Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and the woman in black gauze exchanged glances, falling into deep contemplation.
Before Han Daoxun, it was not that no one had thought of this issue.
Precisely because the epidemic was so severe, though the water gu epidemic had not spread into the city for many years, quite a few court officials still harbored concerns, thinking of driving the plague-infected refugees out of the capital region.
However, in the capital region alone, the stranded refugees numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with infected individuals reaching two or three in ten. Where could they be driven to?
Prefectures and counties that did not lack people could not possibly risk local upheaval to accept plague-infected refugees. The only region that could truly accept plague-infected refugees on a large scale was Shouzhou, where most subordinate counties had been destroyed by warfare and entire stretches of farmland lay barren.
Though Han Daoxun’s memorial today had resulted in his being driven from Qihua Hall by Emperor Tianyou, once the discussion began, particularly when the matter touched upon the enormous interests of the Crown Prince’s faction, it would be very difficult to suppress easily.
And obviously, whether plague-infected refugees or not, they could not sit by and watch so many people be sent to Shouzhou. They believed His Majesty’s extraordinary rage in Qihua Hall today stemmed from his unwillingness to see this happen as well.
And if Li Pu now proactively submitted a memorial, undertaking this matter in the name of Marquis Linjiang’s mansion by selecting a location near the capital, he could not only gain these people and land, but in the process of settling tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of plague-infected refugees, could also legitimately extract large amounts of grain and funds from the state treasury to cultivate power.
Thinking of the benefits involved, Li Pu felt deeply shocked at this moment.
Of course, the entire premise was that the water gu epidemic could truly be controlled. Otherwise, not to mention provoking riots among the people in the settlement area, if they expended such enormous effort and resources only to gain useless people and plague-infected land, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Naturally, before the “Memorial on the Epidemic Waters” emerged, no one knew the water gu epidemic could be effectively controlled. Only then would their undertaking of this matter face less resistance.
Otherwise, how could Anning Palace and the Crown Prince’s faction possibly not interfere?
Never mind hundreds of thousands of refugees—even if it were just a few thousand refugees who could be converted into military households, Anning Palace would absolutely not allow them to get involved.
Seeing Li Pu remain silent, Han Qian knew what he was still worried about in his heart. He said: “The Marquis’s hesitation is nothing more than worry that the method written in my father’s ‘Memorial on the Epidemic Waters’ is not viable. My Han family has purchased an estate on Baohua Mountain. The estate borders Chishan Lake, and between the lake and mountains lie tens of thousands of mu of wasteland. The Marquis can memorialize His Majesty to settle a portion of the plague-infected refugees there. If this method proves unviable, my Han family’s estate will be rendered useless along with it.”
“According to the ‘Memorial on the Epidemic Waters,’ the most important point in controlling the epidemic is staying far from epidemic waters. How can this be achieved by relocating refugees to the waterside wasteland on the northern shore of Chishan Lake?” Li Pu asked.
“Simply driving refugees to the wasteland naturally cannot be considered staying far from epidemic waters. In the depths of winter, the gu poison lies deeply hidden and does not manifest. Building dikes while wading in water is difficult to cause great harm. Once the dikes are completed, the lake water can be isolated from the outside. After that, organizing people to cultivate dry fields rather than rice paddies, digging wells for drinking water, digging new ditches to cover old ones, collecting human and animal waste to be burned and eliminated with medicinal treatments—when these various measures are executed and supplemented with medicinal decoctions, the epidemic can be initially controlled. Afterward, enrolling the hundreds of thousands of refugees into garrison households for training—Han Qian believes that with the Marquis’s capabilities, within three years you will certainly be able to train over ten thousand grateful and utterly loyal brave soldiers for His Highness!” Han Qian said.
Though Yang Yuanpu was young, after reading the “Memorial on the Epidemic Waters” and listening to the lengthy debate between Han Qian and Li Pu, even if he could not see through many matters completely, he felt it was very worth attempting. He looked toward Li Pu eagerly, his eyes full of expectation.
As the national capital, Jinling had over a hundred thousand elite stationed troops, primarily divided into two major systems: the Forbidden Camps and the Imperial Guard.
Since their formation, the two major systems of the Forbidden Camps and Imperial Guard had been deeply entangled in factional disputes and mutual constraints. At this point, it was very difficult for anyone to say clearly exactly how many soldiers and officers leaned toward supporting the Crown Prince’s faction, how many secretly supported Prince Xin, and how many only followed His Majesty’s lead. But one thing was certain—even the guard battalion of just over a hundred men at Marquis Linjiang’s mansion, the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu could not necessarily control.
This also placed Yang Yuanpu in an extremely vulnerable position. Once he lost Emperor Tianyou’s protection, at any moment he could find himself in danger of being unable to preserve even his life.
If they could utilize the hundreds of thousands of plague-infected refugees to newly organize a trustworthy military force, even if they could directly control just three to five thousand soldiers in Jinling, the effect on changing the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s current disadvantageous situation would be enormously significant.
One must know that Marquis Xinchang’s mansion only had two to three hundred household soldiers. If Anning Palace truly decided to strike ruthlessly, these two to three hundred men would be far from sufficient.
The tremendous weight of the “Memorial on the Epidemic Waters” could thus be glimpsed. Never mind Han Qian cursing Li Chong a few times as a fool at this moment—even if he truly stood on Li Chong’s head and pissed, everyone would have to endure it first.
