Chapter 833

"Grand General, I have not failed your mission; all that was planned has been accomplished. When the ice melts and the snow thaws, the Imperial Envoy will arrive to announce the appointment and deliver the seal. You shall be the Marquis of Liao, the Heavenly Martial Grand General, and the Administrator of Liaodong under the Han."

"How much wealth was expended?"

"One hundred million coins were used in full. In truth, the position of Heavenly Martial Grand General aroused suspicion of Fan Yan, and they were initially unwilling to grant it. However, the Ten Attendants accepted fifteen million coins from the Grand General and told the Han Emperor that the Grand General was merely a rebel, and that whether he was enfeoffed or not would not affect the overall situation. At the time of defeating Zhang Jiao, the expenditure of money and grain was immense; since the Grand General feared the Han court and sought office with vast wealth, all requests were granted. Thus, the Han Emperor accepted the advice, and all the General's plans were realized. Liu Yan submitted a memorial requesting to fight, but it was set aside and not responded to."

"The Han court also stated that Linyu (Shanhai Pass) shall be the boundary; the people may travel back and forth, and merchants may trade, but troops may not cross. If the General leads troops south, a great army will surely be raised to attack."

"Now, all the money and treasures are with my Zhen clan. Once the Imperial Envoy announces the appointment, they will be escorted to Luoyang to be used for purchasing offices."

Wang Yan nodded; this was exactly what he wanted. Whether he was a Marquis, a Grand General, or an Administrator did not matter; what he wanted was legal authority in Liaodong so that no one would have nothing better to do than come and attack him.

Still the same point: he did not fear war, he only feared useless wars. Once war began, grain consumption would increase sharply. He had to hold out until after the autumn harvest for the situation to ease. At that time, he would have his own production instead of struggling to survive on imported grain; these were two different matters, and the common people would also have surplus grain in their homes. What he needed now was accumulation; fighting a war meant fighting for grain—no grain, no war.

Therefore, their talk of not allowing him to enter the pass was nonsense. The Grand General's finances were on the verge of collapse; if it were not for the necessity of striking the various Wuhuan tribes, he would not even have raised an army. In fact, up to now, his several wars against the Wuhuan were all to open up a space for survival.

Without a doubt, Linyu was a good place. However, the pass had not yet been built, so it was not the later Shanhai Pass. Wang Yan had over six thousand troops of the Martial Guard stationed in Suizhong; although it was still one hundred and twenty li away from Linyu, its function was the same as being stationed at Linyu. The enemy across the way could not reach outside the pass, and Wang Yan did not want to fight inside the pass either.

The reason for stationing troops in Suizhong instead of Linyu was mainly to consider engaging in production activities alongside the people, and also to respond to armies coming from the north and south. A distance of one hundred and twenty li had a significant impact on the speed of information transmission and the deployment of troops. Moreover, the Grand General had no great generals under his command who could handle a situation independently, nor did they have the ability to adapt on the battlefield, so naturally, they could not be too far away.

Once the situation in Liaodong stabilized, perhaps he could station troops at Linyu.

He said, "If not for your Zhen clan, I would have been unable to communicate with the Ten Attendants. By next spring, I would surely have been attacked from both front and rear. At that time, with grain exhausted, I would have had no choice but to lead my army as roving bandits, repeating the old path of the Yellow Turbans, bringing chaos to the Central Plains, only to die and have my Dao vanish. The Zhen clan has helped me greatly. Meng Guang, if you have any requests, please feel free to speak."

Zhen Sheng cupped his hands: "The Zhen clan respects the Grand General as a hero; I dare not speak of requests. Now that the Han does not come to attack, the Wuhuan are of no concern to the Grand General, and the crisis is resolved. I observe that the General's intent is to plan for internal development, accumulate military strength, and wait for the day when the Han faces change, to march south and secure the tripod. I do not know what instructions the General has; as long as there is a command, the entire Zhen clan will surely assist with all our might."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile. There were many reasons for the decline of the Zhen clan, but it was certainly not because they did not know how to speak, for Zhen Sheng had mastered the correct posture for speaking with a great warlord.

The Grand General laughed: "The Zhen clan is sincere, and my heart is greatly comforted. Now that I lack talented people under my command, the Zhen clan, a family of many generations, should have talented people to come and assist."

