Chapter 104 Who Benefits from the Enke
Manager Han stayed in Songjiang City for half a month. A fight broke out on the grassland in the west, so he took his people to Anxi City to see Duoli. This time, not only Duoli came, but also his father, the chief of the Black Hawk tribe.
Perhaps the demise of the Canglang Tribe made them feel sympathetic. As soon as Duoli entered the room and saw Manager Han, he angrily scolded him.
"Your Han emperor went back on his word. He said he wouldn't attack the grasslands after annihilating the Canglang tribe. Why is he sending troops to the grasslands now?"
"Are you going to kill us all? Kill them and then come and kill us?"
"God, you will definitely be punished for doing this!"
"You are sinners!"
Shopkeeper Han didn't argue. He waited until Duoli finished his scolding before saying, "The Emperor and Empress' promise to you stands. The Great Zhou will not take action against your Black Hawk Tribe."
"really?"
"Of course it's true."
Duoli seemed to feel more at ease. He glared at Han, then reluctantly sat down. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Shopkeeper Han invited Duoli's father to sit down and served tea. Then he said, "Doli, you once met our emperor and empress in Songjiang City. You know how determined they are to pacify the northern border."
Duoli became angry again when he heard this: "The northern border is not just the northern border of your Great Zhou Dynasty. My people and I were born and raised on this grassland. You can't drive us away."
"You have a point, but we all live on this land. You rely on your vast military might to rob our property and kill our people. Who wouldn't be angry?"
A drought, a snowstorm, or any other natural disaster, it was just because they coveted the wealth of the people in the south, and sent troops south to plunder for no reason.
In the past, the imperial family of the Great Zhou Dynasty was weak, and the northern border was entirely under the control of the commander-in-chief of the border garrison. If the commander-in-chief did not want to cause trouble, he would ignore the small group of Tartars who raided the border and just give them a good face. However, if he encountered a strong commander who protected the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he might fight back at all costs.
It has always been like this on both sides of the northern border. Either the east wind prevails over the west wind, or the west wind prevails over the east wind.
The Great Zhou Dynasty is now powerful, and everyone from the emperor to the border garrisons is a tough nut to crack. The emperor of the Great Zhou said that he wanted to pacify the northern border. Who is not afraid of the grassland tribes that are now like scattered soldiers and guerrillas?
Doli's father started talking, speaking the language of their grassland. Han, who had traveled all over the country, could understand some of it, but not all of it.
Doli spoke for his father, "My father said that we are like cattle and sheep on the grassland. We go wherever there is grass. This is the truth that Changshengtian taught us."
This means that the wars and plundering on the grasslands were not entirely their own will; everyone was just trying to survive. God would not blame them for the wars they launched for survival.
To the people living on the border of the Great Zhou who had been bullied for years, these words sounded more like the logic of a bandit. Manager Han did not judge whether these words made sense or not. He did not come here to debate with them.
Shopkeeper Han said, "The Queen has considered this for you. If you wish, you don't have to leave the grassland."
"What does your queen want?"
The Zhou Dynasty's troops were approaching to clear the grassland, which put a lot of pressure on all the tribes on the grassland. Gu Youan sent Manager Han to see Duoli to tell him that if they wanted to stay, they must abide by the rules set by the Zhou Dynasty.
From now on, no medium or large tribes with more than 2,000 people can appear on the grassland. If the number of people exceeds that, they must split up and each occupy a piece of grassland.
They liked to herd sheep on the grassland and could live the same life as before. The court would set up several small cities on the grassland, and they would migrate with their flocks on the grassland. When they moved from one place to another, they had to report to the city.
The grassland tribes were under the control of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which also gave them benefits. Every time they went to the government to report the tribal situation, they could easily exchange it for salt, grain, cloth and other goods in the small town.
If they unfortunately encounter a snowstorm in the future, the Great Zhou Dynasty will rescue them just as it rescues the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
"What if we don't agree?"
Shopkeeper Han smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if you don't agree. Just go west and cross the desert. You will reach the fertile land in the west. It's a land with abundant grass and water, and it's close to the sea. There you can graze your livestock freely and without restriction."
