Chapter 482 The So-called Plunder

Chang'an University Town, northern suburbs.

The Cai Family Fortress was a circular fortress with a diameter of 200 steps. When Cai Zhaoji returned, it had been closed and the second floor was being added.

The fortress has two gates, north and south. Even in the ancient city of Chang'an in the Western Han Dynasty, the doorway of this circular fortress still adopts the bridge hole model.

To enter or exit, one must pass through a low bridge tunnel, on which there is a watchtower with many shooting holes.

In order to facilitate the entry and exit of vehicles and horses, the bridge tunnel is longer, making the slope relatively gentle.

Taking into account the accumulation of rainwater, the roadside is paved with gravel and compacted.

When the carriage entered the fortress, Cai Zhaoji saw Cai Mu leading some tribesmen to greet them, so she quickly got off the carriage and went forward to greet them: "Uncle."

"Zhao Ji must be tired from her business trip. I have asked someone to prepare some hot soup for you to take a bath first before discussing matters."

Cai Mu said solemnly: "Lu Cui is here too."

"Okay, thank you for waiting, uncle."

Cai Zhaoji turned around and asked the maid to bring the initial draft and handed it to Cai Mu: "It's just the Xiongnu tunes and poems collected on this trip, including twelve short Western songs."

"Okay, I'll go look at it with Lu Cui first."

Cai Mu held the heavy manuscript in his hand and said, "Kong Wenju will also come to visit us soon. He sent a visiting card yesterday."

Cai Zhaoji just nodded, and was led by one of Cai Mu's concubines to take a bath and change into the new autumn clothes prepared by the family.

After bathing, they met and discussed matters together in the side hall.

This is one of the academic pavilions planned and built in the university town, but it was allocated to Cai Zhaoji, so the official label is Cai Xuehui Pavilion.

The viewer is the pavilion, which generally refers to a building area at a high place with good visibility.

Therefore, the main hall here is quite large and has the function of public lectures, but is not suitable for private banquets or meetings.

In the side hall, Cai Zhaoji wore a bright Shu brocade autumn robe, which was made of golden nanmu and mixed with dark brown patterns, symbolizing the harvest and austerity of autumn.

Gorgeous and elegant, yet serious.

Cai Zhaoji wore a square black gauze crown with her hair tied inside the crown. She wore no makeup and had a fair face.

But her expression was filled with fatigue. Not only was she tired from the trip to the Xiongnu royal court, but she was even more exhausted by the Grand Marshal's attitude towards her sisters' marriages.

After she sat down and the servants left, Cai Mu raised his glass and said, "I heard that Zhaoji went to Dongxiang. Did Madam Dongxiang discuss Zhenji's marriage?"

"Yes."

Cai Zhaoji also picked up the wine glass and drank with Cai Mu and Lu Cui. At the last table was Dong Si, who also raised his glass, looking restrained and timid.

After drinking a glass of wine, Cai Zhaoji picked up her chopsticks and ate a few bites of stir-fried vegetables before putting them down and saying, "Shuzhong has just been settled. The Grand Marshal feels that wedding banquets in Shuzhong are too extravagant, and ordinary people often go into debt and become poor because of marriage. In order to reduce the burden on officials and encourage people to get married, the Grand Marshal wants to keep the wedding simple."

Cai Mu remained silent and glanced sideways at Lu Cui.

Lu Cui immediately replied: "There are also related discussions within the shogunate. The first decree of next year is to encourage the people to get married. Men and women of marriageable age who do not marry will be fined. If the parents or brothers are officials, their salaries will be reduced by three months each year, and they will also be demoted by one rank if they are evaluated for their merits."

Cai Mu was shocked when he heard this: "How can it be so harsh? How much is the fine?"

"Men who do not marry at the right age will be fined half a month of hard labor in their own county each year, which can be converted into 200 coins or a piece of silk; women will also be fined 200 coins or a piece of silk. The shogunate also hopes that this punishment will stabilize the value of silk and currency in Shu."

Lu Cui drank the wine and said, "Since Liu Yan and his son entered Shu, they often recruited male weavers during military campaigns, so that most weavers in Shu are women. Many women have superb skills, and some have become rich and established manors and weaving workshops. These women live a wealthy life and keep male servants. They would rather have children with male servants or adopt relatives than be burdened by marriage."

Cai Zhaoji couldn't help but frown at this remark. She was taught that when a woman gets married, she should obey her father and brothers at home, and obey her husband after marriage, but her husband should not obey his son.

But Dong Si, who broke into her life during this period, made her feel that being single was pretty good.

After thinking for a while, Cai Zhaoji asked, "If a man or a woman does not marry, will there be a fine every year?"

"Not really."

Lu Cui smiled and replied, "Grand Marshal Rende has made an addition. Men with physical defects or heights less than six feet and women with heights of five feet and five centimeters are not included in this list. Men over fifty and women over forty-five will no longer be fined. Also, widows and widowers with two or more children will not be punished."

