Chapter 248 The One Who Fell for Refuge
Just when Feng'er and her men had taken a few steps, she was grabbed by the sleeve by a strong man. When she turned around and looked back, Feng'er was so shocked that her mouth opened wide!
“Brother Zhao!!!”
She looked behind Zhao Qiaonian again: "Brother Daniu! Brother Hutou! Oh my God, why are you here?!"
The corners of Zhao Qiaonian's lips curled up, and it was obvious that he couldn't hide his excitement. "Sister! Why are you in Xingyuan Mansion?!"
The two of them just wanted to hug each other, but after all, men and women were different. Feng Er was shocked and happy at the same time, "Let's go, let's go back and talk. This is not the place to talk!"
Zhao Qiaonian also wanted to have a good chat with Feng'er, so he quickly packed up his things and followed Feng'er.
Then Feng Er saw the person in the carriage and said in surprise, "Master Sun?"
Feng'er left early and had no idea about the love-hate relationship between Sun Qingchen and Xu Zhenying, nor did she know that Sun Qingchen had previously betrayed Xu Zhenying and went to the capital to file a complaint. When she left, Sun Qingchen was still unwilling to surrender and was forced to follow Xu Zhenying every day.
But how did Zhao Qiaonian and Sun Qingchen get together?
Sun Qingchen felt a little awkward seeing Feng'er, but then he realized he might have to work under them in the future. Xu Zhenying's political team was very young, which meant his superiors were all younger than him. Since he had already decided to join the bandits, he naturally had to adjust his mindset as quickly as possible. So he tried to be gentle, "Miss Feng'er, how are you?"
Feng'er was stunned. "Why is Lord Sun in Xingyuan Mansion?"
A low cough of dissatisfaction came from inside the carriage curtain. Sun Qingchen felt helpless and had to introduce the old man Lin beside him: "Feng'er, this is Mr. Lin, the leader of the scholars of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and also the chief academic officer of the Imperial College in the 16th year of the Great Zhou Dynasty."
Mr. Lin stroked his gray beard, looked at Feng'er, and said with a smile: "Yes, that's right, they kidnapped me."
Kidnapped?
Are you sure?
Look at you, you are not restrained at all, you have your own carriage, and you have a little boy accompanying you to take care of your daily life. It is not convincing at all to say that you were kidnapped.
Speaking of this, Sun Qingchen felt a headache.
Since he had already decided to join the bandits, he naturally had to communicate well with Zhao Qiaonian and the others. If they had the chance, they could go to Jinzhou Prefecture together and share their resources with each other, which would help him open up the situation in the officialdom in the future.
Therefore, when Old Lin came up alone with a little boy, Sun Qingchen told Zhao Qiaonian about Old Lin's identity, the whole story, and the shock that Old Lin would bring to the court.
The main reason was that Mr. Lin was old and very cunning. He concealed his whereabouts and chased them directly. He also insisted that they were planning a rebellion and kidnapped him from his home to hand him over to the rebels.
Sun Qingchen almost vomited blood at that time.
Listen to how shameless this literary master is.
He wanted to rebel, and in order to clear his wife and children in Bianjing City, he put all the blame on Sun Qingchen.
Faced with this situation with both pros and cons, Zhao Qiaonian was tough and made the decision directly for Xu Zhenying.
That is to take Mr. Lin with him to seek refuge!
His reasons are also strong.
Zhao Qiaonian left halfway, and Sun Qingchen stabbed him in the back. The two of them turned back, but the timing of their defection was not good.
It's just that Xu Zhenying is a generous person and should not care about these trivial matters, but the two of them don't want to go there empty-handed, as if they are coming to add icing on the cake just because Xu Zhenying has become successful.
Taking Mr. Lin with me, at least I won’t appear to be empty-handed.
As for the shock caused by this incident, I believe Xu Zhenying can handle it with his ability.
Zhao Qiaonian happily took Old Lin into his arms.
Xu Zhenying, who was thousands of miles away, was already sneezing continuously.
Feng'er couldn't understand the flirting between them. When she heard that Mr. Lin was a literary master, her heart immediately became crazy. Such a good laborer, should she capture him and bring him back to the city lord?
And Old Lin was also observing Feng'er.
What this girl did in the government office just now was really not simple.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that they are not going there to seek justice, but are clearly taking the opportunity to build publicity!
There must be something unusual happening in Xingyuan Prefecture!
Well, they just arrived in Xingyuan Prefecture and encountered such a mess. How could this not make people excited!
Zhao Qiaonian had already sensed the tense situation and knew this was not the place to talk, so he urged Feng'er, "Let's go first, we'll talk when we get back!"
