Taiheiki

Chapter 307 Returning to Beijing
"Yes! Quickly, prepare the carriages and horses!"

Seeing the chaos within the mansion, Huang Ping sighed deeply. He knew that this was beyond his control: "Someone, prepare a horse. I need to go to Luokou to inform the General that he absolutely must return to the capital, or else there will be an uproar!"

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Luokou (Heluo Town, Gongyi City, Zhengzhou, Henan Province).

“The size of a city actually depends on the cost of large-scale bulk cargo transportation!” Wei Cong stood on a mound, pointing to the confluence of the Yellow River and the Luo River not far away: “The transportation cost for one shi of grain from Yanzhou to Luoyang is 1.5 dou, or 15%, which is too high and must be reduced. The key is the confluence of the Yellow River and the Luo River. Fifty granaries should be built here, each capable of storing 100,000 shi of grain. This would expand Luoyang tenfold. In addition to the palace and government, we can also develop some handicrafts and commerce, so that the court's revenue will not have to rely entirely on agricultural taxes!”

"Fifty granaries!" The county magistrate beside him smiled bitterly. "General, to build so many large granaries, the number of corvée laborers alone will far exceed the manpower of our county!"

"I know that. I didn't expect you to finish it within a year!" Wei Cong laughed. "It's just a five-year plan. It'll be completed within five years!"

"Five years seems to be a while—" The county magistrate had just finished speaking when he was pulled aside by the prefectural clerk next to him. The governor of Henan, standing nearby, said with a smile, "General, please rest assured, no matter what, your subordinate will definitely complete this matter!"

"Okay, we can discuss the specifics later!" Wei Cong nodded. "Shall we go down there and check out the soil quality to see if it's suitable for building a granary?"

Wei Cong walked down the path, and the others hurriedly followed. The magistrate of Gong County, who had fallen behind, asked the county official beside him, "Why didn't you let me speak just now? The General clearly asked!"

"Do what needs to be done!" the county official sneered. "This is the Great General. You think you can't do what he wants to do? How many lives do you have?"

"What if we can't finish in five years? Fifty granaries are no joke!"

"Then just conscript manpower to build it, what else can you do? Besides, will you still be in this position in five years? Why are you worrying about this for others?" The county official rolled his eyes at the magistrate.

“That is not true. I will indeed not be here in five years, but can the people of this county simply move elsewhere? Even if you are a great general, I cannot disregard the lives of the people of this county and curry favor with you!” With that, the magistrate flicked his sleeves and chased after Wei Cong, rushing to his side. He said in a deep voice, “General, what the Governor of Henan said just now is incorrect. With the strength of this county, no, even with the strength of several neighboring counties, I am afraid it will be difficult to fulfill your request! I urge you to rescind your order!”

Before Wei Cong could speak, the Governor of Henan, standing to the side, was already visibly angry, his veins bulging, and shouted, "Liu He, have you gone mad? How dare you be so disrespectful in front of the General! Get out of here at once!"

"Wait!" Wei Cong raised his hand, stopping the guard who was about to pull him away. "Your name is Liu He, right? I'm asking you, the matter I'm talking about isn't to be completed in one year, but rather to be completed over five years, with only ten sites to be completed each year. As far as I know, Gong County is close to the capital, a superior county with a large population and abundant manpower. Why do you say that even with the combined strength of several neighboring counties, it would be difficult to complete?"

Having already resolved to risk his life, Liu He calmed down and said frankly, "General, you only know that Gong County has a large population, but you don't know that because Gong County is close to the capital, the various corvée labors are extremely heavy. The repair of official roads, river embankments, city walls, and palaces and mausoleums all require the labor of the people, which is more than ten times heavier than that of ordinary prefectures and counties. Not to mention that corvée labor is not available to nobles, and the place with the most nobles in the world is naturally around the capital. Since the nobles don't do it, then only ordinary people have to bear it. The people are already exhausted from carrying out the original corvée labor. If you add these on top of that, how can the people bear it?"

Wei Cong nodded: "In that case, let's postpone the construction of the granary for now!" He glanced at the Governor of Henan beside him and suddenly laughed: "Magistrate Liu, have you considered that by doing this today, even if I don't punish you, you've offended your superiors and colleagues, and you're likely to suffer a lot in the future!"

"Of course I know, but if I remain silent today, I fear that thousands of people in Gong County will suffer the calamity of having their families destroyed and their families wiped out. Although I do not wish to suffer, I do not wish to watch the people under my jurisdiction wail helplessly, which is why I have dared to speak out!"

