NCCnovel Chapter 5510 Dongting Army
Chapter 5510 Dongting Army
Chapter 5510 Dongting Army
Pei Huaijie hurriedly entered the imperial study, greeted His Majesty who was sitting on a mat by the window, and asked respectfully, "I wonder why Your Majesty summoned me?"
Li Chengqian took a sip of tea, without looking up, and asked, "Have you been to Pingkangfang?"
Pei Huaijie's eyes darted around, and he said, "Yes, the Grand Commandant sent someone to deliver the invitation, and I could not refuse, so I accepted the invitation."
Li Chengqian disagreed, saying, "What kind of relationship do you have with Fang Jun? He just went along with it because he saw the benefits."
"Has the sale over there finished?"
"Yes."
"How much money did you get?"
Pei Huaijie hesitated for a moment, then said, "I do not know the exact figure, but I have heard it is at least ten million strings of cash."
When Li Chengqian heard this number, he remained seated, deeply moved.
Considering that in the early years of the Zhenguan era, the national treasury's annual income was only 1.5 million strings of cash, and that was an estimated figure after combining grain, silk, cloth, and other commodities, it is conceivable how powerful the Tang Dynasty is now, given that Fang Jun can generate such enormous profits in the Hezhong and Qihe regions alone.
Most importantly, even if it were a huge sum of money, he wouldn't care, because both the imperial treasury and the national treasury had far more money than that amount...
"Tell me the specifics."
“…Here you go.”
Pei Huaijie was reluctant to act as a "whistleblower," but he figured that the events at Zuixianlou were not meant to be kept secret from others. If His Majesty wanted to know, where couldn't he get the news?
He then recounted the conversation between Fang Jun and the others.
Li Chengqian sipped his tea slowly, his face thoughtful, and offered no comment.
After Pei Huaijie finished speaking, he snorted: "When poor, set aside disputes; when strong, follow the ways of the past? That sounds like it lacks any integrity or moral character..."
Pei Huaijie's spirits lifted, and he quickly echoed, "Your Majesty is wise and your words are very true! Emperor Taizong's alliance with Khan Jieli at the Wei River was indeed forced by circumstances, but his courage and determination in the face of 200,000 Turkic archers were fearless and sharp, which forced the Turks to retreat. If, as Fang Jun suggests, we had simply shelved the dispute and suffered national humiliation, how could we have achieved the great feat of pursuing the fleeing enemy and destroying the Turks?"
Li Chengqian glanced at him and finished what he hadn't said: "...It sounds like there's no backbone or integrity, but matters of state cannot be decided by personal feelings. Sometimes, enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens is very necessary."
Pei Huaijie: "..."
Oh no, I interrupted...
Your Majesty is clearly moved by this. Having always been at a disadvantage in the power struggle with the ministers, you have been quite anxious and frustrated. Now, you have actually perceived a higher level of understanding because of a single sentence from your opponent.
so awkward.
Li Chengqian asked, "You've bought quite a bit of land, haven't you?"
Pei Huaijie was caught off guard and almost lost his composure. He quickly replied, "Because there were many people present at the time, and they all bought land in Hezhong and Qihe, I couldn't stand out from the crowd, so I also... bought a little bit."
Li Chengqian didn't take it seriously and waved his hand, "Alright, you may leave for now."
He didn't care about these things. He actually agreed with Fang Jun's approach of binding the imperial family, noble families, and powerful clans to foreign lands. These families had deep resources and countless riches, which was better than them secretly trying to annex farmland in the country again.
"Here."
Pei Huaijie quickly bowed and took his leave.
*****
Yuezhou.
Inside the government office in the city, Xu Jingzong was writing furiously at his desk. In the corner of the room, there was a stove burning incense charcoal, which dispelled some of the dampness and chill.
After a while, Xu Jingzong put down his brush, picked up a teacup and took a sip, then got up, walked to the window, and opened it, where the cold, wet rain rushed in.
Qian Weidao walked in from outside and looked at him with some surprise: "What's troubling you, Bangmu?"
Xu Jingzong turned around, pointed to the documents on the desk, and sighed, "Our progress is far behind that of Liaodong! They have not only dredged the Liao River, but also properly managed many tributaries, while we are struggling to make any progress!"
Qian Weidao walked to the desk, picked up the large stack of documents and carefully read through them. After a while, his eyelids started twitching.
The progress of the Liaodong development is clearly listed item by item with detailed data. Even the locations of the dozens of simple wharves built along the Liao River after dredging are listed in detail. The number of fields that were cleared after the tributaries were properly managed and the marshes disappeared, making them suitable for reclamation, is also listed. The various grains and supplies purchased and collected by merchants are transported by waterway to the inland areas via the wharves.
This must mean there are a large number of spies in Liaodong!
Previously, he had "plagiarized" various machines, technologies, and books from Liaodong. After being sentenced by the Dali Temple, he was ordered to pay more than 100,000 strings of cash in compensation. Although the Liaodong Protectorate stated that Yuezhou's intentions were good and that the money was used for the development of the country, so it would "not be repeated," they strongly demanded that Xu Jingzong bear the fine of more than 100,000 strings of cash alone.
It is said that Xu Jingzong even used the dowries from his two daughters' weddings to pay this fine, thus exhausting all the money he had accumulated during his decades-long career in officialdom...
How dare they send spies to Liaodong to gather intelligence!