"The Grand General has foresight; this is a necessity. By next spring, the Zhen clan will send the younger generation of our clan and invite talented people from among our friends and neighbors to come and serve under the General."

"Can you find master shipbuilders?"

"In the lands of Jiangdong and Heluo, there are master craftsmen. With the General's kindness and generosity toward the people, they will surely come with their whole families to join. It is just... I do not know the General's intent? Could it be that you wish to build warships to plot against Jiang Nan?"

"What Meng Guang says is indeed a reason, but not the main one. Now, my people live along the coast; the sea has many fish, and eating them strengthens the body. It can provide nourishment for women and children; once breast milk is sufficient, newborns will survive and not die prematurely. This is the second reason. Thirdly, I have heard that the heavens are round and the earth is square, but I do not know where the boundary of the earth lies, nor do I know where the seaside lies. In the past, the Marquis of Bowang, Zhang Qian, traveled to the Western Regions; he said the Western Regions were all barbarians, yet their local products were very good."

"Garlic, grapes, clover (alfalfa), pomegranates, and sesame were all brought back to the Han lands by Zhang Qian. I often wonder, if the Western Regions have such different crops from our Han lands, what lies to the east of the sea?"

Zhen Sheng said: "To the east of the sea are the Wa slaves. In the past, the Wa slaves sent envoys to pay respects, and Emperor Guangwu bestowed a seal upon them before they returned."

"What is the scene to the east of the Wa slaves? Is it sea? Is it land? I am very curious; I must build warships to go out to sea and search."

Watching the Grand General reveal his passion for exploring the unknown, Zhen Sheng remained silent for a long time before finally asking what was in his heart: "Does the General wish to plot for immortality?"

Wang Yan laughed heartily: "In the past, the First Emperor sent Xu Fu out to the East Sea to seek immortals; I have not heard of him attaining immortality, but I have heard of the matter of the abalone at Shaqiu. To pursue the infinite with a finite life is truly unwise. Meng Guang, set your heart at ease; my ambition is for the people to be wealthy and strong. How to call it wealthy? How to attain strength? This is also an infinite task of unwisdom, difficult to see in a lifetime. My path to immortality lies entirely within my Dao. As long as there are successors who carry on my ambition, this ambition is infinite, and I shall attain immortality."

The words were spoken plainly; if someone works hard for the wealth and strength of the people, they are carrying on the Grand General's Dao, and the Grand General will exist forever in the human world, living eternally in the hearts of the people. Zhen Sheng bowed: "The greatness of the General's ambition is such that even if Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang were reborn, or the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han returned to life, they would not reach even one ten-thousandth of it."

This was flattery; everyone knows how to say nice things, and of course, Zhen Sheng did not dare not to say nice things. The Grand General said: "I make the people wealthy and strong, so you families of powerful clans will be restrained. Furthermore, let me reveal a little to you: under my rule, land annexation is not allowed, slavery is not allowed, keeping private armies is not allowed, and bullying the weak or insulting the common people is not allowed. Anyone who commits such acts will surely be restrained by my laws."

"Since the Zhen clan has formed an alliance with me, I will show leniency to the Zhen clan. Now the Zhen clan is in Wuji, and my great army is in Liaodong, out of reach. Land, slavery, private armies—the day my great army arrives in Wuji is the day they must be disbanded and returned. Now that the great army has not yet arrived, the Zhen clan must strictly enforce family rules and not offend the people. Past matters will not be pursued, but future matters will surely be investigated."

"The General's intent is fully understood by the Zhen clan. Our Zhen clan is a family of wealth and status; although we are now weak, the rites have not been abandoned. Why, with the wealth of the Zhen clan, is the head of the clan, my uncle, only the Magistrate of Shangcai? Cao Song could buy the position of Grand Commandant; the Zhen clan's family wealth could also do so, so why not do it? It is truly because we are unwilling to exploit the people, so we have not done it."

The selling of offices and titles reached its peak during the time of Emperor Ling. Those who wanted to seek office had clearly marked prices. Those who wanted to be promoted also had clearly marked prices. Even if one did not spend money to buy an office, but was promoted for public service, the promotee still had to spend money. It was even permitted to owe money, belonging to loan-based officialdom; after taking office, one only needed to exploit the people and slowly pay back the money.

