Chapter 292

Chapter 292

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 9: The Calamity of Drought and Locusts, Flying Troops to Liaodong Chapter 292: Trading Books for Grain

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Can a strategist not ascend the throne?

Chapter 292: Trading Books for Grain

No matter what new tricks Qiao Yan is up to, even someone like Yuan Shao, who has always disliked her, has to admit—her preparations for the drought are too thorough.

So thorough…it’s making people lose sleep.

The method of selling soy sauce with newspapers quickly spread from the three provinces to Ji Province. Due to inconvenient transportation and the internal market in the three provinces not yet being saturated, the sales volume there is still relatively small.

A good portion was bought by Yuan Shao for research, so even fewer circulated outside.

But even this small leaked portion has caused some discomforting voices in Ye City.

People are saying, why is Guanzhong so well-prepared for the possible drought and locust plague, while Yuan Shao’s side seems not to have taken it seriously.

These comments make Yuan Shao even more furious.

If Qiao Yan hadn’t intercepted Zheng Xuan first, the Imperial Academy in Ye City wouldn’t have such a small number of students.

If the scale of the Imperial Academy could be raised a level, he might have a chance to control the propaganda like Qiao Yan.

No, that’s not enough.

There must also be enough paper, enough…provincial power.

This is a top-down system!

“The soy sauce workshops are mostly backed by noble families, and currently, they are only allowed to sell outside the three provinces, not to set up workshops elsewhere. This has already tied them and Qiao Bingzhou into a community of interests. Now, there’s also the newspaper giveaways and large-scale printing,” Xin Pi said, looking at the newspaper with a grave expression.

This is obviously not good news for Yuan Shao, nor for them.

As a scholar from a noble family, Xin Pi clearly sees the interest game in Guanzhong.

No matter if Qiao Yan is expanding her influence through cultural invasion, at least one thing she did is right.

Those who have already pledged allegiance to her might have their authority weakened in some aspects, but they can also make up for it elsewhere, even in the reputation that scholars value most.

This turns her originally risky actions into a way to break the deadlock.

The newly acquired batch of soy sauce newspapers was brought by merchants entering the territory. It has been seven or eight days since Yuan Shao received the news from his subordinates, and during this time, there has been no news of internal turmoil from Chang’an, which is enough proof.

As for why it’s dangerous?

Yuan Shao has enough newspapers to make his strategists see the trick.

These newspapers are all mass-produced in the same way.

“Not just newspapers,” Yuan Shao continued, looking at the people present.

He actually wanted to hide the news, but he knew that such an action might not only not benefit him but also create a rift with his subordinates in this special period, so it’s better to announce it openly.

“There’s another piece of news from Chang’an. The seven classics and compiled books from various family collections will be registered in the form of book numbers in the name of the court, and will be published one by one after the livelihood affairs of the drought and locust plague are completed, to show the orthodoxy of the Han court.”

“Replacing…the position of the Xiping Stone Classics.”

Yuan Shao was almost gritting his teeth when he said this.

If Qiao Yan was competing for the people’s hearts when she was promoting anti-locust methods, now with the establishment of the orthodox status of the classics, she is digging his foundation!

Why can the Yuan family of Runan enjoy an outstanding and transcendent status among scholars?

In addition to the high-ranking positions of four generations and three dukes, which have allowed them to promote countless scholars over decades, forming a complex network of connections, it is also because a significant part of the interpretation of Confucian classics is dominated by noble families like them.

It is also for this reason that his uncle Yuan Wei married the daughter of the great Confucian Ma Rong.

This is the game rule they master.

But now, Qiao Yan, seemingly without moving troops, has struck him with the most vicious blow!

Once she really establishes the orthodox position of the classics with the advantage of quantity, like the way she spread the Leping Monthly Report, not only will the prestige of the Yuan family of Runan fall sharply, but even the noble families in his territory will more or less drift away from him.

Yuan Shao thought to himself, her decision is really poisonous.

So poisonous that he doesn’t even have the energy to complain, whether her move is to turn the originally high and mighty books into giveaways like soy sauce and salt!

It sounds ridiculous just to say it.

He just looked at Xin Pi, who had just spoken, and seeing that this strategist from Yingchuan, whose brothers both served under him, did not show any unusual expression at this time, he felt a little more at ease and asked, “In Zuo Zhi’s opinion, to counter the measures from Chang’an, do we also need to try mass-producing documents?”

Seeing Yuan Shao show this intention, it’s impossible for Xin Pi, the representative of Yingchuan scholars, and Shen Pei, the representative of Hebei scholars, not to be tempted.

But after some consideration, he replied, “I think it’s not appropriate.”

