The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 405 Plotting
Beijing.

Zhang Jifu stayed in the cabinet and originally wanted to ask his mentor to step forward, but unexpectedly, his mentor also became bedridden overnight.

On one hand, they had to be wary of the second-in-command of the cabinet, and they also didn't trust the Grand Secretary Zhu Zhenjie, whose attitude was ambiguous and could not be fully trusted. The newly appointed Grand Secretary, Li Chengxian, the former Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was considered one of their own, but unfortunately, he lacked ability and could not be trusted either.

The palace's attitude is currently unclear, and Dai Quan has not responded to him in a timely manner.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

However, things cannot be easily accomplished without Dai Quan's approval. Do we really have to take action by force?

The outcome of the emperor accidentally drowning is the same as that of Zhang Jifu deposing the emperor and installing a new one, but the consequences are completely different. Zhang Jifu would prefer the emperor to drown.

Most of the officials and civil servants in the court were his own people, and he had many confidants.

It would be logical to select one of the princes to be the young emperor, so that he could rightfully assume regency.

It's been two days already.

We can't wait any longer.

Zhang Jifu frowned. If Dai Quan still refused to show himself, he suddenly felt a chill. Could this man have changed?

"Motosuke!"

"Motosuke!"

Cheng Zhixin came running in, panting, not even caring about his identity, and said anxiously, "Urgent report from Liaodong: the barbarians have launched a surprise attack on Kaiyuan and stormed into Tieling. The local soldiers were caught off guard and were wiped out."

"what!"

Zhang Jifu was shocked, and then became furious. He roared, "Tieling and Kaiyuan are important military towns. How could they be so easily attacked by barbarians?"

Cheng Zhixin shook his head.

Zhang Jifu did not blame Cheng Zhixin; specific matters needed to be discussed with the Minister of War.

“Li Yuan should be arriving soon.” Cheng Zhixin said with regret, “Hopefully, the situation can still be salvaged.”

Tieling and Kaiyuan are the gateways to Shenyang.

It is also an important gateway to the Liao Great Wall.

The loss of both places would be tantamount to opening the gates of Shenyang wide, leaving the Liaodong Commandery to face the barbarian army head-on and in an unfavorable situation. If Shenyang also falls, then Liaodong would be in danger, with the possibility of being completely occupied by the barbarians.

But Liaodong Garrison has 100,000 troops.

Regardless of the 40,000 to 50,000 troops under the command of the Prince of Dongping, even with the military strength of the Liaodong Commandery plus the local militia, how could the barbarians so easily seize the two cities of Tieling and Kaiyuan?

Minister of War Li Yuan rode in a sedan chair to the cabinet.

More than one group of people came to Liaodong.

The Liaodong Military Command and the Governor's Office both sent people back, and the Prince of Dongping's Mansion also sent people to urgently deliver military intelligence. Although the various parties spoke differently, one thing was certain.

Kaiyuan and Tieling did indeed fall into the hands of the barbarians.

Therefore, Zhang Jifu did not have a thorough understanding of the local situation.

There are suspicious circumstances surrounding this matter.

Since there are doubts, there must be a conspiracy.

The Prince of Dongping is certainly involved, which is not surprising. What is worth investigating is whether he did it on purpose or just happened to run into him. Inside the sedan chair, Li Yuan remained calm, showing no anxiety about the fall of the two cities. Instead, he became even more patient.

"The Prince of Xining is restless, and trouble has arisen in Liaodong again."

Upon seeing Zhang Jifu, Li Yuan spoke immediately, while Cheng Zhixin, who had not left, looked bewildered.

The Prince of Xining actually sent people to plot against the military governor of Datong!

Although Zhang Jifu suppressed the matter, several important officials still knew about it, and they all agreed to it because the Prince of Xining had guarded the Northwest for over a hundred years and could not easily touch the other side.

The timing was inappropriate, but Wang Xin's actions earned him widespread favor.

