Chinese New Year

Chapter 1481 Dock
The golden autumn of August arrived unexpectedly. After stopping and unloading cargo at Beifeng and Pingguo, the magnificent fleet arrived at Lushun on the tenth day of the eighth month.

They took shelter from a storm midway through their journey.

The situation was very strange. They were sailing smoothly when suddenly a strong wind arose, and the wind direction was unpredictable. As a result, they had no choice but to stay in the harbor near Pingguo County for a whole day.

In the chaos, two ships became stuck in the mud and ran aground, only managing to get out when the tide came in at night.

At this point, the boatmen kept complaining that if it were a shallow-draft riverboat, things would not have turned out this way. They even mentioned that if a naval battle were to break out nearby, and if they were lured into shallow waters, they might witness a miracle where a small boat could defeat a large boat.

However, their complaints were ineffective.

Those in the know understand that if it weren't for a deep-draft, high-strength, and wave-resistant vessel, that previous incident might have been fatal. Moreover, despite the near-death experience, the experienced sailors felt that their boat might be capable of attempting to cross the Liaodong Peninsula instead of following the coastline—of course, they would eventually do so; currently, the sailors are still somewhat inexperienced and need to become more skilled before attempting more challenging voyages.

The arrival of the fifteen ships did not cause much of a stir in Lushun.

During the unloading process, Cao Xian took a stroll around the city.

He discovered a characteristic: Lushun City and Lushunpu had almost become two independent cities.

Perhaps due to flaws in the early layout, there are many adjacent farmland areas outside the Lushun city wall. Right now, the millet and wheat are golden, and farmers are busy harvesting.

What's even more absurd is that the farmers came out of the city to harvest the grain, processed it on the spot, loaded it onto horse-drawn carts, and took it back to the city.

In other words, they usually live in the city, but go out to farm when they need to.

Hmm, it has a distinctly pre-Qin feel to it!
However, he also knew that as the earliest reclaimed area under the rule of the Prince of Yan, this layout was difficult to change. The farmland reclaimed in Yuancheng was difficult to turn into residences, shops, or markets, and the residents within the city could not be taken away, at least not in the short term.

The smart approach would be to establish residences, warehouses, restaurants, and various shops near the sea, and then enclose them with city walls. Alternatively, it might not be necessary to enclose them at all, since most of Luoyang during the Wei and Jin dynasties was outside the city walls, and places like the Imperial Academy, the Imperial College, and the residences of various high-ranking officials and generals were not protected by city walls.

That seems to be exactly what Lushun did.

Outside the city, mansions stand one after another, presumably inhabited by local dignitaries—perhaps not quite mansions, but certainly large enough. If one ignores the various inconveniences of the area, they are quite comfortable to live in.

Hmm, it doesn't seem that inconvenient...

Cao Xian sniffed, and a delicious aroma wafted from not far away. He subconsciously walked over and found a restaurant.

The shop owner, speaking in a broken Mandarin, warmly greeted us: "Come and have some pancakes, sauce, and wine."

Cao Xian pointed to the steaming baskets and asked, "Are these steamed cakes?"

"The new wheat harvested in May is delicious." The shop owner was very enthusiastic and tried to pull people over.

Cao Xian's attendant leaped up, gripping the scabbard.

The shop owner only took a step back, seemingly not very afraid.

In Liaodong, there are too many people openly carrying knives and bows on the streets and alleys, and the government seems to care little and too lazy to care.

"Oh, no need for that." Cao Xian seemed embarrassed, so he went inside and sat down, saying, "Give each of us two steamed buns, and some meat sauce and wine as well."

The shop owner left happily, and after a short while, he brought over a large bowl of meat sauce, saying, "This is rabbit meat sauce, sir, please have some."

"I've heard that the Goguryeo people enjoy rabbit meat sauce. Could you be one of them?" Cao Xian asked.

“My lord has a good eye; I am a Goguryeo person.”

"What do you think of the King of Yan's great victory over Goguryeo and his advance on Wandu?"

"Sir, please don't ask such a question." The shopkeeper was somewhat displeased and said, "My family has lived in Xuantu since my great-grandfather's generation. Although we are Goguryeo people, we have no connection with the Goguryeo Kingdom whatsoever. On the contrary, we have been repeatedly robbed by them and hate them to death. By my grandfather's generation, we could no longer make a living, so we went south to Liaodong and settled in Xinchang. At the end of the Jin Dynasty, my father took the whole family south to Pingguo. When the two Murongs were fighting, I took my family south to Lushun again and farmed for a living. Thanks to Your Majesty, we were able to open a restaurant in Lushun, and our lives are much better than those of our ancestors."

