Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 237: An Old Friend Comes West
"Sorry..."

In the middle of winter, snow had already fallen in Helong, but in Xichuan, the sweet scent of osmanthus filled the air, the maple leaves were as red as fire, and the forests in the mountains were all dyed in a colorful scene.

The river runs through the Chengdu Plain. Fishing boats on the river sing in the evening, swaying gracefully with the sound of "Enai".

Outside the city of Chengdu, people built houses along the moat, which gradually evolved into a market and finally completely surrounded the city of Chengdu.

These markets are set up casually, and the items sold at the stalls are also varied.

Although it is winter, it is not cold. It is even a little hot because the sun suddenly came out.

Outside the market, a large number of ragged people gathered on both sides of the official road, most of them were starving people affected by the disaster in the south.

When the hungry people saw the soldiers coming on horseback, they all moved aside to the sides of the official road, but the soldiers stopped their horses and shouted at them:
"Send the message to Envoy Wei, the disaster-stricken people outside the city can go to Qingcheng County on their own initiative. The government has already set up a porridge stall in Qingcheng County."

"In addition, Dujiangyan will clear the silted river channel, and expand the official road from Chengdu Prefecture to Yizhou. Two liters of rice will be provided every day. Only 8,000 people will be recruited. The first one to arrive will get the position!"

"I'll come! I'm going!"

"I want to go too! Give me a chance to live!"

As the officers and soldiers finished speaking, the hungry people, who were originally frightened, immediately became enthusiastic.

But the officers and soldiers ignored it and turned their horses and left after reading the message.

Seeing this, the hungry people, even though they were extremely hungry, still gritted their teeth and walked towards Qingcheng County.

Although the journey was still more than sixty miles, they could survive and receive food and wages if they reached Qingcheng.

Thinking of this, the hungry people around Chengdu who got the news rushed to Qingcheng. The scale stretched for more than ten miles and there were tens of thousands of people.

As they left, public security in the market outside Chengdu improved instantly, and the merchants were no longer worried.

The soldier who delivered the message rode back to Chengdu, passed through the city gate corridor, and came to the main road.

There was a constant stream of pedestrians on the main road, some carrying loads on their shoulders, some carrying baskets, with satisfied smiles on their faces, as if they were in two different worlds from the tens of thousands of ragged people outside the city.

The main roads in the city stretch as if there is no end, while the auxiliary roads on both sides of the main roads extend in all directions, and the alleys on both sides of the auxiliary roads are winding.

The markets in various neighborhoods are bustling with people, and the voices of vendors shouting their wares can be heard one after another.

The stalls were filled with a wide variety of goods, including silk, porcelain, and tea, exuding a strong flavor of life.

Merchants from all over the world bargained, and the sounds of quarrels, laughter, and discussions blended together, making the scene extremely lively.

Hundreds of mounted soldiers arrived at the gate of Chengdu government office, dismounted and reported the news to the government office.

The government office covers a vast area and contains not only government offices, restaurants, and prisons, but also large tracts of green gardens.

The official in charge of the matter walked through the gardens and quickly arrived at the main hall of the government office to report the matter.

"Prime Minister, the news has spread. Tens of thousands of hungry people outside the city are also migrating to Qingcheng."

"Okay... cough cough cough!"

A coughing sound was heard. Wei Mo, who was sitting in the main seat in the main hall, raised his hand to cover his mouth. He couldn't help coughing several times before he stopped and took a sip of hot tea.

When he put down the teacup, he couldn't help but sigh: "This Longyou fried tea is convenient and tastes very good."

After he finished speaking, he looked into the hall, but saw several generals and a dozen officials quietly waiting for him to speak.

Seeing him speak, Yang Fugong, who was sitting on the left, bowed first and said:

"Prime Minister, although the starving people need to be resettled, the most urgent task right now is to build the southern pass."

"Now that we have to use the money and grain to settle these tens of thousands of hungry people, what about the construction of the pass?"

After Yang Fugong finished speaking, many generals also spoke up:

"Why not move the hungry people to Rongzhou, Shizhou, and Lizhou, settle them there, give them food, and let them build the pass at the same time?"

"Yes, this will not only help them get settled, but also solve the problem of building the pass."

The generals thought they had come up with a good plan, but Yang Fugong frowned and said:
"The people affected by the disaster this year are all from the Yangtze River, Luo River, and Fu River. How many porridge stalls will be set up along this 700-mile route to relocate them from the north to the south?"

"I'm afraid that before we even move the people to Shizhou, most of the money and grain in the government treasury will have been used up, not to mention that it will take at least hundreds of thousands of dan of grain to settle these tens of thousands of people. Where will this amount of grain come from?"

