The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

"He's getting more and more casual." Mi Zhao came in and saw Liu Chen sitting with his legs spread wide and naked, and was a little speechless. But he also felt relaxed.

A prince like this wouldn't be associated with conspiracy or usurpation of the throne.

In this way, his interactions with Liu Chen as a member of the Imperial Guard would not be too sensitive.

"Zhao. Any good news?" Liu Chen looked up, his face showing an eager expression.

My money.

Mi Zhao smiled, bowed first, then took off his shoes and knelt down in front of Liu Chen under the eaves.

He inherited the etiquette from his family. In those days, people like Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, and Yi Ji were all known for their elegance and refinement, which was a beautiful story among the envoys.

"Young master. I have not failed you. I sold several shops in Chengdu, several in Jiangzhou, and several in Nanzheng. I earned 1,200 gold pieces." Mi Zhao took out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Liu Chen.

At this time, silk had some of the functions of paper.

Wealthy families usually read books on bamboo slips. For correspondence or important matters, they used silk to write.

"What a spendthrift!" Liu Chen thought to himself. He's still wearing last year's clothes, and this kid's using silk to write account books?

Liu Chen reached out and took it; it was indeed an account book. It clearly showed who had bought the recipes and how much each person had paid.

1200 gold coins is quite a lot. A family accumulating 1000 gold coins is a powerful merchant with influence in the region. Now, the court is in chaos, and the country's population is dwindling. Ironically, this has enriched wealthy merchants and powerful clans.

There are plenty of wealthy and extravagant people who own thousands or even tens of thousands of taels of silver.

They dare to gamble when they have money; they are eager to buy recipes they see and spend money to purchase them.

Liu Chen's recipes are absolutely groundbreaking delicacies. As long as you open a tavern or wine shop, you won't have to worry about business.

It was sold several times in Chengdu.

Jiangzhou sold it several times.

Nanzheng sold it several times.

With a little effort, I had 1,200 gold coins.

Liu Chen was very satisfied after reading it and originally intended to give Mi Zhao two hundred coins. Mi Zhao must have put in a lot of effort for this matter; even if he didn't achieve great merit, he certainly deserved credit for his hard work. Furthermore, a wise ruler is one who is fair in rewarding and punishing.

But then he thought again that he was currently playing the role of a miser, and besides, he and Mi Zhao didn't need money to maintain their relationship.

When the time was right, he rose to power and became the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Mi Zhao was a subject.

Given the relationship between the Liu and Mi families, he was a loyal minister.

"Thank you so much." Liu Chen smiled brightly and said in a very friendly tone.

"You flatter me, sir," Mi Zhao said with a smile and a cupped-hand salute.

Immediately, Mi Zhao asked what to do with the gold. Liu Chen instructed Mi Zhao to secretly send the gold to his estate outside the city and give it to Zhang Fei.

After the serious business was finished, Liu Chen invited Mi Zhao to go archery together.

The target was a hundred paces away.

Liu Chen drew his bow, nocked an arrow, took a slight aim, and released the bowstring.

With a "thud," the arrow hurtled forward and struck the bullseye.

Mi Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "Young master, your archery skills have improved!"

"Of course, I've practiced diligently," Liu Chen said, raising his head and smiling. Then he asked, "Shall we have a competition?"

"Good." Mi Zhao, also itching to try his hand at it, readily agreed.

Liu Chen and Mi Zhao agreed on the rules: with ten arrows, the one that hits the bullseye the most times wins.

After the agreement was made, Liu Chen shot the arrow first.

"Thump thump thump!!!!!" Liu Chen fired ten arrows in one go, hitting seven of them.

Mi Zhao then took the bow and tested it in his hand. Then, he drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and fired ten arrows in rapid succession.

They also won seven times.

Liu Chen was amazed and said, "Zhao, you are truly skilled at archery."

This bow belonged to him, and Mi Zhao borrowed it to shoot arrows, managing to hit the target seven out of ten times. He was truly a genius archer.

"It's just a matter of practice. Besides, I'm only good at shooting at targets, and at most I go hunting. It's hardly something I do in a grand setting," Mi Zhao said modestly.

Liu Chen understood; once on the battlefield, he was nothing.

"That's not necessarily true. You need a sword to kill the enemy. When you go to the battlefield one day, you might be able to use this skill to shoot down the enemy general. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be ennobled and appointed as a general?" Liu Chen said with a smile.

Mi Zhao remained noncommittal. "The battlefield? I'll never go to the battlefield in my life." But he still thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, young master."

"Hahahaha." Liu Chen burst into laughter.

Liu Chen then consulted Mi Zhao, and the two played with bows for an hour. Mi Zhao then took his leave.

Liu Chen was a little thirsty, so he asked a eunuch to bring him tea. He then went to the corridor and continued to sit cross-legged, drinking water and lost in thought.

One thousand two hundred gold coins. In the family's terms, that's already making them extremely wealthy.

However, it is not often applied to matters of national importance.

He also had to bribe Huang Hao every month.

"After the autumn harvest, I'll buy some land and people. I'll proceed with my plan step by step," Liu Chen thought to himself.

After lunch, Liu Chen went to bed to rest, attended by eunuchs and palace maids. Upon waking, he continued to exercise, and when tired, he would read or rest.

Another day has passed.

Millet was the staple food of the Han people.

The autumn harvest refers to the harvesting of millet.

The harvest times for each household were roughly the same.

In the blink of an eye.

The millet outside Chengdu is ripe. The people wield sickles to harvest the millet, and after a series of processing steps, it becomes the millet stored in the rice bins.

Liu Chen's estate outside the city was one of them.

morning.

Liu Chen rode in a palanquin, surrounded by a retinue, and left the palace, passing through the bustling crowds, until he arrived outside the city.

The farmland that was once full of crops is now completely barren.

Many sons of powerful and wealthy families galloped on horseback, surrounded by entourages, chasing prey in the fields, displaying their unbridled arrogance.

It's the same as farming.

The living standards of the wealthy and powerful are significantly better.

Many of the registered people looked distressed and were dressed in rags. Officials had already been dispatched to collect land taxes from these people.

To conscript laborers.

Labor service was required throughout the year. However, the imperial court would generally reduce the number of labor services conscripted during the busy farming season.

On the contrary, corvée labor was increased after the autumn harvest.

The corvée labor included repairing city walls, building roads, dredging waterways, and transporting grain to the front lines.

Given the limited medical resources of ancient times, even though the common people were resilient, many still died on the road.

When a man dies, a family loses its pillar.

When the registered population is large, things are manageable as everyone shares the burden. However, as the population decreases, the pressure increases significantly.

The number of people fleeing will increase, creating a vicious cycle.

Since Liu Bei founded the Han Dynasty and Liu Shan destroyed it, the Han Dynasty lasted only a few decades. How could it have turned out like this in such a short time?

Liu Chen, sitting in the carriage, observed everything and sighed softly, "When Lord Ge was alive, I did not notice anything unusual, but since his death, I have not seen anything like him."

He didn't make that up.

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Heng Wen entered Shu (modern-day Sichuan). He asked the local officials about Zhuge Liang's abilities.

That's what the old official remarked.

When Prime Minister Zhuge was alive, the country was peaceful and prosperous, and everything seemed to be a matter of course. Only after Prime Minister Zhuge died did people realize that no one could compare to him.

Liu Chen took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. He looked up and smiled.

Spring passes and autumn comes.

This was his second time visiting his estate.