In Hongwu, we started as rebels

Chapter 639 Changes in Da Ning, Key Cultivation
Time goes around in circles,

The entire city of Daning seemed to enjoy an unprecedented sense of peace.

The city defense troops, patrolling at intersections in the south and north of the city, suddenly realized what was happening.
I don't know when it started,

During the day, there are no more fights or brawls in the north of the city, things that used to be so common that people didn't want to bother with them.

As night fell, there were no more drunkards shouting about restoring the Yuan Dynasty.

The nomadic people from the grasslands north of the city suddenly seemed to have become as sensible as the Ming people south of the city.
Not getting involved in many political affairs,
What I do all day

They would take a stool to a warm house and listen to how to raise pigs and farm.

The house is located near the city lord's mansion.

It was originally a huge warehouse.

It's now vacated.
They set up a stove and placed tables, chairs, and benches.

The city lord's mansion brought in some old farmers and some literate scholars, who chattered on and on.

There weren't many people at first.
Only some famous people passed by.
Come in and warm up, and maybe pretend to listen in.

Later, the people of the grasslands also learned that this was a place where they could rest and stay.
Only after entering did I realize that...

They're actually teaching the most valuable "knowledge" from the grasslands here.

This delighted many people, who immediately called upon their friends and family.

In grassland tribes

Knowledge is both the most generous and the most stingy thing.

What he generously shared was knowledge of various attack methods, horseback riding, archery, and many other skills.

What they are stingy about is reading and learning to read.
In a tribe, only the highest-ranking nobles have the opportunity to learn to read.

Most of the others were in a daze.
Either shepherd or join the army.
After the age of twenty, one might not know which sandstorm or battle will end up killing them.

And now, in this enormous house, countless words are written on the literacy boards on both sides.

If you try to remember carefully, you'll always be able to remember a few.

Through this word of mouth,
The houses quickly became overcrowded, and the results were remarkable.

The probability of the piglets that were distributed died dropped sharply.

The lingering aroma of meat that had permeated the north of the city finally dissipated somewhat.

It was noon at this time.
The long-standing dark clouds finally showed some gaps.
Warm sunlight struggled to peek through the gaps, scattering across the city of Daning.

On the western grain route of the city,

A large group of over a thousand people marched in a grand procession, attracting the attention of many.

Many merchants and pedestrians on the road turned their attention to the hundreds of carriages.
The carriage was filled with large vats, all sealed tightly.

The guards were extremely vigilant, scrutinizing every glance that fell upon them.

The people around were not surprised by this.

There are only two types of goods that can be transported using such large vats.

It's either salt or sugar.

These two items are scarce throughout the entire region outside the Great Wall, and are also expensive hard currencies, comparable only to tea.

At the very front of the procession, a young boy, barely out of his teens, rode a warhorse and wore armor.

Looking down at the surrounding roads from his vantage point,

Looking at the thick snow piled up on both sides of the road.

At this moment, a soldier standing nearby said:
"Lord Zhang, the last time I came here, the official road was covered in snow."
Even the carriage struggled to move.

It's strange that someone cleaned today.

As the soldier spoke, he subtly glanced at the young man beside him, a sigh escaping his lips.

The person beside me was at most seventeen or eighteen years old, with features and eyebrows that revealed their youthfulness.
But even such young players

It's amazing that he can shoulder such a heavy responsibility.

Judging from their performance along the way,
Even the soldiers had to admit that

Everything was arranged perfectly.
He admired him greatly.

The young general was none other than Zhang Fu.

Now, the Left Guard Commander of Yanshan!
The reason why the soldiers were so respectful, besides their own abilities, was...
And then there's his father, who is the commander.

He witnessed it with his own eyes when Commander Zhang Yu took office.
The Prince of Yan personally welcomed them.

They escorted him to the Left Guard of Yanshan!
Such stories have spread throughout the capital, and the Prince of Yan's reputation for treating scholars with respect has quickly spread.

Zhang Fu looked around and saw some broom marks on the ground.