Feng'er naturally led them to the cotton farm on the outskirts of the city. Along the way, some women came to ask Feng'er curiously who was behind the carriage, but Feng'er politely refused and knocked them away. The women felt uneasy and wanted to leave.
As soon as they returned to the farm, Feng'er told them to work hard and not to worry about anything else.
The women were slightly relieved and went into the house in groups of three or four to do their work.
Everyone dismounted, Feng'er nodded, and Zhao Qiaonian brought five people with him, all of whom were the escorts who had escorted them to Qianzhou at that time. They included Sun Qingchen and his wife, Old Lin and the servant, a total of nine people.
The others should be their families, at least fifty or sixty people in total.
Feng'er invited everyone into the study. Everyone put down their bags and ordered the boy to serve tea and water. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief and dare to sit down and talk properly.
The closer they got to Jinzhou Prefecture, the more eager Zhao Qiaonian wanted to know the situation. He asked Sun Qingchen, but Sun Qingchen had been away for two or three months and had no idea about the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture. Now he met Feng'er in Xingyuan Prefecture. It had to be said that it was God's will.
The first person to speak was actually Elder Lin. He had already walked around several times while everyone was resting. He was really curious about everything. "Ms. Feng'er, why do you have so many kapok flowers?"
Feng'er respected Mr. Lin very much, and although Mr. Lin did not say it explicitly, it was not difficult to infer from the attitudes of Zhao Qiaonian and Sun Qingchen that Mr. Lin intended to surrender.
Thinking that there are high-ranking officials in the court who are willing to surrender, Feng'er's heart is even more excited.
"To be honest, this is our city lord's property. This year, she invested almost all the money she earned from selling soap into these cotton fields. Plus, Miss Qi II trusted her, so she also planted quite a bit with our city lord. Now we're gathering the women here to make cotton coats and trousers to sell."
Sun Qingchen suddenly realized something, unable to conceal his astonishment. "So, those thick clothes on the shelf I saw just now were cotton-padded jackets! They're truly marvelous. If all our soldiers could wear them in winter, we wouldn't have to fear the Tartars to the north."
After Sun Qingchen finished speaking, he felt a little dazed.
He even forgot for a moment that he had already joined the rebels.
From now on, all the people in the Great Zhou Dynasty should be his enemies?
Old Lin was taken aback. "Girl, you said that soap business belongs to your city lord? The soap that's sold all over the Great Zhou Dynasty, is your city lord's business?"
Sun Qingchen also reacted at this time.
What? That small piece of soap that costs a hundred coins in Bianjing City is Xu Zhenying’s business?
Before, he wondered who could come up with such an exquisite recipe. He even thought that Xu Zhenying was also a genius. Who knew that in the end, it would still be her property?
Feng Er smiled and said, "Although it may seem like I'm showing off my skills in front of Mr. Lin, my city lord is truly unparalleled in the world when it comes to his ability to make money."
Zhao Bantou understood this statement very well. Since everyone in the room was his own, he had no reservations. "That's right, Sister Xu once made 100,000 taels in one night. And it was pure profit!"
Sun Qingchen couldn't help but agree, "When it comes to Xu Zhenying... oh no, the City Lord's ability to make money, he's truly unmatched."
Elder Lin, however, saw things more deeply. "So, your city lord is very focused on commercial development? He doesn't even prioritize agriculture over commerce?"
"The City Lord said that when the four characters 'scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans' were first proposed, they weren't meant to distinguish between classes, but rather types of work. As for the status of these four types of work, it all depends on the stage of development and the needs of a dynasty. If the country is poor, then agriculture should be vigorously developed to improve the status and treatment of farmers. If the country's granaries are full, then commerce should be developed to make money more profitable, the entire market should be active, silver should be circulated, the economy should be revitalized, and social wealth and people should continue to increase."
Even though he had heard of Xu Zhenying's amazing economic theories, Sun Qingchen put aside his previous prejudices and couldn't help but feel his blood boiling.
Mr. Lin was obviously even more shocked by Xu Zhenying's idea of learning and applying knowledge flexibly and combining it with the actual national conditions.
No one has ever mentioned such a statement throughout history.
Today, people tend to believe that overall social wealth remains constant: if the treasury is rich, the people are poor; if the treasury is empty, the people are bound to be rich. The two are mutually contradictory, and one is growing while the other is declining. This means that if the interests of the gentry are to be protected, the interests of the people must be taken away, and ultimately competing with the people for profit is inevitable.
Is this the thought of an alien?
So avant-garde, so bold, yet so refreshing!
Just by hearing a few words from that great man, Old Lin couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling and his whole body trembling. He just wanted to meet that person immediately and have a hearty debate with her about the orthodoxy of Taoism!
