novelSusiti Chapter 7 Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers
Chapter 7 Scattering Beans to Create Soldiers
Can beans be turned into soldiers?
No, this is food appearing out of thin air!
Such methods are unheard of and unseen.
Is it a deity? Or sorcery?
Li Zhao walked calmly to Zhao Yun and patted his stiff shoulder.
"Zilong, load it onto the truck."
Zhao Yun took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the turmoil in his heart.
He gave Li Zhao a deep look.
No matter where the grain came from, as long as it can save lives, it is good grain.
As long as Li Zhao uses it to save the people, Zhao Yun will acknowledge him as his elder brother.
"Load it onto the truck!"
Zhao Yun shouted in a deep voice.
As if waking from a dream, everyone hurriedly began moving the sacks.
Twenty bushels of grain filled two large carts.
The atmosphere was unusually somber on the way back.
No one dared to speak, or even breathe loudly.
Everyone would steal glances at Li Zhao, who was walking at the front, their eyes filled with awe.
Upon reaching the back gate of the county temple, Li Zhao stopped, looked up, and whispered:
"What happened tonight..."
"Keep it inside."
Zhao Yun picked up the conversation, and said coldly:
"Anyone who dares to divulge even a single word will be court-martialed!"
Everyone responded in unison.
After that night.
Twenty local militiamen who witnessed the "miracle" were scattered by Zhao Yun and incorporated into the newly established agricultural settlement team, where they were appointed as squad leaders.
The way these people looked at Li Zhao was no longer just out of awe for their superior, but more like they were looking at a deity walking among mortals.
They were not talkative, but they worked harder and were more stern when dealing with the newly arrived refugees.
"Straighten your backs! The Ming court provides you with food, not to feed you good-for-nothings!"
A dark-faced squad leader kicked a lazy man in the buttocks, slammed his old spear on the ground, and cursed as he spoke.
"Look at that pot of porridge! It's so thick that chopsticks stuck in it won't fall over! Such fine food is only possible because of the benevolence of our Ming court. Elsewhere, you would have been slaughtered like lambs!"
The man wasn't annoyed. He got up, chuckled, wiped his sweat, and picked up his hoe to start digging again.
He completely disregarded the attitude of the dark-faced squad leader towards him.
In this day and age, what's a few kicks compared to having enough to eat?
On the wasteland in the southeast of the city, most of the 700 acres of weeds have been cleared.
The dark brown soil was turned over by the plow, and a faint earthy smell slowly wafted out. The ditches were being dredged, and the water conservancy project, which had been quiet for two years, began to operate again.
Li Zhao stood on the edge of the field, looking at everything before him.
Behind him, Zhang He, the steward of the Zhang family, could no longer maintain his fake smile.
For the past ten days or so, Zhang He has come every day.
At first, he came to laugh at the spectacle, then he came to find fault, and now, he's genuinely scared.
These refugees no longer look nearly dead like they did when they first arrived in the city.
Their eyes gleamed, their bodies were muscular, and they worked as if they knew nothing of fatigue.
What alarmed Zhang He even more were the two large pots.
Since he arrived here, the two large pots seem to have never stopped burning, and the daily output of more than ten bushels of grain is like a bottomless pit, with no way out.
Is Li Zhao's granary really that large?
"Manager Zhang," Li Zhao suddenly spoke, without turning around.
Zhang He was startled and quickly bowed: "What are the Ming court's orders?"
"How are the grain prices in the city these days?"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Zhang He's forehead.
"Reporting to the Ming court... they have lowered their prices somewhat."
"How much has it dropped?"
"A peck of rice... 110 coins."
Li Zhao chuckled softly.
"It's still too expensive."
He turned around and looked at Zhang He's apprehensive face.
"Go back and tell Zhang Gong to wait a little longer. After the autumn harvest, when the new grain comes in, the price will drop further."
Zhang He nodded meekly and fled from the ridge of the field as if escaping.
Zhao Yun walked over from not far away, his boots covered in mud.
"Brother Li, the Zhang family is afraid."
"Good that they're scared." Li Zhao gazed into the distance. "They'll only act if they're scared. If they don't act, how will I find fault with them?"
