noveltune Chapter 101 Urgent Order from the Imperial Court
Chapter 101 Urgent Order from the Imperial Court
The eighth day of the first month of the third year of the Tianqi reign.
The eunuch's office in Jinan Prefecture.
Liu Cheng sat in the signing room, his face full of worry, holding an official document in his hand, looking at it again and again, sighing repeatedly.
"It's over, it's over, it's really all over this time..."
The young eunuch beside him asked tremblingly:
"Father-in-law, what happened?"
Liu Cheng slammed the official document on the table and angrily said:
"See for yourself!"
The young eunuch picked up the official document, read it once, and his face immediately turned deathly pale.
"This...this is the edict from the Ninth Thousand Years Old?"
"That's right!" Liu Cheng paced anxiously. "His Highness wants to undertake a major palace renovation to curry favor with the Emperor. He's ordered all regions to procure imperial timber and transport it to the capital within a specified time. Linqing in Shandong is a transit point for this timber, and this task has fallen to our family!"
"Imperial timber?" the young eunuch asked, puzzled. "Isn't imperial timber sourced from Sichuan and Huguang? What does it have to do with Shandong?"
"Fool!" Liu Cheng cursed. "It's true that the imperial timber was procured from Sichuan and Huguang, but to be transported to the capital, it had to go through the Grand Canal. Linqing is the throat of the Grand Canal; all the imperial timber had to be transshipped through Linqing."
"The problem now is—Huangmu is in Linqing!"
"Is it stuck?"
"That's right!" Liu Cheng plopped back into his chair. "The giant Phoebe zhennan trees they sourced from Sichuan and Huguang are some as long as ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) and as thick as water vats. Ordinary barges simply can't fit such large logs. Even if they were forced to, the draft would be too deep, and the river too shallow, making it impossible to move."
"What's worse, all the laborers have run away!"
"They've all run away?"
"That's for sure," Liu Cheng sighed. "Transporting imperial timber is a tough job—low pay, heavy workload, and dangerous. The laborers run faster than rabbits the moment they hear it's time to transport imperial timber. Right now, dozens of pieces of imperial timber are piled up at the Linqing dock, and nobody dares to touch them."
"Your Excellency has given us three months to transport the imperial timber to the capital. Three months! Where are we supposed to find people? Where are we supposed to find ships?"
The young eunuch was too frightened to speak.
Liu Cheng sat there, looking worried and speechless for a long time.
Failure to complete the task will cost you your head.
He knew the Ninth Prince's temper all too well.
"Sir," the young eunuch said cautiously, "how about... asking Lord Lu for help?"
"Lord Lu?" Liu Cheng was taken aback. "Which Lord Lu?"
"It's that Lord Lu Yan," the little eunuch said. "Isn't he one of our men? I've heard he's very capable; he can handle any difficult task."
Liu Cheng's eyes lit up.
"That's right! How could we forget about him!"
He suddenly stood up and gave the order:
"Quickly, prepare the sedan chair! We're going to the Lu residence!"
……
Half an hour later.
The study in the Lu residence.
Lu Yan looked at Liu Cheng in front of him and chuckled inwardly.
This eunuch, who was usually arrogant and haughty, looked like a wilted eggplant today, listless and full of worry.
"Eunuch Liu, please tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"
Liu Cheng sighed and recounted the whole story.
"Lord Lu, you are known for your competence. Can you think of a way to handle this? If you succeed, I will put in a good word for you before His Highness."
Lu Yan was overjoyed, but a troubled expression appeared on his face.
"This is a tricky situation..."
"Lord Lu, please help me!" Liu Cheng was so anxious he almost knelt down. "I know this is difficult, but if you can do it, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
"Silver, official position, favors—whatever you want, we'll give you!"
Lu Yan pondered for a moment, then slowly said:
"Eunuch Liu, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, it's just that this matter is too difficult."
"The imperial timber is so large that ordinary barges can't carry it. Even if they could, the river is too shallow to move it. And all the laborers have run away; there's no one to do the work. None of these three problems are easy to solve."
Liu Cheng's expression grew increasingly grim.
"However..." Lu Yan changed the subject, "I do have some ideas."
"What are you thinking?" Liu Cheng's eyes lit up. "Tell me quickly! Tell me quickly!"
"First, build specially made large barges. They have a shallower draft and a greater carrying capacity, specifically for transporting imperial timber."
"Secondly, we will use a pulley system to solve the problem of loading and unloading the royal timber. The royal timber is so heavy that manual labor is too slow; using a pulley system will make the process much more efficient."
"Third, use segmented relay transportation. Instead of using one ship from start to finish, divide the transport into several segments, each using a different ship. This improves efficiency and reduces risk."
"Fourth, we implemented work-for-relief programs, organizing refugees to work on construction projects. Shandong is now full of refugees who fled from Liaodong; give them food, and they'll be willing to work."
Liu Cheng nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"Excellent idea! Excellent idea! Lord Lu is indeed a capable man!"
"But..." Lu Yan continued, "all of these things require money. Building ships requires money, buying pulleys requires money, hiring laborers requires money. Where would I, a mere magistrate, get so much money?"
Liu Cheng slapped his thigh.
"Don't worry about the money! We have plenty of silver here! How much do you need? We'll give you that much!"
"really?"
"It's true!" Liu Cheng said decisively. "As long as you can transport the imperial timber to the capital, I'll give you not only money, but my life!"
Lu Yan chuckled inwardly, but maintained a serious expression on his face.
"Since Eunuch Liu puts it that way, I will reluctantly give it a try."
"Good! Good!" Liu Cheng exclaimed with delight. "Lord Lu, I'm entrusting this matter to you!"
"However, I have one condition."
"What are your conditions? Tell me!"
"After this matter is settled, I would like to ask Eunuch Liu to put in a good word for me with His Majesty."
"Sweet words? Sweet words what?"
Lu Yan lowered his voice and said:
"I've heard that the position of Vice Prefect of Dengzhou may change next year..."
Liu Cheng was taken aback for a moment, then understood what Lu Yan meant.
"You want to go to Dengzhou?"
"This humble official possesses only a smattering of knowledge in construction. Dengzhou is a crucial location for coastal defense, and manpower is urgently needed for the construction of warships. If I could go to Dengzhou, perhaps I could serve the imperial court."
Liu Cheng looked at Lu Yan, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
This young man has quite the ambition.
But he likes ambitious people.
Ambitiousness makes it easier to control.
"Alright!" Liu Cheng slapped his thigh. "Leave this to me! You handle the imperial timber matter, and I'll take care of the Dengzhou affair!"
"Thank you very much, Eunuch Liu!"
Lu Yan bowed respectfully, a slight smile playing on his lips.
The matter of Huangmu was merely a stepping stone.
The real target is Dengzhou.
It's maritime trade.
It is a much larger world.
"Eunuch Liu, there's no time to lose. I'll set off for Linqing tomorrow to conduct an on-site investigation."
"Alright! Alright!" Liu Cheng stood up. "I'll send someone with you. If you need anything, just let me know!"
"Thank you very much, Eunuch Liu."
After seeing Liu Cheng off, Lu Yan stood alone in the study, looking at the sky outside the window.
In the third year of the Tianqi reign, the first opportunity arrived.
"Zhao Changying!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Pack your bags, we're leaving tomorrow for Linqing!"
"yes!"
Outside the window, the sun shines brightly, and the sky is cloudless.
A new year, a new journey.
A slight smile appeared on Lu Yan's lips.
"Royal Wood..."
He muttered to himself.
"Let me help you solve this problem."