knife

Chapter 736 Stability
Both Li Dachui and Mao Daxian firmly believed that splitting up a behemoth family like the Cui family would not cause much backlash.

Because in essence, such a split only harms the interests of the direct line. On the contrary, it benefits the larger number of collateral branches.

They've already done this once before.

The subjects of the experiment were the Chang family from outside the Great Wall.

Several years have passed, and Chang Xin, the eldest son of the Chang family who used to have the most power, has gradually fallen behind in the competition among the various branches of the family. Now, in the entire system of the Beiting Protectorate, Chang Sen's voice is almost negligible.

On the contrary, Chang Sen of the third branch is rising strongly. In the past, Chang Sen was just a person in charge of business dealings for the Chang family. In the system of the large family, he was just a supporting role. Chang Xin was in charge of the family, Chang Lei was in the officialdom, and Chang Sen served these two. Although he handled hundreds of millions of dollars, his control over the money was pitifully small.

After the Chang family split up, Chang Sen, with his connections from years of business experience and his mature business acumen and skills, gradually rose to become an important figure in the Beiting Protectorate, mainly responsible for business operations. However, the big shots in the Beiting Protectorate, led by Li Dachui, also placed great importance on business.

Without agriculture, there is no stability; without industry, there is no wealth; without commerce, there is no life.

This has always been Li Dachui's stance.

Aside from Chang Sen, the Chang family has many other previously unknown concubines and collateral branches. As long as they have a skill, they are gradually starting to make a name for themselves in the Northeast. On the contrary, the eldest son, Chang Xin, seems to be getting weaker and weaker.

The gradual rise in power of those who used to only listen to others' shouts was the process of his main branch gradually declining.

The once unified extended family has now been divided into countless smaller families, and due to their differing interests, conflicts sometimes even occur.

And that's exactly what Li Dachui and his group wanted.

If the Chang family is like this, then the Cui and Lu families will follow suit.

For these powerful and influential families, a blanket condemnation is not the best option.

Because in this era, large families undoubtedly possess the best technology, the best knowledge, and so on. Since we should utilize these strengths while limiting their unlimited expansion and the harm they may cause to the entire society, this is certainly a complex issue.

But if successful, it will undoubtedly propel society forward significantly.

Li Dachui knew perfectly well that when a certain guy surnamed Huang killed people according to his ancestral genealogy, he did indeed change the history of that world and that country, turning the eight characters "Are kings and nobles born with special privileges?" into a profound truth, but it also caused the society, documents, technology, and so on at that time to regress by at least countless years.

Li Dachui's approach is undoubtedly more difficult now, but if successful, the benefits will be limitless.

"Food, the biggest problem until next spring is still food!" Mao Daxian looked at everyone in the room and said, "This year's major battle was completely unplanned. We mobilized 40,000 troops and more than 100,000 able-bodied men to fight this battle. The result was good, but it also made our already critical food reserves even worse!"

"How much can the spoils make up for?" Li Dachui asked. "Not even enough to fill the hole!" Mao Daxian shrugged. "Boling County did have a bumper harvest today, but the tens of thousands of soldiers who came from all over the Central Plains have basically eaten up all the surplus grain. What's left in Boling County is barely enough to cover our costs. If we add our local garrison, we'll have to be very careful with what we use!"

What are the ways to solve the food problem?

“In the past few years, there have been bumper harvests outside the pass, and our granaries are quite full. Moreover, we have anticipated that there will be a shortage of grain in the future, so we have been working hard to import grain in recent years, mainly from Nan Chu!” At this point, Mao Daxian smiled and said, “But this year, the large-scale grain trade from Nan Chu has basically stopped.”

The Southern Chu is now in complete chaos.

Jiang Qian has occupied the eight towns of Jiangnan, as well as Ruyin County, Yong'an County, Tong'an County, and other places. Since Xiang Zhuang started his uprising in Meizhou, the coastal areas have responded one after another. Now, he has almost occupied the most prosperous region in Southern Chu. Jiang Qian, Xiang Zhuang, and Na Wei are constantly at war. This year, these places are still relying on the reserves from previous years. In the next year or the year after, these places will inevitably face food shortages. After all, without a stable environment, the people cannot farm in peace, so how can there be a harvest?
"The chaos in Jiangnan should present an opportunity, right?" Li Dachui asked.

Mao Daxian nodded. "We are working on this. Chang Sen, you are in charge of trade, so please explain it to everyone!"

An official sitting near the door in the room stood up. It was Chang Sen, the third son of the Chang family. Now, the eldest son, Chang Xin, was no longer qualified to appear in such a setting, and the third son, Chang Sen, took his place.

"The Chu Kingdom is in turmoil, and grain prices have skyrocketed. However, we believe that grain prices will inevitably see another significant leap in the next few years. Therefore, we have mobilized all available resources to massively purchase grain in the coastal areas of Jiangnan!" Chang Sen glanced at everyone in the room and said, "Calling it purchasing is actually smuggling. Xiang Zhuang has strictly prohibited the outflow of grain, but unfortunately, money can corrupt people's hearts. In such a chaotic situation in Chu, many people in Jiangnan have chosen to sell their properties, get money, and then find a relatively stable place to start over!"

Li Dachui laughed and pointed at Chang Sen, saying, "What a brilliant move! This kills two birds with one stone. I suppose this peaceful place will naturally be our territory outside the Great Wall!"

Chang Sen laughed and said, "The Protector-General is right. There's a popular term in Chu now: 'crossing the pass.' Every day, ships of all sizes set sail from the coastal docks and even some rough docks, fully loaded with grain and people, their destination being our side."

"This is a very good thing!" Li Dachui said. "With Chu running out of food and its people fleeing, its war potential will become weaker and weaker. In the long run, this is extremely beneficial to us. When we march south in the future, these people who have settled in our area outside the pass can return home as our vanguard. This will greatly reduce the difficulty of governing the south in the future!"

“But this requires a huge amount of money!” Chang Sen said.

"Compared to food and manpower, money is nothing. Let the Chief Secretary handle the money matters!" Li Dachui chuckled. "Whether it's raising funds, taking out loans, issuing bonds, or even finding partners, all are feasible!"

"Understood!" Chang Sen glanced at Mao Daxian at the head of the table and felt reassured.

“To do these things, we still need to cooperate well with Zhi Qiu Yuan. Most of the people in the Commerce Department are familiar with finance and trade, but we still need some professionals to help with these matters.” Li Da Chui glanced at Qian Jia on the other side.

Qian Jia laughed and said, "The Zhi Qiu Academy has been cooperating diligently in the south all along. By the way, the fleet of the Jiang family of Jiangling in Chu should arrive at Xuanwu Wharf in about ten days. Once they arrive, I think it will alleviate our treasury's predicament. Jiang Chong has guaranteed to inject one million taels of silver in the first phase!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room immediately perked up.

(End of this chapter)