Chapter 632
Chapter 632
“We have so much?” Liu Mang was dumbstruck by the large amount of provisions. They had missed the opportune time for harvest and had only just plowed the fields. On top of that, the amount of provisions
“Milord. The third batch of provisions was not delivered after you disappeared from Jingzhou. The first two batches were already sent to Lujiang!” The two hundred thousand provisions from Lujiang was from Jingzhou.
“Then what about the five hundred thousand provisions at Shouchun?” Liu Mang asked.
“This five hundred thousand provisions are also from Jingzhou.” Xu Shu said.
“Hm? Liu Biao was so kindhearted?”
“No, we took it ourselves. Jingzhou’s Southern area have already been captured by us.” Xu Shu replied.
“We captured Jiangling?” Liu Mang quickly turned to look at the map on the table. “Did you all use the waterway?” Liu Mang thought that there were no more enemies on the Yangtze River so they were able to advance unhindered. Jingzhou would be really stupid to not lockdown the river when they no longer have a navy.
“No, Milord. Jingzhou have already blocked up the river.” The shipwreck they used to block the river could not be cleared so easily. Because of this, Yangzhou was still clearing up the shipwreck.
“Then the Huarong Road?” Liu Mang had never been through the Huarong Road but he had heard of its dangers. It was a swamp that eats up its victims.
“Does Milord know of Jiangling’s Wu Family?” Xu Shu asked.
“The King of Ships?” He may not know who the patriarch of the Wu Family is but the family’s reputation was something everyone knew. Half of Jingzhou’s merchant ships were made by this Wu Family. They were also one of the origins of Jingzhou’s warships.
“Yes, that Wu Family. They were wiped out.”
“Wiped out?” The Wu Family was very influential. Though they were not as influential as the Huang Family, Cai Family and Kuai Family, they were still prosperous. He even remembered Kuai Yue telling him that the Huang Family was supporting the Wu Family.
“Did our army wipe them out?” Liu Mang asked as it was unlikely that someone from Jingzhou made a move on them.
“No. They were wiped out by Liu Pan.”
“Liu Pan?”
“Liu Pan and Huang She are both striving for power. The Wu Family was a sacrificial victim.” These words made Liu Mang understand.
“The entire Wu Family was wiped out by Liu Pan in a single moment. The sole survivor, the eldest daughter of the Wu Family, unexpectedly stumbled into our camp at Shiyang and found Lu Xun. She gave Lu Xun a map through the Huarong Road. They then attacked Jiangling and forced them to surrender.” Xu Shu have not said everything. After capturing Jiangling, the deluded ex-governor Dong Zhi tried to take back Jiangling. As Lu Xun was still young, he had placed too much trust in Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi simply needed to open the gates for the Jingzhou Army. Lu Xun who only had about a thousand men would not be able to defend Jiangling.
However, the army outside was Huang Zu’s men. Miss Wu had sent a letter to Huang Zu warning him that Dong Zhi was Liu Pan’s subordinate. Capturing Jiangling would become Liu Pan’s merits. Originally, the Huang Family was losing to Liu Pan in the fight for authority. If Liu Pan obtains Jiangling, Huang She would no longer be able to compete.
On top of that, the Huang Family was guilty towards the Wu Family since they could not do anything while the Wu Family was wiped out. Even if they act now, it would already be too late.
Because of this, Huang Zu quickly set off. When Dong Zhi opened the gates, he was struck dumb as it was someone else outside. In the end, Dong Zhi could only get arrested and executed by Lu Xun.
Miss Wu finally got some vengeance.
As for the Huarong Road, there was not much of a mystery to it after getting there once. They had already placed bedding there to make a road, allowing them to transport troops and provisions.
This was why Yangzhou was not lacking provisions.
“Milord. That Jiangling had eight hundred thousand provisions and over a hundred thousand sets of weapons and armor!” Lu Xun left a hundred thousand provisions for himself and melted down all the weapons and armor. At that point in time, Jingzhou’s equipment were already worthless to Yangzhou since Yangzhou made their own weapons and armor.
“What about the sweet potato we planted?” Liu Mang suddenly thought of it and asked. Sweet potatoes took three months to ripen. It was already about time too.
