Chapter 7106 Setting a Record

Chapter 7106 Setting a Record

"Congratulations, congratulations! I heard you got your daughter married. Is it alright for me to have a drink while I'm passing by?" Wang Liang bowed to Huangfu Jianshou, his hands empty, looking like he was begging for a free meal. He had no gifts to offer, he was just there to eat and drink for free.

"You bastard, a dignified marquis of a village, you came empty-handed, and you don't even have a guard? Where are your guards?" Huangfu Jianshou didn't take offense at this. He looked at Wang Liang and laughed and scolded him. Wang Liang's abilities were not good, but his social circle was extremely impressive. From the rebel Dong Zhuo to the powerful local magnates, Huangfu Jianshou had connections with them all. His social skills were very strong.

This is why, although Huangfu Song was unhappy that his son was a good-for-nothing, having personally taught him military strategy, he still couldn't even command two thousand men. He was always running around like a dog following behind others, which was simply unbearable for Huangfu Song. But even so, he only had this one son, so he could tolerate it.

After all, even petty thieves and scoundrels have their uses. When Dong Zhuo wanted to kill Huangfu Song, Huangfu Jianshou was able to find someone to plead for him, so he was still somewhat useful.

Moreover, compared to other second-generation officials, Huangfu Jianshou was known for his self-awareness. He simply used his father's name to do ordinary, unremarkable tasks, and had no ambition for official positions or titles. He was content with being a minor official with a salary of a thousand shi (a unit of grain).

This way, his father wouldn't be in a difficult position, his superiors wouldn't be in a difficult position, and his colleagues wouldn't be jealous. After all, he had such a powerful father, yet he wasn't granted a title of marquis or a mere two thousand shi (a unit of grain measure) official position. He was just an ordinary nobleman with a thousand shi of grain. Who could say anything about that? Who could say anything!
It was precisely because of this that Huangfu Jianshou had plenty of time to network with his brothers in various places and build up a fairly good interpersonal network. For example, the guy who appeared in front of Huangfu Jianshou now, empty-handed and looking like an old farmer, was none other than Wang Liang, the Marquis of Fenglong Township and the head of the Wang family of Kuaiji.

"Guards my ass. Once we entered Chang'an, I sent them all away. I only brought this one with me. This is my nephew, the most outstanding young man in our family. I've been training him recently." Wang Liang patted the back of his nephew Wang Miao's head and said, "Call me Uncle. Who knows, the Huangfu family might have a daughter of your age. I'll find you a wife."

"You rascal." Huangfu Jianshou laughed and scolded, taking out a small red envelope from his sleeve and handing it to the young man who bowed to him and called him uncle. "Alright, go in. Uncle will find you a suitable wife later, no problem."

After dismissing Wang Miao, Huangfu Jianshou led Wang Liang inside. He had thought that Wang Liang probably wouldn't be able to come. An invitation was an invitation, but time was time. Wang Liang seemed to have been in Yangzhou recently and hadn't even come to the Grand Martial Arts Tournament. Huangfu Jianshou hadn't expected Wang Liang to come to his daughter's wedding. He thought that if the guy couldn't make it, he could just send a gift. But unexpectedly, he actually came.

"Remember to give him a wife then. We really don't have time to find wives for the kids back home, sigh, we're a bit short-handed." As Wang Liang spoke, he took out a jade buckle from his sleeve. He said he wouldn't give a gift, but how could he? He simply handed the simple peace buckle with a red string to Huangfu Jianshou. "Don't be offended, this is all I have. I just entered Chang'an, you can tell from my eyes that I didn't sleep at all last night, I rode here at breakneck speed."

"It's already a good thing you came. I originally thought you wouldn't be able to come." Huangfu Jianshou smiled and accepted the two peace buckles, then led Wang Liang towards the main seat.

The banquet hadn't actually started yet, but quite a few people had already arrived. They were all relatives and friends of the Huangfu family, as well as some marquises who were on good terms with Huangfu Jianshou. When these people saw Wang Liang, they all stood up to greet him. It wasn't because of his high status or anything like that. Everyone present was a marquis, including the Yuan and Deng families. But this was Wang Liang, after all.

