Chinese New Year

Chapter 1425 Hedong
We had just finished talking about rising temperatures when a heavy snowstorm hit in February, lasting for three days and delaying spring planting.

Naturally, Shao Xun also postponed his trip. After all, the farming season had already been compressed, and it wouldn't be good to excessively disrupt their plans at this time.

On the shore of Tianyuan Pond, a group of imperial guards and officers bid farewell to Shao Xun and went to take up their posts in various places.

A group of older heroes took over their positions, all of them overjoyed and deeply grateful to Shao Xun—the death of their fathers or brothers in battle, injury, or illness would be a devastating blow to a family, but they had defied fate, and this kindness was enough for them to remember for a lifetime.

At the end of last year, King Shao Yan of Han was ordered to visit the powerful clans and tribesmen of Guanzhong who had participated in the expeditions over the years, to provide relief to the widowed and orphaned, to search for the descendants of heroes, and to bestow upon them gold, silk, wine and food, and to submit a list.

Shao Xun accepted the offer without hesitation, expanding the force, which was named the "Adopted Sons Army," to two hundred men. There were many such units in history, with some having thousands or even tens of thousands of members. Most of them were not actually adopted sons, but they were extremely powerful and loyal.

The Yi'er Army of the Great Liang Dynasty was equivalent to the reserve officers of the Imperial Guard, and their barracks were even located near the Taiji Hall. When Shao Xun had free time, he would lead them in training; when he didn't have time, he would have them study military strategy, poetry, etiquette, music, and other subjects.

Whether on patrol or hunting, he would generally take them with him and try his best to remember each of their names.

In many people's eyes, the Righteous Army was a bit "arrogant" because they did not give any face to the ministers. Even when the princes came to pay homage, they had to follow the rules.

Early in the morning of February 13th, the Yi'er Army donned magnificent "tiger-striped armor"—actually leather armor, just painted in different colors—and lined up outside Zhaoyang Palace to escort the emperor away from the palace.

Shao Xun took the Empress's hand and they boarded the imperial carriage together.

Yu Wenjun was very happy, her face beaming with smiles.

Shao Xun was somewhat uneasy. He had already passed the heartbreak, but last night he couldn't help himself and released his pent-up emotions on the Empress, feeling incredibly refreshed. Although he managed to maintain his composure at the last moment, he was still worried and secretly blamed himself for a long time.

Yu Wenjun wasn't afraid at all; she only saw her husband doting on her as if he were bewitched. Afterwards, she secretly smiled to herself.

Shao Zhen was taking inventory of supplies in the west hall of Taiji Hall.

The emperor had to bring all the essential items he used, such as tea cauldrons, high tables, folding chairs, stools, cushions, seasonal clothing, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, without leaving anything out.

Besides the emperor, there were also the empress, her concubines, princes, and princesses who accompanied him, and their daily necessities were too numerous to count.

As for the items needed by the accompanying officials, they were carried by the imperial guards, so he didn't need to worry about them.

The Crown Prince, along with a group of officials from the Eastern Palace, respectfully saw them off.

Shao Xun opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had already said what needed to be said, there was no need to say more. He was merely overseeing things in Chang'an, not dead. Matters that the Council of State couldn't resolve would eventually be sent west by fast horse, taking only a few days in total.

So he simply nodded to Crown Prince Shao Jin, Crown Prince's Grand Tutor Liang Fen, and Crown Prince's Junior Tutor Chen Yougen, then lowered the carriage curtain and slowly departed.

Wherever the imperial carriage went, the gates of the palace opened one after another.

Shao Jin watched quietly, and whether it was his imagination or not, he felt the immense pressure slowly dissipate, and an indescribable sense of ease washed over him.

This feeling is wonderful; it's as if my breathing has become much easier.

******
By the time the carriage reached the West Garden, it was already dusk.

Shao Xun and his entourage then moved into a refined residence within the West Garden.

He ate dinner with Pei Lingyan.

"I thought you didn't want to go to Chang'an," Shao Xun said with a smile. "Is it because you regretted not seeing the sea last time?"

Pei Lingyan glanced at him.

Shao Xun stopped joking and said, "I know you have a reserved nature, it's not—"

"I regret it," Pei Lingyan said softly.

"Hmm?" Shao Xun was somewhat surprised, then looked troubled.

If he were to make another eastern sea voyage, what reason could he give? Many would certainly object, and he himself felt it was a bit excessive, but it wasn't entirely impossible…

"What are you thinking about?" Pei Lingyan said reproachfully, "I was born in Hedong and married into Donghai. Do you really think I've never seen the sea? I regret not being able to accompany you to travel and see the world."

Shao Xun breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "This time we'll go to Hedong first, then cross the river at Puban Ferry. We might be able to stay there for a while."

Pei Lingyan nodded and instructed the palace servants to serve Shao Xun soup.

The palace maid was no more than sixteen years old. She came from Pei Lingyan's residence in Cuiwei Hall in Bianliang, and her surname was Pei.

This was a girl carefully selected by the Pei family of Hedong. She looked six or seven parts similar to Pei Lingyan, which showed their intentions.

However, Shao Xun only glanced at it a few times at first, and after realizing it was a fake, he lost interest. He also didn't want to ask Pei Lingyan why she had brought such a junior member of the clan into the palace; wasn't that just harming her?

"Did Nianliu write you a letter?" Shao Xun asked after taking the bowl.

“I wrote a lot,” Pei Lingyan said, putting down her chopsticks.

"Okay, let's eat first." Shao Xun laughed and silently drank his chicken soup.

The February evening breeze was a bit chilly, and the courtyard felt even more lonely. However, the faint sounds of passing soldiers and messengers' hooves, along with the shouts of children playing, brought a touch of life to the courtyard. The two sat facing each other, silently eating their dinner.

