Chinese New Year

Chapter 644 Tribute and Envoys

"Hey-ho! Hey-ho!" The calls came one after another, and logs were lifted up one by one and piled up in the designated location.

A little further away, black smoke rose into the sky. That was the official kiln burning, specializing in making blue bricks and tiles.

There are words on the fired rectangular bricks, saying "Nanzhen official bricks".

As the name suggests, this means that the Nanguan Kiln of the Zhenguan Office in Luoyang was brought here with people and tools. A new Dongguan Kiln was even set up in Bianliang to produce bricks with the words "Dongzhenguan Brick".

There are more words on the tiles. In addition to the words of Zhen's office, there are also a lot of words with auspicious meanings, such as "Gao'an Wanshi" and so on.

Thanks to their efforts, more and more buildings with mixed structures of brick, stone, earth and wood beautified the desolate land of Bianliang.

The personnel for building the palace also increased from the original 10,000-plus Shi Le captives to a large number of refugees from Hedong and Hebei.

Although it was said that there was no war in the tenth year of Yongjia, the consumption was actually quite high. It was just that the money and grain had been planned long ago.

Because the rivers were frozen in winter, the money and food supplies from other places could not be transported in, so the repair of the palace could only rely on the materials that had been stored before. But it was already the twelfth month, and it was almost time to end it.

Initially, construction work would be completely stopped in the middle and late part of the twelfth lunar month to allow the captives and refugees to celebrate the New Year, and construction would not resume until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Most of the rooms in Guanfeng Hall have not been completed yet, but the main hall has been completed and will be used as the venue for this year's New Year's Day celebrations.

The main hall of Huangnu Palace located to the north of Guanfeng Hall has disappeared, but many side halls have been renovated. Except for a part set aside for living, most of them are used as warehouses and office spaces.

The Duzhi Cao and Dianzhong Cao had their offices here.

On the day of the twelfth lunar month, the Minister of the Chancellery Pei Miao, the Minister of Revenue Yin Xian, and the Minister of the Palace Cai Cheng did not take a day off, but instead took a group of lower-level assistants to register tribute.

"Weishi County, Chenliu Prefecture, 20 rolls of silk and 10 mats."

"Linqiu County, Puyang Prefecture, ten pieces of white silk and twenty kilograms of dried dates."

"Meng County, Liang Prefecture, 100 catties of cotton and 20 catties of dried persimmons."

"Wei County, Dongqiu Prefecture, 60 catties of silk and 30 lamb skins."

"Anyang County, Wei Commandery, thirty rolls of yarn, fifty jins of windproof cloth, and one hundred rolls of white linen."

"Ye County, Wei Commandery, ten rolls of colored satin, ten fine horses, and fifty deerskins.

"Xinxi County, Runan Prefecture, forty pieces of hemp cloth and two pieces of tortoise shell."

……

The county and prefecture officials who had arrived earlier handed in their gift lists, and the lower-level officials of the Duzhi Cao kept recording and copying them, while others were counting the items in the warehouse.

The quantity is not much, just a token of appreciation. Moreover, it is a genuine local specialty, not some precious thing that the local area cannot afford. In fact, if Shao Xun had not personally ordered it, many counties and prefectures would have wanted to produce auspicious signs such as auspicious wheat, white rabbits, and lotus flowers, which would have been too much.

In addition to county officials, generals and captains of military garrisons in some important locations also sent people to deliver gifts.

He Lun sent fifty pieces of white linen, five pounds of wax, and Chaoge County sent one hundred pieces, plus three jars of honey, which were all loaded onto a truck and shipped over.

Pei Miao and Yin Xian looked at each other for a long time, their faces becoming more and more rosy.

Coming from aristocratic families, they did not place much emphasis on these riches - well, ten counties combined were a lot - what they saw more was a momentum of prosperity.

The Liang State was like the rising sun, full of vitality, which made them very excited.

"Please ask Minister Cai to send troops to escort the tribute to the palace for storage." Pei Miao turned around and said.

"It's my job, so there's no need to ask for anything." Cai Cheng bowed and said.

Pei Miao laughed and said nothing more.

