NOVPUBZhong Yao had barely finished speaking when Li Jue was visibly stunned. Then, he quickly reacted, first with great joy, and then, almost involuntarily, with some annoyance.
"Minister Zhong, if you have a good plan, speak quickly." When Li Jue said this, his face was clearly darkened, thinking, "If you don’t offer a good strategy, today I must prosecute you for contempt of my authority."
Zhong Yao stretched out his hand toward Li Jue, and Sima Lang instantly understood what it meant and hurriedly handed the scrolls back to Zhong Yao.
"To the north of Chang’an, there is the abandoned Zhengguo Canal and the Six Auxiliary Canals from the era of Emperor Xiaoo Wu of the Former Han. If these canals are reopened, they can instantly transform the loess into fertile fields capable of feeding the whole of Guanzhong, eliminating Xiliang’s worries about food supply once and for all," Zhong Yao stated bluntly, pointing out a plan almost identical to the one Xun Yu had previously considered.
"What, no, impossible. Where do we have so many people? Without a hundred thousand laborers working for several years, the canals would be impossible to complete," Li Jue said, waving his hands in dismissal, seeing it as no good strategy. He knew it was a pitfall; Li Ru had also mentioned reopening the Zhengguo Canal after stabilizing the Central Government, but Li Ru had never managed to get around to it.
"We don’t have them, but the Qiang people do. The Qiang people are short of food, but they have plenty of manpower. Ma Shoucheng has considerable influence among the Qiang people. We can tempt them with the grain stores of Great Qin, and they will surely agree," Zhong Yao said with a smile. "This sort of thing is very simple; just send someone to talk to Ma Shoucheng, and he will have to agree."
"This Zhong Yuanchang..." Sima Lang silently stared at the ground, reminded somehow of the composed Xun Yu who sat aloof in the halls of power as he saw the confident look on Zhong Yao’s face.
Li Jue was startled at first, but then it all clicked into place. The Qiang People followed the Xiliang Soldiers in the past—why? Because of food. Now they follow Ma Teng—why? Isn’t it still for food? With such a large granary, food would no longer be a concern!
Li Jue considered the Qiang People as something he could manipulate. It didn’t matter that Ma Teng had influence among them; his Xiliang Army’s prestige among the Qiang was nothing to scoff at either. It was just that recently, a lack of food had driven the Qiang to Ma Teng’s side. If there was food, whom the Qiang would listen to was far from certain.
"Many thanks, Mr. Zhong." Li Jue was overjoyed, bowing repeatedly, "This method is extraordinarily clever, extremely so. Xiliang has at least three to four million Qiang People. As long as the food issue is resolved, Ma Shoucheng and Hann Wenyue will be nothing but minor irritations."
"What does it matter what those two do? In the face of the great trend, all things can be driven. Ma Shoucheng and Hann Wenyue can be enticed with official positions and can be slowly absorbed through alliances. It’s all very simple; hand me the book," said Zhong Yao, explaining a rough outline that held Li Jue’s rapt attention until Zhong Yao delivered a major pivot that nearly choked Li Jue.
However, Li Jue was after all someone who had worked under Li Ru. The personalities of these men had not yet become thoroughly twisted, and the habit of revering sages that was ingrained in their bones had not yet changed. With Zhong Yao’s words, Li Jue suddenly felt as though Li Ru were still alive, and he instinctively began to follow Zhong Yao’s commands.
"Go, go, go, quickly bring over all of Great Scholar Cai’s calligraphy for Mr. Zhong," Li Jue said, pushing Sima Lang toward Zhong Yao with shining eyes, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Zhong. When we first helped Great Scholar Cai gather his family assets, we acquired quite a few scrolls, which we will now bring to you."
Soon Sima Lang returned, running over with a few scrolls in his arms. Seeing the scrolls, Zhong Yao immediately brushed off Li Jue with excited fervor and ran to meet Sima Lang, then snatched the scrolls away. In his eyes nearly burned a flame of joy.
