Chapter 51: Li Tai’s Preparations

Chapter 51: Li Tai’s Preparations

Li Tai went to pay his respects to Empress Changsun.

Aside from the first and fifteenth days of every month when he would routinely return to Chang'an to see her, Li Tai made it a rule to pay his respects to the Empress before leaving the palace whenever he visited.

Afterward, he would sleep for a night at the Prince of Yue’s Mansion and set off early the next morning back to Gaoling.

Although the road from Gaoling to Chang'an was not yet fully paved, as the repairs progressed, Li Tai’s travel time between the two places was growing increasingly shorter. Once the construction was entirely completed, the journey might take less than an hour.

Upon returning to Gaoling County, Li Tai made no secret of things. He announced the imperial court’s recognition of everyone’s achievements and personally bestowed bolts of brocade upon each of them.

These bolts could be used either as high-value currency or tailored into garments.

To Li Tai, even though silk was far more expensive than hemp cloth, rewarding people with silk was actually easier for him than giving out hemp.

After all, Kong Que possessed the entire textile industrial chain gifted by the Zheng family. Basically, as long as there were raw materials, the weaving industry under Kong Que’s command would have no trouble producing bolts of cloth.

However, weaving was not something where production could be increased merely by improving techniques; raw materials were a crucial factor.

For instance, a major reason why the Zheng family had achieved a monopoly over the textile industry in Chang'an was their monopoly on raw materials.

Even though Zheng Fengchi yielded a portion of the raw materials to Kong Que, given the capacity of Kong Que’s textile operation, the absolute limit of their total monthly production was three thousand bolts of cloth.

It was not that Li Tai did not want to produce more, but rather that there were simply no raw materials left. This was why Li Tai had to purchase cloth from the Zheng family—he genuinely lacked stock.

Naturally, this situation was only temporary.

Although the massive influx of refugees had disrupted the price balance of basic commodities that Gaoling had painstakingly maintained, Kong Que’s supply of basic goods was otherwise entirely capable of achieving a certain degree of internal self-sufficiency within the Gaoling region.

Even so, the price of cloth in Gaoling would remain relatively high for some time.

To a certain extent, this represented the contradiction between the people's growing material needs and the existing level of productivity.

Still, Gaoling was close to Chang'an after all, and when necessary, Li Tai could easily go to Chang'an to procure a batch of cloth, so he was not particularly anxious.

Because the demand for cloth among the common people was low during the summer, the true peak season generally arrived with the transition between autumn and winter.

By that time, down jackets would somewhat reduce the populace’s reliance on hemp cloth. Once they managed to tide over this year, Kong Que’s industry should be able to expand once more and achieve another internal economic cycle.

Furthermore, expenditures were not the only things flowing out. With the massive influx of commoners, the value they created made Gaoling increasingly prosperous.

Especially with the establishment of the port, which completely revitalized Gaoling’s value as a central hub in the Guanzhong Plain.

Although its political status could naturally not compare to Chang'an, being the city closest to Chang'an—and even connected to it by a tributary of the Wei River—made Gaoling’s strategic position stand out.

At the same time, Gaoling maintained no curfew even at night; instead, it ensured security by having the *Burlang* patrol in three shifts. This made the region exceptionally unique.

The people coming to Chang'an were not only politicians but also merchants. Gaoling, devoid of a night curfew, became the prime choice for these merchants to lodge temporarily before heading onward to Chang'an.

This was because Li Tai had positioned Gaoling regionally as the distribution center for Guanzhong commodities. Ships traveling from the south and north no longer had to worry about being barred from docking due to a nighttime curfew. Upon reaching the Guanzhong Plain, no matter where they intended to go, their first choice was invariably to head to Gaoling first.

From there, they could completely rely on water transport to reach their desired destinations via the Wei River at the fastest possible speed.

Especially those preparing to go to Chang'an could pause in Gaoling to rest, purchase gifts and goods, and then set off for Chang'an the next day.

Thus, before the docks were built, Gaoling could only scrape by on the coattails of Chang'an's situation. But with the completion of the port, it became the finishing touch that utterly enlivened Gaoling’s economy.

Although Gaoling could currently only be described as vibrant, with the further refinement of the docks, the city would naturally and vigorously thrive.

Whether these visitors came to spend money or seek amusement, as long as these distinguished guests were well-served, their wealth would naturally remain in Gaoling.

Overall, Li Tai was undoubtedly running a surplus, and a substantial one at that.

It was just that many of Gaoling’s foundational supplies still depended on Chang'an for stability, which left Li Tai with a lingering, instinctive sense of unease.

In reality, however, the fact that Li Tai could casually reward everyone with silk demonstrated that he was by no means short of money.