This shows that Wang Xin still knows the rules; although he is somewhat mischievous, he is still within a controllable range.

The matter of the Prince of Xining had not yet subsided when problems arose in Liaodong, where the Prince of Dongping resided. "With such a coincidence, who could be the mastermind behind it all?" Li Yuan vaguely thought of someone.

"No way." Cheng Zhixin said incredulously, "The Prince of Dongping has always been plotting something. There have been reports that he is colluding with the barbarians. The Prince of Xining has also been restless for many years. It doesn't seem like someone is pushing him."

Li Yuan neither confirmed nor denied, casually explaining, "It's not surprising that the two things are separate, but it's different when they come together."

Zhang Jifu did not refute.

This is also why he ultimately chose to win over Li Yuan. Although Li Yuan did not completely submit to him, he did have a keen eye for things. However, because of the Datong matter, Li Yuan had a lot of opinions about him.

Zhang Jifu felt he had been too biased towards Wang Xin, but he didn't offer much explanation.

I recalled my mentor's words.

When you resolve external conflicts one by one, you suddenly realize that the internal conflicts have reached a point of irreconcilable differences.

Zhang Jifu no longer hesitated.

Can't delay any longer.

"tomorrow."

Zhang Jifu's expression turned solemn, but gradually became resolute.

I no longer rely on my mentor, nor do I expect to have the best of both worlds. It's better to suffer a loss than to lose everything.

"It's only been two days," Cheng Zhixin said hesitantly. "Should we wait a little longer?"

What are you waiting for?

Cheng Zhixin was also unclear.

Waiting for Old Man Zhou to wake up, waiting for news from the palace, or waiting for other good news. Cheng Zhixin subconsciously avoided the issues he didn't want to face.

“We can’t delay any longer.” Li Yuan shook his head in disagreement, saying regretfully, “We should have acted long ago.”

Two days were wasted for nothing.

Two days.

Li Yuan was truly uneasy and couldn't help but complain, "How can we delay this matter? The sooner it's settled, the better. Delay could lead to unforeseen changes."

Zhang Jifu nodded.

He then sent someone to invite Liu Qi.

After leaving the cabinet and bidding farewell to Cheng Zhixin, Li Yuan watched Cheng Zhixin's relaxed departing figure and couldn't help but feel a little envious.

People with simple minds are quite happy.

No need to worry, it's all down to luck; fools are often blessed.

"Ugh!"

Li Yuan sighed and was just about to get back into the sedan chair when someone quietly approached him.

"you are?"

Li Yuan asked calmly.

The man silently pulled out a sign.

Li Yuan was shocked after reading it.

After a while, Li Yuan nodded and followed the man.

at this time.

Tongzhou.

After the Beijing garrison returned victorious from suppressing the Shandong rebellion, Zhang Jifu, apart from promoting his staunch confidant Liu Qi to establish his prestige within the Beijing garrison, did not launch the large-scale military campaigns that people expected. Instead, he actively tried to win over Liu Qi.

Many people breathed a sigh of relief and offered little resistance, with most obediently surrendering to Zhang Jifu.

They changed a group of people, recruited another group, and promoted yet another.

Three times five divided by two.

From then on, the Beijing garrison completely fell into the hands of Zhang Jifu.

An army of over 100,000.

Zhu Shenggong dared not slack off, keeping himself busy with official duties every day, hoping to be promoted as soon as possible. Otherwise, the longer it dragged on, the more uncertain he felt. What if Zhang Jifu transferred an Eastern Army Commander one day? What could he do but obediently accept it?
"Master."

Someone suddenly showed up at the house. "What brings you here?"

"The master sent me to invite the young master back home."

"Nonsense."

Zhu Shenggong didn't believe it. The situation in the capital was complicated. The retired emperor hadn't shown up for a long time, and there had been a lot of talk about it. This wasn't the first time; whenever the retired emperor hadn't shown up for a long time, such rumors would arise.