“Milord. That sweet potato…” Xu Shu frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Liu Mang became anxious. That sweet potato was meant to ensure the people could eat. He placed a lot of hope in it.
“The sweet potato is not tasty!” Xu Shu complained.
“Haha!” Liu Mang laughed. For a moment he thought that the sweet potatoes would not grow.
“It is not meant for you all to eat!” These ancient people have not eaten sweet potatoes before. Naturally, it did not suit their palate. They would slowly adapt to it. “Take out all of the sweet potatoes. Cut out a small piece about this big and bury it under the ground.” Liu Mang said to the others.
“Milord. Shouldn’t we just bury the whole thing? Would it work if we cut it off?” Xu Shu did not know anything about sweet potatoes besides the fact that you plant it in spring.
“Don’t worry, just follow my instructions. Forget it! I will supervise things myself.” Liu Mang could not feel relief and added. Sweet potatoes was a plant with strong roots. As long as they do not cut off too much of it, they could bury it back into the ground and it would grow into a new plant.
“Ah! Is there really such a thing?” Xu Shu was surprised.
“Of course! I am sure you have already seen its high yield!”
“Yes.” Xu Shu nodded seriously. The amount of sweet potatoes grown was about two thousand catties. This frighteningly huge amount caused him to immediately dispatch soldiers to keep this information a secret.
What is more surprising to Xu Shu is that Liu Mang did not seem satisfied. “Only two thousand catties?”
The reason for this is because the sweet potatoes he brought back should have yielded over five thousand catties. However, he soon felt relieved it could do this well considering that there were no special fertilizers to stimulate the sweet potato’s growth. Having less yield was understandable.
“Let’s have our military plant this first. Yuanzhi. Remember to keep this a secret and only give it to the common people next year.” Liu Mang ordered. Xu Shu nodded back. He already understood how important this is even if he had no instructions.
“You all have worked hard these days.” Liu Mang said as he patted Xu Shu’s shoulders.
“Milord. There is one more thing!” Xu Shu cupped his fists.
“Hm?”
“Milord, we have established contact with Gongsun Du.” Xu Shu said.
“We have already found the ocean route?” Liu Mang asked as his eyes grew wide.
“Yes, Milord!” Xu Shu nodded.
“What did Gongsun Du say?” Liu Mang asked. He wanted to contact Gongsun Du to buy horses. Before this, they had no opportunity but with the ocean route, they would not let this slip.
“They want fifty gold per horse!”
“Fifty gold per horse? Haha, why don’t he just go and rob people!” Liu Mang became angry due to Gongsun Du. While fifty gold was actually cheap to them, one must remember that Gongsun Du was at Liaodong. He would be unable to transport the horses over. In other words, the cost and risk of transport were Liu Mang’s alone. How could he be happy with such a deal then?
“Gongsun Du’s envoy came together with Gan Ning. Since we could not discuss with you, we acted according to our own initiative. In the end, a horse is sold for ten gold.” Xu Shu had worked hard in beating down the price. While horses may not even be worth this much in the North, it was the seller who actually set the price. After all, they could simply choose not to sell it.
“Alright. Give it to him!” Liu Mang’s expression was not good. But it was a good thing to be able to solve problems with money.
“This Gongsun Du also wants the same thing as Milord!”
“What does he want?”
“He wants your horses.”
“Doesn’t he already have horses?”
“He wants your horses to breed.” The envoy sent this time could tell that Yangzhou’s horses were all of good quality. So he wanted to bring some back to breed.
“Milord. We cannot give them our horses!” Zhuge Liang who had been silent the entire time spoke up.
Cross breeding like this could give a small horse like a pony, or a big horse that could bring a large effect on the battlefield like the ones used by the Wolf Cavalry.
This was just like Japan’s Dongyang horse. The Japanese were small sized so they did not need large horses. However, they one day realized that their horses were terrible and changed to the Dongyang horse.
“Give them the horse.” Liu Mang said. No one expected Liu Mang to be so generous.
“Milord?”
“We won’t give it to them for free. For each of our horse, we want fifty of their horse!” Liu Mang added.
