*Edited by LazyCat

An hour before the city wall of Changshu was breached, Jiang Zheng had someone tie up An Laosi and then packed up his money and his family to prepare to run away. It was too late to ask the court for help. He had to survive and he didn’t feel that he would have any kind of good ending when he was caught by the people of Gaoyou. The family spent an hour discussing and another hour packing up, and then finally used the last hour to run away. Even the last troops of Changshu were summoned by Jiang Zheng to protect him as he fled Changshu to Huzhou.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

With so many people, even if Jiang Zheng escaped, his escape would still invoke a lot of attention.

Chen Baisong and Zhu Yuanzhang, who had already charged into the city, took a look at each other.

“Go!”

The two urged their horses into a gallop almost at the same time, and the cavalry behind them also followed after.

Whoever captured Jiang Zheng would be given greater credit.

They didn’t need to think at all, their bodies were already one step ahead.

“Faster!” Jiang Zheng was sitting in the carriage. He practically screeched at the carriage driver in front of him. His parents were also in the carriage but the old couple looked extremely calm.

Father Jiang said: “Tell them to stop.”

Jiang Zheng looked back at his father in disbelief. His father was the previous Sub-prefect and was now the head of the Jiang family. He had twelve sons but finally chose Jiang Zheng, the son of a concubine to inherit his position. He had chose this son because he was ambitious and courageous, but he never expected that while such a son would be enough to handle the position of Sub-prefect, he could not handle a higher position.

It was not a mistake to have ambitions.

The mistake was that his intelligence was not enough to match his ambitions.

Father Jiang sighed: “We won’t be able to escape. If we surrender and offer the city, maybe we can still protect the Jiang family.”

Jiang Zheng: “Father! They will kill me! They will definitely kill me!”

Father Jiang looked at his son, who looked very similar to himself, and finally said: “Even if you and I will die, as long as we can protect a trace of the Jiang family’s blood, it is worth it.”

“Compared with the family, our survival is not important.” Father Jiang shouted to the driver, “Stop.”

The driver was also very flustered and scared, but he could only stop the carriage——he would not resist the master’s request.

Jiang Zheng threw himself over and clutched at father Jiang’s leg: “Father! I don’t want to die!”

He burst into tears, tears and snot covering his entire face. He had never been in such a sorry state before.

At this time, mother Jiang took father Jiang’s hand and smiled at him: “It’s rare to come out with you.”

Father Jiang looked at his old wife. Since the age of 30, he had treated his old wife with respect but not affection, preferring young beauties more. But now, when he was in a life or death situation, she was the only one who was by his side. Father Jiang sighed: “Yes, it has been so many years.”

Father Jiang took mother Jiang’s hand and got out of the carriage together.

Jiang Zheng lay in the carriage and wept bitterly.

His whole body was shaking.

He could hear the sounds of the enemy.

Jiang Zheng got up with difficulty, climbing out of the carriage with trembling legs to stand beside his parents. He was the son of the Jiang family. The blood in his veins was that of the Jiang family. For the sake of the family, he should not be stingy with his life.

“Father.” Jiang Zheng grabbed his father’s arm.

Father Jiang: “My son, time or fate, you can’t force either of them.”

Immediately after his words fell, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong had already led their men over. The two sides confronted each other but did not yet start fighting.

Chen Baisong was the first to shout: “Where is Sub-prefect Jiang?!”

Father Jiang patted Jiang Zheng on the arm. Jiang Zheng took a deep breath. He raised his head and looked at the man on the horse. With the greatest courage in his life he said, “I am the Sub-prefect Jiang Zheng of Changshu!”

On the side, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his crossbow and shot an arrow through Jiang Zheng’s chest.

Seeing that arrow fly over, Jiang Zheng couldn’t move at all. He wanted to escape, but his feet were rooted on the ground. His eyes widened, his breathing came rapidly, and then——he didn’t even feel the pain. Bowing his head, he saw the arrow in his chest before falling backward.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang said to the soldiers protecting the Jiang family: “Disarm and kneel on the ground and we won’t kill you!”

The soldiers looked at each other until one of them knelt down. Soon all of them knelt down like a wave of bending wheat.

Only father Jiang and mother Jiang were still standing.

They did not even look at the fallen Jiang Zheng.

“Don’t know the name of this general.” Father Jiang cupped his fists in greeting.

Zhu Yuanzhang held the reins: “Under the South Bodhisattva, I am Zhu Yuanzhang.”

Father Jiang tidied up his clothes, and with mother Jiang, he slowly bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong, pressing his head to the ground and saying: “I plead that General Zhu let the rest of the Jiang family live.”

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered: “If Lord Jiang had offered the city earlier, my Lord would have let him live. But now if we release the Jiang family, how many people will we have to release in the future?”

Father Jiang did not look up, and said with a trembling voice: “I plead this lord to let go of the children!”

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong glanced at each other. Chen Baisong gave an order: “The Jiang family, whether young or old, shall be killed on the spot.”

From beginning to end, father Jiang did not look up. He could only cry silently.

One step wrong and they must be consigned to eternal damnation.

They only saw the imperial court but did not see Gaoyou. Their ambitions eventually destroyed the Jiang family.

In his ears sounded the screams and begging for mercy from his family members.

His great-grandson was still an ignorant toddler and did not know what was happening, only knowing to let out loud wails.

The ground was stained with blood, and mother Jiang said to father Jiang, “All the sisters are gone.”

Jiang Zheng’s wives were all killed by mother Jiang back in their old manor before leaving the city. Only two pregnant women were taken away, escaping on a different path.

Father Jiang understood what she meant and he suddenly felt that he was full of vigor!

The Jiang family was not exterminated! Their bloodline still remained!

Mother Jiang smiled and said: “I always cursed you hoping you would die, and now that you are really going to die I feel a little bit reluctant.”

Father Jiang: “For so many years, I have wronged you.”

Mother Jiang smiled at him: “Between husbands and wives, there is nothing worthy of being sorry. Before I got married, my mother said to me: ‘After you get married, your fortune is tied with your husband. Sharing life and death together is the duty of a wife.’ After we go down to the underworld and see my parents-in-law, I can say that I have a clear conscience.”

The elderly couple in their 60s looked at each other with a smile at the corners of their mouths and faced death calmly.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Zhu Yuanzhang said to the soldiers: “These two, bury them well.”

The soldiers answered with an affirmative.

They were now about to deal with the aftermath in Changshu. The soldiers were all experienced. Some of them went to comfort the people, ringing the bell and announcing that Changshu was already under the rule of the South Bodhisattva. The South Bodhisattva would not make it difficult for the people.

Another group of people rushed into the homes of large families in Changshu. Some of these large families huddled in their homes while others ran away with some valuables. The manors of those who ran away were easy to clean up. Those who did not run were invited out by the soldiers. Except for the personal belongings on their person nothing else was allowed to be brought out with them. Their money would all be confiscated, unless they performed meritorious services.

So these big households whose possessions were “confiscated” began to bite at each other, indicating that the other party were in cahoots with Jiang Zheng to oppress the people.

These people have all been sent to prison. When exactly could come out depended on when Lin Yuan arrived in Changshu and had the time to deal with them.

Probably the reputation of the “South Bodhisattva” was famous enough. In addition, the people found that these soldiers did not harm the women and children nor rob them of their belongings. Moreover, the soldiers even opened the granary in Changshu in front of them. The people of Changshu finally couldn’t help but kneel down to the ground and begin to cry.

Many of them had relatives and family members who died from starvation, unable to make it past the winter.

But there were clearly so many grains, grains that were grown by them. They grew the grains themselves, but weren’t able to eat enough. What kind of reasoning was this?

Chen Baisong looked at these people as he took a sip of water from his flask before saying to Zhu Yuanzhang: “It’s easier than expected.”

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at An Laosi who was loosened from his ropes by the soldiers not far away, and smiled: “The villain also has their uses.”

Chen Baisong glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Although the two of them were colleagues, they didn’t have much daily contact. Chen Baisong even deliberately or unintentionally had his guard up against Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally discovered this so he did not take the initiative to get close to Chen Baisong. In this way the two unexpectedly maintained a balance.

After capturing Changshu, they would not retreat for the time being. At this time, a strong military presence was needed to suppress the rest of the powers in Changshu. However, Li Congrong and Yang Zi’an had to take their soldiers back. After all, Gaoyou could not do without people either.

Jiang Gui was now in Taizhou and was in charge of Taizhou’s affairs so he could not be moved away.

As for the original soldiers in Changshu, they had now become prisoners. Chen Baisong had people fence in a field outside the city, and put them inside like one would with pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep. These soldiers were all disheveled and in a sorry state. They wanted to charge out, but they were unarmed with their weapons taken away. Though there were bold ones who tried to kill the guards at night to escape. The end result was that they were all beheaded, none of them surviving.

After a few waves of dissenters died, the remaining people finally became more obedient.

Every day, someone would give them food. Although it was just some beans, no one would complain as it was for survival.

The common people were also registered separately by their genders and they would all receive their own small wooden sign——that was, an ID card.

The common people found that many of the “lords” who engraved wooden signs for them were children who did not even reach as high as their their waist. These “little lords” sat in the room early every morning and engraved the words on the signs for an hour before resting for a cup of tea. Now that the weather was getting hot there was no need for charcoal braziers in the house. But hot water was always on hand by their sides.

There were such small officials in this world. This shocked the people of Changshu. Many people rubbed their eyes and thought they were seeing wrong. The children of the common people were about the same age as these little officials and as they looked at these “little lords” sitting in the house all of them showed longing expressions on their faces.

Sitting in such a beautiful house and not having to face the harshness of the outside weather. They also saw people bringing meals to the little lords, all with meat and vegetables. When the aroma traveled out, all of them had loudly growling stomachs.

The manager in charge said to them: “Don’t be envious. These little officials were like your children before and didn’t know any words at all. It was after the South Bodhisattva came that they learned to read. Now they are free from illiteracy and can work for the government, earning no less than me in a month.”

The people couldn’t believe it.

Could such a small child earn about the same as the manager?

Courageously, someone asked: “Milord! Will our children be able to do the same in the future?”

The manager smiled at him: “Now you are all the people of the South Bodhisattva. What do you think? Is it possible that you have never heard the name of the South Bodhisattva in Changshu?”

The people have heard it, but they just listened and did not take it to heart. Gaoyou was clearly not too far away, but many of them have never left Changshu in their entire lives, let alone go to other places. They didn’t even have time to think about it, busy as they were with their livelihoods and feeding the family. Where was there time to think about things in the future, about things outside?

It seemed that Changshu was better in the hands of the South Bodhisattva than in the hands of the imperial court?

The people were bewildered.

But so long as they could live their lives they would not leave Changshu.

This land was where they had lived for generations. They would never leave here unless they could no longer survive on this land.

——

“Little lord, eat something. You have been busy the whole day.” At night, the room was lit with an oil lamp. A servant came over with a meal, and gave it to a young boy around ten sitting in the room. The young boy was dressed in a green robe and holding a carving knife in his hand. His fingers already had a lot of calluses because of all the engraving he had been doing so it was not as painful as before.

The young boy’s surname was Zheng, and he was called Zheng Er because he was the second child. He thanked the servant. Only then did he put down the wooden sign and carving knife for the food in his hand. He ate very slowly, very carefully. It could be seen that he once had a very good family background.

Zheng Er was once the oldest grandson of the Zheng family in Gaoyou. Their family was a big family, with tenants and land, and were one of the most influential big landlords.

But when the South Bodhisattva came, everything changed. The old servants of the family became the common people, and they could not live in the Zheng farmstead anymore. After they no longer had servants, their family could only live in a small house, the entire family of more than 30 people living together.

The farmstead and land were no longer theirs anymore and all the family members had to go out to find work, otherwise they would not have enough food.

At that time, the “school” run by the South Bodhisattva opened. Because he was within the scope of schooling years, he was also taken to go study. He had the foundation, and he quickly completed his schoolwork and left the illiterate ranks. Because he was just over ten years old, he also started to work for the government.

He remembered that at the very beginning, his parents and uncles were always frowning. He was young, but he also understood that their family would not be able to return to their original glorious days. Just like ordinary people, they had to go out and earn whatever they wanted.

His sisters also began to learn how to make clothes and weave so that they could exchange it for money.

But Zheng Er thought it was very good like this. He used to live in a big house and must follow a lot of rules. Everyone spoke with hidden meaning in their words. Even the servants were divided into factions, from which courtyard to which house they belonged to. He saw it all with his eyes, but he just didn’t point it out.

After going to school, Zheng Er learned a lot of truths and reasoning from the teacher.

Zheng Er didn’t feel bitter at all when working outside now.

He believed he could do it. So long as he worked harder and harder, one day his family would be prosperous again.

His goal was to become a county official or a district head.

The teacher said that everyone must have goals, otherwise living your life in a muddled way was no different from the walking dead. Would there be any point in studying then? Wouldn’t it be better to be just a fool?

Zheng Er thought so.

So when his colleagues complained of tiredness, he always kept silent and continued to do his work.

Sometimes he would also wonder, what kind of person was the South Bodhisattva?

Was he really a bodhisattva? Would he get a chance to meet him?

The “little lords” who were resting outside returned to the house one after another, packed their things, and went back to the room arranged for them to sleep in. Zheng Er also packed up his things——the carving knife and today’s carved wooden sign. If they were lost then he would have to re-engrave it once again.

Zheng Er left the house. Someone outside was already waiting for him.

“Young master!” The boy who was slightly older than Zheng Er ran over excitedly and took over Zheng Er’s small burden, “Have you eaten anything? Today I ate chicken with spices!”

Zheng Er said with a small serious looking face, like a little adult: “Don’t call me young master again. The teacher said, we are all the same. We are all people of the South Bodhisattva.”

The boy stuck out his tongue. He had put all of his energy on word recognition during class. He didn’t understand other things the teacher said. He was not as smart as the young master. In the eyes of the boy, the young master was the smartest person in the world and was only a little less smarter than the South Bodhisattva.

The two walked towards the dormitory together. The dormitory was remodeled from a large manor and soldiers were sent to protect and guard it day and night.

Zheng Er slept in the same room with the boy and two other children. Two people shared a bed. As male and female must live separately, the girls lived on the other side of the manor.

No one thought that girls could also read and write, and then come out to work for the government.

But no one had any doubts, because the South Bodhisattva said that in his eyes, the people in this world were the same, regardless of male or female. It would be unfair to boys if only boys had to work and girls remained idle.

Even though the people didn’t understand what was so unfair about this since boys could only marry and have their own family when they found work.

But since the South Bodhisattva said so, and it seemed to also make sense, the people accepted it easily.

Compared with the boys, the girls still had to do some small chores in the house like sewing. Although the craftsmanship was not comparable to that of the adults, their products could still be used after sewing. Most of them sewed small things, such as socks and the like so even if the stitches were ugly no one would be able to see it anyway.

“How much money did you save?” The little girl asked her companion next to her.

The companion finished sewing a sock and smiled at her.

Her mother told her that no matter how much money she had, whether it was more or less, she shouldn’t tell others.

The little girl didn’t get a response so she stopped asking. She whispered: “My mother took all my money.”

Her mother had said that she would be keeping it for her but she knew that her mother took the money to buy things for her little brother.

She didn’t feel much about this kind of treatment before, but now she felt a little uncomfortable.

The companion said to her: “Then when you are fourteen, you can go to the government office to move out your registered residence, then your mother won’t get your money.”

The little girl didn’t dare, so she could only sigh like an adult.

“I just saw some children about our age outside.” The little girl suddenly remembered something and said, “She had a big head and a big belly, but her arms and legs were very thin. It’s so strange.”

