Chapter Twenty: The White Cliff Cavern

  ōta Senko-su.

  Ran Zhihuan glared at Lin Chunhong's letter, his anger burning, and couldn't help but curse: "Does this old man think I'm afraid to attack Jiheyan? These bastards have eaten bear hearts and leopard gall!" After finishing, he slapped the table with a loud bang, causing the exquisite porcelain on it to ring out in a series of clangs. It turned out that Lin Chunhong had written in the letter that the people of Sichuan had blocked two mountain passes, making it impossible for lumber to be transported out, which greatly affected their business, and Ran Zhihuan could not tolerate this.

  "Go, order the personal troops to immediately recall all personnel, no one is allowed to go out and fight again!" Ruan Zhihuan ordered his subordinates. At this time, a close guard came in and said that General Yang Chengwan of the Sichuan government office had asked to see him.

  "Old man was just looking for him, hurry up and get this son of a bitch in here!"

  Yang Chengwan did not rush in, but instead tidied up his collar after receiving the order and made an effort to calm himself down before walking in through the door led by his personal guards.

  "Is that so? Are Lao's orders just farting?" Ruan Zhihuan scolded, seeing Yang Chengwan kowtowing on the ground.

  Yang Chengwan lowered his head even further and said, "General Qian, please calm your anger and listen to my explanation. Originally, I didn't plan on taking revenge on the White Cliff Cave, but Yang Qing stirred up trouble everywhere, and it was impossible for me to suppress him. Yang Qing led his troops out to battle on his own accord. When I saw this, I could only order him not to attack the Han people at the Isolated River Rock. Who would have thought that he would be attacked by the Han people instead?"

  "Yang Qing that bastard blocked the two mountain passes, and the Han people on the other side of the river had no way to live. Of course, they would counterattack." Ruan Zhihuan's words were obviously biased towards Lin Chunhong and others. This made Yang Chengwan even more determined to cooperate with the Han people. That was how the world worked - if you couldn't beat them, you surrendered. National sentiment and national interests were just empty talk; only when Yang Chengwan benefited did it become real. Moreover, causing trouble with the Han people would be a huge loss for national interests.

  "Quickly call back Yang Qing, this scoundrel has recklessly initiated hostilities, please sir handle it!"

  This remark brought a smile to Ruan Zhihuan's face, and he helped Yang Chengwan up, saying with a heavy heart: "Don't worry, I'll send someone to bring back Yang Qing. I also know that you have a grudge against Baijidong, but as the saying goes, 'it's better to resolve grievances than to create new ones'. Let's just forget about this past grievance. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to get along and make a fortune together? Look at Baijidong, after cooperating with the Han people, they've all become rich, even some of the poor villagers are wearing silk clothes now. What about you, Sichuan, one by one, you're all so poor that your pockets are empty. Go back now, go back and have a good talk with Lin Chunhong, see if you can sell your goods to him, and let your clansmen live a few more days of good life."

  These words made Yang Chengwan feel at ease, finally eliminating the hidden danger of Yang Qing, and the anger of his clansmen could only be vented on the body of Da Tian Qianhu.

  Yang Qing retreated with his troops and returned to Si Nan, where he was immediately taken away by the soldiers of Da Tian. As for how to deal with him, it would be decided by Yang Chengwan and Ruan Zhihuan. The relationship between Bai Jue Dong and Ge He Yan had reached a certain level, and this time they had forged a deep friendship in their joint battle. Now that Si Nan's troops had retreated, they were overjoyed. The resentment of Bai Jue Dong, who had been oppressed for many years, was also swept away. Peng Jian and Peng Xin invited the Han people from Ge He Yan to visit Bai Jue Dong as guests. Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang did not decline the invitation and led their men to arrive on schedule. Now the elders of Bai Jue Dong also understood that since Peng Xin had established a connection with the Han people, they could no longer compete with him. However, if they could establish good relations with the Han people, they could improve their status and gain wealth. Therefore, all the elders tried their best to fawn on these Han people.