Zhao Yun didn't respond to that, but instead said:
"More than 300 migrants have registered today. At this rate, these 700 mu of land won't be enough to go around."
Li Zhao brought up the system panel and took a look.
[Li Zhao, Magistrate of Pingyuan]
[Registered population within the jurisdiction (including migrants): 15682]
Daily rice production: 15682 liters
Current grain reserves: 62350 shi (a unit of dry measure).
The population is growing rapidly, and grain reserves are increasing exponentially.
But just as Zhao Yun had worried, there wasn't enough land.
Seven hundred acres of land can only accommodate four or five hundred able-bodied men at most. The remaining ten thousand or so elderly, weak, women and children cannot be supported indefinitely.
"Zilong, what do you think Pingyuan County lacks?"
Zhao Yun thought for a moment: "We lack soldiers and armor, and we lack horses."
"That's what the army lacks," Li Zhao shook his head. "What do the common people lack?"
"We lack clothing and shelter."
"Not bad." Li Zhao pointed to the messy shacks at the foot of the city wall.
"Among those women, many knew how to spin hemp and weave cloth. Among the elderly and infirm, there were also those skilled in carpentry and masonry."
"Organize them. The women will spin cloth, and the elderly will build houses."
"Where does the hemp come from? Where does the timber come from?"
Li Zhao smiled and turned his gaze to the north of the city.
"The Zhou family in the north of the city, they're in the cloth and timber business, right?"
Zhao Yun's eyes narrowed: "You want to take action against the Zhou family?"
"No rush." Li Zhao waved his hand. "Let's be polite first, then resort to force. Tomorrow, send someone to the Zhou family and tell them that the county government wants to purchase hemp and ramie timber. As usual, let them buy on credit first, and settle the accounts in the fall."
Zhao Yun frowned slightly: "The Zhou family and the Zhang family are related by marriage, they're practically inseparable. Zhang Mao suffered a setback, so the Zhou family might not be willing to extend credit."
"If he won't give me credit, then I have a reason to contact him."
Li Zhao said calmly:
"In this world, it's hard to be a good person. But it's too easy to find something to use against a bad person."
The Zhang residence in the east of the city.
The atmosphere in the study was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
One of the walnuts that Zhang Mao had been playing with for decades was crushed with a "crack".
Zhang He knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe.
Sitting next to him was a plump middle-aged man, Zhou Tong, the head of the Zhou family in the north of the city.
"It's been half a month." Zhang Mao's voice was so somber it could drip water.
"For a full two weeks, that granary belonging to the Li family was like a dragon palace connected to the East Sea; no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't fill it!"
Zhou Tong wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a bitter face:
"Uncle Zhang, this can't go on. Today, someone from the county government came and demanded 3,000 catties of hemp and 500 logs on credit. They're trying to uproot us!"
"If he wants it, you'll give it to him?" Zhang Mao glanced at him coldly.
"How could I dare! I refused, saying there was no stock in the warehouse. But the person said that if I didn't agree to credit, Li Mingting would personally come to 'borrow' it tomorrow."
Zhou Tong was on the verge of tears.
"Uncle, Li Zhao now has grain and men at his disposal, and he's protected by that ruthless Zhao Yun. What should we do if he really resorts to force?"
Zhang Mao closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He lost his bet.
Whether Li Zhao had Gongsun Zan behind him or not is no longer important.
Importantly, Li Zhao has now established a firm foothold in Pingyuan County.
Those ten thousand-plus refugees are now Li Zhao's knives. Anyone who dares to touch Li Zhao's grain supply will face their wrath.
"Any news from Ji County?" Zhang Mao asked.
Zhang He hurriedly replied, "My lord, our letter has vanished without a trace. We have heard that General Gongsun suffered a defeat at Panhe and is currently in a state of great distress, so he is probably too preoccupied to attend to us."
Zhang Mao sneered.
"If we can't rely on the government, we can only rely on ourselves."
He opened his eyes, a ruthless glint flashing in his triangular eyes.
"Nephew Zhou, haven't you been in contact with the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion at Woniu Mountain outside the city?"