Chapter 301 Yizhou Small Noble Families
Sun Zhao wants to raise horses.
It must be said that his idea really surprised Wei Yu, especially since he wanted to raise horses of the Hu people on the Youzhou border!
Excellent, this kid truly understood the task of “undermining” others.
Wei Yu was pondering the possibility, while Sun Zhao, after stating his plan, felt extremely uneasy.
He glanced at His Highness and tentatively asked, “Your Highness, do you think I can succeed with this?”
“Of course! Why wouldn’t you?”
Wei Yu got up from his rocking chair and smiled at Sun Zhao: “The Hu people are good horsemen, skilled in hunting, riding, and archery. Our Great Wei cavalry has long been inferior to theirs. For you to come up with such an idea is beyond what ordinary people can do. Hearing that you want to raise horses today, I couldn’t be happier!”
It's good for children to have ideas. Whether it works or not, just saying yes directly is fine.
With such confidence given, Sun Zhao’s eyes immediately lit up and he gave Wei Yu a silly smile.
“Your Highness, do you really think so?”
Sun Zhao shyly lowered his head, “I have been thinking for a long time about whether to go to Youzhou. After all, it is a border region. If I rashly go over there and happen to encounter the Hu people moving south, wouldn’t my horse ranch be completely wiped out by the barbarians?”
Wei Yu nodded, “Makes sense. So since you have considered so thoroughly, why have you now made up your mind?”
Sun Zhao glanced at him.
Wei Yu: “…Because of me?”
Sun Zhao nodded honestly.
Wei Yu was curious, “Why is that?”
He was quite sure he had no assets in Youzhou, nor did he know many people there, so why was Sun Zhao so optimistic about him?
“Naturally, it is because Your Highness is extraordinarily wise!”
Sun Zhao replied with full confidence, his proud little expression made Wei Yu momentarily suspect he was boasting about his own ancestors!
“Your Highness was able to personally visit Jiaozhou, and to establish a Merchants' Alliance in Ji Commandery where bandits ran rampant. So naturally, you can also achieve something in the vast and sparsely populated Youzhou where the Hu people are barbaric!”
Sun Zhao looked at Wei Yu with complete trust, “I know Your Highness’s ambitions and so will never cause you trouble. I will go to Youzhou on my own; if I encounter difficulties, I will also find people to solve it. Only when faced with tough choices will I feel anxious and wish to seek Your Highness’s advice through letters. Just a few pointers from you would be enough.”
Wei Yu fell silent.
Sun Zhao’s request was actually not a problem; the problem was his premise.
What did he mean by “know his ambitions”?
What ambition did he have that couldn’t be spoken openly and had to be hidden?!
Wei Yu stared at Sun Zhao for two seconds, then forced a smile, “That’s natural. You are doing this for the Imperial Court, for the people of Great Wei. If you encounter difficulties in Youzhou, just send me a letter.”
Before, it was all right; now, after discussing the Crown Prince matter with his dad, Wei Yu was much more sensitive to the imagination of his subordinates.
But even knowing what they were guessing, Wei Yu no longer could swear, “Don’t overthink it, it’s not like that.”
Sun Zhao, having received His Highness’s promise, also breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Your Highness! With these words from you today, I can go to Youzhou with peace of mind.”
Seeing him relax and look somewhat wistful, Wei Yu asked, “You’re leaving soon?”
Sun Zhao nodded and smiled, “Yes, I asked some horse-tending servants; they said spring and summer are good times for mares to be pregnant, so going to Youzhou now gives me a better chance to buy foals outside the border.”
Sun Zhao’s enthusiasm was unexpected by Wei Yu, though he did not object.
Wei Yu nodded, “This season is indeed good; it will let you better familiarize yourself with the surrounding environment. The Hu people live nomadically on the grasslands. Their tribes are many, and there are bound to be some who live hard lives. If possible, you can hire a few people who know how to raise horses.”
Sun Zhao had also thought about this. After all, the Hu people’s horses are stronger than theirs, so hiring their own people for horse raising was definitely the most appropriate.
“Your Highness, rest assured, I understand. I heard that there are many Hu slaves sold near Youzhou. I will go there to pick a few; there should be no mistake.”
Slaves.
Seeing Sun Zhao mention Hu slaves so calmly, Wei Yu sighed inwardly.
He was not sympathizing with the Hu slaves but merely sighed at this era’s unique slave system.
Northern Hu tribes widely practiced slavery, and Great Wei was no different.
They just didn’t often talk about it openly.
So reform was a heavy and long task.
Wei Yu looked to the side at Chang Ning, “What is it now?”
Being called on, Chang Ning smiled sheepishly, “I have nothing… oh no, I do! I just wanted to tell Your Highness that I will also be going to Yizhou in a few days.”
“To Yizhou?”
Wei Yu looked him up and down in surprise, “What are you going to raise? Why go so far as Yizhou?”
“Geese, Your Highness! I’m raising geese!”
Chang Ning looked at him with great grievance, “You don’t know what I’m raising, do you?”
Before being fooled, His Highness had been trying to charm him with sweet words. After all this time, His Highness still didn’t know what he was about to do!
Sure enough, men don’t cherish you after they get what they want!
Wei Yu laughed without any guilt, “How could that be? Of course, I know you’re raising geese. It’s just that since Sun Zhao switched to raising horses, I thought maybe you changed too.”
That excuse was reasonable enough; Chang Ning forgave His Highness.
His expression cleared a bit, and Chang Ning explained: “My uncle’s family has a distant relative residing in Yizhou. That distant relative said that many small noble families in Yizhou are selling land now. Although the price is not cheap, the location is good. Plus, the winter there is mild. So I asked that relative to buy several plots of land with mountains and water. There’s no better place to raise geese than there!”
Several plots of land with mountains and water—Wei Yu didn’t comment on how vague such phrasing was but focused on the key point.
“Small noble families in Yizhou are selling land?”
Wei Yu blinked, “Do you know why they are selling the land?”
Thinking back to the sugar price issue, Wei Yu suspected they might have “real industry bankruptcy.”
Hadn’t they gone with the Merchants' Alliance to Great Liang to find sales channels?
Could it be that only big noble families went, and the small ones didn’t?
It seemed that when he had previously talked with the Yizhou's nobles, there hadn’t been talk of limiting numbers or anything like that, right?
“What other reason could there be? Naturally, the households are out of money!”
Chang Ning said matter-of-factly, “Everyone used to know Yizhou for sugar production, but later Jiaozhou had cheaper sugar. Naturally, no one bought expensive Yizhou sugar anymore. Those small noble families couldn’t survive, and when out of money, they had to sell land. But I heard from that relative that many of them plan to establish a Merchants' Alliance like Ji Commandery’s.”
Hmm?
Wei Yu immediately became alert.
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