As one of his six subordinates, Pei Miao had some understanding of Cai Cheng.

This man was born into a poor family in Guangling and had fallen to the point where he had to take care of farm work himself. Naturally, he did not have much talent. It could only be said that he had more literary talent than those student officials of Lord Liang, but it was limited.

There was another official in the palace named Li Deguang, a native of Nanjun. He also came from a poor family and had served as a personal soldier of Lord Liang together with Cai Cheng. Now he had also been promoted.

It is probably a set strategy to employ people of humble origins.

Pei Miao felt helpless about this.

He was worried that his position as the Shangshu Ling would eventually be sidelined by the Shangshu and Lingshi of various departments who came from humble or powerful backgrounds.

Fortunately, Lord Liang is currently only promoting such people in the Palace Cao and the Five Military Caos, and has not yet involved the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Left, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Agriculture, leaving a place for the gentry to enjoy themselves.

But he clearly felt that the competition he faced as an official in Liang State was more intense than that in Jin State.

This made many scholars who usually did not study hard but were dissolute and tried to rely on family connections to enter officialdom feel unprecedented pressure - there were fewer official positions left for the gentry, and internal competition became fierce, so many bad people were squeezed out and had no chance to stand out.

In addition, the ten counties of Liang State have been surveying the land and population. Over time, the income of the gentry will decrease, and they will no longer be able to live a life of luxury as usual.

One falling leaf heralds the coming of autumn. Now it is only the beginning, but Pei Miao has already felt the chill that penetrates his bones.

After the tribute was counted, Cai Cheng selected five hundred soldiers to transport it away in horse and ox carts.

These 500 people are palace guards, generally young, most of them are not even 20 years old, most of them are sons of soldiers and generals, they are loyal enough, their abilities may not be very strong, but they still have room for growth. Moreover, palace guards need to be diligent and careful, not skilled, they are different from field troops.

"Today's work is done, let's go home and celebrate the festival." Pei Miao waved his sleeves, turned and left.

Yin Xian smiled and left as well.

******
In addition to the envoys from Liang State, many states and towns also sent envoys to Bianliang. The one that surprised Shao Xun the most was Mi Ping, the envoy sent by Mi Huang, his youngest son. The arrival of Mi Ping startled Shao Xun, who was reuniting with his parents, wife and children. He immediately took time to meet him and called his brother Mi Zhi over as well.

"How is Zihui?" Shao Xun asked repeatedly, holding Mi Ping's hand.

"My father is in good health. I was overjoyed to hear about Lord Liang's feudal affairs." Mi Ping replied.

Shao Xun was somewhat emotional and said, "After the Qingzhou matter is settled, I must let Zihui come to Bianliang to share the wealth and prosperity with us."

The Mi brothers were somewhat moved after hearing this.

Whether it was false or true, Mr. Liang really cared about their father.

All of Lord Liang's old brothers hold official positions. Even the illiterate Wu Qian is now an eighth-rank pastor, and his children and grandchildren also hold official positions. After three generations, wouldn't Donghai Kingdom have a Wu family?

"Zihui, do you have anything to say?" Shao Xun asked as he took the letter handed to him by Mi Ping.

"My father only wishes that Lord Liang will be in good health. The world cannot do without Lord Liang." Mi Ping said.

Shao Xun stopped opening the letter, and after a long silence, he sighed, "Zi Hui knows me."

The Mi brothers looked at each other secretly.

They saw the word "kindness" in Mr. Liang.

The affection between a ruler and his subjects is the most luxurious and precious.

Before the friendship is exhausted, no matter how big the problem is, it can be resolved in the end.

When the friendship is gone, it's just business as usual.

My father met Mr. Liang when they were both poor, and he took good care of him. Over the years, my father never asked Mr. Liang for anything, and this kindness has always existed.

The creation of man is truly beyond words.

After Shao Xun expressed his feelings, he opened the letter and read it carefully.

Half of Mi Huang's letter was about reminiscing about the past, and the rest was mostly about matters concerning Qingzhou and Xuzhou, which involved the allocation of a lot of troops, equipment, money and food, as well as the problems exposed by the officials in charge. Therefore, many times, officials were really afraid of such people who could write directly to the supreme leader, as they were too lethal.

