Chinese New Year

Chapter 1460 Longhua
There are only three days left until the New Year. In previous years, the streets would have been deserted by now. Apart from patrolling soldiers, the people of Luoyang would have stayed at home, enjoying their rare leisure time.

This year is different. The army that returned in the winter month was magnificent, with nearly 16,000 camels, three times the number of the previous two times, and eight or nine thousand horses, twice the number of the previous two times.

Clearly, they brought back all the seized valuables at once.

A significant portion of the spoils of war were publicly sold through two trading posts set up by the Imperial Household Department in the east and west of Luoyang.

Yu Liang went to the East Market and selected some Western musical instruments, such as the Jie drum.

Zao Yong, who had come with him, immediately praised, "Your Excellency has excellent taste. This drum has a unique sound, clear and far-reaching, making it a rare treasure. Yet it sits in this corner, unnoticed, truly a pearl hidden in dust. In your hands, it will surely shine brightly."

Yu Liang smiled and had his attendants load the jie drum onto the oxcart, saying, "Wu An, you've been following me for two hours. Now, tell me, what is it?"

Yu Liang's gaze swept over the various merchants, pausing only briefly most of the time.

Officials and commoners in Luoyang mostly went there for gemstones, incense, cotton cloth, and jade, but Yu Liang mainly selected exquisitely crafted works of art or rare items; pure gold, silver, pearls, and jade could no longer move him.

“When the Crown Prince surveys the land and expands the households, he will need people to run errands for him. I am not talented, but I am willing to do my utmost,” Zao Yong said in a low voice.

Yu Liang glanced at him, shook his head and chuckled, saying, "Wu An, are you having trouble making the soap shop?"

“Workshops are not the right path; I would rather do something practical,” Zao Yong said.

Yu Liang tapped him with his finger, smiling without saying a word.

At this moment, the feeling of high spirits returned.

It's understandable that Zao Yong didn't want to waste his time in the soap workshop, after all, he was already thirty-two years old, and the workshop's position wasn't a government official position, but merely managing the Crown Prince's private property.

That was certainly good, but in the last three years, a lot of people from Hebei had come to the workshop, so Zao Yong didn't want to continue working there. He wanted to get out of that time-wasting pit and take a position in the soon-to-be-established Toda Shogunate.

Although it is very likely that this is just a temporary shogunate, with all the staff being recruited, and the shogunate will be dismissed once the shogun's duties are completed, and the staff will be dismissed once their duties are completed, that is only in theory. In reality, this shogunate may exist for several years, during which time they are officials, even more powerful than officials!
Even if the shogunate is abolished in the future, after working so hard for the crown prince for so long, why should I be afraid of not having a chance? At least it's better than continuing to waste my time in the soap factory.

"Very well, the Crown Prince must use some of his own people." After walking for a while, Yu Liang finally relented.

Zao Yong was overjoyed and bowed deeply in gratitude.

"Wu An, do you know this is a job that will offend people?" Yu Liang reminded him.

“Of course I know,” Zao Yong replied. “You must have heard that in the winter of the first year of Zhenming, my Zao family of Changshe acquired a piece of land in Piling. We have reclaimed the land twice in the past seven years, and now we have more than 370 farmhouses and 200 hectares of land. There are only 20 hectares of land left in Changshe, which is enough to maintain a private school, support an elderly person, and worship our ancestors.”

"They moved so fast," Yu Liang exclaimed.

Zao Yong had several elder brothers, most of whom were low-ranking officials. However, due to repeated periods of mourning at home, they were gradually forgotten. If it weren't for his friendship with Zao Song, which he occasionally gave them opportunities, the Zao family would have faced even greater difficulties.

Of the more than twenty hectares in Changshe County, if the land occupation law were applied, about two-thirds could be preserved, requiring only internal coordination within the clan—but this is not a simple matter and is prone to disputes.

However, the Zao Song branch probably doesn't value these lands in Changshe much anymore. They moved south to Piling County seven years ago, quite quickly, and thus seized some land. If they went back today, seven years later, there might still be land in Piling, but it would mostly be cultivated land that they would have to clear themselves, which is much less desirable.

Thinking of this, Yu Liang thought of his own family.

He did send people south, and they acquired land directly in Jianye, right next to the fence, not far from the Stone City, with convenient transportation and fertile soil. It was the best of the best fields, only a small one, only thirty hectares.

He wasn't very interested in it, and so far he only let his servants manage it. The produce was used to feed everyone on the estate, and any surplus was sold in the market. The proceeds were then transported back north to support his own expenses.

Compared to Zao Shi, isn't he being a bit too lax?

Just then, a foul odor suddenly wafted in on the wind. Yu Liang frowned, then relaxed.

Having lived in Kansai for several years, he was all too familiar with this smell; it must be from a camel! So he took a step and walked over.

