The Rise of the Cold Gate in the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Chapter 171 The East Wind is Coming
Xu Miao couldn't figure it out, but in just over a dozen days, Lanling City changed drastically. The west wall was knocked down, and a large number of peasants were pounding the foundation with hammers. The rumbling sound was like a rainy day. thunder.

One mile away from the west city wall, you can see a tall wooden frame, which is being tied up by vigorous peasants. It is three or forty feet high, and there is a vague outline of the new city wall. Even the sunset in the west is covered. What a big piece.

"Such a big effort, is he going to build Jiankang?" Xu Miao was shocked. What was even more shocking was that Xiao Qinzhi didn't know what method he used to summon so many peasants. The consumption of grain and grass in a single day was one A huge expense.

Xu Miao quickened his feet and rushed towards the city. All the way along, there were construction scenes in full swing. The west gate was blocked, so he had to turn to the south gate to enter the city, but he was surprised again at the gate of the city.

At the south gate, there was a large group of civilian husbands who had come to recruit. At a glance, there were at least thousands of people, all of them in ragged clothes, yellow and thin, and many of them were old people with walking sticks and children who didn't know much about the world. Many women and children.

Under the city wall on the other side, large pots were set up and porridge was being boiled. The smell of food made these refugees look fierce, and their stomachs were burning with hunger. If there were no soldiers in leather armor, they might have been killed. If you disperse, you will be robbed.

These refugees crowded at the gate of the city with their families, staring at the food hungry. Fortunately, several teams of sergeants shouted loudly to maintain order. Book, every time a person is recorded, they can get a bowl of porridge.

It’s just that the speed of registering couldn’t keep up with the temptation of food. Gradually, a restlessness spread in the team, because someone fell to the ground dying of hunger, and someone shouted: “Can you give him a bowl of food first? Save your life."

The team was going up to check and was about to order a bowl of porridge. Seeing this, the team immediately fell down. The team pulled out a knife righteously, and reprimanded: "You troublesome people, what do you want? Don't you think Can you get this one bite and fall down?"

"Thinking beautiful!"

"God does not grant useless people, let you register and make books, it is to restore the status of the people, to become a citizen of the Great Jin Dynasty, to be supported by work, and to pass on the family. Once you become a citizen of the Great Jin Dynasty, you must guard According to Jin’s rules, registration and bookkeeping, construction of new towns, and in the spring of next year, the county government will allocate land to each household, and there will be no tax for two years.”

"You were born and bred in the deep mountains and wild forests, with little clothing and no food to eat. Now that you have a bright future, don't break the rules just for this one bite of food."

The team was being reprimanded with sticks and sticks, which made many people understand Lanling's new policy, and the team's face was immediately cleared. The few people who fell down also got up, and only one or two people were still paralyzed on the ground, cursing: :
"It's all a lie. We promised to eat as soon as we arrived. We waited for so long and didn't see a bite."

Another person said: "Big fellows, don't listen to their lies. As soon as the Yan army arrives, they will leave. We will be the ones who will suffer."

The team leader was also unambiguous, took a cold look, and immediately called a few sergeants, and ordered: "Drive these two people away, if you don't listen to orders, you will be killed in twenty steps."

Seeing that the situation was not right, the two people who fell on the ground got up in a hurry and wanted to escape. They jumped back and forth in the line, knocking them all over the place, and finally they were pushed to the ground by the sergeant and dragged away from the line.

These two people are obviously here to make trouble, they are lively and vigorous, and they walk vigorously. It can also be seen from the complexion that if they are not full, they are thin and yellow, their eye sockets are sunken, and they are weak and bloodless. Although their complexions are yellow, they are full. They are not eating An unsatisfied refugee, but a servant in Wubao around Lanling.

Since Xiao Qinzhi sent hundreds of teams to recruit refugees from the surrounding mountains, he even brought many refugees who were originally affiliated to Wubao to support their families with work and distribute land. The temptation is too great .

The refugees were all recruited by Xiao Qinzhi, so Wubao was naturally unwilling. They really needed this kind of refugees who could work tirelessly as long as they could eat and drink. There is no need to worry about life and death, so a large number of refugees gathered in the surrounding mountains.

Lanling had just defeated the Yan army. There were many armored men in the city and their morale was strong. These Wubao dared not offend them, but they couldn't sit back and watch the refugees escape, so they could only use some small damage tactics.

Those two troublemakers were dragged twenty steps away, and they were dealt with on the spot, which shocked the whole team, even though there must be people from Wubao hidden in the team, they didn't dare to make trouble anymore.

As soon as Xu Miao returned to Lanling, he saw blood. The Zhao brothers were fine. They walked from the Great Northwest to Jiangzuo. They had seen many dead people along the way, and they were already immune. However, Xiao Yao and Man Gu who had never seen bloody scenes , but was frightened unclear.

