“Can strategists really not ascend the throne?”
Chapter 50: Mulberry Bark for Cold Protection
Bao Hong felt like he was more of a tribute envoy from Leping County heading to the capital, Luoyang, rather than someone returning to report back to the court.
But then he thought it through; even though he had become a school commander in Luoyang, there were plenty of school commanders with better backgrounds than him. Compared to others, he didn’t hold any particular advantage, and how would he even meet someone like the Grand Commandant under ordinary circumstances?
Moreover, he was just going to Leping to deliver Qiao Xuan’s coffin, ensuring the temple was finished before heading back. Really, he was just a messenger.
With such a grand excuse, it wouldn’t be because he delivered something unsuitable to Qiao Yan that Liu Hong would throw a fit… right?
Leaving Leping and arriving in Luoyang, despite his swift steps and having traveled this route before, it was already November.
Not long after entering the pass, snow began to fall.
When he passed through the North Mountain, the lush green hills he had seen before were now shrouded in a blanket of white.
Upon entering Luoyang, it was even more so, with snow covering the rooftops.
This was the Little Ice Age experienced in the late Han.
Even in Jiangnan, where snow was rare according to weather records, snow had fallen for a month in winter; how could it be different in the North?
Last year’s frost still lingered in Bao Hong’s memory; the capital had three feet of snow, causing many homes within Guocheng to collapse. If it weren’t for the image of the Son of Heaven, repairs might still be ongoing.
This year showed no sign of letting up either.
Coming from the direction of the North Guo, where there were the least houses, he was met with a desolate sight that made him shudder.
Who knows how many would freeze to death this winter?
If frost caused a drop in yield, it might not bode well for next year.
When he left Leping, the irrigation channels for next year’s yam planting had all been completed, and the winter wheat had already been sown.
After completing the construction of the temple and yam storage, the Black Mountain Bandits, under Qiao Yan’s directive, began building winter houses outside the county town, below the hills.
While they didn’t distribute land or houses to the captured Black Mountain Bandits, many people still had to be crammed into those winter houses. The Leping borders weren’t as grand as the Han palace, yet for some reason, Bao Hong felt Leping was more orderly.
But this wasn’t the time to ponder such things.
The clattering of cart wheels and the grand funeral scale represented by the yellow-roofed pavilion indicated that this guard would indeed need to meet the Son of Heaven upon returning to the capital and explain everything.
He had to tidy up his thoughts first and present himself before the Emperor, delivering Qiao Yan’s box and memorial to Liu Hong.
When Bao Hong set foot in the palace hall, he couldn’t help but feel anxious.
But whether it was the warmth from the charcoal fire or something else, as he stepped inside from the cold, his back felt warm, and his anxiety eased a bit.
He cautiously looked up at Liu Hong, handing the box and memorial to Zhang Rang for him to pass them on to the Emperor.
Since this wasn’t a formal court audience, the Son of Heaven wasn’t wearing ceremonial robes but was wrapped in a fur coat, sitting at the head of the hall.
Whether it was Bao Hong’s imagination or not, he thought Liu Hong’s sickly complexion had worsened with the arrival of winter.
Also, the blazing charcoal fire cast an unhealthily red hue over him.
But that was not something he could say. Everyone knew the Han Son of Heaven didn’t have much longer to live, but you can’t just say that in front of Liu Hong.
He could only silently lower his head, waiting for Liu Hong to ask first, “How do you see Qiao Gong’s temple?”
He replied, “Marquis of Leping wiped out the Black Mountain Bandits a couple of months ago. They were used as laborers and didn’t delay the autumn harvest for the people of Leping County. After the temple was completed, Cai Bojie also inscribed a plaque for it. In my eyes, the temple is simple yet grand and truly reflects Your Majesty’s deep affection for Qiao Gong.”
“That’s good to hear.” Liu Hong said nonchalantly, “That Black Mountain Bandits are quite useful.”
After Qiao Yan defeated the Black Mountain Bandits, she pulled off a trick with the three prefects to deceive them into providing grain, and she had reported the situation truthfully in the memorial to Liu Hong.
During the amnesty after the change of the era to Zhongping, the reduction of punishment for those involved in the Yellow Turban activities was limited, and she continued to restrain people within her territory, which technically didn’t surmount jurisdiction.
Besides, the three surrounding counties were quite tangled about the whereabouts of these people, and containing them in Leping was indeed an appropriate method of handling.
But this meant Leping could end up with nine thousand more people…
Know that while Qiao Yan had some luck getting her title of ten thousand households, as the Son of Heaven, Liu Hong might not be happy to see her territory’s population growing.
But such subtle thoughts were something he could never express to Bao Hong. Instead, he asked, “I heard the Grand Commandant’s grandson is still over there?”
About the beginning of August, someone from the Grand Commandant’s residence arrived in Leping.
According to the letter brought by Yang Ci, upon seeing Yang Xiu’s letter, he had originally wanted to take his grandson back immediately. However, after that scene in front of Dingzhong Temple where Yang Xiu competed with Qiao Yan, he figured it might be good for the boy to experience some hardship.
