Chapter 1499: The 189th Battle of Han Banner World IV

Shannan County, once the most important pass in the northern part of the Qin Dynasty, has now become the territory of the Han Dynasty. The troops of the Third Military Region led by He Lanxiong who attacked Qin from here have left here for more than ten days, but the place is still very lively. , countless ordnance supplies are still gathered here and sent out every day, and countless caravans are also rushing here along the prairie. The merchants of the Han Dynasty always have the keenest sense of smell. Every time the Han army conquers a place, The first ones to arrive are always the businessmen. They were even much faster than the accepting officials sent by the Han Dynasty.

After the war, most places were dilapidated, but at the same time, they were also places where great business opportunities existed. The business of the Qin State has been almost completely destroyed by the blockade of the Han Dynasty in recent years. From the perspective of Han merchants, these places are completely virgin land. If you take the first step, you can occupy the market first. Now the commercial competition of the Han Dynasty has already It reached a point where some small businessmen even took great risks and followed the army forward. Of course, the risk was also great. If the Han army was defeated, they would have nowhere to run.

But obviously, the Han army's consecutive battles and victories over the years gave these Han merchants considerable confidence. Although Shannan County was captured not long ago, countless merchants had already flocked to it, and the Qin people in the county were in shock. , when they still didn’t know what the occupiers would do with plundering them, the merchants had already knocked on their door.

Rent a house, open a shop, set up a warehouse, and first get the good shops in the county. This is what these businessmen want to do. When everything is settled and the policies of the Han Dynasty come to fruition here, the value of these street-facing shops will immediately increase. It will rise like a somersault. These businessmen are already familiar with all this. Shannan County is a bit remote and has a smaller population, but it is still a county town. Moreover, discerning businessmen have discovered it. Shannan County is the key link between the prairie and the mainland of Qin. In the future, under the stimulation of the Han's economic policies, this place may be the next Dayan County.

When the Qin people in the county smeared black ash on the faces of women and children at home, tried to hide them in hidden places, and then opened the door in fear, they stared at the weathered-faced guys waving a Stacks of brand new banknotes. He yelled: "Make a price and I'll rent your house."

What the Han merchants were holding were actually Han banknotes, not silver notes as the Qin people thought. However, these poorly informed Qin people did not know that the Han Empire had already abandoned the direct circulation of gold and silver.

Surprised but frightened, the Qin people cautiously offered a price. The intruding Han businessmen did not bargain at all, but directly took out two documents from their bags, signed and pledged them, and paid on the spot. .

The Qin people in the county and city were worried about the looting and rape, but they didn't see it at all. Instead, he first rented the house out of nowhere and got a large sum of money. Then, officials from the Han Dynasty came to the door one by one. Different from the officials in their image who were arrogant and arrogant, these Han officials were quite kind. They held a booklet and softly asked about the details of these people's families and registered them one by one. , in the end, there was actually a bag of food as a gift.

The people of the Qin State in Shannan County are beginning to experience a baptism storm of inherent knowledge in their minds.

But the county town has undergone tremendous changes in a short period of time. A large number of caravans poured into the county town, and the rented houses were simply renovated. Countless goods piled up the shop floor, and the people in the county and city who were worried about their livelihood discovered it immediately. The locals like them suddenly became a hot commodity, because they needed people to decorate the house, unload and stack the goods, and the merchants came, but there were not enough workers, so they had to hire people. After these merchants were busy in the city, they were busy again. Then he started running towards the market town below the county town. This naturally required an acquaintance to act as a guide. Suddenly, the labor costs skyrocketed. Because there were not many people in Shannan County, and the war caused a considerable loss of population, in a short period of time, the labor costs in the County City were almost the same as those in the super cities of Han Dynasty. This enabled the people in Shannan County to earn money in a short period of time that they could not earn in a year before.

The labor shortage in Shannan County has reached an appalling level, which made the new governor who took over the city very angry because he couldn't hire anyone to repair the city walls, houses, and streets. You know, when He Lanxiong attacked Shannan County, At that time, hundreds of artillery bombardments blasted the city walls into chaos, and the army entered the city. The ordinary residences were not affected much, but important departments like the government office were beaten to a pulp. After the battle, He Lanxiong led His army slapped its ass and continued to march into the interior, leaving such a bad shoal for the officials who took over. How could they not give the newcomers a headache?

