Chapter 982 The Palace
Chapter 982 The Palace
"Prince Qi's Mansion, hey!" Shao Zhang looked up as he was walking home.
My father asked the Shaofu to make the plaque and send it to me. It has been hung up.
Shao Zhang thought it didn’t look very good, but what could he do?
Le Xuan followed behind and also looked up with a complicated expression.
After Shao Zhang entered the mansion, his wife Liu came up to him, asked him about his health attentively, helped him change his shoes and clothes (really change clothes), and then warmly asked the servants to make tea and serve snacks for the two of them.
After a lot of busy work, I finally prepared dinner.
"Chunhe, take a look at this first." Shao Zhang stood up, took out a map from the cabinet and handed it to Le Xuan.
"Yes." Le Xuan has been promised to be the "Friend of King Qi". He is still going through the formalities and there is no big problem. With this position, he will no longer be a commoner but can be called an official.
For a young scholar like him, King You of Qi was a very good starting point for his official career.
Of course, there are disadvantages, that is, the characteristics of personal dependence are a bit obvious, and it is difficult to change. Even if you change, it is difficult to gain the trust of others.
After Le Xuan took the map, he took a quick look and it seemed to be the counties and towns of Qingzhou Qi County.
Qi County governed five counties: Linzi, Xi'an, Dong'anping, Guangrao, and Changguo. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, there were 14,000 households.
Sima You, Sima Jiong, Sima Zhao and Sima Chao were successively named Kings of Qi. Therefore, during the Former Jin Dynasty, Qi County was called the State of Qi.
Le Xuan was a little confused at first, but after seeing the complete map of Qi County attached to the map, he immediately understood and asked, "Your Majesty, is this the fiefdom?"
"That's right." Shao Zhang said, "It's near Zishui and Judian, and the area is between Dong'anping and Guangrao, and it may even extend a little into the border of Le'an County."
Le Xuan nodded slowly.
This is the fief of the King of Qi. If it were the Jin Dynasty, he could directly build a royal palace, appoint officials, and train troops on this land. If he was more powerful and the times were more chaotic, it might not be impossible for the former king of Jin to actually control one or even three or four counties.
But the title was real in the Jin Dynasty, while it was only nominal in the Guo Dynasty.
The meaning of virtual fiefdom is that the fiefdom can be shown to you, but you cannot interfere in it. You can only enjoy the rent and tax income from the fiefdom.
The people living in this land sandwiched between two counties and four counties are the people of the King of Qi.
From now on, they no longer had to pay taxes to the court, and local officials would directly send the rent and taxes to the Prince of Qi's palace.
"Are there 10,000 households?" Shao Zhang couldn't help asking.
"Your Majesty, are you talking about the household registration recorded in the yellow book or the actual situation?" Le Xuan asked.
He also came from a prominent family and understood the ins and outs of it all too well.
There is no land in Qingzhou, and all the household registrations are fake.
When the Emperor attacked and destroyed Cao Qi, he asked the people of Qingzhou to count their own households, and the bottom line of his requirement was 100,000 households. In the end, Qingzhou reported 80,000 households, citing the Tianshi Rebellion and locust plague as the excuse, and taxes were collected based on this number.
You have ten thousand for the six counties, and I have several thousand, not even a fraction, a total of eighty thousand!
People are not willing to bother fooling others, it's so fake that it's unbearable to look at.
"We need the Huangji household registration, but you need to estimate the actual number." Shao Zhang said.
"There is definitely no such record of Huang's household registration." Le Xuan said as he searched carefully.
"Don't look for it, it's all here."
"Oh." Le Xuan nodded, and then said, "The number of households in the Huangji may be less than 6,000. We have to check the archives to find out the exact number. But His Majesty has granted this place as the King's fief, which shows that there are 10,000 households. At least he thinks there are 10,000 households, or even more. Your Majesty, if you count them carefully, it is very likely that there are more than 10,000 households, and the extra ones are all profit."
"How do you count them?" Shao Zhang said, "If you set up fiefs in the Nanyang counties or Pei County, I can think of a way."
