Chapter 76

This chapter is translated by She.Wee, our new translator who will be working on chapters 76-80. Thank you She.Wee!!! 💗💗💗

Edited by KitKat

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By late October, An Chang Qing finally received a letter from Xiao Zhige.

At that time, his belly had grown even larger, and he could already feel faint fetal movements. When Hu Shifei came to check his pulse again, he hesitated before saying that there was a strong possibility that An Chang Qing was carrying twins.

His belly was now about the size of a woman in the same stage of pregnancy, but Hu Shifei said there were two babies inside. An Chang Qing became somewhat worried, thinking that the babies might be too small and frail, and that their health might not be good after birth. However, Hu Shifei, who came to check his pulse every three days, eventually confirmed that the babies inside were very healthy. They may be small in size, but they were not frail; likely due to the mermaid bloodline in them. They couldn’t be treated as ordinary babies.

Only then did An Chang Qing feel relieved.

He gently stroked his belly and opened the letter that Xiao Zhige had sent back.

The letter was thick, and this time, it wasn’t just a short sentence telling him not to worry. Instead, it detailed the situation in the South.

Xiao Zhige did not follow Emperor Anqing’s orders to go to aid Ruanzhou first. Instead, he caught the powerful figures of Qingzhou off guard. When An Chang Qing read about how the powerful families in Qingzhou had refused to open the city gates, and how Xiao Zhige had used six Thunderstrike Bombs to blow up the gates, An Chang Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

The Thunderstrike Bomb was one of the new weapons developed by the Military Ordnance Department. He had once been inspired by a strange tale in a travelogue and had mentioned it to Xiao Zhige. Unexpectedly, Xiao Zhige took it seriously and had had the people at the Military Ordnance Department develop it. Gunpowder had previously been used mainly for making fireworks, but when they shifted their thinking and used it in weapons, they realized its power was not to be underestimated.

Besides the Thunderstrike Bomb, the Military Ordnance Department had also developed other firearms. However, with the Yanzhou war subsiding, they hadn’t been used yet. Xiao Zhige, just in case, brought some with him when he headed South, but unexpectedly, they were first used against the unruly powerful families.

To deter the powerful families, Xiao Zhige confiscated the property of the Shi family, who had led the rebellion. The Shi family was a wealthy merchant family in the south, said to be as rich as a nation, having accumulated wealth over several generations. An Chang Qing knew about them because a concubine in the Crown Prince’s residence was a Shi family woman. Normally, a merchant’s daughter would not be eligible to become a Crown Prince’s concubine, but the Shi family was so wealthy that, without someone backing them, the court would have found them displeasing. So, the head of the Shi family placed their bet on the Crown Prince, not only sending their daughter but also offering a huge dowry.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was only fond of beautiful women and looked down on the arrogant behavior of the Shi family woman, so he did not favor her much. Though he didn’t let her suffer, he just kept her in the East Palace. Earlier in Yejing, in the various rumors An Chang Qing had heard, this concubine, relying on the Shi family’s influence, was said to have been domineering in the Crown Prince’s residence. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince, although he wanted the money, did not care for the Shi family or her, and after losing patience, she completely lost his favor.

No wonder the Shi family started to harbor rebellious thoughts. Given their immense wealth, if they couldn’t attach themselves to the Crown Prince, they would become a target if the world fell into chaos. It was better to act first and seize more leverage. Unfortunately for them, they encountered Xiao Zhige.

The Northern Warlord blew up the city gates and first used the Shi family as an example to deter others.

The Shi family’s properties were thoroughly confiscated, their male heirs executed, and those with criminal charges were all beheaded. The women were enslaved by the government, and the remaining servants and children were all exiled.

The Shi family was truly wealthy; their mansion was no less grand than the Forbidden City in Yejing. Xiao Zhige confiscated countless gold, silver, and treasures from it. The common treasures and a small portion of the gold and silver were boxed and sent to Yejing as a show, while the rest of the rare items and most of the gold and silver were secretly kept by Xiao Zhige.

