usatvline Chapter 31 Living and Working in Peace and Contentment
Chapter 31 Living and Working in Peace and Contentment
"Ten coins?"
Man Chong was taken aback. "They even provide three meals a day?"
"Of course! The magistrate said that those who work for the public must not go hungry."
The man looked proud. "My two kids are both studying at a school in the city, and they eat lunch there too. My wife works in a textile workshop. Now our whole family can eat our fill, and life is even better than before the disaster!"
Man Chong, skeptical, asked several more people, and the answers were largely the same. Everyone's eyes lit up when they mentioned Li Zhao; it was a genuine expression of gratitude and admiration.
Man Chong was completely bewildered.
There was no exploitation or coercion, and the people lived in peace and contentment.
Is there really a magical way to conjure food out of thin air?
Back at the Prime Minister's residence, Man Chong's gaze towards Li Zhao had completely changed, now carrying three parts inquiry and seven parts awe.
"Mr. Man, after looking around all day, what do you think of my Qingzhou?" Li Zhao asked with a smile.
Man Chong took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said, "Under the Prime Minister's rule, the people live in peace and happiness, and no one picks up lost items on the road. I, Chong... admire you to the point of prostration."
"Hehe, you flatter me, sir." Li Zhao stood up. "I've heard that you're quite curious about the source of grain in Qingzhou. It just so happens that we're doing an inventory check today. Why don't you come with me to see the granaries in Qingzhou?"
Man Chong's heart skipped a beat; the real show was about to begin! He wanted to see just how much wealth Li Zhao had!
The group arrived at a heavily guarded camp in the north of the city. This was Qingzhou's largest central granary.
Before even entering, Man Chong was awestruck by the enormous, round granaries that resembled small hills.
There were dozens of them, arranged neatly in rows.
Sun Fu stepped forward and opened the door of the first granary.
"boom!"
As the heavy door opened, a rich aroma of grains wafted out.
Man Chong stared intently inside, and froze instantly.
Inside the enormous granary, golden millet was piled high, reaching all the way to the roof, like a mountain of gold. Every grain was plump and firm, without a trace of mold.
"This granary contains 50,000 shi of grain," Li Zhao said casually.
Man Chong felt his legs go weak. Fifty thousand shi? Cao Cao's entire army's grain reserves probably didn't even amount to that much.
Li Zhao then showed him the second, the third...
Each container was filled to the brim. Some were filled with millet, some with wheat, and some with soybeans.
By the time they saw the fifth granary, Man Chong was already leaning against the wall and unable to walk.
He did a rough calculation and found that the grain in these few granaries alone was enough to feed Cao Cao's army for three years! And this was just one granary in Qingzhou.
"This...this..." Man Chong pointed at the grain, his fingers trembling, unable to speak for a long time.
He finally understood why Li Zhao dared to be so generous in treating people to meals, and why he dared to feed the common people dry food.
Because they really do own mines! Grain mines!
Li Zhao secretly rejoiced at Man Chong's astonished expression. He had spent the entire previous night withdrawing half of the one million shi of grain stored in his system space, filling the large granaries to the brim, all for the sake of this moment's show-off effect.
"Mr. Man, what do you think of my granary?" Li Zhao asked with a smile.
Man Chong swallowed hard, his voice dry: "Prime Minister... truly a divine being. Chong... is utterly astounded."
He had only one thought in his mind: he must go back and tell Cao Cao to never, ever provoke Li Zhao!
Faced with an absolute material foundation, all conspiracies and schemes, and all cruel methods of officials, appear so pale and powerless.
At this moment, Man Boning, known for his ruthlessness, had his Dao heart collapse.
……
After seeing off the distracted Man Chong, Li Zhao knew that Cao Cao wouldn't make a move against him anytime soon.
The fear of being dominated by massive amounts of food was enough to calm that treacherous warlord of a chaotic era for a while.
Back in his study, Li Zhao habitually opened the system panel.
[Li Zhao, the Prefect of Pingyuan]
[Registered population within the jurisdiction: 856,000]
Daily rice production: 856,000 liters (approximately 5235 shi)
Current grain reserves: 5,800,000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
The population mark of 500,000 was finally broken, and daily grain production reached a staggering 5,000 shi (a unit of dry measure). With over 1.2 million shi of grain stored, this was an extremely reassuring figure.
"With more people, there are more mouths to eat and more hands to work."
Looking at the map of Qingzhou, which had been completely stained with his own territory, Li Zhao began to plan his next move.
Simply feeding the people is not enough in this chaotic world. He needs stronger military force to protect everything, and more developed industries to support a larger system.
"Summon Liu Bei, Xu Shu, and Zhao Yun to come see me."
A moment later, the three arrived together.
"My lord, Man Chong looked so lost when he left, it was truly laughable," Xu Shu said with a smile as soon as he entered. "It seems that your granary strategy has been very effective, and Cao Cao will not dare to take Qingzhou seriously for the time being."
Li Zhao nodded: "Intimidating Cao Cao is only the first step. Next, we must take advantage of this peaceful period to hone our internal strength."
He looked at Liu Bei: "Lord Xuande, Qingzhou has just been pacified, but refugees continue to pour in. I think we should carry out another large-scale work relief program based on the current population of 500,000."
Liu Bei cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask what project my lord intends to undertake?"
"Roads." Li Zhao drew several thick lines on the map. "I want to build several straight roads that run through Qingzhou from north to south and connect all the counties. Only when the roads are open can government orders be effectively implemented, trade flourish, and the mobilization of troops be swift."
"This is a huge project, requiring countless manpower and resources," Liu Bei said hesitantly.
"We have plenty of manpower. Five hundred thousand people—as long as they're fed, they're the best labor force. As for resources..." Li Zhao smiled, "There's enough food."
He turned to Zhao Yun and said, "Zilong, I want to build a military academy in Qingzhou."
"Military Academy?" Zhao Yun was taken aback.
"Excellent. This program is specifically designed to train junior officers for our army. It selects meritorious squad leaders and platoon leaders from various armies, as well as respectable young men from civilian families with some martial arts skills. You will serve as the head instructor, with Generals Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Shi Ziqi taking turns teaching, and Military Advisor Xu teaching military strategy."
Li Zhao's eyes were piercing: "I want every squad leader in my army to know why we fight and how to fight, not just to fight desperately out of sheer bravado."
This is a groundbreaking step. Establishing a professional officer training system will greatly enhance the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the military.
Zhao Yun was filled with fervor upon hearing this, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "This humble general obeys! I will certainly not fail my lord's trust!"
After arranging these things, Li Zhao turned his attention to Xu Shu.
"Yuanzhi, I want you to do something even more secretive."
Li Zhao took out a drawing from his sleeve. It depicted a strangely shaped crossbow with a wooden box on it.
"This is a repeating crossbow that I improved based on ancient records. I call it the Zhuge... oh no, the Qingzhou Repeating Crossbow." Li Zhao almost let slip that this was a divine weapon he had drawn based on his memories from his previous life.