“Milord. What are you…”
“Kongming. Gongsun Du would not be able to breed these horses. Even if he could, he would not be able to use them. Liaodong was at the North facing the bitter cold while Liu Mang’s horses were Arabian horses. They would not be able to adapt to the cold. Only the Mongolian’s horses could survive at the North. After all, if the horses felt hot you cut away the fur but if the horses were mostly naked to begin with then they would just freeze to death.
“Understood!”
“Right. Tell Gan Ning to explore the open seas as well.” Liu Mang said to Liu Ye as passed on a simple map. This was just a simple map that would tell Gan Ning what he could find at the open seas.
If Liu Mang remembered correctly, Gan Ning would be able to find Taiwan by following the exit of the Yangtze River.
“Milord. Kongming still does not have a post at Yangzhou.” Xu Shu reminded. He wanted Zhuge Liang to have a post especially since Zhuge Liang’s subordinate was now the minister of the newly formed police department. It would be unreasonable for Zhuge Liang to remain idle.
“No problem.” Liu Mang already thought about it. He also thought about Xu Shu’s hard work. Xu Shu cannot be given more work than this or he would really die from exhaustion.
“Pass down my orders! Set up six ministries!” Liu Mang ordered.
“Six?” Xu Shu did not expect Liu Mang to make such a large move.
Liu Mang then explained what kind of ministries he wanted. He wanted it just like the Sui and Tang dynasties where there is one ministry each, for minor officials, households, ceremony, military, punishment, and labor.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, these posts were originally held by the Nine Ministers before it slowly change and merged to this. Liu Mang actually wanted to use the governing method of modern society but opted for the Sui and Tang dynasty method instead because it was not possible for the rest to adapt so quickly.
“The Ministry of Appointment must have four divisions. One division is to test the employees and then sort them out. The second division must reward their work. The third division must perform a background check on these employees and the fourth division must punish the wrongdoers.” Liu Mang gave a rough explanation on the jobs of the Ministry of Appointment.
“Where is Lu Su!” Liu Mang asked after explaining about the Ministry of Appointment.
Lu Su was distracted as he thought about the effects of the Ministry of Appointment.
“Lu Su Lu Zijing. I hand over the Ministry of Appointment to you. You shall work for Yangzhou as a high official!” Liu Mang smiled as he said to Lu Su. He had already considered everything including the fact that Lu Su was a surrendered enemy general. That fact alone made sure that Lu Su could not form a clique and that other officials were cold towards him. Lu Su also happened to be an honest man who did not receive bribes even when he worked for Jiangdong.
“Huh?” Lu Su was confused. “Milord. I am a newly surrendered general! I should not be given important positions!” Lu Su quickly refused. This was an important position that even allowed him to verify other official’s track records. He would be allowed to relieve others from their position or even supervise them. It was such an important position that even the other officials from Yangzhou were drooling at the mouth.
“Haha! So what? You can’t make use of people if you only suspect them! As long as you, Lu Su, are capable, there is no harm in using you!” Besides making use of Lu Su’s talent, he also wanted to show the world that Lu Su has talent. When Lu Su debuted, he had no reputation and lost his battles. As a result, many looked down on Lu Su. If Lu Su could do well under Liu Mang’s leadership, the world would know that others were not good at using talented people while Liu Mang valued talented people. Then all the talented people will gather at Yangzhou.
He wants this message to spread to both Jiangdong and Jingzhou. For Jingzhou, he would be happy enough if he got the Kuai Family and the Cai Family on his side. However, for Jiangdong, it could be a signal for those in Jiangdong to surrender. He would be telling them that he would treat them well if they surrender.
“Thank you for this generosity Milord!” Lu Su saw that he could not refuse. He also understood that he could no longer return to Jiangdong. Yet, he still felt happy as he always wanted a stage to show his capabilities.
“After that is the Ministry of Revenue. This one involves the farms, the household registers, the taxes, the salaries of the soldiers and other financial matters. It’s internal administration will be divided according to the region.” Liu Mang then explained the jobs of those in the Ministry of Revenue, which is also the Ministry of Commerce. The people here also had the rights to mint coins. Many people in that era knew how to do this. Jiangdong and Jingzhou also had their own money. Though people currently placed more importance in the Han money from Luoyang, most people still used the old copper coins.
