Chinese New Year

Chapter 1401 Practice (Part 1)

On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, a group of officials arrived from Luoyang and Bianliang, including the twenty-one-year-old Ji Yu.

In March, he passed the Five Classics exam. Shao Xun was very reluctant, but in the end, he reluctantly granted him the position of Right Sima of the Beiyi Protectorate and concurrently Supervisor of Baichi, secretly comforting himself that such a talented scholar was extremely rare, so he might as well give it to him.

At the same time, he also developed a fondness for Ji Yu's talent and decided to cultivate her practical abilities.

The appointment of the Protectorate General as the Prefect was to resolve Ji Yu's rank issue. In fact, he did not need to handle the affairs of the Protectorate General. His job was "Bai Chi Supervisor," which specifically managed several large salt ponds located in Bai Chi and Chang Ze counties of Yanchuan County, and the proceeds were used locally.

Shao Xu had long wanted to develop this salt lake, and upon hearing of Ji Yu's arrival, he was overjoyed and planned to summon the man after his inspection.

The reason for this urgency is that Qingbai Salt Lake is currently the easiest place in Shuozhou to make money.

His father sent him to Shuozhou not just to give him an official position.

He was a prince, so he didn't actually need those credentials. The main reason was that his father wanted to see how he would govern a region where the majority of the population were non-Han people, and to take the opportunity to develop his own and the prince's officials' abilities in handling such matters.

For him, this was a test, a test that lasted for several years.

The hundreds of officials sent this month, graduates of the Imperial Academy, the National Academy, the Military Academy, and the Imperial Guard, will be distributed to various counties in Shuozhou and to the hereditary soldiers currently being formed. I will need to assess each of them individually to determine their abilities and skills. If the opportunity arises, I may also take some of them to Gaochang to become my right-hand men in governing the region.

Shao Xu was very clear about the intricacies of the matter, so he dared not slack off in the slightest.

His first priority was to restore agricultural production.

Lingzhou City is not small, but there are only about two hundred households in the city and only a few hundred registered households outside the city, which is very inconsistent with its status as a state capital.

Fortunately, the military has begun to be organized, and the first batch of two thousand infantry and cavalry has been settled in Lingzhou County. Today is the day to distribute the land.

"It would be best if this canal could be reconnected to the ancient Gao Canal."

"Isn't it too long?"

"The longer the length, the more land it can irrigate, isn't that good?"

"That's right."

Faint voices could be heard in the wind. After Shao Xu walked over, Pei Geng, the Chief Administrator, and Liu Gong, the Grand Farmer of the Prince's Mansion, immediately bowed.

"Has the location of the canal been decided?" Shao Xu asked.

"Your Highness, please look here—" Pei Geng instructed the scribe to hold out a map while pointing to the riverbank not far away, saying, "This is where the head of the Han Dynasty's Gaoqu Canal is located, which is already 23 feet above the river surface. Since the canal is high up, water cannot enter and there is no way to irrigate."

Why were waterways possible in the Han Dynasty?

“Several hundred years have passed, and such changes are not surprising,” Pei Geng said. “Therefore, I request that a new canal be dug five li north of Lingzhou City.”

"Dig a canal on the ground?"

"Dig a ditch in the ground."

"What did the people from the Water Conservancy Bureau say?"

"This was decided upon by my minister and the Commissioner of Waterways."

“Since the Water Envoy says it is acceptable, then let’s make it so.” After saying this, Shao Xu added softly, “As an official of the court, you do not need to refer to yourself as a subject.”

Pei Geng was taken aback for a moment, then said, "I have served as a servant in the Prince's Palace and have never forgotten my roots."

Shao Xu said helplessly, "Be casual in private, but be careful in official matters."

“Okay,” Pei Geng replied.

Shao Xu was also touched; family is always the most considerate.

“Now that the location has been decided, we should not delay and start construction as soon as the land is allocated.” Shao Xu added, “His Majesty sent me here for a reason. When I go there in the future, I will have to dig canals, so this is to let me practice in advance.”

“Your Highness, the wells and canals of Gaochang are underground,” said Prefect Song Heng.