"Your Highness, you've finally arrived." Deng Tong shamelessly strode forward and greeted Wang Liang in this manner. Upon hearing this, Wang Liang wanted to turn around and leave. He couldn't get along with this group of people; they were all shameless. Calling him "Your Highness" was something he couldn't stand.

"No, no, no, don't call me that, it gives me goosebumps." Wang Liang refused directly, "And even if you call me that, there's no one left in the Wang family, don't count on it, there's not a single spare one. Lei Jitai is still being repaired towards Yangzhou, and the one in the north has been damaged. There's not a single spare person now, your flattery is useless, we can't go."

In the early years when the Wang family of Kuaiji first started building the Leijitai, there were instances of staff going missing. It was a certain acquaintance from a powerful family who directly stole people from the Wang family of Kuaiji and then forced them into marriage. Later, such things were strictly prohibited, because everyone was short of manpower, and if you played these games, you would only become more short of manpower, so we should be more considerate of each other.

“Just because it’s not there now doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future, right?” Yuan Tao said with a smile, then pointed to a seat next to him, indicating that Wang Liang should sit down. Soon after, a group of marquises surrounded him; they were all quite familiar with each other.

"Here you go." Yuan Tao took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and tossed it to Wang Liang. "You look travel-worn and tired, like you haven't had a good rest. Eat some of this to help you adjust your condition. You look a bit out of place like this."

"What do you mean 'it seems like I haven't rested well'? I really haven't rested well," Wang Liang said irritably. He casually took the porcelain bottle that Yuan Tao handed him, opened it, and saw that it contained greenish pills. Too lazy to ask what they were, he poured out two pills, put them in his mouth, and swallowed them. Immediately, he felt his senses clear and his fatigue quickly subsided.

"What is this?" Wang Liang looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand, his expression somewhat solemn. "At my age, if I eat this kind of stuff that stimulates my body's functions, I'll feel good for a while, but I'll have to pay for it for a month."

"Would I be crazy to give you this stuff?" Yuan Tao said irritably. "The life force extracted can't be used to replenish your own lost life force, but it can allow your body to temporarily borrow this life force to restore it to a relatively peak state. It's like how you can stay up all night reading when you're twenty and nothing happens, but when you stay up all night reading when you're forty or fifty, you just want to die the next day. This stuff can make you barely recover to the state of a twenty-year-old."

This thing was actually created by Stina. After the Lake of Elves exploded, Stina followed the logic of this thing and adjusted the way of absorbing life, weakening the effect of the medicine while also reducing the side effects. Now it basically has no side effects at all. After taking it, it will temporarily restore the body to a balanced state, which is extremely friendly to the elderly.

Although the veteran of the Yuan family, Miao Ran, who currently boasts an amazing record, jokingly suggested that they should make an oath or something, how should one put it when it comes to oath talents? Even for god-like veterans, nine out of ten will fail. As for why it is easier for the elite warriors to make an oath, it can only be said that those who have played the Demon God for decades have evolved to adapt to it.

"Oh, give me two more bottles." Wang Liang didn't stand on ceremony. He would rummage through his pockets whenever he found something good. Since things were already like this, he might as well grab whatever he could.

"You rascal." Yuan Tao wasn't angry at Wang Liang's behavior. He took two more bottles out of his pocket and tossed them to Wang Liang. "Although this stuff has no side effects, if you take too much of it and get used to being young, you'll naturally crave youth when you return to old age. Of course, we've tested it, and it's not addictive. It's just the human body's natural aversion to aging."

From a certain perspective, this is also how terrifying the Oath talent is, especially the temporary Oath. After returning to youth, one returns to old age again; after experiencing the peak, one declines again. Even a seasoned veteran who has experienced the vicissitudes of life would find it hard to accept.