The little girls in the room all stopped working, and a little girl whispered: “I heard my mother say that such a person is someone who could not eat enough and had to drink water every day. She will soon die.”

“Really?”

“This is very common, my neighbor starved to death just like this.”

The girls shuddered and continued to work.

Earn a little more money, and their hope of survival would also be greater.

Because girls could also work, now when her mother gave birth to a younger sister, she would no longer drown or throw her younger sister away.

——

Order quickly restored in Changshu. The common people didn’t feel much affected by the change of Changshu’s governance. They had no belief but to live on. In addition, their lives now had clearly become better. So long as they went to register their identities they would get their own wooden sign and then be able to go to the recruiting place to find work.

If there was no food in the family, they could buy some food on credit, enough to survive the first difficult days.

The female family members also went out to work, and both husband and wife could now earn money. The entire family depended on the husband and wife to earn money and food. They might not be able to always eat meat, but they were able to eat enough.

Lin Yuan arrived in Changshu a month after it was captured. He would not be staying in Changshu for a long time, but would be sending someone to take charge of Changshu.

Lin Yuan had not decided on this candidate.

He had too few civilian officials.

Jiang Gui was in Taizhou, Song Shizhao said he didn’t want to leave him at all, and Luo Guanzhong just wanted to be a military strategist.

Song Lian was still on the road——Lin Yuan didn’t even know if he could even see him this year.

Lin Yuan did not have enough time to investigate other small officials.

“My Lord.” Zhu Yuanzhang walked beside Lin Yuan, reporting on his work during this period.

Lin Yuan listened and thought about it, and then asked: “Among the officials accompanying this time, are there any outstanding performances?”

Zhu Yuanzhang reported a name.

Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. It turned out to be him.

Wu Changqing was the one who followed to Changshu this time. He was originally a county magistrate in Gaoyou. When he heard that Changshu needed people, he immediately signed up and also promoted the people working under him. He knew exactly his situation in Gaoyou. The most he could be was a district head. Going to Changshu looked like it would be full of danger and uncertainties, but it was also his opportunity.

After being left out for so long, Wu Changqing had long figured out what he had said wrong.

He considered everything, but he didn’t consider that the South Bodhisattva was truly a soft-hearted and upright person.

This made Wu Changqing sigh and at the same time also become more loyal to Lin Yuan.

After all, Lin Yuan was now soft-hearted to Zhu Yuanzhang and the others, so one day in the future, he would also be soft-hearted to him.

It was better to serve a soft-hearted master than to serve a cruel master.

He had finally found his position and decided to give up everything to start from the very bottom as a small official in Changshu.

Lin Yuan said to Zhu Yuanzhang: “Keep observing.”

The selected official must be able to understand his meaning and be able to faithfully implement every instruction he issued.

He needed to be a smart person but he must not have ambitions beyond the limits.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He understood Lin Yuan’s concerns.

“Two people of the Jiang family escaped but they are now captured. They are both pregnant women, Jiang Zheng’s concubines.”

Lin Yuan thought for a while: “Keep them under house arrest for now. When the children are born take the children away.”

An unborn child was not guilty.

“As for the two women, take them to the laundry bureau when the time comes. If they perform well, they can go see their children every month.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

Lin Yuan stood by the window. He felt that his heart was becoming harder and harder.

In the past, he couldn’t say anything like exterminate the Jiang family.

The wind blew outside. It was not cold but Lin Yuan tightened his collar.

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*Edited by LazyCat

The Jiang family was a large local family in Changshu. Almost every generation stayed and took root there. When the Yuan army captured the city, they were the fastest group to kneel and therefore also obtained the position of sub-prefect, which was passed on from generation to generation. Compared to the prefecture magistrate sent by the imperial court, they were the local tyrants of Changshu. Perhaps not many knew that the prefecture magistrate was called Sukhbaru, but they definitely knew that the current sub-prefect was called Jiang Zheng.

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A family that had hundreds of years of history was like a huge lumbering monster. In-laws and branch families were spread all over Changshu. Most of the families with a little face had wives surnamed Jiang. After giving birth to children, they would continue to connect by marriage with the Jiang family and practically every generation would possess half of the blood of the Jiang family.

Jiang Zheng, as the successor of the family and this generation’s sub-prefect, once his plan gained support from his family his call to action would be extremely effective and powerful.

They all wanted to take a gamble. If the gamble was won, then the Jiang family’s influence wouldn’t only be limited to Changshu. If the gamble was lost, then it was not a big deal either, just accept the court’s persuasion to surrender. Currently, the court wanted to display an image of benevolence. The imperial court would not completely take punitive action so long as they had yet to truly rebel and claim kingship.

The whole family was mobilized. Most of the small officials in Changshu had more or less ties to the Jiang family. After Jiang Zheng persuaded the family, they naturally belonged on Jiang Zheng’s side.

Jiang Zheng was now sitting in the courtyard. He watched a soldier place Sukhbaru’s head on the table in front of him. Jiang Zheng covered his mouth and suppressed his desire to vomit.

It was not that he had never killed anyone, though they were not personally killed by himself, but this was the first time he saw such a bloody and gory scene.

The people he had killed were either strangled or beaten to death with a board and there was no beheading.

“Throw his head out.” Jiang Zheng frowned and couldn’t even swallow down the tea in his hand.

An Laosi rushed over from the outside, practically jogging all the way to where Jiang Zheng was. After the table was cleaned, Jiang Zheng finally suppressed his nausea, and smiled at An Laosi: “Brother An, as expected, this Sukhbaru is not a powerful character either.”

Jiang Zheng said in self-satisfaction: “I made so many arrangements in vain.”

Of course, An Laosi would have to lay on the flattery again.

Jiang Zheng was not a smart person. After all, he was young and had limited experience. He had all the bad habits that young people might have.

A high self-esteem, carelessness, and a penchant for listening to flattery.

But he had a family that allowed him room to make mistakes.

There were always wise men in such large families.

Jiang Zheng’s expression changed, and said to his servants, “Tie him up.”

An Laosi’s eyes widened. He knew that he couldn’t run away now, so he could only surrender obediently. He was pressed on a chair and couldn’t move. Jiang Zheng sat opposite him.

“Did Brother An consider me a stupid person this whole time?” Jiang Zheng looked at him expressionlessly.

An Laosi smiled: “Sub-prefect Jiang is the smartest person I have ever met.”

Jiang Zheng was so angry that he shot up and shattered the teacup beside him.

“Don’t say these useless sh*t anymore!” Jiang Zheng paced violently on the spot, “I know what you think of me!”

Jiang Zheng grabbed An Laosi by the collar: “Who sent you here?!”

An Laosi said with a look of fear: “Sub-prefect, I am just a merchant, so naturally it is for money.”

Jiang Zheng sneered: “I was almost fooled by you, if it wasn’t for……”

He cut himself off.

An Laosi lowered his head. He knew that escaping now was just a foolish dream. He could only hope that Lin Yuan and the others would enter Changshu as soon as possible. Before that, so long as he refused to reveal the person behind him, Jiang Zheng wouldn’t kill him yet.

This was not only a plan to protect Lin Yuan, but also to protect himself.

“You will speak.” Jiang Zheng sat back again and he looked much calmer.

He said: “This official can already guess who sent you.”

“It’s……” Jiang Zheng was just about to speak his guess when An Laosi suddenly said in a loud voice, “Since Sub-prefect has guessed it, then I won’t hide it from you. I came here this time under the orders of governor Fang to pursuade Sub-prefect to join in this grand cause!”

Jiang Zheng frowned. Obviously this was completely different from what he had guessed: “Fang Guozhen?”

“Isn’t he in Huizhou?” Jiang Zheng obviously didn’t believe it.

After all, An Laosi used to be Fang Guozhen’s person and he knew very well about the affairs of Huizhou. Although he was not Fang Guozhen’s confidante, he could say something insignificant without even having to think much.

Jiang Zheng found that there was no flaw in what An Laosi said, causing him to half-believe, half-doubt the other.

Just when An Laosi began to sweat on his forehead and didn’t know what to do, a loud noise came from outside. An Laosi even felt like the very ground under their feet began to tremble.

Jiang Zheng was also taken aback and almost slid off his chair. He shouted, “What happened outside? What happened?”

The people in Jiang Zheng’s house were thrown into a panic and it took nearly a quarter of an hour for a report to arrive.

“My lord! Someone is attacking the city outside! They have trebuchets!”

Trebuchet!

Everyone had heard of this thing and knew that some people have used it before. But this was a very huge mechanism that could not be carried over long distances at all. There was simply not such a large wooden cart to carry it on. Unless the materials were collected on the spot, but that would require a certain amount of time in which both sides were stuck in a confrontation.

Were these people already outside the city?

Impossible! He had only just sent people to chase Sukhbaru two days ago. If there were people in the vicinity, with so many people and troops, they could not be unaware.

Jiang Zheng looked at An Laosi. He gritted his teeth and asked, “Who is it?”

At this point, An Laosi didn’t have to conceal it anymore: “Gaoyou.”

Jiang Zheng raised his fist, seeming to want to punch An Laosi in the face. An Laosi smiled and said: “Sub-prefect, I advise you to think carefully before you make a move. Now that the army has surrounded the city, with me in your hands perhaps you can still be able to guarantee your life when the city falls. If you kill me or hurt me, then you will have a hard time in the coming days.”

Jiang Zheng: “Do you think I’ll believe you?”

There was another sound of huge boulders being thrown into the city. Jiang Zheng held onto the table to maintain his balance while An Laosi fell to the ground together with the chair. He looked quite proud though: “If you found out earlier, maybe the situation today will be reversed. “

Jiang Zheng: “Didn’t that quack in Gaoyou present himself as kind and merciful? Using a trebuchet? So the people in Changshu are not people?”

“My lord.” An Laosi said loudly, “It’s useless to say this to me!”

“The people under the South Bodhisattva’s rule are his people. When he takes Changshu, he will naturally love the people like his children.”

Jiang Zheng laughed: “Love the people like his children?”

An Laosi: ​​”You don’t believe it? I didn’t believe it at first.”

“Then lord Sub-prefect, let’s wait and see.”

——

Luo Guanzhong was currently in a tent at this time. The furnishings were simple and it was already quite good that there was even a table.

A total of three trebuchets were brought. The carpenters tried their best to make assembly easier after disassembling it according to Lin Yuan’s requirements. Now, a trebuchet only required ten men to assemble and it only took six hours.

Although it still seemed to take time, compared to before it saved more than half of the original time.

Sometimes efficiency was also very important.

Although Luo Guanzhong had read a lot of military books and felt that he knew a lot about trebuchets, it was the first time he had seen a real trebuchet, standing before him like three indomitable behemoths. He spread out the map of Changshu and discussed with Zhu Yuanzhang and the others.

This time Lin Yuan did not come with them.

This had Luo Guanzhong breath a sigh of relief but at the same time also feel slightly disappointed.

Although there wouldn’t be as much pressure, it was still regrettable that Lin Yuan could not see the victory with his own eyes.

“The sound of the stones alone will scare him to death.” Brother Dao slapped his thigh and said very contentedly, “I have never seen such a thing before. It is even more powerful than those explosives.”

The boulders had taken a lot of manpower and they could only obtain the material locally. They had arrived and set up camp last night before searching for the boulders overnight. After finding the boulders they also had to find a way to transport it all back. It took a lot of time.

But the results achieved were also amazing.

Changshu was now thrown into chaos and the city walls were also crumbling. In addition to huge stones there were also many smaller loose stones and throwing them could also cause chaos within a certain range.

After Luo Guanzhong discussed with them, Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Baisong and Li Congrong each led a team out.

By now the soldiers of Gaoyou have completely transformed. The arrival of merchants had brought a better life and also brought more money and military equipment——these sly merchants always had their own ways and means.

Now, the Lin family soldiers all wore helmets.

And the most shocking thing was that Lin Yuan finally trained a team of cavalry.

The money to raise one cavalryman was enough to raise three infantrymen.

The consumption of horses was very large.

However, the combat capability of the cavalry was also worthy of these expenses.

The Mongols relied on the cavalry to conquer an empire, even leading expeditions into Europe, becoming a famous scourge of God.

They were a standard example of knowing how to conquer the world but not knowing how to rule the world.

Just like Li Zicheng, but Li Zicheng was even more unlucky and only managed to remain emperor for forty-two days.

There were still very superstitious rumors among the people.

There was an old saying back then, “Eat meat at every meal, everyday like a New Year celebration.”

People could only eat one meal with meat a year.

The fortune teller told Li Zicheng that he could be emperor for forty-two years.

But the result was that when Li Zicheng became emperor he ate meat every day, so forty-two years became forty-two days.

This rumor was more like a joke.

But one could imagine how unlucky Li Zicheng was.

He ended the rule of the Ming Dynasty and was also an excellent leader of peasant uprisings, but eventually lost his original popular support because of arrogance and extravagance.

In the end he became a stepping stone for the Qing government to settle in the Central Plains.

In contrast, the Yuan Dynasty at least had 98 years of rule.

The Yuan could already be considered to have rather good luck.

Changshu was up in chaos. The people fled in all directions, but they didn’t know where to flee. The soldiers also had never experienced such a battle before either. They were at a loss and could only climb up to the city wall with their weapons.

The archers just raised their bows, but the other party had already set up their crossbows.

Whether it was experience, combat ability, or physical fitness, the Lin family troops were much better than them.

This was a one-sided beating.

An Laosi was now completely at ease. He said to Jiang Zheng standing on the side, too afraid to go out: “Sub-prefect, surrender now, and with me in your hands you can definitely save your life.”

Jiang Zheng was now completely panicked.

He ran out trembling.

He had to go ask his uncle and his family, what should they do now?

Should they continue to fight or surrender……or seek help from the court?

Jiang Zheng clenched his fists and all he could think was: I cannot die, I must not die.

Either seek help from the court, surrender, or find a way to escape.

There were only these three roads.

And these three roads were accompanied by huge risks.

They must find the path that was most beneficial to them.

——

At this time, Lin Yuan was looking at the ledger Song Shizhao gave him. The method of accounting was taught to Song Shizhao by Lin Yuan. The ledgers left by Gaoyou and Taizhou in the past were practically a complete mess of scribbles and it was very troublesome to organize it all. Lin Yuan had no choice but to take the time to teach Song Shizhao how to keep accounts in a more easier and efficient way, and then let Song Shizhao sort out the account book.

It was now much easier to check the accounts when different expenses were recorded in different books.

The bulk of Gaoyou’s expenditure this year was still on the people. At the beginning, Lin Yuan took out all the grains in Gaoyou and Taizhou to support the people as well as the influx of refugees. This expenditure was the largest, and then came the military expenses with the salaries of officials coming in third.

Song Shizhao said to Lin Yuan: “Boss, there is no money.”

Lin Yuan: “The salt in Taizhou hasn’t been sold yet?”

Song Shizhao nodded: “It has not been sold yet.”

Lin Yuan stood up from his chair: “Call the merchants over, it is time to sell it.”

If they continued to not sell then they would die from being too damn poor.

The salt was to be sold by bidding with a big merchant bidding all the salt at a single price and then selling it at a price that he decided himself.

Lin Yuan was too lazy to sell the salt separately to separate merchants which was too much trouble.

The merchants were also very excited. They were finally able to do a big business.

There were also people who tried their best to find out other people’s bid prices. Lin Yuan had set the lowest bid price. If it did not exceed the price set by Lin Yuan then the bid would be invalidated and then the bidding would be carried out again the next time. In this way, the merchants could not join together to lower the bidding price.

