Chinese New Year

Chapter 1392 is gone (I really want to be a Buddhist for another 500 years as the Alliance Leader, so I'll add an extra chapter).
By early September, Chenliu Prefecture, the closest prefecture to Bianliang, had completed its autumn harvest, and the first batch of tax grain was delivered to the granary under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, gradually making up for the deficit caused by the previous war.

However, don't misunderstand, this is not autumn grain, but summer grain harvested in May, which took three or four months to harvest.

Along with the grain, the produce from the various gardens under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department also entered the capital.

Cai Cheng, the Director of the Imperial Household Department, was no longer busy with the rye and sugar business, as it had come to an end.

The former has spread to many places. This year, the Liang Dynasty planted more than ten hectares of rye in the cold northern lands, completing the exponential growth that started from the initial bag of seeds.

The latter has also achieved stable production in Jiaozhou. Although the output is still small, it is relatively stable. Cai Cheng also instructed his subordinates not to rush to expand production, lest it incite a popular uprising. The imperial court's rule in Jiaozhou is really weak.

On the Double Ninth Festival, Cai Cheng escorted dozens of cartloads of fine white linen into the Liang Palace to report to Shao Xun.

“I have dispatched a group of criminals from Guanzhong to take over Yanshan Garden. That place is famous for its white linen cloth, which is of excellent quality.” In front of Xianju Palace, Cai Cheng said respectfully, “In August, I used one thousand households of criminals from Murong Yan to build Bailang Garden, where farming and animal husbandry are carried out, and linen is also planted.”

Shao Xun casually stroked a piece of white linen and said, "Not bad. Take it one step at a time, don't rush. The Imperial Household Department has fourteen gardens under its name, which will all be sources of funds and provisions for the Imperial Treasury in the future."

The Imperial Household Department is making money now, although not much.

This year, Cai Cheng carried out a thorough crackdown, cooperating with Huangsha Prison and encouraging insiders to report on the matter. A large number of people were arrested, some beheaded and some exiled, and their families were all reduced to slaves.

As a result, the financial situation of the Imperial Household Department improved.

Of course, corruption did not have a significant impact on the income of the Imperial Household Department. The biggest expenses were still "investment" and various rewards issued by Shao Xun.

He has too many ideas, and putting them into practice often requires a lot of manpower and resources.

He promised Tiger Head some craftsmen, who had been trained by the Imperial Household Department for many years.

He also promised Tiger Head some ships, which were also built with money from the Shaofu (Minister of the Imperial Household).

He made too many promises, and he had no idea how much money he had spent. Even the Crown Prince had advised him against it, since this was truly royal property.

"Has all the grain been transported?" Shao Xun asked after putting down the white linen cloth.

Cai Cheng knew what this meant and immediately said, "I have gathered the surplus millet and wheat from the six imperial gardens of Xi, Caizhou, Huainan, Sangzi, Puzhou, and Guzhu, and sent people to Qingzhou to collect more than 800,000 bushels of grain, which have been transported by sea to Lushun in early autumn."

"These few gardens have surplus grain?" Shao Xun asked, somewhat surprised.

“These gardens are connected by waterways, which makes transportation convenient. Transporting grain by land would be a waste of resources, so it would be better to purchase it from Qingzhou and Jizhou,” Cai Cheng explained.

"You're quite shrewd with money," Shao Xun remarked.

Cai Cheng looked miserable. "With such a big spender as you, how can I not be careful with money?"

"We'll set aside another sum of money next year to build the capital for the Liaodong Kingdom," Shao Xun said. "The Ministry of Civil Affairs will contribute a portion, and the Imperial Household Department will contribute another. Don't look so distressed; we're all working together for the country, and it's not easy for anyone."

“Yes,” Cai Cheng replied.

He had originally intended to report that sales of pepper, sugar, and miscellaneous goods from the South China Sea had increased year after year, and that the Shaofu (Imperial Household Department) was making more and more profits, but seeing this, he decided not to say anything more.

“Let’s go in and see the Emperor Emeritus,” Shao Xun suddenly said. “He was lucid the day before yesterday and asked about Young Master Cai.”

