Chapter 786: Liancheng

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Yu Youyao’s heart felt heavy. “In short, we have to be careful. It’s best not to reveal the supplies on the ship in front of others, in case it attracts trouble.”

Old Madam Xie nodded. “Don’t worry. The Old Master has arranged for someone to arrive at Liancheng first and wait to receive us. In addition to the elite soldiers and guards on the ship, there are more than 300 people in total. Not to mention refugees, even bandits are not their match.”

Yu Youyao came to a realization. There were 100 elite troops of Yin Huaixi on the ship, and the Xie family had also arranged for more than 100 martial arts experts to guard against pirates hijacking the ship at sea. This was also the Xie family’s confidence in sailing at sea. It was indeed very safe if another group of people from Liancheng was arranged.

“There’s still a journey of at least eight to nine days to Liancheng. Let’s not talk about this.” Old Madam Xie sighed softly. “I didn’t have a good new year previously, so I keep feeling that it’s inauspicious. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Our family will gather and have a good reunion meal.”

On New Year’s Eve, Little Yao’er’s fever did not subside, and she was not in the mood to celebrate the holidays.

Only the men in the family pasted a few couplets on the merchant ship to seek auspiciousness. They prepared a table of food and wine to worship their ancestors and symbolically celebrate the festival.

After that, they were even less in the mood to celebrate the holidays.

Yu Youyao felt a little regretful that she had missed her first year with the Xie family.

The next day was the Lantern Festival.

Yu Youyao excitedly pulled her grandmother and her Eldest Aunt along for the Lantern Festival.

She had always been very knowledgeable about food. She wrapped osmanthus honey, peach dew, rose sauce, and so on in the Lantern Festival and made more than ten flavors. Even Old Master Xie, who did not like to eat sweet food, ate a lot for the first time and was full of praise.

The Lantern Festival passed with laughter.

In the days that followed, the atmosphere on the ship was finally not as heavy as before.

The days of sailing at sea were very boring, and Yu Youyao did not have anything to do. Considering that it was bitterly cold in the North during winter, she made a lot of incense medicine that was cold, moist, and nourishing.

As soon as she got busy, time passed quickly.

When the merchant ship stopped again, Yu Youyao suddenly realized that they had already arrived at Liancheng, Liao Province.

Yin Huaixi was guarding the east of Liao Province. It covered a large area and included the three major provinces in the northeast. It was recorded in the Pre-Han Book of Geography. “The Liaodong Prefecture and the Qin Prefecture belong to Youzhou as part of the 18 counties!”

Originally, Youzhou included the three northeastern provinces and the three capital provinces, namely Beijing, Hebei, and Tianjin.

During the Great Zhou Dynasty, the three provinces of the capital were no longer under the jurisdiction of Youzhou.

Due to the fact that the north-western regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Ningxia stretched for 100,000 miles, the terrain was very complicated and bandits often appeared. There was also a trade route that was connected to part of the Northern Barbarians. When the Imperial Court redistributed the state’s territory, it divided the three lands in the north into the territory of Youzhou.

Due to the large area and special location of Youzhou, the Imperial Court did not set up a vassal state in Youzhou.

Later on, King Li of Zhou invited himself to Youzhou to guard it. Today, he set a precedent and was conferred the title of King Dingbei. It was originally to intimidate the generals guarding the North.

Unexpectedly, King Li of Zhou himself had made many great achievements in the North.

The Great Zhou Dynasty didn’t have county towns. Among the 18 counties in Liaodong, Xiangping was the principal county. The ancient city of Xiangping had existed since ancient times and housed the local government of Youzhou, so it was also called Youzhou City.

Yin Huaixi was in Xiangping City.

There was a large saddle mountain between Yu Youyao and Yin Huaixi. It was a resource-rich area in the northeast. It produced many minerals, such as strange stones, beautiful jade, and relatively expensive medicinal herbs. At the same time, they could also obtain abundant resources from the sea through the coast of the city. It could guarantee the You Prefecture army’s strategic supplies to the greatest extent.

The climate in Liancheng was similar to that in Quanzhou.

Winter was not cold, and summer was not scorching. Even in winter, it did not feel cold.

However, once they crossed the mountain between Liancheng and Youzhou City, it would be a completely different scene.

There were many rainstorms in Youzhou. There was very little sunlight in summer and autumn. As winter was very long and the temperature was very low, the spring climate was not obvious. Every year, it was also bitterly cold in autumn, winter, and spring.

The merchant ship stopped at the dock, and Madam Wang came over. “The situation in Liancheng is unknown. Yin San and Jingliu went ashore to gather information. We’ll wait on the ship first.”

Yu Youyao nodded and asked, “Are the people who are going to receive us here?”

Madam Wang smiled and said, “After they arrived at Liancheng, they’ve been lingering at the Liancheng Dock every day. As soon as the merchant ship arrived at the dock, they contacted us. We’ve contacted them about the carriages and cargo. When Yin San and Jingliu return from scouting for information, they’ll discuss how to arrange it. We might still need to stay on the ship for two to three days.”

They had just arrived and had even brought a large number of supplies. Some of them were too eye-catching. They definitely had to understand the situation in Liancheng first before making their next plan.

Yin San and Xie Jingliu left for two days.

When he returned, Xie Jingliu had obtained a map of Liancheng.

Almost all the prohibited items in the map were in the hands of the government and some aristocratic families. Even the Xie family had to take the route planned by the Imperial Court when they traveled outside. They didn’t dare to take their own route without permission.

“I’ve asked around. King Yue Fei has set up nearly a hundred refugee camps in a relatively rich area in the North. Liancheng is facing the sea, and the supplies are very abundant. Outside the city, he has arranged for tents to accommodate the refugees. The government and King Yue Fei have sent troops to guard the camps to prevent the refugees from causing trouble. With the families as units, each family will send out a strong laborer to exchange labor for food. If there’s no strong laborer in the family, they can do some mending of the military clothes. They are provided with a bowl of hot soup and a piece of sweet potato every day.”

Yu Youyao heaved a sigh of relief.

No matter how much food there was, it could not withstand the consumption by a large number of refugees. They would not be full, but they would not starve to death. There was also a relatively stable environment. This was already the best outcome for the refugees.

A smile also appeared on Xie Jingliu’s face. “When the weather warms up, the sweet potatoes will be promoted to be planted in all areas of the North. King Yue Fei has encouraged the planting of trees and the raising of silkworms. He has already contacted local people who are good at raising silkworms and taught the refugees the technique of raising silkworms. The Yue Fei’s Residence will step in and contact some silk merchants to collect silk cocoons, silk, and so on.”

It was very likely that those who had fled over would settle down locally in the future. However, the refugees did not have any fields and had left their hometowns. It was not easy to find work locally, and their future days would be even more difficult.

A large number of refugees were gathered in one place. If this problem could not be resolved, there would definitely be trouble over time.

The silkworm farming of the Great Zhou Dynasty was mainly concentrated in Henan and Shandong.

The forest in Liancheng was very wide, and it was mainly made of trees. It had a natural environment for silkworm cultivation. However, silkworm cultivation was all in the hands of the local big families, so the production was limited.

If it could develop to a large scale, not only would it ensure that some refugees who had no fields would escape, but their future lives would also lead to trade in the North. It would be beneficial without any harm.

Cultivating silkworms was a good thing. The silk cocoon could be used to make silk. The silk could be woven to produce brocade, silk, gauze, and so on. It also involved various craftsmanship skills, such as printing and dyeing.

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