"Minister Zhong, all the books we’ve gathered are here, now you may continue," Sima Lang said with a smile.
"Very well, this matter is quite simple. Send someone to talk frankly to Ma Shoucheng and Hann Wenyue and clarify the situation. As for the previous imperial edict, just say it was a forgery. As for which Feudal Lord to pin it on, you can decide. Then, send people to Xiliang to widely spread the news that we want to reopen the Zhengguo Canal and restore the Three Qin Granary." Zhong Yao stuffed all the scrolls into his sleeve, pulling his left robe askew, but he continued speaking without caring for his appearance.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent," Li Jue exclaimed, overjoyed. Everyone squatting in Chang’an knew how important the Zhengguo Canal was back then. What did a hundred thousand acres of prime farmland truly mean? As long as it could be reopened, Li Jue dared to let the Xiliang Iron Cavalry eat their fill. Afterwards, he could recover from the completely tarnished military discipline that had been forced by the lack of food.
"The General’s prestige in Xiliang, as well as among the Qiang and Hu people, is not weaker than that of Ma Shoucheng and the others. When the time comes, as long as the General swears an oath and asks the Emperor to issue an edict to supervise the matter, once it is accomplished, the General’s previous..."
Zhong Yao stopped speaking, but Li Jue understood the meaning. If this matter succeeded, it could practically be said to be an amulet; the merit of reviving a state’s people, even if he died, someone would worship him and he’d be recorded in history, perhaps even honored in temples with statues, right?
"Thank you, Minister Zhong!" Li Jue responded with a deep bow, "Once this matter is accomplished, I will certainly control the Xiliang Army, ensuring that their military discipline is no longer disordered. However, I would still ask Minister Zhong to recommend someone to complete this alliance. Those under my command are all warriors, not adept with pen and ink. Without Minister Zhong’s guidance, indeed, we would be at a loss."
"It has to be him," said Zhong Yao, pointing at Sima Lang, "The Sima Family of Henei, in terms of both status and learning, should be more than sufficient. It’s clear that the General is quite fond of him, and I suspect getting these scrolls also owes much to his hard work. In light of this, let him go; I’m also repaying a favor, and the General need not worry about his future advancement."
Bowing his head, Sima Lang now felt certain that Zhong Yao had guessed his true identity, even though he had never revealed it.
"Great!" Li Jue laughed heartily. They had always wanted to make contact with the Aristocratic Families, but the Aristocratic Families of Guanzhong and Long were too self-important to interact with Li Jue. Now with an opportunity to connect with the Sima Family, they could bring more Aristocratic Families together in the future. Although Li Jue had no ambitions to dominate the world, he understood more than most that the world actually belonged to the Aristocratic Clans. n𝚘𝚟pub.𝚌o𝚖
"Thank you for the General’s and Minister’s high regards. I will do my utmost to accomplish this task!" Sima Lang said solemnly.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Li Jue laughed, "Boda, you need not worry. When you pass by Changping Temple, Old Fan and the Zhang Family will surely protect you, and by that time, Xiliang’s number one expert will also have your back, rest assured."
As Li Jue mentioned Zhang Xiu, his expression became unusually solemn. After all, with Zhang Xiu’s ability to concurrently beat two Inner Qi experts, Li Jue couldn’t help but be curious. If he remembered correctly, the last person to shamelessly gang up on an Inner Qi Manifestation expert was Lyu Bu, and the second was Zhang Xiu. Indeed, it seemed that Xiliang only produced freaks...
[Zhang Xiu!] Sima Lang cried out inwardly. Being one of the few top experts to appear and defeat surrounding Inner Qi Manifestation experts, Sima Lang couldn’t help but pay close attention. In this era, Inner Qi Manifestation experts were not only a symbol of top-tier Martial Force, but also of Legion Talent!
"With the General’s trust, I will spare no effort to achieve this alliance," Sima Lang said with utmost seriousness, [Watch me. I’ll bring Ma Teng and Hann Sui to Chang’an, for only then can I display my capabilities!] (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
