bullyxtreme Chapter 35 A Bountiful Harvest
Chapter 35 A Bountiful Harvest
"Our lord, in the name of the Grand General, issued three imperial edicts in succession."
"The first document stated that Qingzhou had a bumper harvest, and the court, out of consideration for the urgent war in the north, specially ordered Qingzhou to pay 100,000 shi of 'military rations' to support the army."
"100,000 shi? Can he really provide that?" Yuan Shao asked doubtfully.
"If he gives it, it will deplete their resources and weaken their foundation. If he doesn't give it, it will be disobeying the imperial decree, and our lord will have the moral high ground to punish him," Xu You said with a sneer.
"The second message was that he had heard that there were two fierce generals in the Pingyuan army, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were brave enough to fight ten thousand men. The general was eager to find talented people, so he specially summoned the two to Ye City to serve and train with the army."
"This...isn't this blatant robbery? How could he possibly agree to this?"
"Of course he wouldn't agree. But if he refuses, it would be considered holding military power and disobeying orders. That would be another charge."
Xu You paused for a moment, then continued, "The third one is a commendation order."
"In recognition of Li Zhao's effective governance of Qingzhou, he is hereby awarded ten jars of imperial wine and one hundred bolts of brocade, and is ordered to come to the capital soon to report on his duties and receive the emperor's bestowal of honors."
Yuan Shao's eyes gradually lit up after hearing this.
"Brilliant! Brilliant plan! Ziyuan is truly my Zhang Liang!"
These three edicts, seemingly bestowing titles and summoning officials, were in reality three silent, bloodless knives.
Regardless of whether Li Zhao answers or how he answers, he will be put on the defensive.
"But who should we send to deliver these three imperial edicts?"
Yuan Shao was in a dilemma again.
That good-for-nothing Cui Yan is unreliable. If another one is scared away, his General's Mansion will truly become a joke.
Guo Tu's eyes darted around, and an idea came to him: "My lord, I have a candidate in mind."
This man was named Xin Pi, courtesy name Zuozhi, and was the younger brother of Xin Ping, a famous scholar from Yingchuan.
Although he came from a poor family, he was quite talented and had an arrogant personality. He looked down on warlords who rose to power through force.
Let him go; he will surely be neither servile nor arrogant, and will not diminish the lord's prestige.
Yuan Shao thought about it. He had heard of Xin Pi before; he was a tough nut to crack.
"Very well! As Gongze suggested, appoint Xinpi as special envoy to go to Qingzhou immediately to deliver the imperial decree!"
……
Ten days later, in Linzi City, Qingzhou.
Sinpi sat in a slightly bumpy carriage, lifting a corner of the curtain and coldly gazing at the scene outside.
He came from a poor family in Yingchuan, but he was well-versed in literature from a young age and had a high opinion of himself.
He actually looked down on scions of aristocratic families like Yuan Shao, believing they were merely relying on the legacy of their ancestors.
But he looked down on Li Zhao, a small warlord who rose to power from humble beginnings.
In his view, the so-called prosperity of Qingzhou was nothing more than a facade created by Li Zhao through the exploitation of the people.
Such an illusion is nothing but a reflection in a mirror, easily shattered.
However, as the carriage entered the territory of Linzi, Xin Pi's expression gradually changed.
Along both sides of the official road, the endless farmland was filled with golden millet ears, and farmers were busy harvesting in the fields, their faces beaming with genuine smiles.
At least on the surface, Xinpi did not appear to be coerced in the slightest.
What surprised Sinpi even more was that he saw many farmers holding a strange-looking farming tool.
The thing looked like a large cart with a row of sharp sickles at the front. One person could push it and quickly harvest a large field of crops.
It's much faster than the previous method of farmers personally harvesting wheat.
"What is this?"
Sinpi couldn't help but ask the coachman.
The coachman glanced back, grinned at Xinpi, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said:
"Replying to your question, sir, this is called a 'harvester,' a marvelous invention of our Prefect Li! With this treasure, harvesting crops is so much easier for us! What used to take a month to complete can now be done in ten or fifteen days!"
Upon hearing this, Xinpi sneered inwardly.
What inventions and wonders are they talking about? Most of them are just strange and ingenious tricks found somewhere.
Instead of educating the people, Li Zhao has been engaging in all sorts of crooked and evil practices.
The carriage entered Linzi city. The streets were wide and clean, with shops lining both sides, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares filled the air.
Although the people's clothes were not fancy, they were all clean and tidy, with rosy complexions, unlike the sallow and numb appearance of people in other prefectures and counties.
Xinpi became increasingly alarmed as he looked at it.
He traveled all the way from Jizhou, and all he saw along the way was desolation and ruin, with refugees everywhere.
In comparison, Linzi is simply paradise on earth.
"Hmph, it's just concentrating all of Qingzhou's wealth in this one city, nothing to brag about."
Xin Pi comforted himself inwardly, forcibly maintaining that sense of superiority that comes with being a scholar.
The carriage stopped in front of the Prime Minister's residence. Xin Pi straightened his clothes and stepped down from the carriage with his head held high.
Holding Yuan Shao's three imperial edicts in his hands, he felt that he represented the dignity of the court and the Grand General, and he absolutely could not lose face in front of Li Zhao.
Li Zhao had already received the news, but he did not wait in the main hall as he had done before. Instead, he ordered his men to take Xin Pi directly to the back garden.
It was the golden autumn season, and the chrysanthemums in the back garden were in full bloom, filling the air with their fragrance.