Most of the Shi family’s wealth came from exploiting the people. Xiao Zhige, intending to appease the refugees, not only brought the Shi family’s criminals to justice but also began redistributing their land and offering refuge to the displaced.

Most of these refugees were originally farmers with land, but local powerful families had forced them to sell their land by various means, leaving them with no means to live, which eventually turned them into refugees who had joined the rebel army. These refugees had no ambitions for status or great wealth; they mostly joined the rebellion simply to survive.

Now, Xiao Zhige had drawn a different path for them—any refugees willing to surrender would be given land. If anyone in their family had been persecuted by the Shi family, they could receive compensation upon verification.

Just the promise of land distribution was enough to tempt countless refugees. There were already signs of division within the rebel army. Rebellions always needed leaders, with the refugees charging at the front lines, while the leaders in high positions, having tasted power, were unwilling to easily give up their authority. After all, not everyone was like the two leaders in the Sizhou uprising who cared about the lives of others.

The leaders were nervously waiting to negotiate with Xiao Zhige, but they didn’t expect Xiao Zhige to kill Shi Kairen with overwhelming force and then start redistributing the land to ordinary people. Initially, the leaders of the refugees managed to suppress their followers, but when Xiao Zhige sent the two former leaders of the Sizhou uprising to advocate on the main street, and when the non-rebellious people began registering to receive their land, the restless refugees were no longer under their control.

First, some elderly, the weak, and the women who had not killed or shed blood secretly left, went to the government office, registered for household registration, and received their allocated land. Some even found their daughters who had been taken by the Shi family. The news spread quickly, and even those refugees who had already earned “military merit” began to waver. After all, if they could live in peace, who among the common people would want to rebel?

These people were still hesitating, but then Xiao Zhige released another message: any rebel who surrendered would not be held accountable for their past crimes. They would only need to complete tasks assigned by the government to atone for their sins and could also receive land. Even those who were capable could volunteer for the military and serve the country, thereby also earning land without punishment.

The refugees were in an uproar, and without Xiao Zhige needing to send troops, the refugees themselves began a massacre. Naturally, the side with the most people won. Those ambitious leaders who wanted to emulate Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were all killed, and the remaining refugees voluntarily surrendered, lining up to register for land.

The rebellion in Qingzhou was pacified without a single soldier killed. However, the local powerful families in Qingzhou were mercilessly skinned by Xiao Zhige. Those who needed to be judged were judged, those who needed to contribute silver did so, and so did those who needed to re-distribute their land. Although it was painful, they could only endure it and swallow it, considering the fate of the Shi family, who had been executed.

And those guilty refugees, eager to atone for their sins and earn their land, worked diligently. They quickly repaired the city walls and gates that had been blown up, and even started building dams as required by Xie Ling.

After settling everything in Qingzhou, Xiao Zhige finally wrote a long letter to An Chang Qing and sent it back to Yanzhou.

Along with the letter, there were also large amounts of gold, silver, and rare treasures—the wealth confiscated from the Shi family. A small portion was sent to Qingzhou’s treasury for relief efforts, while the rest was quietly sent back to Yanzhou.

The Northern Warlord’s handwriting was wild as he wrote in the letter: “Keep the rare treasures for yourself, and use the gold and silver as you see fit. Once I conquer the Southern Provinces, I will return quickly. The South is rich in resources and has a warm climate and the Shi family’s mansion is luxurious. After you give birth, we’ll come back and enjoy it together.”

An Chang Qing smiled and picked up the pen to write a reply.

With the situation in Qingzhou settled, Xiao Zhige’s next stop would be Yongzhou. With the main general of Qingzhou dead and no one in charge, Xiao Zhige mentioned in his letter that he would temporarily leave the affairs of Qingzhou to Zhou Helan, speaking highly of Zhou Helan’s abilities.

An Chang Qing replied in his letter, saying that Zhou Helan’s talents were not limited to commerce, and if given the opportunity, he should let Zhou Helan serve him in the future. After writing this, he informed Xiao Zhige of the situation in Yanzhou, and only after the formal matters were addressed did the letter truly become a family letter.

