Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 543 The deep meaning of the King of Yue

Changda looked around and suddenly saw a commotion at the city gate. Many people ran over. Changda didn't have time to think about it and pulled his two sons to run over.

There is work, it must be the master who is assigning it!

When he ran over, he saw a group of people surrounding a carriage and asking the coachman all kinds of questions.

Changda's youngest son saw that the man was a one-eyed man with one eye blinded as if by some sharp weapon and a fierce look on his face. He was so scared that he clutched the corner of his father's clothes and hid behind Changda.

Changda was also a little scared and wanted to step back.

Someone nearby kindly explained to the father and son, "Don't be afraid, these are the wounded soldiers who retreated from Hangu Pass. They have made contributions."

Changda and his two sons finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After the great victory at Hangu Pass, they signed a fifty-year peace agreement with the Western Rong, not only agreeing to non-aggression, but also paying countless silver and livestock as compensation to the Great Qi. They admired the soldiers who defended their country.

"Big brother, what is this doing? Why are you all surrounding him?"

"You are from another place, right?"

Changda nodded. The man had seen many outsiders like Changda looking for work, so he kindly introduced him to some...

After the war, the King of Yue opened a trade market outside Hangu Pass, and countless merchants came from all over to do business. In the early spring of this year, the northwestern cities reclaimed wasteland again, and both the common people and the northwestern army were hoarding land.

Whether it was shops or fields, there was a shortage of people everywhere in the northwestern cities. Seeing that it was inconvenient to travel between the cities, the King of Yue formed a caravan and sent people to various cities to recruit people and send them to the cities that needed people to do work.

In addition to these soldiers, there are also many private horse and ox carts that do the work. But people from other places who come to look for work prefer to wait for the carts pulled by these soldiers. For those who are unfamiliar with the place, it is safer to ride in the carts of these soldiers, and they are not afraid of being cheated.

So as soon as the car appeared, people surrounded it.

Changda's eyes lit up, and he felt that the one-eyed soldier looked kinder, "So where is this train taking people to?"

"Each city has such carts pulled by soldiers, which travel between the two cities once every hour. There are no more carts after 3 p.m. These carts go to Pingluo City ahead. However, these carts are more expensive than ordinary carts."

"Thank you, big brother." After hearing this, Changda also pulled his two sons over.

Hearing that it would cost fifty coins per person to get to Pingluo City ahead, Changda's eldest son was reluctant to spend the money. The three of them would cost one hundred and fifty coins! His father worked odd jobs outside and only earned a few hundred coins a month.

He held his father and said, "Dad, why don't we take those ox carts? It can save a lot of copper coins."

Those only cost thirty cents per person.

The youngest son nodded as well. His father couldn't bear to eat even the bread, so now he had to pay 150 coins, and he felt a little pain in his heart.

Changda advised his two sons: "When you are away from home and are unfamiliar with the place, safety is the most important thing."

Then he motioned his son to go and see...

Other drivers were also doing the work, but they didn't have the horses that were plundered from the army, they were all using donkeys or cows, which were not as fast as horses. Besides, the driver was a soldier, so he must have some martial arts skills, so who would dare to touch him?

Aren’t you afraid of retaliation from the Northwest Army?
"Save small amounts of money so that you can make big money." Changda taught his two sons.

The two sons nodded, and finally, while others were still bargaining, Changda led his two sons to buy three seats.

Soon the car was full and started moving. It took two and a half hours to take them to Pingluo City.

When they arrived at Pingluo City, the father and his two sons heard people talking about how a high-yield seed was being planted in Hualong County, which was closest to Hangu City. The seed was provided by the King of Yue, and there was a severe shortage of workers in the fields. Even the guard camp was short of workers, and the wages were high.

Changda gritted his teeth and led his two sons to get on the carriage heading to the city ahead.

After traveling all the way and using up almost all the money they brought, they finally arrived in Hualong County. The father and his two sons were afraid that they would not be able to find work and would have no money to live on, so they refused to eat more dry food in order to save a few copper coins.

Fortunately, the father and his two sons were lucky.

As soon as they arrived in Hualong City, they were taken away by a wealthy family who was looking for laborers. The three of them were taken care of. They also asked for a high price for the labor, Changda was paid one tael of silver a month, and his two sons each paid a high price of 700 coins!

The father and his two sons were very surprised, but they were a little hesitant as they were afraid of being cheated given such a high salary.

The man said, "Ask the gatekeepers. They all know where I am from. If I dare to lie to you, I will die. If I dare to lie to you, foreigners who have worked so hard to find a job, the King of Yue will not forgive me."

The people around him testified that the King of Yue had given them a kind of grain seed, which was most suitable for the land in the northwest and could yield seven or eight shi of grain. Now every household had received the seed and was eager to start working.

One mu of land can yield seven or eight shi! Wouldn't the family have to build a granary to store so much food?