The small merchants planned to pool their money and bid together, while the big merchants bid on their own.

Zhou Fu had prepared the bidding money. He felt that apart from himself, Xie Zichang was the only one who had the ability to compete with him. He spent a lot of money trying to pry the mouths of the people working for Xie Zichang. It was a pity that it was just using meat buns to beat the dog. The bribe money was accepted, and although the amount of money revealed was quite a lot, it was obviously impossible that Xie Zichang had set the price. It was clearly nonsense just to fool him.

“Laoye!” The servant stood at the door, “The carriage is ready.”

Zhou Fu opened the door: “Why are you still standing? Let’s go!”

The salt was placed on the ground in baskets. The salt was ground very finely and was very high-quality fine salt. When the salt people brought the salt over, they were all shocked. They obviously felt that their lives and working hours were easier than before so why was the salt not getting less? Not only did the salt output not decrease, but it increased?

The merchants sat on chairs. They could bid openly and everyone was issued a small wooden sign, raising their wooden sign would be increasing their bidding price.

Lin Yuan watched from the side.

He wanted to see what the current salt market was like.

It was Zhou Fu who won the bid in the end. He and Xie Zichang simply increased their prices and frightened the small merchants next to them away.

It was almost impossible for ordinary people to imagine the financial resources of big merchants.

After the auction ended, Lin Yuan took the time to see Zhou Fu.

“South Bodhisattva.” Zhou Fu had a big smile on his face.

Lin Yuan had him sit down first before asking strangely: “Chairman Zhou put out such a large price, are there even any profits to be made?”

Although the current salt price was high, it was not only Xinghua that produced salt. There were not many salt-producing places in the country but there were not too few either.

Zhou Fu sighed: “South Bodhisattva doesn’t know the price of official salt now.”

The Yuan Dynasty’s financial crisis caused the price of salt to double several times. Now even some well off families could barely afford salt. Not only was the price expensive, but sometimes it might not be possible to buy it with money.

Zhou Fu said: “I can sell this batch of salt before it even completely leaves the area of Gaoyou.”

Small merchants could only buy from Zhou Fu, and naturally Xie Zichang could only buy from Zhou Fu.

Not only could he make a profit, the profit was also not small either.

Other merchants could not afford such a huge amount, but they could afford it in smaller quantities.

Lin Yuan nodded and said to Zhou Fu: “It is hard work.”

Zhou Fu hurriedly waved his hand: “No hard work, no hard work.”

“It’s the South Bodhisattva, having to be in charge of so many things, who really have the hard work.”

Lin Yuan looked at him with a smile, thinking in his heart: If it weren’t for the fact I couldn’t find many helpers, do you think I want to manage it all?

In this era, reading and literacy couldn’t be achieved in one or two months. Lin Yuan stipulated that as long as one learned 300 characters, then that would be considered half illiterate. Only those who learned 800 characters could leave the illiterate ranks.

The people in Taizhou and Gaoyou who have left the illiterate ranks add up to less than 1,000 people in total.

Among these thousand people, most of them were children with strong learning ability, and most of them were under 15 years old.

Lin Yuan already had those over ten years old begin to do work.

Those under ten years old……Lin Yuan could only ask them to continue spreading literacy to their little friends.

Lin Yuan now very much wanted to look for a school, and then lead his troops over and capture all of the scholars in it.

But he could only dream about this.

Lin Yuan didn’t want to offend scholars. Sometimes the scholar’s pen was more ruthless than a knife, especially the ancients.

In the modern times most people came into contact with information not only through books but also from the Internet. The easy flow of information allowed modern people to accept a variety of thinking.

But for the ancients, most of their reasoning and knowledge came from books, and from these books they establish their three views. At the same time they would also inherit the thinking and ideas in the books.

So whenever there was a change of dynasty, the scholar was always the last to kneel.

Loyalty to the emperor and patriotism was also an education received by scholars.

Just don’t know if the scholars still love the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhou Fu suddenly said: “This humble one has an idea.”

Lin Yuan quickly said: “Chairman Zhou please go ahead.”

Zhou Fu smiled and said, “Since the South Bodhisattva is short of scholars, why not issue orders for talents?”

Lin Yuan frowned: “The court……”

The Red Turban Army was now slowly gaining a foothold, attracting most of the Yuan army’s firepower, but Lin Yuan still did not want to confront the Yuan army as of now.

Zhou Fu: “If the South Bodhisattva can trust this humble one, the matter will be handled by this humble one, and it will be done properly and beautifully.”

Lin Yuan looked at Zhou Fu. He didn’t trust him yet.

Zhou Fu also knew that now was the best time to show loyalty, so he quickly knelt down: “This humble one is a merchant, and I have no fixed place. My parents and brothers have all already been brought to Gaoyou at the earliest possible. On the lives of my entire family, this humble one swears that this matter will be done well for the South Bodhisattva!”

Lin Yuan only now realized that he was so busy recently that he didn’t even read the reports on the merchants’ family members.

Zhou Fu’s old parents and elder brothers were all in Gaoyou. He also recently married a local wife from Gaoyou, and she was even four months pregnant.

“Then I leave it to chairman Zhou.” Lin Yuan helped Zhou Fu up with a smile, “If this succeeds, there will be a great reward.”

Zhou Fu breathed a sigh of relief.

“One more thing,” Lin Yuan said.

Zhou Fu hurriedly bowed: “South Bodhisattva, please speak.”

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly: “I want to know Xishui’s military strength.”

Zhou Fu suddenly realized what he meant and said: “I will not disappoint my Lord.”

Xishui was now being occupied by Xu Shouhui. Xu Shouhui revolted against the Yuan in August last year and occupied Xishui. He established himself as an emperor with the dynastyic name Tian Wan and was also raising the banner of the Red Turban Army.

The reason why Lin Yuan paid attention to him was becuase Xu Shouhui would gain the support of a great general on the fifteenth year of the reign of Yuan Shun.

The name of that general would be carved in the annals of history forever——Chen Youliang.

Lin Yuan was thinking about whether or not Chen Youliang would show up if he sent troops to capture Xishui.

But he had not made a decision yet.

If he did not do anything about Xu Shouhui, then he would at least know where Chen Youliang would be in the future.

If he did then in the best case scenario Chen Youliang might not take part in the uprising. Lin Yuan thought that this was unlikely. Chen Youliang was not forced. He had been an official and had a family background. He chose his own path.

Even if there was no Xu Shouhui, and Xu Shouhui’s subordinates did not include Ni Wenjun, Chen Youliang would still revolt and become a rebel leader.

Or, he could wait until the fifteenth year of Yuan Shun when Chen Youliang’s uprising ocurred in Huangpeng.

And then kill Chen Youliang on the battlefield.

Lin Yuan had servants see Zhou Fu out while he sat at the table drinking tea.

He felt a little restless, and this feeling of restlessness had become stronger since he learned of Xu Shouhui’s uprising.

Compared with Fang Guozhen and Liu Futong, Lin Yuan cared more about Chen Youliang.

Chen Youliang’s military intuition and sensitivity to war were on another level from that of the ordinary people. And one could say that Zhu Yuanzhang had luck on his side when he beat him in history.

Moreover, he was cruel enough and had almost no weakness. Lin Yuan had reason to believe that if killing his family members was necessary in order to become emperor, Chen Youliang would do so without so much as a blink of his eyes. He was a natural creature of power and desire. His craving for power was to the extent it had become an obsession and neurosis, therefore he could not tolerate anyone questioning him or going against him.

Lin Yuan drank a sip of tea.

He could only wait until Chen Youliang’s name was known to the world three years later.

“Am I overly nervous?” Lin Yuan covered his forehead with a hand as he muttered to himself.

Er Liang re-poured tea for Lin Yuan.

He looked at Lin Yuan who seemed to be nursing a headache and asked in a low voice, “Young master, do you want to take a rest?”

Lin Yuan looked at Er Liang and asked: “Er Liang, how are you doing recently?”

A smile appeared on Er Liang’s face: “I live with my parents now, and I am having a good time.”

Er Liang also lowered his head and said, “My mother even found me a wife.”

Lin Yuan was taken aback: “Is it already decided?”

Er Liang smiled and said, “You know her too, it’s Xiao Yao.”

Xiao Yao was also a family servant of Lin Yuan’s family. Both her parents were family servants. Compared with the servants who were bought later, the family servants had a much higher status.

So when choosing a marriage partner, most of them also chose among themselves.

Er Liang also said to Lin Yuan: “My mother and her mother have discussed it. When the battle in Changshu is over, we will get married.”

Lin Yuan said in a daze: “Congratulations.”

Er Liang beamed stupidly.

Lin Yuan thought for a while: “I won’t be attending the wedding.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Er Liang heaved a sigh of relief. He also didn’t dare to invite Lin Yuan, otherwise no one would be able to completely let themselves loose and enjoy the wedding.

Lin Yuan patted Er Liang on the shoulder: “Try to welcome two babes in three years.”

Er Liang blushed.

At this time in Changshu, Jiang Zheng’s face was also blushed red, but it was not from shyness.

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In the early morning on the road, a carriage bumped by. The dense woods of the past were now only bare versions of themselves. The snow on the roadside was crushed by wheels and turned into dirty water, exposing the muddy land. The person in the carriage wrapped their cotton-padded clothes tighter around themselves and rested against the wall of the carriage. He was around thirty, his face pale and without a beard. His body was thin, his appearance that of a defenseless scholar. The servant sitting on the side handed him the water flask, the hot water inside had cooled off already, and barely had any remaining warmth left.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Luo Ben took a sip of water and asked the servant: “The journey is difficult. Have you seen any people?”

The servant shook his head: “Most of the villages along the way are all deserted.”

All the people had fled from their hometowns. Luo Ben sighed.

He had ambitions to support a sage king, but of the choices, Fang Guozhen submitted to the Yuan, Liu Futong remained holed up in one place, and while the Red Turban army had revolted all around but most did not last long. Although they held the banner of restoring the Song Dynasty, they all acted in their own power, divided and spread like scattered sand.

After he got the letter from Gaoyou, he thought it over again and again. In the end, he couldn’t resist his inner desire, and finally chose to go to Gaoyou.

Luo Ben had lofty ambitions, but he had nowhere to employ his talents and strengths.

The servant asked: “Why is Gongzi worried?”

Luo Ben: “Lin Yuan is a person I can’t figure out.”

This person occupied Gaoyou and Taizhou. These two places were clearly important locations, but the court had not sent punitive troops over. This person eased the people and won their hearts, and at the same time acted diplomatically with the court. This kind of person, could he only be conspiring for those few acres of land under his rule?

But yet he did not show any signs of claiming kingship, and the people only praised him for his generosity and kindness.

If this person was ambitious, then he, Luo Ben, would be able to employ his talents and strengths. He only hoped that this person deserved his reputation and was not just a short-sighted person.

The carriage driver pulled the reins and the horse stopped. The carriage stopped outside the outer city wall that was being built. He was just about to find the city guards, when he saw a man in an orange vest approaching. The man stood next to the carriage and asked: “What are you here for? Are you here to seek shelter or find relatives? What did you bring? Do you have any proof?”

The servant got out of the carriage and bowed to the person before saying: “We are here to accept an offered position, this is a letter of appointment.”

After speaking, he handed over the appointment letter written by Lin Yuan.

The little official in the orange vest quickly said: “Please come with me. I have already set up a house for Lord Luo. The South Bodhisattva has previously ordered that Lord Luo is his beloved person and must be treated carefully.”

The ancients have always been sappy, and Lin Yuan had become more and more sappy as well recently.

Think about it, calling their trusted aides and officials as beloved qing or even just qingqing and both the monarchs and their ministers were both very happy about this. So in comparison, Lin Yuan using ‘beloved one’ was not much of a big deal. (TN: qing=old term for a high ranking official or a term used by the emperor for his subjects)

Luo Ben in the carriage also heard this. He couldn’t help being surprised. After all, he also knew that he wasn’t as famous as the other scholars out there. He went to school at the age of seven and followed his father in business after the death of his mother when he was fourteen-year-old. However, he had no interest in business, so he went to Cixi city to study with Zhao Baofeng. Even if he had a local reputation how could it reach Gaoyou?

The South Bodhisattva actually regarded him with such respect and affection?

Luo Ben was in a daze, and at the same time his lofty aspirations were aroused.

On the way into the city, Luo Ben lifted the window curtains of the carriage and looked at the streets. Unlike the dilapidated and desolate settlements he had seen along the way, the people of Gaoyou lived and worked in peace and contentment. The small vendors hawked on the streets, and many women even walked around at will. When the bailiffs with knives walked by on the streets, he did not see anyone retreating in fear, nor did he see the bailiffs yelling at the vendors and asking for money.

Luo Ben raised his voice and asked the person leading the way: “I would like to ask this lord to solve my confusions, why are these women……”

The person in the front replied: “Lord Luo may not know this but this is due to the rules set by the South Bodhisattva. Everyone is responsible for the flourish and decay of our world. How can we draw a distinction between men and women?”

“If the burden is only entrusted to men and women only have to give birth to children, but nowadays where can we find so many men to do the work?”

The person smiled and said: “Most men have enlisted in the army. If women don’t farm or go out to make money, the people of Gaoyou can hardly survive.”

Luo Ben was taken aback: “Women are physically weak, how can they be put to work……”

The person: “Lord doesn’t know this but, they are enjoying themselves. In the past, women had no private property. South Bodhisattva pitied them and feared that they would be oppressed and beleaguered by others. Now they can make money by making clothes and cooking. Who of them is not willing? Besides, even if they don’t rely on this to make money, don’t they still do the same job at home?”

Luo Ben was stunned: “Didn’t their parents and brothers ever stop them?”

Asking all the women in the family to go out to work, this face would definitely be lost.

The person: “Why block them? The entire family goes out to work, the mother goes to the laundry bureau, the father also finds a job to do, whether it’s to open up new land for farming, or other random jobs. The sons are the same as well while the daughters go make clothes or be a cook. Tell me, wouldn’t they earn more than before? Everything else is empty, only the money you get is real.”

“Now if you were to tell them to go back, I am afraid that none of them would be willing.”

In the past, the widows who had lost their husbands could not avoid criticisms. And if they were to remarry, they wouldn’t even dare to go out lest the criticism from others overwhelmed them.

But if they don’t remarry, then there was no way to survive. Now, widows could choose to go out and find work, the money they earn was definitely enough to support themselves. They were no longer afraid of being forced by their brothers to remarry for dowry money or do chores at their natal homes. Those who do well and earn more even see an increase of suitors, all getting in line to ask for marriage.

What’s more, people were social animals and possessed a herd mentality. If sixty out of a hundred people do the same thing, the remaining forty would eventually follow suit, and would not even think about whether it was right or wrong to do it. So when Lin Yuan introduced the idea of women working, he first forced the women among the refugees to go out to work. When the duration of time these women worked had become longer, naturally women from some of the less wealthy families would come out to find work.

Slowly and gradually it would become the norm.

When most women had begun to work, the remaining small number of women would also come out because of the herd mentality.

Luo Ben closed his eyes slightly, thinking of something.

Luo Ben asked again: “Why are these bailiffs always walking around inspecting?”

The person: “We call then patrols. They specialize in managing troubles, fights, petty thefts, and if foreigners come, they can also provide directions. If there are vendors who deceive customers, they deal with them. If you have problems, you can also call them.”

This was the first time Luo Ben had seen this kind of bailiff before.

“Why is there a strange line on this road?” Luo Ben pointed to the red line drawn on the ground next to the carriage.

The person: “On either side of the red line are sidewalks, and inside is for the carriages to pass through.”

Luo Ben nodded: “This is a convenient rule.”

