Silver Overlord

“I heard that there are many visitors at the Yan Fortress today and the cloth merchants in Gan Province are here. Look, the road is filled with carriages. Not even Qinghe County Town is this lively…!” Wang Jianbei sat on the carriage as he sighed in amazement while looking at the crowd on the road. He then turned his head to look at Yan Liqiang, “I can tell that this public road connected to the Yan Fortress is newly-repaired too. It’s really wide!”

“Indeed, it is. The original road existed for a few decades. It was quite narrow and became very muddy when it rained. I took the opportunity to repair it during the construction of the Yan Fortress!” Yan Liqiang replied.

Today was the grand opening of the woolen mill and there would be an opening ceremony. Wang Jianbei heard that the Yan Clan could turn useless wool into fabric since a few days ago and naturally showed his interest too. He had sent people to inform Yan Liqiang that he would visit today beforehand. Of course, Yan Liqiang was more than happy to see that the Prefectural Governor was interested so he personally went to Qinghe’s wharf early in the morning to fetch Wang Jianbei from the Yan Fortress on carriage.

The Qinghe County Magistrate and a few local bureaucrats also welcomed Wang Jianbei. Although the County Magistrate governed a county, he still didn’t have the rights to share the same carriage as Wang Jianbei, so he could only ride on the carriage behind his.

“That is a good thing and expected of a local influential clan! Repairing this road not only brings convenience to people of Yan Fortress, but also the people from nearby villages!”

“Have you heard of this saying? If you want to get rich, build a road first?” Yan Liqiang responded with a smile as he shared a slogan that he had seen in a village from his previous world. “Better roads bring convenience to transportation and trading. If goods can come in and go out easily, money will flow well too. This in turn means the locals can slowly experience better quality of life!”

“Not bad, that makes sense. The Great Han Empire is able to become the most wealthy place on the Silver Continent thanks to its great investments on public roads. Two centuries ago, the famous Grand Chancellor Zhu Zichang once came up with an ambitious proposal. He wished to upgrade all the public roads into direct roads that would connect all provinces and prefectures in the Great Han Empire within forty years. Unfortunately, this plan required a large amount of resources, so many objected to the proposal. In the end, only some of the public roads in the capital regions were rebuilt. After his passing, the plan was abandoned. Although Zhu Zichang’s plan was never completed, the fact that the Great Han Empire is still dominant on the Silver Continent with its immeasurable wealth is still thanks to the public roads that provide access to various provinces!”

This was Yan Liqiang’s first time hearing about the plans of a Grand Chancellor from two hundred years ago. The direct road was basically an upgrade from the public roads which would be used as the base. From the name alone, it reminded Yan Liqiang of a highway. He was extremely impressed to hear that a person from this era had such a vision.

“The construction of direct roads was indeed a huge project that required a large amount of resources. If one day the path of mechanics and the investigation of things advances to the next level, Zhu Zichang’s wish might just become a reality!” Yan Liqiang commented neutrally. The steam engine had been invented, but it wasn’t widespread yet. When it did, the rate of production would be increased. If the production of steel and metal was improved, then creating transportation methods like trains or cars would no longer be a challenge. If trains were invented, the impact it would bring would surely be larger than direct roads.

“True. There are already two Aquapyro Engine-powered mills in Pingxi City. I have seen them and they are no doubt great inventions that can save time and effort!” Wang Jianbei nodded lightly. He looked out the window and at the green farmlands that were filled with wheats by the road. It was already the fourth lunar month, time for the wheats to flower. The wheats rolled in the gentle breeze. Even in the carriage, one could almost smell the intoxicating scent that was unique to the flowering wheats. The scent reminded Pingxi Prefectural Governor of something as his gaze deepened. “The dream you mentioned about the Shatu people… was it real?”

After his previous visit to the Prefectural Governor’s Office, Yan Liqiang thought Wang Jianbei was no longer interested in the topic so he didn’t expect the latter to suddenly bring it up again. “If I don’t do anything, it might turn out to be real. To me, it doesn’t matter if the dream was real or not. All I want is to have a clear conscience. Why did you suddenly bring this up, Lord Wang?”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said to me these days. As they say, judge a person not by his words but by his actions. I realized that the fact you have been preparing funds shows how badly you think of the future. How can I bring myself to turn a blind eye to that?” Wang Jianbei sighed as he spoke.

News of Yan Liqiang turning wool into fabric had caught the attention of Pingxi Prefecture and Gan Province. Countless people even tried to follow in his footsteps — they started buying wool and making enclosures as preparations to earn their fortune like Yan Liqiang. However, as the Pingxi Prefectural Governor, Wang Jianbei knew Yan Liqiang had shifted his focus to food now. Tairuifeng Grain Retailer, the biggest grain business in Pingxi Prefecture, had quietly started buying food from all places in Gan Province and building warehouses to store them. In Pingxi Prefecture, the Lu Residence and Yan Fortress kept the biggest stock.

