Chapter 133 Leading by Example
Lu Chenyang smiled at him and said, "Listen, next year the prince will take us to Quzhou for dinner!"
Tan Feng rubbed his hands and said, "I heard there's a kind of fish in Quzhou that's really delicious when cooked."
Zhao Xi looked at him curiously: "How delicious is it? Is it better than what I make?"
Tan Feng: “…”
If you tell the truth about this issue, offending Zhao Xi may easily cost you your life; if you lie, you will lose your conscience.
Tan Feng said without hesitation: "It's definitely not as delicious as what you cook!"
Lu Chenyang: “…”
Zhao Xi is shy and modest: "I'm doing just fine."
Listening to the book: “…” You really believe it!
A group of people were chatting and joking. They didn't drink much today, so each person had a glass of Peach Blossom Drunk to suit the occasion.
A few people were playing rock-paper-scissors and drinking water. Yan Xing glanced at Lu Chenyang, and the two of them quietly walked out.
This is the fourth year that the two have spent together. Yan Xing brought Lu Chenyang to the backyard.
Lu Chenyang knew that this was a gift for him on New Year's Eve.
"What is it this year?" Lu Chenyang asked curiously.
As they were talking, they arrived at the backyard, and Lu Chenyang saw a half-human-high object covered with a red cloth in the yard.
Lu Chenyang was stunned for a moment, then walked forward and lifted the red cloth. It was a smaller version of a snowman made in his image.
It must be said that Yan Xing's craftsmanship is quite good, and the work is very lifelike, especially the expression on his face, which is exactly the same as when Lu Chenyang curled his lips and smiled.
Lu Chenyang was filled with surprise and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips: "This... am I really that good-looking?"
Yan Xing smiled at his proud look and said, "It's just so beautiful." He lowered his voice and said, "Do you like it?"
Lu Chenyang nodded heavily, his face full of fondness.
"No wonder you have been running to the backyard these two days and didn't let me come. It turns out you wanted to do this." Lu Chenyang said with a smile.
It snowed several times, but fortunately there was no snow disaster this year, which allowed Yan Xing to make a snowman.
Lu Chenyang has received New Year gifts for four consecutive years and feels a little guilty.
"I'll give you a gift later." Lu Chenyang said.
Yan Xing raised his eyebrows: "Then I'll be waiting."
Lu Chenyang nodded heavily and kept this in mind.
After they finished looking at the snowman, they went back to their rooms to rest until after midnight.
I don't know why, but I can't sleep tonight.
After accepting gifts from others for so many years, I should give something in return, right? Lu Chenyang considered himself a polite person.
Lu Chenyang thought about it, spread out a piece of white paper, and drew a picture.
It was the scene when Lu Chenyang and Yan Xing watched the fireworks that year, the backs of the two standing side by side, and the gorgeous fireworks in the sky.
Lu Chenyang is very good at painting. After all, he doesn't need to take the imperial examination, so he has a lot of time to devote to these hobbies.
Lu Chenyang became more and more energetic as he painted, and he finished a painting in one go, feeling very satisfied.
Lu Chenyang asked someone to take the painting out and frame it, planning to give it to Yan Xing in a few days.
Then Lu Chenyang was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes and went back to his room to catch up on his sleep.
When Lu Chenyang woke up, it was already afternoon. He stretched and walked out.
The sky outside is still white, which seems to indicate good weather in the coming year.
The bookstore owner quickly framed Lu Chenyang's paintings. Lu Chenyang thought about it and asked someone to go to Chen County to deliver them to Yan Xing.
Yan Xing has returned to Chen County, and now the army relies on him to guard the area.
"Prince, the master sent someone to send this, it looks like a painting, and he said it's for you." Tingshu put the thing on the table and stared at it eagerly.
Yan Xing's face lit up with joy, and he immediately took it. Seeing his gaze, he said, "Hurry up and go, this is something the master gave me. What are you looking at?"
After listening to the book, I felt that the eldest son of this family was really stingy.
Yan Xing carefully opened the painting and saw the two people in the painting, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
Yan Xing was very happy when he received the gift.
He made no secret of his good mood, his eyes were bright, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and even when he was training the troops, he was a little gentler than usual.
"What's going on? Is our coach finally getting married? Has he found a crush?"
Tingshu almost jumped up when he heard this: "Girl? There are no girls in our military camp!" After thinking for a moment, he said: "Zhaoxi doesn't count."
Everyone: "..." Although this statement was a bit awkward, they all agreed with it.
Someone said, "Okay, stop guessing. It was given by our Lord Lu. I know this. It's said that a true friend is hard to find. Our Lord Lu and the coach, one literary and one martial, are a perfect match. This is what a true friend is."
Tingshu said: "Reading is different now. You can speak more culturedly."
"Right? Even though my family is poor, if I had studied since childhood, I would have been a good seedling. I may not be able to become the top scholar, but with my looks, it would be easy for me to become the third place scholar, right?!" The man was very pleased with himself.
