Chinese New Year

Article 1477
Shao Gui originally thought he could head south in April, but it was actually delayed until early May.

After the grand court assembly on the first day of the month, the matter of him taking three new wives was already settled.

The three barbarian chieftains, Xu, Xie, and Ji, also met.

Xu was alright; judging by his attire, he was not much different from the scholars of the Central Plains, and even more like one. Some scholars were usually more casual and unconcerned with details, but this White Tiger Yi chieftain named Xu Sishou was very serious and upright, giving people the feeling that he particularly wanted to be recognized.

Xie and Ji, on the other hand, were rather "unruly," dressed in brightly colored clothes, wearing huge gold earrings, and even had tattoos, which disgusted Shao Gui, who secretly thought that his new wife probably wouldn't be any better.

After returning to the Prince's residence, he recounted the incident to Zu, Deng, and Liu.

The three women were somewhat panicked. But there was nothing they could do now.

Although Lady Zu was already pregnant, she still stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Husband, His Majesty is right. He is indeed thinking of you. You've already gone to such a far place as Zangke. The expenses of the royal palace are probably not even as good as those of the gentry in the Central Plains. It's already a blessing that you can coexist peacefully with the local barbarian chieftains. It would be extremely difficult, almost impossible, to do anything else. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he still has his pride and would not make things difficult for you, my husband, who is far away in Zangke. As long as you are respectful and obedient, there will be no problem with everything going smoothly."

Shao Gui remained silent for a long time, like a Buddha statue.

Lady Zu thought he couldn't accept this, so she sat down beside him, took his hand, and said softly, "Husband, I will follow you wherever you go."

Shao Gui finally made a move. He sneered and said, "If you can't afford to offend them, can't you at least avoid them?"

After saying that, he looked at Zu Shi and his expression became serious. He said, "You should stay in the capital for now. Even if you go to visit in the future, you can only do so in Chengdu. There are many polluted and filthy places like Zhu Ti, Zang Ke, and Yue Xi, where you are more likely to get sick. Let's forget about it."

"Yes," Zu replied obediently.

Seeing her like this, Shao Gui felt much relieved and said, "I will be setting off in the next few days. The Prince's Palace has only managed to recruit three or four hundred guards. I will leave fifty in Luoyang and take the rest with me."

"Are three hundred people enough?" Zu asked.

"The people of Yizhou can't just watch me die," Shao Gui said. "Father is still recruiting; he'll send people over later."

“Husband, you are all we have left.” After saying that, Madam Zu paused and added, “You still have us.”

Shao Gui was silent for a moment, then said, "It's not like it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, what's there to worry about?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a report came from the front courtyard: Li Zhao, a scholar from the Prince Zhao's residence, had come to visit.

Shao Gui's eyelids twitched. He couldn't really dislike the third prince. In fact, if he had to choose someone to be the crown prince, he would prefer Nian Liu, even though the third prince seemed a bit too benevolent and didn't look like someone who could accomplish great things.

But if the third brother ascends the throne, all his brothers can stay in Luoyang. However, it's hard to say whether someone will cause any trouble at that time.

He knows his own family best. He sees that the third brother is so "easy to bully," and he might just take advantage of him.

Of course, that was the third brother back then. He wasn't quite sure what Nian Liu was like now, since they had met very few times over the years. He had only heard that when the remnants of the Tuoba tribe were being suppressed, Nian Liu personally beat the drum to cheer them on when facing the Xianbei cavalry charge. It seemed like he had changed a bit.

"Go to the study," Shao Gui instructed the gatekeeper, then went straight to the study and sat down.

A moment later, Li Zhao entered and bowed, saying, "Your Highness."

"Who's in the courtyard?" Shao Gui asked upon hearing the commotion.

Li Zhao presented a gift list.

Shao Gui was somewhat surprised after receiving the money: three hundred coins and five thousand silver coins.

"This is a farewell sent by Lord You on the orders of my king, to make the journey more impressive," Li Zhao said with a smile.

Actually, he only told half of it.