Shopkeeper Han took out a map at the right moment and said, "This is a map presented to the emperor by merchants from our Great Zhou Dynasty who went to sea to do business. They reached the westernmost part of the Great Zhou Dynasty by sea, and you can also reach it by crossing the desert."
The grassland and land in the distance looked so tempting. Doli's father shook his head slightly and decided not to go.
"The Black Hawk Tribe is on friendly terms with us, and we believe you won't harm our people. Our Queen welcomes you to stay. If you don't want to go, you can give this map to other tribes willing to take the risk and migrate westward."
"For them, migrating westward was actually a good thing. Not only did they have a lot of land to graze their livestock, but they also avoided the risk of war and death. How wonderful!"
Doli's father said something from the grassland, and Doli expressed his father's attitude in Chinese: "We in the Black Hawk tribe are all brothers. We don't want to be separated."
Shopkeeper Han said in a gentle voice, "Your Black Hawk tribe has too many people. The grass in one grassland is not enough for your cattle and sheep to eat. Even though you rotate grazing every year over the years, it's still not enough. The grass has been eaten bare. This is not a long-term solution."
"It would be better if you split up into several small tribes and graze separately. This would be better for the grassland. There would be enough grass for the cattle and sheep, and you wouldn't have to move so frequently and laboriously, which would save you trouble."
If the Black Hawk Tribe wants to stay, the Great Zhou Dynasty will not allow them to become a threat to the Han people. Other things can be discussed, but this principle will never change.
Doli and his father looked at each other and he said, "My father and I are going to go back and discuss this with the tribe members."
Shopkeeper Han showed a friendly smile on his face, he knew that this matter would probably be successful.
After discussing the important matters, Manager Han took Duoli and his father to the warehouse and showed them the grain, tea and other goods that he and the caravan brought.
"In the future, the government will build many small cities like Anxi City deep in the grasslands. You can easily exchange your cattle and sheep for these goods while grazing in the deep grasslands."
Shopkeeper Han said to Duoli, "You like to travel as a merchant. When peace returns to the grasslands, you can take your caravan south to Luoyang, or even further south to purchase goods and bring them back to the grasslands to sell."
"Your emperor allows us to go south?"
"You are enemies, so of course I won't allow you to go. You have surrendered to the Great Zhou, so you are one family. Since you are one family, is there any place in the house that you cannot go to?"
The court's various management methods for the grassland were intended to assimilate them step by step. In this way, after a few hundred years, the grassland would naturally become stable and would be completely incorporated into the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Just as the Empress said, although these tribes on the Northern Grasslands are foreign, after thousands of years of confrontation, they are somewhat familiar with each other, so it would be good to integrate them into our own people. There is another great country to the north of the Northern Grasslands, and that is truly not our race.
After saying everything that needed to be said, Manager Han didn't want to continue. He treated Duoli and his son to a meal and then sent them back.
There was still a war going on in the west of the grassland, a knife was hanging over their heads, the bait released by Shopkeeper Han was emitting a fragrant smell, and after using both soft and hard tactics, the Black Hawk Tribe finally agreed to the conditions proposed by the Great Zhou Dynasty.
It is actually a good thing that the Black Hawk tribe is divided into several small tribes. In the past, Doli and his brothers would fight openly and secretly for the right of inheritance, but now each of them has left with a part of their people.
Duoli liked to travel for business. He didn't want cattle or sheep, but only horses. He bought a lot of goods from Manager Han with his people, and traveled west with these goods. He encountered the army of the Great Zhou Dynasty several times on the grassland. He relied on the document given to him by Manager Han, which was stamped with the Queen's Phoenix Seal, to pass through safely.
Duoli led his tribesmen and carts full of goods pulled by horses through the camp of the Great Zhou Dynasty army. After walking a long way, Duoli looked back and carefully observed the traces left beside the camp. This army must have been stationed by the river for more than half a month.
A few months ago, after the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty issued an imperial decree, the northern garrison crossed the border and entered the grassland in a huge manner. They used their strength to defeat the weak and could easily sweep across the grassland, but they were very cautious about using force.
