Chapter 131 Lord Lu is treating us, really treating us!

When the warmth lasted only a moment, Lu Chenyang said, "If you're okay now, then let's talk about some serious matters. Yanhui Pass has fallen, and the city of Dagan will be in turmoil for some time to come."

Lu Chenyang asked a question: "Do you think the emperor will appoint the Duke of Zhenguo?"

Yan Xing pursed his lips, "He won't."

Lu Chenyang raised his eyebrows. It was already this time, and Emperor Qianyuan didn't plan to re-employ the Duke of Zhenguo?

Lu Chenyang did not doubt Yan Xing's judgment. He said, "If that's the case, then we must conserve our strength."

Let’s not attack Quzhou for now.

Yan Xing understood his meaning and did not object. After all, they had already taken over half of Quzhou, so they could just confront the King of Nanyang.

This winter is destined to be extra long.

This is Lu Chenyang’s impression of the 22nd year of Qianyuan.

First of all, Cui Yan compromised on the surface. The Qi family’s grain shop started selling grain again, and the price was reasonable.

All the businesses in the city continued to operate. With commercial activities, people could find work.

Lu Chenyang brought more rice seeds to Shu, just so that the people could store more food.

In the winter of that year, the people of Shu finally lived a relatively stable life.

Lu Chenyang built the Youwuyuan to shelter homeless children and the elderly, which was managed by Zhang Qian.

The people gradually forgot the harm caused by King Nanyang.

This is the situation in Shu, but the situation outside is not good.

This year, Emperor Qianyuan was seriously ill, and he appointed Yuan Kuishan as the general and the fourth prince as the military supervisor, to replace Marquis Dingyuan and command the Yan army.

Marquis Dingyuan was seriously injured while defending the city and was sent back to the capital for treatment.

The fourth prince married the daughter of Marquis Dingyuan, so it can be said that he is the son-in-law of Marquis Dingyuan.

This decree made one thing clear: the situation in the capital was now under the control of Concubine Lan and the Fourth Prince.

As for Yuan Kuishan, according to Yan Xing, he does have some abilities.

Yuan Kuishan came from a poor family and had no connections in the court. Although he won several battles, he was not promoted and was only a minor official of the fifth rank in the court.

Emperor Qianyuan had no one else to use, and he didn't care about his family background. He used him to gain military power for the Fourth Prince. If they lost the battle, he would be the one to take the blame.

No matter what, Yan Xing and Lu Chenyang both sincerely hoped that Yuan Kuishan could withstand the Tatars' iron hoof.

Lu Chenyang didn't know the specific situation, but the news he received was that the Tatars were stopped outside Huai'an and the situation was finally stabilized.

But the situation in Dagan did not improve. After the spring, a large number of refugees emerged from all over the country. At the same time, rebel forces in various places also raised their flags and started uprisings one after another.

In the entire Danggan region, the only areas that are still stable are Jiangnan, Beijing, Northeast China and Lingnan.

These have nothing to do with Lu Chenyang. Half of his energy this year has been focused on Shu, but he has not neglected the development of Lingnan.

Before winter, Lu Chenyang gritted his teeth and squeezed out some money, which he sent to Lingnan to be used for road construction in various places.

Nowadays, almost the entire Lingnan area is used to grow medicinal herbs, and these medicinal herbs need to be transported out. Building roads will facilitate transportation and allow the people to earn money.

Everything in Lingnan is thriving now, which makes Lu Chenyang feel a little relieved.

No matter how things were outside, this winter was quite peaceful for the people in Lingnan and Shu.

Therefore, Lu Chenyang was still in the mood to host a banquet.

Yes, the stingy and poor Lord Lu is going to treat us to a meal.

For example, the siblings Shen Shiqian and Shen Yihuan, Zhao Tingyuan, Zhang Qian, Tan Feng, Gao Ming, and Chen Songyuan must be there, as well as several generals in the army.

This time, when fighting against King Nanyang, Yan Xing had several capable generals under his command.

For example, Ji Ping, who came from the martial arts world, and Cao Wenkai, who was originally a garrison soldier, are both very outstanding generals. They are different from Yan Xing. Because of their outstanding performance, Lu Chenyang has promoted them.

Both of them are already captains.