It must have been someone who came to clean beforehand.
At this moment, they were only five miles away from Daning City.

It's obvious who cleaned it.

Zhang Fu took out a telescope from his waist.

Looking at the distance from where it's in front of me, it's exactly as I expected.
Seeing a group of dozens of people shoveling snow at the end of the horizon, he said:

"It was people from Daning City who cleaned it up."

The soldiers beside him also gazed into the distance.
But he didn't have binoculars; he could only see small black dots in the blur.
"Daning City has been completely transformed."

"Is it too early to talk about this now?" Zhang Fu asked calmly, his expression slightly surprised.

"Not too early, not too early, sir. You don't know this, but we often travel between different cities."
The standard for judging a city is extremely simple: it's all about the quality of its roads.

"Tell me more details," Zhang Fu asked.

"My lord, the road is the most obvious and easily visible thing in a city."

Whether they are ordinary people or high-ranking officials, they see it every day.

It's something you see every day.
Making it clean and flat is an extremely difficult task.

Therefore, as long as you see a city with well-maintained roads and clean streets, you should be cautious.
Some of them are naturally not much worse.

Conversely, the more dilapidated and neglected the roads, the worse the houses and treasuries within the city would be, needless to say, drafty and leaky.

After listening to the soldier's words, Zhang Fu felt that they made a lot of sense, so he nodded:

"I've learned a lot, but there's one thing I don't understand."

"Please speak freely, sir."

"Is the official road outside the city included?"

"That's natural," the soldier said with a smile.
"The official road outside the city is crucial for trade and grain transport within the city."
If it's not kept clean, who knows what kind of trouble might arise.

In some places where the roads are in bad condition,

The merchant felt that the suffering wasn't worth the money, so he stopped coming.

Therefore, the smoother and wider the official road, the better.

The corresponding cities also became more prosperous.

Take the official road in front of us, for example; at least it's free of snow and easy to walk on.
If this area were covered in snow, and then melted ice, and several horses broke their legs while traveling by, most people wouldn't come back.

Zhang Fu nodded thoughtfully and murmured:

"If you want to get rich, build roads first. That saying is absolutely true."

"Huh?" The soldier beside him was taken aback, but his eyes immediately lit up:

“Your words are very insightful, sir.”

Zhang Fu also looked moved and nodded repeatedly.

When he first heard this in Yingtian, he didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just a catchy phrase.

But as they walked from Yingtian to Beiping, and then from Beiping to Daning,
This statement is truly a wise and cautionary tale.
The road is the foundation of everything.

Without suitable roads, not only would trade be impossible, but even the transport of troops and supplies would be greatly hampered, making daily life a difficult problem.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Fu pointed to the city of Daning ahead and said in a deep voice:
"These words were not spoken by me, but by Lord Lu of the Northern Pacification Commandery."

"Lord Lu?" The soldier looked surprised.
He felt a strange sense of fear towards this young official who had taken command of the military command at such a young age.

He's not stupid; he can't even do something like that himself.
It's impossible to belittle Lord Lu by saying things like "it was all luck."

Naturally, he possesses abilities that are difficult for others to match.

As he drew closer, he saw dozens of people tirelessly clearing snow and leveling the roads outside Daning City, and they all looked surprised:

"Grassland people?"

Zhang Fu also noticed the group shoveling snow; they weren't clearly Ming people.

Instead, they were some wild, rough-looking grassland people, of all ages, working with great enthusiasm.

This discovery shocked the entire team. They knew that the people of the grasslands stayed indoors during the winter.

Why are you still out working now?

When the convoy arrived at the city, the soldiers quickly inquired while the inspection was underway and soon learned the whole story.

He returned to the ranks with a strange expression and spoke to Zhang Fu:
"Sir, they get paid for their work. They get paid twenty coins a day after they finish clearing the snow."

"so much?"

A knowing glint flashed in Zhang Fu's eyes; he knew a bit about Lord Lu in the city.

Lord Lu never seemed to care about money; he would never hesitate to spend money on anything that could be done.