Sure enough, there was a group of camels enclosed in front, about two or three hundred of them, leisurely chewing hay, seemingly accustomed to the surrounding environment with people coming and going.

Several minor officials from the Imperial Household Department sat nearby, looking sullen. "It's the New Year, and instead of going home, you're here selling camels. How would you feel?"
They didn't recognize Yu Liang, assuming he was just an ordinary rich man. After a perfunctory introduction, they sat back down, not particularly interested or enthusiastic. Whether the sale went well or not was none of their business; they could simply take him back and have the Shaofu (the official in charge of the household) pay for his upkeep.

Seeing that the minor official in charge of the imperial household remained silent, Zao Yong felt he should make a move, so he stepped forward, grabbed one of the men's sleeves, and said, "When you see someone coming to buy a camel, shouldn't you greet them?"

"Hey, this is my new cotton coat, don't tear it!" The minor official who had been grabbed was displeased.

The Imperial Household Department probably has more than 200,000 people, spread all over the country, and is practically an independent kingdom. All promotions are made by the emperor himself. When have they ever been afraid of anyone?
"How much is this cotton-padded coat worth?" Zao Yong said, "Come and serve it quickly."

"Wu'an, forget it." Yu Liang looked at the camels and asked, "Are these all camels from Kucha?"

“Not just that.” The official’s attitude finally improved a bit. “They have camels from Kucha, Yanqi, and Shule. Actually, they are all the same kind of camel, just from different places. Perhaps some were taken from the northern grasslands, but I can’t remember. It seems that the Wusun and Xiongnu tribes there also use camels in battle.”

Yu Liang nodded, then called over a servant and told him to stay and negotiate the price, while he went to wander around another place.

"What? You bought them all?" came the incredulous voice of the clerk behind me.

Yu Liang smiled.

His family also wanted to use Chang'an as a base to expand their business westward, and camels were essential.

After walking more than three hundred steps, there was another large open-air horse pen ahead, with about three or four hundred horses.

During the western expedition, they brought back ten to twenty thousand horses, all of which were called "fine horses," but there were actually differences between them.

The Imperial Household Department and the various imperial stables took away the good horses to breed, the medium-grade horses to reward soldiers and officials, and the inferior horses to sell. But even these inferior horses were quite good, at least in appearance, so a large number of people gathered around. Yu Liang looked at them from afar and immediately gave up the idea of ​​buying a horse, but he saw a familiar face: Deng Sui, a retainer in the Prince of Qi's residence.

Deng Sui seemed to be there to buy horses, which made Yu Liang chuckle.

The King of Qi is utterly ignorant. It's questionable whether the horses from the Western Regions can adapt to the local environment in Pingzhou.

However, he had some doubts. Didn't the Emperor bestow horses upon the Prince of Qi? He remembered that a while ago, the Emperor had given the Prince of Qi over a hundred fine horses, saying that he should take them back to breed with the local mares of Pingzhou, in order to produce new horses adapted to the local environment.

Perhaps he wasn't satisfied and wanted to buy more. King Qi was willing to spend a lot of money to ensure a smooth enfeoffment.

A group of people with high noses and deep-set eyes from Central Asia were also gathered outside the horse pen.

Yu Liang couldn't tell their identities from their appearance, and he didn't bother to find out.

The Hu people only glanced around from the outside and spent most of their time chatting amongst themselves; they were clearly not there to buy horses.

As Yu Liang passed by them, he took a closer look at their expressions, which were quite complex.

"Hey, is it a case of the rabbit mourning the fox's death?" Yu Liang put his hands behind his back, left without lingering, and remained calm and composed.

While his brother-in-law's expedition to the Western Regions certainly caused turmoil in dozens of counties across six prefectures—Yong, Qin, He, Liang, Sha, and Shuo—he also truly earned a reputation for his prowess, leaving these barbarian people both saddened and terrified, and likely to behave themselves for many years to come.

Yu Liang recalled that before he handed over the seal of the Guanzhong Transport Commissioner, he learned that the town of Kucha had recruited nearly 1,900 infantrymen and 500 cavalrymen to try to develop land reclamation in the area.

Next April, Liang and Yi prefectures will simultaneously dispatch 60,000 able-bodied men to assemble in Wuwei to continue transporting supplies, allowing the people of Guanzhong to catch their breath. This demonstrates the Emperor's strong determination to manage the Western Regions, and that trading with towns in the Western Regions and even further west among the Hu merchants is a golden road.

"Clatter..." More than ten coins fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

A Sogdian merchant hurriedly squatted down to pick it up, and the bystanders burst into laughter.

Yu Liang stopped in his tracks, because he noticed that the official from the Imperial Household Department who was selling horses was walking straight toward the foreign merchant, holding a silver coin in his hand.