“…” Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and the woman in black gauze looked at each other for a long while, both finding it difficult to decide.
Settling hundreds of thousands of refugees—if acting according to the “Memorial on the Epidemic Waters” truly proved effective, though the resources invested in the first year would be enormous, in the second and third years the garrison farming could show results. Using garrison fields to support soldiers could greatly reduce resource investment, so naturally it was worth doing. But if this method failed, this matter could very possibly become a bottomless pit that would drag them down.
No matter how many resources they secretly controlled, this move still carried the risk of putting all their eggs in one basket.
“…” Seeing Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and the woman in black gauze hesitating indecisively, Han Qian sneered inwardly. He stretched his hands and feet and said to Yang Yuanpu: “Han Qian has suffered extreme fright and is mentally and physically exhausted. I fear today I cannot continue attending upon Your Highness. Please permit Han Qian to take his leave first. Han Qian also knows he was too verbose today. In his anger, he said too many words offensive to Your Highness and the Marquis. Han Qian guarantees he will not be so talkative in the future and will not make Your Highness and the Marquis weary again…”
Having spoken, without waiting for Yang Yuanpu to make a sound, Han Qian stood up and walked toward the passageway guarded by the masked swordsman.
Wearing a bronze mask, the swordsman had not expected Han Qian to be so discourteous as to directly intrude into their secret passage leading to Wanhong Pavilion.
Han Qian merely glanced coolly at the masked swordsman, thinking: I’m going to show off my authority right now—do you dare bite me?
After being stared at by Han Qian for several seconds, while the people in the room all exchanged glances with no one speaking up, the swordsman ultimately retreated a step and yielded the passage.
…
…
Walking through the long passageway and pushing open a heavy stone slab, he found himself in a spacious underground palace.
Several armored swordsmen stood guard inside. Suddenly seeing Han Qian walk in, they all froze, then drew their swords to detain him.
“Don’t make a move,” Yao Xishui said, following from behind and waving her hand to make the guards retreat to the side.
Han Qian paid no attention to Yao Xishui. Seeing wooden stairs in a corner of the great hall, he ascended them to discover he was inside a wooden tower, while the underground great hall he had been in was located within the earthen hill of Wanhong Pavilion.
The wooden tower was completely empty. Han Qian had no interest in prying into the woman in black gauze’s privacy. He pushed open the door, descended the earthen hill, and walked through the corridor toward the courtyard where Yao Xishui lived.
Yao Xishui signaled the maidservants in the courtyard, whose expressions showed astonishment, to withdraw. Seeing Han Qian pass through the hall and cross the courtyard to directly push open the door to her bedchamber and lie fully clothed on the bed where she normally rested, she said coldly: “Do not take advantage and push for more.”
“I’m not even making you sing a little tune. I just want to find a place to rest. How is that pushing for more?” Han Qian asked. At this moment he truly did feel mentally and physically exhausted. Smelling that the bedding in Yao Xishui’s room had been scented with superior incense, he thought that sleeping here should be supremely comfortable.
Yao Xishui pulled over a chair and sat before the bed, staring at Han Qian and asking: “Aren’t you afraid that after Feng Yi and Kong Xirong return, they’ll leak information about you?”
“It’s a hole you people poked—what use is there in me worrying? Besides, if you truly feel I have even the slightest use, even if it means murder and silencing, you’ll patch up the vulnerability,” Han Qian said.
“You and Feng Yi and Kong Xirong are birds of a feather. Are you truly willing to see us commit murder and silencing?” Yao Xishui asked.
“I can barely preserve my own life—how can I worry about others’ survival?” Han Qian laughed derisively.
“If we hadn’t forced you today, you probably wouldn’t have voluntarily brought out the ‘Memorial on the Epidemic Waters,’ would you?” Yao Xishui stared into Han Qian’s eyes and asked again.
Han Qian thought this little shrew truly was not stupid. He lay diagonally against the pillow, pulled the brocade quilt over his legs and feet without removing his boots, which he propped on the edge of the bed, and said: “I’m truly too lazy to speak with that fool Li Chong. If Miss Yao can listen, I don’t mind talking with you. You think using this kind of method can force my father to submit—that’s a grave error. But if you can do something to alleviate the people’s suffering, I don’t mind persuading my father to cooperate with your actions. Beyond this, you’d best not make any more rash moves.”
At this moment, the sound of a zither drifted from the adjacent courtyard, extremely pleasing to the ear, like green mountains and flowing water, a sound like celestial music.
Han Qian threw off the bedding, piling it messily to one side, and said: “Is that Miss Su Hongyu practicing the zither? I’ll go over and listen. Oh yes, my household guards are still waiting at Marquis Xinchang’s separate residence. Have someone tell them to come wait for me at Wanhong Pavilion—as for why I suddenly ran to Wanhong Pavilion, you think up an excuse. I went to listen to Su Hongyu practice the zither.”
Watching Han Qian get up and walk toward the adjacent courtyard where Su Hongyu lived, leaving her bed in complete disarray, Yao Xishui gripped the short blade concealed in her sleeve, wondering whether she should stab this bastard twice in the thigh to let him know who could truly act tyrannically in Wanhong Pavilion.