Chapter 18: Conquering Sichuan

  Lin Chunhong also wanted to probe Li Chongde's views on the art of valuation, so he asked: "I have some questions to ask you, sir. For example, if there is a city with a circumference of ten miles, and we only buy goods from within the city without selling any goods to it, what consequences will arise?"

  Li Chongde replied casually: "A large amount of silver is hoarded, and commodity prices are soaring."

  "What if we only sell goods to it but don't buy goods from it?"

  "Silver is in short supply, goods cannot be bought or sold, and prices are falling! These problems are too simple, Old Master Lin must be testing me? For a place, the inflow and outflow of silver should be roughly equal, otherwise there will be no problem."

  Li Chongde's answer shocked Lin Chunhong, who did not expect that someone in this era would understand the relationship between exports and imports. Lin Chunhong continued to ask: "Why does the phenomenon of buying and selling goods exist in this world? Do merchants really make contributions to the country?"

  "Merchants are indispensable!" Li Chongde replied very affirmatively, "For example, the Han people make porcelain, and the barbarians raise sheep. One Han person can make as much porcelain in a year as three barbarians cannot produce, but one barbarian can harvest as many sheep in a year as three Han people may not be able to complete. If the Han people and the barbarians do not exchange goods, then four Han people and four barbarians would be needed to meet each other's needs; however, if they exchange with each other, two Han people and two barbarians can satisfy both parties' needs, thus saving half of the labor force. Of course, a merchant is still needed in the middle to transport goods, but it's better than not exchanging at all, as it saves labor. This is where the role of merchants comes in."

  Lin Chunhong was so impressed that he knelt down on the ground and said, "Sir, you are a great talent, but living in seclusion in the countryside is really a waste. You should write books and make your voice heard!"

  Li Chongde helped Lin Chunhong up and said, "Talking on paper is not worth mentioning! I have nothing to do with it, so I like to ponder the value of this goods, but let Mr. Lin laugh at me."

  "Since the master thinks he is all talk and no action, I have set up a warehouse in Yiling to engage in that business. Why doesn't the master go there often to give guidance? And incidentally write books and make speeches."

  Li Chongde laughed and said: "Old Lin is really good at plotting, going around in such a big circle, just to get me to help you with things!"

  "You are a straightforward person, I hope you won't mind teaching me!"

  "I'd rather obey than show respect."

  Lin Chunhong was overjoyed, seeing Li Chongde's family was poor, he took out 20 taels of silver and solemnly placed it in Li Chongde's hands, saying this was the betrothal gift. Li Chongde did not refuse, and accepted it calmly. This made Lin Chunhong even more appreciative, as this was the normal psychology of someone skilled in valuing goods.

  Lin Chunhong also understood that Li Chongde should be good at planning, but weak in specific matters. However, without experience in specific matters, his plans would inevitably have some bias. So he arranged for Li Chongde to first assist Lin Deshao in managing the warehouse well, and later arrange other suitable positions.

  Lin Chunhong also instructed Lin Deshao that every month, Li Chongde's salary would be 5 taels of silver, and let him do whatever he wanted without restriction. Lin Deshao followed his instructions, after all, a scholar's reputation could intimidate the vast majority of ordinary people.

  As Zheng Tiancheng continued to transport wood, Lin Chunhong's silver grew more abundant. He personally went to Baili Zhou and bought over 10,000 mu of good land for only 10,000 taels of silver. Nearly one-fifth of the farming households in Baili Zhou became Lin Chunhong's tenants. Due to the bandits' rampant activities, many farmers fled, leaving their fields abandoned. Lin Chunhong also couldn't find people to cultivate them, so he left them abandoned.

  The warehouse in Baili Zhou had already been established, but for now, it was only used to store wood. According to Lin Chunhong's orders, good-quality wood suitable for shipbuilding was accumulated, and a special person was hired to process it, making it convenient for future use. Lin Chunhong also recruited over 300 people from Yiling and Jingzhou, bringing them to Gehouyan with Zheng Tiancheng.

  Zhou Wang selected over 40 people from the group of over 300 to join the combat team, training diligently every day.

  There are nearly a thousand people near the Isolation Rock now, and Lin Chunhong has established two more teams. As there were more and more people, conflicts often occurred in the woodcutting area, so Lin Chunhong led three teams to open up a second region for woodcutting, which was already under the jurisdiction of the Da Tian Thousand Households, but no one came to manage it.

  In addition, Bai Ya Cave also made the terms brought by Peng Xin a reality after intense debate. Not only did they sell various local products including wood, but they also dispatched sixty strong and skilled archers to follow Zhou Wang's command. At this point, Zhou Wang had nearly 150 men under his command, training every day with loud shouts echoing through the valley. These shouts also made the loggers feel at ease, after all, someone was specifically protecting their safety.