At first, everyone was skeptical, but the King of Yue said that the Northwest Army would buy back the uneaten food at a high price. What was there to doubt now? What did the millions of Northwest soldiers lack? Food!
Could the King of Yue cheat them with something like food?
Now they all hate that their parents didn't give them a few more hands. There is no one to do the work in the fields, and there are still too few people in the family. Every day, countless people go to the city gate to wait for odd jobs. They all offer high prices to snatch people.

There was no need for bargaining; Changda and his two sons were noticed as soon as they appeared.

Changda also benefited from his decision for the rest of his life. He traveled through several cities and finally arrived at Hualong County, the closest to Hangu City, where he spent all the copper coins he brought with him.

Not only has he found a high-paying job now, but his whole family will also benefit from the decision he made in the future.

Later, the master's family had more work to do and was short of workers, so Changda returned to his hometown and brought his wife and daughter over. The family of five worked on the land for the master, with food and lodging provided, and they could save four or five taels of wages a month!

After the crops were planted, they found other jobs in the city. When the crops were harvested, they helped farmers collect the crops. Before the snow fell in winter, the family had saved more than 20 taels of silver!

A huge sum of money never before seen.

In winter, I heard that because the northwest was vast and sparsely populated, the King of Yue encouraged people who came here to work to stay. If they settled down, each male adult would be given five mu of good farmland and two mu of residential land, all for free.

If they stayed, Changda and his two sons would have 15 mu of land, which was much better than the two mu of thin land in their hometown! Their daughter could also find a family with land and live a life with enough food.

Changda stayed in the northwest without any hesitation. After a few years, he became a wealthy man in the area. There are many people like Changda.

Of course, this is something.

After spring plowing began in the northwest, Zhao Guangyuan took out potato seeds and tried planting them in the four cities closest to Hangu City. He also ordered half of the military fields in the guard camp to be planted with potatoes and the other half to be planted with cotton.

He also bought a large piece of land near Hangu City to grow watermelons.

At first, the county magistrate of Hangu City heard that the King of Yue wanted to buy land, so he personally came to the palace with a fish scale book to ask the King of Yue to enclose the land. Most of the land around Hangu City was sand mixed with stones, and except for some weeds, it was impossible to grow food.

Unexpectedly, the King of Yue took a fancy to this kind of land. Seeing that no one wanted to buy it, he enclosed a large piece of it, more than ten hectares, and insisted on paying for it.

The entire northwest belonged to the King of Yue, so how could the county magistrate dare to accept money? But Zhao Guangyuan refused, saying that this was his private land and buying it with money was a normal transaction.

Wu Kangan, the magistrate of Hangucheng County, had a bitter face.

Hangu City is a border city. Unlike those cities in the Central Plains where civil officials are in charge, Hangu City has always been ruled by military generals. He, the county magistrate, has always been a figurehead.

Guarding such a shabby place, the population has been declining sharply year by year, the grain in the fields can't be increased by a bucket, and there has been no contribution. I haven't moved out for all these years.

He finally thought he could flatter the King of Yue and curry his favor, but the King of Yue acted in a businesslike manner and didn't give him any chance to get close to him. He felt miserable.

Zhao Guangyuan glanced at him and said, "I am going to plant watermelons in the fields. Would Magistrate Wu like to buy some land and plant watermelons as well? I will provide the seeds."

Zhao Guangyuan couldn't go back to the capital now, and he didn't know how long he would stay in Hangu City, so he thought about getting along well with these civil servants.

If there is a military attack in Hangu Pass in the future, Hangu City will bear the brunt of the attack, as it is the logistics supply base of the army. In order to provide the army with various military supplies, it is necessary for the army to have a good relationship with the local county government.

When Magistrate Wu heard that watermelons were being planted, he thought they were the Ling melons that were popular in the capital. Ling melons were also planted by the King of Yue, so it was normal for the King of Yue to have seeds.

But this is the northwest! Not the heartland of the Central Plains.

Moreover, the land occupied by the King of Yue was full of stones and sandy soil, and it was impossible to grow crops. Growing those precious watermelons was even more of a pipe dream.

But can a mere county magistrate refute and attack the King of Northwest?
He doesn't have the courage yet.

"Thank you, King Yue, for your generous gift. I will also buy some land, and I hope that the King of Yue will send someone to give me more guidance." He agreed reluctantly.

"Easy to say."

Magistrate Wu went out with a smile, but his face turned bitter after he left.

After returning to the county government office, I thought again and again that I couldn't bear the difficulties alone. I had to find some people to share this "sweet" burden given by the King of Yue.

Thinking about these days, because of the opening of trade at Hangu Pass, many merchants from the Central Plains came to him and asked him to give them convenience in the city and at the trade fair. Many local wealthy families also came to him and asked him for help. County Magistrate Wu thought about it and sent people to find these people.

After everyone sat down, the Magistrate of Wu County got straight to the point and said that the King of Yue had enclosed a large piece of land outside Hangu City to plant Linggua. In order to thank everyone for building the mutual market and contributing to the economic prosperity of the northwest, the King of Yue was going to give everyone Linggua seeds so that everyone could get rich together.

When the merchants arrived, they were mentally prepared, fearing that the county magistrate would find a way to catch them and find excuses to take their money.

