dognovel Chapter 534 Shu Land 2
Chapter 534 Shu Land 2
The land of Shu was invisibly divided into two worlds: the new district in the south of the city, where the mansions of the Ba family and their dependents stood side by side, red lanterns hung high, and servants came and went in an endless stream; while in the old streets in the west and north of the city, low mud-brick houses were crammed together, and the smoke from the chimneys was thin and weak.
Amidst this division, Ba Qing maintained a clear head. She knew that true wealth lay not in accumulating riches, but in winning people's hearts. Distributing porridge to the poor was merely one step in her long-term strategy.
"I heard the Chang family has been secretly active again?" Ba Qing suddenly asked.
Bapu's expression hardened: Yes, they are still contacting their old subordinates, but few have responded.
Ba Qing snorted: Let them be. What we need to do is to improve the lives of the people, not dwell on past grievances.
In the dilapidated Liao Family Ancestral Hall in the west of the city, cobwebs entangled the beams, and the portrait of the King of Shu on the offering table was mottled and faded. Only the incense burner in front of the portrait still had a few wisps of smoke remaining.
The Liao brothers—the elder, Liao Gang, was over fifty, slightly hunched, and his face etched with the marks of time; the younger, Liao Yong, was five years younger, his hands rough like old tree bark—were burning incense and making a vow in front of the portrait, their voices heavy and resolute.
"My Liao family has been loyal and virtuous for generations. Our ancestors fought alongside the King of Shu in battles across the land. How could we stoop to serve the Qin people? Today, I swear here that I would rather die than submit to the Ba family and disgrace the name of my ancestors!" Liao Gang's voice was hoarse, but it carried an undeniable determination. After speaking, he inserted an incense stick into the incense burner, and the ashes fell softly onto the dusty offering table.
Liao Yong rubbed his hands, which were numb from the cold, but there was a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He glanced at his brother cautiously and said in a low voice, "Brother, I went to the market to buy grain yesterday. I heard that the Ba family's mine is recruiting miners again. They pay ten coins a day and provide two meals a day, with dry food at every meal... I'm afraid our family's grain reserves won't last until the new grain comes in."
"Shut up!" Liao Gang slammed his hand on the offering table, causing the incense burner to shake slightly and ash to spill onto his clothes. "Have you forgotten what Grandfather said before he died? 'The descendants of the Liao family are born as people of Shu, and die as ghosts of Shu!' Even if we starve to death, we cannot disgrace our ancestors!"
He pointed to the blurry face of the Shu King in the portrait, his tone agitated, "Look at this Shu King, how majestic he was back then, but now his people are going to work for their enemy. How can you face him?"
Liao Yong lowered his head, not daring to speak again, but his heart felt heavy. How could he not envy those hired workers of the Ba family? Last winter, his neighbor Wang Er went to the mine and came back to buy a sweater for his family. This year, he even built two new houses.
His family had only a few acres of barren land left. This year's drought halved the harvest, and with grain prices soaring, they could only survive on thin porridge every day. He glanced furtively at the tattered hemp clothes piled in the corner of the ancestral hall, then touched his own empty stomach. The glory of his ancestors felt like a heavy shackle, suffocating him.
Meanwhile, in a grand yet somewhat dilapidated mansion in the north of the city, the Chang family, a former noble family of Shu, were arguing incessantly in the main hall. This mansion was once one of the most illustrious residences in Shu, with its upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters, but now it appeared rather desolate—the pond in the courtyard had dried up, the weeds beside the artificial hill had not been cleared, and even several of the floor tiles in the main hall had cracks.
Chang Yan, the patriarch of the Chang clan, sat in a grand chair, stroking a jade ruyi that had been passed down for five generations, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. He was over sixty years old, his hair was gray, and the wrinkles on his face were etched with weariness. Below him, his sons and clan elders sat together, each with a solemn expression.
"Father, the grain in the granary really only lasts for three months." The eldest son, Chang Hong, stood up and reported with a worried tone, "Last month's monthly wages for the servants were paid with the last batch of silk we had. If we don't find a way, I'm afraid we won't even be able to keep the servants."
"Do we really have to bow down to the Ba family?" Chang Yan sighed and slammed the jade ruyi onto the table. "Back then, the Chang family was a powerful clan that had the final say in Shu. Now we have to beg a nouveau riche. Where do we put our face?"
Six months ago, when Zhao Yan, the envoy from Chu, secretly visited, Chang Yan had delivered a passionate speech in this very hall to a dozen representatives of the former noble families of Shu, promising to unite with Chu and restore the glory of Shu. At that time, he wore brocade robes, full of vigor, and declared that he would make the Ba clan and the Qin people "get out of Shu." But now, Chu's promises are like a mirage, and his family's wealth is dwindling, making even daily expenses difficult to sustain.
“Father, face is important, but the family line cannot perish!” The second son, Changming, couldn’t help but speak up. “The Ba family now wields immense power in Shu, and even the descendants of the King of Shu have to give them some leeway. If we continue to stubbornly resist, we may really have to let our lineage die out.”
Chang Yan closed his eyes, his heart aching as if being cut by a knife. He recalled his youth, the family's heyday, when officials and commoners from Shu would come to pay homage during festivals—how magnificent the scene was back then! But now, he hesitated for ages even to buy his grandson a decent jade pendant. He opened his eyes, looking at the expectant gazes of everyone in the hall, and for the first time, he doubted his own resolve.
Last autumn, Zhao Yan, an envoy from the State of Chu, did indeed secretly infiltrate the Shu region, attempting to unite local forces opposed to the State of Qin in order to jointly resist the rule of the Ba clan and the State of Qin. That night, the Chang clan's residence was brightly lit, and the main hall was filled with former nobles and gentry from the Shu region. Gongsun Yan, dressed in the official robes of the State of Chu, stood in the hall and delivered a passionate speech.
"You are all pillars of Shu, how can we tolerate the Qin people running rampant in Shu?" Zhao Yan's voice was loud and inflammatory. "The State of Chu is willing to join forces with you. As long as you are willing to send troops to help, on the day we recover Shu, the State of Chu is willing to give you three times the amount of land, so that you can regain your former glory!"
At that moment, everyone in the hall was filled with enthusiasm, pounding the table in agreement. Chang Yan even declared on the spot that he was willing to contribute his family's stored grain and private army to support the Chu state's actions. They secretly devised a plan, agreeing to coordinate an attack from within and without once the Chu army arrived, to seize the Ba clan and the iron mine.
However, this conspiracy was doomed to failure from the very beginning. First, the cooperation between Ba Pu and Ying Wuyou brought substantial benefits to the people of Shu—the wages in the mines were several times higher than those from farming, and Qin caravans brought cheap salt and cloth, improving the lives of the people and diminishing the voices against Qin among the populace. Even some tenant farmers who had previously been dependent on the old nobility went to work in the mines, further weakening the power of the old nobility.
More importantly, the State of Chu itself was in dire straits. No sooner had Zhao Yan left Shu than he sent messengers demanding provisions, claiming that "the Chu army is about to embark on a campaign and needs to prepare provisions in advance." Chang Hong, holding the letter from Chu, paced angrily back and forth in the main hall.