Chapter 191

They called themselves wealthy merchants of Prosperous Prefecture, just returned from Secluded Prefecture, fully aware of Secluded Prefecture's policies, and earnestly urged everyone to hurry north, not to waste time going to Long Peace—the imperial court wouldn't let you enter the city, and the solutions offered were at most handing out porridge for two days to encourage you to return to your native homes. Going to Secluded Prefecture is different: there the land is vast and the people sparse, and the You King turns away no one who comes.

Corporal Chen gave the refugees a frank analysis: "The border environment is special, but that's also an opportunity. Others aren't border areas, they're not short of people—would they let you in? Youzhou has clear policies, specific villages set up to take in refugees; once you go there, as long as you settle in and farm, you won't starve. Jiangnan may be safe, but will they let you in? Do they have land for you to farm? Which plot has no owner? Look at us—still young and strong—are we going to spend our lives begging? No fixed home, no fields, no house, and winter is coming; we can't even go back to our hometowns. I, Old Chen, am pointing out a way to survive for everyone: let's all go to Youzhou and farm—there's plenty of land there."

In the eyes of the people of the Great Jin, Youzhou was a chaotic northern border far from ordinary cities; they would avoid it if they had any alternative, and Youzhou was no better than a flood and ferocious beasts.

Someone immediately asked, "I heard that in Youzhou the locals have all fled, leaving only non‑ordinary people; do the northern barbarians on the plains just come and kill whenever they want?"

"Exactly, it's too close to the grasslands—I've heard it's totally chaotic!"

"No, no, Youzhou is out of the question!"

A young scout laughed; he looked about seventeen or eighteen, and said, "You've fallen to this state and still fear the northern barbarians? The You Prince is the emperor's son and lives in Youzhou City—yet you don't dare go there?"

Corporal Chen immediately rebuked him, "Shut up! We're all poor low‑folk, just offering a suggestion. Brothers, we've hauled cargo south and north; across the Great Jin, the only ones willing to take in outside refugees are the border You Prince, who has vast lands and lacks farmers. Refugees are a burden to other prefectures—who would want them? The You Prince is kind‑hearted; ever since he saw vagrants begging in Youzhou, he specially built a refugee village, saying that if it weren't unavoidable, no one would come here, and if Youzhou doesn't give them a livelihood, further north lies barbarian lands… You fear the steppe cavalry, and I understand—Old Chen isn't trying to lead you astray. Here's what I propose: if you go to Chang'an the court truly won't care for you, so don't delay—hurry to Youzhou, or you'll freeze to death outside this winter; these winters have been bitterly cold. I'm just advising; I can't decide for you. Meeting is fate; this little bit of food I offer, share it among you—we all come from the same place, so don't quarrel or fight over it; we haven't reached a dead end yet."

Don't look at their sorry state—just leaving their hometowns, they still held great hopes for Chang'an; but after hitting a wall, they hoped to reach Youzhou before the heavy snow.

After finishing his speech, Corporal Chen led the group away; once they were far off, the one who had earlier cooperated in mocking the question asked, "We're just leaving like this—will they actually go?"

"Those who would listen have already listened; I'm not in a hurry to make a deal. If they don't suffer a bloody head, they won't know the Prince's kindness. Those who go to the Prince will have to be fed through the winter; the ungrateful are better off not coming—they'll just become a burden sooner or later."

The prince, with sharp ears, caught his words on the wind. He took a close look at the young corporal—promising material, a rare person of understanding.

Corporal Chen returned and gave a brief report; he felt these people had indeed listened, but Youzhou was simply not the place they wanted to settle—for now.

Wei Shen thought it was fine; the supreme being's haste made it seem worthless.

He took the sack of sugar that had just been confiscated from the Prince and awarded it to him, saying, "This sugar, just taken from the Prince, go divide it among the brothers."

Old Chen took it with a grin, "Thank you, sir, for the reward; thank you, Your Highness, for the reward!"