  The things that Baiyadong needs most are iron tools and salt, but Lin Chunhong has no way to satisfy them, so he can only transport some farm tools, ceramics, handicrafts and other things that can be bought into Baiyadong, and bring the local products of Baiyadong such as Chinese herbal medicine, bamboo crafts and animal hides to Yiling State. Now Lin Chunhong's favorite thing to do is to count the boats and rafts on the Qingjiang River mouth, just like a miser counting his gold coins every day. Due to the increasingly heavy transportation tasks, Zheng Tiancheng's transportation team has expanded to sixty people, and they are busy beyond measure.

  Lin Chunhong is most anxious about the large amount of silver accumulated in his hands that he can't spend. Lin Chunhong knows that if the accumulated silver cannot be invested, it's as good as nothing. Now, wanting to train troops, he can only do so secretly and quietly, not daring to recruit on a large scale. Wanting to invest, but unable to find talented individuals who can take charge, leaves Lin Chunhong in a dilemma.

  Even with a multitude of tasks to attend to, Lin Chunhong did not forget to deal with Si Nan. Although Si Nan had temporarily not provoked him, Si Nan's formidable strength was always a threat. Through a period of probing, Lin Chunhong's understanding of Si Nan grew deeper and deeper.

  Sinnan is located on the banks of Qingjiang River. Qingjiang, also known as Yi Water in ancient times, was the ancestral home where the ancestors of the Ba people multiplied and expanded outward. "The water is clear and bright for ten zhang, people see its clarity, hence the name Qingjiang." It originates from Qi Yue Mountain and flows into the Yangtze River at Lucheng in Yidu. Known as the 800-li Qingjiang Gallery, it winds eastward, almost parallel to the Yangtze River. The valley is majestic, the stone screens are towering, the murals are mysterious, and the waterfalls are flying, making people linger and forget to return. The Sinnan Longguan Temple is located on the banks of the Longwang River, a tributary of Qingjiang River. There is alluvial sand here that can be developed for irrigation agriculture, so the population of Sinnan Longguan Temple is prosperous compared to other temples in the surrounding area. Moreover, most of the people in Sinnan Longguan Temple are Miao people, and due to ethnic hatred and economic interests, they often bully many indigenous people with their power.

  Yang Chengwan is the head of the Sina Longguan, about 40 years old. After a series of plots, he replaced his brother Yang Siwan as the clan leader in less than five years. Since Yang Chengwan took the throne, the people of Sina have been purged and traitors have been suppressed, while externally they have been threatened by the Baijiedong, resulting in bloodshed and turmoil. Yang Chengwan is a capable person who has tightly controlled the Sina Longguan for five years and has a close relationship with Commander Ruan Zhihuan of the Datian Garrison, even marrying his daughter to Ruan as a concubine, earning great favor from him.

  After deep consideration, Lin Chunhong decided to take advantage of Si Nan's psychology of revenge and hatred, fight a battle on his own chosen battlefield, make them dare not have other thoughts, take the opportunity to force Si Nan's official department with momentum, strive to incorporate Si Nan into his own system.

  After the defeat of Si Nan, he brought back a batch of corpses. Yang Chengwan's face turned iron blue. Originally, more than 50 people were dispatched to pursue Peng Xin in Bai Jia Cave, but unexpectedly, they harvested a pile of corpses. The confidant of Yang Chengwan's elder brother was whispering there, saying that this is the biggest defeat in ten years, which fundamentally affected the reputation and interests of Si Nan Changguan. If we had known this earlier, why didn't we avoid conflict with Bai Jia Cave from the beginning?

  These remarks cannot be ignored by Yang Chengwan, reality forces Yang Chengwan to retaliate, otherwise the opposition that has been pressed down with great difficulty will stir again. However, Yang Chengwan did not lose his rationality due to anger, and after summoning the survivors for questioning, he found out that it was a group of Han people who were responsible for this good deed. Yang Chengwan had known long ago that a group of Han people had arrived at Geliyan, numbering over a hundred, to cut down trees; at first, it didn't concern him, and Yang Chengwan hadn't paid attention to it. Now that they have bullied him to the extreme, he really can't tolerate it. Therefore, he sent out two groups of people: one group to gather information about the Han people, and another group to go to the Datianqianhu suo to try to persuade them to turn a blind eye.