It had reached such a degree; how could the Great Han not perish...

"This heart is very good. Although I make the people wealthy, I am not cutting off the path of survival for you powerful clans. You have vast wealth; you can live a luxurious life by trading goods north and south. You have studied the classics and have strategies in your chests; you are not comparable to the common people who do not know a single character. If you enter officialdom, I will treat you generously."

"Moreover, I also treat master craftsmen generously, with status not inferior to officials. You can invent new things to improve life, such as the invention of white glass, and wealth will flow in continuously. You should prepare early; it will only be twenty or thirty years at most."

"The General is so certain?"

The Grand General smiled: "You just watch."

"Since it is so, Sheng will first wish the General success in his great cause." Having said this, Zhen Sheng laughed along with the Grand General, as if success had already been achieved.

People of this time are always like this, always laughing loudly. The Grand General laughed because what he said was domineering, so naturally, he should laugh wildly. Zhen Sheng laughed because he was truly embarrassed and did not know how to conduct himself, so he had to laugh along...

After laughing, Zhen Sheng seemed hesitant, as if he found it difficult to speak.

Seeing this, the Grand General smiled and played along: "If Meng Guang has anything to say, just speak freely."

"I will not hide it from the General; Sheng does have a question, but I truly do not know whether I should ask it or not."

"Just ask."

Zhen Sheng cupped his hands: "If Sheng remembers correctly, the General is eighteen years old?"

"That is so."

"Since the General is already eighteen and has achieved such a great foundation, why not take a wife and concubines and have children early? If the General has heirs, the people will feel at ease."

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow; what a familiar line of reasoning. Translated, this meant, 'Grand General, do you want a wife?'...

The Grand General was naturally very receptive and continued to play along: "I will not hide it from you; I do have this heart and am currently looking for a good woman. I do not know what Meng Guang means?"

"My Zhen clan has a daughter named Dao, who will soon be fifteen. She is well-read, sensible, intelligent, and virtuous. For such a heroic man as the General, if our Zhen clan's daughter could marry into your house as a wife, it would truly be the Zhen clan's good fortune."

The Grand General nodded with a smile, did not answer, and instead asked: "How many daughters does the Zhen clan have?"

"Five daughters. The eldest and second daughters are already married. Dao is the third daughter; the fourth daughter, Rong, is only six, and the youngest is only one year old. Only the third daughter, Dao, is close to the General's age, and she can marry into Liaodong next year."

In the Han Dynasty, women reached the age of fifteen for marriage, meaning they could marry and have children at fifteen. Of course, this was a rite observed by great families; what the superiors like, the inferiors will surely like even more. The powerful clans are this 'superior,' and the common people are the 'inferiors,' naturally imitating the rules of the powerful clans.

The Grand General was precisely raising the marriage and childbearing age from fifteen to eighteen. However, this age conflicted with the military service age, because under his command, one had to join the army at seventeen. But this was a method for the current situation where the foundation was not yet set. Once he was completely established, the service age would be changed to twenty. Before twenty, one would grow, learn, marry, have children, or farm and labor, or learn craftsmanship knowledge; at twenty, one would join the army or enter officialdom to seek a career and contribute to the empire.

"The matter is not necessarily urgent. I know the Zhen clan wishes to form a marriage alliance to strengthen our relationship. However, I currently have only a small foundation. Although I am confident in capturing the deer of the Han, matters are ultimately in human hands. Heaven has unpredictable winds, and people have misfortunes from morning to evening. The situation is not yet settled, and the path ahead is unclear; the Zhen clan should be extremely cautious. I think five daughters is just right. I am eighteen now, and under my rule, marriage is also at eighteen. By the time the fifth daughter is eighteen, it will only be seventeen years. At that time, I will also be in the prime of my life."

"I have words beforehand: I dreamed of wandering in the heavenly palace and saw a towering divine tree. An old man drifted over, stood on the tree, and said to me, 'You have arrived carrying the mandate of heaven, and your lifespan shall be one hundred and twenty.' I woke up in shock from the dream and thought about it repeatedly, realizing in shock that the old man in the dream was Peng Zu. I believe this deeply. Therefore, I will not take a principal wife, but only equal wives. It is not to humiliate the Zhen clan's daughter; even if other powerful clans offer marriage, it shall be the same."

