Chapter 246 Meng Qing's Governance Strategy...

Chapter 246 Meng Qing's Governance Strategy...

Magistrate Chang examined the three sheets of paper closely. They not only recorded the prices of leeks and ginger over the past three years but also listed the sales routes. He then understood that Meng Qing's proposal to dredge the Yellow River was to facilitate the transport of vegetables by boat; she planned to transport the leeks and ginger to Luozhou for sale.

"Chives are plentiful and easy to manage, but they are difficult to preserve. Harvesting and transporting them in hot weather can easily cause them to rot. If transported by land, the leeks will spoil by the time they leave Huaizhou. If waterways are opened up, the travel time can be shortened," Meng Qing said. "The Yellow River runs through four counties in Huaizhou. Xiuwu County, the only one without a section of the Yellow River, is not far from it. We can use the Yellow River to transport fruits and mountain products such as peaches and pears. It can be said that after the Yellow River is dredged and navigable, the five counties of Huaizhou will be connected, allowing them to exchange goods and develop their economy. If this route to wealth can be developed, the living conditions of the people of Huaizhou in one or two decades may even surpass those of Luozhou and Henan Prefecture, making it the number one prefecture in the heart of the Central Plains."

"The Lady of the County is right; it was my shortsightedness." Magistrate Chang could not find fault with her, so he could only lower his head and admit his mistake.

“Magistrate Chang has served in Wuzhi County for over seven years. He has finally seen an opportunity for promotion, so it’s understandable that he’s anxious.” Meng Qing’s words calmed down, and she said with empathy, “What’s most frustrating isn’t not being promoted yourself, but seeing your former colleagues in the same situation get promoted, and your new superiors getting promoted again and again, while you’ve put in the effort but haven’t received any reward. Anyone would be restless.”

These words struck a chord with Magistrate Chang, and he was so moved that he almost burst into tears. "Thank you for your understanding, Madam."

“I apologize to Magistrate Chang for my harsh words just now. Governor Du and I are also people who seek fame, fortune and power. It’s just that fame, fortune and power are obtained by governing the people’s livelihood and piling up political achievements. We just couldn’t stand people who were opportunistic and didn’t know how to be flexible.” Meng Qing apologized and then scolded the man again, “What do officials seek if not fame, fortune and power? Magistrate Chang, please don’t take my hurtful words to heart.”

Magistrate Chang felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had eaten a lump of candy that tasted like excrement, and he couldn't tell whether he should swallow it or spit it out.

"Madam, you are too kind. It was I who offended you first." Magistrate Chang swallowed his words. He folded the paper and said awkwardly, "I will first start to teach farmers how to plant crops and encourage them to plant leeks and ginger."

"Wait a minute." Meng Qing stood up and took a newly bound agricultural book from the bookshelf, handing it to him. "Starting in July, I organized veteran vegetable farmers and local farmers, along with a few scholars, to compile a book. It records how to cultivate the roots of leeks, when to fertilize, how to sun-dry ginger seeds to promote sprouting, what kind of terrain and soil to choose, and precautions for crop rotation. You should take it back to the county and organize the teachers and students of the county school to copy it. It would be best to give a copy to each village head and township head, and then pass it on to the farmers."

"Yes." Magistrate Chang accepted it with both hands. "Madam, I shall take my leave."

"Next spring, I'll be taking a group to inspect Wuzhi County. Magistrate Chang, don't let me down." Meng Qing gave him a stern look.

"I will certainly not disappoint the Lady of the County." With his own promotion at stake, Magistrate Chang would not slack off. He left the office, then poked his head back in to ask, "Lady of the County, if I may be so bold as to inquire, is this unique to our county, or will other counties follow suit?"

What do you think?

Magistrate Chang then left.

Meng Qing sat alone for a while, then Chief Secretary Sun knocked on the door and came in.

"Madam, the decree to hire laborers has been issued, and the magistrate of Xing County, which is nearby, has replied that more than 8,000 laborers and more than 3,000 servants will be arranged to come over within two days," Chief Secretary Sun reported.

"Pass the message on to Magistrate Gu and tell him to make the necessary arrangements," Meng Qing said. "Have the grain, meat, and vegetables been arranged? There can't be any problems in this regard."

