Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"Li Dalang went to the firearms factory again yesterday----"

"Why are you so diligent? You've already been there four times in less than ten days. Are you planning to live there?"

[A ten-day period is called a "xun," which is also the standard time for holidays in Jinshan Prefecture.]

Xie Yanxu, the current head of the Xie family, held a Pixiu made of gold and silver in his hand and kept playing with it. His lowered eyes were half puzzled and half calculating.

Standing before him was Xie Chengsen, the eldest son of the Xie family, who was eating fruit offered by a maid while saying:

"The other day when I was at the government office, I heard people say that the eldest son of the Li family went to the newly built firearms factory and to the right village, saying that he wanted to encourage farming and sericulture."

"Farming and sericulture----"

Xie Yanxu's lowered eyes snapped open, he paused for a moment, then looked down again, and said to his eldest son with a smile:

"Since the Li family became the lords of Jinshan, all the previous lords have been diligent. Whether it was military affairs, agricultural affairs, or miscellaneous matters, they were all handled with great care. The current lord is like this, and the future lord, Li Boxian, will be the same."

"Having such a gentleman is truly a blessing for our Xie family."

She said this, but told her son:

"Since the end of last year, I have felt that the Prefect has become increasingly wary of my Xie family. Two months ago, the purchase of a slave fell through. The money and goods were already settled, but the Prefect stopped it with a decree."

Thinking back to this moment, Xie Yanxu felt regret. He could have used the opportunity of the Rakshasa demons' rampage and the destruction of many small tribes to buy hundreds or thousands of servants with some rice. But this great opportunity was ruined at the last moment by Lord Li, who held the power of Jinshan.

It's impossible for him not to resent it. The Xie family's wealth and servants haven't increased for many years. It's said that Jinshan Prefecture currently has more than 16,000 people under its jurisdiction, and recently some people have said that it has taken in a lot of refugee remnants of the Turkic tribes, so it's estimated that there are nearly 19,000 people.

But the Xie family alone has over four hundred registered servants and maids, not to mention the tens of thousands of acres of farmland and forest land they own, and even mines.

Four hundred people would be a joke in the Central Plains, especially in the eyes of powerful clans and gentry. But you have to understand that this is a grassland with less developed productivity than agricultural areas. Although Jinshan is still arable and has a beautiful landscape and climate, it is still the Western Regions. Population growth is inherently constrained by the surrounding population and environment, and the growth is slow. The current population is the result of the lifelong efforts of successive Jinshan prefects and magistrates.

Otherwise, he would probably be in a similar situation to the other lords who occupy the large lakes around him.

"Hmph, ever since this Prefect took office, especially after Li Dalang stepped forward, not to mention our Xie family, even the Zhao and Zhang families have had a hard time. A while ago, the Zhang family wanted to use their connections to send their sons and nephews to the Eagle Division Camp, but who would have thought that Li Dalang would treat them like ordinary soldiers. The two in the lead were each assigned a squad leader position, and the rest were just rough soldiers carrying swords and shields. They were so angry that they ran away overnight."

"For this matter, Li Dalang even used the excuse of deserters to fine each of us twenty silver ingots. It turns out there was no such thing. I'm afraid the Li family wants to expel my three clans and swallow up this huge Jinshan Mansion."

Compared to his shrewd and calculating father, Xie Chengsen had a much more fiery temper and spoke his mind directly.

"Hey, watch your words!!"

"Don't cause a huge disaster!!"

Xie Yanxu immediately checked the doors and windows again, and only after confirming they were fairly secure did he continue to instruct his son:

"You need to understand who's been in power in Jinshan Prefecture since its inception. The Li family is the most powerful. Don't you understand?"

"But my son doesn't understand. Since I, Xie, have served the Li family like a slave, acting as their ancestor's deputy general since our time in the border army, how could I have contributed nothing over those decades, from the northwest border to the northern deserts, and later to Jinshan?"

"And the Li family has been the master of Jinshan for more than sixty years. Originally, they didn't have much, but they forgot that if it weren't for us, the Li family might have died under the Qing dogs' butcher's knife. Where would they have today's glory and wealth?"

"Having established himself as the magistrate of the city, enjoying such wealth and status for so many years, what has our Xie family received in return? Only lowly servants and land!!"

Xie Chengsen's words initially shocked his father, who was about to block the door, but then stopped, pressed down on the door latch with both hands, and whispered:

"The Li family has been in command of the army for decades, and everyone from top to bottom is loyal to them. The Xie family cannot and dare not touch them. You are courting death yourself, so don't implicate your family."

"Father—", Xie Chengsen gritted his teeth and struggled to utter the words:

"If this continues, it will be like dealing with servants; sooner or later, we'll have to resort to violence."

"Doesn't Father understand the proverb 'Once the rabbit is caught, the hunting dog is cooked'?"

"Like a rabbit being killed after its hunt is over, humph, all your studying was for nothing."

