Chinese New Year

Chapter 1409 West Garden
After the funeral, September was almost over.

The markets were bustling in October, with more and more merchants coming to trade, and the commercial taxes collected by the imperial court also rose accordingly.

This world is ultimately made up of millions of people, and it won't stop moving forward just because someone leaves. Life goes on.

This month also marks the first anniversary of Shao's father's death. After Shao Xun and his family paid their respects, he felt increasingly empty and thus devoted all his energy to political affairs.

The hard soap sent by the Sun family was accepted. Shao Xun made the same suggestion: could they make a scented soap?
At the same time, he finally realized something: the soap hardened because of different salts used in the production process.

He knew that wood ash was a substitute for potassium fertilizer. In his previous life, when he burned earthen stoves, he always liked to sprinkle the stove ash on freshly cut leek fields, which worked very well. Therefore, the main components of wood ash are potassium carbonate and potassium salts.

Could burning seaweed produce sodium salts? It's highly likely.

That makes sense.

However, Shao Xun still did not give Sun Xi the opportunity to enter Wanxiang Academy, even though he had listed two possible outcomes. Instead, he gave him a quota for his son to become an official through the imperial favor system, starting from the ninth rank, and also bestowed upon him 500 bolts of silk and 4 hectares and 60 steps of public land near the Sun residence in Jurong as encouragement.

Several new articles were added to the Wanshou-in Collection of Writings, and after being printed together, they were distributed to various places.

What interested Shao Xun the most was the theory of air buoyancy proposed by Wang Zhen, the Director of the Imperial Household Department. He threw an umbrella down from a tall building, and it landed relatively slowly. When he threw other objects of the same weight, the landing speed varied.

Well, it's rather superficial and not rigorous, but it can serve as a starting point for discussion and encourage others to write articles, so it was eventually published.

In addition, some people in Jiaozhou suggested improving the sugar extraction process, which should also be included in the report.

After finishing all that, Yuan Zhen couldn't wait to return to Luoyang from Liangcheng. Shao Xun was delighted and invited him to come to the West Garden in Luoyang for an audience.

"Eat slowly." Shao Xun divided a plate of meat he had personally grilled in half, giving one half to Wang Yinling and pushing the other half in front of Yuan Zhen.

"Grandpa's grilled meat is so delicious," Yuanzhen said happily.

Shao Xun laughed heartily and then ordered wine and meat to be distributed to the hundred or so knights who had followed Yuan Zhen south. For a moment, everyone shouted "Long live the Emperor!" and everyone was overjoyed.

"Grandpa, why don't I have any?" Twelve-year-old A-Liu-Dun was a little unhappy.

"Yes, Grandpa will go grill it right away," Shao Xun said helplessly.

This brat used to want him to hold her every day when she was little, but now that she's grown up, he won't even let him touch her head, let alone hug her.

“Grandpa, let me grill it for you,” ten-year-old Dai Jing volunteered.

Shao Xun nodded, gave him a dagger, and told him to cut the meat.

The guards were preparing deer, rabbits, pheasants and other game not far away, hanging the killed animals on hooks.

Dai Jing cut the material skillfully, clearly someone who did this job often.

Wang walked over with a smile and helped Shao Xun sprinkle pepper on the meat.

Shao Xun smiled at her. "The women I snatched are all pretty good, they all smell nice."

Wang Yinling may have had ambitions in the past, but she never got the chance. Now, time has passed, and she has given birth to four sons and one daughter. The past is all gone.

Today, apart from the youngest son who didn't come, Yuanzhen, Daijing, Yusu, and Aludun were all there. The whole family sat around grilling meat in the West Garden, looking incredibly happy.

Wang Yinling shared the same idea.

Especially after Yuanzhen returned from Yinshan, he kept talking to Shao Xun about this and that. She watched the affectionate father and son quietly from the side, feeling slightly moved.