Luo Ben’s carriage stopped in front of a house. The house had two entrances and two exits. It was not too big, but it was not too small either. At first glance, it was clear that it had been cleaned and all the furniture in the house was all set up and available. It was clean and tidy, and it indeed expressed how much importance Lin Yuan regarded him with.

The person said again: “Please take a slight break while this one will wait outside.”

Finally able to rest, Luo Ben had his servant boil a pot of hot water so that he could finally drink some hot tea.

He also changed his clothes and tidied up his appearance. He finally felt a little bit more refreshed.

Only after noon did the person outside called out: “Lord Luo, the carriage is here to pick you up.”

Luo Ben almost couldn’t wait to walk out of the door and get into the carriage.

Lin Yuan was also waiting for Luo Ben in the study at this time, that was, Luo Guanzhong’s arrival. Luo Guanzhong arrived earlier than Song Lian. And it was conceivable just how much earlier he had set out, which also showed that Luo Guanzhong was much more excited about his appointment than Song Lian.

After all, Luo Guanzhong still had no reputation compared to Song Lian.

When he saw Luo Guanzhong, Lin Yuan’s eyes brightened. He practically strided over in large hurried steps. His words were gentle and the eyes that looked at Luo Guanzhong could be described as lingering and sappy: “Mr. Luo is finally here. I have been waiting for many days.”

Luo Guanzhong didn’t expect Lin Yuan to look like this. This was clearly still an extremely young man. He had a smile on his lips and a gentle demeanor. If one didn’t know better one would think he was a young master of a wealthy family.

“After I received the letter from Gongzi, I have been thinking of Gongzi both days and nights.” Luo Guanzhong also began to say sappy words sincerely.

The two clasped their hands together and walked in step with each other.

Lin Yuan: “Mister, please sit down.”

Luo Guanzhong sat on a chair. Lin Yuan’s study room was very large. It was not so much a study room as a place for discussion.

After Luo Guanzhong took his seat, he realized that he was not the only one in the room.

Lin Yuan introduced: “This is the business manager in charge of merchants and commerce, Manager Song.”

Luo Guanzhong and Song Shizhao both greeted each other.

Lin Yuan also introduced: “This is my sworn brother, the commander of the third battalion and also serves as the supply supervisor, Commander Yang.”

Luo Guanzhong and Yang Zi’an greeted each other.

After the introduction of the people, Song Shizhao and Yang Zi’an stepped back with extreme tactfulness. Although they didn’t know what talents Luo Guanzhong had, but they dare not give someone that Lin Yuan valued this much a xiamawei (TN: display of severity immediately on taking office, initial show of strength, or show someone who’s boss)

After the two of them left, Lin Yuan smiled at Luo Guanzhong and said, “Mister, have you encountered any trouble along the way?”

Luo Guanzhong: “On the way, I have witnessed farmers having no land, village women having no support, young children having no food, and the old, weak, sick and disabled having nowhere to stay. Compared with them, what kind of trouble could I encounter? The suffering of the people makes me unable to sleep and eat.”

Lin Yuan also sighed: “My strength is not enough, and for now I can only manage this small area. Mister’s pity and sympathy for the people makes me ashamed.”

Luo Guanzhong hurriedly said: “Why do you blame yourself? Now the reputation of Taizhou and Gaoyou has even reached the south of the Yangtze River. You are truly loved by hundreds of thousands of people. The world is so big and there are many heroes and great men, but there has never been anyone like you who loves and puts the people in your heart.”

Lin Yuan waved a hand and with the other he covered his face, sighing: “Unfortunately, it is difficult for Yuan to achieve anything without support, too few people are available to assist me.”

Luo Guanzhong: “This humble one is willing to assist you.”

Lin Yuan hurriedly stood up and bowed to Luo Guanzhong solemnly: “It is a blessing for Yuan to receive Mister’s support, and a blessing for the people!”

Luo Guanzhong also became very excited from Lin Yuan’s words.

The two joined hands and delved into a happy conversation. Luo Guanzhong had read many scholarly works, both history and poetry, his conversation was one full of humor and interesting anecdotes.

Lin Yuan had him stay for dinner, and even talked into the night by the light of the candles.

This manner was very in line with the times where one respected the wise and sought out talents eagerly.

In history, Luo Guanzhong helped Zhang Shicheng to repel Zhu Yuanzhang’s army. Lin Yuan also prepared to make the best use of him by having him take on the role of a military strategist. When the time came to attack Changshu, he would also be able to look at his ability. In any case, with Zhu Yuanzhang and Yang Zi’an on the side he waa not afraid of things messing up.

The news sent back by An Laosi was very detailed, the factions and conflict among Changshu officials were clearly recorded. And he even managed to drag Changshu’s Sub-prefect onto their thief boat.

The plan to attack Changshu was on the agenda and the military expedition was imminent.

——

Jiang Zheng’s recent days have been very good. Since he and An Laosi connected, gold, silver, and precious jewels have flowed into his mansion like running water. The female family members in his inner court wore delicate and smooth silk that looked as beautiful as sunset clouds. Compared with this silk, the cloth used in the past was no longer even comparable to the coarse cloth worn by farmers. Numerous exquisite decorations were also placed in the house. For all of this, he didn’t need to put much effort at all, but just make things convenient for An Laosi.

In the past, he had to worry about the fees and gifts from the people below him. But now even without any of this from those people, he could still live a luxurious life.

An Laosi also brought him beauties, curvy or slender, gentle or vivacious. There were all types and he had his pick. He was young and vigorous after all and had little resistance to the female sex. He lingered on the bed every day, and sometimes even bedded five different women a night.

If he became hollowed out due to bed affairs, An Laosi would also give him a pill that could replenish his strength and did not hurt his body. Moreover, it even increased his strength and vigor to the extent that all the beauties could not help crying out for mercy in his bed.

He had both money and beauties, and even the Emperor might not necessarily have a better life than him.

But his desire for power became more and more inflated, and he started to intervene into the affairs of the army under the instigation of An Laosi. This was originally not under his jurisdiction, but he could get his way in with money.

He also kept offering beauties to Sukhbaru.

In Changshu, his status had also become higher and higher. The people underneath him counted on the benefits he would give, so naturally they all appeared loyal.

Sukhbaru, having received his share of benefits, also looked the other way on the schemings of his subordinate.

This only caused Jiang Zheng to feel even more restless, and he developed thoughts that he shouldn’t have.

An Laosi sat in the seat under Jiang Zheng. The dancers in the hall put on a lively performance. Their movements were like immortals, their waists were pliable and curvy and their eyes were like spring pools, causing people to be unable to look away.

“I must say that only Sub-prefect Jiang knows how to enjoy the pleasures of life.” An Laosi sighed, “Not like An, who makes money but always has to run tirelessly around. This kind of lifestyle might not even be comparable to that of the servants at home.”

Jiang Zheng was also somewhat self-satisfied.

An Laosi was so busy that it was hard to even find the time to sit down and take a breath.

How could he compare to him, leisurely and content. He could get money even when he was just sitting there, all of his desires met.

Jiang Zheng also laughed: “Brother An is a rare talent, but when it comes to this, you are indeed not as good as me.”

An Laosi hurriedly said: “Ai, I am born to toil, destined to run tirelessly, if I could cast my lot in with Sub-prefect……”

Jiang Zheng’s eyes widened and his face became stern: “Brother An! Silence! Do you know what you are saying?”

An Laosi knelt down quickly, but raised his head and said firmly: “My lord! If An never met my lord, I could never have thought of this!”

An Laosi took a few steps on his knees: “I look at my lord and feel that it is guidance from the heavens! My lord is not only popular in Changshu, but also holds great power! My lord!”

Jiang Zheng calmed down quickly after the initial shock. He sat in his chair and his face had on an expression that was difficult to decipher. After a while, he said, “Brother An, be careful, don’t say this again! Nor can you let a third person know!”

An Laosi: ​​”My lord, you treat people with sincerity. But does the lord magistrate treat you with the same sincerity?”

An Laosi tried his best to persuade: “My lord! It’s not worth it!”

Jiang Zheng finally couldn’t help but cover his face with a hand and said, “Brother An, only you know my suffering, but if I follow what you say, can I still guarantee my life and wealth? There is no turning back when the arrow is loosened!”

An Laosi knew that the opportunity had come, and said sincerely: “Fang Guozhen turned against the court, and the court gave him a position as a governor. My lord has great talents. How can just a simple governor seat be worthy of you? My lord, the world is turbulent and unrest is everywhere, the court cannot pay attention to one thing without neglecting the other. This is your luck, my lord! You are the chosen one by the heavens, so why bother to belittle yourself and be overcautious?”

Jiang Zheng waved his hand: “I want to think about it, I have to think about it……”

An Laosi did not press further, only saying: “If my lord is interested, I would be willing to support my lord with my all. If my lord has any need, I will definitely not refuse! Even through a sea of ​​swords and fire, An can still charge forward!”

Jiang Zheng was unable to not feel moved by these words. He quickly walked down the steps and took the hand of An Laosi: “Brother An, I feel the sincerity and heart you hold for me. If there is one day, I will definitely share the prosperity with you!”

An Laosi squeezed out his tears and cried bitterly: “The heart this one has for my lord, the sun and the moon can be of witness! If there are any false words, let me be struck with thunder!”

The two looked at each other, and both felt that they saw what they wanted in each other’s eyes.

From that day on, An Laosi came to the Jiang manor every day. He came up with plans and made suggestions to help Jiang Zheng win over the minor officials. The minor officials seemed inconspicuous, but they were the ones in charge of the people’s livlihood. The big officials above only took care of the big things, but these minor officials were an important presence among the people. Gathering them together would present a force that could not be underestimated.

What’s more, the lives of the minor officials was not easy now. They couldn’t get much out of the people below, and the big lords above don’t care about them. So long as Jiang Zheng gave some benefits, they would naturally bow their heads. An Laosi taught Jiang Zheng how to lead them onto the thief boat so that by the time they realized anything, they would have already become grasshoppers on the same rope and could only follow after Jiang Zheng.

Jiang Zheng also discovered much benefits.

Almost no one took him seriously before, but now it was different. Whatever he wanted to happen he only need to pass a word downwards, and there would be many people who would be eager to help him.

This encouraged his desire for power.

Gradually, he didn’t even hold Sukhbaru in much regard.

The man was just a boorish fool. He felt he was more capable and more popular than Sukhbaru.

The greater his desire for power became, the greater his appetite grew.

At first, he hoped that everyone would respect him.

Then he hoped that everyone would listen to him.

Now he hoped that more people could listen to him.

After the beginning of the spring, An Laosi felt that the time had come, so he bluntly said: “My lord, the time has come.”

Jiang Zheng: “Brother An, we shall discuss it in detail.”

Even Fang Guozhen, a rebel thief could sit on his head so how could he be willing to remain common all his life, having to answer to the likes of Sukhbaru?

He wanted to take over Changshu, he wanted to be king!

He wanted the people to kneel at his feet, and he wanted to achieve the highest pursuit of a man!

An Laosi passed on to Lin Yuan the day when Jiang Zheng would rebel.

Lin Yuan saw the letter from An Laosi, and his whole person was greatly shaken. He thought that An Laosi could only cause chaos in Changshu, but he did not expect that An Laosi could directly instigate the rebellion of an imperial court official……

What kind of talent for incitement was this?

Even Song Shizhao was speechless and said: “This person……is deeply scheming and can be of much use.”

Luo Guanzhong said: “When the time comes, we will go forward with our troops, and we will take the opportunity to capture Changshu as they are distracted with internal conflict. In this way, the cost would be the least.”

Lin Yuan took out a map of Changshu and pointed to three places: “This is the granary, this is the armory, and this is the barracks. These three places are the most guarded.”

Luo Guanzhong smiled and said: “We threaten the east and strike to the west.” (TN: create a diversion)

Lin Yuan nodded: “Yes.”

Luo Guanzhong also started to say: “Send people to the granary, but the target is the armory. At that time we split the troops on three fronts. Changshu has no more than 10,000 troops. When the people flee, it will be our opportunity.”

Lin Yuan smiled at Luo Guanzhong: “Then I entrust it to Mister.”

Luo Guanzhong startled.

Lin Yuan: “I forgot to say that for this attack on Changshu, Mister will serve as a military strategist.”

Luo Guanzhong never thought that he would be put in such an important position despite it just being over a month after he came here. After returning to his senses, he quickly said, “If I can’t take Changshu, then this official will bring my head to see you!”

He adapted quickly to his new status. When he didn’t have an official position, he referred to himself as this humble one, and when he had an official position, he referred to himself as this official.

His ambitions and abilities finally had a place to shine.

——

In the April of the 12th year of the current emperor’s reign, the earth recovered and the bare trees sprouted with new leaves.

Jiang Zheng stood in the courtyard, letting his family servant put the armor on him. He was a civilian court official but just wanted to try out wearing armor. Today was a big day. If he won then a bright future awaits. If he lost, he would lose everything. But Jiang Zheng felt that he would not lose.

He believed that he had the heart of the people and the small officials below were also dependant on him. Even the military officers in the army had recieved favors from him.

He benefited them and they considered themselves loyal to him.

Jiang Zheng said to the person next to him: “Is everything ready?”

The man wore tight practical clothes and had strong muscles: “Answering Sub-prefect, everything is ready.”

Jiang Zheng smiled and said, “Where is the lord magistrate?”

The person: “Still hunting outside the city.”

Jiang Zheng snorted: “Boorish lout.”

“Have someone close the city gates, and when Sukhbaru returns, kill him outside the city! Don’t let any of them go!”

The people Sukhbaru brought out with him were all confidantes. None of these people were Han people. They were Sukhbaru’s henchmen. Jiang Zheng was planning to seal off the entire city after he took Changshu to prevent anyone from leaking the news.

He planned to delay until the imperial court sent troops to attack other rebel thieves, and then declare himself as king.

He had even conferred his left and right prime ministers.

This was a method An Laosi taught him, to use empty positions to win over some people. When the time came, whether he wanted to confer the position to them or not, was it not up to him?

Sukhbaru was leading his people back to the city at this time. Hunting in spring had always been his custom, year after year. The prey that they caught would be shared among his subordinates. At that time, the soldiers and guards at the gate of the city would come and welcome him back, praising him as a Mongolian warrior.

But today, when he came back from hunting, he saw that the city gates was closed tightly. He was riding a horse and the horse was pacing irritably in place. Sukhbaru had a fierce look and shouted: “Where is everyone! Open the gates!”

When the words fell, he didn’t see any soldier appearing to open the gates, but many soldiers armed with weapons emerging from a side door of the city wall. Archers also appeared on the city wall aiming their arrows downwards.

Sukhbaru’s eyes widened: “You want to rebel?!”

On the city wall, wearing an armor made of gold, Jiang Zheng looked down at Sukhbaru and his group of more than two hundred people condescendingly, shouting: “The Yuan Dynasty meets its decline. If you submit to me then kneel and beg for mercy and I will spare your life. If you don’t then this official can only send you on the road!”

“I, Sukhbaru will never bend my knees to vile characters like you!” Sukhbaru gritted his teeth and raised the heavy sword in his hand, “I’ll take your dog life!”

Jiang Zheng’s expression changed, and he shouted: “Shoot!”

The archers let out their arrows in unison.

Sukhbaru waved his heavy sword, and the arrows that lost their momentum fell to the ground.

He was surrounded by brave and combative Mongolians, and few were hit in the rain of arrows.

But the horses were unable to dodge and some people rolled off their horses, the tremendous impact causing them to break their legs and fracture them instantly.

