Calling over the dozen or so people blocked at the roadside by the gate, it was indeed Zhou Yuan’s wife Zhao Shi, concubine Tian Shi, two daughters-in-law, and his fourteen-year-old concubine-born son Zhou Shengqiao. It had been he who saw Su Hongyu and Chun Shisanniang and called out, drawing Li Zhigao’s attention.

Zhou’s wife and the others, accompanied by several old servants who couldn’t bear to abandon them in the end, had come to the Censorate prison today to visit. They hadn’t expected Li Zhigao and Yun Puzi to arrive, leaving them blocked outside the prison gate unable to enter.

Li Zhigao wasn’t familiar with the women and children of Zhou Yuan’s household, but Su Hongyu and Chun Shisanniang had frequent contact with them.

Zhou’s wife Zhao Shi was already a white-haired old woman, while Zhou’s concubine Tian Shi was a beautiful woman just past thirty, taken by Zhou Yuan the year after he was appointed Vice Minister of Works in Jinling.

After Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and others were imprisoned by Zhao Mengji and escorted to Luoyang, Zhou Yuan and even his sons Zhou Wen and Zhou Xing’s several concubines, after receiving divorce papers, severed ties with the Zhou family. Taking children who had little status in the Zhou family to begin with and thus bore no unpardonable crimes, they either registered directly in Luoyang or boarded merchant ships traveling between the Yangtze and Huai regions to return to their native lands and seek refuge with family.

Only Tian Shi, favored by Zhou Yuan, had been an orphaned girl before entering the Zhou household, raised in a brothel from childhood. Redeemed by Zhou Yuan, she remained quite grateful. At this time, she still lived together with Zhao Shi and over a dozen other Zhou family women and children, carrying her young son Zhou Shengqiao, awaiting the Censorate’s final judgment on Zhou Yuan and the others.

Li Zhigao called them over to enter the prison together. However, before they could walk in, they saw Feng Yi and Kong Xirong arriving on horseback, surrounded by several mounted escorts.

“How can such a lively occasion lack just the two of us?” Feng Yi jumped down with a grin, tossing his reins to an attendant.

Kong Xirong wore a wry smile. These past days he’d been rushing to Tongguan and Hejin to confirm construction of the First Central Field Army bases. Returning to Luoyang last night, wanting to finalize the army’s officer roster with the General Staff Office, with numerous affairs on hand, he was still forcibly dragged over by Feng Yi.

“It’s a pity we couldn’t drag His Lordship over, otherwise all the old people from the former Marquis of Linjiang’s household could have had a grand reunion,” Feng Yi said shamelessly.

“Not that you couldn’t—you didn’t have the courage, did you?” Chun Shisanniang mocked him.

“It’s not quite that I lack courage. Too many eyes watching at Shangyang Garden. Act slightly presumptuously, not quite following the rules, and countless people will attack with verbal swords and spears—who could withstand it?” Feng Yi said.

Han Qian had broken too many rules, but Han Daoming, Gu Qian, Feng Liao, Zhu Juezhong, and even Guo Rong, Yuan Guowei, and others—each wanted to establish rules to demonstrate dignity. No matter how unrestrained Feng Yi was, he didn’t dare provoke public anger.

Su Hongyu felt quite emotional, thinking that regarding the former Marquis of Linjiang’s household, saying everything had changed wasn’t wrong—after all, Yang Yuanpu, Li Pu, Li Chong, Chen De, and others had all perished. But many old people from the former Marquis of Linjiang’s Left and Right Offices and various bureaus—Zhigao along with Guo Rong, Kong Xirong, Feng Yi, Chai Jian, as well as An Jixiang and Yuan Guowei—all gathered in Luoyang, while Lady Yao, Zhou Yuan, and Xishui had become prisoners in Luoyang.

Only Zhang Ping, Jiang Huo, and others remained in Jinling.

Before noon, jailers searched the prison twice, preventing inmates from concealing sharp objects. Zhou Yuan realized today was different from usual. He calculated the days, hoping more for his family to visit today, but didn’t think too much about it.

In the afternoon, a squad of jailers came over, placing him and his sons Zhou Wen and Zhou Xing in shackles and leading them from their cell.

Walking into the corridor leading to the courtroom, Zhou Yuan saw Lu Qingxia and Yao Xishui also being escorted from the women’s prison by jailers. His heart felt somewhat hollow, and he couldn’t help sighing with emotion: “Has the time come?”

