Chapter 50: Continuous Mines (IV) Update
Early April, new and full moon days.
The Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty's imperial carriage rolled out from the Nangong Gate, with the Imperial Guards, clad in light armor and crowned with red tassels, leading the way. Their iron hooves trotted across the smooth, wet streets, stirring up not a speck of dust.
After that came the eunuchs and maids in the palace, holding scented fans, and the emperor's chariot, which was two meters high and pulled by sixteen horses, moved forward.
Inside the car, Emperor Liu Jian of the Zhou Dynasty was sitting comfortably on a soft golden pillow.
On the rosewood table of the chariot, there was an orange-yellow glass cup that was a tribute from the Western Hu. The cup was filled with finely crushed ice, which was evenly matched with milk, purple ice fruit cubes, and Tianshan honey. The color alone was bright and crystal clear, and the coolness was refreshing.
Liu Jian is a big man, and he is prone to night sweats in the summer and cannot stand the heat.
Not only do I have to move to the cool palace early every year, but I also have to drink this kind of cool-down drink every day. Right now, I'm feeling comfortable and I drink a little from time to time to calm the heat in my heart.
At the same time, there was another person sitting opposite Liu Jian.
Judging from this man's appearance, he is indeed 50% similar to Liu Jian, and even their ages seem to be about the same. He is none other than King Yi Yang, Liu Qing.
"Royal brother, I heard from mother that your headache caused by the wind at night has not been cured. If you eat too much of these cold things, the cold air will seep into your body, which is not good." Liu Qing also had a similar lamp in front of him. It was given to him by the eunuch by Liu Jian.
"Why are you talking so much? How can we get through this hot weather without some ice?"
Liu Jian glared at him and retorted dissatisfiedly.
If someone else said this, Liu Jian would definitely lose his temper the first time.
He has been the emperor for so long, how could he have to listen to others nagging about such a small matter for no reason?
But the person who spoke at this time was Liu Qing. Although Liu Jian was also dissatisfied, he was not really angry after all. He just had a little annoyance, which made him seem closer.
Liu Qing also smiled and said, "Yes, yes! My Royal Brother has always been calm and measured, and he knows everything. I just spoke too much. My Royal Brother, please forgive me for this!"
Liu Jian glared at him and said, "I can spare you this time. But when you go south to your fiefdom, if you can't complete the task assigned to you, then crying and begging me to spare you will be of no use!"
"Your Majesty, I understand. Your Majesty, I understand! I have been working day and night to handle the affairs of the country and the family that you have solemnly entrusted to me. I will definitely get them done and will never let you down!" When Liu Qing heard him take the initiative to mention the matter of going south to the fiefdom, he hurriedly made assurances.
"Hmph, I'll just listen to your bragging for now. When the time comes, I'll let you know based on your political achievements." Liu Jian did not let him go and continued to beat him.
"I beg my royal brother to examine me from time to time!"
Liu Qing smiled and reassured Liu Jian. He looked at Liu Jian's expression and saw that Liu Jian only sneered and said nothing more. He asked tentatively, "Brother Your Majesty, I am willing to go south for your sake. I want to ask those descendants in the local area to learn the rules. I just wonder if anyone in the court will bother you?"
After hearing this, Liu Jian's expression finally turned cold.
He rolled his eyes and gave Liu Qing a stern look. Liu Qing felt his back tighten, and he quickly rolled over and fell to the ground in the middle of the carriage: "Your Majesty, I have spoken out of turn. Please punish me, brother!"
“Pala——”
Liu Jian threw the silver spoon he had been holding into the glass cup. The crushed ice and fruit pulp vibrated, spilling the purple juice all over the table.
Liu Qing kowtowed again, "I beg your Majesty to punish me! Your Majesty is the ruler of the Great Zhou, the most holy emperor in the world! Since you said that I should be a vassal, your words are the final word. Who dares to interfere? I have been reckless and presumptuous! But, my Majesty, the people of the Great Zhou still need you. Please do not harm your majesty because of my mistakes!"
After saying this, he kowtowed again with a "bang" on the carriage.
"snort."
Liu Jian let out a heavy snort from his nose, but his eyes moved away from Liu Qing who was lying on the ground, and looked at the long ceremonial procession in front of him. For a moment, his expression was gloomy.
After a while, Liu Qing, whose clothes were almost soaked with cold sweat, finally heard Liu Jian's rough voice again.
"Get up."
Liu Qing didn't even dare to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He forced himself to sit back down.
Seeing him like this, Liu Jian seemed to feel much better, as if nothing had happened. He said, "Look at your achievements. You're still as useless as when you were little! I just want to scare you, so you act like this!"
Liu Qing hurriedly said, "I have been useless since I was little. I am completely different from you, my brother!"
"Okay, finish your ice cup and go to the empress dowager's carriage to accompany your mother. Time is running out, so while you are still in Yanjing, you should do your best to be filial to her." Liu Jian said.
"I understand what your Majesty has taught me, and I will go now."
After Liu Qing finished speaking, he picked up the glass cup in front of him and gulped down most of the crushed ice and fruit pulp in one gulp.
A cold lump entered his stomach, and Liu Qing felt that his entire abdomen had lost all sensation.
He kowtowed to Liu Jian with chattering teeth, then staggered off the carriage. His intestines felt as cold as if he had fallen into a cave, but he didn't dare to stop for a moment and immediately ordered someone to escort him to the empress dowager's carriage.
