All ten boats were filled with women, children, and the elderly, who were all being transported to Luzhou Prefecture.
Because of Li Li's relationship with the Marshal and the Emperor, Gong Fuling dared not have any objections to his clansmen. He had no choice but to spend some money to send them to Tianjing.
Gong Fuling didn't ask; he was completely unaware that the Crown Princess Si Caifeng was also on board.
If they knew, they would have guessed that war was about to break out.
At the same time, news of Ma Hong leading 30,000 troops to attack a prefecture of the Northern Hu and Xiongnu also reached Tianjing.
The people of Tianjing were celebrating nationwide, and the evenings were even more lively than the days. Temple fairs and lantern festivals were even held. This folk prosperity formed a stark contrast with the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
The palace was bustling with activity. Yelü Qiqi was knitting sweaters in the inner palace, three for her brother and two for her sister-in-law, and two for her nephews and nieces. And finally... for her dog, Ying.
Yelü Qiqi blushed at the thought of being able to openly propose to her brother after her triumphant return, and then rolled around on the bed.
Qianqian, who also lives in the inner palace and is still doing her homework, munches on dried sweet potato to show that she has gotten used to it.
The two people in Lanzhang Palace.
Xie Lanzhi rarely wore such a somber expression. She clenched the letter in her hand and couldn't help but sigh, "Are you entrusting your child to me?"
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-28 20:34:19 and 2022-03-01 20:25:26!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: @炑炑@ 45 bottles; ... 30 bottles; Xiao Tai 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 230 Taking Down the Northern Hu and Xiongnu
Xie Lanzhi carefully put the letter away. She could understand Li Li's decision. For a nation, survival is not the only important thing; national culture is also very important.
Because national culture is the soul of a race.
Li Li did not entrust the letter of entrustment to Xiao Fenghuang. This shows that he did not wish to eke out a living under her control. Unlike Wu Yuejun, he chose to defy the times.
He also didn't want to put Little Phoenix in a difficult position.
“Now that things have come to this, everyone has their own ambitions.” She said regretfully, “Some people live to prove themselves, while others live simply to survive.”
"Whatever choices these people make in a changing era, there is no right or wrong. They simply chose what they wanted."
Under the leadership of Si Xitong, Jianzhang Palace launched a series of comprehensive plans for the new Tianjing, encompassing military, agriculture, water conservancy, shipping, transportation, and commerce.
These have been largely finalized by Si Xitong into a five-year plan.
Today, Si Xitong further announced agricultural initiatives to increase people's income and improve their quality of life, including fruit cultivation and livestock breeding. The "vegetable basket" and pig farming projects have been prioritized.
Previously, Si Qi had raised a batch of hybrid breeding pigs in Bingzhou, and now new breeds have been developed. They have begun to be transported to various parts of the country.
This includes talent in pig farming.
Now even pig farmers are considered talents by the imperial court. This profession, which was once considered one of the lowest classes in history, has suddenly returned to the mainstream and is no longer subject to discrimination.
It was the emperor's own brother, Marquis Sixi Nian, who elevated the status of pig farming.
Many people still remember how arrogant, extravagant, and decadent the fourth prince was in Tianjing. After being punished by the emperor to grow sweet potatoes, the fourth prince repented and began raising pigs for the Western Jin Dynasty.
The fact that a prince would raise pigs was itself an absurd thing. At the time, many high-ranking officials ridiculed him for turning a prince into a pig farmer.
It now seems that His Majesty had a plan all along, and she had been working hard behind the scenes to restore the Jin Dynasty as soon as possible.
Nowadays, pig farming has become a top priority, and Si Xi Nian has naturally been brought back into the public eye. Bingzhou is also famous for being a major pig-farming region.
The local people of Bingzhou benefited from the pork industry by helping to raise pigs. The farther the pork was transported, the more expensive it became; locally, a pound of pork cost only four copper coins. The current market price is five copper coins per pound, but it costs ten coins to reach places like Luzhou Prefecture, and doubles again when shipped overseas. The farther the journey, the more expensive it becomes.
Many merchants rushed to buy pork at half a cent above cost price in order to send it overseas.
The food in the four Southeast Asian countries is mostly seafood, with very little pork or beef. Fish is the most common meat. Even raising pigs and cattle is something only nobles with land to do so can afford.