Lu Qingxia raised her head to glance at Zhou Yuan and asked, “Afraid?”

“…” Zhou Yuan glanced at his two sons behind him without answering Lu Qingxia’s question, murmuring to himself: “Just don’t know what price Han Qian sold us for—only now sending us to Jinling!”

They had first been imprisoned by Zhao Mengji, then escorted to Luoyang. Although direct family members could visit, Zhou family women and children were currently under house arrest as well. For half a year, Zhou Yuan, Lu Qingxia, and the others had been completely unaware of how the external situation had developed.

However, regarding what their fate would be, they harbored no hopes in their hearts. They had long since determined that Han Qian hadn’t directly executed them because their greatest use to Han Qian was being sent to Jinling for punishment.

Entering the prison bureau courtroom, Zhou Yuan and the others were shocked to see Li Zhigao, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, Yun Puzi, Chun Shisanniang, and Su Hongyu seated in the hall. His wife Zhao Shi, concubine Tian Shi, and others also stood in a corner of the courtroom.

Zhou Yuan stood stunned, then instinctively looked toward Lu Qingxia and Yao Xishui.

He didn’t know what changes had occurred in the situation, but seeing Li Zhigao seated in the courtroom, with the prison administrator—who occupied no low position in Luoyang’s official hierarchy—merely attending respectfully at the lowest seat, he could imagine their fate might not be as tragic as being sent to Jinling for trial.

“Did they conquer Guanzhong so quickly?” Lu Qingxia seemed to murmur to herself, gazing forlornly at the clear sky beyond the courtroom.

Yun Puzi, Han Wenhuan, and Lei Jiuyuan—these three were advanced in years and no longer held any positions, yet occupied lofty status in Luoyang. Li Zhigao sat at the same table as Yun Puzi, with Feng Yi and Kong Xirong, trusted confidants of Han Qian’s direct line, seated below. She guessed Li Zhigao must have relinquished military authority over Liangzhou forces and been transferred to Luoyang to assume high office.

What led to this situation must be that the Liang army had already recovered Guanzhong, unifying Yongzhou and Liangzhou into one entity.

“The campaign ended in late May,” Li Zhigao said with emotion. Although after the great victory at Zhiguan Ridge he was certain recovering Guanzhong would pose no difficulty, he could still understand Lu Qingxia’s feelings. “His Lordship also remembers old bonds and has no intention of sending you to Jinling for trial. He plans to sentence your crimes according to Liang law…”

“Having recovered Guanzhong, he no longer needs to consider Jinling’s sensibilities. Or perhaps if Jinling’s military and civilians become激愤不已激愤激愤aroused激愤over激愤 this matter and provoke an incident, it would instead give him an excuse to turn guest into host and send troops to Jinling?” Lu Qingxia said.

“Palace Administrator Lu, you’ve fallen to this state—you should lower yourself a bit,” Feng Yi gave a cold smile. “When Zhao Mengji escorted you to Luoyang, if not for Zhigao staking his own career to plead for you, you would have long been sent to Jinling for punishment. Why would Luoyang bother inviting such trouble? Do you think you truly count as any kind of bargaining chip? If you could really penetrate Han Qian’s mind, could you have fallen step by step to today’s situation? Moreover, the previous dynasty perished barely thirty-some years ago. Reunifying the realm and ending divisive warfare is what hundreds of millions of people think and hope for. Is this still not enough—must you be used to provoke Jinling into creating an incident as a crude excuse? If we must speak of excuses, the Book of Songs states: ‘Under heaven, all is the king’s land; to the shores of the land, all are the king’s subjects.’ Confucius said: ‘Unite the realm.’ Mencius said: ‘Within the four seas like one family.’ Which of these sage words isn’t far more honorable and upright than you? Of course, having committed the degraded act of submitting to barbarian invaders, you presumably don’t understand these principles!”

“…” Lu Qingxia gaped speechlessly, never imagining she would one day be rebuked by this libertine Feng Yi into complete silence.

“I say Han Qian’s decision truly wasn’t wrong—you really should be imprisoned forever, given piles of moral essays to recite daily without rest, to reflect on all the disgraceful things you’ve done these years.” Feng Yi’s momentum came alive—when he bit, he pursued relentlessly.

“His Lordship treats people with benevolence. Regardless of your culpability, he will only sentence your crimes and won’t implicate others—I’ve been in Luoyang for some time but have been too busy. Only today could I get away to visit Lady Yao. I hope you won’t take offense,” Li Zhigao said.

