Chapter 52: Conferment

Luo Ang arrived at the mansion's main hall and saw Li Su chatting with Cheng Yu. He immediately smiled, stepped forward, and cupped his fists in a salute, saying, "So it is General Li! Please forgive me for not welcoming you from afar!"

Li Su quickly stood up and returned the greeting, saying, "The Marquis of Yan is too modest! My coming here today is, first, to represent the Grand Tutor in rewarding the army, and second, to announce some of the Grand Tutor's decrees!"

Luo Ang cupped his fists and said, "Please share the Grand Tutor's instructions!"

Li Su smiled and said, "Since the Marquis of Yan is both the Grand Tutor's right-hand man and his son-in-law, there is no need for such formalities between us."

With that, he produced a scroll of yellow silk, presented it to Luo Ang with both hands, and said, "Please review this, Marquis!"

Luo Ang took the silk scroll, unfolded it, and read through it. The decree appointed Li Su, the General of the Household, as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Army. There was nothing else of particular note in the other orders.

Luo Ang rolled up the silk scroll and smiled at Li Su. "With General Li here to assist me, I shall have much less to worry about!"

Li Su hurriedly cupped his fists and said, "You flatter me, Marquis!"

Luo Ang patted Li Su on the shoulder and smiled. "We are family, so there is no need for formal pleasantries. Tonight, I shall host a banquet at the mansion, and we must drink to our heart's content!"

Li Su bowed deeply and said, "Thank you very much, Marquis!"

Remembering something, Luo Ang asked, "I wonder if my father-in-law has summoned me to Chang'an?"

Li Su replied, "He did mention it, but we must wait until the Grand Tutor sends someone to formally invite the Marquis."

Luo Ang said, "Thank you for the reminder, General!"

He then summoned a soldier and ordered him to escort Li Su to the guesthouse to rest.

Li Su took his leave and departed.

Standing at the entrance of the main hall, Luo Ang looked up at the sky outside and smiled.

Cheng Yu, who had remained silent the entire time, turned to Luo Ang and said, "The Grand Tutor has appointed Li Su as the commander of the Northern Army. It seems the Lord's soaring military achievements have made the Grand Tutor rather uneasy!"

Luo Ang turned around and said, "Those who are not envied are mediocre. These developments were entirely to be expected."

Cheng Yu was slightly moved and praised, "The Lord's words are profoundly wise!"

Luo Ang slowly walked back into the main hall and said, "Between Li Jue and Li Su, while they are nominally my deputies, they are in truth my father-in-law's eyes and ears. It seems I must tread even more carefully in the future!"

He paused, looked at Cheng Yu, and continued, "However, these matters do not require excessive worry. Zhongde, how are the preparations coming along for organizing the refugees and returning them to their homelands?"

Chen Gong replied, "Everything is proceeding smoothly. However, a considerable number of commoners are unwilling to return to Hedong Commandery. How should we handle this? Please give your instructions, my Lord!"

Luo Ang asked with some surprise, "I promised to exempt the ordinary people of Hedong Commandery from taxation for three years. Why would anyone still be unwilling to go back?"

Dong Yuan smiled and said, "There are quite a few of them—perhaps about a third. In their hearts, perhaps they feel truly safe only when they remain by my husband's side!"

Luo Ang chuckled and teased, "Yuan'yuan, are you flattering me?"

Dong Yuan blushed deeply, at a loss for how to reply.

Luo Ang smiled thoughtfully and said, "If they do not wish to leave, then let them stay. The region around Luoyang is sufficiently vast. Settling them around Mount Mang, establishing villages and towns, and distributing land will allow them to make their homes here."

Cheng Yu cupped his fists in assent, though his brow furrowed almost immediately. "However, most of the land surrounding Luoyang belongs to high-ranking ministers of the court. Shouldn't we dispatch someone to consult with those officials first? After all, the Grand Tutor has not confiscated their lands!"

Luo Ang pondered for a moment and said, "I will handle this matter. Just proceed according to my instructions."

Cheng Yu acknowledged the order.

Luo Ang then asked, "How much wealth remains from what was confiscated from the barbarian tribes?"