“The Ministry of Revenue is also the Ministry of Commerce. Mi Zhu!”
“Present!” Mi Zhu stood up and cupped his fist. The moment Liu Mang was talking about the Ministry of Revenue, he already knew his turn was coming.
“Zifang. The Ministry of Commerce is given to you! You are my Yangzhou’s money bag! If we do not have enough money, I will come and find you!”
“Milord, rest assured! As long as I am here, Yangzhou would be raking in money!”
“Haha! I want Yangzhou to be the richest province!” Liu Mang said. He was confident in Mi Zhu’s money making abilities.
Mi Zhu felt ecstatic. He now had a position. Before this, no one knew what kind of position Mi Zhu had. Now it was clearly stated that Mi Zhu was the head of the Ministry of Commerce. He was one of the six chief officials. Mi Zhu was so happy he wished he could have met Liu Mang earlier. Had he met Liu Mang earlier, he would not have been cheated so badly by Liu Bei. In the past, people said Mi Zhu relied on his sister to rise to position but now no one said this. This is because Liu Mang had no relation to his sister.
“Oh right. Zifang! How is your sister?” Liu Mang suddenly asked. Mi Zhu was stunned for a moment before he became secretly excited. Could it be that Liu Mang fancied his sister? He hoped he could send his sister to him. That way, the Mi Family’s position would be even more stable. He did not have a chance before this as Liu Mang wasn’t in Yangzhou. There was also the fact that his sister was no longer a virgin so Mi Zhu gave up this idea. However, now that Liu Mang raised this question himself, Mi Zhu had a chance. So what if his sister wasn’t a virgin? She still knew how to serve.
“Last we met, my sister kept thinking about Milord!” Mi Zhu said as he signaled.
Liu Mang saw Mi Zhu’s actions and knew that Mi Zhu have misunderstood that he fancied her. Liu Mang would agree that Lady Mi was beautiful and he definitely ‘fancied’ her. However, he did not have enough ‘energy’ and did not want to court more trouble for himself.
“Zifang. If your sister still doesn’t have a family, as the Lord, I can help her propose a marriage?”
“Propose a marriage?” Mi Zhu immediately realized that Liu Mang had no intentions of marrying his sister. He carefully asked. “May I ask the Lord why propose a marriage for others?”
“You know this person. He is my sworn brother and subordinate, General Zhao Yun Zhao Zilong!” Liu Mang said.
“Zilong?” Mi Zhu did not expect Liu Mang to propose a marriage for Zhao Yun. Mi Zhu knew Zhao Yun. In the past, he worked for Liu Bei while Zhao Yun worked for Gongsun Zan. Mi Zhu even helped introduce Liu Bei to Zhao Yun. That was how these two met.
“Yes. That Zilong. I want to act as a matchmaker for my little brother!” Liu Mang saw that Zhao Yun fancied Lady Mi. Zhao Yun had repeatedly get people to deliver food to her. He even indirectly inquired many times about her condition, fearing that Liu Mang would have her executed.
Zhao Yun thought he was being discreet. Unfortunately, Liu Mang easily noticed this as he had a lot of ‘fine’ people like Jia Xu by his side.
“I need to go back and ask my sister!” Mi Zhu was somewhat disappointed that it wasn’t Liu Mang that fancied his sister. However, he thought about it for a while and agreed that it was not so bad since Zhao Yun was one of Liu Mang’s trusted aide.
“Go ask as quickly as possible. My little brother is no longer a child. We need to give him time to get a few children.” Liu Mang knew of Zhao Yun’s feelings. He did not dare say much since Lady Mi was married to Liu Bei. However, Lady Mi was now declared dead by Liu Bei so there was no relation anymore.
“Alright. Back to the main topic. The next one is the Ministry of Justice. They are in charge of enacting and enforcing the law. There must be a division for enacting laws, a division for handling trials and a division for punishments. Kongming. You will be in charge of this.” Liu Mang said to Zhuge Liang.
“A high official of the Ministry of Justice?” Zhuge Liang was surprised. How did Liu Mang know that he was a Legalist?
