Chinese New Year

Chapter 1478 Robbery
Although Li Zhao came from the Jiangxia Li clan and had been pampered since childhood, he was still very serious and responsible when it came to work.

Starting in late May, he moved to the densely populated Xiangcheng, Yingchuan, and Runan counties to recruit manpower on a large scale.

By the end of June, he had even traveled to Nanyang County, which also had a large population, and wandered around the countryside.

Actually, he discovered a little secret: once the resettlement allowance reaches a certain level, a few more or less coins don't really make a difference. Many people are more concerned about whether they can live there and adapt.

At this point, you and your subordinates will need to rely on your eloquence.

“Young master, you jest. Of course, wheat is grown in Gaochang. Spring planting begins in the first month of the lunar calendar, and the harvest is in early autumn, more than a month earlier than in the Central Plains,” a minor official from the royal palace said eloquently.

"Will the wheat survive the winter?" A group of teenagers, around sixteen or seventeen years old, came to the village entrance, and one of them asked.

“It can naturally survive the winter,” Xiao Shi said earnestly. “The counties of Gaochang and Jiaohe produce white wheat, which can not only survive the winter, but the white wheat flour produced from it is as white as new when it is almost cooked, and is specially made for nobles.”

"If you can grow wheat, you can certainly grow millet, right?" someone else asked.

“Of course,” Xiao Shi said with a smile. “The people of Gaochang love to eat millet porridge, especially the monks in the temples. Not only millet, but also sorghum, millet, barley, and barley are also available. Millet is used to make soup and millet is used to make cakes, which are very delicious. Barley and barley are generally used as horse feed.”

"What? You're feeding horses with perfectly good wheat?" Some people didn't believe it.

While some people in Nanyang did feed their horses grain, they generally used chaff and bran. If there wasn't enough, they would take their horses out to find pasture. Only wealthy people would be willing to feed their horses beans.

What kind of place is Gaochang? Does it even deserve to be fed grain to horses?
“You don’t know this,” Xiao Shi said without changing his expression. “The soil in Gaochang is fertile, and grains and wheat ripen twice a year. White wheat is planted after autumn, and millet is planted after the summer harvest, which ripens in March or April.”

"Isn't that the same as Nanyang?" the young man asked, sounding surprised and uncertain.

If grains and wheat could truly ripen a year later, then it would be no worse than the Central Plains. But this person in front of me is talking big, and there seems to be something wrong with him no matter how you look at it.

A bullock cart stopped not far away. Someone on the cart lifted the curtain, jumped down, and said, "I've heard that Gaochang experiences drought and water scarcity in early spring and autumn, which is precisely when the wheat fields need water. How can we solve this problem?"

“Digging wells and canals is permissible,” Xiao Shi said after glancing at the man.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the youths bowed and greeted him, "Lord Liu."

Liu Gong returned the greeting, then sighed and said, “Your lives are certainly difficult, but you must not be easily deceived. Digging wells and canals is not a task that can be accomplished in a year. If you don’t have enough to eat and are so hungry that you are dizzy and lightheaded, you won’t even be able to dig wells and canals.”

Seeing someone trying to ruin things, Xiao Shi immediately said, "You are extremely rude! King Zhao is benevolent. He will support you from the beginning and exempt you from taxes for three years. Besides, most of them are going to the Later Cheshi Kingdom, where there are many rivers and abundant water and grass, so they are not so short of water. There is no need to dig as long wells and canals as in Gaochang and Yiwu. Just dig a few to prepare for emergencies."

"Furthermore, the area behind the mountain can also be used for grazing. Previously, the King of Zhao obtained more than 10,000 horses, which he distributed to his generals and officials as a reward for their merits. Now, most of them are grazed in the plains behind the mountain, forming groups based on their coat color. Over the years, they have spread for more than 100 li, and their number is unknown."

"The common people are not bad either. Did you know that in Gaochang, you can exchange just two or three bushels of millet for three sheep's feet? Before King Zhao was enfeoffed, the nobles of Gaochang ate horses, while the rest ate sheep and wild geese. As for the common people, they eat far more meat than those in the Central Plains."