Xie Yanxu kept a cold face, constantly sipping dry tea leaves from the corner of his mouth. This was a habit he had had since childhood; he felt that eating tea was better than drinking tea.

"Father----"

Ignoring his son's words, Xie Yanxu continued chewing, and after a long while, he finally spoke under Xie Chengsen's anxious gaze:

"The Li family is deeply rooted, and only by uniting the three clans can we shake them somewhat. However, the Zhang family is out of the question. As for the Zhao family, hmph, they are planning to form a marriage alliance. Sooner or later, they will reap what they sow. We must know that for the greater good, we must eliminate them personally, and for important matters, we must be ruthless."

Xie Yanxu, that old fox, had long seen through the ways of the world. He only needed to give the signal that the number of servants should not be increased to realize that the Li family might take action.

His eldest son, however, lacked this common sense. Instead, after listening, a surge of heat rushed to the back of his head, and he said to his father with murderous intent:

"Li Dalang has been going to the countryside a lot lately. If a team ambushes him here, even if he has three heads and six arms, he's doomed. Once Li Dalang is dead, the Li family will have no one to rely on. Neither the weak Li Yuanli nor his two cousins ​​can pose as much of a threat as Li Dalang."

"In this way, once Lord Li passes away, we can either force him to abdicate and seize power, or we can preserve our family business and plan for the future."

Xie Yanxu shook his head:

"This should only be done as a last resort."

"Father----"

As night deepened, Xie Chengsen was sent back to his room by his father, while Xie Yanxu did not sleep all night. He chewed the tea leaves on his lips countless times, and all he knew was that half a can of tea leaves was gone that night.

--------

Inside the front hall of the Zhao residence, two months after the wedding, the double happiness characters pasted on the windows and walls can still be seen, as well as the wedding candies still being served to guests.

Perhaps because it was today that the son-in-law was bringing his daughter back to her parents' home, Zhao Hucheng, the head of the Zhao family, made a big fuss, summoning more than a dozen maids and servants to serve them. While drinking tea, some held fans, some held incense burners, and some carried newly arrived tea, snacks, and fruits. They were changed almost every fifteen minutes, and never stayed longer.

"Father-in-law, you flatter me. I'm not a person who likes extravagance, so why should I spend so much?"

"Don't stand on ceremony, just eat. Coming to your father-in-law's house is like coming to your own home, so there's no need to make a fuss."

No sooner had Li Yuanli finished speaking than Zhao Hucheng across from him had someone bring him fresh tea and pastries. Looking at the bright green and reddish-brown pastries, even though the Li family was wealthy, he had never tasted them before and asked with some surprise:

"What is this made of? It's so beautiful."

Zhao Hucheng laughed smugly, then pointed to the pastries on the plate and explained in detail:

"The outer green layer is made of tea, while the inner red center is made of a paste made from more than a dozen kinds of mountain fruits. It was then steamed several times and finally coated with safflower paste. All of these were used to make the filling for this Cui Xi cake."

"This must cost a lot of money."

"What's a little manpower compared to this? No matter how complicated it is, it's all worth it."

Zhao Hucheng's smiling face instantly reminded Li Yuanli of the scene at the North Gate last year, and the questioning his father gave him in front of his elder brother. He immediately fell silent and only responded after Zhao Hucheng called him several times.

So much so that right after finishing his tea, Zhao Hucheng asked a question:

"I heard recently that they were going to register all the surrounding tribes as citizens, is that true?"

"That is indeed the case, but the tribes that are registered are all small tribes that have been closely connected before, and together they number no more than a thousand or eight hundred people, so it is not a big deal."

Zhao Hucheng couldn't find fault with Li Yuanli's answer, but he took a few more sips of tea before speaking:

"Yesterday I heard from the eldest son, who works at the government office, that the young master wants to draft a household registration plan, hoping to swallow up all tens of thousands of Turks in one fell swoop. Isn't that a bit too ambitious?"

"Well, maybe he's thinking that way, but my older brother knows his limits and is still discussing it—"

Li Yuanli's answer was vague, but the doubt on his face was unmistakable, so Zhao Hucheng didn't ask any further questions. He just kept reminding him that the Zhao family and the Li family were related by marriage, and if that was really the case, the Zhao family would do everything in their power to help. They could ask him for help if they were short of men or food, as long as they were compensated afterwards.

Although Li Yuanli didn't participate much in the affairs of the manor, he knew what the so-called compensation was: servants.

But the more he acted this way, the less he dared to agree. He simply pretended to be stupid and acted foolish. When he finally left, Zhao Hucheng even let out some useless sighs and curses:

"How come there's such a big difference between the eldest son and the second son? They were really unlucky back then. If it were the eldest son, he would probably be a servant, and his status would be higher than that of the Xie and Zhang families. How come they're like this now, with no relatives left at all?!"