Chapter 1055 A Pottery Factory is Needed
The wind was sharp, stinging faces.
Within Henan, chaos reigned supreme.
Ten miles outside Xuzhou (modern Xuchang), a formidable rebel army, numbering over a hundred thousand, was encamped in the woods, their presence a mighty rumble.
Yet, within this vast force, its various leaders were currently embroiled in a heated argument.
"Xuzhou is unconquerable," Zhang Miaoshou, a bandit chief, declared. "It's a renowned metropolis, guarded by imperial generals. How do we expect to take Xuzhou? Did you not witness how Brother Chuǎng Wang perished? His arrogance, attacking Xi'an, was his undoing."
"If I say it can be taken, it can be taken," Zhang Xianzhong, also known as the Eight Great Kings, retorted. "Xuzhou may be famous, but its current garrison is a pack of weaklings, utterly unlike the defenders of Xi'an. If we have the courage to attack, we can certainly seize it."
Zhang Miaoshou shook his head. "Eight Great Kings, you're mad. Even if Xuzhou's garrison is weak, Zuo Liangyu is stationed not far to the south, in Runing Prefecture's Zhumadian. If we attack Xuzhou, Zuo Liangyu will surely intervene."
The Eight Great Kings burst into laughter. "Afraid? Then get out! I'm not fighting alongside cowards like you."
"Tch, I wouldn't want to align myself with a madman anyway," Zhang Miaoshou scoffed, waving a dismissive hand as he departed with his subordinates.
Soon after, the battle for Xuzhou began.
Meanwhile, Zuo Liangyu was stationed in Runing Prefecture's Zhumadian, not far south of Xuzhou. Scouts reported that a hundred thousand rebels, led by the Eight Great Kings, were advancing on Xuzhou.
Upon hearing the number, "a hundred thousand," Zuo Liangyu felt a tremor of unease. "Xuzhou is a major city. What audacity do these rebels have to attack it? At most, they're just passing by the walls. We needn't provoke them; they'll retreat on their own."
The result...
His inaction sealed its fate.
Days later, news arrived: the Eight Great Kings had breached Xuzhou, unleashing a rampage of burning, killing, and looting. Officials, wealthy households, and common folk alike were all slaughtered.
Zuo Liangyu's own family home was in Xuzhou; his entire household had been massacred, not a single soul spared.
Aside from his son, Zuo Menggeng, who fought alongside him, Zuo Liangyu now had no family left in the world. From that day forward, he no longer feared the extinction of his clan, free to act with even greater impunity—
West of Luoyang City, in Xinan County, lay Ganquan Village.
The village boasted a thousand-year history of pottery making, earning it the charming moniker: Gu Tao Village.
Currently, an atmosphere of bustling enthusiasm filled Gu Tao Village. Countless villagers worked relentlessly, firing ceramic bottles.
Ever since the Heavenly Lord bestowed two colossal, thirty-meter-tall soy sauce bottles upon Luoyang City, the task of repackaging soy sauce had commenced with fervent energy.
Initially, Gu Tao Village had transported all the bottles and jars they had accumulated over years to Luoyang, selling them off in a grand surge. Now, it was a frantic race against time, working overtime to fire new bottles.
At that moment, Gao Yiye stood in the heart of Gu Tao Village, conversing with the Xinan County Magistrate.
Gao Yiye, in a gentle tone, inquired, "My esteemed Magistrate, are there truly no more bottles available? The repackaging of soy sauce is a task from the Heavenly Lord, and with the current shortage, the workers in Luoyang are growing anxious. If they can't work, they feel uneasy asking for their wages, terrified of losing their livelihoods, quite distressed."
What do laborers fear most?
The cessation of work at their factories!
A conscientious boss might still provide minimum wages during downtime, but an unscrupulous one would immediately halt payments, forcing workers to resign.
Even though the repackaging workers in Luoyang knew their employer was the benevolent Heavenly Lord, they still worried about the security of their jobs.
The Xinan County Magistrate, having personally witnessed the Heavenly Lord's power tear away the muddy crusts of the flooded Yellow River region, had long since become one of the Heavenly Lord Daoist Sect's most devout followers. Facing the Saintess now, he adopted a humble demeanor. "Esteemed Saintess, it's not for lack of effort on Xinan County's part, but truly... truly... the supply of bottles has simply run out."
The Xinan County Magistrate pleaded pitifully, "The villagers of Gu Tao Village had accumulated years of inventory, all of which was swept away in an instant. Now, there isn't a single ceramic bottle to be seen throughout the village. Despite their desperate efforts to fire more, the labor simply isn't sufficient. It's utterly inadequate!"
Gao Yiye now possessed a rudimentary understanding of economic principles.
Gu Tao Village itself had a sparse population, and its ceramic output was modest. Before the Heavenly Lord's arrival, the purchasing power of the surrounding populace was weak. The village, with its mere hundred or so households producing ceramic bottles, already met the city's demand. In fact, production capabilities far outstripped purchasing power, leaving the pottery-making villagers impoverished.
However, when the Heavenly Lord suddenly provided two gigantic bottles of soy sauce from the heavens and opened trade routes to coastal regions, the demand for ceramic bottles exploded. Overnight, the challenge shifted to production capabilities failing to keep pace with purchasing power.
"It seems we need to increase our workforce," Gao Yiye mused.
The Xinan County Magistrate sighed. "Increasing the workforce is certainly necessary, but... skilled labor is incredibly difficult to find right now. Ever since the Heavenly Lord's blessings arrived here, every industry has been developing at a furious pace. A multitude of new factories have opened: coal mines, iron mines, smelting operations, road construction..."
The Xinan County Magistrate wore a truly pitiful expression. "Forget Xinan County's original population; even with the recent influx of refugees, we still don't have enough hands."
Gao Yiye considered this. "There are a great many refugees in Luoyang. I'll speak with Bai Yuan to coordinate sending some to Gu Tao Village to help make bottles. Even without technical skills, they can assist with manual labor. In fact, I have an idea: let's establish a large-scale ceramic factory here, centralizing bottle production into a unified, industrialized system. From now on, Gu Tao Village will be known as Gu Tao Factory, and all the elderly artisans can directly join the factory as senior technicians."
The Xinan County Magistrate nodded. "That will have to do."
"Then I'll return to Luoyang to make the arrangements," Gao Yiye affirmed.
She turned and climbed into her dedicated automobile, while her hundred-strong escort team swiftly boarded the troop transport trucks, accompanying Gao Yiye as they hastened towards Luoyang City.
Gu Tao Village wasn't far from Luoyang, just a few dozen *li* away, and with the new concrete highway, the journey took little time.
However, upon reaching the outskirts of Luoyang, Gao Yiye immediately sensed that something was amiss. The city's west gate was unexpectedly shut, and numerous new militia recruits stood guard on the ramparts.
Seeing Gao Yiye's vehicle, a guard on the city gate bellowed, "Open the gates! Quickly, open the gates! It's the Saintess's carriage!"
The city gate slowly creaked open, and Gao Yiye's vehicle drove inside.
No sooner had they passed through than the gate swiftly clanged shut again.
Gao Yiye couldn't help but wonder, "What's happened? Why the air of urgent defense?"
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