Han Shizu

Chapter 1294 Inspection
When the monarchs and ministers of the Liao Kingdom felt at a loss due to the increasingly unfavorable battle situation and the increasingly embarrassing situation, when they were thinking hard for a change, their real and biggest opponent, Emperor Liu, was on the way out according to the established plan .

Because it was a wartime, Emperor Liu went on a tour this time, practicing frugality and stopping any extravagance and waste, and the size of his entourage was also reduced, including concubines, princes, palace people, officials, and the army. The total number of people was more than [-]. .

It can be regarded as the least noisy tour, even in the first year of Qianyou, when Emperor Liu came to the throne, the western tour was more noisy than this time, after all, there was no such a large amount of publicity.

The first destination of this tour is Daming Mansion in Hebei.As the birthplace of the most powerful Jiedu Weibo Town in the feudal town era, Daming Mansion has also continued its splendor for hundreds of years. Although it was revoked as an "accompanying capital" more than ten years ago, it is still a big man. Hebei's political, economic, military and cultural center.

Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, after the Du Chongwei Rebellion, thanks to the increasingly stable and peaceful situation, as the capital of Hebei, the development of Daming Mansion has also made great strides forward.

Especially after the first Northern Expedition, after the recovery of Yanguan Mountain, the military pressure was reduced again, making it completely a hinterland, without fear of the Khitan, and its development in all aspects showed a blowout state.

In the northern part of the Great Han Dynasty, the Daming Mansion is undoubtedly the first mansion under the two capitals of the East and the West, and its comprehensive level far exceeds the three cities of Taiyuan, Youzhou, and Chang'an.

During the Northern Expedition, Daming Mansion also served as a major transit hub for the transfer of supplies and needs. Zhang Mei, who was in charge of the land and water transfer of the army, was stationed here to coordinate and dispatch.

The arrival of Emperor Liu has brought great pressure to the local officials, especially at this busy time, the pressure on the operation and scheduling of various affairs is extremely high. The busier you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes. If he is bumped into by the emperor who is on tour, it is likely to affect his official career.

Nanle Wharf is the largest wharf in Daming Mansion and even in the whole of Hebei. When it is fully loaded, it can berth [-] cargo ships at the same time.It was clear autumn, with cool winds and surging waves. The strong and wide trestle stretched straight into the canal. A large number of official ships and merchant ships came in and out frequently. On the pier, densely packed migrant workers were loading and unloading. scene.

On weekdays, the wharf is divided according to official use, civilian use, and freight and passenger transportation, but in wartime, there is only a difference between military and civilian uses, and military ships greatly reduce the throughput of Nanle Wharf.

At this time, accompanied by the transshipment envoy Zhang Mei and a small number of officials, Emperor Liu inspected Nanle Wharf.Surrounded by lively scenes, Emperor Liu didn't speak casually or ask questions, but just walked, watched, and remembered silently, which actually increased the pressure on Zhang Mei and the others.

Listening on a trestle bridge, looking at the paddle-moving official ships anchored on both sides, the hatches are wide open, and hundreds of civilian men are like ants, carrying goods towards the ship.

Finally, Emperor Liu pointed to the large and small packages of goods and asked, "What are these ships loaded with? Military supplies?"

Zhang Mei, who had been prepared for a long time, replied immediately: "Your Majesty, it is the winter clothes that the frontline army needs. The weather in the north is getting colder, and the Northern Expedition camp has also moved. Therefore, the Ministry of War purchases clothes and sends them to Liaodong to prepare for winter combat!"

"It's only early autumn, and you're already thinking about winter combat, making preparations in advance, and planning ahead, okay!" Emperor Liu smiled.

Scrutinizing his words and noticing that Emperor Liu's expression was not so cold, Zhang Mei breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately responded: "Returning to Your Majesty, the Liaodong war will end, and autumn is here, and winter is not far away!
The greatest difficulty Wang Shi faced in his battle in Liaodong was the severe winter, so he had to make early preparations.In addition to quilts, charcoal, charcoal, grease, gloves and other consumable materials to keep out the cold are also being transported to Liaodong in large quantities! "

"Everything is considered in advance. I have personally experienced the hardships of working in winter, and I feel deeply. In the bitter cold land of Liaodong, the soldiers of the Han Dynasty must not let the soldiers of the Han Dynasty brave the snow and cold to fight against the Khitan people!"

Nodding his head, Emperor Liu directly ordered two civilian husbands to carry a bundle of quilts to his face.Unpacking and taking out one of them at random, Emperor Liu squeezed it in his hand, with a flat face, and said: "These are all cotton clothes!"

"Exactly!" Zhang Mei replied, "These cotton clothes are all made by the factory in Daming Mansion. According to the report of Daming Mansion, the local factory can produce a thousand sets of cotton clothes and trousers every day!"

