Chinese New Year

Chapter 1371 Leling and Donglai

Shi Cong looked around at the Leling Stone Mansion, sighing deeply.

Most of the houses were built in the last ten years or so, and some parts looked quite new. He felt a sense of loss because the old house he remembered was gone.

After Shi Chong was killed by Sima Lun, the Shi family began its decline. By the end of the Jin Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and some members of the Shi family fled south, while others went north. They split into two families, Leling and Bohai, and their power was extremely weak. So much so that when the rebel army of Ji Sang attacked, the Leling Shi family suffered heavy losses and was almost wiped out. The Bohai Shi family survived by chance, but it was also severely weakened.

Fortunately, the world was unified, and the chaos seemed to have ended.

“Shi Qing seems to have many feelings.” Shao Xun appeared at the courtyard gate, arm in arm with Shi Meiren.

Shi was seven months pregnant, and her belly was quite prominent. Every evening, Shao Xun would take her for a walk, and the stroll helped to ease her mind.

She will stay at the Shi family's residence in Leling for several months or even longer before returning to the capital.

Mr. Shi has indeed been feeling rather depressed lately.

Firstly, the long journey made her worry about miscarriage; secondly, the advanced age at childbirth raised concerns about complications. Fortunately, the emperor often chatted with her, even telling jokes, which greatly improved her mood.

“I am indeed moved.” Shi Cong bowed and said, “Yesterday I went to my old house two miles away. Fortunately, a few old houses still exist, but they are half dilapidated. The houses are full of dust, and old fungi grow in the corners. At that time, I stood outside the house and saw that the road where carriages and horses once stopped was now buried in weeds. The farmland where millet and wheat were once golden was now full of children herding sheep.”

At this point, he gave a bitter smile and sighed, "Standing in the vastness, I don't know where my home is."

“Home is where your family is,” Shao Xun said. “Your family is all in Jicheng, untouched by war, which is excellent. From now on, consider Pingzhou your home, and treat those in Leling as distant relatives, visiting them only occasionally. As for your fields, houses, and servants—”

Shi Cong's eyelids twitched slightly.

My family is still alive, and we have a lot of wealth, but the land and servants are the real assets, and there's still no resolution about that.

"I hereby grant you 250 hectares of fertile land and 250 hectares of mountain forests and grasslands in Daifang County, totaling 500 hectares. All your retainers shall be returned, and you shall be supplemented with several hundred families of surrendered Xianbei and Wuhuan people, who may be brought to Daifang County." Shao Xun continued, "The position of Prefect of Daifang is none other than yours."

Shi Cong breathed a sigh of relief.

In any case, at least I have an official position now, which is the most important thing.

Without an official position, even if you live in Luoyang or Bianliang, you'll just be sitting around eating away your savings.

As for becoming a prefect in the Central Plains, he dared not even think about it.

Admittedly, he opened the city gates at a crucial moment, but what time was that? Even if he hadn't opened the gates, Liang's army would have breached the city in no time. To put it bluntly, his contribution was insignificant and negligible.

As for Consort Shi, she is not young. Although she has given birth to a son for the current emperor and is now pregnant with another, how many more years can she rely on her beauty? For the sake of the family, Prefect Fang has no choice but to go.

He immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness."

“In recent years, Baekje has been committed to reform and its national strength has gradually increased. You must be careful after you take office,” Shao Xun said. “There are many things to do in the Central Plains, and I may not be able to look after the border at all times.”

“I understand,” Shi Cong said.

"Pei Kaihui will be appointed as the Prefect of Lelang. You can keep watch over him and help each other," Shao Xun instructed again.

Pei Kai also defected at the last minute, his merits were even less than Shi Cong's, and he was treated the same way Shi Cong was treated. Shao Xun had already summoned him yesterday, returned his wealth and troops, and also gave him the authority to execute all the Xianbei chieftains and give him the authority to serve as the governor of Lelang.

Shao Xun summoned the sons and brothers of Lelang King Qing, who had been killed in the uprising, and bestowed upon them brocade robes, silk, and fine horses. He then ordered them to lead their troops back to their hometown and appointed them as the magistrate of Joseon (the seat of Lelang County).

The powerful families of Lelang and Daifang counties, who had been relocated by Murong Hui, were all given money and livestock and allowed to return to their hometowns.

Those with talent will be employed as officials, while those without talent will be sent home to manage their property.

In short, the two prefectures of Lelang and Daifang were typical examples of aristocratic politics, not much different from the policy of indirect rule.

The powerful clans decided which side to side with, and the two prefectures changed overnight.

