It could be said that doing this was equivalent to minimizing the harm caused by the Aristocratic Families.
The next step was to bind the interests of the Aristocratic Families with the state, ensuring that they would share in both its prosperity and its ruin. Only then would these families do more good for the country.
The Aristocratic Families actually had some commendable points; at the very least, these people loved to expand their reputations. Lia estimated that once she established a new regime and a scientific system, these families would shift from a desire for power to the power of researching technology.
Just like those major powers, where a certain company independently develops some technology and gains immense prestige from the public, this could be seen as another way for the Aristocratic Families to transform.
If the things these Aristocratic Families worked so hard to research were put up for sale, they would face hostility from competitors, like Apple or Huawei. At that point, they would be forced to seek cooperation with the government to protect their interests.
And at that time, as the official party, the government would benefit for free without having contributed anything.
It would change from the Aristocratic Families fleecing the state to the state uniquely fleecing the Aristocratic Families—a complete reversal!
Wouldn't this outcome be quite dramatic in the end? The blood-sucking parasites clinging to the state would eventually be sucked dry by the state in return!
...When Lia told them to hand over their land, these nine Aristocratic Families secretly realized that the time had come; they indeed wouldn't be able to keep their land.
"General Long, if we hand over our land, will our lives be spared?" one family head asked after a moment of hesitation.
"Yes, I can guarantee you that. As long as you hand over the land, I can let bygones be bygones regarding what you did to Common People in the past. However, if you offend again in the future, don't blame me. You should know what happened in Wuan Commandery and Wuxing Commandery, right?" Lia said.
To her, since she now commanded a powerful army, she could take not just their land but even their entire family fortunes if she wanted to. However, that would be too much like a bandit and wouldn't be good for her future reputation.
But if she only liberated the land, the worries of the Aristocratic Families would be greatly reduced. At least she wasn't robbing them of everything they owned, so the intensity of their resistance would be much lower.
To put it bluntly, this was an upgraded version of the 'Tan Ding Ru Mu' policy. Since it could be implemented during the Qing Dynasty, there was no reason she couldn't implement it now.
As long as one has soldiers, one can even become an emperor, let alone carry out reforms.
Once the productive forces were liberated, the population of the land of Huaxia would see explosive growth within a few years, and only then would it truly reach its peak.
"We understand. We will do as General Long says." After all, since her fist was bigger now, Lia's words were naturally the law.
Even if their hearts ached, for the sake of their lives, they could only painfully cut off a piece of their flesh. At least cutting flesh wouldn't kill them.
"You don't need to look so miserable. Regarding the matter of the fields, I will compensate you later," Lia said, glancing at the members of the Aristocratic Families.
Lia knew full well that this was just a helpless move by these Aristocratic Families; they weren't truly convinced in their hearts.
If she were to suffer a setback in the future battle against Northern Wei, they would surely bite her back fiercely because of today's events. But they would never get that chance.
"Then many thanks to General Long. If there is nothing else for us to do, we will return immediately to arrange these matters." These people felt uneasy staying there, fearing Lia would impose even more excessive conditions.
"Then you may leave. But I advise you not to try any little tricks with this, or don't blame me for turning heartless," Lia reminded them.
"Rest assured, General Long. Upon our return, we will definitely compile a list of all the fields under our families' names and hand them over to the General," these families quickly guaranteed.
When they came, they all felt that they were doomed this time and only hoped that Lia would spare their families. Now that Lia was only confiscating the land they controlled, they actually felt a sense of unreality.
Hadn't the rumors about this Miss Long been flying everywhere? They said she might have suffered all kinds of bullying from Aristocratic Families as a child, which was why she was so cruel to them, driving them to extinction.
It seemed rumors were just rumors!
After the Aristocratic Families left, Lia looked at Common People and said, "Everyone has seen it. These Aristocratic Families are willing to take out all their fields and distribute them to you. Tell me, is this good?"
"Good! Good! Good!" Common People cheered repeatedly.
Although they were a bit unhappy not to see these Aristocratic Families further punished by Lia, they were very satisfied that the families were willing to give up the land they relied on for survival.
To Common People, land was more important than the heavens.
Chapter 39: Hexi Corridor
"Very well. In a moment, you will choose a few highly respected people to come up. I will have them act as the managers for this occasion so that all of you can receive land!" Lia continued.
"Good! Good! Good!" Common People continued to shout loudly.
Soon, several elders walked up. They bowed to Lia with sincere gratitude, and Lia had them come over to explain how the land distribution would be handled.
Once these elders understood, the Aristocratic Families also sent people over to hand over all the land deeds to Lia.
Lia glanced at these deeds and, in front of everyone, burned them all.
Because these deeds would only cause trouble for her next land distribution plan. She needed brand-new land distribution contracts, not these old-fashioned deeds.
In addition to these few elders, Lia also called over the yamen runners and some literate people to help, ensuring that no shady dealings would occur.
Lia stayed there for three days. Feeling that there was nothing left for her to do, she called over several responsible persons and said,
"You should have a general understanding of how the land is to be distributed. Now I am going to Dunhuang Town. When I return, I hope you have finished these tasks; I will check them afterward. If anyone reports to me that you have acted unfairly, you know the consequences."
