Chapter 61
The two sides exchanged few pleasantries, and the Yichun camp went straight to the point. Their purpose was simple: to finalize the agreement on the portion of grain that would be given to the Yingchun camp after the total output of the military settlements was released. The previous agreement was for 30% of the total output, but the Yichun camp was determined to get a specific amount.
"According to the previous agreement, you must give us 880,000 dan of grain after each harvest next year." These were the original words given from the Yichun camp.
Upon hearing this, the members of the shogunate on the military settlement side widened their eyes. They were in charge of paperwork and internal affairs, and were also good at mathematics. They quickly calculated that the other party was asking them to deliver 880,000 koku based on the output per mu. They calculated it based on a yield of 300 jin per mu.
The military generals didn't know the reason yet, they just felt that the amount of grain they had to hand over to the Yichun camp was a bit too much, nearly one million dan, all of which were grown by the people in their military settlements with great effort.
"Bullshit, 30% is not equal to 880,000 stones!" Zhu Yongnian in the shogunate couldn't help but swear.
What happened? What happened? They were all confused. The generals looked at the members of the shogunate eagerly, waiting for an explanation.
"One million and one hundred thousand mu of land, with a 30% yield, and you're asking for 880,000 dan of grain. This is based entirely on a maximum yield of 300 jin per mu. Who can guarantee that every mu will yield the maximum yield? Even if you planted the land yourself, you couldn't guarantee this yield!"
Hearing this, Meng Yi and the generals took a deep breath and glared at Shi Mei and the others, "Why don't you just go and rob them!"
Zhou Yushu snorted. "They're just robbing each other now." Previously, they were always the ones getting pissed off by the other side, but now it was finally their turn to see the Juntun people get so angry. It was like eating a chilled melon in the dog days of summer. It felt so refreshing.
Meng Yi whispered, "If you're brave, don't leave so quickly. We'll meet in the small woods east of the military settlement." The general had unexpectedly not brought him along for this surprise attack on the Diluo tribe! He said that he'd been in charge of recruiting troops recently, and had frequently provoked the Yichun camp. His reputation had spread throughout the camp, and his sudden disappearance would be too sensitive and likely disturb the Yichun camp. This had left him feeling very upset.
Zhou Yushu said firmly, "Let's meet, who's afraid of who?"
"Ahem—" Yu Chen glared at Meng Yi, signaling him to quiet down. This was a serious occasion, and it was too disrespectful to challenge him to a fight.
"Your demands are too unreasonable. We, the military settlement, cannot agree to them. Either you lower the price a little, and we can agree on a fixed amount that is generally acceptable to everyone. Or you can wait until our military settlement harvests the grain, and then come and take it away. We will give you 30% of the total grain, not a cent less."
"No, who knows if you can farm? What if you can't, and the yield per mu is only a few dozen kilograms, then our camp will suffer a loss. Anyway, this is our requirement. Can't you do it? If not, return the military settlement to you." The people from the Yichun camp said arrogantly.
Yao Chunnuan calculated in his mind that one shi was equal to 120 jin, and ten dou was equal to one shi. In other words, the Yichun camp required them to give them 96 jin of grain per acre, or eight dou of grain.
"We agreed." Yao Chunnuan agreed without hesitation.
There is no point in arguing about this. The other party is just looking for a reason to take over their army. Either you agree to their unreasonable request and let them take advantage of you, or you give them an excuse to take back the management rights of the military settlement. The reasons are ready-made: the output of the military settlement you manage is too low, and the reason is of course that you don't know how to manage it.
Moreover, this matter cannot be delayed. The sovereignty is in their hands. It is a done deal and cannot be changed by the Yichun camp.
Zhu Yongnian hurriedly said, "Yu Changshi, Yao Zhubo, we cannot agree to this. This is totally unreasonable. What if we encounter a disaster year?"
"Yes, what if it's a disaster year?" Everyone on Yao Chunnuan's side looked across.