Watching everyone accept the bolts of cloth, Li Tai smiled and said, "Successfully settling the refugees this disaster season is all thanks to everyone here. It is precisely because of this that we have the prosperous development of Gaoling County today."

"All of this is due to Your Highness the Prince of Yue’s brilliant planning; we merely assisted from the sidelines!" Ma Zhou stepped forward with flattering praise.

"It was everyone's collective effort, everyone's collective effort!" Li Tai felt a modest trace of embarrassment upon hearing Ma Zhou’s compliments.

However, adjusting his expression, Li Tai said to the assembly, "I have gathered you all here today because there is a matter I wish to discuss."

"Please speak, Your Highness!" Hearing Li Tai’s tone, everyone turned serious, instantly收敛 their smiles.

***

Looking at the crowd, Li Tai spoke with utmost sincerity:

"Because the matter I foresee stems from my own deductions, I do not intend to explain the reasons behind it.

Even so, I still hope that all of you will lend me your strength!"

To be frank, whether it was the upcoming expedition against the Tujue or the bumper harvest expected next year, Li Tai knew he could not simply blurt out such matters at the present moment.

After all, even as the son of Li Shimin, he could not clearly explain how he could deduce that the court would dispatch troops against the Tujue this year, nor could he explain why, after years of consecutive disasters, he was so certain of a bumper harvest next year.

Even if he possessed innate knowledge, he had no intention of posing as a divine immortal!

A prophet could use the advantage of foresight to make investments, but one should never constantly rely on the advantage of foresight to speculate.

Li Tai was confident in the kind of future that could be forged by developing step-by-step and down-to-earth.

If he continually relied on historical insights to speculate, even if he managed to stand on the correct side every single time—

As time passed, and his growing string of correct choices exerted an increasingly massive influence on the world, he would never once have made an accurate judgment based on true personal ability. Neither his mindset nor his competence would have grown through overcoming successive victories.

The moment he failed just once, he would inevitably suffer the backlash of history.

The price of such a backlash would not only demand a heavy toll from himself, but those followers who had steadfastly believed in his ability to work miracles would likely be exterminated down to their ninth generation.

At that moment, the men exchanged glances, and as expected, they chose to place their trust in Li Tai’s judgment, for his decisions had never yet been wrong.

Li Tai continued:

"Our success in resolving the refugee crisis has brought us honor while simultaneously granting us an opportunity to deepen our foundations.

However, do not forget that the Academy remains our true root; developing Gaoling is merely our secondary enterprise.

Binwang, Chuke, Kong Que, the three of you shall continue to anchor Gaoling.

We have absorbed nearly a hundred thousand disaster victims. Although everything currently appears stable, truly digesting this population will take time.

I imagine that over the next two years, you will need to work in concert to complete the transformation of these displaced folk into upstanding citizens."

"Understood!" Hearing this, the three cupped their fists in a respectful bow.

Li Tai went on: "Binwang, Kong Que, the two of you control the vast majority of my Prince of Yue’s enterprises.

I have one requirement for this year: until June or July of next year, temporarily halt all expansion and investment.

By May or June of next year, I will need a massive sum of money. You must prepare as much as possible."

To be honest, when it came to resources entirely within Gaoling County or within his own industrial chain, Li Tai could handle things effortlessly.

Yet when he genuinely needed to pull out a huge sum of hard currency for external transactions, Li Tai was actually quite poor.

Nonetheless, Li Tai was acutely aware that next year’s grain prices would be so astonishingly low that they would seem unbelievable—not just during the Zhenguan reign, but throughout human history.

If he did not seize the opportunity next year to stockpile a massive amount of grain, Li Tai felt he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Truth be told, it wasn't that Li Tai didn't want to play a bigger game, but to reiterate: his ultimate ambition was to contend for the position of Crown Prince.

If he merely stockpiled a bit of grain while prices were low, no one would say a thing. But if he played too aggressively and bungled it due to a lack of understanding of common sentiments, the backlash would be far too unjust. Thus, it was best to keep things subdued.

As for Li Tai’s ongoing experiments with melting sand to produce glass, trials were still continuously underway.

He didn't demand transparent glass right off the bat; even multicolored glass would do, as it was merely meant to extract wealth from gullible buyers anyway. He didn't mind.

Unfortunately, progress on this front was agonizingly slow, though fortunately he controlled sufficient coal mine resources to allow him to tinker at his leisure.

Everyone present turned serious upon hearing Li Tai’s instructions.

In truth, the scene they had always witnessed was Li Tai spending money like water—even when converting nearly one hundred thousand refugees into law-abiding citizens, he had never once run short of funds.

Now, hearing that Li Tai lacked money forced them to be extremely cautious, for this was clearly no trivial matter.