"To avoid the chaos of war, the family moved three times within a few generations," Cao Xian remarked, picking up a steamed bun, taking a bite, and praising, "Not bad."

"New wheat is naturally delicious," the shop owner laughed.

"You just mentioned the new wheat harvested in May. Does that mean winter wheat can be grown in Lushun?" Cao Xian asked.

“Lushun and Beifeng are both fine,” the shopkeeper replied confidently. “It’s hard to say about Pingguo. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t. As far as I know, people in Pingguo don’t grow winter wheat, they only grow spring wheat or millet. In the last two years, some people have tried planting rye in the fall. This crop can indeed survive the winter and is very cold-resistant, but the yield per acre is low, and it doesn’t taste good. It’s usually used to feed horses.”

Cao Xian smiled and said, "No matter how bad it tastes, it can save lives during a famine."

“That makes sense.” The shopkeeper didn’t deny it, but added, “However, as long as the family isn’t poor, they usually eat millet and wheat.”

"Does anyone grow rice? I see that Liaodong is crisscrossed by rivers and streams, and has many lakes and marshes," Cao Xian asked.

The shop owner thought for a long time, then finally shook his head and said, "I have never seen it before."

Rice can theoretically be grown in many places, but besides climate, you also have to consider planting habits. Some places can indeed be grown, but without human intervention, no one would try it for hundreds of years.

“Indeed.” Cao Xian sighed and said, “The weather is getting colder and colder. I traveled north from Heluo to Yecheng, and the land that used to be used for rice cultivation has been converted into wheat fields, and there is less and less of it left.”

To the west of Ye City are dikes built during the reign of Cao Cao, and the Zhang River flows through it. During the Cao Wei period, rice was widely cultivated and of excellent quality, thus earning the reputation of "rice from the clear stream of Xinqing". It was presented as "imperial rice" to Xuchang and Luoyang.

I don't know if it's because of the impact of several extreme weather events, but the rice paddies in Yecheng have decreased drastically and are now very difficult to find.

Liaodong is even colder than Yecheng, so we dare not try it lightly unless we can cultivate rice varieties that can withstand the cold—perhaps we already have them, but we haven't found them yet.

The servant brought over several wine jugs.

Cao Xian invited everyone to drink, then looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "I see the people of Lushun openly carrying knives and bows, walking around without anyone finding it strange. Doesn't the government care?"

"What do you care about that?" The shopkeeper was somewhat bewildered, and subconsciously said, "So what if they carry knives and bows? As long as they don't rebel, the government won't bother with them. Even if two people are fighting with knives, as long as they don't harm innocent people, what do we care? If they get hurt, they can find someone to treat them, and if they die, they can be buried in the ground. It's fine."

"What if some criminal breaks into the house and hurts people?" Cao Xian asked. "Then take your knife and fight him," the shopkeeper said matter-of-factly. "The blacksmith Huang from Pukou once encountered a thief. This man was fifty years old. He put on armor, took up a knife, blocked the door, and his two sons squatted on the roof beam, nocked arrows, and killed three thieves. After dawn, he reported to the authorities, and after an investigation, everything was fine."

Cao Xian was speechless. This place was fucking outrageously wild, and the government really didn't care about anything!
"Have some rabbit meat sauce," the shopkeeper said, noticing that Cao Xian was only eating pancakes.

Cao Xian nodded, dipped the pancake in the sauce, took a bite, and his expression changed slightly.

It wasn't that it tasted bad, but rather that it had a very strange flavor, as if it had a slightly rotten taste, and it was shockingly salty, as if salt in Lushun was free.

The shop owner carefully observed his expression and, seeing that Cao Xian didn't seem to like it and was slightly disappointed, said, "It's a pity that the soybean paste is sold out. Soybeans from Xiuyan and Xiping are very famous, and the soybean paste made from them is delicious."

"Xiuyan has only been around for a few years, and its soybeans have already become famous?" Cao Xian poured himself a glass of wine and asked with a smile.

The shopkeeper quickly replied, "Sir, you may not know this, but even before Xiuyan City was built, the local soybeans were already quite famous."

Cao Xian nodded and casually asked, "How is Xiuyan?"