Yang Fugong asked the generals in return, and also asked Wei Mo at the same time.

In the Tang Dynasty, officials and common people regarded the Minjiang River as the source of the Yangtze River. Therefore, most of the people affected by floods this year are from counties and prefectures north of Chengdu.

The number of people affected by the disaster reported by various states and counties reached 70,000, and these are the ones who can be counted. There are even more that cannot be counted.

Wei Mo did not rush to explain, but coughed and said: "Strictly investigate the officials of each state and county to prevent them from secretly connecting with Liu Jilong and selling the people for money."

Yang Fugong had no choice but to agree, and many officials in the hall looked at each other with flickering eyes.

Four months have passed since Wei Mo closed the horse trade at Longyoukou.

In the first three months, the horse trade in the north was indeed strictly controlled and cracked down. For a time, the country was peaceful and Wei Mo's condition improved slightly.

However, after the autumn harvest, heavy rains continued for more than ten days in Shu, causing serious flood damage. Seventy thousand people were left homeless and gathered in Chengdu.

Wei Mo had thought of a solution. He first resettled the disaster-stricken people in the south to Rongzhou and Lizhou, and then turned around to resettle the people in the north of Chengdu.

However, at this time, Chang'an urged Xichuan to transport money and grain. Although Wei Mo requested a petition, the emperor only exempted the counties affected by the disaster from taxes next year, and the grain still had to be transported this year.

In desperation, Wei Mo still transported the money and grain, and at the same time diverted the money and grain used to build the southern pass to disaster relief.

Unfortunately, money and food were limited and could only solve the problem of some of the hungry people. More hungry people were still suffering in the north.

Seeing that the government office had not yet come up with a solution, officials from the county and state offices were worried that the gathering of hungry people would lead to a rebellion, so they secretly sold horses to Longyou.

After Wei Mo learned about this, he could only drag his sick body to call on wealthy households in Chengdu to raise funds for disaster relief.

After running around for more than half a month, Wei Mo managed to collect 200,000 dan of disaster relief grain.

Now that Wei Mo wants to use the grain for disaster relief, he naturally cannot allow officials from the northern states to do such illegal things.

But he also understood that many officials had been won over by Liu Jilong and tasted the sweetness, and that many of the tens of thousands of starving people in the north were illegal residents.

The fate of these illegal households is most likely to be sold to Longyou, and if he is reported by someone with ulterior motives, he will probably be charged with dereliction of duty.

"That's all..."

Wei Mo sighed, then turned his gaze to Yang Fugong and said:

"We have suffered a disaster this year. The only way to avoid civil unrest is to resettle the people."

"There's no rush to repair the passes in the south next year."

Yang Fugong frowned slightly, but Wei Mo continued:
"I have borrowed 300,000 dan of grain from Dongchuan. After the more than 30,000 starving people in the south are settled, they can be used to build the pass next year."

"Yes..." Seeing that Wei Mo had made the arrangements, Yang Fugong could only frown and agree.

Seeing that he agreed, Wei Mo nodded to show his satisfaction, and then began to discuss how to appease the people and solve the subsequent resettlement issues of the victims through work-for-relief.

My thoughts drifted away. It was not only Xichuan that was affected by the disaster, but also the mountainous areas of Shannan West Road and Dongchuan.

The difference is that the disaster situation in Dongchuan was not serious, but that in Shannan West Road was not.

The disaster-stricken area in Shannan West Road is larger than that in Xichuan, and the affected population is greater.

Because of this, Lu Jun, who had just taken office, simply rejected the court's request to Shannan West Road to transport money and grain, and instead requested to provide disaster relief first and then transport the surplus money and grain.

Sanchuan and the two banks of the Yangtze River were the worst hit, and more than 100,000 starving people had been resettled by Lu Jun.

However, the disaster-stricken people in Xingzhou, Lizhou, Fengzhou and other states had not yet been resettled. In addition, since they were close to Longyou, many officials asked Lu Jun to send people to supervise the officials of these three states to prevent the starving people from being sold to Longyou.

However, Lu Jun's attitude towards this was very different from Wei Mo's.

Facing the suggestions of the two officials in the study, Lu Jun practiced calligraphy slowly and said:
"Do you have any evidence?"

"Uh... this... no."

"Did the court issue an order?"

"No……"

Lu Jun asked the two of them speechless. Seeing this, he slowly said, "Since there is no evidence, and there has been no impeachment or decree for such remarks, then what are you worried about?"