In the past two years, the investigation of land ownership has offended powerful families, landlords, and gentry quite a bit. It is impossible to raise funds from them for this year's water conservancy projects. The food expenses for the laborers will be supported entirely by the profits of paper mills and hemp mills. Grain will need to be purchased from the five counties of Huaizhou and the wealthy counties of Heqing and Heyin.

"Everything is arranged." Two months ago, Chief Secretary Sun arrived in Huaizhou from Heqing County and took over the grain procurement. He immediately contacted his former subordinates in Heqing County, and ultimately, grain merchants from Heqing County secured half of the grain supply, while grain merchants from Xiuwu County contracted the remaining half. As for meat and vegetables, they were all purchased from Huaizhou. Huaizhou has now become a major sheep-raising prefecture, with about 80,000 fattened sheep slaughtered annually. Sheep traders from Bingzhou, Luozhou, and Henan Prefecture have become frequent customers of Huaizhou, so there's no need to buy pigs or sheep from elsewhere. Now that it's winter, cabbage and radishes are plentiful; one string of cash can buy five cartloads—cheap and plentiful.

“I trust Chief Clerk Sun, so I’ll leave these matters to you,” Meng Qing said. “Summon Commander Wang here; I need to assign him something.”

After Chief Clerk Sun left, Wang Sima entered shortly afterward.

"Madam, you wanted to see me?"

"What has Wang Sima been busy with lately?" Meng Qing asked.

"I have nothing to do, so I'm just waiting for the Lady of the County to assign me something," Wang Sima replied tactfully. He hadn't been very proactive in the land survey and had been sidelined for two years. If he didn't take on the task soon, he would follow in the footsteps of Chief Secretary Dou and be kicked out of Huai Prefecture.

"Go to each county and assist the magistrate in setting up a workshop locally. Also, contact the people at the official kiln and have them fire a batch of pottery jars to be used next autumn to store leek flower sauce. They can be sold along with the sheep," Meng Qing instructed.

"Is the workshop used to make chive blossom sauce?" Wang Sima immediately thought of what happened a few months ago. Meng Qing gathered a group of vegetable farmers and peasants in the library to compile a book with the scholars. He had learned about it and found that the book contained planting methods for chives, ginger, lilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and sweet potatoes. It seemed that she planned to promote their cultivation in various counties, just like ramie.

“Yes.” Meng Qing nodded. “Chive blossom sauce looks simple, but there are many intricacies involved. If you want it to sell well, you’ll have to put in a lot of effort. Wang Sima, do some research, find several famous chefs, make several jars, and choose the one with the best taste. Besides chive blossoms, develop some other ways to eat ginger, such as pickled ginger, pickled ginger, and honey-preserved ginger. Wang Sima comes from a distinguished family, has a lot of good food, and has good taste. This shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

Wang Sima nodded with pleasure. He liked the job. "I will do my job well and will not disappoint the Lady of the County."

Meng Qing smiled and said, "If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you responsible."

"If I encounter any problems I cannot decide, I will definitely come to the Lady of the County for advice," said Wang Sima cautiously.

Meng Qing waved his hand, "Go and make the arrangements, and also call the military advisor in charge of storage here."

When Wang Sima left, the military advisor in charge of storage came in.

Meng Qing instructed the military officer in charge of granaries to begin building granaries and cellars, which would be used to store ginger and canned goods next year.

With everything arranged, Meng Qing summoned the magistrate and asked him to convey her message: please invite the magistrates of the four counties outside of Wuzhi County to come to the governor's mansion to see her.

The county magistrate was busy relocating people and making room for laborers, so he had no time to come to the governor's mansion. The county magistrate Xing set off with the laborers and servants in the county, which delayed their journey. As a result, the magistrates of the two nearest counties, along with the magistrates of Wude County and Xiuwu County, gathered in Hanoi County on the same day, and the four of them went to the governor's mansion together.

"Magistrate Xing, I want to thank you. Wen County alone has gathered more than 10,000 people to help us," Magistrate Gu said politely.

Magistrate Xing waved his hand, "No need to thank me. I didn't play a big role. It was the people of Wen County who remembered your kindness. Four years ago, you used the power of an entire prefecture to help the people of Wen County suppress the ferocious Yellow River. Now it's time for us to repay your kindness."

