping, where it established its rule.

The territories of the false Chu stretched from the border of the Qi and Xixia in Shanxi to Shandong in the east and to the Huai River in the south, representing roughly two-fifths of the original territories of Qi.

Most of the old lands of Qi conquered by the Jin were controlled by the false Chu regime, while the Jin themselves directly ruled areas including Zhen Ding Prefecture and Da Ming Prefecture in the River East region.

The Jin did this for a reason.

At that time, the Jin were still in a slave society, and compared to the rule of Qi, their governance level was exceedingly brutal and primitive.

They could capture these lands with their formidable military power, but establishing long-term, stable governance quickly was not feasible.

Thus, the Jin decided to support Liu Yu to set up a puppet regime to temporarily manage these areas and gradually assimilate them.

In actual history, seven years after the establishment of the false Chu, it had not achieved the desired effects for the Jin. The puppet regime not only failed to alleviate the burdens of the Jin, but it was also repeatedly defeated by many generals from Qi, forcing the Jin to intervene, turning into a huge liability.

Consequently, the Jin abolished the false Chu and began ruling the region themselves.

At this point, the Jin had not yet abolished the false Chu because they had been severely defeated by Zhao Haiping.

Zhao Haiping first targeted the false Chu.

The rule of the false Chu was unpopular, and at this time it was already unstable with the Rebel Army on the rise. For the Zhao Yi Army, fighting in this region was almost like fighting on home ground.

Moreover, the false Chu was not only weak but also rich. To support it, the Jin had provided a considerable number of warhorses, which naturally all ended up captured by Zhao Haiping.

At this time, Zhao Haiping had led the Zhao Yi Army all the way to Dongping. Emperor Liu Yu of the false Chu had long since fled at the sight of the advancing forces, escaping to Jin Country.

It was only natural for Zhao Haiping to take over all the old territories of the false Chu thereafter.

Afterward, Zhao Haiping temporarily halted his advance.

After capturing such vast territories, he needed some time to assimilate them.

Initially, the Zhao Yi Army did not have many men; of the large army of one hundred thousand, only about thirty thousand had voluntarily stayed.

However, as they continued fighting and achieving victories, people from various regions joined their ranks, so at this point, Zhao Haiping’s forces had once again reached the count of one hundred thousand, even surpassing the number he had commanded under the Qi Dynasty.

This success brought its own set of problems.

Firstly, the quality of these soldiers was uneven, including captives from the false Chu, ordinary farmers who had never fought before, and some individuals with bandit backgrounds.

Transforming them all into qualified soldiers would still require time and rigorous training.

Furthermore, soldiers needed to be stationed in the lands that had been conquered.

The reason why Zhao Haiping had been able to fight victoriously and powerfully was that he genuinely distributed land to these farmers and soldiers!

During the land distribution process, obstacles inevitably arose.

For example, after capturing some regions, if local powerful clans occupied large tracts of good land and were unwilling to distribute them to farmers and soldiers, what could be done?

Whether choosing to make an example of some or slaughtering them all to redistribute the land, a strong military presence was needed to enforce the land distribution.

Otherwise, once the army moved on, the lands might be seized back, rendering all their efforts futile.

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