Moma Liangshan

Chapter 178 A Bustling Scene: The Migrant Population

The 76 million taels of silver and 13 million taels of gold in the Shangjing treasury not only shocked Wang Hao, but also made Lin Chong and Yang Zhi, who were accompanying him, deeply understand why their lord was willing to defy the world to insist on trading with the Liao Dynasty. Moreover, the treasuries of the capitals of Tokyo, Zhongjing, Nanjing, and Xijing also held considerable wealth. If all of this fell into the hands of the Jurchens, it would be enough for them to support a million-strong army within ten years, marking the beginning of a true nightmare for the Song Dynasty's subjects. The Liao Dynasty was able to accumulate such enormous wealth over two centuries because it had long dominated Northeast Asia. Even after the fall of the five capitals and the defeat and capture of Emperor Tianzuo, Yelü Dashi was still able to lead the remnants of the Khitan westward, establishing the Western Liao Empire, which dominated Central Asia for ninety years, thanks to the remaining power of the Liao Empire. All of this sufficiently demonstrates the Liao Dynasty's strength at the time. Secondly, the Liao Dynasty was not a particularly economically vibrant nation. On the northern grasslands, the wealth of the nobility was still symbolized by the number of cattle, sheep, warhorses, and slaves. Therefore, the gold and silver sent to the capital accumulated over two hundred years. As for why the gold and silver in the national treasury were stored in ingots weighing two hundred catties each, it was purely for security and ease of counting. This also reflects that the Liao rulers and officials never intended for this gold and silver to circulate freely as currency.

Of the four warships in Jiaozhou, the Pulao was still on the southeast coast, leaving only the Qiuniu, Yazi, and Chaofeng at available deployment. Upon returning to the princess's residence, Wang Hao said, "To transport 10,000 troops from Liaodong to Dagukou, the existing ships in Jiaozhou are far from sufficient!" The Shu princess was shocked and immediately said, "This is something you personally promised!" Realizing the princess had misunderstood him, Wang Hao quickly said, "Princess, don't panic. I didn't say it was impossible to transport 10,000 troops to Dagukou!" The Shu princess breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You have another plan?" Wang Hao nodded and said, "I need to go south to Fujian again to request assistance!" For some reason, the Shu princess suddenly felt a pang of reluctance and said, "So, you're saying goodbye?" Wang Hao smiled and said, "It's too early to say goodbye. I still need to detour through Jinzhou to send you back!" The Shu princess was silent for a moment and then said, "You're right. I should return to Jinzhou to continue overseeing the overall situation!"

In times of chaos, people are displaced and wander; in times of prosperity, people live in peace and contentment. Whether it was the Jurchens who rose to power unexpectedly, the Liao Dynasty that suffered repeated defeats, or Wang Hao and the princess of Shu, people at the core of their eras were always running on the road of struggle.

While the Liao Kingdom's war raged on, the extravagance of Bianjing (Kaifeng) only increased, and Jiaozhou's development proceeded steadily. Wang Hao sat in his private four-wheeled carriage, departing from the port of Jiaozhou Maritime Trade Office. He passed through large-scale production areas such as shipyards, ironworks, loom workshops, glass workshops, soap workshops, textile factories, wineries, and food factories. He then traversed a commercial district lined with restaurants and shops, finally stopping at the Jiaozhou Library, which was still under construction.

The design of Jiaozhou Library fully considered its practicality and durability from the outset, with the most comprehensive considerations being lighting and fire prevention. Under the personal supervision of Wang Hao and taking into account the actual productivity of ancient society, the final design of Jiaozhou Library was a complex of twelve interconnected independent library buildings. Because Jiaozhou Library is built on a hillside, with a higher elevation in the north and a lower elevation in the south, and each library building is a two-story circular structure, it resembles a string of giant prayer beads when viewed from the mountaintop. Each library building is connected by a spacious corridor with tables and chairs on both sides for reading and studying, and a central passageway.

Wang Hao stepped down from the carriage, and the overseer on duty immediately came to greet him, hurriedly bowing and saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!" Wang Hao waved his hand and said, "No need for formalities!" Then he asked, "How is the project progressing?" The overseer replied, "The foundations of the twelve libraries are mostly complete, and it is estimated that the entire foundation work will be finished in another three months." Wang Hao nodded and said, "I'll take a walk around. You stay here and await my orders!" The overseer understood that Wang Hao was inspecting the project, and immediately became extremely vigilant, carefully replying, "Yes!" Wang Hao looked around, and was accidentally blinded by the bright sunlight. He smiled slightly and walked forward following the direction of his shadow. After a moment, he came to a group of workers and said, "I am an official from the county government, here to inspect the project!" The busy workers around him looked up at Wang Hao, seeing his extraordinary demeanor and the imposing guards behind him, and hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects. Wang Hao randomly approached a short, stocky worker and asked, "How long have you been working here?" The worker replied, "I was among the first batch of workers recruited, roughly four months ago."

Wang Hao nodded slightly and asked, "Are you satisfied with working here?" The short, stocky worker unconsciously squinted his eyes into slits and said, "Satisfied! Satisfied! Otherwise, I wouldn't have called all my relatives and friends here!" After saying that, he glanced at the people around him. The surrounding workers came to their senses, and one of the men with a wrinkled face said, "We were all introduced here by Liu Da!" Seeing that Wang Hao didn't speak, Liu Da quickly explained, "Our boss said that for every worker he brings in, he'll get a reward of thirty copper coins!" Wang Hao understood that Liu Da had misunderstood him, and then smiled and asked, "How much does the boss pay you each month?" Liu Da replied, "From two to four strings of cash!" Wang Hao suddenly asked, "Are you satisfied with this wage?" Liu Da quickly replied, "Satisfied! Satisfied!" Wang Hao smiled and said, "Don't lie to me!"

Liu Da immediately said, "How dare I lie to you, sir?" Then he glanced at his fellow workers beside him and said, "If you don't believe me, sir, you can ask them. The employer not only provides food and lodging, but as long as we are on time and work honestly, there's basically no deduction from our wages!" Wang Hao suddenly realized that these people didn't seem to be locals and asked, "Where are you from?" Liu Da said, "We came from Weizhou!" Wang Hao was somewhat surprised and said, "Weizhou isn't close!" At this moment, two people in the corner said, "Weizhou only takes three or four days to get there, it's not far. We came from Hebei!" Wang Hao was very surprised and asked, "Since you are from Hebei, why did you come back..." "Working in Jiaozhou?" an older worker said. "We're just begging for food. The construction site in Jiaozhou not only provides food but also wages. Why would we come all this way?" Wang Hao shook his head with a smile and asked, "How could news of Jiaozhou hiring reach Hebei?" The worker smiled sheepishly and said, "To be honest, sir, I came to Jiaozhou begging for food. I happened to find a construction site hiring, so I stayed to work!" Wang Hao pointed to another man and asked, "Was he also a beggar?" The worker replied, "He and the other twenty-odd people from the west, I brought them all from my hometown!" Wang Hao quickly understood. He had also brought his fellow villagers and friends because he would receive thirty coins for each person he introduced. Wang Hao then asked, "Since you introduced all those people, why are you two alone here?" The worker replied, "I'm a stonemason by trade, and I came to help Liu Da and the others!"

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