Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 230 Buy

Having not traveled north for nearly a year, Huainan had changed dramatically. Everywhere were thatched huts built by refugees, who had collected the remains of those who had drowned in the floods of previous years and replanted crops in the fields.

Although it still looks just as dilapidated, it has a unique vitality.

Wang Dao implemented the policy of establishing refugee prefectures and states because he faced a huge threat from the northern nomadic tribes. He had no choice but to quickly integrate all the refugees who had migrated south, establish order, and resist the nomadic tribes.

But eighty years have passed, and this expedient measure remains unchanged.

On the contrary, the more and more counties were established for people from other provinces, the more chaotic things became.

This has resulted in a lack of integration between people from the south and the north, leading to mutual discrimination and antagonism.

After crossing the Huai River and entering Lanling County, the fields are crisscrossed with paths, smoke rises from chimneys, villages are nestled together, mulberry trees provide shade, and the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard constantly. Farmers in the fields wear clothes and straw sandals.

Even the toddlers running around weren't naked; they were wearing ragged, ill-fitting trousers, clearly altered from adult clothes.

A few years ago, let alone children, a family was lucky if they had even one decent piece of clothing.

Of the four basic necessities of life—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—clothing comes first, as it best reflects the local governance.

While the Eight Buildings system is not a perfect system, it is extremely suitable for the early development of small forces, where farming, warfare, animal husbandry, and fishing are all for survival.

Upon arriving in Chengcheng, Cao Sifei and her entourage came to greet them.

Her daughter, Liu Junwan, lay in her arms, staring at Liu Daogui with wide, curious eyes.

"Let me hold my daughter!" Liu Daogui carefully cradled her in his arms, feeling a strange connection; his heart melted.
"Your Majesty, we are your humble servants!" Shen Yuehan, Shen Yuewei, Yu Nu and the other women curtsied.

"Sisters, no need for formalities. From now on, we're all family." Cao Sifei generously helped the heavily pregnant Shen Yuehan and Yu Nu to their feet.

In terms of looks, these women were all better than her, but her competence and confidence were something the three women couldn't match.

The reason is simple: the Cao family owns a share of Liu Daogui's assets.

Many of the Cao family's children lived in Building 8, and Cao Ji's property was basically integrated with Liu Daogui's.

Therefore, Liu Daogui was the husband, and she was the queen.

"Wah—" Liu Daogui's movements were a bit too rough, and his daughter started crying, and he couldn't soothe her no matter what he did.

Cao Sifei scolded her daughter, saying, "Your whole body exudes a military aura, which frightened our daughter."

Liu Daogui laughed and said, "Why would my Liu family daughter be afraid of the smell of war? After a few more times, she'll get used to it."

The group entered the city.

Lanling is located on a major road in northern Huaihe River and is adjacent to the Huan Gong Canal. In recent years, with peace and prosperity, it has become a gathering place for merchants from the north and south. It is bustling with activity and people coming and going.

Not only were there private salt dealers from Jiangdong, but also Xianbei people with braids and Dingling people pushing white carts.

The Gaoche, Dingling, Chule, Tiele, and Dili are actually the same ethnic group, just with different transliterations.

Shi Hu moved the surrounding Hu and Yi peoples into the Central Plains, and the Dingling people also moved south in large numbers.

Over the decades, he has developed a fluent Yanzhou-Henan accent.

Cao Ji was mediocre in governing the people and the army, but he was extremely talented in business, and transformed Chengcheng into a major commercial center in Huaibei.

Merchants have the keenest sense of smell. They believe in making money through harmony. Lanling is a well-connected area with no barbarian raids or the heavy taxes imposed by the Jin dynasty. The garrison would not plunder or extort. By paying only 10% of the profits, one can travel freely and without hindrance in Langya, Dongguan, Lanling, and Lu County.

These people came over because they smelled it.

