When a person stands high enough, their vision naturally becomes broader. Gaisuwen and Gao Shanyang were now nothing more than two annoying mosquitoes. If it truly reached the point where they had to be eliminated, one slap would kill them. For now, they were fortunate to have the protection of their status as envoys.
The Yun Family’s interests needed to be maximized. In this process, if it could benefit the nation and its people, that would be ideal. Of course, the fundamental premise of all actions was that they benefited the Yun Family. In an environment of family-based governance, this approach was actually normal and approved by the Emperor. If one blindly pursued becoming like Lei Feng, it would instead make everyone suspicious of what you were really trying to do.
He Shao stood before Yun Ye, tears welling in the corners of his eyes, saying nothing, only clasping his hands in salute. The traces of the beating he’d received days ago were still visible—his face bore lingering bruises, the dark circles around his eyes hadn’t faded, and his movements were somewhat awkward. His obese frame had reduced by at least thirty percent, making him look more capable and less dejected.
The gifts he brought for the Yun Family were numerous and varied, though not a single one was particularly valuable. Knowing Yun Ye enjoyed eating, he brought four or five cartloads of various delicacies from the sea and preserved meats from the mountains. Yun Ye examined them with interest, but when he saw dried matsutake mushrooms in boxes, his face showed displeasure. What good ingredients, utterly wasted.
He picked out a matsutake mushroom and said to He Shao: “This is the finest of mountain delicacies. Once dried, it loses so much. Right now there’s no way for you to transport these from high altitude locations back here within two days.”
He Shao held the matsutake with confusion, saying: “They’re just mountain mushrooms. I don’t see what’s so special about them. Look further—there’s also an elephant trunk inside. I heard that thing is truly precious.”
There was no point explaining. In both his lifetimes, Yun Ye had never eaten elephant trunk. It had a big reputation, but he didn’t know how to prepare it. He wondered if the palace’s imperial chefs would. Premium ingredients required premium chefs. Eating elephant trunk now didn’t burden Yun Ye’s conscience in the slightest—these creatures were everywhere in the mountains, had no natural predators, lived long lives, and in Lingnan frequently destroyed villages and killed people. If you told the Lingnan people to protect elephants and not saw off their tusks, they’d fight you to the death.
Squid was a good find, and it was even alive. He decisively had the kitchen prepare it—this lord would eat iron plate squid today, spicy flavored. The lack of onions was regrettable, but a handful of shallots would have to do.
He gave He Shao half an ice-cold watermelon to eat with a spoon while he busied himself making iron plate squid. When He Shao arrived, Xinyue and Li Anlan hid and avoided seeing him. Xiao Ya and a group of half-grown girls had no such reservations. Especially Xiao Ya, who climbed onto He Shao’s back, waiting for her brother to make something delicious. Just from the smell, she knew it would be good.
Shishi now considered herself a proper young lady and didn’t come out. Xiao Wu was now the eldest among these little girls and very sensibly stayed by her master’s side, constantly passing him seasonings. The small courtyard suddenly became lively.
The Yun household had plenty of watermelons—they’d planted them in the back courtyard and on the dry plateau. Now that the watermelons had ripened and the family couldn’t finish them all, they sent them everywhere. Li Chengqian had hauled away several cartloads. Li Tai hadn’t come, but his concubine did, seeking out Xinyue and taking many. Once these two had theirs, it wouldn’t do not to send some to the palace. Twenty-some cartloads sent in didn’t even cause a ripple. Zhangsun even issued a warning, saying if he dared waste good land planting such miscellaneous things again, he should try staying alive. Of course, the scolding didn’t prevent her from enjoying the watermelons at all—eating one a day had apparently become routine.
Li Er now turned a blind eye to Yun Ye’s minor transgressions. When watermelons were sent, he ate them. He could also eat two wine-preserved crabs. Last time eating vermicelli noodles moved him so much that he rarely had the Ministry of Revenue send Yun Ye half a year’s salary. It wasn’t much money, but Zhangsun Wuji personally delivered it. The household entertained him well, and when he left, he still took a cartload of watermelons with him.
Xinyue was quite pleased that her husband could receive his salary. She sat among the pile of salary goods, treasuring them for quite a while. After calculating their value, she lost all interest—less than two hundred strings of cash, who would care about that?
Squid skewered on bamboo sticks were pressed onto the iron plate with a spatula, sizzling and steaming. Garlic paste, chili flakes, and prepared sauce were brushed on vigorously. When lifted off, seven or eight skewers of glistening, bright red iron plate squid were ready.
Xiao Wu distributed one skewer to each of the little girls. After hesitating a moment, she also gave one to He Shao. Watching them slurp their food, she swallowed her saliva and waited for her master to make the next batch.
Yun Ye was very satisfied with Xiao Wu’s performance. Teaching children started with small matters—only through example could one teach through action. Xiao Wu’s temperament was extreme and proud. Since this was the case, she should start learning the fundamentals of being human from now.
Since ancient times, human growth has had patterns to follow. Freud attributed everything to sexuality, linking all subsequent changes to sex, discovering what seemed workable but was actually overly biased psychological concepts. Yun Ye believed that what made humans human was having transcended the two basic elements of eating and reproduction. Attributing everything to implicit sexual suggestion was inappropriate. Expressing oneself, realizing oneself, and rising above base interests were what greatly enhanced a person’s creativity and capacity for thought.