As the Prefectural Governor, it was only natural for Wang Jianbei to be particularly concerned about the flow of vital resources like food. Tairuifeng had been extremely careful with their business in Pingxi Prefecture; they almost never caused any huge fluctuations in grain prices. Wang Jianbei only noticed their unusual activities because of some news he received from the Provincial Governor’s Office. The other Prefectural Governor’s Office was alerted because Tairuifeng bought more grains from other prefectures in Gan Province compared to previous years, so the Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s Office was informed of this. Upon an investigation ordered by Wang Jianbei, they discovered that the Lu Clan in Huanglong County was related to Tairuifeng’s owner by marriage. One of Old Master Lu’s daughters was indeed married off to the clan who owned Tairuifeng. Yan Liqiang was able to cooperate with Tairuifeng to start stocking up grains through his connection to the Lu Clan and by offering large amounts of money behind the scenes.

Wang Jianbei wouldn’t be bothered if someone else was stocking up grain. However, this was Yan Liqiang. Wang Jianbei couldn’t help but feel nervous, especially because of the terrifying dream which Yan Liqiang mentioned to him before. Apart from a few places that suffered from natural disasters, food wasn’t really scarce in times of peace, so there was no need to hoard them. People would only start stocking up during troubling times because it only then would the importance of food be prevalent. In peaceful times, a tael of gold was enough to buy a few carriages of grains, but during harsh times, that amount of money was only enough to afford a few buns.

Yan Liqiang didn’t have any signs of panic on his face. He looked calm as he held Wang Jianbei’s gaze, “To you, Pingxi Prefecture is only a working place and a point in your career. You can be a prefectural governor anywhere outside of Pingxi Prefecture. In fact, you may even hold a higher position out there. But to me, Pingxi Prefecture is where I was born. The mountains, the water, and the people here are all an important part of me. I will never allow anyone to reduce this place into dead land. Since I have the capability right now, I must prepare for the worst outcome regardless of whether the dream I told you about before happens or not. After the autumn harvest, Tairuifeng Grain Retailer will stock up grains even more aggressively until next year and the year after that. Even if the entire investment turns out to be a waste, I don’t mind because I can afford it…”

“Even if I disagree, you are still going to deal with the Shatu people, right?” Wang Jianbei asked as he held Yan Liqiang’s gaze.

“Your words count for the Shatu people inside Pingxi City, but anything that happens to those who leave Pingxi City is none of your concern, Lord Wang!”

Wang Jianbei suddenly asked, “If I am willing to chase away the Shatu people inside Pingxi City for you, how are we going to clean up the mess that they will leave behind in their community area? The Pingxi Prefectural Governor’s Office doesn’t have much left from the collected annual taxes after expenses. We don’t have much money left to clean up the mess!”

“If Lord Wang can get rid of the Shatu people in Pingxi City, then I am willing to offer two million taels of silver to buy the Shatu community area in the city!” Yan Liqiang bluntly replied.

“Two million taels?” Wang Jianbei quickly repeated the figure.

“Yes, two million taels!” Yan Liqiang nodded.

“It’s a deal then! I shall handover the mess left behind by those Shatu people in the city to you!” A smile suddenly appeared on Wang Jianbei’s face as he considerately offered, “It’s alright if you don’t have that much money right now. I can help you convince the Provincial Governor to put the future earnings of the salt pans as collateral!”

“Lord Wang, can I go back on my words?” Yan Liqiang rubbed his nose, then looked at his palms with a strange expression. “Why do I feel like those Shatu people in the city have been deceived by you already? It’s like you’re packing them up and selling them to me at several tens of taels of silver each… wait… is this the Provincial Governor’s idea…?”

“Ahem, ahem… Well… the Shatu people are indeed scourges in our empire!” Wang Jianbei’s aged face turned slightly red as he continued, “I barely mentioned your idea to the Provincial Governor…”

Yan Liqiang stared at Wang Jianbei for a good while before he suddenly spoke up. “I heard that the Qinghe County Magistrate will be retiring due to old age in a few months. Why don’t I nominate a new one for you?”

Wang Jianbei was slightly taken aback. “Just one?”

“Two in fact. The Qinghe County Magistrate and a county officer for Huanglong County’s Law Enforcement Office!”

Both men in the four-wheeled carriage stared at each other for a few seconds before they high-fived.

“DEAL!”

“So, who would you like to elect as the Qinghe County Magistrate?” Wang Jianbei didn’t bother to ask about the county officer for Huanglong County because he knew it would be someone from the Lu Clan. He was only curious about the candidate Yan Liqiang would nominate as the Qinghe County Magistrate. Truth be told, Wang Jianbei wouldn’t even be surprised if Yan Liqiang nominated his own father.

To be honest, Wang Jianbei might hesitate if Yan Liqiang wanted the positions of two county magistrates. However, if it was a county magistrate and a county officer, then he could accept that. He was just going to treat it as a free gift and consolation to Yan Liqiang.

“Rest assured, Lord Wang. That person’s qualifications will not disappoint you!”

Wang Jianbei nodded.

The carriage had arrived at the Yan Fortress, but the entrance was so crowded that not even a drop of water could trickle through…