The city was mostly populated by livestock such as cattle, sheep, horses, and camels, as well as furs, which were exchanged for silk, cloth, ironware, paper, writing brushes, and ink from Jiangdong. There were also male and female slaves for sale.

Liu Daogui originally wanted to stop the slave trade, but then he thought that if he didn't sell in Chengcheng, these slave traders would go to Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Shouchun.

Selling oneself into slavery is a way to survive, better than becoming someone else's prey.

Shi Le engaged in such shady dealings in his early years, even selling his own clansmen to Sima Teng, the governor of Bingzhou. They were then abducted by the Jin army and enslaved...

The slave trade existed as early as the Qin and Han dynasties, and it couldn't be eradicated simply by Liu Daogui's claim.

Many people voluntarily sold themselves into slavery.

Cao Sifei had already prepared a house in the northeast corner of the city, hoping for a quiet place.

Having witnessed the city's prosperity along the way, Liu Daogui suddenly had an idea. He sent someone to find Cao Ji and asked Cao Sifei to prepare a family banquet to entertain him.

Liu Guangzhi, Wang Yuande, Wang Zhongde, and Mao Dezhu are all in the Lu army, guarding against the Yan army, and cannot come.

"What, you want to build an online army?"

The Cao family is now much larger and more powerful than it was during Cao Tengyun's time, but Cao Ji remains as stingy as ever.

"Lanling connects to the Huai River and the Yi River, and can be reached by taking the Huan Gong Canal to the Ji River and the Ying River. It is well-connected in all directions. Since we do not have cavalry, we can only build up our navy. It will be impossible to recover Yanzhou without a navy."

Before, we had no money and no one; everything we did was to survive.

In recent years, its financial resources have grown rapidly.

Of course, besides the north, the navy also played a significant role in Jiangdong.

The imperial navy was destroyed by Huan Xuan and cannot be rebuilt in the short term. If Liu Daogui had a navy, he could not only resist the rebels, but also gain an advantage in the future struggle between the Western and Northern armies.

“I don’t understand warfare, but do you know how much it costs to build a navy? It’s a bottomless pit!” Cao Ji shook his head repeatedly.

"With a navy, we can dominate Huaibei. Why worry about not having a place to make money? I'm not asking you to give up everything. Let's get some large, medium, and small naval vessels first, and then we can talk about warships later."

Liu Daogui explained patiently.

Unexpectedly, Cao Ji still looked troubled. "It's not something that can be built just like that. This kind of investment is ten times more difficult than building a salt field. We already have two prefectures, which is enough. Why should we provoke the Murong family again?" When you make a lot of money, you become complacent and have a natural aversion to war.

Just as Liu Daogui was at a loss for words, the door creaked open and Cao Sifei walked in. "Brother, what are you saying? Just because we don't provoke the Murong family, does that mean they'll let us go? Don't forget, the Cao family's success today is all thanks to my husband's hard work and sacrifice. He has the ambition to drive out the barbarians and restore our homeland. How could the Cao family not give him their full support? This matter is settled. Whatever money my husband wants, the Cao family will provide."

“You…” Cao Ji’s eyes widened.

Liu Daogui never expected that she, who was usually gentle and kind, would have such courage and insight.

However, her status in the Cao family was much higher than Cao Ji's; when she offered money, Cao Ji could only watch helplessly.

"A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl..."

Cao Ji picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Liu Daogui chuckled inwardly. Had he known this would happen, he would have been better off just talking to Cao Sifei directly, saving himself a lot of trouble...

Building a navy requires more than just warships; people play a crucial role. Most of the men in the Eighth Village were northerners who were not good at swimming, so Liu Daogui sent Gao Xun to Wuxing to recruit people.

Although Cao Ji had some complaints, he was extremely dedicated to his work and had a very clear mind. He spent a lot of money and silk to buy ships everywhere, including ocean-going vessels, cargo ships, and passenger ships.

After bringing back the Langya, they will convert it into a warship.