After hesitating for a moment, An Chang Qing ultimately did not tell him that he might be carrying twins. Xiao Zhige had already been anxious when there was only one child, so if he knew it had turned into two, he might abandon all his duties and rush back.

In the past, he never would have thought that the dignified Northern Warlord would be someone who lets his emotions override the bigger picture, but now, An Chang Qing didn’t dare to take that risk. He smiled slightly, pressing his lips together. It would be a surprise for the General when he returned victorious.

After finishing the family letter and handing it over to the waiting soldiers to be sent out, An Chang Qing went to check the gold and silver items that had been sent back.

The wealth of the Shi family was even more than what was exaggerated. Even with just half of the remaining fortune, the front and back courtyards of the General’s Mansion were packed so tightly that there was hardly any space left. Many items were even piled up at the entrance. It was only because Yanzhou was Xiao Zhige’s territory with no one daring to covet it, that they could so openly stack the goods at the door.

It took An Chang Qing half a month to fully catalog everything. Looking at the numbers in the accounts, he only felt that it was a hot potato. This was just the liquid assets confiscated; not to mention the vast lands, estates, and shops the Shi family owned… No wonder Emperor Anqing constantly lamented that the national treasury was empty. How could it not be when all the silver had ended up in the pockets of these parasites?

But like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, all that silver was now theirs.

Right now, Yanzhou was not lacking in silver. Raw jade stones were highly sought after in the South, and despite the chaos in Qingzhou, Yongzhou, and Ruanzhou, other provinces were still steadily bringing in revenue. Although Zhou Helan was in charge, he didn’t monopolize power. The few reliable confidants he had selected were now independently shouldering the burden, not only making their mark in the South but even secretly starting to infiltrate the Yuze Empire.

Yuze was far from Yejing, and although trade had been banned, Yejing’s control over the regions was currently very weak. Local officials and commanders were corrupt and incompetent, so as long as they spent some silver, there were plenty of people willing to open doors for them.

Just from the revenue of raw jade stones, Yanzhou was already quite wealthy. Not to mention that now, they had received this massive amount of silver.

An Chang Qing promptly sent all this gold and silver into Yanzhou’s treasury. With no shortage of funds, whether it was reinforcing the city walls, digging canals, or developing firearms, he was more than willing to invest. Coupled with various welfare policies, the people of Yanzhou were now living much more comfortably than before. With more spare money and time, commerce became increasingly prosperous.

The prosperity of Yanzhou gradually spread through these merchants to other provinces. While the fame of the Northern Warlord and his consort spread, the biggest benefit was that more and more refugees, hearing the news, began to flock to Yanzhou. An Chang Qing welcomed them all, had them registered, and took them all in. Thus, the scene in Yanzhou grew even more vibrant and lively.

Though the neighboring Liangzhou also benefited, sipping the broth, Chang Zaichang couldn’t help but feel a bit sour seeing Yanzhou’s flourishing scene. Yanzhou and Liangzhou watched each other’s backs and were now tied to the same profitable business. Moreover, if there was to be an uprising in the future, Chang Zaichang and Liangzhou’s support would be crucial. Therefore, Xiao Zhige had no need to guard against him and even sent a batch of newly developed firearms.

Chang Zaichang was so enamored with the new firearms that he treated them like precious treasures. When he heard that the idea for these firearms had originally come from An Chang Qing, it was as if he had drunk an entire vat of aged vinegar.

Privately, he was very envious of his good brother’s fortune.

Initially, he thought that Xiao Zhige marrying a man, who was also an illegitimate son, would bring no benefit to him and might even become a source of criticism if he ever contended for the supreme throne. But after seeing Yanzhou grow more and more prosperous, and now receiving these firearms, he began to deeply believe that even the most capable in-laws could not compare to the assistance provided by the Northern Warlord’s Consort.

In any situation, military power is the most important thing. Xiao Zhige held a large military force in his hands, and now, with these powerful firearms, if it weren’t for concerns about his reputation, he could likely march on Yejing immediately, and no one would be able to stop him.

Chang Zaichang leisurely swayed his head and went off joyfully to test his fire lance.