However, the Emperor Emeritus did not appear for quite a long time this time, and the discussions surrounding him were quite fierce.

It's not the possibility of something happening that's scary, but the possibility of something happening ten thousand times over.

Therefore, Zhu Shenggong had not returned home for a long time, personally overseeing the Eastern Army. "This humble servant dares not," the servant knelt down and kowtowed.

Zhu Shenggong frowned.

The servants in the house certainly dared not deceive him or disobey his father, so Zhu Shenggong still chose to go back and rode back to the capital.

The market in Tongzhou Hexi is still bustling.

People come and go.

It had long surpassed the prosperity of Tongzhou city. Because there were no city walls, it was convenient for doing business. Even at midnight, the flower boats moored on the riverbank were still brightly lit and magnificent.

Its fame spread far and wide, attracting even nobles from the capital to come here for pleasure.

Zhu Shenggong was past that age and had long since stopped fooling around. He was now concerned about his reputation, and although he had heard of this place many times, he had never set foot there.

I went straight home.

"Father, what happened that you urgently need your son to come back?" Zhu Shenggong said as soon as he saw him.

Zhu Wei was studying a chess score when he learned that his son hadn't left since returning. While arranging the score, he casually said, "Nothing much."

Zhu Shenggong was completely baffled and asked curiously, "Father should have heard about the news from the palace. In the past, at such times, Father would always personally oversee the Eastern Army. Why has it changed now?"

Zhu Wei then stopped setting out his chess scores, turned around to look at his son, and showed a look of relief.

People are more infuriating than people.

So don't compare yourself to others; Zhu Wei has already made peace with himself.

Wang Xin is not human.

Comparing his son to him would be pushing his son to his death. Once he understood this, he looked at his son with increasing satisfaction. Zhu Wei no longer treated Zhu Shenggong like a child and said seriously, "Times have changed."

Zhu Shenggong waited anxiously for his father's explanation.

Zhu Wei sighed.

"If anyone's to blame, it's Zhang Jifu for being so petty," Zhu Wei sighed. "If Zhang Jifu had any respect for us martial artists, I wouldn't have done it this way either."

Zhu Shenggong's eyes widened.

Fuzhou, Fujian.

Changle County.

Everywhere, farmland was planted with rice, a dense, green expanse. But beyond the rice paddies, in places far from water sources and barren and infertile, strange crops were planted, crops that no one had ever seen before.

"This is a sweet potato."

"Chen Zhenlong risked his life to bring it back from Luzon."

Two local merchants brought guests from Jinling to the area and invited the landowner to come and question him.

"Is this food edible?"

"sure."

"How much can it produce per acre?" Zhou Dong, the manager of Xue Family Trading Company, asked politely.

“The soil here is poor, but each mu can yield five or six hundred jin.”

The old farmer told the truth.

"Hi~!"

I doubted I had misheard, since I wasn't very familiar with the local dialect, so it wasn't surprising that I misheard. But after confirming the numbers again, I immediately gasped in shock.

The barren wasteland that was previously uncultivable can now be cultivated.

Each acre yields five to six hundred catties!
You should know that the yield of ordinary farmland in the north is only about 200 jin per mu. Now, it's even worse than that of barren wasteland.

Not only is the land poor, but it is also easy to cultivate; you can find any spot without digging ditches.

Ordinary households can easily clear land using this item.

Why doesn't the government promote this?

Zhou Dong asked incredulously, "Such a powerful weapon is only known to the local people; I simply cannot understand it."

"Mr. Chen used many connections to try to see the prefect, but the prefect thought he was a merchant and that he was uncivilized, so he refused. Later, Mr. Chen asked someone to tell the prefect about the benefits of sweet potatoes, but the prefect refused again."

"why?"

"How could we commoners know what the officials are thinking?" the old farmer scoffed. "Anyway, Mr. Chen went to great lengths to get the government to help promote sweet potatoes, but in the end, he was met with indifference and ridicule."

