funbook-pk Chapter 969 White Dew: Rice Transported from Liangzhou
Chapter 969 White Dew: Rice Transported from Liangzhou
What troubled him most was his own Ministry of Revenue.
The head of the Treasury, the chief accountant, was like a vengeful ghost, constantly nagging in his ear: "Sir, the south has suffered another flood this year, and the people waiting for the granaries to be opened for relief are crying out for food."
"The Northern Border Plan is important, but we can't empty the national treasury and jeopardize the life-saving funds right now for a trade market that hasn't even materialized yet!"
"Of the first batch of 300,000 shi of grain allocated, we can only squeeze out a maximum of 100,000 shi. Any more than that, and things will get out of control!"
The Ministry of Works wants more money, the Ministry of War wants better horses, and the Ministry of Revenue complains of poverty and wants to deduct grain rations.
With three mountains pressing down on him, even the shrewd and resourceful Lin Wenbo felt overwhelmed!
He understood that these people were not disobeying orders, but rather maximizing the interests of their departments while minimizing their own responsibilities within the rules.
In particular, Zhang Ling, the Minister of War, could not openly oppose the plan, so he made things difficult for the implementation details in every way.
Lin Wenbo sat in the government office for three days and three nights, his hair turning several strands white from worry.
Even at top speed, it would take nearly ten days to travel from the capital to Pingzhou. If this delay continues, by the time the news reaches Gu Liang, it will be too late.
He must remove these spies in the capital!
"Gu Liang, you've given this old man a huge problem..." Lin Wenbo rubbed his aching temples, when suddenly a brilliant idea flashed through his mind.
He recalled the unanimous agreement of the dukes and generals in the imperial court.
They didn't trust Gu Liang; they trusted someone else.
"Lady White Snake..." Lin Wenbo murmured to himself, "Yes! Lady White Snake!"
He slammed his hand on the table. Since Lady White Snake was the guarantor of this plan, the key to breaking this deadlock must also be on her!
Although she was far away in Pingzhou, her influence was everywhere.
He immediately summoned his trusted advisors, dictated a letter detailing the predicament in the capital, and then sent it to Pingzhou by express courier.
Instead of asking Bai Lu for help directly, he copied the letter to both Gu Liang and Bai Lu. At the end of the letter, he wrote only one sentence full of profound meaning:
"Everything in Pingzhou is ready, except for the east wind from the capital. However, the east wind has not arrived, not because of Heaven's will, but because of human planning. I am of low rank and little power, and I am afraid that I am not able to make any moves. Therefore, I am writing this letter as a backup plan, hoping that Pingzhou will make preparations as soon as possible."
He believed that with Gu Liang's wisdom and Bai Lu's methods, they would definitely be able to understand the helplessness between his lines...
After sending the letter, Lin Wenbo claimed to be ill and stayed at home, ignoring all the urging from various departments, and putting on an attitude that it was not that he did not want to do it, but that he was unable to.
......
Pingzhou, a place far away.
When Gu Liang received the letter, his face immediately darkened.
Bai Lu, who was standing to the side, simply smiled faintly after reading the letter.
"Lord Gu, don't panic." Her voice was calm. "Minister Lin is giving us a challenge."
"Set a question?" Gu Liang frowned.
“Yes,” Bai Lu walked to the map and gently tapped the location of Liangzhou with her jade finger. “He’s asking me whether my Bai family’s rice shop in Liangzhou is still open for business.”
Gu Liang was incredibly clever and instantly understood Bai Lu's meaning.
"You mean...grain will be transferred from Liangzhou?"
“That’s right.” Bai Lu’s eyes gleamed with the shrewdness of a merchant. “Pingzhou is in the north, the capital is in the east, and Liangzhou is in the west.”
Grain was transported from Kyoto by land and water, a long journey in itself. The losses and costs of transportation alone accounted for 30% of the grain price.
"By traveling north from Liangzhou, the journey can be shortened by more than half. Minister Lin is reminding us that we can bypass the officials in the capital and solve our own grain supply problem!"
"But... the funds from the preparatory office haven't come through yet, how are we going to buy grain?" Gu Liang asked the most crucial question.
“Who says you have to buy it with money?” Bai Lu winked playfully. “My Bai family has a million shi of grain stored in the granary in Liangzhou.”
Since Minister Lin is in a difficult position, I, as his guarantor, cannot just talk the talk but walk the walk.
She immediately summoned the head manager of the business and issued a series of instructions.
"Issue my order, which is to be sent to the Liangzhou headquarters by an urgent dispatch: immediately, allocate 300,000 shi of rice from the granaries, load it onto carts, and head north toward Pingzhou."