There was a sound of horseshoes in the city, and a group of cavalry rushed out from the gate of the city. Zhou Lie put on his armor and bowed his back. When he saw Xu Miao and a group of people, he immediately pulled up the reins and stopped, turned over and dismounted, and said happily: "Mr. Come back so soon? Xiao Lang is thinking about you every day, thinking that you can come from his old family, and he has to do everything by himself, and he is almost exhausted."

Zhou Lie looked around stupidly, and saw that there were only Zhao brothers, Xiao Yao and Man Gu accompanying him, and asked curiously, "Mr. Xu Lang, where is he?"

Xu Miao laughed awkwardly, changed the subject, and asked, "Where are you going?"

Zhou Lie said: "Oh, I received a report from the spies, saying that someone set up a card on the road to intercept the refugees, and Xiao Lang asked me to lead a team to clean them up."

Xu Miao nodded and said, "Go ahead, pay attention."

Zhou Lie patted the scimitar on his waist, and said to himself: "Don't worry, I'm not afraid of Yan Kou, I can still be afraid of them." He said again: "Mr. Wu Lang, Zhao Da Zhao Er, Man Gu, wait for me to come back. Hit a few wild game for extra meal at night."

Xiao Yao said with a silly smile, "Ah Lie, be careful on the road."

The Zhao brothers nodded in respect, with envy in their eyes, especially looking at Zhou Lie's golden armor and the sturdy military horses.

For more than ten days, a simple county mansion has been built in the city. Finally, there is an office space. There is an endless stream of people coming and going. The counting room is the busiest. Write-off consumption is a big project.

There were four accountants in total, and the leader was an old man with green shirt and white beard named Mugong, who was proficient in classics and good at arithmetic, and lived in seclusion in the mountains of Lanling. Xiao Qinzhi learned from Xiao Yue that there was such a capable person, so Going out in person, first convinced the other party with arithmetic, then drew a big cake, and finally hired the county government as an servant.

With the expansion of the urban construction scale and the recruitment of more and more refugees, the rate of material loss is astonishing. It should have been able to drink food and grass for three months, but now it is less than a month. Although Xiao Qinzhi repeatedly assured that there is absolutely a way, but Mugong was still worried.

"Xiao Xiaolang, are you here?" Mu Gong shouted outside the door.

"Yes, Mr. Mu, come in." Sitting in front of a table, Xiao Qinzhi started to build an exquisite scale model of Lanling City. house model.

As soon as Mu Gong entered the house, he was attracted by this city model, suppressed his curiosity, and urged: "Xiao Xiaolang, the surplus food in the city is less than one month, you have to come up with a solution as soon as possible."

"Oh, I sent someone to Pengcheng yesterday, and it will only take a few days to get to Lanling, so there will be no delay." Xiao Qinzhi vowed.

If you go to Pengcheng, you will naturally go to the land snake Xun's family. The Xun's family has accepted such a big favor from Xiao Qinzhi before, but it is just some grain, let alone buy it at the same price, so there is no reason not to sell it.

"That's only enough to buy what we need for a month. Lanling City spends money like water every day, and the accounts can't be paid. It's not a solution." Mu Gong said worriedly.

Xiao Qinzhi stopped his movements, poured a cup of tea for Mr. Mu, and comforted him: "Everything is ready, the only thing I owe is Dongfeng. Don't worry, Mr. Mu. I will get you a large sum of money within a month."

"Xiao Xiaolang, don't be lying. You have to give me an idea today. On that day, you would persuade the little old man to become an official. You said you would help the people in distress, and save the people of Li from fire and water. You said that everyone can eat enough and wear clothes." Nuan. Now the people in the countryside are all throwing themselves at Lanling, and the number is increasing day by day. If there is insufficient food and grass, it will cause anger and resentment, and if there is not enough food, it will be a man-made disaster. The little old man must not agree."

Accountants seem to be more willing to believe in numbers, because numbers are not deceiving. Mr. Mu stared straight at Xiao Qinzhi, as if he would not give up without giving an explanation, which angered Xiao Qinzhi. belly laugh.

For people like Mu Gong, the more the better, Xiao Qinzhi said patiently: "Mu Lao, don't worry, since I have recruited people, I won't starve them, please trust me to get the food."

Mu Gong asked with a wrinkled face, "How do you get the food?"

Xiao Qinzhi said: "Of course I bought it with money."

"How did you get the money?"

"Earn."

"Who earned it?"

"Whoever has money earns it."

These days, it is difficult for ordinary people to earn enough food and clothing, they have no money to fish for, and looking around Lanling, counting the rich people, it is naturally those Wubao, if you want to make money, you have to make money from them.

People who are stupid and have a lot of money are talking about them.

Mugong asked again: "How do you make money?"