"Hmm, I don't know how they opened it. Won't the underground river collapse?" Shao Xu was puzzled.

"Perhaps it has something to do with the soil."

"Or is there an underground river?"

Pei and Song actually started discussing it, and Shao Xu laughed and said, "We'll know when we go and see for ourselves."

The two then stopped and continued discussing how to dig the ditch.

Currently, the only available manpower is two thousand hereditary soldiers, five thousand guards from the Zhao Prince's Palace, and several hundred local households. This can serve as a starting point. By the middle of the month, twenty thousand able-bodied men from Guanzhong will arrive to escort grain and fodder, joining the canal-digging army on the spot.

In mid-September, a second group of 20,000 people from Guanzhong arrived again to escort grain and fodder, replacing the first group. They returned in mid-December.

We have plenty of manpower, so let's get to work.

******
On May 16th, Liu Anzhi, the Grand Protector of Beiyi, arrived from the south, and Shao Xu personally went out of the city to greet him. "Your Highness has accomplished great things," Liu Anzhi said with a smile, pointing with his riding whip. "Logging trees to build houses, measuring fields, and digging canals—truly a wise king."

“Not enough.” Shao Xu smiled modestly and said, “Before I came here, I had only been the ruler of a county and a prefecture, and I didn’t need to do such things. It was enough to live in peace with the officials and the people. But Shuozhou is different…”

Liu Anzhi understood.

Being an official in a relatively developed place is not the same as being an official in a newly established place that is in dire need of development.

The emperor was quite generous, actually giving the King of Zhao Shuozhou as a practice opportunity.

"This time I've brought five thousand able-bodied men, mostly from various tribes under the Protectorate, to help you dig ditches," Liu Anzhi said, pointing to the herdsmen setting up tents in the distance.

"Thank you, Master Liu," Shao Xu said, bowing deeply.

Liu Anzhi quickly stopped him, saying, "There's no need for that. Once Hexi is pacified, the Protectorate will be in a much better position. The four elite battalions alone need 20,000 to 30,000 bolts of silk as rewards each year, which is quite difficult to raise. We have to be mindful of Zhuge Daoming's mood every time."

The Great Liang Dynasty established three Protectorates in the north and northwest. The Shanyu Protectorate was located at Dongmugen Mountain and commanded four elite cavalry battalions: Iron Cavalry, Hengchong, Zhenwu, and Shediao. The Anbei Protectorate was located at Woye Town and commanded four battalions: Huangjia, Juesheng, Maqian, and Shesheng. The Beiyi Protectorate was located at Mingsha and originally commanded two battalions: Zhangqian and Xuanjia. Later, by recruiting surplus soldiers from the Central Plains and selecting warriors from the grasslands, two more battalions, Feixiong and Hubao, were established. Now, it also has four elite cavalry battalions.

Don't be fooled by the fact that there are only four thousand cavalry; the difference between cavalrymen is enormous.

The elite cavalry under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate needed slaves to help them herd livestock, and also to cultivate fields for them outside the city—not large, usually just small plots of land, to grow some drought-resistant grain crops as a supplement to herding.

In addition, the Protectorate General would also issue rewards regularly.

The gifts included everything imaginable: cattle and sheep, silk, brocade quilts, pots and pans, and so on. They wanted everything, but they couldn't be without anything. This was because while slaves could support a cavalry family through farming and herding, they couldn't support an elite cavalry family that required frequent training. Therefore, rewards were necessary.

In the past two years, Liu Anzhi has encountered many fierce tribes, but he has subdued them all by launching several attacks with his two thousand elite cavalry.

You have to admire them. These two thousand riders dared to raid you even in the dead of winter when the snow was falling heavily, or when the pastures were just turning green and everyone's horses were very thin, they would come charging over on their sleek warhorses.

To be honest, maintaining two thousand elite troops to intimidate a large number of tribes is undoubtedly a low-cost border defense solution.

Of course, there are drawbacks as well. No one is infallible; if you fall into an ambush and suffer heavy casualties, it'll be a disaster. The margin for error is too low. But don't think it's impossible; winning too many battles can make a person increasingly arrogant and conceited…

Now that the force has been expanded to 4,000 cavalry, the margin for error has increased significantly, but the financial pressure has also risen sharply. If the Hexi Commandery is developed, it will definitely be a great thing for the Beiyi Protectorate.