  Unexpectedly, the news brought by two groups of people made him anxious: there were nearly 500 Han people now, most of whom were military households from Datian. And Ruan Zhihuan not only hummed and hawed about it but also advised him to let bygones be bygones. Yang Chengwan thought that the loggers must be Ruan Zhihuan's men. In that case, he might as well let Ruan Zhihuan admit it was a misunderstanding, which would also give his clansmen an explanation, and his brother's trusted followers wouldn't dare oppose the Han people. So he went to Datian in person to discuss this with Ruan Zhihuan, but Ruan Zhihuan refused to acknowledge that the loggers were his men and even asked him to swallow this insult and be a good leader. Yang Chengwan had no choice but to ask his daughter to whisper some pillow talk. However, when he learned that his daughter was slapped twice by Ruan Zhihuan for bringing up the matter, he made a decision: just focus on finding trouble with Baiyadong and pretend the Han people didn't exist, which would also calm down his clansmen's anger.

  But the news brought back by the scouts made him even more furious: Baiyadong not only sent strong men to train with the Han people, but also bought and sold a large number of iron tools and other goods from the Han people. Now Baiyadong has become the richest native tribe in the area. Yang Chengwan was a calm person, thinking that since the Han people could cooperate with Baiyadong, they would not refuse to cooperate with Sina, after all, Sina had tens of thousands of people, and as long as they were not fools, they knew how to make choices.

  But now the only trouble is that the tribesmen are now furious and cannot be suppressed. Yang Chengwan was clear, from the time the people of Sichuan were killed to now it has been more than two months, because he had not taken any action, many tribesmen were dissatisfied. Now he personally decided on a general plan to cooperate with the Han people, but whether he could persuade the tribesmen still required some means.

  Yang Chengwan was deep in thought when a sudden commotion came from outside the window. Yang Chengwan became extremely annoyed and loudly asked, "What's going on?" The guards hastily entered and replied, "Yang Qing brought a group of people and said he wanted to see you. We didn't let him in, so he's making a scene out there!"

  Yang Chengwan was about to order his personal soldiers to throw Yang Qing out, when suddenly a brilliant idea flashed in his mind: Yang Qing was Yang Siwan's confidant, and he had been the most enthusiastic about causing trouble these past few days. He claimed that if the leader allowed him to lead a thousand men, he would definitely defeat the Han people and the people of Baiyadong, making them search for their teeth on the ground. Since Yang Qing wanted to fight, then let him fight. If they won, it wouldn't affect the overall situation; if they lost, it would conveniently eliminate a major hidden danger. Yang Chengwan sneered: "Summon him in!"

  Yang Qing fell to the ground and said with a bitter tone: "Tribe leader, we can't let Baiyue Cave and the Han people go unpunished anymore. The tribespeople are disobedient and demand revenge, especially the relatives of the deceased who cry every day. If we don't send someone, Sizhou will be unstable!"

  Yang Chengwan hastily helped Yang Qing up, saying: "Yang Shuban's loyalty is well-known to me, how could I not understand? The reason why we have not sent troops yet is because the enemy situation was unclear. Now that we have investigated clearly, there are more than 500 Han people, and Baiyadong still has over a thousand strong men left, all of whom are now gathered at Jieheyan!"

  Yang Qing did not get up and said with a fist: "Yang Qing is willing to avenge his clansmen!"

  "Yang Shu Bao Hao Yong Qi, I don't know how much courage you need?"

  "A thousand men is enough! Think about it, the White Cliff Cave was already our defeated general. Although there are many Han people, who among them can be a match for our brave warriors in these mountains and valleys?"

  Yang Chengwan was overjoyed and shouted loudly: "Get Yang Shuban some wine! Our clan is in dire need of such a brave warrior! Now there are more than 600 people from your clan, I will add another 400 people to you. You lead the vanguard with 1,000 men. I will lead the other strong and able-bodied men as reinforcements. What do you think, Yang Shuban?"

  Yang Qing's heart was stirred, and he said loudly: "I am willing to die for my people!"

  Yang Siwan and Yang Qing repeatedly discussed and thought that Yang Chengwan was determined to suppress this matter, taking advantage of the opportunity to sow discord among their people, making them dissatisfied with Yang Chengwan. Unexpectedly, Yang Chengwan now also wants revenge and appoints Yang Qing as the vanguard, both are overjoyed, thinking they can take control of the power of a thousand people's direct lineage, even if they can't get the position of head of the clan, it's enough to protect themselves. Although Yang Chengwan appointed Li Cailu to be in charge of grain and fodder, Yang Siwan and Yang Qing both think that Yang Chengwan doesn't dare to tamper with the grain and fodder, otherwise their people will definitely be dissatisfied and may even rebel. Yang Siwan and Yang Qing now actually hope that Yang Chengwan does such a foolish thing. But what they don't know is that there are three or four hundred military households of the Han people's Tian Huo Wei, even if they win, they will suffer from Tian Huo's crazy revenge, and Yang Chengwan can hand over Yang Qing and Yang Siwan to atone for their crimes.

  Yang Qing had been drilling his troops and feeding his horses every day since receiving the order, waiting for the expedition.