Taiheiki

Chapter 351 Wealth
"Three seasons of rice?" Wang Kuang looked at Fan Yang with skepticism. "Alright, even if it's true, what use is it to Luoyang? Jiaozhou is far enough from Luoyang, and this place is even south of Jiaozhou. Transporting grain over 500 li, only one dou of grain can be transported from one shi. Besides, Luoyang is almost 10,000 li away. Even if there are mountains of grain there, what does it have to do with Luoyang?"

“What you’re talking about is land transport, not water transport!” Fan Yang sneered. “If it were water transport, it would be transporting grain from thousands of miles away. It would just take a little longer and the transportation costs wouldn’t be much higher! The newly developed land is just like Panyu, either by the sea or by a major river.”

"What? The General wouldn't be planning to transport grain from Jiaozhou to Luoyang by sea, would he? That's simply unbelievable!"

"Hasn't our great general done enough unbelievable things?" Fan Yang rolled his eyes and patted the stone steps beneath the two men. "Isn't this big square we're in right now one of them? Have you forgotten how long it's been since this square was built?"

"Yes, yes!" Wang Kuang's face lit up immediately. "Do you know where this stuff comes from? That magical powder, when mixed with water, turns into soft mud, and after two or three days, it turns into hard stone. It's incredibly fast for building houses and paving roads!"

"I just came back from Youzhou, just like you. How would I know if you don't know?"

“Didn’t I see Qin Canjun? I don’t believe you didn’t ask him!” Wang Kuang revealed a sly smile.

“I did ask, but Qin Canjun couldn’t explain it clearly either!” Fan Yang sighed. “He only said that it was ore produced in a mine near Yichuan, and then mixed with local coal and burned. Nobody knows exactly how it was made.”

"Did you know about coal?" Wang Kuang asked with great interest. "A few days ago, the Sili Commandant's Office issued a notice saying that the use of charcoal in daily life by officials and civilians in the capital is strictly prohibited!"

"A ban on the use of charcoal by officials and civilians? Really? What do the people of Luoyang use to boil water, cook, and keep warm? How could the Sili Commandant's Office issue such an order?"

"Hehe!" Wang Kuang laughed, "It seems they've switched to using coal, which is being transported from Yichuan, where there are coal mines. The reason given is that burning charcoal requires logging in the mountains, and with the large population of the capital, the daily demand for charcoal is too high. Burning charcoal would destroy the forests around the capital, and over time, without trees on the mountains, rainwater would wash away a large amount of soil, not only silting up river channels and causing floods, but also turning the mountains into barren rocks, devoid of their former vitality!"

“That does make some sense!” Fan Yang nodded. “Indeed, there aren’t many large trees on the mountains around the capital, and Mount Mang is completely bare!”

"There aren't many big trees on Mangshan Mountain because there are too many tombs, not because too many trees have been cut down. Who would dare to touch the trees there? It's full of tombs of high-ranking officials and nobles!" Wang Kuang revealed a mischievous smile. Fan Yang couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. Just as Wang Kuang said, since Mangshan Mountain is located north of Luoyang and borders the Yellow River, according to ancient Chinese feng shui, it is a superior auspicious place. The Zhou and Han dynasties (although Luoyang in the Western Han Dynasty was not the capital, it was still an important city) were both capitals of the country. Naturally, there are countless emperors and generals buried on Mangshan Mountain. Unless it is during times of war, no one would dare to cut down trees there for fear of offending the tomb of some noble.

As the two were talking, a burst of cheers and commotion suddenly erupted around them. They instinctively turned around and saw the crowd shouting at a group of richly dressed men in the passageway below. They exchanged a bewildered glance, and Fan Yang cautiously asked a young man beside him, "Excuse me, who are they? Why are they making such a racket?"

"Don't you know? This is none other than Liu Yan, the current Grand Minister of Agriculture!" The young man was already flushed with excitement.

"The Grand Minister of Agriculture?" Fan Yang looked bewildered. "That's not exactly a high-ranking position in the capital, is it?"

