Chapter 248: Be Frank and Honest
Chapter 248: Be Frank and Honest (Part )
After Sima Yue gave in, Wang Yan spent the entire month of June counting the supplies.
The war is coming, and if we don’t figure out our financial situation now, we’ll be doomed.
Wang Yan knew too well the character of the people who managed the Luoyang Arsenal and Dongyang Gate Taicang, because it was his people who were in charge before, and now it was the upstarts of Situ Shogunate who took over - Wang Yan did not think there was any difference between them and his "little brothers".
In fact, many people are not yet "full", and their eating habits may be even uglier.
After counting the supplies, on the first day of July, Wang Yan sent people south to deliver a batch of mainly various military supplies.
He knew very well that Liang County had a certain production capacity, but it was very weak and it would not be possible to be self-sufficient in a few years. Compared with money and food, military supplies were more attractive to Shao Xun.
Apart from these things, there was almost nothing else he could do in the court.
The people in the Situ government controlled almost everything and even began to seize his power. Wang Yan sent people to insinuate things, but Sima Yue didn't ask at all, so he gave up.
In mid-July, seeing that Shao Xun had not yet made any move to go north, Wang Yan went to Guangchengze in person.
"From spring to summer, not a drop of rain has fallen." Outside the Wang family's villa, Wang Yan was speechless as he listened to his daughter Wang Huifeng's words.
If it doesn't rain, Guangchengze will probably have to reduce the number of fields for autumn sowing.
After all, wheat needs irrigation more than millet, and it certainly won't work without water.
But millet cannot survive the winter and cannot take advantage of the winter and spring seasons when disasters are less severe, which is a fatal flaw.
"The grain harvested from Guangchengze is only enough for them to eat, right?" Wang Yan asked as he walked along the long dike.
The eldest daughter, Wang Jingfeng, grabbed a withered willow branch, swung it boredly, and followed behind.
The youngest daughter, Wang Huifeng, nodded and said, "I'm afraid we'll have to use up some of the stored grain. Liang County and Luyang have rivers and lakes and wheat is grown there, but the harvest won't be as good as Guangchengze. The seven counties of Xiangcheng, Yangdi, Yangcheng, and Yiyang are also having a hard time. The Duke of Luyang will probably open his warehouse to release grain and provide some relief."
"He can still hold on for another year. But, just one year." When he said this, Wang Huifeng's tone sounded a little regretful.
She had only seen this man from a distance once or twice, and had never even spoken to him. But because of her father, she had been collecting information about him and trying to find out his family background, and for this reason she even delayed processing news from Bingzhou, Jizhou, Yuzhou and other places.
In her opinion, the Duke of Luyang County is a rare talent with a passion in his heart. He is truly an extraordinary man.
Since this year, his father's reputation in Beijing has risen sharply, and the main reason is that he vigorously promoted winter wheat last year, which everyone thought was foresight. But Wang Huifeng knew that this was Shao Xun's idea. In the past few years, he has been promoting the "two-year three-crop system", which has many advantages compared to the traditional "one-year one-crop" system.
She asked someone and learned that alternating the planting of millet and wheat within two years could reduce insect pests, and the per-acre yield of wheat would be higher than that of millet, and one more season of miscellaneous grains could be harvested.
Most importantly, this year's drought has proven that nothing is more important than avoiding disasters.
This achievement should actually go to the Duke of Luyang County.
"He can last for a year, but Luoyang may not be able to last that long." Wang Yan said with a wry smile.
During the severe drought, the Jiang, Han, He and Luo rivers all experienced varying degrees of dry-up, which was unprecedented in history.
Because of the interruption of water supply and the blockage of grain transport, taxes from all over the country could not be delivered to Beijing in time this year. Only the four nearby states of Yu, Jing, Ji and Si sent a small amount of money and grain via land transportation.
But how can land transportation compare with canal transportation? It is far behind.
Therefore, Luoyang is also short of food now, and every hu of food has to be carefully calculated - the Luoyang Basin alone cannot feed so many imperial guards, officials, craftsmen and other people.