With solemn expressions, the two answered in unison: "Understood."

Following this decree, they resolved to cut back on numerous non-essential projects so as to amass sufficient funds for the coming year.

Meanwhile, Li Tai’s gaze fell upon Lü Cai, Liu Shenwei, and Li Chunfeng.

"Lü Cai," Li Tai said, "you have done a commendable job as the head of the Department of Agriculture during this period, and henceforth you shall officially hold that title.

The Department of Music's previous plan to increase crop yields through melodies has failed; from now on, the Department of Music shall instead focus exclusively on strengthening organization, boosting morale, soothing hearts, and fostering teamwork and collaboration."

"Understood!" Lü Cai nodded, indicating his comprehension.

The plant-yield-enhancement program via musical accompaniment that Li Tai had proposed earlier could not strictly be called a failure.

It was just that the increase in crop yields for those plants exposed to music was not particularly pronounced, and the input-to-output ratio proved somewhat disproportionate.

Consequently, after a year of testing, the project had been phased out.

Even so, the utility of music in reinforcing organization and command during labor had grown increasingly evident.

Especially since these workers were common laborers rather than soldiers, getting them to obey large-scale commands was truly no easy task.

However, by incorporating instructions for large-scale cooperative tasks directly into musical rhythms, the workers immediately knew how to coordinate the moment they heard the music.

This invisibly elevated working efficiency.

"Furthermore, taking advantage of the arrival of these commoners, I wish for you to conduct another round of student recruitment, encouraging the refugees to send their children to the Academy!"

"Conduct a fresh recruitment?!" Lü Cai was startled by Li Tai’s words.

"Yes!" Li Tai nodded, adding, "Moreover, if there are orphans among them, try to assign them to Shenwei’s Department of Medicine!"

"The Department of Medicine?" Lü Cai asked, "Shouldn't we prioritize teaching them in the liberal arts and mathematics departments first?"

"This batch of students is rather special; prioritize training them in medicine." At this, Li Tai shifted his gaze to Liu Shenwei. "With a year of experience under your belt, I trust the Old Immortal has already roughly outlined the medical training system I requested initially."

"Reporting to Your Highness, Master has indeed constructed the framework of the system, focusing primarily on trauma treatment, massage, and bone-setting. We were already planning to begin trying and popularizing this among the medical trainees this year!" Liu Shenwei replied earnestly.

Li Tai instructed Liu Shenwei solemnly:

"The Department of Medicine must exert extra effort in the coming months to ensure the trainees master these medical skills.

I will not give you an excess of time; in short, let them learn as much as they possibly can!"

"Understood!" Liu Shenwei cupped his hands and replied.

"In summary, aside from these areas requiring adjustment, everything else shall proceed according to routine.

We have successfully absorbed this wave of refugees, but we also need time to digest them.

Therefore, over the next few years, I must rely on all of you to work with me in unison to elevate Gaoling County to the highest tier of evaluation."

"We shall certainly unite our hearts and efforts with Your Highness to develop Gaoling County into a superlative county!" Everyone immediately pledged to Li Tai.

Li Tai waved his hand, and one by one the officials took their leave. When only Ma Zhou remained, Li Tai called out to him.

"Why has Your Highness detained me?" Ma Zhou asked with a puzzled expression.

"It is like this: His Majesty has promised me that because of your outstanding performance during this disaster relief effort, once your term of office in Gaoling expires, he intends to transfer you to the central government. Therefore, you will not receive a reward this time; we shall evaluate your merits together once the overall assessment of Gaoling comes out!"

Li Tai said to Ma Zhou with a smile, "Thus, our policy for Gaoling moving forward will be centered on stability; we must not act with undue haste!"

Hearing this, Ma Zhou could not help but clench his fists. Bowing deeply to Li Tai, he said, "I thank Your Highness for your gracious cultivation; Zhou will never dare forget this kindness!"

To be frank, Ma Zhou had never imagined that within just a few years of following Li Tai, he would first help control locusts, then manage the freezing disaster, subsequently establish the Academy, take charge of Gaoling, and finally step smoothly into the central government with undeniable, visible merits!

Ma Zhou currently held the rank of a regular sixth-grade official; a transfer to the central government would land him at least at the lower fifth-grade.

For the vast majority of people, such a rank was essentially the endpoint of a lifelong struggle.

Yet given Ma Zhou’s age, this was merely the beginning!

Li Tai smiled warmly and said, "All of this is what you rightfully deserve. With your talent by my side, you could only ever manage a place the size of the palm of one's hand like Gaoling.

Only by His Majesty's side can you fully exert your abilities and unfold your talents. Your horizon will encompass the entire Great Tang."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

(End of Chapter)