"Hehe!" The young man revealed a smug smile: "We're not cheering for this official. This man's surname is Liu. The reason we're cheering so loudly is to let those surnamed Wei and Dou know that people are thinking of Liu!" As he spoke, he glanced at the best seats in the stands, which were reserved for the most distinguished spectators.

Wang Kuang and Fan Yang exchanged a glance. They naturally understood what the young man meant. If it were a few months ago, when they were just ordinary students in Luoyang, they might have shouted like the young man. But things were different now. They were increasingly aware of what kind of person General Wei was and what remarkable things he was doing. Compared to these things, whether he was surnamed Liu or not was no longer so important. Not to mention that their careers, families, and personal fates were now closely intertwined with Wei Cong's. Even from the perspective of their own interests, they had to stand firm on their side.

————————————————————

"Grand Minister of Agriculture! Liu Yan, the young master, may you enjoy endless happiness and longevity!" thousands of spectators shouted.

Surrounded by a group of friends, Liu Yan sat down on a stone step just over ten meters from the square. This member of the imperial clan, who enjoyed considerable prestige among the gentry and commoners of the capital, was nearly forty, the prime of a man's life. He was tall and robust, with thick, black hair. His rugged, sharply defined face, by the standards of the time, was not considered handsome, but combined with his imposing physique, gave him a unique impression. His career had been smooth, but this did not explain the special favor the gentry of Luoyang held for him. Perhaps, at this moment, this particularly pronounced favoritism could be more or less explained by the hidden anxieties and concerns they harbored about Wei Cong. They had no other way to express their worry and fear about Wei Cong's growing power and the increasing threat he posed to the Liu family's rule, and they had to vent their emotions in the applause and cheers for an outstanding official of the Liu clan.

"Uncle, can you feel it? The people of Luoyang admire and have high expectations of you!" Bian Rang whispered.

"I'd rather not have these!" Liu Yan gave a wry smile. "They're too dangerous!"

"Are you referring to the General?" Bian Rang asked. "If he were to harm you, he would be defying the entire world!" "You underestimate the General, and overestimate me!" Liu Yan sighed. "If he truly wanted to kill me, I would be dead by now. But I'm lucky; the General is magnanimous, but those around him may not be!"

"The people around me, you mean—"

Liu Yan raised his right hand, stopping Bian Rang from uttering a certain name: "You know it in your heart, there's no need to say more. Let me put it this way, you don't know how much power he has, really, don't argue, you definitely underestimate him, otherwise you wouldn't be saying these things to me now. When I was the governor of Ji Province, I also had some illusions, but after coming to Luoyang and learning more, I understood. If this general is an elephant of Jiao Province, you and I are just rabbits. He has the ability to do anything, it's just that he's not interested in many things!"

Bian Rang looked at Liu Yan with some skepticism: "Uncle, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"No!" Liu Yan answered decisively: "Let me put it this way! Based on the data I saw at the Ministry of Agriculture, the Grand General's annual income is over three billion coins!"

"Three billion coins?" Bian Rang looked as if he had been punched in the face, his face turning deathly pale. "How is this possible? I remember that during Emperor Ming's reign, the national tax revenue for the whole country was only a little over three billion coins a year. How could he have three billion coins all by himself? Did he take all the tax revenue from the court? That's impossible, isn't it?"

"You didn't understand what I meant!" Liu Yan said coldly. "What I mean is that the General's personal income is at least three billion coins, which has nothing to do with the court's revenue. So far, I have not seen any evidence that he has embezzled from the court's tax revenue. On the contrary, he has taken a lot of his private wealth for public use, such as this square where you and I are standing!"

"That's impossible! Thirty billion? Private income?" Bian Rang's mouth dropped open. "The only place that truly obeys him is Jiaozhou, right? How many households are there? Even if they squeezed him dry, they couldn't get thirty billion."

“Nothing is impossible!” Liu Yan sneered. “He owns several large copper mountains in the south, and he is extremely skilled in mining and smelting copper. Thirty billion coins sounds like a lot, but if he were to mint coins himself, it wouldn’t be much! That’s why I say his income is at least thirty billion coins. After all, his businesses in Jiaozhou are not limited to minting coins. Just those we know of include salt, rock honey, shipping, fishing, and trade with the barbarians of the South Seas. That’s why I say this general’s magnanimity is truly extraordinary. If it were someone else in his position, they would have already been thinking about changing the dynasty and becoming Wang Mang, but he’s busy building bridges, houses, and workshops, treating himself as a master craftsman.”