"Hmm, it's truly remarkable that you've maintained this much conscience while serving as an official!" Wei Cong nodded. "Very well, I'll just be a good person. You don't need to be the county magistrate anymore; come and be a military advisor in my General's Mansion! As for your position as county magistrate—" Wei Cong turned his gaze to the Governor of Henan: "Let the county lieutenant temporarily take over! What does Your Excellency think?"

"General, your insight is truly profound; I will naturally comply!" The Governor of Henan quickly lowered his head.

"Gentlemen!" Wei Cong raised his voice, "I just praised Magistrate Liu for his love for the people, but ultimately, the most important thing for an official is to do his job. Your positions and salaries are bestowed by the Emperor, so you must do your jobs well and carry out the Emperor's orders. Only then can you rise in rank and enjoy your salaries for a long time. The granaries must definitely be built, otherwise Luoyang City cannot become a true capital. However, the construction methods need to be changed so that the people can afford it. Do you all understand?"

"I have learned a great deal!" the Governor of Henan hurriedly replied.

Wei Cong nodded, and was about to say something more when Meng Gaogong, who was accompanying him, whispered a few words in Wei Cong's ear. Wei Cong's expression changed slightly: "Alright, it's getting late today, let's stop here!" After saying that, he walked towards the carriage at the foot of the mound.

"Respectfully seeing off the General!" came the unified voices of the local officials from behind.

"Where is the envoy? Call him here!" Wei Cong's face turned grim as soon as he boarded the carriage.

"Envoy, come up quickly! The General wants to ask you questions!" Meng Gaogong said to the carriage.

"Your subordinate greets the Great General!" A clerk in blue robes boarded the carriage. Wei Cong recognized him as one of Huang Ping's men and nodded. "Tell me the whole story in detail, don't leave anything out!" "Yes, sir!" the clerk replied, then recounted in detail how Dou Xuan participated in the monthly appraisal, got into a conflict on the spot, and was assassinated while riding a horse shortly afterward. As Wei Cong listened, he opened the letter Huang Ping had sent. After a long silence, he said, "It's a pity I wasn't in Luoyang at the time. A-Yun went to the palace to see the Empress Dowager, and this matter can no longer be suppressed! Alas, things have escalated so much, it's difficult to slow things down now!"

"Does Your Excellency believe this matter is not so simple?" Meng Gaogong had served Wei Cong for so long that he was quite familiar with his master's thoughts.
"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded, gesturing for the minor official to leave. "Haste makes waste. Dou Xuan just clashed with the scholars of Runan at the Monthly Appraisal, and was assassinated just two days later. This is far too hasty. After all, he was the Empress Dowager's cousin, my brother-in-law, and an official under the General's Office. Even if the scholars of Runan were bold, they wouldn't have set up an ambush to assassinate him so easily. In my opinion, there's probably someone else behind it, trying to muddy the waters. So the best approach is to wait until things clear up! But now, I'm afraid that's difficult!"

"Are you Madam?"

"It's not just her; now I'm afraid even the palace has to consider this. In the end, I was able to sit in this position without the full support of the Dou family. And Dou Xuan's trip to Runan was entirely because of me, and he was killed just like that. If I don't give an explanation, I'm afraid it won't be right!"

Meng Gaogong remained silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "General, you've had it tough too!"

Wei Cong and his group returned home that very night. As soon as they entered the door, Dou Yun rushed towards them, crying, "My lord, Ah Xuan has been killed by thieves! You must avenge him!"

"That's for sure!" Wei Cong helped his wife up, noticing that her usually bright eyes were now red as rotten peaches, and her throat was hoarse, clearly from crying so much and being so emotionally distressed. He helped her lie down on a brocade couch and said to the maid beside him, "Have the kitchen bring some hot soup!" Then he said softly to Dou Yun, "After learning about this in Gong County, I rushed back overnight. Alas, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have let A-Xuan go to Runan. It's all my fault. I thought Ruying was a place of flourishing culture, and the locals would be well-educated and reasonable, but I never expected—" At this point, Wei Cong sighed, "You should recover first. Tomorrow I will go to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager and then deal with this matter!"

"I've already been to the palace and seen my sister!" Dou Yun said. "My sister said that the guard named Shen Huan was negligent and should be severely punished!"