"The people of Gaochang are skilled craftsmen, adept at smelting gold, silver, copper, and iron to make utensils and polishing jade. The Wusun and other tribes also presented musk, black and red fox fur, gray squirrel fur, tiger and leopard skin, yellow sheep horn, horsehide, etc., which can be tanned in their spare time and are in high demand."

"Even if you don't know these things, as long as you have the strength, you can go to government offices, temples, or noble estates to make sweet sauce. Earning a few coins at a time is commonplace."

Liu Gong was taken aback by what he was told and asked, "What is sweet sauce?"

"You are a noble person, have you not heard of the 'Five Grapes' presented by the Kingdom of Gaochang during the New Year's Day court assembly?" The clerk was even more pleased with himself for having overwhelmed the other party and was ready to kick him while he was down.

"I am ashamed to admit that I do not know. May I ask you?" Liu Gong was a straightforward man. He admitted his ignorance and humbly asked for guidance.

“It’s called ‘wine, juice, frying, wrinkling, drying,’” Xiao Shi said. “‘Jealous’ is grape juice, also known as sweet jam. When the vineyards are harvested, people are gathered, uh—anyway, to make jam.”

"What are you gathering people for?" Liu Gongzheng asked, engrossed in listening.

"I won't say any more to you." Xiao Shi waved his hand and said, "Anyway, there are many ways to make money in Gaochang, so supporting my family is no problem at all."

He didn't want to say the second half of the sentence because he was afraid it would disgust others. He didn't know if the people of the Central Plains would accept the idea of ​​summoning people to stomp on grapes barefoot, singing and dancing, and then using the grape juice to make wine, so he simply kept it to himself.

Fortunately, Liu Gong did not press the matter, only saying, "It seems I am ignorant."

After saying this, he sighed, looked at the local boys gathered nearby, and said, "They are all still young and do not know the dangers outside. I have heard that King Zhao is a wise man, so do not harm them."

Having said that, he turned and got into the oxcart, which slowly drove away.

The boys looked at each other, then crowded around, asking many questions. Perhaps because of Liu Gong's interference, only two out of the dozen or so people were willing to volunteer for the journey west.

Without further ado, Xiao Shi followed the two men home on the spot, where each family left ten coins and then signed a guarantee.

Upon learning that there were ten coins, another family was tempted and secretly approached Xiao Shi. The eldest sister-in-law first wiped away her tears, explaining how poor her family was, how her younger brother-in-law was fifteen years old and how much he ate, and how they really couldn't make ends meet.

Xiao Shi listened expressionlessly. He had seen this kind of scene countless times these days; his ears were calloused, and his heart had hardened.

From beginning to end, he barely heard what the woman was saying, only occasionally glancing at her husband.

As the eldest brother, his expression was unpredictable, sometimes resolute, sometimes guilty, sometimes confused. Sometimes he wanted to say something, but after seeing his wife's look, he shut his mouth.

When Xiao Shi heard the last part, he untied a cloth bag and poured ten silver coins into the woman's hand. Then he had the couple put their fingerprints on a document.

The fifteen-year-old boy stood there blankly, lost in thought.

"The fickleness of human relationships, alas." In the carriage not far away, Li Zhao withdrew his gaze and sighed deeply.

But despite the regret, things still need to be done.

After leaving the village, they traveled through the night to their next destination.

******
While Li Zhao was running around the countryside recruiting men, King Qi Youle Xuan also arrived in Luoyang.

He had come to the capital to visit officials of the Imperial Household Department and, incidentally, to recruit men. However, after hearing about some of the things that Zhao Wang's subordinates had done, he was so angry that he stomped his feet.

With you spending so much money, what am I supposed to do?
Shameful! Li Zhao is despicable for price gouging.

Of course, he could only grumble in private. King Zhao was rich; could you stop him from spending his money?

On the sixth day of the seventh month, he finally met the busy official Cai Cheng, the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Household Department.

