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Chapter 322: 186: Preparations for the Founding of the Country

On the streets, people hurried about, and dark brown bloodstains could still be faintly seen in the cracks of the stone brick pavement.

At the entrances of streets and alleys, squads of armored and armed soldiers could be seen patrolling the city from time to time.

The civilians in the city subconsciously avoided these soldiers when they saw them.

Sun Siwen rode his horse through the streets, accompanied by more than a dozen attendants. Seeing the desolate scene, he couldn’t help but feel an endless amount of emotions.

Yangshan Prefecture, among other prefectures in Dongting region, was originally a wealthy one.

Adjacent to South Sea Prefecture and connected to Yuzhang Prefecture, it was the trading hub of the three prefectures, bustling with merchants and travelers.

At its peak, Yangshan Prefecture boasted 60,000 households and 300,000 people, making it a truly large and prosperous place.

Now, after being occupied by the Miao thieves for just two years, the city has fallen into such ruin.

‘Now the Yangshan Prefecture probably has less than 30,000 households, let alone 60,000.’

Sun Siwen looked at the emaciated civilians on the streets and couldn’t help but think to himself.

When the Miao people first revolted, they slaughtered and pillaged the local Yue people, seizing their wealth and abducting women.

During that catastrophe, hundreds of thousands of civilians in Dongting region perished.

After the Miao people started their uprising, they never stopped waging wars for two years, employing as many as 300,000 troops at their peak.

Such a large number of Miao soldiers couldn’t be supported by just the Miao population of over a million.

The majority of their expenses had to be covered by oppressing the Yue civilians in the prefectures they occupied.

But during the peak of the Five Poisons’ reign, they only controlled five prefectures. Even with all their territories combined, the total population barely reached two million.

With a soldier-to-civilian ratio of more than ten to one for two consecutive years, the ruthless exploitation of the civilians can only be imagined.

As a result, Yue people across the three southern prefectures of Dongting region abandoned their homes and fled in all directions.

When Sun Siwen governed Luyang, he had already taken in many refugees from Yangshan.

According to them, working on the land or as laborers in Yangshan, they had to give up to 90% of their income as taxes. On top of that, they were often coerced into doing Corvee labor, helping the Miao people fight wars.

Women in their families were also frequently harassed by the Miao, prompting some to resist against the humiliation, only to be slaughtered by the Miao in retaliation.

This harsh treatment, provoking the wrath of both heaven and human, naturally led the civilians to flee in fear and panic.

If it hadn’t been for the Miao people setting up checkpoints to intercept fleeing civilians, there would have been even fewer people left in their territories.

However, the situation in the three prefectures of Jiuyi, Lingling, and Yangshan had hardly improved.

“The population in these three prefectures has suffered yet another catastrophe. Many Miao soldiers have died in battle, and chaos and slaughter have broken out in some places, causing even more loss of population,” Sun Siwen sighed, “The people suffer so much in this chaotic era, what did these innocent civilians do to deserve this?”

After saying this, he couldn’t bear to look any longer, and spurred his horse towards the government office.

This time, the reason Sun Siwen, the Prefect of Luyang, went to Yangshan wasn’t to wallow in sorrow, but to fulfill Lu Yuan’s summons and official duties.

Though his best friend didn’t explicitly say it, Sun Siwen had his own suspicions during the journey.

His best friend probably wanted Sun to take over Yangshan Prefecture and turn the situation around like he did in Luyang.

In this matter, Sun was experienced and confident in his abilities.

If it meant helping the people suffering in these chaotic times, he was more than happy to do so.

Even on his way there, he had come up with several management strategies, ready to discuss with his best friend upon meeting him.

Upon arriving at the government office, Lu Yuan’s personal guards naturally recognized their general’s friend.

As Sun Siwen was also the Prefect of Luyang and a high-ranking official, they didn’t dare to offend him. They quickly greeted him with a smile and ushered him inside.

As soon as they entered the government office, what greeted them was a constant stream of busy attendants, officials, and hurried soldiers and officers.

The entire government office was filled with an air of busyness.

Sun Siwen could understand why.

After all, his friend had just captured the three prefectures, and there were many urgent matters to attend to: the rewards and punishments for the soldiers and officers, maintaining stability and order, and dealing with the fugitive rebels…

Back when he first arrived in Luyang, he had experienced this busy period himself.

Following the personal guards through the halls and corridors, Sun Siwen soon met his friend in a study.

“Brother Sun, welcome. Please take a seat while I finish this document, and then we can catch up,” Lu Yuan said while reviewing official documents.

In Jianghua County of Jiuyi Prefecture, a group of Miao fugitive soldiers had taken control of a Miao People’s Mountain Village, openly confronting the county’s garrison and causing severe disturbances to local law and order.

Most of the garrison troops in Jianghua County were civilian workers from Hengyang Prefecture, and they numbered only around 500, clearly insufficient to deal with this group of Miao fugitive soldiers.

As such, they sent a request for additional military support.

Lu Yuan could only reply: “Your request has been acknowledged, and our troops will arrive shortly.”

And then, he started wondering which troops should he dispatch to suppress the rebels.

There were far too many similar situations lately.

Having defeated 100,000 Miao soldiers across three prefectures, it was impossible for Lu to execute or capture them all.

In the end, more than 10,000 Miao soldiers dispersed and fled to various counties in the three prefectures.

After they scattered, these Miao soldiers didn’t dare to confront the government forces directly, so they retreated to their own villages and defended themselves in fortress-like settings.