Shao Xu naturally understood this principle, and he casually asked, "But I wonder where Lord Liu's elite troops are? When will they be assembled so that they can train with the hereditary soldiers and the guards of the Prince's Palace?"

Liu Anzhi nodded and said, "Let's wait until August. The Tent and Flying Bear Battalions have already been dispatched to escort the grain to Wuwei. It's 300,000 bushels. If the Hu people rob it, I can't bear the consequences."

"Has Guanzhong already sent 500,000 hu to Wuwei?" Shao Xu asked.

“Exactly,” Liu Anzhi said. “After arriving in Chang’an, Lord Yu immediately summoned Yao Laoqiang and ordered him to lead 3,000 cavalry to escort 500,000 hu of grain to Wuwei. That’s all for this year. The sandstorms before the New Year were too severe, so Wuwei probably won’t be able to start transporting it. After the spring planting next year, the grain will likely be transported to Dunhuang in batches. A large amount will be consumed by the people and horses along the way, it’s really…”

"Is there no food in Dunhuang?" Shao Xu asked.

"Not many. I heard that 10,000 able-bodied men from Yong and Qin prefectures will be sent west to Dunhuang to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land. The produce will be stored locally in the government archives for future use."

"The people of Guanzhong were not disturbed when the Liaodong campaign was launched, but now they are going to suffer."

"We've had peace for so many years, it's not a loss." Liu Anzhi smiled. "Next month, a batch of livestock should pass through Lingzhou from the east, heading towards Wuwei. Woye Town should also have collected livestock, which will travel south along the Dahe River to Wuwei. Your Highness can keep an eye on this; it's also preparation for the western expedition. They'll first be raised and bred in Liangzhou, and in the future, they can either be slaughtered for dried meat or driven westward."

"These preparations are truly thorough!" Shao Xu thought to himself. Food, livestock, and equipment were all prepared in advance, and the task was broken down over two or three years to minimize the impact on the people.

It's just that I don't know what role he will play in it in the future.

******
At the end of May, a long caravan appeared at the southern border of Beiyi Mountain.

The group was led by members of the Shen clan. They had returned from Dunhuang, bringing with them not only a large quantity of goods from the Western Regions and even further afield, but also an invitation to many foreign merchants to come to Lingzhou for a gathering.

This was Shao Xu's request.

The top priority was to allocate land to the soldiers and dig ditches; the next priority was to raise money.

The development of Qingbai Salt Lake is imminent, and the benefits of trade cannot be overlooked.

Shao Xu's goal was to get at least some of the Hu merchants to take the Lingzhou route, which involved starting from Wuwei, traveling along the Yellow River, and reaching Lingzhou. From there, they could either head southeast into Guanzhong, or travel along the northern foothills of Hengshan Mountain, cross the Yellow River, reach Hedong Commandery, and then proceed to Luoyang.

Now that Pingcheng has become a destination for many foreign merchants, why can't Lingzhou be the same? As long as there is silk, foreign merchants will flock here.

The silk from the Xianbei people of Pingcheng flowed into the Central Plains through gifts and trade, and the amount was actually not that much; it would be good if it reached a little over 200,000 bolts a year. But even this amount made Lady Wang incredibly wealthy, boasting of her riches in the northern frontier—in fact, there were few people in the entire Bingzhou who were richer than her.

He now wants to establish the Lingzhou line, so that some Hu merchants will get used to trading in Lingzhou, with Lingzhou people acting as middlemen to resell the goods, thus profiting from both sides.

This is not impossible. Not every merchant from the Central Asian countries went to Luoyang or Bianliang. Some went as far as Dunhuang and then stopped there. Some went as far as Loulan and that was their destination. Some even reached Chang'an. And so on.

That very evening, Shao Xu hosted a bonfire banquet to entertain the group of merchants.

He had already devised a complete business loop in his mind. Hmm, besides that, it also seemed like he could gather intelligence on the Western Regions…

(End of this chapter)