“Lord Cai, the position of Captain of the Floating Yu Revenue has been established, and the number of ship owners has been completed. However, we lack ships. We don’t know when we can get new ships.” Le Xuan said, “If there are no new ships, old ships will do.”

Cai Cheng was still discussing the "transportation fee" for the large timber from Jiaozhou with his subordinates when he heard this. He waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to leave first, and then turned to Le Xuan and sighed, "Why are you in such a hurry? If I don't remember, it would have arrived by the end of May. There are twenty new ships being built at Penglai Shipyard."

Le Xuan's expression froze. So the ship arrived shortly after I left.

"Really?" he asked.

Cai Cheng was unhappy.

He had served as the Director of the Imperial Household Department for many years, and his power was no less than that of ordinary central government officials. When had anyone ever spoken to him like that? However, Le Xuan was no ordinary person either. He was a confidant of the Prince of Qi, so he still had to give him some face.

So he said, "Would I lie to you?"

Le Xuan was relieved and said with a smile, "Please don't be offended, Lord Cai. This matter is of great importance and I have no choice but to pay attention."

Cai Cheng glanced at him and said with a mocking smile, "What? Is the Prince of Qi impatient to take up his fiefdom? Have you checked the household registration of Lelang and Daifang counties yet?"

"His Highness's first act upon assuming office was to thoroughly investigate the household registrations of the two prefectures. By March, the registers had been completed, totaling 13,000 households and nearly 60,000 people," Le Xuan said.

“It’s too few. We need to investigate further.” Cai Cheng said, “When Sima Yi conquered Liaodong, he collected more than 300,000 households, but most of them were in Liaodong and Xuantu counties. Only Liu Xin and Xianyu Si’s small number of troops crossed the sea to land in Lelang and were not affected. We need to investigate thoroughly. If we can’t find more than 100,000, it’s all fake.”

When Sima Yi conquered Liao, he personally led the main force of 40,000 infantry and cavalry. Liu Xin and Xianyu Si landed at Daifang across the sea in Qingzhou and controlled the two counties without a major battle. Later, they bestowed the seals of the local Han and Hui tribe leaders as lords or chiefs, and the takeover was largely peaceful.

Therefore, Cai Cheng urged the King of Qi to continue the investigation and investigate thoroughly.

However, Le Xuan smiled wryly and said, "We can't investigate, or things will get chaotic."

Cai Cheng didn't want to say more, only saying, "There are always over a million people in the Three Han regions. If one day we launch a large-scale northward invasion, and the two commanderies of Lelang and Daifang provide some internal support, can the King of Qi withstand it? That's all I have to say, you should think it over yourself."

After saying that, he waved his hand and turned to leave.

He had only taken a dozen steps when he turned back and said, “Don’t recruit people in Henan anymore. After the King of Zhao’s looting, I’m afraid no one will be willing to leave. Let’s go to Ji, Qing and You provinces instead. There are plenty of people there.”

“Lord Cai is right.” Le Xuan nodded and said, “Right now, people are recruiting in Hebei. There are already nearly a thousand people at Liekou.”

Cai Cheng thought for a moment and realized that the main transportation route for the current Chongqing-Jindu branch commander was Zhangwu-Liaodong-Daifang, and the final destination of Daifang was Liekou.

It seems that King Qi wants to develop Liekou first. It's a good idea, but this route is still a bit dangerous. If there is an accident where a ship is destroyed and people die, the compensation will mostly be paid by the Imperial Household Department. As for the transportation costs, the Ministry of Revenue probably can't afford them, and the Ministry of Personnel is unlikely to pay them all. In the end, the Imperial Household Department will have to come up with a considerable amount of money.

Your Majesty is truly... sigh!
The situation in Jiaozhou is becoming increasingly tense, and the main source of income for the Imperial Household Department, sugar and spices, is under threat. It is uncertain whether they will still be able to cover the losses for His Majesty in the future.

He figured he needed to go to the palace to meet the emperor soon.

(End of this chapter)