IDWBE -Chapter 547 Tribute

Dag had at least lived in Sanhe before. How could he not know the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”?

Sun Cheng glanced at Han Deqing beside him, then gathered his courage and said, “Reporting to Your Highness, I heard that after these natives came ashore from Jizhou Port City, they hired hundreds of laborers just to carry their chests. When they entered the city this time, I personally saw twenty-five carts loaded with boxes, guarded on all sides by natives. They must contain valuables.”

Sun Cheng had only recently taken over his brother Sun Chongde’s position as gatekeeper. His brother had personally taught him how to be a qualified gatekeeper.

As a gatekeeper of Prince He’s residence, he had to follow one principle:

“The gate of Prince He’s residence faces south—if you have reason but no money, don’t even think about coming in.”

The gate of Prince He’s residence was not somewhere anyone could casually enter.

The longer he worked as a gatekeeper, the better he understood Prince He.

“So they have money but refuse to give any?” Lin Yi said lazily. “That’s even worse.”

He called out, “Someone!”

“Your Highness,” Han Deqing answered quickly.

Lin Yi said calmly, “What’s Chen Jingzhi doing? Tell him I’m very angry, and the consequences will be serious. Make him drive those natives away first and give them a proper ideological and political lesson—raise their awareness. With their current level of etiquette, they still have the nerve to kneel at my gate?”

“Yes.”

Han Deqing hurried away.

Soon Chen Jingzhi rushed over, leading constables from the Ankang Prefecture and the city patrol bureau, and drove the group of natives away.

The entrance of Prince He’s residence returned to peace.

Only then did Lin Yi feel safe enough to go out.

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At the foot of the hill below Prince He’s residence was a commercial street and residential district developed by Tian Shiyou, Tian Sixi, and others.

Restaurants, inns, warehouses, wholesale markets, brothels, as well as supporting schools and clinics—all were built along the North Canal.

White walls and green tiles, classical architecture, rows of houses lined up one after another, each with its own style.

When construction outside the city first began, Lin Yi had only given a general concept and had not participated in the specific work.

Looking at the finished result now, it was even better than he had imagined.

He had to admire the planning and aesthetic sense of the architects of the Liang Kingdom—far better than the standardized designs of modern industrial architecture.

Especially at night, when red lanterns were hung everywhere. It wasn’t as dazzling as modern light shows, but it had its own charm.

As more and more residents relocated from the inner city, the area became increasingly lively.

The wide cement roads could accommodate five horse carriages side by side, and traffic jams had never occurred.

Under the road ran drainage pipes more than half a person’s height, so even during heavy rain the streets stayed clean.

Many people in the city had never experienced such conditions before.

Outside the city stood new houses—large, spacious, and cheap. Prices were low, and nearby were relocated government offices and military camps.

Once people no longer worried about public security, many began moving outside the city voluntarily.

Compared with the cramped houses inside the city walls, living outside truly felt like living.

The capital army camp lay on the outermost edge of the town.

Under the blazing sun, soldiers were still conducting daily drills. Shouts and battle cries echoed endlessly.

Looking at the dense mass of people, Lin Yi’s first thought was:

What a waste if they aren’t used to chop down Pinduoduo!

One thousand people wouldn’t be enough.

He’d gather ten thousand.

If ten thousand weren’t enough, he’d gather a hundred thousand.

And if even a hundred thousand weren’t enough… he’d start chopping people down.

Han Deqing hesitated. “Your Highness, should I go in and inform them?”

“No need,” Lin Yi waved his hand. “We’re just taking a walk. No need to make trouble for ourselves.”

In the summer heat, if everyone knelt in front of him, he’d have to give a long lecture. Too tiring.

Continuing south along the canal, Lin Yi’s brows gradually furrowed.

Covering his nose, he said, “I haven’t come here to fish in a long time. Why does it smell so bad now?”

Han Deqing frowned. “Your Highness, more than a hundred thousand people now live in the new district. All their wastewater—from eating, drinking, and… other things—flows into this Grand Canal.”

“Damn it,” Lin Yi muttered unhappily.

But he had no solution. After a while he comforted himself:

“Well… the fish here will definitely grow fat.”

After thinking about it carefully, he relaxed.

There was no industrial wastewater, no plastic trash. The pollution was just leftover food and human and animal waste.

