Hsu Fengnian did not do anything. Later on, he met Provincial Governor Xu Beizhi at an old location called the Jiahe Granary outside of Lingzhou City. This granary was once the largest granary in the ancient world. Its scale did not lose out to the two imperial granaries in Great Peace City and Guangling Road. The north was Jingyu and the south was Ganlu. The two were known in the world. However, the Jiahe Granary had not been used for many dynasties and was completely abandoned. It only had a large frame. When the Administrator Li Gongde was the Provincial Governor of Lingzhou, he had thought about repairing the granary. Unfortunately, no one responded. It was difficult to do it alone, so he could only give up. First, repairing the Jiahe Granary required a large amount of silver. Second, moving the grain into the granary required great courage. Furthermore, once the grain entered the granary, it was the same as the government becoming a chicken rib. It was the same as having to spend silver every day to raise the grain. Normal granaries could still exchange new grain for old grain to earn money that could not see the light of day. However, once the Jiahe Granary was used again, it was destined to be an important military location that even the young kings had to keep an eye on. Who dared to do anything to this place? Were they tired of living? The newly appointed Provincial Governor Xu Beizhi acted alone under these circumstances. He did not hesitate to overdraft the Lingzhou tax and decided to renovate the Jiahe Granary. In the eyes of the sly officials, the Provincial Governor was doing it once and for all, but in the dark, he was biting off more than he could chew. The old foxes in the Lingzhou officialdom did not dare to do nothing in the open, but they secretly set up many obstacles. If the Jiahe Granary was really messed up by that rash young man, it would cut off countless people's income. A Jiahe Granary could not only take in the entire Lingzhou tax to pay for the salaries of officials and the local military, it could also reduce the price of grain to prepare for famine relief. This allowed the tyrannical private granaries of the people to use natural disasters and man-made to obtain huge profits. From the top to the bottom, from the ranking officials to the officials to the odd-job workers, they all tacitly worked but did not put in effort. Furthermore, there were often disputes that hindered the progress of the project. Sir Xu, who was mocked as the Provincial Governor of Grain Province, did not fly into a rage over this and did not punish the chicken to warn the monkey. He only borrowed 2,000 armored soldiers from the general of Lingzhou and then asked for 3,000 strong corvee laborers from Hwangnam County and Longqing County that he could control. He almost completely ignored the orthodox officialdom in Lingzhou. At the same time, he sent Song Yan to clean up the official granaries in Lingzhou. Once he found that there were illegal actions, he would not make a big fuss. At most, he would remove the official hat and replace it with a foreign scholar with a clean background. Most likely, the Lingzhou officialdom did not suffer unbearable turmoil. However, a small group of insightful people finally realized this and began to frequently go to the much quieter official residence in Lingzhou.
The Jiahe Granary was heavily guarded. Hsu Fengnian also did not reveal his identity. He only asked a young military officer to help him pass on a message, saying that the Prefect of Bishan County of Yanzhi County in Youzhou was an old acquaintance of the Provincial Governor. Xu Beizhi, who had been sleeping and eating in the open at the old site of the Jiahe Granary, quickly rushed over. He was even more travel-worn than Hsu Fengnian. The youngest Provincial Governor in Beiliang history looked exhausted, but he seemed to be in good spirits. After seeing Hsu Fengnian, he was not surprised and silently walked side by side. This gave the military officer a fright. The construction of the Jiahe Granary was in full swing. Xu Beizhi was seen as the prodigal son of Lingzhou. He raised his sleeve to wipe his dusty face and said as he walked, "The Jiahe Granary was the second granary of the Qin Dynasty 800 years ago. It was only slightly inferior to Luo Yang's granary. It was called a granary, but in reality, it was no different from a city with both offensive and defensive capabilities. The granary city was one and a half li from east to west and two li from north to south. There were more than 300 granaries and no less than 50 granaries. However, this was not all. When it was renovated, one could clearly see the ancient words carved on the bricks describing the source of the grain, the time it was stored in the granary, and the name of the official who was conferred the granary. Every era of the Qin Dynasty had declined, and all of this could be traced. I originally thought that worshipping the past was a bad habit, but after coming to the Jiahe Granary, I realized that there were some things that the ancients did better."
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "The wisdom of the people has gradually developed, and there are both good and bad. Otherwise, the ancestors of Daoism would not have brought up the saying that the saints had abandoned wisdom and that the morals of the world were declining with each passing day. It will be mentioned more and more in the future. There are already very few scholars in Beiliang, but they are still very clever in the officialdom. If you were in Jiangnan where the rich and powerful families intertwined with each other, you would truly not be able to display your talents. Here, after all, there is still the suppression of military officials, and the time for civil officials to raise their heads is, after all, short. "
Xu Beizhi sighed and said in a deep voice, "As long as the Jiahe Granary is completed, with this year's harvest in the three provinces as a source of grain, it will be enough to support the war on the border for two years. However, the prerequisite is that the various provinces and counties do not embezzle from one another, and the people withdraw their claws and do not get involved. Otherwise, not to mention two years, even half a year is an extravagant hope. Time does not wait for me. Actually, if we can plan slowly, I can even have the local grain merchants go to other provinces to buy grain at a high price to fill the cold. This bit of silver is nothing. Once the war starts, not to mention gold and silver, even land will not be as valuable as ready-made grain. However, 20 years of peace within Beiliang has become their confidence for being short-sighted. It is really laughable. Those who brought their children and grandchildren out of the country have even spread the word that even if the grain in the granary rots to the ground, they will not sell a single grain of good rice to the Jiahe Granary at a high price. This reminds me of what Grandpa said about the disputes between neighbors. If you only have one cent of silver and your neighbor gets three cents of silver, then you would rather everyone not earn a single cent than let the other family get two cents more. "
No matter how angry he was, Xu Beizhi's tone was always calm and indifferent.