The soldiers murmured enviously to themselves:

"Twenty coins a day, that's six qian of silver a month, almost as much as my salary."

Zhang Fu suddenly laughed:

"How can you work thirty days in a month? A few days ago, when it snowed heavily and the wind was howling, how could you come out to work? Working ten days a month is already the best you can do."

Suddenly, Zhang Fu froze.

He thought to himself thoughtfully, even if it takes ten days, it would still be two coins.

It's unlikely that these grassland people will hide the money in their homes, but rather spend it quickly.
In this way, people have work to do, and merchants have business to do.

Zhang Fu's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He felt like he had figured some things out.
This is using the government's money to bring the entire city of Daning back to life!

As expected, after the convoy completed the inspection and entered Daning City,
Zhang Fu immediately noticed the bustling crowds on the street, with stalls selling "Fu" characters and couplets lining both sides of the road.

Many people lingered there, picking and choosing, clearly intending to buy something.

If he remembered correctly, even in Beiping, a stall wouldn't have more than a dozen people gathered around it.

Moreover, he also saw groups of three or five grassland people walking along the road, among those couplets.

He looked around the stall.
"When did people on the grasslands start putting up couplets?"

As we ventured deeper, although many of the buildings in Daning City remained unchanged, the overall feeling was one of significant transformation.
At least the ubiquitous slogans made the group remember Daning City.

I've also gained some understanding of the changes in Daning City!
The soldier who spoke first made a quick overview, trying to memorize all the changes in Da Ning.
At this moment, Zhu Neng, the centurion who had been lagging behind the ranks, also rode up and caught up.

He was greatly shocked by the changes in Daning City, and the faint tranquility there made him feel as if he had gone to Yingtian.

Seeing him arrive, Zhang Fu smiled and said:
"Shihong, we need to hurry and get this sugar to the warehouse as soon as possible."

"If we go to the capital early, we might be able to get a free meal."

The tall and broad-shouldered Zhu Neng nodded and spoke in a deep, resonant voice:
"That's absolutely right, we need to hurry!"

Half an hour later, hundreds of carriages had already been parked in the warehouse in the west of the city.
Wu Su'an, the official in charge of the Bureau of Records, rushed over and made records of the carriages that had been delivered.

Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng, on the other hand, slipped away to the office of the Commander-in-Chief.

After being informed, they entered and quickly arrived at the left wing where Lu Yunyi was.
They spotted Feng Yunfang, clad in armor, patrolling tirelessly.

Feng Yunfang recognized them and immediately smiled, "Please come in quickly, the master has been waiting for a long time."

Zhang Fu cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards him:
"Thank you, Brother Yunfang."

After saying that, the two went into the yamen. The heat that hit them made them feel uncomfortable, as if they had entered a furnace.

They saw Lord Lu sitting behind a strange object, and bowed deeply.
"Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng, commanders of the centurion, pay their respects to Lord Lu."

Lu Yunyi, holding the mink pelt in his hand, looked up and, seeing it was the two of them, his conflicted face instantly broke into a smile:

"Please sit down, please sit down. You must be freezing after traveling all this way."

The two sat down on chairs nearby, and Lu Yunyi served them two cups of tea, which made them feel somewhat flattered.
"Thank you, sir!"

"Don't be so polite. In this freezing cold of Da Ning, it's wonderful to see an acquaintance."

Lu Yunyi sighed with emotion. He had also noticed that after experiencing the prosperity and good times of Yingtian,

Living through such dull, monotonous, and uniformly white days again can indeed cause some mental distress.

The two took the teacups, warming them in their hands, and Zhang Fuxing eagerly began to speak:
"Sir, when we came here, we saw some grassland people working outside the city."
Is twenty coins a day your idea?

Lu Yunyi also picked up a cup of tea, sat down opposite them, and said with a smile:
"How about it? Didn't we find them a good job? It'll save them from causing trouble all the time."

Zhang Fu's face showed admiration:

“Sir, I understand a little about what you and Father talked about last time about work relief.”