"Yes." Cai Cheng bowed and turned to go inside.

Shao Xiu was still awake. When he saw the person, his cloudy eyes turned over, and he was stunned for a moment before saying, "If a prince cannot ride a horse, he can ride in a carriage, but to go to war in a palanquin is really child's play."

Cai Cheng stood by the bed, feeling a pang of sadness.

To be honest, apart from being quite busy in the last two or three years, he spent just as much time with his parents as the Emperor. The retired Emperor and Empress Dowager treated him very well, like family, calling him "Young Master Cai" and mentioning him to the Emperor from time to time. As a result, almost all of Cai Cheng's nephews and nieces held official positions, and the Cai family rose rapidly to prominence, becoming a force to be reckoned with.

The Empress Dowager has passed away, and the Emperor Dowager no longer recognizes him. He is also nearing the end of his life, which is quite sad to think about.

"Your Majesty, I am Cai Cheng," he said softly.

“Cai Cheng…” Shao Xiu muttered carefully for a moment, then said, “He’s harvested cucumbers.”

"Your Majesty, do not worry, the cucumbers have already been harvested. Only the two largest ones were left unpicked; we will plant them again next year," Cai Cheng said.

"Okay, okay," Shao Xiu said softly. "Let's plant some more cabbage. My son likes beef, and it'll taste delicious stewed with cabbage."

“Okay, I’ve got it.” Cai Cheng nodded repeatedly.

Shao Xiu calmed down, her eyes darted around slightly, and she muttered, "Le Kai is a real scoundrel."

Cai Cheng gave a helpless, bitter smile.

He suddenly realized that if it were a national day of mourning this year, it would probably cost a lot of money again.

Everyone says that burials should be simple, but are the only things that cost money just burial items? Far more than that.

Preparations need to be made in advance at Luhun Mountain, as the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager will definitely be buried together. He needs to discuss the arrangements with the people of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices after he returns.

Furthermore, the retired emperor and empress had treated him very well. He also did not want the funeral to be too simple, but this was a matter for the emperor to decide, so they would have to wait and see.

Seeing that the Emperor Emeritus had fallen into a deep sleep again, Cai Cheng bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

******
The affairs of the palace had no effect on the outside world, and the empire continued to function.

Shao Xun began to live almost every day in Xianju Palace, reviewing memorials and issuing decrees. Banditry was rampant in the Xuantu and Changli prefectures of Pingzhou, and large-scale looting incidents even occurred.

Li Chong ordered Murong Ren, Duke of Xuantu, Murong Han, Commandant of Fuyu, Ku Ru Guan Xi, General of Wulu Town, and Duan Ya, General of Lengxing Town, to send troops to attack the city, while he himself carefully defended the city, because he had no confidence in the fighting ability of the Pingzhou hereditary soldiers under his command.

Apart from Murong Ren, the other three were relatively proactive and quickly annihilated a counterattack by the remnants of the Murong Xianbei.

The infighting among the Yuwen Twelve Tribes escalated somewhat, with some of them raiding Pingzhou. Tong Qianjin, the Prefect of Yuyang, led troops to repel them. The Fuyu Kingdom also mustered over ten thousand infantry and cavalry, but upon hearing that the bandits had retreated, they withdrew and returned home.

Their most important task right now is to clarify the complex political situation in the country, and secondly, to deal with Goguryeo. They have no spare energy to attend to other matters for the time being.

Shao Xun didn't take these things too seriously. These were just aftershocks following the "major earthquake," which was expected and not a big problem.

In Jiangnan, the followers of the Celestial Masters sect rebelled again. They may have heard that a large number of soldiers from Yangzhou had been transferred north, and they harbored ill intentions, but they were quickly wiped out by Zhang Shuo in conjunction with local strongmen.

In this operation, the Qian and Shen families played a significant role. The northern gentry who had migrated south also guarded their own territory, refusing to provide the Celestial Masters followers with supplies and weapons, and reporting any suspicious Jiangdong natives. Ultimately, they quelled a rebellion involving only a few thousand people.

The envoy from the Kingdom of Linyi arrived in Bianliang.