This - the people in the Yichun camp looked at their leader Shi Mei.
He just let his subordinates do their best, while he was observing Yao Chunnuan, the champion general's new confidant and capable assistant. The more he observed, the heavier his mood became.
Especially just now, she agreed to their unreasonable demands on behalf of Yichun Juntun so quickly and without much hesitation. Shi Mei was still quite disappointed.
I hadn't personally witnessed her strategic thinking, but I had witnessed her decisiveness. Their visit was a last-minute decision, and she had surprisingly made the right one.
Now everyone in the Yichun military settlement was staring at him with eager eyes, as if they would kill him if he just said, "We don't care about this, even in disaster years."
Shi Mei collected her thoughts and said, "The disaster years will be halved!"
"One quarter! In disaster years we only give one quarter of what we give in normal years."
People on the opposite side: ...
All right, one quarter is one quarter, it’s still two bushels. If you don’t get any harvest then, how can you afford to pay us for the food?
"Let's write a document." Yao Chunnuan said.
Yu Chen looked at Yao Chunnuan, who nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly. He knew that even if he agreed to the Yichun Camp's unreasonable request, she would probably have a way to resolve it. So he calmed himself and immediately drafted a document.
But the others didn't know that being forced to agree to such conditions made the shogunate members and the other generals very angry. Fortunately, Yao Chunnuan's reputation had been building up over time, and although the people on their side were very uncomfortable, they did not oppose her decision.
Shi Mei frowned slightly. He felt like the situation was out of his control. They should have been the ones requesting the written agreement, so why was it Yao Chunnuan who asked for it? Was there something he had overlooked?
Shi Mei remained silent, and the people from the Yichun camp didn't dare to say anything either.
As if understanding his suspicion, Yao Chunnuan snorted coldly, "You guys are doing this and that, and there's no telling when you'll change your mind again. It's better to sign a document in black and white, so that you won't regret it in two days. I have one last question for you, are you going to sign this document or not? If not, please go back. We'll just pretend that you haven't been here today and everything will go on as usual." What are you doubting? No matter how hard you try, you can't guess what I'm planning.
Shi Mei smiled and said, "Of course we have to sign this agreement. As Chief Clerk Yao said, it's better for our agreement to be written down in black and white."
As he spoke, he lifted the document and examined it. It was indeed written in accordance with their request: The Yichun military settlement would pay the Yichun camp 880,000 dan of grain from each harvest, based on the total yield of the 1.1 million mu of farmland already in the settlement. The grain would primarily consist of millet, wheat, and pepper. In disaster years, this amount would be reduced to one-fourth of the normal year, totaling 220,000 dan. After the agreement was signed, neither party could increase or decrease the amount within ten years.
Then he signed his name neatly, and then took out his personal seal and the official seal they brought and stamped them one by one.
The document was made in two copies, with each party taking one.
This matter is now completed.
The people in the Yichun camp looked at each other in surprise, quite surprised by the other side's straightforwardness. You know, they were worried about a violent conflict at the beginning.
The people in the Yichun military settlement found them extremely annoying, but they could do nothing about them. They held their breath and could only pick up the cold tea and drink it.
They know how to serve tea and see guests off.
Having successfully won back a city, the generals of the Yichun camp were all beaming with joy, not minding the other side's expulsion. Thinking it was almost time to say goodbye, Zhou Yushu asked Meng Yi, "Hey, are you still going to the grove?"
Go to hell! Meng Yi was about to yell.
Yao Chunnuan saw the person who spoke up, and thought, "Oh, the chicken farmer!" She smiled playfully and agreed for him, "Go!"
Meng Yi, "No!"
The two said almost in unison.
Meng Yi looked at Yao Chunnuan, he was so angry that he was about to die. How could he have the mood to gesture?
Yao Chunnuan smiled again and said, "Go ahead. We're all brothers and allies. What's wrong with sparring with each other?"