After Lia finished speaking, a white-bearded elder immediately said, "Rest assured, General. We would never dare to be negligent in this matter. If anyone tries to sabotage it, I, Old Li, will be the first to disagree!"
"Yes, General, please rest assured," the others said simultaneously.
Lia nodded and said, "I will notify the people at the city defense. If anyone from the Aristocratic Families tries to cause trouble after I leave, go find them; they will uphold justice for you."
Originally, that General Bai who guarded the city wasn't very willing to listen to Lia, but as soon as Lia offered that these soldiers would receive wages in the future, he immediately became Lia's number one supporter.
Only those who had been soldiers would know that the conditions Lia offered were simply impossible to refuse. One must know that those willing to become soldiers were all poor peasants who had lost their land and only wanted to scrounge a full meal.
Now Lia was even giving them wages and distributing land to their families; naturally, they could not refuse!
Finally, Lia directly dealt with Prefect Liu, confiscated his family assets, and then found a disciple from a Humble Family with a good local reputation to serve as the Prefect here, handling all matters in Linsong Commandery.
After doing all this, Lia left Linsong Commandery amidst the cheers of Common People and headed toward Dunhuang.
The Hexi Corridor was not easy to travel.
Even though there was already an official road, the territory of Dunhuang was basically Gobi wasteland, with few signs of human habitation for dozens of miles.
Barren sandy land, the majestic and spectacular Qilian Mountains, continuous grasslands, colorful Danxia landforms, and sandstorms that filled the sky with yellow sand.
Only starting from Wushaoling could one be considered to have truly stepped into the Hexi Corridor.
In the spring of 121 BC, the only eighteen-year-old Huo Qubing made his first appearance, leading ten thousand cavalry out of Longxi alone. Crossing the Yellow River at what is today Lanzhou and heading northwest over Wushaoling to enter the Hexi Corridor was of great significance.
Lia had previously entered the territory of Liang Province following this Silk Road, so she was somewhat familiar with it. This time was just retracing the path.
After the army had marched for half a month, Lia led the great army to Jiayu Pass.
Jiayu Pass was a place with good things. If Lia remembered correctly, there was a large iron mine here!
As long as she sent people to inspect the surrounding area and found that iron mine, she would have a source for building real cannons in the future. In addition to cannons, there were also those firearms.
Of course, besides iron ore, there are many famous mines in the Western Liang region, as well as large-scale coal fields, copper, molybdenum, and various other resources.
Without the massive financial investment of the later Tang Dynasty, Jiayu Pass at this time could only be considered a mountain pass of modest size.
Upon seeing a large army arrive, the guards of Jiayu Pass immediately came out to meet them, but they were somewhat stunned to see that the general leading the army was a woman.
"May I ask who this general is?" the guard asked cautiously.
"My name is Dragon Lia. I have already defeated the original lord of Liang Province, the Prince of Leping. I am now the lord of Liang Province, and I have come to Jiayu Pass this time to seek your loyalty," Lia said directly, without beating around the bush.
"Huh?" The guard was instantly dumbfounded.
"Our lord is asking you a question! What is your answer? Do you choose to surrender or die for the Wei State?" Seeing that the other party was still in shock, a general under Lia named Xiang Yan stepped forward and placed a blade against the man's neck.
"We choose to surrender. We pay our respects to the Lord." Looking at the large blade at his neck, the guard immediately reacted. With only 1,000 men against the 5,000 cavalry opposite them, it would be like sheep entering a tiger's mouth.
It would have been fine if the opponent hadn't approached the pass; they could have resisted a little. Now that a blade was at his neck while they were "chatting," it was too late to choose resistance.
How did Liang Province change hands so quietly? What exactly happened on the Wei State's side?
With such doubts, the soldiers guarding the pass surrendered.
Lia gave a hum of acknowledgment and led her army into the pass.
Soon, several civil officials wearing patched official robes came to meet them. After being informed that the master of Liang Province had changed, their faces were filled with worry.
"You don't need to be afraid. I only came here to let you know the current situation in Western Liang. Before coming here, I looked into your situation; you have done very well, and I will not make any changes here."
Lia said as she glanced at the several patches on the civil officials' clothes.
"Thank you, Lord." The civil officials immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Life here at Jiayu Pass is very hard; thank you for your diligent work. Starting this month, your official salaries will be increased, including those of the soldiers guarding the pass," Lia continued.
"Thank you, Lord!" Hearing this, both the civil officials and the soldiers guarding the pass shouted excitedly.
Lia didn't say anything more. Only by coming to the Hexi Corridor does one clearly realize how important this path is to the entire Central Plains and how hard the soldiers responsible for it work.
Lia rested here for two days, and after learning about the situation, she left Jiayu Pass and headed for Dunhuang.
In fact, there weren't many soldiers stationed in Dunhuang—only 1,000 people. These 1,000 people were stationed within Yumen Pass to defend against the Huns.
Chapter 40: Intending to Take Action Against the Western Regions
In ancient times, there were poems to describe these soldiers.