"Your Majesty, there is no need to do so." Le Xuan said with a smile, "Your Majesty is so prestigious. Your Majesty only needs to send someone with a tongue to meet the officials in Qi and Le'an counties. The local governors may not dare to 'harm the prince'. No matter how reluctant they are, they have to send people to the counties and towns where the fiefdom is located. At least they have to gather 10,000 households for Your Majesty."
"Is it really that easy to talk to?" Shao Zhang asked, "Your Majesty, I have seen with my own eyes how difficult it is to measure the land."
After hearing this, Le Xuan also fell silent and could only say, "It's still possible to get a few hundred more households in one trip. If you go a few more times, maybe you can get more."
"Isn't this just measuring the land?" Shao Zhang said helplessly.
"Maybe this is what Your Majesty meant." Le Xuan said with a wry smile.
"If this is true, perhaps..." Shao Zhang said after pondering for a moment.
"Your Majesty, it would be best if you don't resort to violence," Le Xuan said hastily.
"Chunhe, you don't understand." Shao Zhang shook his head and said, "Your Majesty wants people to measure the land on their own initiative. If you can measure 10,000 households, His Majesty will look up to you. But you are right. It is best not to use force if it is not necessary. Besides--"
He sighed and said, "There are only 200 people, not enough."
"Your Majesty, are you talking about the guards?"
Shao Zhang nodded and said, "I am the King of Qi. According to the regulations, I can have 200 soldiers, but now I only have 100."
"Who leads the army?"
"Lieutenant." Shao Zhang said, "The royal tutor, the literary officer, the constant attendant, the minister of agriculture and other subordinates must be assigned one by one."
"That's a lot of expense," Le Xuan said.
"Chunhe, do you know how much food the two hundred soldiers receive in a year?" Shao Zhang asked.
Le Xuan was stunned.
"I was once stumped by a question from my father when I was young." Memories flashed in Shao Zhang's eyes, and even a hint of fear, which showed that he was severely scolded at that time.
"Later, I was responsible for transporting food and grass for the army, planning day and night, and I never forgot it again." He sighed: "Two hundred soldiers, if they exercise every three days, will receive 5,000 hu of food rations per year. A prefect only receives 600 hu of rice, 100 pieces of cloth, and 70 kilograms of cotton per year. Compared with raising soldiers, raising officials is less expensive."
Le Xuan was surprised.
I thought that the King of Qi's fief of 10,000 households was a lot, after all, it could produce 60,000 hu of grain, 45,000 pieces of silk, and 30,000 jin of cotton.
"This is just to feed the soldiers so that they have enough energy to train." Shao Zhang said, "You also have to give them food, clothing, and money. Two hundred soldiers should be given at least 7,000 hu of food and 1,500 pieces of silk a year."
"That's quite a lot." Le Xuan exclaimed.
"How much fiefs did the sons of Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, have?" Shao Zhang suddenly asked.
Le Xuan glanced at him and said, "Chengdu King Sima Ying has a fief of 100,000 households."
"Why are you talking about Sima Ying alone..." Shao Zhang pretended to hit Le Xuan halfway through his words. Le Xuan begged for mercy and said with a smile: "There are about 130,000 registered households in the four counties of Shu, Qianwei, Wenshan, and Guanghan, and together they have 100,000 households to form the State of Chengdu."
"I'll teach you a lesson! Say one more." Shao Zhang said unhappily.
"Sima——"
"You know which one I want to hear?"
"King Qin Sima Jian--" Le Xuan said in a long voice.
"explain."
"Eighty thousand households in the city." Le Xuan said, "The three counties of Jingzhao, Fufeng, and Shiping have eighty-one thousand registered households, almost all of which were given to him."
"The king of Jin is called a king." Shao Zhang sighed after hearing this.
"Jin's titles are real, while our dynasty's titles are nominal. They are different." Le Xuan said, "But the officials in the royal palace should be appointed as soon as possible. Who does the king want to appoint?"
"A smart and capable person." Shao Zhang said, "Especially a big farmer, he needs real skills. Collect the grain and silk for me first."