“Stop being stubborn. The previous dynasty perished, the realm split into four parts. Li clan descendants, you and I all suffered family destruction and personal ruin, while how many people struggled in deep misery? Yet those who caused all this have long since changed beyond recognition. Do you think today’s Great Liang is still the Great Liang that destroyed the old dynasty and ruined your families? Would you still vent the resentment in your hearts upon today’s Great Liang’s rulers, ministers, and people?”

Yun Puzi counseled with deep emotion.

“Zhigao’s face carries enough weight—he’s already obtained His Lordship’s permission for the Censorate to sentence only you two to life imprisonment. If you can hand over the roster of Wanhong Tower disciples scattered across various regions, I’ll risk my old face to request His Lordship give them proper arrangements. I’ll also request His Lordship grant this old Daoist a temple where you can cultivate body and mind together. Even if resentment persists in your hearts, you needn’t concern yourselves with the rights and wrongs of this world…”

Although Zhao Mengji had caught Lu Qingxia and others in one net in Mengzhou, some Wanhong Tower disciples lurking beyond Mengzhou hadn’t fallen into the legal net.

Han Qian could give Lu Qingxia and the others some preferential treatment—for instance, lifetime house arrest in a Daoist temple would be far more comfortable than ending their remaining lives in a ten-foot cell. But the prerequisite was that Lu Qingxia and the others also show some sincerity.

Of course, only after completely catching all remaining Wanhong Tower forces in one net could surveillance over Lu Qingxia and others be slightly relaxed, preventing any further troubles from emerging.

Otherwise, Han Qian sparing their lives would truly be giving tremendous face to Li Zhigao and Yun Puzi.

“…” Lu Qingxia glanced at the dejected-looking Yao Xishui and sighed deeply. At this moment, she clearly understood that any further struggle or resistance had become meaningless…

Lu Qingxia ultimately handed over the roster of Wanhong Tower disciples lurking elsewhere. Whether subsequent identification and pursuit, persuasion to surrender, or even convincing some Wanhong Tower disciples lurking in Heshuo and Hedong territories to defect for use by the Military Intelligence Bureau—all these were matters Xi Fa’er was responsible for.

Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan, and Yao Xishui were sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to be confined in Liuyun Temple where Yun Puzi resided. Although they couldn’t step beyond Liuyun Temple’s boundaries, life in the temple was quite leisurely. They could even read court gazettes daily to understand numerous events occurring in the outside world, and even access New Learning texts compiled by Luoyang Comprehensive Academy, making them realize how crude the secrets they’d once spied upon truly were.

Su Hongyu, Chun Shisanniang, and even Ye Feiying, who was pulled by Princess Yunhe to serve at the Women’s Academy, would occasionally visit the temple to see them.

Zhou Yuan’s two sons Zhou Wen and Zhou Xing, along with some core Wanhong Tower disciples, were ultimately only sentenced to hard labor terms ranging from five to ten years.

After resolving these vexing matters, Li Zhigao devoted his energy to the General Staff Office. He discovered that after arriving in Luoyang, there remained far too much to learn.

Particularly, the impact of new technologies developed by New Learning on various combat methods and logistics transportation supply—whether indirect or direct—all concerned specific details of campaign plans for southern Jin. Clear and accurate assessment of Great Liang’s national strength more directly concerned the advancement methods, speed, and predetermined campaign objectives for subsequent warfare arrangements.

Li Zhi was designated by Han Qian to serve as Deputy Military Administrator in the Second Central Field Army.

Besides keeping his second son Li Dan at his side as an attendant for now, Li Zhigao also specially borrowed two senior professors from Luoyang Comprehensive Academy to serve at the General Staff Office, assisting him in gaining a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Great Liang’s New Learning development system over these years as quickly as possible.

Besides various new technologies formally developed and researched by Liyang Comprehensive Academy and Luoyang Comprehensive Academy that remained immature and lacked conditions for popularization, what Han Qian had promoted on the largest scale and with greatest force over these years—starting earliest from Qiuhu Mountain, then to Xuzhou, Donghu, and after assuming the Great Liang State Consort position throughout the Heluo region—was various water-powered machinery.

The variety, manufacturing level, precision, and scale of use of water-powered machinery had developed in Great Liang to an astonishing degree.

To provide stable water flow for various water-powered machinery, over the past years Heluo, western Huai, western Yu, and Xuzhou had repaired and newly constructed over twelve hundred small and medium-sized water retention dams.

