Chapter 40

When Lin Shuge arrived at the post station, Taran was holding a letter and staring into the distance. When he saw him, he said, "Lin County Magistrate, my father has sent a letter. The guard's claim that he was seriously ill was indeed false. My father has confirmed that it is indeed my brother who wants to kill me."

He unfolded the letter. The paper was pure white, it was Ganzhou paper.

He added: "Not only that, my brother... he is suspected of colluding with the Xiongnu. He wants to join the Xiongnu in a coup and ascend the throne, and announce to the outside world that my father is dead. If I die in the territory of Dayan, he will have a reason to join the Xiongnu and attack Dayan."

After hearing this, Lin Shuge felt a chill down his spine.

Not only that, combined with the news brought by Wei Huan, the Huns wanted to attack Dayan from both Ganzhou and Zhonggu Tunnel. The target of the eldest prince of Xiya Kingdom should be Ganzhou, while the Huns sent troops to invade the border of Dayan.

In addition, although Xiya was a small country, it was rich. By allying with Xiya, military funds could be continuously supplied to the Huns.

Taran considered his tone for a moment, "Lin County Magistrate, my father has already ordered the arrest of my brother. All the blame will be handed over to Dayan for handling. I hope Dayan will take my father's sincerity into consideration and make amends before it's too late..."

"Your Highness, I cannot make the decision on this matter. You must explain this to the County Governor's Office and the Great Yan Envoy, and have them report to the Emperor before we can make any further plans."

Taran's face turned pale. How dare Xiye, a small country, confront Dayan head-on? This trip was originally intended to make friends, but something like this happened. They even joined forces with Dayan's biggest enemy to commit evil. The Emperor of Yan would definitely be furious when he heard about it.

Seeing his face full of fear, Lin Shuge comforted him, "Your Highness, the incident happened suddenly. Your country has dealt with the eldest prince in time and no harm has occurred. You don't have to worry. The county governor is in Ganzhou. All matters must be discussed in person between you and Master Wei."

"Okay, thank you, County Magistrate Lin."

Lin Shuge felt sorry for him as he watched him look dazed and go to the county government office accompanied by the officers.

Taran is innocent and kind-hearted. It would be hard for him to bear such a blow overnight. However, the eldest prince would surely die unless there was an accident, so Taran was the only choice to succeed him.

The responsibilities of a king are much heavier than being a happy little prince. I hope he can grow from this experience.

However, if Taran succeeds to the throne, according to his personality, he will definitely maintain good relations with Dayan for a long time, which is not a bad thing for Dayan.

Lin Shuge glanced at the streets. There were people bargaining with vendors. Compared with when he first arrived, the streets were much more prosperous. He hoped that the war would never implicate the people of Dayan.

…

The case of the assassination of the envoy has been solved, and Lin Shuge has thrown himself into the busy spring ploughing. When the spring equinox comes, County Magistrate Li needs to lead the county officials to hold a sacrifice, worship the community god, and pray for the gods to bless the harvest.

It is estimated that most of the workers in the workshops have to go back home to farm. After all, in ancient times, food was the basis of survival.

Perhaps we could consider recruiting a group of refugees, otherwise the workshop might not have enough staff.

On this day, Lin Shuge was reviewing the official documents submitted to him when Zhou Du rushed in and said, "Brother Huai Ting, the envoy will be here soon. The county magistrate asked us to go to the city gate to welcome him immediately."

Lin Shuge was shocked. How could it come so quickly?

"Go!"

The two of them immediately rushed to the city gate, tidying up their appearance as they walked. The envoy who was responsible for welcoming the Xiye Kingdom had been stationed on the border in Dingyuan County. He had defeated various small countries in the Western Regions and made great military achievements. After leaving office, he was named Marquis of Jingyuan.

This time, he was the emperor's envoy to welcome the Xiye delegation back to the capital. He was said to have been delayed on the way due to something. How come he suddenly arrived today?

Have you heard about the collusion between Xiya Kingdom and the Xiongnu?

Without time to think, Lin Shuge could only stand behind Magistrate Li and wait for the arrival of the official envoy.

Unlike the last time, this time the angel from Dayan arrived with flags embroidered with "Yan" fluttering, carriages and horses rumbling, and the commander riding a tall horse, holding a talisman, looking dignified and majestic.

When everyone saw the angel, they immediately knelt down and saluted. The angel represented the arrival of the emperor. All under heaven belongs to the king, and all within the four seas are the king's subjects. It was the first time that Lin Shuge intuitively felt the meaning of this sentence.

"Your Highness, your Majesty, is here to receive your greetings."

Marquis Jingyuan read out the imperial edict with a stern expression, and Lin Shuge and the officials of Ganzhou County followed suit and expressed their gratitude.

After receiving the imperial edict, County Magistrate Li arranged for the officials accompanying the delegation to go to the post station to rest, while he and Lin Shuge followed behind Marquis Jingyuan and waited for instructions.

As expected, Marquis Jingyuan did not go to the post station, but came to the county government office with them and asked directly, "How is the matter of Xiye Kingdom being handled?"

County Magistrate Li was very cautious and reported the whole story to Marquis Jingyuan.

Marquis Jingyuan snorted coldly. The man who walked out of the sea of ​​blood and corpses was so imposing that Magistrate Li almost fell to his knees with his legs weak. Lin Shuge also broke out in a cold sweat.

"A tiny country dares to collude with the Xiongnu to offend Great Yan. How audacious!"

County Magistrate Li hurriedly explained that the King of Xiye was actually unaware of the situation and had already kidnapped the eldest prince and was preparing to hand him over to Dayan, leaving it to Dayan to do whatever it wanted.