To put it bluntly, the central government was powerless to reach these extremely remote areas, and its ability to project resources was limited. Even if it were to spend a great deal of money to allocate some resources there, the efficiency of their use would be a huge problem. Therefore, the only option was to decentralize power and implement a system similar to "contracting out to powerful clans," as long as they remained nominally loyal to the Liang Dynasty, that was enough.

No taxes or anything like that are required. It is enough to send people to the capital regularly with some local specialties to report on their work.

Shao Xun once considered granting these two prefectures to one of his sons, but he felt that these two places were even more dangerous than Liaodong, and the population would not be much larger, so he hesitated.

To put it bluntly, even if you don't grant the land to your son, you'll still have to "grant" it to someone outside the family. He'll want to see how things go, so he'll send a prefect to manage it first, and then decide what to do next after there are some results.

In addition, granting fiefdoms to the son was actually a bit unfair to him. The place was a desolate place, facing military threats and the possibility of falling at any time, which was ultimately not a good thing.

We can only wait and see how Tiger Head's reforms in Liaodong go.

******
On the fifteenth of October, the imperial procession arrived in Penglai. The sky was clear and the water rippled gently.

Shao Xun stood on the beach, looking at the islands to the north.

All the ships from Zhongli Island, Shamen Island and other places were withdrawn to Penglai Port. Some of the ships were towed ashore for repairs, mainly involving replacing the hull planks, sealing leaks, painting and scraping the bottom, etc., which was very professional.

Shao Xun once thought of building a dam on the nearby inland river to block the water, and then excavating a dry dock.

The overall design is similar to a "mountain canal," which involves building a reservoir in a high-altitude area using rivers, rainfall, and mountain springs to store water. The water is then introduced into a lock through an artificially excavated channel. Once the water level in the lock rises to be level with the high-altitude area, ships can navigate in the river at the higher altitude, cross the mountain ridge, and enter the river on the other side of the mountain. This is the mountain canal.

He shared this idea with his eldest son, Jin Dao, who was concurrently serving as the governor of Donglai. Currently, he is still seeking people to verify the proposal and has not yet started work.

The existence of dry docks greatly facilitates ship repair and significantly promotes the development of the shipping industry.

"Jin Dao, you've been managing Donglai County on and off for many years now. There are now over 16300 households and over 80500 people, a significant increase compared to before. However, there are still many barren areas. What do you plan to do about it?" Shao Xun asked.

“Grandpa, I’ve done some unconventional things…” Shao Zhang said cautiously, glancing at Shao Xun.

"Speak freely." Shao Xun gazed at his son, somewhat moved.

There was a time when Jin Dao carried too much psychological burden, overthinking and worrying about gains and losses, leading to repeated mistakes and disappointment. Unexpectedly, now that he no longer dwells on those things, he's become increasingly confident, more organized, and even occasionally comes up with new ideas.

Humans are so strange.

When one is preoccupied with gains and losses, one's actions become distorted; when there is nothing to lose, one shines brightly. Is this what it means to be a "god of war against adversity"? "I request that an official herdsman be established in Donglai, and that goods from the Central Plains be exchanged for livestock from Liaodong, which will then be released to roam freely in Donglai," Shao Zhang said.

"Oh? That's quite an idea," Shao Xun said in surprise.

"Donglai appears to be a vast and sparsely populated area with much uncultivated land, but the soil is barren and thin, and rainfall is scarce, making it prone to summer droughts. Even if cultivation is forced, the yield will be limited." Shao Zhang seemed to have opened up and began to speak eloquently: "Previously, Liaodong sent about 20,000 Xianbei prisoners. I dispatched 2,000 county soldiers to force them to level fields and ditches along the coast for planting next year. However, after a round of inspections, we found that even if the land was successfully cultivated, it was mostly medium or low-grade fields, yielding only a few bushels per mu at best. Therefore, it would be better to turn the vast wasteland into pastures, with the Taipusi and Shaofu sending people to manage them. The existing Xianbei people should continue to cultivate the land in their old places and be registered as ordinary citizens."

Shao Xun hummed in agreement.

Wang Shifan, the military governor of Ziqing Town during the Tang Dynasty, also seems to have established ranches in the Jiaodong region and raised a large number of warhorses.

The Jiaodong Peninsula is experiencing severe water shortages.

“If the population grows in the future and there is not enough land, the imperial court can simply convert grazing land back to cultivation,” Shao Zhang added.

"Okay." Shao Xun nodded in agreement, then asked, "Any other ideas?"