Most ordinary people never know what pork tastes like in their lives. Therefore, led by the Xie family merchants, they not only wholesaled it domestically but also shipped it to the four Southeast Asian countries, selling it at high prices to merchants there. These merchants then sold it domestically or to nobles.
The nobles, being wealthy, naturally didn't care about meat prices. They simply thought the pigs raised in their own country were unpalatable, smelly, and unpleasant, while the pork from the Western Jin Dynasty was extremely delicious. A famous recipe—Dongpo Pork—was also introduced there.
Few states in the history of the Western Jin Dynasty possessed the strength to simultaneously wage war and conduct business with other states.
Many people in the Central Plains were hardly aware of the fierce fighting that was taking place outside. Their peace and stability made it seem as if they were living in a chaotic world.
Si Xitong had not yet officially declared the end of the chaotic era, so the Western Jin Dynasty was in a period of semi-prosperity and semi-turmoil. Many common people and officials believed that it was already a golden age.
It simply hasn't achieved Si Xitong's goals, so it can't be called a golden age. Even the ministers below have to think twice before praising it as such.
They had never encountered a monarch as pragmatic and indifferent to fame as His Majesty. In the past, regardless of their achievements, everyone wanted to hear their subjects praise how prosperous their dynasty was.
Sometimes it can even lead to self-deception.
Si Xitong did not tolerate this kind of atmosphere. Under her leadership, pragmatic and realistic officials were promoted faster.
For example, Wang Zheng and Lü Qing. They used to be among those who praised Si Xitong, but now they've shut their mouths and are focusing on their own development.
At noon, Xie Lanzhi carried today's small lunch table into Jianzhang Palace.
The ministers then snapped out of their rapt work. Another morning had passed.
The ministers all took their leave.
Xie Lanzhi moved the dining table to the small hall on the right, lifted the small lid, and ladled out a bowl of rice.
After washing her hands in the basin brought by the palace servants, Si Xitong sat down at the small dining table and looked at someone staring at her expectantly.
She picked up her rice bowl and started eating. She ate quietly.
Xie Lanzhi rested her chin on her hand and waited for her to finish eating. Si Xitong ate in an orderly manner, liking to pick up food from the right to the left. If she weren't usually not so abnormally tidy, Xie Lanzhi would have suspected that her little phoenix had obsessive-compulsive disorder.
After finishing her meal, Si Xitong habitually drank three spoonfuls of vegetable soup. She especially loved the vibrant green vegetable soup, particularly the sweet vegetables that had recently been brought as tribute from the Southern Regions. Just a little ginger and water were all it took to make a pot of clear, sweet soup.
After finishing her soup, Si Xitong put down her bowl and got up to take a walk to aid digestion. She followed a very regular routine.
Xie Lanzhi watched helplessly as she went out, lingering at the palace gate, circling around and around.
Xie Lanzhi watched as the little phoenix walked back and forth on the passageway outside the palace, just like watching a model walk a fashion show.
About half an hour later, it looked like Little Phoenix was about to sit down again to continue reviewing the memorials.
Xie Lanzhi finally couldn't resist walking over to her side and peeking at the imperial table. She wanted to see how much more the little phoenix needed to do.
Has Little Phoenix managed his time effectively?
Soon, she saw a pile of complaints about people's livelihoods in front of her. Although she already knew that Little Phoenix was rectifying the local situation, she didn't expect there to be so many hidden dangers in the area.
Xie Lanzhi felt very sorry for them, and she knew exactly where the problem lay.
That is, local clan power monopolizes local politics, and local monopolies are everywhere. Moreover, they break away from the rule of the imperial court and form a small court of kings within kings.
This type of person is usually referred to as a local tyrant.
“These people also exist in my world. However, they are all referred to as ‘□□’,” Xie Lanzhi suddenly said.
Si Xitong paused, listening to someone's familiar storytelling tone. Her attention was instantly drawn to most of it; it was all the stuff she loved to hear.
At this very moment, Si Xitong's face remained expressionless, but her fair and delicate ears twitched, clearly indicating that she was saying one thing and meaning another.
Xie Lanzhi noticed. Instead of pointing it out, she deliberately said, "Our leaders have come up with a good idea. We'll crush these ant-like, clustered forces one by one."
These words were spoken.
Si Xitong finally put down her pen, placing a white jade paperweight on top of the open memorial. She quickly stood up and said to her, "Lanzhi, would you like to take a nap?"
"In no mood."