Hsu Fengnian stopped in front of a granary with grey tiles. He said with a slight smile, "Lingzhou is so excited to disgust you, just let them be. However, I can guarantee you that the autumn grain from Liang and You Provinces will definitely be stuffed into the Jiahe Granary. At that time, those fellows who escaped when I was Lingzhou's general will settle the score with you. Anyway, from today onwards, the so-called priceless antiques will follow them out of Beiliang. Take as much as you can, but don't even think about taking one tael of silver or gold or one catty of white rice out. "
Xu Beizhi said with a cold smile without holding back, "Wishful thinking, do you think you can do it? If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Which of those generals and commandants guarding the border is not related? "
Hsu Fengnian said helplessly, "It's better than not doing anything, right?"
Xu Beizhi's expression relaxed a little and he nodded. When the vassal king beside him swaggered out of Lingzhou, he did not really touch the bottom line of Lingzhou's officialdom. With the Lingzhou general and His Royal Highness protecting him, no one really dared to fall out with him. However, when Xu Beizhi personally took charge of Lingzhou, where dragons and snakes were mixed together, it was hard to avoid touching the bottom line of the local officials and families. Furthermore, Xu Beizhi was not like Li Gongde, an old man in Beiliang who suddenly became a noble. Even with Song Yan and the four Wang families helping him out and the Lingzhou general helping him, the officialdom had always been complicated and hard to predict. Laws, relationships, clan rules, and all kinds of rules were mixed within. They all had conflicts and were a mess. The so-called cutting the Gordian knot with a knife could only succeed for a while and would leave behind a long lasting disaster. Xu Beizhi was in the middle of it. As long as he did something, he would naturally make enemies on all sides. Chen Xiliang, who had taken care of the salt policy and the transport of grain, was an example. It was not that Chen Xiliang did not have good medicine at that time, but so what if he had a strategy? Didn't he still hit a wall everywhere? Xu Beizhi sneered in his heart. He had a soft personality and could be bullied by everyone. How could he stand on his own in Beiliang where the people were strong? In Liuzhou, the fourth province of the land of refugees, even if Chen Xiliang successfully defended the city and did not let nearly ten thousand Horse Gang break through, he was still criticized for being indecisive and soft-hearted. In the future, even if he had the chance to take charge of a territory, he would not be able to make any achievements in local politics.
Hsu Fengnian suddenly asked, "The Fish-dragon Gang frequently engaged in border trade. Did they break any rules?"
Xu Beizhi said, "There are spies keeping an eye on them. Since no spies reported to the Provincial Governor's office, they probably did not break any rules."
After pausing for a moment, Xu Beizhi frowned and asked, "Did they break any rules?"
Hsu Fengnian shook his head and said, "I don't think so."
Xu Beizhi said calmly, "That woman surnamed Liu has yet to pay me a visit, probably to avoid arousing suspicion. However, a woman like her, who is not magnanimous, is destined to be the leader of a second-rate gang in a prefecture. She is destined to be the leader of one of the top gangs in Jianghu."
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "It's not her fault. It's been hard on her. She should have been an ordinary Jianghu heroine."
Xu Beizhi suddenly said, "Since you came back alive, why don't you hurry back to Mount Qingliang? I've already prepared some thorns for you. "
Hsu Fengnian said bitterly, "It's useless to bring a thorns and ask for punishment from Second Sister."
Xu Beizhi's face was filled with undisguised schadenfreude.
Then, Xu Beizhi ordered a large portion of food for the King of Beiliang who had yet to eat. The Jiahe Granary had always treated everyone equally, with pickled vegetables and steamed buns. Xu Beizhi and Hsu Fengnian both squatted down to eat. Lu Yunchang very heroically sat cross-legged with his blade across his chest. He also asked for a jug of the famous Green Ant Wine from Beiliang. In the end, he choked on it until his face turned red. Wang Sheng carried his case and tied his sword. He could not squat down, so he could only stand.
Xu Beizhi smiled and asked, "Are they all your disciples?"
Hsu Fengnian grunted in acknowledgment.
Lu Yunchang smiled mischievously and said, "This is Lingzhou's Lord Official. My name is Lu Yunchang, and I am from the Eastern Sea's Martial Emperor City. I am Master's eldest disciple. I hope Lord Official can take care of me in the future."
Xu Beizhi heard the youth's cultured words and dismissed it with a smile.
Wang Sheng snorted coldly.
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "They can be considered as my second and third disciples. My eldest disciple is a shepherd boy, but he is still by Xu Yanbing's side."
Lu Yunchang stared and said, "What? Wang Sheng is not even the eldest disciple? Immortal Master, then why would I fight with Wang Sheng three years later? Even if we fight, we will only be second. It's meaningless. "
Hsu Fengnian said indifferently, "Drink your wine."
The youth drank his wine obediently, showing respect for his master.
Xu Beizhi asked softly, "What did Guangling Road say?"
Hsu Fengnian said calmly, "It will be in the next few days."
Xu Beizhi sighed and said, "When the smoke signal rises, does this mean that someone in the Liyang Dynasty's imperial court is welcoming the last ray of light?"
Hsu Fengnian grunted expressionlessly, "If the old doesn't go, the new won't come."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