Not to mention how many water-powered machines of various sizes were applied along both banks of downstream channels below these dams—just because after dam construction, water storage raised upstream water levels facilitating irrigation of fields on both sides, over four million mu of barren dry land and wasteland in the Liang state transformed into high-yielding irrigated land.

Not mentioning widespread adoption of large quantities of new-style iron agricultural implements, not mentioning introduction of tens of thousands of draft animals annually, not mentioning promotion of new seed selection and land reclamation techniques—just this large-scale transformation of dry land into irrigated land, with approximately the same labor input, could increase grain production by five to six million dan annually.

Water-powered machinery used on a large scale in mining excavation, ore crushing, blast furnace air supply, casting and forging, and other mining and metallurgy processes, combined with Great Liang’s unique reverberatory furnace technology, enabled Great Liang’s current annual iron production to exceed an astonishing eighteen million dan, while costs drastically reduced to only one-eighth or one-ninth of levels before the twelfth year of Tianyou.

Great Liang currently sold iron goods to regions including Jianghuai, Sichuan-Shu, Qianzhong, and Lingnan at roughly one-third the iron prices of the Tianyou era, causing iron industries in these areas to become utterly depressed, while Great Liang’s various iron mine foundries could still obtain substantial profits.

Of course, the greatest benefit remained that various high-quality yet inexpensive iron products within Great Liang territory received unprecedented widespread utilization, with application scope and depth far exceeding traditional levels.

Besides military equipment levels, standards in agriculture, transportation, manufacturing, and other areas all achieved substantial improvements.

Without sufficiently cheap and abundant cast iron supply, it would be hard to imagine one iron-beam bridge after another being erected across mountain ravines and gullies throughout Great Liang territory.

Besides quantity, Great Liang’s metallurgy and casting industry levels were also astonishingly high.

Currently manufactured hardened engraving knives could directly engrave various hard iron materials—essential tools for manufacturing precision instruments like timekeeping clocks. High-precision individual soldier spring-powered crossbows could achieve production scale breakthroughs this year—superior materials along with more precise and faster processing speeds were all key factors.

Besides mining, smelting, and casting industries, nearly all manufacturing industries including textiles, papermaking, oil pressing, and others extensively utilized water-powered machinery at depth. Compared to traditional methods, costs were all substantially reduced.

The most direct benefit was that during Han Qian’s governance of western Huai, although territorial and administered population scale remained extremely limited, sufficient materials for wartime consumption could already be produced.

During Emperor Tianyou’s reign, to guarantee military needs and daily palace material supply demands, the Chu court’s Bureau of Works and Internal Palace Bureau once possessed over one hundred thousand official slaves serving as laborers in various government-operated workshops.

Before Han Qian assumed the Great Liang State Consort position, employed worker scale in Huaixi and Xuzhou workshops and factories appeared to be around one hundred thousand. But when Li Zhigao now accessed the most core data, he clearly understood that Huaixi and Xuzhou workshops and factories at that time produced cotton yarn, cotton cloth, iron materials, iron goods, ships, salt, coal, tung oil, paper, tarpaulin, medicinal materials, and so on—total material scale approximately eight to ten times that of Chu’s Bureau of Works and Internal Palace Bureau.

When Han Qian initially assumed the Great Liang State Consort position, outsiders could hardly imagine that the most critical turning point in the situation at that time wasn’t even the Chu court’s choice to negotiate peace with Han Qian, but actually the expansion speed of the Songnan Plank Road.

By mid-second year of Taihe, when Songnan Plank Road was further widened with transportation capacity increasing several-fold, the outcome of the Heluo campaign was already determined. If Han Qian had then changed material supply systems, given Huaixi and Heluo’s material production capacity at the time, they even had capacity to simultaneously fight two defensive battles on front and rear lines.

After all, Chu court’s naval forces were too weak at that time.

Over these years, the Heluo region received relatively full development. When launching the Zhiguan Ridge campaign, military ministers in Luoyang City no longer harbored half a doubt about winning that battle.

At that time, a newly constructed large-scale flour mill in the upper Yiluo region utilized sixteen pairs of large water wheels driving thirty-two large stone mills. Just this one flour mill annually produced enough flour to feed eighty thousand people.

