MLMD -Chapter 186 Calculations

November 5th, the 7th year of Chongzhen

Hun Yuan Prefecture was once again covered in a heavy snowfall. In fact, it wasn’t just Hun Yuan; the entire Shanxi region was wrapped in a sea of white.

Yue Yang’s residence was located in the Ping’an Ward on the eastern side of the city. He had purchased it from a salt merchant. The house wasn’t very large, occupying just over thirty acres, which made it a middling estate at best among Hun Yuan’s gentry and merchants. Some had advised Yue Yang that the residence was too modest for his status and that he should buy a bigger one, but he had always refused with a smile.

In modern cities, most families of four or five live cramped in apartments of around a hundred square meters. Yet here, his home was measured in acres: a front courtyard, a back courtyard, and a garden with small bridges over flowing water. What more could he ask for?

With the cold weather keeping most people indoors, Yue Yang was no exception. At this moment, he sat in his study, warmed by a blazing stove, reviewing the account ledgers laid out before him.

Hai Lanzhu, whose belly was still slightly rounded, sat beside him, organizing the incoming reports. She was in charge of both the Shan Department and the Chuan Department, so compiling intelligence was her responsibility. The Linglong sisters sat on the other side, clacking away on abacuses. After nearly half a year of practice, they had become quite adept at managing the family’s businesses.

Yue Yang looked over the survey reports. According to the ledgers, Hun Yuan Prefecture had a total of 1,360 military households, with a population of 8,100. The official records listed 640 qing, 34 mu, 9 fen, and 3 li of land under cultivation. Summer taxes demanded 916 dan, 8 sheng, 7 he of wheat, while autumn taxes required 2,522 dan, 4 dou, 1 sheng, and 5 he of rice and beans. The total collected summer and autumn taxes amounted to over 3,400 dan.

Additionally, the prefecture had to provide over 24,500 bundles of horse fodder and 4,300 jin of poplar wood for annual taxes.

On the military side, there were supposed to be 3,261 soldiers, along with 592 horses and mules. Regarding weapons, in addition to swords, spears, shields, and halberds, Hun Yuan City reportedly had six “Invincible General” iron cannons, 52 bronze and iron flintlock cannons, 70 small bronze and iron cannons, and a large number of tiger-crouching cannons, cup-mouth cannons, and other artillery.

Judging from the ledgers, Hun Yuan seemed quite capable, but Yue Yang knew better. Not only had the number of military households dwindled to barely over 300, but most of the grand artillery—the “Invincible General” cannons, flintlocks, and tiger-crouching cannons—likely only had about thirty percent left. After all, falsifying records isn’t a modern accountant’s invention; the Chinese had a long historical tradition of padding official documents.

“Sigh… everything has to start over from scratch.” Yue Yang closed the ledger and sighed softly.

Hearing his sigh, Hai Lanzhu stood and poured a cup of hot tea onto his desk, then reached out her tender hands to massage his temples. She applied just the right amount of pressure. Yue Yang leaned back in his chair, resting his head against her increasingly full bosom, and closed his eyes, exhaling deeply.

Her massage was perfectly balanced, and soon Yue Yang felt drowsy. Half in a daze, he heard Hai Lanzhu ask, “Yue Yang, things must have been busy in Hun Yuan lately, right?”

“Yes,” Yue Yang replied with a light sigh. “Quite a lot. Recently, a wave of refugees poured into the city, crowding the entire northern district. Prefect Jiang feared trouble and wanted me to deploy extra troops to guard the area, but I refused.”

“Why?” Hai Lanzhu’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

Yue Yang smiled wryly. “Why? Think about it. These refugees entered the city seeking a way to survive. If the government doesn’t open soup kitchens or relief stations but instead sends soldiers to strictly guard them, it’s bound to breed resentment. If someone with ill intentions stirs them up, it could turn into a major incident. Look at Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong—why did they wreak havoc in Shaanxi this year? Because years of drought left thousands of miles barren, people were starving, even resorting to desperate measures, and the rebels incited chaos. That’s why bandits sprang up everywhere.”

Recalling this, Yue Yang remembered that in another timeline, Shanxi and Shaanxi were disaster zones this year. Countless people starved, and rebel activity surged. But with his presence in this timeline, Shanxi was far better off. The great harvest in Wulizhai had stabilized grain prices, preventing the runaway inflation seen in the other timeline.

