Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 470: Chapter 437: Food, Money Bank, Courting Death

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the General Mansion opened its doors.

Yang Zhenshan, wearing a thick fur coat, strode into the main hall.

”Send orders, command all Assistant Generals to come to the General Mansion for a meeting on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month!”

Just as he entered the study, Yang Zhenshan immediately issued his command.

Countering natural disasters is by no means an easy task. The provinces of Liao Yuan and Ping Yuan, with a population of over ten million, a severe drought may not render everyone refugees, but at the very least, it would make millions of citizens refugees.

Once a drought occurs, if people want to survive the lack of food and water, they must leave their homeland and move elsewhere.

Even if just a portion of the refugees came to Chongshan Town, it would be hundreds of thousands, even millions of refugees.

Yang Zhenshan’s task was to make proper arrangements for these refugees.

”Yes!” A Personal Follower responded immediately, darting out of the study to pass Yang Zhenshan’s orders to the Personal Guard Camp.

Sitting at his desk, Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment, then picked up pen and paper and started writing.

These days he had been contemplating the upcoming plan, the general outline of which he had already figured out, with only the task of delegating the duties remaining.

The most important aspects of disaster relief are food and water.

In terms of water sources, Chongshan Town wouldn’t be severely affected by the disaster; the Ying River’s course would not dry up, and since the Northern regions had hardly suffered any disasters, water was not an issue.

Therefore, the biggest problem he faced was food.

The current grain stock in Chongshan Town was definitely not enough to feed millions of refugees, so the first thing to do was to buy grain, a lot of it, without considering the consequences.

”Someone there!”

”Marquis!” A Personal Follower from outside walked in.

”Send this letter to the Tenglong Guard, to Lord Wu Chongzhe!” Yang Zhenshan instructed.

”Yes!”

The Personal Follower took the letter and left the study.

Next, Yang Zhenshan summoned another trusted aide and ordered, ”Notify the six major merchants to meet with me on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month for a meeting. Ask their Family Heads to come if possible; if the Family Heads cannot come, then send someone who can make decisions on their behalf!”

”Yes!”

Several Personal Followers ran out of Yang Zhenshan’s study one after another, and soon troops from the Personal Guard Camp galloped out of Chongshan Pass, scattering in every direction.

Yang Zhenshan’s actions were not yet finished; after arranging affairs, he immediately visited the taxation department to check the General Mansion’s silver and grain stocks.

”Marquis, this is the grain harvested for the General Mansion last year!”

”Marquis, this is the silver income for the General Mansion last year!”

The civil servants from the taxation department placed two thick ledger books in front of Yang Zhenshan.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly and started by opening the grain ledger.

In reality, he had already reviewed these ledgers at the end of last year, but he had not given them much emphasis, only remembering a rough amount.

Last year, the grain harvested for the General Mansion was not substantial, principally the batch sent by the Governor’s Office, roughly three hundred thousand Shi (a unit of volume).

If refugees were to come to Chongshan Town, it must ensure the refugees enough grain for a year.

From opening up farmland to sowing and then to harvesting, for refugees to become self-sufficient, they would have to wait at least until next year’s September or October.

During this interval, all the refugees’ grain would need to be provided by the General Mansion.

An adult, if they want to be well-fed, needs at least two Jin (a unit of weight) of grain per day.

That is to say, at least seven hundred Jin of grain a year, which is close to six Shi.

The consumption for women, children, and the elderly is less. If averaged out, at least one Shi of grain per person per year is needed.

And if Chongshan Town were to accommodate a million citizens, it would need at least three million Shi of grain.

This was a number estimated by Yang Zhenshan, definitely not precise, as after settling in, refugees would undoubtedly find their own food, such as digging wild vegetables, hunting game, and they could also earn money to buy grain.

Regardless, Yang Zhenshan was preparing to stockpile grain based on this quantity.

That is to say, three million Shi of grain!

This was an unimaginably huge number for Chongshan Town.

Currently, the price of grain in Liaodong is two Taels per Shi; three million Shi would be six million Taels, but if Chongshan Town bought a large amount of grain, the price would definitely rise.

Moreover, Yang Zhenshan planned to buy grain from Jiangnan, the Li Sheng Dynasty, and the Desheng Dynasty; the price might be even higher.

”Eight million Taels!”

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes narrowed slightly, his mood somewhat heavy.

At present, there were less than two million Taels on the General Mansion’s accounts.

Last year, the General Mansion’s income was about five million Taels of silver, including four million Taels in promissory notes, nearly a million Taels from the glass business, and the remainder being miscellaneous income from other sectors of the General Mansion.

And this year, the income from the glass business would increase, Yang Zhenshan estimated that an income of three million was no problem, but increasing glass production takes time; only one million Taels could be recorded in the first half of the year, and it would only be in the second half of the year that the production of glass could increase.

The problem lies in the fact that Yang Zhenshan urgently needs silver now; he simply cannot wait until the second half of the year.

”Issue promissory notes once more!” Yang Zhenshan frowned.

Issuing promissory notes is the best way to quickly obtain a large amount of silver, but the silver obtained by promissory notes has to be repaid, with an annual interest rate of thirty-six percent, which more than doubles in three years.

Now borrow a million, and after three years, more than two million need to be repaid.

Last year’s promissory notes, two years later, would require a repayment of over eight million.

If another four million is borrowed this year, then after three years, over eight million need to be repaid.

Paying back over eight million for two consecutive years, even if the glass business is profitable, it cannot sustain it.

”We cannot issue promissory notes again, or else in the end the General Mansion will be crippled by the debt repayment!”