Chapter 8: A Very Important Person

"Where is there a solution that satisfies both sides?"

Li Pan smiled bitterly: "If the soldiers are elite, we fear a recurrence of military men dominating the state; if they are not elite, we must rely on sheer numbers. Fewer numbers are useless, but more numbers mean more recruitment, which means more money spent."

He spoke the truth; the greatest burden of the Great Song's "Three Redundancies" problem is actually "redundant soldiers."

The Great Song's fiscal revenue is a mixed statistic of goods tax and currency tax; in the current reign of Emperor Renzong, the annual fiscal revenue, converted to copper coins, is approximately 57 million to 70 million guan.

Eighty percent of this must be invested in the military expenses required to maintain a standing army of over a million, another 8% must be used to support the scholar-officials, and the remaining 12% is for other expenditures.

Thus, the Great Song is very wealthy, yet also very short of money.

Once sufficient funds cannot be obtained, it will be impossible to maintain this standing army that absorbs a large number of unstable elements; then not only will the borders become unstable, but the entire Great Song society will also become extremely chaotic.

Therefore, whether it was the Qingli Reforms of the past or the Xining Reforms of the future, the purpose, to put it plainly, comes down to two words: get money!

Lu Beigu pointed to the "Strategy for Controlling Xia" placed on the table and said.

"If we follow the plan outlined in my student's 'Strategy for Controlling Xia', recruiting a large number of local archers to guard the stockades and withdrawing some of the Imperial and Auxiliary armies whose combat effectiveness is questionable, the northwest front line could save at least 2 million guan per year."

"The court will not allow the large-scale recruitment of local archers."

Li Pan frowned slightly, showing some impatience.

If Lu Beigu only held these ideas, then there was no need to continue this conversation.

But at this moment, Lu Beigu analyzed seriously: "If we recruit only half the local archers, it might be truly implementable."

"It might be implementable, but recruiting only half means the 1 million guan saved cannot train a cavalry army."

Li Pan picked up his teacup and put it down again, speaking with some helplessness.

"You do not know the market price of warhorses; one Tibetan horse costs 50 to 70 guan, and one Tangut horse costs over 100 guan. Moreover, raising horses also costs money; 1 million guan cannot even maintain a force of ten thousand cavalry, and a few thousand cavalrymen would be of no use."

However, just then, Lu Beigu suddenly spoke.

"This student does have a way to solve this 1 million guan shortfall, but I do not know if I should say it or not."

"Speak freely."

"I wonder if Your Excellency has considered that salt, grain, and money are actually not independent of one another? All things in the world can be connected."

Li Pan's eyebrows furrowed even tighter; he seemed thoughtful, but still could not figure it out.

Until Lu Beigu leaned close to Li Pan's ear and whispered something; after listening, Li Pan was first stunned, then stopped Lu Beigu from speaking further.

"So, this is the specific implementation method for the strategy of 'cutting the sinews of commerce' mentioned in your text?"

"Yes."

"How did you come up with such a... flight-of-fancy method?"

Lu Beigu answered frankly: "Like the story of Ding Wei."

Li Pan showed an anxious expression for the first time; he stood up and paced around the room.

As a pragmatist, he knew very well that compared to the general content of the "Strategy for Controlling Xia," this method was quite detailed and was a truly feasible plan.

This was also the true unfolding of the most important economic policy in the "Strategy for Controlling Xia."

Precisely because this method was too feasible, Li Pan even, for a moment, had the thought of "claiming it as his own."

This thought was immoral, but Li Pan was not a moralistic gentleman; he had always known that to realize his ambitions, he must possess power and position commensurate with them.

And the best way to obtain higher power and position is actually to gain the appreciation of one's superior.

In the current Sichuan, there is a great figure about to be promoted, and Li Pan dares to affirm that he will definitely appreciate the method Lu Beigu just proposed.

But the thought of "claiming it as his own" had just risen when Li Pan suppressed it.

It had nothing to do with morality; it was only a discussion of pros and cons.

Li Pan pondered for a few breaths, looking at Lu Beigu who was sitting upright, and finally made up his mind.

"This method, once you leave this door, you are not allowed to tell anyone!"

Li Pan said seriously: "If this matter is feasible, it will surely be of great importance; I must report it to my superior. In a moment, I will first write a letter to be sent to Chengdu Prefecture. If all goes well, when I return from the Cold Food Festival, I will take you to see someone, and then you will explain it to him in detail."

Lu Beigu's heart skipped a beat: "See whom?"

Li Pan said solemnly: "A very important person."

"If you can catch his eye, your future is destined to be limitless!"

Lu Beigu fell silent.

The matter seemed to have triggered a chain reaction.

However, it sounded beneficial and without harm to him; having a low initial status has this benefit: if there is truly something inappropriate said, no one will really hold it against him.

After all, he is just a young student of the county school; it is normal for his thoughts to be imperfect or his knowledge to be insufficient on some matters.

Conversely, if he speaks well, he will definitely gain great benefits.

As for exactly which great figure this "very important person" is, Lu Beigu could not guess.

But he could be certain that the status must be higher than that of a Department Magistrate.

Because on one hand, if it were just a direct superior like a Department Magistrate, it should not warrant Li Pan being so solemn; on the other hand, the fact that Li Pan does not intend to send the letter to Luzhou but to Chengdu already explains the matter.

Lu Beigu nodded in agreement; afterwards, the two chatted for a while, and only after the tea was finished did Li Pan let him leave.

"During these days of the Cold Food Festival, sort out your thoughts properly; at that time, there must be no mishaps."

"This student understands."

After Lu Beigu left, Li Pan wrote a secret letter, then called two personal attendants and instructed them carefully.