Three hundred coins and three thousand silver coins were the maximum amount of funds that Zhao Wang Shi You Ji could use within his authority; anything more would have to be reported.

Previously, the King of Zhao had written a letter mentioning that if his second brother were to take up his fief, he would send a generous gift, but he did not specify how much. Now that the King of Chu has been appointed as the Grand Commissioner for the Repair of Roads and Bridges in the Seven Counties of Nanzhong and the Prefect of Zangke, discerning people have already seen many things, so You Ji sent him the travel expenses.

After it is formally established as a fiefdom, it will likely receive another sum of money.

But for King Shao Gui of Chu, this gift was already quite generous, so he subconsciously went to the courtyard and looked at the opened box.

These are genuine, freshly minted silver coins. The edges show clear signs of filing (removing burrs), the lettering is bright, the design is full, and the color is bright white. It is obvious that these tortoise coins were newly minted and have not yet been used.

As for money, it was the Qin Dynasty gold coins, which came from the Western Regions.

Strictly speaking, this so-called money is not the legal tender of Liang and cannot be circulated, but in real life, there is no problem in using it secretly in private.

Even if the King of Chu was a prince and could not do this, he could still use it as a "golden artifact" to reward meritorious officials without any problem.

"Third brother, you are very kind." Shao Gui sighed and said to Li Zhao, "Please thank King Zhao on my behalf. I will surely repay you in the future."

“My king once said that Your Highness is a blood relative, how can you measure him with money?” Li Zhao said.

Shao Gui's expression shifted, and he felt a warmth in his heart.

He turned to look at Li Zhao and, finding that the other man wasn't looking at him, felt a little relieved.

As if to conceal some emotion, he asked, "Third brother, you seem to be doing well in Gaochang?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhao smiled wryly and said, "The summer is scorching hot, and the yellow sand fills the sky. The only good thing is that there are many merchants and travelers, so we can collect more gold, silver and rare treasures. There are also desert bandits (Xiongnu tribes) behind the mountains, so there is no peace."

"Don't try to fool me." Shao Gui laughed and said, "I heard a few days ago that a Shen family merchant caravan came to the capital and made a lot of business. They had a coral with an extremely beautiful shape, which was purchased by Minister Chu for a large sum of money. Is that true?" "It is true." Li Zhao said, "A merchant from the Western Regions brought six corals eastward. Gaochang took one of them, and it has been sitting there for a long time without being sold. In the end, they could only bring it to Luoyang to sell."

"Could these silver coins have been exchanged for Persian silver coins?" Shao Gui asked again.

“Yes,” Li Zhao said. “I personally brought the Persian silver into the Imperial Household Department and watched them start from the model, then remelt, cast, pour, break the mold, repair, press, and polish, working day and night. I waited for a long time.”

“The Imperial Household Department is actually quite short of silver.” Shao Gui shook his head and chuckled, while also gaining a completely new understanding of the third son’s financial resources.

The fact that a large amount of foreign silver was brought into the Imperial Household Department by officials from the Prince's Palace to personally supervise the minting of tortoise-shaped coins indicates that it was no small sum, perhaps thirty to fifty thousand coins, which would be worth approximately forty thousand strings of cash.

Nianliu, what a grand gesture!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask, "What is the annual revenue of the Gaochang Kingdom?"

Li Zhao replied, "Last year we received 83,000 cash."

“Wen?” Shao Gui was taken aback.

Li Zhao pointed to the box and said, "One silver coin is one wen."

Upon hearing this, Shao Gui's expression didn't change much, but he was inwardly shocked.

That's a huge sum of money! According to the latest grain prices in Luoyang, it can buy three to four hundred thousand bushels of grain, equivalent to the land rent of fifty to sixty thousand households.

Even including the household tax and the corvée labor service, the total amount of taxes and corvée labor for more than 22,000 households is equivalent to the total amount of taxes and corvée labor for more than 22,000 households. It is truly staggering.

He will be enfeoffed in the future, and it would be a stroke of luck if he could receive taxes equivalent to those of 10,000 households. It is highly unlikely that he will receive such taxes, so it is really hard to compare.