In the land of Lanling, people have changed one crop after another, only these Wubaos are still there, all of them are rich and rich, and the fortifications are strong. If you want to attack, it is a bad deal, and it will be ruined. If you want to earn their money, you have to be willing, and you have to use your ideas and wisdom.

The most famous person in Lanling is not the King of Lanling, and it has not yet reached the era when he came out. Lanling wine has always been famous in the world, and it used to be a special offering for the royal family. These Wubao families brewed fine wine, and because of the troubled times, Lanling fine wine could not be delivered. Jiankang, the opportunity has come.

Xiao Qinzhi planned to organize Jiangzuo merchants to purchase these fine wines, and then transport them to Jiankang for sale. However, Jiankang people have not drunk Lanling fine wines for many years, so they need to advertise the wines.

In ancient times, if you want to advertise an object, the best way is for a well-known celebrity to write a poem or an article dedicated to this object. For example, Li Bai has a poem "Fireworks under Yangzhou in March", Yangzhou has been advertised for thousands of years, and everyone in the land of China knows it.

Another example is because of "The Legend of the White Snake", the West Lake in Hangzhou is famous far and wide. Otherwise, there are thousands of lakes beside the Qiantang River. Why do literati and poets in ancient times only love the West Lake? Is the Slender West Lake in Yangzhou not as beautiful as the West Lake?
It just so happens that the title of Xiao Qinzhi's poem is very big right now, and it belongs to the one-of-a-kind kind. Every time a poem is written, it will be passed down by the people of the time. If Xiao Qinzhi wrote a poem specifically for Lanling Fine Wine, it would be a big deal. .

It happened that Li Bai drank the Lanling fine wine and left a masterpiece: "Lanling fine wine tulips, amber light from the jade bowl. But it makes the owner drunk, and I don't know where is another land."

So, it's basically done.

Wine, like tea, belongs to high-end luxury consumption, not something ordinary people can consume. The production of clear tea has increased by an unknown amount this year. The tea in the entire Wujin area has been acquired by the Xiao family, and the supply is still in short supply. However, if Lanling's fine wine is sold to Jiankang , There must be no shortage of big spenders.

A businessman seeks profit, and once he tastes the sweetness, he will take the initiative to buy Lanling wine. What Xiao Qinzhi has to do is to make a difference first, and then increase the wine tax later. It's not something ordinary people can afford.

Then use the money I earned to buy food in nearby Wubao, which saves shipping costs, reduces losses, and makes friends with people for nothing.

However, do you think this is the end?

hum!And listen carefully.

This is a serial conspiracy, or an overt conspiracy.

Once these Wubao people have tasted the huge profits brought by wine making, they will increase the amount of wine brewing, and the raw material for winemaking is grain. After the grain in Wubao is consumed, they will come out to purchase, and naturally they will come to Lanling to buy.

In this way, the consumption chain for them to come to Lanling City is formed, and it is no longer a state of self-sufficiency in supply and demand. The hard shell of Wubao was pried open by capital. When their food needs to be bought outside, it means that their The power of life and death is not in their own hands.

On the other hand, Lanling Liquor has formed an industrial chain.

When a part of Wubao specializes in winemaking and has tasted the sweetness, they will give up the slow income brought by the land, so the demand for refugees will not be high, which is exactly Xiao Qinzhi's wish.

Let these Wubao obediently be the tools of wine making in the future!

In this way, the commercial layout of Lanling City is completed. Xiao Qinzhi can collect taxes with one hand and comfort the people with the other.

This conspiracy is a series of plots, one ring after another, seamlessly, and it is completely impossible to see that there is any conspiracy in it. After all, Wubao winemaking earns real money, which cannot be doubted, so when Xiao Qinzhi communicated this plan with Mu Gong After talking in detail, Mu Gong was shocked as a man of heaven, and his skin got goosebumps, not because of this plan, but because of Xiao Qin's scheming at such a young age.

In this era of the weak and the strong, only the strong are bound by benevolence and morality, while the weak are only treated with bloody knives. Xiao Qinzhi understood this truth when Jiankang was framed by Xi Xuan.

Therefore, to recruit the refugees, Wu Bao sent people to make trouble, Xiao Qinzhi mercilessly ordered to kill chickens and monkeys, and someone blocked the way to prevent the refugees from coming, Xiao Qin ordered Zhou Lie to lead the cavalry to strangle them.

"Everything is ready, the only thing we need is the east wind, where is the east wind?" Mu Gong weighed for a long time, but he still approved of Xiao Qinzhi's approach. Compared with the common people in Liming, it is better to let those Wu Bao be a wine maker.

Suddenly there was a report from outside the door that Xu Miao had returned.

Xiao Qinzhi got up and said with a smile: "The east wind is coming."

(End of this chapter)