Section Forty-two Rewards and Punishments

  The bank is just a social institution in Yun's dream, and it is impossible for him to set up such a huge institution with his own ability. First, he has no money; second, he has no power; third, he has no connections, and most importantly, he lacks the necessary social experience. So, all he can do is just think about it. Now, selling Li Chengqian away is already the best he can do.

  The Crown Prince's charisma was not for nothing. In just ten days, the wealthy families, big clans, and merchants had risked their lives to collect grain, and the large and small grain carts almost submerged the Left Guard's camp. No one mentioned money anymore; they only hoped to catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince, even if His Highness might not see them himself. Just being able to sit in the Crown Prince's tent and receive a bowl of tea was enough to satisfy them.

  The terrifying imperial education had really warped him. Li Chengqian sat high on his throne, wearing full court attire, as every ten grain merchants underwent strict body searches before entering the tent to converse with His Highness. It wasn't so much a conversation as it was the Crown Prince lecturing, his slow speech, elegant tone, precise gestures, and warm smile making Yun Hen vomit three times over.

  The merchants, wealthy families, and big clans were all deeply impressed and respectful. Look at this clan leader wearing Confucian robes, listening to the Crown Prince's words as if drinking fine wine, frequently nodding his head, and practicing horseback riding while sitting on a cushion; even Yun Hen, who had undergone military training for half a year, felt ashamed.

  That one was already beyond help. The chill of autumn couldn't suppress the boiling blood, which had already reached the point of emitting steam, with white mist rising from his head, having long since attained the state of "three flowers gathering at the top" and "five energies returning to the origin." It was just that he didn't know what kind of strange technique he was practicing, sweating like rain.

  These two were still okay, their skills deep enough to withstand it. The merchants prostrating themselves on the ground wanted to learn from Tuhao Sun? The Crown Prince ignored everyone's ugly appearance and helped each of the prostrated merchants up, not taking his seat, saying: "Just now, as the Crown Prince of Tang, I received your bows out of courtesy. Now, I am just a junior; you don't need to be too polite.

  This time, thanks to everyone's help in collecting grain, I thank you all very much. The prosperity of Longyou today is entirely due to your efforts, gentlemen. I will definitely memorialize the emperor about your contributions and let it reach his ears. I am moved by your kindness and have prepared a small gift to commend your good deeds."

  Yun Ye stepped forward, and eight robust men with bright armor entered in a line, standing in two rows, holding knife handles with killing intent. Behind them followed two inner attendants carrying wooden trays, covered with red silk. Yun Ye walked forward and lifted the silk, revealing one tray with a scroll of sheepskin documents and another tray with a shining silver medal. Yun Ye took the first document and faced Old Rong, shouting loudly: "The Prince's Order: Zhou Ting Song, kneel down to receive!"

  Lao Zhou Ting Song knelt down at Yun Ye's feet with a thud: "Humble subject Zhou Ting Song receives the prince's teachings."

  "The solitary sound of the right path in Lanzhou County, there is a person named Zhou who listens to the virtuous and good deeds, his moral character is outstanding, specially proclaiming his name to promote education and morality. The emperor bestowed upon him a silver plaque with an inscription, as a special honor."

  The old Confucian scholar heard the prince's teachings and knocked his head on the ground, making a loud thudding sound. After being encouraged, he struggled to get up from the ground, but couldn't stand upright without the support of the palace attendants. His hands were shaking like someone with paralysis, and tears flowed like rivers.

  Yun Yan disregarded everything and took out the silver plaque with the inscription "Gift for a virtuous person's family". He pinned it on the old scholar's chest using the clasp at the back, and the apricot-yellow ribbon hung beautifully below the plaque. The old scholar covered his face with the plaque and knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

  Yun Yan pounded his chest and shouted loudly: "The ceremony is complete!" The eight soldiers also pounded their chests, making a thunderous sound, and shouted in unison: "The ceremony is complete!"

  The other nine people in the account were stunned, and Lao Ruzi was only more than a hundred stones of grain, but he got such great honor and glory. The one who practiced Sanhua Jidian Gong had red eyes with signs of walking fire into madness, lying on the ground, no matter how much persuasion, refused to get up, saying that there were still new grains at home, willing to serve as a dog for the prince.

  "Royal treatment only rewards those who are sincere and respectful, not something that can be exchanged for a small amount of money." Yun Ye knew that rewards should be few but precious. They cannot be handed out indiscriminately, otherwise they will lose their value and become worthless. Besides, with the old Confucians setting an example, there's no need to worry about getting food.

  Lao Zhou Ting Song was majestic, his chest held high like a half-day sky, with his hands behind his back, walking as if he were a king. In front of the villagers from Longyou, he showed off his authority, and his two sons quickly arranged for 2,000 dan of grain to be transported over. At this point, the grain reserves in Longyou had reached 300,000 dan, basically achieving Old Cheng's goal.

  In the capital, another angel arrived, with a secret order for Cheng Yaojin. Li Chengqian Yunheng received twenty large boards each.

  Yun Yan was punished, but Lao Cheng actually smiled and said to the angel who was in charge of punishment: "This kid is just asking for a beating. I haven't been able to find an excuse recently, now the Queen has helped me vent my anger, it's really refreshing."

  The wooden board slapped his buttocks one after another, and Yun Ye let out a series of mournful cries. The grievances in his heart, to whom could he express?

  Twenty slaps were indeed twenty slaps, and saying it wouldn't affect their return to the capital meant it didn't. The two who were being spanked had long since mastered the art of taking a beating, with purple bruises covering their buttocks, yet not a single drop of blood was seen. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one getting beaten; next to him, the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty was also wailing in pain. Originally, the prince would just grunt with each slap, but he couldn't withstand Yun Ye's passionate and unrestrained cries beside him, so as brothers, they could only suffer humiliation together.

  The Crown Prince, Yun Yan, was beaten up by Li Er. Old Cheng and Old Niu raised their cups to celebrate, but since seeing the military camp's grain reserves piled high like mountains, Old Cheng and Old Niu's faces turned pale, and they focused on mobilizing the people of Longyou to transport grain to the capital continuously. Yun Yan didn't know what orders Old Cheng had received, but he seemed to ignore the impending locust plague, and Old Niu, who had sworn not to let anyone starve again, also appeared unconcerned, with a sinister look on his face as if he held all the wisdom. Never mind them, Yun Yan thought he had fulfilled his responsibilities, and any further trouble was none of his business. It's just that this beating was quite unjustified. Li Er could beat whoever he wanted as the emperor, but when did Yun Yan offend the empress, the famous virtuous empress in history? Why couldn't she get along with him? Yun Yan couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

  The imperial edict says that the entire Left Wuwei Army will retreat to Beijing, and they will arrive in a few days. This means that within five days, they must set off, and the matter of transporting grain will be handed over to local officials. The Left Wuwei Army's grain procurement was handled by Yun Yan, but the accounts and financial handover were not something that could be explained clearly in a short time. His buttocks were beaten until they were bruised, and he couldn't bear to look at them anymore. Grain handover is also an important matter, and it can't be entrusted to others, so he had to personally carry the grain and rush around the Manchu army camp.

  The sky had darkened, and Yun Yan was both tired and hungry, his butt still aching badly. As he passed by the crown prince's tent, he caught a glimpse of him and suddenly felt his lungs exploding with rage. Why did he, a lowly laborer, have to work while injured? Meanwhile, the crown prince was lounging on a soft couch, having grapes fed to him one by one, and only choosing the best ones. He even muttered to himself, "Little Yan also got beaten up by his mother, and isn't feeling well, so let's leave the remaining grapes for Little Yan."