After the arrows were released, the soldiers on both sides rushed forward with their weapons.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

The two sides instantly engaged in battle. Sukhbaru was only wearing hunting attire made of cloth, not armor, and he received several wounds on his body. The blood stained his eyes.

“Jiang Zheng! You shameless villain!” Sukhbaru pointed at the city wall with his sword, “One day, I will have you die without a resting place!” After he finished speaking, he shouted to his confidantes: “Withdraw!”

Jiang Zheng yelled: “Catch up with them! One gold tael for each head!” “Whoever cuts off Sukhbaru’s head, I will appoint him as general!”

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*Edited by LazyCat

Taizhou and Gaoyou were very busy throughout the winter. Many people felt that they and the outside seemed to be two different worlds. Many poor people outside were unable to eat much food or be properly clothed; their lives were like that of savages. In winter, they could only rely on tree bark and the plant roots underground for sustenance. Many people simply could not survive to see the next spring.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

After many people outside knew that Taizhou and Gaoyou could let them fill their stomachs, they embarked on a journey one after another, relying on their legs and feet to travel long distances. They didn’t even know the specific situation of Taizhou and Gaoyou, but they just felt that there would be hope for survival there.

“Be good, eat.” The sallow-faced and thin woman handed the bark to her short and thin son. She wanted to smile at her child, but she didn’t even have the strength to curve up her lips. She came out with her fellow villagers, and wanted to find a peaceful place where she and her son could settle down and survive. They wandered past many places like vagrants. She was a widow, and the child was the only blood left of his father. Her parents-in-law passed within a month after they left their hometown. They worked all their lives, and the aches and illness that had settled over time became exacerbated by the difficult conditions of a vagrant life, resulting in them passing away on the way.

There was nothing else the woman could do but to find support with a bachelor from her village in order to save herself and her son.

But she felt that she could barely hold on anymore. Maybe she would die here, and then go see her husband and in-laws who died early. But then what about her child?

She stroked the head of her son who was eating bark with her skinny hand, thinking in her heart that she could not leave her son alone in this world. If she were to die, she must first send him off, then the whole family could be reunited in the underworld.

The bachelor from the same town came to her. They were childhood sweethearts who grew up together, but the bachelor was too poor to marry a wife. Only after they had left their hometown did he finally know what a woman felt like. He was very good to the widow, otherwise he would not take care of this mother and child when he himself could barely eat enough.

“We will arrive there soon,” said the bachelor weakly.

The widow nodded. They had been comforting themselves that they would be there soon.

But this “soon” was too far away, as if they would never reach the destination.

The widow stretched out her hand, and the bachelor held it. The two sat quietly, watching the boy hungrily eating the bark, as if it was some delicacy.

The bachelor said again: “Soon.”

The widow forced a smile.

The sun rose, and they must continue on their way again. The boy took his mother’s hand. They walked in the snow, one step at a time. They were neither frozen to death nor starved to death. Of the hundreds of people who came out together, now only a dozen people were left.

After walking for a while, the boy couldn’t walk anymore. His nose was red. If one continued being exposed to the freezing air, they would soon turn purple, and then death would not be far off.

The bachelor carried the boy on his back and covered him with animal fur, which would ensure that the boy had a better chance of survival.

No one spoke, they were silent and walked quietly.

Silence could make people feel depressed and fall into despair.

But they had no strength to speak.

Just when they stopped to eat snow, someone suddenly shouted: “The city wall! I see the city wall! God! I see the city wall! We are here!”

The widow was stunned. She stood motionless, like an ice sculpture in the snow. In a panic, she went to hug the son who was still on the bachelor’s back. She lifted the thin layer of fur and reached out to touch her son’s face, to feel her son’s breathing.

Still alive.

The widow opened her mouth, and she could only make a gasping noise that resembled sobs. She squatted down holding her son and kept inhaling. She almost couldn’t breath. The bachelor hugged the two of them. There were already some people running wildly, using their last strength to run towards the city wall.

The hope of ​​surviving had never been as clear as it was now.

The bachelor once again carried the boy, and with the widow they supported each other towards the city wall.

But before they even arrived under the city wall, they were startled by the scene in front of them. Outside the city wall, there was a small outer city. There were many people walking on the streets. They were wearing thick clothes because of the cold. Their cheeks were reddened, but they were all smiling, and many vendors were selling things at stalls.

There were also shops selling cooked food and they could smell the scent of dough, some vendors were selling noodles.

Others were also selling yellow dough buns.

It was the smell of food, not bark, not grass roots, not meatless insects, but real food that could fill the stomach and make one feel happy.

There was no snow on the ground in the outer city. They saw people shoveling snow onto wooden carts and pulling them aside to boil it into hot water. Many people went to fetch water.

The bachelor and the widow stood among their fellow villagers. They were afraid that these people would not accept them and drive them away. But even if they were afraid, they still would not leave.

“Manager Zhou! There are some refugees here!” A vendor shouted.

The manager sitting on the side of the road and warming himself stood up, wrapped his scarf around his neck, rubbed his hands and walked out of the stall.

Refugees were also ordinary people. They were afraid of officials. When they heard this, everyone’s face looked anxious.

Manager Zhou counted the number of people and then used a notebook to record down the date and then the number of people. He then said to the person next to him: “Give them hot water, bring them to the house, and buy some buns.”

The person next to him took the order, and manager Zhou said to the refugees: “Come with me.”

The refugees had no other choice. They dared not speak, and followed manager Zhou timidly.

Manager Zhou took them to a hut with a charcoal fire burning inside. Unlike the cold outside, the inside was warm like spring. The frozen bodies of the refugees warmed up, and feeling seemed to finally come back to their numb limbs.

Manager Zhou pointed to the bench in the house and said, “Sit down.”

These people followed the order and immediately sat down one by one.

Manager Zhou: “Report your names one by one, as well as where you came from, where you passed along the way, where is safer, and where is more dangerous. The more detailed the better.”

The refugees reported their names one after another, and manager Zhou wrote them down in a notebook, and then began to record their hometown and the places they passed by.

As manager Zhou recorded the information, the people sent to buy steamed buns returned and distributed it along with hot water to the refugees.

The refugees ate the buns hungrily. They couldn’t say a word, too focused on gorging until they ate up the three buns that each person had been allocated. It was only after they drank their bowl of hot water did they finally raise their heads again.

The steamed buns were warm, well made, very soft, and suitable for swallowing. Most of them barely chewed it in their hurry to eat.

Manager Zhou once again began to measure their heights, looked at their teeth and recorded their more obvious characteristics. Then each person was issued a small wooden sign: “You must keep this safe. You will need this for buying a house and registering work in the future. If it wears out, then come and have it replaced.”

He spoke in detail where they should be going to sign up for work. After signing up for work, they would then be allocated a house. But it was not that they did not charge money for the houses as the money would be deducted from their wages in the future.

Manager Zhou asked them: “Are there any questions?”

Everyone was taken away in a daze. The manager said, they should first sign up for work, and then they could be assigned to a house. They could rest for three days before going to work. They would be provided with food and hot water for these three days. After starting work, one month’s salary would be given in advance for daily expenses.

When registering, the bachelor said that the widow was his wife and the boy was his son.

After getting along for such a long time, the boy had already begun to call him father.

They were divided into a small house. A curtain separated the bedroom from the main room, which was enough for a family of three.

As for single people, they could only share the dormitory with others.

After seven days in Gaoyou, these people have quickly integrated. The officials never asked them for fees, nor did they come to them for anything but official business. The neighbors were also very friendly and no one looked down on them.

The widow now washed clothes with her neighbors every day. The workplace was in a large warm house full of hot water that wouldn’t freeze the hands or feet and cause frostbite. The children were kept in the day care where there were special staff to look after the children and even teach the children some simple numbers. These women were all very at ease leaving their children there.

“Use this to wash.” The person next to the widow said, “This will wash it clean.”

She had the widow go pick some plant ash and put it in the water. In this way, the clothes would be washed clean.

The widow smiled gratefully at the other woman.

When it was time for a break, the women would take out needles and threads to sew their own clothes.

The widow asked softly: “How long have you all been here?”

The women all answered eagerly.

“The outer city is full of outsiders. I have been here for half a year. I used to be in the inner city. Later, when the South Bodhisattva said that the outer city needed people, my family and I came out.”

“Me too!”

The widow asked strangely: “Isn’t the inner city better?”

The women laughed: “The inner city is crowded!”

The widow said again: “But there are walls around the inner city……”

There was no wall around the outer city, what if there was danger?

The women also said: “There are guards patrolling every night, and the barracks are also outside. If something happens, the soldiers will be able to come out immediately. It is very safe!”

The widow was finally reassured.

The women then began to ask how she arrived at Gaoyou.

The widow said: “In my hometown, the village head was killed by bandits. We were afraid that the court would send someone to take over the village so we could only flee. There was also no more food at home. If we continued to stay there, we would still have to die.”

The women sighed for a while.

If there was no other choice who would want to travel far away from home to find a new life in a strange place?

The women began to comfort her.

“It’s good to be here. The big lords above never trouble us, nor ask us to pay fees.”

“As long as we work hard, we can find a living, and we women can also have private possessions! Be diligent and you won’t starve!”

“Yes, the benefits for our Laundry Bureau is very good, and we can even get meat during the holidays.”

“If we want anything we can buy it ourselves.”

“They don’t charge us money for sending our children to the daycare.”

After comforting, the women began to teach her:

“The South Bodhisattva is a living god, and you can’t do things that would wrong the South Bodhisattva.”

“Otherwise, the heavens will punish you.”

After working in the Laundry Bureau for seven days and being brainwashed for seven days, the widow became a faithful believer.

The same went for the bachelor, even the son.

The family of three even saved money to buy a small idol statue of the South Bodhisattva.

The carving of the idol was not very good, but for them, this was the best idol they had ever seen.

Lin Yuan was not only their ruler, but also their spiritual leader.

Every refugee who arrived at Gaoyou experienced this baptism.

In modern terms, this was called a personality cult.

Except for Lin Yuan, they did not accept any other leader.

Whatever Lin Yuan said was the truth and taken as divine speech.

When Lin Yuan found out about this, he was in a very complicated mood. He had thought that this phenomenon and people’s fanaticism would gradually fade over time, but now it seemed that there was not only no sign of a decline, but becoming stronger and stronger.

Song Shizhao thought this was a good sign.

“Boss, the time will be ripe next spring.” Song Shizhao was very excited. He had become more and more confident recently. He believed that it was only a matter of time before the great deed would be realized. Although the Red Turban Army was also developing rapidly, however as of now, in terms of scale and popularity they could not be compared with Lin Yuan.

Look at the people who have practically crossed most of the territory of Yuan to Gaoyou. Didn’t this represent the popular support?

Lin Yuan said to Song Shizhao: “Liu Ji, Song Lian, and Luo Guanzhong, have these three responded?”

Song Shizhao hurriedly said: “Song Lian and Luo Guanzhong have sent a letter and are on their way. As for Liu Ji……”

Lin Yuan sighed: “It seems that it is not the time yet.”

Liu Ji was much more proud than Song Lian and Luo Guanzhong, and Lin Yuan also understood this.

Song Shizhao said lowly: “Should I send someone to capture him and bring him over?”

Lin Yuan smiled: “Do you think it’s so easy to capture him? Besides, forced or sincere, which is more useful, you know in your heart.”

Song Shizhao sighed.

“How is the munition preparation?” Lin Yuan called Yang Zi’an over. Yang Zi’an had been in charge of the munition reserve during this time.

The munition included explosives, siege engines, trebuchets, swords, blades, and armour.

They still couldn’t replace all the armour with iron ones, but Lin Yuan had them make a batch of helmets. If the opponent’s weapons were relatively blunt, the attack on the body may not be fatal, but the attack on the unprotected head would be another story.

The helmet could save some people’s lives.

Yang Zi’an sat on the side. He was very tired. He barely slept for several days. He could only drink a sip of strong tea to keep awake. He said to Lin Yuan, “Enough. The food supply can last for two years and the people are re-polishing and refurbishing the weapons. It may not be completely perfect, but they are sharp enough. The production of explosives are also being rushed out these days, and the women haven’t closed their eyes for several days.”

Lin Yuan nodded: “It’s been a hard time for you all during this period.”

Yang Zian shook his head: “Not as hard as you have it, look at your eyes.”

Lin Yuan touched the bags under his eyes.

Sometimes Lin Yuan felt that the Emperor in ancient times was really pitiful. During the day, he was worked like a mule, and at night he had to deal with concubines. Being ridden by the courtiers in the outer court, and when he went back to the inner court he was slept by concubines. Perhaps they themselves were quite happy with their situation.

Sometimes it was much happier to be an incapable king than to be a sage king.

An incapable king could enjoy happiness.

A sage king must bring happiness to others.

Lin Yuan leaned on the chair, but did not dare to close his eyes, for fear that he would fall asleep when he closed them.

“It’ll be fine after this period of time. Next year, we put in a spurt of energy.” Lin Yuan smiled at Yang Zi’an.

Yang Zi’an exhaled a long breath.

“More than four hundred refugees have arrived in the outer city,” Song Shizhao said.

Lin Yuan nodded: “How many people have been arrested recently?”

There were still some people who did not appreciate the peace Lin Yuan bought and committed crimes. Now they were all thrown in prisons.

Song Shizhao: “More than a thousand people.”

Lin Yuan: “Pull them all out to build the city wall.”

Song Shizhao nodded: “The people are a bit few.”

Lin Yuan: “You can also recruit people. Raise the pay for building the city wall higher. Someone will go.”

There must be a city wall, otherwise the outer city would become a sitting duck.

——

Compared with Gaoyou and Taizhou, the winter in Changshu was not at all pleasant. Rich people could burn charcoal and have meat in all their meals, but ordinary people could barely make ends meet no matter how much work they did.

An Laosi, dressed in silk and pretending to be a merchant, managed to bribe his way in with the senior provincial government official. The prefectural magistrate’s name was Sukhbaru, a Mongolian. After seeing the grains brought by An Laosi he quickly had his servant bring An Laosi to him.

An Laosi pretended to be a merchant from Hangzhou. In addition to food, he also brought fine gold, silver and jade.

By his side he also brought with him a courtesan. This courtesan was Tian Xiang, but now Tian Xiang and An Laosi were working partners, and the two no longer had the same physical relationship as before.

Tian Xiang was responsible for dealing with the females in the inner court of the homes of the officials, and to try to find information from them. But because she was just a courtesan, all she could have contact with were concubines and not the legal wives.

But compared to the legal wife, these concubines knew more.

Because the lords would not bring their wives to certain venues, whereas with the conubines they didn’t have so many apprehensions.

And most of the concubines had no education. They didn’t know what they could say and what they couldn’t to outsiders. With just a little effort from Tian Xiang, they would reveal everything they knew.

On An Laosi’s side, however, it was not as easy prying information out of the lords and officials. In the end, he did not find much useful information.

The two of them would match their information in the room in the middle of the night. Since An Laosi knew how to write he became responsible for relaying the news back.

He had a book in his hand. Different words in this book corresponded to special symbols. He needed to write the letters with these symbols, so that even if the letter was intercepted, no information would be leaked.

If he sensed that something was wrong, all he had to do was just burn the book.

Tian Xiang told An Laosi of the news she had managed to learn that day. After An Laosi wrote the letter, he gave it to his servant. Then he said to Tian Xiang: “Did the South Bodhisattva say anything when he sent you?”

Tian Xiang drank the tea: “South Bodhisattva told me to watch you well, lest you do anything bad.”

An Laosi laughed dryly.

He asked again: “Whatever the result, we were like husband and wife once, can’t you be a little more polite to me?”

