Chapter Sixteen: Lord Lu Takes a Beating

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Qin Yong now had to consider how to ensure that Xiao Zhi would neither become so accomplished that he threatened the throne, nor cease creating miracles for him.

In the end, Qin Yong still set brush to the imperial edict.

“Never submit as vassals, never pay tribute, never cede territory, never offer indemnities. The Son of Heaven guards the nation’s gates; the sovereign dies for his realm!”

These were the words Xiao Zhi had spoken when discussing policy toward the Northern Barbarians. Qin Yong felt that every single one struck him like a thunderclap.

“A Bao, hang it up. Let it serve as a constant warning to me!”

The sun was already high in the sky by the time Xiao Zhi reported for duty at the Imperial City Office.

Along the way, he saw many people dressed in rags. Their faces were sallow and their bodies emaciated; quite a few had a blade of grass tucked into the backs of their collars.

They were selling themselves. They had been driven to the point where they could no longer survive.

After entering the Imperial City Office, Xiao Zhi casually stopped one of the men and asked, “What is happening in the capital? Why are there so many refugees?”

“My lord, the Yellow River has burst its banks. Shandong and Jiangsu have both been stricken by disaster.”

These refugees had walked all the way from Shandong and Jiangsu to the capital. How long must that have taken? And yet not a single person at court had mentioned the matter. The officials of those two regions truly seemed determined to throw their lives away.

Xiao Zhi murmured to himself, “The river has broken its banks. It seems the Mother River has changed course again.”

Throughout history, the Yellow River had changed its course countless times.

Sediment accumulated in the river year after year, and in this era there was no perfect solution. Even a transmigrator could not simply build an excavator with his bare hands.

In the histories, the words “the Yellow River changed course” were cold and weightless. In reality, they meant displaced families, corpses strewn across the land, and even parents exchanging their children for food.

“Go and fetch Mu Weihu,” Xiao Zhi ordered after a moment’s thought.

“My lord, what are your instructions?” Mu Weihu arrived soon afterward.

Without another word, Xiao Zhi took Mu Weihu and several Hundred-household Commanders out of the city and headed west.

It was June, and the weather was gradually growing hot.

The party traveled several dozen miles. The forests were lush, the leaves thick, the grass abundant, and the flowers brilliant. Birdsong and the chirring of insects filled the air without pause.

“My lord, where exactly are we going?” Mu Weihu asked as the road grew more and more remote.

“Do you remember that tract of mountain land I told you to set aside when we confiscated the Bai Yan family’s property?”

“Your subordinate remembers it well.”

“We’re going there. It should be just ahead.” Xiao Zhi flicked his riding crop.

A mile in Great Chu was, by Xiao Zhi’s rough estimate, only about four hundred meters. Fifty miles was therefore not particularly far.

The group entered a mountain valley and looked around. Xiao Zhi struggled up to a high point, carried out a simple survey, and sketched a rough map on paper with charcoal.

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A small river wound through the valley, its surface glittering in the sunlight. Beside it stood a thatched cottage, long neglected, its roof already collapsed.

The men rested briefly before the cottage. Tossing stones into the stream, Xiao Zhi said, “Mu Weihu, once we return to the city, write an announcement for me and recruit laborers. I intend to build some houses in this valley.”

“At present, if all we offer is food, we can recruit as many people as you want.”

“I will pay wages. Not much—ten cash a day.”

Under normal circumstances, hiring one person cost roughly twenty copper coins a day. In the capital, the price might be somewhat higher, but even then it would rarely exceed twenty-five.

Xiao Zhi was offering only ten coins a day, which seemed pitifully little. But these were extraordinary times.

He was no saint, unable to bear the sight of any human suffering. There were too many suffering people in the world for him to save them all. The most he could do was raise the productivity of the age, allowing more people to benefit. The effects would be lasting.

Xiao Zhi surveyed the surroundings, silently laying out his plans.

“Buy some children as well. They should be between ten and fourteen or fifteen years old. Those who can read and write would be preferable. If they are clever and quick-witted, we can relax the requirements somewhat. Forget those who are already adults.”

In Great Chu, there was no precise legal concept of adulthood. Within the Imperial City Office, sixteen was considered the dividing line: anyone who had reached sixteen could be beheaded, while those younger were reduced to slavery.

