Chapter 39: Pacifying the West

"What was that second idea you mentioned just now?"

After several conversations, Gao Yang’s expectations for Gao Yin had grown increasingly high. Every discussion yielded something new and ingenious; the boy no longer resembled the dim-witted scholar he had once been, but rather a heaven-sent hero.

*Could it be that I’ve finally knocked some sense into him?*

Gao Yang clenched his fists, thinking he might as well take the same approach with his other young sons.

Gao Yin, unaware of his father’s inner thoughts and fearing he had fallen into one of his episodes, quickly replied, "I wonder if Your Majesty is aware of the Western bandits' Fubing system?"

Although later generations would call it the Fubing system, people of that time did not know it by that name. Gao Yang pondered for a moment. "Are you talking about those 'hundred garrisons' that Black Otter established under the guise of the Zhou Rites?"

He sneered, "I don't see what use there is in setting up so many garrisons."

While the Fubing system was a superior structure for the time, it was effectively a method of decentralization. With a clear hierarchy between the upper and lower garrisons, it served as a way for Yuwen Tai to manage the other Pillar Generals, who technically held equal status. It was a tool to divide his own power and curry favor with other warlords to ensure the Western Wei army remained cohesive, much like the Great Chancellor Gao Huan during the Wei era; no matter how prestigious the Great Chancellor was, if he did not claim the throne, he remained a subject.

However, Yuwen Tai’s personal prestige, like that of Gao Huan, far surpassed everyone else in Western Wei. Thus, while the Pillar Generals were nominally his equals, in reality, they all had to obey him.

As long as Yuwen Tai lived, this mattered little. But if he were to die, the gap would widen significantly. Official ranks and titles could be inherited by heirs, but personal reputation and prestige had to be earned anew—which was exactly why the original Gao Yin had been driven from the throne.

This was why Yuwen Tai had to entrust his legacy to Yuwen Hu. Fearing his own prestige was insufficient, Yuwen Hu forced the abdication of Emperor Gong of Western Wei, Tuoba Kuo, to establish Northern Zhou—the very same reason Gao Yang had claimed the imperial title.

For this reason, Yuwen Tai was extremely wary of Dugu Ruyuan, even changing his name to "Xin" (Trust) to assert that he stood above Dugu. Dugu Xin was the only man capable of challenging Yuwen Tai's position; he had been a subordinate of Heba Sheng, and had Heba Sheng’s brother, Heba Yue, not been assassinated, it would have been he who established the Northern Zhou.

It was also after Yuwen Tai’s death that Zhao Gui attempted to purge Yuwen Hu to seize power and was executed for it. Yuwen Hu took the opportunity to strip Dugu Xin of his rank on charges of conspiracy, forcing him to commit suicide at home.

Therefore, while the Fubing system was effective, Gao Yang held it in contempt. To him, creating more Pillar Generals was meaningless; it would only disturb the existing hierarchy of the nobility and needlessly destabilize the nation.

"Indeed, the hundred garrisons were merely a means for Yuwen Tai to decentralize power and win over his generals. But there is another function: if the Western bandits allow their garrison soldiers to train during the off-season, farm the land during the day, and serve as soldiers in times of war, the morale of the army will soar."

"These soldiers are farmers at heart; they do not require extra funds or grain to be maintained as soldiers, and they can be tasked with cultivating wasteland. As long as they are assured that the land is their own, they will be more than willing to work it. To protect their own land, they will fight without fear of death."

Gao Yin had pinpointed the true brilliance of the Fubing system.

The Fubing system was built upon the foundation of the Equal-Field system, which operated on the premise that the state possessed ample land but insufficient population. It allowed the people to cultivate the land themselves, and after a certain period, the state would recognize that land as the property of the cultivator.

Regarding the distribution of land, Gao Huan’s Eastern Wei chose to win over the powerful families and the nobility of the Six Garrisons. The common people and the land were effectively enclosed by these nobles. This secured their support and built a "Common Destiny of the Gao Clan," but it came at a price: the Gao kings, and eventually the Qi emperors, did very little to benefit the common people.

Conversely, Western Wei was weaker, which is why it lacked the rigid clannishness of Eastern Wei. As long as one could resist the forces of the East, it mattered not whether one was Xianbei or Han; as long as they kept the Easterners out, they were considered "our own."

These distributed lands, once in the hands of the displaced and the commoners, ensured that the people would fight with fervor to defend their own property.

Of course, the Zhou state had not yet fully integrated the military and agricultural aspects of the Fubing system at this time; that reform would only begin a decade after Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty. Before that, its primary purpose was to recruit the powerful Han clans of the Guanzhong region to rebuild the central army, consolidate the power of the Yuwen clan, and transform military commanders into a political aristocracy.

