Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 598 You're smart
It wasn't that Xia Lin was really targeting anyone, it's just that Wei Changsheng's actions were too surreal. Xia Lin hadn't really paid him much attention before, but after this trip, he realized that this guy was truly on the wrong path.

Hu Ye is just a bandit, nothing more. But if a bandit can slap a county magistrate across the face in public, it means he has no intention of betraying anyone. In other words, Hu Ye is the king of this area. But the problem is, he's just a bandit. If you investigate, you'll find out who his backer is.

The county magistrates sent by the imperial court had no real power, and the entire Guangxi and Guangnan region was controlled by bandits. Wasn't this just nurturing bandits to enhance their own power?
Then he set up a small court in Gui and Liu prefectures, privately prepared military equipment, raised a private army, controlled grain, and manipulated salt prices. He couldn't explain any of this, but at least a little investigation would reveal what this person was up to.

Yes, this place is far from the emperor's reach, and Wei Changsheng is considered a close associate of Emperor Jingtai. But the problem is that what he did is enough to warrant his execution eight hundred times over.

Now some people might ask, "Isn't Xia Lin doing the same thing? His Fuliang is almost becoming the third capital in the world, so why hasn't anyone impeached him or suspected him of disloyalty?"

Hey, that's how things are. Jiangnan Circuit did indeed do that, but the problem is that Jiangnan Circuit didn't secretly build up its military. They did it openly and legitimately. Not only did they build it, they also sold it out. Every year, their tax revenue poured into the national treasury. Anyone who wanted to touch them would have to be stopped by the Ministry of Revenue. They would have to step over the corpses of the Ministry of Revenue's people first. Without Xia Lin, Jiangnan Circuit wouldn't have the Ministry of Revenue's financial expenditures. The more than two hundred people in the Ministry of Revenue wouldn't even be able to afford four dishes and a soup all year round.

There's also the control of grain prices, ensuring they don't fall in bumper years or rise in lean years. This single-handedly provides for the needs of millions. Since the grain system of Jiangnan Road was established, no matter if there's a flood, drought, locust plague, or war, there's never been a shortage of grain in any place. Even in the war-torn Central Plains, grain can be purchased at very stable prices. Those warlords who are fighting to the death are able to stabilize their rear areas thanks to the grain supply from Xia Lin.

With Xia Lin impeached, the twelve warlords are about to launch an eastern expedition against Wei, ostensibly to purge the emperor's inner circle of treacherous officials, claiming that the emperor is being led astray by villains...

Then there's the matter of doing business with the enemy, which no one would mention, because this is mainly a major project in the new Xianyang. From the highest-ranking officials to the lowest-ranking clerks, everyone can get some benefits from it, whether it's investing in a logistics company or workshop, or it's a poor guy from his hometown trying to make a living. They all start here.

Touching this is tantamount to taking away everyone's livelihood. Everyone knows that quick money is easy to come by, but no matter who you ask, everyone will understand that this kind of steady, legal business is the foundation and cannot be touched. Even people in the underworld have to protect Xia Lin because he provides these lower-level underworld figures with a way to make a living in every city.

Whether it's digging wells, cleaning latrines, or working as a dockworker, Xia Lin's employment is stable; that's his lifeline.

A person who can benefit everyone from officials to commoners, even if he did the same thing as Wei Changsheng, can that be called premeditated rebellion? That's called governing the country well, planning with moderation, a rare and virtuous minister in a century, a gifted young talent of China.

More importantly, as long as you don't provoke him, he won't get involved in any struggles. He's only responsible for dividing the cake properly, and how others handle their pieces is up to them. He doesn't care about anything else.

This made the emperor, his officials, and the people comfortable. Not to mention, the army's benefits improved significantly because of him; military pay more than doubled compared to the old system twelve years prior, and various pension systems were also greatly enhanced. Furthermore, retired soldiers were provided with special farms or workshops to work in, and the army's loyalty to him was extremely high. In particular, he never let his subordinates take the blame for his actions. Soldiers who returned to their barracks after a long day, seeing a large bag of money beside their pillows and a bag of beef jerky that even outsiders dared not easily sell, would feel an urge to run another thirty miles to express their enthusiasm.

If he were to actually rebel one day, as long as he started, the historians in the capital would record it: "The emperor was incompetent, so Xia Lin raised an army to overthrow him, and the people's hearts were won over, thus restoring order and wisdom."

So, as I said before, development is the only way forward. Expanding the foundation is the only way to acquire more resources. Instead of acting like those damn nobles, gathering a bunch of people to make wine with young girls' blood and elixirs with young boys' livers to establish so-called cliques.

So when Xiao Wei said he didn't know why Xia Lin had targeted him even though he hadn't provoked him, he essentially didn't understand what he was doing. His mindset was still stuck in the "what the monk can touch, I can't touch" stage. But in reality, if he could really change his approach, even if he learned from and imitated the approach of the neighboring Jiangnan Province, Xia Lin wouldn't be sending soldiers, but rather various highly professional knowledge-based talents, just like what he did for the Northeast and Northwest.

Wei Changsheng probably just couldn't understand it.

As rumors spread, the side effects of public opinion began to emerge. First, a wave of selling occurred in Guilin and Liuzhou. The first to be affected were real estate and property. Overnight, house prices plummeted but no one was interested. Shops closed, businesses relocated, and a large number of people began to migrate elsewhere, taking local resources with them.