"Do not take a boat up the river; instead, ride fast horses along the post road to Chengdu Prefecture. I will allocate two horses to each of you. Speed is key; do not spare the horses' strength; strive to arrive within five days."

"Upon arriving at Chengdu Prefecture, personally deliver this letter to the residence of Prime Minister Zhang, then wait for news there. You may only return when you receive Prime Minister Zhang's imperial order. At that time, charter a boat and hire several boatmen to row in shifts; do not delay on the road; you must return to Hejiang County in the shortest possible time. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Watching the two attendants rush towards the direction of the stables, Li Pan's eyebrows finally relaxed slightly; looking at the transcribed "Strategy for Controlling Xia," he murmured to himself.

"Many people can come up with the strategies of border defense and espionage, but regarding this economic strategy, having such thoughts is truly... a talent of the ages."

On the other side, Lu Beigu, walking out of the county school, did not know Li Pan's thoughts, but he was rather hesitant.

Whether it was the important figure Li Pan intended to introduce him to after the week-long holiday, or the county examination more than two months away, those were matters of the future.

And right now, where should he go?

Normally, he should be heading home.

The Song Dynasty could be said to be the era with the most holidays in Chinese history, with a quarter of every year spent on leave.

The Hanshi Festival was one of the three major festivals alongside New Year's Day and the Winter Solstice, with a holiday duration of a full seven days; combined with its connection to the Qingming Festival, the students of the county school had a total of eight days off.

With such a long holiday, it was naturally impossible to stay in the county school; everyone had to return home to celebrate the festival and worship their ancestors.

While Lu Beigu inherited the memories of his predecessor, he inevitably inherited the emotions attached to them as well.

After all, a person is made up of memories!

So although Lu Beigu's soul and thoughts came from the modern era, he still held an inseparable affection for the family of this era.

"Since I have made up my mind to survive well in this era, then running away is not a solution; even an ugly daughter-in-law must meet her in-laws. Let's face it normally."

Lu Beigu packed his things, slung his book satchel over his back, and arrived at the ferry crossing not far from the county school.

At the ferry crossing, several black-canopied boats lay quietly moored by the shore, their prows weighted down by green stone slabs and their sterns submerged in the green waves.

The boatmen squatted in twos and threes by the shore; seeing customers approach, they all stood up to solicit business.

At that moment, someone inside a black-canopied boat suddenly called out his name.

Lu Beigu looked closely and saw it was one of the two classmates who had called for help to pull him ashore when he fell into the water earlier.

This person's surname was Lu, and his given name was Guangyu.

"Brother Lu? Where are you going?"

"My home is in Erlangtan Township, Gulin Town."

Lu Beigu was stunned; if that was the case, the two of them actually lived in the same town, except Lu Beigu lived in the town proper while the other lived in the nearby township.

It seemed the predecessor truly was not good at socializing, not even familiar with a fellow townsman heading home in the same direction before.

After thanking the other person again for saving his life, Lu Beigu asked curiously.

"I saw you leaving the county school just now; why haven't you set off yet?"

"Hey, the boatmen have to wait until everyone is aboard before they can set sail."

"That's true."

Lu Beigu nodded and said, "Let's go back together; it will be good to have a companion."

Afterwards, he stepped onto the gangplank; the boat swayed slightly, startling several waterbirds perched on the gunwale.

Ducking into the black canopy, Lu Beigu sat on a bamboo chair tied to the cabin floor; from this perspective, the Anle Creek water was clear enough to see the bottom, with swimming fish and small stones visible without obstruction.

"Setting sail now—"

After waiting a while longer, once the boat was full, the boatman standing at the prow holding a bamboo pole shouted; the pole tapped the green waves, and the black-canopied boat slowly pulled away from the shore.

The Hejiang county town on the shore gradually receded; the grey-green city walls loomed in and out of the spring mist, like a landscape painting in ink and wash.

The boat traveled on the creek, with green mountains on both banks like dark eyebrows.

It was mid-spring; the azaleas in the mountains were blooming brilliantly, clusters of fiery red dotting the verdant green; occasionally a white egret swept over the water surface, its wingtips stirring up a ring of ripples before vanishing into the thicket in an instant.

From Hejiang County to Gulin Town, the Anle Creek not only had a wide riverbed and gentle flow but also very few stone shoals, so no towing was required.

Oh, by the way, the Anle Creek is the Chishui River of later generations.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, because the basin belonged to the Xi tribe of the Southern Yi, it was called "Xi Bu Water"; during the Two Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties, it was called "Da She Water"; by the Sui and Tang dynasties, because the river water was red and filled with venomous snakes, it was renamed "Chi Hui River."

And in the present Great Song, because "there are many longevity trees on the creek, with vines, cypress, and bamboo, birds and flowers, bringing joy in all four seasons," it was named "Anle Creek." As for renaming it "Chishui River," that was a matter of the Ming Dynasty.

In these times, carriages, horses, and boats were slow; gazing at the scenery on both banks, Lu Beigu's heart gradually calmed down.

He chatted casually with Lu Guangyu, and hearing the content of their conversation, the old man rowing at the stern chimed in.

"Are you two young gentlemen returning to Gulin for the Hanshi Festival?"

"Yes, we are studying at the county school," Lu Guangyu replied.

"Remarkable!" The old man's eyes lit up. "Which of the officials in purple robes throughout the court is not a scholar? Only by studying can one achieve great success!"

Hearing this, Lu Beigu merely smiled without speaking.

It is true that the officials in purple robes are scholars, and it is true that the students of the county school are scholars, but one must also pass every hurdle and succeed in the imperial examination to become a Jinshi, mustn't one?

Just then, Lu Guangyu suddenly asked.

"Brother Lu, what are your plans next?"

(End of this chapter)