Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 269 I Came to Hebei Province
Youzhou, a forgotten remote corner.

It's snowing heavily.

"Mother, I'm cold..."

"Shake more, maybe your grandfather will come back with food soon."

"Mother, I'm sleepy..."

"Don't sleep. If you sleep, you won't be able to eat."

"Mother, I think I'm too breasty..."

"Don't go with her. You'll die before you're born."

In the ruins of what was originally a village, local people could only sit in the snow and ice, shivering in the cold wind.

Although when the Xueyantuo invaded, many Hebei residents fled to Liaodong with large and small bags.

But compared to the total population, refugees are ultimately only a small part.

After all, the Chinese people are attached to their homeland and it is in their blood. People are considered inferior if they leave their hometown. So how many people are willing to leave their hometown and become inferior refugees?
Moreover, the Hebei region is also one of the core areas of Chinese civilization, with a large population, and it is impossible for all of them to squeeze into the small Liaodong.

These Hebei people, who were stranded in their hometown either voluntarily or involuntarily, faced the brutality of the Xueyantuo.

In the repeated looting, all their property was looted and their houses were burned down.

It was winter, and they had no shelter from the cold, and even the firewood for heating had run out.

So everyone could only pick out usable wood from the ruins and barely build a roof to shelter from the wind. Then everyone huddled together like little chicks, huddled under the roof that could collapse at any time.

But if I keep hiding like this, when will it end?

Just when many people were vaguely seeing their own milk, a few black spots appeared in the snowy wilderness.

The black spot approached quickly, and now everyone could see clearly that it was someone riding a horse.

The Tiele people are coming again?

Why are they robbing again? They don't have a drop left...

"Why are you still hiding in the wilderness?" the visitor shouted at them.

It's Chinese!
Everyone's hanging hearts were relieved.

The village head stood up trembling, his lips frozen stiff, unable to speak clearly:
"General... the Tiele people are gone?"

Everyone who came was amused:

"You still have the leisure to care about national affairs, don't you know that you are almost frozen to death? Come with us to the greenhouse!"

As he spoke, he took out a thick felt from his bag and stuffed a steamed bun into each of them.

"Eat something first to warm yourself up. There aren't many blankets, so you guys have to share them."

With food and clothing, these people finally survived. With great gratitude, they followed the Liaodong people who rescued them and came to a strange little village.

The "village" has about dozens of rooms, with high sides and a low middle, forming a circle.

The center of the circle is a large blacksmith shop, which is lower than the other houses and looks like the center of a stage. There is a blazing fire in the furnace, which looks very warm.

Like moths to a flame, people seeking refuge subconsciously headed towards the blacksmith shop with warm colors.

"Wait, that's where they work, your house is here."

The person who brought them here stopped them and pointed to several empty rooms in the "village".

The house is big and can accommodate dozens of people, but it is dark inside and looks very cold.

But it’s good enough to have a shelter from the wind and snow to keep yourself from freezing to death. Why do you need a bicycle?

"Thank you, everyone. I appreciate it."

The headman's jaw seemed to have thawed, and he was finally able to speak fluently:

"Excuse me, have the people from the government come back? Have the governor Cui Mingan and the envoy Cui come back?"

"It wasn't the Cui family, it was His Highness Li Ming from Liaodong. He helped us drive away the Tiele people."

The man urged:
"It's cold outside, you should go in and rest first. Someone will bring you food in the evening. His Highness Li Ming has already issued instructions to ensure that everyone is well fed and clothed."

Li Ming...the refugees are not unfamiliar with this catchy name.

Ever since the Jiucheng Palace incident, they had heard many rumors about the young prince from local celebrities from time to time.

But the image is mostly negative, as if it is a monster with a green face and fangs that devours the land.

Unexpectedly, the entire village was saved by the men of this "monster"...

The refugees felt as if a legend had come into reality, and entered the empty house with deep emotion.

As soon as I opened the thick felt door, a wave of heat hit me.

The room was so warm that it made their frozen noses run.

Everyone was very surprised.

The room was dark, with only four walls. There was no stove, and no one or animal had ever been inside.

But why is it so warm?
Could it be that "His Highness Li Ming" is really a monster who can call the wind and rain?

Splash, splash... In the dark room, they could hear the slight sound of flowing water.

As their eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, they discovered that the room was not completely empty.

There is a pipe embedded in the wall.

The pipe was orange-yellow and extended from the outside into the roof, turned a few corners in the middle of the house, went around a circle and then went out from the floor, like a closed loop.

The sound of running water comes from the pipe.