Cai Zhaoji asked again: "How did the wise men in the shogunate decide?" "The Grand Marshal has already made the final decision. The only things left to dispute are the minor details, such as whether the man must be 45 years old or older; or whether the man must have two children or more. These are the details. As for the rest, we dare not go against the will of the emperor."

Lu Cui couldn't help laughing as he spoke, and Cai Mu also started laughing.

Once the principles were set from above, people in the shogunate could only debate and fill in the details in order to constrain the counties to promote the policy.

Cai Zhaoji also laughed softly and sighed, "The Grand Marshal has great prestige. He makes decisions with one word, and all the officials in the shogunate follow his lead. This is a sign of a harmonious government and people."

Lu Cui smiled and nodded. After drinking a glass of wine, Cai Mu turned to ask, "Then Mrs. Dongxiang's proposal for a simple wedding, is it a simple one, or some other simple way?"

"Keep it simple and fast."

Cai Zhaoji hesitated for a moment before saying, "The wedding is scheduled for October, and the Grand Marshal will come here to welcome the bride. Madam Dongxiang has dispatched 3,000 soldiers to the banks of the Wangchuan River to build a manor and a pavilion for Zhenji, and it will be completed before October. In addition, officials and soldiers in Guanzhong are routinely awarded winter clothing cloth in October, and this year an additional 50% will be awarded. In total, ordinary soldiers can get half a bolt of cloth."

"There is also a university town. In October, we will be able to drive the beasts from Hexi, Wuyuan, and Shuofang into Sanfu. At that time, we will slaughter 10,000 cattle and sheep to entertain the students."

Cai Zhaoji could not help but sigh: "This year there is no war, the people live and work in peace, and it is also a good harvest. The reserves in various government treasuries are relatively full, which is why there can be such a large-scale increase in rewards."

After hearing this, Cai Mu pinched his beard and pondered: "This is a grand event for the military and civilians to enjoy together."

Lu Cui looked strange, and led Cai Mu and Cai Zhaoji to see. Lu Cui coughed twice before saying, "The Grand Marshal is getting married, and no congratulatory gifts from the people are accepted. But how can any party come empty-handed? When I came, the shogunate had already sent invitations to all parties. A few days ago, the Grand Marshal had sent Xuan Liang to escort Liu Fu's only son Liu Jing to the south of Jingxiang, and they would pass through Jingzhou and return to the southeast. How could Liu Fu accept such a great favor for nothing?"

Although their political stance was hostile, it did not prevent them from treating Liu Jing well.

The opportunity has been given. If Liu Fu does not want to die and his clan be wiped out, and if the big families in Jiangdong do not want to go down with him, then this marriage should bring rich gifts.

The southeast can't escape, and Liu Qi will also work hard here.

The care that our Grand Marshal showed to Liu Qi was probably the same as that given to his own brother. Liu Qi would definitely prepare an exceptionally generous gift.

Yuan Shang, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Liu Bao, Budugen, and even Zang Ba would not give up this opportunity.

Even if we don't fight a war, we can still plunder supplies from all over the world, so this year has not been wasted.

Of course the gift is not received in vain. Maybe it’s just an IOU for not killing your whole family.

Compared with the princes from all sides, how much profit can the officials and people in the territory who are still relying on supply distribution get?
Upon hearing this, Cai Mu and Cai Zhaoji looked at each other in silence for a moment.

After a moment, Cai Mu coughed twice and said, "How can it be simple when the whole country is celebrating like this?"

This kind of thing probably only happens once this year.

This kind of thing cannot be done every year.

Cai Mu was very satisfied that such a unique honor had befallen the Cai family.

He could not help but fill his glass with wine. After drinking a full glass, he asked with a smile, "Zhao Ji just said that Lady Dong Xiang also talked about Zhao Ji's marriage. What does the Grand Marshal think?"

Lu Cui also went to see nervously. He didn't have much opinion about the senior sister. He could barely be considered a registered disciple from the same county. In fact, he was not familiar with Cai Zhaoji.

During the chaos in Guanzhong, Caixue suffered heavy losses, and many young talents died under the swords of the rebellious soldiers.

Dong Si, who was sitting at the last seat, dared to look up, but then lowered his head again.

Cai Zhaoji glanced at it and lowered her voice and said, "My marriage also involves the position of the new Hanshu re-editing. Madam Dongxiang said that the wife of the governor of Hexi died early, and she hoped to marry the east and the west. She also said that after the marriage, I can live in Chang'an for a long time to concentrate on studying books and compiling history."

Cai Mu and Lu Cui understood that this was a marriage based on circumstances, and if they were not in love, they could continue to live alone.

But Zhang Xiu was already an important general of the shogunate and a local tyrant in the four counties of Hexi. Now that he has returned to the sea, his influence is growing day by day.

Therefore, we must also take Zhang Xiu's feelings into consideration and be careful to avoid suspicion in future life.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cui glanced at Dong Si, who also breathed a sigh of relief.

He also had some thoughts in his mind, but the pressure was still there.

Now that the shogunate has taken the initiative to intervene, he can save himself from being in a difficult situation.

Compared with Cai Zhaoji, he wanted to marry a young girl from a prominent family in Guandong after becoming an official.

(End of this chapter)