Chapter 26 Arrival at Fengxian City
The Great Zhou was divided into several cities, and the official in charge of an entire city was the prefect; several counties were set up under the city, with county magistrates and government offices.
Feng Guangwei rode at full speed to Fengxian City under the escort of another wave of guards.
He came with His Majesty's secret decree—
His Majesty ordered him to build and reinforce dams in several counties along the river east of Fengxian City.
However, what Feng Guangwei saw along the way was the increasingly dry and cracked land, and even the slightly yellowed leaves in the dense forest. While taking a break, he stopped an old man passing by and asked him what was going on.
The old man replied in a hoarse voice, "Fengxian City has been suffering from drought for a long time. God has not given us a single drop of rain."
Many varieties of rice in the southern part of the Great Zhou Dynasty have died due to the drought.
After asking, Feng Guangwei thanked the old man.
He unconsciously touched the bulge in his arms, where there was a secret letter, which was handed to him by His Majesty personally before he left. In addition, there was also a token that said "As if I were here in person".
"Enter Fengxian City!" Feng Guangwei shouted.
The guards on horseback behind him continued to move forward.
The emperor said with certainty that Fengxian City would first suffer a severe drought and then a flood after the summer this year, and he also said that there would be a sudden heavy rain outside Fengxian City in August that would last for several days.
..
After entering the city, Feng Guangwei first went to the Fengxian City Prefectural Government.
The prefect of Fengxian City was named Lu Liang. Lu Liang knew that an exiled court official had come from a small county outside Fengxian City, but since he was an exile, Lu Liang felt that the other party would not be able to achieve anything, so he did not intend to pay any attention to him.
When the other party asked for a meeting, he ordered the officers and soldiers to drive them out.
But who would have thought that the new county magistrate named Feng Guangwei would just barge in with his guards.
It must be said that Lu Liang was also a corrupt official who did all kinds of evil. During the years he was the prefect of Fengxian City, he made a fortune by extorting money from the people, accepting gifts from senior officials, and even secretly increasing taxes by 10% in Fengxian City and letting people sell the grain privately. Even his close associates became fat and strong.
But when the group of guards rushed in, his close associates were completely unable to fight back and were trembling with fear.
Lu Liang looked at Feng Guangwei, who was dressed simply and acted like a prefect. He said, "How dare you, a mere county magistrate, break into my residence? What do you want to do?"
Unexpectedly, Feng Guangwei smiled kindly, as if he and Lu Liang were old friends who had not seen each other for many years. He bowed and said, "I am a newcomer, so naturally I have come to ask for your care, the governor."
After saying that, he took out a token from his pocket.
Lu Liang only took a glance and his eyes widened immediately.
"Who are you……"
"Lord Lu, may I have a word with you?" Feng Guangwei made a gesture of invitation.
Lu Liang looked at the token that had been taken back, still in great surprise. He hesitated and looked around the crowded room.
Feng Guangwei immediately asked the guards who came with him to leave, and Lu Liang then asked his confidants to withdraw as well.
After everyone left, Feng Guangwei sat down on the armchair very naturally and said with a smile: "Lord Lu, I believe you have seen it just now. Then I will be frank. I came to Fengxian City to carry out my work under the order of the emperor."
Lu Liang was already about 70% convinced, but he still asked cautiously, "Oh? Then what errand did His Majesty ask you to do?"
Feng Guangwei smiled mysteriously and asked Lu Liang to come closer to his ear.
After hearing this, Lu Liang's original vigilance completely disappeared.
"Is what Lord Feng said true?" After hearing this, Lu Liang was surprised at first, and then overjoyed.
In his mind, Feng Guangwei had already transformed from a small county magistrate to Lord Feng, a popular figure around the emperor.
Although he had been the prefect of Fengxian City for many years, Fengxian City was already a remote place for the Great Zhou. Lu Liang had always been dissatisfied with staying in this poor and remote place, but he had no connections to bribe his superiors, so he could only reluctantly be a local tyrant in Fengxian City.
I didn’t expect that when I felt sleepy, a pillow would be given to me. A Lord Feng actually came to Fengxian City!
However, a hint of doubt appeared in Lu Liang's eyes: "Since you are following the orders of His Majesty, why is your name exiled here?"
Feng Guangwei thought to himself that this man was really hard to get rid of, but he still smiled and said, "Lord Lu, you don't know that if the matter of Your Majesty building a temporary palace in Fengxian City were to be made public, the ministers in the court would certainly oppose it. That's why Your Majesty openly criticizes me but secretly praises me. He ordered me to come here to start the construction of the palace."
After that, he pulled out another letter from his sleeve. He opened it and took a look before handing it to Lu Liang: "This is written by His Majesty."
Lu Liang took the letter and read it carefully, and finally saw the emperor's seal at the bottom.
His hands trembled as he spoke excitedly, "It's true! It's true!"
Feng Guangwei tucked his hands into his sleeves and said, "If Lord Lu can contribute to this matter, I will certainly speak well of him in front of His Majesty. Perhaps His Majesty will be very pleased..."
Feng Guangwei has already called himself "this official", but Lu Liang doesn't mind at all. As he holds the secret decree, he must be a favorite of the emperor, and he can't wait to curry favor with him!
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, and when Lu Liang looked at Feng Guangwei again, he had already put on a flattering smile: "Lord Feng, you must have come all the way from the capital. Why don't we hold a banquet here tonight to welcome you back?"
Of course Feng Guangwei did not refuse, as he would still have to rely on this adult for money and effort in the future!
The two smiled at each other.