Of course, there were pros and cons. News of Wulizhai’s bountiful harvest attracted more and more refugees to Yingzhou Prefecture and Wulizhai. But Wulizhai’s land could only support so many; it couldn’t absorb an endless stream of newcomers. Hence, finding new arable land became urgent.

Hun Yuan’s land was actually more fertile than Wulizhai, though long neglected due to poor irrigation and human factors, leaving much of it fallow. If Yue Yang developed it properly, in a year or two it could become another Wulizhai. Combined, Yingzhou and Hun Yuan could sustain many more refugees.

Thanks to his presence, the peasant uprisings that would have occurred in Shanxi had been quietly averted. This timeline had already changed considerably because of him—but for the Ming Dynasty as a whole, it was still too little. His efforts were far from enough.

Thinking of this, Yue Yang asked, “Hai Lanzhu, have the gentry in Hun Yuan done anything recently?”

Hai Lanzhu pursed her lips. “Do you think they dare? You’ve already scared them stiff. These days they’re more obedient than little rabbits. Even the ridiculously high salt prices have dropped back to three hundred wen per jin.”

Yue Yang snorted. “Those salt merchants wouldn’t obey without strong measures. Nine hundred wen per jin—they managed to sell it anyway. As for that last incident with the soldiers causing a commotion over pay, I suspect a hidden hand was involved. Otherwise, even Lu Youyuan with three times his courage wouldn’t have dared to cause such a scene.”

Hai Lanzhu nodded. “Based on the intelligence you provided, the Fang family is the most suspicious. Only they had reason and motive to hate us. But we’ve been here too briefly; the Chuan Department’s intelligence network isn’t fully established. Otherwise, we wouldn’t need to guess.”

“There’s no need to guess,” Yue Yang said coldly. “Nine times out of ten, it’s the Fang father and son behind it. Lu Youyuan at the prefecture gate was vague and confused—clearly someone wanted to silence him. He knew too much.”

Seeing Yue Yang in a sour mood, Hai Lanzhu tried to cheer him up. She twirled her eyes and asked, “Yue Yang, why don’t we just sell the salt ourselves here? Why give them a share of the profits?”

Yue Yang turned to her helplessly, lightly scratching her high, elegant nose with a joking scold. “Can you not call me by name? I’m your husband. Call me ‘fugun’ or ‘xianggong’ instead.”

“I just want to call your name,” Hai Lanzhu pouted. She knew that by Han custom, one should use a courtesy name unless of much higher status, but she liked calling him by his given name. Yue Yang had scolded her several times, but she never changed, and he didn’t mind much, so he let it slide.

Yue Yang replied, “I’ve thought about this too. Originally, we only sold Hun Yuan’s salt to the Fang family, letting them monopolize the prefecture. Now that I hold office here, and given how outrageous the Fang family has been, we can’t let them run wild. In a few days, we’ll open a few salt shops ourselves and see if they can still sit comfortably.”

“Exactly! Why let others profit from our money?” said Yulong, frowning at the ledgers. “The Fangs are a bunch of ungrateful wolves. They took our salt to sell and even ruined our reputation. Nine hundred wen per jin—they dare sell at a loss! Do they even have a conscience?”

Since managing the Yue family business, the Linglong sisters valued their assets greatly. Naturally, they fully supported Yue Yang reclaiming Hun Yuan’s salt trade.

“But the Fang family will probably act desperately,” Hai Lanzhu said, smiling at Yulong’s adorable expression.

“Let them act,” Yue Yang’s eyes glinted sharply. “If they sabotage us behind our backs, they’ll get their comeuppance. Long’er, immediately transfer some staff from Yingzhou and hire a few managers. We’re opening more salt shops here!”

“Yes!” Yulong jumped up immediately. She ran to Yue Yang, grabbed his hand, and looked up at him. “Young master, whatever you need, just say it. My sister and I will handle it all for you.”

Looking at his adorable wife, Yue Yang felt a surge of affection. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and laughed. “Also, Hai Lanzhu is pregnant now and can’t be with me at night. From now on, you sisters will take care of me. Your task is to bear my children as soon as possible. Understand?”

“Ah… young master, you’re terrible! Saying this in broad daylight!”

At Yue Yang’s words, the room was filled with playful, scolding laughter.