kvmb Chapter 896 Tian Yu, filled with guilt
Chapter 896 Tian Yu, filled with guilt
"Brother Zhang was a refugee before?"
Tian Yu looked surprised.
It wasn't that he looked down on refugees, but Zhang He was robust, with slightly round cheeks, and looked rather wealthy, not at all like a refugee.
"Yes."
Zhang He nodded and said, "Back then, Liangzhou was plagued by both famine and war. I had no choice but to flee to Qingzhou to find a way to survive. I almost starved to death on the way. Fortunately, all of that is over now. Neither I nor the people of Liangzhou need to live those days of hunger, cold, and displacement!"
Tian Yu nodded slightly, then asked, "What about me? We have no connection whatsoever, so why do you admire me?"
"This is all thanks to General Tian's merit in resisting the barbarians!"
Without hesitation, Zhang He said, "The barbarians are ferocious and have always regarded the Xia people as food. If it weren't for General Tian overcoming all difficulties and insisting on keeping the barbarians out of the Nine Provinces, the Nine Provinces might have already been devastated, and countless people would have become food for the barbarians!"
For this alone, General Tian deserves to be called a hero of our Xia people!
Upon hearing this, Tian Yu's smile widened, and he grinned, "Brother Zhang, you flatter me! I was just doing my duty; how could I be called a national hero!"
"How can General Tian not be considered a national hero? Not only do I think so, but millions of people across the land also think so. Compared to those mediocre officials in the court who only know their own interests and not the greater good of the nation, General Tian can be called a renowned minister of our time!"
"You flatter me! You flatter me! Brother Zhang, you really overestimate me!"
Tian Yu couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. He didn't love money, and having only married one wife in his life, he couldn't be said to love beauty, but it's hard to say that he didn't love fame!
Of course, Tian Yu'ai's name is the kind that will be remembered for all time, not the kind of name that those pedantic scholars seek to gain fame for.
Therefore, when Tian Yu heard Zhang He praise him as a national hero, he felt very happy and had an impulse to regard Zhang He as a close friend.
After a long while, Tian Yu suppressed the smile on his lips, straightened his expression, and said, "Brother Zhang, I have a question to ask you!"
"General Tian, please speak."
“Mr. Chen once told me that if the towns behind the Great Wall want to become prosperous, they must vigorously develop commerce. But how could I, a mere soldier, know anything about commerce? I have absolutely no idea where to begin!”
Tian Yu frowned and said, "I've heard that Brother Zhang is a well-known merchant in Taiping County. I wonder if Brother Zhang could teach me?"
"It's easy!"
Zhang He replied confidently, "These towns under General Tian's jurisdiction have unique advantages, so developing commerce should not be difficult for them!"
"Oh?"
Tian Yu's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "What are the uniquely advantageous conditions that Brother Zhang mentioned?"
"These are all kinds of supplies from the grasslands!"
Zhang He said, "General Tian should know how scarce and precious the medicinal herbs on the grasslands are in Kyushu. General Tian and your Great Wall Army are the only ones in Kyushu who can enter the grasslands to obtain supplies. General Tian can completely monopolize all kinds of grassland resources and make huge profits!"
"That's a good idea!"
Tian Yu nodded slightly. Occasionally, the Great Wall Army would send out small groups of troops deep into the grasslands to investigate the situation of the barbarians. At the same time, they would bring back some rare medicinal herbs produced on the grasslands. The money and grain obtained from the sale of these medicinal herbs were the key to maintaining the Great Wall Army after the court cut off supplies.
but……
Tian Yu hesitated and said, "Although the Great Wall Army occasionally ventures deep into the grasslands, the amount of medicinal herbs they obtain each time is not large. The money and food they get after selling them are barely enough to support the Great Wall Army's food and drink needs, let alone take care of the people in the military town."
"General Tian, don't worry! Mr. Chen will take care of everything else!"
Zhang He continued, "To be honest, General Tian, before I left Chenjia Village, Mr. Chen had already ordered all the merchants who cooperated with Chenjia Village to open shops in various towns behind the Great Wall."
"Oh? Mr. Chen has thought of everything so thoroughly?"
Tian Yu's eyes showed surprise.
“Mr. Chen has always been meticulous. Since he has decided to help the Great Wall Army, he certainly wouldn’t be unprepared!”
Zhang He said with a smile, "Under Mr. Chen's instructions, there should already be quite a few merchants on their way to the Great Wall. Once these merchants arrive, they will open shops in the city. Once the shops are opened, they will need to recruit people. The recruited townspeople will then earn income, which will be enough to support their families..."
In short, the arrival of these merchants is entirely beneficial to the Great Wall Army. General Tian's only task is to maintain order in the town and ensure the safety of these merchants' lives and property!
"That's so good!"
Tian Yu's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He was not one of those pedantic scholars, nor did he have any prejudice against merchants. Therefore, he was very welcoming to the arrival of the merchants from Chenjia Village.
Just as Zhang He said, the arrival of merchants could provide jobs, allowing the people who supported the Great Wall Army to earn income and support their families...
In addition, the arrival of merchants will bring a large amount of supplies from Chenjia Village, so that the various military towns will no longer be short of supplies...
From any perspective, the arrival of the merchants was beneficial to the Great Wall Army, and Tian Yu naturally had no reason to refuse. He was even eager to see the arrival of the Chenjia Village merchants.
"It is truly an honor for Tian Yu and the Great Wall Army to know Mr. Chen!"
Tian Yu sighed, raised his glass to Zhang He, and said, "Come, Brother Zhang, let's drink together to celebrate Mr. Chen! And to celebrate the Great Wall Army!"
"Congratulations to Mr. Chen! Congratulations to the Great Wall Army!"
Zhang He also raised his glass, clinked glasses with Tian Yu, and the two drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.
Then, the two drank like old friends who had known each other for many years, one glass of wine after another.
Meng Yu, who was accompanying him, looked at Tian Yu, whose face was flushed, with a smile on her face, and was happy for him.
As Tian Yu's bedmate, Meng Yu knew that Tian Yu had always felt guilty towards the people who supported the Great Wall Army.
They sent their sons to the Great Wall Army, willingly sending them to the battlefield. They would rather save every penny they had to give to the Great Wall Army as military rations...
These people were supporting the Great Wall Army without reservation, but Tian Yu was unable to give them anything in return and could only watch helplessly as they suffered from hunger and cold.
This made Tian Yu feel extremely guilty towards these people. He thought of countless ways to improve their living standards, but Tian Yu was ultimately a military general. He could barely manage to govern these ten military towns and maintain their stability. He had no idea how to improve the people's lives or how to make them well-fed and clothed.