"This..." Wang Liang hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, but then accepted everything. "Well, I'll take the things, but I won't do anything. I did arrange for people for your Yuan family before, but your Yuan family didn't take them with them, so don't blame me."

“We didn’t mean to blame you. Actually, we came over here more to find out what the highest grain yield is from your Leiji Terrace, the volcanic ash from Jiangdong, and things like bird droppings,” Yuan Tao gave Deng Tong a look, and Deng Tong asked knowingly.

Even Yong Kai, who was practically a puppet to the side, had some reaction to this question. After all, this was grain. No matter how much other things there were, nothing gave people peace of mind as a full granary of grain. Moreover, this stuff could be used not only for grain but also for various cash crops, so it was extremely important.

“Currently, only a few places in Yangzhou and Xuzhou can meet this condition, and they are all state-owned farms. To be honest, I don’t know if I can tell you this,” Wang Liang said, scratching his head. He was also scared half to death when he first saw a bumper harvest, but precisely because he was scared half to death, he really felt that he should not spread it around carelessly.

"We've heard rumors that, with sufficient irrigation, thunderclaps, volcanic ash, and bird droppings, using a new generation of improved seeds could yield twelve shi (a unit of dry measure), and there's no need for fallow land?" Cui Lin asked Wang Liang tentatively, looking at him with a hint of caution.

This data was given to Cui Lin by Cui Yan. After all, this level of output would have been considered an auspicious sign that needed to be reported in the past. Before the emergence of the improved varieties of cookies and the Wang family's Lei Jitai, an acre of land would generally only yield three shi (a unit of dry measure).

Twelve shi (a unit of dry measure) is an output of what level, and it doesn't even include fallow land. This is too exaggerated. So after a certain farm produced such an exaggerated output, Chang'an must have sent people down to investigate to prevent local state-owned farms from trying to meet their targets at the end of the Second Five-Year Plan by creating artificial auspicious omens.

To prevent the special envoys from Chang'an from being bribed by the local authorities, or from being deceived by the locals, fabricating data, or creating auspicious omens, Liu Ye and Man Chong sent a high-ranking official, Cui Yan, directly to the area. Cui Yan then witnessed the extremely exaggerated state-owned farm where harvesting was still underway.

Thanks to the fact that state-owned farms at this time had begun semi-mechanized harvesting under Chen Xi's promotion, the rice was usually allowed to grow a little longer in the fields. So when Cui Yan went down there, he saw rice being harvested at a large farm in Xuzhou.

Because it was during the harvest, Cui Yan could accurately determine that this was not some man-made auspicious sign, but rather an extremely high and abnormally high output.

Subsequently, Cui Yan brought the secret mirror he had recorded, along with accurate statistical data, to Chang'an to report to Liu Ye and Man Chong. After all, it wasn't just the output of one mu of land that was high, but the output of all the land was over ten shi, which was extremely exaggerated.

This means that this is not an isolated incident, but a completely replicable reality.

However, after this thing was sent to the government office, it was sealed up by Chen Xi. In Chen Xi's words, the relevant experimental data should not be transmitted yet. The Lei Jitai has not been completed yet, and the new production increase plan has already been launched. At this stage, stability should be the priority.

This wasn't just Chen Xi's wild speculation. The current output of volcanic ash and guano in Jiangdong was far from enough to supply the entire Central Plains. Under these circumstances, releasing news of such high production would only dash the hopes of ordinary people. So it was better to keep it sealed up first and announce it later when the Han Dynasty had defeated the Kushans and started building a large fleet to gradually supply the region.

However, no matter how much it is sealed off, as long as Chen Xi doesn't order a silencing of the matter, those who need to know will still find out; it's just that different people will have different perspectives on the issue.

For the powerful families who were already starving, a high yield of grain was something they desperately wanted. So after Wang Liang appeared, Cui Lin thought it best to verify the news. If it was true, then the Cui family should stockpile some grain in advance to prevent a recurrence of the famine.