Tian Xiang curled her lip: “What is there to be polite to you for?”

An Laosi said lowly: “Then, do you want to be my concubine?”

Tian Xiang’s eyes widened: “In your fantasies. I think you are just a toad wanting to eat the flesh of a swan and don’t have any self-awareness!”

An Laosi quickly said: “It’s just a joke, just a joke, don’t be serious.”

Tian Xiang harrumphed: “Have you inquired into the matter that the South Bodhisattva asked you to inquire about?”

An Laosi sighed, with a troubled look on his face he said: “Those people’s mouths are too tight.”

Tian Xiang: “Useless man.”

Tian Xiang’s eyes wandered and she thought of something: “Next time you will take me with you.”

An Laosi asked strangely: “For what?”

Tian Xiang: “Men, it’s much easier to pry their mouths open on the bed.”

“My dear lady, please don’t mess with me.” An Laosi said helplessly, “If this is known by the South Bodhisattva, a layer of my skin will be flayed.”

Besides, if Tian Xiang managed to pry their mouths, wouldn’t he look like dirt in comparison?

That he was not as capable as a woman?

Unable to pry anything from the lords, An Laosi could only focus on the minor officials below.

Unlike the wealthy big lords, the small officials don’t have much monthly salary. They could only rely on the commoners paying them fees to maintain their dignity and lifestyle. But the commoners were already this poor, and they couldn’t squeeze much out of them even if they wanted to. If there were too many dead people, they still had to take responsibility. As a result, it was rather easy for An Laosi to bribe his way into their good graces.

But they didn’t know much, at least some confidential information could not be found from them.

But they did know the positions of the weapons armory and granary very well. It’s just that they weren’t clear on the distribution of troops that guard these locations.

In addition to this, the biggest gain was that they managed to gain a connection to the government sub-prefect of Changshu.

Unlike the prefectural magistrate, this sub-prefect was a Han Chinese named Jiang Zheng, a man of twenty-five years. He was one of the rare young men who managed to reach such a governmental position at such a young age. Young people were not so vigilant. When he knew that the minor officials under him had received benefits from An Laosi, he had An Laosi brought in front of him.

An Laosi might have difficulty dealing with Sukhbaru, but dealing with such a fellow, who practically had the desire for profit written on his face, it was much simpler. He took a pure gold tea set and another set of jewelry made of fake jade to visit.

When Jiang Zheng saw the pure gold tea set, he couldn’t look away at all.

The sub-prefect was only ranked 6B, and Changshu was one of the Zhongzhou provinces, so the prefectural magistrate in Changshu was ranked 5A (TN: 9 ranking system of officials in which officials are divided into principal (A) and lower (B) ranks, with 9 for both in total). The administrative division of the Yuan Dynasty and the ranking of local officials were divided according to Shangzhou, Zhongzhou, and Xiazhou (TN: provinces divided based on the number of households living in them, with Shangzhou having the most and Xiazhou the least).

Now in Changshu, the prefectural magistrate Sukhbaru was living an extravagant life that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine. Jiang Zheng, who worked under him, naturally saw it all personally, so developing greed and desire for a luxurious life was quite normal.

“Brother An is really capable.” Jiang Zheng gave the set of jade jewelry to his mother, while he kept the gold tea set for himself. Since he received the gift, he never used another tea set again.

An Laosi flattered: “As the saying goes, since ancient times, heroes have come out of youth and I think Sub-Prefect Jiang is a brilliant young man.”

Jiang Zheng smiled and said: “If I had known that we would be such kindred spirits, I would have invited brother An here earlier.”

The two chatted for a while. In the end, Jiang Zheng couldn’t restrain himself first and asked: “Brother An is so generous, don’t know what business you are doing?”

The eyes of An Laosi brightened: “Why? Is Sub-Prefect Jiang also interested? My business is simple. If the Sub-Prefect can help me out in Changshu, we……”

Jiang Zheng didn’t promise anything, but just asked: “The lord magistrate didn’t mention it to you?”

An Laosi: ​​”The lord magistrate is so busy, how can he be interested in my small business.”

Sukhbaru was smarter than Jiang Zheng. He didn’t take the bait at all. Besides, so long as An Laosi came to do business, he would inevitably send him gifts, so why bother and give himself extra trouble?

Jiang Zheng was different from Sukhbaru. He was not as powerful as Sukhbaru. If he wanted more money, it was of course impossible to seek fees and gifts directly from An Laosi.

Even if he did, could it even be comparable to what was given to Sukhbaru?

An Laosi said: “I do business for the nobles. There are always some nobles who have a hard time now and have to sell their possessions. I buy it for a low price and then……”

Jiang Zheng smiled: “Sell at a high price, but don’t those people know that they are selling at a low price?”

An Laosi blinked at Jiang Zheng and said: “Sub-Prefect doesn’t know it, but An has some face outside, and they have to sell it even if they don’t want to.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Jiang Zheng finally became convinced: “Brother An tell me more in detail, so that I can also learn more.”

An Laosi had a smile at the corners of his mouth.

The fish took the bait.

TN: Bonus chapter coming up!

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*Edited by LazyCat

Because he was not an agricultural expert, Lin Yuan only knew that sweet potatoes were annual crops, only maturing once a year. They were usually sown in the three months of March, April and May, and harvested in October. Sweet potatoes entered China through Fujian province in the 21st year of Wanli (TN: Wanli Emperor, personal name Zhu Yijun, was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620). It not only tasted good, but also adapted easily to barren land. It could be eaten raw or cooked, and the output was very large. In ancient times, there was a saying ‘one mu and dozens of shi, 20 times better than planting grain.’ (TN: mu=classifier for fields; unit of area equal to one fifteenth of a hectare; shi=dry measure for grain that is equal to one hundred liters)

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

As for potatoes, they were now already growing seedlings, just in time for the end of November. Then from January to March of the following year the potatoes could be harvested.

However, the planting time and harvest time of potatoes were different in different places. In some places, potatoes planted in April and May would end up harvested in autumn.

Lin Yuan could only plant a small portion at the end of November. If it did not work out then they would switch it to April and May.

As for the remaining potatoes and sweet potatoes they were all stored in the cellar with people checking up on it everyday as they must be kept dry to avoid mold.

However, those old farmers knew these things better than Lin Yuan, so Lin Yuan basically handed all responsibility over except for making the occasional visits.

The farmers were old farmers who were found by Lin Yuan. Most of them were over forty years old. They had been serving crops almost from the time they could walk. They had experience and their own ways of removing insects or fertilizing. However, since Lin Yuan created the ‘Agricultural Bureau’, their exclusive methods were all made public.

They were all asked to sort out all their experience and knowledge; it didn’t matter if they didn’t know how to read and write as someone would record it for them.

Then Lin Yuan sent people to the villages to carry out propaganda and teaching activities.

In the past, people did not have the conditions to spread planting experience and technology because the transportation was not developed and the villages were relatively closed off. Now Lin Yuan was forcibly breaking the barriers between the villages, and each village had to send people to the demonstration village to learn the farming experience and methods.

Lin Yuan would give rewards for all those who learned well.

Lin Yuan also encouraged the animal husbandry industry. Most people chose to raise ducks, few raised chickens or geese.

There was no feed at this time. The maturing period of ducks was the shortest at 3 to 4 months, whereas it was 14 months for chickens and 7 or 8 months for geese.

Farmers have their own wisdom. Whether it was ducks, chickens, or geese, it was all still raising livestock. Of course, it would be best to raise the one that took the shortest period of time.

As a result, Lin Yuan could only gather people together to build duck coops and chicken coops.

The geese were left to grow free-range.

Since arriving in Taizhou and Gaoyou, Lin Yuan no longer adopted the big pot meal system. After all, the current situation was not very bad. When food reserves were sufficient, people owning private property would increase productivity.

Shared big pot meals were more suitable for times of famine.

The big pot meal system was implemented in the farmstead before.

The way to promote people’s productivity was to have a reward system.

Just like choosing labor models in the famine years of China in the 1950s-1960s, labor models were acknowledged and rewarded to encourage people to work hard.

Lin Yuan picked the smallest sweet potatoes and potatoes and had them steamed before he called over his confidantes to have a taste.

Except for Lin Yuan, no one had seen these two crops. Their enthusiasm for potatoes was not as high as for sweet potatoes. After all, sweet potatoes had a sweet taste. Now that there was basically no sweet food, sweet potatoes appeared even more attractive.

Lin Yuan asked them: “Do you know what the yield of these two types of crops?”

The others guessed a few numbers, but Lin Yuan shook his head with a smile: “There are dozens of shi per mu.”

Both Yang Zi’an and Zhu Yuanzhang were born in farming households. Although Zhu Yuanzhang was a cattle herd, his family also grew crops. Naturally, he knew how incredible this number was.

Lin Yuan also said: “They have low environmental requirements and can be grown on barren land.”

Song Shizhao said excitedly: “Boss, it can be seen that this is a sign from the heavens!”

Lin Yuan was bewildered: “Sign of what?”

Song Shizhao: “These two crops benefit countless people, and it is all a credit to Boss. With these two crops, why worry about the people of the world not supporting you! Boss! This is the east wind!” (TN: east wind has many meanings but in this case it is used to describe a driving force, especially for revolution or social progress)

East wind?

Then I’m the white dragon. (TN: name for a mahjong tile; another mahjong tile is called east wind, hence Lin Yuan’s sarcastic thoughts)

Lin Yuan knew that Song Shizhao was thinking of once again turning him into a quack.

“Manager Song, this matter will be postponed at a later time.” Lin Yuan felt that he was already too eye-catching. If he were to spread it far and wide that he possessed two high-yielding and easy to plant crops it would indeed increase his fame and reputation, but it would also attract more attention. He didn’t want to deal with trouble from the covetous and greedy before he had managed to really strengthen himself.

“When the first batch is harvested next year, it will be given to the people as seeds,” Lin Yuan said.

Song Shizhao: “Exactly.”

Yang Zi’an asked: “If it spreads out……”

However, Lin Yuan said calmly: “Then it spreads out.”

Everyone looked surprised.

After eating the meal, it dawned on them. That’s right, how could they forget that the person in front of them was still the person born with a Buddha’s heart.

Perhaps others would be selfish in this world, but he would not.

Lin Yuan knew what they were thinking by looking at their expressions, but Lin Yuan would not disillusion them.

It was better to let himself maintain a glorious image in their minds.

The first reason why he was willing for the two crops to spread out to other regions was that it could indeed benefit more people, even if these people belonged on the side of his enemies. The people were innocent; heroes in troubled times rise up and fight to establish a new rule but in addition to their own ambitions, they should also consider the people, otherwise how could they be leaders or claim they bring justice and peace to the people? They would be no better than bandits otherwise.

The second reason was to win over the people’s hearts.

Just like what Song Shizhao said, the people have always adhered to the belief that the one with milk is their mother (TN: expression for only recognizing someone so long as they have benefits for you). What virtuous cause and righteousness, this was all too removed from their daily lives. Most of them were ignorant and uneducated and all they wanted was to live well.

They now know very little about Taizhou and Gaoyou, the most that they knew was that these two places were occupied by the South Bodhisattva, and that the people there could get enough food.

Once the potatoes and sweet potatoes spread out, not only would it benefit the people, but also win over the hearts of the people. When he became stronger, the benefits of these two things would not only be an increase in the population.

Lin Yuan sometimes thought that he hadn’t been a good person in his previous life, but in this life he actually had a chance to be a good person.

Although this good person was also full of selfishness, but as long as the result turned out good, who could say that he was not a good person?

——

“Hurry and start the fire, I’m about to freeze to death.” Lin Basan rubbed his hands, breathed out a mouthful of white mist and wrapped his clothes tightly around himself as he sat down on a low stool. There was not much charcoal allocated, so it was important to use it sparingly.

His colleague was called Dong Liuwu. He was also a carpenter originally. He had a lame leg, so he didn’t move easily from his work spot, working in the wood factory all day long, and barely walking outside except for commuting.

Lin Basan warmed himself by the fire while waiting for his colleagues to come to work.

He was promoted to a small leader because of his quick and good work, and now supervised around 100 carpenters so every day he came to work earlier than others.

Dong Wuliu slowly took out the charcoal, and asked after the charcoal burned: “How did your team perform this month?”

When Lin Basan heard Dong Wuliu mentioning this, he couldn’t stop smiling: “The target was completed.”

Their work was very varied. They had to make carts, furniture, and some other knick-knacks, and sometimes they even had to go build houses.

Lin Yuan had them build a house without nails, not a real house but a scaled down model version.

They had to make three in a month, and they couldn’t look the same. At first, they really didn’t know what to do. After all, they weren’t a direct disciple of Lu Ban. Although Lu Ban was said to be the ancestor of carpentry, but it was already not bad for ordinary carpenters to be able to make beds, dressing screens and furniture. Most of them have only heard of the tenon and mortise structure but have not actually seen it. (TN: Lu Ban, legendary master craftsman, called the father of Chinese carpentry)

Lin Yuan could not find high-level talents who truly understood and studied the tenon and mortise structure.

So the only thing to do was to train them.

After all, the population was increasing, and the city must be expanded. The cost of brick and tile houses was too high, but houses that could be easily joined and constructed ​​through the tenon-and-mortise structure would reduce the cost and construction time——it was just that they had to take care around an open flame. Therefore, layers of mud and cement must be put on the outside as well as employing patrols every night to ensure safety.

Lin Basan took a sip of hot water and said with emotion, “At this time last year, I was still digging for grass roots to eat.”

Dong Wuliu said: “Who wasn’t in the same situation? It was at that time my leg was broken.”

The two looked at each other and both smiled.

Lin Basan also said with a look of longing: “I’m still going to try for a baby with my wife, maybe I can even hold him or her next year.”

“Then I have to come and drink full moon wine at that time.” Dong Wuliu, “Look at me, not even a shadow of a wife in sight. You have it better than me.” (TN: full moon wine is wine drunk on a baby’s one-month old birthday)

Lin Basan laughed: “My parents arranged the marriage for me.”

There were three brothers in his family. He was the youngest, but all his older brothers died young. He was the only one who survived.

When he was twelve years old, his parents used all the savings in the family to find him a wife. The wife’s family was poor and they wanted to keep her in her natal house until she was fourteen.

After all, a girl from a farmer family must learn to work as soon as she could walk. Not only must she be able to do farm work she must also be able to do housework and take care of her younger siblings. Her family kept her because she could work for the family for a few more years.

Lin Basan was the first in his village to marry a wife. Their village was not rich. There were so many old bachelors in their 20s and 30s. He still remembered the day he married his wife. He had put on new clothes for once and waited for the matchmaker to bring his wife over.

His wife carried with her a parcel with some old clothes inside. In order to make her appear more decent, her family had her wear new clothes when she went out.

She was not beautiful, but she was a very good wife.

She married him for more than ten years and gave birth to three sons and one daughter.

As Lin Basan thought of this, his eyes became a little moist. Of these four children two of his sons died young.

The eldest son and the youngest daughter survived their infant years, but in the end they did not survive the trek over to Gaoyou.

His parents starved to death in order to save some food for their grandson.

But even so, the children failed to make it in the end.

He remembered that he buried his son and daughter. But on the next day, when he went to see, the soil where the children were buried was dug up and there was nothing underneath.

Lin Basan said to Dong Wuliu: “The days will get better and better. When you save some money you can go find a matchmaker.”

Dong Wuliu smiled: “I’m a cripple; it wouldn’t be good of me to drag her down.”

The two did not speak. At this age, the lame was unlikely to marry a wife unless he was particularly rich.

The two chatted for a while more before the people showed up to work one after another. Lin Basan stood up and started to work with the people in his team.