"I'm going back to Nanyang." Le Xuan said immediately without any further ado.
"You must have real ability. Even if you are of a lower birth, I will give you an official position." Shao Zhang emphasized again: "Forget about those who like to wear fancy clothes, indulge in drinking, and travel around."
"Okay." Le Xuan said, "I'll go back and prepare first, and leave tomorrow."
"Thank you for your hard work." Shao Zhang said.
Le Xuan nodded, bowed and left.
He knew that after being crowned as kings, the princes could appoint subordinates. The emperor must be observing the princes' ability to train subordinates, because this is an essential ability for a monarch.
If this doesn't work, even if he is the eldest son, he will not be able to inherit the throne.
After Le Xuan left, Shao Zhang put away the books and then took out a book and read it carefully.
After a while, Liu came in and asked curiously, "Where is Le Chunhe?"
"He's gone." Shao Zhang closed the book and said, "I've had dinner at the government office. Tomorrow -"
Liu sat down next to him and asked softly, "But are you going out on business again?"
"Yes." Shao Zhang nodded and said, "Go and distribute New Year rewards to the various military governors of the Zuo Jinwu Guard. His Majesty has set a quota of 1,200 people. These 1,000 people can receive the rewards. I plan to visit a few more military governors."
"Only one out of eight people can receive the reward?" Liu asked in surprise.
"It's already pretty good." Shao Zhang said, "Since we have to go out——"
"I'll have someone withdraw money and food from the treasury." Liu said.
Shao Zhang looked at her and said, "I will be able to collect rent and taxes next autumn."
"Husband." Liu leaned into his arms and said, "Since I'm married to you, I will think about you. As long as you don't mess around outside, I will listen to you in everything."
Liu is now the Princess of Qi. She can't even imagine how envious her sisters and friends in Pei County will be when they find out.
Whenever she thought of this, she felt as if all the grievances were gone. After all, sometimes people only live for their face.
"Why are you talking about those trivial things again?" Shao Zhang was not very happy.
Liu observed his expression and whispered, "If you really want to, don't just look for someone casually. My younger sister is only sixteen years old, she can..."
Shao Zhang's heart moved.
To be honest, Liu was pretty, good-looking, well-educated, but jealous. Allowing her sister to do that was the biggest concession she could make.
But now a new problem has arisen.
Naturally, he couldn't buy Liu's sister as casually as a maid. He had to at least be given the title of a lady. He had to find his mother first, and then let his mother talk to his father.
He can't make his own decisions.
However, Liu's "reasonableness" surprised him and changed his mind.
When he looked down and saw the snow-white peaks under Liu's clothes, his heart warmed and he thought to himself that he was stupid. Isn't the princess's beauty better than the Di Qiang girl bought from the mountains?
Salty pickles are delicious, but they don’t have the flavor of fish.
Liu also felt his gaze and her pretty face flushed.
Shao Zhang coughed lightly and said, "Come and talk to me in the evening. There is no rush regarding your sister's matter, as we don't have a child yet. If there are any relatives or young men in Pei County who are truly talented, please bring a few of them over to fill out the palace staff first."
A look of joy appeared on Liu's face and she nodded.
……
The next day, Shao Zhang got up refreshed.
Princess Liu got up earlier than him, ordered the servants to pack up the gifts, and prepared food and water for the guests and guards. Finally, she personally served breakfast to her husband.
Shao Zhang felt that he was even more confused than before.
What good can you achieve by arguing? The more you argue, the more useless it is.
After what happened last night, he realized it.
At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Shao Zhang, the King of Qi of Daliang, arrived in Bianliang under the escort of a hundred armored soldiers.
At this time, news of a change of dynasty had been brewing for more than half a month.
The soldiers were overjoyed and asked when they would be dispatched to the west to march to Liangzhou.
Surprisingly, Shao Zhang met a military officer named Gai Hou under his second brother Shao Gui at Bianliang Guanyi.
He brought thirty riders here, mysteriously, to meet a man named Zu Daozhong.
(End of this chapter)