Chapter 1170 Cousins

Chapter 1170 Cousins

Chapter 1170 Cousins

Even though there was a war this year, the expansion work of Luoyang's outer city has not stopped. However, there are indeed very few people on the construction site at present, and it is mainly in the stage of preparing materials.

The Zhenguan office of Shaofu was firing bricks and tiles day and night, and the timber officers kept delivering the dried wood. The gardeners had been sifting fine soil before, but they had just stopped and moved to the various farmlands under the name of Shaofu, preparing to harvest the wheat.

The prepared building materials will be used next month.

Hanzhong sent 20,000 surrendered soldiers from the Cheng State in one go, and would not stop until the outer city of Luoyang was completely completed - this was the main reason why the costs of various projects were extremely low in the early days of the founding of the country, free labor.

This was the scene that Bian Xu saw when he arrived at the east of Luoyang City on the morning of May 8th.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, he moved into a newly built house in Luocheng.

The owner of the house is named Shao Yong, the seventh son of Shao Xun, born to Concubine Pei. His nickname is Douniu. He is sixteen years old this year and was conferred the title of Duke of Wu last year.

He and Bian Xu are formal cousins, but their status is very different.

Shao Yong seemed to be very busy. While he was entertaining Bian Xu, people kept coming in to report.

Bian Xu was in awe at first, thinking that Lord Wu might have a mission and was highly valued, and might be renamed the King of Wu in the future. But after hearing the conversation between Shao Yong and the officials in the palace, he was greatly disappointed and thought that his cousin was just busying himself for nothing.

"What is a clam?" Shao Yong asked, "Is it something from a river, lake, or sea?"

"Your Highness has misunderstood. This thing grows on trees, and it is swollen and has worms in its belly. After removing the worms, the shell can be used to tan leather, which is very effective."

"Is it better than tree bark?" Shao Yong asked.

"better."

“Then collect more of this stuff. If that doesn’t work, find a barren mountain and plant more of it.” Shao Yong said.

"Yes."

"Anything else?"

"There are horse crotch leather in Pingyang, hundreds of them, a bit expensive."

"Let them send it over." Shao Yong said without hesitation, "There have been wars for years, and good things like horse crotch leather are in short supply. Just send them over."

"Yes."

"That's it. I have a distinguished guest here." Shao Yong waved his hand and said, "Go away."

The subordinates withdrew respectfully.

"I obey you strictly." Shao Yong stood up from behind the desk and said, "I was busy with worldly affairs and neglected it."

"No problem." Bian Xu said with a smile.

He really wanted to laugh.

The sixteen-year-old boy acted like an adult at home. He looked childish but spoke in an old-fashioned way, which was very funny.

"Your Highness, do you like business?" Bian Xu said.

He originally wanted to say that Prince Minhuai of Jin once set up a stall in the palace to sell meat, and he could measure the weight to the exact millimeter. But after thinking about it, he decided not to do it as it would easily cause misunderstanding.

Shao Yong sighed and said, "I am Lord Wu."

Bian Xu didn't understand what he meant at first, but later he understood and smiled bitterly.

Emperor Liang was really cruel. He hadn't conquered Jiangdong yet, but he had already appointed Duke Wu. Moreover, it seemed that the fief was in Jiangdong, and he couldn't get a penny or a bushel of rice. This was really difficult. He could only rely on the Shaofu to subsidize him from time to time. But that was only enough for the daily expenses of the Duke's Mansion. If he wanted to live comfortably, he had to find a way himself.

Sure enough, Shao Yong quickly gave a brief introduction: "I sent people to Pingyang to collect the skins. After transporting them back, they were distributed to the homes of the people. After a few months, I sent people to collect them again."

"The people?" Bian Xu was puzzled.

"Don't underestimate them, Yan Feng." Shao Yong said with a smile, "The people near Luoyang are not simple, most of them have fought in wars. Many of them can tan leather, and some with good skills can make quivers and horse gear. A while ago, I made 500 saddle pads and distributed them to various villages. Each village had dozens to hundreds of them. After a few months, I went to collect them and they were all done. Generally, old people or women make them during their slack season, so that they can earn some money to supplement their family income."

"What should we do if we take it back..." asked Bian Xu.

"We collect them and make them into saddles, and then sell them in the mansions in the West Market." Shao Yong looked at Bian Xu in surprise and said, "Everyone in Luoyang knows that saddles are sold in the West Market. Last year, when we pacified Shu, many people went to the West Market to buy saddles before the war. Even the Hu people went there to buy them. They are good and cheap."

Bian Xu was really enlightened.

When the Jianye army went out to fight, the imperial court would usually issue various equipment to the soldiers, who would then just pick it up and go into battle.

The military system of Liang State seemed to be a little different from that of Jin State. Their soldiers needed to provide their own equipment, so it was reasonable for them to buy saddles before the battle.

In addition, this method of producing equipment is also very interesting.

Instead of employing their own craftsmen, they would regularly send materials to familiar villages and have farmers with relevant skills make the materials during their slack season. They would pick the materials up on an agreed date and would be paid some wages.

In this way, a tool is ready.

Of course, it is limited to relatively simple things, such as saddles, leather stirrups, bridles, whips, ropes, etc.

Bian Xu estimated that there was probably one village specializing in saddle pads, one village specializing in twisting ropes, one village specializing in making whips, and so on. Over time, the craftsmanship became more and more sophisticated, the quality became better and better, and the farmers were able to do odd jobs and earn income when they were not so busy. On the other hand, Jiangdong was a completely different scene.

