Chapter 108
In the evening, Yichun Military Village naturally had to hold a banquet to entertain friends who came from afar.
Yao Chunnuan was also present. Her seat was very close to the front, and Pan Na was seated next to her.
The guests from the northern border had departed a few days ago, and they were anxious to take the sweet potatoes sent by the Yichun military settlement back home and plant them, not wanting to miss the next few months of the breeding season. Before leaving, the two sides exchanged marriage certificates, stipulating that this winter, their general would travel to the northern border to marry his bride.
After three rounds of drinking, the general asked Pan Xiaodi, "The three hundred foals you sent are a great help to our military settlement. Is there anything else your tribe needs?"
They had examined these 300 foals and found that, unlike the adult horses sold by the Gaoshan and other nomadic peoples, they were not tampered with. Furthermore, one-third of them were mares. These 100% healthy foals would mate and produce colts once they reached maturity. This way, after a few years of breeding in the military settlements, their war horses would become self-sufficient, eliminating the need to purchase them from outside.
Speaking of which, they really do need the military's help. Remembering the old patriarch's words, Pan Xiaodi and Pan Na exchanged a glance.
Pan said shyly, "Everything else is fine. We almost replenished it last time. But salt is something our tribe is always short of. Last time we had money, we couldn't buy much."
Due to the geographical location of their Gaoshan people, the price of salt is extremely high, and even so, it is often out of stock.
When they had sold their stolen goods and bought food and other daily necessities, they had also wanted to buy more salt, thinking that they could stockpile it if they couldn't finish it all. Unfortunately, even though they paid a high price, they didn't buy much.
Even if you have money, you can't buy salt. Where can you go to seek justice? There is no way. Daliang has tightened its control over salt and iron, especially this year. In addition, the court has also begun to crack down on the crime of smuggling salt and iron. It's incredible.
When the senior leaders of the military settlement heard the Gaoshan people say they were short of food, they all looked embarrassed.
"But we don't have much salt left in our military settlements."
Pan Xiaodi said the Gaoshan tribe was short of salt. Logically, they would help no matter what. However, as far as he knew, their military settlement didn't have much salt. It was only thanks to Chief Yao's management that the settlement had always had enough. After all, the daily and monthly salt needs of over 100,000 people in the settlement were considerable, not to mention that the salt they exchanged in the building was 10% to 20% lower than outside.
"Yes, our military settlement does not have much salt left." Yao Chunnuan pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this, our military settlement will give you 300 kilograms of salt first. After you finish eating it, we will find a way to help you."
He'd already felt a pang of anxiety when he saw the senior officials at the military settlement looking embarrassed and saying they didn't have much salt. Then, when Chief Secretary Yao nodded in agreement, saying the salt supply was indeed low, his heart sank. He'd thought he'd be leaving empty-handed, but then Chief Secretary Yao suddenly changed the subject and decided to give them 300 kilograms of salt! What a surprising turn of events.
"Okay, okay, thank you very much." Brother Pan nodded repeatedly. Before leaving, the old patriarch and others expected 100 kilograms, and the best case scenario was 200 kilograms. 300 kilograms of salt was already far beyond their expectations.
Pan Na was also overjoyed. She quickly said, "We don't want you to give it to us this time. We'll buy it with money. We have money."
The people in the military settlement laughed heartily. "Okay, okay, okay, we won't give it away for free this time. You can buy it with money."
None of the senior military settlement officials objected to Yao Chunnuan's promise to distribute 300 kilograms of salt to the Gaoshan people. This matter was originally under her jurisdiction. Since she agreed to give away 300 kilograms, she must have a surplus or a way to ensure that the military settlement would not run out of salt.
The atmosphere at the banquet was warm and cheerful, and everyone urged each other to drink another glass of wine.
Pan Xiaodi was a little drunk and started to talk to Wu Zongguan. "Steward Wu, you don't know that the court doesn't care about people."
Wu, the chief steward, held him back and said, "It's better not to say this outside. Be careful of ears."
"Don't worry, I'm just talking to you. I won't say a word outside."
"That's good. Come on, let's drink."
