“Can strategists not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 261: The Feast Begins
Looking at Ni Heng’s parrot ode, you can really get a sense of his writing habits.
Those obscure characters like 蓐翮 and 窜牖 hop around in his lines like they’re on a trampoline, showcasing the idea of lofty style for the few to understand, to perfection.
So here’s the kicker: if Yuan Xi were from an average family, would he even recognize those characters?
These aren’t the days when everyone had a new dictionary handy.
When Guo Jia threw out the question, “You recognize these?” Yuan Xi’s heart skipped a beat, anxious not to let his face betray any sign of confusion.
It’s not like Guo Jia was all that much older than him, but thanks to Tian Feng’s earlier warning, Yuan Xi couldn’t help but have a bit of respect for Guo Jia.
Thinking quickly, he replied, “There are indeed many characters I haven’t learned, which frustrates me because I can’t express myself as well as he can.”
Little did he know, Guo Jia had brought up “father” because Qiao Yan had once crowned him a genius, pushing him to his current position, but Yuan Xi had an inkling that it wasn’t a flattering term.
Whether he was feeling perturbed because of the parrot’s experience in the text or his own comparison was making him uneasy, all he needed was some excuse that made sense.
Guo Jia had no intention of putting him in a tough spot, simply saying, “Alright, I’ll explain it to you on our way out of the city.”
Honestly, Yuan Xi wasn’t keen on revisiting that ode, but he had given Guo Jia a perfect excuse to drag him through it again, so he had to bite the bullet and listen one more time.
In his mind, he couldn’t help but curse Ni Heng a bit.
Why couldn’t this upstanding Qingzhou scholar write something a little more down-to-earth while visiting Chang’an, instead of crafting an ode that mocks Ye City and pressures the second son of the Qingzhou governor?
Fortunately, once they reached the city outskirts, Yuan Xi felt considerably more at ease.
Guo Jia aimed to show him the various posts around Chang’an, using the guise of the Grand Marshal’s oversight to take Yuan Xi around several places.
For young Yuan Er Gongzi, the only tough part was the long trek.
Compared to his inner turmoil, this was merely a test of stamina.
In contrast, it highlighted his overall happiness.
While staying at Maiwu for the night, he received good news from Guo Jia.
Why was Guo Jia here instead of Qiao Yan to oversee matters, and why had he delayed plans for two days?
Gotta blame Yuan Shao for his unusual antics.
He actually had Ju Shou and Gao Gan use the private soldiers of the Chenliu Gao clan to attack Runan, catching Yuan Shu completely off guard.
Wounded and desperate, Yuan Shu sent Yuan Yao to Chang’an for help and medical assistance, prompting Qiao Yan to stay alert to the eastern battles to ensure the wine exchange at this soirée would proceed smoothly without any disturbances.
“But there’s no need to worry,” Guo Jia said leisurely, handing some roasted meat to Yuan Xi, “Considering the recent tussle between the two factions, Ji Province is currently peaceful and shouldn’t affect your family. Still, I advise you to get your father to move your family to Chang’an sooner rather than later; it’s better than facing turmoil later.”
Yuan Xi just received news about his father’s successful military operations; his thoughts flew to the east, and suddenly he almost lost track of which father Guo Jia was suggesting he speak to.
Thankfully, thanks to his memorization over the past few days, he quickly pulled himself back from the edge of an identity reveal and replied, “I’ll talk to my father.”
Guo Jia seems oblivious to any hidden meaning in that statement, since in the dim lights and flickering flames, it’s hard to pick up on emotions.
In the following day, perhaps because they got more familiar, and being peers helped, the intimidating vibe Yuan Xi felt from Guo Jia diminished a bit.
Yuan Xi guessed it might be because Guo Jia now viewed him as just an ordinary dude.
He sighed in relief at having successfully blended in.
While returning to Chang’an, he even dared to try a mule cart.
In the Spring and Autumn period, mules were a luxury among nobles. The prized white mule was especially rare, and even after the Qin and Han dynasties, the knowledge of how mules came to be was known yet not widely applied.