Everyone was silent for a moment, turned around and left, and decided to continue training.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for spring plowing again. This time, Lu Chenyang personally led the officials to work in the fields.
Because Lu Chenyang discovered that officials in Shu did not attach importance to agriculture and sericulture.
The officials in Shu were all devoted to currying favor with the King of Nanyang, and then to establishing good relations with the local wealthy businessmen and gentry. Few of them cared about the affairs of the people.
When Lu Chenyang first arrived in Shu, they were afraid to do so for fear of angering him, and they distributed relief supplies several times.
But after more than half a year, they felt that Lu Chenyang had a good temper and was easy to talk to, so they began to slack off and became very lazy.
When Lu Chenyang came to Shu, he did not make large-scale changes to officials in order not to disrupt the local balance. As long as they were obedient and did not cause trouble, he was willing to give them a chance.
At that time he also said that as long as they did their job well, did not take bribes, abuse their power, or bully the people, they would continue to hold the position.
Maybe it's because Lu Chenyang is so kind that his true colors are now revealed.
Let's say after the Lunar New Year, Lu Chenyang stipulated that the government offices should open on the fifth day of the first lunar month. However, officials in some places didn't start working until after the fifteenth day.
Of course, they also opened the yamen on the fifth day of the first lunar month, but there was no one in the yamen. They would make excuses for everything and say that the county yamen was too busy.
Lu Chenyang knew about this because the two families had an argument and reported it to the government.
As a result, the government office did not deal with the matter, and the conflict between the two sides became more and more serious. After returning, they even started fighting and used knives.
The male owner of a family was injured and the doctors in the city could not cure him. The family had a relative who was serving in the army. The soldier found Zhao Xi, hoping that she could save his life.
Only then did Lu Chenyang know about this.
He was furious when he found out. If the government had dealt with the matter earlier, it wouldn't have almost resulted in a loss of life.
After a careful investigation, Lu Chenyang found that there were quite a few such cases.
So, at the beginning of spring, in order to change this situation, Lu Chenyang simply took them to the fields himself. "Feel the hardship of the people! Don't just take the salary and not work."
This was inspired by his decision not to eat out. If he didn't go out to eat, the restaurant would go bankrupt, so he would go to the fields himself to see who dared not pay attention to agriculture!
Several officials followed him into the fields, but they had never experienced such hardship before.
During the lunch break, an official said, "Your Excellency is very busy with official duties. It is better not to come this afternoon."
Lu Chenyang asked, "Is it hard working in the fields?"
Some people nodded and said honestly, "It's really hard." They had never experienced such hard times in their lives.
Lu Chenyang said: "But the people don't feel hardship. They work hard every year, just hoping for a good harvest."
But even such a simple wish may not be realized. For many people, farming is the most insignificant hardship.
All the officials fell silent. They also understood Lu Chenyang's intention, which was to let them understand the suffering of the people.
But some people don't care. They are not like the common people, so why should they understand their suffering? God has blessed them with a life of luxury, and they were born into a wealthy family. They were born to enjoy happiness, so why should they suffer this hardship?
Seeing some people complaining, Lu Chenyang said, "If you were just the children of the rich, you wouldn't need to understand so much. But you're not just from wealthy families, you're also officials. They say you love the people like your own children, but I think that's a bit much. But understanding the difficulties of the people under your rule and having compassion for them is the duty of an official. I have no other requirements for you, and I don't expect you to leave your doors unlocked at night or pick up things on the road. I just hope that you can do your best."
Is Lu Chenyang's request high? Really not high, just let them do what they should do, but even this is not enough.
There are very few fools who can become officials. After hearing this, they knew that Lu Chenyang was dissatisfied, so they agreed.
No matter what they think in their hearts, they all appear respectful on the surface.
Lu Chenyang looked at them without saying much, but he did let them go back in the afternoon. Of course, it was not out of sympathy for their hard work, but to let them go back and do their job well and not let the people find them!
It is spring plowing season now, and farm tools, oxen and other things are all allocated by the government office. If you have any problems, you have to go to the government office.
Lu Chenyang issued a strict order: no one was allowed to stand in the way of the spring plowing! Because this year was the first time that Shu was planting multiple rice crops, a batch of farm tools was also shipped from Yanquan County to increase this year's harvest.
Everyone dragged their tired bodies back to the yamen and had to continue working. In fact, being an official was not easy and very hard.
Who cares about them? If they don’t like the job, just quit.
It is impossible to resign.
When Lu Chenyang returned to the palace, Zhao Xi saw that Lu Chenyang was covered in mud and felt very distressed.
"Sir, I have asked someone to prepare hot water, please wash up first."
Lu Chenyang praised: "My family is still the most considerate and considerate."
After taking a shower, Lu Chenyang wrote an official document.
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