It has been more than a month since Duoli came out. The soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty he met on his way west gave him convenience after reading the Queen's documents. They even pointed out the direction for him to find the tribe deep in the grassland.
These people from the Great Zhou Dynasty were clearly waiting for him to deliver the Great Zhou Dynasty's national policy for governing the grassland to those tribes. Those who were willing to stay would stay, and those who were unwilling to stay would quickly move west with the map given by the Great Zhou Dynasty.
If you don't choose either of the two and insist on fighting to the death, the army of the Zhou Dynasty will not be polite.
Doli saw through the intention of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He had no other choice but to continue moving forward along the path that the Queen had marked for the Black Hawk Tribe.
Tian Erlang was wrestling with several deputy generals. He knocked over two of them by himself, and was proud of his majestic physique, laughing heartily.
His personal guard came over and said, "The Tartar named Duoli and his people have left."
"It's good to go. We've been waiting here for half a month for that kid to come. Our food and supplies are almost gone."
The deputy general, who was too tired to get up, asked loudly, "How long can our food and supplies last?"
"The imperial court just sent us a batch of food and fodder five days ago. We estimate that we can last for another half a month."
"Okay, then half a month. If those two tribes ahead don't show any signs of disobedience after half a month, don't blame me for killing them with my sword."
Tian Erlang kicked him in disgust and said, "Can you do this? War is not about killing, it's about human relationships and social skills. If you can win by wits, don't fight. Don't the lives of our brothers matter to you?"
The deputy general laughed heartily, then stood up like a kite, brushed off the weeds on his body and said, "Oh, I've been in the army for half my life, and I've never fought a battle like this year."
Tian Erlang ignored him. Feeling very hot, he strode to the river, jumped in, swam two laps and came ashore. He felt so comfortable!
The war to clear the northern border was fought slowly from the beginning of spring to the beginning of autumn. At this time, the special examination of the first year of the new emperor's accession to the throne was about to begin, and many scholars flocked to Luoyang City.
It was a day off, and Zhou Qi and Gu Youan, a couple who had not left the palace for a long time, changed into civilian clothes and took A Yuan to join in the fun outside the palace.
To join in the fun, they naturally have to go to crowded places. When a family of three was walking on the street and saw a busy teahouse, they went in to see what was going on inside.
This teahouse called Wenqinglou got a touch of literary atmosphere many years ago because a number one scholar wrote a poem for it. The owner was good at running the business and often invited scholars and intellectuals to gather in the teahouse. There were also several talented storytellers employed in the teahouse all year round. Gradually, it became one of the favorite places for people in Luoyang who loved to have fun and to show off their knowledge of culture.
The owner of Wenqinglou looked up to scholars, so it was naturally a good place in the hearts of scholars. During important years like the one when Luoyang held a meeting to test scholars to enter the capital, this place became a place for foreign scholars to chat and gather.
Scholars read books of sages, but they themselves are not sages. Some young students even think they are qualified to instruct others just because they have read a few books, and it is common for them to argue with others outside.
As Zhou Qi and Gu You'an entered the room, they overheard a scholar from Shandong talking loudly. The scholar said that the Zunyi chapter of the Su Shu says: "Women who visit officials will cause chaos; private officials will be superficial." What do you think of this statement?
The scholar was filled with righteous indignation and said, "We scholars have studied diligently for twenty or thirty years, isn't it just so that we can one day serve as emperors and use all our knowledge to serve the people of the world? Yet, those who have not even achieved any academic success have already surpassed us and become officials, and even held important positions. How absurd!"
"Women who visit the emperor's palace to seek favors from favored women will cause chaos; those who grant official positions privately are frivolous and unreliable." This means that if people openly ask for favors from favored women in the palace, it will inevitably lead to unrest. Those who privately grant official positions are frivolous and unreliable.
Zhou Qi became interested and encouraged her as if he was watching a fun event: "Madam, this person is scolding you."
Gu Youan glared at him: "When you hear others scolding me, do you feel proud?"
A Yuan took a step forward and said angrily, "Mom, I'll go and curse you back."