"My lifespan is one hundred and twenty; my descendants will surely not live long after me. If I capture the deer, I shall select the virtuous and capable; my second generation will not follow the rule of the eldest legitimate son. Meng Guang, do not say that the third generation will be chaotic; if chaos truly arises, who will see it? After I die, how can I manage matters from beyond the grave? I should only care about the matters before my eyes."

"The General's breadth of mind makes Sheng ashamed. Since the General is so open and honest, the Zhen clan will not fail the General's expectations. As the saying goes, good things come in pairs; let us follow the rules under the General's rule and set the marriage date. Four years later, the third daughter will enter the house, and seventeen years later, the fifth daughter will enter the house. With the General's great talent, perhaps the great cause will be settled in seventeen years."

"That is very good. I say the Zhen clan will surely flourish."

The Zhen clan's behavior toward the Grand General belonged to groveling; they didn't even want their faces anymore. But they were very farsighted and very decisive. Besides the fact that the Zhen clan was not flourishing, the main reason for the Zhen clan making this decision was naturally that the Grand General was excellent.

In fact, over the past period, several people from the Zhen clan had already come to work, belonging to the early stage of gathering intelligence to see if the Grand General could truly succeed. The situation under his rule was right there, and the granaries were also right there; the Grand General sent soldiers to guard them, and the people under his rule could visit as they pleased.

Brick factories, blacksmiths, carpenters—making bricks, forging iron, carpentry; soldiers breaking ice to fish; the Grand General's personal guards running off to raise chickens, ducks, geese, and cows; the Grand General personally seeing patients and delivering babies for the people under his rule, patrolling and comforting everywhere. All these things showed vitality.

The one thousand soldiers who escorted the money and followed Zhen Sheng south were seen by the Zhen clan. Along the way, they marched and fought with discipline, and many of them could even read, which was Wang Yan promoting education.

Moreover, the Grand General himself could fight and had some strategy; he could govern the army on horseback and govern the people off horseback—truly possessing both civil and military talents. The Grand General also had a broad mind, a grand pattern, goals, and the ability to act. All these things possessed the manifestations of a successful person. Even if he could not call himself a lone ruler, there was no problem in carving out a territory to protect his own safety.

A family in decline should naturally maintain respect for a great warlord who could start from nothing, have three hundred thousand soldiers and civilians, could fight himself, and could win battles. They should even more so set a good posture and grovel.

As for how clean the Zhen clan was and how much they did not offend the people, that was a lie. Perhaps they were polite and generous to the farmers, but if that were truly the case, how could the Zhen clan have so much land? They were polite to the people on the surface, but when it came to wielding knives and harvesting leeks, they were not soft-hearted at all, and the people still had to be grateful, saying it was their own bad luck.

That was not what is called rites, but the arrogance of the meat-eaters. However, at least they were willing to pretend; otherwise, if they didn't even want their faces, the people would have even less of a path to survival.

But Wang Yan would not pursue such matters; the power of life and death was in his hands. The Zhen clan had the best eye for talent, and some preferential treatment was deserved. Moreover, they sent two wives at once; although they might not have understood Grand General Wang's meaning, the five daughters of the Zhen clan were already decided.

The Grand General was naturally not a lecherous person; he simply wanted to see for himself just how beautiful Zhen Mi was...

After another round of idle chatter, Zhen Sheng asked: "Just now, the General mentioned selecting a good woman; I do not know whom the General has in mind?"

The Grand General put his hands behind his back and said: "There is a great Confucian named Cai Yong who was dismissed due to a crime and exiled to Shuofang. Later, after his sentence was served and he was about to return, he was framed and fled, disappearing to avoid disaster. Does Meng Guang know where Cai Gong is now, and does he have a daughter?"

Cai Yong was very famous. In the debate of the classics at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were the Modern Script and Ancient Script schools. Cai Yong was a big shot in the Modern Script school and was highly respected, but he was quite straightforward and was tossed around quite miserably. Later, when Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, hearing of his talent, he forced him to return to office. After Wang Yun plotted to kill Dong Zhuo and temporarily held great power, Cai Yong sighed at the victory banquet about Dong Zhuo's death and was killed by Wang Yun.