So, seeing one in Guanzhong caught Yuan Xi a bit off guard.
From what he observed in Chang’an, the Marquis of Leping seemed to follow a practical route.
Just like the newly constructed roads in Chang’an, they look simple but are incredibly durable; the surrounding agricultural projects and irrigation systems were top-notch too. He couldn’t quite figure out why they were using mules to pull carts.
Breeding mules for the next generation happens so rarely that it’s practically a waste of resources.
Yuan Xi thought so and asked Guo Jia about it.
Guo Jia’s eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief. Yet, in his reply, he didn’t hint at any ulterior motives; he just asked seriously, “Do you know the difference between mules bred from a mare and a donkey versus those bred from a donkey and a stallion?”
This isn’t exactly a secret, but it was far outside Yuan Xi’s area of expertise, so he just shook his head.
Guo Jia continued, “Mules from a mare and a donkey are called horse mules. They inherit their mother’s gentler, trainable traits and, compared to those from a donkey and a stallion, those horse mules outperform in load-bearing and teamwork.”
He pointed to the donkey pulling their cart and added, “That’s a horse mule.”
“But…,” Yuan Xi hesitated, “if it’s supposed to come from a mare, why not just have her give birth to a horse?”
Guo Jia shook his head, “Let me ask you, how much food does a horse eat in a day while bearing weight?”
Yuan Xi hadn’t fought personally but had a good grasp of such info to assist his father when necessary.
He thought for a moment and replied, “If you’re just counting grains and not fodder, it’s about forty pounds.”
Guo Jia laughed, “So do you know how much a donkey needs to eat daily while bearing weight?”
Yuan Xi, who didn’t even know the difference between donkey mules and horse mules, certainly didn’t know this answer either.
Guo Jia had no intention of putting him on the spot and said straightforwardly, “A donkey only needs about ten pounds of grain.”
Ignoring the forage, which could vary, that’s just a quarter of what a warhorse needs to eat.
“This saved food could be used to draft more laborers into official battles,” Guo Jia said solemnly, “Don’t underestimate these figures; they can create a decisive advantage on the battlefield. Plus, while mules might be a bit slow, they have remarkable endurance, especially when crossing rugged terrain. Or do you think we achieved our swift victory in Hanzhong by chance?”
Yuan Xi mulled over Guo Jia’s statements; it started to make sense.
Little did he realize that if the transport tool’s improvement was enough to achieve an advantage, there’d be no need to consider the troublesome breeding of mules. He also had no idea how many years it took for a mule to grow from farming labor to carrying military supplies.
He simply figured that their resources in Jizhou were weaker than Bingzhou, and their number of military incidents surely didn’t match Qiao Yan’s; so if they could draw such conclusions here, it must not be far off.
After weighing it all, he asked his final question, “So with that, these transport mounts can’t breed to increase their numbers, right?”
Guo Jia shook his head, “You still seem limited in numbers. Even if these mounts were horses and not mules, it still takes a year or two to breed the next generation. Once they grow, that takes time, but mules suffer less from disease and can work for about twenty years. Must we really focus on expanding this scale?”
He further added, “Or do you think twenty years isn’t enough time for the Chang’an court to recover the eastern lands and unify the realm?”
Yuan Xi, now in the role of Yuan Feng’s son and not just Yuan Shao’s, needed to frame his replies from Chang’an’s standpoint.
He could only envision the Chang’an court defeating and reclaiming Jizhou.
Twenty years… surely the world wouldn’t remain divided for that long.
Completely hoodwinked, Yuan Xi got caught in the web of this mule-versus-horse debate, contemplating mentioning this to his father once he returned to Ye City.
Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard Guo Jia shout, “Watch the road ahead!”
Yuan Xi quickly snapped out of his introspection and refocused on the present.
Earlier, trying to let him experience the mule cart’s effect, Guo Jia had handed the reins to Yuan Xi.