"If that's the case, why is this plant cultivated in so many places?"

Zhou Dong asked detailed questions and was very patient.

I originally thought that this thing was just hearsay and that even if it existed in Fujian, it would be hard to find. But I didn't expect that after entering Fujian, I would easily find out about it. It has become widely known in Fujian and is cultivated in various places.

“Don’t we farmers know how good this is? There’s no need for the government to promote it; we’ll naturally rush to plant it.” The old farmer said matter-of-factly, “It’s just that Mr. Chen brought back too few seedlings; we’ve only had enough over the years.”

Zhou Dong couldn't help but raise his head and look around again.

Sweet potatoes were planted in all the remaining corners and edges, except for the original farmland.

Sweet potatoes are not included in the tax.

In other words, all these sweet potatoes can be kept for personal consumption.

No wonder Fujian, a place that has remained relatively unknown for years, is traditionally perceived as a region of "seven parts mountains, two parts water, and one part farmland," where people lead a life of hardship. In reality, however, it is a thriving commercial center, with its Fujian ironware and pots being exported far and wide.

It should be noted that this industry is the most labor-intensive.

The people of Fujian were quietly enjoying a better life. "They really kept it a secret," Zhou Dong couldn't help but shake his head.

"We ordinary folks can't leave the village in our entire lives, how can we hide it from us?"

The old farmer said with dissatisfaction, "We never hide good things. Mr. Chen is the same, and so are we. Otherwise, these sweet potatoes would not have spread. What you may not know is that Mr. Chen only brought back a few vines at the beginning. The reason we have achieved this scale today is because we have always been responsive to the needs of outsiders and have never kept anything from them."

Zhou Dong cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

An old man who doesn't die is a thief. Although the old farmer has never left the village in his life, he has eaten a lot of salt and knows that too much salt will make you salty and too little salt will make you sick.

Zhou Dong then bowed to his two colleagues.

"I would like to ask for your help, brothers."

"You're welcome."

"please say."

"The north is suffering from disaster, and this item is of great use. It can alleviate the disaster in the north. I would like to ask my two elder brothers to help the Xue family business purchase more of this item and promote it in the north as soon as possible."

Zhou Dong is sincere.

The two did not refuse.

The Xue family's trading company controlled trade outside the Great Wall and monopolized the channels in Jiangnan. Who wouldn't want a piece of the pie?

Zhou Dong sent his men back to Jinling overnight to get the head office ready as quickly as possible.

Sweet potatoes are not only grown on wasteland.

Farmland is subject to taxes.

After fulfilling their tax obligations, the people were willing to cultivate sweet potatoes on their farmland. The traditional farmland yielded an average of 1,000 to 1,200 catties per mu, while each mu required 50 to 70 catties of sweet potatoes for cultivation.

Our business was established to serve the military governor of Datong.

Although the slogan was "for the North," it was actually for the sake of Datong (the Great Harmony).

Hundreds of thousands of acres of wasteland in Datong have been reclaimed. It is extremely difficult to grow wheat and rice, but it is most suitable for growing sweet potatoes. Let alone five or six hundred catties, even three or five hundred catties per mu would be remarkable.

However, cultivating 100,000 mu of land requires five to six million jin of sweet potatoes, which is nearly 40,000 shi.

The yield is around 7,000 mu.

So many places in Fujian are growing sweet potatoes; as long as you're willing to spend the money, buying them won't be a problem.

The water transport system is prone to problems.

It would be better to switch to sea freight.

A few large ships could handle it. Although large ships were expensive, the Xue family business could afford them. They were more economical in terms of manpower and resources than using cargo ships and could also reduce the chances of accidents.

Zhou Dong was a seasoned manager with extensive experience, and he quickly made a decision based on the situation of his own business.

But where will the sea freight take us?

Sea freight cannot reach Datong.

If we switch to land transportation, not only will the cost increase many times over, but the risks will also be out of control.

These are things that are no longer within his control.

(End of this chapter)