Large numbers of people began to lose their jobs. This area was not a major agricultural production area to begin with, and the fields could not absorb this massive wave of unemployment. Within just a few days, taking Shian County as an example, the unemployment rate reached nearly 40 percent and was still rising.

Unemployment meant the loss of livelihood, and public order quickly descended into chaos. People were forced to migrate as well, fleeing in all directions. Some surrounding towns and villages were even deserted, with everyone hearing that war was coming and that it was still not too late to run away.

Wei Changsheng tried to stop it, but the more he tried, the more it proved the rumor to be true. The rumor even mutated, claiming that Wei Changsheng would conscript 100,000 civilians as vanguard to force the Jiangnan Circuit to back down. This caused the civilians to scatter even faster, all scrambling to escape. Even within the military camps, signs of mutiny were beginning to emerge, with deserters appearing in battalions in recent days.

After all, the soldiers weren't stupid. They knew that if the rumors were true, they would be facing the most terrifying Jiangnan Road Polu Army and the New Army. These two armies were heavenly soldiers capable of sweeping away the barbarians of the grasslands, so elite that they inspired despair.

At this moment, Wei Changsheng sat in his mansion, tinnitus driving him to the brink of madness, and the immense pressure causing him to suffer from insomnia; for three nights in a row, he had been unable to close his eyes. "General, the merchants and common people in the city have begun to flee, and half of them have already left."

"Stop them! Why don't you stop them!"

The report from the lieutenant general caused Wei Changsheng, who hadn't had a good rest, to roar in fury: "They say you raise an army for a thousand days, where are the soldiers?!"

"They're also fleeing... General, I found this in the city."

The adjutant handed over a slip of paper, on which was written a sentence: "Go east, there's food to eat."

The moment Wei Changsheng saw the note, his scalp tightened. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his pupils dilated in shock. He gripped the note tightly and took a deep breath: "When did this appear?"

"It probably started a few days ago. It's everywhere in the military camps and the city, telling people to go east. I think the Jiangnan Circuit must have set up something in the east."

Wei Changsheng stood up, but almost fell over because he stood up too quickly. He swayed as he leaned on the table and said, "Quick! Quick, write a letter, write a letter to Xia Daosheng! No... I'll write it myself, I'll write it myself!"

He sat down again, his hands trembling as he began to write a letter. As a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, his handwriting was usually quite beautiful, but today his writing was crooked and broken, like tadpoles swimming.

As a smart man, he already knew clearly what would happen if he gritted his teeth and persisted. He had never thought of making an enemy of Xia Daosheng, because from the beginning he understood that Xia Daosheng was an insurmountable mountain. But now, when Xia Daosheng truly made his move, Wei Changsheng realized that this feeling was like standing on a high mountain, gazing up at the vast sky, something that was both within sight and unattainable.

The oppressive feeling brought by that terrifying colossal fear made Wei Changsheng's breathing become suffocated.

In the letter he wrote
Respectfully presented to Lord Xia:
Your subject, Wei Changsheng, bows deeply and humbly beseeches Your Excellency for your wise consideration.

I recall the alliance at Longtan, where His Majesty showed me his sincerity, and I even had the opportunity to meet you once. Alas, I was foolish and dull-witted, pointing my sword southwards, which led to the rift at Cangwu. Now, in the night rain on the Zhangjiang River, with a lone candle illuminating the wall, I realize the absurdity of a snake trying to swallow an elephant. The bones of the sons of Qixi are buried in the red earth, and the three counties of Yongzhou have suffered from floods year after year. Heaven's punishment has reached this point; I truly have no face to raise my banner again.

I beg Your Excellency to consider the long suffering of the people of Lingnan from war and to allow me to surrender the military tallies of the twelve fortresses of Pingluo and Hejiang, and to pay an annual tribute of 500 bushels of pearls from Hepu and 3,000 bolts of fine kudzu. My son, Huaiyi, is only fifteen years old and wishes to serve as a stable boy under Your Excellency. If Your Excellency has mercy on me, I will immediately disperse the soldiers of Liuzhou, Guizhou, and Yongzhou, bind myself at the Qingxi ferry, and leave only my frail body to govern the salt and iron industries of Xiangjun for Your Excellency.

The grain and fodder obtained from various prefectures in the past have already been transported to Lipu by my troops to temporarily serve as medicine for the soldiers. I humbly beseech Your Excellency to temporarily quell your anger and allow me to repair the post roads while I am atone for my sins, in preparation for the day when the royal army makes its southern tour.

Tears stream down my face as I write this, and I am at a loss for words. I respectfully present ten jars of salted rock honey and a set of tortoiseshell armor, all humble items from Lingnan. I hope you will accept them with a smile.

The disgraced subject, Chang Sheng, kowtows.

When he finished writing the letter, he was soaked to the bone and his face was covered in dust. He picked up the general's seal beside him and was about to stamp it with trembling hands.

The adjutant beside him couldn't bear it and cried out, "General..."

"That's enough." Wei Changsheng took a deep breath, smiled sheepishly, and forcefully slammed the seal down: "I won't fight anymore, I won't fight anymore..."

After saying this, he collapsed in despair, then waved his hand helplessly: "I hope he can spare my family's lives out of consideration for our past as students of the emperor. Please present the seal and letter to him."

(End of this chapter)