Hearing this, even though Bian Rang was in a heavy mood, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. It turned out that since Wei Cong came to Luoyang, he had been busy with infrastructure construction and various handicrafts, which earned him the nickname "Master Craftsman" from the narrow-minded people of Luoyang. Bian Rang had naturally heard of this nickname before and had often used it to mock Wei Cong, so he couldn't help but laugh out loud now.

"Does Uncle Shi think Wei Cong is a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty?" Bian Rang asked in return.

"He certainly can't be called a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, but it's really hard to say whether he wanted to usurp the throne!" Liu Yan sighed. "Perhaps he's too young, and there are some things he hasn't fully thought through himself?"

"Too young? Hasn't he fully thought things through?" Bian Rang was stunned. Just as Liu Yan said, although Wei Cong was regarded by Bian Rang and others as the ultimate demon king, he seemed to be only in his early thirties. Compared to his power and status, he was unusually young. After all, it was still a relatively peaceful time. To climb the pyramid of power, one had to grind it down step by step. By the time one reached the top, even the most powerful minister would be fifty years old. With the medical conditions of ancient times, they would be buried by the grave. Many things could not be arranged calmly, and one could only act brute force, only to be discovered as soon as they made a move. But Wei Cong did not have this problem. He was only in his early thirties. Even if he died at fifty, he would still have about twenty years to live, and he could arrange things calmly. Even if he really served as a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty for twenty years, by the time he was fifty, the court would basically be filled with his people, and it would be natural for him to usurp the throne.

In this situation, it's impossible to distinguish whether Wei Cong is loyal or treacherous; the logic of power dictates that it inevitably flows from the bottom up. As long as you remain in power long enough, those below you will naturally be loyal to you, and power will naturally fall into your hands, regardless of your subjective will.

"So, does that mean we should just do nothing?" Bian asked, disappointed.

"I don't know, really!" Liu Yan sighed. "I've never seen anyone like this before!"

As time passed, more and more people of high status entered the square and took their seats. Even the Commandant of the Capital Region and the Governor of Henan, who were in charge of the specific administration of Luoyang, arrived. Keen-eyed spectators even spotted the horses and riders lined up neatly at the entrance of the square—the first ceremonial guard to perform. They would file past the audience, awaiting the signal to begin.

All eyes were fixed on the flat roof of the arched structure, all awaiting the signal from the Commandant of the Capital Region, Kuai Sheng. But Kuai Sheng remained silent. He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the seats three or four rows higher than his own, seemingly searching for someone, awaiting their approval. Everyone knew who he was waiting for—General Wei Cong, the de facto ruler of the Eastern Han Empire.

Finally, applause broke out—at first faint and sparse, then growing louder and more unified, echoing across the square. All eyes were fixed on the side gate. There, surrounded by more than a dozen attendants, Wei Cong walked through a heavily guarded passageway toward his seat.

This great man was only thirty-one years old. He was quite tall and robust, and his pace was slow, as if he were somewhat weary—a result of heavy workload. He had far too many things to handle, especially in recent months. In fact, he was simultaneously overseeing two wars thousands of miles apart—one against Funan, and the other against the Southern Xiongnu rebellion and the Xianbei invasion. Any war would consume enormous amounts of energy, and on top of that, he had countless other tedious matters to attend to, such as the cement factory, the canal, numerous workshops, and schools. Although he had many capable assistants, his role was irreplaceable.

Wei Cong's face now looked extremely imposing, even somewhat frightening. His original appearance was quite gentle: a broad jaw, a straight nose, and a well-proportioned mouth. Such features could be described as handsome, especially when combined with the thick, jet-black hair covering them; moreover, he had a pair of bright, dark, and smiling eyes. But now, at times, he appeared imposing and sharp, even somewhat fierce, his gaze containing a power that compelled one to kneel.

(End of this chapter)