He doesn't mind that I'm from Huzhou, and he genuinely cares for our son. So what if I stay with him for the rest of my life? Besides, I quite enjoy this feeling; it's not that I'm unwilling or resentful.

"Full Moon." After grilling a few pieces of meat, Shao Xun said, "Next year, the Wuyuan Kingdom will select a group of young people to come here to study and practice martial arts with you. You mustn't be arrogant, understand?"

"I understand," Dai Jing replied obediently, stopping what she was doing.

"Study hard." Shao Xun put the meat into a plate, handed it to Wang Yinling, and continued, "These people will be your right-hand men from now on."

"Oh," Dai Jing responded again, then took over the sliced ​​raw venison and rabbit meat.

Shao Xun took it and skillfully grilled it. The aroma of meat and seasonings wafted over, invigorating him, and he laughed, "Now I really can't live without pepper and cardamom."

“There are people selling these goods from the grasslands. I used to buy some, but then I found out that those merchants from the Western Regions also bought them from India. Most of the spices shipped to Jianye from the South China Sea also come from India, so I stopped buying them. Spices are cheaper in Jianye.” Wang Yinling walked over and said softly, “How many ships sank along the way when various goods are shipped from Jiaozhou and Guangzhou to Jianye and Guangling?”

"It's about 40% every year. Last year, with the introduction of new ships, it dropped to 15%, and the boatmen's complaints decreased a lot," Shao Xun said. "From Penglai to Liaodong, if one out of twenty ships sinks, that's considered bad luck. And for travel between Liaodong and other places, if you choose the right season, the sinking rate is probably around 10%."

"How many ships does the Imperial Household Department have?"

"There are more than twenty old ships and seven or eight new ships," Shao Xun said. "Actually, those old ships are not old, but they still need to be replaced gradually. Last year, these old ships transported Jiaozhou rice in one go, but Guanqiu Zongkuang submitted a memorial requesting that it be stopped, so it will not be transported this year."

“The storms are merciless. We’re willing to transport pepper and spices, but we’re not willing to transport rice,” Wang Yinling said.

"Transporting rice is paid for," Shao Xun said. "The three prefectures of Yangzhou, Jiaozhou, and Guangzhou have a Revenue Officer who has designated 3,000 households for transporting troops by sea. These households are all provided with farmland. In case of emergency, they will receive 25 coins for one bushel of rice, 50 coins for one bushel of rice, and 55 coins for one bushel of glutinous rice from Jiaozhou to Jianye. This is already quite generous. For 200,000 bushels of rice, nearly 8,000 strings of cash were paid for the transportation, which was offset by cloth."

"Then why did you ask to stop?" Wang Yinling asked, puzzled.

“It’s not worth the risk,” Shao Xun said. “But there haven’t been any major events in Jiaozhou in recent years, and a lot of the taxes collected have been used locally and accumulated. Although rice is easy to preserve, Jiaozhou is hot and humid, and it’s not a good idea to keep storing it indefinitely. Besides, the court can’t just not transport any taxes at all, can it? What kind of system would that be? They transported 200,000 bushels at once, but then stopped transporting them for the next few years.”

“If you’re an official in Jiaozhou or Guangzhou, you can definitely embezzle a lot. When collecting taxes, you’ll probably take every last penny. How much you send to Luoyang and Bianjing depends on your mood,” Wang Yinling said with a smile.

"You think you know so much?" Shao Xun picked up a piece of meat, blew on it before slowly putting it into Wang Yinling's mouth, and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Jiaozhou and Guangzhou are relatively better off, but the taxes from Yizhou are really hard to send to the central government. Just as difficult it was for Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions, it's just as difficult to transport grain now. Even if we could ship it to Jingzhou and Yangzhou and then transfer it north, it would be a long and arduous process, not worth the effort. The taxes from Shu can only be used in Shu. When Chen Zhen governed Yizhou, he repeatedly exchanged grain for fine yellow cloth, copper coins, gold and silver, tea, and medicinal herbs, but it only slightly alleviated the problem. Moreover, the Ministry of Revenue also had a big headache after these goods were collected, because they were sold at too high a price."