  Lin Chunhong and others ate at the east house, then went to the west house, drinking at Zhang's house and then going to Li's house, making these men who had just walked out of the fields extremely excited. To show respect for the guests, the meat served was cut into large pieces, wine was served in large bowls, and each table had eleven dishes, all made with sweet glutinous rice wine that was pure and not too strong. What surprised these men even more was that the people here wore no distinction between male and female clothing, all liking to wear bright, vibrant, eye-catching red clothes. Of course, many of the rich people here wore Han Chinese clothes, taking pride in wearing Han Chinese clothes and learning Chinese characters, constantly flashing back and forth in front of Lin Chunhong and others.

  That day, just as Lin Chunhong was eating meat and drinking wine under the hospitality of Peng Jian and others, he suddenly heard a drumbeat. When asked, it turned out that someone had died in Baiyadong and was holding a "jump funeral". Lin Chunhong and others were very interested and went to watch.

  At the deceased's home, in front of the memorial tablet, the deceased's children stood with their heads bowed, each holding a bamboo stick wrapped with white paper strips, called "mourning sticks". Peng Xin stood sideways to the left of the memorial tablet, facing it. All the onlookers were dressed in bright red and stared at Peng Xin. Peng Xin wore a black long shirt, a black Taoist hat on his head, and a cowhide drum slung around his neck, standing quietly in front of the deceased's spirit, looking up silently. He raised a cup of wine with one hand, poured some onto the ground, then into his mouth, drinking it all at once. Then, he took two drumsticks in his hands, and like a conductor, suddenly waved his hand, followed by six beats of the drum: boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom! His hand waved again, and instantly the silk strings, cymbals, and drums sounded together like an orchestra, shaking the house and mountain slope, with the suona's sound slicing through the night sky like a soft sword, echoing and lingering.

  Peng Xin started to dance, his two feet in the shape of an "eight" slightly spread out to the left and right. Following the rhythm of the music, he kicked his legs, turned right, took a step, turned left, took a step, waved his hands and beat the drum, singing loudly and freely: "Sa Er Ha - Open Heaven - Heaven has eight trigrams. Open Earth - Earth has five directions. Our ancestors are above, our happy land is below. Our ancestors opened up the territory, we people guard the land and farm. Sa Er Ha -"

  The cymbal and drum team responded in unison.

  Suddenly, four men emerged from the crowd, stepping in unison, following Peng Xin to dance and sing: "No need to be sad, no need to hurt, let's come together to sing. People come to this world to suffer, but when they leave, they enter heaven. Sa Er Ha - early departure is early birth, we'll accompany each other again in the next life. Sa Er Ha -"

  The loud and cheerful singing, the robust and valiant dancing steps, made Lin Chunhong and others as if in a trance, reluctant to leave.

  Lin Chunhong and others returned to Geheyan with the passion of Baiyadong, this passion included more than 100 archers and more than 100 brave men, making Lin Chunhong's combat personnel exceed 300 people. It was these 300 people who gave the Han people in Geheyan a sense of security and more longing for the future.

  It was unexpected for Lin Chunhong that Si Nan's enthusiasm also came. Yang Chengwan sent his confidant Lu Yi to discuss cooperation with Lin Chunhong. As for the cooperation, everyone had no objection, after all, the precedent of Bai Ya Cave was here, and the people of Geheyan had already tasted the sweetness from the transaction, and they would not refuse to trade with more people in Si Nan. The only disagreement is about training strong men in Si Nan and how to implement the transaction operation.

  Zhou Wang's opinion was that the people of Si Nan and Bai Ya Dong had a grudge, and if they were to join forces, it would only lead to conflict and be detrimental to the battle. It would be better not to let them come at all. However, an agreement must be made: once the people on the other side of the river needed help from Si Nan, they must provide strong soldiers. This point was agreed upon by Lin Chun Hong, and so it was done.