Ignoring the muttering Xiao Ya, he stuffed three skewers of squid to Xiao Wu as a reward. He Shao had been watching how Yun Ye distributed the squid. He discovered that even small matters were used by Yun Ye to educate children, and couldn’t help but greatly admire this. Looking at the lively little girls in the courtyard, he secretly sighed. His own children were all disappointing. If he had one capable child, he would open his mouth to propose marriage to the Yun Family. The legitimate eldest daughter was out of reach, but perhaps a cousin could marry into his family as a daughter-in-law.
Di Renjie was a child who had long transcended base interests, but this didn’t prevent him from tugging at his master’s sleeve for squid. The girls never thought to share their food with him. Being male, he had no status at home. Taking the blame and being used as a scapegoat was routine. Seeing his brother apparently about to make more squid, Xiao Ya and the others gathered around again to eat, but were shooed away by Yun Ye. Having eaten so much, weren’t they worried about getting sick?
He made a large plateful, divided half for Di Renjie to take to the inner quarters, and carried the plate with He Shao to the garden, preparing to properly discuss shifting the business focus to the Two Lakes region.
“Ye’zi, do you think that old fellow surnamed Guan counts as having set you up this time?”
“Not at all. The old man spent ten years thoroughly exploring the Two Lakes, showing he already had a plan in mind, just lacking a major opportunity and the right person. To say something without false modesty, only I can handle this work. With anyone else, a good deed would turn into a catastrophe harming the nation and people.”
“Developing the Two Lakes will be our Great Tang’s main governmental affair for the next hundred years. Development in the north has reached its limit. The Guanzhong Plain and the Sichuan Plain have been farmed for over a thousand years—the land is already barren. Look at how many mountain forests in Guanzhong have become barren wasteland. In Sichuan, a single shipbuilding decree led to thirteen provinces rebelling. Why? Because they couldn’t bear the burden. The more prosperous a place, the more complex the taxation. It’s been this way since ancient times.”
“With one decree, the First Emperor of Qin had all the wealth under heaven flow into Guanzhong. He confiscated all metal and stone to cast twelve metal colossi, believing this would secure the realm. He styled himself the First Emperor. How could he have anticipated that imperial power would vanish after just two generations?”
“At the beginning of Han, Emperor Gaozu relocated all wealthy households under heaven to Wuling, causing pearls and jade worth a thousand gold to trade for only one bushel of grain. These two emperors—one gathering wealth, one gathering people—neither achieved good results. Why? Because they didn’t follow proper economic laws. Making a place prosperous isn’t simply accomplished by confiscating money or relocating wealthy households. Every place has its advantages and disadvantages. Following natural patterns is the best policy.”
“The development of the Two Lakes cannot proceed without manpower. Where will these people come from? I believe they should be relocated from Guanzhong and Sichuan. They cannot be forced—only by making them come willingly can we avoid social upheaval and allow the entire nation to complete the development of the Two Lakes plain quietly. Afterward, we proceed to develop the Yangtze plain, and finally develop Lingnan. This is a sequence from near to far that cannot be disrupted. Having our people continuously develop wilderness and manage wilderness is what’s feasible.”
“Throughout dynasties, regime changes actually have little to do with emperors. Even the most extravagant and debauched emperor, as long as he enables common people to have food to eat and clothes to wear, won’t have anyone follow rebels. Examples like this are countless. Only when a dynasty loses the ability to develop new sources of wealth does it transfer various pressures onto its own people. Over time, rebellion occurs.”
Yun Ye spoke at length, leaving He Shao’s eyes spinning. He’d only wanted to ask whether going to the Two Lakes offered any prospects for development and whether he could leave genuine family property for his descendants. Who knew Yun Ye would start discussing national affairs with him?
Di Renjie sat on a small stool listening to his master speak while chomping on iron plate squid. The red oil stained his mouth in a large circle. Yun Ye took out a handkerchief and wiped the chili from his disciple’s mouth, poured He Shao a large cup of wine, then called out toward the trees outside the pavilion: “Chengqian, if you don’t come over soon, Xiao Jie will eat all the squid and there won’t be any left for you.”
Li Chengqian emerged from behind the trees somewhat embarrassed, with Li Tai following. As he walked, Li Tai said: “Elder brother, from the moment he suddenly started talking about the Two Lakes, I knew he’d discovered us. You insisted on not letting me interrupt his lengthy discourse. Xiao Jie, you’ve eaten enough. I’ve been counting—you’ve eaten half already. Hurry and leave, it’s my turn to eat.”
Li Chengqian clasped his hands in salute: “Hearing you speak, I momentarily worried about disrupting your train of thought, so I held back. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“These words were meant for you to hear anyway. If I were speaking to He Shao, it would just be one sentence: there’s money to be made in the Two Lakes, and family property for descendants can be established there. Why would I say all this otherwise?”
He Shao beamed with joy and quickly stood aside to pay respects to the Crown Prince and Prince Wei. Li Tai picked up Di Renjie, placed him outside the pavilion, told him to go play, then sat down and began eating heartily.