"One thousand sets, that's not a big amount!" Emperor Liu looked at the daimyo magistrate Tao Yan beside him, "It's such a big daimyo mansion, and it's worth the war. Is it a lack of people? Or a lack of money?"

Emperor Liu's question made Tao Yan feel quite pressured, and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, there is still money in the treasury, but there is a lack of skilled craftsmen, coupled with insufficient materials such as cotton cloth and cotton wool, so the production Insufficient output. If these two problems are solved, the output will increase greatly!"

"Oh? Then how do you plan to solve it?" Emperor Liu asked directly.

"This, this." Tao Yan hesitated a bit.

Seeing his embarrassment, Zhang Mei opened his mouth to relieve him, saying: "Your Majesty, military cotton clothing is mainly produced in Liangjing and Henan Province, and the Daming Mansion only accounts for a small part. Although the imperial court has vigorously promoted cotton planting and Cotton is used, but the overall output is not much. During the Northern Expedition, military cotton clothes are mostly produced in Henan, where materials can be obtained nearby and transported to Liaodong by sea! In addition, hundreds of thousands of troops are not all made of cotton clothes in winter. , silk and linen fabrics still account for a large part!"

"It seems that we still need to vigorously promote it!" Emperor Liu sighed.

In fact, after more than ten years of development, the use of cotton in Dahan has made great progress. The folk cotton textile technology is improving, and the government and the people are also interested in various cotton textiles. Various products are also in short supply. .However, what restricts its development lies in the insufficient production.

Nodding his head, Emperor Liu accepted this statement, and did not embarrass Tao Yu about this matter, and let the two civilian men whose work was delayed continue to work, and asked instead: "How many people are involved in unloading at this port? ?”

Tao Yan obviously hesitated, under the attention of Emperor Liu, he tremblingly said: "Return to Your Majesty, there are about thousands of people!"

"Thousands of people." Emperor Liu showed a cold smile on his face, and looked at Zhang Mei: "Zhang Qing, do you know how many thousands of people are there?"

Zhang Mei couldn't help being a little speechless about Tao Yan's performance, but she didn't dare to be negligent when she heard about it, and said: "The sources of people's power on the wharf are complicated. More than [-] people."

"So many people?" Emperor Liu frowned.

Zhang Meidao: "On weekdays, of course there would be no need for so many people. However, during wartime, the demand for labor is huge. It is necessary to maintain the speed of loading and unloading to save time. There are also many people who are willing to come to earn money."

"Zhang Qing, you are in charge of the logistics of the army. You have heavy affairs, so you don't have to accompany me, go get busy!" Hearing this, Emperor Liu waved his hand and said to Zhang Mei.

"Retire!" the emperor said, and Zhang Mei respectfully said goodbye.

Before leaving, he exchanged glances with the daimyo magistrate Tao Yan and gave him a self-seeking look, while Tao Yan had a bitter face and was even more disturbed in his heart.No matter how dull he was, he could still feel Emperor Liu's dissatisfaction with him.

"Sit!" After Zhang Mei left, Emperor Liu sat directly by the trestle bridge, patted his side, and motioned for Tao Yan.

"I dare not!" Normally, it would be a great honor, but now, Tao Yan was extremely nervous.

"If you are told to sit, you can sit! Do you think the storefront is too dirty and stain your Tao Zhifu's robes?" Emperor Liu said softly.

"Your Majesty is serious! I dare not!" Tao Yan blushed, sweating on his forehead, and sat down with Emperor Liu in a panic. His legs were soft and he almost fell into the water.

Regarding his embarrassing performance, Emperor Liu frowned obviously, but the corners of his mouth still had a slight curvature, and asked flatly: "Tao Yu, how long have you been in the Daming Mansion?"

"Back to Your Majesty, it's been almost three years!"

"Three years, that's not too short!" Emperor Liu smiled lightly: "How many officials are there under the Daming Mansion? How many people? How many males? How many acres of land? How much is the summer tax this year? How much is the commercial tax?"

Facing the series of questions from Emperor Liu, he was probably too nervous, so Tao Yan hesitated for a long time, his lips trembling, and just answered.

Seeing this, Emperor Liu smiled even more, and said in a deep voice, "This is what you are, how many do you know when you ask?"

Without waiting for him to answer, Emperor Liu said leisurely: "Your father is an old minister of the great man, and he has served me more than 20 years. I am quite sad when he passed away this year. You have worked hard for the livelihood and well-being of hundreds of thousands of people in the Daming Mansion. I don’t have time for filial piety, so it’s a bit inappropriate! I heard that you didn’t go back to your hometown for mourning in order to support the Northern Expedition? I think you can let go of your errands and go to your father’s grave to pay homage.”

"Your Majesty, my minister, my minister is guilty!" Tao Yan almost cried and was at a loss as to what to do.But seeing Emperor Liu's already cold expression, he also knew that his official career had probably come to an end.

Tao Yu is the eldest son of the late Xuanwei envoy Tao Gu, who died of illness this year.

(End of this chapter)