I don't know how he managed to buy a multi-story ship.

It stands twelve zhang tall, with three levels, each equipped with a protective parapet to defend against arrows and stones. Arrow holes are also present in the parapets for launching crossbows.

Liu Daogui was overjoyed. He ran around the ship a few times, then stopped. "Why do I feel like... this ship looks familiar?"

"Aren't all ships the same? By the way, this ship was bought from a man surnamed Lu in the East China Sea." Cao Ji didn't pay much attention.

"Surname Lu?"

There aren't many people with the surname Lu in the Xuzhou area.

Liu Daogui examined the ship thoroughly, noting the burn marks on it, which further confirmed that it was one of the two ships that had been hijacked from Yandu.

Liu Daogui's ship was given to the Celestial Masters Sect, while Kuai En's ship naturally fell into Liu Yi's hands.

A while ago, Liu Yi sent a letter, hesitantly asking to borrow money. When he couldn't get it, he sold the ship...

The merchant surnamed Lu should be Lu Zongzhi.

Ordinary merchants simply cannot afford multi-story ships.

“Actually, there are ways to buy a luxury ship.” Cao Ji pursed his lips.

"Oh?" Liu Daogui's expression shifted.

Cao Ji's business was thriving, and his information network was naturally incredibly efficient. However, after starting to speak, he became hesitant, "It's just a bit expensive..."

"Money is no problem, I just want the boat!" Liu Daogui's appetite was whetted.

This year, both Lanling and Lu County have had a bumper harvest. Yandu and Langya sent over 100,000 strings of cash. After deducting the allowances for military households and the Central Army of the Expeditionary Force, there is still a surplus of over 30,000 strings of cash.

If we take some more grain from the treasury, raising 100,000 strings of cash won't be a problem.

At worst, Liu Daogui can go to Guangling to borrow again.

Cao Ji then said, "I know some people from the Celestial Masters sect who sell elixirs; they can procure three large ships!"

"Talent!"

Liu Daogui should have realized this long ago: if he wanted a large ship, he could either go to the Western Prefecture or seek help from the Celestial Masters Sect.

It's practically impossible for the Western Prefecture. Huan Xuan is strengthening his military and keeping things tightly under wraps, but the Celestial Masters sect is relatively loose and internally chaotic. As long as enough money is given, building ships is not a problem at all.

When they captured Kuaiji, they wiped out all the warships of the powerful clans.

"Contact them immediately. Even if it means selling everything we own, we must get our hands on these three ships. This matter is entirely in your hands!"

A single large ship can accommodate about 700 people, so four ships would hold about 3,000 people. If we modify some cargo ships and merchant ships, and add a few hundred bamboo rafts and wooden rafts, we can basically form a navy.

Cao Ji's eyes flashed. "They don't want money, they want food."

The Celestial Masters sect retreated to the islands, and Sun En's bandit-like habits meant that there was hardly enough arable land on the islands to support more than 200,000 men.

They have no use for money, but with food, they can continue their attacks on coastal areas.

"Here you go!" Liu Daogui said through gritted teeth.

As expected, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even if we don't give them food, they will still plunder everywhere.

In chaotic times, everyone should first take what they need and develop and strengthen themselves; other things can be dealt with later.

Buying these warships would actually weaken the demon bandits' fighting power.

Yin is within Yang, not opposite to Yang. In fact, looking at it from the other side, it was only by eliminating the demons and bandits that the Liu family was able to advance step by step...

“I knew you would agree. I’ve already sent them to prepare. It’s a total of 27,400 shi of grain. My Cao family can’t afford it. How about we each contribute half?”

"This matter is known only to the two of us. It must not be told to anyone else. This is a matter of life and death!" Liu Daogui repeatedly warned.

If this gets out, it will damage my reputation.

"Don't worry, they have no idea that you're behind this. I'm using the Zhuge family's name too." Cao Ji was always meticulous in his work.

(End of this chapter)