No matter how polluted, it wouldn’t be that serious.

It might even help fish grow.

Still, he definitely wasn’t going to eat fish from this river anymore.

“Your Highness is right,” Han Deqing said with a smile. “Many poor families nearby rely on fishing boats to make a living.”

“Just like the Guan family,” Lin Yi said.

He glanced at the patches of water chestnuts floating in the river. After some hesitation, he decided not to eat them.

There were plenty in the wild ponds nearby. If he wanted some, he could pick them there. The water was crystal clear—much better than here.

There weren’t as many fish there, but there were plenty of crayfish.

Thinking of crayfish, he suddenly craved spicy crayfish.

After becoming Regent of the Liang Kingdom, “tribute goods” had almost become his personal privilege.

In this era there were no pesticides, fertilizers, or GMOs. Vegetables and fruits were the same everywhere, so buying them directly from the market was fine.

Thus he originally planned to keep only one item as tribute: tea.

But unexpectedly, He Jixiang and others opposed the idea.

Later he understood—no one in this era was stupid.

Although tribute goods were offerings from local governments to the court, the benefits they received in return far exceeded the cost.

Having the Liang imperial family and emperor as product endorsers was far more effective than advertising or word-of-mouth marketing.

Many ordinary people made their living thanks to the reputation of “tribute goods.” Canceling it outright would destroy their livelihoods.

Even in modern times, many agricultural producers still like to advertise their products as “former tribute goods.”

The ancient emperor liked to eat it. If you don’t like it, who do you think you are?

Once Lin Yi figured this out, he launched a grand “Tribute Product Investment Fair.”

Do you want your wine to become the emperor’s favorite?

Do you want your silk to become the new favorite of the imperial harem?

Do you want your tea to become exclusive to the royal family?

The Liang Kingdom’s marketplace instantly became fiercely competitive.

Just the title of “National Liquor” alone sold at auction for two million taels of silver!

If they paid an additional annual licensing fee of five hundred thousand taels, Emperor Delong would personally write the brand name.

Gan Mao of the Ministry of Revenue was so happy he couldn’t close his mouth for days.

Many court officials also discovered that the retired Emperor Delong could still be incredibly useful.

Why hadn’t they realized this before?

If they had been a bit smarter earlier, the state treasury wouldn’t have been so empty.

The most outrageous thing was that Prince He even had the treasury deposit the silver in Sanhe Bank.

He called it “making money produce more money.”

Among all tribute goods, there were only two exceptions: Sichuan pepper and black pepper.

The Sichuan pepper had to come from Chuanzhou, and the black pepper had to come from Qiongzhou.

If they came from anywhere else, Lin Yi wouldn’t eat them.

Without them, spicy crayfish just wouldn’t taste right.

“Your Highness,” Han Deqing said with a smile, “the village where the Guan family used to live has already been demolished. It’s now a flood-storage area.”

“That place is too low in elevation anyway,” Lin Yi sighed. “But because the river constantly deposits fertile silt, the land is good for farming. People would rather risk floods than leave. But they had to move. They say the government doesn’t need to help when disasters happen—but how could I just watch them drown? So I had to be the villain. Move or not, they had to move.”

“Your Highness is wise,” Han Deqing said.

He secretly felt as if his ancestors’ graves had started emitting smoke—otherwise why would Prince He talk to him so much?

Unfortunately, he was bad with words and could only repeat the same praises.

“Where’s the carriage?” Lin Yi looked around. “Let’s go catch crayfish.”

Han Deqing immediately blew the whistle hanging around his neck.

Soon a carriage slowly pulled up beside Lin Yi.

The driver was Guo Zhao, the former gardener of Prince He’s residence, who had just returned from the residence of Prince Heshun.

“You old fellow—what are you doing here?” Lin Yi said as he climbed into the carriage and lay down, placing ice on his forehead.

After turning the carriage around, Guo Zhao said cheerfully, “Your Highness, I took the liberty of asking Miss Zixia to let my useless son take care of the garden flowers. I’d still rather drive the carriage for Your Highness.”

He had originally been a carriage driver in the residence.

But because the garden had no caretaker, he had been forced to become a gardener.

Later Hu Shilu’s father Hu Da arrived, and then Sun Chongde came.

He had even less chance to return to his old job.