Palace servants stood by, ready to serve wine and food at any time.

As night completely enveloped the earth, Shao Xun sighed contentedly, rinsed his mouth with freshly brewed Mengding tea, and stood up under a tree in the courtyard.

“Nianliu’s letters are mostly about inquiring about your well-being, nothing serious.” Pei Lingyan walked over and stood next to Shao Xun, saying, “The most recent letter was asking if Mianniang has found a good family. He has prepared a generous gift, full of rare treasures from the Western Regions, and is thinking of giving it to his sister as a congratulatory gift.”

"This is the real Nian Liu," Shao Xun exclaimed.

“In a few years, we’ll have fewer opportunities to meet,” Pei Lingyan added.

Shao Xun slowly turned his head and looked at Pei Lingyan.

Pei Lingyan seemed oblivious, looking up at the dark night sky, lost in thought.

Shao Xun fell silent.

"After arriving in Chang'an, will you still go on inspection tours?" Pei Lingyan withdrew her gaze, looked at Shao Xun, and asked.

"Perhaps we'll go take a look north of Hengshan," Shao Xun said. "Probably around July or August. You should stay in Chang'an."

"What task has been assigned to Nianliu?"

"The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Gaochang Campaign was in charge of supplies, equipment, and pacification efforts."

“This is what he’s good at, so it’s very suitable.” Pei Lingyan sighed softly and said, “It’s only natural for sparrows to stay in their nests. But the ambitions of swans lie in the highest heavens. When they grow up, they will eventually fly away.”

“Gaochang is not bad…” Shao Xun said.

Pei Lingyan glanced at him.

Shao Xun added, "I will give him the front part of Cheshi, and also Yiwu. I will also tighten control over the rear Cheshi Kingdom north of Baishan and gradually hand it over to him."

Pei Lingyan sighed, gently cupped Shao Xun's face, and said, "What are you feeling guilty about? After all these years, don't you understand? I guess I owed you a debt in my past life, and I'm here to repay it in this one. Sometimes I feel like you took advantage of my vulnerability and left too much goodwill in my heart, making it hard for me to be ruthless. Did Liu Xiaohe, Lu Xun, and Sima Xiuyi just appear in your life out of nowhere?"

Shao Xun was taken aback.

Pei Lingyan slowly released her grip, then looked up at the starry sky and said, "It's all in the past."

******
On the 18th, the car arrived in Shancheng, and it took a day to cross the pontoon bridge and reach Dayang County on the other side.

Shao Xun stayed there for two days and met with some officials.

Not only county and prefectural officials, but also junior officials from Dongyuan County.

The county and Pingyang Jiangyi are the two most important copper mining areas in the Great Liang Dynasty at present. The Imperial Household Department also set up mints in these two places. Apart from some of the copper produced being kept for copperware, the vast majority of it was cast into copper coins—actually, not much. The two places combined only produced a little over 160,000 strings of cash a year, which wouldn't make a ripple in the market.

There is also a copper mine in Qinzhou, where the mint produced 40,000 strings of Zhenming Tongbao coins annually.

The others were small mints that produced only a few thousand strings of cash, or ten or twenty thousand, or twenty or thirty thousand coins a year, which was better than nothing.

After conquering the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Shao Xun sent people to Jiangzhou to investigate. After several years, they found nothing, only two small copper pits that had been dug up by local powerful families for decades. During the Sima clan's rule, they even privately minted Yongjia Tongbao and Kaiping Tongbao coins, which made Shao Xun wonder how much real money and how much counterfeit money were in the market. But it didn't really matter. Even if the quality was slightly worse, it could still enrich the people's transactions. After all, with the development of the social economy, the market's demand for currency was increasing day by day.

Throughout the entire Liang Dynasty, the annual official minting of copper coins was roughly stable at around 400,000 strings of cash.

If no one melted down the copper coins to make various bronze artifacts or even statues, or simply took them to their graves, the accumulated amount over time would not be small. But in reality, a large number of copper coins entered the market and slowly disappeared, like a bottomless pit constantly swallowing up precious currency.

But this is a difficult problem to solve. It's not something you can stop by issuing an edict saying what will happen if copper coins are melted down. In the end, you can only arrest a few unlucky people. There are too many people continuing to do it in private. But how to put it, you still have to arrest them. If you don't, it will become even more rampant.

During his stay, Shao Xun also inquired about the situation of the Dayang Floating Bridge (also known as the "Sun Floating Bridge"). He was relieved to learn that they had transported high-quality timber from Jiangzhou last year to build the floating bridge.

This bridge carries a lot of history.

As Shao Xun walked on it, it felt as if he had returned to those glorious years.

Wang Mi—ha, I'd almost forgotten about him.

What was once the heartland of the Liu Han dynasty has now become the home of the Yellow-Headed Army soldiers. They have taken root here, working from sunrise to sunset, sometimes fighting on the battlefield, sometimes pacifying the local area, and in the past few decades, it has taken on a new look.

On the 20th, an imperial edict was issued to bestow two bolts of silk upon the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion of the Yellow Head Army, who were scattered along the banks of the Yellow River in Hedong and Pingyang.

On the 21st, the imperial carriage headed north across the Shahe River, crossed the Zhongtiao Mountains, passed Anyi, and went straight to Wenxi.

Since the defeat of Liu Han, Shao Xun had not visited the Hedong region for many years.

Each inspection was conducted to demonstrate imperial authority and stabilize the region. After many years, the officials and people of Hedong and Pingyang counties finally saw Shao Taiyang of Daliang, who had come via the Taiyang Floating Bridge.

(End of this chapter)