Shao Xun ordered the Crown Prince to receive him well, and finally bestowed upon him the golden seal of "King of Linyi" and all kinds of books and registers, ordering him not to invade the north—if he wanted to expand, he could go south, but not north; as for whether he would listen, that was unknown.

While reviewing these memorials, Shao Xun often had a strange feeling: he always felt that this was history's unwilling counterattack, trying to pull the world onto the "correct" track.

However, upon analysis from a materialist perspective, Shao Xun knew that this was nonsense. In reality, it was simply the pent-up contradictions accumulated since the Later Han Dynasty being released externally. This period was a time of historical "clearing out." Unifying the country meant that the originally intense reactions were transformed into relatively mild adjustments. The price was that it would take time to slowly release internal pressure, the legendary "trading time for space," nothing more.

On September 20th, Yu Wenjun stayed overnight at Xianju Palace.

Actually, it wasn't anything serious; the Empress just missed him. It was only when he saw Yu Wenjun that Shao Xun suddenly remembered that the Empress's twenty-seven months of "heartbreak" was almost over.

This also means one thing: Liangzi is about to make a comeback!

Shao Xun remembered that Liangzi was only a year younger than him, but he couldn't recall how long Liangzi had lived in history. However, judging from his rosy complexion in the past, he was obviously in good health and no one had ever bothered him or made him feel bad.

I've been living at home for the past two or three years, feeling quite bored, but I have a regular routine, abstain from sex and alcohol, and don't have to travel around.

Damn it, Liangzi, don't try to outlive me...

However—it's not a big problem!
Yu Liang's abilities aren't that bad either; if he's placed in the right position, he can still make the most of his strengths.

In an instant, Shao Xun envisioned many arrangements. The first to be ruled out was a high-ranking official in charge of a region, because Liangzi was impetuous and might incite the Hu chieftains to rebel. Secondly, he ruled out some positions that would require constant wrangling, such as the prime minister of the Council of State Affairs, because he was worried that Liangzi would openly lose his temper and embarrass everyone.

No rush, take your time, there's still time.

On the first day of the tenth month, after the grand court assembly at Guanfeng Hall, Shao Xun returned to Xianju Hall. Just after finishing lunch, his father suddenly woke up and wanted to see him.

"I had a very long dream..." Upon seeing her son, Shao Xiu's face showed a slight smile.

“Grandpa must have had a good dream,” Shao Xun said.

“It was just some foolish thing that happened when I was young.” Shao Xiu stared at the roof, her voice somewhat ethereal: “Little Bug, tell me what the ancestral tombs over there in the East China Sea are like.”

Shao Xun recounted in detail what he had seen before.

Shao Xiu listened quietly, occasionally letting out a sigh.

After a long while, Shao Xun stopped speaking.

Shao Xiu turned to look at the door and said, "Your mother has come to pick me up."

Shao Xun also turned to look at the doorway, but could not see anything, not even a wisp of wind.

He looked away, slightly disappointed.

“Your mother is right there. She scolded you, saying that you’ve taken someone else’s wife and daughter again.” Shao Xiu said, “You’re fifty years old now, you should be more restrained.”

Shao Xun was somewhat surprised. He had never told his father that he had taken Murong Huang's wife and daughter, as well as Gao Zhao's mother and wife. People in the palace shouldn't be so gossipy about these things. Duan Shi and her child had never even shown their faces in front of his father.

"This time it's really time to leave." Shao Xiu looked at her son and said softly, "Actually, I should have left a long time ago, but I just wanted to help you look after things for a few more years. But I'm getting senile, and I can't even do this kind of thing properly. Forcing me to stay is pointless..."

Shao Xun felt as if he had been struck hard, and instinctively grasped his father's hand.

"Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things..." Shao Xiu's voice gradually lowered.

A gentle breeze blows, and the red flowers in the courtyard nod slightly.

Shao Xun suddenly stood up.

A gentle breeze caressed my face, like a mother's tender embrace.

He turned to look at his father, whose eyes were already closed and whose face was frozen in a look of relief.

Shao Xun stood there quietly, motionless, like a statue.

The wind stopped, and the house was empty; nothing was left.

(End of this chapter)