“Not to mention that during the current drought, does the lord have the extra manpower and material resources to devote to this? Just the difficulty of the matter itself.”

“Exactly the same documents can only be printed out if there is a template. But does the lord know what the template is made of? Does the lord know how the other side makes the low-cost and high-quality paper?”

They can’t obtain these papers through bulk purchases because the laws of the Guanzhong court stipulate that the papers sold by various bookstores cannot exceed one hundred sheets at a time, otherwise, the buyer’s identity information needs to be registered, and violators will be punished according to the five punishments.

And such a quantity of paper is just a drop in the bucket for the scale of propaganda in Guanzhong.

The printing template seems easier to study than something like allicin, but whether it is really so may require some testing.

Xin Pi continued, “Moreover, such a crucial measure must have been agreed upon by various great Confucians and important court officials in Chang’an before it was finally implemented. When the book with the number 1 appears, it will definitely be promoted by all parties. Can the lord guarantee that when we also want to implement this, we can beat the other side to it?”

Xin Pi’s three questions are getting more and more heart-wrenching.

Even though he knows that Xin Pi is analyzing the current situation, Yuan Shao still feels a bit dizzy.

The first question is just about confirming materials, at most it’s a matter of more attempts.

The second question about paper, since the first year of Jian’an, or the first year of Yonghan in their side, Yuan Shao has been trying to crack it. But until now, the paper produced is still like the inferior products on the market a few years ago.

Either the price is high, or the quality is poor, in short, it is absolutely impossible to be put into large-scale applications.

And the last question not only reveals the fact that Yuan Shao’s side lacks a figure to hold the fort, but also points to one thing.

If Yuan Shao continues to develop in this way of picking up others’ crumbs, who would think that the books he publishes can be called orthodox classics?

“I agree with Zuo Zhi’s idea,” Ju Shou said, interrupting Yuan Shao’s somewhat self-isolated inner struggle.








“If we only fight with the other side to compete for breath, and put the most important things at the back, it is a behavior of putting the cart before the horse. I think Your Majesty should be very clear about this.”

Ju Shou raised the Leping Monthly Report in his hand and said, “There are already some signs that the north may experience more droughts, even to the point of being out of control. In Your Majesty’s opinion, how likely is it that a locust plague will occur?”

No matter how little experience Yuan Shao had in farming, he still knew one thing: traditionally, droughts and locust plagues are inseparable. Moreover, the arrival of these two disasters could lead to more people starving to death, and possibly even further trigger epidemics.

Yuan Shao frowned and reluctantly said, “I’m afraid it will happen.”

“Then our most urgent task is to prevent droughts and locust plagues.”

Thinking about the combination of these two disasters, which might plunge the people who had just enjoyed a bit of peace in recent years back into dire straits, Ju Shou’s expression also turned grim.

Fortunately, a piece of bad news might also be considered good news.

“Some measures can be taken following the practices in Guanzhong and Bingzhou.”

As for why Liangzhou need not be considered? It’s because the altitude of Liangzhou causes lower temperatures, which in most cases greatly inhibits the hatching of locust eggs, making it difficult for locust infestations to occur.

At most, the drought situation would be more severe.

Youzhou also has this situation, due to its geographical location being too far north.

They can save some words in dealing with Gongsun Zan.

Yuan Shao listened to Ju Shou’s judgment and turned his gaze back to the Leping Monthly Report in front of him. “Gong Yu, first arrange for the people in Ji Province and Qingzhou to… plow the land again.”

This is an action that, regardless of whether these two disasters come or not, will not result in a loss.

The agricultural tool reforms in Bingzhou in the past, with the increasing trade between merchants, could no longer be kept secret.

But, to put it this way, by now Qiao Yan no longer cares about these things being leaked, as the advantage of an early lead becomes harder to fill as time goes on.

For example, something like an iron rake looks simple, but it actually consumes iron ore.

It just so happens that the iron rakes in Bingzhou and Liangzhou were mostly made in earlier years, before the confrontation between the Chang’an court and the Ye court, so this initial investment was completely within Qiao Yan’s acceptable range.

But for Yuan Shao now, this is something he needs to carve out from his war supplies!

Even in the current climate showing signs of drought, he can’t set too high a price if he wants the people under his rule to buy rakes.

The harsher the conditions, the more consumption is restricted.

Of course, Yuan Shao could see this drawback when making the decision, but compared to large-scale purchases of the Leping Monthly Report from Bingzhou and distributing it to the people of the two provinces, compared to starting large-scale construction of water channels in March—

The loss in making agricultural tools is relatively smaller.

