It took Tang Huan quite a bit of time to coax the little princess, so he had to stay in the palace and tell Wu Lanyun a story for half an hour before he was able to leave.
Upon returning to his residence, he immediately summoned Li Daikui and Qin Yu to explain that he needed to return to Qihuai County.
Why the sudden urge to go back?
Tang Huan closed her eyes, enjoying Qin Yu's massage, and explained, "Rebuilding the South District will cost a lot of money and manpower. Moreover, opening a factory in the capital will require even more manpower and resources. How can we manage without bringing some of our own people?"
“Then I’ll go back with you,” Li Daikui said.
"No need. I'll go back alone this time. You two stay in the capital."
Li Daikui spread his hands, "But I have nothing to do if I stay in the capital!"
"Go take care of the Wan family's business, or go to the city to have some fun. Chunfeng Tower is right next door. Don't you want to?"
Tang Huan said, "Anyway, I'll only be away for two or three days. You can do whatever you want during these days, as long as you don't cause any major problems that I can't solve."
Returning to the manor was also for the purpose of settling things down. Now that the matter had been explained, Tang Huan got up.
The horses that Tang Huan brought with him when he last went to the capital had been gone for too long and had long since disappeared, so Tang Huan simply asked Li Daikui to buy a good horse.
After a hurried afternoon, Tang Huan returned to Qihuai County in the evening.
At the city gate, several idle soldiers saw the horses approaching and immediately stepped forward to stop them.
"Five taels of silver to enter the city."
The sky was dim, and the group failed to recognize Tang Huan.
Tang Huan jumped off his horse, "You guys did a good job, collecting city entry taxes from everyone you meet..."
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Tang Liu rubbed his ears and looked at Tang Huan.
He was taken aback and exclaimed, "Sir, aren't you recuperating at home? Why did you come from outside?"
The others were also extremely shocked.
With the situation in the capital already settled, and given the many things he needed to do upon his return, it was impossible to keep it a secret from everyone. Tang Huan simply admitted it.
"I've been in Beijing these past few days; recuperating is just an excuse."
Tang Liu's eyes widened. "Huh?"
Tang Huan slapped him on the neck. "Stop 'ah'ing! Go and find the leaders of the mercenaries for me right now. I have something important to discuss with them."
"Understood!" Tang Liu could tell from the urgency in Tang Hua's expression that things were urgent, so he didn't delay and immediately turned and left.
Tang Huan's soldiers did not disappoint. When Tang Huan returned to the government office, he had just chatted with Xue'e for a few words and hadn't even had a chance to sit down and have a cup of tea when Tang Liu arrived with the person in charge.
"grown ups."
Several people offered their goodwill.
Tang Huan looked at the group of people. As the leaders of the mercenaries, they had also undergone rigorous and tedious training, which was beyond the reach of ordinary people.
More importantly, only in this way can one keep the people below in check.
How many people do you have on hand right now?
After checking with each other, one of them reported: "Twenty-six people have taken on missions to the surrounding counties, and the remaining hundreds are all in the county."
Tang Huan nodded and said, "Very good. Go back and make preparations. Give me a list of four hundred people tomorrow and have them prepare to go to the capital with me."
Mercenaries aren't just good at fighting; they're also excellent at getting things done.
If Tang Huan weren't worried about what might happen in Qihuai County after he left, he would have wanted to take everyone with him to try and complete the construction in the southern part of the capital as soon as possible.
"Is Your Excellency going to the capital?"
Xue'e smiled and said, "The lord secretly sneaked into the capital a few days ago and did quite a lot. He has a remarkable title in the capital, called the Poet Immortal, and he has also joined the Hanlin Academy."
The group's eyes widened in disbelief.
It's only been a few days since we last met, and the adults haven't been pretending to be sick for very long, yet they've already caused so much trouble in the capital.
"Sir, you are exceptionally talented. You are a poetic genius not only in the capital but throughout the entire world," Tang Liu said, continuing the conversation.
Tang Huan laughed and scolded, "Stop flattering me now, you're coming with me too."
“Great! I’ve wanted to go to the capital for a long time. I’ve heard that the women there are all stunningly beautiful.”
Tang Huan rolled her eyes at him, "This trip to Beijing isn't for you to enjoy yourselves; everyone's going on a business trip."
In front of the group, Tang Huan briefly introduced his South District renovation plan and told them what they would be doing in the capital.
This also allows the mercenary leaders to better consider which people to choose to follow.
After seeing those people off, Tang Huan summoned several of his trusted confidants from the government office.
These people held government positions and were also in charge of various factories in Qihuai County. Tang Huan hoped they could advise him on what kind of factories should be opened in the southern part of the capital.
He needed to confirm this during his stay in Qihuai County so that construction could begin immediately upon his return to Beijing.
Of course, this will take time.
"If we're going to open a factory in Beijing, it can't be one that already exists in Qihuai County, that would be a waste. We could consider some highly profitable factories, since there are more people in Beijing and we'd be dealing with customers from all over the country, which would be more effective."
That night, Tang Huan was also pondering this question.
Xue'e, lying on the bed next to her, asked, "Didn't you say that the renovation of the South District was only to help the poor people there? Why are you suddenly thinking about making money?"
"Money is never enough. Besides, this time it will cost a lot of money, and I have also persuaded the Empress. I must take this opportunity to earn some more. There are so many people in Qihuai County to support. How can we manage without money?"
Xue'e asked curiously, "What about the South District? After the renovations in the capital are completed, you won't need to be in charge of the people there anymore, right?"
"No need, that's a problem for the Empress to worry about."
But thinking about it, changing their environment, providing jobs, and ensuring they have enough to eat and wear is not enough.
If various welfare systems could be implemented like those in Qihuai County, then their lives would truly be changed.
Unfortunately, Tang Huan cannot do this at present. It would be too difficult to promote this matter. Not to mention whether the Empress would agree, countless officials would jump out to criticize him.
"We still need to take it one step at a time. Once the Empress has made money from the factories in the southern district and the national treasury is full, perhaps we can try to talk to her about this."
I slept without any dreams.
The next day, Tang Huan woke up early and began to make an appearance in Qihuai County.
After feigning illness for so many days and not showing up, Xue'e said that many people had already visited the wealthy merchant and sent him countless fruits and vegetables.
Tang Huan wandered aimlessly, chatting with the vegetable vendors, having breakfast at a steamed bun shop, and then strolling around the entertainment center, covering almost the entire Qihuai County.
Throughout the entire process, Xue'e stayed by Tang Huan's side, accompanying him as he did these things.
After going through the whole process, Xue'e said solemnly, "What you're doing can indeed put everyone at ease, but you'll have to tell everyone sooner or later that you're leaving Qihuai County; you can't hide it anymore."
Tang Huan said helplessly, "Let's try to keep it a secret for now."
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