"This……"

The two officials looked at each other, and one of them said with a stiff upper lip:
"But the court asked us to come to Shannan West Road, wasn't it to curb Liu Jilong?"

"Confused..."

Lu Jun lightly rebuked this person, and then said nonchalantly:
"We need to contain him, but we cannot contain him to death."

"When there is really no way out, what do you think he will do?"

"When the time comes, the cornered animal will do something desperate. Although I am still fine, you guys may be punished by the court to appease the anger." If someone else said this, the two officials would not believe it. But it was Lu Jun who said this, so they were frightened by Lu Jun.

Seeing that they didn't know what to say, Lu Jun continued:
"As long as the imperial court has no decree in this regard, you can just pretend you know nothing."

"If the imperial court really issues an order, I will be there to support you, so don't worry."

Lu Jun appeased hundreds of thousands of people in the south because these people had nowhere to go, and if they were not appeased, unrest would break out.

But the three western states are adjacent to Longyou. As long as the government does not stop them, these hungry people will rush to Longyou to beg for food, and there is no need for the government to sell them.

The government was active in selling them only because it could make a profit from it, not because they were merciful and sent them to Longyou because they saw that the people could not afford to eat.

Lu Jun would naturally not accept the money from the horse-trade, but he would not stop his subordinates from accepting it.

When the time came for the imperial court to question him, Lu Jun could just say that the people had fled to Longyou on their own accord, and even the supreme ruler would have no other way.

With the Supreme's step-by-step approach, if Liu Jilian was really forced to rebel, he could also use this indulgence to make Liu Jilian feel good about him and not raise an army to vent his anger on Shannan West Road.

Thinking of this, Lu Jun turned around and washed the ink off his hands, and finally glanced at the two of them: "Are you not leaving yet?"

"I'll take my leave..." The two of them bowed quickly and left the study.

After they left, they followed Lu Jun's instructions and no longer kept a close eye on the situation in the three western states.

The governors of the three western states were officials who had been promoted by Ao Ba in the past, and they had close interests in Liu Jilian.

Seeing that Lu Jun was not keeping an eye on them, they just moved the hungry people in Sanzhou to Longyou, and privately spread the news that porridge stalls were opened in Sanzhou.

When the hungry people from all around arrived in the three states, they spread the news that Longyou was recruiting people to settle down, and that if the people moved to Longyou, they would be able to get oxen, food and farm tools.

They did not sell the people as slaves, but did not stop them from fleeing to Longyou.

Because of this, the difficulties that the generals in Longyou were worried about did not occur. Although the number of people moving in was not as much as when Feng Ao was in office, it was still not small.

"How many famine victims have fled from the three states since the flood in Shu?"

At the top of Wuquan County, Lanzhou, Liu Jilong was wearing winter clothes and looking at the snow-covered north.

Dou Bin, who was standing behind him, looked at Li Shangyin, who also bowed respectfully and said:
"According to the news this morning, there are more than 7,600 people who have fled from the three states of Shannan West Road, and more than 3,300 people who have been trafficked from Jiannan Road."

"Changshi Gao settled the people of Jiannan Road in Songzhou, and the people of Shannanxi Road were preparing to move to Hezhou."

After Li Shangyin finished speaking, Liu Jilong said without even turning his head: "Take 1,000 taels of gold from the treasury and send them to the three states, and hand them over to the three governors privately."

"In addition, all the officials of the three states also sent gifts, which were paid from the government treasury."

"Yes..." Li Shangyin agreed to the matter first, and then continued:
"General Cao has already inspected Songzhou. Now there are only four states that have not been inspected: Dangzhou, Wuzhou, Chengzhou, and Weizhou."

"There are not many corrupt officials in Taozhou, Diezhou, and Songzhou who violated discipline. Only fifteen were arrested."

"Yes," Liu Jilong nodded in agreement, thinking that the reason why there were so few corrupt officials in the three states was probably because of the small population and the fact that they were recovered not long ago.

After this severe crackdown, many people must be still frightened. The effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey has been achieved, but it will take long-term persistence to deter them.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong turned around and looked into the city, only to see the people of Wuquan City spontaneously taking to the streets to clear the snow in front of their homes.

Most of them wore thick winter clothes, which were basically filled with chicken and duck down. Cashmere was used to fill military jackets, and goose down was only for officials of high rank.

Although this method of distribution is very unfair, the world is like this too. There is no absolute fairness, only relative fairness.

One of the important reasons why Liu Jilong dared to fight and kill corrupt officials was that he provided these people with sufficient material living needs.

Taking the clerks among the officials as an example, each clerk's annual salary was 12 dan of rice, one piece of silk, two pieces of cloth, ten dan of firewood, and twenty jin of oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea and other supplies.