"Twelve shi? That's a bit of an exaggeration." Wang Liang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said. When the others heard Wang Liang say this, the heads of the aristocratic families who had originally planned to buy the goods later calmed down. After all, if Wang Liang said so, it couldn't be true.

However, before the group could calm down, Wang Liang continued, "But a yield of over ten shi per mu is still achievable, and occasionally there are some with twelve shi. But for me, this common yield of over ten shi is the most important record."

Occasional high yields may be due to other reasons, but widespread high yields are definitely of reference value. Currently, it seems that simultaneous rain and heat, proper irrigation, and the use of thunderstorms, volcanic ash, and guano can force the production of high-quality cookies to reach more than ten shi (a unit of dry measure).

"Ten shi and above!" Wang Rou gasped in shock; this was too outrageous.

“Yes, compared to those occasional twelve stones, I think the universal ten stones are the most meaningful. This means that this thing can be promoted when the conditions are fully met.” Wang Liang nodded and said, “Just like our family’s Thunder Platform, although it is difficult to build, it can be replicated. The important thing is that it can be replicated.”

Things that appear by chance and have no value for replication are meaningless to Wang Liang. Although research is worthwhile, it is better to pursue stability when there is no time, after all, people still need to eat.

"Are the guano and volcanic ash monopolized by the Jiangdong region?" Zhang Zhao of the Zhang family of Hanoi asked tentatively. The group exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts.

"Pretty much, but the biggest problem over there is actually transportation. There are many islands in Jiangdong, some of which have active volcanoes. Every year, it takes some time to go up and clear away volcanic ash, or there are special bird habitats. But these places are all owned now." Wang Liang warned the group not to cause trouble, as these things are all owned.

In the early days of the enfeoffment, because many volcanoes in Southeast Asia were still active, many islands with volcanoes were unwanted. However, the overall territory of Southeast Asia was large enough, so most islands with active volcanoes were allocated to lower and middle-ranking nobles at a relatively low value.

As the saying goes, even if a large part of the island is occupied by an active volcano, there is still plenty of land. So some veterans from Jiangdong thought that this island is so big, covering several thousand square kilometers, bigger than a county marquis's territory, and possibly even the size of a prefecture. Just because there is an active volcano, I can get it with a mere tenth-level title. If that doesn't work, I'll just choose this island.

As for the possibility of a volcanic eruption, as long as you're not afraid of death, that's fine. A harsh government is much more dangerous than an active volcano. Besides, even if a volcano erupts, it won't reach my house. I just need to choose a good spot.

Therefore, of the more than two hundred active volcanic islands in Jiangdong, more than eighty are in the hands of veterans who are not from powerful families, more than twenty are in the hands of the more prestigious large families in Jiangdong, and the remaining more than one hundred are in the hands of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Because no one wanted the remaining ones back then, they were eventually taken back. Of course, the problem of illegal mining is unstoppable, especially the more than one hundred volcanic islands in the hands of Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, which are often illegally mined by the Jiangdong families who do not have volcanic islands.

After all, Sun Ce was a man of honor. If powerful families bullied the widowed, disabled, or elderly soldiers under his command, Sun Ce would definitely take action against them. But if you were just visiting an active volcanic island under Sun Ce's name, stealing some volcanic ash, and taking a few boatloads a year for your own use, or even taking a few boatloads to sell in the Central Plains, even if Sun Ce caught you, you would at most be punished with three cups of wine.

Moreover, most of the time, Sun Ce didn't care much about it, treating it as a public resource.

So in recent years, the majority of the volcanic ash sold by the Jiangdong aristocratic families has come from Sun Ce...

Wang Liang knew this, after all, the family that built the Thunder Platform had some reputation to speak of, and if he asked those seemingly simple old farmers, they generally wouldn't lie to him and would tell him the truth.

Therefore, from Wang Liang's perspective, these aristocratic families in Central Asia, you can go and talk to Sun Ce, but it's best not to play dirty tricks. If you provoke him, Sun Ce will really deal with you.

(End of this chapter)