"What a coincidence, the four of you have all come together?" Meng Qing came from the backyard and met the four county magistrates as he exited the Begonia Gate.

"Your humble servants greet the Lady of the County," the four county magistrates said in unison.

Meng Qing nodded. "Come in with me."

Entering the communal room, Meng Qing handed over four newly compiled agricultural books. "Magistrate Chang came and took one a couple of days ago. The abandoned fields in Wuzhi County will be plowed this winter and planted with leeks and ginger next spring. Your four counties should follow suit. Don't worry about sales. Wang Sima will assist you in building workshops locally to make leek flower sauce, pickled ginger, honey-preserved ginger, and the like. The Sicang Military Advisor is also working on selecting sites to build granaries to prepare for storing ginger."

The four county magistrates were looking through the agricultural books when Magistrate Xing said, "The Lady of the County has made all the arrangements, so we can relax."

“It won’t be easy. I’ve given the same plans to all five counties, but which county will ultimately develop the best depends on the abilities of the local magistrate and clerks,” Meng Qing said. “For example, with honey-preserved ginger, where will the honey come from? Will we buy it or have farmers raise bees and sell it? That’s where things can be improved. Leeks and ginger are easy-to-manage crops, and I chose these two essential crops based on the principle of saving time and effort. But if you have other ideas, you can discuss them with me. For example, planting lilies, Sichuan pepper, and sweet potatoes. As long as it’s done on a large scale, Governor Du and I can take care of finding sales channels.”

“After the Yellow River dike in Hanoi County is completed, it will be used entirely for planting Sichuan pepper.” The county magistrate had a choice. “My hometown is Shanzhou, which is famous for its Sichuan pepper. I can contact my relatives and buy Sichuan pepper seedlings.”

“Okay, you’ll be in charge of making the contact. The travel expenses will be covered by Huai Prefecture’s finances, and the farmers will pay for the seedlings,” Meng Qing promised.

"Magistrate Laogu, could you do me a favor and buy a batch of seedlings for our Wen County as well?" Magistrate Xing said.

“Wen County is close to Luoyang. Why don’t you plant lilies? Although it takes three to six years to harvest the bulbs of lilies, they can bloom in the second year. The high-ranking officials and nobles of Luoyang might come to visit after hearing the news,” Magistrate Gu suggested.

“I had that thought for a moment, but then I thought, attracting high-ranking officials and nobles might not be a good thing. Even if Wen County is close to Luoyang, it still takes two or three days to ride a horse, making a round trip impossible in a day. These officials and nobles will definitely buy land in Wen County to build manors, and once the manors are built, they will need to buy servants.” Magistrate Xing looked at Magistrate Liu and said, “Xiuwu County is suitable for growing lilies. It has many mountains and high altitudes, so it’s cooler in the summer than here, which is more suitable for lilies to grow. Besides, there are fewer people in the mountains, so no matter how many you plant, it won’t attract attention. It’s a good place to make a fortune quietly.”

“That’s true,” Magistrate Liu nodded. “Places with fewer people are also suitable for beekeeping.”

“You can dig up the peach trees and sell them to us, making room to plant lilies.” The magistrate of Wude County had his eye on the peach trees in Xiuwu County. The peach trees were already bearing fruit, so planting them would bring a harvest. “Our county is closer to Hanoi County, so it will take less time to transport them.”

Magistrate Liu ignored him, "You're quite bold. We just got the sales channels sorted out, and now you're selling the peach trees? Are you just bored?"

"Can you make money? Aren't all the profits spent on manpower and transportation?" the magistrate of Wude County asked. "If the business can't make money, it's best to cut your losses in time."

"You can make money, just a little less," Magistrate Liu replied. "Don't worry about it. This year, our county has seven more pig farmers, all of whom are large peach growers. They feed the ripe and rotten peaches to the pigs, so they won't go to waste. You can't make money from peaches, but you can make money from selling pigs. It's like when one door closes, another opens."

"You can also raise chickens in the peach orchard. Chickens that grow up eating peaches will definitely have a unique flavor when stewed," Meng Qing added.