The Prince: "Hmph! Don't eat in front of me—keep moving!"

Afterward, the journey went fairly smoothly; thanks to the secrecy of the route, there were no assassinations, but what they saw and heard along the way kept the Prince from relaxing.

Natural and man‑made disasters kept occurring.

The populace was in dire straits.

The Prince sometimes worried anxiously, sometimes thought he was overthinking; Youzhou had been chaotic at first, and other places were similarly chaotic, which was normal.

Some big cities remained normal, the great clans still enjoyed peaceful prosperity through music and dance, and the populace looked fine; whenever the Prince encountered such a scene, he would let out a sigh of relief.

Anyway, whenever they encountered wandering refugees or bandits who attacked them and got repulsed, they never dealt a lethal blow; they simply urged them to go to Youzhou to start anew.

Sometimes, looking at the devastated land and then recalling the recent grand Longevity Celebration in Chang'an, the Prince would feel dazed, as if it were a dream.

As a son, he found it hard to blame his father, but the Prince knew his own heart; he sometimes felt truly disappointed, and he did not believe that Emperor Ningde knew nothing at all.

When they stopped at an inn for the night, the Prince went to the Myriad Realms; the child was almost bursting with frustration, and he needed a place where he could vent about his father.

He complained to Wei Shen; some things Wei Shen couldn't agree with, and others didn't dare to listen.

Bai Yang listened, fell silent for a moment, then gave the Prince a sympathetic glance. "What more is there to doubt? The age of chaos is truly upon us, child—every point fits perfectly."

"I'm about to speak ill omen—at most five years, your Great Jin will fall into chaos. A dynasty where feudal lords hold power for three hundred years isn't me being pessimistic; it's pretty much run its course, so brace yourself. It's not to say it's all your father's fault, but with floods, droughts, and cold waves taking turns, it's likely that damned Little Ice Age has arrived—Your Highness, you'd better prepare."

Before, the Little Ice Age had been mentioned, but never so bluntly.

The Prince asked foolishly, "What do you mean? Is Great Jin going to perish?" Indeed, besides Elder Brother Bai, no one would dare say such a thing—who would dare speak like that?!

Bai Yang considered it and said, "This question has no definite answer; I'm analyzing with you the over two‑thousand‑year history of feudal dynasties I've studied—not a single dynasty that enfeoffed princes lasted more than three hundred years. The Han exceeded that only by splitting into Eastern and Western Han… If you ever reach your father's position, remember: do not enfeoff princes again."

The Prince: "I'm not…"

Bai Yang cut him off: "Okay, okay, you don't want to, but say if! Now your Great Jin is so chaotic; if one prince rebels, I dare say several will follow suit immediately—every dynasty of enfeoffed princes has this step. You already show signs of a chaotic age; if you want to survive, you must speed up. By then, you, as the reigning emperor's own son, will be the primary target of encirclement."

The Prince, simple‑minded: "You mean besides the eldest and second eldest, my royal uncles will also want that position?"

Bai Yang: "…Is there anyone who doesn't want it? Well, except you!"

The Prince worried, "How else can we speed up? We have no one in Youzhou! We've been coaxing refugees along the way, but we don't even know how many actually went…"

Bai Yang reminded him: "When the world falls into chaos, if Youzhou can offer shelter, those who flock to you will naturally increase. The more grain, salt, and weapons you hold, the better. Your position also requires guarding against external threats."

The Prince then thought of the stretch of land across the sea, pointing it out to Bai Yang: "Is anyone here? Can we farm it?"

Bai Yang glanced and said, "Isn't that the Liaodong Peninsula? Not only can we farm, we can also produce salt… and hide people. If I recall correctly, there's no one living there now, but you should still go check it out first."

"Then on the return we'll go by water, have the treasure ship come pick me up, and incidentally visit the Liaodong Peninsula."

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