At the welcoming banquet at the Fengxian City Governor's Mansion, Feng Guangwei accepted all the "bribes" sent by Lu Liang. It was not until Lu Liang called over some pretty dancers that Feng Guangwei smiled and said, "I have a wife who controls me at home. I will let you down this time."
The two men raised their glasses and drank, and joked about the matter. For a moment, the atmosphere at the banquet was quite harmonious.
Since it was a welcome dinner for officials from the capital, Lu Liang naturally made careful preparations, such as using a large amount of precious medicinal herbs to make a broth, and then adding the freshest and tenderest parts of a few chickens, etc.
Feng Guangwei's eyes were slightly cold as he lowered his head to eat. Are these dishes delicious?
Of course it was delicious.
But what he thought of were the pale and skinny people he met on the way to Fengxian City.
Thinking in this way, even the most delicious food would taste like chewing wax.
His Majesty had already instructed him on what to do after arriving in Fengxian City. Corrupt officials like Lu Liang would certainly be dealt with, but not now.
At this time, Lu Liang didn't know that he had become one of the first people to be fleeced by Yan Xuanyu.
...
On the second day, Feng Guangwei, accompanied by Lu Liang, pretended to visit several places.
Only Lu Liang knew that Feng Guangwei had received the secret decree from His Majesty. Lu Liang also knew that this matter was related to his future official career, so he kept his mouth shut until now.
Lu Liang followed behind him, wiping his sweat with a handkerchief. "My dear brother, where do you want to build it?"
Feng Guangwei said seriously, "This is a matter of great importance. I must carefully consider it. Why don't we go to the east of Fengxian City and take a look?"
Lu Liang cursed in his heart, "My dear brother, this day is too hot. I can't stand it."
Feng Guangwei immediately showed understanding and said, "Sir, I'll take care of this matter. I'll definitely include your contribution in the report later..."
He then whispered to Lu Liang, "After arriving at Fengxian City, I saw that it is well-organized under the governance of the Fengxian City Governor. I will certainly give your Majesty some advice in the future."
It seemed as if Lu Liang was sure to be an official in the capital or promoted to a prefect in a more prosperous place. Lu Liang was coaxed into leaving with ease.
As soon as Lu Liang and his group left, Feng Guangwei immediately took his men to the east of Fengxian City.
In the afternoon, Lu Liang received news at the prefectural office that the location had been set to the east of Fengxian City. Feng Guangwei said that Lord Lu could start recruiting people.
The next day, the Fengxian City Governor's Office issued an order that all young and middle-aged men in the village must serve in the army, and those who violated the order would be imprisoned.
Feng Guangwei just watched all this silently.
For a time, the people of Fengxian City were complaining bitterly. Fortunately, it was not the busy farming season, otherwise the people's livelihood would be cut off.
...
Zhu Cheng was one of the young and middle-aged men recruited by the Fengxian City Prefectural Government. He had a wife, children and an elderly mother at home, and the whole family depended on him for farming. No matter how hard he worked, after paying the grain tax to the officers and soldiers from Fengxian City, the remaining grain at home was only enough for them to tighten their belts and live. The fields suffered from drought again this year, and he was so anxious that he wanted to kneel on the ground and pray to God for some rain. Seeing the rice wilting and drooping its head, he went back and forth to draw water from the well at the entrance of the village to irrigate the fields like the villagers - but now even the water in that well is almost gone because of the drought.
Unexpectedly, the government issued another conscription order at this time. He was also a young and strong man in the village, so he was naturally included in the conscription. He could only leave his elderly mother, wife and children at home. Fortunately, Zhu Cheng's wife could still tie a headscarf and go to the fields to help with the work, otherwise their family would have no harvest this year.
The village chief and others stood on one side, waiting for the officials to count the laborers one by one. Only those with enough numbers would be taken away, and if not, they would capture a few more.
Under the scorching sun, everyone walked forward with heavy steps. There were soldiers guarding them in front and behind. They didn't even want to run away. After all, the village registration of the laborers was recorded in the book. If one person ran away, the whole village would be implicated.
...
"You guys over there, come over here and move the stone over there!"
Zhu Chengmu carried a heavy stone on his back with a sullen face. He bent over and supported himself with his hands behind his back. His hands were sore from being rubbed. Fortunately, he had a mat made of thatch on his back, otherwise he would have been rubbed to death by the hard stone.
However, Zhu Cheng had hardly slept in the past few days because of the drought in the fields. After he stood up and took a few steps, he staggered and the stone on his back rolled down and hit Zhu Cheng's leg.
He fell to the ground and screamed in pain, and the sound quickly attracted the person in charge of supervising the place.
When Zhu Cheng saw someone coming, he quickly covered his head with his hands.
"Are you okay? Where did you fall?" asked the man who was wearing clothes different from those of the officers and soldiers.
Zhu Cheng was so stunned that he didn't even have time to let go of his hands that were hugging his head.
Seeing Zhu Cheng curled up on the ground motionless, the man quickly called two other laborers to help him up. He then went forward and lifted up his trouser legs to see that his flesh was scratched by the sharp stones and was bleeding.
"Take him there," the man said again.
Zhu Cheng was startled. He ignored the pain and quickly stood up to carry the stone: "Sir, I can carry it, I can carry it..."
The man's voice became stern. "What can he carry? Why don't you take him over there?"
The two laborers were also afraid of the official who had just spoken, so they quickly carried Zhu Cheng to the newly built shed. As soon as Zhu Cheng got there, his legs were wrapped in coarse cloth, and a heavy coarse pottery bowl was stuffed into his hand, and he was asked to drink the green bean soup to relieve the heat.
Zhu Cheng looked at the few green beans that had been cooked softly at the bottom of the bowl. He took a sip tentatively and then almost buried his face in it.
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