“We have chickens, we’ve been raising them all along. When the twelfth lunar month comes, I’ll send you two cages of live chickens so you and your family can have a taste,” said Magistrate Liu. “The pigs were only raised this summer and haven’t grown up yet. They won’t be ready for slaughter until next year. Once they’re ready, I’ll bring one over for you.”

“Okay, I’ll buy it,” Meng Qing corrected.

"These are gifts from the people of Xiuwu County. Right now, the dates, pears, vine pears, and chestnuts have all had a bumper harvest. Thanks to your help in contacting local schools and the county school, as well as your family's shops, these things have been spared from rotting in the fields," Magistrate Liu said gratefully.

“If it’s something you give me, I’ll accept it. But if it’s something the common people give me, forget it. If it’s sent here and there, the fruit farmers will suffer in the end. I can’t set a precedent.” Meng Qing waved his hand. “I’ll pay for it. You can have someone bring it to me. Don’t even think about sending it. I don’t need the money. As for the sentiment, there’s no need for that. Sentiments have all been turned into political achievements.”

Magistrate Liu was rebuffed and immediately abandoned his plan to curry favor.

The other three county magistrates, upon seeing this, all pretended to be very busy and looked away.

“The task has been passed down. How you carry it out is your business. The time has come to test your abilities.” Meng Qing seemed completely oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the room. “On the premise of arranging the agricultural work, you also need to urge the laborers and workers to come to Hanoi County to dredge and build dikes.”

"Is the dredging to make it navigable? But the Yellow River is ten zhang wide at its widest point and more than a person's height at its deepest point. How can we dredge it? Isn't this project too massive?" asked the magistrate of Wude County.

“I have discussed this with the Lady of the County, and the current plan is to build a canal within a canal. We will dig a trench about one zhang wide and half a zhang deep near the riverbank for navigation,” Magistrate Gu began. “To reduce siltation, the county government will acquire several dredging boats and hire laborers for daily patrols, or arrange for laborers to take turns on duty. This will also save us from the arduous labor of organizing large-scale silt removal work every autumn and winter and late spring. The laborers can work on repairing official roads, guarding granaries, working in paper mills and hemp mills, and reclaiming wasteland.”

Meng Qing nodded.

Magistrate Xing rose and bowed, saying, "The Lady of the County's great talent and compassion for the people are beyond our reach."

The magistrate was the one who truly bowed in respect. He stood up and bowed, saying, "We will certainly not fail the Lady of the County's trust."

The other two also stood up and bowed.

Meng Qing stepped down from behind her desk and helped the magistrate up, saying, “Gentlemen, there is no need to belittle yourselves. The fact that you followed my arrangements today proves that your compassion and love for the people are no less than mine. It’s just that your official positions are still low, and your status does not match your talent and ambition, so you cannot devote your energy to the common people.”

These words struck a chord with the men. When the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame. They were too busy taking care of themselves to have any energy to worry about the lives of ordinary people.

"In the days when Governor Du is away, I hope we can advance and retreat together, and work hand in hand to pave a road to prosperity for the people of Huai Prefecture. Afterwards, you can all go your separate ways with peace of mind, and replicate this road in your new posts, thereby gaining promotions once again," Meng Qing encouraged.

The four county magistrates looked enlightened. This reminded them that the governance experience they had accumulated in Huaizhou could be replicated elsewhere in the future, and once it was effective, they would have achieved political success.

Meng Qing subtly observed the four people's expressions, then smiled with satisfaction. "Time is tight and the task is heavy. You all have heavy responsibilities on your shoulders, so I won't take up any more of your time. Go and do your own thing."

The four county magistrates bowed and left one after the other.

Once a beneficial decree was implemented, it received strong support from the farmers. In the dead of winter, farmers who had stayed at home instead of working to earn money came out in droves. The fattened oxen went to the fields again, and people drove the oxen to pull sharp iron plows to turn over the weed-covered land. Birds landed behind them, pecking at the insects in the soil.

In the fields and all around, the shadows of people and birds can be seen everywhere, making the bleak winter as lively as late spring.

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Author's Note: There will be another update tonight, but it will be very late, probably around 1 a.m. Please read it tomorrow morning.