Chapter 55 Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang
The heart of Bingzhou is Taiyuan, and the capital of Taiyuan County is Jinyang. It is natural for the newly appointed Bingzhou governor to choose to arrive in Jinyang first.
If Qiao Yan wanted to meet Governor Zhang, he naturally had to go to Jinyang.
But she didn't plan to go openly.
The arrival of Bingzhou's highest official, a new official at that, will definitely have an impact on the situation in Bingzhou, especially in Jinyang City. The undercurrents in the city are enough to give us some clues.
Let's see how others react under the influence of this governor, and then decide how she should face him.
So she went out with light luggage.
This time, she brought Xu Fu and Xi Zhicai with her.
While riding her horse, she glanced at Xu Fu and did not miss the nervousness in his eyes. "Is Yuanzhi worried that there might be bandits on the road and he can't protect the two of us?"
Before this, when Zhao Yun officially took over the post of Lieutenant of Leping County, he mentioned the name Zilong when he returned to his hometown. Regardless of what Chu Yan, who wanted to challenge Zhao Yun's position, thought, Xu Fu was also at this age when he started working, so it was inevitable that he would be tempted.
Being addressed by name means doing things outside as an adult, which is undoubtedly a recognition of one's ability.
His intention did not escape Qin Yu's eyes. The next day, when he came to the county government to do work, he announced in public that he had a new name and that from now on he could be called Yuanzhi.
Qiao Yan also felt that this word came at the right time, otherwise she would often be struggling with how to address Xu Fu.
After all, Leping is only a county, and the positions it can offer are limited. Xu Fu is still a servant and a son of the Leping Marquisate, so he can't be called Xu Shuzi. Now it seems much more convenient to call him Yuanzhi.
Xu Fu smiled bitterly and said, "Your Excellency, the lives of thousands of households in Leping County depend on this, which is really a fortune. Mr. Xi is resourceful and decisive, and is also an indispensable talent for Leping. Although Fu was once a knight-errant, if bandits really come..."
When he said this, he subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword at his waist, feeling very aware of the heavy responsibility he was carrying.
But saying directly that he couldn't win would somewhat undermine the reputation of the prince, so he didn't continue.
Xi Zhicai paid attention to Xu Fu's expression and confirmed that his words were not compliments, but truly what he really thought.
I heard that in the beginning, his attitude towards Qiao Yan was respect and admiration, and he wanted to emulate him, so he said that he was willing to hold the horse's stirrups. But now, probably because he saw Qiao Yan's various actions in Leping, his mentality of regarding him as a savior became clearer and clearer, and more and more like a lord and his subject.
He smiled and said, "Yuanzhi, why worry so much? Don't forget that the road we are taking now is the same road that we took to exchange the paper mulberry leather clothing with the Tang family. Don't really regard the Tang family as a family in trouble."
This trade route is patrolled regularly, so it is impossible for bandits to appear here.
What's more, the Black Mountain bandits, who were originally the leaders of the bandits in this area, were captured by Le Ping. Without knowing what means Le Ping used, ordinary thieves would naturally not rashly approach this place.
As for the unusual thieves...
The most unusual "thieves" in Bingzhou are the Xianbei to the north of the Yunzhong and Shuofang counties and the Northern Xiongnu and Hu people outside Xihe County.
But they would not suddenly cross the barrier of Taiyuan County and arrive here.
"Marquis Qiao has always been bold but cautious. He would never put himself in a dangerous environment just to avoid bringing along the guards and exposing his whereabouts." Xi Zhicai said again.
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Yan bowed to him and said, "Sir, you understand me."
"No, no, there's no need to praise me now. If I can really live up to your purpose of bringing me to Jinyang, then I can praise you later." Xi Zhicai waved his hand, "Your Majesty, you didn't bring me here just because I've been in Jinyang for a while and want me to help find a cheap place to stay in the city."
Naturally, Qiao Yan was impressed by his top-notch judgment despite his seemingly lazy attitude.
Besides, since he had already gone to Jinyang, there was no need for Qiao Yan to find a place to live by himself.
Wang has arranged accommodation for her.
This residence was not in Wang's mansion, but in a courtyard on the street next to the main street in Jinyang City.
The Lifang system of the Han Dynasty was like this in Luoyang City. Although the scale of the streets and alleys between Lifang in Jinyang City was slightly different and wider, it was still somewhat similar.
In such an environment, if she wanted to be able to see the situation on the streets from the house, she would undoubtedly have to choose such a place to stay.