"Several thieves!" The official grabbed the foreign merchant and said, "The imperial court has a rule that tortoise shell coins must not be damaged; violators will be punished with ten strokes of the cane. Look, the outermost ring has been worn away; they are indeed thieves. Seize them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several servants from the Imperial Household Department stepped forward with weapons and surrounded the foreign merchant.

Yu Liang was taken aback.

Zao Yong approached, took out a tortoise-shaped coin from his pocket, and handed it to Yu Liang, saying, "Please take a look, my lord. This is a silver coin minted in Gaochang, called a 'tortoise coin.' It seems that the Imperial Household Department also minted some last year, but very few, probably less than ten thousand. This coin is the same as the Persian silver coin, with a line of dots connected on the outer edge. If it is worn down too much, these dots will disappear, and it can be seen at a glance."

Yu Liang took a look and sure enough, there were many small dots on the outermost part of the coin, forming a circle. If it was rubbed too much, these dots would indeed be worn away.

"What if you grind too little?" Yu Liang asked.

“Then it’s not very noticeable, but experienced elders can still tell,” Zao Yong said.

"Could you add some dots to the side of the coin? That way, even if only a small amount is worn away, it will still be noticeable," Yu Liang suggested.

"But I don't know if I can do it," Zao Yong said hesitantly.

Yu Liang nodded and stopped caring about the matter.

After walking a while, a melodious voice came from ahead: "I have heard that the Purple Palace is undergoing a transformation, responding to the Five Elements to uphold Heaven; the Yellow Axe quells misfortune, sweeping away the chaos and restoring order to the six directions..."

Yu Liang was startled; it sounded like an imperial edict announcing something to the world, so he listened carefully.

"Iron cavalry tramples the snows of the Tianshan Mountains, dragon banners unfurl the clouds of the vast sea. To the west, the Pamir Mountains are reached, and Dayuan is incorporated into the map; to the east, the Yan and Nan regions are conquered, and Goguryeo is brought to the capital. The dust of the barbarians has settled and the border beacons have been extinguished; the written language is unified and the written language is readily available. On this day of the rebirth of heaven and earth, it is the perfect time for the new dynasty to be established. A general amnesty may be granted, and the ninth year of Zhenming shall be changed to the first year of Longhua (342)..."

"So that's how it is!" Yu Liang suddenly realized.

There was a slight noise ahead, and Yu Liang subconsciously took a few steps closer so he could hear more clearly.

"...He dispatched Crown Prince Jin with imperial credentials to tour the prefectures and counties. He measured the fields to ensure equal taxation and inspected the households to verify their records. He ensured that the powerful and wealthy had no private embezzlement and that widows and orphans had provisions and loans to support them. He aimed to ensure that there was no uncultivated land in the fields and no vagrants in the cities."

"...The Imperial Academy was expanded with an additional hundred rooms, and the National Academy established a separate mathematics hall. Those who wore coarse clothes and leather belts, as long as they understood the texts, were admitted to the academy; those who wore felt robes and braided hair, and could recite poetry and books, were allowed to participate in the tribute missions."

"...Reopen the gates of Yumen and rebuild the ramparts of Dunhuang. Eliminate the harsh taxes imposed on markets and loosen the restrictions on passes and bridges. Let Persian precious bracelets be displayed in the eastern market, and Wu and Yue silks overflow in western Qin."

"...An imperial edict was issued ordering Donglai to build new ships and Wu and Kuaiji to learn the tides. Following the old path of Xu Fu, they explored new routes across the high seas. Iron anchors were cast to ward off dragons and sea monsters, and stars were erected to guide the sails. The goal was for giant ships to sail in succession, carrying treasures from distant lands; and for the vast waves to yield to the profits of fish and salt."

"...The Xianbei were ordered to learn the Zhou rites, and the Qiang and Jie were ordered to read the Han language. They were to undo their braids and wear hats to present themselves to the worthy, and wear robes with the left side overlapping the right and caps on. Marriage between the Hu and Han peoples was to be established, and students were to sit together in schools wearing felt and fur coats. They were to be made aware of the culture of rites and music in their yurts, and to recognize the elegance of stringed instruments and songs in their hats and belts."

"Alas! In the past, the Qin Emperor inscribed his achievements on a stone at Langya, merely boasting of his military prowess; the Han Emperor sought the elixir of immortality at Penglai, but all in vain. I do not yearn for the praises of Jieshi, but only for the songs of 'striking the earth.' All my ministers, fulfill your duties. This proclamation is hereby issued to all, so that they may understand my heart..."

After listening, Yu Liang pondered for a long time, then pulled Zao Yong over and said, "Quick, go and make a copy."

Zao Yong nodded and left, looking around for paper and pen.

Yu Liang pondered carefully what he had just heard.

Who among officials, especially high-ranking ones, wouldn't pay attention to the edict announcing the change of reign title? A reign title represents the tasks or expectations for a period of time, and its direction is very strong.

If you don't understand this, you shouldn't be an official.

(End of this chapter)