Jingyuan Hou stared at Magistrate Li for a moment, frightened him so much that he broke into a sweat. "He was quite sensible. Wu Tu Mi was quite a talent when he was young, but he has become more and more outrageous as he gets older. His son colluded with the Xiongnu right under his nose, and he himself acted like a blind man with open eyes."

Wutu Mi is the name of the King of Xiya.

Seeing him calling her by her name, Magistrate Li and Shu Ge Lin looked at each other, neither of them dared to speak.

"Well, I have reported this matter to His Majesty. His Majesty has ruled that since Wu Tu Mi dealt with the eldest prince in a timely manner and was loyal, it will not affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. You acted decisively to rescue the little prince and resolve the dispute between the two countries. You did a good job."

Hearing this, Lin Shuge's heart, which had been pounding at the beginning, finally slowed down.

Is this a pass?

He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when the Marquis of Jingyuan asked, "Are you the County Magistrate of Lin County?"

Lin Shuge's palms were sweating, "It's you, my humble servant."

"Now, scholars and writers in Yandu are competing to use Ganzhou paper, and women in the boudoirs are also chasing after Ganzhou Yuerong. I heard that these are all from your handwriting."

It was hard to tell whether Jingyuan Hou liked it or not. Lin Shuge could only guess for himself, "That is indeed what I thought, but I dare not take credit for it. It was thanks to Magistrate Li's insight and the support of the people in the county that I had the courage to try out the cashmere produced in Ganzhou."

After listening to him, Marquis Jingyuan remained silent.

County Magistrate Li quickly chimed in, "County Magistrate Lin is a man of integrity and selfless character. He also wanted to..."

Jingyuan Hou suddenly laughed, "You have made great contributions, why are you so nervous? Your Majesty received a letter from the King of Xiye a few days ago, saying that Xiye is interested in trading with us. It is said that the moon wool produced in Ganzhou is very popular among the nobles in the Western Regions. Your Majesty has agreed to the trade between the two countries."

Seeing that Lin Shuge still had a bewildered look on his face, he continued, "Cashmere is indeed good. This time when I came here, my wife and daughter even told me to buy a few more pieces when I return home."

Is this okay?

County Magistrate Li said happily: "Ganzhou has plenty of cashmere, let alone other things. I will send someone immediately..."

Lin Shuge was not so optimistic. What Marquis Jingyuan meant was that Ganzhou paper and cashmere clothes had already spread to Yandu. There were countless nobles in Yandu. If they knew that Ganzhou was profitable, they might have plans to make a move.

If it were really taken over by some profit-seeking people, both myself and Magistrate Li would be like an ant trying to shake a tree under their power.

Moreover, the princes and nobles saw that cashmere was a huge profit, so they didn't care about the lives of the people. They just wanted to enclose land to raise sheep and exploit them at every level.

Seeing that Lin Shuge had understood the hidden meaning behind his words, Jingyuan Hou asked, "It seems that County Magistrate Lin has something to say?"

"My Lord, I would like to know if there is anyone in Yandu who wants to invest?"

If it is really impossible to prevent it, it is better to recruit this person into the group. If he really has no intention, Marquis Jingyuan will not say it out.

"Oh? Investing? What does that mean?" Marquis Jingyuan opened his eyes slightly, his gaze fierce.

"Merchants in the county also participate by investing. The government provides the recipe, and merchants invest money according to how much they participate."

"Do you think I want to have a piece of the pie?"

Lin Shuge looked at him in confusion.

"Lin Shuge, ah Lin Shuge, not everyone is greedy for pleasure and disregards the country. I just remind you to be careful. There are some people who should not be offended."

For example, the Ding family, which now controls the government, does not care about this small profit, but it is inevitable that there will be some short-sighted people who want to profit from it.

County Magistrate Li was dumbfounded listening to the conversation between the two. Could it be that some noble in the court had taken a fancy to Ganzhou's things?

"My Lord, please show me a way forward." Lin Shuge said humbly.

"Let me ask you a question. Are you afraid that someone will come and grab a piece of the pie and steal the recipe, or are you afraid that someone will take away the people's livelihood for their own selfish reasons?"

Marquis Jingyuan stood up and stared at Lin Shuge with his tiger eyes. Under such a gaze, any secretiveness and hypocrisy could not escape his gaze.

Lin Shuge bowed and saluted, "My Lord, as long as what I do does not harm the people, I am willing to offer the recipe. I am afraid that someone will see that it will bring great benefits and take it for himself, and the people will only become a stepping stone for him to make profits."

"I am also afraid that someone will seize the people's land for this little profit, leaving the good farmland barren and turning it into a place to produce cashmere."

Marquis Jingyuan stroked his beard and smiled, "Since you said that, I will take all the responsibility for you."

Lin Shuge widened his eyes, looking unbelievable.

"What? You don't believe it? I have fought on the battlefield for many years and have been in Dingyuan County for more than ten years. How can I not be happy to see the people here living and working in peace and contentment?"

Seeing that he was so upright, Lin Shuge thanked him sincerely.

"Okay, let's prepare to hand over to the envoy of Xiye Kingdom." Marquis Jingyuan smiled and patted Lin Shuge, then strode out of the county government office.

The general's hand was so strong that Lin Shuge took several steps back. He was overjoyed. If Marquis Jingyuan could help him in Yandu, he wouldn't have to worry about being coveted.

"I'm so happy that I'm silly. Marquis Jingyuan is indeed a loyal and righteous man who has fought countless battles for the country." said Magistrate Li.

Back then, Marquis Jingyuan guarded the border and destroyed several small countries in the Western Regions that violated the border. For many years, people in the Western Regions were terrified when they heard his name.

"Hurry up and go. The two countries are exchanging letters. This is a major event and cannot afford any mistakes." County Magistrate Li walked away humming a little tune with his hands behind his back.

Lin Shuge could only follow quickly.