Wang Yinling slowly chewed and ate the meat.

Shao Xun then took out a silk handkerchief and gently wiped the corner of the woman's mouth.

Wang Yinling's eyes were brimming with tears. She was about to say something when she saw the four children whispering to each other while looking at the two of them. She immediately blushed and changed the subject, saying, "You really want to push the shipping business."

Shao Xun looked at his children and smiled, “If I hadn’t encouraged northerners to migrate south, we wouldn’t be in such a hurry. With sea and river transport working in tandem, we can not only utilize the resources of Jiangnan, but the court can also strengthen its control. If things go as expected, Jianye and Guangling will not only become important cities in the south, but also the most prosperous places in the whole country.”

"Then let's send Ah Wu to Jiangnan, okay?" Wang Yinling blinked and asked softly.

"A-Wu" is their youngest child, who is only two years old this year.

"Are you willing to let Ah Wu leave?" Shao Xun asked in surprise.

Wang Yinling said nonchalantly, "Countless children on the grasslands have traveled thousands of miles from home, let alone thousands of miles."

“We can offer a fiefdom in the prosperous Jiangnan region,” Shao Xun said.

Wang Yinling was slightly disappointed, but she quickly became satisfied again. This was fine too; she could live a life of wealth, carefree and unrestrained.

Ah Wu is twenty years younger than the Crown Prince, almost two generations apart. It would be nice for him to be a wealthy and idle man. Well, Ah Wu's mother is also eighteen years younger than his father, almost two generations apart as well.

“This world is truly different under your control.” Wang Yinling suddenly exclaimed, “If I hadn’t come to the Central Plains, I would never have imagined that there was such a thing as maritime transport, or such a vast world. If we transport spices and sugar cane for a few more years, and build new ships for a few more years, it will probably be even more incredible.”

At this point, she suddenly added, "Actually, you could follow the old practice of military markets, where any merchant from Jiaozhou or Guangzhou who wants to transport goods north must also transport grain. I've heard that Jiaozhou has a larger population than Guangzhou and is even more prosperous. If this were done, the court's revenue would certainly increase significantly. Even if there is a rebellion in Jiaozhou in the future, the court could still transport troops by sea with less expense. Didn't you say that Fan Wen is constantly raising troops to conquer barbarian small countries and cave chieftains to expand his power? In my opinion, he will take action against Rinan County sooner or later. You should think of a way to deal with this."

"It's laughable that there are still people in the court speaking up for Fan Wen, believing that he should be appeased and not reprimanded." Shao Xun shook his head and laughed, "They're all not as good as you."

Wang Yinling covered her mouth and chuckled, then raised her head and said, "If I were in power, I would attack his country by both land and sea. I absolutely cannot let him succeed, otherwise what will outsiders think of me?"

"The imperial court will have more than twenty large ships this year," Shao Xun said. "I have already issued an edict to establish the South China Sea Garrison, with its capital at Panyu. All the ships have been allocated, and strong men have been recruited to train the navy in case of unforeseen circumstances. Jiaozhou is becoming increasingly important to the imperial court, and I will not give it up no matter what."

“I love seeing you like this, otherwise…” Wang Yinling also picked up a piece of meat and slowly put it into Shao Xun’s mouth, chuckling softly.

The implication is that if you're not strong enough, don't expect me to willingly have your child.

Yuan Zhen and the others chuckled as they read this.

Ah Liudun glanced at her carefree brothers, but the precocious girl was a little envious of her parents' romantic nature.

After finishing his meat, Shao Xun coughed and said, "Yuanzhen, let's leave it at that for today. Tomorrow, your father will see your skills. You've been away from home for half a year, but I wonder what you've learned or understood."

(End of this chapter)