This is an internal transfer within the business, and there is no need to wait for funds from the imperial court.
“Draft another letter to Minister Lin in the capital,” Bai Lu continued, “telling him that the Anguo Marquis’s Trading Company is grateful for the court’s plan to secure the border and is willing to advance the first batch of 300,000 shi of grain to relieve the immediate crisis.”
The price will be calculated at 10% lower than the price in the Kyoto government warehouses.
"As for the payment, it can be made after the trade becomes profitable in the future."
Please, sir, just take this empty promise and use it to shut up the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War.
"Finally," Bai Lu's gaze sharpened, "she inadvertently revealed the news of my grain transfer from Liangzhou to the largest grain merchants in the capital."
"Just say that the Marquis of Anguo's trading company is going to do a big deal with the imperial court."
Gu Liang looked at Bai Lu, who was strategizing with great skill, and felt immense admiration for her.
This move was absolutely brilliant!
First, the direct transfer of grain from Liangzhou solved the most critical issue of supplies, allowing Gu Liang's plan to start on time.
Secondly, the promise of payment after delivery made Lin Wenbo much more relaxed. He could take Bailu's letter and tell the Ministry of Revenue with confidence: "The grain problem has been solved, and you can save your money!"
Then, the saved budget was used to meet the Ministry of Works' funding requirements.
Then tell the Ministry of War: "Lady White Snake is offering such a large discount just to get a good horse. If you keep nitpicking, you're just messing with Lady White Snake's money!"
Finally, leaking the information to grain merchants was an even more brilliant move.
Grain prices in the capital will inevitably fluctuate as a result. Those who hoped to see the Ministry of Revenue fail will find that not only have they failed to gain business, but they may also suffer heavy losses due to the low prices during the White Dew season...
In the blink of an eye, a seemingly unsolvable deadlock was easily turned around by Bailu, who was far away in Pingzhou!
No wonder so many officials in the imperial court trusted Bailu so much.
Bai Lu is really capable!
Bai Lu sat there calmly and took a sip of tea.
Seeing the young man in front of her admire her so much, she smiled shyly.
I don't have any other skills, but I have plenty of rice in the system store.
So you won't lose money no matter what, but you'll actually make a lot of money.
Bai Lu has been thinking about many new things lately.
The reason they were able to eat white rice in their past life, and at every meal, and because rice was so cheap, was because they had hybrid rice seeds...
In this lifetime, will Bailu be able to find the seeds of this rice and let the people plant it?
Half a month later, when Lin Wenbo received Bai Lu's reply and the promise of advance payment, he was cured of his illness and his back was straight. He slammed the letter on the desk of the Preparatory Office and loudly proclaimed to the representatives from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue:
"The White Snake Lady will take care of the food!"
"Approve the Ministry of Works' funds!"
"Replace the horses from the Ministry of War with the best available! Anyone have any questions?"
The room fell silent.
Looking at the bright red seal of the Anguo Marquis Trading Company on the letter, no one dared to utter another word.
They finally understood firsthand why the legendary Lady White Snake could silence all the officials with just a single sentence.
Because her promise is more effective than the seals on the national treasury...
When news of Bai Lu's promise of payment after delivery reached the capital, and Lin Wenbo was dominating the court, a large caravan had already set off from Liangzhou.
This caravan consisted of three hundred huge four-wheeled wagons, each covered with thick tarpaulins, loaded with top-quality rice from the Bai family's rice shop.
The deep ruts left by the carts stretched for miles, creating an astonishing sight.
However, what was more eye-catching than the goods were the people who escorted the grain.
Leading the procession was a general clad in black iron armor.
His face was cold and stern, with features as sharp as if carved by a knife and axe. His hawk-like eyes revealed no emotion, only a bottomless, icy pool.
He did not ride a tall horse, but walked, with an ancient longsword hanging at his waist.
He is Bai Qi, the most mysterious and feared commander under Bai Lu.
No one knows his origins, only that he suddenly appeared beside Bai Lu a few years ago.
He never smiled, and his attacks were always thunderous. Everyone revered him and called him General Bai Qi.
Bai Lu sent him out to escort 300,000 shi of grain, and her intentions were self-evident.
The procession moved in an orderly fashion. Along the way, whether they were bandits who ruled the mountains or local strongmen with ulterior motives, they all became obedient and dared not have the slightest evil thought when they saw the flag embroidered with white characters and Bai Qi's figure in the distance.
Ten days later, the massive grain transport team finally arrived outside Pingzhou Pass and joined up with Gu Liang's team.
"General Bai, you must be tired from your journey." Gu Liang bowed to this legendary figure, secretly marveling at his abilities.