Now I heard that they were really being asked to pay money.

Who doesn't know the situation of the land near Hangu City? The cattle, sheep and horses that the Western Rong brought as compensation before and after the New Year were all starving and skinny when they were brought there, and they couldn't eat grass. What kind of food could be grown in such land?
Still planting melons! It's not even dark yet, I'm dreaming.

The merchants who traveled thousands of miles to the northwest had eaten the Ling melon. It had a thin skin and thick flesh, was sweet and juicy, and made people want to eat it again. If I could eat it in the northwest, hey...

No, no, it's not dark yet. But this is the northwest!

How can you grow melons on sandy land mixed with stones? Just rob the silver, why bother to talk about getting rich together? Tsk.

But the county magistrate had summoned them, could they refuse? And it was the King of Yue who provided the seeds, so it must have been the King of Yue's idea. If they could refuse the county magistrate, could they also refuse the King of Yue?

If the King of Yue heard this, how many of their heads would be chopped off?

"Sir, I want to buy 500 acres." Anyway, the land in the northwest is cheap, and land like that is only one tael of silver per acre. Consider it a contribution to the northwest.

"I'll buy a thousand acres." Spending money can avoid disaster.

"I want to buy 2,000 acres!" He just hoped that Magistrate Wu and the prince would give his business some convenience in the trade because of his sincerity.

Now all merchants have tasted the sweetness of the trade. To the west of Hangu Pass, dozens of countries around the Western Regions heard that the trade had opened here, and the narrow paths in the valley that could only accommodate one person were trampled flat to allow carriages to pass.

The tea, porcelain, silk and various goods they brought from the Central Plains were sold out without any bargaining.

I didn’t know the countries in the Western Regions were so rich.

Huge business opportunities and enormous wealth are waiting for them ahead.

If any big merchant has not sent people to do business in the northwest now, his status will soon be squeezed out.

The goods they brought were easy to sell. They purchased spices, gems, livestock, various furs and products, lacquerware and other utensils from the Western Regions and sold them in the Central Plains and the capital, making a lot of money.

Who wouldn't want to have a piece of the pie now? Dare to offend the local government? Dare to offend the King of Yue?

Magistrate Wu never expected that, just because he did not want to suffer the hardship of not being able to grow crops alone, he called the merchants over, but to his surprise, almost all the stone land near Hangu City had been sold!

Now Magistrate Wu was a little scared.

It is impossible for the King of Yue to not know about such a big thing. When the melons are planted, the neighbors around will also plant melons, and it is impossible for them not to tell the King of Yue if they need to prepare so many seeds at once.

Magistrate Wu ran to the Prince of Yue's palace again, carrying the account book and the fish scale book.

Zhao Guangyuan and Changzhi met him.

In fact, he had already received the news, and it can be said that he deliberately encouraged Magistrate Wu to do so.

The melons can certainly be grown and there is no need to worry about not being able to sell them, but given his status, he cannot just take credit for this matter, for fear that he will be criticized for competing with the people for profits.

So he let Magistrate Wu do it. It was exactly what he wanted.

But he couldn't show this emotion, otherwise Magistrate Wu would act on his own. When he saw him, he sat there with a stern face.

Magistrate Wu was so frightened that he dared not look up and kept apologizing.

On the other hand, the head of the magistrate beside him said in a gentle voice, "Wu County Magistrate's move has promoted the economy of the northwest and enriched the government's treasury. My father is very happy. Wu County Magistrate has made great contributions to the government."

Magistrate Wu was very worried, "The prince is showing favor to me. I acted on my own initiative and sold so much land. I am afraid that the prince will not be able to provide so many seeds, which will ruin the prince's plan. How about I take back those lands?"

Zhao Guangyuan didn't say anything. Chang Zhi smiled and said, "The deal is done, there's no reason to regret it. Who would be willing to deal with the Hangu City government in the future?"

"Yes, Your Majesty is right. I was too worried."

At this point, Zhao Guangyuan spoke up: "Don't act on your own next time, or I will punish you severely. You have caused me great inconvenience by preparing so many seeds at once."

Magistrate Wu knelt down and apologized: "It was my failure to consult with the prince, and I almost delayed the prince's important matter. I am guilty, please punish me!"

"Get up. It's not a big deal."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" He wanted to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but he didn't dare.

Zhao Guangyuan didn't look at him, but casually flipped through the fish scale book he brought. These sandy lands mixed with stones were almost all divided up by merchants from other places and local merchants. However, merchants value profit, and if there are major interests in this place in the future, there may be conflicts with local people, which may be detrimental to local management.

After thinking for a while, he said, "I will buy the remaining land for the generals of Hangu Pass. I will distribute it to the soldiers who have made contributions in the previous battles."

"Your Majesty has a great reputation."

Magistrate Wu thought about it and saw that there was not much land left, so he proposed to divide out 100 acres of his own land.

Zhao Guangyuan didn't bother to be polite and accepted it frankly.

Little did he know that this action would make Magistrate Wu regret it so much in the future, and his ears were almost twisted by his own wife.