Cheng Yu replied, "In accordance with the Lord's wishes, all of these funds were allocated to settle the refugees. If all the refugees were returning to their homelands, it would barely be enough. However, with so many choosing to stay, the costs of building villages, towns, and reclaiming land will exceed our resources. We will need to draw funds from elsewhere to cover the shortfall."

Hearing this, Luo Ang was greatly surprised. "Surely not! Is that vast sum of money still not enough?"

Cheng Yu spread his hands in a gesture of helpless resignation.

Luo Ang paced back and forth across the main hall before stopping to ask, "How much tax revenue can Luoyang generate this year?"

Cheng Yu answered, "We can collect twenty million strings of cash. However, half of that must be remitted to the Grand Tutor, leaving us with only about ten million strings for our own use. These funds will barely suffice to provision the army and compensate the families of fallen soldiers, making it difficult to allocate them elsewhere."

Luo Ang's eyes widened. "How can there be so little money? Luoyang is the most prosperous city in the realm!"

Cheng Yu said with a wry smile, "Although Luoyang is prosperous, the vast majority of local wealth is concentrated in the hands of the aristocratic clans. To win popular support, the Grand Tutor has promised to protect their privileges. Consequently, despite holding countless riches, these noble clans pay practically no taxes. If they were taxed according to standard rates, I estimate our annual revenue would reach fifty million strings of cash."

Luo Ang glared and said, "Zhongde, do you mean to say they swallow up thirty million strings of tax revenue that ought to be paid to us every year? This is utterly outrageous!"

Chen Gong sighed and said, "Relying on their local advantages, the aristocratic clans continuously annex land and monopolize commerce, gathering wealth ever closer into their own hands. Protected by court policies and their own inherent advantages, these families who hold the lion's share of wealth pay very little in taxes. As a result, the burden on the common people grows heavier day by day, until one day it will reach an unbearable limit. The earlier Yellow Turban Rebellion, though triggered by natural disasters, had its roots in man-made calamities. And those calamities were not caused by the Ten Attendants, but by the court's perennial failure to resolve the severe inequality in wealth distribution throughout the realm."

Luo Ang nodded thoughtfully, frowning as he said, "It seems that if this issue is not resolved, a major disaster will eventually erupt again!"

With that, he shook his head, temporarily pushing the matter aside, and looked at Cheng Yu. "Zhongde, do we have any other sources of revenue?"

Cheng Yu replied, "Shangdang and Hedong commanderies were only recently secured by the Lord, and since you have promised tax exemptions, we cannot look to them for now. As for Henei Commandery, its tax revenues are already stretched to the limit just to cover military expenditures and other essential expenses; we cannot draw upon them."

Luo Ang frowned. "If that is the case, I have no choice but to have Gongtai in Ji County, and Zhicai and Jushou in Jinyang, send funds over here!"

He then turned to Dong Yuan and said, "Yuan'yuan, send two trusted men to Ji County and Jinyang to instruct Gongtai and Jushou to deliver funds to Luoyang, and by the way, have Zhicai come to Luoyang as well."

Dong Yuan acknowledged the command and withdrew.

Thinking of another matter, Cheng Yu cupped his fists and said, "Tens of thousands of Xiongnu, Wuhuan, and Xianbei captives have been dispatched to labor in mines across various regions, in accordance with the Lord's wishes. Output at the mines has more than doubled! However, scholars among the common populace have raised dissenting voices, arguing that our Great Han is a land of ritual and propriety, and that treating foreign peoples with such cruelty violates the virtues of humaneness and righteousness. They believe those captives should be treated with leniency."

Luo Ang sneered. "Those fellows are speaking from a position of ease! Talk of humaneness and righteousness—had we been the defeated party, others would show us no such mercy, and our fate would be far more tragic! This world is governed by the law of the jungle, yet they try to blind themselves with notions of benevolence. When the day comes that we face annihilation at the hands of foreign tribes, they will only be able to weep and curse the heavens for being blind."

Listening to Luo Ang's words, Cheng Yu nodded and said, "The Lord's words are entirely correct."

Luo Ang declared, "Proceed with the matter just as planned, and pay no heed to the nonsense of those scholars. However, we must also dispatch men to spread these words of mine abroad, lest the foolish rhetoric of those scholars mislead the common people."

Cheng Yu bowed in compliance.