So he let his retainer wait a month before bringing him back to Leping.
When the retainer from the Yang family arrived in Leping, it was exactly before Qiao Yan had eliminated the Black Mountain Bandits, and Yang Xiu was still busy brewing wine.
It was truly perplexing for the young master of the Grand Commandant’s residence to engage in brewing wine. In the eyes of the envoy, it seemed terribly idle!
With bandits outside as a threat, he had nearly wanted to knock Yang Xiu out and take him away right then and there.
Even if it was later proven that Qiao Yan was capable of getting rid of the bandits, and that made Yang Xiu shift from brewing wine to “writing nursery rhymes,” it didn’t make him feel any better about the situation.
But Yang Xiu was adamant about not returning; to avoid being captured, he boldly claimed that if he was knocked out and dragged to Luoyang, fine, but if not, he would definitely seize the chance to escape back.
Thinking of that chaotic scene back then made Bao Hong chuckle, but he couldn’t show such emotions and replied, “Young Master Yang probably just wanted to play some more since he hadn’t left Luoyang before.”
“Then let him stay.” Liu Hong replied absentmindedly.
For some reason, Bao Hong felt Liu Hong seemed a bit cheerful while saying this, as if he was pleased to see the heir of the Yang family in Hongnong indulging in such non-conformist behavior.
But before his not-so-quick-witted brain could come up with a rationale, he saw Liu Hong extending his hand towards the box that Qiao Yan had sent.
His heart skipped a beat.
He saw Liu Hong retrieve a small box from the rather simple package, which had a circle of special wax seal around it, along with some other thing mixed in.
When the close attendant next to Liu Hong began to unwrap it, they found the adhesive was stronger than the usual wax seals.
But perhaps since it was a tribute for the Son of Heaven, some special attributes were quite normal.
What was strange, however, was that when the box was opened, it contained not jewels or precious items but rather flower-shaped pastries.
On a silken cloth attached to the large box, it stated that this was made from yam, huangjing, honey, and millet, needing to be steamed hot before eating.
Though there was already a concept of rice cake in southern pastries, the snacks commonly found in Luoyang still leaned more towards a topping of rice dough. The delicate yam pastries sent by Qiao Yan piqued Liu Hong’s interest.
After the Imperial Kitchen verified and reheated them, placed on a green tray, the pale yellow pastries indeed looked quite inviting.
Liu Hong grabbed one and popped it in his mouth, immediately feeling the sweet and fragrant texture, even better than his favorite pancake flavor.
The yam itself had a mild taste, but the sticky millet combined with honey added just the right sweetness, which was what Liu Hong was savoring at that moment.
With the low temperatures already beginning in October, the…
The half-vacuum wax-sealed environment somehow turned what shouldn’t be a long transport into something possible.
Clearly, the second steaming didn’t mess with the taste as much as Liu Hong’s curiosity about new things.
Perhaps it was the sweetness that lifted his spirits, combined with the recent laugh he had at the Grand Commandant’s expense. When he picked up the memorial written by Qiao Yan from the side, his earlier annoyance was already fading a bit.
But as he read through the words in that memorial, he pushed down that feeling once again.
This memorial…
Ha! Rather than a memorial, it was more like her food research notes.
To put it plainly, Qiao Yan wrote how, since arriving in her fief, she found the local yam much longer compared to the ones back in Yanzhou.
Thanks to the unique growth conditions of Iron Rod Yam, they were more glutinous and solid compared to others. To just use them for soup would be such a waste, thus leading to all sorts of fancy pastries being created.
In these few lines, there was an almost childlike enthusiasm in her research.
Liu Hong had dug up that previous document on the feudal lords from Qiao Yan, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of disconnection—these two writings didn’t seem to come from the same person at all.
But then again, considering Qiao Yan’s age, it wasn’t a surprise.
Still, her thoughts were more developed than you’d expect from a child her age; she mentioned that while making these pastries, she used yam and rhizome, both of which are great for nourishing energy. However, due to recent disasters, their production in the mountains had significantly dropped, otherwise, they should be promoted to help strengthen the populace. This also led her to think, based on what she read, that after great chaos comes great plagues; His Majesty should pay more attention to that.
Of course, before anything else, leaders ought to take care of their health, hence she presented these pastries.
Great plagues…
Liu Hong couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of his nose.
In the fifth year of his reign, there had only been one large outbreak, and if it hadn’t been for that, the Yellow Turban Way wouldn’t have gotten the final push of public admiration.
But just as Qiao Yan said, war often brings plague. The suppression of the Yellow Turbans must have caused casualties. Any part of this chaos that wasn’t handled properly could bring severe consequences, and who’s to say there won’t be another one next year?
But what could he do? He had already dispatched the attendants and envoys to distribute medicine.
This reminder in the memorial was ultimately just empty talk.
He didn’t realize that due to her mentioning the plague, he had temporarily shelved thoughts of Qiao Yan taking in the Black Mountain Bandits.