Relatively inexpensive yet sufficient food, cold-weather clothing, initially established public health and medical systems, along with various industrial products that could obviously improve production and survival conditions—these substantially improved living environments for Xuzhou and western Huai people, with population growth rates correspondingly greatly increasing.

When Han Qian assumed the Great Liang State Consort position, the six western Huai prefectures plus Nanyang, Yunyang, and Junzhou prefectures along with Xuzhou Prefecture totaled exactly two million population. Over six years, besides over five hundred thousand refugees migrating from outside, internal population growth also exceeded four hundred thousand.

Population in Heluo and western Yu regions also maintained quite stable growth these years.

The former Dengzhou area of Nanyang Prefecture region, long renowned as the Nanyang granary, contained only one hundred thousand civilian households when incorporated into Great Liang, with vast amounts of land lying waste.

After land lies waste, shrubs and various plants grow. In just a few years, tree roots and plant roots and stems become entangled in fertile soil, greatly increasing reclamation difficulty—not to mention most Nanyang region lands had lain waste for decades, long since grown into dense forests.

However, over these four or five years, large-scale attraction of refugees from eastern Yu migrating inward, Nanyang’s population rapidly increased to four hundred thousand. Using large quantities of new-style superior iron agricultural implements, investing tens of thousands of large-scale draft animals, they could relatively easily break open fertile soil where wasteland tree roots and various plant roots and stems were entangled, reclaiming nearly four million mu of grain fields.

Nanyang Prefecture once again became a true granary land worthy of the name.

According to the new tax system, after apportioning corvee into land tax, field taxes were mainly used for local development and livelihood affairs. But far higher than traditional manufacturing levels and scale, along with internal and external trade, by the sixth year of Taihe provided revenue of six million silver yuan to central finances—equivalent to six million strings of old currency.

Looking at state treasury revenue scale, Liang and Chu were roughly similar. But within Great Liang territory, grain, cloth, iron, salt, and other materials were abundant with low, stable prices. Converted to corresponding materials, Great Liang’s central financial revenue actually already exceeded Chu court by more than double.

Only half a year had passed since the great victory at Zhiguan Ridge. Even if over the next three years field taxes in Hejin, Pingyang, and Jiangzhou prefectures were collected at half rate and all used for local construction, Hedong Salt Lake production had already recovered. Salt taxes and large quantities of industrial products entering the three prefectures were expected to provide two million silver yuan in annual revenue to the center in the seventh year of Taihe.

Prefectures and counties along both banks of the Wei River, after this year’s reorganization, were also expected to provide at least one million silver yuan in annual revenue to the center by next year. Northern Wei River mountain regions were rich in copper, iron, coal, silver, and other mineral resources. If development could be accelerated, annual revenue provided to the center next year would necessarily exceed expectations.

Although Mongol forces’ previous extraction of money and grain from these regions amounted to roughly this number, Mongol extraction was predatory, causing extremely harsh and impoverished living conditions for these people.

Implementing the new field tax and collecting at half rate, tax burdens borne by people in these regions would drop to one-sixth previous levels. With people possessing surplus money and grain in hand, this would inevitably stimulate desires to improve survival and living environments, thus stimulating demand for numerous necessities and industrial products.

Relatively relaxed survival environments would in turn promote people devoting surplus labor time to expanded production or new production.

Overall material demand expansion, with social production and commercial scale continuously expanding accordingly—Great Liang’s center gradually raised annual revenue levels from these numerous expanding processes.

Under Han Qian, administrators like Feng Liao, Gu Qian, Zhou Daoyuan, Guo Rong, Han Daoming, Zhu Juezhong, and others controlling the Left and Right Secretariat Offices and Council of Deliberation—their financial management thinking and standards had by this time undergone complete transformation, distinctly different from traditional approaches.

Even considering the most extreme situation where Chu and Shu both severed trade relations with Great Liang, Great Liang would still require localities through lending, expanding local construction, and other forms to stimulate internal demand, maintaining current manufacturing scale without shrinkage.

Luoyang Comprehensive Academy and Liyang Comprehensive Academy already had scholars publishing numerous treatises on labor division, wealth accumulation and use, and central-local fiscal revenue and expenditure.

The simple four characters “practical application” had already developed to new heights in Great Liang.

In the seventh year of Taihe, including borrowing from various savings bureaus, Great Liang’s central payable budget scale was ten million silver yuan, of which military expenses were seven million silver yuan.

This was the data Li Zhigao cared about most—it directly determined the scale of military operations toward southern Jin and combat methods that could be employed.