"This... seems to be made of copper?!"

The knowledgeable village head was surprised.

Copper is the metal used for minting coins, which means money!
Why did the "legendary" Prince Li Ming install a "copper" water pipe in the house that housed refugees?

We have so much money to burn, wouldn’t it be better to use bamboo to transport water?
He reached out and touched it subconsciously.

"Hiss!" He felt the burn and quickly pulled his hand back.

"Is the boiling hot water flowing in this copper pipe?"

The village head opened his eyes wide and looked out the window at the blacksmith shop.

As expected, the copper water pipe extended like an umbilical cord from the blacksmith shop in the lower part to the house, went around the house, heated the house, and then went back to the blacksmith shop.

In order to reduce heat loss along the way, the outdoor copper pipes are tightly tied with thick felt, and then covered with several layers of mud and straw.

If I am not mistaken, the blacksmith shop has been using the waste heat from iron smelting in the furnace to boil water. Taking advantage of the fact that hot water is lighter and cold water is heavier, the boiling water is automatically transported to the houses on higher ground.

After the heat of the hot water dissipates and cools down again, it flows back to the blacksmith shop along the lower pipe, where it continues to be heated by the residual heat. This cycle repeats itself, keeping the house warm.

The village head also discovered that it was not just the big house they were in.

Similar copper pipes were installed in other houses in the "village", firmly connected to the blacksmith shop like a fetus.

"What's wrong with you, village head?" the refugee villagers asked worriedly.

"This... is stupid. That Li Ming is really stupid..."

The head of the village murmured.

It would be great if this fine copper could be kept for making coins.

Why go to all this trouble to create an entire elaborate heating system just to keep a few worthless refugees comfortably warm?

Stupid, really stupid!
The old man was already in tears.

The next morning, when these refugees who had regained their lives said goodbye to their grandmother in their dreams and woke up happily from their warm beds.

A few people who looked like officials came with a stack of documents in their hands.

"I'm from Youzhou's Provisional Governance Committee."

The visitor probably introduced himself, but no one understood much of what he said.

What is a committee?
However, they all understood the other party's next sentence:
“According to His Royal Highness Li Ming’s plan, the same land policy as that of Liaodong will be implemented in Youzhou.

"The government has bought back all the arable land from the landlords. The land is publicly owned and managed by production brigades. Those who till the land own the land..."

Putting aside the professional vocabulary, everyone heard these two words clearly between the lines:

Divide the land!

Not only the head of the village, but everyone felt as if they were living in a dream.

I nearly froze to death yesterday, but now I not only have enough food and warm clothes, I even have my own land!
No need to rely on any wealthy families or local celebrities anymore!

In ICU yesterday and in KTV today, this reality is even more magical than meeting my own great-grandmother.

Is this His Highness Li Ming's ruling style...

…………

"Old Zheng, your family's land has also been bought by His Royal Highness the Regent?"

"Tsk, what redemption? That sounds nice. They used a few colorful so-called 'banknotes' to exchange for the ancestral property of Zheng family in Xingyang. Isn't this robbery?!"

"I have heard of Li Ming's great name for a long time. Today I see him in person. He is indeed worthy of his reputation - he is really a domineering urchin, and his greed is far greater than that of Xueyantuo!"

"It is indeed as Brother Lu said. Xueyantuo only killed people and set fires, but His Highness Li Ming confiscated our land!"

"The best land has been given to the mob. What a sin!"

At the Fanyang Lu family mansion in Youzhou, representatives of the major Hebei families gathered together, each of them drunk and complaining about the new master of Hebei, Li Ming.

They had taken advantage of the chaos in the Tang Dynasty to fight for the dominance of Hebei, and they fought each other to the point of bloodshed.

Now, after every family has suffered equally from Li Ming's dictatorial iron fist, things have finally calmed down and everyone has huddled together for warmth out of sympathy.

Hebei has changed hands, and they can be said to be the biggest losers in this campaign to restore order.

Because the foundation of their family's survival for thousands of years, that is, the land, was forcibly "redeemed" by that guy Li Ming!

What they use is not copper coins or silver, but newly printed so-called "paper money"!
What's the value of this piece of paper?! How is it different from robbery?!

"Three hundred thousand locusts just left, and here comes another little devil!"

The host, Old Lu, drank alone and cursed under his breath.

The Xueyantuo's invasion of the south had nothing to do with the upper class like them.

It was nothing more than the barbarians killing a few civilians and robbing their property. Anyway, it didn't affect them.