After reading it, Shao Xun had only one feeling: Mi Huang still wanted to achieve something great.

He pointed out that the situation in the north was already decided and the people in Cao Wei were in a panic.

The soldiers who had been subdued by his force were quick-witted and had a strong desire to welcome the royal army.

He believed that Jianye might create some obstacles, such as launching an offensive in the Huai River area. However, the scale of such support would not be too large, because Sima Rui could not get strong support from the Jiangdong nobles in this matter.

He suggested defending the south and attacking the north, and he led the tribes of the East China Sea nobles such as the Mi, Wang, Xu, and He families as the backbone, conscripted young men, went north from Langya, crossed the Daxian Mountain, and went straight to Linqu and Guanggu.

When Shao Xun saw this part, he had a strong sense of déjà vu...

After putting away the letter, Shao Xun thought about it and felt unsure about his old superior's military ability - he was a kind man, but not a decisive military strategist.

Perhaps, he needs to be equipped with some capable fighting troops and generals.

"What are your opinions on the affairs of Qingzhou?" Shao Xun asked, as he had the idea of ​​making use of the children of the Mi family.

"My lord, on the day of the twelfth lunar month, people from all directions came to congratulate us. The scholars of Qingzhou can see this kind of might. If we use both suppression and appeasement, we will surely defeat them." Mi Zhi said.

"In recent months, some people from the Wang family of Chengyang have sailed south with their families, and some have been lured by the Wang family of Langya and the Yang family of Taishan to be their accomplices." Mi Ping came from the East China Sea, so he naturally knew more news than Mi Zhi. He only heard him say, "Le'an Guangyi is a former official of the Yue Prefecture. He was not satisfied after crossing the river to the south, so he returned to the north and had many contacts with my father. Le'an Sun is Queen Hui——"

At this point, Mi Ping decisively shut up and continued, "The Feng family in Beihai, the Meng family in Chengyang and other clans are all dissatisfied with Cao Yi and have been waiting for the royal army for a long time. I am willing to lead the way."

"How do you think we should fight?" Shao Xun asked.

"Send all the elite soldiers and generals to Qingzhou and defeat them with the force of a mountain crushing down on their heads." Mi Ping replied.

"Oh?" Shao Xun asked with great interest, "Since there are so many insiders and guides, why do you need to mobilize so many elite troops?"

"It is precisely because of the internal support that we need to mobilize heavy troops. The faster we fight, the faster Cao Wei's morale will be lost, and the easier it will be later." Mi Ping said: "If we don't have heavy troops, we can't fight. Even if there is an internal support, it will be easy for Cao Wei to react and respond calmly. The fight will drag on for a long time, and the cost and casualties will be incalculable."

"Interesting." Shao Xun looked at Mi Ping and said with a smile, "Which troops do you think should be transferred?"

"When I arrived in Bianliang, I saw many Hu people from Hebei coming to congratulate me. My Lord, you may want to mobilize a large number of cavalry. The Tianshi Daoists are very afraid of the armored cavalry of the Xianbei. If you charge them a few times, they will be defeated."

Shao Xun laughed loudly after hearing this, then looked at Mi Zhi and said, "Your brother's talent and learning are not inferior to yours."

Mi Zhi was a little embarrassed.

Mr. Liang's unintentional words made him feel quite pressured, and even dissipated a lot of his joy at his younger brother's arrival.

He was even a little jealous of his younger brother because he was too talented.

Shao Xun didn't care what he thought, and said to the two brothers Mi Zhi and Mi Ping: "Would you like to go with me to meet the generals and chieftains of the Hu people?"

……

While Shao Xun was busy planning the Qingzhou war, Yang Kai, the envoy of Taishan Yang clan, was still lingering in Guanggu City.

On the day of the twelfth lunar month, Cao Wei held a banquet and invited Yang Kai.

(I'm a bit busy today, so I may not be able to update more chapters. Let's start from tomorrow, there won't be any less.)
(End of this chapter)