Cao Cao in Yanzhou is not in as difficult a situation as Yuan Shao.

He indeed took the position of Yanzhou’s governor by expanding first and legitimizing later, causing some friction with the scholars in Yanzhou in subsequent cooperation. But, on one hand, he doesn’t have a Ye court within his territory as a burden like Yuan Shao, and on the other hand, he has people like Chen Gong gradually easing relations with the Yanzhou scholars.

However, to say that he can live comfortably facing the arrival of a drought is obviously not the case.

Historically, if there is a drought, Yanzhou suffers more than places like Ji Province and Qingzhou, and the advantages of climate, soil, and farmland instead become disadvantages here.

What can be done? Locusts love to eat…

Cao Cao is so worried that he’s losing hair. It’s not impossible to plant more beans and alfalfa for prevention, but the premise is that these two things must have enough market.

Although beans are one of the five grains, no one has heard of using beans as a staple food for a long time, at most eating them with millet and wheat, so if planted in large quantities, consumption becomes a problem.

Alfalfa is even more demanding in terms of growth environment than beans, and there are not enough war horse resources in Yanzhou to feed it.

“I think we don’t need to think about selling it to Sili after planting,” Cao Cao said, holding his forehead and flipping through the newspaper in front of him. “This kind of widespread advertising will inevitably cause the prices of beans and alfalfa in those three provinces to drop significantly, and with the transportation costs, we will lose money.”

In other words, the trouble can only be solved within their own territory.

But even so, Chen Gong, who is here, can see that facing this dilemma caused by great responsibility, Cao Cao does not regret taking the position of Yanzhou’s governor, but is still actively looking for a way out. In this regard, Chen Gong feels very gratified.

Under this pressure, Cao Cao even had an open and honest talk with Yanzhou scholars like Bian Rang, who had quite a few opinions about him, and made it clear that either they work together to overcome the current crisis, or they lose the people’s support together and their lives are at risk. In short, any opinions should wait until after these disasters are over.

For the sake of progress in this磨合, Chen Gong also feels it is his responsibility to fully cooperate with Cao Cao to overcome this crisis.

Since the weather has its own logic and cannot be changed according to human will, we can only do it from the perspective of human effort.

In addition to the methods given in the Leping Monthly Report, Chen Gong suggested, “The three provinces in the west have Marquis Qiao setting an example, so the people no longer have a deified fear of locusts. The Dongguan Hanji even revised the statement about locusts flying into the sea and turning into fish and shrimp. However, the vast majority of people in Yanzhou do not know this. If a locust plague breaks out, the prefect should immediately set an example by catching locusts.”

Cao Cao nodded, of course he would do this.

“In addition, the method of driving locusts used by Marquis Qiao in the past might as well be tried, exchanging locusts for grain, using fire to eliminate locusts, and issuing another decree that if someone’s farmland is destroyed due to catching locusts, this piece of land can be tax-free.”

Just as Cao Cao was about to speak, he heard Chen Gong say, “I know what the prefect is worried about. In such a situation, it is inevitable that some people will deliberately trample farmland to avoid taxes, so strict supervision and inspection are needed. I would like to recommend someone to the prefect. This person’s surname is Man, given name Chong, courtesy name Boning. He once served as a county inspector in the commandery, diligently investigating and punishing bandits, and also served as a county magistrate in Gaoping County. Because the county inspector was corrupt, he arrested and interrogated him, causing the inspector to die under torture, so he resigned and returned home.”

“Extraordinary times require people with extraordinary methods!” Cao Cao’s eyes lit up and he immediately replied. “Where is this person now? I will go and invite him immediately.”

Chen Gong replied, “He is from Shanyang Commandery. Since the prefect has this intention, send someone to Shanyang Changyi.”

This is just one concern. Cao Cao thought for a moment and then asked, “But if we want to exchange locusts for grain, we don’t have enough grain in our hands, what should we do?”

They can’t offer a price they can’t fulfill, but the exchange rate can’t be too low either.

Although last year’s harvest was good, a considerable amount of grain was used by Cao Cao to exchange for cotton clothes for the winter.

The current government storehouse can last for a year or two normally, but in the face of such a disaster, it is really not enough.

Chen Gong decisively replied, “Send someone to Chang’an to inquire with Marquis Qiao—”

“Whether he is willing to exchange grain for the rare books collected by the families of Yanzhou!”

Cao Cao was stunned, “How could they be willing to part with them!”

Chen Gong shook his head, “They might not be willing to give them all up, but each family contributing a batch should be willing. The selection of books can also be reconsidered.”

“Which is more important, at this critical juncture of life and death, a distinction must be made.”