As wealthy and powerful families with deep roots in the local area, they had already reached an agreement with Zhenzhu Khan and Prince of Wei Li Tai.

Everyone does not interfere with each other and life is peaceful. When the Tiele people return to the grassland to graze in spring, they still need these local tyrants to maintain the situation.

Master Tiele also needs to maintain the association, otherwise the leeks will die, and what will happen next year?

But no one would have expected that 300,000 prairie cavalry, supported by tens of thousands of Central Plains soldiers, would look so majestic and invincible!

However, it only took a few days to be annihilated by the coalition forces of bandits led by Li Ming and Goguryeo barbarians!
This is a bit embarrassing.

It stands to reason that a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. With their hundreds or thousands of years of hard work in the local area, even the cunning Li Ming should be unable to do anything to them.

Unexpectedly, because of Xueyantuo's "ruthless politics", not only did a large number of peasants flee, but even the small and medium-sized families, as well as the branches of the big families, were killed or fled, and were wiped out!
Although this gentry class does not have much power individually, it is the foundation of the entire aristocratic family's rule and the backbone of spreading "enlightenment" to the ignorant people in the countryside!

Without the gentry, the entire aristocratic system will be shaky!
However, these big clans did not realize the importance of the grassroots at the beginning. When the small clans were in trouble, they did not lend a helping hand. Instead, they gloated over their misfortune and thought about annexing even their land.

When Li Ming came to power and raised the butcher knife against them, there were no more gentry to incite the "righteous people" for them to resist this tyranny that "competed with the people for profit".

Only then did they repent.

It’s a pity that it’s too late. We only know how to cherish it after we lose it.

"My people are suffering terribly, and I'm sure you are suffering as well! Everyone, listen to me, His Majesty the Emperor would never want the people of the world to suffer like this! There are bad people around His Majesty!!"

Lu, who had set up this situation, threw down his wine bowl and slammed the table and stood up.

The crisp sound of breaking bowls and plates made these drunkards look at him.

"We can't go on like this, are we just going to sit there and wait for death?

"If I die now, I will die. If I carry out my plan, I will die..."

Old Lu was speaking when Old Cui, who had been silent the whole time, interrupted his passionate speech.

"Brother Lu, do you want us to join you in starting an army?"

Lao Cui is from the Qinghe Cui clan, and he and Li Ming's in-laws, the Boling Cui clan, have the same ancestor, Cui Zhu.

Because of this relationship, the relationship between Qinghe Cui and Li Ming is also rather ambiguous.

Old Lu looked down on this potential traitor and said:
"Hmph, you don't need to worry! We, the people of Yan and Zhao, are not cowards who fear power! We...

"Who said we were going to start a war?"

Old Lu changed the subject, sat back, got a new cup, and started drinking again.

The bitter wine hurts my throat.

Although the people of Yan and Zhao are not afraid of power, Li Ming is a little too strong.

Using a smaller force against a larger one could defeat Goguryeo and Xueyantuo.

Using more people against fewer, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to wipe out a few landlords?
If they were able to win the battle, they wouldn't have handed over their most precious land so easily.

Whether it is policy or law, the underlying logic of politics is violence.

It just so happens that Li Ming is good at this.

"Alas... Actually, it's not that difficult to work under His Majesty the Regent." Qinghe Lao Cui comforted him:
"At least we are still alive. We bought the land with money..."

He knew more than everyone else present, and was very clear about what the aristocratic families that were being persecuted did when the country was in crisis.

Stir up internal strife and collude with foreign enemies.

Compared with these two heinous crimes that are enough to punish all ten clans, the minor capital crimes they committed, such as "secretly storing armor" and "having troops to support themselves", are nothing more than a drizzle.

Being able to leave their bodies intact was considered merciful, and Li Ming let them live and gave them money to "redeem" the land. What did they want from the bicycle?

boom!
Old Lu was not convinced and slammed the table heavily:

"Land is the foundation of a man's life, how can it be sold by force? I won't sell it even if you pay me!

"Besides, what Li Ming gave was money? It was clearly some waste paper!

"Waste paper, hiss, waste paper..."

As he spoke, Lao Lu's eyes suddenly became serious.

"I have come up with a safe way that will make Li Ming unhappy."

"What method?" everyone asked.

Old Lu stroked his beard meaningfully:

"Isn't he trying to sell that piece of waste paper called 'paper money' to the whole world?
"It is our responsibility to expose his deception."

…………

“Xiao Fang, this is what I have taught you countless times.

“Money piled up in the treasury will only gather dust. Don’t be too stingy. Not spending a penny is a recipe for chaos.