As for the Wang family, or rather the head of the Wang family, Wang Yang, why he was so dedicated in arranging Qiao Yan's stay, it was ultimately out of his own interests.
Scholars and aristocratic families may not necessarily stand on the same side, so he also urgently needs to find out Zhang Yi's attitude towards Bingzhou.
You have to know that the previous Bingzhou governors, although they should be considered administrative heads, were mostly brave generals. In a sense, such people were easy to get along with and it was also easy to figure out their tricks.
However, Zhang Yi not only had no experience in leading troops, but also did not have any impressive political performance like the other governors.
It may seem ordinary, but it is always better to think about it in a more complicated way before it happens.
When Wang Yang heard that Qiao Yan also wanted to make an evaluation of Zhang Yi, he was obviously happy to see it happen.
Qiao Yan had proved with her performance when negotiating the price of the Hero Wine with him that her vision was never limited to Leping County, and she even saw the crisis of the Southern Xiongnu in Xihe County. She also used the incident of the mulberry fur coat to prove that she also had the ability to clarify relationships and understand people's hearts, so her judgment of Zhang Yi was naturally of reference value.
What's more, Zhang Yi had never dealt with Qiao Yan. This also means that there is a high possibility that he will ignore the pair of eyes staring at him.
The servant of the Wang family who was responsible for sending Qiao Yan to stay here bowed to her and then quietly retreated.
Qiao Yan immediately glanced into the courtyard and saw a two-story building near the courtyard wall near the outer avenue.
She went upstairs, pushed open the wooden window on the side, and the scene outside came into her eyes.
This is the road that connects the north and south of Jinyang City.
As far as she could see, merchants, travelers, and local residents of Jinyang City were busy on the streets, as they had to pass through here when traveling between various places in the city. Therefore, this street seemed more prosperous than other streets in the city. From the appearance of these passers-by, it was not difficult for Qiao Yan to guess their general identities.
In March, Jinyang had recovered a little from the previous harsh winter, and the faces of those passing by looked more lively.
March……
She hadn't realized it yet in the busy atmosphere of Leping, but now she suddenly realized -
A year has passed since I came into this world.
A year ago, she was in the transit area of Yanzhou for refugees and was almost starving to death. But a year later, she had become a county marquis with a fiefdom of an entire county, and because of her status as a guest of an aristocratic family, she could be seen coming and going in the city of Jinyang.
This was undoubtedly a contrast that made her feel as if time had passed by in a daze.
But the trance caused by the contrast of scenes one year apart only lasted for a moment, so fast that Xu Fu and Xi Zhicai, who had been paying attention to her movements, did not notice that her expression was different. She only retracted her gaze and said, "When we received the news, Zhang Yi had just entered the Taihang Mountain barrier. The time from Linfen to Jinyang should be slower than our speed."
"Zhang Yi must have come from the south to enter the city. To reach the Taiyuan governor's residence, he must pass by here. We just need to wait for a day or two."
Qiao Yan extended her hand towards Xu Fu, and he handed the book in the package to her.
It is indeed a book, not a bamboo slip.
During the winter months, in addition to continuing to produce mulberry clothes and selling them to various places in Bingzhou through the Tang family, Leping also made encouraging progress in mulberry paper.
With Cai Lun's improvement of papermaking as the foundation and mulberry bark as the main material selected by Qiao Yan, it was only a matter of time to develop mulberry bark paper that could be used for writing, rather than the previous state of thick fibers stacked into clothing.
Although the smoothness of the paper is still a little lacking, at least it is no longer in a state that would be easily damaged once it is thinned, and it is sufficient for Qiao Yan to use.
If the bark of the mulberry tree had not been used as a life-saving material to make cold-proof clothing, the amount would definitely not be limited to this amount.
"Your Excellency came to investigate Zhang Yi's situation, and yet you brought the account book with you?" Xi Zhicai was stunned when he saw the familiar book.
"Who told you that these account books belonged to me?" Qiao Yan shook his head and laughed. "I am now sitting on this street-facing pavilion. Besides enjoying the spring scenery of the bustling city, I should also enjoy some leisure time. Naturally, I brought some leisure books with me. Please don't think that I am someone who does not forget about other matters. That is what Mr. Zhongde would do."
Xi Zhicai sat down opposite Qiao Yan. Seeing that she did not refuse, he picked up one of the books and opened it, and saw Cai Yan's handwriting.
"This is?"