Holding the document in his hand, Qian Wei hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing his words to gently dissuade him: "This kind of thing can only happen once, otherwise, once Liaodong finds out, it will surely cause trouble again. If the Grand Commandant goes to the Dali Temple in Chang'an to file a complaint, it will be extremely detrimental to the governor."
He knew that Xu Jingzong was proud of his past as one of the "Eighteen Scholars of the Prince of Qin's Mansion," and few officials in the court took him seriously. He even looked down on rising stars like Cui Dunli. However, he was afraid of Fang Jun, so only by mentioning Fang Jun could he make him wary.
Unexpectedly, Xu Jingzong was completely unafraid this time: "You also know the principle of 'once is enough, twice is not allowed.' His Majesty can tolerate the Dali Temple once, and there will certainly not be a second time! Besides, I am the Yuezhou Prefect appointed by His Majesty to oversee the development of Dongting Lake. Who can strip me of my position? That would not be stripping me, but His Majesty's face!"
Qian Wei had no choice but to give up trying to persuade him and turned his attention back to the documents in his hand.
After finally finishing reading, he let out a sigh of relief, walked around the desk, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and frowned.
"Logically speaking, we are better prepared, having mobilized almost half of the country's manpower and resources, with the strong support of more than ten prefectures, and with His Majesty's imperial decree... But the fact is that Liaodong's development is progressing faster, which is truly puzzling."
Even if Liaodong has more advanced machinery, technology, and books, Yuezhou also has them. No matter how they were acquired, they are now being put to use.
However, the development progress in Liaodong has been almost rapid since autumn. Before winter, not only was the Liao River and its tributaries dredged, but millions of acres of farmland were also reclaimed. Now, with heavy snow and freezing temperatures, all development work has been suspended, waiting for spring to come so that the millions of acres of land can be cultivated while continuing to radiate outwards from the Liao River as the center.
By the year after next, the development of Sumoshui or Nashui will likely be put on the agenda.
Xu Jingzong walked back to his desk and sat down, tapping his knuckles twice on the desk. He said in a deep voice, "I've summarized it, and the reason why Liaodong's development progress is far ahead of ours is twofold. First, although it is the merchants who purchase and raise resources on their own, they are more flexible and have a stronger sense of purpose. Second, their quasi-military management, with more than ten 'corps' composed of young men from various ethnic groups, means that they can charge forward even through mountains of knives and seas of fire at a moment's notice. Their efficiency is too high!"
On the other hand, what about our own side?
The conscripted laborers came from the prefectures and counties near Dongting Lake. These able-bodied men were the pillars of the local area, and their conscription severely affected local agriculture, water conservancy, roads, and city maintenance, so the prefectures and counties in various places were extremely resistant to it.
They either levy ten and issue three, or they delay the date; there are always all sorts of excuses to shirk responsibility.
Allocating resources is even more difficult. No matter how rich and powerful the country is or how full the treasury is, there is never enough money. Who would be willing to empty the treasury for nothing?
The development of Dongting Lake is His Majesty's decree and your achievement, Xu Jingzong, but it has little to do with the local prefectures and counties!
While directing development, formulating various strategies, and solving numerous problems, Xu Jingzong also had to litigate with various prefectures and counties. Within a year, more than half of his hair turned white, and he was mentally anxious and exhausted...
Seeing Qian Weidao remain silent and sigh, he gritted his teeth and said, "Why don't we just copy the Liaodong system and organize the corvée labor into 'legions' and manage them militarized!"
He now feels like he's facing an insurmountable obstacle, with problems at every turn, while any strategy from Liaodong seems appealing, as it could solve all his major problems if simply copied...
Qian Weidao was greatly surprised and hurriedly said, "Absolutely not!"
Xu Jingzong glared: "Why not? If it can be done in Liaodong, why can't it be done in Yuezhou?"
“The situations in the two places are worlds apart! The ‘army’ in Liaodong is mainly composed of various non-Han ethnic groups and Khitans, surrounded by Tang troops stationed in various places. Moreover, the Khitans have a history of rebellion and are guilty of crimes, so no one dares to object under their strong pressure. On our side, we are all Han Chinese, subjects of the empire! If we were to incite a popular uprising, we two might as well just jump into Dongting Lake and have no face to return to the capital to pay our respects to His Majesty!”
Xu Jingzong snorted and said, "Not everyone in Dongting Lake is Han Chinese. There are plenty of Liao people and barbarians! Even the Han people are bandits who became outlaws at the end of the Sui Dynasty. They don't even have household registration. What kind of people are they? Send out a large army to arrest all these people and make them do the hardest and most tiring work!"
Why is the development of Liaodong progressing so rapidly?
Although there are many reasons, the main one is that the Liaodong Protectorate simply did not regard the Hu people in those "corps" as human beings!
Climbing ice and lying in snow are commonplace for them. At a single command, they would jump into the raging floodwaters and use their flesh and blood to plug the breaches in the dikes. They eat the least amount of food and do the hardest work. More than 100,000 Hu people are like livestock, tireless and without any consideration.
What would Yuezhou look like if it had 100,000 livestock?
Qian Weidao was sweating profusely. Cui Dunli could manage those 100,000-strong "corps," but could you manage these Liao people and bandits in Dongting Lake?
But seeing Xu Jingzong's reddened eyes, he knew he couldn't persuade him otherwise.
How could Xu Jingzong not know the danger involved?
But now that His Majesty has placed his hopes on him, he has no choice but to forge ahead, with no way to retreat!
We have to take the risk, no matter how big!