"The long clouds over Qinghai darken the snowy mountains, looking out from the lonely city toward Yumen Pass. After a hundred battles in the yellow sands, wearing through golden armor, we will not return until Loulan is defeated."
Don't look at it as only 1,000 people; in fact, as long as there are a few hundred people, they can rely on the treacherous terrain of the mountain pass to block tens of thousands of Huns outside the pass.
The walls of Yumen Pass are a full 20 meters high; even one man is enough to withstand a hundred! But this is only for external defense; inside Yumen Pass, it is a flat, wide road.
Lia did not go directly to see the Prefect of Dunhuang Commandery but went straight to Yumen Pass first.
After Lia arrived and stated her intentions, the general stationed there followed his heart; as long as the supplies at Yumen Pass remained unchanged, he could recognize Lia as his lord.
For these soldiers who had been stationed at the border for years, they had long since grown accustomed to the routine of the rulers in the Central Plains changing every so often.
And these rulers would occasionally send people to inform them who was in charge of the Central Plains and who they owed their loyalty to.
It could be said they were already numb to this. Through years of reflection, they understood that their only duty was to guard Yumen Pass and not let the Huns in; the Central Plains had little to do with them.
Furthermore, now that Lia had controlled the Hexi Corridor, even if they were loyal to Northern Wei, that side could no longer send them food and pay. It could be said that Lia had cut off their retreat.
Regarding this request from the Yumen Pass general, Lia naturally wouldn't object. Not only would she not withhold the food and pay of the Yumen Pass soldiers, but she would also increase their wages!
It could be said that from then on, everything in the Dunhuang territory was Lia's domain, and she truly controlled half of Western Liang's territory.
"General Yu, how do you view The various kingdoms of the Western Regions?" At this moment, Lia stood with the Yumen Pass general, Yu Ming, looking out at the Gobi Desert outside Yumen Pass.
There were no sandstorms or similar scenes here at the moment. It was completely different from the scenery of the Central Plains; the sky was a breathtaking deep blue without a single cloud, contrasting with the earthy yellow ground.
In this Gobi Desert, many Populus euphratica forests and tamarisks were growing, along with many small black pebbles and scattered clumps of grass.
Yu Ming frowned and said, "Lord, the Western Regions can be said to be extremely dangerous. To the west of Yumen Pass, there are the White Dragon Mounds, Sanlongsha, and thousands of miles of shifting sands. It is extremely treacherous; out of ten people who enter, only one or two can come out alive."
"I want to reintegrate the Western Regions. What do you think about this?" Lia thought for a moment and said.
Yu Ming frowned again. "This might be somewhat difficult. Each of the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions has a different language from the Central Plains. If an ordinary person goes there, they will be tongue-tied and might not even be able to ask for a meal. Of course, these are secondary; the real enemies are still those Huns."
These words of Yu Ming's were, it must be said, the focus of every dynasty in ancient times. Why did The various kingdoms of the Western Regions rebel every once in a while?
To put it bluntly, it was because the linguistic and cultural penetration was insufficient, plus the constant threat of the Huns nearby, so the Western Regions could never settle down.
And the Huns, as a large nation among the barbarians, had an incredibly vast territory, even fighting their way to Europe and establishing a powerful Hunnish Empire.
Of course, some people say that Attila and the Huns are not the same thing, but who cares about that?
Additionally, the Central Plains is currently in a period of chaos, so no one has been able to come and manage the Western Regions, which has given the Huns an opportunity to return.
Thus, the Western Regions once again slipped from the control of the Central Plains.
However, this time Lia intended to directly solve the problem of the Western Regions. Once she opened schools in the Western Regions, then everyone there would speak the language of the Central Plains.
By learning the culture of the Central Plains and making them identify as Huaxia people, it would be difficult for the Western Regions to want to split away again.
Of course, if Lia wanted the Western Regions, she would inevitably have to face off against the Huns again.
But even if Lia didn't go to subdue the Western Regions, the Huns would still occasionally run to the Central Plains to raid; a confrontation was inevitable.
Lia would not evade, nor would she be afraid.
Moreover, Attila was about to die, and the Hunnish Empire would split because of it, which made Lia even less worried.
Knowing that Lia intended to reopen the Western Regions, Yu Ming was also somewhat moved.
Which soldier wouldn't want to emulate Huo Qubing and Wei Qing of the Han Dynasty?
"But now is not the time to subdue the Western Regions. General Yu, I hope you can help me collect some information on The various kingdoms of the Western Regions during this time; it will be of great use later," Lia thought for a moment and said.
It was still too early to go to the Western Regions. What she needed to do now was to bring all of Western Liang under her name and then resist the army of Northern Wei. Only after repelling Northern Wei could she find the time to take down the Western Regions and Tuyuhun.
As for why she didn't just head north to take over the Wei State, Lia didn't want to appear too aggressive. If she became too strong, Northern Wei might join forces with Liu Song to attack her.
Furthermore, war is all about money and food. She could defend a city, but if she were to send troops out, it would be a bit difficult.
She had just taken over Western Liang and needed time to develop; money and food don't just appear out of thin air.