He could sense the palpable killing intent emanating from Bai Qi; this was definitely someone who had emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
He couldn't help but feel even more awe for Bailu.
Bai Qi simply nodded slightly and said succinctly, "Lady Bai has ordered that the grain has arrived. When shall we proceed with the transaction?"
"It's tomorrow!" Gu Liang exclaimed, his spirits lifting. "Wanyan Zonghan has already sent his younger brother, Wanyan Zongbi, with the tribe to come and take over!"
The following day, a spectacular sight, unseen for a century, unfolded on the vast grasslands outside Pingzhou Pass.
On one side was the Bai family's black grain transport convoy, with three hundred large carts arranged in a huge square formation. The Xuanjia Guards, holding long halberds, stood silently around the formation.
Bai Qi stood at the front of the formation, with Gu Liang, who was also dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, behind him.
On the other side was a dense, dark mass of Jurchen cavalry.
They were ragged and poorly equipped, many of them still using bone arrows and stone axes, but their eyes were as fierce as those of hungry wolves.
The leader was none other than Wanyan Zonghan's fourth brother, the brave and skilled warrior Wanyan Zongbi.
Wanyan Zongbi looked at the well-organized chariot formation and the excellent equipment opposite him, and a trace of apprehension flashed in his eyes.
"You Dawu people, do you really want to use this rice to exchange for our cattle, sheep and horses?" Wanyan Zongbi urged his horse forward and shouted loudly in broken Chinese, his tone full of doubt.
In his view, this was simply a fantasy.
For these tribes, food is more precious than gold.
Gu Liang stepped forward and declared loudly, "The Great Wu Emperor's word is as good as gold! Bai Niangzi's merchant guild is even more honest and trustworthy!"
We have not only rice, but also cloth, tea, and iron pots!
As he spoke, he ordered someone to lift the tarpaulin covering a carriage.
"Wow--"
Many sacks were piled up into a small mountain.
Untie the opening of one of the burlap sacks, and the plump, shiny grains of rice gleamed beautifully in the sunlight.
The rich aroma of rice instantly filled the air, causing all the Jurchen people who smelled it to involuntarily swallow.
Their eyes instantly turned red!
For them, who have made a living by hunting year-round and struggle to survive by gathering and small-scale farming, such high-quality rice is a luxury that only exists in their dreams.
During the long winter, a bowl of steaming hot rice porridge is enough to save an elderly person or child who is freezing and starving to death.
"Rice! It's real rice!"
"My God, so much! Enough for our entire tribe to eat for a whole winter!"
"I can smell it! This is top-quality rice from Liangzhou, not that coarse rice used to feed livestock!"
A huge commotion broke out in the Jurchen ranks. They looked at the mountain of rice sacks and their breathing became heavy.
The initial ferocity and vigilance were instantly replaced by a primal craving for food.
Looting? Why would you loot?
Anyone can do the math: a few slow-moving cows can be exchanged for so much life-saving grain!
Wanyan Zongbi was so excited that his face turned red. He immediately turned around and gave a loud order in Jurchen.
Soon, the Jurchens, leading herds of cattle and sheep and hundreds of warhorses that, though thin, were incredibly stamina, came forward.
The transaction has begun.
Under the fair price set by Gu Liang, bags of rice were handed over to the Jurchen people.
Those soldiers who were usually fierce and menacing were now hugging bags of rice and laughing like children.
They carefully picked up a handful of rice, held it under their noses, took a deep breath, and their faces showed an expression of immense happiness and satisfaction.
Many elderly people were so excited that they knelt on the ground, bowing towards the pile of rice and chanting prayers that were incomprehensible to others.
They were overjoyed!
In previous years, in order to obtain food for the winter, they had to take great risks to plunder the villages of Dawu, and each time they paid a bloody price.
Now, they only need to use the surplus cattle and sheep in the tribe to exchange for peace and sustenance.
Seeing the genuine joy on his people's faces, Wanyan Zongbi felt a deep respect for his elder brother Wanyan Zonghan's decision for the first time.
Perhaps my brother is right; trade can bring a better life to the Jurchens than war.
He looked at Gu Liang and Bai Qi opposite him with a complicated expression.
He knew that from this day forward, the fate of the Jurchens might truly be about to change.
The success of the first transaction caused a huge ripple effect throughout the entire Jurchen tribe.
Those tribes that traded for food became the envy of everyone overnight.
The aroma of steaming hot rice porridge, carried on the cold north wind, is more enticing than any preaching.
So when Gu Liang announced that the second trade fair was about to begin, the entire grassland erupted in excitement!
Half a month later, the market area outside Pingzhou Pass had expanded several times compared to the last time.