“My lord intends to build an estate here? Isn’t this place rather remote? And there is no arable land nearby.” One of the Thousand-household Commanders offered his opinion.

Because Xiao Zhi was easygoing and entirely free of airs, the Hundred-household and Thousand-household Commanders beneath him—even the junior officers—could exchange a few jokes with him.

“I intend to build a headquarters and train talented people. One day, this valley will be famous throughout the world.”

Xiao Zhi was confident. If he could not even accomplish that, what kind of transmigrator would he be?

As for how he would train talented people, the answer naturally lay in the knowledge inside his head.

Once, in order to deceive a corrupt official, Xiao Zhi had tutored the man’s son for more than half a year. To play the role properly, he had memorized all the primary and middle-school textbooks, and had even expanded considerably beyond their basic material.

In this ignorant age, when an average gathering of a hundred people might not produce a single literate one, anyone who possessed knowledge up through the second year of middle school could travel anywhere under heaven and make a living.

When they returned to the city, Mu Weihu immediately carried out his instructions, while Xiao Zhi sat down and began writing and drawing.

Once a person became absorbed in serious work, time passed swiftly. Xiao Zhi ate lunch while continuing to draft his plans.

By the time he finished, he looked up and saw a Thousand-household Commander waiting nearby.

“Something happened?”

“My lord, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies is waiting for you.”

“You should have told me earlier.”

Xiao Zhi had nearly forgotten about it. If he had not seen so many refugees, he would not have gone outside the city. He would have gone directly to meet Wanyan Zhengyu, the envoy from the Northern Barbarians.

Lu Weicheng, Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, was a short, thin man—astonishingly thin—with a graying goatee. Whenever he spoke, the little beard trembled, giving him a faintly comical appearance.

He was an extraordinarily amiable man whose guiding principle was never to offend anyone.

“Minister Lu.” Xiao Zhi cupped his hands in greeting from a distance.

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Minister Lu was sitting there sighing when he heard Xiao Zhi’s voice and turned his head. The two sides of his face appeared distinctly uneven.

“Minister Lu, why is your face swollen?”

“Ah!” Lu Weicheng let out a heavy sigh. Covering his face, he wore an expression of embarrassment and reluctance to speak. “Lord Xiao, please go and see that northern barbarian at once. He… he… he…”

He had been beaten, obviously.

When envoys from the Northern Barbarians arrived in Great Chu, they held their nostrils high in the air and treated the officials of Great Chu as though they were their own servants.

In recent years, the Court of State Ceremonies had dreaded visitors from the north more than anything. Whether they entertained them well or poorly, they were scolded; whether they served them carefully or carelessly, they were beaten. Such things were commonplace.

Even after being bullied, there was nowhere to seek justice.

The Northern Barbarians had the stronger fists and thicker arms. Great Chu could not defeat them, yet still had to pay annual tribute.

“They beat you?” Xiao Zhi’s eyes widened.

“I’ll avenge you. If he refuses to behave, how about we castrate him?”

Originally, Xiao Zhi had planned to provoke the Northern envoy after meeting him, finding some pretext to anger him. After all, there had to be a reason for dealing with the man.

To attack someone without any reason was something only a madman would do.

But now, Lu Weicheng’s swollen face itself provided the reason. Xiao Zhi no longer needed to put on an act.

He turned his head and shouted, “Men! Assemble a detachment. You will come with me.”

A Thousand-household Commander answered loudly. Within moments, a group of Hundred-household Commanders and junior officers came hurrying out, weapons in hand and excitement written across their faces.

Those young fellows probably thought they were going with Xiao Zhi to confiscate another household’s property.

“Lord Xiao, what are you doing?”

The sight of Xiao Zhi assembling troops frightened Lu Weicheng badly.

If they truly stormed over there and provoked a major conflict with Wanyan Zhengyu, Lu Weicheng could forget about remaining Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. He might even lose his head.

Xiao Zhi gave a cold laugh. Turning to the assembled men, he asked, “Foreign barbarians have insulted Great Chu. What should we do?”

Dozens of voices roared in unison.

“Kill!”

Only moments earlier, Lu Weicheng had been tugging at Xiao Zhi’s sleeve. Upon hearing that cry, he dropped heavily to the ground.

It was over.

He had gotten himself involved.

He had gotten himself involved in something enormous.