The key point is that the government cannot compete with the businessmen. The government cannot pay the labor costs provided by the businessmen, and the Han Empire is not like the previous countries where it can be done by issuing an administrative order. Everything had to be done according to the rules, which made almost two months pass. The new county guard still had to live in a shabby government office surrounded by drafts to handle government affairs. He was itching with hatred all day long. There is nothing we can do.

Fortunately, as the news spread in Shannan County, some people who had fled returned to the county one after another, and the surrounding villagers also began to gather in the city. It was easy to make money in the city.

The influx of a large number of people has alleviated the employment crisis of the county governor's office. The merchants have almost finished their work, and the labor costs have begun to fall. Now he can finally start to rectify the chaos in the county city.

When Mingtai entered Shannan County City with Qin Yijian and other confidants, he saw a scene of bustling activity, as if the city had become a construction site everywhere. Carts of garbage were pushed out of the city by wheelbarrows, and then carts of white lime and blue bricks were dragged into the city. Looking around, a brand new Shannan County City has taken shape. What makes Mingtai even more emotional is that although the clothes are still tattered, the faces are full of smiles.

Once upon a time, he saw numbness and despair on the faces of the Qin people. Such a happy smile from the heart has hardly been seen in recent years.

"Commander Ming, don't underestimate these workers. As far as I know, the money they have earned in the past few months is probably more than what they earned in the past few years, which is more than my salary!" Cao Tianci, who was responsible for receiving Mingtai, smiled and said, "There are job opportunities everywhere, but there are not enough people. The wages are rising, making me feel like pushing a cart for a few days." Cao Tianci laughed and said, he was proud, because only in the Han Kingdom could you see such a vivid scene.

Mingtai was speechless. In his impression, such things, as long as the government issued an order, countless people could be summoned to work for free, under the euphemism of serving labor. It was hard to understand that the Han government would pay a lot of wages for this.

The houses on both sides of the street are now very different from the past in the image. The doors have been enlarged and the windows have been more than doubled. The shelves inside are filled with a wide variety of goods. The current Shannan County looks much more lively and prosperous than Xianyang.

The people who were crowded in the store to buy things were all ordinary villagers. Mingtai could tell their identities from their clothes. Not long ago, they were still Qin people, but now they took out the banknotes of the Han Dynasty from their pockets with a smile on their faces and took away the goods in bags.

"They have made a lot of money during this period, so they naturally want to reward themselves. The best-selling things in the city now are cloth, some small accessories, and various meats." Cao Tianci introduced with a smile.

"It's not always as easy to make money as it is now. If you make money quickly, you will spend it quickly, and it will be hard in the future!" Mingtai's voice was slightly sour.

"In our Han Dynasty, as long as you are diligent, you can always make money." Cao Tianci said. "There are plenty of opportunities to make money. Those who have the ability and ideas can make a lot of money, and those who only have a little labor don't have to worry about their livelihood. This is just the beginning. In the future, this place will get better and better."

Mingtai walked forward in silence. Cao Tianci also knew that it would not be easy to change this person's impression of the Han Empire all at once. The policies pursued by the Han Empire, let alone Mingtai, have different voices even in the Han Empire. It is also because of His Majesty's tolerance that not only allow these people to talk nonsense in newspapers, but also write an article to debate with them when he is interested. In Cao Tianci's opinion, such guys should be directly arrested for treason and intent to subvert the government.

Mingtai suddenly stopped and looked straight at a place. Cao Tianci was slightly surprised and looked over along his gaze. At the corner of the street, there was a small stall selling cold noodles, which is a specialty of the old Qin people. Even in Shannan County, it is not common.

"Commander Ming must be hungry, why don't I treat you to a bowl of cold noodles!" Cao Tianci said with a smile.

"Minister Cao also likes this?" Mingtai was startled and asked.

"It's not that I like this, but this thing is famous. To be honest, I don't eat much, but seeing Commander Ming's look, I want to try it."

"That's right, there are many obstacles on this journey. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to taste the authentic Lao Qin cold noodles again." Mingtai said with some emotion.

Cao Tianci smiled. Mingtai's journey to Xinqin was indeed a long journey. Now Xinqin is constantly making small moves, but the Han Dynasty has no need to tear their faces with them now. Wang Jian wants Mingtai, so just give him. Mingtai's departure from Xianyang is a clear blow to the current Qin regime. As for the future, Cao Tianci doesn't believe that Xinqin can still turn the tables. After all, the Han Dynasty has never stopped making long-term arrangements for Xinqin over the years. (To be continued.)