Lin Yi yawned. “What’s so good about driving? Wind and sun every day. Being a gardener is comfortable—you don’t even have to leave home. If you’re happy you can even drink a little wine.”

Guo Zhao said boldly, “Your Highness, flowers and plants are lifeless things. No matter how much I care for them, they give no response. But horses are different. I understand them, and they understand me. They’re more obedient than my own son.”

“If you call them your sons, will they answer?” Lin Yi joked.

Guo Zhao cleared his throat and actually shouted to the two horses ahead:

“Son!”

Just as everyone was about to burst into laughter, the two horses suddenly neighed loudly while running, as if responding.

Lin Yi was stunned.

“You really know your craft!”

Guo Zhao said proudly, “Your Highness, I’m fifty-eight this year. My father was also a carriage driver. I’ve been around horses since I was seven. When I’m bored, I even talk to them. But you have to be careful—they kick hard. By my count, I’ve been driving horses for fifty years.”

Lin Yi gave him a thumbs-up.

“Truly a master of his trade.”

Han Deqing stood nearby, stunned.

Seeing Prince He’s reaction, he suddenly felt great admiration for Guo Zhao.

Old ginger really is spicier!

In all his years serving in Prince He’s residence, besides Chief Steward Hong Ying and that rascal Xiao Xizi, the only person who could make Prince He laugh like this was probably Guo Zhao.

As for Mingyue and Zixia?

That was simply filial affection.

The carriage stopped steadily beside a wild pond.

Han Deqing asked Jiang Chou to assist Prince He in catching crayfish, while he himself retreated deep into the woods and personally lit Guo Zhao’s pipe.

“Please don’t—please don’t,” Guo Zhao said nervously.

He instinctively extended his pipe when he saw the flame, but he never expected the person lighting it to be Commander Han Deqing.

“You’re too kind, sir.” Han Deqing sat on a tree root beside him and smiled.

“Uncle Guo, you’ve served Prince He for many years with great effort. Showing you respect is only right.” Guo Zhao cupped his hands. “Commander Han, I only know how to grow flowers and take care of animals. Prince He doesn’t dislike me—that’s already my good fortune. How could I dare claim any merit? On the contrary, Commander, you serve beside the prince every day. That’s the real hardship.”

Han Deqing smiled. “Your son is Guo Cong, right?”

“That’s right,” Guo Zhao quickly replied. “My son is already over forty, but he’s useless—timid and not very capable. He only knows how to handle flowers and plants. That’s why I shamelessly begged Miss Zixia to let him work in the residence, so he wouldn’t starve outside. I hope Commander Han will look after him in the future.”

Han Deqing continued smiling.

“Uncle Guo, you’re being too polite. Prince He is right—every profession has its expertise. Even growing flowers is a remarkable skill. And besides, your son is already sixth rank. Who knows? One day he might rise to great success.”

“You flatter him too much,” Guo Zhao said cautiously, unable to guess Han Deqing’s intentions. “In the residence or the army, there are masters everywhere. His small sixth-rank ability is nothing. Please don’t laugh at this old man.”

Han Deqing shook his head. “Uncle Guo, I’m telling the truth. Why won’t you believe me?”

Guo Zhao lowered his head. “If there is any place this old man can be of use, please give your orders.”

Even though Prince He liked him, it was the same way one might like a useful object.

He had a use.

But he was still just a carriage driver.

Compared to Han Deqing, the commander of the guards, his status was insignificant.

Outside the residence he could still show some pride—after all, he worked for Prince He.

People who didn’t know better might think he was important.

But inside the residence he was at the bottom, no different from a dog.

Sometimes others gave him face only because of his age.

Otherwise, if he offended someone, not only he but his entire family could be crushed like an ant nest under boiling water.

And afterward, who would care whether one more person or one less person existed in the world?

Han Deqing stretched lazily.

“You know, Uncle Guo, I’ve just been promoted to commander of the guards. I’m still unfamiliar with many matters in the residence. I hope you can guide me.”

“I wouldn’t dare call it guidance,” Guo Zhao said nervously, thinking over Han Deqing’s words several times before replying. “Just ask, sir. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Han Deqing shook his head and smiled bitterly. “We all serve Prince He. There’s no need to be so serious. I just want to learn from you, Uncle Guo. I hope that one day I can make the prince laugh as happily as you do.”