They weren’t the only ones busy. Other people who were not in the wood factory were also very busy. Although winter was here, there was still a lot of work to be done. In order to have a better life next year, Lin Yuan had the people expand the city, in other words building an outer city. The first part of the plan was to construct the roadways. This didn’t require Lin Yuan to be busy as someone would take care of these tasks. The merchants were especially enthusiastic. They always wanted to shine wherever Lin Yuan could see.

Taizhou and Gaoyou were originally wealthy places. The merchants not only brought back the craftsmen, but also goods from outside.

No matter how chaotic the world was, it would not affect the merchants’ earning money. So Lin Yuan established a Merchants’ Guild for the merchants. Every member of the Merchants’ Guild could get a certificate of identity. They must guarantee a certain market price, or in other words, the price was determined by them based on the purchasing power.

Lin Yuan did not squeeze their profit margins, but they must ensure that the set prices were within the acceptance range of the people, and there could not be any disturbance of the set prices.

Therefore, when other outsider merchants came to do business, they must first go to the Merchants’ Guild to obtain a sales permit and then agree to the set market price before they could do business.

The benefit of unifying prices was that Lin Yuan could now know clearly the population of Taizhou and Gaoyou. There was a set number of the rice sold every month which could be calculated more clearly based on the price. And with this it ensured that the population could be calculated to its most accurate number.

Every month’s changes in the population allowed Lin Yuan to clearly be aware of how many people have been added.

The merchants did not expect that they would have a Merchants’ Guild, and even the prices would be decided and balanced by them. After they had checked in with the Merchants’ Guild, they all reported to Lin Yuan. When Lin Yuan nodded at their decided price then they would be able to implement it.

For merchants, this was a strange feeling, as if suddenly they have now unknowingly shouldered some kind of responsibility. Therefore, they dared not do anything shortsighted for a short term benefit.

“When I used to go out to do business I would try to raise the prices as high as possible, practically selling a piece of grass at the price for gold. But now I am afraid of the price elevating.” The merchants were sitting in a warm room with melon seeds and peanuts on hand, and a cup of tea for each person as they chat among themselves.

Someone laughed: “Since we want to take root here, we naturally have to maintain a balance, otherwise it would hollow out the people, and then what would we do in the future?”

The prices they set now were all cheap things, such as necessities like grain and oil. As for luxury goods that could only be bought by the rich, Lin Yuan didn’t care about them, so long as they pay taxes in due time.

“I didn’t expect us to have this present.” The merchants sighed, “When we went to do business before, the court could not wait to strip us of everything we owned. So stingy to the point we would be left only in a pair of underpants if they could help it.”

“The South Bodhisattva likes merchants like us. I can see that the South Bodhisattva values ​​us.”

Some merchants were also worried: “That is because we are still useful, but what if we are useless in the future?”

“What are you afraid of, you ran in from the outside, so if that time really comes, can’t you just run out?”

“Furthermore, do you dare to make trouble for the South Bodhisattva now? If you want to try the South Bodhisattva’s blade, you can try it, but I won’t in any case.”

By now they have all set up houses in Gaoyou, brought their relatives and friends over and settled in Gaoyou. Some had even married wives and concubines.

For their own sake, they must all support Lin Yuan.

After now tasting the benefits of being in a position that they didn’t even dare to think before, these merchants were all reluctant to move out.

Besides, the people like them very much. The new and novel things they bring were all consumed by ordinary people.

Small profits but quick turnover. This method might not necessarily mean that their income had become lower than before. Moreover, it was also worry-free. They now planned to lead their merchant caravans out once a year instead of twice a year as in previous years.

Zhou Fu and Xie Zichang were now the chairman and vice chairman of the Merchants’ Guild respectively.

Zhou Fu became the chairman because of those two baskets of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Xie Zichang, having been unable to do better than that, became the vice chairman instead.

The two did not like each other. After the superior and subordinate relationship was set, the harmonious veneer between the two was broken, and every day was not complete without at least one exchange of mockery at each other.

——

After An Laosi brought his family to Gaoyou, they were arranged to the staff apartments. Because there were four people, they were divided into an apartment with two rooms and one living room. He thought that Lin Yuan would definitely have him do things, but after waiting here for more than two months he hadn’t even seen a trace of a small supervisor, let alone Lin Yuan’s shadow——he found himself being forgotten.

An Laosi, who had made up his mind to put on a show of reluctance, was now quite anxious.

He had nothing to do now, and everyday he only did some chores. Even his wife had started to take on a job of washing clothes. That he could support his living relied entirely on the savings he had brought along. He couldn’t possibly live this way forever?

An Laosi felt that he was a capable person. He could no longer be used by Fang Guozhen, so he should still be of some use for Lin Yuan, right? But Lin Yuan’s attitude made him flustered and anxious.

Therefore, he could only take out the gold and silver and figure out a way to see Song Shizhao and have Song Shizhao set up a meeting with Lin Yuan.

It’s a pity that while Song Shizhao received the money and gifts, he didn’t do anything else. He just said: “Boss thinks you are of great use, and An Gongzi should not be so anxious. There will come a time when you will be called.”

Just when An Laosi was in despair, Song Shizhao suddenly asked him to go to the government office with him.

An Laosi did not even bother to eat any food and went to wait at Song Shizhao’s door early. His eyes lit up when he saw Song Shizhao, and he quickly greeted him: “Manager Song is still the same as before, in good spirits.”

Song Shizhao smiled at him, with a very good attitude: “An Gongzi is too kind, please follow Song.”

An Laosi didn’t know what Lin Yuan wanted him to do, but he didn’t think anything could be difficult for him.

Lin Yuan was sitting on a stone bench in the garden when he saw An Laosi. There was a pot of tea and a few cups set out on the stone table. However, because it was winter the garden appeared rather bare and revealed the muddy ground underneath. But Lin Yuan did not mind at all since sitting indoors all day was just too stuffy. Wearing a thick cotton robe, he waved to An Laosi, “An Gongzi is here, sit.”

An Laosi and Song Shizhao both sat down.

“How is An Gongzi?” Lin Yuan asked pleasantly.

An Laosi wanted to say, “I have been so idle lately my balls hurt”, but when he opened his mouth he said, “Gaoyou is well organized under your jurisdiction. Everyone lives and works in peace and contentment. I don’t know what orders South Bodhisattva has for me? This humble one is willing to lend all of my meager support.”

The smile on Lin Yuan’s face was just right. It would neither make people feel alienated, nor make people feel that he was too amiable. No one would be willing to offend him unless he no longer wanted his head to remain on his shoulders.

Lin Yuan smiled and said: “There is actually one matter that requires An Gongzi. This matter is of great importance. Apart from An Gongzi, no better candidate can be thought of.”

This was a very pleasant sounding thing to say, and when An Laosi heard this he also felt very pleased. He quickly promised: “I ask South Bodhisattva to please speak frankly, there is no need to be courteous.”

Lin Yuan: “I heard that An Gongzi is good at ventriloquism.”

An Laosi was a little proud: “I can imitate the voice, regardless of men, women, young or old, even if it’s a bird’s call, I can guarantee that it would sound no different from the real thing.”

Lin Yuan smiled: “I believe this, so this matter can only be handed over to An Gongzi.”

“I ask An Gongzi to go to Changshu to explore Changshu’s weak armaments and defenses for me. And if An Gongzi is willing, to also convince the local people.” Lin Yuan, “I will also send someone to protect the safety of An Gongzi.”

An Laosi did not dare to refuse. He knew that if he refused, the best scenario would be to end up the same as before, and the worst would be being beheaded by Lin Yuan.

For the sake of his life and future, An Laosi must make the gamble.

If he won, then he would have a solid place at Lin Yuan’s side.

If he lost then it would just be him losing his life, but he could save the lives of his parents and his wife.

“I am willing to carry out the orders for the South Bodhisattva, and die without hesitation.” An Laosi knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan waited for him to finish before stepping forward to support him up, and said in a warm voice: “An Gongzi is a rare talent, and I hope you take care of yourself so that you and I can see each other soon.”

Although An Laosi knew that this was just polite speak, he still felt rather touched.

When he was in Huizhou, Fang Guozhen only sent his personal guard to relay orders for him to go to Gaoyou. He never said such words in person.

Fang Guozhen failed to completely win him over, otherwise he would not have left Huizhou as soon as his wife said so.

Lin Yuan had the servants see An Laosi out, and gave him two squads of troops as protection. These soldiers all appeared weak-looking so as to be more convincing under the guise of a traveling merchant caravan. He also gave him a lot of operational funds, food, and a few carts of gold and silver objects.

At that time, An Laosi could use these things to bribe and ingratiate himself in among the Changshu officials.

Officials were used to embezzling and accepting bribes. How could they let a fat sheep like An Laosi go? In front of enough interests these officials could even put their lives at risk.

Besides, these local officials had been in Changshu almost all their lives and were equivalent to the local tyrant of Changshu.

So long as they open their way in among these officials, then the next stage of the plan would be much easier.

As for An Laosi’s ventriloquism……hnn, it was just a casual excuse for Lin Yuan to praise him.

An Laosi went home, his whole person buzzing with excitement.

The South Bodhisattva actually gave him so many things and so many people. Although he knew that those people were also there to monitor him, but it was also true that they were there to protect him, so the chances of him coming back safely was very great.

Before he left Huizhou for Gaoyou, Fang Guozhen only gave him some money, and that money was not even enough for him to spend for too long.

This gave An Laosi a feeling of being valued by Lin Yuan.

This feeling of being valued also made him happy and encouraged, as if he was a capable, dignified and worthy talent in Lin Yuan’s eyes.

Lady An saw that he kept tossing and turning instead of sleeping so she asked, “What’s wrong? I don’t usually see you in such good spirits.”

An Laosi whispered to his wife: “Miao Niang, I’m going to become successful.”

Lady An sighed helplessly: “Go to sleep.”

An Laosi wanted to say something more to share his excitement with his wife, but when he turned his head, he found that his wife was already asleep.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

With no one to share his excitement and no one who understood his mood, as well as the fact that he himself didn’t dare to tell others, An Laosi could only sigh mournfully and turn over to sleep.

An Laosi clenched his fists.

He was going to do something big.

What he sought to scheme for control would be the whole of Changshu.

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*Edited by LazyCat

Hundreds of years ago, the Wu family was also prosperous and influential. During the Song Dynasty, the ancestor of the Wu family had been a Grand Master of Remonstrance. They were also among the top official families in the local area. They wore silk and satin, ate rare delicacies shipped from all regions, and even the tea they drank was the best tea produced in tea fields to be paid as tribute for the Emperor.

The Wu family was also quite popular in the local area, to the extent that even after the change of dynasty, they were also recruited by the Yuan Dynasty. In order to protect the family, they bowed their heads in submission to the new imperial court.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

But though they may have lowered their heads, it did not mean that they wholeheartedly accepted the Yuan Dynasty. The Wu family waited quietly, waiting for the day the Yuan Dynasty would also decline.

Wu Changqing was now forty-two years old. He had been waiting for this day for half his life, and it had finally arrived.

“South Bodhisattva.” Wu Changqing was very well maintained and looked to only be in his early thirties.

Among the ancient people, the poor people were worse off than the modern people. After all, they had to do more physical work in order to make a living. But the rich people in ancient times were much better off than the modern rich people. The food they ate had no additives, lived in big manors, and don’t even have to do anything themselves in daily life.

Lin Yuan smiled at Wu Changqing: “Wu Laoye, I have heard much about you for so long.”

The smile on Wu Changqing’s face became even brighter, although he also knew that this was just courteous talk. If Lin Yuan had known of him a long time ago, how could he have not come to see him for so long.

However, since Lin Yuan had already spoken courteous words, he naturally had to be more sincere.

“Wu Laoye and this old man, we are very good friends.” Song Shizhao also began to speak courteous words, and exaggerating in his praises for Wu Changqing. After all, he was the person to introduce Wu Changing to Lin Yuan. The more talented this person was, the more capable he would appear to be——but no matter how talented Wu Changqing was, he would still not surpass him.

The people below also experience jealousy.

There was no difference between courtiers and officials competing amongst themselves for the Emperor’s favor and concubines competing against each other within the harem for the Emperor’s favor.

The methods were all the same, pestering the Emperor, flattering the Emperor, and then do something practical and merit worthy.

Then form cliques and suppress outsiders. And the best scenario would be that the Emperor had no other useful ministers besides himself.

If the concubines also wanted to get involved with the imperial court, then the courtiers would have to compete with the concubines for the Emperor’s favor as well.

Dealing with the concubines was even simpler. Directly point out that the harem cannot participate in politics. If a concubine participated, then bad luck, she would be labelled an evil seductress. And with such a good reason, the courtiers could easily force her to die.

The courtiers were not only colleagues, but also competitors. If one person gained favor, then another would definitely have lost it.

It was much easier to understand their relationship as that of colleagues in modern workplaces.

The only way to rise up in the ranks was to cooperate with each other when working. But when fighting for benefits, instantly all cooperation would go out the window, and they would become even more fierce and unforgiving towards each other than if they were facing the killer of their own father.

But in the modern workplace, promotion only meant a higher salary and being in charge of more people.

However, the promotion of officials in ancient times had more room for benefits and personal interests, so one couldn’t blame them. It could only be said that the people above were not smart enough to keep these lower ranking officials in line.

After a brief greeting, the three finally got to the point.

Wu Changqing sat at attention, with a smile on his face, and said: “When I had yet to arrive, I often heard the people say that the South Bodhisattva was a young hero, born with the heart of a Buddha, and an expert at appointing people according to their abilities. After seeing with my own eyes today, it turned out to be true.”

Lin Yuan: “Wu Laoye can speak directly.”

To have respect for the wise and talented did not necessarily mean that they were all wise and talented. The main thing was to show respect and welcome like they were, so that more people would come to join him.

Maybe there were a few among these people with real and valuable skills. As for those who don’t have the skills, most of them were just fed for free. It was estimated that a lot of people have gone bankrupt from feeding aides and advisors.

After all, people were not cats and dogs. Supporting them must not only include taking care of their food, but also their daily clothing, housing and transportation.

In short, the Wu Changqing in front of him, whether he was really capable or not, Lin Yuan would still keep him, and even entrust him with an important position to express his desire for talents.

Establish a signboard so that those who were still observing would come and recommend themselves.

He also hoped to attract Luo Guanzhong. Whether or not Luo Guanzhong was an excellent military strategist, at least he had written the Romance of the Three Kingdoms! Passed down through the ages, a literary giant of the times! So what if he ended up supporting Luo Guanzhong for free? He was happy to do it for free!

Wu Changqing asked: “Has the South Bodhisattva ever thought about whether to stop here or to go further.”

“If it is to go further, has the South Bodhisattva ever thought of taking Hangzhou?”

Lin Yuan finally couldn’t help smiling. He said to Song Shizhao: “Mr. Song, it would seem that your seat is not guaranteed.”

Song Shizhao also smiled, but not so sincerely, but on the surface it was not too obvious. He cupped his hand and said, “I am willing to hand this position to the hero.”

Wu Changqing said: “Now the South Bodhisattva has two major generals Zhu and Chen, accompanied by the three lieutenant generals Li, Yang, and Zhang. But I wonder if the South Bodhisattva has thought about the issue, that the two generals Zhu and Chen are now unable to be promoted even further?”

Lin Yuan’s expression changed, he suppressed his anger and smiled: “I wonder if Wu Laoye has any ideas?”