Lu Chenyang also had a selfish motive for this banquet, which was to set an example for others.

Over the past year, because Lu Chenyang was a frugal person (mainly because he was poor) and didn't usually hold banquets or anything like that, the wealthy people in Shu had to do it secretly even when they invited people to dinner, for fear of bringing bad luck to Lu Chenyang.

Lu Chenyang knew about this because Zhang Qian reminded him.

"Sir, since you came to our Yucheng, three restaurants in our Yucheng have closed down." Zhang Qian sighed.

Lu Chenyang looked innocent and defended himself: "That's their own poor management, what does it have to do with me?"

Zhang Qian rolled her eyes. "Because you don't go out to eat, and you don't treat anyone to dinner! So how would they dare to go out to eat?"

Lu Chenyang was unable to speak: "You also know my current situation."

Zhang Qian knew he was poor. "What goes around comes around, Lord Lu. You're now the governor of two prefectures. You're a prominent figure in Dagan. Why are you living so frugally? If you don't treat your guests to a meal, your people won't dare go to your restaurant. Won't they have no business? That's fine, but even if your restaurant goes bankrupt, many people will be left without jobs."

Lu Chenyang was filled with grief and indignation: "Can't I just be poor and live on my own? They have money, they can go eat by themselves, and I won't be jealous. Why do I have to pretend to be generous when I'm poor?!"

Zhang Qian couldn't help but laugh, thinking that her parents were so cute.

Chen Songyuan also agreed with Zhang Qian's opinion: "The princess is right, sir. The New Year is almost here, and it's time to hold a banquet to entertain your subordinates. If you don't move, your subordinates won't dare to move, and the people won't have a chance to make money."

It would cost a lot of money for a wealthy family to hold a banquet, including buying vegetables and meat, and hiring helpers. These were all opportunities for the common people to make money.

Lu Chenyang was a man who listened to advice and thought what they said made sense.

So Lu Chenyang held a banquet.

Everyone came happily after receiving the invitation, and Shen Shiqian also brought a lot of gifts.

There were food, seeds, cloth, and two large carts of cotton donated to the orphanage.

Lu Chenyang was deeply moved by these two large trucks of cotton.

Zhao Tingyuan: “…” There is still a lot to learn.

Although Lu Chenyang was poor, the banquet he prepared was quite sumptuous. It was prepared by the chef of Nanyang Palace.

Lu Chenyang smiled and said, "Everyone, eat more. We haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's be casual today and just treat it as a family dinner. Don't be so restrained."

Lu Chenyang told them about the family dinner, which showed that he treated them as his own family, and they were all very proud.

Zhao Tingyuan picked up a small fried dough twist and took a bite. It was crispy and delicious, and his eyes lit up.

"I've eaten this fried dough twist a lot, but the ones made by you, sir, seem to be more delicious." Zhao Tingyuan said with a smile.

Shen Shiqian glanced at him and learned quite quickly, but still not as well as him.

Lu Chenyang smiled and said, "Today's banquet was prepared by the chefs in the palace. It's definitely different from what you'd find outside. Tingyuan likes it. I'll have someone pack two boxes for you when you go back. You can take them back to your family to have a taste. It's also a token of my appreciation."

Zhao Tingyuan was so moved.

Lu Chenyang is very easygoing and the atmosphere is very harmonious and comfortable.

Ji Ping and Cao Wenkai are new members, but they also know Shen Shiqian and others, so they took this opportunity to make friends with them. They will all work under Lu Chenyang in the future.

Lu Chenyang looked at Shen Shiqian: “Shiqian, I heard that the Shen family’s caravan went to Mianyang this year?”

The place of Mianyang is similar to Lingnan, located in a remote area. However, Mianyang is different from Lingnan. Mianyang is extremely rich.

Because Mianyang produces sugar.

There is a plant called sugarcane in Mianyang, which has a very high sugar content and is the main raw material for sugar today.

The Shen family went there just for candy.

Shen Shiqian nodded: "Mianyang is relatively peaceful now, but business is not good this year. Fewer people go there to buy sugar. I heard that the court has issued martial law and has started to limit the purchase of sugar."

Lu Chenyang frowned. Mian Yang's condition was not good.

This also shows that the current situation of Dagan is critical.