"I've never been there." The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "But you can tell what the place is like by how many officials have residences in Lushun. To be honest, if it weren't for the two major roads passing through Xiuyan, the capital would never have been located there."

“Since Xiuyan is a strategic location, it’s perfectly normal for it to be the site of a royal court,” Cao Xian said.

He remembered that the east-west post road connecting Changli and Lelang passed through Xiuyan. Within Liaodong, this road connected six counties: Xiangping, Xinchang, Anshi, Wen, Xiuyan, and Xiping, leading directly to Pyongyang. It was arguably the most important post road within Liaodong.

"The officials can only stay on Xiuyan Rock," the shopkeeper muttered.

Cao Xian smiled, picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and found the wine to have a unique flavor. He then asked, "What is the name of this wine?"

"We make it from miscellaneous fruits we picked ourselves from the mountains," the shopkeeper said with a smile. "There are plenty of fruits in the deep forests, and no one will fight you for them, so you can pick as many as you want. You can eat the big ones yourself, and use the small ones to make wine."

Cao Xian's entourage also drank wine and praised him.

The shopkeeper, beaming with delight, had some wild fruit brought over, saying, "They'll be gone after this season. Eat them on the road; it's free."

Cao Xian accepted the gift without hesitation and said, "Please have the shopkeeper prepare more steamed buns and send them to the boat later."

The shopkeeper's spirits lifted; it seemed to be a big sale. He immediately nodded vigorously and said, "Easy, but how much do you want?"

“A thousand is always necessary,” Cao Xian said with a smile.

The shop owner was stunned. His shop was small; he really couldn't handle that much.

Cao Xian saw through it and smiled, "Make as much as you can. I'll be staying here for five more days, so please deliver it every day."

The shop owner nodded, then hesitated, "I can only deliver for four days. After that, I'll close the shop and go to the mountains for training."

Cao Xian was somewhat surprised: "Even the city's residents need to train?"

"Those aged fifteen to sixty all have to train." The shopkeeper sighed and said, "Fortunately, we don't have to go far. We're just in the nearby mountains, and maybe we can even get some game."

"It was requested by the Prince of Yan."

"I don't know. Anyway, the Imperial Physician of the Prince's Palace will lead a team to inspect every year, so there's no way to avoid it."

"With such diligence, what does Goguryeo have to fear?" Cao Xian exclaimed.

"What Goguryeo? They're probably planning to attack Murong Ren," the shopkeeper sneered.

"How do you know?" Cao Xian asked curiously.

“Many people say so,” the shopkeeper said. “This fellow didn’t send tribute last year. In previous years, by mid-July at the latest, Murong Ren would have sent envoys south to Lushun with fine horses, furs, and medicinal herbs to board ships and head to Luoyang to pay homage. I heard he didn’t come last year, claiming he suffered a disaster. Rumors in Lushun say he’s going to rebel.”

Cao Xian neither confirmed nor denied it.

He knew that Murong Ren was probably a bit arrogant and resentful, but it was not true that he would dare to rebel.

Murong Ren is just not clear-headed; it's only natural that he's destined to face a calamity.

After finishing his meal, Cao Xian asked someone to bring him some silk, but the shop owner looked troubled.

"They won't accept silk?" Cao Xian asked in surprise.

“Silk is not easy to spend,” the shopkeeper sighed. “Do you have any copper coins? We don’t have any from this dynasty, but Yongjia Tongbao coins are fine, and we also accept Wuzhu coins.”

Cao Xian had no choice but to have someone bring him some silver coins, saying, "These are Persian silver coins, which I obtained in Luoyang. Do you dare to accept them?"

The shop owner took one, examined it, and said, "I'll take anything, as long as it's gold or silver."

Cao Xian laughed.

It was only because no one in Liaodong took it seriously that they did so. Otherwise, for using foreign currency instead of legal tender would have earned you ten lashes.

In addition, he also noticed that Liaodong did not like to use silk for barter.

That's understandable. Aside from wealthy families, there was little demand for silk in Liaodong. Selling it to merchants probably wouldn't be very successful either. He preferred to accept copper coins from small restaurant owners.

The attendants stayed behind to argue with the shopkeeper about the value of the Persian silver coins and how many coins should be paid, while Cao Xian, with his hands behind his back, went outside the shop.

Looking at the diverse crowd on the street, he suddenly felt a pang of envy.

Between Lelang and Daifang counties, probably no other city can compare with Lushun.

(End of this chapter)