Liu Jian looked at Liu Qing, who was so respectful, submissive and timid, and he felt a little better and leaned back on the cushion again.
The eunuch serving on the sedan chair had cleaned up the ice cup that had fallen off the table and replaced it with a new bowl of fruit milk that was still steaming with ice.
Liu Jian took a glance at it, but did not chew the ice spoonful by spoonful leisurely. Instead, he frowned slightly and fell into thought.
Behind the imperial chariot team, separated by the guards of the imperial guards, was another chariot of inferior specifications to the emperor's chariot, but it also had a yellow imperial crown, and the crown prince of the Zhou Dynasty, Liu Ziling, was sitting in the chariot.
Apart from a eunuch serving as attendant on the carriage, there was no one else on the carriage.
Amid the clatter of the wheels, Liu Ziling sat quietly inside the carriage, reading a volume of Mencius. The incense burner traced a curved line in the direction of the wheels' movement. A eunuch knelt beside him, his movements gentle and silent, whether adding incense or tea.
“Knock-knock-knock—”
Suddenly, three short and low knocks were heard on the window frame of the carriage.
Liu Ziling seemed oblivious, still intently reading the book in his hands. The kneeling eunuch naturally straightened up, gently pushed open the window of the carriage, leaned out slightly, and exchanged a few words in a low voice with the visitor.
The window frames were closed again.
The eunuch remained kneeling and bowed, "Your Highness."
Liu Ziling responded calmly: "Go ahead."
"Prince Yi Yang got off the emperor's carriage and went to the empress dowager. When he got off the carriage, he seemed to have difficulty walking and his face didn't look very good." The eunuch reported in a steady voice.
After hearing this, Liu Ziling raised his head slightly and asked, "Prince Yiyang got directly into the Queen Mother's carriage?"
The eunuch bowed: "Yes, Your Highness."
The carriage fell silent again. After a moment, Liu Ziling focused his gaze on the pages of the book in his hand and started flipping through them, as if he had never heard the news.
·
Wang Yanpeng, Gu Liangzhi and others finally received the prince's order and were ready to show their skills.
Preparations for the full-scale mining of the salt lake have begun. In addition to the prince's new craftsmen and the accountant and recorder, a lot of manpower is needed to quickly mine such a salt lake.
Although the prince was mining privately, with him as the governor of a county, he could make it look like a reasonable, legal and compliant mining for the court.
In this case, if several rounds of laborers were recruited from Xiguan County, not only would the people of Xiguan County rarely travel to other counties and the news would not leak out, but the laborers were always the lowest class of people. At most, they would be given food and a tent set up in the mining area so that they would have a place to sleep and shelter from the sun. There would be no other expenses.
Make money!
He assigned the task of recruiting laborers to a local official in Xiguan County of the Governor's Office, and asked him to recruit people according to the distribution of labor force. Thinking of the involvement of the Fu family and the Xiguan Marquisate, he also specifically instructed to avoid recruiting members of the Fu family as much as possible.
However, after working for two days, the official returned with a bitter face and told him, "Sir! There is no idle person in Yucheng!"
Wang Yanpeng was puzzled: "The busy spring season is over. How could there be over a hundred unemployed people in Yucheng, with thousands of households?"
"Sir, you don't know that nowadays, anyone with a little skill, or even just a little brains and strength, has gone to work at the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion!"
"Working at the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion?" Wang Yanpeng was shocked.
“Yeah!”
The official said, "Sir, you are busy with chores, so I'm afraid you don't know. A few days ago, the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion issued a recruitment notice throughout our Xiguan County! No matter what kind of craftsman you are, the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion wants them all. Even if you can sing a song or wield an axe, we can hire you. And... and..."
He stumbled a little here.
Wang Yanpeng asked, "How is it? Why are you hesitating? Tell me now!"
"Also... the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion is recruiting workers, and the wages and benefits are so good that no one can refuse! Food and accommodation are provided during the employment period, and the wages can be negotiated according to each person's ability. Some people get several strings of cash a month, while others get as little as one string of cash! The applicants can also choose the length of their work period, short-term for two months, four months, or six months, or long-term for one year, three years, or five years. It's all up to the applicants! Oh, and, for those who apply for work, the Xiguan Marquis' Mansion will also provide you with medical expenses based on the length of your work period. Once you enter, if your skills are lacking, the long-term craftsmen will have dedicated masters who will teach you one-on-one. Even if you are a short-term worker, someone will first take you to two or three days of lessons before you can start working. And during this teaching period, you will still be paid the same wages!"
“This…this…”
Wang Yanpeng was speechless for a moment, because this was really unheard of!
In the dignified Xiguan Marquisate, which prince in the Great Zhou Dynasty would hire people like this?
Even for those merchants who have to hire people, I have never heard of them paying for your medical expenses and paying you to attend classes!
As the official spoke, tears of envy welled up in his eyes: "If I weren't so tied up in this yamen, I would have gone there long ago if I had such a good way to make money!"
Wang Yanpeng glared at him, but this was not the time to deal with him for his inappropriate words.
He thought of a question: "But what is the purpose of Xiguan Houfu recruiting so many craftsmen?"
The official could not answer this question.
Wang Yanpeng waved his hand and told him to go down first, a gloomy look on his face. What should he do?
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