By next year, even if the water transport is smooth, it will probably be the same as this year, with not much money or grain entering the capital, because the consequences of this year's severe drought will be reflected in next year, and the tax deficit this year will also be reflected in next year.
This year, Luoyang can survive by relying on the grain stored in Taicang, a small amount of taxes sent to Beijing, and a batch of winter wheat harvested, but next year life will be difficult and there is a fear that it will fall into a severe famine.
All this pressure fell on his shoulders, because his biggest role was to sell his reputation and collect taxes for the court.
Next year, he could probably only ask for more money and food from Jingzhou guarded by Pingzi, Yangzhou guarded by Chuzhong, and Xuzhou where Pei Dun was located, but it was not certain how much.
If Liu Yuanhai knew that he would face such a mess after taking over Luoyang, he probably would not have been interested in going south.
We have no money and no food, and there are tens or even hundreds of thousands of people who don’t farm. Would you like to give them to you?
"Grandpa, if it really doesn't work, let's go to Jianye." Wang Jingfeng said carelessly.
It is hot in summer and the clothes are very thin.
Her chest is bulging, but still very straight and firm. I don't know how it grew.
She has a slender and well-proportioned waist, long and straight thighs, firm and perky buttocks, and a flawless face. She is truly stunning - except that she is a little silly.
"Jianye?" Wang Yan was somewhat tempted, but he shook his head and said, "Once you cross the river to the south, you can never come back."
Wang Huifeng also frowned and sighed softly.
For the Wang family of Langya, they could still enjoy wealth and prosperity after the migration to the south. But the northern kingdom was really handed over to others, and one can imagine what kind of life the scholars and common people would live.
Can you bear it? Wang Huifeng didn't know.
Because her only brother was an official working away from home, she had always helped her father manage documents and even the intelligence sent from other places. She knew much more than Wang Jingfeng, her brother Wang Xuan, her uncle Wang Dun, Wang Dao and others.
She had an idea of the miserable conditions in which the people lived.
If the North falls into a chaotic war, the people's lives will be even more miserable than they are now - everyone says it's miserable now, but now may be the best time in many years.
Although she was loyal to the Wang family and was willing to do her part for the family, she did not want to see the people of the world fall into a miserable situation.
It has nothing to do with anything else, it's just conscience.
The sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance.
The Wang family guards who were on guard all around immediately became nervous.
After a while, more than a hundred riders appeared at the end of the road and headed straight for the Wang family villa.
"General." Shao Xun jumped off the horse lightly and saluted Wang Yan.
"Duke Luyang." Wang Yan returned the greeting.
Shao Xun's gaze lingered on Wang Jingfeng for a while. Even though he had seen him once before, he was still full of admiration.
How could the old wall lamp give birth to such a beautiful daughter, is she really his?
When he saw Wang Huifeng, he was a little surprised.
This woman was quiet, reserved, and graceful, and she was actually looking at him.
The tall and beautiful one should be the elder sister Wang Jingfeng, and the pretty and introverted one is Wang Huifeng.
As for his personal preference, he thinks Wang Huifeng is better, and he doesn't explain why.
"The Grand Commandant summoned me, so it must be something important." Shao Xun said with a smile.
Wang Yan signaled Wang Jingfeng with his eyes.
Wang Jingfeng was not angry, he bowed and left, but Wang Huifeng stood behind Wang Yan and did not leave. "Guess why I called you?" Wang Yan looked at him unhappily and asked.
"Urging me to go north?" Shao Xun said with a smile, "I am training the troops. I have recruited two new troops and just came to Guangchengze. I am teaching them the rules."
Even though Wang Yan was not familiar with military affairs, he knew that these basic trainings did not require the involvement of the main general.
But he didn't want to be exposed, so he just put his hands behind his back and walked slowly in front.
Shao Xun didn't care and followed behind.
As we were walking, I don’t know whether it was intentional or accidental, but I ended up walking side by side with Wang Huifeng.
Wang Huifeng glanced at him with a gentle smile - if Wang Jingfeng were here, he would definitely laugh at Shao Xun.