Wu Changqing also knew that these words would inevitably displease Lin Yuan, but if he wanted to have a future, he had to say this. Otherwise if he just made superficial remarks then it would be difficult to make further progress, so he said lowly: “These two people are in charge of tens of thousands of troops, why don’t South Bodhisattva have them……”

The method he came up with was to pit Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong against each other.

This could weaken their strength and prevent them from uniting and trying to seize Lin Yuan’s current position.

Lin Yuan also knew that Wu Changqing was right, and he had avoided thinking about this issue all this time.

In the capture of Gaoyou, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong contributed the most. They were made generals in order to stabilize the military spirit. But the problem was that people’s desires could expand infinitely, and the only position above generals was a princely title. (TN: in ancient China, non-imperial members could be conferred a princely title for special merits)

And he didn’t want to boil the hound once it caught the rabbit or to put the bow away once the birds were all gone in the future. (TN: idioms for getting rid of somebody once he has served his purpose)

Lin Yuan could only smile and say to Wu Changqing: “Towards Wu Laoye’s suggestion, I don’t know how to react, and I feel ashamed. I will definitely consider this matter seriously.”

Wu Changqing: “I shall follow the South Bodhisattva’s orders.”

Lin Yuan turned his head and said to Song Shizhao: “I see that Wu Laoye is an upright man, so how about being in charge of the people’s livelihood?”

Song Shizhao quickly signaled at Wu Changqing, and the two thanked Lin Yuan.

After leaving the Wu Manor, Lin Yuan frowned slightly. Song Shizhao stood on the side with anxiety. He did not dare to ask, but walked aside and waited for Lin Yuan to speak.

Lin Yuan: “This person is smart and keen, but he likes to take narrow paths. He is talented enough to be a small official. But as a big official, he will be a disaster for the people.”

Song Shizhao: “Exactly!”

Lin Yuan glanced sideways at Song Shizhao: “You’ve noticed this flaw long ago, haven’t you?”

Song Shizhao smiled.

Wu Changqing’s eyes did not see the people or the world.

What he saw was the human heart, the desire for power.

Such a person might have a little achievement, but he would never achieve anything too big, because his foothold was too small.

However, Song Shizhao said: “Although he has no major talent, he still has some skills, so why don’t Boss continue to observe some more.”

Lin Yuan nodded, his eyes a little melancholy.

Nowadays, that his army remained stable, and the people’s minds at ease, all relied on the name of the South Bodhisattva and the visible good days to come.

It did not rely on the personal charm of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong.

Moreover, the soldiers they were in charge of were not fixed. Soldiers were all uniformly trained and occasionally shuffled, just to prevent them from developing any loyalty to a certain general.

Lin Yuan did not wish to see that the great cause had yet to be achieved, but the internal division had already developed, all fighting for their own independent interests.

Or see them divide into factions and cliques.

Wu Changqing’s suggestion was to separate them into factions and let them fight on their own, while Lin Yuan stood on the sidelines to win over the hearts of the people.

This was a narrow path tactic. With such a tactic, it would be too easy to destroy the foundation already built.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Baisong put their lives on the line at the frontlines, meanwhile he schemed against them from behind?

Then he really deserved to die.

Disregarding anyone else for the sake of one’s own desires.

Lin Yuan looked down on such a leader and was unable to become like that.

Wu Changqing quickly took office and became a county magistrate in the southern district of Gaoyou. It was probably because of the successful example he represented, Gaoyou suddenly swarmed with many outsiders, some with their families and some alone. They all came to Song Shizhao who had now taken on managing human resources in addition to business and trade.

Lin Yuan was now at ease with placing responsibilities on Song Shizhao. Song Shizhao was someone who understood reasoning and possessed a broad vision. His eyes saw the world and the people. What he wanted was not personal gain, nor the so-called leaving a mark in history, but to see that one day, the world would become united under one rule.

Moreover, Song Shizhao was quite knowledgeable.

He knew how to manage and control people and how to judge people’s characters.

Possessing these two abilities was essentially the same as standing at the forefront of the times.

Those who came to recommend themselves all lived in Song Shizhao’s manor, and Song Shizhao was responsible for the daily expenses. In addition to taking time out every day to show his face in front of Lin Yuan, he spent more time playing taiji with the newcomers. (TN: expression for going back and forth and doing social mingling)

As he played taiji with them, he really did found a few good ones.

In addition to those who came, he also learned that many hadn’t come, and reported them.

Lin Yuan took a look.

Liu Ji and Song Lian were among those who reported to Song Shizhao.

Liu Ji, or Liu Bowen, was Zhu Yuanzhang’s first advisor and often compared to Zhuge Liang.

Lin Yuan slapped the table with joy: “Excellent!”

“Someone, bring pen and ink!” Lin Yuan shouted.

Er Liang hurried into the room to spread out the paper and rub ink.

Lin Yuan wanted to write a letter of appointment, carry out the act of respecting the wise by inviting Liu Ji and Song Lian to come to Gaoyou to aide him.

He must display a proper attitude so he wrote these three letters of appointment personally, and killed a lot of brain cells in the process. After finishing writing, he felt that his literacy level was quite good, with plenty of quoting from the classics. If he was still back in the modern times he would definitely not understand a single word. But thankfully, the original owner had been a scholar with a high level of cultural attainment, otherwise he could only ask someone to write it for him.

“Give these three letters to Manager Song and have him send them off.” Lin Yuan instructed Er Liang.

Er Liang nodded, and left the room with the three letters.

In addition to Liu Ji and Song Lian, there was another one for Luo Guanzhong.

Liu Ji and Song Lian were advisor and civil court official respectively. As for Luo Guanzhong……if it really didn’t work out, then being just a mascot was also good!

Lin Yuan thought to himself: I don’t care, this time I will be willful. I want to look at Luo Guanzhong, even if he had no talent, as long as he could write the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I will place him on a pedestal!

After working conscientiously as a heretic god and rebel leader for so long he deserved to be willful just once.

——

The merchants came back one after another. After traveling for more than half a year, they brought a large group of people compared with just the couple of attendants and soldier escorts when they first left. These people were dressed in ragged clothes, their faces bitter and miserable from life’s hardships. But at the moment, their faces also appeared confused, as if they didn’t know what kind of luck had managed to fall on them to be taken to Gaoyou.

Nowadays, rumors had been spreading in the other provinces that Gaoyou’s conditions were the best. As long as one wanted to work, one could find work. Everyone could eat enough, and there was also an option of being a soldier if one couldn’t find work. And as a soldier the conditions would be even better. Soldiers could eat meat once every three days and white rice once every seven days.

Although they don’t know whether it was true or not, they all still felt that Gaoyou was a good place. But they didn’t expect that they would actually have the opportunity to come here one day.

The merchants met outside the city gate and greeted each other with a smile, calmly showing off how many craftsmen they had found and how many were relatives of the craftsmen.

Xie Zichang and Zhou Fu also encountered each other. The two of them didn’t like each other at all. The reason was that they felt that other merchants were inferior and only the other had the capital to be considered as rivals.

“How many people did brother Xie find?” Zhou Fu asked with a smile.

Xie Zichang also smiled, appearing even more elegant: “Not many, just over two thousand.”

Zhou Fu was surprised and said: “It can be seen that brother Xie’s ability cannot be compared with ordinary people.”

“Just average.” Xie Zichang cupped his hand and said modestly, “I wonder how many people Zhou laodi found.” (TN: affectionate form of address for a male who is not very much younger than oneself and can be translated into my boy or old pal)

Zhou Fu was so vexed his teeth began to feel a little itchy. Him calling the other brother was giving the other face. But the other actually called him laodi in return! As expected, shameless people would top the world. Still, he had to put a smile on his face: “This foolish brother is also lucky, no more no less, also just over two thousand people.”

Xie Zichang: “Zhou laodi is capable.”

Zhou Fu and Xie Zichang talked and laughed on the surface while secretly wishing on each other a fate of falling off the carriage, and it would be even better if the other cracked open his skull in the fall as well.

A total of 18,000 artisans were brought over this time.

The merchants all have various means, and many of these people were bought out of prison or tricked away from respectable families.

Others were found among the refugees.

These 18,000 people were placed outside the city. Because winter was approaching, Lin Yuan had people build dormitories outside the city after he captured Gaoyou. The dormitories were connected together, and there was also a wall surrounding the area. In order to allow these skilled people to live comfortably, the dormitories were all family units. Each family unit had two bedrooms, one living room, and a kitchen. Though the kitchen was shared on the floor, there were several stoves installed in the kitchen.

Lin Basan was a new artisan in Gaoyou.

He used to be a carpenter, and what he used to do was to make furniture for the surrounding neighbors and villagers to earn some money for living. When the world went up in chaos everyone in the village fled to other regions. His family also fled with the crowd and as a result, the whole family lived as vagrants. Without food and money they barely managed to survive.

As soon as the rich merchants showed up and discovered that he was a carpenter, they took him on the road, and even his wife was brought along——his parents and children had died on the road, only he and his wife had survived.

His wife’s surname was Qian, and was the sixth child in her family, so she was called Liu Niang. Liu Niang and Lin Basan walked up to the second floor together. Liu Niang was born in the countryside village and grew up there since she was a child. All she saw were low single-story houses with tiled roofs. Those were the houses for wealthy households. The peasant households had mud houses. And if these mud houses did not leak in wind or rain then that was already considered well off.

Liu Niang lowered her head and followed the person leading the way. She looked at the smooth path under her feet. For some reason, there were tears in her eyes. If her parents-in-law and the children could survive, wouldn’t that be wonderful.

“This will be your house.” The manager who led the way sighed. “You are a family, so you can get this house. If you are a single person, you can only be divided into a single dormitory with seven or eight other people, you both are quite lucky.”

Lin Basan hurriedly said: “Thank you, milord, thank you, milord, please let me know your name so that this humble one will be able to……”

The manager waved his hand: “Don’t call me milord. I was like you before. Having come here, all you need to do is to work diligently for the South Bodhisattva. The good days are yet to come.”

This small manager was Liang Da. He and San zi were both from the bandit villa, but they were later recruited by Lin Yuan. Now they were working as small managers among the people and their life was smooth sailing. When he looked at these newcomers it was as if seeing his previous self.

Lin Basan walked into the house with his wife after sending off Liang Da.

There were only two of them so the house they were allocated was the smallest on the corner. There was a bedroom and a main room. The kitchen was near the balcony. But going to the toilets was a little troublesome as they had to go downstairs. There was a public toilet next to each building.

“Old Lin, we have a house.” Liu Niang touched the table and chairs. Although the house was simple, it had a table and a stool, and there was a bed in the house. Even when their family was at their richest, they couldn’t live in such a good house.

Lin Basan was also deeply moved. He said to his wife: “The South Bodhisattva has built these many houses, and I don’t know how much money and food it had costed. Truly possessing the heart of a Buddha. I didn’t believe it before, but now, I only blame myself for being too narrow-minded.”

Liu Niang quickly said: “Then you have to work hard in the future! Only then can you be worthy of the kindness of the South Bodhisattva.”

Lin Basan: “This is natural! If anyone says that the South Bodhisattva is not good, I will break his nose!”

The couple saw the prospects of a good life, and after shedding tears together, they had to go out. They had to report to their respective team leaders to receive their work, and then go to receive their allotted clothes and bedding.

When they reported in, they also saw the people who were brought along with them. Although they didn’t have much interaction amongst each other, they still felt close when they saw the familiar faces.

Lin Basan said to the man: “Are you assigned to a house?”

The man also looked happy: “I’m assigned. I am alone, so I have to live in a dormitory for singles, but I also have a separate bed, and I can be assigned to a family house when I get married.”

“Hey, when I heard it, I thought I was dreaming. I have to work hard and marry a wife early.”

Lin Basan was also happy.

The man asked Lin Basan again: “You and your wife are assigned a house?”

Lin Basan told the man about his living environment, and the other was really envious.

Likely with the two of them having taken the lead, the other people in the line also talked about their houses one after another.

Some were lucky and their whole family had managed to survive, so when assigned houses they were able to receive a big one. One family of five lived in a three-bedroom and one-living room house. He and his wife shared a room, his parents also got a room, and the children shared the third room. The happiness was enough to send him flying up to the sky.

As they chatted, they felt that the world was so big, but Gaoyou was the only place where they could settle down. Only the land the South Bodhisattva ruled over was the safest place to be. In their words, the support for Lin Yuan was very obvious.

This was the case for the people, whoever could bring them more benefits, then they would support him sincerely.

Most of the people were not literate, and they didn’t understand much, but they knew one thing——whoever could let them live a good life, then this person was a good person, and worthy of their support.

——

Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the artisans who were brought.

In Lin Yuan’s opinion, the value of craftsmen was higher than some prideful scholars who could only recite books. Such scholars were not aware of practical matters, and have no other ability besides a wooden word-by-word reading of the books. Even when tasked with spreading literacy they weren’t able to do well. They didn’t know how to teach students according to their aptitude. What could possibly be taught by treating six or seven-year-old children as adults when teaching them? Only a genius would be able to learn with such teaching methods.

And there were many of them, so Lin Yuan could only have them do household registration and transcribing.

The craftsmen were different. What they do could be implemented, and these craftsmen would teach more apprentices in the future.

In addition to the craftsman, what delighted Lin Yuan most was the crops that Zhou Fu brought back. He had told them before to pay attention to the merchant ships traveling coming in from the sea. If there were any crops that they had never seen before, they should still bring them back first, no matter if it was edible or not or if anyone had eaten it before.

As a result potatoes and sweet potatoes appeared before him.

Although no one knew when potatoes were introduced into China, sweet potatoes definitely only appeared in the middle to late Ming dynasty.

Both of these crops were high-yielding and highly adaptable crops. It was practically a given that their food reserves would increase.

Lin Yuan grabbed Zhou Fu’s hand in delight, a sincere expression on his face as he looked at the fat Zhou Fu in front of him like one would look at a beloved lover. In a tone as gentle as water he said: “Zhou Laoye, your merit will benefit the people! It will definitely be remembered in history!”

Zhou Fu smiled but privately he was a bit bewildered. He didn’t know what these two things were. When he saw the merchant ships at sea, he had gone to a lot of efforts to buy them from the foreigners. The foreigners were not willing to sell them and only after he paid a big price for them did they secretly stuff some to him.

He didn’t know whether they could be eaten or not, or how they were grown.

Lin Yuan also said: “Zhou Laoye has done a great job this time. If you have anything you want, just speak, so long as I can provide it I will.”

Zhou Fu’s eyes widened. He never expected that even though he brought more than two thousand people back he wasn’t given such treatment. Instead, with just these two baskets of things that he could make no heads of he got such a reward. He quickly said, “How can I claim credit for doing things for the South Bodhisattva? It’s all Zhou’s duty so South Bodhisattva should never be polite with Zhou. If there is anything, just give the orders.”

Lin Yuan smiled so wide that the back of his teeth could almost be revealed: “I definitely won’t be polite.”

“Come! There will be a banquet tonight, and all the merchants who had come back are invited!”

The servants outside loudly answered affirmatively.

Lin Yuan also said: “In the future, if you come across anything remember to bring it along.”

Zhou Fu nodded, also feeling very happy.

Who cared why South Bodhisattva praised him, at least he won against Xie Zichang this time. And the next time they see each other, he could use this to vex that old fellow.

Because there was only one basket of potatoes and sweet potatoes, Lin Yuan had someone take them and cultivate them first. When they were successfully planted then it could be distributed to the farmers.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

After he explained how to plant it in detail, he left it to the experts, only going to see the situation occasionally.

In the famine years, don’t know how many people depended on sweet potatoes for survival.

Although he didn’t want the people to live on sweet potatoes to survive, but with an extra guarantee, more people could live.

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