Feng Er, on the other hand, asked Zhao Qiao Nian, "Brother Zhao, the city lord said that you went to Ye County to look for someone, but were later dispersed by bandits. Why are you now in Xingyuan Prefecture?"
Zhao Qiaonian, Daniu, and the others were embarrassed. They were all comrades who had fought side by side. Zhao Qiaonian didn't bother to hide anything. "To be honest, we actually left the team. We thought Jinzhou Prefecture was too chaotic, and we decided to go back on our own in a moment of confusion. It was Sister Xu who was considerate and found an excuse to cover it up for us. Otherwise, we really wouldn't be able to face you!"
Daniu also said with guilt: "We heard that Sister Xu was rebelling in Jinzhou Prefecture, so we thought of coming here to seek refuge."
Feng Er quickly laughed and said, "That's nothing. You've come to seek refuge with the City Lord. I'm sure she'll be incredibly happy. She still thinks of you all the time. The City Lord is a man of deep affection, you all know that!"
This sentence undoubtedly gave a reassurance to the escorts who had traveled thousands of miles to seek refuge.
"That's just the thing. I've been out exploring trade routes and haven't been back to Jinzhou Prefecture for almost a year. I don't know what it's like there. I heard the city lord has invented some smallpox vaccine and cement roads. The women here talk about it every day. It makes me itchy and I wish I could fly back to Jinzhou Prefecture right now to take a look."
"Cowpox vaccine? Cement road?" Mr. Lin's eyes lit up when he came into contact with new things!
Sun Qingchen, who knew a little about this, stood up in shock. "Has the cowpox vaccine really been developed?"
Feng Er nodded. "I heard from the women from Jinzhou Prefecture that the cowpox vaccine has been widely promoted in Jinzhou Prefecture!"
Elder Lin interrupted in dissatisfaction, "Hey, what exactly is this smallpox vaccine? Can someone explain it first? You're really going to drive an old man like me crazy, aren't you?"
Sun Qingchen couldn't hide his excitement. "Mr. Lin, the world is saved! I never thought the City Lord could actually do it! I used to think that what she said was beyond human reach, but who could have guessed that they could actually pull it off!"
Seeing Elder Lin's wide-open eyes, Feng'er had to quickly explain, "The cowpox vaccine is said to prevent smallpox. As long as you get vaccinated once, you will never get smallpox in your life!"
"What?" Elder Lin felt his scalp tingle. "For nearly a thousand years, countless generations and doctors have toiled tirelessly, yet smallpox has never been truly eradicated. Girl, are you sure that vaccine can prevent and treat smallpox?"
Feng'er nodded, then shook her head again. "Mr. Lin, I haven't been vaccinated, so I don't know the specifics. But the City Lord's letter said that the cowpox vaccine was originally discovered because people who had been exposed to cowpox wouldn't get smallpox, so they thought there was a necessary connection between cowpox and smallpox. The people at Lan County Medical College organized all the doctors to study this cowpox vaccine day and night. They later discovered that once a person has been exposed to a milder form of cowpox, the body will automatically retain the memory. The next time a more aggressive smallpox attacks the body, our body will activate its defenses and vigorously attack the smallpox pathogen. So it seems to have cured the smallpox, but in fact, the cowpox and smallpox pathogens are similar, and the body recognizes the smallpox virus and prevents it from entering again."
This explanation naturally shocked everyone present.
Old Lin even thought that this seemingly insignificant Feng'er would be able to come up with a reason for the power of gods and demons, but unexpectedly, she spoke so coherently and reasonably.
This reminded Mr. Lin of two words that were frequently mentioned in Xu Zhenying's textbooks.
Logic, science.
Logic is the strong connection within things.
Science is the true reflection of the objective laws of things.
There are no demons or supernatural powers, just like when she explained that the essence of the earth dragon turning over was nothing more than the movement of plate tectonics, with the same indifference, the same rationality, and the same beauty!
Zhao Qiaonian and the others were equally shocked.
They have always known that Xu Zhenying is no ordinary person, but look at him now, each and every thing he has done is beyond the world's cognition. He is not just an ordinary person, he is clearly a fairy from the sky!
Sun Qingchen asked again, "What about the cement road? What is that?"
"A cement road?" Feng'er had never seen one before. She gave a sly smile, "I heard from the women from Jinzhou Prefecture that the cement road is as smooth and flat as a stone pavement, and it won't rot in water, burn, or be cut by a knife."
"Isn't that a bluestone road?"
"What if it's a single, undivided piece of bluestone? Or, for example, if its cost is only a few dozen coins per mile?"
——Oh my God!
Just one sentence took away the breath of Sun Qingchen and Lin Lao.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