Qiao Yan replied, "Mr. Bo Ji has an extensive collection of books. He did not bring any books with him because he hurriedly came to Luoyang to attend the funeral. He did not intend to stay in Leping for a long time, so naturally he did not send those books from the Yang family of Taishan. However, Zhao Ji had a photographic memory and memorized dozens of volumes. It just so happens that mulberry paper is easy to write on, and after binding into a book, a volume of books will only take up two books at most. Why not review the books in this way and enrich Leping's book inventory?"
“…”
If Qiao Yan wasn't so young, Xi Zhicai would have wanted to complain. Her actions in exploiting the labor force of children were too outrageous.
But then he changed his mind and thought that it was good enough to have a book to read while waiting for someone, so why did he have so many psychological burdens?
He said, "That's good. I have this book to kill time. I think it will be hard to wait for the governor to come."
However, what Qiao Yan did not expect was that before the Bingzhou governor arrived, another loud voice reached her ears near dusk. Because of the familiar name, Qiao Yan paused slightly while turning the pages of the book and immediately perked up.
The man shouted, "Zhang Liao, wait for me!"
Zhang Liao?
Qiao Yan seemed to inadvertently move his eyes away from the book in his hand and looked towards the streets of Jinyang, which were covered with a layer of sunset color. He saw two young men walking towards him, one in front and one behind.
The one walking in front was younger, about fifteen or sixteen years old, like Zhao Yun and Xu Fu.
The one walking behind looked to be in his twenties, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call him a young man, because there was a bit of liveliness and excitement in his eyes and eyebrows, making him still look a bit boyish.
Zhang Liao's reply undoubtedly proved Qiao Yan's inference.
She had good eyesight and could see that the young man had a slightly depressed look on his face. He paused and turned back to say, "Why are you following me? The prefectural governor's office said that they won't accept people who haven't reached adulthood. Your uncle Zhang Zhi is old enough, so why don't you stay?"
Because he stopped, the young man behind him was able to put his hand on his shoulders and walk side by side with him.
The two men were both dressed like Bingzhou's common warriors, and their clothes looked ordinary. Now, with their arms around each other's shoulders, they really looked like brothers.
Qiao Yan then heard the young man Zhang Liao called Zhang Zhishu reply, "What are you talking about? You and I are in Yunzhong and Yanmen respectively. We happened to meet on the way and we hit it off immediately. We both dislike the style of the governors over there. Since we are going to be the new governor, we might as well take a big gamble. This will make us more destined. If you can't get in because you are too young, what's the point of me going in alone?"
He smiled heartily and added, "Besides, you and I both have the surname Zhang. It's hard to say whether we were separated from the same family hundreds of years ago. Aren't we half relatives?"
The two men talked as they walked, and happened to arrive at the downstairs closest to Qiao Yan at this time, allowing Qiao Yan to clearly see the helpless expression on Zhang Liao's face.
This look of wanting to say something but being unable to say it for some reason, appearing on this rather mature and calm face, is really funny.
But if he was really the Zhang Liao that Qiao Yan had guessed, then his hesitation at this moment did make sense.
Who could blame him for the fact that his original surname was not Zhang but Nie? He was the descendant of Nie Yi who participated in the Ma Yi conspiracy. In order to avoid disaster, the whole family changed their surname to Zhang. So he really couldn't be considered to have the same surname as the young man named Zhang next to him.
As for the other Uncle Zhang...
Qiao Yan was not familiar with his name at first, but if he took into account that he was with Zhang Liao at the time and wanted to get a job in the Bingzhou government, it would not be difficult for Qiao Yan to guess his identity after narrowing the scope.
This is Zhang Yang's uncle Zhang Zhishu, who once worked for Bingzhou Wumeng and was later awarded the title of Grand Marshal for his contribution in escorting Emperor Xian of Han, Liu Xie, back to Luoyang!
This guy obviously behaved like a military commander, and was completely unaware of the meaning of Zhang Liao's subtle expression. He said in a caring tone, "If you can't serve in Jinyang, it doesn't matter. With your ability, Zhang Liao, you can probably lead a team to eliminate bandits and make a name for yourself. After all, we Bingzhou people speak with our fists."
"If that doesn't work, why don't we go to Leping? I heard that the county lord and county lieutenant there are not very old, so they definitely won't care about age issues..."
The two men had already passed by the window, and the voice came from a distance.
Qiao Yan heard this sentence clearly.
She frowned and immediately closed the book in her hand.
The history books record that Zhang Yang had no vision, "he controlled a county with mountains and rivers but had no talent, and eventually fell into the hands of a common man, his wisdom was not worth mentioning", but in her opinion -
This person has a very good vision!
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