"Good that you understand. The city is usually deserted, and money flows like stagnant water."
At this point, "work relief" could be implemented.
"It's not necessary to wait until disaster strikes before the government distributes money."

Lu Yunyi smiled and nodded:

"The Commander recently made a windfall, which is why I'm being so generous."

If you're short of money, you can't pretend to be rich when you're not.

In short, everything should be done in moderation.

As officials of the military command, distributing too little money would be ineffective, while distributing too much would lead to price increases.
It's wonderful that we've earned something from our labor.

Go back and think about this carefully. If you achieve something in the future and are able to govern a region, this might be of some help.

Upon hearing this, the two people present were immediately overcome with excitement. After exchanging a glance, it was as if a raging fire had been ignited in their hearts!

In charge of a region?
This was a path they had never imagined, nor dared to even consider.

Compared to Zhu Neng, Zhang Fu appeared much more at ease. He scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.
"Sir, we do not have your abilities; we only wish to be generals who fight battles."

Zhu Neng nodded repeatedly, his aspirations for the future were also very simple.
He could simply inherit his father's position as deputy commander and live a peaceful and stable life.

Lu Yunyi looked at the two young men before him, smiled knowingly, and said with a hint of deeper meaning:

"The situation is constantly changing, and who can predict the future?"
I once dreamed of becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but after studying, I realized I was utterly ignorant.
He had no choice but to join the army.

You are still so young, you have a long life ahead of you.

When you're in high positions of power and influence, look back and see...
The journey was tough, but that's about it.

The two suddenly became highly motivated, thanks to Shangguan's encouragement and expectations.

Sometimes, even something without substance can spark a flurry of thoughts.

The two are now genuinely considering the possibility of becoming high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the future.

Seeing their expressions, Lu Yunyi reminded them:

"But we must not be overly ambitious. We must take one step at a time, lay a solid foundation, and then we can move faster in the future."

"Yes, Your subordinate will remember!"

"Hmm, how much brown sugar did you send?" Lu Yunyi asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, there are a total of 495 vats, containing 340,000 catties and 2,800 shi."

Zhang Fu was already familiar with this number, and then he scratched his head:
"Sir, after leaving Shanhaiguan, the road becomes somewhat difficult to travel, and some parts have been damaged."
At that time, snow was falling heavily. I told the soldiers to fill the containers they could, and to mix the rest with water and drink it.”

Lu Yunyi waved his hand:
“It’s perfectly normal to have some damage during transport. Losing only five out of five hundred cylinders is already very little, so there’s no need to worry about it.”

"After the Qingli Division completes the accounting, the Dusi Commander will settle the accounts with you, and then you can hand it over to the Prince's Mansion."

And please give my regards to the Prince of Yan, and thank him for his assistance.”

Zhang Fu nodded repeatedly, and then said:

"Don't worry, sir, I will definitely deliver the message."

Lu Yunyi nodded and asked:

"Have the troops and supplies been transported to Beiping?"

"Most of them have already been transported," Zhang Fu said, his expression turning strange again.
“My lord, you are unaware of this. My father once said at home that he used to be in charge of transporting grain, and now that he has become a commander, he is still in charge of transporting grain.”

Lu Yunyi suddenly laughed, feeling very pleased.

"Hahaha, Zhang Yu, you're always dealing with these messy and complicated matters."

Lu Yunyi turned to look at Zhu Neng and asked:

"You're all going on this northern expedition, right?"

Zhu Neng was a little nervous. He had immense respect for this official and nodded repeatedly.

"Reporting to my lord, Lord Zhang has instructed us to accompany him on this training mission."

Lu Yunyi nodded, stood up, took a book from the bookshelf, walked up to the two of them, and handed it to them:

"Take this; it's a summary I've compiled recently."
"You two take this and read the many points to note regarding grassland warfare, as well as the alternative methods."

The two of them stared wide-eyed at the crooked, illegible handwriting on the document's cover.

They were utterly shocked.

(End of this chapter)