Gu Youan pulled his son back and said, "Why are you scolding him? It's a waste of energy."
Gu Youan turned around and said to Liu Zhong behind him, "Go and find out who this scholar followed to come here and speak so arrogantly."
Gu Youan single-handedly pushed for the separation of bulk transactions such as medicinal materials, grain, salt, and minerals from the Imperial Household Department. Respective state-owned departments were being built. For example, the director of the Medicinal Materials Department, Hu Changpu, had come to Luoyang, but had not yet been officially appointed, so people outside did not know about it.
Since this scholar could bring up this matter and accuse the queen of secretly granting official positions to others and being a disruptor of government, it was obvious that there was someone behind the scenes directing him. He wanted to use public opinion to pressure her to stop when the special examination was about to begin and scholars gathered in Kyoto.
Liu Zhong nodded and said yes, then quietly left to do his job.
Over there, the servant who followed him had asked the shopkeeper for a semi-open private room on the second floor. There was a window in that private room facing the lobby downstairs. When the window was opened, he could hear the voices in the lobby and clearly see the people in the lobby.
Gu Youan walked in front holding A Yuan's hand. As soon as he went upstairs, he saw an old acquaintance, Wan Fuchun, the head of Wanjing Pharmacy.
Wan Fuchun also recognized her. When he saw the person behind her, he quickly stood up and saluted. He was so flustered that he even knocked the teacup on the edge of the table off and didn't dare to dodge even when the hot tea spilled on him.
Zhou Qi looked at Wan Fuchun. He looked average and not very young. He asked, "Why don't you leave?"
Gu Youan smiled and said, "I saw an acquaintance."
Passing by Wan Fuchun's open private room, Gu Youan said with a smile, "Manager Wan, come over for a cup of tea?"
"I...a commoner, I would rather obey than be respectful." Wan Fuchun was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly and broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing him describe it like this, Zhou Qi didn't even look at him again and went to sit in the private room next to him. Even if Wan Fuchun came in, he would just ignore him.
Wan Fuchun's uncle was the Minister of Personnel of the previous dynasty, but he retired a few years ago. Without his uncle's influence, Wan Fuchun's Wanjing Pharmacy's business has been declining year by year.
Last year, there was unrest in Luoyang. Seeing that the situation was not good, he took his family back to his hometown and hid there for more than a year. He returned to Luoyang last month and heard that there was a big move in the herbal medicine store.
However, the scholar downstairs's indirect criticism just now was not his instigation.
Wan Fuchun wanted to explain, but he didn't know where to start, for fear that he would make things worse.
If others didn't know, how could the Empress not know? He was just a herbal medicine dealer, and he was here. If others slandered him, he really couldn't explain it even if he had a hundred mouths.
Seeing him fidgeting, Gu Youan smiled and said, "I know you don't have the courage. Don't worry, I won't blame you."
Wan Fuchun breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you don't blame me. This matter... I only heard someone mention it last month when I returned to Kyoto. I didn't expect to hear that foreign scholar mention it in the teahouse today. I..."
Yuan suddenly asked, "Did you hear anyone mention this?"
Wan Fuchun was speechless. This... Even if someone told him the inside information, he couldn't harm them, right?
Judging from his age, this person should be the prince. He has to reply to the prince. What should he do?
Wan Fuchun knelt down quickly: "Your humble servant... Your humble servant..."
I thought for a long time but couldn't make out what was going on. Yuan curled his lips and walked to the window to look down at the lobby.
"Dad, the scholars at the same table with that scholar are all just repeating what others say. They are not smart people."
Zhou Qi nodded: "They failed the imperial examination."
The eunuch Sun Zhang, who had changed his clothes and followed, lingered on the faces of several scholars downstairs for a moment and remembered their faces.
Gu Youan raised his hand, motioning Wan Fuchun to stand up, and asked with a smile, "How is his family? Is business going well in Luoyang?"