Li Zhao, dressed in a loose robe, was sitting in a pavilion, leisurely sipping tea.
Liu Bei, Xu Shu, and others sat beside him.
As Xin Pi approached the pavilion, he saw that Li Zhao did not intend to get up to greet him, and a surge of anger welled up in his heart.
"How dare you, Li Zhao! The Grand General's special envoy is here! Rise immediately to receive the imperial decree!"
Xinpi shouted sternly, raising the imperial edict high in his hand.
Li Zhao put down his teacup, slowly raised his head, and looked calmly at Xin Pi.
"Shin Jochi?" Li Zhao called out his name casually.
Xin Pi was taken aback, not expecting that Li Zhao would recognize him.
"It is indeed I," Xin Pi said proudly. "I am acting on the orders of the Great General..."
"sit."
Li Zhao pointed to the stone bench opposite him, interrupting him.
Xinpi was quite taken aback by this sudden word.
Looking at Li Zhao's nonchalant demeanor, he felt as if he had punched a cotton ball, his strength nowhere to be exerted.
"Li Zhao! What do you mean by this? Are you going to disobey the imperial decree?"
Xinpi angrily said.
Li Zhao smiled, ignoring his question, and turned to Xu Shu, saying, "Yuanzhi, it seems this Envoy Xin is quite hot-tempered. Why don't we take him somewhere to calm him down?"
Xu Shu understood and stood up with a smile, saying, "Mr. Xin has come from afar, so I suppose you are not very familiar with the local customs and culture of Qingzhou."
"Why don't we come with us for a stroll outside the city and see what the autumn scenery of Qingzhou is like?"
Xinpi wanted to refuse, as he was there to deliver an imperial decree, not to sightsee.
But then he thought it over and decided to take this opportunity to see what Li Zhao was really up to, so he snorted coldly, "Fine! I'll see what's so great about your Qingzhou!"
The group left the Prime Minister's residence, boarded a carriage, and headed straight out of the city.
The carriage did not head towards the military camp, but instead arrived at a large horse farm on the outskirts of the city.
This place was specially built by Li Zhao to establish a powerful cavalry force. Thousands of fine horses gallop across the vast grasslands, their hooves thundering, creating a magnificent sight.
Although Xin Pi was a scholar, he knew the importance of warhorses. Looking at so many well-fed and strong horses, he couldn't help but be secretly surprised. Li Zhao's wealth was even greater than he had imagined.
However, what happened next completely overturned his understanding.
It was the perfect time to feed the horses.
Dozens of large carts loaded with hay slowly drove into the horse farm. Upon closer inspection, Xinpi noticed that the hay contained a large amount of golden millet!
Moreover, it's not old or moldy rice, but top-quality new rice with plump grains and a golden color!
The grooms poured the fodder mixed with millet into the huge mangers. The horses immediately gathered around and began to chew it greedily.
Xinpi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"This...this is millet? Top-quality new millet?" Xinpi pointed at the manger, his voice trembling.
"Exactly." The stable manager said nonchalantly, "The lord said that warhorses are meant to fight and risk their lives, so they need to be well-fed to have the strength."
"What a waste! What an absolute waste!"
Xin Pi felt his heart bleeding. In Ji Province, this kind of high-quality millet was only available to aristocratic families and high-ranking generals. Ordinary people were lucky to even have coarse rice porridge mixed with wild vegetables.
And here, Li Zhao is actually using it to feed the horses?!
"Li Zhao! You...you're wasting food like this, aren't you afraid of divine retribution?!" Xin Pi turned around and pointed at Li Zhao, trembling with anger.
Looking at his heartbroken expression, Li Zhao revealed a mocking smile.
"Wasted?"
Li Zhao walked to a manger, grabbed a handful of hay mixed with millet, and smelled it.
"Xin Zuozhi, do you know how much grain this Qingzhou produced this year?"
Xinpi was taken aback; he had no idea about this.
Li Zhao held up five fingers.
"Five million shi (a unit of dry measure)."
Xin Pi gasped, nearly losing his balance. Five million shi (a unit of dry measure)? How could that be?! The entire annual output of Ji Province wouldn't even reach that much, would it?
"This five million shi of grain is enough to feed the five hundred thousand people of Qingzhou for three years."
Li Zhao casually tossed the hay back into the manger and dusted off his hands.
"The granaries of the people of Qingzhou are full. There's nowhere to put the extra grain. We're just feeding it to the horses. How is that considered a waste?"
"You..." Xin Pi pointed at Li Zhao, unable to speak for a long time.
His proud family background and his compassionate scholarly spirit seemed so pale and powerless in the face of five million bushels of grain.
He felt his worldview collapse at that moment.
"Xin Zuozhi, you may now read out Yuan Benchu's edict."
Li Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, looking coldly at Xin Pi.
Xinpi took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in his heart, and opened the first edict with trembling hands.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Qingzhou has had a bumper harvest. In consideration of the pressing war situation in the north, the court hereby orders Qingzhou to submit 100,000 shi of 'military rations' for military use..."
When Xinpi read the words "ten thousand shi," his voice became noticeably softer. Compared to the previous figure of five million shi, this ten thousand shi was simply a joke.
After hearing this, Li Zhao revealed a disdainful sneer on his face.
"100,000 shi? Even Yuan Shao wants to export them."
He walked up to Xinpi and snatched the imperial edict away.
"Sizzle—"
Under Xin Pi's horrified gaze, Li Zhao tore the imperial edict, which represented the majesty of the court and the Grand General, to shreds.