  But the controversy among everyone lies in the way of trading.

  "This place of Geheyan is too small, now the wood is piled up like a mountain, and there are many local specialties, it's crowded, if people from Sichuan come, problems will definitely arise."

  "We have too few people and no way to go into the mountains to collect local specialties. There are also too few ships, and we can't keep up."

  "Going into the mountains isn't safe either, there are fierce beasts and whatnot, besides, who can say for sure whether they'll be attacked by these savage locals."

  ……

  These problems left Lin Chunhong and his companions at a loss, with everyone arguing for half a day without any clue.

  Guo Mingyan thought about the idea of building a warehouse in his heart for half a day, and said: "Why do we need to go and collect it ourselves? Just like wood, let the people of Baixi Cave transport it to Geheyan themselves. I think it's better to build a warehouse at Geheyan, and whatever the barbarians have, they can bring it to sell, and we'll buy what we see is good. We'll also put our own things there, and they can buy what they need."

  As soon as this was said, everyone burst into discussion, all thinking it was a good idea. Lin Chunhong also looked at Guo Mingyan with joy, thinking that as the business grew bigger, the people below were gradually maturing. Lin Chunhong said: "Since the place of Jiheyan is small, I think it's better to build several warehouses along the Qingjiang River, and let the locals transport their local products and wood to the nearest warehouse, we just need to manage the warehouse well."

  "When trading with the Hu people, all the markets have to pay taxes. We can also collect money, one or two percent of the transaction amount is fine! It's just that some of the money has to be shared with Ruan Zhihuan, otherwise he might not agree to our building a warehouse." Zhou Wang said, who had dealt with the nomadic tribes in the north many times.

  Lin Chunhong thought to himself: No matter what the excuse for collecting money is, this is already eroding the imperial court's right to collect taxes. Perhaps, gradually replacing the incompetent and inefficient local government will start from the warehouse. He turned his head to look at Zhou Wang, only to find that Zhou Wang was smiling at him with narrowed eyes. It turned out that Zhou Wang wasn't speaking carelessly, and he probably also knew what collecting money meant.

  After discussion, the crowd decided to build warehouses in three places: Duck Mouth, Small Bay and隔河岩, and set a management fee of one tenth. Everyone was a bit puzzled by the collection of one-tenth management fee from their own homes, thinking that it was just money moving from left hand to right hand. Lin Chunhong thought: Each warehouse, logging team, and transportation fleet is an independent accounting unit for profit and loss, and if no management fee is collected, it cannot be reflected which team makes the most money. Moreover, after the warehouses are built, not only will the locals come, but also Han people from Yiling and Jingzhou will gradually increase, and it is easy to manage by uniformly collecting management fees, so everyone did not raise any objections.

  Lin Chunhong looked at the rough map, and his eyes were fixed on the three places where the Qingjiang River flowed into the Yangtze River: Duck Mouth, Small Bay, and Isolated Rock. He felt extremely proud in his heart, and said to Zhou Wang, "All the local people near the Qingjiang River will definitely be tempted by our offer, and they will all come to log wood and trade with us. Once we start trading, these locals will not want to go back to their isolated lives. With time, the entire Qingjiang River will be under our control." Zhou Wang also smiled complacently.

  What Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang did not expect was that not only did the local people come out of the mountains to trade, but a large number of Han Chinese also flocked here, attracted by the rich products and good management. They traded with the local people, some even settled down here, intermarried with them, and after many years, the local people had become indistinguishable from the Han Chinese, greatly accelerating their sinicization process. But that's a story for later, let's not talk about it now.