“The establishment of a market in Penglai is a major event for Donglai. I think it is advisable to cooperate with Liaodong to promote trade and benefit the people,” Shao Zhang said. “Therefore, I propose that a market be established in Penglai, and that it be open for the entire month of May each year.”

Shao Xun thought about it and realized that the timing of the market opening was carefully planned.

Merchants from Pingzhou would sail south in April to avoid the strong winds and waves of the Liaohai Sea during winter. After completing their transactions, they could return in June with the southerly winds.

Not bad, really good!

If you look carefully, you'll find that there are still quite a few goods in Liaodong that are favored by people in the Central Plains, and the total value should not be underestimated.

Many things need to be sold before people will collect, plant, or even process them.

As Sang Hongyang of the Han Dynasty said, if northerners do not buy southern citrus fruits, then the southerners' fruits will only rot in the ground, and eventually no one will do this business anymore, and the southern citrus production will also decline.

Conversely, when southerners process citrus fruits and transport them by water to various parts of the north, sales increase significantly, leading to an increase in orchards in the south, which in turn increases the material wealth of society.

If the Central Plains buys large quantities of fur from Liaodong, it will incentivize local hunters to hunt in the mountains and forests, and even to hunt and kill those silly sea creatures that are sunbathing on the beach.

The same applies to furs, pearls, seafood, horses, and medicinal herbs.

Given the current level of social consumption, opening the market once a year and conducting centralized trading for one month is sufficient. Jin Dao's suggestion is just right and will be a small boost to the development of Donglai County—and of course, a great boost to Liaodong Kingdom under Hu Tou.

“Okay.” Shao Xun nodded in agreement.

Shao Zhang was pleased that his father had adopted both of his suggestions.

Just then, Princess Liu of Qi and her wife, Xiao Liu, arrived with their two sons and one daughter.

"Grandpa!" Shao Zhang's eldest daughter, Mancao, came running over in a flash, panting.

"Slow down, slow down." Shao Xun stepped forward, picked up his granddaughter, and laughed, "She's eight years old already, and she still needs her grandfather to carry her?"

“Grandpa, I’ve been waiting for you for so long.” Mancao hugged Shao Xun’s neck tightly and said softly.

"Isn't Grandpa here? He brought you some nice things," Shao Xun said.

“I only need Grandpa,” Mancao said, shaking her head.

Shao Xun was overjoyed and nodded to Shao Zhen.

Shao Zhen understood and quickly had someone bring over a small horse, while he carried a wooden box.

"Fruit-shaped horse?" Shao Zhang asked in surprise.

“The gift presented by the Crown Prince of Buyeo is just what my grandson should play with,” Shao Xun said.

Mancao's eyes were fixed on the small, cute horse, and she twisted her body, as if she wanted to get off.

Shao Xun feigned displeasure: "You don't want your father-in-law anymore so soon?"

Mancao smiled shyly, then hugged Shao Xun's neck again, occasionally stealing glances at the horse under the fruit, clearly delighted.

Shao Zhen handed the wooden box to Shao Zhang and whispered, "These are pearls presented by the King of Goguryeo, each as large as a chicken egg, twelve in total."

“My father knows I have no money,” Shao Zhang said with a smile, then handed the pearl to Princess Liu.

Liu then handed it to her younger sister, and bowed to Shao Xun, saying, "Thank you, sir."

“We’re all family, what’s with all this thanking? My daughter-in-law has always been capable and generous, why bother with all this?” Shao Xun said without turning his head as he walked to the horse with his granddaughter in his arms.

Liu's expression was somewhat unnatural, while Madam Liu stood silently to the side, though her eyes kept darting around, clearly indicating that she was no pushover either.

Shao Zhen seemed to have learned some real skills from Tong Qianjin; his expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard anything. However, he knew very well that the Emperor still harbored resentment towards Lady Liu to this day.

"Grandpa, quickly help me onto the horse." The vines swayed even more violently.

"Alright, as you wish." Shao Xun placed his granddaughter on the horse's back, then held the reins with one hand and supported her with the other, slowly walking on the sand.

Four-year-old Prince Shao Dun looked at his older sister with envy, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Three-year-old Wang's second son, Shao Jing, was biting his finger in his mother, Madam Liu's, arms, his eyes glued to the screen.

The laughter of the grandfather and grandson gradually faded into the distance.

Shao Zhang turned to look at his wife and children, both of whom looked at him with ambiguous smiles.

Shao Zhang smiled ingratiatingly and gently embraced the two sisters.

I'll be thirty after the New Year. What could be more important than my wife and family?

(End of this chapter)