"It's like Emperor Yang of Sui built so many charity granaries, but when a famine occurred, he didn't use the money to help the victims. Look, he was doomed."

At the settlement time of the Hebei strategy, Li Ming proudly held the report presented by the head coach Li Jing, and boasted to the accountant Fang Yi.

The war in the entire Hebei region has been settled, and Li Jing's military control over the area is about to end, handing over to the civil service system.

From all aspects, the annexation...recapture of Hebei was successful, victorious and complete.

The most important step is that the grassroots organization in Hebei has been initially established. Due to the excellent reputation of the Red Turban Army, local villagers have joined enthusiastically and the organization has grown rapidly.

With a handle at the grassroots level, everything fell into place. Whether it was post-war relief work or major reforms in the social and economic fields such as land nationalization, everything was carried out in an orderly manner.

This in turn earned Li Ming greater popularity and accelerated the pace of digesting the new territory.

As long as the formal government institutions are established, the vast and prosperous Shandong and Hebei regions will be officially incorporated into Li Ming's command.

"I'm not mean."

Fang Yi organized the language:

"It's just that...melting copper coins into pipes just to provide heating for refugees is a bit..."

"A bit of a waste?" Li Ming expressed his real thoughts.

"Uh, yes." Fang Yize said frankly.

Li Ming smiled:

“Money is only money when most people recognize it.

"When we have a better alternative like 'paper money' and no longer use copper coins for circulation, copper will just be an ordinary metal material, no different in essence from iron."

"Well...you're right." Fang Yize scratched his head.

"However, copper has two characteristics that make it superior to iron," Li Ming explained:

"First, copper has good thermal conductivity, and second, copper is more resistant to rust, so it is suitable for plumbing pipes."

What is heat conduction, what is water heating... Fang Yize nodded half-comprehendingly:

"Oh."

"The experiment of using the waste heat from the blacksmith shop to boil water and then using copper water pipes to heat residents' houses was very successful and worth promoting."

Li Ming put down Li Jing's report, stood up excitedly, and faced the map on the wall with his hands behind his back.

His eyes fell on the hinterland of the Northeast, the northern border of the former Goguryeo, north of the Sulu River (Songhua River), all the way to the Heishui (Heilongjiang) area.

For the Chinese agricultural civilization in the Central Plains, that area is the real monster spawning cage.

Whether it was the Jurchens who originated from the Heishui Mohe, the Mongols who originated from the Shiwei, or the later Manchus, their ancestors strolled on that piece of ice.

But even during the interglacial period of the Tang Dynasty, the winters there were too cold to be habitable.

But now with the help of plumbing technology, winter is no longer unbearable, and there is an opportunity to establish a colonial outpost and expand northward little by little until the rich black soil, forests and coal mines are all in their possession...

"Not good!"

His endless reverie was interrupted by Yuchi Xunyu.

The little black charcoal-headed boy ran in hurriedly, holding a report in his hand:

"There are unruly people causing trouble in Youzhou City!"

Li Ming frowned:
"What? Don't the common people love me? I literally gave them money to keep them warm, what else can they be dissatisfied with?"

Didn’t they say copper is no longer considered money... Fang Yize complained in his heart.

"They are not ordinary people, they are unruly people!" Yuchi Xunyu insisted:

"I don't know who instructed them to gather outside the former Youzhou Prefecture."

Li Ming asked: "What do those unruly people want to do?"

"They said that the people of Liaodong used a few pieces of waste paper to cheat the people out of their copper coins, and that this was a scam, and they were trying to use lies to incite the people to abandon paper money!"

Li Ming's mouth twitched.

Although I don’t know who the other party is, I have found the target very accurately!

He is not afraid of other rumors.

However, paper money was still a new thing and its foundation was not yet solid. Even the people of Liaodong had to accept it step by step, and it was not all smooth sailing.

Spreading rumors about banknotes can really cause a lot of trouble.

"That's an order! Making paper money legal tender is an order!"

Fang Yize couldn't hold it in any longer, and changed his emotionless attitude, unable to help but burst into cursing.

Without paper money, how will we fill the fiscal hole?

This is going to kill him!

I'm so mad!

"hiss……"

Li Ming took a deep breath, and his expression was not much better than Xiaofang's.

I came to Hebei Province to strengthen the national strength, not to throw money into a bottomless pit!

Those guys are no longer ordinary rumor mongers. They should all be thrown into the Northeast to dig potatoes with the sheep-leading ceremony, just like Jin Taizu!

(End of this chapter)