He was just thinking that he had faced four outbreaks during his reign; if a fifth one hit, it would surely be a hassle.
Cai Yong had previously written a memorial stating that the occurrences of disasters and plagues were due to the higher-ups failing to select talented individuals, and they shouldn’t employ eunuchs. But if he truly was right, who should he employ instead?
Looking at it this way, Cai Yong staying in Leping might not be a bad thing; at least he couldn’t send his memorials directly to Liu Hong. Even if he picked up his writing tool, it was unlikely for them to spread in the capital.
In this mix of annoyance and relief, Liu Hong’s gaze instinctively drifted away from Qiao Yan’s memorial to a wooden box nearby.
The wax seal, along with how tricky it was to open the box once the wax was removed, meant that food which should’ve gone bad in days still looked almost unchanged when it was presented to him—it was rather intriguing.
He pointed at the item and asked Bao Hong, “Is this possible for transporting military rations and vegetables?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Bao Hong looked shocked beyond measure.
Liu Hong was perhaps thinking of improving the soldiers’ meals; eating just hard rations all the time did sound dull, but—
“Your Majesty, this wax seal is extremely expensive, it can’t just be used widely!”
Is it really hard to find scholars? It’s because if they want to read by candlelight, they need to buy wax, which is no small expense.
Sure, Qiao Yan had the means to melt wax for sealing, but Liu Hong could do that too. However, considering the need to save money, it didn’t seem practical at all.
Qiao Yan had no idea Liu Hong was giving a rather “why not just eat meat” type of suggestion. With Cheng Li and Xi Zhicai helping interpret her memorial’s words, she felt she could minimize the impact of sheltering the Black Mountain Bandits.
She had started busying herself with the next phase of work during the autumn harvest; now was a critical moment, and she couldn’t spare any energy to consider Liu Hong’s reaction.
Snow had fallen in the capital, and Leping was no exception—it had shown signs of dropping temperatures recently.
Even if the mountainous terrain could provide some shelter from the wind, it didn’t change the indiscriminate attack of the little ice age.
And the cold was just as deadly as plagues, if not more.
While quite a bit of grain was stored in Leping’s warehouses, the Black Mountain labor camp in the county also had firewood prepared, it was still a fact that protective clothing was scarce.
Aside from the little cotton that appeared in royal robes, cotton plants were not widely grown or processed in the Central Plains during this age. Even though she knew how effective cotton was for warmth, she clearly couldn’t just conjure things out of nowhere.
Hastily suggesting to head south to find something wasn’t a sound decision in those inconvenient travel conditions, and where people often viewed the south as a barbaric land.
Cotton was clearly off the table.
Qiao Yan quickly thought of using down feathers from ducks and chickens.
But she realized that in the face of grain famine, how could there be extra food to raise chickens and ducks? Even if there was, it clearly wouldn’t be enough to make warm clothing.
Qiao Yan felt like she was about to pull her hair out.
She knew this wasn’t the right time to heat up with charcoal; physical warmth was the primary means of survival.
And it was at that moment she heard an interesting piece of news from Lu Yuan.
She said since Cai Lun improved the papermaking process, because paper was hard to preserve, bamboo slips were still the primary use. However, in households with the means to use paper, servants who couldn’t afford winter coats often used waste paper from their masters as insulation in their clothing.
Thin as paper, using it for warmth sounded somewhat ludicrous, but for people with limited means to stay warm, it was indeed a choice.
After all, the materials used in improved papermaking were mostly cheap, making it feasible for people who desperately needed an extra layer to protect themselves.
Once some started, the common folk also attempted similar methods for warmth.
Perhaps it wasn’t even proper paper, but more like a layering of tree bark fibers.
After realizing this option, Qiao Yan immediately ordered people to search the mountains for a type of tree called the mulberry tree.
This plant also grows in the Shanxi region, and in the vast Taihang Mountains, there couldn’t possibly not be a single mulberry tree forest.
Why look for the mulberry tree?
Because the fibers in its bark were extremely high, capable of meeting the need for warmth. That’s exactly why in later generations mulberry bark clothing would emerge.
While Qiao Yan couldn’t yet produce mulberry bark paper due to her current conditions, creating a layer of clothing from the mulberry tree bark fibers to get through this winter was undoubtedly feasible.
Even better, the active Black Mountain Bandits previously not only informed her of recent mulberry trees’ locations but also brought back two additional items while extracting bark.
One was the rhizome added to those yam pastries.
The other was the tree juice from the mulberry tree, which Qiao Yan had incorporated into the wax seal of that wooden box.
When Bao Hong arrived in the capital, it coincided with the emergence of Leping’s first rough version of the mulberry bark clothing.
Young and unfiltered, Cai Zhaoji looked at Qiao Yan’s joyful expression as she held the mulberry bark clothing and quietly asked a crucial question, “So this means the item Qiao Hou presented to His Majesty… isn’t it—”
“Isn’t it just a scrap?”