It was because Zhuge Liang was a Legalist that he cried as he executed Ma Su. According to the legalist school’s principle, everyone must uphold the law. Liu Shan feared Zhuge Liang as even he would not be exempted from the law
“I accept this order!” Zhuge Liang was increasingly curious about Liu Mang. Zhuge Liang had never told anyone that he was a Legalist. He also never held any position. How did the King of Shu know that Zhuge Liang was good at law? Could he really be such a good judge of talent? Zhuge Liang was already surprised that Liu Mang knew about Li Yan. Now he was even more surprised.
Liu Mang naturally knew about Zhuge Liang. The two greatest practitioners of the Legalist school in the Three Kingdoms era was Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao. Cao Cao being a Legalist can be seen from his use of multicolored stakes. Those who violate the law were punished regardless of their status.
Liu Mang would have chosen Kuai Liang if he was at Yangzhou. But for now, Zhuge Liang would be taking this position.
Li Yan’s police will be working alongside the Ministry of Justice. One would be arresting people while the other would be interrogating them.
“The Ministry of Rites would be in charge of ceremonial affairs, education and examinations. There would be four divisions here…” One was for academic affairs. The rest were separated based on the type of rituals or ceremonies they were in charge of. For example, one was for auspicious events, and another was for entertaining guests. This way, Liu Mang had merged embassies and educational institutes together as well.
“The one in charge here will be Brother Shanmin!” Liu Mang said to the others.
“Brother Shanmin?” Yangzhou’s officials did not know who that is until someone from the back stepped forward. “Pang Shanmin pays respects to the Lord. Thank you for the Lord’s generosity!”
Pang Shanmin was one of the reasons Liu Mang and the others could leave Wuxi and return to Yangzhou. The Pang Family had spent a lot of effort in making this happen.
The Ministry of Rites was in charge of education and was also an embassy. The one in charge should be a great scholar. That is the only way it could gain this identity. Besides obtaining Pang Degong’s favor, Pang Shanmin was also a very knowledgeable scholar. Though he was not as good as his father, he was also of noble character. More importantly, Pang Shanmin being here would attract many from the Lumen Academy to come.
“Last but not least is the Ministry of War that is in charge of the soldiers. One division will be in charge of assessing the troops and promoting them. One division will be handling horse permits and checkpoints. One division will be handling rewarding the soldiers and compensating the families of dead soldiers. They will also be in charge of going to different places for spot checks and be involved with restrictions on entering the sea. A division that is in charge of handling the soldier’s information and entry exams. Last but not least is the division in charge of delivering messages.
“The one in charge of the Ministry of War will be Wenhe!” Liu Mang thought of Jia Xu who was still at Wuxi.
“Above these six ministries will be a cabinet filled with eleven people. The six high officials from the ministries will be in it. The remaining five will be me and others who are at least a marshal or a learned scholar. That is where we will have discussions.” Liu Mang added. As the ruler of Yangzhou, he must definitely be in it.
“Xu Shu. You are to handle the cabinet affairs especially if I am not around!” Liu Mang said. This meant that Xu Shu was the boss of the six ministers. If there is a proposal and many agreed to it, they would adopt it. However, if not many agree to it then there would be a discussion and they may abandon the proposal. If an equal amount of people agree and disagree, then the last person, Liu Mang would have the final say. Of course, Liu Mang also had the right to overrule any decision.
Some of the remaining members of the cabinet would be Xu Shu, Chen Gong and Lu Bu.
Liu Mang’s orders were sent to the entire Yangzhou and the officials all began to move and decide which department they belonged to, whether they were to retire and other things. Liu Mang did not need to worry about any of this. This is what Xu Shu is for.
The reason Liu Mang did not call the cabinet as Prime Minister is because he was just a prince. He did not have such qualifications as he was not an Emperor.
After the changes were complete, everyone would be able to perform their own duties. They would no longer be able to shirk their responsibilities by saying other people could do it.
“Milord. These six ministries will change things in Yangzhou!” Xu Shu said admiringly.
Liu Mang could only laugh in reply as he did not come up with this personally. The actual talented people came up with this. Also the six ministries simply divided the work.