The Queen offered him a seat, and Wan Fuchun did not dare to refuse. He lowered his head and said, "Since the new emperor ascended the throne, Luoyang City has been much more stable. The officials at the top dare not oppress us merchants, and they collect taxes according to the rules. Life is much better than before. Our pharmacy is still doing business with Songjiang City's medicinal materials as usual." Gu Youan nodded. This was the same policy she and Zhou Qi had formulated. This year was only the first year, and the north and the south had not been completely pacified yet, so naturally they had to focus on peace and stability.
Wan Fuchun was afraid of the emperor and empress's identities. Gu Youan was of noble status, but his temperament had not changed much compared to before. After talking for a while, Wan Fuchun gradually remembered the days when they did business together more than ten years ago, and his conversation became smoother. Gu Youan learned a lot of information from him.
Gu Youan returned the favor and didn't mind telling him, "The Great Zhou State-run Medicinal Materials Bureau must be established. The chief administrator of the Medicinal Materials Bureau is called Si Zheng, but he is a third-rank official. There are many other official positions under Si Zheng. If you are interested, you can try them out."
"I'm a merchant, and I don't have any official title. Can I go?"
"Of course, we're not asking you to govern the country, so what do you need fame for? Just understanding the business of medicinal herbs will be enough."
Gu Youan laughed again and said, "It's hard to say. We don't have that many talents available at the beginning. When there are more scholars in our herbal medicine store in the future, we will select the best ones and admit them. Who knows, maybe they will become managers in the herbal medicine department in the future, and everyone will compare their achievements."
When Wan Fuchun heard what the queen said, he thought to himself that he should send the boys in his family to study and take the imperial examinations.
After drinking two cups of tea, the family of three said goodbye as they had to go somewhere else.
After respectfully seeing off the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince, the scholars at the table downstairs were still making sarcastic remarks. Wan Fuchun frowned and asked someone to call the shopkeeper. After hearing such remarks, the shopkeeper was so scared that he hurried downstairs to ask someone to kick the scholars out.
The table of scholars were driven out to the street and were even more angry, but no one in Kyoto cared about their anger. Only people were secretly watching them, waiting to find out who was behind them.
It was a rare opportunity for them to go out, so Gu Youan and Zhou Qi took their son back to their mother's home. They had lunch there before returning to the palace. When they returned to Qi'an Hall, Liu Zhong was waiting at the door.
After Gu Youan sent his son to take a nap, he walked up to Zhou Qi, who was reading the secret information sent by Liu Zhongcai.
"Prince Xian's Mansion? I remember Prince Xian being quite honest. I didn't expect him to be the one spreading rumors behind people's backs. This matter has nothing to do with him."
Zhou Qi smiled and said, "You don't know this. Although no one from Prince Xian's family works for the Imperial Household Department, Prince Xian's wife's family is from the Wu family of Huizhou, a famous salt merchant. The Wu family sends a considerable amount of money to Prince Xian's palace every year."
The salt industry will also be nationalized. Those big businessmen who made their fortunes by exploiting the salt mountains will no longer have such a good life, and the same goes for those who act as umbrellas for the big businessmen.
"This matter concerns the interests of Prince Xian's palace, and it must also be related to other royal families who accept benefits from merchants and act as patrons. Those people are silent, and only Prince Xian has come forward?"
Zhou Qi smiled and said, "I'm very busy these days, so I'll need you to take the trouble to keep an eye on the people below and investigate this matter."
Gu Youan snorted and said, "In the past, most of this silver was eaten up by the big merchants and the royal family members who supported the big merchants. I took the trouble to take the silver out of their hands. Who benefits?"
"You want to strengthen the army, expand the official roads, and build water conservancy projects. Don't you want money for these?"
"Zhou Qi, if you don't support me behind the scenes, don't blame me if things go wrong."
Zhou Qi quickly admitted his mistake: "It's my fault. I shouldn't have said such a joke. Tell Baldy to investigate. Whoever he finds will be dealt with severely."
In the eyes of outsiders, her power as the queen must have overflowed too much. People in the cabinet, the court, and the royal family did not dare to speak openly about it. That was because Zhou Qi had always been her biggest supporter.
This borrowed power will one day be completely in her hands.
Gu Youan glared at him fiercely, "You bastard!"
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