"I'd like to hear a bedtime story while I'm at it." Si Xitong eagerly took Xie Lanzhi's hand and headed towards Lanzhang Palace.
Xie Lanzhi followed in her footsteps, somewhat amused and exasperated.
On the northern Xiongnu side, under the banner of resisting Jin and protecting their homeland, the Empress Dowager and the Prince of Anshan tried their best to rally everyone to fight against Ma Hong's army.
Unfortunately, the Hunnic soldiers' resolve to protect their homeland had long been shattered by the artillery fire. None of them had ever witnessed such a massive battle, and before they even saw the imperial guards, the artillery barrage arrived, leaving everyone dazed and confused. No matter where they hid, they were subjected to indiscriminate attacks.
They couldn't fight back, and they couldn't escape. The land was devastated, and everyone lived in fear.
The Xiongnu soldiers began to migrate north with their families, and almost half of the vast prefecture fell to the enemy. The remaining Xiongnu soldiers who did not escape either surrendered or were captured.
The Xiongnu soldiers and the Hun people thought they were about to die and were waiting to be slaughtered.
Unexpectedly, Ma Hong slapped his hand and first looted the granaries of the prefecture and various nobles, piling them together and distributing them to the Xiongnu people. He then concentrated the Xiongnu soldiers and set up a prisoner-of-war camp, which was supervised daily by Xie Shangguang.
The people of most of the prefecture never expected that they, who were starving and cold every day, would receive relief because enemy soldiers opened their granaries and distributed grain.
Everyone's feelings were complicated, but the rice they ate didn't lie. Many survivors actually lived because of the food distribution.
Those who fled north to escape the famine began to kill each other due to resource scarcity; nobles killed nobles, and soldiers killed soldiers. The common people were treated like prey.
No matter where the common people fled, they were all preyed upon by others. Just when the Xiongnu people could no longer survive, they decided to fight the imperial guards to the death.
The Imperial Guards, having already captured half of the prefecture, did not continue their attack but instead offered to persuade the local nobles to surrender. They promised to forgive any wrongdoing if the local nobles handed over half of their grain and laid down their arms.
After all, the Imperial Guards suffered losses when they stormed into the city. Many were ambushed by the Xiongnu civilians.
The imperial guards did not approach civilian residences again. They sent out Huns and Xiongnu people to various villages to persuade each household to maintain order as long as there was no resistance. In return, they would not continue their southward advance.
Ma Hong and his men knew that the most brutal places were the remote and impoverished, so they didn't need to bother attacking smaller towns right now. Taking control of the town government first would essentially give them 70% control.
Ma Hong instructed Xie Ying to knock on the doors of every household, and the wealthy households would send a representative to negotiate upon receiving the message.
Each representative came over in fear and trepidation, only to find that Ma Hong really had no intention of killing them, and that he needed them to maintain order, exchanging goods for peace.
For a century after the Huns settled in the north, apart from the lower classes who maintained their old traditions, most nobles, in an effort to assimilate into the barbarian culture, first sought out impoverished families or those with tracing ancestral lineages in the Central Plains to join. They recognized this lineage as their ancestor and strived to integrate into the Central Plains system, gaining acceptance and becoming a part of it.
Unfortunately, no matter how powerful the Northern Hu and Xiongnu were, the number of people who were assimilated into the upper class was still very small, and the lower class was completely decoupled from the upper class. Therefore, the assimilation of the upper class could not influence the lower class to assimilate as well.
The lower classes naturally retained more of their tribal customs than the upper classes. Only those living in towns had somewhat assimilated, but most people still lived in remote places like the countryside, maintaining their primitive state.
When Xie Ying knocked on the door of each house, she saw that the people who opened the door were either dressed in Hanfu (traditional Han clothing) or in a mixed style of Han and Xiongnu clothing. This was enough to tell the degree of assimilation of the family by their clothing.
Xie Ying treated these people very well, which led many nobles, both large and small, to believe that they were facing friendly forces rather than enemy forces.
Attracted by Xie Ying's friendly attitude, nobles of all ranks went out to see Ma Hong.
Ma Hong had tables brought in and hastily assembled into a long, dragon-like table, inviting the nobles to take their seats in order. Ma Hong also used the seating arrangement to determine who held the highest status.
That was an elderly man to his right, with white hair but in good spirits.
He was dressed in fine clothes and wore a square hat.