As the three of them walked, they arrived at a secluded bamboo forest.
"Quanzhong--" Wang Yan said suddenly.
"My name is not Quanzhong." Shao Xun said helplessly.
"Duke Lu, what do you think of the current situation in the world?" Wang Yan asked, changing his address.
"The court is full of righteous people, and the Jin Dynasty is revived..." Shao Xun started talking nonsense.
"It's time to be frank. It will benefit both you and me," said Wang Yan.
Wang Huifeng straightened her hair that was blown by the wind, with an expressionless face, and no one knew what she was thinking.
"How long will it take, Situ?" Shao Xun asked directly.
Wang Yan was stunned. Why was it so difficult to talk to this little fox? The key was in the first question.
"Maybe one year at most." Wang Yan sighed.
Anyone with eyes can see Sima Yue's physical condition.
Those who are clear-headed are already looking for a way out.
He is not in his right mind and is still plundering the people's wealth and exploiting the people.
Those who were too clear-headed were doing almost the same thing and were actively preparing to move south to Jianye.
The Situ Shogunate has nearly a hundred staff members, who hold power over the five states of Si, Yu, Yan, Xu, Ji and Jing, and have a profound influence on states such as Yong, Liang, Bing and Yang. They are able to mobilize countless talents, money, food and troops, but they will soon lose their backbone.
Who will inherit such a huge fortune?
Well, probably no one person can eat it all.
The Prince of Langya in Jianye could probably eat a very large portion.
Crown Prince Sima Pi can eat one portion.
Wang Yan would probably take the biggest portion.
On the contrary, the number of people who surrendered to Shao Xun was the smallest, and most of them were frustrated people with poor family background and power, who were repeatedly marginalized.
As for the emperor, he may not be able to eat anything, which makes him even more pitiful than Shao Xun.
"What does the commander plan to do?" Shao Xun asked.
"Try your best to maintain the situation in Luoyang." Wang Yan said.
"I believe it." Shao Xun nodded, but then asked, "What if Luoyang can't hold on?"
Wang Yan did not answer this question.
Shao Xun looked at him and could probably understand Wang Yan's dilemma.
Lao Bi Deng was definitely afraid of death, but he really didn't want to see the court destroyed, nor did he want to give up Luoyang easily.
Historically, when Sima Yue died, Wang Yan followed Sima Yue in the army and should have inherited most of his inheritance later. When he took Sima Yue's coffin back to Xuzhou for burial, he probably did not escape.
Because his wife and two daughters were in Luoyang.
Concubine Pei and the Crown Prince are also in Luoyang.
But we can't rule out the possibility...
Can't let the old wall lamp run away.
The resources of Sima Yue’s shogunate cannot be dissipated.
So Shao Xun immediately stepped forward and said, "If Si Tu is not blessed with a long life and encounters misfortune, I am willing to stand with the Taiwei."
After saying this, he bowed with a serious expression.
Wang Yan quickly helped him up.
For a moment, he even wanted Shao Xun to break off the engagement with the Yu family.
He glanced at his daughter subconsciously.
Wang Huifeng was such an intelligent person, but when she saw her father looking at her, she was a little surprised, perhaps a little disappointed, and even a little sad.
She looked at the withered and yellow bamboo forest in front of her, and the sigh from the bottom of her heart seemed to echo in the wind.
The Duke of Luyang might be a good man, but a woman should not serve two husbands. A woman should be loyal to her husband, even if he is dead.
Wang Yan withdrew his gaze, feeling a little guilty.
The daughter was once the Crown Princess, and the fact that she was forced to divorce has always been a scar that the father and daughter are unwilling to mention.
Wang Yan still remembers the look his daughter gave him when she came home crying on the street as if no one was around.
He didn't dare force his daughter anymore.
"With this statement, it is worth it for me to be frank with you." Wang Yan smiled.
After that, he suddenly asked, "What does Duke Luyang want?"
Wang Huifeng also turned around and looked at Shao Xun.
(End of this chapter)