Chapter 573 Peaceful Evolution
The magistrate of Xingye County was named Wang Yuanhe, a distant branch of the Wang family of Langya, with the character "Yuan" in his generation name.
Initially, the two counties of Hezhong and Henan caused civil unrest, which led to a power vacuum. Many aristocratic families sent people to settle in the two counties after the unrest was quelled.
Wang Yuanhe was the county magistrate brought over by the Wang family, but Xingye County was still a little poor.
Every year, Wang Yuanhe handed over most of the money he extorted to his master, leaving only a small part for himself, which was barely enough to cover his expenses.
If it weren't for the county magistrate's help in purchasing the fruit wine, Wang Yuanhe would have no money to hand over to the master.
Wang Yuanhe had heard a long time ago that Duke Yun was going to send someone to Xingye County, but he waited and waited and no one showed up, which made him very anxious.
"Xu County Magistrate, has the envoy of Duke Yun really set out? Will he be angry with us because of Wang Jiuhe's incident?"
Wang Jiuhe stole the military deployment map of Yunzhou and handed it over to the Tartars, resulting in heavy losses for Yunzhou.
This matter has almost become an open secret in the officialdom.
Duke Yun once wrote a letter strongly condemning Wang Jiuhe and demanding severe punishment according to the law, but the government kept the letter in the palace and ignored it, and demanded that the imperial envoy Wang Jiuhe return to Kyoto immediately.
In the end, Wang Jiuhe did not return to Kyoto, but was shot to death by the remaining Tartars hiding in Yunzhou.
No one, including the Wang family, believed that this was the real cause of Wang Jiuhe's death.
Everyone believed that the Tartar who shot and killed Wang Jiuhe was actually Duke Yun’s man.
But the person is dead. Although the Wang family is heartbroken, they cannot go against Duke Yun just for Wang Jiuhe, especially since Duke Yun is so angry that he won't give face to anyone.
"Report! There is an envoy from Duke Yun outside the city!"
"Here he comes!" Wang Yuanhe showed a look of joy on his face. He didn't even bother to tidy up his appearance and stood up to greet him.
The person sent by Duke Yun this time was Li Changtian, who was originally a student of Songshan Academy. Later, he followed Niu Jinyi to support Yunzhou.
"Changtian!"
"Xu Xuan!"
Li Changtian took a boat across Pingyang County, then got a horse from the local area and traveled a long distance, exhausted.
Li Changtian and Xu Xuan hadn't seen each other for many years, and they hugged each other as soon as they met.
Xu Xuan smiled warmly: "Good boy, I was still worried, wondering who the Duke of Yun would send as an envoy, and whether it would be easy to talk to him. I didn't expect it to be you!"
Li Changtian laughed heartily: "You don't know it's me, but I know you're here! I volunteered! Boy, don't embarrass me in front of Duke Yun!"
Xu Xuan introduced the county magistrate Wang Yuanhe to Li Changtian: "I don't have the final say on this matter. You have to ask our county magistrate, Lord Wang! In Xingye County, the Wang family has the final say."
Hearing this, Wang Yuanhe was sweating profusely and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no! It's absolutely not true!"
Wang Yuanhe was being modest.
In Xingye County, although there are many forces involved, the Wang family still has the most say.
If the Wang family agrees to join Gu Nanxi, no one else will have any objection.
The three of them entered the county government office together.
The yamen runners serving on the side were a little at a loss. What grade of tea should be served to the envoy of Duke Yun?
If the best tea is served, will the envoy feel that the government officials are oppressing the people and will settle accounts with them in the future?
If inferior tea is served, will the envoy think that others despise him?
After so many years of experience, Li Changtian is no longer the simple and passionate young man in Songshan Academy. He can know what the bailiff is thinking with just a glance.
"I don't want tea, just give me a pot of hot water."
Wang Yuanhe's butt moved, his face a little uneasy, why did Li Langjun refuse to drink tea? Did he have something against him?
Li Changtian explained carefully: "This flood has blocked the north-south traffic, and the number of caravans from south to north is decreasing. Duke Yun is reluctant to drink tea, and neither are we."
The best tea is so expensive, you can buy a lot of food with that money!
Wang Yuanhe breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it wasn't directed at him: "Duke Yun is really frugal."
Almost both sides knew the purpose of sending the envoys this time.
Wang Yuanhe was the first to ask, "I wonder how Pingyang County Magistrate Cheng Yan is doing now?"
Li Changtian replied sincerely: "Originally, Lord Niu was planning to have Lord Cheng join the leadership team to help handle the affairs of Pingyang County. But Lord Cheng declined this suggestion for personal reasons. He just wanted to be a leisurely wealthy man."
Wang Yuanhe understood.
If he handed over Xingye County like Cheng Yan did, reducing bloodshed and casualties, Duke Yun would not abandon him but would give him the right to continue to participate in political affairs.
If he wanted to stay away from the power circle, Duke Yun would give him money, land and people.
But Wang Yuan still felt a little uneasy: "There is some unhappiness between our Wang family and Duke Yun."
Li Changtian took a sip of hot water and finally got rid of the coldness in his body.
Li Changtian said frankly, "Lord Wang, you want to talk about Wang Jiuhe, right? Death is the end of the matter. Since Wang Jiuhe is dead, he will not implicate you. What's more, Lord Wang Bushi, one of the right-hand men of our Duke Yun, was also a member of the Wang family."
"Oh?" This was the first time Wang Yuanhe knew about this. "I wonder which branch Lord Wang Buxi came from?"
If he can be the right-hand man of Duke Yun, he must be no ordinary person. Why have we never heard of such a person emerging from the Wang family?
"Master's family. Mr. Wang's old name is Wang Qi'an."
"It's him!" Wang Yuanhe was shocked.
Wang Qian'an was once the Wang family's top seed player, and the family had great confidence that he would enter the cabinet in the future.
Later, for some unknown reason, Wang Qian'an seemed to have a falling out with his master and no news was heard from him again.
After what happened with Wang Jiuhe, Duke Yun was still able to use Wang Qian'an without any qualms, which shows that Duke Yun has a broad mind!
Wang Yuanhe no longer had any worries about this.
"Sir Li, it is our great honor to serve Duke Yun. We in Xingye County will follow Duke Yun's lead. But..."
Li Changtian listened attentively, waiting for Wang Jiuhe to propose conditions: "My family is all in Xiangzhou. I can't let my family be beheaded because of me."
This is surrender!
Xiangzhou is so close to Kyoto. Once the imperial court gets the news, it will definitely not let his family go!
Li Changtian gave Wang Yuanhe a reassurance: "Master Wang, you can rest assured about this. We have people in Xiangzhou as well, and we will do our best to reunite your family."
"Wait for good news from Lord Li."
The negotiation is now complete at this point.
The day that Wang Yuan and his family arrived in Xingye County was the day when Wang Yuan and the entire Xingye County took refuge with Duke Yun!
Li Changtian wrote a letter and gave it to Baida Post Station, asking them to quickly pass it on to Song Zhizhou in Xiangzhou.
At the same time, Xin'an County also welcomed Mei Tang, the envoy of Duke Yun.
Mei Tang was surrounded by a group of yamen runners with swords. He asked calmly, "Is this how Lord Lu treats guests?"
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