Seeing his expression, Li Zhao already had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

What he just said was not entirely untrue.

The 80,000 wen were mainly poll taxes and various commercial taxes, and not all of them were collected. If they had been collected carefully, it wouldn't be surprising if it had been more than 90,000.

Moreover, the land rent was not included; that portion was paid in grain.

Needless to say, the commission charged by merchants from the Western Regions mainly came from goods, which could only be priced after they were sold. This is unclear now, but it is very likely that this was the bulk of the commission.

However, if the King of Chu were to calculate Gaochang's annual revenue based on the value of silver in the Central Plains, he would be greatly mistaken.

Eighty-three thousand coins were very valuable in the Central Plains, but not necessarily in Gaochang. Ordinary people in Gaochang earned and spent money, but their lives were just so-so. Only big merchants had the ability to take advantage of the "exchange rate difference" to buy goods in the Central Plains and then bring them back to sell in the Western Regions.

"So much money has been brought to Luoyang, but what is it going to do with it?" Shao Gui asked again.

"To be honest, Your Highness, the main purpose is to recruit brave warriors for the westward journey," Li Zhao replied.

"Do Gaochang and Yiwu have that much land?"

"Only a small number of the newly recruited people will be settled in Yiwu; the majority will be sent to the Later Kingdom of Cheshi."

Shao Gui seemed to understand something.

It seems that Father may have given the Later Cheshi Kingdom to his third brother. He had looked at the map and realized that the Gaochang Kingdom did indeed need the Later Cheshi Kingdom. There was no other reason than to develop it as the first line of defense against the southward expansion of the Xiongnu tribes.

Even if the Later Cheshi Kingdom is destroyed, it doesn't matter. As long as Gaochang and Yiwu remain stable, the Third Brother can still maintain the status quo. If the Later Cheshi Kingdom is gone, the Xiongnu can cross the Tianshan Mountains and plunder everywhere, making it virtually impossible to defend against.

It's unclear whether the third brother actively requested the Later Kingdom of Cheshi, or whether their father gave it to him. If it was the former, the third brother had indeed changed and made considerable progress.

"Have you recruited any strong men?" Shao Gui asked Li Zhao.

“The price demanded by the brave men of Luoyang is too high.” Li Zhao shook his head and sighed, “We have only recruited a little over a hundred men so far, but we have already spent over a thousand coins. It seems we have to go outside of Sizhou to look for more.”

Shao Gui couldn't help but laugh.

Times have changed. In times of war, let alone spending money, just providing food would attract a large number of people. Even in relatively stable places, a few bolts of silk would be enough to take away a strong and healthy man.

But now? It's not that easy. And in a place like Gaochang, nobody goes there without spending a fortune.

Most of the hundred or so people recruited this time have large families and are not doing well. Moreover, they are ranked low in the family and don't get anything. Let alone getting married, they can only barely get enough to eat.

Even worse, after the parents pass away, the elder brother and sister-in-law show no mercy and drive the younger brother out of the house and sell him off—of course, such things are not very common and will be condemned behind one's back.

"We could go to Yuzhou to take a look," Shao Gui said. "After the Battle of Gaoping years ago, Liu Han was unable to conquer the south and has been at peace for many years. There are quite a few families with large households there. If we can spend a lot of money, we should be able to recruit quite a few people. If that doesn't work, we might as well go to Shu to take a look."

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness," Li Zhao said.

He thought of the fact that the King of Chu had just been appointed as the ambassador of the seven prefectures. Could it be that he was implying something?
Shao Gui didn't think much of it. After gently closing the wooden box lid, he ordered his servant to take the gold and silver.

This money need not be touched for now; it should be kept in the capital. Once the fiefdom is formally established in the future, it may be used to purchase goods to be transported south.

Li Zhao left soon after, while Shao Gui spent several peaceful days with his wife and children.

On the tenth day of the fifth month, he quietly left Luoyang with his officials and headed to Shu.

(End of this chapter)