This was the key, but not the only key. The key was that Cai Yong had a daughter named Yan, courtesy name Wenji.

Of course, the Grand General was by no means a lecherous person; he just had no conclusion about how old Cai Wenji was in history, and she had a reputation for peerless beauty. Since he had finally come here, the Grand General still wanted to see for himself. Under such a great reputation, what was the reality...

"The General's intent is on Cai Yong?"

You understand again... Glancing at Zhen Sheng, the Grand General cleared his throat: "That is so. My rule is in urgent need of great talent, and I wish to build schools extensively to teach the men and women under my rule to study; even the elderly should learn to read. Cai Yong is a great Confucian of the current age, with broad learning and a long-standing reputation. If he comes to assist me, he will study the classics under my rule, and talented people will surely come and go to seek learning. My Liaodong lands will then flourish greatly."

Zhen Sheng was silent again. The Grand General was good in every way, except that he had a mouth that would utter shocking words every time he spoke.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "General, I once heard that Cai Yong was hiding in the Wu lands, and the Yang clan of Taishan provided much care. I can personally go to the Wu lands (the Jiangzhe area) to pay a visit to Cai Yong and explain the General's intent, but I fear Cai Yong will not respond..."

"Send one thousand soldiers with you. My ambition has already been stated; if he still does not respond, invite him again. If he still does not respond, then bring his whole family by force. As long as there is obstruction, all may be killed. You can also first use the Yang clan's life to threaten him; Cai Yong has righteousness, perhaps he will respond, and I will also avoid Cai Yong's hatred. But no matter what, Cai Yong must come."

Zhen Sheng cupped his hands and accepted the order: "General, rest assured; there will surely be an answer before the sixth month."

The Grand General nodded with satisfaction. Seeing that he was hesitant again and did not dare to speak, he asked: "Does Meng Guang have any doubts? Just speak freely."

"Sheng indeed has one thing I do not understand." Zhen Sheng cupped his hands and said, "Just now the General mentioned building schools extensively to benefit the people and open their wisdom; I think it cannot be done. The expenditure is too great, and it is also difficult to find good teachers. The knowledgeable people of today are all those with great ambitions; how many can be as kind and generous to the people as the General? Moreover, the classics are difficult to understand, easy to learn but difficult to master; if one does not reach the goal, it is useless."

"I observe the General's actions; if you build schools extensively, the General must treat the teachers generously. The expenses of the schools, and the brushes, ink, and bamboo slips consumed by the students, must all come from the General's treasury. Now that the General has just established his foundation, there is truly no surplus strength."

"Since the General has spoken, I do not know if you have a strategy?"

"Does Meng Guang know of Marquis Cai's paper?"

"Its quality is insufficient; the ink blurs when writing, it is not very easy to use, and it is not even good enough for use in the latrine."

"I have a method to make soft and delicate paper; its material is nothing more than grass and wood. I have another method to print what is said in this volume onto paper—not printing one volume, but millions of volumes. With these two methods, what does Meng Guang think?"

Papermaking and movable type printing are truly the sharp tools for a transmigrator's development. Why was learning monopolized by powerful clans? It was because the cost of learning was high. The development of papermaking and printing greatly reduced the cost of learning. Although many people still had no opportunity, compared to before, more and more people were literate, which had a very powerful driving force for the development of culture.

As for the matter of using it in the latrine, currently, people use bamboo slips to wipe their backsides, which is not much better than the feeling of a small knife cutting the backside. The Grand General also eats the five grains, but he had people cut silk and used money to wipe his backside, which was quite extravagant.

Zhen Sheng's eyes widened: "If these two methods truly exist, it will surely succeed. When Cai Yong hears of this matter, he will also surely come."

"Moreover, take all the books in your family's collection and transport them here. When the ice melts and the snow thaws, and we defeat the Wuhuan again, we will use these two methods to print books extensively, all to be sold by the Zhen clan."

"Thank you, Grand General."

Wang Yan waved his hand, chatted for a few more sentences, and Zhen Sheng took his leave; he had to hurry and get to work...