This was why, when the Northern Qi fell, the city was defended mostly by Xianbei youths and women. The Han literati held nostalgic feelings for the Qi, but the common Han people looked on coldly, watching as the state perished.

The reason for the Northern Zhou's gradual rise lay exactly in this. However, the Zhou emperor had to maintain his supreme status; once the Yuwen clan lacked exceptional talent or lofty prestige, they would face challenges from the remaining six Pillar Generals, ultimately being replaced by the Han Yang family.

Admittedly, this does not mean the Qi state’s approach was inherently weaker than the Zhou’s. On the contrary, the military strength of the Qi was consistently superior to that of the Zhou; even at the moment of its collapse, the Qi army nearly defeated the Northern Zhou Emperor Wu during his northern expedition.

The downfall of the Qi was largely due to the incompetence and character of its own monarchs. Gao Wei was so remarkably useless he deserved to be seated alongside Hu Hai. If the state of Northern Qi had been governed not even by the likes of Liu Che or Li Shimin, but merely by monarchs like Wanyan Shouxu or Zhu Youjian, they might not have reversed the situation, but they certainly would not have allowed the Zhou army to enter Jinyang so easily.

"The key is that the people own the land and farm during the season..."

Gao Yang grasped the core of the idea, yet he felt helpless.

As mentioned before, even if the Qi state still possessed much land, the population was held captive by the nobility and the aristocratic families. It was similar to the "enclosure movement" of the Qing Dynasty, where the hidden population became the serfs of the era.

In the era of Gao Huan, they could still count six hundred thousand people, but that was Gao Huan. Later, his eldest son had also thoroughly investigated the nobility, striking hard at powerful clans like those of Gao Shen and Li Yuanzhong.

The result was that Gao Shen, exacerbated by the fact that his wife had been molested by Gao Cheng, defected directly to Western Wei, while Li Yuanzhong and others withdrew from the Wei court, resigning their posts to avoid the turmoil.

For Gao Yang to attempt the same would be even harder. Although he was the founding emperor, he was effectively the third helmsman of the Gao family. While he held superior status and actual power, to strip certain ministers of their foundations was to threaten their lives; to protect their own interests, they would fight him to the bitter end.

The relocation of the populations of Ji, Ding, and Ying provinces to Youzhou in the eighth year of Tianbao to settle and farm was proof of this. And that was not even taking into account that even a founding emperor of a grand, unified dynasty like Zhu Yuanzhang had faced challenges to his authority through the North-South Examination Scandal before his death.

Thus, for Gao Yang, these words were also futile. He knew the truth, but he could not change it.

He could not change it from the moment he ascended the throne, full of ambition and pride. Now, as a man in the twilight of his life with little time remaining, it was even less possible.

Gao Yin understood his frustration and gathered his thoughts. "Fortunately, the Western bandits have not yet made land registration and taxation uniform for all their people. We in Qi do not need to imitate their Fubing system. The Qi state has its own laws; why look to the bandits? I ask to establish state-run farms in the Huai River region."

"Oh?"

Ever since the defeat at Jiankang, Gao Yang had paid little attention to the Huai region. As long as he maintained the defenses to keep the Southern Dynasty unstable, he had never truly considered developing the area, which led the Southerners to believe the Qi government was burdensome and extortionate.

"The Southern Dynasty is in decline, and its military is weak. The Chen clan is bogged down by the former Liang royal family, struggling just to preserve itself, with no strength left to harass us. I believe the Huai region does not need many troops; we can focus on civilian farming and appoint 'Grain Protection Commissioners' to guard them... I have calculated that we can harvest fifty thousand shi of grain annually."

Fifty thousand shi?

Upon hearing this number, Gao Yang was slightly surprised. Even a small gain is a gain; if the Huai region, which he had previously dismissed, could produce grain, it was a profit.

"As for Jinzhou, Luozhou, and other areas, because they directly face the Western bandits, the pressure is immense. I believe we should establish a major stronghold in Pingyang to counter their Puzhou. We should dig deep trenches and build high ramparts, stockpiling grain and weapons. If the Western bandits do not come out, we shall capture the land east of the Yellow River, cutting off the wings of Chang'an, and the bandits will be trapped to death."

"Conversely, if the Western bandits attack, they cannot breach our cities with fewer than a hundred thousand troops. Our grain will be transported from within the passes, and our soldiers will rotate annually, ensuring our supplies and manpower remain constant."

"When they attack, we shall not engage. In time, the enemy will inevitably be exhausted and starved. When they retreat, we shall pursue them. The Guanzhong region is sparsely populated and its cities are far apart, making logistics difficult for them. Even if they transport grain from Shu, the mountain roads are treacherous and will be of no help. Within three years, the enemy will be a shadow of their former selves, and that will be the time for our Great Qi to launch a western expedition and unify the northern lands!"