The vast majority of people present looked at her strangely, without distinguishing between friend and foe. Are you crazy? Do you still remember that your so-called brothers and allies just betrayed you?
Only Yu Chen and Shi Mei looked at her thoughtfully, but Shi Mei could not order Zhou Yushu to leave at this time.
Meng Yi frowned. Their Chief Secretary Yao wasn't one to speak without a purpose. She must have a deeper purpose behind this. So, he pretended to be convinced and said reluctantly, "Alright, then. Let's have a discussion."
Yao Chunnuan said to Zhou Yushu, "Look, he's accepted your invitation to the grove. I'm really looking forward to your sparring match, but what's a sparring match without a prize?"
Shi Mei had a bad feeling.
How did things get to this point? Zhou Yushu was a bit confused. "What's the prize?"
"How about this? The loser will serve in the other side's territory for three months." Yao Chunnuan's true colors finally revealed themselves, her smile radiating. If Meng Yi won, it would earn them a general. That would be great.
Meng Yi glared at him, "Master Yao, aren't you afraid that I'll lose?"
"Don't be afraid, I believe in you." Even if you lose, you will be in Cao's camp but your heart will be with Han.
Hearing this, he felt deeply that Yao Zhubo recognized his strength, and he was very happy. For a moment, he looked at Zhou Yushu with a look of fighting spirit.
"Master Yao, I don't think this prize is worth it..." Shi Mei refused such a competition. Zhou Yushu was a fresh-faced youngster, while Meng Yi was clearly a seasoned veteran. If Zhou Yushu lost, it would be like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth. If Meng Yi lost, it would be like a tiger among a flock of sheep. No matter how you looked at it, they would both suffer.
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Yao Chunnuan, "Master Shi, you don't even have this much confidence in your comrades, do you?" Her words were a double entendre.
Shi Mei frowned. Of course he couldn't admit this. He couldn't admit that Zhou Yushu was not as good as Meng Yi, nor could he say that he was worried that Zhou Yushu would defect after three months in the military settlement.
Shi Mei couldn't speak to stop him, so Zhou Yushu had to force him to do it. He had to finish the fight he had promised himself, even in tears.
So a group of military generals went out. It was a rare occasion to see such a lively scene, so some members of the shogunate also ran out.
In the conference room, Yao Chunnuan, Yu Chen, Shi Mei and others were still there.
Shi Mei was feeling rather upset, so she asked bluntly, "I heard the military settlement has built a new barracks and a new family quarters. I can't leave right now, so I wonder if I could go and take a look?"
Tsk, there really is a give and take.
Yao Chunnuan knew he was doing it on purpose, but she couldn't refuse. "Of course, I'll get someone to take you there."
When only Yao Chunnuan and Yu Chen were left in the meeting room, Yu Chen asked, "The terms of the agreement we signed today were so harsh, why did you agree to them?"
Yao Chunnuan explained to him the reason why she agreed to it. It was all for the purpose of preventing the autonomy of the military settlement from being compromised by them.
In addition, Yao Chunnuan also gave him a low profile, telling him that she had recently found a high-yield crop. After they planted it, they would be able to pay the 88 stone of grain that they had promised to the Yichun camp.
That's right, Yao Chunnuan was planning to bring out the sweet potatoes. When it comes to high-yielding crops, who can compete with sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn? Sweet potatoes easily yield two to three thousand kilograms per mu, while corn yields slightly less, but still over a thousand kilograms, completely eclipsing every other crop available today. If that ever happened, she was worried the other party might go back on their word, so this written agreement had to be signed!
She had to take these sweet potatoes. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to handle the whole dish. Despite the current boom in infrastructure development in military settlements, the greatest pressure was food. She had already been considering this issue.
To officially introduce the sweet potato, she even thought of an excuse: Luo Suyi stumbled upon it while hiking in the mountains. Yichun's mountains are rich in species, so adding a sweet potato to the mix wouldn't be a big deal.
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