Chương 448: The Gains During This Period

Cai Yan, Zhang Ning, Ren Hongchang, Du Xiuniang, Zou Yu, Zhen Jiang, Zhen Tuo, Zhen Dao, Zhen Rong, Zhen Mi, Mi Zhen, Gan Mei, He Lian, Yin Ying, Feng Yu, and Cai Wan, the sixteen ladies, accompanied Liu Ce in responding to the people, chatting with them, and asking about their family situations.

The people were even more excited to see these kind and gentle princesses.

Some of the older women held Cai Yan's hands and kept saying:

"Your Highness, you are truly a living Bodhisattva!"

Some young girls secretly glanced at Zhen Mi, their faces turning as red as apples.

Zhen Mi smiled and spoke to them softly, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze.

As he was leaving, the people insisted on stuffing things into Liu Ce's hands.

They stuffed the stuff into Cai Yan's and Zhang Ning's hands, not even sparing the children.

Liu Chen was shoved with a sweet potato, so heavy he could barely hold it and it almost fell on his foot. He cried out in his childish voice, "Daddy, this is so heavy!"

..................

Several ladies were also surrounded by enthusiastic people.

Zhang Ning accepted the basket of sweet potatoes, beaming from ear to ear: "Folks, that's enough, that's enough, we can't carry that many!"

"We can take it! We can take it! His Highness has been so kind to us, this is nothing!"

As she spoke, the older woman stuffed another handful of peanuts into Zhen Jiang's hand.

Sweet potatoes, corn, wheat ears... a variety of things, piled up to the brim of the truck.

Liu Ce could not refuse, so he had no choice but to accept it and ordered his personal guards to return it to the people in cash.

On the way back to the city, the children chattered incessantly.

"Father is so amazing! The people all say Father is great!" Liu Chen said, sitting in Liu Ce's lap and looking up.

Liu Ce asked with a smile, "Would you like to be that good too?"

Liu Chen nodded vigorously and said, "Yes! I want to be like my father in the future, making sure the people have enough to eat!"

Liu Ce patted his head: "Good! You have ambition."

The other children also ran over, shouting all at once:

"Daddy is so amazing!"

"I want to be a great hero when I grow up!"

"I want to be like my father, ensuring that the people have enough to eat!"

Liu Ce smiled and squatted down, patting each of their heads one by one:

"Good, good! You all have to be more capable than your father from now on."

"But you must study hard first, so that you can do great things when you grow up."

The children answered in unison, "Yes, we understand!"

The ladies felt a warm glow in their hearts as they watched this scene.

Cai Yan whispered to Zhen Jiang beside her, "My husband's journey has not been easy. From a minor prefect in Youzhou to now, almost unifying the world, it's all because he has the people in his heart."

Zhen Jiang nodded and said, "Yes. The people have discerning eyes; they know who treats them well."

He Lian gazed at Liu Ce's retreating figure and whispered, "He is the light of the Han Dynasty. This light shines into everyone's heart."

...

A few days later, Luoyang.

Grain carts from various prefectures lined up in long queues heading towards Luoyang. One after another, they stretched along the official road, their wheels grinding the ground so deeply that it created a dent.

The grain in the official granary was piled up like a small mountain, and the roof of the granary was almost broken through.

Previously, the officials in charge of the granaries were so busy that they barely had time to breathe, but they always had smiles on their faces, as they had never seen so much grain in their lives.

Later on, the officials in charge of the warehouses were always worried. It wasn't that there was no grain, but that there was too much grain and the warehouses were not enough, so they had to temporarily requisition civilian houses to store it.

Inside the council hall of the Prince of Yan's residence, everyone was extremely busy.

Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Xun You, Tian Feng, Chen Gong, Xu Shu, Cheng Yu, and others each carried a thick stack of account books, their abacuses clicking away from morning till night. They meticulously calculated the grain, weapons, medicine, winter clothing, and more, leaving no error, not even a single copper coin or arrow shaft.

Upon seeing Liu Ce enter, everyone immediately put down their abacuses, stepped forward, clasped their hands in greeting, and smiled broadly.

Fang Xuanling was the first to speak, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement:

"My lord! Great news! This year, all the prefectures and counties have enjoyed a bumper harvest, and all the grain has been stored away! It's truly astonishing; I don't know why all the prefectures and counties have had such a bountiful harvest this year, and it's not the kind of harvest we've had before—this is a genuine bumper harvest!"

Du Ruhui nodded in agreement and spread out the account book:

"My lord, look! Youzhou, Jizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Sili, Jingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou—all twelve provinces have achieved bumper harvests! Grain production is nearly 30% higher than last year!"

Xun Yu added:

"Moreover, this year's weather is extremely strange, abnormally favorable. It rained when it was supposed to, and it was sunny when it was supposed to, with no floods, no droughts, no locust plagues, and not even a hailstorm. In all my years, I have never seen such a year. It's simply a blessing from heaven!"

Liu Ce chuckled to himself: What auspicious omen! I just used the "favorable weather card".

But he remained expressionless, nodded and said, "Heaven blesses the Han Dynasty, this is a good omen."

Fang Xuanling continued his report: "My lord, the changes in the prefectures and counties we control are tremendous. Let's start with the common people. Now, on the streets of every prefecture and county, all you see are people with ruddy complexions and upright postures."

"The wrinkles on my face have all smoothed out from smiling. There's no way around it, life is good, I'm in a good mood, and my wrinkles have decreased. The market is so lively it could blow the roof off."

"The vendors selling flatbread, making farm tools, weaving cloth, running restaurants... their businesses were booming. The sounds of hawking, bargaining, and children's laughter mingled together and could be heard three miles away."

Du Ruhui added, "The grain harvest is plentiful. The granaries in Youzhou and Jizhou are full, and the granaries in Jingzhou and Yizhou are almost overflowing. I have already ordered the urgent expansion of the granaries, otherwise there will be no place to store this year's new grain."

Xun Yu continued, "Let's look at the population and public security. The population of each prefecture and county has increased significantly compared to last year, especially in Youzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, and Jingzhou, where refugees are returning home and people are migrating in from other places in an endless stream. Public security is also exceptionally good; petty theft has decreased considerably. With surplus grain in their hands, who would steal?"

Tian Feng also reported, "The village schools are thriving. Now, children of school age in all prefectures and counties can attend for free. The people say that Your Highness has paved a road to heaven for their children."

Liu Ce listened and nodded with a smile.

He saw these changes and was delighted.

Guo Jia, fanning himself with a feather fan, laughed and said, "My lord, the provisions are enough for the army to eat for a long time. The battering rams and catapults for siege, as well as herbs to ward off miasma and winter clothing, are all ready. Yue Fei in Jiaozhou and Qi Jiguang in Jingzhou have already prepared their troops, awaiting only your command to march forth immediately!"

Xi Zhicai nodded and handed over a list: "My lord, all the armies have been fully mobilized. Yue Fei's side has more than 40, 000 men, and Qi Jiguang's side has more than 40, 000 naval and infantry troops... More than enough to deal with the small force in Yangzhou."