Some were made in the imperial workshops, but those were relatively rare, and most were actually produced in the estates of wealthy families.

The manor produces everything by itself, including the gadgets mentioned above. They generally do not sell them to the outside world, nor do they buy things from others.

It is really hard to say which method is better, at least Bian Xu can't tell the difference.

Just like the saddle pad that Mr. Wu just mentioned, it is just a leather pad on the saddle. After the pad is made, there are still other things missing, which are probably made by other villages.

It seems too complicated for one village to specialize in making one small gadget, and several villages to work together to complete a set of saddles, and finally put them in shops in the West Market for sale.

But it sounds like this approach is not bad.

The Bian family had an estate in Jiangdong. Although they had never made saddles, they had made other things. There were always a few fixed people who would complete a whole set of things from start to finish. They produced and sold them themselves, and they had to use both the good and the bad. There was no other choice, because the Bian family estate was unlikely to buy anything that could be produced by itself from outside.

It is unlikely that there is only one shop selling saddles in Luoyang West Market. Those who want to buy can choose carefully and compare prices from different shops.

From this perspective, it seems to be better, both in workmanship and quantity.

Alas, the big manor in Jiangdong is completely outdone.

"Yan Feng..." Shao Yong called softly.

"Your Highness." Bian Xu came back to his senses immediately.

"You should stay in my house for the next few days." Shao Yong said, "It's not very convenient to enter the palace, there are so many people and eyes. His Majesty and my mother will take some time out of the palace to come here, you just wait patiently."

"Okay." Bian Xu said excitedly.

"Are you going back to Jianye?" Shao Yong asked.

Bian Xu was a little embarrassed when he heard this, and said vaguely: "Your Highness has done a great business. I admire it and want to learn how to do it. After the mourning for Uncle Zhongren is over, I will bring my family here..."

Shao Yong chuckled and said, "That's fine. Grandpa always said that I had no opinion and didn't know anything, and he didn't even tell me what to do. This is how my life will be. Doing some business and getting rich seems to be a good idea. Yan Feng is a young man with a good reputation, and he is willing to accompany me. I couldn't ask for more."

"Your Highness is too modest." Bian Xu said.

Shao Yong laughed again and said, "I'm not being modest, it's just my limited ability. I still remember when my grandfather was on a tour to the west, he stood at Dazhen Pass, pointed at the soldiers passing by the pass, and asked us how many of them had passed. I really didn't know, I just guessed. Since I don't have the ability, I won't cause any more trouble, so as to avoid being despised and laughed at, which would ruin my grandfather's reputation."

Hearing this, Bian Xu's evaluation of Shao Yong suddenly increased. It is difficult for a person to know himself, and it is not easy to frankly admit that he is incapable.

Shao Yong continued, "Every member of the Li Cheng clan leads an army. Even a teenager can become a general and lead thousands or even tens of thousands of soldiers. It's really child's play. I can't even count the number of soldiers, so I won't join in the fun. Alas, I also dreamed of leading troops to fight and create supreme prestige, but later I found that I was not cut out for it. I didn't even learn half of my father's skills. What else can I say?"

Bian Xu didn't know what to say.

What ability do you want? You don't need to have any ability. You are the child of Emperor Liang and Concubine Pei of Donghai, and this alone is enough.

"Yan Feng, how about Jianye?" Seeing that Bian Xu didn't speak, Shao Yong guessed that he might not like these topics, so he asked.

Bian Xu was silent for a moment, and only managed to say: "No one wants to fight, but they are just living a life of drunkenness and dreaming of death."

Shao Yong laughed again and said, "We should be able to live a life of drunkenness and debauchery for another year or two. The Daliang navy is probably no match for the Jingzhou navy, so we need to reorganize ourselves."

The implication is that after the navy is reorganized, it will march south in large numbers.

"To attack Jingzhou, we need at least 30,000 naval forces, and 50,000 would be best," said Bian Xu.

Shao Yong nodded and said, "It would be great if someone could switch sides in battle."

Bian Xu was startled. This possibility was quite possible. Then he felt relieved. Shouldn't he hope that they would turn against him in the middle of a battle? Why fight against one's own people?

The cousin in front of him was very polite to him. Although he was a nobleman, he had no airs at all and was very easy-going. This made Bian Xu think that he might as well surrender since they were all relatives.

How could the King of Zhao, the King of Han, and the Duke of Wu not help me?
Well, it turns out that Emperor Liang really liked my aunt and gave birth to three sons and one daughter.

If Sima Yue had not "interfered" and "wasted" his aunt's best years, there might have been more children, and the Prince of Liang would not have been able to escape.

"Fifth brother will be back in Luoyang in a few days, I will take you to visit him then." Shao Yong added: "When Mian Niang hears that you are coming, she will probably ask me to bring her here. You must prepare a gift, Mian Niang is very vindictive, if you dare not give her a gift, she will nag you for months."

Bian Xu couldn't help laughing and said, "Of course I brought a gift."

"Oh?" Shao Yong smiled and said, "Is it the tea set and tea leaves again?"

Bian Xu gave Shao Yong two sets of celadon tea sets and 100 kilograms of Yangxian tea, so he asked this question.

"Forget it, no need to say more." Shao Yong waved his hand and said, "Just send her there. Did you bring the letter?"

"I brought it." Upon hearing this, Bian Xu immediately took out the letter from his mother from his sleeve.

Shao Yong took it and nodded, saying, "I will go to the palace tomorrow, you just sit and wait."

(End of this chapter)