"Shen Huan, are you referring to Dou Xuan's deputy?" Wei Cong thought for a moment. "He definitely needs to be punished, but right now the most important thing is to find the real culprit and the person behind it all, to comfort your brother's spirit in heaven. Although Shen Huan has committed a crime, he was present at the time and knows the situation best. If we punish him like this, it might actually hinder the capture of the real culprit. How about we reprimand him first, then let him redeem himself through meritorious service, and then deal with him appropriately after the matter is settled?"

"Alright!" Dou Yun was much more awake now. "I'll do as you say, but we can't let this scoundrel get away with it so easily! If it weren't for him, my brother wouldn't be dead!" She started sobbing again. Wei Cong comforted her for a few moments, then the soup was brought in. Wei Cong fed his wife a few sips, and Dou Yun gradually fell asleep.

The next morning, Wei Cong changed into his court robes, boarded his carriage, and entered the palace to pay his respects to Dou Miao. Upon entering the hall, Dou Miao's first words were: "Mengde, how do you intend to handle this matter?"

"I intend to appoint Kuai Sheng, an official under the General's Office, as Imperial Censor, and send him to Runan to handle this matter!" Wei Cong had already considered this very clearly last night, so his answer was decisive: "In my opinion, the person who assassinated Dou Xuan is most likely unrelated to the Xu brothers who preside over the Monthly Criticism!"

"Hmm, what's the reason?" Dou Miao asked.

"Judging from the past, although the Xu brothers commented on people and criticized the government, they were not like Guo Jie of the Zhu family, who would draw his sword at the slightest disagreement. Even if Dou Xuan offended him on the island that day, he would not have sent someone to assassinate him in retaliation. At least it should not have been ordered by him personally!"

"You mean, it's possible that his friends did it?" Dou Miao understood Wei Cong's implication: "Then what's the difference between that and them doing it themselves?"

“There is still a slight difference!” Wei Cong smiled. “According to the letter, there were about one or two hundred people on the island who participated in the monthly evaluation that day. These people were willing to come, so they must have been very convinced of the Xu brothers’ evaluation, otherwise they wouldn’t have come. At that time, Dou Xuan offended Xu Zijiang’s reputation. Xu Zijiang was able to tolerate it, but others might not have been. It’s hard to guarantee that there wasn’t a madman who wanted to kill Dou Xuan to curry favor with the Xu brothers.”

"So what do you plan to do with the Xu brothers?" Dou Miao asked.

“It’s still uncertain!” Wei Cong sighed. “After all, we don’t know who the murderer is. Only after we catch the murderer can we decide how to deal with the Xu brothers. But to be honest, even if they are not involved in this case, we can’t let this monthly review continue to go on like this. Their factionalism, mutual self-promotion, and accusations against each other’s reputations have a huge impact. They are a powerful tool, but we can’t let them get away with it!”

“You’re right!” Dou Miao nodded. “We can’t let this continue, or sooner or later other troubles will arise. Yesterday, A-Yun came to the palace crying, her words full of resentment. I immediately reprimanded her. Mengde, you sent A-Xuan to Runan so that he could gain more experience and be of great use in the future. Don’t you understand the principle that jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved? This time, don’t punish Qian Wen and Shen Huan too severely, just give them a few words of reprimand. I know A-Xuan’s temper. If he hadn’t broken free of the guards and run away alone while riding his horse, how could he have died at the hands of the assassin?”

Wei Cong was surprised that Dou Miao was so understanding, and quickly bowed and thanked her, saying, "Your subject will remember!"

"Alright! Let's leave it at that! Let's not make a scene and let everyone know, that would be bad!" Dou Miao glanced at Wei Cong and suddenly smiled, "A-Yun adores her younger brother, she's spoiled him rotten since he was little, she'll probably resent you for sending him to Runan. Don't worry, if he causes trouble for you, just tell me, and I'll teach her a lesson!"

"Hehe!" Wei Cong chuckled dryly twice: "There's no need for that. Her beloved younger brother died, so it's understandable that she would resent me!"

"A-Yun is so lucky to have married such an understanding man like you!" Dou Miao sighed. "Never mind, let's not talk about that. I heard you went to Gongxian this time to build a granary, is that true?"

“That’s right!” Wei Cong nodded. “I do have this plan. The Luo River flows into the Yellow River at Gong County. If we can build more granaries there, we can transport more grain to the capital!”

"Oh? Is there not enough food in Luoyang right now?" Dou Miao asked, puzzled. "I heard from outsiders that you've been busy repairing bridges and building houses all day long, even taking on the work of the chief craftsman. That's not good. You are now the Grand General and Minister of State Affairs; you should be handling important military and national affairs!"

(End of this chapter)