Liu Mang also did not bother giving an explanation as he was too tired. He had spent yet another night fighting off four top class generals. He barely had time to properly sleep. Then after fighting off these four generals, another rarity by the name of Lady Zou kept looking for him. Liu Mang could barely endure this trial.
“Has Gongsun Du send his horses over?” Gongsun Du’s envoy had picked out a hundred horses from the Wolf Cavalry to take home. He could not take any more as one of those horses were fifty of his own.
“Yes. He has given us the five thousand horses as payment. Besides that, we also bought another five thousand horses. This total up to ten thousand horses. About three hundred horses died along the way here so we have nine thousand seven hundred horses!” Xu Shu replied.
“Good. Distribute those horses to the army. Let the Wolf Cavalry and the Xiliang Cavalry have the first pick and have them quickly implement two horses per person!” Liu Mang said to Xu Shu.
“Milord. Are we not expanding our army with these horses?” Xu Shu asked with doubt. The Xiliang Cavalry and the Wolf Cavalry already had horses. Why would Liu Mang not expand the army with the horses?
“Expand the army? Easier said than done.” Liu Mang shook his head. Unlike infantries, cavalry troops also needed to learn how to ride a horse.
“Don’t we have saddles and stirrups?” It was easier to train troops now with those two things.
“Enough. These horses are not the Arabian horses I brought. Their endurance and speed aren’t as good.” Liu Mang said. If he wanted to expand the army, he could form another heavy cavalry. However, Liu Mang did not want to be so militaristic since it costs a lot of money. Besides that, elites were more important. He could increase the strength of the Wolf Cavalry and the Xiliang Cavalry by giving them more horses. That way, the soldiers will get to change horses and save their horse’s strength during battles.
“Oh right. Make sure to give one thousand horses to Pang Shanmin.” Liu Mang added.
“Give High Official Pang?”
“Yes.”
“Can he even use this many horses? If it is just to transport things, pack horses would be sufficient.”
“No. These horses are to be sent to the academy. Yuanzhi, how much do you know about the Confucian Six Arts?”
“Rites, music, shooting, literacy, governing, and arithmetic. Milord. Are you testing me?”
“The academy can teach things from books but they cannot teach shooting.”
“Milord. What do you mean?”
“What use are scholars who only know academics? I want them to learn how to shoot.” Liu Mang said. “When Yangzhou’s schools is established, I want all of them to learn how to ride and shoot. Unless they are disabled, if they cannot do so, they don’t need to graduate.” Liu Mang wanted the scholars to be healthy. He did not want weakling scholars who can only use their mouths and fall sick easily.
Riding and shooting would allow the scholars to strengthen their bodies.
Suddenly there was a loud explosion that came from outside Shouchun. It was so loud that people several kilometers away could hear it.
“What happened? Is there a thunder?” Xu Shu asked skeptically as he looked at the sky. But there were no clouds.
“It is not thunder.” Liu Mang shook his head as he looked at the direction of the sound. It was at the South. Wasn’t that the industrial zone?
“Quick! Send someone to the industrial zone and see what happen!” Liu Mang ordered.
“Understood!” A few bodyguards begun to move.
“Nevermind!” Liu Mang suddenly stopped them. “Bring me my horse. I will go to the Ministry of Works myself.” The industrial zone had been renamed as the Ministry of Works.
Two horses were quickly prepared. Liu Mang choses horses over a carriage because he did not want delays. There were two horses because Xu Shu was coming along.
The two of them rushed to the industrial zone while being followed by the guards.
“What happened here?” Liu Mang arrived to see the industrial zone in ruins. There were fire everywhere. There were even corpses.
“Did a lightning strike during the day?” Xu Shu’s eyes grew wide. He could not imagine that anything could cause this except divine intervention.
“It is not lightning.” Liu Mang sniffed. “This smell is… gunpowder?”
“Gunpowder?” Xu Shu did not know what gunpowder is.
“Where is Ziyang?” Liu Mang shouted. This was the Ministry of Works. Liu Ye should be here to greet him. Liu Mang panicked thinking that Liu Ye might have died from the explosion.
“Milord! Milord!” A blackish person suddenly ran towards Liu Mang.