But in that moment of distraction, he didn’t notice they were getting closer to Chang’an.
Given their patrol route, they were returning from the northern side of Chang’an and had crossed paths with a team of mules pulling a cart.
It’s hard to tell if it was because these mules belonged to different breeds, but despite Yuan Xi’s best efforts to pull on the reins, their mule cart kept heading right for one of the vehicles.
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“Oops, we’re about to crash!”
Uh-oh!
Yuan Xi didn’t have time to think. He saw a mountain of bottles and jars on the mule cart ahead, and if they crashed into it and smashed everything, it surely would end badly. With a swift tug from Guo Jia, he jumped down from the cart just in time.
Fortunately, the mule wasn’t going fast, and there happened to be a haystack by the roadside, so their jump didn’t result in any serious injuries.
Barely as Yuan Xi landed, the two mule carts behind collided—
They were only four or five years old, just barely in their prime for some farm work. Pulling that heavy load was clearly too much, and with that crash, they panicked and broke free from their reins!
So, after a loud bang, both carts flipped over right there.
The one they were on was lucky; the other one had all its jars smashed to bits.
As Yuan Xi stood up, he was instantly hit with a wave of strong alcohol fumes.
The potent smell of high-proof liquor nearly knocked him out.
Guo Jia reached out to support him, but just as he steadied him, he glanced at the scene around them and pushed him away.
Yuan Xi had only ever seen Guo Jia lounging around; he had never witnessed him lose his composure like this.
Guo Jia dashed over to the broken wine jars, stopping in front of a few, looking utterly distraught, mumbling, “My medicine! How could those jars break!”
Yuan Xi looked at the shattered jars and the spilled liquid and noticed it didn’t look that different from regular wine. Even if there was something special about it—
At the bottom of the cracked jars, there were some garlic remnants.
Honestly, it looked nothing like medicine.
But when he voiced his confusion, Guo Jia shot him a look. “What do you know? When garlic is treated in a special way and soaked in wine for a while, a layer of liquid separates from the wine. This stuff can treat cough and dysentery! It’s even more effective than expensive medicines!”
Guo Jia sighed heavily, glanced back at the now-ordered mule team, then at Yuan Xi, the troublemaker, saying, “Forget it. There’s no point in talking about it now; we’ll just have to redo it.”
Guo Jia rummaged through several shards and couldn’t find what he needed; his expression grew darker.
“Never mind, let’s just find another cart to return to Chang’an.”
Yuan Xi awkwardly listened as Guo Jia lamented the worth of that stuff. It seemed that since he had handed over control of the mule cart, and as the Grand Marshal’s chief strategist, it was hard for him to really get mad at Yuan Xi, so he kept his cool.
Dysentery, which has a modern equivalent, isn’t uncommon among commoners and tends to pop up during epidemics. If there truly is an effective remedy, it could indeed be deemed a treasure.
Now, however, he had broken several jars worth of it.
He wondered if it might expose his identity.
He nervously followed Guo Jia back to Chang’an, then was tossed back to Tian Feng, who informed him about the garlic extract.
Tian Feng said, “To be honest, I don’t really know how it’s made. It was only discovered after Master Yuanhua arrived in Leping. According to tests conducted, it treats not only cough and dysentery but also brain fevers and diphtheria. It was even featured in the Leping Monthly Report. I only found out today that it’s stored in wine.”
Seeing Yuan Xi’s panicked expression, Tian Feng reassured him, “Don’t worry; this could be both a curse and a blessing. When you find a way to return to Ye City, just inform Lord Ming. There are plenty of renowned doctors in Ji Province; they’ll surely come up with results.”
“I’ll buy two finished garlic extracts to bring back for comparison, so we don’t end up with an unhappy populace in Ji Province.”
Hearing Tian Feng speak so confidently relieved Yuan Xi’s heart a bit.
But compared to him, Guo Jia was really relaxed.
He saw the medic bandaging his sprained foot and treating a barely visible scratch on his hand. Then, he turned to Qiao Yan, saying, “My lord, I am fortunate not to have failed my duty.”