This is just the salary, in addition there are 50 acres of official land.

The output from the official land alone is enough to support seven people after paying taxes, not to mention the extra money if the salaries are added.

Under such a comfortable situation, this group of people still exploited the people. How could Liu Jilong vent his anger if he didn't kill them?

The treatment of soldiers was almost the same as that of ordinary soldiers, not to mention the treatment of officials and generals of high ranks.

Salaries, military pay and official land were all distributed in accordance with the contents of the "Tang Hui Dian". Permanent land was distributed equally to all military, civilian and officials according to the rules of Longyou and the amount of public land reclaimed.

For the ninth-rank officials in the six departments of the county government, their annual salary was 52 dan, and their allowances for silk, cloth, diesel, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, etc. were all twice as much, and their official land was 200 mu.

Based on the output of official land after taxation and the salary given by the Protectorate, the annual income of an official of the lowest ninth rank was about 120 guan.

The income of Zhibai and soldiers was about 40 strings of coins, the income of craftsmen was about 30 strings of coins, and the income of common people was about 15 strings of coins.

Of course, the bulk of this came from the output of cultivated land, and the salary issued by the Protectorate accounted for only 30% of it.

This is the advantage of the military system. Soldiers and officials can have enough food by renting land.

However, this system is unsustainable. After all, arable land is limited and the reclamation of arable land is slow.

This system is only suitable for the country's rising period. Once the time comes for land annexation, this system will no longer be applicable.

It was for this reason that Liu Jilong restricted the sale of public land. The system of prohibiting the sale of public land would inevitably offend all classes except the bottom.

Whether there will be any changes in the future, we will have to wait until he takes control of the Central Plains and competes for supremacy in the world.

At least in Longyou, there is no problem with this system for the time being. There is still a lot of arable land that can be reclaimed in Longyou. As long as the government is not corrupt, Longyou's rise can last for nearly a hundred years.

"call……"

Liu Jilong exhaled and looked at Dou Bin: "The situation in Lanzhou is not bad. This is all thanks to you."

"That's not right, Marshal Jie. I'm doing everything according to the rules. The government provides enough food, why should I take food from the people?"

Dou Bin said this with a simple smile, his eyes were very shrewd.

This is normal, being honest is the behavior and being shrewd is the character.

If he is not smart enough, how can he govern those smart officials under him?

Corrupt officials are cunning, and honest officials are more cunning than corrupt officials. Only in this way can honest officials control corrupt officials.

"If only they were all like you..."

Liu Jilong had mixed feelings, but Dou Bin did not agree with him because if he agreed and spread it, he would definitely offend many people.

Liu Jilong did not expect him to respond, but looked at Li Shangyin and said, "Let's go, we will return to Linzhou tomorrow."

"Yes!" Li Shangyin bowed in response, then followed Liu Jilian to the Wuquan County government office.

"Come on!"

"Is that Marshal Jie?"

"Yes, that's Marshal Jie! Marshal Jie gives us summer and winter clothes every year."

"Jie Shuai is so handsome..."

"In the past in Hedong, they said that appearance is determined by the heart. I think only a god-like figure like Marshal Jie can be so kind and take care of us."

"Yeah……"

On the streets, many people bowed to Liu Jilong and called him by name.

Some people who moved in later had never seen Liu Jilian before, so they looked at him in surprise and asked the people around them in a low voice.

After getting affirmation from the people around them, they began to comment on Liu Jilong's appearance.

Judging people by their appearance is the most direct way of evaluation between two strangers when they meet.

"It's cold outside, so go home early to clear the snow. It won't be too late to reclaim the land after the snow melts!"

"Eh……"

Liu Jilian gave instructions to the people gathered around, and they nodded in agreement.

Of course, their feet followed Liu Jilong unconsciously, and it was not until Liu Jilong walked into the Wuquan Yamen that they returned home with a sense of unfulfilled desire.

As soon as they left, light cavalry rushed into the city, dismounted from their horses when they arrived at the government office, and hurriedly ran to the main hall.

When he arrived at the main hall, Liu Jilong and his friends had just sat down, waiting to eat later.

"Provincial Governor Dou!"

The cavalryman came running over, panting, his eyelashes covered with frost.

He bowed outside the main hall, took a deep breath, and then reported:
"There's news from Guangwu County that Zhang Hexi is going to Beijing to take up his post, and he's going via Lanzhou Road!"

Hearing this, Dou Bin and Li Shangyin subconsciously looked at Liu Jilong, and Liu Jilong also narrowed his eyes...

(End of this chapter)