"Manager Wu, please listen to me. Some of the elders in our clan have developed health problems because they saved a pinch of salt for their children. Some have swollen limbs, and some have enlarged necks."
"It's so serious. What happened next? Did you ask a doctor to see what was wrong?" Manager Wu asked with concern.
"The miracle doctor Ba Yuan visited us in Jiachuan. When our clan leader learned of his whereabouts, he invited him to visit the clan. He came and said it was caused by a lack of salt. He told us to just give them more salt."
"Since Ba Yuan said so, it must be caused by lack of salt. Just do as he said and give those old people more salt." Manager Wu comforted him. He was still a young man, not much older than his son.
Everyone present knew that Ba Yuan was a very famous traveling doctor with extremely high medical skills. He liked to travel around and treat illnesses wherever he went.
"That's what we thought, but the tribe has no food or salt. What can we do?" Thinking of the past days, little brother Pan almost cried.
Seriously, the imperial court was already so incompetent, and they weren't even allowed to complain. For example, last time, when their tribe was short of food and fodder, they turned to the court for help, even siding with it. But what did they get? No response. Their letter for help fell on deaf ears. No response, no food, no reply. It was absurd. The imperial court didn't take their Gaoshan tribe seriously at all.
Those words were said, and he was not afraid even if they were spread out. Their Jiachuan was originally a border area. If the imperial court really wanted to make trouble and sent troops to attack, the worst that could happen was that they would pack up their belongings and run to the north.
The dinner lasted until midnight.
Early the next morning, Yao Chunnuan went to the exchange building and asked about the salt reserves. "How much salt do we have left in the warehouse?"
The subordinate reported a number, and Yao Chunnuan estimated that it was only enough to feed more than 100,000 military soldiers for a month.
"I'll have someone bring out more salt and put it in the lobby of the exchange building." There may be a risk of a bank run in the next few days.
The Gaoshan tribe's salt shortage couldn't be concealed. Nor could their members' illnesses be concealed. Nor could her promise to share 300 kilograms of salt. In later generations, whenever trouble arose, the common people would rush to grab salt and vinegar. As long as the initial run on the bank was contained, the villagers would be reassured when they saw the abundance of salt still stored in the lobby.
Doing this is only treating the symptoms and not the root cause.
The only way to cure the root cause is to relax the strict control over the salt and iron production by the Yichun Prefecture Government. But Yao Chunnuan knew that this was impossible.
The prefectural government's previous local policy restricting the population and land of the military settlements was lifted after the settlements submitted a petition complaining of poverty. However, the government has further restricted the amount of salt and iron the Yichun settlements can purchase, especially after this month. If it weren't for the several caravans under her command that constantly sourced salt from other regions, providing a constant flow of funds to the settlements, she wouldn't have been strangled. Otherwise, the settlements would have faced a salt crisis.
This is likely what the Crown Prince meant. Since we rely on your army to defend Yichun against foreign enemies, I can't restrict your population or land, but I can control the salt and iron supply. I'll only give you the monthly allotment. If you want to recruit more people and cultivate more land, that's up to you. But people can't live without salt, right? Of course, if you can't buy salt from the imperial court, you can buy private salt, no problem. Private salt is more expensive, and that alone is a significant expense. The more people you recruit, the heavier the burden, and this will also achieve the goal of depleting your military wealth.
Besides this, there was another way, which was to set up a site on the beach to dry the sea salt. She knew the general process. Previously, she was a little confused and wanted to avoid going against the court.
But now, Yao Chunnuan suddenly realized that the prince had made a move. They almost fell for the prince's trick of boiling the frog in warm water.
Yao Chunnuan felt she couldn't go on like this. She couldn't let herself be led around by the nose by the other side, or else she'd be doomed. Perhaps some would think she was suffering from paranoia, thinking this wasn't a dead end. Could it be that if they obediently allowed the Crown Prince to weaken their military base, he would let them go? How naive!