Guo Jia was not an actor, but thankfully this mix of truth and falsehood was easy to deliver in a way that Yuan Xi couldn’t distinguish as real or not.
The mule was certainly a good thing, but as for getting it to the level of horse replacement that Yuan Xi had hinted at, even Qiao Yan, who had attempted it years ago in Leping, couldn’t manage it, let alone someone who was just getting started.
Garlic extract was also beneficial, but just knowing it can soak in wine to extract it is naive. Even with a reference of a finished product, getting out of that mental trap wouldn’t be easy.
These were the two traps Guo Jia had carefully set for Ye City.
Two seemingly delightful traps that would only waste money!
Qiao Yan smiled back, “Now, we can properly hold this wine-tasting event.”
At the end of May, the winds stirred in Chang’an.
A line of attendants cleared all the paintings and manuscripts at the end of the new road, marking the complete conclusion of a ten-day submission competition.
All these works would be sent to court for a selection, and the final winning pieces would be publicly displayed.
If no objections were raised within three days, the results would be finalized, and as Qiao Yan had previously promised, corresponding rewards would be given.
Those gathered nearby couldn’t help but whisper about the possible results.
For the written works, Wang Can was expected to take first place.
As the first to submit, he inspired others to follow suit but also created considerable pressure on them.
No one surpassed him by the end.
If Qiao Yan were to judge, it wouldn’t be wrong to say the emotional pull of his writing was unmatched; others who wrote with the times lacked the depth and sincerity found in each word of Wang Can.
Ni Heng also stood out, but that was largely because—
He had been beaten and stuffed into a sack just two days prior.
Thankfully, the security in Chang’an was good, and his beating was quickly discovered. The patrolmen couldn’t catch the attackers, but at least Ni Heng wasn’t in serious danger.
Everyone had an idea why he got beaten; his “Parrot Ode” ruffled some feathers.
But Ni Heng didn’t care at all.
From what he told Yang Xiu, being able to stir emotions among the masses was a sign of success for his little poem.
Yang Xiu could only smile and hope people would keep an eye on Ni Heng’s safety.
There were plenty of other colorful entries below Wang Can and Ni Heng, but perhaps because of the time constraint, not many stood out.
It was hard to say who took third place.
As for the calligraphy and painting entries, aside from Zhang Chang’s indisputable top-tier “Chang’an Ode,” there was unexpectedly a striking painting.
The image was incredibly simple—just an armored arm and a black dog—but it was lively and certainly not ordinary.
Interestingly, the name was only marked “Anonymous,” suggesting they weren’t ready to reveal their identity to the people of Chang’an at this time.
But it didn’t matter if they weren’t named; if it wins, they would still face public scrutiny during the display stage.
Before this result was announced, something even more pressing in Chang’an was the wine-tasting event!
The young nobles eagerly awaiting the wine-tasting event were quite surprised to learn it would take place on a rammed earth platform outside of Lingtai.
The wooden posts had been cleared just as the new emperor ascended, making it convenient for them to be seated.
Even more surprising, once they settled in, two lines of attendants came bearing wine jars and cups, placing them before each person.
Everyone was bewildered.
Logically, the point of this wine-tasting event was to limit drinking, but here they were serving wine first—what’s the deal with that?
So when the Grand Marshal Qiao Yan strolled in and took her seat at the head, someone immediately asked this question.
“Grand Marshal, are you really planning to give us a warm welcome?”
That person started laughing at his own question halfway through.
If that were the case, the whole limit on drinking would just be talk!
Qiao Yan lifted her gaze toward the questioner and poured her cup full of wine.
With a smile, she replied, “Why not?”
Before she finished speaking, everyone saw her take a firestarter handed to her and bring it close to the edge of her cup.
The next instant, flames erupted from her cup!
She appeared to ignore the flames completely, simply lifting the cup of wine.
In that moment of silence on the high platform, she boldly declared, “I raise this cup of wine to welcome you all!”
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