  Peng Xin is now very idle, and his transactions with the Han people no longer require him to be personally involved. However, this idleness makes him feel uncomfortable. Although he has read Han poetry books, he hasn't formed the habit of reciting poems or composing verses. Moreover, even if he wanted to do so, he couldn't find anyone to share it with. Furthermore, his trips to Yiling and Jingzhou with Lin Chunhong have made his heart restless. What he doesn't know is that the peaceful life in the Qingjiang River valley will soon be disrupted by Lin Chunhong and others, and he is just the first person who can't adapt to this idle life. As a result of trading with the Han people, some clever and skilled individuals have become prominent, arousing jealousy in others. Under the influence of jealous thoughts, most people have become restless, with some going to cut wood, others weaving bamboo products, and even planting oranges on the mountain slopes. The land that produces grain is just enough to satisfy their food needs. At first, women also joined in gathering herbs and farming activities. Although everyone feels more tired than before, seeing new clothes on their children and their wives counting copper coins makes them feel that this exhaustion is somewhat worthwhile.

  Peng Xin would not be satisfied with this, as a restless person or an ambitious person, after his horizons had been broadened, he was especially dissatisfied with his current life. Clan leader? That must have been his goal, but did he plan to spend the rest of his life like that? Being the king of Night Lang country? After careful consideration, he felt that Lin Chunhong, although just a merchant, currently spoke more effectively than Rang Zhihuan, so he decided to temporarily follow Lin Chunhong and do something, and then figure out a way later.

  Peng Xin's initiative made Lin Chunhong extremely happy, and the unpleasantness of before was thrown away to Java. Lin Chunhong held Peng Xin's hand and said: "If Elder Peng can come out and do things, what else do I have to worry about? Now I'm worried that I couldn't find a manager for the Duck Mouth Warehouse, why don't you take the position first?" Peng Xin happily agreed, indicating that he was satisfied as long as he could do something.

  Lin Chunhong handed over a stack of paper to Peng Xin, which was filled with tiny characters, and said: "Peng Laoxian, don't be in a hurry first, help me take a look at this thing and see if there's anything that needs to be changed?"

  Peng Xin took the paper and saw that it was titled "Warehouse Management Rules". As he flipped through the pages, he found that it covered topics such as warehouse location selection, organizational structure, personnel management, financial management, security management, reward and punishment management, and more. It was like a comprehensive encyclopedia for warehouses, covering everything from pricing principles to wage distribution, the responsibilities of the general manager, and the establishment of departments. The more Peng Xin read, the more he felt that it was thoroughly thought out, with many items containing profound truths. Peng Xin was deeply impressed and sighed, "I used to think that Old Lin had only stumbled upon this lucrative logging business by chance, but now I realize that Old Lin has a deep understanding of the industry, and I must admit that I am truly in awe."

  "This wasn't something I came up with, it was Li Chongde, a scholar from Yiling State, and I who discussed and created this thing. Li Chongde is also a talented person, you all should get to know him better later. And don't rush to praise it, Peng Zhanglao, we need to take a closer look to see if there's anything unreasonable about it. This is just a draft, and we still need to discuss and revise it together."

  Peng Xin knew that to make Lin Chunhong take him seriously, he definitely needed his own ideas. So he took another close look and said: "Now it seems that the warehouse is equivalent to a large market. Since it's a market, there must be places to eat, drink and have fun. Why not add a wine shop? On the one hand, you can make money, on the other hand, you can also keep people inside, and the possibility of buying and selling transactions will be even greater."

  Lin Chunhong shouted in approval, saying: "Old Man Peng is indeed a wise man. It's better for everyone to discuss together. One person can't think of everything. Old Man Peng should think it over carefully and bring up all the suggestions at once." Peng Xin agreed happily, feeling that his choice was correct after all. Lin Chunhong was truly an outstanding individual, and his future achievements would definitely not be limited to this.

  Then Peng Xin had a different idea, considering that Lin Chunhong was not yet married and he happened to have a daughter who was only 28 years old and waiting to be married. Why not marry her to Lin Chunhong? But then he thought that Lin Chunhong was a Han Chinese and didn't know if he would look down on his own daughter. After thinking about it, he gave up this idea and thought of finding two women with good looks and gentle temperament among the tribespeople to be Lin Chunhong's maidservants.