In reality, there were traces of this. For example, it was impossible to say that the Crown Prince had no problem with her. She had first uprooted one of the Crown Prince's secret contacts, Lin Jingzhou, and then forced him to transfer his trusted general, Wang Lang, from Yichun. The general, for example, was guilty of indulgence. Furthermore, as the highest official in charge of the military settlement, he had been vague about his recruitment, wavering between him and the Third Prince. In the Crown Prince's eyes, the Yichun military settlement was a thorn in the side; it would be strange for him to have any affection for them.
Obviously, if the prince eventually inherits the throne, she will probably not have a good ending.
If that really happened, her life would truly be in the Crown Prince's hands, and she would be helpless. She didn't like failure, didn't like handing over the initiative to others. Just think of her judging others by her own standards. There are five levels of strategic planning: planning for oneself, planning for the master, planning for the army, planning for the state, and planning for the world. She couldn't say how many levels she could reach, but planning for herself definitely required preparing for the worst.
Even if what she worried about did not happen, if they surrendered to the prince, compared to Wang Lang who followed him from the beginning, she, who joined them late, would definitely not have a higher status in his heart than Wang Lang.
Sacred Heart, Wang Lang has the Sacred Heart. This means that she will always need to be inferior to Wang Lang, and may even need to move from the front stage to the backstage. How can she be willing to accept this?
She works so hard, struggles like them men, and does no worse than them men. Why can't she enjoy the same power as them men?
In fact, the path before them is already very clear.
Yao Chunnuan sat at the desk and listed the relationship chart of the characters in the Daliang royal family one by one.
In Daliang, the emperor is old. At present, the most likely successors are the crown prince and the regent, the third prince. The rest of the young princes are either too young or weak in ability, and are completely unqualified to compete with their two older brothers.
Of the remaining three, Yao Chunnuan first crossed out the Third Prince. His previous attempt to take down the Northern Frontier Army had forced the General to relocate to Yichun, making it highly unlikely they would vote for him. Furthermore, the Third Prince was a headstrong lunatic, willing to live if he loved them and to die if he hated them. If he became the new emperor, they would be in for a rough ride.
Then, she crossed out the crown prince. Originally, the crown prince had a high chance of gaining their loyalty, but because of Wang Lang, the two sides gradually stood on opposite sides.
Finally, Yao Chunnuan's gaze fell on the old emperor's name. After a long moment of deliberation, she finally crossed it out. There was no way they were siding with the old emperor. To align with him now would be like joining the Kuomintang in 1949. As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints new ministers. Yao Chunnuan knew she wasn't the only one who felt this way. The same was true of the loyalists. On the surface, they were loyal only to the emperor, but who knew if they had already sided with someone else?
If they had surrendered to the old emperor, they would have barely had a few days of good fortune before they found themselves under the rule of the new emperor. It would have been fine if the new emperor wasn't the crown prince or the third prince, but if it were either of them, the outcome would have been equally dismal. Unfortunately, given the old emperor's personality, the new emperor could only be chosen from one of these two.
Yao Chunnuan frowned and looked at the three names she had crossed out, remaining silent for a long time.
Now it seems that they have no way out.
A fierce look flashed across Yao Chunnuan's eyes. So, if there was an opportunity, an opportunity to cause chaos in the world, they would definitely rush for it. If there was no opportunity, then they would create it! The more chaotic the world was, the better it would be for them. Destroy it and then rebuild it. Daliang wasn't a very good country anyway, and it wasn't good for its people. Just to say that in the past few months, Daliang had also suffered many natural disasters, and the court had done nothing, allowing the people to struggle in hell. It was disheartening.
As the saying goes, the world's general trend is this: after a long period of unity, there will be division, and after a long period of division, there will be unity. Even she could see the signs of chaos, and she didn't believe that those conspirators hiding in the shadows didn't see it either.
The general trend of the world is like this. No matter whether they are adding fuel to the fire or trying to turn the tide, if they go against the trend, their power will be very small. If they go with the trend, they will be a force that can crush everything.
What they need to do now is to constantly enrich themselves and increase their strength.
If they finally embark on the path of striving for hegemony, regardless of whether they can reach the top, or end up ruling a small area, or even die, the former is the best outcome, while the latter gives them bargaining chips. If they end up in the latter, there is nothing to say.
After figuring this out, Yao Chunnuan decided to meet the general.
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